Chapter 1231: A Momentous Capture

The sea merchant shipmasters were polite, but their courtesy was perfunctory. Accustomed to freedom on the open sea, they often dismissed matters of the shore and land, believing the ocean was boundless—if things truly went sour, they could simply hoist their sails and leave port, certain no one could catch them. But today was different; the awe and respect many felt came from the bottom of their hearts.

It seemed the news of the port's successful defense and the great victory in the artillery battle was enough to overawe people's hearts. Shi Manqiang understood this clearly, and simply raised his voice to announce: "Many of your ships suffered damage in the artillery battle. All losses will be borne by the Cloud Mountain Firm. Please report your expenses tomorrow. After verification, repairs and compensation will be arranged according to the order of your sailing schedules."

At these words, everyone jolted as if shocked awake, their faces instantly sobering. The smiles shifted from polite awe to genuine delight, and someone shouted: "Fourth Master is righteous! Xuzhou is righteous!"

To have defeated and driven off such formidable pirates and foreign barbarian gunboats, and to have so many fierce soldiers on shore—even putting aside the fact that the damage was sustained while protecting everyone's lives and cargo, if they had simply been asked to share the military expenses, they would have had to smile and contribute. They never expected compensation to be offered here. If this wasn't righteousness, what was?

"The reason I've come here is to ask you all: our Xuzhou built this port bearing no grudges against anyone. Why would we provoke such enemies? Whatever thoughts you have, please speak freely. Right or wrong, Xuzhou will remember the goodwill!" Shi Manqiang declared in a clear, strong voice.

Hearing Shi Manqiang speak thus, the guild hall grew somewhat quiet. Everyone exchanged glances, and then one person spoke up: "To be honest with Fourth Master, this Haizhou Port is rather unique among the ports of the Great Ming. The official ports need no explanation—they have government naval forces stationed there, so no one dares go stir up trouble. The other private ports are all under the protection of Sea Lord chieftains, so no one goes making trouble there either. But this Haizhou Port is neither official nor protected by any Sea Lord chieftain. As it prospers more and more by the day, it's hard to guarantee no one has their eyes on it."

As soon as this man finished, the others in the hall chimed in one after another. Someone even called out: "The official ports are also watched closely by the Sea Lord chieftains. Not to mention anything else, doesn't Zhong Bin have a shop over in Ningbo? If you want to anchor and unload cargo there, or sail safely through the nearby waters, you have to go to that shop to buy flags and license plates."

"Exactly! Guangdong and Fujian have the same rules. These seas are the domain of the Sea Lord chieftains. They don't want to come north because there's no profit in it, but as Haizhou Port and Clam Bay grow more prosperous, someone is bound to eye them greedily!"

"Those foreign barbarians aren't ignorant of their place either. The several Sea Lord chieftains have fought them countless times and long ago taught them a lesson. They definitely wouldn't dare go anywhere under a Sea Lord chieftain's protection. They must have figured out that Haizhou Port is wide open!"

Amid the hubbub of voices, someone suddenly stood up and declared: "Fourth Master, our Zheng family also does business here in Haizhou Port. This gang of blind foreign barbarians and pirates who came to offend—they have not only offended Xuzhou, but have also crossed our Zheng family. Please convey to Master Jin that our Zheng family will certainly pursue this matter to the end."

After saying this, the Zheng family member left behind to hold the fort swept his gaze over the crowd in the guild hall. The room instantly fell silent. Shi Manqiang nodded, and seeing that no one else spoke, raised his voice to say: "Thank you all for waiting so long. You've worked hard. Go back and rest. You may leave Haizhou Port tomorrow. Your ships all carry identification flags and water permits, so sailing out should pose no trouble."

After giving these instructions, Shi Manqiang exchanged a few more polite greetings before leading his men out of the guild hall. His office near the port was not far away, and when he arrived, Ye Wenshu was already waiting inside.

"That Zheng family man left behind is a bit off, but I can't quite call him suspicious," Shi Manqiang muttered under his breath.

Once seated, Shi Manqiang spoke: "The captured foreigners and pirates have all been interrogated. The foreigners said someone paid them several thousand taels of silver as a commission to come to Haizhou Port and rob the silver stores. They also said there was an iron box containing documents among the stored silver, and that it was important. Furthermore, these foreigners had heard from many people that Haizhou Port was wealthy. As for the other pirates, over a thousand were Zhong Bin's men, and the rest were small gangs recruited from various places. But even that thousand or so weren't Zhong Bin's core forces."

As he spoke, Ye Wenshu was rapidly taking notes. When he finished writing, he looked up and said: "It's obvious someone lured this wave of pirates here. It can't be unrelated to the Zheng family—because we took in the remnants of the Li family, they resorted to this trick of borrowing a knife to kill!"

"The logic is sound, but you can't find any proof. Neither the foreigners nor the other pirates can point to any connection with the Zheng family. They only say it was someone else. The Zheng family isn't that foolish; they wouldn't send their own people to handle this," Shi Manqiang replied in a deep voice. Ye Wenshu nodded, both angry and helpless.

Shi Manqiang's expression was equally grim. He said in a low voice: "The household troops at the fort fought bravely and killed the enemy, but the foreigners' cannons were also deadly. We lost nearly a hundred good men. In all these years of the household troops and militia campaigning north and south, when have we ever suffered such casualties? Our Huaian North District has lost face!"

Ye Wenshu's face was just as grim. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally whispered: "Fourth Master, perhaps we could write down a few less..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, before Shi Manqiang could even respond, Ye Wenshu shook his head repeatedly and said: "I'm confused, I'm confused. How could I dare to deceive?"

Shi Manqiang sighed and said: "Old Ye, what good would hiding it do? Several dozen brothers are dead. Just write it as it is."

In the days that followed, ships entered and left port normally. No fleet came charging in to attack, nor were any merchant ships intercepted en route. Everything grew calm. However, the number of patrolmen and internal guards at the port was doubled. The personnel on every ship entering or leaving were subjected to strict inspections. The unruly men of the sea dared not voice any complaints. The two battered sailing ships remained anchored in the harbor—proof of Haizhou Port's strength.

The several destroyed and damaged artillery forts had already begun reconstruction, and new forts were also being built, ensuring there would be no blind spots for cannon fire inside or outside the port. This flurry of activity further awed everyone.

When word of this reached Xuzhou, a reply soon came back. There was no leniency whatsoever in the disposition of the foreign prisoners: "Select those with skills and abilities for a lifetime of hard labor. Execute all the rest, matching the number of fallen household troops. Hang them by the port to overawe everyone."

Upon receiving the reply, Shi Manqiang did not even postpone the task to the next day. He began immediately. Laborers erected wooden frames one after another along the port's shore. Household troops dragged the foreign prisoners up and hanged them. Those who tried to struggle were stabbed several times with blades and spears before being strung up. The entire dock was filled with earth-shaking wails and screams. Merchant ships entering and leaving trembled with fear. From then on, ships passing through would see those hanging prisoners, and someone would tell them these were the pirates who had attacked Haizhou Port.

One-tenth of the prisoners survived—all men who possessed various shipboard skills. During their interrogation, they hadn't understood why they were being asked such questions. Only upon seeing their comrades' gruesome deaths did they realize how right they had been to learn something back in the day.

But what surprised everyone even more was that on the third day after the prisoner disposal order arrived, Zhao Jin himself came to Haizhou Port. Although the news was kept strictly confidential, it still sent great shockwaves through the Second Brigade and the entire Huaian North District. From the port's construction through the start of its operations, Zhao Jin had never visited. Yet now, at this moment, he came. Could the casualties of nearly a hundred household troops and the pirate raid be that serious?

As with his usual travels, Ji Xiang led the elite of the Personal Guard Brigade and the backbone of the Mounted Household Troops as escorts. Wang Zhaojing, who would have accompanied him in the past, was now indispensable—too many matters at the Xuzhou Zhao Camp headquarters awaited his handling. Another unexpected presence was the foreigner Louis, who had also come along. There were also some unfamiliar faces, who, upon inquiry, turned out to be craftsmen from the Artisan Works Hall. What were these people doing here?

Zhao Jin visited the wounded household troops and presided over the funerals of the fallen—all actions that were only right and proper. Next, Zhao Jin went to inspect the artillery forts on the hills and spoke with every single household troop who had fought in the battle, asking about every detail. This, too, was only to be expected. But after that, Zhao Jin's focus shifted entirely to the two captured galleons.

Accompanying Zhao Jin to the port dockside, they looked at the two ships moored there. The ships had been thoroughly covered in quicklime and given a rough cleaning, but they still looked old and battered, far less impressive than several newly built Guangdong and Fujian ships in the harbor. Yet Zhao Jin gazed at them with rapt attention. Shi Manqiang had rarely seen such an expression on Zhao Jin's face. He vaguely recalled that Zhao Jin had shown a similar look when discussing firearms in the past. Back then, he hadn't thought much of it, but now Shi Manqiang understood the boundless power of arquebuses and cannons.

Viewing from the dock wasn't enough; Zhao Jin wanted to board the ships for a closer look. Shi Manqiang dared not be careless. He assigned several household troops and sailors with strong swimming skills to accompany him, and even specially arranged small boats to circle the two galleons. Shi Manqiang still harbored a certain fear of the sea, and he was nervous and jittery as he followed Zhao Jin aboard.

The foreigner Louis was fairly familiar with the structure of these sailing ships. He had even specifically brought along two foreign sailors who had not been executed to provide explanations. When those two foreign sailors saw Louis, dressed in Great Ming attire and standing beside Zhao Jin, expressions of utter disbelief appeared on their faces.

Shi Manqiang had assumed they would just take a quick look and leave. He never expected Zhao Jin to meticulously inspect everything from the deck to the cabins, level by level. Even the most inconspicuous places were questioned in detail. In Shi Manqiang's view, these foreign sailing ships weren't necessarily much better than the Great Ming's Guangdong and Fujian ships. Moreover, the foreign ships' gunwales were too high above the waterline, making them seem unstable.

"What class of ship would this kind of vessel be considered?" Zhao Jin asked.

"In answer to Master Jin's question, these are armed merchant ships running the Middle East and Far East routes. They likely ply back and forth between India, the Southern Seas, Japan, and the Great Ming. They are just ordinary armed merchantmen. A true warship would carry forty guns on a single vessel," Louis replied in highly fluent Xuzhou Mandarin, though he still used French and Latin for certain terms, which he then explained once more in Chinese.

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