Chapter 82: Legend
The two disembarked from the ship.
Lin Qian ordered Chen Bo to cook a pot of hot soup with pig bones.
The kitchen on the ship was at the frontmost end of the cannon deck, with a chimney venting the smoke outside the ship. Once the meat soup was boiling, the fragrance wafted throughout the ship.
The crew members who had eaten their fill of dinner all had their appetites whetted, not to mention the pirates starving around the Santa Ana.
These pirates had separated from the Ship City in a hurry; most ships lacked water and food. Even if they had something to eat, because the ships were small, they couldn’t make big fires to cook and could only swallow their saliva while gnawing on dry biscuits.
At this time, a small boat was lowered from the port side of the Santa Ana. Bai Qing led more than a dozen people carrying weapons onto the boat.
The small boat slowly approached the pirate ships, and all the pirates stood up, their expressions tense.
Bai Qing rowed close to a pirate ship and said, “The helmsman orders you to come aboard for mutton soup.”
The pirates originally wanted to refuse, but firstly the aroma of the meat soup was truly enticing, and secondly they had no weapons in hand, so they had no choice but to agree.
So they all boarded the small boat one after another, while the people Bai Qing brought from the small boat took over the pirates’ Haicang Ship.
When the pirates boarded the deck of the Santa Ana, they realized there was no mutton soup before them, only a group of crew members holding long spears and stilettos.
The pirates were dumbfounded.
Some crew members brought ropes and tied their hands and feet securely, then stacked them in the cargo hold.
On the starboard side, Bai Langzai did the same. Soon the pirates tricked onto the deck were stuffed into the cargo hold one after another.
The pirates were cold and hungry, unarmed, and hardly resisted at all, obediently allowing themselves to be captured.
Occasionally, a few who had hidden daggers in their shoes tried to suddenly attack but were instantly poked into sieves.
The heavy rain masked the fighting sounds on the ship, so the other pirates had no idea what was happening on the deck and kept climbing up the rope ladder.
By sunrise, the pirates from more than fifty ships, totaling around six hundred people, had all been stuffed into the cargo holds.
According to the Santa Ana’s loading capacity, the maximum personnel was four hundred; any more and there wouldn’t even be space to sleep.
Lin Qian simply didn’t treat the captured pirates as people.
Treating them as cargo solved the problem.
Anyway, the goods from the galleon had already been stored on Nan’ao Island. Now the cargo holds were empty, more than enough to stack six hundred captives.
Including the captives inside the cabins, the prize pool from this victory increased substantially.
In the morning light, sister and brother Bai Qing and Bai Langzai were assigning crew members on the pirate ships.
Chinese lug sails were simple to operate; merely maintaining voyage required few hands.
By noon, the usable crew members for the Santa Ana had all been assigned, but there were still seven or eight ships without crew.
The rope men then used ropes to tie these empty ships behind other ships and towed them at sea.
Everything was prepared. The Santa Ana hoisted sail first and left the lagoon.
At this time, the sunlight was just right, not a cloud in the sky, with wooden boards and corpse remains scattered on the lagoon.
From then on, the South China Sea Ship City existed only as a legend.
……
On the return journey.
In the captain’s cabin of the Santa Ana, Zhou Xiucai sat before the round table with the account book spread open on it. He fiddled with the abacus while sighing with a furrowed brow.
After fiddling with the abacus beads three or four times, he sighed, “Helmsman… the accounts don’t look optimistic.”
The books showed less than eight thousand taels of silver left, plus the over thirteen hundred taels searched from the captured pirate ships.
All in all, a surplus of ten thousand taels.
The next transaction with the fat councillor was on September fifteenth, still over half a month away.
During this period, crew bonuses, artisan wages, water and food procurement, Nan’ao Island construction, and galleon repairs—all required spending silver.
According to Zhou Xiucai’s simple calculations, with just over ten thousand taels on the books, it was impossible to do everything; priorities had to be chosen.
Moreover, in August and September the sea monsoons were unpredictable, making sailing very dangerous. Even if the September fifteenth transaction in Macau went smoothly with a batch of goods, returning to the island would take at least until September twentieth.
“Helmsman, I suggest pausing construction on Nan’ao Island for now to get through this period first,” Zhou Xiucai proposed.
Lin Qian toyed with Li Kuiqi’s nine-ringed broadsword and said, “Construction on Nan’ao Island cannot stop. Winter is approaching, and we can’t let the islanders live in shacks.”
The Little Ice Age at the end of the Great Ming was no joke; even on the Fujian-Guangdong coast, winter could freeze people to death.
Although the houses on the island were mainly wooden and materials could be sourced locally, the artisans’ wages and helpers’ wages could not be saved.
There were also costs for bricks, tiles, lime, and other materials, no small expense.
This was thanks to Nan’ao Island being close to Chaozhou, making maritime transport cheap. If it were farther from land, these costs would rise further.
Lin Qian added, “Have the over twenty thousand taels salvaged from Li Kuiqi’s flagship been included?”
Zhou Xiucai turned from worry to joy, slapping his forehead. “I forgot about that! Now we have enough silver!”
Lin Qian slowly shook his head. “Silver is only sufficient for now. We’ve captured fifty warships; maintenance and repairs need a place. Building a dry dock must be put on the agenda. Later building granaries, reservoirs, and land reclamation all require silver. In our line of work, silver is never enough.”
“What does the helmsman mean?” Zhou Xiucai’s eyes lit up.
Lin Qian held the sword level with one hand. “We’re going to rob!”
It was almost the end of August. Calculating the days, the new emperor Zhu Changluo was about to pass away.
Historically, after Zhu Changluo’s death, the imperial court successively saw the Red Pill Case and Palace Relocation Case erupt, turning the entire Great Ming capital into chaos.
This was precisely Lin Qian’s last chance for wanton plundering; how could he miss it?
Zhou Xiucai nodded slightly. He also thought increasing income was the best method, but Lin Qian’s next words made his expression turn to surprise.
“Which wealthy villages and counties are there along the entire Fujian-Guangdong coast?”
“Helmsman, are you going to rob on land?”
Lin Qian placed the ogre-head saber on the cabinet and said, “Sea and land, I want both.”
At this time, a crew member knocked and entered. “Helmsman, we’ve arrived at Shen’ao Port.”
Lin Qian: “Mm, tell Chen Bo to prepare a few signature dishes. Tonight I’m hosting an important guest.”
……
That night.
Lin Qian led a group of brothers into the general’s mansion.
Along the way, all soldiers detoured to avoid them; those who couldn’t simply stood facing the wall.
The group passed through courtyards and halls, strutting to the backyard.
Nan’ao Garrison Commander Huang Hetai hurriedly came out to greet them, cupping his hands from afar. “I didn’t know the leader was coming; forgive my lack of a proper welcome.”
“My brothers came uninvited; please bear with any disturbances.” Lin Qian also cupped his hands and exchanged pleasantries. “It’s been a long time since I drank with Garrison Commander Huang. Today I specially had alcohol and dishes prepared to gather with Garrison Commander Huang.”
Huang Hetai was polite on the surface but suspicious inside, thinking to himself: “This bandit has been on the island for a month, and this is the first time he’s been so polite, personally bringing alcohol and dishes to visit. What does he want?”
Could it be he has something to ask of me?
Indeed, now that the imperial court’s new emperor has ascended the throne and the world is stable, as a bandit occupying this island, he must be uneasy and is here to sound me out.
To say, though this bandit’s actions are somewhat extreme, he is generous overall. Just the blood coral he gave me is priceless.
Unfortunately, Nan’ao Island has the general watching over it for the imperial court, and Li Kuiqi eyeing it covetously in the underworld.
Even if you lent me a hundred guts, I wouldn’t dare keep him on the island.
During the banquet later, I’ll use Li Kuiqi to scare him into wanting to retreat, then use the general to pressure him so he gives a hush money gift before leaving.
This way, it would be a good parting, not in vain that this bandit scared me with a pig head once.
