Chapter 329: Liu Xiang's Decision

The bizarre outcome left Liu Xiang utterly baffled.

After this, Shopkeeper Liu, who refused to believe in bad luck, organized multiple groups to head north. From one or two disguised fishing ships to fleets of several large vessels, from day to night, from the west side of the strait to the east side — in short, Shopkeeper Liu scientifically employed the method of elimination, testing the response capability of the Cao Family Troops from every angle.

The result was devastating: aside from a small number of disguised fishing ships that could slip through, all other vessels that did not follow the shipping lane to Xiamen, regardless of time or place, day or night, were intercepted in the strait without exception.

Fortunately, by now the cannon fodder had learned their lesson: the moment they spotted a distant sail, they immediately raised a white flag... running was impossible, and they'd just get shelled.

This situation left Liu Xiang utterly despondent: what he needed was a large number of ships breaking through en masse — what use was it if one or two fishing ships managed to sneak past?

They couldn't win a fight, and breaking through meant running into such a dense patrol net from the Cao Army... Liu Xiang had no concept of radar, but that didn't stop him from reading the situation clearly. With things as they were, the plan to "do business" along the Fujian coast was completely bankrupt.

Since that was the case, Liu Xiang could only set aside his designs on Fujian for the time being and content himself with "doing business" in the waters off Guangzhou.

Information traveled very slowly in ancient times, and by the time all the back-and-forth was done, half a year had passed.

By this point, Liu Xiang had no choice but to lead his followers back to the Chaoshan area for rest and reorganization: the Great Gang had stirred up such widespread resentment in Guangzhou that even the Portuguese in Macau had sent envoys to lodge protests and stern rebukes against him, so Shopkeeper Liu could only temporarily shut down operations.

Theoretically speaking, no power base could sustain high-intensity daily patrols over the long term — Liu Xiang was well aware of this. So after returning to Chaoshan, he still harbored some illusions: the Cao Clan's net would loosen, and he could take his followers to Fujian, or if not there, to Zhejiang at worst, and come back in a year or two.

However, once he returned to Chaoshan and had somewhat easier access to intelligence, he discovered that the situation had not only failed to improve but had grown even more unfavorable.

First, the patrols in the strait had not relaxed.

Second, now even fishing ships had a hard time slipping through: over the past half year, the Kun People had systematically "incorporated" every fishing ship in the vicinity of Xiamen.

The fishing village society passed down through generations was utterly destroyed by the Transmigrators.

All coastal fishing villages were forcibly reorganized by the domineering General's Mansion. Taking the village as the unit, they first carried out personnel screening and division, and then came doomsday for the triad-like "Fish Overlords" and "Fish Columns": dare to compete with the biggest thugs for the right to exploit the common folk, and breech-loading rifles would teach you a lesson in minutes.

After this, the remaining fishermen who were allowed to work could form joint-stock companies and happily receive large blessing ships on credit, free of charge, from the docks outside Zhongzuosuo.

These blessing ships, seized from pirates, had all been modified to deploy steel nets or rope nets by hand-cranking. Fishermen who received these new-style fishing ships had to be organized into unified fleets and then follow a pilot ship out to sea.

The pilot ship would send a signal at the appropriate time; the fishermen only needed to cast their nets after seeing the flag signal rocket, and that was it.

Large ships, accompanied by fleet-style fishing with a pilot, could venture deep into the midline of the strait where fishermen had never dared to go before. This greatly enhanced efficiency. The caught fish would be salted on the spot and sent back to Xiamen, where the goods yards were piled high with endless private salt — fishermen no longer had to rack their brains over a bit of salt.

This fishing method was expanding north and south with Xiamen as the center. Basically, every coastal county in Fujian would eventually have one or two fishing ship gathering points established: pilot ships equipped with fish finders would come on schedule to lead the crews out to sea.

Thus a strange sight appeared: the countless fishing ships of all kinds that once dotted the coastline were completely gone, and the sea surface was utterly silent.

Under these circumstances, any traditional fishing ship that intruded into a certain power's patrol range would be quickly discovered and subjected to inspection and detention.

Now, even transmitting messages from Liu Xiang's side had become rather difficult.

The advanced management model not only increased production efficiency but also, incidentally, exposed all the lurking demons and monsters.

Even more terrifying was that the scope of this "rotting land at sea" was still expanding. Fishermen along the Fujian coast who got word of this were recently defecting to the Cao Clan in large numbers... hand over a few broken-down boats and exchange them for large ships, and no longer suffer oppression from the Fish Columns — only a fool wouldn't do it.

Grand Steward Liu was now thoroughly depressed; he could find no way to break the deadlock...

Unlike half a year ago, he now had a very objective understanding of the Cao Army's combat strength, so the option of "a head-on fight" was the first thing he eliminated from his response plans.

The option of breaking through was undoubtedly unreliable too — now even a lone fishing ship couldn't slip past.

The powerful neighbor to the north, occupying the strategic location, had effectively blockaded the Taiwan Strait, trapping the Liu Xiang Group, just returned from the south, in a dilemma with no way forward or back.

So at this point, at the end of 1628, Liu Xiang, unable to find a strategic direction, was extremely anxious.

The Cao Clan forces that had appeared out of nowhere blocked his path like a crouching tiger. Now, not only was the grand strategic vision of contending with Zheng Zhilong and breaking into Sino-Japanese trade out of the question, but Liu Xiang couldn't even feel secure in his old nest of Chaoshan: with only 200 li of sea route between him and Xiamen, a single charge by the Cao Clan's fast ships could bring them face to face — this kept him awake at night.

So Grand Steward Liu frantically dispatched spies in all directions to scout, while simultaneously sending multiple batches of messengers to contact friends, including the Portuguese, hoping for a change in the situation.

The turning point came at the end of December: the previously dispatched spy, Song Asheng, returned to Chaoshan.

Song Asheng was from Jieyang and, to begin with, was an old Chaoshan brother. Previously, this man had never been a spy; he was merely the owner of a certain bird ship.

The reason Song Asheng was sent to Xiamen was not because he was clever, but because, according to the spies who returned last time, they had seen Song Asheng's own nephew working for the Kun People — so Song Asheng was sent to Xiamen after a few words of encouragement from Liu Xiang.

Unexpectedly, this time, in less than half a month, Song Asheng was back.

In a row of dilapidated wooden huts on the shore of Dahao Island, Liu Xiang, who had just finished lunch, summoned Song Asheng immediately upon receiving the report.

After pouring a cup of Shuixian tea, the short, dark-skinned, angular-faced Liu Xiang, Sixth Great Manager, dispensed with all pleasantries. Once Song Asheng had gulped down the tea, he asked directly: "Old Song, you've returned quickly — you must have news?"

"Yes, yes!" Song Asheng nodded repeatedly. "This trip, I had good luck. I hitched a ride on a merchant ship, and within two days, I ran into my nephew at a food house the Kun People opened."

Liu Xiang nodded slowly at this. "That is good luck!"

Song Asheng then said, somewhat excitedly: "Grand Steward, the reason those Kun People can intercept our brothers on the sea every time — it turns out it's not because they have many ships, but because they have a Dharma Artifact!"

Hearing this, Liu Xiang leaned forward slightly. "Oh!? What kind of artifact?"

"The Kun People built a three-zhang-high Dun Tai in Zhongzuosuo City. Atop that Dun Tai is a Dharma Artifact shaped like a silver pot. It spins without stopping all day long, and it's called 'Radar God.'"

Song Asheng then said excitedly: "This Radar God was invited by the Kun People from an enlightened figure. Its magic power is profound — it can see ships within 200 li on the sea surface, regardless of day or night!"

"Truly!?" Liu Xiang's eyes widened at this. He swung his legs up and jumped down from his chair.

"I would never dare deceive the Grand Steward!" Song Asheng hurriedly explained. "My nephew works at the Grain Office and is good friends with a Kun People Apprentice who operates the Dharma Artifact. According to him, every time our brothers' ships haven't even passed Futou Bay, they've already used the Thousand-Li Sound Transmission method to send the information to the cannon ships!"

"Ah, the Thousand-Li Sound Transmission method — I suppose it does exist. It seems merchants have been spending silver to buy information lately."

Liu Xiang was, after all, a man who had weathered great storms. After his brief lapse, he clasped his hands behind his back and sighed: "I originally thought it was all just rumors, but now it seems these outsiders truly do possess some secret overseas arts!"

Liu Xiang shook his head, clicking his tongue. "No wonder just a few ships could seal a 600-li sea frontier so tightly. So that's it, heh heh, so that's it..."

Song Asheng finally added: "This Radar God is said to be linked as Mother-Child Linked Hearts. They are set up at Zhongzuosuo, Penghu, and Dayuan — a whole nest of male and female Dharma Artifacts sealing the strait completely tight."

"Old Song, this information is valuable. You've worked hard this time." Liu Xiang reached out and patted Song Asheng on the shoulder. "Go to the Grain Office and collect a triple reward. Tomorrow, I'll allocate two more ships to you."

"Many thanks, Grand Steward!"

"Merit deserves reward. We're brothers — no need for thanks. In the future, I may need you to make another trip to Zhongzuosuo."

"That goes without saying — just say the word, Grand Steward!"

After sending Song Asheng away, Liu Xiang waved away the others and paced alone in the room in silence.

Although the mystery of the fleet's repeated interceptions had been solved, Liu Xiang felt not a trace of relief; his thoughts grew even heavier instead.

If what Song Asheng said was true, and the Kun People really were using Dharma Artifacts to monitor the sea surface, then Liu Xiang's last shred of hope was effectively severed.

Originally, he had risked a surprise attack by the Cao Clan to return to the Chaoshan area, banking on the idea of waiting for his opponent to exhaust themselves. But reality had dealt him a heavy blow: the Cao Clan had been patrolling with just those few cannon ships from start to finish — they were completely at ease...

In that case, it seemed the Liu Xiang Gang had only one path left: head south to Guangdong and never come back. In the future, even for rest and reorganization, they could only go to Vietnam and Siam.

At this thought, the usually decisive Liu Xiang was now utterly agitated, pacing rapidly back and forth in the room, his face full of anxiety and helplessness.

However, the next moment Liu Xiang suddenly stopped in his tracks. After muttering to himself for a while, he shouted loudly toward the door: "Someone come! Summon the Military Advisor to see me."

Liu Xiang naturally had military advisors before his tent, and more than one at that. But there was only one Military Advisor referred to without a surname in address — the Chief Military Advisor Yu Xianke, who historically died in battle alongside Liu Xiang.