Chapter 1168 - The Colonization and Trade Minister

Lin Shimao had taken precautions, certainly—but he hadn't taken the threat entirely seriously. After all, Jinjiang County seat practically abutted Anping Town, and he worked for the Zheng family. Anyone contemplating a move against him would have to think long and hard.

He never imagined his opponents would be so ruthless—slipping in silently to simply snatch him from his bed, bundling killing, robbery, and kidnapping into one seamless operation with the brazen manner of outsider brigands who feared nothing. Only during his interrogation did he finally grasp his captors' true identity.

These were the Australians.

The Australians had become a fearsome name on the waters between Fujian and Guangdong. They had once fought their way to the very gates of Guangzhou, staining the Pearl River crimson with blood...

Realizing into whose hands he had fallen, Lin Shimao went cold to his bones. Stammering, he confessed that Senkyu Sho and Li Shun had indeed been hired by him—for two hundred taels of silver.

"...It was someone I didn't recognize who gave me the instructions. Truly, I'd never seen this person before—a middle-aged man who looked like a well-off shopkeeper. He simply said he needed to hire two men who were bold, unafraid of death, and willing to kill. Once I'd found them, I handed them over to her..."

"You're a gambling den boss with some standing. You just take orders from a stranger who wanders in off the street to hire killers? You don't know how things work?" Xu Ke gestured with his chin. "Give Master Lin a little reminder."

The team member raised his pliers again. Lin Shimao, sweating through his agony, could hold out no longer. He told them everything he knew.

He truly hadn't recognized the messenger—but the man had carried a calling card from Zheng Zhifeng. And in Jinjiang County, no one dared disobey any of the Zheng family's young masters.

"It was Zheng Zhifeng?"

"Yes..." The realization that he had just betrayed the Zheng family's Third Young Master sent Lin Shimao into another cold sweat. On one side stood the ruthless Australians; on the other, the local tyrant Zheng family. He had now mortally offended both powers—his entire household was finished.

"The card?" Xu Ke paused. In hindsight, he should have seized that card as well—it would have been direct physical evidence. "Where did you put it?"

"He just showed it to me, then took it back."

"Took it back?" Xu Ke's expression conveyed naked disbelief. Lin Shimao, dreading more torture, pleaded desperately:

"Sir! What kind of figure am I? Just showing me the card was already giving me face—how could I possibly dare ask him to leave it behind!"

Xu Ke knew further questioning would yield little more. He signaled, and team members led Lin Shimao away. That night, under cover of darkness, he would be loaded onto a ship bound for Kaohsiung.

Though they hadn't secured the most direct physical evidence, having Lin Shimao as a witness was sufficient—after all, the prevailing legal philosophy of this era still elevated oral confessions above all else.

But their mission wasn't yet complete.

Just as the report on the Vestreling case was being submitted to the Executive Committee and the Senate Standing Committee, a motion had emerged: to declare war on Zheng Zhilong and use this crisis to eliminate the formidable force on the Fujian coast.

Though the two sides had formed a loose commercial partnership through the private salt trade, mutual trust was obviously thin. Zheng Zhilong restrained himself only because he feared the Australian fleet and acknowledged his own woefully backward capabilities for blue-water warfare. In the long run, a falling-out between the two sides was inevitable.

The material from the Vestreling case, once reported in detail to Lingao, immediately stirred a clamor for war against Zheng Zhilong—and Wei Bachi's behind-the-scenes maneuvering played no small part in this.

To minimize his own responsibility, he had to redirect everyone's attention. Wei Bachi had long mastered this approach. His methods in Kaohsiung had already drawn criticism from certain Senate quarters. Now, with this embarrassing incident to answer for, avoiding a "medical leave" would require stirring up as much public opinion as possible—the more the better—letting Zheng Zhilong draw the Senate's fire.

If the Senate went to war with Zheng Zhilong, Kaohsiung would become a frontline base. To ensure stable operations there, the Executive Committee would never replace its commander mid-campaign. After a victorious conclusion brought general celebration, no one would bother pursuing the Kaohsiung mayor's problems—and even if they did, it would merely be for show. A "properly contrite and profound self-criticism" would settle everything.

After drafting his report, Wei Bachi expounded at length during a dinner gathering of Kaohsiung Elders about Zheng Zhilong's underhanded schemes and treacherous conspiracy, putting on a performance of righteous indignation.

Though Liu Zheng was a Han supremacist—and to him, "white apes" like the Dutch were far more detestable than Zheng Zhilong—he cared even more about the dignity of the Senate. Upon hearing that the Zheng family organization had resorted to such underhanded tactics, seriously damaging the Senate's prestige and image, he flew into a rage.

As head of the "Huaxia Society," the Han supremacist faction among the Elders, Liu Zheng immediately telegraphed members back home, demanding they introduce a motion in the Senate for the immediate destruction of Zheng Zhilong.

He then dispatched a messenger carrying his confidential letter aboard a refugee transport ship returning to Lingao, addressed to Chang Shide. Beyond brief pleasantries, the letter outlined the general course of events and shared his views on Kaohsiung's current situation and future development. Chang Shide, the driving force behind the Guangzhou-Leizhou faction, understood the implications immediately and set to work behind the scenes.

Thus the Senate's calls for war against Zheng Zhilong grew ever louder—though internally, fierce debate had always swirled around how exactly to formulate policy toward the Zheng family.

(End of Chapter)