Chapter 117: Sea Rebels

After chatting with the crowd at the port for quite a while, Master Hu finally found a spare moment to speak with Zhou and Bai.

"Bai Dongzhu, the journey went smoothly, I trust?"

Bailangzai nodded slightly: "This trip we sold for over seven thousand taels in total..."

Boss Hu hastily stopped him, glanced around, and said in a low voice: "Let's talk back at my residence. Please, both of you."

Scholar Zhou and Bailangzai boarded the palanquin of the Hu residence.

A little over half an hour later, the palanquin arrived at the front hall of the Hu residence. The two stepped out and followed Master Hu through several connecting corridors and courtyards to the main hall, where the three took their seats as host and guests.

Master Hu called out loudly to the steward: "Brew some tea—brew the good stuff!"

"Yes!" the steward acknowledged and ordered the servants to prepare tea.

Master Hu looked at Bailangzai, unable to contain his eagerness: "Bai Dongzhu, you can speak now—how were the returns on this voyage?"

Bailangzai remained expressionless: "A full load of Chaozhou silk, sold in Macao for over seven thousand taels."

"And then?" Master Hu pressed.

"That's all." Bailangzai then pulled a piece of paper from his bosom and handed it to Master Hu. "This is the cargo manifest, with the price details listed on it."

Master Hu took the manifest, gave it only a single glance, and set it down. He had sold Chaozhou silk for most of his life and knew the market prices well—the seven thousand taels figure was sound.

"You didn't encounter any storms or sea bandits on the way?" Master Hu asked.

"No." Bailangzai shook his head.

Scholar Zhou added: "Now that we're in the winter month, the northwest winds at sea are steady, so big storms are rarely encountered. As for sea bandits, the surrounding waters have been calm lately, and since we were sailing back against the wind, it would naturally be hard to run into any."

"Oh." Master Hu sounded somewhat disappointed.

Just then, a servant of the household brought over the brewed tea and set it on the table before each of the three.

Master Hu raised his teacup and said with a smile: "Luojie tea, please."

Zhou and Bai also raised their teacups: "Please."

Scholar Zhou lifted the lid of his cup. White steam curled upward, and a fragrant aroma rushed to meet him, refreshing the heart and invigorating the spirit.

He had drunk no small amount of Longjing tea on the island, yet he never expected the fragrance of this Luojie tea to be even richer than Longjing's.

Scholar Zhou took a sip. It was faintly bitter at first, then sweet as it went down the throat, and after swallowing, his mouth was filled with a clear fragrance. Truly fine tea.

Scholar Zhou praised the tea for a few words, and Master Hu, looking self-satisfied, modestly deflected with a couple of remarks.

Then the conversation turned back to running ships.

The reason Master Hu had built a three-masted Fujian junk yet dared not sail it himself was precisely his fear of storms, sea bandits, and official seizure.

A single Fujian junk—boat, cargo, and crew together—was worth twenty to thirty thousand taels in total. If anything went wrong, the loss would be too heavy.

That was why, before cooperating with Dongzhu Zhou and Dongzhu Bai, he had demanded ten thousand taels in earnest money—he was afraid the two would end up buried at sea and his goods would go down the drain.

But now they had cooperated three times, and every voyage had returned safely, which stirred a small thought in Master Hu's mind: perhaps running ships wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.

Zhou and Bai earned five hundred taels in freight fees from him every voyage—wasn't that silver a bit too easily earned?

Master Hu probed without changing his expression: "I've heard fishermen along the coast say that a Five-Clawed Flood Dragon has appeared at sea. I don't suppose the two of you know anything about it?"

Scholar Zhou brushed it off: "I've heard a little. I imagine it's just another folk rumor."

"That's not quite right." Master Hu lowered his voice mysteriously. "Have you heard of Li Kuiqi?"

Bailangzai's gaze sharpened, fixing on Master Hu.

Scholar Zhou nodded slowly: "I've heard of him."

"That man hasn't shown his face at sea for a long time now, and even the brothels in the three coastal counties of Chaozhou aren't as thriving as before. I've heard he was devoured by the Five-Clawed Flood Dragon." Master Hu looked grave.

Bailangzai looked away and took a sip of tea.

Scholar Zhou let out a relieved breath and smiled: "That is indeed possible."

Master Hu leaned back against his chair and said: "So the reason no sea bandits have been encountered at sea lately may well be because the Five-Clawed Flood Dragon has been eliminating evil."

Scholar Zhou found it both amusing and exasperating: "That reasoning makes sense."

Master Hu shifted the conversation: "I notice the two Dongzhus have quite a few guards on your ship. Since the seas are calm, carrying so many guards serves no purpose—why not bring fewer?"

Bailangzai wanted to interject but was stopped by a look from Scholar Zhou.

Master Hu continued: "With fewer guards, perhaps the freight fee could also be lowered a bit. Wouldn't you two agree?"

Scholar Zhou agreed readily: "Very well, then we'll reduce it by another hundred taels per voyage."

"Splendid!" Master Hu laughed heartily, while inwardly his heart ached—the previous three voyages had indeed been overpaid.

Bailangzai's eyes asked Scholar Zhou a question, and Scholar Zhou mouthed the words: "Don't be hasty."

After laughing for a while, Master Hu said: "The Chaozhou silk in my warehouse has all been sold by now. Fortunately, I still have some autumn cocoons left, enough to weave another shipload before spring arrives.

With the silver from selling to the Macao men, I can buy more spring cocoons next year. Then I'll hire a few more weaving households, and order even more voyages next year."

Scholar Zhou joined Master Hu in envisioning his commercial blueprint for a while.

When the conversation finally wound down, Scholar Zhou said with a smile: "Dongzhu Hu, I have an impolite request."

Master Hu set down his teacup: "Oh? Speak freely."

Scholar Zhou: "Dongzhu Hu, you know that those of us who run ships need large quantities of tung oil to maintain our vessels. It's just that the two of us aren't from these parts and don't know the local market. We'd like to entrust Dongzhu Hu with helping us make the purchases."

Master Hu waved his hand grandly: "Easy enough. Leave it to me."

Scholar Zhou then took a list from his bosom and placed it on the table before Master Hu.

"These are the items we need to purchase. Please take a look, Dongzhu Hu."

Master Hu found it rather odd—wasn't it just tung oil? Why did it need to be written on a list?

He casually picked up the list and unfolded it, and saw that it read:

"Rice, twenty thousand dan. Wheat, twenty thousand dan. Cloth, thirty thousand chi.

Tung oil, three thousand jin. Rope, five thousand jin.

Blue bricks, two million pieces. Roof tiles, two million pieces. Lime, three hundred thousand jin. River sand, five hundred thousand jin. Calamity ash, one hundred thousand jin."

Behind them was a large pile of miscellaneous items — various medicines, ironware, tools, plow oxen, mules and horses, and so on.

The list ran over a thousand characters, covering every conceivable detail.

For the span of ten breaths, Master Hu did not blink once.

His eyes leapt back and forth between those utterly absurd figures.

Twenty thousand shi? "Ten thousand"?

Two million pieces? "Million"?

Master Hu's first reaction was not shock at all — he thought Scholar Zhou must have made a mistake.

He looked up to see Scholar Zhou calmly sipping his tea.

Bailangzai's gaze shot over coldly, and on the table, a dagger had appeared — no one had seen it placed there.

A towering wave crashed through Master Hu's heart!

"You... you two, this..."

Scholar Zhou said placidly, "What of it?"

Master Hu was suddenly struck with enlightenment — he understood who these two were.

The northern Fujian sea merchant story, the family in decline, the clan recommendation, the household registration and travel permits — all of it was false!

These two were sea bandits!

No, more than that — daring to openly purchase these things made them more than sea bandits. This was rebellion. They were sea rebels!

"I want to..."

All color had drained from Master Hu's face; he could not even form a coherent sentence.

He wanted to say "report you to the authorities," but the words died in his throat.

In an instant, Master Hu understood many things.

Why Master Bai sailed his ship so ostentatiously, why he chose to dock at Chenghai County, why he would carry his goods at such a low price, why he had agreed to pay ten thousand taels of silver as a deposit.

The Hu household was already bound hand and foot.

If these two were called sea rebels, could he himself come out clean?

Self-blame, regret, unwillingness, fear, resentment.

The expression on Master Hu's face was a spectacle of shifting emotions.

For a full half-stick of incense, Master Hu sat in the seat of honor without saying a word, as if struck by lightning.

Scholar Zhou did not interrupt, savoring his tea with ease.

Master Hu's silence lasted so long that even the Hu household steward sensed something amiss. He watched his master with concern for a long while, then could not help but whisper a reminder: "Master?"

At the sound of the address, Master Hu returned to himself. His fingers trembling, he folded the list, tucked it into his robe, and said with a shaky smile: "We can talk."

Master Hu wiped his sweat, raised his cup, and gulped down the tea like a thirsty ox, then said in a trembling voice: "May I invite the two masters to the study for a talk?"

"Very well." Scholar Zhou set down his teacup.

They passed through connecting corridors and waterside pavilions until they reached the Hu household study.

Master Hu dismissed the servants, had his trusted steward guard the main gate, and closed the study door himself.

"Thud!"

Master Hu fell heavily to his knees and pleaded: "My two lords, I kneel before you! I was blind and foolish — please, my lords, spare me!"

Scholar Zhou hurried forward to help him up: "Master Hu, what is the meaning of this? Please, rise at once."

Master Hu refused to get up no matter what, and made as if to kowtow as well.

Bailangzai slapped the table and said in a cold voice: "Get up!"

Master Hu shot to his feet.

Bailangzai: "Stand and answer!"

Master Hu looked at Scholar Zhou with a pleading expression, took out the list from his robe, and begged: "My family has been single-son for three generations — we are few in number, and barely make a living weaving silk. We are not a great household in Chenghai County, and in all of Chaozhou Prefecture we are nothing at all. My lords, spare me."

Scholar Zhou did not take it. He went to the desk and sat down, then said leisurely: "We already knew all about the Hu household's situation. We chose you very carefully. Seventh Brother, show him the benefits."

At the summons, Bailangzai took a cloth pouch from his robe and opened it — it was filled with top-grade southern pearls the size of longan pits.

Master Hu's eyes were caught the moment he glanced at them.

"These are only the deposit," Scholar Zhou said. "The ten thousand taels of silver from before need not be returned either. Everything on the list, we will pay for — and at twenty percent above market price. The Hu household stands to profit, rest assured."

"It's not about the silver... the things on this list — with my small household, I simply cannot buy them," Master Hu said with a bitter face. "Never mind the rest — just one item alone: three thousand catties of tung oil. That stuff is strictly controlled. If a private person hoards it without a clear purpose, it's tantamount to plotting rebellion."

Scholar Zhou said: "The excuse has already been thought up for you. Everyone in Chenghai County knows you do maritime trade and have earned silver — so you're building a grand new mansion. That's all."

"The mansion is built outside the city walls, on a large plot, surrounded by tall walls. That gives you the excuse to buy large quantities of green bricks, roof tiles, lime, tung oil, and river sand."

"Ah?" Master Hu was dumbfounded.

"And since the mansion is in the suburbs, with the tall walls blocking the view, no one else can see what's going on. Each month you stockpile a batch of materials, and at month's end you ship them to Ma'er Cove."

Master Hu's jaw hung open. Only now did he realize that Master Bai's ostentatious sailing had a second purpose.

"But the rice, the wheat..."

"Since you've grown suddenly wealthy, of course you must do good deeds and give back to your hometown — establishing community granaries and charity granaries is the natural thing."

"This..." Master Hu was speechless.

The so-called "community granaries" and "charity granaries" were privately run, public-welfare grain stores, meant to stabilize grain prices and relieve disaster victims.

This system was first established in the Jiajing era — in the eighth year of Jiajing, it was promoted nationwide at the proposal of Wang Tingxiang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War.

Since the Zhengde era, the Great Ming had maintained a policy of honoring public-spirited commoners — that is, encouraging ordinary people to devote themselves to public welfare and to organize self-help measures against famine and disaster.

His Hu household was not a great one — before, they would not even open a porridge stall. Now that maritime shipping had made them money, they were flush with cash, and establishing a charity granary did indeed fit the mentality of a small household that had suddenly grown rich.

Master Hu's mouth hung wide open. He thought for a long while but could not come up with a single word of rebuttal, and could only say dryly: "This is still too risky. The authorities will find out sooner or later."

Scholar Zhou laughed lightly: "The authorities? Master Hu, you knew we were unlicensed ships and still dared to hire us — are you really afraid of the authorities?"

"Running private ships and building... that's a different matter from what you do."

"Don't worry, the helmsman has already thought this through for you. Before the new County Magistrate arrives in Chenghai County, you first win over the minor clerks in the yamen. Once the new magistrate takes office, you find a way to win him over, and then through the magistrate's connections, win over the Prefect."

Master Hu smiled bitterly: "Easier said than done."

Scholar Zhou sighed softly, then took another sheet of paper from his bosom: "The helmsman has also written down the methods for corrupting the County Magistrate."

Master Hu took it in surprise, scanned it a few times, and was instantly struck with awe. He folded the paper shut and clasped his hands: "May I ask, who exactly is the helmsman, what manner of divine being?"

Scholar Zhou did not answer, but asked in return: "So, you agree?"

Master Hu's heart was full of bitterness—he had no choice at all, and could only nod in assent.

Scholar Zhou rose, paced to the study door, and said: "From today on, you're aboard the ship. If any thorny trouble comes up in the future, we'll settle it for you. The helmsman said your hands must be clean."

Master Hu repeatedly assented.

"From now on, stop those money-lending and coercing-of-weavers affairs of yours. In our line of work, silver is never in short supply—what matters is reputation."

Master Hu clasped his hands: "Understood. My hands must be clean."

Scholar Zhou smiled faintly: "You catch on quick."

With that he pushed open the door and left, Bailangzai following behind him.

Long after the two had departed, Master Hu still stood rooted in place. He took the two slips of paper from his bosom, looked at them, then looked at the pouch of top-grade southern pearls on the table, his expression complicated.

As if his soul had been drawn out, he slowly walked to the table and slumped into the chair.

After the better part of an hour, he slowly exhaled a breath: "This is truly... a sin..."

The seventeenth day of the winter month.

A spring tide.

Over the course of a month and a half, the Santa Ana had completed all its repairs and inspections.

Today was the day it would return to the sea.

On the beach, Lin Qian was already waiting with his brothers.

The moon hung at its zenith.

The tide kept surging up the beach. The wooden gate of the dry dock holding back the water had already been removed, and the swell poured through the gap, flooding beneath the galleon's hull.

Out on the distant sea, four Haicang ships and ten Cangshan ships were arrayed in a V-formation, each with thick hawsers tied at the stern, the other end of the hawsers fixed to the galleon.

In the temporary dock, all the logs around the galleon had been removed.

On the shore, the craftsmen who had taken part in the repairs all stood at strict readiness.

Everyone's gaze was fixed on the waves rolling in one after another.

Under the light of the full moon, a wave came crashing in, pushing far up the beach before receding, leaving a dark wet line in the sand.

After a moment, another wave swept in, reaching level with the mark just made.

Chen Jiao said in a low voice: "The peak of the tide is coming."

Four or five successive swells came, and the tide line did not move.

Mute Huang waved a hand at his apprentice.

The apprentice understood, put his hands to his mouth, and with all his strength shouted in a drawn-out voice: "The great tide has arrived! Raise the sails—"

The moment his words fell, the surrounding craftsmen joined in the shouting.

The cries of "raise the sails" filled heaven and earth.

A huge red flag was taken up by a burly craftsman, who stood at the head of the beach waving it continuously.

Out on the distant sea, the fourteen ships heard the shouts and saw the waving flag, and all raised their sails halfway at once.

At this moment the northwest wind was blowing strong.

Dozens of Chinese-style hard sails caught the quartering wind and moved slowly forward.

The hawsers gradually pulled taut, then a tremendous force came through the lines, and each ship was dragged to a stop by the galleon.

The galleon shuddered from the force.

Bai Qing stood at the bow of one of the Haicang ships. Seeing the situation of the various vessels, he called out loudly: "Raise full sails!"

The sailors behind him took up the blue flags prepared earlier and waved them.

Each ship raised its sails to full.

The northwest wind was blowing hard, making the great blue flags snap and crackle in the air.

On the stern of Bai Qing's ship, the deck planks and mast both let out eerie creaking sounds.

"Whoosh—!"

On the beach, another surge of waves came rolling in.

"It's moving, the galleon is moving!" a craftsman shouted in delight.

In the dry dock, the galleon was gradually shifting forward—extremely slow, yet unstoppable.

Everyone watched from the side, holding their breath.

On the beach, there was only the howling of the wind and the sound of the waves.

Half a stick of incense later, the galleon's bow had emerged from the dock.

Excitement appeared on everyone's faces, but no one dared make a sound, afraid of disturbing the ships hauling the hawsers.

Compared to leaving the beach, running aground was harder, so for safety, the galleon had been pulled into the dock bow-first toward the shore.

The drawback of this was that leaving the beach required ships out at sea to do the towing.

Compared to hauling lines from shore, towing from the sea saved manpower, but it was an extremely technical operation.

Each hawser had a section fitted with oil-soaked leather rigging, used to cushion the impact loads.

Between the hawsers, iron rods with rings were also placed, to prevent the dozen-odd towing ships from colliding with one another due to the combined forces.

After another stick of incense's time, half of the galleon's hull had emerged from the dock.

The red flag on the shore waved again.

Seeing this, Bai Qing ordered, "All ships, lower sails to half-mast!"

As the sail area decreased, the creaking of the ships' timbers also lessened considerably.

On the beach, the galleon's center of gravity shifted slowly, finally settling onto the slipway.

Though the difference in slope between the dry dock and the slipway was not great, the slipway was still driven apart to both sides, sending sea sand flying in all directions.

The tension on several cables slackened at once; fortunately, the leather rigging cushioned the force, and the dozen-plus ships at sea were not greatly affected.

The slipway had long been coated with a thick layer of grease, and under its own weight, the galleon slid toward the sea.

At the same time, the cables were pulled taut once more.

With tension, buoyancy, gravity, and friction all working in concert—

More than half of the galleon's hull re-entered the water, and then the bow also left the slipway and entered the sea.

The wooden slipway extended all the way into the water, allowing the galleon to avoid running aground or capsizing, while the seawater's buoyancy prevented damage to the keel.

Once the galleon was fully in the water, its weight was greatly reduced, and the dozen-plus towboats pulled faster.

After some time, the Santa Ana rode at a proper draft, its hull righted itself, and it floated steadily on the sea's surface.

The crowd let out a cheer.

Craftsmen such as Mute Huang then took the islanders aboard small boats and went forward to inspect the damage the towing had caused to the hull.

Of course, wear on the hull planking was unavoidable—so long as the keel had no major problems, that was enough.

On the shore, Lin Qian breathed a sigh of relief and asked Scholar Zhou behind him, "How goes things on Hu Zhaoyuan's end?"

Scholar Zhou replied, "He's accepted his fate. These past few days he's already bought bricks and tiles and is building walls in the countryside. He estimates that by the end of this month, he can ship the first load of supplies from Ma'er'ao to the island."

Bailangzai added, "I've sent a few brothers to keep watch on the Hu household—no unusual movements."

Zheng Zhilong listened from the side, remaining silent.

Every time Zhou and Bai reported matters of the Hu household to Lin Qian, Lin Qian would deliberately or inadvertently bring Zheng Zhilong along.

At first, Zheng Zhilong thought serving as the shore contact was a good thing, and that Lin Qian not letting him contact the Zheng family of Quanzhou to handle it was a sign of wariness toward him—which had saddened him somewhat.

But after hearing more and more, and understanding Lin Qian's methods for dealing with Master Hu, as well as what he had Master Hu procure—

Zheng Zhilong finally understood: this wasn't guarding against him at all—this was clearly refusing to drag his own people into harm's way!

The Zheng family of Quanzhou was clearly easier to use, yet Lin Qian deliberately set aside kin in favor of strangers.

He would rather expend this much effort and bear this much risk to prop up the Hu family, than let the Zheng family of Quanzhou get entangled in it.

Brother Lin truly treated him as a brother!

Zheng Zhilong no longer resented Brother Lin; instead, he often chided himself—he had truly been measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's measure.

Lin Qian clapped his hands, dusting off the sea sand, and said to Chen Jiao, "Once the supplies dock at the end of the month, build the dry dock first."

Beaching ships for repairs carried too much risk; it was only a stopgap measure.

Now that the Santa Ana's inspection and repairs were complete, there was no need for the dry dock in the short term—but his fifty-plus Chinese-style warships still needed maintenance, so the dry dock couldn't be delayed.

Chen Jiao acknowledged, then said, "The new mortar that the helmsman had Stonemason Chu prepare earlier is ready. A wall has been built with it, and by the end of the month the mortar will have dried through."

"Mm." Lin Qian asked, "Remember to splash water on the wall to keep it moist."

"I've got it—I check on it every day."

The sea breeze blew, kicking up sea sand, and everyone's clothes flapped loudly in the wind.

The wind and sand were too strong, so Lin Qian led the others away from the beach and found a fire sheltered from the wind, where they warmed themselves by the flames.

The sailors by the fire were quick-witted, hurriedly pouring hot water into bowls and passing them around.

Lin Qian picked up his bowl of hot water, blew on the steam, took a slurping sip, and asked again, "How is the literacy drive progressing?"

Zheng Zhilong answered promptly, "Ever since the teaching stall was moved to the evenings, many more people come to listen each day. Over this month and a half, most of the islanders can recognize a few characters now."

Literacy was slow work—it couldn't be rushed.

Even after the founding of New China, a literacy class took one to two months to finish; let alone in this era.

Counting the days, there was only a month and a half left until the New Year—might as well schedule the island's first civil service examination for after the New Year.

There would be ample time, and it wouldn't dampen anyone's New Year spirits.

Lin Qian explained the arrangements for the clerk examination to Zheng Zhilong, and added a reminder: "This time, don't fill all the clerk quotas. Just let the other islanders understand the benefits of learning to read and write."

"I'll remember that." Zheng Zhilong said seriously.

It had to be said, Zheng Zhilong was truly capable—not only did he manage the Criminal Justice Department in perfect order, but most of the Civil Registry Department's affairs were also handled by him.

Moreover, Zheng Zhilong worked with great seriousness and diligence; his devotion to work was second almost only to Lin Qian's.

Lin Qian then looked at Bailangzai, who was holding the Japanese-slayer saber, and asked, "So, does the blade handle well?"

Bailangzai: "It's a fine blade—just a pity I haven't had the chance to taste blood with it."

Since the raid on the Lin estate two months ago, the sea bandits had been peaceful for two months now, and it was plain to see everyone was getting itchy.

Lin Qian smiled. To stand on the sea, opportunities to taste blood were far too many.

Take now, for instance: the northwest monsoon was steady, and quite a few fleets would take this window to sail south to the Nanyang to sell goods—especially those bound for Manila, all of them large ships.

This was the advantage of Nan'ao Island—whether heading to Macao or Manila, ships would pass through the nearby waters.

If one wanted to fish, there were always plenty of fish to catch.

But Lin Qian's current problem wasn't a lack of silver—it was having silver that was hard to spend. His focus should be on Nan'ao Island's construction and on cultivating the Hu household as his proxy.

Once the southeast monsoon rose and the Nanyang fleets returned laden with silver, that would be the right time to cast the net.

Lin Qian decided to let these fish fatten up a while first.

(End of chapter)

Yahei

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