Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 847 Estrangement
The owner listened as Manager Jiu carefully explained the situation on the island.

“Two more ships brought goods ashore today, and the chieftain accepted them again,” said Manager Jiu. “If this continues, I’m really afraid something might go wrong.”

“He’s not the only chieftain on this island. In terms of the number of people under his command, he’s only the second-in-command. The most powerful one is Fu Dongshan. If the master doesn’t want to take action, let Fu Dongshan give him some pointers.”

All the islands to the east are under Fu Dongshan's control. Normally, the two of them, one in the east and one in the west, do not interfere with each other, but if something really happens, the two chieftains still have to listen to Fu Dongshan.

The owner was silent for a moment, then looked at Manager Jiu: "This is the result the Xie family wanted."

Manager Jiu was taken aback.

The landlord continued, "We must first prevent the war from spreading to us in order to escape smoothly. Otherwise, once the war at sea is over, they will be able to surround the island. If you take action against Er Dong, you will force him to align himself with the imperial court and the Xie family's merchant caravan. Even if he does nothing openly, as long as we find a way to send a message to the imperial court, we will be in danger."

Manager Jiu wanted to say something more. He always felt that outsiders could not possibly know their whereabouts. Who would have thought that they had arranged so many frogmen and had tunnels on the island?
It's important to understand that, from an outsider's perspective, their relationship with the islanders is not good.

“We have to leave,” the landlord said. “Tell the frogmen to get ready, and get a few more boats. Try to bypass the imperial warships and find a way to get to the Japanese.”

Shopkeeper Jiu looked astonished: "So hastily? There's no preparation on hand, and the frogmen can't swim that far."

“There are also reefs and small boats,” the owner said. “Fog could roll in again at any time. With the fog obscuring us, those warships and merchant ships will soon be unable to see us.”

The boss was right, but the seawater was too cold, and they couldn't bring too many people. Manager Jiu felt it was too risky.

"Should we take another look?" Manager Jiu suggested. "What if they're deliberately luring us out?"

The boss made a decisive decision: "Make the arrangements; we must leave tonight."

Once the master made the decision, Manager Jiu dared not try to dissuade him any further and hurriedly went to make the arrangements.

After Manager Jiu left, the owner looked towards the shore and seemed to be able to see those merchant ships. A surge of resentment and anger welled up in his heart. It was as if this Xie family was deliberately going against him.

Although this outcome sounds illogical, that's just how the boss felt. While the Xie family seemed to be seeking revenge on Xie Yizhi, a pair of eyes were secretly watching his every move.

Xie had made many contributions to the Liang Dynasty, so there was no need for her to bring merchant ships to sea to cooperate with the court. But she came anyway, and was even willing to risk her life to fight his fleet. It was as if she had a blood feud with him and would fight to the death.

He was genuinely curious about what Xie was thinking. This was something the master had never been able to figure out, and it was because of this that he believed the fifth manager's information, thinking that the people on the merchant ship were the real navy.

If Xie's merchant ships are willing to risk their lives and perish together with his men, then they will definitely use all means to find him and then take action immediately.

If he didn't have to wait until dark to leave, he would have left right now.

As the owner was thinking, he suddenly heard a commotion, as if someone was coming this way. Just as he was about to send someone to check the situation, he saw Manager Jiu hurriedly return.

"Master, something's happened," Manager Jiu said with a grim expression. "Second Master has arrived with his men and, without saying a word, started fighting with the men who were patrolling the area."

The landlord's heart sank.

Manager Jiu said, "Master, please take your men and leave first, just in case. I will take some men and find out what happened."

Without hesitation, the landlord immediately turned and went into the tunnel.

The tunnel has three exits leading to different locations on the island. He cannot leave the island before dark, so he has no choice but to seek help from Fu Dongshan. He still has a sum of money that he can give to Fu Dongshan. If Fu Dongshan still refuses to help, he has a ship full of military equipment, which he believes will surely be able to persuade Fu Dongshan.

He can give up all his material possessions now, so he can get away and make a comeback in the future.

The landlord scrambled through the tunnels and when he finally found Fu Dongshan, he also noticed that the atmosphere on the island was unusually tense.

Fu Dongshan was stuffing meat into his mouth, his hands were covered in grease, his beard was stained with wine, and his eyes were starting to become hazy, as if he could get drunk at any moment. However, after listening to his confidant say a few words, his eyes actually regained some clarity, and then he looked at his master.

The host feigned panic: "Does Master Fu know what happened on the island? Why did the Second Master suddenly attack us?"

The attendants around the master quickly translated his words into a language that the islanders could understand and repeated them to Fu Dongshan.

Fu Dongshan, reeking of alcohol, wiped his hands casually with a piece of cloth and said, "I know that the Second Master took several ships of goods from the imperial court, but he did not reveal the location of the master's hideout to the court. The master really shouldn't have sent someone to assassinate him."

Before the master could speak, the attendant immediately said, "Master did not send anyone to deal with the Second Cave Master. This must be a misunderstanding." After saying that, the attendant told the master what Fu Dongshan had said.

The master's gaze was deep and unfathomable. Upon hearing this news, he knew he had guessed correctly. Xie Yuyan had indeed discovered his whereabouts and sowed discord between him and the Second Cave Master.

No matter how he explains it now, the Second Cave Master probably won't believe him, because if Xie Yuyan wants to confirm this matter, he will definitely leave some evidence, such as the weapons used by his men.

His fleet was at war with the imperial court, and these things were readily available. Therefore, the Second Dong Lord would never back down just because of a few words from him.

It is very likely that this incident has made the Second Cave Master make up his mind, and he has now revealed his hiding place to Xie Yuyan.

The master no longer hesitated and looked at his followers: "Tell them that I have set up firearms on the island. Even if the imperial court lands on the island, we can still win. As long as we hold out until dark, I will secretly leave. When the imperial court asks, they will say that they thought the two chieftains were causing trouble and had no choice but to lead people to resist."

"If they can't catch me, the imperial court won't make things difficult for them."

"As long as they help me through this difficult time, all the money and military equipment I have prepared will be theirs."

……

Xie Yuyan brought several small boats ashore, where islanders were waiting.

Although he couldn't understand the islanders' language, Xie Yuyan took out a portrait of his employer and handed it to the islanders for identification.

The islander looked carefully, then nodded and pointed out some island features.

Xie Yuyan did not rush forward. Instead, she asked Mama Yu to hand several pieces of paper to the islanders. The papers depicted the goods she would bring to the islanders in the future.

The goods were also labeled with the amount of pearls, agarwood, and other items that could be exchanged for them.

She needs to confirm these things with the island's chieftain and get him completely on their side before the chieftain can lead her to capture the master.

She was not familiar with the islanders; the only things that could restrain them were their anger toward their employer and the potential benefits they might gain in the future.

The islanders took the note to find their chieftain.

Su Man looked at Xie Yuyan: "Madam, we don't have many people we can spare. Do we really have to go and arrest the boss now?"

Xie Yuyan said, "If we don't make a move, this big fish will go into the sea after dark. If fog rolls in again in the next day or two, it will be difficult to catch him."

Su Man nodded hesitantly. They didn't know the situation on the island, and going in rashly could be dangerous, but they had no choice. He only hoped that once the battle started on the island, Zhang Heng could find a way to send reinforcements.

“Madam,” Su Man looked at Xie Yuyan solemnly, “if the situation is not right, you must let me protect you and help you get out.” Madam must agree to this.

He absolutely could not let anything happen to his wife.

Xie Yuyan replied, "I understand."

……

maritime.

Wang Yan stood at the bow of the ship, gazing into the distance. Since boarding, he had been frowning, finding the imperial ship moving too slowly.

“My lord, we will definitely arrive today,” the general on the ship reassured Wang Yan. “Judging from the map sent back by Lord Zhang, even if the master gets the news and flees, he won’t go too far.”

Less than half an hour after the general finished speaking, Wang Yan heard what sounded like rolling thunder in the sky.

No, that wasn't thunder, but the sound of firearms exploding.

We're almost there.

(End of this chapter)