The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 37 Zheng Zhilong

In the middle of the night, Jose, both sleepy and angry, pushed open the cabin door.

A wave of smoke hit him, making Jose dizzy immediately.

"Please sit down," Lin Qian's voice came from the darkness.

Jose looked toward the sound and saw a red light appear on the oval table near the door of the captain's cabin. It went out a few seconds later, and smoke billowed out, making the room smell even stronger.

As José's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he groped his way to the table and sat down, thinking to himself, "Does this guy not need to sleep?"

“We have plenty of time tonight, so we can have a good chat. Besides, people are less likely to lie when they're tired,” Lin Qian explained, seemingly seeing through his thoughts, as she puffed on her cigar.

Jose cursed him inwardly as a pervert, but dared not let his mind wander any further. He could only force himself to stay alert and change the subject in a light tone: "Is this tobacco from the New World? I didn't expect you to have this hobby."

Lin Qian explained, "This thing is called a cigar, and it tastes a bit like coffee."

Cigars? Coffee? Jose had never heard of either of those words.

In this era, the concept of cigars did not yet exist.

Coffee had just been introduced to Venice from the Arab world.

Hot cocoa remains the most popular non-alcoholic beverage in Spain.

Of course, the British haven't yet developed a fondness for tea.

Europe at this time was very different from the 18th century often depicted in movies.

"It's not important. I invited you here today to talk about the Portuguese vassalage you mentioned. If you want me to cooperate with you, we need to make things clear."

Jose said with dissatisfaction, "I'm afraid we'll have to repeat this over and over again today, won't we?"

Lin Qian exhaled a puff of smoke: "I only need to say it once today."

How can you be sure I'm telling the truth?

"We don't need to verify its authenticity, we just need a guarantee."

"I can't afford a single peso."

"A guarantee doesn't necessarily have to be money, right?" Lin Qian's words were full of threat. The cold moonlight shone through the porthole, illuminating the swirling smoke around him.

José felt a chill run down his spine as he was forced to recall the fact that he was still a prisoner. He could only sigh and confess everything.

Unlike Manila, Macau has a dual-headed system with a governor and a council.

Therefore, power is relatively decentralized, and each member of parliament has the right to decide on matters within their jurisdiction.

José's "Portuguese friend" is also a deinherited nobleman who has lost his land, but he is obviously doing much better than José. He is now a member of the council, and with his permission, Lin Qian can conduct transactions in Macau.

Jose's plan was to have Lin Qian anchor off the coast of Macau so that he could go ashore and negotiate with his legislator friends.

"The Portuguese have always been a strong competitor to the Spanish, and I think they would welcome someone like you," José concluded.

Lin Qian did not answer after hearing this, and fell into deep thought. In the darkness, only the red light of the cigarette butt could be seen flashing.

Finally, Lin Qian spoke up: "I was thinking about what you said before about wanting to join the group."

Lin Qian's leaps of thought startled Jose.

"...After all, your ancestors started out as pirates, so this can be considered a return to their old ways," Lin Qian said calmly.

Jose exclaimed excitedly, "What pirates? They're adventurers!"

Lin Qian smiled and said, "Say what you will. I'm giving you a choice: join us, or we'll let you go after this job." "I choose to join!" Jose said firmly.

Compared to the Ming Dynasty, Europe had a more flexible moral view of pirates.

People hated the small groups of pirates for their harassment and plunder, and considered them greedy and cunning.

They also greatly admired the adventures and wealth of large groups of pirates.

For example, Francis Drake, a famous British pirate, was knighted for frequently raiding Spanish colonies in the Americas and for helping the British defeat the Armada. He is a national hero in the eyes of the British people.

It has a similar meaning to the Chinese proverb, "He who steals a hook is punished, he who steals a country becomes a prince."

Even Captain Drake, throughout his life, never managed to capture a Spanish galleon.

In fact, to this day, during the more than 100 years of Spanish colonization of the world, only Lin Qian, besides Thomas Cavendish, has truly succeeded in capturing a Spanish galleon.

This one feat alone is enough to make this young East Asian captain in front of José go down in history.

Therefore, José decided to follow in the footsteps of his great-great-grandfather who invested in Columbus, investing in Lin Qian and joining his fleet, hoping to one day revive his family's glory.

For Lin Qian, in order to sell the stolen goods and turn them into cash, she would definitely need the Portuguese and José as an intermediary.

Therefore, even if José chooses to leave, he will not be let go. Fortunately, José is smart and chose the right option.

"Alright, I appoint you as my advisor. You cannot receive a share of the profits from this raid on the large sailing ship, but I will allocate five hundred taels of silver from the public account as your advisory fee."

Upon hearing this, José felt his life brighten up. He only had three hundred pesos in Manila, and now it was about to more than double. The East was indeed full of gold.

"You don't need to get off the ship yourself. Just write a letter and send it ashore, and have that 'member of parliament friend' send a representative to the ship to discuss things." Lin Qian pushed the paper and pen in front of Jose.

……

Ten days later, in the offshore anchorage of Macau, Guangdong.

A single-masted ship with a triangular sail slowly approached the large sailing ship.

Lin Qian stood at the ship's railing to greet him, with Jose, Chen Jiao, Zhou Xiucai, Lei Sanxiang, Bai Langzai, and other crew members standing behind him.

The small boat approached and threw up a rope.

The crew took it, tied it tightly to the ship's side, and then threw it down the rope ladder.

Before long, a person climbed up the rope ladder; this was the representative of the "member of parliament friend".

To Lin Qianwei's surprise, this person was not only a Han Chinese, but also a teenager.

Lei Sanxiang said somewhat discontentedly, "You're the only one who came? Where's your Frankish master?"

The boy climbed onto the boat, straightened his clothes, and replied with a calm smile, "This is the Manila Galleon, isn't it? I don't think I've seen any Spaniards."

The young man looked around, walked straight up to Lin Qian, smiled and cupped his hands: "You must be Senior Lin Qian? I am the special envoy of the councilor, my name is Nicholas, it's an honor to meet you."

As Lin Qian returned the greeting, she sized up the young man. He was of medium build, with dark skin, a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. His eyes shone brightly with a sharp and piercing light, completely different from the numb demeanor of the fishermen near the sea.

Moreover, the boy's speech and behavior were very mature, not at all like someone his age.

The reason he gave the foreign name "Nicholas" was twofold: firstly, because of his status as a special envoy to the parliament, and secondly, because he must have seen the cross around Lin Qian's neck.

Lin Qian removed the cross from his neck and explained, "Since we are both Han Chinese, we won't observe the Franco-Chinese etiquette. May I ask your honorable name, brother?"

The young man smiled and said, "I dare not accept your honorable name. My name is Zheng Zhilong. As I am the eldest son in my family, according to the Fujianese way of addressing people, you can also call me Yiguan."

(End of this chapter)