Chapter 64: Pointing the Way Southeast

The "Regional Commander" referred to the Vice Regional Commander of Nan'ao.

According to Nan'ao Garrison Commander Huang Hetai, this Regional Commander conducted his official business at the prefectural office in Chaozhou Prefecture, and the number of days he spent on the island each year could be counted on one hand.

There had even been years when he never set foot on the island at all.

Could it be that this Regional Commander had a sudden whim and decided to visit the island?

Lin Qian nodded: "Fine, I'll go see Garrison Commander Huang."

The soldier invited Lin Qian to take a fast boat over with him.

Today the carpenters and shipwrights were coming to add gun ports, so the Santa Ana could not leave the harbor.

Lin Qian decided to go along by boat, calling Bailangzai before leaving and bringing five or six skilled hands with him, while giving Chen Jiao a few words of instruction.

The anchorage where the Santa Ana lay was called Houjiang Bay, very close to Baisha Bay, with only the ridge of Guolao Mountain between them.

In the time it took to eat one meal, the fast boat had already sailed into Baisha Bay.

This was the first time Lin Qian had gotten a close look at Shen'ao Harbor.

In the harbor, besides over a hundred small boats, there was also a three-masted Fujian junk moored—smaller in hull than an ordinary Fujian junk, with larger sails and shallower draft. This vessel type was the Haicang ship of the Ming navy.

Presumably a cargo-carrying warship had returned to port.

The naval vessels Lin Qian had seen before were either leaky shoddy goods or small sculling boats no different from fishing craft.

This was the first time he'd seen a proper warship.

Lin Qian couldn't help feeling curious, pulling out his telescope to observe carefully.

The ship was excellently maintained—the hull's paint was intact, the sails bore no damage, and the deck was level with no standing water.

Drawing closer, he could also see many naval soldiers standing on the ship, moving supplies.

These soldiers were sturdy and moved with crisp efficiency, completely different from the naval troops on the island.

Seeing Lin Qian's interest in the Haicang ship, the soldier said: "Those are the Regional Commander's household retainers, watching over his ship and running cargo for him."

"Mm." Lin Qian made no comment.

"Household retainers," also called "household troops," were in plain terms a private army.

The retainers' pay was raised by the general himself from his own funds—not only was it never docked, but their benefits and treatment were far better than the regular troops'.

There was a joke among the people: "The Ming army underpaid cannot fight; the Ming army fully paid cannot be beaten."

These private soldiers could be regarded as fully paid Ming troops—not just fully paid, but paid with a super-sized bonus on top.

Lin Qian had already looked away after hearing this explanation, but suddenly noticed that one of the retainers stood with a slightly unusual posture.

That man stood on the shore with knees slightly bent, appearing different from ordinary people.

Lin Qian pulled out his telescope again to carefully observe the retainers on shore, and saw that most of them had knees bent to a greater or lesser degree.

This kind of stance was the hallmark of the Tanka boat people.

Because the Tanka lived and worked on boats, constantly stooping, curling their legs, and bending their knees, many suffered from knee joint ailments.

On board ship it wasn't obvious, but once on land it could be spotted.

The slur "curved-heel" came from exactly this.

These retainers' knee bends were very slight.

Had Lin Qian not spent long periods in contact with the Tanka, it would have been hard to notice.

Even if a Regional Commander recruited retainers, he would never recruit the heavily discriminated-against Tanka.

Something was amiss!

Lin Qian, without changing his expression, lightly touched Bailangzai with his elbow, signaling with his eyes for him to look at the shore.

Bailangzai took one look and gave Lin Qian a slight nod.

That confirmed Lin Qian's suspicion.

Immediately, Bailangzai's expression turned icy, his left hand gripping his wakizashi tightly, his gaze measuring the neck of the soldier before him.

Lin Qian slowly shook his head at him, signaling not to make a move.

Right now there were three thousand of his islanders on Nan'ao, and the Santa Ana still sat at anchor offshore.

Before coming over, Lin Qian had instructed Chen Jiao that if he did not return within one hour, the Santa Ana would blockade the harbor.

Bai Qing would also lead the islanders over Guolao Mountain to surround Shen'ao Harbor from the land side.

Based on Lin Qian's understanding of Huang Hetai, the man was greedy and feared death, and would never dare lay a hand on him. Even if there were foreign sea bandits or imperial officials on the island, seeing this situation, they would also think twice.

On the surface Shen'ao Harbor was under Huang Hetai's administration, but in reality it was already under Lin Qian's control.

Since things had come to this, he might as well go see what tricks were being played.

The boat docked at the pier, and Lin Qian disembarked, following the soldier toward the Garrison Commander's barracks.

The soldier led him all the way to an imposing vermilion-painted government office.

Above the door hung a plaque bearing the large characters "Min-Yue Nan'ao Regional Commander's Office."

The soldier entered first, passing through the office and crossing the courtyard to reach a hall, above whose door hung a plaque with two gilt characters: "Marshal's Hall."

Behind the hall's entrance stood a screen wall, on which hung a huge painting of a fierce tiger descending the mountain—the tiger was exquisitely rendered and full of imposing power.

Passing through the Marshal's Hall, the soldier came to a stop before the door of a side chamber in the inner courtyard.

"Go on in—the Garrison Commander is waiting for the headman inside." said the soldier.

Lin Qian entered with Bailangzai, and unsurprisingly, Bailangzai's wakizashi was taken away—though he wasn't searched, and the rest of the crew waited outside the door.

Pushing the door open, he saw Garrison Commander Huang brewing tea at the table.

Beside the table sat another man—tall of stature, powerfully built, with a broad face, wide nose, and dark skin, his whole body covered in knotted muscle.

This man was raising a cup of tea with one hand, a pair of tiger eyes fixed on Lin Qian.

Garrison Commander Huang rose enthusiastically to greet him: "Headman Lin has arrived. This is Headman Li. The two of you both serve under Ship Lord Li, so I'm sure no introduction is needed from me."

That man set down his teacup, rose, and clasped his hands in salute: "Li Kuiqi. May I ask your name, brother?"

This man spoke with booming vigor, his voice rattling eardrums painfully.

Lei Sanxiang was already considered tall and sturdy, yet this Li Kuiqi stood a full head taller than Lei Sanxiang.

Lin Qian estimated the man's height at over one meter nine, and with a body of knotted muscle, when he stood up, the pressure he exuded was palpable—the room itself seemed to shrink.

Moreover, this Li Kuiqi turned out to be one of Li Dan's men. With his arrival, not only would Lin Qian's impersonated identity be exposed, but there might well be further conflict.

After all, the Vice Regional Commander of Nan'ao had long accepted bribes from Li Dan, and in a certain sense, Nan'ao Island could be considered Li Dan's territory.

Having seen all manner of situations, Lin Qian handled this with ease, returning the salute with cupped hands: "Lin Qian. This is my brother Bailangzai."

"So it's Brother Lin and Brother Bai—my respects. Please." Li Kuiqi smiled, then gestured for Lin Qian to take a seat, as if he himself were the master of this place.

Garrison Commander Huang handed Lin Qian a cup of tea, then lowered his head and focused on brewing, not letting the two living demons catch a glimpse of his expression.

Li Kuiqi glanced at Bailangzai and praised: "This Brother Bai carries himself with steady poise—his martial skills must be considerable!"

Bailangzai kept a cold face and said nothing.

Unfazed by the awkwardness, Li Kuiqi turned to Lin Qian and said: "Brother Lin, you're a clever man—you must have guessed why I've come.

You arrive fresh on these shores and dare to assume a ship lord's name and seize this island—clearly you're a bold hero who dares to act.

In all my life, I, Li Kuiqi, have most admired bold heroes! As for your borrowing of the ship lord's name, I'll plead your case with the ship lord—he surely won't hold it against you.

It's just that... Nan'ao Island is a vital maritime stronghold between Fujian and Guangdong. You can't keep it all to yourself, Brother—better to take your men and find somewhere else."

Lin Qian made excuses: "The buildings on the island are already constructed—how can we just up and leave?"

Li Kuiqi's tone turned several degrees colder: "What, is Brother suggesting I should compensate you in silver?"

Lin Qian smiled ingratiatingly: "Of course I wouldn't dare. I've only just arrived in these parts and know no one. If I were to move off the island just like that, where would I find shelter? I'd like to ask Elder Brother to point me to a proper place."

Li Kuiqi burst out laughing: "Hahaha... so that's it! Brother should have just said so directly."

With that, he pulled a sea chart from his bosom and pointed at a spot on it: "This place is called Hailing Island, west of Macao, under the jurisdiction of Zhaoqing Prefecture in Guangdong. There are only a few soldiers on the island—Brother can seize it at will."

Hailing Island was precisely the island where the pearl folk stopped to rest on their way back to Guangzhou—Lin Qian had once anchored there.

After pretending to think it over for a moment, he said: "That island is too mountainous, with too little flat land to accommodate my five thousand-plus men. I'd ask Elder Brother to find another place."

Doubt stirred in Li Kuiqi's heart. He shot a sidelong glance at Garrison Commander Huang and thought to himself: "That surnamed Huang clearly said this fellow had three thousand-some men—why does he claim five thousand?

The fellow's expression looks sincere enough, not like he's putting on a show.

Could that surnamed Huang be deliberately deceiving me?

Stepping back—whether three thousand or five thousand, it's still a considerable force. I should tread carefully.

Fine, if he wants another place, I'll point to another. The southeast coast has no shortage of islands anyway."

Having reasoned this through, Li Kuiqi pointed again at the Fujian coast: "Here—Kinmen Island. The land is plenty big, and there's a guard station on it, manned by nothing but wine-bags and rice-sacks. Send five hundred elites, Brother, and you can take it with ease."

Lin Qian looked, then shook his head again: "No good. That island is too close to Yuegang—sooner or later it will provoke a government crackdown."

Li Kuiqi's eyes bulged with rage, and he thought: "If it weren't for fear of a government crackdown, it wouldn't have been your turn to take it at all!"

In the end, mindful of Lin Qian's five thousand men, Li Kuiqi forcibly suppressed his fury and pointed to yet another island.

Sure enough, Lin Qian shook his head vigorously once more.

Pen