Chapter 230: All the Worthies Have Arrived (Part Three)

Inside the Central Army Tent, a murderous tension hung in the air. The trusted subordinates of every faction's Shopkeepers had all drawn their weapons, glaring at one another — a scene on the verge of erupting at any moment.

From this, one could gauge the caliber of these Zheng Clan brothers: when Zheng Zhilong was around, Mo Liangtai — that is, the manpower both inside and outside the Central Army Tent — was entirely composed of Zheng Clan direct-line members. When the Shopkeepers came here for discussions in ordinary times, their retinues had to remain outside the tent; only Zheng Clan members were allowed inside.

Yet ever since Zheng Zhilong's accident, every faction's Shopkeeper who came to the Central Army Tent invariably brought their subordinates along. Even after entering the tent, trusted confidants stood behind them.

"Outrageous! We're all brothers here — what's the point of drawing blades?" At that very moment, beside Li Kuiqi, a middle-aged man who had been sitting motionless in his chair the entire time rose to his feet.

This man was called Zhong Bin, one of the Eighteen Zhi, and had always been on good terms with Li Kuiqi.

"Everyone, sheathe your blades." Zhong Bin spoke in a deep voice after standing. In the next instant, the several trusted men standing behind him slowly sheathed their blades first. Seeing this turn of events, the others also put away their weapons one after another.

"We're all brothers who eat from the same pot — why torment ourselves into such estrangement? It only invites others to watch and laugh at us." Seeing the situation ease, Zhong Bin added a conciliatory remark to smooth things over.

Yet the instigator was not appreciative. After a cold, contemptuous laugh, Liu Xiang directed a remark at the seemingly honest and simple Zhong Bin — "Let's see how long you lot can hold out" — then strode out of the Central Army Tent with his men in tow.

After Liu Xiang exited, the subordinates waiting outside the tent quickly clustered around him as he boarded a Great Bird Ship at the wharf and sailed off in a grand departure.

Inside the tent, however, a profound silence reigned.

The Zheng brothers naturally had nothing to say. Their earlier little scheme had already been seen through and laid bare. And after the Shopkeepers drew blades inside the tent for the first time, the Zheng Clan members suddenly realized that they, who controlled the Grain Office, had become like a child holding gold — the target of every arrow.

Thus, not long after Liu Xiang departed, the Zheng Clan members also left the Central Army Tent, under a barrage of cold, sardonic, and appraising gazes.

After the two groups departed one after the other, the great tent felt much more spacious, and the saber-rattling atmosphere subsided. Only then did Li Kuiqi, who had been sitting silently in his chair the entire time, slowly rise and move to sit on the armchair opposite that had originally belonged to Zheng Zhifeng.

Once seated, a trace of a smile first crept across Li Kuiqi's deeply wrinkled face. Then, turning to the side, he spoke to a portly man in his forties beside him, dressed like a wealthy squire: "Brother Zhongji, the younger generation cannot be relied upon..."

Hearing this, the portly man first nodded in agreement, then sighed: "Fierce in appearance but cowardly at heart, vision limited to a rodent's gaze — far inferior to their elder brother."

Chen Zhongji, a native of Haicheng in Zhangzhou, had risen to prominence in the Pinghu Domain of Japan and was one of the founding elders of Yan Siqi's group. Back then, after Yan Siqi's accidental death, although Zheng Zhilong gained nominal legitimacy by marrying Yan Siqi's sole daughter (the National Lord had already been born in Japan at this time) and thus ostensibly took over Yan Siqi's power base, Chen Zhongji still controlled the majority of Yan Siqi's old subordinates.

In true history, Chen Zhongji, who was not particularly keen on Recruitment and Amnesty, would soon be killed by Zheng Zhilong after the latter accepted amnesty.

But in this plane of the Transmigrators, things had reversed: not only had Chen Zhongji unleashed his true self, he had also found common ground with Li Kuiqi, who likewise advocated continuing as pirates. This was one reason the Zheng brothers had fled in such haste: Chen Zhongji, who theoretically should have fallen under the Zheng Clan's power base, had just now not revealed the slightest hint of a Zheng Clan flavor, which instantly chilled the hearts of those young men.

From Chen Zhongji's case, one could glimpse the tightrope act Zheng Zhilong had performed historically: no single faction was truly of one heart with him. Yet Brother Zhilong possessed the ability to gather these discordant, recalcitrant sorts together, use their lives to open battle with the government forces, and then leverage the government's power to cut down his old brothers one by one. His objectives were clear, his methods superb, every step a heart-stopping gamble — one could not help but admire him.

As Li Kuiqi and Chen Zhongji, smiles on their faces, began whispering to each other as if no one else were present, Zhong Bin also turned and beckoned toward the cluster of Shopkeepers in the corner: "Dewei, come closer and talk."

Du Dewei knew full well that the situation had shifted into leader-to-subordinate consultation mode. So, after exchanging a glance with Hu Ba beside him, he immediately plastered a smile on his face and walked all the way to Zhong Bin's side, cupping his fists in greeting: "Second Master Zhong, it's been many days since we last met."

In the next moment, he was warmly and familiarly pressed down onto the armchair beside Zhong Bin: "Dewei, matters have come to this — I fear the Zheng Clan will demand an accounting. You're a perceptive man, so I won't say much..."

By this point, the true mastermind behind the scenes who had been dragging things out to keep the Great Gang from disbanding had finally revealed his true face. Who was it? The Li Kuiqi + Zhong Bin combination.

In terms of sheer leadership ability, this man Li Kuiqi's stats were also quite high. Historically, after his betrayal, his ability to rally the majority of the men and expel Zheng Zhilong was clear proof. However, like most mediocre Pirate Leaders, he had one fatal flaw: a lack of strategic vision.

Facts have proven that Recruitment and Amnesty was the only way out.

Li Kuiqi, obsessed with being a free-spirited leader, had actually been using the opportunity of the gang's collective silence these days to secretly work on the other major mountain strongholds — and this included Chen Zhongji.

Now that everyone had thoroughly turned hostile, although it would be harder going forward to use the Grain Office's public funds to buy time for his vertical-and-horizontal alliance-building, the Li Kuiqi combination was by now confident in their calculations.

Hence the scene just now: the two had already begun openly recruiting men. Li Kuiqi was responsible for drawing in the major strongholds, while Zhong Bin handled Shopkeepers like Du Dewei.

The method of recruitment was simple: all they needed to do was loudly proclaim, "Forgive me for this life of untamed freedom and love of liberty," and those unwilling to be the government's dogs would naturally gather around.

After exchanging a few cordial words with Grand Steward Zhong Bin, Du Dewei gave up his seat: there was still a line behind him — he couldn't block others' path to advancement, could he?

And so, Du Dewei quietly retreated back to the corner. Once Hu Ba had finished speaking with Zhong Bin, the two of them, along with several other Shopkeepers, walked out of the tent.

"Shopkeeper Du, you must have reached a decision by now?"

As soon as the several similarly afflicted Shopkeepers stepped out of the great tent's entrance, one of the leaders, a man named Cao Hu, started sounding out the market from Du Dewei.

Cao Hu was a leader with only ten broken-down ships under his command. This man had a square head and large ears, his physiognomy appearing exceedingly jovial and simple-hearted.

Du Dewei felt a chill run down his spine at these words. What place was this? This was the entrance to the Central Army Tent! Standing along both sides of the path right now were the retinues of every major leader — careless talk would get a man killed!

After inwardly cursing the seemingly simple Cao Hu with a wish for his mother's early demise, Du Dewei threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh: "I find Second Master Zhong's words quite reasonable. We're men of the rivers and lakes, after all — living freely, drinking wine, and eating meat, that's the proper way!"

... Cao Hu let out a hehe laugh upon hearing this and said no more. The group then passed in silence through the throngs of Li Kuiqi's and Zhong Bin's subordinates, boarded the wharf skiffs, exchanged a word of farewell, and each went their separate ways.

Du Dewei and Hu Ba's forces were gathered together. When the two returned to their peripheral anchorage over three li from Zhongzuo Wharf, without a second word they assembled all their subordinates, sharpened blades and polished cannons, and entered full-alert mode.

People who live every day wedged between cracks have a very accurate premonition for danger: not long after the two had returned, earth-shaking shouts of slaughter erupted from the direction of the Grain Office. Accompanying those shouts, the large numbers of pirates anchored in the wharf's core area began killing each other — the scene was one of utter chaos.

Witnessing such a fiery spectacle from afar, the two men of frail build, Du and Hu, had no mind to care who was hacking whom. They urgently ordered the sails raised to get away first.

Zhongzuosuo was located at the southern corner of Xiamen. After the big bosses opened battle, Du and Hu led their ragtag fleet — totaling some forty vessels, the majority of which were Fishing Ships — and began moving toward the open sea beyond Xiamen.

Before long, once the fleet had rounded the cape at the lower right corner of Xiamen, Du and Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief: their current position was relatively safe. Whether heading north, south, or east, the fleet had ample waterways to choose from.

Still in a state of shock, Du Dewei immediately dispatched skiffs back to reconnoiter.

Yet before the skiffs could return, a large mass of seagoing vessels surged out from the direction of Zhongzuosuo. This force numbered over three hundred large ships, with countless smaller boats.

Seeing the vast and mighty fleet on the distant ocean surface sailing straight south, Hu Ba stood at the bow and said with certainty: "No need to guess further — it must be Grand Shopkeeper Liu's men."

Du Dewei sighed: "Ah, in the end, it was all a fleeting joy. Great Dragon Head Zheng passed away at the worst possible time."

Hu Ba also sighed along with this good friend beside him who had been so set on Recruitment and Amnesty. Then the two of them simply waited silently at the bow for news.

Around two o'clock in the afternoon, another large force charged out from the direction of Zhongzuosuo. This fleet, in terms of numbers, was nearly half the size of the Liu Xiang Gang's, and its identity was very easy to confirm — the Zheng Clan members were heading north along Xiamen Island back to their old nest at Weitou Bay. The fleet passed right before Du Dewei and the others' eyes, their banners clearly visible.

After three in the afternoon, the two dispatched skiffs returned one after the other.

The intelligence brought back by the scouts did not differ greatly from the two men's deductions: first, the Liu Xiang Gang's forces began assaulting the Grain Office, engaging in slaughter with the Zheng Clan members guarding it. Next, the Zheng Clan, unable to hold, began retreating. Then, just as Liu Xiang's men were wantonly looting the treasury silver, Li Kuiqi's and Zhong Bin's forces charged in to attack.

Thus, caught between two fronts, Liu Xiang put up a brief resistance before withdrawing to his main formation. Taking a portion of the silver aboard his ships, he returned directly to Guangdong. And after Liu Xiang left, the Zheng brothers, after exchanging a few perfunctory words with the confronting Li Kuiqi, also took their men and a portion of the silver aboard their ships and sailed straight back to their old home in Anping.

At this point, the scouts revealed another piece of information: at present, Grand Steward Li Kuiqi had taken the top seat at Zhongzuosuo. Grand Steward Li was currently consolidating troops and sending men everywhere to spread the word, demanding that the factions who had fled return to "discuss great matters together," and furthermore, that "grain and pay will absolutely not be withheld."

Hearing this, Hu Ba let out a long breath and turned to look at Du Dewei beside him: "Well? Do we go back or not?"

Du Dewei's brows were tightly furrowed as he gazed at the undulating ocean surface. He spoke slowly: "Don't be hasty. You and I, brothers, will always find a place to go."