Chapter 200: The Unstable Pidao

The Chongzhen Emperor was no pushover either. The moment he saw that line in the memorial, he understood Shen Yourong's meaning at once, as if a door to a whole new world had opened. He thought to himself: this fellow looks honest enough, but who'd have guessed his mind was so devious—still, I like it.

Keep the members of the Senate alive, and let the Governor of Macau and the commander of the garrison disappear—then what should he do next? Exactly: use the name of the Macau Senate to put a pro-Ming governor on the throne.

For a brief moment, the Chongzhen Emperor considered simply sending one of his own ministers to take the post. But he soon realized he was being too idealistic. Setting aside how hard it was to find someone fluent in all the relevant languages, even if he did manage to find such a man by luck, in the Macau leasehold—a place crawling with foreign devils—a single Han Chinese would find every step difficult, and in the end would most likely be isolated and marginalized.

Since installing a Chinese national as governor was so troublesome, why not simply find an obedient Portuguese collaborator to do the job?

In the old saying, this was propping up a puppet governor. As long as the fellow was obedient, wouldn't Portugal's leasehold in Macau effectively fall smoothly into his hands? As for Portugal itself—the country was on the verge of collapse anyway, so why bother worrying about them?

Historically, Portugal only turned its fortunes around by winning the war against the Dutch three years later. But even so, that was still three years away, and in three years' time, anything could happen.

That said, this matter could not be handled by the Chongzhen Emperor personally. It had to be done by his hounds below—safe and reassuring.

At first the Chongzhen Emperor thought of sending Li Fengxiang again, but then discovered the fellow didn't know a word of Portuguese. That was the only reason he let him off. In the end, it was Wang Cheng'en who volunteered, rattling off several sentences of Portuguese with great fluency.

The Chongzhen Emperor, who had been fretting over the problem, heard this bird talk and was both delighted and astonished. This fellow had served his predecessor for so many years—surely the predecessor should have known him inside and out. But from what he could recall, that muddle-headed predecessor of his apparently had no idea Wang Cheng'en possessed this skill at all.

To be safe, the Chongzhen Emperor issued a special decree summoning Johann Adam Schall von Bell to verify, and Wang Cheng'en remained calm and composed, answering every question without hesitation. Even Schall was amazed—this was clearly more than a smattering of knowledge; the man was more than qualified to serve as a full-time interpreter.

With the candidate found, the Macau matter could be considered settled for now. After secretly giving Wang Cheng'en a few instructions, the Chongzhen Emperor promptly turned his attention back to the affairs of Pidao.

Macau had been a pleasant surprise, but Pidao was a matter of life and death. Just a few days earlier, Huang Fei, the newly appointed Regional Commander of Pidao, had sent a battle report saying that the Qing Tartars had attacked the island again in early June.

However, this attack was small in scale. The main force consisted only of the Manchu soldiers led by Oboi; the rest were cannon fodder from the Han Army Banners and Mongol Army Banners—weak in combat capability and carrying no firearms.

"On the fifth day of the sixth month of the eighteenth year of Chongzhen, Huang Fei, Regional Commander of Pidao, personally went to Shenmi Island to direct the battle, routing the combined Manchu-Mongol force led by Oboi, Deputy Commander of the Bordered Red Banner of the Qing Tartars, beheading over six hundred enemies. The severed heads are already on their way to the capital."

Although Pidao had won this time, the Chongzhen Emperor could tell from the report that the Jianzhou barbarians had probably only been testing Pidao's military strength—the main force was just the few hundred Bordered Red Banner barbarians led by Oboi.

For this test, Huang Fei had gone all out, throwing every general he had—Kong Youde, Li Chengren, Min Lian and others—into the battle, doing his utmost to show that Pidao had regained its former glory. But in reality, although Pidao had undergone large-scale reconstruction and received its pay, its military strength had truly declined considerably from before. Who knew what conclusions the Jianzhou barbarians had drawn.

But whatever conclusions they reached, the next attack would surely come in full force. The Chongzhen Emperor had no intention of sitting idle waiting for death. For several days straight he had convened the Grand Secretaries and the Ministers of various ministries to discuss the matter, proposing the establishment of a new post of Commissioner-in-Chief of Tianjin's Coastal Defense, dedicated to training and organizing a naval force.

The Chongzhen Emperor placed great hopes on this navy. First, it would be used to reinforce Pidao at any time; second, he wanted to build it into a powerful fleet rivaling the Zheng family and the Western powers. But the road was still long—even the selection of the Coastal Defense Commissioner-in-Chief remained undecided.

Pidao was a thorn in Dorgon's side, and in the Chongzhen Emperor's eyes, it was his trump card against the Jianzhou barbarians. Because from this island one could land and strike directly at Jin and Fu—two regions where the Jianzhou defenses were relatively weak—thereby threatening Shengjing itself.

Dorgon understood this as well: if Pidao's military strength were to rise again, one careless slip on his part could bring devastating destruction upon Shengjing, and the Aisin Gioro clan's generations of effort to enter the Central Plains would be wasted in his hands. That was something he would never allow.

Neither side would yield, and so ever since Pidao had been re-established, the Jianzhou barbarians had never ceased their harassment and probing. Many perceptive observers could see that a great battle erupting in this place was only a matter of time.

While the Chongzhen Emperor was in repeated consultation with his senior ministers over Pidao, Wang Cheng'en quietly arrived at the Governor's yamen in Macau at the end of July, making contact with Shen Yourong, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

"I had no idea a noble from the palace was coming—I've been remiss. Please forgive me, Your Excellency the Eunuch Director." Shen Yourong said with a smile, taking a teacup from the maidservant's hands and personally presenting it to Wang Cheng'en while offering his apologies.

"No matter, no matter. This old man came out quietly this time, bearing a secret decree from His Majesty." Wang Cheng'en smiled with unruffled composure, took the cup, took a small sip, and set it down on the table before saying: "That matter Governor Shen raised with His Majesty—His Majesty has seen it and is very pleased."

"As for why this old man has come this time, I trust Governor Shen already understands the meaning?"

Shen Yourong had been somewhat worried about this matter—would His Majesty waste such a fine opportunity? It was only upon seeing the familiar smile on Wang Cheng'en's face that he felt reassured. Sitting down on the other side, he said:

"With the Eunuch Director saying so, this subordinate can rest easy. But what exactly does His Majesty intend? Please do enlighten me."

"His Majesty has said this matter is feasible. However, the candidate must be personally selected by this old man. Being loyal to the Great Ming is one thing, but the main requirement is obedience—no saying one thing to your face and another behind your back. Since we've gotten our hands on this leasehold, we can't easily hand it back to them." Having said this, Wang Cheng'en took another small sip to moisten his lips.

"Wouldn't it be better to just use a Han Chinese?" Shen Yourong asked, somewhat puzzled. "Using a Han Chinese is worry-free and convenient—no need to fear disobedience. It kills many birds with one stone. Why not?"

"Foolish!" Wang Cheng'en's face darkened. "You're only seeing the surface. Using a Han Chinese is indeed worry-free and convenient, but then the Portuguese would have the upper hand in terms of legitimacy—their laws don't say a Han Chinese can serve as governor."

At this point, seeing Shen Yourong's expression turn fearful, Wang Cheng'en slowed his tone and said with a light chuckle: "Besides, a Han Chinese as governor might seem convenient on the surface, but it's actually more complicated underneath. In the leasehold, where foreign devils are everywhere, a Han Chinese would find his movements hampered after all. Better to cultivate one and be done with it forever."

Shen Yourong suddenly understood: "The Eunuch Director speaks wisely. Even if the Portuguese come to investigate later, it's still their own man serving as governor. If they insist on replacing him, then they're the ones showing disrespect to the Great Ming. When that happens, whatever we want to do, we'll be the ones standing on the side of right."

"The lad is teachable." Wang Cheng'en nodded, then turned and asked: "Governor Shen, do you have anyone in mind for the position of Governor of Macau? Tell this old man, and I'll help you vet the choice."