The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 58 Bloodstained Waves

The eunuch standing nearby witnessed two important figures die by the sword in succession. He was so frightened that he could not stand up. His crotch was wet, and the air was filled with a fishy stench.

He saw Bai Langzai's gaze fall upon him.

The young eunuch kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Good sir, it was all Li Tan who did all this bad things. I just arrived on the island and know nothing. Please spare me, please spare me, please spare my life!"

Bai Langzai walked up expressionlessly and swiftly swung his knife.

The eunuch's pleas for mercy abruptly ended, and he died on the spot, his face filled with resentment.

Bai Langzai cut off Li Qin's head, then knelt down and kowtowed three times towards the direction of the water village.

"Mother! Your son has avenged you!"

The people behind them also knelt down to worship.

After the worship ceremony, Bai Langzai got up, grabbed Li Qin's head, and walked towards the water village.

By this time, the Santa Ana had reached the outer perimeter of the water fortress. Lin Qian led several dozen crew members to transfer to small boats and go to the edge of the water fortress.

Lin Qian sent her men to search the mountains and capture the defeated soldiers of the Water Village Patrol Office.

Fortunately, Naozhou Island is not large, and the defeated soldiers were in very poor physical condition, so they could not run far at all.

Just one hour later, all the defeated soldiers were captured and taken to the water fortress.

The soldiers, who usually bossed Zhu Hu around and acted like superiors, were now tied up and thrown into one place, looking terrified, like a flock of chickens waiting to be slaughtered.

At this moment, the villagers all rowed back to the water fortress and gathered on the shore, staring at the soldiers on the bank with eyes that seemed to spit fire.

Lin Qian ordered, "Drive all these soldiers into the water."

"Yes!" The surrounding crew responded in unison, drawing their knives to force the soldier into the deep water.

Although the soldiers' hands were tied, most of them could swim and were able to peek out of the water to breathe.

The villagers used their oars to beat the heads that were above water.

The soldiers were beaten bloody and could only dive into the water, but they couldn't hold their breath for long before they had to come back to the surface to breathe. Before they could even open their mouths to breathe, they were hit head-on by the oars.

After a short while, most of the soldiers choked on the water and drowned.

Dozens of corpses dressed in Ming Dynasty military uniforms, back to back, slowly floated to the surface of the water.

In the past, soldiers would drive the people of Zhu into the sea, with the soldiers standing on the boats while the bodies of the people of Zhu floated on the surface of the sea. Now, the tables have turned, which can be considered a fitting retribution.

At this moment, Bai Langzai had arrived at the water fortress and handed Li Qin's head to Lin Qian: "Captain, this is that bastard without roots."

Lin Qian raised her head and called out to the people in the harbor, "The eunuch Li Tan is dead. This matter was done by me, Lin Qian, alone, and has nothing to do with you. If you want to avoid being implicated, you may leave now!"

On the water, there were nearly a thousand boats belonging to the Pearl River Delta residents, and not a single one left the port.

Those nearby recognized Lin Qian and exclaimed in a low voice, "My benefactor, it looks like my benefactor?"

"Our benefactor has avenged us!"

In no time, word spread among the residents that Lin Qian was the person who had previously provided free medical consultations at the Po Shan Wharf.

The people of Zhuhai had long been exploited by the government and discriminated against by people on land. They were not only unafraid of the pirates, but also felt a natural affinity for them.

During the free clinic that day, Zhu Min saw that Lin Qian had an extraordinary demeanor and was generous with his money, so he still thought of him as a person from the mainland and was quite wary of him.

He then discovered that he was also a fellow fisherman making a living at sea, and his goodwill towards him immediately increased.

After a brief discussion, the crowd gradually quieted down. Everyone stood at the bow of the boat, craning their necks, eager to hear what their benefactor had to say next.

Lin Qian said, "If any of you have nowhere to go, you may come with my ship to settle on the islands outside the Great Ming Dynasty!"

The crowd began to murmur again.

Lin Qian patiently waited for everyone to quiet down, then took a deep breath and said loudly, "I, Lin Qian, swear to Mazu and to the Third Granny!"
Under my rule, there will be no more forced labor, no more lowly status, and no more distinction between Tanka people and shore people!
May I break this oath and perish in the storm, forever buried beneath the waves!

This is the most vicious oath sworn by people living at sea, a thousand times more wicked than anything like "may he die without a complete corpse, may he die without a burial place, may heaven and earth punish him."

This is a thousand times more solemn than any oath to heaven and earth, to the sun and moon, to rivers—especially the Luo River.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then knelt down at the bow of the boat.

Someone took the lead and shouted, "We swear to follow our benefactor to the death!"

Then the shouts gradually merged into one.

"We swear to follow our benefactor to the death! We swear to follow our benefactor to the death!"

After bowing for a long time, the crowd gradually rose at Lin Qian's signal.

Lin Qian instructed Bai Qing and her brother to lead the Pearl River Fleet to leave port first.

After all, there were more than a thousand Tanka boats, with a total of about three thousand Tanka people on board, and it was impossible for them all to board the St. Anna.

During the time that Zhu Min was away from the port, Zhou Xiucai also led people to transport Li Qin's valuables out, dividing them into more than ten large boxes and transporting them onto small boats.

Once fully loaded, the small boat, with its deep draft, wobbled precariously toward the Saint Anna. According to Zhou Xiucai, the boat was less than half full, and after unloading on the Saint Anna, they would have to make two or three more round trips.

Many of the items in that room had transcended the category of mere possessions; they could be considered treasures.

For example, the blood coral ornament that you can see as soon as you enter is made from a single, complete coral, which is extremely rare.

Lin Qian felt that coral ornaments were more for show than practical use, and a box of gold would be much more valuable.

Lin Qian then asked about the casualties among her subordinates.

Zhou Xiucai said, "Six boatmen were slightly injured, and one died."

"How did they die?" Lin Qian asked, puzzled. Hadn't the soldiers from the patrol office all given up resistance?

"The one who accidentally fell off a cliff and died while searching for the defeated soldiers was the same one who beat the prostitute before," Zhou Xiucai replied.

Lin Qian responded with an "oh," which was not surprising.

He looked towards the harbor of the water village, which was blocked by the fleet of pearl boats and he couldn't get out for a while, so he went to the eunuch's room to broaden his horizons.

Upon entering, one sees two crew members carefully wrapping the coral ornament in silk cloth.

After the ornaments were packed into boxes, the half-painted wall behind them was exposed, making the space look empty.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Lin Qian's mind. Seeing the brush and ink on the table, she said, "Bring me the brush."

Zhou Xiucai exclaimed, not understanding what the boatman was up to. He went to the table to grind ink, chose a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in thick ink, and handed it to Lin Qian.

Lin Qian took the brush and walked to the wall.

Only then did Zhou Xiucai realize that Lin Qian wanted to compose a poem.

He was well-educated and had always been interested in poetry and literature. Moreover, he had never seen Lin Qian compose a poem before, so his interest was greatly aroused. He stood aside, holding his breath and waiting.

Lin Qian pondered for a moment, then confidently began to write.

With just one word, Zhou Xiucai's brows furrowed so deeply they could crush an ox.

The characters were written crookedly, and you could barely make out their structure, but there was nothing good about the brushwork. Even a child who has practiced for a year could write better.

Lin Qian finished writing one and a half sentences, then suddenly stopped writing, turned to Zhou Xiucai and asked, "Second Brother, what imagery do you think I should use here?"

Scholar Zhou was slightly taken aback. Did you write a poem with an inscription?

Knowing that Lin Qian came from a farming background and did not follow the rules of scholars, he suggested, "Use 'Frost on the Head Pillow' instead; it sounds right and fits the mood."

Lin Qian nodded and continued writing. After a few strokes, she asked for some suggestions.

This process was repeated several times, resulting in most of the poems being written by Zhou Xiucai.

After writing the four lines, Zhou Xiucai could tell that the poem was basically an adaptation of the lyrics of "Saltwater Song".

The gist is that it describes the hardships of life for the people of Zhu.

Zhou Xiucai nodded to himself, understanding the deeper meaning behind Lin Qian's actions.

If such a poem were written, the court would view the attack as a peasant uprising and not associate it with sea pirates.

It seems that the captain deliberately wrote the characters so poorly in order to imitate the writing style of the people of Zhuzhou.

Zhou Xiucai had seen Lin Qian's writing with a bamboo pen, and it was considered to have some structure. Obviously, it wouldn't have turned into such a sloppy mess just because she switched to a brush pen.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiucai felt a surge of admiration in his heart. The captain was indeed meticulous, even considering such a small matter as the quality of the handwriting.

While she was pondering, Lin Qian had already finished writing the poem.

In his last sentence, the word "斩" (to cut) was drawn out vertically, exuding a powerful aura.

Upon taking a glance, Zhou Xiucai's expression suddenly changed.

With the last two lines added, the meaning of the entire poem is reversed; what is seen on the wall is:

"In the red gates, wine and meat are cheap, and sores are found; in the iron quilts and short cloths, heads are covered with frost."

Rivers and streams are burdened with heavy taxes, while boatmen scoop up only the cold moonlight in vain.

The shark girl cried thousands of tears, and the shadow of the sail shattered thousands of lights.

"Here I will journey east to Penglai, into the sea, where my blood will stain the vast waves as I slay the Dragon King."

Damn it!

This is damn anti-poetry!
The walls were covered with anti-government poems, exuding a murderous aura.

Because the ink was too heavy, ink streaks flowed down with each stroke.

It looked like dripping blood.

(End of this chapter)