and, as their own were full of the plunder that they had taken, they
put seven men as a guard on each of the Chinese ships and took them
thus to Japon. When in sight of Japon the ships were driven by a storm,
and one of the Chinese vessels was separated from the other and from
the two of the Hollanders. It made port in the kingdom of Satsuma. But
the authorities of this place, learning that the ship was a captive,
and disapproving of a thing so foreign to civilized intercourse, would
not consent that they should remain in the port longer than four days,
at the end of which time they forced them to leave. During these four
days the Chinese who came in the ships, about thirty-four in number,
went ashore and secretly bought some catanas, arms peculiar to Japon
and not very different from cutlasses. With these they embarked for
Firando, another kingdom of Japon. One night they suddenly fell upon
the Hollanders [the seven who guarded the ship], and, in spite of
their resistance, they beheaded them and threw them into the sea. The
Chinese then loaded all their goods upon little fishing boats that
they had provided for the purpose, and setting fire to their ship,
fled with their property in different directions. In all of this
they were very diligent and discreet. If they had not been so, the
Hollanders who reside in that kingdom undoubtedly would have taken
the ship away from them by legal process, because (as we shall see
later) the Hollanders have things much to their liking at the court
of the emperor.

The two galleons, "Leon Rojo" and "Fregelingas," and the other Chinese
ship, of which I spoke, arrived at Cochi [Kochi], a port of the
island of Firando, one league from the port and city of Firando. [10]
Here they began in great haste to unload the galleon, "Leon Rojo,"
with the purpose of going to look out for the ship of Macan. The
Portuguese who reside in Nangasaqui, learning of this design, went