Chapter 697 - Enticement
"Now that's the kind of thinking I like!" Zheng Bao clapped Wang You heartily on the shoulder. "We'll do it your way. Find the earliest opportunity to make contact with this Shi fellow. Whatever silver he wants—done. We'll make him commander of three flotillas, put seven or eight ships under him. If it's official rank he's after, we'll have the Lê dynasty grant him a title higher than anything the Australians have given him!"
"This is merely one card among many," Wang You cautioned, his expression grave. "Boss, all these approaches are sidelines at best. If we can avoid playing them, we shouldn't."
"Meaning what, exactly?" Zheng Bao looked impatient, but still waited for the answer.
"The superior strategy remains alliance with the Australians." Wang You leaned forward. "They've become a formidable power—capable, it seems, of rivaling even the great Zheng Zhilong himself. Far better to befriend such men than make enemies of them."
He pressed the point repeatedly: the Australians were absolutely not to be trifled with. Once hostilities began, Zheng Bao's forces would likely prove inadequate to oppose them. Peace served both parties.
"Even if we must offer them greater concessions—even acknowledge them as overlords—what of it? With an Australian banner flying above us, wouldn't our operations proceed even more smoothly? And if, someday, that banner becomes inconvenient, we simply raise our own flag once more."
Zheng Bao considered this in brooding silence. At last he slapped his thigh.
"Damn it all, we'll do it that way. I'll learn from Han Xin!" He turned to Wang You. "Advisor, I'll follow your counsel on this. But we absolutely cannot accept their terms wholesale."
"Of course not—if we did, our men and ships would simply become theirs."
"Exactly. We keep that capital firmly in our own hands." Zheng Bao swung toward Jin Caifa. "Afa! You'll need to make a few more trips."
"Whatever the Boss commands!"
"Tell that Haiyang fellow this: I, Zheng Bao, am willing to acknowledge them as overlords. We'll fly their flag. When we take plunder or ransom, we'll immediately give them a third of the cut—while demanding nothing from their prizes." Zheng Bao's voice grew more confident. "In exchange, we won't require their provisions. But when our brothers need to anchor at Lingao to repair ships or resupply, they must accommodate us."
He added another stipulation: "Make it absolutely clear—we'll 'respond to the call but not report for duty.' They shouldn't think they can order us about to fight their wars at will. Whether we fight together, and against whom—everything must be agreed upon by our brothers first."
"Understood," Jin Caifa said. "I'll set out tomorrow."
"No rush. Rest two days first." Zheng Bao waved dismissively. "If we seem too eager, we'll look desperate. With over a hundred ships sitting here, the Australians' vessels won't dare sail around carelessly either."
He turned back to Wang You. "If this still doesn't work, we bring that Shi fellow over to our side and give them a proper thrashing! Let them learn what we're made of! A few fast ships doesn't mean they can dominate these seas!"
"Very well." Wang You dared not suggest that if negotiations failed, they should flee rather than court destruction through battle. "The Boss has thought everything through most thoroughly."
"Advisor Wang, how confident are you in turning Shi Fourteen to our side?" Jin Caifa asked once they were alone in the cabin.
"Half and half." Wang You shook his head slightly. "Shi Fourteen has been with the Australians for some time now. I don't know how well he's faring there. If he's doing well, it will be extremely difficult."
Privately, he assessed his true odds at no better than twenty or thirty percent. Had this been shortly after Shi Fourteen first joined the crop-heads, persuading him might not have been difficult. But now, having risen to a certain position among the Australians, convincing him to abandon all that and start anew would prove a far steeper challenge.
"Looking at his appearance, he seems unremarkable enough," Jin Caifa mused. "Wearing the same coarse cloth as the crop-heads. When we brothers went into battle, even a junior assistant would have worn silk!"
Wang You snorted with laughter and rapped Jin Caifa's head. "That skull of yours is empty! What do a few clothes signify? Didn't you notice their top leaders also wear plain cloth? Perhaps in Australia, only the wealthy and powerful wear homespun, while common folk must content themselves with silk and satin."
He turned serious again. "To sway Shi Fourteen, there's only one path: promise him a fortune. Then we might have a chance. Everything depends on how much silver the Boss is willing to spend."
Though Zheng Bao had declared "whatever silver he wants is no problem," Wang You knew the old camp's treasury held perhaps ten thousand taels. At most, they could produce two or three thousand. Whether this would suffice to move Shi Fourteen remained uncertain.
Wang You made his decision. "This matter—I'll handle it myself."
"You're going personally?"
"I was once Boss Zhu's old camp manager. Shi Fourteen should at least accord me some face. Even if the talks fail, he won't turn hostile."
Having conferred privately with Zheng Bao, they agreed: Wang You would first travel to Hong Kong Island under the pretense of offering allegiance, then during the bargaining process, find some way to board Shi Fourteen's ship for secret discussions.
After two days' rest, Jin Caifa set out once more with the delegation—this time a considerably larger entourage of over forty men. They also brought a two-masted rice boat laden with pigs, sheep, wine, and other provisions. Zheng Bao had spared no expense: from his collection of treasures, he selected a dozen valuable jewels as gifts for Chen Haiyang and his colleagues, with additional pieces for Wang You to use in bribing Shi Fourteen.
Chen Haiyang received the delegation again. After enduring a torrent of flattering remarks, he still couldn't determine Jin Caifa's actual purpose. Only after much circuitous conversation did he grasp that Jin Caifa was bargaining with him.
The pirates' demands were straightforward: their forces must not be divided and must remain united. Furthermore, they would "respond to the call but not report for duty." Chen Haiyang had never understood what this pretentious phrase actually meant, but eventually grasped its essence: the pirates wanted maximum independence. Zheng Bao's proposal amounted to a loose alliance—essentially an agreement to raid and split the spoils together.
Chen Haiyang naturally refused such terms. Though this Pearl River Estuary operation was intended to create maximum impact, he had no intention of allowing the Australasian Song's reputation to be tarnished by a gang of pirates. He rejected Zheng Bao's proposal outright.
While both sides haggled, Wang You had slipped ashore among the attendants carrying gifts. He used the opportunity to note the hull number of Shi Fourteen's ship and study the surrounding terrain and sentries.
Only upon closer inspection did Wang You realize that many Australian vessels, though resembling the common Guang ships and Fu ships of these waters, had all been refitted and modified. Gun ports had been cut into their hulls, cannons installed below deck. Wheel-like mechanisms were mounted on the stern castles, and each ship's masts bristled with small accessories he couldn't comprehend. At first glance, they somewhat resembled the red-haired ships of the Europeans.
The sailors all wore blue-and-white short jackets, looking both clean and spirited—more uniform than government troops. They appeared well-trained. What surprised him most was that every sailor was constantly occupied: if not scrubbing decks or tidying rigging, they were drilling. Every ship was pristine and orderly. Such strict discipline was something he had never witnessed.
The Australians are truly extraordinary! Wang You marveled silently. No wonder Boss Zhu had suffered such devastating losses yet still refused to go to war against them—the man had his reasons. This thought made him miss Zhu Cailao all the more, and his contempt for Zheng Bao deepened.
Contempt aside, the plan to turn Shi Fourteen still had to proceed. Otherwise, he would have no way to answer to Zheng Bao.
The relationship between Wang You and Zheng Bao was fraught with tension. Zheng Bao didn't trust Wang You, and Wang You knew it. This made him even more cautious around Zheng Bao, constantly trying to gauge his thoughts and speak to his wishes, desperate to avoid straining their relationship. But this very caution made Zheng Bao more suspicious still, convinced that Wang You was always holding something back.
This suspicion had grown increasingly severe, forcing Wang You to take countermeasures.
Yet after lengthy observation, he found the Australians' defenses impossibly tight. All vessels not at dock were anchored in precise formations, with guards layered from perimeter to core. The outermost ring consisted of patrolling rowboats. Every ship posted lookouts fore and aft, constantly scanning the sea. Armed sentries stood beside moored vessels. Watchtowers rose on shore. Judging from the firewood piles gathered nearby, these watches continued day and night. Even rowing a small boat in darkness to pay a secret visit would surely be detected.
Wang You decided to try his luck approaching openly. Together with his attendants, he carried several baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables to the jetty and begged a hired local manning a small boat to ferry him to Lint Special 51.
"These fruits and vegetables are for the troops. We need to deliver them to each ship. Please help, brother." Wang You bowed and scraped, producing a small red envelope.
"Without a boat pass, you cannot use the small boats." The sentry leveled his musket horizontally. "Vegetables and such must all go through logistics in a unified manner. You cannot deliver directly to ships."
Wang You added another red envelope. "Please make an exception, young brother..."
"No means no." A glint of greed flickered in the hired local's eyes, kindling Wang You's hope—but it vanished in an instant. "If I took your silver, I'd be done for. Go on, leave!"
Wang You returned without success. He noticed several fishing boats approaching the bay, apparently hoping to sell vegetables and fresh fish to the fleet. This seemed promising. But he was quickly disappointed to discover that all provisions were purchased through unified channels. Fishermen and vegetable vendors were forbidden from approaching the large ships, let alone boarding them—they could only land at designated inspection and trade areas.
So I'd have to swim to get aboard? Wang You thought dejectedly. Swimming several li through a pitch-dark bay at night exceeded his abilities. Besides, in the darkness, a sentry's shot the moment he touched the hull would mean throwing away his life for nothing.
(End of Chapter)