Part 262: News from Macau

Unlike Liu Xiang, Zheng Zhilong did not consider the “Kun thieves” his greatest threat. Therefore, he had not paid much attention to their movements in the past. The reason was simple: the Kun thieves had shown no intention of challenging his maritime commercial hegemony.

Although the Kun thieves possessed a colossal iron ship, their vessels were not seen sailing to Japan, the Philippines, or Batavia. They were hardly even seen along the coast—except for Guangzhou, they went almost nowhere.

A small group entrenched on an island, making no moves—just like the numerous “mountain lords” scattered throughout Fujian—was not his concern.

During his campaign to eliminate his rivals at sea, he had vaguely heard rumors of former pirate leaders recruiting men from the scattered remnants of defeated gangs for the Australians. He had also heard of some small groups who had gone to seek refuge in Lingao. However, this alone did not mean much. Besides, at that time, he was preoccupied with Li Kuiqi’s sudden betrayal. At his lowest point, he was left with only a few hundred men and ships, and he simply lacked the capacity to inquire into what the Kun thieves were up to.

The result was that when the Kun thieves suddenly bared their fangs, he realized he had very little intelligence on them, only some scattered rumors.

Of course, there were many rumors about the Kun thieves, but they were filled with adjectives like “huge,” “unbelievable,” and “countless,” which made Zheng Zhilong skeptical. Indeed, from his perspective, the rumors about the Australians were simply too absurd.

For this reason, he had already dispatched his most capable spies to the waters off Guangdong to gather information. Now, their sudden appearance in Taiwan added to Zheng Zhilong’s worries. The Australian fleet had passed through Liu Xiang’s territory, and Liu Xiang seemed to have raised no objections. Guo Huaiyi’s letter clearly stated that the Australian ships and personnel were in high spirits, showing no signs of having endured storms or battles. Had the Australians and Liu Xiang reached some kind of understanding or alliance? If the two were to join forces, how powerful would they be?

Since Liu Xiang had moved his entire force from the Pearl River Estuary to the Chaozhou-Shantou area, he had been constantly encroaching on the Fujian waters, challenging the hegemony Zheng Zhilong had just established there. He had also received intelligence that Liu Xiang’s large ships were already heading to Japan and Manila. These were his important sources of revenue, and he would not allow anyone to touch them, not even the Dutch. They had to respect his determination to monopolize the trade with Japan.

But Liu Xiang was different from the Dutch. The Dutch needed him to supply them with Ming goods, while Liu Xiang did not. He had moved his forces to the Fujian waters precisely to get a piece of the Japanese trade.

Why had the Australians suddenly come to Taiwan as well? Could it be that they too had their eyes on the lucrative Japanese trade?

What worried him even more was that Guo Huaiyi had clearly confirmed some of the rumors he had previously dismissed. Although the legendary great iron ship was not among the Australian fleet, there were indeed large ships that spewed black smoke and could sail without sails.

As a sea lord who had roamed the seas for many years, he certainly understood the immense threat this implied.

The only thing that reassured him was that the Australians had few ships. The first batch to arrive at Takao, though all large vessels, numbered less than thirty. In terms of numbers, they had no advantage. If it came to a fight, as long as he found the right opportunity to launch a surprise attack with his main force, he could annihilate them all, even with fire ships.

“Takao (literally ‘beat the dog’),” he thought. “That name is quite fitting.”

A smile appeared on his face at the thought.

At that moment, a dark face appeared at the doorway. Although the man was dressed in Chinese clothes, his dark skin and curly hair indicated that he was black. He reported to his master in Portuguese: Lin Yishao had arrived.

These black men did not speak a word of Chinese and were all Catholics. Zheng Zhilong used them specifically for his confidential affairs. Lin Yishao was one of his spies, responsible for liaison with the Portuguese and intelligence gathering.

“Send him in,” Zheng Zhilong ordered in Portuguese.

“Greetings, Your Excellency!” The man who entered bowed according to official etiquette.

Although most sea lords came from common origins, they held a great admiration for the airs of officialdom. Now that Zheng Zhilong was a legitimate court official, using this official etiquette was only natural.

“Oh, is that you, Yishao? You’ve returned!”

The man slowly stood up. He was in his thirties, with brown eyes and black hair. Lin Yishao was of mixed Chinese-Portuguese descent and spoke fluent Portuguese. Like Zheng Zhilong, he was also a Catholic.

Zheng Zhilong had sent Lin Yishao to Macau to inquire about the Australians. He knew from many sources that the Australians were often active in Macau and even had a base there.

Lin Yishao wasted no time and began to report on his experiences in Macau.

Upon arriving in Macau, Lin Yishao immediately visited his local “connections.”

As Zheng Zhilong’s liaison, Lin Yishao had quite a few connections in the city, including figures from the gray areas like Huang Shunlong, who were well-informed.

However, these connections now showed a cautious attitude towards the sudden visit of Zheng Zhilong’s man, and they were not as forthright as before.

“Oh, the Kun people have so much influence in Macau?” Zheng Zhilong was somewhat interested.

“The Kun people are now the moneybags of Macau,” Lin Yishao said.

Trade between Macau and the Senate had always been frequent, and a vested interest group had already formed. Since the court had ordered the prohibition of Portuguese trade in Guangzhou last year, the Portuguese had lost their channel for importing Chinese goods. Meanwhile, the Guangzhou authorities turned a blind eye to the Australians’ trade. Thus, the Australians, who occupied Hong Kong Island, became the only channel for the Portuguese to import and export from the Ming.

By controlling this lifeline, the Australians had become the masters of the Portuguese. If they ordered a halt to the Portuguese trade, it would be very difficult for the Portuguese to remain in Macau.

“Are the smugglers just decorations then?” Zheng Zhilong asked with interest. With money, finding sources of goods was never a problem. The so-called government prohibitions were often just empty words.

“Since the Australians arrived on Hong Kong Island, the Pearl River Estuary has become their domain. Their ships patrol constantly, and no vessel can escape their eyes. The smugglers have either submitted to the Australians and follow their orders, or they are now feeding the fish in the Pearl River.”

Lin Yishao continued, saying that he had finally gone to see Li Siya.

“Her?” Zheng Zhilong said thoughtfully. Li Siya had served him before, providing a great deal of intelligence.

“Yes, she has a lot of intelligence and is willing to provide it. It’s just…” Lin Yishao hesitated.

“It costs a lot of money.”

“Yes, she showed me a small booklet and asked for five hundred taels of silver,” Lin Yishao said. “She showed me a small part of it, and it was very informative. So, I took the liberty of buying it.” He then took a thin booklet from his coat.

Zheng Zhilong was not concerned. He was a merchant, and a successful merchant not only haggled over every penny but also knew when to spend money.

The booklet was handwritten, in Li Siya’s strange yet neat script. Zheng Zhilong knew it was written with a quill, and the calligraphy was different from that of a brush.

A quick glance revealed that the content was very comprehensive, much more detailed than the various rumors he had heard. The five hundred taels of silver were indeed worth it.

He was not in a hurry to read it. He asked, “Are the Australians very powerful?”

“Yes, very powerful,” Lin Yishao replied without hesitation. “The Australians’ warships are often active in the Pearl River Estuary. They have several smoke-belching ships that are incredibly fast. No other ship can match their speed, and when they are at their fastest, they don’t even use sails…”

Although this was not new information, hearing it from his most trusted spy carried a completely different weight.

Lin Yishao then spoke of the Lichun. The appearance of this ship in the Pearl River Estuary was too extraordinary to go unnoticed by the people nearby. The Portuguese had sent people to Hong Kong Island to spy on it. The information they obtained was apparently quite astonishing.

The most terrifying thing was the large cannons on the ship. It was said that a single cannonball could travel more than ten li and would cause a violent explosion upon landing. Someone had seen the Lichun firing at a floating target made of an old fishing boat at sea. One shot had blown the boat to smithereens, leaving not even a splinter of wood to be found.

For someone like Lin Yishao, firearms and large ships were not particularly shocking. Zheng Zhilong himself had large ships and heavy cannons that were no less impressive than those of the maritime powers of the time. But the rumors about the Lichun made him feel that the situation was very serious. For this reason, he had specially taken a small boat to Kowloon to spy on the Australian fleet’s training. He confirmed that the rumors were true.

“Although the Australians do not have many men or warships, they are all elites, and their combat strength is very strong.”

“Hmm. It seems we have a powerful opponent.”

“What is it, Your Excellency?”

“The Australians have arrived in Taiwan,” Zheng Zhilong said. “At Takao.”

“Takao? That’s on the Dutch side.”

“That’s right. I think they chose Takao deliberately—to be neighbors with the Dutch, not with me. Beigang is, after all, still our territory,” Zheng Zhilong said. “The Dutch must have a treaty with them.”

“I have investigated the matter, and it is true. However, it is not a treaty of alliance, just a trade agreement,” Lin Yishao said. “The Dutch have allowed them to open a trading post in Batavia, and the Dutch have also opened trading posts in Hong Kong and Lingao. I heard there is another trading post on the southern side of Hainan Island.”

“The Australians are really sucking up to the Dutch,” Zheng Zhilong said with strong disgust for the Dutch. Although the Dutch were his business partners, he had a deep understanding of their shamelessness and greed and knew that force was the only way to speak to them.

“It’s more like the Dutch are trying to curry favor with the Australians. I heard that the Dutch can now obtain many Ming goods from them.”

“So that’s why the Dutch’s attitude towards us is not what it used to be. They have a new favorite,” Zheng Zhilong said jokingly.