Chapter 187: Has Zheng He Come?

The sea bandits also noticed the strange sight in the distance and stopped what they were doing one after another, gazing out toward the horizon.

At this moment, everyone before Hoi An harbor seemed frozen in place, all looking toward where sea met sky.

No one knew how long passed before a silver bolt of lightning streaked across, like a crack in the vault of heaven.

Boom! Immediately after, rolling thunder came rumbling in.

The flash of lightning illuminated a vast expanse of snow-white sails, but in only an instant, the distance plunged back into darkness.

The Sixth Prince swallowed hard. Unsure whether his eyes were playing tricks on him, he turned his neck to look at the others' faces, only to see everyone wearing an expression as if they had seen a ghost.

A fierce gust of wind swept through, tearing away the rain-shielding canopy atop the high platform. Everyone's clothes were soaked through by the rain, clinging tightly to their bodies, flapping noisily in the gale.

Yet no one paid the canopy any mind. Everyone stood as if rooted to the spot, their gazes fixed dead on the sea.

That shadow, like an island, gradually drew closer, slowly revealing the dense thicket of masts, sails, and the outlines of hulls.

"Is that... a fleet?" someone whispered.

No one answered.

"Pull back now!" The pirates reacted first, shouting and yelling as they turned their bows around and made for the north.

"One, two, three..." someone counted softly, but when they reached twenty, they could count no further.

The incoming ships were simply too many, piled up densely across the sea, with some vessels completely hidden behind others, only a small patch of sail showing.

"Has Zheng He come?" someone said in a trembling voice.

The Lord of the Nguyễn, standing at the very front of the crowd, trembled all over, his face filled with fanatical fervor.

Out on the water, the pirate ships fled in panic like rats scattering for cover—no more grabbing captives, no time even to rescue their own men who had fallen overboard, scattering in utter terror. Amid the howling wind and sudden rain, the great fleet drew up close, its oppressive presence even stronger, as if the entire sea had been taken over by the great ships.

Aboard the Zhangzhou, Bai Qing lowered his telescope and asked, "What's going on? Not even a single pilot boat coming out to guide us in?"

The helmsman looked toward the ships scattering in all directions and said, "Commander, those look like pirates."

Bai Qing glanced over dismissively: "Just some rotten fish and spoiled shrimp. We finally fought our way out of that storm—the important thing is to get to port quickly and air out the cargo."

Bai Qing thought for a moment. With no pilot boat in the harbor, berthing the fleet would be difficult enough on its own, and if the pirates came back to harass them while they were docking, that would be very bad indeed. So he said in a deep voice, "Hasn't Zheng Yiguan been begging to fight all along? Now's his chance. Send him the order to pursue and attack the sea bandits!"

"Yes, sir!" The helmsman acknowledged, and then the five-colored signal flags began to wave.

Among the escort fleet, a galleon broke away from the formation—it was the Spice Road, the ship carrying Zheng Zhilong.

The moment he turned the rudder, he hoisted full sail and gave fierce chase to the north. Before long, the rumbling sound of cannon fire came from the northern sea.

Bai Qing's gaze remained fixed on the harbor as he gave his orders: "Spread the fleet out. Hawk ships, scout the surrounding waters. Sea Wolf ships, keep watch on the harbor. The rest of the warships, reduce to half sail and slow down—let the merchant ships dock first. Lü Zhou's been a guild head for this long; let's see if his seamanship has improved any."

"Yes, sir!" The helmsman relayed the orders at full volume.

Aboard the Chaozhou, all five flags waved simultaneously—an extremely complex set of commands.

The ships had drilled together for a long time and followed their orders accordingly, operating in smooth and orderly fashion.

Aboard merchant ship Fu 01, Lü Zhou received the command and broke into a smile. He said to his helmsman, "Pass the order to all the merchant ships: dock on your own. Keep your wits about you—the naval brothers are all watching. Don't lose face!"

The helmsman laughed and said, "When it comes to working the guns, our boys can't match the navy. But when it comes to sailing and docking, our boys aren't afraid of anyone!"

Lü Zhou laughed: "Well said!"

On shore, the Nguyễn ministers watched as the colossal fleet suddenly spread apart, occupying the entire expanse of sea. Then the leading ships reduced to half sail and slowed, while the ships behind slipped out through the gaps between the front vessels.

At the same time, over a dozen small warships fanned out across the surrounding waters.

The formation changed so swiftly it was dazzling to the eye, too fast to take in.

"Boom! Boom! Boom..."

From the northern sea, cannon fire continued to roll in without cease.

The Lord of the Nguyễn followed the sound with his gaze and saw a galleon like a wolf among sheep, bearing down on the sea bandit ships and firing for all it was worth. Most of its hull was shrouded in gray-white gunsmoke, with only the red flashes at its gun muzzles blinking without stop.

The sea bandits who had been so arrogant and unbridled moments before were now being beaten like drowned dogs.

The red-sailed warship in particular came under the galleon's concentrated fire, blasted until wooden splinters flew in every direction, strewn across its entire wake like a flaky pastry crumbling as it was eaten.

The red-sailed warship fled while firing back in return, but its meager firepower was utterly eclipsed by the galleon's. Even when its shots landed, the galleon barely felt them.

The Nguyễn ministers found the scene utterly absurd. An hour ago, this red-sailed warship had been strutting like a lion in all its glory; an hour later, it was like a mouse that had met a cat, squeaking without end, beaten into scurrying about in every direction.

What was frightening was that the galleon not only had superb performance, but its gunners were also highly skilled—often no sooner had the port side finished firing than the starboard side opened up, with barely any interval in between.

The galleon fought with both hands, its port side trading shots with the red-sailed warship while its starboard side picked off the other sea bandits—an extremely efficient rate of destruction.

After a long while, the red-sailed warship and the galleon had sailed to the very edge of sight, shrinking to a single dot on the sea.

Only the cannon fire still came rolling back.

Hoi An harbor docks.

Because of the sea bandits' blockade, the docks were extremely empty, with a great many berths sitting unused.

The fleet spread out on its own, each ship seeking a berth to dock at.

Over forty ships first sailed perpendicular to their berths, lowered half sail at a distance of over two hundred paces, then lowered the remaining half sail when they reached about a hundred paces. At the same time, they turned the rudder to port, using the beam wind and momentum to sidle into their berths. When they finally came to a stop, they were surprisingly close to their marks—all that remained was to toss mooring lines ashore.

Even those that landed farther off were off by no more than a dozen paces, easily corrected by hauling on the lines.

One ship docking like that would only speak to the skill of its captain. An entire merchant convoy docking like that was a sight of overwhelming spectacle.

In but a moment, the docks that had been completely empty were nearly packed full with merchant ships.

The Nguyễn ministers were still standing there in a daze.

Already, some bold commoners by the harbor had run out onto the gangways to help the merchant ships tie off their lines and haul them in.

Seeing this, the Lord of the Nguyễn finally snapped back to his senses and said to his men, "Go help the merchant ships dock at once!"

"Yes, my lord!" The guards around him rushed to the harbor to help, while also calling for the dock porters to come out and get to work.

Hearing the calls, people opened their doors and windows to check. Seeing that the sea bandits had retreated and the merchant ships were docking, they set aside their wariness and came out to work. The streets around the docks grew ever more crowded with people, and the whole of Hoi An harbor came back to life.

The Lord of the Nguyễn took a deep breath to steady himself, then gave his orders in a low voice: "Send men out to sea to search for the Princess. I want her alive, or I want her body.

Chen Wending, you go invite the leader of that fleet to see me tonight. I shall host a banquet in his honor at my palace."

Having said this, he walked toward his palanquin and instructed his servants: "Return to the palace."

Chen Wending clasped his hands: "Your servant will send someone at once."

Lord Ruan stopped in his tracks, his gaze shooting over: "Go yourself."

"Yes." Chen Wending's heart fluttered with panic as he avoided Lord Ruan's gaze.

Lord Ruan mounted the sedan chair, and four servants lifted it steadily onto their shoulders.

Just then a guard came running from the harbor, saying: "My lord, we found Bureau Secretary Zhang You beneath the pier."

Secretary Zhang says the Princess is still alive — he saw with his own eyes the Princess struck by a wooden plank and fall into the water."

Lord Ruan's brows knitted tightly. He asked: "Who else knows of this?"

The guard said: "Secretary Zhang says everyone on the flagship saw it."

Lord Ruan pondered a moment: "Lei Van Hung!"

"Your servant is here!"

"Kill every deserter from the flagship. Lock Zhang You up for now, and gag his mouth!"

"Yes!" Lei Van Hung accepted the order and led troops away.

Lord Ruan's face showed neither grief nor joy as he waved a hand at the servants.

The servant said: "My lord returns to the traveling palace."

The assembled ministers knelt in obeisance, and the sedan bearers stepped off in unison, the chair carried most steadily toward the city of Hoi An.

The Hoi An docks were packed so full of merchant ships that the warships could scarcely find a suitable berth.

Only the Yahat vessel could be moored; the Eagle ships and Sea Wolf galleons had to drop anchor out on the open water.

Once the Chaozhou had come to rest, the crew laid out the gangplank, and Bai Qing descended from it, walking under soldier escort to stand before Lü Zhou and José.

"Captain." The two clasped their hands in salute upon seeing Bai Qing.

Bai Qing returned the salute with clasped hands: "Captain Lü, Captain José, how much damage to the cargo?"

José said: "Quite a few ceramics shattered, and no small amount of Xuan paper got soaked. The full loss is still being tallied — the weather in the South Seas truly is strange." Besides the approach to port, the fleet had weathered two storms along the way, which was how so much damage had come about.

Running into storms was practically routine for seagoing vessels of this era; without the steep cargo attrition rate, there could never have been the enormous profits of maritime trade.

"But there's good news too." Lü Zhou pointed at the Hoi An harbor docks. "Because of the sea blockade, we're practically the only ones in the whole port. Goods are scarce, profits are up — enough to make back the losses."

Out on the water, Lord Ruan's soldiers were fishing corpses from the sea.

Bai Qing said: "Since Hoi An is a great trading port, how is it there isn't even a proper navy?"

Lü Zhou laughed: "Maybe because the officials in charge are all a bunch of greedy, stupid wine-sacks and rice-bags."

José shook his head: "Great Ming's Guangzhou, Yuegang, Quanzhou, and Japan's Hirado are also great ports, and they likewise value maritime trade over naval strength. Even Li Dan, who rose from sea bandits, got beaten until he threw away his armor and helmet. I don't think it's that these men are greedy and stupid — it's that the helmsman is formidable."

Bai Qing smiled: "Perceptive."

While the three chatted and laughed, harbor merchants had already come over to ask prices.

Hoi An had been blockaded for a month, and these merchants were like wolves gone red-eyed with hunger — seeing such a great slab of fat meat, why wouldn't they come to feast? The rain gradually lessened, and merchants holding umbrellas crowded over, the crowd on the docks growing ever larger.

Bai Qing was well-versed in naval combat but understood nothing of maritime trade. When she had gone to Hirado before, she had hidden her people on Dan Island and never witnessed a trading scene. Now she stepped forward curiously to look.

The merchants who came to inspect the goods were mainly Fujian men, along with Japanese, South Seas folk, and even quite a few golden-haired, blue-eyed foreigners.

Lü Zhou said: "Hoi An is very open — few restrictions on foreign trade. Most of these merchants aren't locals. Fujian merchants are the most numerous; the area around the Fujian trading house is built no differently from Great Ming itself."

José said: "Selling these goods directly to merchants yields the highest profit. With government monopolies like Hirado's 'Silk-Scrip Elder' system, you earn less. Of course, if you want to earn more, there's a way — establish a trading house, sell the goods yourself year-round, and control both the retail margin and the swings of supply and demand. If you could open several ports within one country and seize the overland merchants' profits too, you'd earn more still."

Bai Qing nodded repeatedly. She had heard these theories from the helmsman before, and now that the two accounts corroborated each other, her understanding deepened further.

Walking on a bit more, she saw seven or eight foreigners sighing over the great ships at the harbor, their speech sounding rather familiar to her ears.

"Dutchmen?" Bai Qing asked in a low voice.

"These are Dutch merchants." José paused, then advised: "Captain, fighting the Dutch is one thing, but business still must be done." Bai Qing said nothing more.

Suddenly a commotion arose outside the harbor. The crowd parted, and a squad of soldiers came forward, followed by an old man in silk, and behind him several two-man sedan chairs.

Coming near, the old man straightened his robes and cap, performed a standard fist-and-palm salute, and said in oddly accented Chinese: "May I ask which of you is the captain of the fleet?" Bai Qing said: "What business have you?"

Chen Wending studied her a moment: "My lord invites the fleet captain to a banquet at the traveling palace this evening."

Bai Qing said: "I'll go with you."

Chen Wending's face showed surprise: "Your honored fleet's captain is a woman?"

Bai Qing raised an eyebrow: "And what of it?"

Chen Wending hastily squeezed out a smile: "Truly a heroine among women — a woman of valor who yields nothing to men. This old man admires you greatly. Please!"

Bai Qing turned and gave orders: "Until Zheng Yiguan returns, the fleet is under Lü Zhou's command. Old He, you come with me."

The three boarded sedan chairs and traveled side by side.

Chen Wending first heaped praise on the fleet, then showered flattery on Bai Qing and José, and then shifted the topic — launching straight into business on the spot. His words revealed that a great merchant house of Hoi An harbor was in fact his own enterprise.

Chen Wending said: "This old man's merchant house does have some wealth, and I will never lowball your prices. I only ask that your honored fleet sell some of its goods to my house."

José could not readily agree, and glanced at Bai Qing. Bai Qing said: "That can be arranged."

Chen Wending's expression immediately relaxed, and he began to expound at length on the local customs of Quang Nam and the history of the Kingdom of Dai Viet.

After the sedan chairs reached the traveling palace, Bai Qing and José were attended by maidservants who helped them bathe and change clothes.

After their baths, they were led by maidservants to the banquet hall. Shortly after, Lord Ruan and his civil and military ministers all arrived, and servants handed out food and tableware. Every ritual and custom was almost entirely identical to Great Ming.

Once the banquet was fully prepared, Lord Ruan raised his cup in a toast: "This lord drinks to the two captains."

Bai Qing and the other raised their cups in response.

After one cup went down, the feast began. Throughout, Lord Ruan and his ministers kept sending over all manner of flattery and fawning words, along with probing questions slipped into every gap. Bai Qing had never seen such an occasion before; she dealt with a few remarks, then found herself at a loss for what to say, repeating over and over: "You flatter me, you flatter me — not at all, not at all."

In her heart she understood what Lord Ruan and his ministers wanted to say, but the helmsman had instructed her that until the other side pierced the window paper, she could not speak of it either, nor could she reveal her hand.

And so Bai Qing attacked the food with vigor — when others asked her questions, she either pretended not to hear, pretended not to understand, or mumbled vague replies with her mouth stuffed full.

In this way, brute force overcame a hundred subtleties, leaving Lord Ruan and his ministers with no stratagem to employ.

Someone steeled himself and asked: "What office does the captain currently hold in Great Ming?"

Bai Qing replied, "Yes, yes..."

Someone else asked, "On this voyage abroad, has His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming given any imperial decree?"

Bai Qing stuffed a chicken leg into her mouth, thinking: "Looks like these people are treating me like Zheng He. That's fine—I'll just borrow the dog's might... the dog lifting the curtain... eh, whatever, the meaning's about the same. Let me just own it for now; maybe I can squeeze out some more benefits."

So she mumbled indistinctly, "Mm, mm..."

The civil and military ministers exchanged bewildered looks, none understanding what the envoy of the great nation meant.

Le Van Hung could not contain himself and asked bluntly, "Has the Great Ming Emperor, having heard of Lord Trinh's treacherous usurpation, sent a fleet captain to punish him?" Bai Qing thought to herself: "If I recklessly confirm this, wouldn't that make me someone who came to work for free on the emperor's orders? But I can't outright deny it either, or else I'd be admitting I was sent by the emperor, and it'd be inconvenient to change my story later."

Bai Qing put on a surprised expression: "Is there such a thing?"

Both the Nguyen lord and his ministers showed disappointed looks. Since the heavenly envoy knew nothing of the matter, she could not have come on the emperor's orders to help them seek justice. Seeing this, Tran Van Dinh roughly explained the Nguyen-Trinh conflict, and also recounted the outrages the Trinh lord's sea bandits had committed against the Pearl Mother Sea and Hoi An harbor over the past few months. Bai Qing had only just heard about the Pearl Mother Sea affair, but what shocked her even more was another piece of news: "Your princess fell into the water?" "Uh, yes, that's right." Tran Van Dinh glanced at his lord, silently chiding himself for having blurted that out.

Bai Qing wiped her greasy mouth on her sleeve and said to Jose, "Send a hawk boat to deliver orders to Zheng Zhilong, tell him about this matter, and make sure he doesn't go too heavy-handed."

"Yes!" Jose rose from his seat and strode out of the temporary palace, where caravan soldiers were waiting.

Bai Qing grumbled inwardly: "Sending orders now is probably too late. With Zheng Yiguan's temperament, the princess is probably already a sieve by now. These fools have been sucking up this whole time, yet they couldn't mention something this important sooner!"

Then she swept her gaze across the hall and suddenly noticed the looks in everyone's eyes were somewhat strange.

Her heart jolted: "Could these people be hoping to use Zheng Zhilong's hand to beat the princess to death? Could they think that being captured means losing some damned chastity? These shore-dwellers really are troublesome!"

So Bai Qing said apologetically, "Warships leave unpredictable tracks at sea; orders may not reach them in time."

The Nguyen lord's expression relaxed, and he said, "No matter."

Bai Qing thought to herself: "Just as I suspected—what a black heart!"

Le Van Hung said, "Back to business. Treacherous ministers currently hold sway in Dai Viet; we hope the heavenly envoy will lend her aid!"

Bai Qing immediately put on a troubled look: "My forces are all merchant ships. We came this time only to trade—how could we get entangled in another nation's political affairs?"

Tran Van Dinh looked at Bai Qing in disbelief, thinking: "Ships carrying ten or twenty cannons—those are called merchant ships? What must the warships of the Great Ming navy look like?

In the past, this old man always thought the Ming was a dynasty in its twilight, worthless except for its vast territory. Now I realize how shallow my knowledge was—like a frog at the bottom of a well. How laughable!"

Le Van Hung was alarmed and uncertain, thinking: "That's not right. If the Great Ming navy were this formidable, how did Weizhou get wiped out in one stroke by Zhong Yanwang? Could it be that the Great Ming navy also has a strong trunk and weak branches, with all its elites held in the central government's hands?

The Ming is vast in territory and rich in produce—indeed, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse!"

For a moment, the Nguyen lord and his ministers' minds raced through a thousand turns, and they showered Bai Qing with flattery once more, repeatedly begging her to send troops to help.

Bai Qing cleared her throat and said, "Directly confronting the northern Trinh lord would probably be inappropriate, but slaying sea bandits is indeed my force's proper duty." In truth, confronting the Trinh lord was not impossible either; Bai Qing was merely following the helmsman's instructions, giving ground on her bottom line bit by bit, so as not to retreat too much at once and make others think the bottom line was worthless.

Sure enough, at these words, the Nguyen lord and his ministers erupted in joy. The Nguyen lord asked, "May I ask the heavenly envoy, now that your honored banner has graced us from afar, what tribute should Quang Nam offer to properly observe the rites of all barbarians paying homage?"

Bai Qing thought to herself: "Finally, we've gotten to the main topic."

"I hear Quang Nam abounds in teak, and there is a batch of large keel timber. I would very much like to see it."

At these words, the banquet hall fell silent at once, and the ministers' gazes grew evasive.

After a long while, the Nguyen lord said apologetically, "The heavenly envoy may not know this, but teak grows slowly—a full century to reach maturity—and keel timber must be perfectly straight without knots, with even grain and no hollows within—truly one in a thousand.

This batch of timber in Quang Nam was felled, stored, and transported during my late father's lifetime, consuming countless manpower and resources. It may be called timber of national fortune, not lightly given to others." "However..." the Nguyen lord shifted his tone, "since the heavenly envoy has already spoken, how could I refuse? I shall have my servants bring one log from the Phu Xuan palace!"

What good is just one log?

Bai Qing said, "Since it's so precious, then never mind—I only ask for a look. Besides, transporting timber is troublesome; I'd rather go see it myself." Teak trees are plentiful on the Indochinese Peninsula, but those suitable for keel timber are extremely rare, especially large logs aged for decades—truly priceless treasures. The Nguyen lord was reluctant even to use them to build a Buddhist temple, let alone give them away.

Now hearing Bai Qing say she only wanted a look, he was naturally overjoyed and nearly agreed on the spot.

Only after pretending to deliberate at length did he make up his mind and say, "Very well. Phu Xuan lies two hundred li northwest of Hoi An; a carriage journey of but a few days. Please make your preparations, heavenly envoy—we shall depart in two days."

When the banquet ended, Bai Qing declined the Nguyen lord's kind offer of lodging, came out of the temporary palace, and rode a sedan chair toward the fleet.

Upon reaching the harbor, she saw that the Spice Road had already returned, so she walked up the gangplank onto its deck.

Zheng Zhilong received word and came out to greet her.

Bai Qing said, "You made it back quickly."

Zheng Zhilong said with a roguish grin, "I was afraid that if I came back late, I'd get another beating from you."

Bai Qing could not help but smile. Seeing dozens of severed heads piled in a corner of the deck, with crewmen salting them, she asked, "What are these sea bandit heads for?" Zheng Zhilong took a letter from his bosom: "From Nan'ao Island, arrived this afternoon—it's an order from the Governor-General of the Two Guang."

After reading it through, Bai Qing said, "Then salt them—at least they can be traded for some military merit. By the way, did you receive the order I sent Jose to deliver to you?" Zheng Zhilong was taken aback: "What order?"

The sea is too vast, and it was already dark when the messenger set out—it's only natural the message didn't get through.

Fortunately, no one in the Nguyen lord's court cared about that princess's life or death, so Bai Qing shook her head and said, "Never mind."

"By the way, I rescued a batch of prisoners from the sea bandits' ship. There's a woman among them who seems to be some kind of princess—do you want to take a look?"

Bai Qing's heart tightened: "Lead the way."

The two descended into the hold and saw a dozen or so Nguyen soldiers, all soaking wet, huddled together and shivering.

One person sat apart with arms wrapped around her knees, wearing only undergarments—clearly a woman at a glance.

Seeing Zheng Zhilong come down, someone immediately crawled on his knees to Zheng's feet, babbling in an incomprehensible tongue.

Zheng Zhilong frowned and said, "Shut up!"

That person immediately slunk back to one side, looking disgruntled.

Zheng Zhilong said, "I had the interpreter take a look—they all say that woman is a princess."

Bai Qing's gaze fell upon her, sizing her up with interest.

Zheng Zhilong explained, "This woman won't say a word. Out of consideration for her being a so-called princess, we haven't resorted to torture yet."

Bai Qing called the interpreter down into the hold, then stepped forward, grabbed the woman's hands, and saw that her skin was fine and tender, with no calluses.

She then used one hand to tilt the woman's chin toward herself, and with the other hand pried open her lips to examine her teeth.

Finally, Bai Qing laughed and said, "Your father has abandoned you."

Elegant black

Pink pearls