Chapter 156: The Storm at Hirado

After leaving port, Bai Qing turned back to look, seeing the vast fleet with a thousand sails blotting out the sky — as far as the eye could see, there were only ships. Truly an imposing sight.

The fleet first sailed southeast, leaving the waters around Nan'ao Island, then turned eastward, arriving at the waters of Penghu, where they caught the Kuroshio Current and sailed north along the Dongning Strait with favorable wind and current.

After leaving the strait, they continued eastward, arriving at DYD, Chiwei Islet, and the Ryukyu Islands.

The fleet followed the Ryukyu Islands northward to the southern tip of Kyushu, then followed the coastline to Hirado.

This route was somewhat roundabout — not as fast as crossing the East China Sea directly from southwest to northeast.

The advantage was safety: islands along the way served as landmarks, making it hard to lose their way, and they could always replenish fresh water.

With the monsoon and warm currents in their favor, the fleet's speed was not slow.

The fleet carried Portuguese nautical charts, and even had a Portuguese merchant who had personally sailed the Hirado route and spoke Chinese serving as their guide.

Thus the fleet sailed smoothly and safely, arriving at the strait between Hirado Island and Kyushu at the end of the fourth month without incident.

"Honorable lady, allow me to solemnly introduce to you the pearl of the Eastern land of the rising sun, the city of free trade — Hirado!"

The Portuguese guide Lucas shouted excitedly.

As his words fell, the fleet sailed past the hills on the eastern shore of Hirado Island.

A sheltered harbor embraced by green mountains appeared before their eyes.

On the sea before the harbor, Ming Fujian junks, Japanese guard ships, and European galleons shuttled back and forth in bustling activity.

Docks covered the entire bay, the farthest extending seventy or eighty chi into the sea.

Beyond the harbor were dense clusters of houses and warehouses, some Japanese-style and some European-style, full of exotic charm.

Further away on a hill stood an imposing mountain castle — white walls, black tiles, eaves curving upward like a bird in flight.

The guide Lucas pointed at the mountain castle and shouted: "Look! That is Hirado Castle! The locals call it Kameoka Castle — this is the domain of Matsuura Takanobu, lord of the Hirado Domain!"

"Matsuura Takanobu?" Bai Qing murmured, frowning slightly. The helmsman had never mentioned this name.

After all, this man's domain was less than ten thousand koku — he could not even be called a daimyo. Lin Qian had no idea who he was.

In Lin Qian's impression, he had thought Hirado was part of the Satsuma Domain.

Seeing Bai Qing's confusion, the guide Lucas launched into an enthusiastic praise of Matsuura Takanobu's glorious achievements.

"Lord Matsuura is enlightened and tolerant, expanding foreign trade, collecting only minimal taxes from merchants, and turning Hirado into the pearl of East Asia.

The Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Dutch all have trading posts in this city — in this regard, it is far more open than the Great Ming — ah, forgive me, I mean no offense.

Speaking of trade, Hirado's greatest trading partner is the people of the Great Ming. The Ming captain Li Dan in the city is quite famous—"

Hearing the name Li Dan, Bai Qing asked: "Will this man obstruct the fleet's trading in Hirado?"

"Rest assured, rest assured!" The guide Lucas said with great pride. "Hirado is an open and free city. The domain lord does not permit anyone to interfere with free trade — even Captain Li Dan is not exempt. The only thing to worry about is—"

He was cut off mid-sentence by the pilot: "Pilot Kojiro, at your service!"

This man came aboard in a small boat, dressed in coarse cloth, speaking fluent Chinese. After a brief greeting upon boarding, he directed the docking with great efficiency.

Standing at the bow, Bai Qing could see the harbor densely packed with people — mostly locals, but also many Ming Chinese and Westerners.

Seeing Bai Qing's massive fleet entering the harbor, these people were all stunned, crowding to the docks to watch.

Since the Jiajing era of the Great Ming cut off Sino-Japanese trade, large Ming fleets entering the harbor had become a rare sight.

Bai Qing looked at the scene before him and asked: "The only thing to worry about is what?"

Lucas smiled and said: "Oh, the only thing to worry about is the return voyage. But that's half a year away, isn't it?"

On the beam of a harbor warehouse, a young boy reached out his hand, counting in the air: "One, two, three — seventeen, eighteen!"

Eighteen large ships in total! This news absolutely had to be reported to the ship lord immediately!

Thinking this, the boy nimbly flipped down from the warehouse and ran toward the city.

An hour later.

Li Dan listened to the boy's report with a calm expression, then asked genially: "Did you get a clear look at the size of the ships and their cannon configuration?"

The boy recalled for a moment: "Three Fujian junks, the rest are three-masted Haicang ships. None of them have cannons."

"Good, go collect your reward." Li Dan smiled and patted the boy's head.

The boy went down happily.

The smile on Li Dan's face peeled away bit by bit, replaced by a furrowed brow of worry.

First Li Kuiqi was wiped out by Five-Clawed Jiao, then Dutch and Portuguese ships calling at port dwindled sharply, then Yan Siqi's fleet fell completely silent—

—and now, out of nowhere, such a large fleet appears.

He vaguely felt that a great net had already been spread before him, waiting for him to walk into it.

He was standing before the fish pond in his residence. Koi surfaced, opening their mouths wide, waiting for Li Dan to feed them.

A subordinate entered to report: "Ship Lord!"

"Is it about that fleet again?"

"No, it's news about the Dutch. The ship lord previously ordered me to investigate why Dutch and Portuguese ships calling at port had decreased — the reason has been found.

On the first day of the twelfth month last year, the Dutch attacked Macao and dealt a crippling blow to the Portuguese.

Subsequently, the Dutch were soundly defeated by the Ming navy that arrived, and have fled back to Batavia."

"Understood. You may go." Li Dan's voice was calm.

"Splash!"

After the subordinate withdrew, Li Dan scattered all the fish feed into the pond. The koi scrambled for the food, the water's surface churning.

He sat on a stone nearby, his expression grave.

In his impression, the Ming navy was like an ocean sunfish — appearing massive in body and fearsome in appearance, but in truth on its last legs and slow in movement.

The Dutch navy, meanwhile, was like a shark — a single one might not be much, but the slightest hint of blood would draw in a whole school.

Since when could an ocean sunfish eat a shark?

The Ming navy could barely even suppress sea bandits!

Besides, the Great Ming now faces countless internal troubles and external threats—what exactly does it intend to do by building up a powerful navy!

What the Great Ming lacks most right now is money, and maritime trade is what makes the most money!

Could it be that those rigid, dogmatic old scholars have finally come around, and the Great Ming is finally going to stake a claim in maritime trade?

If the Great Ming were to enter maritime trade, who would be the first obstacle to be removed?

Li Dan shuddered—merely thinking about it made his skin crawl.

With the Great Ming's national strength supplemented by the infusion of maritime trade revenue, restoring the maritime glory of Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans would take no more than a few years.

How was he to respond? Fight, or flee?

Just as he was caught in this dilemma, another subordinate came to report.

"Ship lord, Ship Lord Yan has returned!"

"What?" Li Dan shot to his feet.

His sworn brother Yan Siqi had gone to Dongfan Island before the first month of the new year and had not been heard from since—how was it that he now suddenly appeared in Hirado?

"Bring him in at once."

"Bring" was not quite accurate—to be precise, Yan Siqi was carried in, supported by two attendants, each holding one of his arms.

Li Dan looked over and was startled at once. Yan Siqi had wasted away beyond recognition—cheeks and eye sockets deeply sunken, a greenish glint in his eyes, stubble-covered face, dark skin, and a dazed expression. He looked truly frightening.

"Carry him into the house at once," Li Dan ordered. "Have the kitchen prepare food!"

After much fussing, Yan Siqi took a bite of a rice ball, regained some strength, and choked out: "I've finally made it back!"

Li Dan comforted him while asking what had happened.

Yan Siqi poured out everything he had seen on Dongfan Island like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.

When describing the Ming cannon ships, he pulled out every exaggeration imaginable.

He dragged out such tales as "the demons that bombarded Kui Harbor," "the vengeful spirits of the Dongfan Strait," and "the phantom that claims lives on snowy nights."

Li Dan frowned as he listened, yet could not bear to reproach him.

After all, the very fact that Yan Siqi had made it back to Hirado alive was already a miracle.

After the snowy-night pursuit, everyone on Yan Siqi's ship had been scared out of their wits. To avoid the Ming cannon ships, they had turned south, then sailed north against the monsoon east of Dongfan Island before returning to Hirado.

Along the way they lost their bearings many times, and fresh water and rations soon ran out.

Had they not been lucky enough to find the Ryukyu Islands and sustain themselves on the fresh water and food there, they would certainly have died at sea.

Even so, they had drifted on the ocean for nearly three months before reaching Hirado today.

More than half the crew had died—it was truly a tragic ordeal.

Li Dan's expression grew darker and darker as he listened.

Yan Siqi asked: "What is it? Has something happened? Surely the Ming navy hasn't come chasing after us?"

Li Dan hesitated for a moment, then told him about the large fleet that had docked at the port today.

Yan Siqi's eyes flew wide open. He muttered: "It must be the Ming navy! The Ming navy has come to arrest me! Ship lord, let's flee!"

Li Dan reassured him: "Don't worry. The lookouts said they're all merchant ships—no cannon ships."

Yan Siqi was dubious, and only after confirming repeatedly did he ask: "Ship lord, what should we do?"

"Let's go meet them first."

As long as those who came were not Ming imperial troops, Li Dan was confident he could swallow them whole!

In the past, he had always harbored fellow-countryman goodwill toward Ming fleets—he would not send men to plunder them, and would even offer some protection.

But now that the Ming navy was being so aggressive, Li Dan could no longer sit still.

In the afternoon, Li Dan led Yan Siqi and a retinue of guards to a high vantage point before the harbor.

Gazing at the dozen-odd Ming merchant ships.

Li Dan said: "Take a look—are there any official warships among them?"

Yan Siqi scanned the area. He saw no triangular-sail fast craft, no large Fujian junks, and no barbarian cannon ships, and shook his head in bewilderment.

Li Dan relaxed and instructed his subordinate: "Erhei, go find out who they are and where they're from."

Several hours later, Erhei returned.

"Ship lord, this fleet is from Chaozhou. The ship owner is called Squire Hu."

"Squire Hu?" Li Dan frowned, racking his brains. He knew virtually every major maritime merchant of the southeast seas, but no matter how hard he thought—until his head ached—he could not recall anyone by that name.

"What are they carrying?" Yan Siqi asked.

"Raw silk makes up thirty to forty percent; the rest is mostly deer hides."

"What?" Li Dan was dumbfounded.

A fleet this large, carrying thirty to forty percent raw silk?

Raw silk—small in volume, light in weight, high in value—was known as white gold in Hirado and commanded an extremely high price.

Likewise, because its cost was not low either, and due to capital constraints, it was usually only the great maritime merchants who traded in it—men like Li Dan.

And before him, eighteen sea vessels, with raw silk alone accounting for half their cargo? What kind of joke was this?

Li Dan had spent years steeped in maritime trade; he could tell a ship's carrying capacity at a glance from its type.

The eighteen ships before him had a combined effective deadweight of roughly five thousand dan, with raw silk at thirty to forty percent—that was fifteen hundred to two thousand dan.

In past years, what was the total annual raw silk trade volume between the Great Ming and Hirado? Less than four thousand dan.

This one shipment carried nearly half the annual trade volume! What was left for others to trade?

Dumping goods on the market, were they?

The most infuriating part was that it was only the end of the fourth month now.

This Chaozhou fleet must have set sail before the monsoon had fully settled in order to reach Hirado this early.

Most of Li Dan's own merchant ships were still at sea right now—by the time his ships arrived, Hirado's demand for raw silk would already have been filled by the Chaozhou fleet.

So Squire Hu meant to swallow up all the profits from Hirado raw silk, leaving only scraps of bone for Li Dan!

By the time his silk ships arrived, forget big profits—breaking even would be a stroke of luck.

And deer hides—in previous years, all of Hirado's deer hides came from Kui Harbour, almost entirely monopolized by Li Dan.

Samurai and daimyo across the land needed deer hides to make armour and bows, and Li Dan alone set the prices.

But now, with Ghost Harbour destroyed, the Chaozhou fleet was flooding the market with raw silk and deer hides.

Li Dan, the former trade hegemon, not only saw his trading position threatened, but was being stomped on twice over in humiliation.

If this could be endured, what could not?!

In a fit of rage, Li Dan said: "Erhei, take some men and surround their stalls for me!"

The Hirado domain forbade merchants from armed brawling, but Li Dan was after all a local power—even the domain lord had to show him some face.

Surrounding without attacking didn't violate domain rules, and no one dared interfere.

This trick was too underhanded; a man of Li Dan's standing would normally disdain such tactics, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and he could no longer worry about honour or shame.

In the harbour.

Lü Zhou directed the crew to unload cargo from the ship. Bundles and bales of goods piled into small mountains in the dockyard, while labourers hauled the merchandise into warehouses.

At this pace, just the unloading alone would take four or five days.

Fortunately, Hirado's commerce was thriving, and inland travelling merchants couldn't wait for transactions at shops and warehouses—they all squatted in the dockyard waiting.

Seeing the Chaozhou fleet unloading, they were like koi spotting fish food, surfacing one after another with mouths agape.

"What goods are these? Please show me a sample." A merchant asked with a bow.

The interpreter said to Lü Zhou: "Captain, this one's here to talk business. He's asking what cargo we're carrying and wants to see samples."

Lü Zhou glanced at the merchant. The man wore a shaved pate with a topknot, dressed in a navy-blue cotton kimono with intricate yet understated patterns, slightly bent forward with a smile on his face and a humble demeanour.

Behind him stood four servants, carrying an abacus, account books, silver coins and other items respectively, with one more man exclusively holding an umbrella and wiping sweat—quite the display of pomp.

"I am Chaya Jiro, a merchant of Hirado. I humbly request your kind patronage."

Seeing Lü Zhou's gaze fall on him, the merchant bowed and, beaming, rattled off another string of strange words.

The interpreter said: "He says his name is Chaya Jiro. First meeting—pleased to make your acquaintance."

Lucas, the Portuguese guide sent by Bai Qing to assist Lü Zhou, heard the interpreter's words and said with pleasant surprise: "Sir, the Chaya house are great merchants of the Tokugawa clan—this man purchases exclusively for the shogunate!"

The interpreter, perhaps feeling his position threatened, also displayed his knowledge of Hirado, saying: "This one is a silk-thread magistrate—a monopoly official appointed by the shogunate. All raw silk must first be sold to him."

Lü Zhou was taken aback and asked: "And the price?"

The interpreter said: "The silk-thread magistrate post was created to keep other merchants from bidding up raw silk. The price won't be too high, but doubling your money shouldn't be a problem."

Hearing this, Lü Zhou smiled and said: "Good, then bring me a crowbar."

A moment later, a crewman brought the crowbar, and Lü Zhou said: "Let Old Chaya pick which crate to open."

Chaya Jiro, upon hearing this, made a flattered expression and casually pointed at one crate.

Lü Zhou ordered a man to pry the crate open, revealing layers upon layers of oiled paper inside. He reached in, peeled back the paper, and took out a bundle of raw silk, holding it high in the air for display.

The surrounding merchants all let out a gasp of "Ooh!"

Under the summer sun, the silk was fine, lustrous white, smooth and glossy, gleaming with the sheen of a young maiden's hair—utterly captivating.

Lü Zhou handed the silk to Chaya Jiro, glanced at the crate's label, and said: "This bundle is genuine Huzhou silk. Please take a look."

Chaya Jiro recognized it as Huzhou silk at a single glance. After receiving it, he casually flipped through it twice before respectfully placing it back in the crate.

Then he conferred with his servants for a moment.

Then he quoted a price: "My master's offer is one hundred and ninety taels per bale."

Lü Zhou had accompanied José on many trips to Macao and was well-versed in merchants' bargaining tactics. After some back-and-forth haggling, he raised the unit price by ten taels, settling at two hundred taels.

Compared to the eighty-tael purchase price of Huzhou silk, this unit price had already multiplied two and a half times—sea trade was truly exorbitant profit.

Lü Zhou said: "I have a total of one thousand eight hundred bales of raw silk—half Huzhou silk, half Zhangzhou and Chaozhou silk. Give me a price for the whole lot."

Chaya Jiro's pupils dilated as he confirmed: "Is that true?"

One thousand eight hundred bales of raw silk—a rough estimate put the total value at over three hundred thousand taels.

Even Chaya Jiro, who had weathered many storms, found it hard to stay composed at this moment.

After receiving Lü Zhou's affirmative reply, Chaya Jiro said something to his servant, bowed, and left.

The servant said in oddly accented Chinese: "My master must return to consult with the head of the house. He will be back shortly—please wait a moment."

Only then did Lü Zhou realize this servant could speak Chinese.

He hadn't spoken earlier precisely to listen for any secrets Lü Zhou or his men might let slip, so as to gain an advantage in negotiations.

Lü Zhou thought to himself: "Just as the helmsman said—these Japanese may be all courtesy on the surface, but they're full of scheming underneath."

At this moment, Erhei, who had arrived with his men in a menacing manner, saw Chaya Jiro rushing away and understood that the silk deal was already done—blocking it now would be useless.

He could only slink back to report to Li Dan.

Upon learning this, Li Dan exclaimed in shock: "That fast?"

No matter how arrogant he was, he dared not openly provoke the shogunate's appointed merchants.

For the shogunate, domestic silk supply was perpetually insufficient and prices remained high—buying from anyone was the same. They wouldn't clear their stomachs to eat Li Dan's silk out of regard for years of partnership.

Moreover, Ming merchants increasing supply and undercutting each other's prices was precisely the outcome the shogunate wanted to see.

Li Dan forced himself to calm down. Raw silk could no longer be targeted, but there were still other goods to strike at.

Gazing at the mountain of cargo crates stacked in the warehouse, a vicious scheme took shape in his mind.

"Greet all the warehouses, actively accept their goods, and be flexible on rent. When it rains, poke a few holes in the roofs!" Li Dan's voice was icy.

Deer hides, cane sugar, Chinese medicine—all of it feared rain and dampness. One thorough soaking and these goods would plummet in value, or even be ruined entirely.

Even if the Chaya house was slow to collect, the silk would get waterlogged and lose much of its value.

Half of Hirado's warehouses were run by Li Dan, and the other half all answered to him. Once Li Dan gave the word, no one dared disobey.

Thinking of the miserable state of the goods after the rain, and of the ruinous losses suffered by Squire Hu and the fleet's convoy heads, a smug smile crept onto Li Dan's lips.

Heaven was obliging—just two days later, a torrential downpour descended upon Hirado.

Dense raindrops strung together into lines in the air, obscuring one's vision entirely. The whole of Hirado turned a dreary gray, filled with the rumbling crash of rain hammering the ground.

Li Dan, heedless of his clothes being soaked, hurried to the warehouse with his umbrella in high spirits—only to find his men standing there with grim faces. The goods of the Chaozhou fleet had vanished.

"What's going on? Where's the stuff?"

"Taken away." A subordinate sighed with a mournful face. "Following the ship lord's orders, we knocked holes in the roof the moment the rain started. But those people from the Chaozhou fleet seemed to have expected it—they came in quickly, covered the crates with oilcloth, and hauled them off."

"Taken away?" Li Dan felt as if someone had grabbed him by the throat. "Impossible. I've made arrangements with every warehouse in the city. Where could they have taken them?"

"They took them to the Portuguese trading post's warehouse."

"Boom!" A bolt of lightning flashed past, and Li Dan suddenly understood—the Chaozhou fleet was in collusion with the Portuguese, having long since calculated he would use the water-flooding trick, and turned it back against him.

Perhaps the Chaozhou fleet was even manipulated by the Portuguese from behind the scenes—the earlier cannonade at Wanggang and the Macao sea battle had also borne the Portuguese mark.

They had staged this whole play to outmaneuver Li Dan in Hirado's commerce.

Those crafty Western barbarians—what a vicious scheme!

"Ship lord, our goods—" a subordinate lamented in a low voice.

Li Dan looked around and saw the rain pouring down mercilessly. A layer of water had already pooled on the ground, and the other crates in the warehouse were thoroughly drenched.

To prevent the Chaozhou fleet from repairing the roof, the holes they had knocked were very large—fixing them would have to wait until the weather cleared.

This entire warehouse of goods was as good as ruined.

"Enough. It's just one warehouse. We'll transfer goods from elsewhere." Li Dan said calmly.

His subordinate's face turned awkward as he stammered: "These Chaozhou fellows are suspicious by nature—their goods were mixed in with ours, occupying four warehouses in total—"

Li Dan's expression remained light and breezy, but the fury in his heart was already fiercer than the sudden storm.

"But it's not entirely without gain. There's one warehouse of goods they didn't have time to move."

"Go see what's in those crates." Li Dan suppressed his anger, already sensing that warehouse held something left to humiliate him.

An hour later, his subordinate returned soaked through, his steps heavy: "It's celadon porcelain—"

"Just as I thought—"

Li Dan thought to himself: "Since you show no mercy, don't blame me for showing none in return."

Then he announced in a clear voice: "Send word to Liu Xiang—tell him to muster the iron cannon brigade!"

"Hold on!" Yan Siqi, holding an umbrella, appeared at the warehouse entrance and urged: "Ship lord, resorting to force in Hirado carries too heavy a consequence. We cannot bear it!"

"We've been pushed to this point—are we to sit idle and wait for death rather than fight back?"

Yan Siqi said in a low voice: "Ship lord, have you forgotten—they only have eighteen ships, and none of them carry cannons?"

Li Dan was suddenly enlightened.

In naval combat, whether one has cannons or not is a difference of kind, not degree.

To counter the plundering of the Westerners, he maintained a standing cannon fleet, named the Yingzhou Fire-Sail Battalion.

And the Chaozhou fleet did not have a single cannon ship.

Troops are raised for a thousand days to be used in a single moment—now was the time to draw the blade.

Let the Chaozhou fleet sell their goods in Hirado to their hearts' content.

When the monsoon arrives and they set sail back to the Great Ming—that will be the day they meet their deaths!

Yahei

Pink Round

Pen