Chapter 179: Operation Banyan

Of course, the leader didn’t call him here to listen to how difficult things were, but to get things done. But before getting things done, it was best to emphasize the difficulties first, lest the leader think the matter was easy to handle.

Besides, what he said was the truth. The transmigrator group knew little about the internal affairs of the pirates. To recruit defectors, they needed connections within the enemy’s ranks, otherwise, there was no way to start.

Currently, the transmigrator group had a batch of pirate prisoners. Some had been integrated into the army and navy, some had become laborers in the commune, and others were still serving as hard laborers in the labor reform team. Lin Baiguang believed that even those who had joined the army and navy and were considered “reliable” had only been part of the “revolution” for a short time. Their loyalty to the transmigrator group was not yet high, and their “revolutionary will” was not very firm. It was not suitable to send them back into the enemy camp to risk their lives and engage in “infiltrating and pulling out” enemy work.

“The feasible approach is to make a surprise move using our existing connections.”

The existing connection Lin Baiguang referred to was Shi Shisi. This person was not part of Zhu Cailao’s core team. From interrogating prisoners, they knew that pirate groups placed great importance on blood ties. The members of the core group were almost all relatives. Even if they were not related by blood, they were servants or adopted sons, with strong personal dependencies. Shi Shisi had none of these.

“It will be very difficult to win over Zhu Cailao’s core members—and there will be repercussions even if we do. So my idea is to win over the men of peripheral, lower-level chieftains like Shi Shisi. First, their scale is small, making them easy for us to absorb and digest. Second, they are in the middle and lower echelons of the group, so they won’t feel a sense of loss of status when they come to us.”

This type of peripheral backbone figure had a sense of dependence on the group but was not blindly loyal, much like an employee in a modern company. When the ship was about to sink, he would definitely jump ship. Relatively speaking, it would be easier to win them over.

“What do you plan to do?”

“First, allow me to get a detailed understanding of Shi Shisi’s situation,” Lin Baiguang said. “I would like to ask the Executive Committee to let me be the negotiation representative. This way, I can have a reason to directly contact Shi Shisi and talk to him more, to understand his thoughts, build a relationship, and prepare for the next step.”

“No problem,” Ran Yao said. The Executive Committee had no intention of negotiating with Zhu Cailao anyway. It was perfect to have Lin Baiguang play along with him.

So, the next day, Lin Baiguang became the negotiation representative. He first asked Wu Fo, the director of the technical department of the General Political Security Department, to set up a “bugged room.”

“This is very easy,” Wu Fo was a seemingly honest but inwardly cunning middle-aged man, an electronics engineer by trade, with a fanatical passion for electronic surveillance. Now he could practice his profession openly—peering into the secrets of others made him feel rejuvenated every day.

“The target of the surveillance is…” Ran Yao explained the mission.

“If the other party has no concept of recording, it’s simple: the equipment doesn’t need to be too advanced. A simple microphone for sound pickup and a cassette tape for recording will do.”

Wu Fo was keen on cassette tapes because, compared to sophisticated digital devices like voice recorders and computers, cassette recorders and tapes were more suitable for the future productive forces and technological level of the transmigrator group.

So, Shi Shisi was arranged to stay in a luxurious room in a merchant’s lodge. It was the most high-end room in the lodge, with comfortable and luxurious furnishings. The room was equipped with a microphone and a camera. It was specially designed to entertain distinguished native guests. Since such things did not exist in this time and space, the concealment work was done very simply. Next to this room was a small secret chamber, connected by a dedicated secret passage and staircase. Inside, recording equipment and a monitor were installed, allowing two people to listen in simultaneously.

Next, Lin Baiguang found someone from the former Zhu Cailao group who had “joined the revolution” and was relatively familiar with Shi Shisi, and asked him to accompany Shi Shisi for meals and outings for a few days to reminisce about old times.

“Your mission is to make sure he eats well and has a good time, understand?” Lin Baiguang raised his eyelids and looked at the man in the naval uniform. Beads of sweat were forming on his forehead from being suddenly summoned by the General Political Security Department—everyone knew that these guys in their colorful uniforms, with blue collar tabs, were the “Embroidered Uniform Guard” of the Australians.

“The daily expense is 100 circulation coupons. Don’t be afraid to spend money.”

“Yes, sir!” the man snapped to attention and saluted.

“Whatever he thinks, whatever he says, report to me every night.”

“Understood, sir!”

“Go!”

The man saluted and quickly retreated. Lin Baiguang then called Dugu Qiuhun and sent an email on the OA system—containing digital photos of Shi Shisi and the person sent to accompany him. Dugu, as the chief of the Dongmen Market police station, had control over undercover agents and part-time informants.

“Start 24-hour surveillance on these two men tomorrow. Give me a surveillance report every day.”

“Who are you?!” Dugu Qiuhun’s tone was impatient.

“I’m Lin Baiguang from the General Political Security Department. Is there a problem?”

“Oh, oh, from the General Political Security Department. No problem, no problem.”

“General Political Security Department, what’s there to be so arrogant about!” Dugu Qiuhun muttered to himself, pursing his lips.

Shi Shisi was happily enjoying VIP treatment in Dongmen Market. He had come from a poor background. Although he had made some money as a pirate, he had few places to spend it. An occasional landing for a bit of debauchery was considered good. Arriving in the bustling world of Dongmen Market, his eyes were overwhelmed. He wished he could experience everything he had never seen or eaten before. The person accompanying him also did his best to please, spending money freely. At night, when the biogas lamps and carbide lamps on the streets were all lit, Shi Shisi sat behind the large glass window of a restaurant, looking at the brightly lit street with a look of utter fascination.

Unfortunately, in terms of the richness of its nightlife, Dongmen Market was still extremely backward. The quality of the streetwalkers here was scorned by Shi Shisi. Given that brothels could be a source of instability, and that everyone was still quite hesitant about being a brothel owner, Dongmen Market was still in its initial stages in this regard.

According to reports from various sources, Shi Shisi was captivated by Dongmen Market and full of curiosity about the Australians—when he was captured last time, he had only felt fear. This time, his return to Lincheng was a world of difference, a truly earth-shaking change. Everything he saw was new to him.

In conversation, when Zhu Cailao’s situation was mentioned, Shi Shisi was not reticent, revealing that the brothers were all tired of fighting. Being a pirate was, after all, for personal wealth and enjoyment. Picking on the weak was the best. What was the point if you had to fight for your life all day long!

Shi Shisi couldn’t help but recall the good old days more than a decade ago. At that time, he followed Zhu Cailao, turning the Fujian and Guangdong seas upside down, both smuggling and robbing. The useless government forces were completely powerless against them. Although the various groups would occasionally fight amongst themselves, it never reached the point of a life-or-death struggle like with Zheng Zhilong. Speaking of which, Shi Shisi had an extreme hatred for Zheng Zhilong, saying that if it weren’t for this turncoat, the lives of all the good men of the sea would not be so difficult.

Lin Baiguang let him eat, drink, and be merry for a few days. After reviewing the full surveillance reports and listening to the recordings, he had a basic grasp of the man’s personality and temperament before officially making contact with Shi Shisi.

Although the 17th-century pirate chieftain was not necessarily inferior in intelligence to a 21st-century civil servant, when it came to the art of building relationships and drinking, Shi Shisi was far inferior to an old hand in the officialdom like Lin Baiguang—not to mention that Lin Baiguang had been a director of a general office, a position always held by “capable people.”

Besides wining and dining with Shi Shisi, he did not neglect the pirate sailors staying in Bopu. He personally accompanied them to the bathhouse, drank tea with them, and seeing their ragged clothes, he even had the clothing factory fetch dozens of sets of sailor’s work clothes for them, including both outer and inner garments—this small expense won the hearts of many.

In the evening, he hosted a banquet at the Banbiantian Restaurant, treating the sailors to a feast of good food and wine. These pirate sailors, either poor fishermen or bankrupt peasants who had fled the land, although they risked their lives for money in the pirate gangs and lived a decent life, were still the lowest of the low. Receiving such warm hospitality upon their arrival, they were naturally very moved. In addition, he was generous and eloquent. Within two days, all the pirate sailors were calling him brother. Lin Baiguang had an excellent memory and could call out everyone’s name after a few cups of wine. He always believed that sometimes, a chance encounter and a small act of kindness could play a decisive role at a critical moment.

After dinner, Lin Baiguang thoughtfully instructed Dugu Qiuhun to summon all the prostitutes in Dongmen Market to serve the sailors—the cost was naturally covered by the General Political Security Department’s activity funds.

Dugu Qiuhun complained loudly about his instructions, directly calling Ma Qianzhu to complain.

“It’s fine. If he wants to summon prostitutes, let him!” Ma Qianzhu said nonchalantly over the phone.

“Using public funds to summon prostitutes, there’s no such precedent…”

“He’s on a mission. Just do as he asks.”

So Dugu Qiuhun had no choice but to send a policeman to the street to handle the matter.

Dealing with Shi Shisi was naturally not so simple. Fortunately, besides drinking and bathing, Lin Baiguang also had a new weapon from the 20th century, enough to handle this 17th-century bumpkin.

That night, after Shi Shisi was full and drunk, he was taken to a windowless room in the merchant’s lodge. A projector hung from the ceiling, projecting the blue Toshiba logo onto the white wall.

Before Shi Shisi could figure out what was happening, the room lit up. He was so startled he almost screamed—lifelike figures had suddenly appeared on the wall!

“Calm down.”

Soon, Shi Shisi relaxed, and then became tense again—but this time, the tension was the result of a massive release of hormones. The sounds of “yamete” and a woman’s ambiguous moans filled the room.

The power of Teacher Sora Aoi is infinite. Shi Shisi was naturally no match and was utterly defeated. Lin Baiguang watched coldly. Halfway through the film, he had approached several times, trying to touch certain parts of Teacher Sora Aoi’s body with his hands. However, he was clearly puzzled by the colorful, ever-changing mosaic between the woman’s thighs.

After one film was finished, Shi Shisi eagerly asked, “What… is this…” His face was a mixture of shock and confusion, and saliva was dribbling from the corner of his mouth. He looked like a lecherous old man seeing a pornographic magazine for the first time.

“This is a secret art from Australia, called AV.”

“Eh-vee?” Shi Shisi nodded repeatedly. “Good, good. Can I watch it again?”

“Wouldn’t it be boring to watch it again?” So he showed him an uncensored film. This time, Shi Shisi’s blood boiled, and he almost couldn’t control himself. Lin Baiguang thoughtfully arranged for a prostitute to be in his room.

After this, the friendship between the two progressed by leaps and bounds, and they became able to talk about anything. Shi Shisi had originally thought the Australians’ place was “not bad,” but now he felt it was “very good.” He even asked several times what the Australians’ plans were in Lincheng, whether they intended to stay long-term, and if they had plans to expand their influence here. Lin Baiguang believed that besides trying to gather information for Zhu Cailao, this inquiry also implied an assessment of a new potential boss. This made him much more confident in winning over Shi Shisi.

A few days later, he went to Ran Yao and proposed his plan.

“What? You want to go back with Shi Shisi to Zhu Cailao’s place?”

“That’s right,” Lin Baiguang nodded. “I’ve talked to Shi Shisi and sounded him out—he’s very worried about his future. From his words, I can tell that if Zhu Cailao falls into a desperate situation, he will definitely not die for his leader.”

“In that case, can’t we just win him over directly?”

“I think winning him over is not a problem. He’s very envious of our conditions here. But his strength is too small,” Lin Baiguang said. “Shi Shisi only has seven ships and less than four hundred men. Bringing him over directly is meaningless to us.”

So he thought Shi Shisi was too small a fish. Ran Yao thought to himself that the Executive Committee hadn’t specified how high their expectations were, but if it was just a matter of winning over Shi Shisi, that achievement was clearly not impressive enough.

“You have a big appetite. What do you plan to do?”

“There are many other peripheral backbone figures like Shi Shisi in the Zhu Cailao group. But these people don’t have the same direct impression of our strength as Shi Shisi does, so when they look to join other groups, they definitely won’t consider us as their first choice.” Lin Baiguang explained his plan: since they were going to join a new force, and they didn’t know much about this force, they would inevitably have many doubts. At this time, if there was a representative on the scene to explain things, the effect would be much better—it was like a company holding a job fair on-site.

Infiltrating the enemy’s ranks to subvert them was a traditional trick of enemy work. It was not surprising that Lin Baiguang would think of it, but it required extraordinary courage. Ran Yao admired his bravery.

“What identity will you use to go to Zhu Cailao’s place? Shi Shisi can’t possibly take you there secretly.”

“I’ve thought about it. I’ll go as an official negotiation envoy. I’ll ask the Executive Committee to give me a detailed negotiation plan, exactly like a real one.” Although they had no intention of negotiating with him, they had to prepare as if they were, to lower the enemy’s guard.

“No problem,” Ran Yao said. “But the other party is a fleet. When you get to Zhu Cailao’s ship, how much room will you have to move around? Even if you dock for rest, it won’t be convenient for you to go from ship to ship.”

Lin Baiguang said that Shi Shisi had revealed an important piece of information—Zhu Cailao was currently at Nanri.

Nanri Island is the third largest island in Fujian Province, located at the junction of Xinghua Bay and Pinghai Bay. Besides the main island, there are over a hundred other islands and reefs. The island is 73 nautical miles from Hsinchu Port in Taiwan. Its geographical location is excellent, making it a suitable anchorage for the trade route to Taiwan. The island is surrounded by deep-water channels, and the famous Nanri Waterway has always been a major north-south transportation hub at sea. Zhu Cailao’s choice to entrench himself here was obviously an attempt to get a piece of the Taiwan trade route.

In the early Ming Dynasty, a water stockade had been established here to guard against Japanese pirates. Although it was later abandoned, it was still under the jurisdiction of the nearby Qingshan Inspection Office. However, in this time and space, due to the neglect of coastal defense by the Ming army, this place had long become a target for various maritime groups. Right now, Zhu Cailao’s men were there.

Since Zhu Cailao was at Nanri, as an envoy, he would inevitably be sent to Nanri Island for talks. Once on the island, even if his movements were restricted, he would at least have some room to move around. Besides, he didn’t plan to directly incite them to defect to Lincheng, but to build a certain degree of trust through interpersonal communication.

Lin Baiguang continued to explain his plan: he would use his status as an envoy to contact Zhu Cailao, feign willingness to support him, and haggle over the specific terms. The real purpose was to stall for time. During his stay, he would use Shi Shisi to get to know a group of peripheral, middle- and lower-level chieftains. When Zhu Cailao was defeated in his attack on Min’an and morale collapsed, he would then incite them to defect to Lincheng.

“How is that possible? Your talks with Zhu Cailao won’t last a month. At most, it will be over in three to five days. I’ve been in public security for a long time, and there’s a saying: ‘rogues are full of tricks.’ People in the underworld, the higher their level, the more suspicious they are. If he gets suspicious, you’re dead! Even if he doesn’t suspect you, when the talks are over and he asks you to leave, you can’t just refuse to go, can you?”

“We don’t have much time anyway. It’s only thirty days until Zhu Cailao’s death. I’ll find a way to stay—for this plan to succeed, I must be in his fleet when he is defeated.”

“Not only is it wishful thinking, but it’s also too dangerous,” Ran Yao said. “Even if you have some understanding of pirates, you may not be able to accurately grasp the emotions and psychology of such a motley crew. Besides, won’t Zhu Cailao have his own people planted in the fleet? If you jump out to make connections, whether others believe you or not is one thing, but you might get killed directly.”

“That’s why we have to act after the defeat at Min’an,” Lin Baiguang insisted on his plan. After the defeat at Min’an, Zhu Cailao’s fleet was pursued by Zheng Zhilong and the Ming army and was soon defeated and killed at Nanri. At that time, he could not effectively control all his ships; at most, he could only control his own core team. During a rout, when morale is low and everyone is looking for a way out, a rallying cry has a high chance of success.