Chapter 201: The Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Runners, the Mounted Agents, the Red Goods

Scholar Zhou had originally come to reassure Lin Qian's family.

Ye Zhen's calm composure instead settled his own nerves.

Scholar Zhou let out a slow breath and said, "I imagine the lady has heard the fort alarm—it's only a Dutch warship cruising nearby. It won't stir up any real trouble."

"Only one ship?"

"Mm." Scholar Zhou nodded. "An eagle ship reported it two days ago, and the island has made full preparations.

Besides, the newly launched Fuzhou and Funing are trailing behind the Dutchman. The lady may rest easy."

Ye Zhen said, "In that case, the island's defense is in Brother Zhou's hands."

After a moment's deliberation, Ye Zhen said, "I have a humble suggestion, and I hope Brother Zhou will consider it."

Scholar Zhou hastily clasped his hands and said, "I wouldn't dare—please, lady, give your orders."

"There are rumors on the island that a dozen or so cannon ships have come. I don't know where they started—perhaps someone should be sent to investigate.

Also, since rumors are circulating, the families of the island's men—such as Commander Ma's household, Garrison Commander Huang's, and Junior Mentor Xu's—should also have someone sent to reassure them. Act courteously, and don't alarm them."

Scholar Zhou rose with sudden understanding: "The lady's reminder is well taken—I'll see to it at once!"

Ye Zhen smiled. "I'll trouble Brother Zhou, then."

Scholar Zhou had been somewhat unsettled when he entered the residence, but by the time he left he was calm, thinking to himself: "As befits a Grand Secretary's granddaughter—truly noble in bearing and out of the ordinary, and with such a fine mind that she even thought of reassuring the families of the various officers."

The Pioneer sailed southwest, some fifteen hundred paces beyond the Yuanyu fort.

It rounded the Yazaiyu fort and the Dongdunjiao fort, reaching the Guanyu fort outside Yandun Bay.

On the quarterdeck, Captain Van Dyck lowered his telescope and said in a low voice, "Can't make out a thing. Closer."

The first mate urged, "Sir—the forts… there are too many. We can't sail any nearer."

Van Dyck slammed his fist against the bulwark: "Damn it! Coming along this way, there have been seven or eight forts—not only do they guard every stretch of coast where a landing is possible, they've even built forts on the islets and reefs off the main island! They won't even let us look?"

"The fortifications here are tighter than Rotterdam's! Could the damned Ming Emperor be living here or what?"

The first mate also complained, "And the forts on the reefs and the forts on the cliffs cover each other's blind spots. To make a successful landing, we'd have to pay any price and trade broadsides with the forts.

I don't know who the Ming imagine their enemy to be, but I don't think any European navy could break in here."

The two grumbled for a while as the Pioneer continued west, passing the Songjing fort and entering Chishi Bay.

Here the forts were noticeably fewer, but correspondingly, aside from a tamped-earth road and a stretch of beach, there was nothing else—the Guolao Mountains blocked any view into the island's interior.

Want to approach for reconnaissance? A broken beach and broken mountains have nothing worth seeing.

Want to land here? Never mind braving the fire of the forts halfway up the mountainside—there are forts at both ends of the road as well. It would be sheer suicide.

Sailing further west, they reached Qianjiang Bay.

There were no islets or reefs here, so they could approach somewhat closer.

But this was, after all, the site of the Qianjiang Bay docks, so there were even more forts, arranged in a semi-encirclement protecting the bay.

In particular, the beachhead fort at Tianhou Temple thrust into Qianjiang Bay like a knife, with an urgency that suggested they wished they could build the fort right in the sea. As for the two sides of Qianjiang Bay, there were even more highland forts built along the ridgelines of Guolao Mountain and Huanghua Mountain.

Together they formed a web of interlocking fire at high and low elevations.

One glance was enough to send a chill down the spine, as one silently calculated how far the forts could shoot and whether one's own ship's position was truly safe. Nan'ao town was cramped in territory, and most of its buildings were single-story.

Its prosperity, in fact, did not strike the Dutch as strongly as the density of its forts.

Leaving Qianjiang Bay, further west lay the Huanghua Mountain and Dajian Mountain area.

All mountains, with little flat ground, and the shore was all jagged reefs—impossible to land.

The occasional narrow beach that appeared was always covered by a beachhead fort.

The Pioneer's captain and first mate grew increasingly silent as they watched.

They couldn't help wondering in their hearts what exactly the Ming were guarding against—sea monsters?

Before the Pioneer set sail, Van Dyck's superiors had given him a vague order: to seize some advantage at Nan'ao Island.

Given how tightly Nan'ao Island was defended, they probably couldn't even steal a single yellow croaker.

And after this entire circuit, Van Dyck hadn't even gathered any valuable intelligence.

The only useful information, perhaps, was that Nan'ao Island was too heavily defended to be worth attacking?

Sailing away from Nan'ao's southern coast, Van Dyck refused to give up. He ordered the Pioneer to turn north and reconnoiter the island's northern side.

By now, three eagle ships had fallen in behind the Pioneer.

The first mate, still shaken, asked, "Sir, for reconnoitering the island's north, the wind is unfavorable. If the Ming warships give chase, we'll be in danger." Van Dyck did a quick mental calculation of his lead over the Ming ships, confirmed his margin for escape, and ordered, "Sail north!"

At the command, the ship turned due north—and there before them was the Fengyu fort.

This island-reef fort was positioned precisely to block the passage between shore and island, and the island's corresponding position also had a fort.

Between them was only a very narrow safe channel.

"This…" The first mate felt his scalp prickle.

Would forcing the passage be too dangerous?

Fortunately, Van Dyck had no wish to throw his life away either. On sighting the Fengyu fort, he abandoned the idea of reconnoitering the island's north.

"Let's go." Van Dyck sighed and said softly.

The first mate immediately shouted the order: "Course southwest!"

The sailors breathed sighs of relief and swiftly turned the rudder and adjusted the sails.

Because of the pursuers behind them, the Pioneer could not sail directly northeast back to Hirado—it had to sail southwest first. Only after escaping pursuit could it head north past the eastern side of Dongning Island and ride the Kuroshio Current home.

By the time they made it back to Hirado, it might already be two or three months later.

That would be extremely tight for the Pioneer's water and provisions—they would have to budget carefully and ration meticulously.

Van Dyck had spent all that time and risked the lives of his entire crew, and in the end he hadn't gotten so much as half a yellow croaker out of it.

At the thought, Van Dyck felt his chest ache with rage and his temples throb.

After a long while, Nan'ao Island receded from his sight, and all his pent-up fury could only dissolve into a helpless sigh.

Just as the Pioneer was sailing away from Nan'ao Island.

Lin Qian, at Shang Zhouzuo's invitation, entered Fuzhou city and first went to pay respects at Yu Zigao's shrine.

He offered incense, candles, paper firecrackers, the three sacrificial animals, and a pair of elegiac couplets.

The first line: "Wu Xiang pacified the bandits; Min's waters' angry waves toppled the foe's banners."

The second line: "Loyalty and filial piety fulfilled; green blood guards the sea frontier for a thousand autumns."

Wu Xiang was Yu Dayou's posthumous title; this couplet praised the father and son's loyal and righteous devotion to the state.

Historically, Yu Zigao was judged by Zheng Zhilong as mediocre in ability and a spoiled scion; he was ultimately stripped of his hereditary military post after defeat in battle and vanished from history. But in this life, Yu Zigao also lost to his enemies, yet died a martyr's death — defeated but glorious.

Whatever his original intentions, when the Fujian guard station naval forts cowered before Li Dan's sea bandits, Yu Zigao leading his troops into battle was already commendable. Moreover, due to Yu Dayou's influence, most Fujian military officers harbored sympathy for Yu Zigao's martyrdom.

Thus, news of Lin Qian's visit to pay respects spread quickly among the military men, and their goodwill toward Lin Qian grew even stronger.

After leaving the Yu residence, Lin Qian led his personal guards on horseback to the Governor's yamen.

Shang Zhouzuo was already leading the civil officials in waiting outside the main gate.

Such treatment — let alone for Lin Qian, an Assistant Regional Commander — even if Regional Commander Yu himself had come in person, he might not have received it.

Lin Qian dismounted, and Shang Zhouzuo led him inside.

In the main hall, after receiving a barrage of flattery from the civil officials, Shang Zhouzuo invited Lin Qian to the study for a detailed discussion.

Shang Zhouzuo took an official document from his desk and handed it to Lin Qian, saying: "May General Lin kindly take a look."

Lin Qian murmured words of deference, then took it and saw it was a merit-report memorial.

The battle account written in the memorial was basically what the messenger soldier had reported.

Shang Zhouzuo had trimmed the redundant as much as possible, yet literary embellishment was still unavoidable, making the naval battle seem grand and stirring. At the end, Shang Zhouzuo reported Yu Zigao's martyrdom and recommended to the court that Lin Qian be appointed Fujian Regional Commander.

This move rather surprised Lin Qian.

Lin Qian had already regarded the post of Fujian Regional Commander as something in his pocket, but he hadn't expected Shang Zhouzuo to proactively recommend him.

According to Lin Qian's original plan, after taking Zhangzhou and Quanzhou, his focus would shift toward Guangdong.

Who would have thought that plans couldn't keep up with changes.

Since that was the case, Lin Qian decided to go with the flow and acknowledged this merit-report memorial.

However, the personnel arrangement needed slight adjustment — Ma Chenglie would serve as Fujian Regional Commander, and Lin Qian as Vice Regional Commander of Nan'ao.

This way, the order of promotion conformed to regulations.

The Fujian Regional Commander's yamen was in Fuzhou, while Lin Qian's headquarters was on Nan'ao Island, which also spared him the trouble of shuttling between the two places.

At the same time, Ma Chenglie remained the nominal public leader of the Nan'ao Island forces — if the court sent any wind of swords or frost of knives, he could serve as the scapegoat.

The logic was the same as Lin Qian being the controlling shareholder of a company while letting Ma Chenglie serve as the legal representative.

After the two finished their discussion, Shang Zhouzuo was in high spirits and dragged Lin Qian into a long chat that evening before finally letting him leave.

A few days later, Lin Qian led his fleet back.

It was then that news of Wei Zhongxian recruiting Li Dan finally reached Fujian.

Facing the messenger eunuch, Shang Zhouzuo feigned alarm and said: "Ah, what an unfortunate coincidence — this gang of sea bandits led by Li Dan has already gone to feed the fishes." The eunuch's eyes went wide: "So fast? Didn't they say there were over a hundred ships?"

The surrounding civil officials all confirmed it.

The eunuch was dumbfounded, momentarily at a loss for words.

Should he rebuke the Fujian officials for sabotaging the Nine Thousand Years' great pacification plan? Or rebuke them for wiping out the bandits too quickly?

The civil officials all disliked the powerful eunuch in their hearts; seeing the eunuch eat humble pie, they dared not show it on their faces, but inwardly they were gleeful.

The eunuch stood stunned for a long while, wanting to find fault, but then remembered this was Lin Qian's sphere of influence, and Wei Zhongxian had instructed him to act with utmost discretion.

The messenger eunuch finally had nothing more to say, nodded, mounted his horse, and returned to the capital.

Watching the eunuch's retreating figure, Shang Zhouzuo suddenly felt that having Lin Qian as an ally was really quite good.

In the second month, the weather warmed, and magnolias bloomed in profusion.

In the Directorate of Ceremonial, Wei Zhongxian received Shang Zhouzuo's merit-report memorial and the report on the Fujian pacification situation almost simultaneously.

Wei Zhongxian was first stunned; after a long silence, he swept everything off the desk before him with one hand — official documents and Huzhou writing brushes clattered and scattered across the floor. The eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial all fell to their knees in terror, crying "Nine Thousand Years, calm your wrath."

"Rogue bastard! I'll kill him if it's the last thing I do!" Wei Zhongxian roared.

Wang Tigan, seeing this, ordered the other eunuchs to withdraw, then said: "Nine Thousand Years, calm your wrath. No matter how much trouble Ma and Lin stir up, they are but scabies on the southeast — a minor ailment. Nine Thousand Years, we must distinguish the primary from the secondary and proceed gradually."

Wei Zhongxian's chest heaved violently for a long time, then his cold, sinister gaze swept over: "Right! First deal with the Donglin hypocrites, then deal with Sun Chengzong! Send word to Chief Eunuch Sun — those six in the prison, hurry up and take their confessions."

Wei Zhongxian paused, as if steeling himself with immense resolve, and said through gritted teeth: "To avoid complications from a long night, make them go quickly! Damn it, they're getting off easy! Seven days later."

Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, and the other six died miserably in the Imperial Prison; before death they suffered the full array of tortures — manacles, shackles, cudgels, pincers, leg-screws — and their deaths were extremely gruesome. Only days after the six died were their bodies carried out of the Imperial Prison, wrapped in reed mats, already maggot-ridden and rotting, oozing pus and festering.

Once news of the atrocity spread, it traveled through court and countryside faster than an eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch.

Though no memorials or protests appeared at court, privately the outrage among the literati and common people boiled as never before in history.

After the "Case of the Six Gentlemen," the Eastern Depot worked without pause, continuing to arrest scholars in batches, and this time the net had spread far beyond the capital.

In early third month, depot and guard riders came to Suzhou to arrest Zhou Shunchang; tens of thousands of citizens learned of it and gathered, holding incense and crying out for justice.

Some in the crowd shouted: "The Eastern Depot forges imperial edicts and issues reckless orders, deceiving the Son of Heaven — they should be punished in Heaven's stead!"

Immediately the people surrounded and beat the riders, killing one on the spot; the rest fled wounded.

But that very night, Zhou Shunchang was still seized by riders disguised as merchants and secretly escorted to the capital.

The same month, riders came to Changzhou to arrest Censor Li Yingsheng and were also blocked by tens of thousands of citizens.

The riders, fearful and anxious, hid inside the Prefect's yamen, and the people even sealed off the Prefect's yamen.

Seeing that a popular uprising was imminent, Li Yingsheng, to avoid implicating the common folk, surrendered himself voluntarily.

After these two were arrested, several of the ringleaders who had stirred up trouble in both cities were also seized and escorted back to the capital.

At this time, at the Nan'ao Island residence.

Ye Zhen was sitting on the bed, extending her right arm for Su Qingmei to take her pulse, while three maidservants stood nearby, their expressions anxious.

Lin Qian sat at the table, his expression calm, yet his right hand nervously spun the teacup lid.

A moment later, Su Qingmei withdrew her hand and smiled: "Congratulations, my lady — it's a pregnancy pulse!"

"Really!" The three maidservants cheered, and Ye Zhen also broke into a smile.

Bai Kou asked: "Is it a boy or a girl?"

Yue Yi said: "Silly Bai Kou, the child is still so small — how could anyone tell at this point."

Su Qingmei smiled: "You couldn't tell even when it's bigger. But my lady's pulse is steady — it should be about a month along. I'll write out a few pregnancy-safe recipes for my lady; come with me, all of you."

With that, Su Qingmei led the three out.

Lin Qian tiptoed to the edge of Ye Zhen's bed, kissed her forehead, and said: "You've worked hard."

Ye Zhen smiled: "Not at all — I haven't even felt anything yet."

Afterward, they spoke intimately for a long while.

Before long, Ran Qiu knocked at the door: "Master, Geng Weizheng is here to see you."

Lin Qian said: "Have him wait outside."

Ye Zhen smiled: "If Ran Qiu was sent to relay the message, it must be important. Go on, husband."

"Very well — I'll be back shortly." With that Lin Qian rose, and indeed returned through the door within moments.

Only after accompanying Ye Zhen through dinner did Lin Qian leave the residence.

Geng Wu had already been waiting outside the residence for a long time. Lin Qian said flatly: "Have they talked?"

Geng Wu said: "They've all talked — two more names came up, and the interrogations are still ongoing."

Lin Qian said grimly: "Start with the fingers and toes. No leniency, no rest, no sleep. Have two physicians waiting outside the prison, and keep them alive with ginseng slices."

Geng Wu asked: "How far up should we trace it?"

Lin Qian said: "All of Fujian — plus Chaozhou. Arrest them all!"

Geng Wu returned to the prison on Nan'ao Island to relay the order, while Lin Qian listened in from the adjoining room.

The jailer was heard saying: "Name!"

"Qian San."

"Where are you from, and what do you do for a living?"

"From Zhangzhou. No proper trade — wherever they need hands, I go to scrounge a meal."

"Who sent you to Nan'ao to spread rumors?"

"I truly don't know him! He did give me silver, but I really never learned his name!"

"Heh heh — I hear you Eastern Depot lads have all been trained, that you don't fear torture?"

"The E—Eastern Depot? I'm innocent, I—ah!"

Several days later.

Off the coast of Haicheng County, Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian.

A squad of riders in crimson robes with embroidered sabers at their waists came by ship.

Their leader was named Jiang Xu, a Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Counting himself, he had twenty-one men under his command.

They had come on the orders of the Eastern Depot's Torture Chiliarch, to arrest Zhou Qiyuan and bring him to justice.

As for the reason — the Depot and Guard only made arrests; they never asked why.

Seeing land appear where sea met sky, Jiang Xu gathered his men and said in a low voice: "This Fujian job is a tough one. This trip we don't stake out, and we don't squeeze — we grab the man directly, and once we have him, straight back to the ship."

This was spoken in the Depot and Guard's cant: "a job" meant a commission, "staking out" meant setting up an ambush and lying in wait around the target, and "squeezing" meant running an unauthorized torture session to extort money or confessions.

Jiang Xu said: "Go change into plain clothes — this one's going in quiet."

His men obeyed, unbuckling their embroidered sabers and changing into commoners' garb.

After another half-incense-stick of sailing, Haicheng County was already in sight — a place that bore a far more famous name under the Great Ming: Yuegang.

The riders had all come from the capital. When they boarded ship at Tianjin, they'd thought that was already the greatest seaport in the world.

Now, glimpsing Yuegang from afar, they understood what it meant for a tick to see the sky for the first time.

Beneath sea and sky, Kinmen Island and Mount Nantaiwu stood like a pair of gate gods, locking the Jiulong River estuary.

Vessels of every size plied the bay without cease; from a distance, the shipping lanes nearly merged into a single line.

Seeing this sight, the men's eyes went wide and they swallowed hard.

For the richer a place was in trade and commerce, the more grease there was to be squeezed from its merchants, great households, and officials.

That Zhou Qiyuan — though he'd been stripped of office over a year ago for offending Nine Thousand Years — came from such a prosperous homeland; how could his family not have wealth to spare? What a pity this trip allowed no "squeezing" — who knew how much silver was being lost for nothing.

They pressed on a little further, and their vessel merged into the inbound shipping lane.

Suddenly, a naval Haicang warship sailed toward them.

Jiang Xu said: "Everyone, stay sharp — handle this properly."

In moments, the Haicang warship drew alongside.

Only then did Jiang Xu see that both sides of its hull were fitted with Folangji cannons.

This type of vessel was called a Sea Wolf warship — he'd heard it had shone brilliantly at Fuzhou and was a formidable weapon of naval combat.

But this particular ship differed from other Sea Wolves: its side-mounted Folangji cannons weren't on gun carriages, but mounted on iron rings fixed into the bulwark.

A single soldier could swing the cannon's aim with one hand — extremely nimble.

This design wasn't the navy's invention; back when Qi Jiguang held the Ji Garrison, the Folangji positions on the city walls were already built this way.

It was just that adopting this design on a Sea Wolf meant all the recoil was absorbed by the bulwark — which was why the Great Ming's copies of the Sea Wolf all used sliding gun mounts. Who knew when the Nan'ao navy had updated their design again.

But whatever its appearance, Jiang Xu knew well how fearsome the Sea Wolf's firepower was, so he obediently stopped his ship for inspection.

After a while, the Sea Wolf drew near. Its sailors wore relaxed expressions, matchlocks unlit and cannons unloaded — which set Jiang Xu's mind at ease. The two ships came alongside, and a sailor stepped across from the Sea Wolf.

The man looked the ship over first, then asked casually: "First time here?"

"First time here, just a small token, have a drink on me." Jiang Xu replied in Hokkien, pulling out a ingot of silver as he spoke.

The marine didn't take it, smiling: "Taking silver on the sly—we're punished heavily for that here, not like you northerners."

Jiang Xu's heart jolted. He thought to himself that he'd drilled his Hokkien hard—how had he been found out?

The marine explained: "South of the Yangtze, everyone knows the helmsman's rules. Speak up yourself—where are you from, and what's your trade?"

Jiang Xu spun a false identity while watching the marine wander about the cabin.

In the story Jiang Xu had prepared, he was supposed to be a merchant from Fuzhou—but since his identity had been seen through, he had to switch to a new tale, one he hadn't thought through, riddled with holes.

And this Sea Wolf vessel specialized in inspecting passing merchant ships—whether someone was a trader or one of the sea bandits, it knew at a glance.

Every man on this boat had a taut build and sharp-cut features; their eyes were either piercing or shifty.

One look and you knew they weren't good people.

Seeing the suspicion deepen on the marine's face, Jiang Xu could spin no further. He pulled the man into the cabin and produced his waist token and warrant.

"Brother here is a Centurion of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, sent on official business. I hope you'll be accommodating."

In the Great Ming, when the Embroidered Uniform Guard flashed its waist token, from officials to commoners, there was no one who didn't fear it.

But this marine showed no fear at all. He took the token and examined it closely: "I can't read. Is this real?"

Had the Chiliarch in charge of punishments not ordered that this trip stay low-key, Jiang Xu would have slapped him long ago.

Ever since Nine Thousand Years took power, when had the guards and depot ever had to grovel like this?

Jiang Xu forced a smile: "Of course it's real. Take a look, brother."

As he spoke, he brought out his flying-fish robe and embroidered spring saber from the cabin.

"This robe and this saber—you must recognize them, right?"

The marine studied them for a long while, then said: "Don't mind me being nosy, but this area often has ruffians and scoundrels impersonating the guards and depot to swindle money, so I have to be sure. If you truly are Embroidered Uniform Guard, answer honestly—don't bring trouble on yourselves."

"You son of a bitch, keep yapping and I'll cut you down! Get lost!" One of his underlings could no longer hold back, cursing in a low voice.

This was cursed in a northern accent—the rhotic turns of speech most southerners could never imitate.

Seeing this, Jiang Xu stopped smiling and said coldly: "Get lost, now."

"So you really are brothers of the guards and depot. My apologies." The marine cupped his hands in apology, then returned to his own ship.

The cursing agent spat: "Bone of a slave—asking for a scolding!"

"Let's go," Jiang Xu said.

He was just about to leave the cabin when he heard a voice shout from the Sea Wolf vessel: "A whole boat of 'red goods'—open fire, don't let them get away!" "Red goods" was the Nan'ao islanders' derogatory name for the mounted agents.

"What?" Jiang Xu didn't react in time, rushing out of the cabin.

He saw the Sea Wolf vessel had already sailed to twenty paces away, its broadside aimed at them, the marine blowing on his match cord!

Jiang Xu's pupils shrank, every hair on his body standing on end, nearly lifting his clothes.

Out at sea with no cover—where was there to hide?

He could only force a smile and say in a voice like weeping: "A misunderstanding, brother! It's all a misunderstanding!"

The marine moved with lightning speed, without a moment's hesitation.

In an instant, the match cord was lit, the chamber loaded, the breech locked tight, and the cord dropped.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three Folangji cannons flashed red, smoke rising.

Jiang Xu saw only a black haze rushing at him, which in an instant became a cloud of iron pellets.

Then his upper body was blown to shreds by grapeshot, flesh and iron balls spraying toward the sea behind him.

Half a corpse crashed down.

Yahei

Fenyuan

Pen