Chapter 415 Defecting

But Lin Dan said: "Don't daydream. Back then, Xiang Yu said he 'had no face to see the elders of Jiangdong.' Why? Three thousand people went out with him to fight, and not a single one came back! You all have been out wondering for these years; how many nephews, clansmen, and fellow villagers from your hometowns came out with you, and how many have died? Do you think you can live a peaceful life just by going back like this? It would be strange if the old mothers and widows of those brothers didn't kick down your thresholds!"

Lin Dan added: "Once you go ashore, each of you is wealthy. It's not like no one knows what you've been doing all these years. Without swords and spears in your hands, aren't you just big fat sheep? Even if the government doesn't come to trouble you, if those evil gentry want to find fault with you, won't you have to obediently spit out the silver?

"Furthermore, who among you sitting here hasn't made enemies over these years? Killing someone's parents, seizing someone's wife or daughter, burning someone's house... When the time comes for revenge and redress of grievances, it's hard to say if you can even keep your lives!"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Hu sat down dejectedly. Those who originally had active minds about going home also fell silent.

Defecting to other big gangs had no future, setting up their own portals was impossible, and even the last resort of returning home to enjoy good fortune had become fraught with difficulties.

Running into a dead end—this feeling strongly seized their hearts. It was as if boundless darkness shrouded everyone's head.

At this time, Lin Baiguang stood up. He coughed once: "Everyone, why not go to Lingao?"

"Lingao?!" Lin Dan woke up as if from a dream. "Go defect to the Australians?!"

Shi Shisi also seemed to remember: "Right, let's go defect to the Australians!"

However, everyone still looked at Lin Baiguang with hesitant eyes—what was said while drinking was one thing, but when things came to a head and they had to really do it, they had to think it over carefully.

"Brothers!" Lin Baiguang had saved up his energy for these few days just waiting for this moment. In this instant, the soul of a county investment promotion office director possessed him! He began to expound on the draft he had been preparing in his belly for weeks. He emphasized: currently, Lingao is waiting for everything to be done; if everyone goes to defect, they will inevitably be put in important positions. Moreover, the Australians occupy Lingao; whether for ship rest and maintenance or anchoring, there is a base. Everyone will have a house and courtyard, unlike in the past drifting everywhere on the sea, suffering from water and food shortages from time to time.

These words were quite touching. The bitterness of drifting on the sea was not something ordinary people could endure. However, the Australians' foundation was shallow after all, and no one knew how long they could stay in Lingao. Everyone's eyes suddenly fell on Shi Shisi—he was the only one here who had been to Lingao.

Shi Shisi nodded: "I trust Brother Lin's words! I am willing to go to Lingao!"

That was almost the final word. Everyone looked at each other and couldn't come up with a better idea. At this time, someone suddenly asked: "I have something I want to ask Brother Lin!"

Lin Baiguang knew that this was entering the Q&A phase of investment promotion. He saw that the questioner was a not-very-familiar leader named Li Guangfa, who had brought three ships. He had stumbled upon this place by chance; originally he only wanted to get water here, but seeing everyone gathered, he stayed—after all, there was safety in numbers.

"Big Brother Shi has been to Lingao and has seen the Australians' skills; presumably he won't deceive the brothers. But how long do the Australians intend to stay in Lingao?"

This was a matter of great importance. Since everyone was going to defect to a master, they had to have a stable place. They couldn't go today and disband tomorrow.

"We will stay in Lingao until this world is no longer surnamed Zhu!" Lin Baiguang said without hesitation.

"Good!" Shi Shisi couldn't help but shout his approval—he hadn't expected Brother Lin to have such soaring ambition.

"Brother has heroic spirit!" Li Guangfa nodded. "What if Grand Manager Liu or Zheng Zhilong don't let you stay in Lingao?"

"Hehe," Lin Baiguang laughed. "Even if Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong are added together, wanting to drive us out of Lingao is just wishful thinking!" He said, "Words are no proof. Those who are willing to go to Lingao will naturally see our capital. If you arrive in Lingao and feel it is not a place to stay for long, we will give you grain and gunpowder as a gift, and you are free to come and go. We will never eat our words."

Seeing is believing. Rather than wasting breath explaining how much technology and industry they possessed that these people didn't understand, it was better to let them see the power of cannons and motorboats with their own eyes. Moreover, over the past year, news that the Australians had big iron ships, fast boats, fast guns, and exploding shells had spread widely in Fujian and Guangdong. Especially the incident where Liu Xiang used Spanish galleons to launch a night attack on Lingao and suffered a disastrous defeat had spread everywhere. It couldn't fail to influence these people.

In addition, Lin Baiguang was deeply convinced that the vigorous and upward social atmosphere gradually shaped by the Crossing Group in Lingao over the past year would infect this group of muddle-headed pirate leaders—everyone had ideals.

Fatty Hu said: "I am also willing to go to Lingao!"

Lin Dan also nodded at this time: "I am also willing to go."

In this atmosphere, everyone expressed their willingness to go one after another. At least they were willing to go and see if the Australians were a power worth seeking refuge with.

Lin Baiguang saw that some leaders still didn't speak, just remaining silent. He thought that rather than letting them stay silent now and stumble in the dark later, it was better to speak openly and be aboveboard. So he said: "This matter is absolutely not forced. For those willing to go to Lingao, my Lingao will welcome you with open arms! If you are unwilling to go, just do as you please."

In the end, about thirty ships were unwilling to go to Lingao and planned to seek their own way out. The remaining nearly eighty ships expressed their willingness to go to Lingao. From Dadan Islet to Lingao was still a sea journey of several days. The fleet had both large and small ships, so it was inconvenient to take the outer ocean route. Taking the inner sea route meant preparing for the possibility of encountering Liu Xiang's fleet. To facilitate command, everyone elected Shi Shisi as the general manager. Shi Shisi had the ships with more ammunition spare some for those without, and had the women, children, old, and weak board a few large ships to avoid distraction during fighting.

Arrangements settled, everyone returned to their ships to prepare. They prepared to set sail for Lingao at dawn.

Lin Baiguang was very excited inside. He hadn't expected the persuasion work to be so smooth. It seemed that the effort put in on Nanri Island was not in vain. However, he didn't dare to show his excitement on his face. The more critical the moment, the less one can be paralyzed by carelessness, he secretly reminded himself.

Just as he was about to go to sleep, Shi Shisi suddenly came.

"Brother Lin, from now on we are one family. I'll need your care, brother!" As Shi Shisi spoke, his attitude became respectful. He brought up a small box. Opening it, there were yellows and greens—all precious jewelry, glittering and dazzling the eyes.

"This is a small token of the leaders' appreciation."

"The brothers are being too polite!" Faced with treasure, Lin Baiguang was not unmoved, but on second thought, what use did he have for it? So he changed to an extremely sincere attitude and said, "Brother Shi! These valuables were earned by the brothers with swords and spears. How can I take them? My conscience would be uneasy if I took them. Brother, don't worry. Lingao is currently in need of people. Once everyone goes, they will naturally have a good future."

"Good, I trust Brother's words." Seeing his sincere and determined attitude, Shi Shisi didn't insist anymore.

Chen Haiyang, Wei Aiwen, and Ran Yao were inspecting the men and ships preparing to be sent out from Bopu to recruit the remnants of Zhu Cailao. To prevent failing to recruit them and being eaten instead, they decided out of caution that it was better to equip a small fleet to set out, at least having the ability to protect themselves. They now had the twelve large ships brought by He Xin. These ships were all seagoing vessels of over two or three hundred tons. Once equipped, they would be enough for self-defense.

The Navy carried out simple modifications to the ships, removing the various iron cannons of different quality and calibers, and replacing them with "low-configuration" naval guns designed by the Weapon Design Team.

The so-called low-configuration naval guns adhered to the principle of "high-low mix," equipping naval artillery that was simple to manufacture and low in cost. It consisted of 24-pounder smoothbore cannons and 48-pounder short-barreled carronades, specially equipped for sailing warships. They also planned to use them for export in the future.

These ships would be sufficient for self-defense at sea after being fully equipped with artillery and ammunition. After several days of education and propaganda, some of the sailors who came with He Xin had already expressed their willingness to defect to Lingao. Chen Haiyang decided to staff each ship with one-third of them, filling the rest with Navy sailors and Marines.

While they were busy as bees, Chen Lidi suddenly ran out of the Port Affairs Office out of breath and reported to him that Lin Baiguang was back.

"He's back? Where? Where?" Ran Yao asked repeatedly.

"Just passed Ma'niao! He met the Third Patrol Detachment! He brought back quite a few ships!"

Hearing that he brought back many ships, Chen Haiyang couldn't help but feel a burst of joy and hurriedly asked again: "Are they Zhu Cailao's ships? How many are there?"

"Quite a lot, fully seventy or eighty. More than a thousand people." Li Di couldn't suppress the joy in his heart. "He boarded Le Lin's flagship and just spoke with me."

"Seventy or eighty! What kind of ships are they?"

"Big and small, many are large ships!"

Seventy or eighty ships! This was hitting the jackpot! Even if they were all small-tonnage ships like the Lingao Trawlers, it would be a considerable increase to the Crossing Group's maritime power, not to mention they all came with sailors.

"Let's go, let's go take a look." Chen Haiyang couldn't restrain his joy—Zhu Cailao was really helpful, sending two big gifts one after another.

"No need to rush; the ships haven't passed Ma'niao yet." Li Di smiled like a flower. "Lin Baiguang said: as soon as they entered the Qiongzhou Strait, the beacon towers along the coast were lit up one after another—probably scared out of their wits."

"We should still go to meet them to show seriousness." Wei Aiwen proposed, "At least an Executive Committee member should be sent..."

"I'll go," Chen Haiyang said. "I'm the head of the Navy, after all!"

That Lin Baiguang actually pulled so many ships back in one breath was not only an accident in the eyes of Chen Haiyang and the others, but also an accident in Ran Yao's view. getting twelve large ships from Zhu Cailao was already a remarkable achievement.

(End of Chapter)