Chapter 410 - Acting Real

Passing through the camp gate, a spacious view suddenly opened up before him. The camp tents densely lined along both sides of the road earlier were nowhere to be seen inside this gate. What appeared before them was a wide open space, elevated several feet above the surroundings. From the scattered building materials, this was probably the foundation of the former water fortress's administrative office.

On this foundation stood a large tent sewn from various colored silks and satins—very much in pirate style. The tent entrance was fully open, with four burly men holding large swords standing guard at the door. In front of the tent was a flagpole, at its top the "Zhu" surname banner fluttering in the wind.

"Please!"

Lin Baiguang entered the central army tent, directly facing this sea merchant and pirate who had roamed the seas for over twenty years and whose name, like Zheng Zhilong's, would be recorded in historical records. His heart couldn't help but feel somewhat nervous. Up to now, no one in the transmigrator group had actually met a historical celebrity. This counted as the first one.

Seated in the central chair of the tent was a man in his fifties. His hair was graying, skin dark. A pair of fisherman's eyes gleamed brightly. He wore an extravagantly flashy Nanjing sapphire-blue satin robe, belt of rhinoceros horn and jade at his waist, soft leather boots on his feet. Tucked in his belt was a Turkish-style small curved dagger with a gold handle and silver sheath, studded with jewels.

Lin Baiguang's first thought was strange: wasn't he afraid of heat dressed like that?

His mood immediately calmed. After a brief daze, he came to his senses and quickly surveyed the tent.

This extravagant, very piratical silk tent was spacious, but crammed inside was a mishmash of things. Various Chinese and Western luxury goods and decorations were displayed haphazardly. The intention was probably to flaunt wealth, but the effect was like a general store.

There were fewer than ten people in the tent, seated in two rows on either side. Obviously, these people were Zhu Cailao's main gang leaders. There were men and women, old and young—a very complex mix.

Having sized up the situation in the tent, Lin Baiguang strode up to Zhu Cailao and bowed deeply: "Lin Baiguang greets Big Boss Zhu!"

Zhu Cailao seemed very interested in Lin Baiguang, sizing him up for quite a while before saying: "Manager Lin has come from the Australians in Lingao?" Surprisingly, he spoke standard Nanjing Mandarin.

Lin Baiguang quickly replied: "Indeed, I've come specifically to pay respects to Big Boss Zhu!"

"Quite bold." Zhu Cailao smiled, then said bluntly: "You Australians robbed my goods and killed my men, without any gesture of compensation. Not a single tael of silver—so why are you here, to make me sobering soup?"

The gang leaders below let out an unfriendly round of laughter.

Lin Baiguang knew that "sobering soup" was a famous delicacy among jianghu heroes, traditionally made from human liver. These words contained both his displeasure and an element of intimidation.

"Haha! We'd just arrived and didn't know the lay of the land. We failed to recognize Mount Tailong and offended Big Boss Zhu's mighty reputation—that was our fault—" Speaking, Lin Baiguang bowed deeply. "I beg Big Boss Zhu to be magnanimous!"

"Easy to say," Zhu Cailao still wore a smile. "Your mighty reputation aside, you slaughtered Gou Da's entire household, servants and all—that's nothing. But the money, grain, and goods Gou stored—you owe me an explanation, don't you? Toss a silver ingot into the sea and at least I hear a splash. With you, there's nothing?"

Lin Baiguang became more careful. Although the negotiation with Zhu Cailao was just a pretense, to make him fully convinced, Lin Baiguang had prepared negotiation materials in the spirit of acting real. He thought for a moment before speaking:

"Big Boss Zhu, please understand! We destroyed the Gou family truly by accident, not intentionally." Lin Baiguang once again expressed that their side had no hostile intentions toward him. "So when we released Manager Shi, we mentioned that our Australian glassware has no agents in Southeast Asia..."

"Glassware, mirrors—all good things." Zhu Cailao smiled. "But they're not as useful as bright silver. What do you think?" Zhu Cailao's expression suddenly darkened. "Stop beating around the bush. Tell me! My conditions—do you accept them or not?"

"How could we neglect Big Boss Zhu's matters?" Lin Baiguang continued his tai chi deflection, careful not to anger him, lest in a moment of rage he ordered "take him out and chop him." He could learn from novel and movie protagonists by laughing heartily to save himself, but whether that trick worked in reality only heaven knew.

"It's just that I have a few words to report—"

"Speak."

"Regarding the loan..."

"Hold on!" Zhu Cailao cut him off, sneering. "Don't try to slip past this—give me a straight answer: this debt, are you paying it back or not?"

"Repaying debts is only natural. It's just that our leader feels he doesn't owe Big Boss Zhu any silver..."

"What?!"

"Bullshit!"

"Take him out and cut him in half! This madman who spouts wild nonsense can't be kept!" The tent immediately erupted with angry voices.

"Everyone, please hear me out." Lin Baiguang knew he was in extreme danger. Actually, making empty promises would have been inconsequential—it wouldn't be honored anyway. But he was determined to be provocative, to leave a deep impression on Zhu Cailao's subordinates. Otherwise, someone who agreed to everything wouldn't be valued by the pirates at all.

"We destroyed the Gou household, and the property we obtained was all Gou family assets. How can you say it was Big Boss Zhu's property? Even if there's a debt, that should be collected from Gou Er—he's still alive."

The gang leaders below were nearly going mad, all wanting to charge forward and tear him to pieces. Although Lin Baiguang had resolved to put life and death aside, he still felt a chill. He didn't know if this "making shocking statements" approach would work.

Zhu Cailao waved his hand to silence his men's clamor. He stared coldly at Lin Baiguang. After a long while, he nodded:

"What deep blood feud do you have with the Gou family?"

"No feud whatsoever. It was simply—as they say—uprooting weeds completely."

"Good!" Zhu Cailao nodded. "Once Gou Er and his son are captured, I'll send men to hand them over to you, and we'll see exactly how much silver should be repaid to me!"

Actually, whether Gou Er was dead or alive, the transmigrator group wasn't interested. Lin Baiguang was just using him as a diversion to mislead Zhu Cailao.

"As for the loan, our leader has approved it." Just not in actual silver—entirely in Lingao Circulation Vouchers. "The limit is one million yuan. Loan term is one year. No interest for the first three months, then one percent per month." Lin Baiguang explained the concept of circulation vouchers issued in Lingao.

"Use paper slips to pay the brothers' wages?" someone said angrily.

"Circulation vouchers are for buying things." Lin Baiguang didn't back down. "Who said anything about paying your wages?"

In reality, the Executive Committee's policy was to issue export credit loans—although they didn't intend to actually give Zhu Cailao this loan. One million in circulation vouchers was no small sum, and they absolutely couldn't devote precious resources and production capacity to manufacturing weapons for Zhu Cailao.

Several gang leaders were furious, ready to charge forward and start hacking. To them, without silver they couldn't pay wages, couldn't stabilize morale. No matter what that useless circulation voucher could buy in Lingao, on these Fujian waters it was just waste paper!

"This is a list of goods my leader is prepared to supply to your gang. All can be paid for with circulation vouchers."

What the Executive Committee promised to sell was dazzling: from cannons, muskets, and ammunition to various medicines, dry rations, and sugar—everything was available. Not only were categories listed; many items included illustrations with simple explanations—looking rather like an advertising brochure.

As for prices—clearly marked, fair for all ages. A line of small print noted: "Actual price trading, no hidden deductions."

"These are made by you—made right there in Lingao?"

"Indeed." Lin Baiguang saw his expression change and knew these items had moved him.

"I want your cannons. Thirty of the 24-pounder ones called—Carronades! How soon can you have them?"

"None in stock. Materials need to be prepared and casting done—at least two months."

"Too long." Zhu Cailao shook his head. "Won't make it in time."

Lin Baiguang had been afraid he'd want to buy cannons before launching his attack on Min'an. If details changed, history might take a very different course. Now it seemed Zhu Cailao didn't intend to delay his attack plan. This relieved him.

"Though the time is a bit long, cannons will be needed eventually."

"Hmm." Zhu Cailao nodded. "You have no silver. How are your grain stores in Lingao?"

"For every yuan of circulation vouchers outstanding, Lingao has one jin of unpolished rice in reserve."

Zhu Cailao nodded and said: "Good."

Both sides agreed that goods would be picked up by Zhu Cailao's own ships, with payments deducted from the credit limit.

As for repayment, Zhu Cailao naturally had no way to find circulation vouchers for principal and interest. So both sides agreed that Zhu Cailao would pay the loan and interest with war spoils. The two parties discussed in detail how to calculate circulation voucher value and how to price goods. Lin Baiguang had also prepared detailed and thorough plans with the Financial Committee in advance.

Although the loan plan would never actually be implemented, this policy of issuing credit loans would be implemented in the future. Working out the plan now wouldn't be wasted effort.

Seeing that more than half the matter was settled, Lin Baiguang was secretly delighted. Zhu Cailao suddenly asked with a smile: "You're giving me this one million to buy cannons and grain. Aren't you afraid that after I've dealt with Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang, I'll come after you?"

This question wasn't tricky, but asked so suddenly, it had the power of a well-aimed strike. Lin Baiguang quickly steadied himself:

"Big Boss Zhu, that's not right." Lin Baiguang said. "What kind of people are Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang? How could they easily lose their heads?"

The implication was that he didn't believe Zhu Cailao could immediately defeat Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang—which was also the truth.

What Lin Baiguang wanted to convey to Zhu Cailao was this: For the Australians to survive on these Fujian-Guangdong waters, they wouldn't allow any one force here to dominate. Supporting Zhu Cailao was protecting themselves—the Australians didn't want Liu Xiang or Zheng Zhilong to grow too powerful.

Strategically, this made sense and was reasonable. Zhu Cailao had no choice but to believe it.

Zhu Cailao nodded: "You're quite frank."

Lin Baiguang smiled: "I'm just a young upstart. How could such little schemes fool an elder like yourself?"

Zhu Cailao instructed Shi Shisi to take Lin Baiguang to the rear camp of the central army and assign him a tent to rest. Lin Baiguang knew the matter was more than half done, but with someone as cunning as Zhu Cailao, whether his little tricks could actually deceive him remained to be seen.

Though inwardly anxious, he put on an unconcerned manner and followed Shi Shisi into the tent.

"This tent is yours."

"Many thanks, Brother Shi." Lin Baiguang glanced around the tent and felt like laughing and crying at the same time. The furnishings were obviously plundered from some wealthy family's women's quarters: embroidered curtains hung in disorder; a bed with only boards; there was even a vanity table with some tea cups and pots on it.

"Apologies, brother. We who make a living on the sea, these things are all temporary finds—" Shi Shisi had seen the transmigrators' living standards.

"Not at all. Can't be picky when traveling."

"Haha, Big Brother will find you some entertainment later." Shi Shisi laughed lecherously. Lin Baiguang knew this probably meant bringing a woman.

Before long, Shi Shisi indeed had someone bring in a woman.

"How about this? She's not bad, eh? A daughter from a wealthy family! Not many have used her—still quite fresh..."

Having relations with local women carried health risks—the Ministry of Health had repeatedly warned about this. Since D-Day, although Lin Baiguang had plenty of opportunities to secretly find women, he had never touched any—succumbing to sexual desire was a mark of human weakness.

But at this moment, he decided to take this woman. He knew well the mentality of these lower-level bandits: they valued drinking and womanizing above all else. If he didn't partake, he'd be seen as "lacking guts," which would be unfavorable for gaining their trust and developing his work.

The woman brought in was about twenty, white and tender-looking, not like a girl from a seafaring family. She was wrapped in a man's blue cotton robe, looking listless.

"Enjoy yourself tonight!" Shi Shisi seemed quite pleased with himself. "The Big Boss really thinks highly of you—he specifically ordered us to find you a woman. Haha, our lesser leaders don't even get this treatment." Speaking, he had someone bring in a food box:

"There's nothing good to eat on the island. This is a small token from the Big Boss."

"Too kind, too kind. The Big Boss is too generous—"

"Hehe, just enjoy it." Shi Shisi said with a grin, then added seriously, "If there's nothing tonight, don't go out. No walking around the camp at night—if caught, that's execution. You're the Big Boss's honored guest, so execution might not happen, but suffering needlessly would be pointless."

"With all this springtime beauty in my room, why would I go out into the sea breeze?" Lin Baiguang made small talk until he sent him off.

After seeing Shi Shisi off, Lin Baiguang walked to the food box and opened it. He was startled. The dishes inside were unexpectedly refined: scalded goose feet, stir-fried lamb, tofu and crab soup, marinated oysters... In the center were two porcelain jars—opening them, one contained snow-white rice and the other chicken soup with pickled vegetables and yellow chives.

Besides the dishes, there were also two pots of wine, one yellow and one white.

Preparing such a spread on a small island, and cooking it so exquisitely—this was no small gesture.

He had expected nothing more than rough fish and meat—how refined could pirate food be? He had overlooked one thing: the sea merchants and pirates of this era were one and the same. Zhu Cailao and his gang leaders, besides being big pirates, were also big merchants, accustomed to refined living.

However, Lin Baiguang, thinking of the gate-guarding pirates' comments about supply difficulties and some ships even running out of food, knew such extravagance was built upon widespread deprivation—he felt no sentiment about this, but was secretly pleased. The upper echelons living in extreme luxury while the lower ranks went hungry meant poor team cohesion. The chances of his undermining operation succeeding had increased several points.

"What's your name?" Lin Baiguang helped himself to food and drink, finding time to ask the woman still sitting dazed on the floor.

"This slave is called Xiao Shu."

(Chapter End)