Chapter 152: Zheng Bao's War and Peace

Disappointed, Zheng Bao still gave Wang You the title of advisor—at least Wang You was skilled in managing documents and accounts, and Zheng Bao lacked such talent. Afterwards, he took his recruited ships and money to the coastal waters around Dianbai, robbing salt boats and coastal residents. He also ventured into Vietnamese waters, participating in several maritime conflicts between the northern and southern courts and reaping considerable benefits. Upon hearing that Liu Xiang’s fleet had left the Pearl River Estuary, he quickly led his own fleet to Lantau Island, preparing to take advantage of the vacuum and make a major haul in the Pearl River.

Upon arriving at Lantau, he found that many small pirate bands had already gathered there, all planning to make a big score in the Pearl River’s inner waterways. The disastrous defeat of the government forces at Chengmai and Liu Xiang’s sudden departure from the estuary had given them high hopes of getting rich.

Zheng Bao used his strength to quickly consolidate all the vessels there. This temporarily assembled group had now expanded to 70 large ships, over 200 sampans and “long dragons,” and more than 4,000 pirates.

Just as Zheng Bao was waiting for the right tide and wind to charge into the Pearl River Estuary, the news of the Aussie fleet’s arrival made him temporarily abandon the idea.

The Aussies building a pier on Hong Kong Island indicated their intention to stay long-term. Moreover, they had sent out many ships. Zheng Bao thought: if we don’t form an alliance with them, and they decide to take advantage of our absence once our fleet enters the Pearl River, it would be disastrous.

Either he could secure an alliance with the Aussies and they could split the spoils—he was even willing to give them a larger share—or he had to crush this Aussie fleet completely, to scare them off from trying to seize his territory.

It was with this consideration that Zheng Bao had sent Jin Caifa. Besides probing the Aussies’ intentions, it was also a mission to gather intelligence, especially to find out if the Aussies’ most formidable “fast ships,” which didn’t need sails, had arrived.

He carefully questioned his two confidants about the number of Aussie ships, the number of cannons on board, and the number of defenders on shore. Hearing that the fast ships hadn’t come, he breathed a sigh of relief. But when he heard that the Aussies had over fifty ships anchored, he sighed with regret. If only there were just one or two dozen! Although most of the Aussie warships looked no different from the ships of Guangdong and Fujian, their speed and firepower were far superior to local vessels. The great chief Zhu had been so impressed by their “fast ships” that he had wanted to send men specifically to capture them. He hadn’t expected their sailing ships to be so effective as well!

Especially the “quick-firing cannons” on their sailing ships, which could fill the sea with waterspouts in an instant and sweep the enemy’s sailors off the decks from one or two hundred zhang away. With such a divine weapon, how could one not dominate the seas?

Zheng Bao had been itching to get his hands on them. In his view, while the Aussie cannons were said to be of excellent quality, they were just another version of the Hongyi cannons. Such cannons were expensive, heavy, and prone to exploding during battle. The best weapons were these “quick-firing cannons” that were long-ranged, accurate, and could fire continuously. If he could get a few of them, he could sweep away any enemy.

“Advisor Wang!” Zheng Bao called out as Wang You entered the cabin.

“These Kun thieves are so arrogant!” Zheng Bao, having had a smooth run since becoming a pirate, couldn’t stomach the insult. “They actually want us to register all our men and ships and hand it over—isn’t that fucking surrender? Even when joining a big gang, they don’t humiliate you like this!”

Wang You looked at his “boss” without a word. Zheng Bao was not a fool—he was cunning and ruthless, but unfortunately, he was only at the peak of a local tyrant’s level. In terms of insight and ability, he was not on the same level as Zhu Cailao and the others; even a second-tier leader like Fourth Brother Black Flag was far superior.

What a pity! Zhu Cailao had died in battle at Nanri, and his commanders were either dead or had surrendered. He himself had been reduced to serving as an advisor to such a character. Wang You was deeply resentful.

Putting other things aside, just coming to the Pearl River Estuary was, in Wang You’s opinion, a suicidal move. The estuary was bound to be the next major point of contention between Liu Xiang and the Lingao Aussie group—a place everyone else was trying to avoid. How could a small band like theirs wade into these muddy waters? Besides, this was originally Liu Xiang’s territory. Although Liu Xiang’s main force had moved to the Fujian seas, it didn’t mean he would just give up this turf.

Zheng Bao’s actions, in Wang You’s eyes, were a “double offense,” antagonizing both sides. It would surely end badly.

But Zheng Bao was feeling complacent. He now held the titles of Marquis of Righteous Allegiance and General of the Peaceful Seas of the Great Le Dynasty, and he felt like a “high official.” He had adopted all sorts of gaudy, nonsensical attire, flags, and ceremonies that were neither here nor there, earning Wang You’s contempt.

For now, however, he could only endure in silence. Zheng Bao both needed to use Zhu Cailao’s former subordinates and was wary of them, spending a lot of effort to divide and guard against them. Wang You knew he had the highest prestige among Zhu Cailao’s old followers, and Zheng Bao watched him extremely closely. The slightest misstep could lead to an unexplained “drowning.”

“Advisor Wang, what do you think we should do about these Kun thieves? It seems they want to take the Pearl River Estuary all for themselves,” Zheng Bao said angrily.

Wang You coughed. The Aussies’ arrival at the Pearl River Estuary and their construction of a fort on Hong Kong Island made their intentions clear. Zheng Bao didn’t really have many choices: either make an enemy of the Aussies and fight a battle, or raise anchor and leave.

In his opinion, leaving was the best option for Zheng Bao’s group. Even if the Aussies had half as many ships, Zheng Bao’s group would be no match for them. To deal with the Aussies, one needed an overwhelming numerical advantage, which was simply not possible.

Wang You had just begun to state his reasons for “not opening hostilities” when he noticed an impatient look on Zheng Bao’s face. Zheng Bao clearly had no intention of leaving. Not only that, but he was also eyeing the Aussies’ ships and cannons.

“I say, Old Wang, you’re always so timid, fearing tigers in front and wolves behind. Where’s the boldness you had under Chief Zhu?” Zheng Bao clapped him on the shoulder and laughed. “No matter how strong the Aussies are, they only have forty or fifty ships, and no fast ships or ironclads. They look pretty much the same as our ships. Their firearms are powerful, but I’ll have my brothers get close and board them. We’ll drown them if we have to!”

He said with full confidence, “When it comes to naval guns, the Aussies are of course superior. But when it comes to swords, spears, and fisticuffs, our Chinese martial arts are the best. Once we’re on their ships, whether they’re real Kun or fake Kun, they won’t be able to use their firearms on deck. They’ll be at our mercy!”

“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”

“Then tell me, what’s so difficult?”

Wang You thought to himself, let’s not even talk about how to get men onto their decks. The Aussies had dozens of ships anchored there. It’s not like the people on board were all deaf and blind, waiting for the enemy to climb aboard one ship after another.

“Even if we manage to capture a few ships, what happens when the other ships discover it and attack us together? Won’t it all be for nothing?”

“Hmm, you have a point,” Zheng Bao conceded after a moment’s thought. But he immediately had another idea.

His second idea was to capture the leader to defeat the enemy. Zheng Bao planned to select a hundred daredevils from among the pirates, promising them a huge reward. Each would conceal a sharp blade. They would then feign surrender, and at the command tent, they would assassinate the Aussie chief.

According to Jin Caifa and the others’ descriptions, although there were guards around the Aussie’s main tent, there were only about forty or fifty of them. Zheng Bao believed that if he had seventy or eighty men to tie them down, the rest could charge in and kill all the leaders inside.

Wang You was dumbfounded. This plan was slightly more realistic than the first, but its success depended on the Aussies being complete idiots, allowing a hundred strong men to approach their central command without searching them first.

Zheng Bao then proposed several more “strategies,” all of which were rejected by Wang You one by one.

“Chief, if you are determined to make an enemy of the Aussies and seize their ships and cannons, there is only one word.”

“What is it?”

“Wait.” Wang You nodded. “The Aussies and us are roughly equal in strength. If we rashly start a conflict, even if we win, it will be a pyrrhic victory. For now, we can only act according to the situation and see what the Aussies do before we make our move.”

In essence, do nothing and wait for an opportunity. Zheng Bao was dissatisfied. “How long do we have to wait? When can we enter the Pearl River?”

“Entering the Pearl River is a simple matter. But if we don’t deal with the Aussies, they will be a huge problem for us later!”

“Hmm, you have a point there!” Zheng Bao certainly didn’t want to venture into the Pearl River Estuary alone, leaving such a fleet at his back.

“Brother, I have an idea,” Jin Caifa said, seizing the opportunity to interject.

“What idea?”

He excitedly told Zheng Bao and Wang You about his encounter with Shi Shisi at the Hong Kong pier.

“…Shi Shisi is now dressed like an Aussie. If I hadn’t dealt with him before, I wouldn’t have recognized him as Shi Shisi.”

Zheng Bao’s interest was piqued. “Oh, what’s his position with the Aussies now? How many ships does he command?”

“I didn’t dare to ask. He was far away, on a ship at the pier,” Jin Caifa said. “With him as a connection, the Chief’s business has a chance.”

Wang You immediately understood. “You plan to bribe him?”

“Exactly!” Jin Caifa said. “As the saying goes, ‘men die for wealth, birds die for food.’ Shi Shisi was just a second-rate leader of a small band back then. He can’t have become a great chief under the Aussies; at most, he’s probably in charge of five or six ships. If the Chief is willing to offer a large sum, he’ll surely be tempted.”

Whether it was to get him to lead his troops away or to suddenly turn against them in a battle, it was an excellent opportunity. Zheng Bao’s eyes lit up.