Republic Reborn: Against the Stars and Stripes-Chapter 76: Refurbished

After the execution of the pirates—which, although done at their request, also served as an effective show of force—everything went smoothly in the town of Sta. Cruz.

I still had to personally visit some members of the principalia who couldn’t attend the meeting or witness the execution due to age, distance from town, or in some cases, both. But when I showed up with twenty men and an authoritative, sometimes angry façade, most of them bent their knees. Pedro’s maternal grandfather remained stubborn, but thankfully, his son—now effectively in control of the estate—was far more reasonable.

I decided to keep the copra storehouses as the barracks for Pedro’s men. I liked their location—out of the way from the town’s daily activity—and the fact that the two structures were spacious.

Of course, I had the owner remove all the abaca and ordered the buildings thoroughly cleaned until the smell was minimal. Then I requisitioned nipa mats, beds, and pillows, as well as basic furniture like tables and chairs.

While one copra storehouse served as the soldiers’ quarters, I had the other set up as Capitan Madrigal’s office and a temporary recruitment center. As expected, our battle with the pirates—and the spectacle at the plaza—was enough to attract hordes of young men to sign up.

We recorded nearly a hundred on the first day alone.

By the end of it, I had made more progress in Sta. Cruz than I had in the previous two towns.

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I gave Eduardo three days to modify the Garay warship, but just two days later, he was already at Sta. Cruz with the vessel anchored at the port in Buyabod.

Not only had the sail with the Moro design been replaced, it was now significantly larger, with an auxiliary sail added near the stern. This made the ship more reliant on sail power, reducing the need for rowing and cutting nearly in half the number of required rowers.

Accordingly, some of the rowing stations were removed, and several oar ports were sealed with planks. This opened up more space for men and cargo—perfect for the ship’s new role as a transport vessel.

The ship, which had once stunk of sweat and tobacco, had been thoroughly cleaned. Some deep-seated smudges and dirt marks remained, but all in all, it looked neat. Eduardo also added a tarpaulin over the central platform to protect against rain and sun.

He claimed to have improved the steering gear as well, though I couldn’t check it myself, as it was below the waterline—and even if I could, I wouldn’t know what I was looking at.

All the modifications had been done in Balanacan, where shipbuilding activity was still alive.

"I imagine all this cost a fortune," I said, sitting down on a wooden chair nailed to the center of the platform—probably the same one where the pirate captain I killed had once sat. The tarpaulin provided shade but not much relief from the heat. The ship would get cooler once it set sail. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

From that vantage point, I had a good overhead view of the rest of the ship, where the soldiers curiously explored. Lorenzo and his uncle were toying with one of the swivel cannons—the latter even testing its flexibility. Some inspected the sealed oar ports, while others explored the storage area below.

The Buyabod port, situated on a thin strip of land jutting into the water, hosted several smaller ships. Villagers from the nearby barrio and crews from nearby boats had gathered out of curiosity.

"Yes, 200 pesos in total. But... uhm... the workers agreed to a delayed payment," Eduardo hesitated to add—probably because I had only asked him to change the sail, not to completely refurbish the vessel.

But I understood his excitement. I had once modified my first car—a hand-me-down Ford F-100—until I broke it. I’d added a Cadillac V8 engine, which ended up blowing out the gears.

"Next time... ask me first," I said, watching him nervously swallow. But when I softened my expression, he smiled. "That said... you’ve done well. I didn’t even need to explain the sails or the oars. A transport ship wouldn’t be very efficient if the passengers had to double as rowers."

"Two hundred pesos is more than reasonable. Your folks in Balanacan will be paid."

He frowned guiltily. "Well... it’s actually... 256 pesos."

I chuckled at the thought that he was ready to shoulder the extra 56 pesos himself—a large sum for a humble boatsman—if it meant avoiding my anger. "No worries. Just remember: if you’re going to do something that’ll cost me... inform me first."

Eduardo relaxed, his smile widening.

"On that note, Heneral... I was also thinking we could add a deep keel to improve balance. And we could make more adjustments to the sails—maybe add a new mast and a mizzen sail. It would also help if we redesigned the hull—"

"Alright," I raised a hand to cut him off, "we’ll talk about it when we get back to Boac. In the meantime, introduce your folk to me."

I was referring to the fifteen people he had brought along. Five stood with us on the platform, while the rest waited at the foot of the stairs. They had polite smiles and clasped their hands like shy children at Sunday service.

The soldiers and their rifles, not to mention the fact that they were standing before a Heneral—one they had heard dispatched pirates with ease—likely made them nervous.

"The crew that will be helping me operate the ship... if you’ll accept them, Heneral," Eduardo said. "These five here know the rigging and the sails. The rest will be rowers, though several can double as carpenters or soldiers."

"I’ll defer to your expertise, Eduardo," I told him. "From now on, you are the captain of this ship. We’ll discuss all other details with you and your crew in Boac."

He took a deep breath—likely of relief. "Thank you, Heneral."

"Now..." I looked out at the deck, the soldiers, the newly cleaned ship, and the modest crowd gathered on the dock. "What do we name the ship?"