Chapter 55: Thunder In Leizhou Bay
At these words, the Tanka People were all filled with joy and surprise.
The old Ship Worker, however, had a face full of worry.
Chen Jiao, Zhou Xiucai, Lei Sanxiang, and the others also looked grim.
Rebellion? They didn’t have the guts for that yet.
But contrary to Lin Qian’s expectations, after the words fell, no one spoke in opposition.
Since the Ship Robbery, Lin Qian had created too many miracles and held extremely high prestige among the crowd, so no one dared question his decisions anymore.
Lin Qian took everyone’s expressions in and then said: “This matter requires thorough preparation; we cannot rush it.”
Bai Qing’s expression turned anxious as she wanted to say something, but Lin Qian raised his hand to stop her: “Don’t worry, we won’t take too long to prepare.”
Today was the fifteenth of the seventh month.
The Wanli Emperor was probably already on his deathbed.
He wouldn’t last a few more days before the Emperor’s Death.
Considering the message transmission speed of this era, Guangdong would receive the news about ten days after the Emperor’s Death.
From then on, a period of more than a month without government would begin.
Attacking the Pearl Farm on a normal day would undoubtedly be Rebellion.
But if taking action during this period, local Officials would not only fail to report it but would instead do their utmost to suppress the news.
This was the officialdom wisdom Lin Qian had observed over two lifetimes.
Therefore, time was truly precious; not a single day could be wasted.
With this in mind, Lin Qian called Bai Langzai and his sister along with the sworn Brothers to the Restaurant for a meeting.
Lin Qian first asked about the defensive situation at the Pearl Farm.
Bai Langzai and his sister had lived at the Pearl Farm since childhood and knew its layout like the back of their hands.
According to the two, the Pearl Farm consisted of the Water Village and the Pearl Ponds.
The Pearl Ponds were an entire stretch of nearshore Sea Surface where during the day the Pearl Households dove to collect Pearls.
The Water Village was generally built on the Shore close to the Pearl Ponds; after sunset, the Pearl Households would sail back to the Water Village to moor.
The Pearl Farm where the siblings lived was on Naozhou Island, situated east of the Leizhou Peninsula, with the Water Village built on the island’s east shore facing the South China Sea.
The Naozhou Pearl Farm itself had a Patrol Office under which were two hundred archers.
Near the Water Village and Pearl Ponds, there were always more than ten Navy Warships patrolling year-round.
At this point, Lin Qian could not help interrupting: “Since there are Navy Warships, how did you escape from the Pearl Farm?”
Bai Qing explained: “The Patrol Office returns to the village at night when Sea Surface defenses are lax, so we escaped through a hole in the village wall at that time.”
Lin Qian nodded, signaling Bai Qing to continue.
Bai Qing went on to say that besides the Water Village being dilapidated from age, the Navy’s Warships were also extremely rundown—even some Warships had to bail water for half a shichen after sailing for one.
This was within Lin Qian’s expectations; the Great Ming Garrisons were notoriously corrupt, with embezzling pay and draining soldiers’ blood as standard practices.
Even with the great enemy Later Jin pressing, Liaodong Generals sold off military horses; to avoid issuing pay, some tricked their subordinates and slaughtered them all—such outrageous things happened too.
And these were still on the Nine Borders front line.
On the Southeast Coast where the Japanese Pirates had been pacified, it was obvious even to one’s toes that the Generals were even more corrupt.
Don’t think the Naozhou Pearl Farm only had a dozen broken ships; the Ministry of War ledgers might record three hundred brand-new Warships.
Lin Qian then asked about the Firearms situation at the Water Village.
The answer was reassuring: the Water Village had no muskets but did have a few Tiger Squatting Cannons, though they had never been seen fired—unclear if long broken or mere decorations.
At this point, Bai Qing paused before adding: “Elder Brother Lin, to be honest with you, to the west of our Pearl Farm is a large Navy village called White Pigeon Village, a key Navy stronghold on the Leizhou Sea Surface commanded by a deputy general with over a hundred Warships inside. If the White Pigeon Village Navy comes to aid while we attack the Pearl Farm, it could be troublesome.”
Lin Qian pondered for a moment before asking: “Besides the Main Gate, does the Pearl Farm Water Village have any other entrances?”
Bai Qing shook her head: “The Water Village faces the Sea ahead and is backed by high mountains; even crossing over the mountains, the surroundings are mostly rocky beaches where it’s hard to moor ships. There is a Beach on the island’s west side where Small Boats can moor.”
Lin Qian nodded to himself; this way it would be hard to draw the White Pigeon Village Navy, and the Pearl Ponds eunuch would find it difficult to escape.
As for beacon fire signaling, it worked On the Shore.
Using it at Sea was somewhat laughable.
Even if the sea wind didn’t disperse the thick smoke, there were no successive beacon towers on the Sea Surface to relay messages.
With this in mind, Lin Qian had a rough plan in his heart.
He was still short one final push of motivation.
Lin Qian suddenly asked: “Since it’s a Pearl Farm, there should be plenty of Pearls stored, right?”
Bai Qing was taken aback, then understood Lin Qian’s intent and cleverly said: “The Pearl Ponds eunuch lives extravagantly; his palace-like residence on the island holds countless treasures.”
True or not, these words at least whetted the appetites of Chen Jiao and the others.
Seeing he had asked enough, Lin Qian ordered: “Second Brother, you and Jose make a trip to Macau, find the fat Councillor, and buy some Gunpowder and Cannonballs—as much as you can.”
Zhou Xiucai cupped his hands: “Understood!”
“Third Brother, these few days pick a batch of clever ones from the Crew Members, teach them to use Cannons, don’t worry about consumption, and conduct as many live-fire shots as possible.”
Lei Sanxiang laughed: “I didn’t idle in the Divine Machine Battalion; leave it to me!”
“Elder Brother, handling the allocation of new and old Crew Members, mediating conflicts, assigning positions, and such matters are all yours.”
Chen Jiao nodded emphatically: “Rest assured, Helmsman!”
“Bai Qing.”
“Elder Brother!” Bai Qing stood, cupped her hands, and awaited orders.
“Go back to the Pearl Farm, lie low, mobilize the Pearl Commoners, scout the enemies’ movements, and act as the Inside Agent when we attack.”
This was an extremely dangerous task, but Bai Qing’s expression didn’t change as she replied without hesitation: “Yes, Elder Brother, rest assured!”
“Bai Langzai.”
“Helmsman!” Bai Langzai stood, cupped his fists, eyes shining as he looked at Lin Qian.
“Over the next few days, draw the Water Village terrain maps and hydrographic charts—whatever you remember.”
“Yes.”
“And then…” Lin Qian paused, his tone grim: “sharpen the blades and prepare to harvest the enemies’ heads!”
……
Fifteen days later.
Leizhou Bay.
The morning sun just rising.
At the seam of sea and sky, a Ship approached against the light.
At the Naozhou Island Water Village, the Patrol Office night watch soldiers were sleeping atop the village wall.
The night Sea wind was bitterly cold; many night watch soldiers had erected lean-tos on the village wall and covered themselves with thin quilts to avoid chills.
In the Water Village, Pearl Households were already rising to prepare breakfast.
Once the morning sun fully rose, it would be time to leave the village for Pearl harvesting; the next meal would wait until sunset upon return.
Spending the whole day immersed in icy Seawater harvesting Pearls, sustained only by this morning’s Dry Rations—they had to eat plenty.
“Boom!”
Just then, thunder rumbled from the east.
The Pearl Commoners sighed; if caught in a thunderstorm, their chances of returning alive today would shrink further.
The night watch soldiers jolted awake by the thunder and peered sleepily into the distance.
They saw a clear blue sky, cloudless for miles—where had the thunder come from?
In their daze, a black dot grew from small to large, hurtling down right before them.
The soldier realized too late; he didn’t even manage a cry.
A boom shattered the village wall; dust and Wood Chips flew amid a faint red blood mist, followed by chunks of mangled flesh splashing into the water.
