Chapter 1114: Pi Island

While he was mulling it over, the sampan on the other side had already brought the man aboard. It was a good thing they'd lowered the sampan early, and that one of the Zhao Camp retainers on it kept shouting threats — otherwise, the man swimming over from the dock might well have collapsed from exhaustion and drowned.

The Yu family sailors on the ship were experienced after all. Watching the sampan bring the man over, they had already begun preparing dry clothes and hot soup and water aboard.

The sampan rowed back swiftly. The Jianzhou Jurchen soldiers on the dock kept howling and cursing, shooting arrows into the water from time to time. Though the arrows could not possibly reach the ship, they still terrified the sailors badly.

The sailors on the other large ships were no better off. The moment the sampan was hauled up, they immediately set sail and got underway — never mind where they were headed, just so long as they got far away from this Port of Lüshun.

The weather was fine at this time of year, but the seawater was bitterly cold. When the man came aboard, his whole body was shivering from the cold, his face deathly pale, and he could barely stand. At first glance he looked to be in his thirties, but a closer look revealed he was only in his early twenties. He had several scars on his face and body — you could tell he was someone who had come through life-or-death trials.

The moment the rescued man came aboard, he seemed about to say something, but upon seeing Liu Yong and the others, he hesitated briefly and said nothing at all. He cooperated with the Yu family sailors in drying himself off, changing into clothes, and then drank a few mouthfuls of hot soup. His body stopped shivering, and his spirits were much better than before.

"Are you... are you official agents of the court?" the rescued man asked hesitantly. Anyone who saw the bearing of Liu Yong and his retainers would have the same question — their demeanor was stern, extremely disciplined, and carried a murderous edge. Not to mention Liu Yong being guarded at the center; this kind of authority over life and death, the presence of one who gives orders, was something only civil officials or military commanders possessed.

"Give your name. What do you want?" Liu Yong did not answer, but questioned him directly.

"... This humble one is Zhang Kai, personal guard to Jinzhou Regional Commander Zhang Pan. I wish to go to Pi Island to seek reinforcements from General Mao..." This Zhang Kai spoke hesitantly, clearly unable to determine the identity of the people on board. The only thing he could be certain of was that this ship definitely had nothing to do with the Jianzhou Jurchens, and that they had saved him.

After answering hesitantly, Zhang Kai suddenly dropped to his knees on the deck and cried out, "Sirs, you must go to Pi Island, you must go to Pi Island! Tens of thousands of people in Jinzhou and Lüshun — tens of thousands of Han people who fled from all over the Liao Circuit — are about to face a great calamity! If no one comes to the rescue, they will fall into the Tartars' hands!"

"Why don't you go to those islands like the Northern and Southern Huangcheng Islands, or go to Dengzhou in Shandong to seek help?" Liu Yong casually asked in return, then glanced at the Yu family boatmen and sailors and added, "I recall that going from here to Dengzhou is even faster than going to Pi Island."

This question made Zhang Kai freeze. Then he immediately kowtowed twice with a thud, raised his head, and said in a mournful voice, "Shandong will not send reinforcements. The court will not send reinforcements. Only by going to Pi Island — only Grand Commander Mao on Pi Island will dispatch troops to the rescue. General Zhang and we were sent here by Grand Commander Mao in the first place. Only Grand Commander Mao will not abandon us!"

"So long as you take me to Pi Island, we can give you any amount of wealth and goods. Just so long as we reach Pi Island. I beg you, I beg you! So many people here escaped from the Tartars' clutches — if they're captured again, it will be a fate worse than death!" Zhang Kai's expression and tone grew increasingly vehement, and his kowtows were hard enough to draw blood.

Li Yuliang, standing to one side, was filled with sympathy. He had not imagined that these last surviving embers of the Great Ming in Liaodong were in such dire straits. At the same time, a question rose in his mind: the government troops stationed at Dengzhou Prefecture already numbered nearly twenty thousand, and supplies were piled up like mountains — all said to be for a seaborne counteroffensive into Liaodong. So why were the people here saying that going to Dengzhou for help was useless?

Questions aside, Li Yuliang deeply admired Zhang Pan and the others for preserving Liaodong's spark. He thought that if he could help, it would be best to do so. When this thought arose, Li Yuliang even deliberately asked himself whether helping them would harm Xuzhou. After mulling it over repeatedly, he found that it truly would not.

Over on the other side, a cold sneer surfaced on Liu Yong's face. He said slowly, "Any amount of wealth and goods you can give? If these few ships of ours really went to Pi Island, the moment they bared their blades on the island, never mind any reward — we ourselves and all the cargo on these ships might not even be kept. Isn't that so?"

These words made Li Yuliang's heart tighten, and made Zhang Kai kowtow even harder. That he had dared to jump into the sea from the dock and swim over spoke for itself of his courage, but on this ship he had no room whatsoever to make a move. Several men were already watching him; the slightest suspicious movement and he would certainly be killed on the spot.

By this point, Zhang Kai, kneeling on the deck, was truly in despair. Yet he still raised his head and cried out, "The Tartars came so suddenly this time — no one here got out to deliver the news. Grand Commander Mao's side may not even know. If this place is taken, then everything will be too late! Sir, tens of thousands of souls in the city are waiting for rescue. My lord, please have mercy!"

"Won't you be taken for a spy when you reach Pi Island?" Liu Yong suddenly asked this.

"This humble one came from Pi Island in the first place. I used to serve right at Grand Commander Mao's side — everyone knows me!" Upon hearing this, Zhang Kai was like a drowning man grasping driftwood. He immediately perked up, his voice rising considerably.

"Fine. I'll take you there!" Liu Yong answered curtly.

Hearing these words, Zhang Kai first froze for a moment, then his whole body slumped down onto the deck. He started to grin as if to laugh, but as his mouth stretched wide, the grin turned into loud, broken sobs that made everyone on deck feel wretched.

Once the decision to head for Pi Island was made, the sailors aboard hoisted the sails and turned the rudder, beginning their course toward Pi Island. By this time, the sea guides had become the seagoing vessels Liu Yong and his men had hired in Penglai, Dengzhou. According to the guides, ships that ran the Liaodong–Shandong route were all very familiar with the Pi Island area.

Before Liu Yong and his men boarded, they had thought seafaring was simply steering a ship across the ocean. Only after coming aboard did they realize it was not so. Seagoing vessels had to sail as close as possible to islands and coastlines — only then were there landmarks to correct their heading.

Because the ships always kept a certain distance from the coastline, at the very least staying within sight, this also gave people on shore the chance to track them. The convoy Liu Yong and his men were in sailed northeast along the coastline, and on shore there were men on horseback following them the whole way — most likely Jianzhou Jurchen cavalry.

"They won't dare follow for too long. Along the whole stretch from Lüshun to Pi Island, there are still quite a few loyal and righteous troops of our Great Ming operating. Unless the Tartars come in force, they won't dare show themselves around here." Zhang Kai, peering over the ship's side, spoke with great confidence.

By the second day of sailing, the Jianzhou Jurchen cavalry that had been following along the shore were gone. According to the sea guides, the currents and winds were favorable from here to Pi Island, and they would arrive in a little over another day.

Throughout this voyage, people could often be seen moving about on the shore. From a distance, there was no telling whether they were of the Great Ming or the Jianzhou Jurchens. In any case, the ships would not be putting in to shore.

Everyone on board was very tense. Even the Xuzhou martial men were in enemy territory for the first time, and on the rootless, ungrounded sea at that. Only Liu Yong was utterly unconcerned. Every day he simply chatted with Zhang Kai, talking about matters great and small. Zhang Kai had never really spoken with someone like Liu Yong before. At first he still held things back, but before he knew it, he had spilled everything.

Roughly at the time the guides had said, the convoy arrived on schedule off Pi Island. Zhang Kai, who had recovered quite well, immediately wanted the convoy to put in to shore, but Liu Yong did not agree. Every ship in the convoy kept its sails raised and stood by, slowly drawing closer to Pi Island.

Pi Island was not small in area — far larger than Penglai, the prefectural seat of Dengzhou. From the ship, one could see the stockade on Pi Island. What was surprising was that although Pi Island was isolated out at sea and not far from the Zhenjiang Fort the Jianzhou Jurchens controlled, there were no defensive works whatsoever at the harbor berths. Instead, they saw quite a few people rush out of the stockade upon spotting the convoy, waving and cheering.

"My lord, let this humble one go over. They think we're reinforcements or a merchant convoy. The military intelligence from Jinzhou and Lüshun is urgent — there's no time to lose. Let this humble one go over!" Zhang Kai had also grasped Liu Yong's caution, and simply pleaded.

Liu Yong had no objection to this. He assigned one of his retainers, gave him a few words of instruction, and had him take two of the Yu family boatmen to lower the sampan and go with this Zhang Kai to the stockade to deliver the message, while the convoy remained in a state ready to depart at any moment.

From the ship, they could see that after the boat carrying Zhang Kai reached the Pi Island berth, Zhang Kai went ashore, while the other three men on the boat were escorted toward the stockade under the threat of weapons. Everyone on board grew extremely tense at this sight, but Liu Yong remained as composed as ever, telling everyone to wait patiently.

After a little over half a shichen, the three men who had been escorted into the stockade earlier were escorted back out again, accompanied by Zhang Kai and one other person. They boarded the same sampan and rowed toward the ships.

Compared to when he had left earlier, Zhang Kai, who had been agitated for days, was now completely at ease. The man from Pi Island who had come with him, however, was calm and on guard. This man was lean and tall, missing two fingers on his left hand. The binding cloth on the hilt of the goose-quill saber he wore was dark with a purplish tinge — clearly soaked through with blood. Still, this Pi Island man was also tense and wary after boarding; the ship likewise held a group of no less formidable fighting men, and it was a many-against-one situation at that.

"So Grand Commander Mao already knew about this Tartar siege! He's already sent men to strike the Tartars' rear!" Zhang Kai spoke with great excitement. No wonder he had been so relaxed when coming aboard.

"Oh? So the Tartars who went to Lüshun and Jinzhou won't be able to escape?" Li Yuliang could not help asking. Hearing Zhang Kai's news made him feel even more excited. Only after the words left his mouth did he realize it was somewhat improper.

Yet after he asked this question, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Zhang Kai's face. He coughed twice and said, "In any case, the Tartars won't be able to maintain the siege and will have to withdraw."

At this point, who could fail to understand? They could force the Jianzhou Jurchen troops to leave, but as for wounding or annihilating the enemy, that was out of the question. Just then, the Pi Island man who had come aboard with Zhang Kai coughed twice, cupped his fists in salute, and said, "I am Ying Tiexiong, a personal soldier at Grand Commander Mao's side. This gentleman here must be Master Liu. Our Grand Commander Mao is deeply grateful for Master Liu's righteous deed in sending Zhang Kai to seek reinforcements. May I ask what recompense Master Liu desires?"

"Your Pi Island is so poor you don't even have pants left — what recompense are you talking about?" Liu Yong shot back with a laugh. A burst of laughter erupted across the deck.

A quick note from the author: that Cangyun Dashu whose comment I featured and pinned in the Qidian review section — I met him when I called a private car. That was just too amusing!

Thanks to the eight old friends "Qi Sanwen, Windless Summer, User Manyan Wuhou, Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Xiao Qi Wenming Qiji, Old Cat 76817, Blessing of the Light Angel, and Suixin Ziwo 0" for their tips. Thank you all for your subscriptions and monthly tickets — I hope everyone will continue to support!