Chapter 153: The Enticement

“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders!” Zheng Bao slapped his shoulder heavily. “Let’s do it. Find a chance to get in touch with that Shi fellow as soon as possible! Money is no object! We’ll make him a third-in-command and give him seven or eight ships to command! If he wants an official title, we’ll have the Le Dynasty grant him a big one! Bigger than his Aussie title!”

“That’s one move,” Wang You said seriously. “Chief, these are all risky gambits! It’s best not to take them if we can avoid it!”

“What do you mean?” Zheng Bao asked, despite the impatient look on his face.

“The best strategy is still to ally with the Aussies,” Wang You said. “The Aussies have great momentum now, almost on par with Chief Zheng Zhilong. It’s better to be their friend than their enemy.”

Wang You repeatedly explained to Zheng Bao that the Aussies were not to be trifled with. Once they became enemies, their own strength would likely be insufficient to confront them. It was better for both sides to maintain peace.

“…Even if we have to give them more benefits, even if we have to acknowledge them as the leader of the alliance, it doesn’t matter. With the Aussies’ banner over our heads, won’t it be more convenient to operate? If worst comes to worst and we can no longer wear this hat, we can always raise our own flag again.”

Zheng Bao considered this silently for a long while. Finally, he slapped his thigh hard.

“Fuck it, let’s do it. I’ll be like Han Xin!” he said to Wang You. “Advisor! I’ll listen to you on this! But we can’t agree to the Aussies’ conditions.”

“Of course, of course. If we agree, won’t our men and ships all become theirs?”

“Exactly, we have to keep a firm grip on our own capital,” Zheng Bao said, then turned to Jin Caifa. “A Fa! You’ll have to make a few more trips.”

“No problem, I’ll do whatever the Chief commands!”

“Go and tell that Haiyang fellow that I, Zheng Bao, am willing to acknowledge them as the leader of the alliance—of course, that means we’ll have to use their flag. When we rob things and get ransom, we’ll give them a third of the spoils on the spot. We won’t take anything they rob.”

“That’s… too generous to them…”

“Hold on,” Zheng Bao said with confidence. “We won’t ask for their supplies or pay. However, if our brothers need to anchor at Lingao for ship repairs one day, they have to provide for us.”

After stating this condition, Zheng Bao added another: “But you have to make it clear to them, we obey their orders but are not under their direct command. They can’t just casually order our brothers to fight for them. Whether we fight together, and who we fight, must be agreed upon by our brothers.”

“Alright,” Jin Caifa said. “I’ll set off tomorrow.”

“No hurry, you rest for a couple of days first,” Zheng Bao said. “If we’re too eager, we’ll lose face. With our hundred-odd ships waiting here, the Aussie ships won’t dare to move around freely, right?”

He then said to Wang You, “If this still doesn’t work, we’ll pull Shi over to our side and hit them hard! Let them know who they’re dealing with! Don’t think they can rule the seas just because they have a few fast ships!”

“Alright.” Wang You didn’t dare to say that if the talks failed, they should immediately flee instead of seeking their own doom by fighting. “The Chief’s calculations are flawless, truly meticulous.”

“Advisor Wang, how confident are you that you can persuade Shi Shisi to defect?” Jin Caifa asked Wang You in the cabin.

“Fifty-fifty,” Wang You said. “Shi Shisi has been with the Aussies for a long time. We don’t know how well he’s doing there. If he’s doing well, it will be very difficult.”

In Wang You’s opinion, it wasn’t even fifty-fifty. At most, there was a twenty to thirty percent chance. If it had been right after Shi Shisi had first surrendered to the Kun, persuading him would have been easy. Now that he had reached a certain level with the Aussies, it would be very difficult to convince him to start over.

“He didn’t look that impressive to me, wearing the same coarse cloth clothes as the other Kun thieves. Back in the day, when our brothers went into battle, even a low-ranking hand had a silk or satin shirt to wear!”

Wang You let out a chuckle and pointed at Jin Caifa’s head. “You’ve got a head on your shoulders for nothing! What are a few clothes? Haven’t you seen that the Aussie chiefs all wear coarse cloth? Maybe in Australia, only the rich and powerful wear coarse cloth, and common people can only wear silk and satin!”

“To persuade Shi Shisi, we can only offer a large sum of money. There might be some hope then!” Wang You said. “It all depends on how much silver the Chief is willing to spend.”

Although Zheng Bao had said “money is no object,” Wang You knew that the official treasury of the old camp held no more than ten thousand taels of silver. At most, they could take out two or three thousand. It was hard to say whether this amount would be enough to move Shi Shisi.

Wang You made up his mind: “It’s better if I handle this matter myself.”

“You’ll go in person?”

“Yes. At least I was once the chief steward of Chief Zhu’s main camp. Shi Shisi will show me some respect. Even if the talks fail, he won’t turn hostile and refuse to recognize me.”

Wang You had a secret discussion with Zheng Bao. They agreed that he would go to Hong Kong Island to negotiate under the pretext of offering their allegiance. During the bargaining, he would try to find a way to get onto Shi Shisi’s ship for a secret talk.

After resting for two days, Jin Caifa set out again with his delegation. This time, his entourage was much larger, with over forty people. They sailed a two-masted rice junk, loaded with provisions like pigs, sheep, and wine. Zheng Bao was truly willing to spend, selecting a dozen valuable jewels from his personal collection as gifts for Chen Haiyang and the others, and picking out some more jewels for Wang You as an introductory gift to bribe Shi Shisi.

Chen Haiyang received the delegation again. After listening to a cartload of flattering words, he still wasn’t clear on Jin Caifa’s purpose. It was only after more talk that he realized Jin Caifa was actually bargaining with him.

The pirates’ demands were simply that their forces not be broken up and must remain intact. They also wanted to “obey orders but not be under direct command.” Chen Haiyang had never understood what this hypocritical phrase “obey orders but not be under direct command” really meant. But he finally understood: the pirates wanted to maintain maximum independence. Zheng Bao’s proposal was essentially a loose alliance, or just an agreement to rob and split the spoils together.

Of course, Chen Haiyang disagreed with such a proposal. Although the goal of this operation into the Pearl River Estuary was to make as big an impact as possible, he didn’t want the Aussie Song’s reputation to be tarnished by a group of pirates. In the end, he rejected Zheng Bao’s suggestion.

While the two sides were bargaining, Wang You had already gone ashore with the group carrying the gifts. He took the opportunity to note the hull number of Shi Shisi’s ship and observe the surrounding terrain and sentry posts.

Upon closer inspection, Wang You discovered that although many of the Aussie ships looked similar to the common Guang and Fu style ships, they had all been repaired and modified. Gun ports had been opened on the sides, and cannons were installed below deck. A wheel-like object was mounted on the sterncastle. And many incomprehensible small accessories had been added to the masts of each ship. At first glance, they somewhat resembled Red Hair ships.

The sailors on board, all wearing blue and white short jackets, looked clean and spirited. They appeared more disciplined than the government troops. What surprised him most was that all the sailors were constantly busy, either swabbing the decks, sorting the sails and ropes, or drilling on deck. Every ship was unbelievably clean and tidy. He had never seen such a solemn and orderly atmosphere before.

“The Aussies are truly remarkable people!” Wang You was secretly astonished. Chief Zhu had suffered such a great loss but was still unwilling to go to war with them; he certainly had his reasons! Thinking of this, he missed Zhu Cailao even more and felt a growing contempt for Zheng Bao.

Contempt was one thing, but the plan to persuade Shi Shisi had to proceed. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to answer to Zheng Bao.

The relationship between Wang You and Zheng Bao was fraught with tension. Zheng Bao did not trust Wang You, and Wang You knew it. Therefore, he was increasingly careful in his dealings with Zheng Bao, trying to guess his thoughts and speak accordingly, not wanting to sour their relationship. This cautiousness made Zheng Bao even more suspicious of Wang You, believing he was always holding something back.

This suspicion had recently become more and more intense, forcing Wang You to take countermeasures.

But after observing for a long time, he felt that the Aussies’ defenses were extremely tight. All the ships not at the shore were anchored in a specific formation, with layers of security from the outside in. The outermost layer consisted of patrolling rowboats. Every ship had sentries at the bow and stern, constantly monitoring the sea. The ships docked at the pier also had armed guards. There were also watchtowers. Judging from the piles of firewood gathered on the shore, this level of vigilance was maintained day and night. Even sneaking over in a small boat at night would be easily discovered.

Wang You decided to try to see if he could get on board openly. He and his men carried a few baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables to the pier and begged a fake Kun guarding a small boat to take him to the Lin Te 51.

“We need to deliver these provisions to the ships one by one. Please help us, brother,” Wang You said, bowing and scraping, and offered a small red envelope.

“You can’t use the small boats without a pass,” the fake Kun on duty said, holding his musket horizontally. “As for these vegetables, they must all be delivered to the logistics department. You can’t deliver them directly to the ships.”

Wang You added another red envelope. “Please be flexible, little brother…”

“No means no.” A hint of greed flickered in the fake Kun’s eyes, giving Wang You a moment of hope. But it vanished instantly. “If I take your silver, I’m finished. Go away!”

Wang You returned empty-handed. He noticed a few fishing boats approaching the bay, as if to sell vegetables and fresh fish to the fleet. This seemed like a good opportunity. But he was soon disappointed to find that all fresh food was purchased centrally. Fishermen and vegetable sellers were not allowed to approach the large ships, let alone board them—they were only permitted to land at a designated spot to have their goods inspected and traded.

Does this mean I have to swim to get on board? Wang You thought with disappointment. Swimming several li in the bay on a pitch-black night was beyond his swimming ability. And in the dark, what if he was shot by a sentry as soon as he reached the side of a ship? He would have lost his life for nothing.