Chapter 416: The Minister of Colonization and Trade

Although Lin Shimao had taken various precautions, he hadn’t taken it too seriously. After all, Jinjiang County was just a stone’s throw from Anping Town, and he was working for Zheng Zhilong. Anyone who wanted to touch him would have to think twice.

He never expected his opponents to be so ruthless, quietly sneaking in and “snatching him from his bed,” committing murder, robbery, and kidnapping all in one go. Their actions were those of a fearless, notorious bandit from out of town. However, it wasn’t until he was forced to confess that he learned their true identity.

These people were the short-hair thieves!

The short-hair thieves were already a famous power on the seas of Fujian and Guangdong. They had once even fought their way to the gates of Guangzhou, turning the waters of the Pearl River red…

The thought of falling into the hands of these people sent a chill down Lin Shimao’s spine. He stammered that he had indeed hired Mori Hisakatsu and Li Shun, and for this, he had received two hundred taels of silver.

“…It was a man I didn’t know who asked me to hire them. I’ve never seen this man before—he was a middle-aged man, looked like a wealthy shopkeeper. He just said he wanted to hire two bold men who weren’t afraid to die and dared to kill. Once I found the men, I handed them over to him directly…”

“You, a respectable casino owner, would hire a hitman for any stranger who asks? Do you even know the rules?” Xu Ke said, tilting his chin. “Give Boss Lin a reminder!”

A team member raised the pliers again and was about to come forward. Lin Shimao was in so much pain that he was drenched in a cold sweat. He couldn’t take it anymore and had to say:

“Spare my life, hero! Don’t… don’t do it…”

Lin Shimao had no choice but to tell them everything he knew. He didn’t know the man who came to him, but he had brought a card from Zheng Zhifeng. In Jinjiang, no one dared to defy the orders of the Zheng family’s masters.

“It was Zheng Zhifeng?”

“Yes…” The thought of betraying the third master of the Zheng family made Lin Shimao break out in a cold sweat again. On one side were the ruthless short-hair thieves, and on the other was the Zheng family, the tyrant of Quanzhou. He had now offended both sides. His whole family would be ground to dust.

“The card?” Xu Ke was stunned. He should have brought the card with him—it was direct physical evidence. “Where did you keep it?”

“He just showed it to me and then took it back.”

“Took it back?” Xu Ke showed a look of disbelief. Lin Shimao, fearing that he would be tortured again, quickly pleaded:

“My lord! I’m just a nobody. For him to show me the card was already a great honor. How would I dare to ask him to leave it with me!”

Xu Ke knew that further questioning would not yield much. He gave a signal, and the team members took him away. That night, they would take advantage of the darkness to put him on a ship to Kaohsiung.

Although they hadn’t obtained the most direct physical evidence, having Lin Shimao as a witness was enough. After all, the prevailing legal concept of this era was still based on confessions.

However, their mission was not yet over.

When the report on the Westerly case was submitted to the Executive Committee and the Standing Committee of the Senate, the motion to declare war on Zheng Zhilong and eradicate this powerful force on the Fujian coast had already appeared.

Although the two sides had formed a loose business partnership through the private salt trade, it was clear that there was not much mutual trust between them. Zheng Zhilong was only maintaining a restrained attitude because he was intimidated by the Australian fleet and his own very backward deep-sea combat capabilities. In the long run, the two sides were bound to have a falling out sooner or later.

How can one allow others to snore beside one’s own bed? Both Zheng Zhilong and the Senate were making this calculation.

After the materials of the Westerly case were reported in detail to Lingao, the public opinion to declare war on Zheng Zhilong became very loud. Wei Bachi had also been secretly manipulating this.

To reduce his own responsibility, he had to shift everyone’s target. Wei Bachi had long understood this line of thinking. His methods in Kaohsiung had already been criticized in the Senate, and now this shameful incident had occurred. To avoid “vacation-style treatment,” he had to make the public opinion bigger, the bigger the better, and let Zheng Zhilong attract the firepower of the Senate.

Once the Senate went to war with Zheng Zhilong, Kaohsiung would be the front line. To ensure the stable operation of this base, the Executive Committee would never change personnel in the middle of a battle. When the war was over and everyone was celebrating, no one would bother to investigate what problems the mayor of Kaohsiung had. Even if they did, it would just be a formality. A “sincere and profound self-criticism” would be enough to settle the matter.

After writing the report, Wei Bachi gave a long speech at a dinner party for the Senators in Kaohsiung about Zheng Zhilong’s backstabbing and scheming, putting on a look of righteous indignation.

Although Liu Zheng was a Han chauvinist, to him, the Dutch, these “white-skinned gorillas,” were more detestable than Zheng Zhilong. He felt no sadness or pity for the death of a “little white-skinned brat.” But he cared more about the “prestige of the Senate.” When he heard that the Zheng clan had used such underhanded methods, seriously damaging the face and image of the Senate, he was furious.

As the leader of the “Huaxia Society,” the Han chauvinist group in the Senate, Liu Zheng immediately sent a telegram to the members of the Huaxia Society, asking them to propose the immediate annihilation of Zheng Zhilong at the Senate meeting.

He then sent a messenger with his secret letter, who boarded a ship transporting refugees back to Lingao, to deliver the letter to Chang Shide. In addition to simple greetings, the letter briefly described the incident and expressed his views on the current environment and future development of Kaohsiung. Chang Shide, the soul of the Guang-Lei faction, understood immediately and began to work behind the scenes.

Thus, the call for the Senate to go to war with Zheng Zhilong grew louder and louder. However, within the Senate, there had always been controversy over how to formulate the policy towards Zheng.

Most Senators were the so-called “destructionists,” demanding the complete and ruthless “crushing” of the Zheng maritime merchant group, uprooting the Zheng clan from the Fujian coast, and after cleaning up the core of the Zheng clan, incorporating its remnants and ships, and directly controlling the Manila and Japan routes.

The other faction, led by the Minister of Colonization and Trade, Si Kaide, was a minority of Senators who believed that this should be used as an opportunity to issue an ultimatum, demanding that the Zheng clan recognize the suzerainty of the Senate, become a vassal, and hand over half of its annual income.

The main reason for adopting this “suppression” strategy was that it could utilize Zheng Zhilong’s existing operating model and business network to reap huge profits without having to organize trade themselves. He strongly recommended this plan at both the Executive Committee meetings and the Standing Committee of the Senate meetings.

However, Si Kaide had too few votes. In the final vote in the Senate on how to deal with the Zheng maritime group, his plan was rejected, and the “final solution” for the Zheng clan became the official resolution.

Si Kaide returned from the Bairencheng open-air cinema in a dejected mood. This earliest “mass cultural and entertainment” project was still the venue for the Senate’s plenary sessions.

The rejection of his proposal at the general meeting made him very unhappy. After silently cursing “democracy is the revelry of the mob” countless times in his heart, he returned to his office in the Ministry of Colonization and Trade. From the window, he looked down at the huge sand table in the hall below, considering his next move.

Since his original plan to utilize Zheng Zhilong’s power had been rejected, Old Zheng would not be around for much longer. The rest was the business of the Military Affairs Department.

The Executive Committee had already issued an order in accordance with the resolution passed by the Senate: to dispatch two special reconnaissance teams to the Taiwan Strait. The deployment of the special reconnaissance teams had to be ordered by the Executive Committee, not the Military Affairs Department. The steam-powered warships of the First Fleet anchored in Kaohsiung also received an order: “Proceed immediately to the Hong Kong base for comprehensive maintenance.”

This rhythm, no matter how you looked at it, was the prelude to war.

Si Kaide was fundamentally opposed to the use of force, and for this, he was criticized for “right-wing capitulationism” at the Senate general meeting. Although he was stopped on the spot by the speaker, Qian Shuiting, he knew that this group of people in the Senate would definitely make a big deal out of it. Needless to say, someone would write an article in this week’s Qimingxing criticizing “capitulationism.”

However, as the Minister of Colonization and Trade, Si Kaide had a complete understanding of the entire shipping schedule. At this stage, there were no major difficulties in terms of logistics and transportation for landing on Kinmen and Xiamen. Anyway, according to the Executive Committee’s intention, this was a hit-and-run operation. They would not occupy the Kinmen and Xiamen areas for a long time, nor would they station troops there, so the current maritime transport capacity did not need to bear any extra supply tasks.

Furthermore, considering the nature of the Planning Commission and the specific weather and sea conditions, the final attack on Kinmen and Xiamen was very likely to be in the winter of this year. First, there were no typhoons in winter, making both the voyage and the amphibious landing very safe. Second, the Anping ships that went to Japan for trade set out in the summer and returned to port for the winter with the gold, silver, copper, and dried seafood they had bought from Japan. An attack at this time would yield the greatest harvest.

But in this way, the Zheng Zhilong group might rise from the ashes. Si Kaide was very worried. If Zheng Zhilong was gone, another Li Zhilong or Liu Zhilong might appear in Fujian. Besides, the Zheng clan had a large population. In addition to Zheng Zhilong’s own brothers, he had several cousins and adopted brothers who later became the backbone of the Zheng clan. A surprise attack could not wipe them all out. If a few escaped, they might rally under the Zheng family’s banner and regroup.

Of course, he could just wash his hands of it and watch the show. But as the Minister of Colonization and Trade, the result of watching the show would be to be left out in the cold. He was unwilling for his department to be squeezed out of the work against the Zheng. It would be best to get involved in this matter and fully demonstrate the presence of the Ministry of Colonization and Trade.

Si Kaide stared at the large map of the East Asian waters opposite him, which was marked with the forces of all parties and their trade routes.

How could he demonstrate the presence of the Ministry of Colonization and Trade?