Chapter 99: Xu Xinsu

Xu Xinsu could be considered the originator of the term "Comprador."

In terms of seniority, back when Zheng Zhilong was still a nobody translator, his boss — the powerful overseas Chinese pirate and Sea Merchant Li Dan, entrenched in Hirado, Japan — was already sworn brothers with Xu Xinsu; Xu was, by all rights, a grand-uncle-level big shot.

At that time, Xu Xinsu was a major channel distributor entrenched in the Zhangquan region, responsible for collecting goods everywhere and then shipping the silk he acquired to Japan for Li Dan to sell.

In 1625, Li Dan and Yan Siqi died one after the other, and Zheng Zhilong seized the opportunity to swallow up the foundations of both bosses, establishing his own faction called the "Eighteen Zhi."

Xu Xinsu, meanwhile, turned around and began a torrid collusion with the Dutch occupying Dayuan, becoming an outstanding figure among the early Compradors — the Dutch trusted him and advanced him large sums of money. Xu Xinsu then used his own commercial channels to purchase large quantities of Raw Silk and resell it to Dayuan.

The Great Comprador Xu even monopolized the Raw Silk trade with the Dutch for a time; although the Red Hairs tried a few tricks, they were utterly useless, and Xu still controlled the lion's share of the Raw Silk trade, forcing the Dutch to buy silk from him at high prices.

Not long after the Transmigrators occupied Dayuan, while they were still playing in the sand, the situation underwent a fundamental change: Zheng Zhilong attacked and captured the Tongshan Garrison at the mouth of Zhangzhou Bay, then stationed himself there and defeated the Allied Forces of Fujian Regional Commander Yu Zigao and the Dutch armed fleet, deciding the outcome in a single battle.

After this battle, Yu Zigao was dismissed from office, stripped of his post, and thrown into prison; the war faction weakened, and the Ming Court began to shift its stance, with the Summon Pacification of Zheng Zhilong entering a practical phase.

After this battle, there was another person crying his eyes out in the latrine — Xu Xinsu.

The Great Comprador Xu had just recently spent twenty thousand taels of silver to bribe Yu Zigao, completely whitewashing his own record and becoming a Naval Defense Commander; before he even had time to warm the seat, his patron was thrown into prison...

The Great Comprador Xu had just recently acted as the super-planner combining official, bandit, and merchant, gluing together Commander Yu, the Dutch, and some motley pirates into a Joint Fleet; unexpectedly, the fleet vanished like smoke right after, and now Zheng Zhilong would cut down the Great Comprador Xu on sight — what, grand-uncle seniority? Nail him into a frame and kick him down the mountain first!

In actual history, Xu Xinsu's power waned from this point, and he would be killed by Zheng Zhilong during the attack on Xiamen the following year.

After the Transmigrators occupied Dayuan, firstly, they were swamped with a myriad of affairs, and secondly, their foothold was still unsteady while they were still tearing at each other internally — how could they have the mind to scheme anything about Xu Xinsu? These three salesmen of the Xu Family were not important figures either, so they had been confined to the Shang Hall doing odd jobs all these days.

It was only after Xia Xianze's pinned post incident that Cai Feiming remembered these three losers. However, given their current lack of hard power, he couldn't think of any way to use Xu Xinsu to turn the tables, and even making things remotely difficult for Zheng Zhilong was hard.

Historically, Zheng Zhilong, who would soon wipe out all his so-called brothers and unify the Min Sea, was Without a Doubt the number one threat Facing the Crossing Faction. The Transmigrators were fully incubating their Primary Industrial System, while Zheng Zhilong was striking every pose imaginable to seek Summon Pacification; to some degree, Both Sides were in a race, but one side was in the dark, the other in the light — it all depended on who could free up their hands first!

In the end, after much thought, all they could do was play a kite tactic: send these three fellows straight to the west... Fujian was to the west. As for how much these three fellows could influence Xu Xinsu or even slightly nudge the situation after returning, Cai Feiming held absolutely no illusions — you take a swing whether there are dates or not; at the very least, sending these three goods back would save Dayuan a few bowls of old rice.

This was the reason the three Xu Family salesmen were taken to Penghu by the Yuan Dou; as for why the ship had to make a detour, it was because the Xu Family had connections on Xiyu Island, and the three fellows could find their own boat back to Fujian from there.

Standing at the bow, Professor Luo watched Xiyu Island drawing closer, turned his head, and said to the three: "You still remember the message you're to deliver, right?"

Xu Duanwu, upon hearing this, cupped his fists in salute, bowed slightly, and said in a clumsy Nanjing Mandarin: "Shopkeeper Luo, please rest assured, Duanwu will surely convey your esteemed words to my clan uncle, without missing a single word."

Professor Luo stroked his chin in thought, then pointed at one person behind Xu Duanwu: "You, recite it once."

They could neither send Xu Xinsu an AK for self-defense, nor leave anything in writing, so they could only send some plans. The so-called plans were just some simple analyses, but this was precisely what the ancients without WiFi lacked.

Analysis One: In the third month of next spring, Xiong Wencan would become Fuzhou Governor of Fujian and formally offer Summon Pacification to Zheng Zhilong. The plan required Xu Xinsu to avoid further direct confrontation with Zheng Zhilong, prepare silver, and bribe Xiong Wencan in advance.

Analysis Two: The Xiamen area was Zheng Zhilong's designated main base and would face heavy assault. The plan required Xu Xinsu to abandon all illusions, Escape immediately, and transfer all personnel and assets to Quanzhou Prefecture, preferably to Fuzhou, because the focus of the next stage of struggle had already shifted to the political level.

Analysis Three: All the coastal gentry, officials whose interests had been violated by Zheng Zhilong, as well as the Kunlun Master of Dayuan, were now standing behind the Great Comprador Xu; he was not fighting alone. The plan required the Great Comprador Xu to rally, as the new interest group needed him as their spokesman; Escape was not the end, but the beginning.

Finally, through the mouth of the clan nephew, the Crossing Faction also issued a solemn declaration to the Great Comprador Xu: regarding all the advance deposits and goods previously given by the Dutch, the Crossing Faction held indisputable ownership. The declaration required the Great Comprador Xu not to bring trouble upon himself, to keep his eyes open, and to find a suitable opportunity to deliver the goods to the masters of Dayuan.

The salesman fluently recited the analysis, plan, and declaration.

By this time, the Yuan Dou had sailed close to shore; the three men jumped off the ship and swam toward the island in chest-deep Seawater. Professor Luo watched their retreating figures and shouted again: "Split up when heading to Xiamen, don't get wiped out in one sweep..."

The kite-flying plan thus concluded.

Gazing at the gradually receding Penghu Islands, Professor Luo now stood on the deck of the eastbound Yuan Dou, lost in thought.

The mode of settling matters by force, which had been invincible since Crossing Over, had probably drawn to a close at this moment. Facing the colossal Zheng Zhilong group, certain people were now sufficient for self-preservation but insufficient as a Threat; this could be seen from Xu Xinsu's case — apart from leaking some intel and verbal sparring, they could deploy no Resources whatsoever, hollow big shots.

"A long and arduous road ahead. The boss has changed, the mode of struggle has escalated. I'm afraid many people haven't realized it yet. Sigh, it seems I'll still have to post a thread first when I get back..." Carrying Professor Luo and his contemplation, the Yuan Dou slowly sailed toward Dayuan.

The next morning, when the Yuan Dou returned to Dayuan Port, they discovered that the Dog Eye, which had hurried back to Hangzhou on the seventh day after the Occupation of Dayuan, was already unloading at the dock. Along with it to Dayuan came another new ship.

This time, the Dog Eye had transported all the Transmigrators stranded in Hangzhou to Dayuan; only three espionage operatives remained in Hangzhou now, two overt and one covert. These three Transmigrators would be Responsible For the task of continuously providing Resources to Dayuan in the future, a truly long and arduous road ahead.