Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 846 Bribery
"what are they doing?"

Manager Jiu stared at the islanders as they pulled two boats from the shallow sea ashore.

"They...it seems like there's cargo on that ship."

Manager Jiu looked at his attendant: "What?"

This attendant could communicate with the islanders, and many things were told to them through him. He pointed forward and said, "There is a flag on the boat with a picture of rice and salt."

Only after being reminded by this person did Manager Jiu notice the flag.

Indeed, when they traded at sea, they often marked their goods to indicate which were cloth, which were rice and salt, and the flag in front of them was exactly those items.

These islanders cannot understand the Liang script, but they can understand these paintings.

After a series of thoughts swirled in his mind, Manager Jiu said, "It should be a gift from the Xie family to the islanders."

Only merchants would think of sending gifts in this way, and who else could be the merchants here? Xie Yuyan.

Previously, Manager Wu said that the merchant ship displayed a flag with the character "Xie" on it, so Xie Yuyan must be on board.

Manager Jiu subconsciously continued, "Could it be that they know we're here?"

The attendant was startled and stammered, "I... I don't think so!"

Manager Jiu had sharp eyes. He had followed his master to the island to hide, and they had done a very discreet job. They had even given up on the nearest island and chosen a place a little further away. How could they have been targeted?

But if Xie Yuyan didn't know his master's whereabouts...

Why bribe the islanders?

The attendant whispered, "Could it be that they also want to go to the island to rest? After all, they fought a battle at sea, and quite a few people must have been injured. If they stay on the ship without being able to rest, they might want to exchange some supplies with the people on the road."

This is one reason.

Manager Jiu took a deep breath. If they weren't here to arrest them, then this was the only reason.

Shopkeeper Jiu said, "That damned woman." If the Liang Dynasty wants to land on the island, they will definitely send soldiers ashore suddenly. When the islanders see such a formation, they will definitely fight back.

Only caravans would employ such appeasement tactics.

“Those islanders have no integrity whatsoever,” Manager Jiu’s eyes reddened. “We’ve given them so many benefits, yet they’re still greedy for those things. They’d prefer to have firearms on the ship, or to have people ambushed on board, so they can suffer the consequences of their own actions.”

Manager Jiu wished that the Liang Dynasty had used some underhanded tactics to incite resentment among the islanders, so that they would be safer.

The islanders finally dragged the boat ashore, and then some people climbed into the boat to check. Before long, they heard a cheer, and the people who jumped into the boat picked up some things. Obviously, there really was something they wanted on the boat.

Manager Jiu clenched his fists: "We must report to the master immediately." In fact, even if they sent the message back, they had no choice. There were only twenty frogmen left with them, and it was impossible for them to take the master to a more distant place to settle down.

Moreover, temporarily redeploying manpower might not be feasible in time, and could even be discovered by the Liang Dynasty.

“Have someone go and investigate,” said Manager Jiu, “to see if there’s anything like that on the island next door.”

If such ships are also deployed to that island, it could be a test.

……

The islanders happily took the goods they had obtained from the ship back to present to the chieftain.

When more than a dozen boxes were laid out together, the chieftain was moved. He pushed away the woman in his arms, got up and went to check. The first thing he saw was a block of salt.

The chieftain gestured to his men to try it first, as he was worried there might be something wrong with something delivered to his door.

The servant carefully pinched a little and put it in his mouth. After a moment, his eyes lit up: "It's salt, better than what we usually use."

The chieftain waved his hand, encouraging more people to come forward and try it. Those who tasted the salt all showed expressions of joy.

After everyone's joy subsided, someone frowned: "The employer lied to us, saying that the salt they gave us was the best. What is this then?"

Upon hearing this, the chieftain frowned and waved for the woman to bring him the salt. He took a tiny bit and placed it on his tongue. The salt itself didn't taste good, but in a place where refined salt was scarce, salty salt without any bitterness was exactly what they wanted.

The chieftain glanced at the people beside him and said, "Bring us the salt that the master gave us."

They traded with their employer for several years, exchanging the island's precious timber for many things they needed, with salt being the most important commodity.

When the two types of salt are placed together, the difference in quality becomes immediately apparent. The salt blocks delivered by the small boat are noticeably whiter, and the difference is even more pronounced when tasted separately.

The chieftain snorted coldly, his face showing anger, but he didn't rush to lash out. Instead, he looked at the other boxes, and when he saw that two of them contained pottery jars, his expression softened. The pottery jars were very well made, and there were quite a few of them. In addition, there were some ironware, including hoes and plows.

Upon seeing these items, the chieftain understood that the boat had been deliberately left behind by the Liang Dynasty. He had seen similar hoes with inscriptions from the Liang Dynasty on them.

The island naturally needs farming, but they don't have very suitable farming tools.

He had tried to buy from his employer, but the employer was rarely willing to give them any. The reason, of course, was that the employer also needed a large quantity of ironware, so why would they easily sell it to them?
"what is this?"

Inside the porcelain bottle were black things. The chieftain picked them up and brought them to his nose to smell them; a herbal scent wafted out.

The Liang Dynasty had many rare and exotic items that the Liang court lacked, and what they needed most were these very things.

Therefore, if one can be on good terms with the imperial court, one can gain many benefits.

The chieftain understood perfectly well what the Liang Dynasty meant by sending these two ships of goods; they naturally wanted his help to capture the owner.

The chieftain was undecided. What if the Liang Dynasty took over his employer and refused to send him any more goods? Of course, he wouldn't take them for free; he could exchange them for goods from the island.

But the master also said that the Liang court was very likely to carry out mass killings in order to make them submit.

He would also gain some benefits by saving his master; at least the goods on the island could fetch a good price. Thinking of this, the chieftain frowned again. His master was no good either, exploiting them at every turn, taking away so many good things from them, but only returning coarse salt.

"Master, what should we do?"

The chieftain made up his mind: "Let's wait and see. Perhaps the imperial court has no idea that the master is hiding on the island. We can pretend to know nothing about it." It would be best not to offend either the imperial court or the master. Besides, he wasn't the only chieftain on the island. If the others refused to stand by his side, he would be attacked from both sides.

"Lord of the Cave".

Tito, one of the chieftain's men, stepped forward and said, "More ships are coming, and they seem to be full of wounded soldiers."

The chieftain frowned. So the Liang Dynasty sent these to the island because they wanted the wounded soldiers to come.

He thought he could wait a while before making a decision, but he didn't expect the Liang Dynasty to take action so quickly.

"What should we do? Should we stop those people, or..."

To stop them is to make enemies.

The chieftain looked at the goods scattered on the ground with some reluctance, and finally said, "Go and keep an eye on them. If they are wounded soldiers, allow them to rest on the shore, but do not let them venture into the island."

Tido responded.

“Take more men with you,” the chieftain said, “and keep a close eye on them.” He didn’t want his master and the imperial court to meet on the island, as that would drag them into the war.

……

Xie Yuyan stood at the bow of the boat, waiting for Su Man to bring back the news.

Seeing that we only had a dozen or so wounded soldiers coming ashore, the islanders on the island did not stop us.

On another island, a large number of people came to guard us and prevented us from leaving the beach.

Xie Yuyan nodded.

If the owner wasn't on the island, and it was just a dozen or so wounded soldiers who went, why would there be such a need for caution?

Su Man whispered, "Now that we've found out where the boss is, what should we do next?"

“The chieftain didn’t send any information pointing out where our master was hiding, nor did he drive us away. It’s clear he wants to have his cake and eat it too,” Xie Yuyan said. “Then we’ll force him to make a choice.”

Su Man listened carefully.

Xie Yuyan said, "Let the wounded soldiers stay on the beach. Later, ask Zhang Heng for a few frogmen to sneak onto the island, find the chieftain who is collecting our goods, and make a commotion."

Whether it's assassination or arson, the goal is to cause them some trouble, so that the chieftain will think that his master is warning them.

The islanders were fierce, and she guessed the chieftain wouldn't let this go.

Once chaos erupts on the island, it will be the perfect opportunity for them to land and arrest people.

　Try to end the battle in one or two chapters, then the major plot points will be covered, and the rest will be minor plot points. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

　　(End of this chapter)