Chapter 41: The Intelligence Bureau's Conspiracy

“He truly has the blood of a samurai in his veins,” someone whispered in admiration.

Tōtarō took a sip of wine. Now that he had confirmed Fukumatsu was safe and sound in the “A” section, the next step was to figure out how to rescue him.

The first step, getting him out of the “A” section, was already a great challenge. It was one thing to sneak in and talk to him, but it was another thing entirely to get him out past the sentries. The Kunzei guards inspected all incoming and outgoing goods very strictly. Any large item that could conceal an eight-year-old boy had its outer packaging sealed with wax or lacquer, making it impossible to tamper with.

After managing to get him out, the second step was to escape to the mainland overnight. Kinmen Island was very close to the mainland, and Tōtarō and his men could swim across without any flotation devices. But Fukumatsu, at only eight years old, could not. They needed a small boat.

But now, all the boats on the island were in the hands of the Kunzei. No one could get a boat. And even if they could, the waters around the island were patrolled day and night by Kunzei patrol boats. These patrol boats, spewing smoke and fire, were very fast. If they were spotted, death was certain.

Neither of these problems was easy to solve. Tōtarō thought to himself that it would not be difficult for his group to escape, but the difficulty lay in bringing the child with them.

“We can find a way to get him out,” Tōtarō said. “But we need a boat to cross the strait. We don’t have one, and even if we did, we couldn’t get across.”

“I can carry Fukumatsu on my back and swim,” a mercenary said. “My hometown is on an island. I used to be able to carry my younger brother on my back and swim from one island to another. But this distance is a bit far, and my brother was only three or four years old back then…”

“Tie a few bamboo tubes to your body. That will save some energy,” someone suggested.

Although this plan didn’t seem very reliable, there was no better alternative.

But they still couldn’t figure out a way to rescue Fukumatsu. The “A” section on Kinmen Island seemed relaxed on the inside, but the external security was very tight. They came up with several plans but couldn’t find a way to get Fukumatsu out. With Ning Liujin, they could get in, but they couldn’t get anyone out.

“It’s a pity Fukumatsu isn’t a teenager, otherwise I could switch places with him…” a young mercenary said.

“Swapping places is a good idea, but where can we find a boy of the same age and build as the young master?”

“If we look, we can still find one,” Tōtarō said. “But I’m afraid this child won’t have the resolve to die for the young master. He’ll give himself away in a few words.”

Everyone fell silent. So far, all their actions had been precise, safe, and effective. They had done everything they had set out to do, which had given these astute and daring Japanese mercenaries a false sense of omnipotence.

But at this critical moment, they suddenly realized that at the most crucial juncture, they were completely powerless. The holes in the fishing net were large enough for the small fish and shrimp to slip through, but the big fish could not escape.

“…That’s the situation, Chief,” the Political Security Bureau agent responsible for internal security in the Kinmen area reported.

“Good, you may go,” Xu Ke said, putting down the file in his hand. “Tell the comrades to continue monitoring their movements. Don’t alert the enemy.”

“Yes, Chief.”

Xu Ke watched the naturalized cadre’s back disappear behind the door. He thought to himself, Zheng Zhilong’s men still have some conscience!

Xu Ke had been monitoring Tōtarō’s group’s activities on Xiamen Island through an informant from the Political Security Bureau planted in the POW camp. At first, he wasn’t sure what they were up to, because their actions didn’t seem as simple as just trying to escape. He decided to observe them for a while. It wasn’t until someone reported that they were asking about a boy named “Fukumatsu” that Xu Ke understood their true purpose.

The fact that someone would secretly try to rescue Fukumatsu was somewhat surprising to him. According to his analysis, the Zheng family was currently in chaos. With Zheng Zhilong’s fate unknown, no one under his command should have been thinking of rescuing Fukumatsu.

Although some speculated that the secret attempts to rescue Fukumatsu were evidence that Zheng Zhilong had escaped, Xu Ke thought it proved the opposite: Zheng Zhilong was very likely dead. If Zheng Zhilong had escaped to the mainland alive, his first priority would not be to rescue Fukumatsu. Fukumatsu was not that important to Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong was only in his thirties and had no difficulty producing heirs. Fukumatsu was just a child and certainly hadn’t shown any signs of extraordinary wisdom or martial prowess yet. The Zheng clan had just suffered a devastating defeat, and its foundations were shaken. As the leader, the first thing to do would be to rally his old subordinates and deal with the situation. He would have no time or energy to rescue his son first.

Only if Zheng Zhilong was already dead would his former subordinates be so eager to rescue Fukumatsu, either to maintain the stability of the clan or in the hope of rising to power by supporting the young master.

Capturing Zheng Sen was certainly a great victory for them, but this prisoner was a real hot potato. So much so that the news of his capture had sparked a fierce debate among the Transmigrators as soon as it reached Lingao.

The core of the debate was how to deal with this future “Koxinga” of the original timeline. The issue was so sensitive and troublesome that the Transmigrators who participated in Operation Overlord felt it would have been better if Ying Yu’s cannonball had been a little more accurate. A glorious death in battle would have saved everyone a lot of trouble and psychological burden.

The people of this timeline could not understand the Transmigrators’ complex feelings towards Zheng Sen. The status of this national hero of the original timeline was recognized by all Transmigrators. Although these events had not yet happened in this timeline, and would not happen again, simply eliminating him was clearly unacceptable to many. The members of the Huaxia Society had even declared that they wanted to “re-educate” him and make him a “new man” under the rule of the Senate. Others had proposed various re-education plans.

However, a large number of Transmigrators, including Xu Ke, did not like this “re-education theory.” If Zheng Sen were still an infant, or very young, then there would be a possibility of re-educating him. But he was already beginning to understand things, and he had been remarkably calm when he was captured. Moreover, the Transmigrators knew that Zheng Sen already held the status of “heir apparent” in the Zheng clan.

And the attack on Xiamen, not to mention whether it had actually killed his father, had certainly killed a large number of Zheng clan members. The entire Zheng clan had suffered a devastating blow at the hands of the Senate. Not only that, but in the future, the Senate would brand his father, like other sea lords, with the crime of “obstructing the development of productive forces,” and organize the masses to recall past bitterness and think of the present sweetness, to criticize the evils of the Zheng family and be grateful for the goodness of the Senate. Operation Overlord was another brilliant military victory, and everyone from the common soldiers to the Transmigrator officers would be proud to have participated in it. Many soldiers would talk about it. How could they expect a young Zheng, growing up under such social conditions, to be won over?

There were quite a few Transmigrators who shared Xu Ke’s view. Therefore, a few Transmigrators had also called for Zheng Sen’s execution: some wanted him to be secretly eliminated, others wanted a public execution, and some even wanted to use him as bait. However, killing a captured eight-year-old child simply because of his bloodline was a psychological barrier that many could not cross.

In this debate, the Executive Committee and the heads of the main powerful departments had not expressed any specific opinions. In fact, there was already a concrete plan on how to deal with Zheng Sen.

This plan had been proposed by Jiang Shan, the director of the Foreign Intelligence Bureau, at a meeting. Of course, it was the result of a joint discussion between the entire Foreign Intelligence Bureau and the think tanks of the Great Library.

Specifically, the Senate did not need this hot potato, so they could let Zheng Sen go.

Zheng Sen was not an important figure, Jiang Shan had analyzed at the meeting. He was just an eight-year-old child, and his life or death had little impact on the strength of the Zheng clan. That was the first point. Second, if Zheng Zhilong was not dead, then he would simply continue to be an insignificant “heir apparent.” If Zheng Zhilong was already dead, then Zheng Sen’s return would add more variables to the already precarious Zheng clan.

Theoretically, Zheng Sen was Zheng Zhilong’s eldest son and the undisputed heir to the Zheng clan. But in reality, whether the real power holders within the Zheng clan would think so was another matter entirely.

In another timeline, after Zheng Zhilong was taken away by the Qing army and lost control of the Zheng clan, Zheng Sen, the heir, although he was already an adult, did not receive the support of the real power holders within the clan at all.

The entire Zheng clan immediately fell apart after Zheng Zhilong was taken away, left leaderless. The Zheng Lian brothers occupied Xiamen, controlling most of the Zheng clan’s former overseas trade and main military forces, while Zheng Zhifeng occupied Kinmen, each with his own army.

After dividing up Zheng Zhilong’s property, none of them invited Zheng Sen to be the heir. When Zheng Sen raised his banner in Anping, he had only ninety-odd men under his command and not even a foothold. If not for the death of Yue Jin, the commander of Nanao, and the island sending for a new commander, allowing Zheng Sen to take the opportunity to incorporate these several thousand men, he would not even have had a force to start with.

Right now, the situation of the Zheng clan had not yet developed to the point of strength it had when Zheng Zhilong was taken away, not to mention that it had just suffered this devastating blow.

The Foreign Intelligence Bureau estimated that if Zheng Zhilong had indeed been killed, then the Zheng clan would split even more severely than it had in the original timeline. The surviving members of the “Eighteen Shiba” would inevitably fight over Zheng Zhilong’s legacy, becoming irreconcilable enemies.

“Once Zheng Sen returns to them, although he himself has no power, he is a banner that can be used to rally support. Moreover, he is a child who is easily manipulated. There will certainly be ambitious men who will support him. At that time, the situation of the entire Zheng clan will not be as simple as a Three Kingdoms period in Zhangzhou Bay, but more like the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods,” Jiang Shan analyzed.