Chapter 970: Lobbying for an Alliance

As for those rouge and powder items that could be kept, it was mostly because the boxes were engraved with the words "Made by the Great Qing Inner Workshop" or "For the Exclusive Use of Wenzhuang." "Wenzhuang" was the temporary palace of the Qing State monarch; goods with such inscriptions could not be circulated on the market. Commissioner Wu had already prepared himself for the loss of three ships, so hearing that the ships had returned now, he felt a sense of relief instead.

The one surnamed He had shown mercy.

That was right; even if he seized these three ships, he could not easily use them in the Yangshan waters or at Blade Harbor. Even if the markings on the hulls were painted over, the old sailors had sharp eyes and would know at a glance that they were Commissioner Wu’s ships.

Since that was the case, He Lingchuan simply returned the ships to Commissioner Wu after the fact, taking only the cargo as punishment, leaving room for maneuver for both sides. This was hitting someone with a stick and immediately following up with a sweet date; it was both a gesture of goodwill and a warning:

If he wanted the ships to sink, they would sink; if he wanted them to float, they would float.

As long as Commissioner Wu’s ships wanted to leave the port, and as long as Commissioner Wu wanted to keep earning this money, he would have to cooperate properly with the Yangshan Archipelago.

If everyone lived in peace, everyone would have money to earn.

What did "giving a beating" mean? It meant telling a smart person: stop being stubborn, back off, back off, otherwise I will continue to deal with you; I have plenty of tricks!

The premise being that they were a smart person.

Commissioner Wu relaxed and suddenly remembered something, urgently asking Assistant Commissioner Zhao: "Have the memorial and the letters been sent out yet?"

"I was just about to hand them to the messenger."

"Bring them here."

Assistant Commissioner Zhao found them, and Commissioner Wu snatched them away and tore them up on the spot.

Assistant Commissioner Zhao: "..."

Commissioner Wu sat down, dipped his brush in ink, and rewrote the memorial and the secret letter, then sealed them and handed them to Assistant Commissioner Zhao: "Send them out."

"Yes." Assistant Commissioner Zhao was completely confused but dared not ask; he took them and walked out.

Commissioner Wu pressed his temples and muttered, "Almost made a foolish mistake."

The letters he rewrote were much the same as the originals, only he had deleted the content regarding "the Yin Hui suspected of being controlled by the Yangshan Archipelago," reporting the matter in a straightforward manner instead.

He had been so angry before that he had actually written down his inner thoughts, but after regaining his composure, he quickly deleted them.

Reporting such things upward had no benefit at all; the Qing State Royal Court and Imperial Consort Yu would at most tell him to find a way to solve it, and the ball would be kicked back to him, at which point he would have no choice but to handle it.

Why would he make things difficult for himself?

￥￥￥￥￥

The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the jungle of Black Page Island.

The shanty-like supply station had long been dismantled, replaced by neat and uniform bamboo and wooden houses.

Behind the houses were rows of oil-pressing workshops and warehouses.

After a day of toil, the farm workers would go to the new small shop to buy a cup of thin wine and a small bag of salt-fried peanuts, enough to enjoy themselves for half the night.

After work, the beach was full of people.

At this moment, more than a dozen burly men emerged from behind, four or five of whom had several braids woven at the back of their heads.

Without them having to say a word, others tactfully walked away, giving up the best spots.

The two leading men sat down on a section of a long log. The young man had a scar on his face and raised a wine gourd, handing it over: "Uncle, the guard team starts selecting people tomorrow. I hear there are many applicants."

The older man turned his head and gestured with his chin toward the crowd on the beach: "All this kind of riffraff, not worth worrying about."

"I heard that Island Master He has subdued three pirate factions of the Yangshan Archipelago, at least five hundred people, and they will also be participating in the guard team selection with us tomorrow."

The older man picked up the wine gourd, took a big gulp, and said in a rough voice: "Pirates are all a motley crew; how much loyalty can they have? Afeng, you aren't thinking of backing out, are you?"

Afeng looked toward the west and said: "I think we should be more cautious. At the very least, we should find out the true strength of this archipelago."

The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is near dusk.

Sigh, has their clan also reached its twilight? "Uncle, we cannot afford to make a mistake."

"Being timid and indecisive, how can one accomplish anything?" His uncle scoffed and spat on the sandy ground, "The Bailong people need a safe stronghold, and this place is very suitable!"

Far from the mainland but with resources, capable of producing grain, and the place was large enough to accommodate their branch.

At this time, someone walked toward them, also dressed like a laborer.

The man was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, looking like someone not to be trifled with, yet the burly men did not stop him from approaching.

The man bowed to the two men and sat on the ground: "Brother Wanqi, give me a drink of wine?"

The older man tossed a wine gourd to him: "Old Yu, you aren't on the island today?"

"Ah, I went to help out on Suoding Island. There are more and more guests there, not enough hands, and the wages are a bit higher." Old Yu shook his head and sighed, "Working to death day after day, the money earned isn't even enough to buy two peanuts."

The young man threw half a bag of peanuts over: "Here."

When they were recruited, this Old Yu was already working on the island; he was a native of Suoding Island and knew these islands very well, providing the uncle and nephew with many conveniences.

Old Yu also intentionally curried favor with them and spoke pleasantly, so after going back and forth, the two sides became familiar.

"Afeng is a good person." Old Yu shelled a peanut and asked the uncle and nephew: "Are you going to join the guard team?"

"Yes." Everyone knew that guard team members were paid more.

"Your men are all burly, I reckon you will join too." Old Yu laughed, "Bailong people serving as guards, how luxurious."

Neither the uncle nor the nephew made a sound.

Given their status, this was not a compliment.

Old Yu looked left and right and whispered: "You are all heroic figures; do you really want to be guards for that Island Master He for the rest of your lives?"

"Is this something you should be saying?" Wanqi Feng immediately felt something was wrong. A simple farmer on an island, why would he care about this? "Who are you?"

The two burly men behind also stepped forward, surrounding Old Yu in the middle.

He quickly waved his hands: "Don't move, don't move, I'm just a messenger!"

The older man sneered: "A messenger? You've been approaching us these past few days just to deliver a message?"

"You are Wanqi Song; if I didn't try to get close to you first, how could you look at me properly?"

"Interesting." Wanqi Song took a gulp of wine himself, "Speak, who sent you?"

"My master's surname is Lu. Knowing that Mr. Wanqi had come to Blade Harbor, he specially sent me to offer his regards."

"Lu?" Wanqi Song was startled, "The Lu family, Lords of Bailie?"

"Exactly."

Wanqi Feng rushed to ask: "When did your master find out?"

"It has been some time." Old Yu said, "The Ya State oppressed the Bailong people, and the clan leader's son, Wanqi Tong, could not tolerate you, so you brought these clansmen south. It just so happened that the Yangshan Archipelago was recruiting on a large scale, so you came."

"However, now that you have come to this island, do you really want to be someone else's guard?"

Wanqi Song's eyes flashed with a murderous glint: "Spit it out! If you beat around the bush again, I'll throw you into the sea."

Old Yu felt a chill run through him under his gaze, thinking to himself that these Bailong people were truly barbaric: "The Island Master surnamed He used some dishonorable means to get his hands on the Yangshan Archipelago. Our master is very angry, but he does not want to resort to major conflict."

Wanqi Feng laughed and pointed at him: "I heard about it. You Lu family sold this archipelago that no one wanted, thinking you had taken advantage. Who would have thought Island Master He would develop it so well, the miasma has faded, and the guests have come."

Old Yu was a bit embarrassed: "The fading of the miasma is a natural issue and has nothing to do with Island Master He; he just has good luck."

Wanqi Song snorted: "In other words, Bailie wants to go back on its word?"

This was the rhythm of killing the conversation, Old Yu complained inwardly, but on the surface, he had to maintain a smile: "My master hopes to cooperate with the Bailong people."

Wanqi Feng mocked: "What a joke, you were all played by him..."

Wanqi Song raised his hand to interrupt him: "What kind of cooperation?"

"The one surnamed He just took the Yangshan Archipelago, his footing is unstable, and the guard team is uneven; this should be the easiest time to deal with him." Seeing that these Bailong people were straightforward, Old Yu simply spoke openly, "You uncle and nephew Wanqi are unwilling to be under the clan leader's son, so why would you come here to be guards for a greenhorn? I think you and my master should hit it off."

Simply put, these Bailong people had ill intentions from the moment they stepped onto the island. The one surnamed He thought he was lucky to recruit so many powerful guards, not knowing that every one of them was a debt collector! "The one surnamed Lu wants to keep his hands clean and let us do the killing?" Wanqi Feng sneered on the side, "He signed an agreement; if he goes back on it, his behavior would be too ugly. Besides, even if we take down Island Master He, how do we know Bailie won't be the oriole behind?"

Old Yu said solemnly: "If you two are worried, the Lu family can sign an agreement with you. As long as you take down He Lingchuan, the Bailong people will have all the money and land they want!"

He immediately added: "You brought people away, isn't it because you were worried about having nowhere to settle? Coming to the Yangshan Archipelago, you just wanted to find a place to stay. The Lu family can provide all of this."

"Island Master He sees you as guards, but the Lu family knows you are heroes." Old Yu smiled, "Heroes should have the treatment of heroes."

Wanqi Song pondered.

Old Yu added: "The hundreds of men you have are all elites and will surely be selected for the guard team. The Yangshan Archipelago will not trust you and will break up the Bailong people into different squads, sending them to guard various islands. You won't have much time to be together afterward; furthermore, the guards around Island Master He will only be recruited more and more, so you cannot wait too long if you want to make a move."

Wanqi Feng reminded his uncle: "So we take all the risks, and the Lu family reaps all the benefits?"

"Benefits? That Island Master He is wealthy and generous; he bought the island and set up such a large business without blinking an eye. You tell me, how much money must he have?" Old Yu laughed, "My master conservatively estimates that Island Master He's net worth is at least over a million. If you take him down, wouldn't you be digging up a gold mine and silver mountain, and never have to worry about money again?"

A net worth of a million? The Wanqi uncle and nephew looked at each other. Why were the Bailong people turbulent, destitute, and homeless? In the end, it was because they lacked money; in troubled times, lacking money was the most fatal thing. If they caught this big fat sheep surnamed He, the whole clan would live in luxury, and they wouldn't have to worry about money for a long time.

"As for the money, food, weapons, and intelligence for the operation, we can provide them all. By the way, my master said that the Imperial Flowing Nectar will appear in a few days, and the archipelago will surely be in chaos; do you want to seize this opportunity?" Old Yu placed a cloth bag on the ground, "Wealth and honor are sought in danger. If you don't want to take risks, you'll have to be someone's guard for the rest of your life."

(End of chapter)