Chapter 52: Deliberating on War

He slowly folded the letter neatly, put it back in the envelope. With his long experience in the officialdom, he had a set of methods for delaying and shirking any thorny political matter. Anyway, no matter how important or urgent the matter was, it couldn’t withstand the word “delay.” After a few months, who knew what new wind would be blowing in the court.

This time, he was afraid he had to show some results in pacifying the seas. The emperor had just ascended the throne and was full of enthusiasm for governing. Moreover, he had learned from the eunuchs around the emperor that the emperor was a very diligent person. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get away with constant evasion and delay. At that time, it would be very troublesome if Gao Shunqin, that hothead, submitted an impeachment memorial.

He had offended many people when he was rectifying the officialdom in Liangguang. These people had old friends and colleagues in the capital. If he handled things improperly and lost the emperor’s favor, and an impeachment memorial was submitted, the outcome was predictable—losing his official position would be the lightest punishment.

And Gao Shunqin’s attitude was really hard to predict. This person was young and was an official in the Censorate. It was inevitable that he would be arrogant—he himself had been a censor and knew their habits well.

Censor Gao hated sea merchants, pirates, and Westerners with a passion. He had advised him several times, hoping to ban trade with the Portuguese. He had always been evasive. According to the rumors outside, it seemed that he was already very dissatisfied with him.

Gao Shunqin hated the Portuguese for no other reason than their “towering ships and giant cannons,” “no one dares to approach,” and their trafficking of various contraband. Wang Zunde felt that, to a large extent, it was because there was such a place in Guangdong that “did not obey the king’s rule.”

To Wang Zunde, although the Portuguese occasionally caused some trouble for the local authorities, they were generally sensible. Being sensible did not mean that they paid the annual land rent of five hundred taels to Xiangshan County on time—this was just a drop in the bucket for the entire province of Guangdong.

Recently, the Portuguese had repeatedly sent merchants to Guangzhou to conduct activities, giving generous gifts to all parties—perhaps they had also heard about Gao Shunqin’s recent movements, so they were stepping up their activities.

Thinking again of the Portuguese’s hope to join forces with the Great Ming to attack Liu Laoxiang—the other party said that Liu Laoxiang had colluded with the “Dutch,” who had plundered the coast and occupied Penghu to build a fortress during the Tianqi reign, with ill intentions towards the Great Ming. Only God knew if this was true or false. Wang Zunde couldn’t help but sigh. The affairs on the sea were truly complicated, and the government knew nothing about this mysterious maritime world.

He paced in his study, admiring the reflection on the bamboo curtain. Suddenly, he shouted in a loud voice, “Someone!”

A personal servant appeared at the door in response.

“Go and immediately invite the two advisors, Lü and Li.”

He invited these two advisors to hear their opinions on the matter of pacifying the Guangdong seas. He was not in a hurry to see Li Fengjie. If he went to see him now, this person would just say “I will follow your lead.” Of course, since the governor-general was in charge of military affairs, it was not unreasonable for him, a governor in charge of civil administration, to say so.

As for the other provincial officials, big and small, they were all as slippery as eels. They were better than each other at shirking responsibility and delaying. Wang Zunde had been an official for many years and knew that this was not unique to Liangguang; it was the same everywhere.

If he wanted to hear some practical advice, he could only rely on his advisors.

These two men were his two confidants in his staff. Lü Yizhong had served as a prefect for several terms, and Li Xijue was a jinshi from the Tianqi reign who had never been appointed to an official position and had been living in retirement at home. Both were in their early forties to early fifties, in their prime of life. Both were well-read and had a deep understanding of various practical government affairs.

But these two advisors could not come up with any brilliant ideas for a while—strategy is based on intelligence. Without intelligence, they didn’t even know who the enemy was. How could there be any strategy?

Since the late Wanli reign, various heroes on the sea had risen and fallen. There were dozens of major groups with names recorded in official documents. But the government knew very little about their actual situation, mostly just hearsay.

As for this Liu Laoxiang, he was just a force that had risen in the early Chongzhen reign. But he had expanded the fastest recently and had become a menace at the mouth of the Pearl River, which had attracted people’s attention.

Although Lü and Li were willing to share their master’s worries, they themselves did not necessarily know more about this sea bandit than Wang Zunde. How could they offer advice? The ideas that Advisor Li racked his brains to come up with were nothing more than the old tricks that Hu Zongxian and others had used against the wokou. He couldn’t come up with anything new.

Lü Yizhong, on the other hand, had been silent. In his view, Advisor Li’s strategies were all feasible, but they could not solve the fundamental problem. His master had no intention of launching a large-scale campaign to suppress the sea bandits. Even if he wanted to, he had no ability to do so—he had no money.

Whether it was relocating the coastal population, strengthening the inspection of goods exported from the shore, or training village braves along the coast and rivers… all these measures required time and money. The current situation of the government was a lack of money. Nothing could be done without money.

The government had neither money nor time. And Governor Wang felt he had no time. Lü Yizhong was better than others at guessing the intentions of his superiors. He combined the recent situation in the court and the situation in Liangguang and Fujian, and quickly understood his master’s real thoughts.

The credit for suppressing the sea bandits in the southeast could not all go to Xiong Wenhuan. Since Zheng Zhilong’s pacification, the major pirate groups on the southeast coast, such as Yang Liu, Yang Qi, and Zhu Cailao, had been wiped out one after another in two years. Xiong Wenhuan’s reputation as a “capable official in pacifying the seas” had been recognized by the court and the public.

In this situation, Liu Laoxiang, who continued to occupy Guangdong and was even expanding, became an embarrassing contrast. The governor-general of Liangguang had to do something.

Although he knew his master’s thoughts, giving advice was another matter. He pondered the situation he was facing: this was not the Jiajing era, when the court still had plenty of money and grain and could build ships and train troops. Now Wang Zunde only had such a large plate. He could not attack on all sides and in multiple directions. He could only find one group to suppress fiercely, achieve a great victory, and capture the bandit leader. Moreover, the court’s navy had always been weak in sea battles. It had to be a place where land battles could be won.

“If only there was a place like Shuangyu or Tunmen,” Lü Yizhong said.

Li Xijue was no fool. He immediately understood and nodded in agreement. “Exactly.”

Wang Zunde of course understood what they meant, but they had no idea where Liu Xiang’s lair was, let alone other bandit groups.

Just when he was at a loss, Lü Yizhong whispered, “How about Lingao?”

The three of them nodded together. This place was perfect!

The fact that the Australians had built a fortress and were defending themselves in Lingao was no secret in Guangzhou. Just as it was no secret that the three “Zi” character trading companies had an Australian background.

“It should be Bopu. The place the thieves have occupied is also Bopu. Lingao County has not fallen,” Li Xijue reminded. “All the taxes and grain have been paid in full.”

“Exactly,” Lü Yizhong nodded. “The government troops surrounding and suppressing Bopu is a great benefit to the country and the people, as it removes a scourge from Lingao.”

This was not just a detail, but a crucial point.

If they were to suppress the “sea bandits entrenched in Lingao,” some people in the court would inevitably criticize Guangdong for not reporting the fall of the county town. Now, by only mentioning Bopu, the story would be more plausible. Besides, Lingao had not actually fallen, so it was not deceiving the court.

Thinking of this, Wang Zunde felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his mind, and he saw the light. He nodded repeatedly but said no more.

Lü Yizhong and Li Xijue knew that he had already approved of this idea, but he still needed to weigh the pros and cons. What they needed to do now was to implement this matter first. Where would the soldiers, ships, and provisions come from? How much would be needed? How to plan for the military pay and miscellaneous expenses… all these details had to be carefully considered, and several plans had to be prepared. When the time came for implementation, the governor-general would choose.

They couldn’t do these things on their own. Fortunately, there was a large staff in the governor-general’s office, ranging from retired officials who had been prefects to frivolous scholars who could only write poems and songs. Although it was a mixed bag, there were also some capable people.

Lü Yizhong quickly gathered a dozen of Wang Zunde’s most trusted advisors to discuss this matter.

But his “brilliant plan” soon met with objections.

“It is a great joy for the people that His Excellency the Governor-General wants to wipe out the kūnzéi bandits in Lingao,” someone among them said. “But I have heard that they have connections in the inner court. I’m afraid they are not easy to move against.”

Another advisor said, “The Australians are deeply connected with Gao Ju. I have heard that Gao Ju is also connected with Eunuch Yang in the palace. The connections here are probably not something we can clarify.”

Hearing that it also involved the inner eunuchs, everyone fell silent. The days when the eunuchs’ power was overwhelming were not long past. Although a nine-thousand-year-old had been removed after the emperor ascended the throne, the eunuchs of Prince Xin’s mansion still had to be in power. If they offended some unclear “inner minister,” and something bad happened, they would all be in trouble.

“It doesn’t matter,” Lü Yizhong said. “Eunuch Yang, Gao Ju’s backer, is not a eunuch who came from Prince Xin’s mansion. When Wei the rebel was in power, he took a sinecure to avoid trouble. After the emperor ascended the throne, he has not had much power in the palace.”

“Although he is a eunuch, he is still a mouth in the palace. We can’t easily offend him,” someone still hoped to be cautious.

“No matter,” Lü Yizhong said. “The kūnzéi have no connection with Eunuch Yang. Gao Ju is Eunuch Yang’s man. The Australians are just doing business with Gao Ju. How can Eunuch Yang, who has always been a man of great righteousness, trouble a high official of the court for a group of sea bandits?”

Gao Ju had a lot of dealings with the Australians. Even without the Australians, the Gao family was a well-known major household that “colluded with foreigners.” It would be easy to find evidence of his “collusion with sea bandits.” How could Eunuch Yang do such a self-defeating and foolish thing!

Eunuch Yang no longer had much power in the palace. The demise of the Australians was not the demise of Gao Ju. Since Gao Ju was safe and sound, the benefits that should be given to Eunuch Yang would not be a penny less, nor would he dare to give less. After wiping out the Australian sea bandits, would Eunuch Yang personally come to trouble Wang Zunde? Wang Zunde was a high-ranking official of the court and had a reputation for being honest and upright. He was not a powerful eunuch. Why would he get involved in this muddy water?

As long as Gao Ju was not harmed and the Gao family was left in peace, Eunuch Yang would naturally not interfere. This was Lü Yizhong’s calculation. At that time, he would compensate the Gao family with a part of the Australians’ property in Guangzhou. Even if the Gao family had some complaints, they would have nothing to say—Gao Ju would not be so tactless as to oppose the officialdom of Guangdong.

“Furthermore, the Australians building a city and fortress in Lingao is the same old trick that the Franks used to occupy Macau. At that time, the court allowed the Franks. Will it allow the Australians now?” Lü Yizhong reminded. “This matter will have to be settled sooner or later. Sooner is better than later.”

After he analyzed it like this, everyone felt it made sense. No one opposed the suppression of the australians anymore.

“But how to deal with the Australians’ iron ships?” someone asked. “I’ve heard that they are as high as a city wall, even higher than the large carracks of the red-haired barbarians and the Franks. The navy has no ships to fight them!”

“The so-called large iron ships are just street talk. They can’t be taken seriously,” Lü Yizhong said. “Even if there are such giant ships, the government troops can use fire ships to repel them. Besides, it is best for the royal army to advance by both land and water. The sea route is just a feint; the land route is the main focus. As long as we break their Bairen fortress on land, they will have no support on land and will have to weigh anchor and leave. The royal army can then claim victory.”

This idea was actually still the “drive away” approach. This was not out of great mercy or friendship, but a correct assessment of their own military strength by the local officials. In the Tianqi reign, they had mobilized seventy or eighty thousand troops and several hundred warships, but could only “persuade to retreat” a dozen or so Dutch ships. Now, of course, it was even more impossible to completely wipe out the Australians. Of course, driving away the Australians who had been entrenched in Lingao for years could also be considered a great achievement.

Lü Yizhong’s calculation was to try to “force a retreat” of the Australians and achieve a victory with the smallest possible losses. The strength of the Australians in Lingao was somewhat known in Guangzhou.

“The real Australians in Lingao are no more than a thousand,” Lü Yizhong said. “The rest are mostly local traitors who have shaved their heads and submitted to them. The total number is no less than tens of thousands. But there are men and women, old and young, mixed together. They are just attached to Lingao for the small favors of the australians and will never fight to the death for them. When the heavenly soldiers of the court arrive, they will naturally disintegrate.”

“Even if there are only a thousand, with their strong ships and powerful cannons, they are not easy to deal with,” an advisor said. “I’ve heard that besides the large iron ships, they also have iron fast boats and repeating guns, which are invincible. They should not be underestimated.”

“I think we can also borrow troops. After all, the Australians have strong ships and powerful cannons, and also iron fast boats and repeating guns to assist in battle,” this person continued to propose. “The Franks have always sought our favor and are also respectful to the court. They recently presented cannons. If we borrow their troops to assist in the suppression, our army can achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

“The Franks’ red barbarian cannons and large carracks can make up for the inferiority of our army’s ships and cannons.” Many people agreed with this proposal at the moment.

“Why not ask His Excellency the Governor-General to issue an order to Zheng Zhilong to send a detachment to assist in the battle? Zheng Zhilong’s troops are experienced at sea and can be used as the vanguard.”

“I’m afraid Governor Xiong will not agree. He regards Zheng Zhilong as the great wall of the Fujian sea. Now that Li Kuiqi and others have not yet been captured, how can he be willing? It’s not appropriate, not appropriate.”

Someone then brought up the old trick of Yu Dayou and Dong Long fighting the sea bandits at Humen during the Jiajing reign, suggesting that they could lure foreign pirates with the promise of ships, goods, and heavy profits to assist in the attack.

“This is not appropriate,” Li Xijue shook his head vigorously. “Foreign pirates cannot be lured. Otherwise, we will be fighting a tiger at the front door while a wolf enters the back. The situation now is not like it was then. If we want to borrow troops, we can only use the Franks.”

“How about borrowing troops from the Dutch?”

“These people intended to occupy Penghu back then. If we borrow troops from them, are we going to allow them to return to Penghu?”

“That’s not right,” the advisor who proposed this idea said, thinking he had a clever plan. “When the Dutch were willing to retreat to Tayouan, our dynasty allowed merchants to go there for trade. We can use this as an argument: if the Dutch do not lend troops to assist in the suppression, we will ban merchants from going to Tayouan…”

“That’s a great mistake!” Li Xijue, hearing such a high-flown argument, had to refute it. “Ban merchants from trading? Since the Jiajing reign, the sea ban has been lifted and then imposed again, but it has never been truly effective.”

This method might have some use against the Portuguese. But Tayouan was not Macau—which was right next to Guangzhou. The thousand-li coastline of Fujian and Guangdong was simply impossible to ban. Besides, most of the merchants who went to Tayouan for trade were from Fujian, and Zheng Zhilong was the biggest one among them.

Zheng Zhilong would not obey the orders of the Governor-General of Liangguang, and the merchants on the coast of Fujian would not buy it either. Xiong Wenhuan would not necessarily be willing to issue such an order for Guangdong. So this idea was completely unworkable.

“Never mind borrowing troops. Once we go to war, where will the grain and pay come from?”

This was the key to fighting a war. It wasn’t that the court didn’t have an army, but the army was just barely surviving. To get this group of armed beggars to go out and fight, the first thing was to pay them. It was impossible to pay all the arrears, but at least a part had to be paid, otherwise the soldiers would not be willing to move. Secondly, there was usually a resettlement fee for deployment, and also a reward. After the battle, regardless of victory or defeat, the casualties had to be compensated. If it was a victory, there had to be a bonus for the troops.

As for the provisions needed for deployment and combat, they also had to be planned and prepared in advance. The soldiers could be half-starved on a daily basis, but they couldn’t be expected to fight on an empty stomach. The problem of provisions was relatively easy to solve in Guangdong. The local area generally had two harvests a year, and the grain reserves in the public granaries were still abundant. There were also several warehouses in Qiongzhou Prefecture specifically for storing military grain for the Li people, with tens of thousands of shi of grain available for deployment nearby.

“As for compensation and rewards, those are for later and can be discussed then. For now, let’s just raise the funds for deployment,” Lü Yizhong said.

“The various armies are now nearly half a year in arrears. Each soldier’s pay is equivalent to two taels per month. We need to pay two or three months’ arrears. As for the resettlement fee, each person needs another three taels. Before the army even moves, each soldier will cost at least seven taels. If we deploy ten thousand men, we will have to spend seventy thousand before we even leave the camp!” someone gasped as soon as he did the math.

“You’ve calculated too little. There are also public and miscellaneous expenses for the march, and various other expenses. This sum cannot be less than ten or twenty thousand,” an advisor with military experience said. “As for the repair of cannons and ships, don’t they need money?”

“You don’t need to calculate,” Li Xijue said. “In the Tianqi reign, Governor Yu drove out the red-haired barbarians from Penghu, and it cost the provincial treasury nearly four hundred thousand taels. This time, the military expenditure will not be less than then. The military expenditure will be at least three hundred thousand taels. And this is a strict estimate. If we are lenient, it will have to be doubled.”