Chapter 204: Defection

Lin Dan said, “Don’t you guys daydream. Back then, Xiang Yu said, ‘I have no face to see the elders of Jiangdong.’ Why? Three thousand men followed him to war, and not a single one came back! You’ve been out in the world for these years, how many of your hometown’s nephews, relatives, and fellow villagers have come out with you, and how many have died? You think you can go back and live a peaceful life just like that? It would be strange if the old mothers and widows of those brothers didn’t kick down your door!”

Lin Dan continued, “When you go ashore, you’ll all be rich. It’s not like no one knows what you’ve been doing all these years. Without a sword or spear in your hand, aren’t you just a big fat sheep? Even if the government doesn’t come looking for trouble, if those evil gentry want to find fault with you, won’t you have to obediently spit out your silver?”

“Furthermore, who among those present here doesn’t have an enemy these years? Those who have killed people’s parents, taken people’s wives and daughters, burned people’s houses… At that time, when everyone comes to seek revenge, it’s hard to say whether you can keep your life!”

When Fatty Hu heard this, he sat down dejectedly. Those who had been thinking of going home also fell silent.

There was no future in defecting to other big gangs, and it was impossible to start their own business. Even the final return home to enjoy their fortune had become fraught with difficulties.

They were at a dead end. This feeling strongly seized their hearts, as if an endless darkness was enveloping everyone’s head.

At this time, Lin Baiguang stood up. He coughed:

“Everyone, why don’t we go to Lingao?”

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

Shi Shisi also seemed to remember: “That’s right, let’s go and defect to the Australians!”

However, everyone still looked at Lin Baiguang with doubtful eyes—what was said while drinking was one thing, but when it came to the real thing, they had to think it over carefully.

“Brothers!” Lin Baiguang had been saving up his energy for this moment. At this moment, the soul of the director of the county’s investment promotion office possessed him! He began to elaborate on the draft he had been working on for several weeks, emphasizing that Lingao was currently in a state of waiting for everything to be done. If everyone went to defect, they would surely be given important positions. Moreover, the Australians occupied Lingao, and whether it was for ship repairs or stationing, they had a base. Everyone would have a house and would not have to drift on the sea like in the past, suffering from the hardship of lack of water and food.

This speech was quite moving. The hardship of drifting on the sea was not something that ordinary people could endure. But after all, the foundation of these Australians was very shallow, and they didn’t know 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!”

It was almost a final decision. Everyone looked at each other and couldn’t think of a better idea. At this time, someone suddenly asked, “I have a question, I would like to ask Brother Lin for advice!”

Lin Baiguang knew that this was the Q&A session of the investment promotion. He saw that the person who asked was a not-so-familiar leader named Li Guangfa. This person had brought three ships. He had come here by chance. He originally just wanted to get water here. Seeing that everyone was gathered here, he stayed—after all, there was strength in numbers.

“The Australians’ abilities, Brother Shi has been to Lingao and has seen them all. I don’t think he would deceive us brothers. But how long do the Australians plan 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 just go today and break up 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 cheer—he didn’t expect this Brother Lin to be so heroic.

“Brother has courage!” Li Guangfa nodded. “What if the great shopkeeper Liu or Zheng Zhilong don’t let you stay in Lingao?”

“Hehe,” Lin Baiguang smiled. “Even if Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong join forces, it’s just a pipe dream for them to drive us out of Lingao!” he said. “My words are no proof. Those who are willing to go to Lingao will naturally be shown our capital. If you feel that Lingao is not a place to stay for a long time after you arrive, we will give you food and gunpowder, and you can come and go as you please. We will never break our promise.”

Seeing is believing. Instead of wasting words explaining how much technology and industry they had that they didn’t understand, it was better to let them see the power of cannons and motorboats with their own eyes. Moreover, in the past year, the news that the Australians had large iron ships, fast boats, and fast guns and cannons had spread widely in Fujian and Guangdong. In particular, the story of Liu Xiang’s disastrous defeat when he used a Spanish galleon to attack Lingao at night had spread everywhere. It could not but have an impact on these people.

In addition, Lin Baiguang was convinced that the transmigrator group had been operating in Lingao for a year, and the vigorous and upward social atmosphere that had been gradually created there would infect this group of muddle-headed pirate leaders—everyone has 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. At least they were willing to go and see if the Australians were a force worth defecting to.

Seeing that there were still some leaders who were silent, Lin Baiguang thought to himself that instead of letting them not speak now and secretly cause trouble, it was better to speak openly and be frank. He said, “This matter is by no means forced. If you are willing to go to Lingao, I will welcome you with open arms! If you are not willing to go, you can do as you please.”

In the end, about thirty ships were unwilling to go to Lingao and planned to find their own way out. The remaining nearly eighty ships expressed their willingness to go to Lingao. From Dadanyu to Lingao, there were still several days of sea travel. There were both large and small ships in the fleet, so it was not convenient to take the outer sea route. Taking the inner sea meant preparing for the possibility of encountering Liu Xiang’s fleet. For the convenience of command, everyone publicly elected Shi Shisi as the general manager. Shi Shisi had the ships with more ammunition share some with the ships that had no ammunition, and also had the women, children, and the elderly board a few large ships to avoid distraction during battle.

After the arrangements were made, everyone returned to their ships to prepare. They were ready to set sail for Lingao at dawn.

Lin Baiguang was very excited in his heart. He had not expected the persuasion work to be so smooth. It seemed that the efforts he had made on Nanri Island were in place. However, he did not dare to show his excitement. The more critical the moment, the more he could not be careless. He secretly reminded himself.

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

“Brother Lin, from now on we are one family. I will have to rely on you for your care!” As Shi Shisi spoke, his attitude became respectful. He brought up a small box. When he opened it, it was full of yellow and green, all valuable jewelry, shining with a golden light that was dazzling.

“This is a small token from the leaders.”

“Brothers, you are too kind!” Lin Baiguang was not unmoved by the treasure, but on second thought, what use would he have for it? He changed to a very sincere attitude and said, “Brother Shi! These treasures were all earned by the brothers with their swords and spears. How can I take them? My conscience will not be at ease if I take them. Brother, don’t worry. Lingao is in need of people right now. When everyone goes, there will naturally be a good future for everyone.”

“Good, I believe you, brother.” Seeing his sincere and firm attitude, Shi Shisi did not insist.

Chen Haiyang, Wei Aiwen, and Ran Yao were inspecting the people and ships preparing to be sent out to recruit Zhu Cailao’s remnants in Bopu. In order to prevent being eaten by others instead of recruiting them, they decided out of caution that it was better to equip a small fleet to set off, at least with the ability to protect themselves. They now had the twelve large ships brought by He Xin. These ships were all sea ships of over two or three hundred tons. After being well-equipped, they were sufficient for self-protection.

The navy made simple modifications to the ships, removing the various iron cannons of varying quality and caliber, and replacing them with the “low-configuration” naval guns designed by the weapons design team.

The so-called low-configuration naval guns were based on the principle of “high and low mix,” equipped with naval artillery that was simple to manufacture and low in cost. It was composed of 24-pounder smoothbore cannons and 48-pounder short-barreled carronades, specially equipped for sailing warships. It was also planned to be used for export in the future.

After these ships were fully equipped with cannons and ammunition, they were sufficient for self-protection at sea. After a few 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 assign one-third to each ship, and the rest would be filled by navy sailors and marines.

Just as he was busy, Chen Lidi ran out of the port office, out of breath, and reported to him that Lin Baiguang had returned.

“He’s back? Where? Where?” Ran Yao asked repeatedly.

“He just passed Maniao! He encountered the third patrol squadron! He brought back dozens of ships!”

When Chen Haiyang heard that many ships had been brought back, he couldn’t help but be overjoyed. He hurriedly asked again, “Are they Zhu Cailao’s ships? How many are there?”

“Quite a few, at least seventy or eighty. More than a thousand people,” Li Di couldn’t suppress his joy. “He boarded Le Lin’s flagship and just spoke to me.”

“Seventy or eighty ships! What kind of ships are they?”

“There are large and small ones, many are large ships!”

Seventy or eighty ships! This was a huge fortune! Even if they were all small-tonnage ships like the Lingao junk, it was a considerable increase in the maritime power of the transmigrator group, not to mention that they were all equipped with sailors.

“Let’s go and have a look.” Chen Haiyang couldn’t hold back his joy—Zhu Cailao was really something, sending two big gifts one after another.

“No hurry, the ships haven’t passed Maniao yet.” Li Di’s face was like a flower with a smile. “Lin Baiguang said: as soon as they entered the Qiongzhou Strait, the beacon towers along the coast lit up one after another—they were probably scared.”

“We should still go and meet them to show our solemnity,” Wei Aiwen suggested. “At least we should send a member of the Executive Committee…”

“I’ll go,” Chen Haiyang said. “I’m the big boss of the navy!”

Lin Baiguang had actually brought back so many ships at once. This was not only an accident in the eyes of Chen Haiyang and others, but also an accident in the eyes of Ran Yao. It was already a great achievement to be able to get twelve large ships from Zhu Cailao.