The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 61 Drying Goods
Later in the night.

The captain's cabin of the St. Anne's was brightly lit by candlelight.

Lin Qian's workload had piled up to an unprecedented level, leaving her with no right to sleep.

Nan'ao Island is small, and its permanent residents number only over 70,000.

These days, there's even less room for people to live.

Advance planning is essential to maximize land use.

In Lin Qian's vision, Nan'ao Island was primarily a military site, with artillery batteries set up on various hilltops and wharves and piers built in the ports.

The roads adopt a grid layout structure, similar to the urban structure of Chang'an and Barcelona.

The residents of Zhuhai volunteered to go to the island, and those who insisted on staying on the boat were not forced to.

Therefore, the blueprint in front of him is the urban structure map of Nan'ao Island.

The urban area designed by Lin Qian can accommodate about 10,000 people, and it will be easy to expand if the population increases.

Another drawing on the table is a single-masted sailboat designed by Lin Qian.

With its Chinese-style hard sails and streamlined hull, it can be considered a product of the fusion of Chinese and Western styles.

Chinese-style rigid sails are easy to operate; one person can sail them alone, and maintenance costs are low.

By replacing the hard sails with Bermuda sails, it becomes a modern sailboat or speedboat, which can also be used for transmitting messages and emergency transport.

With a trawl net, you can catch fish.

Enlarging the cabin creates the Tanka boat.

According to Lin Qian's plan, a shipyard will also be built on Nan'ao Island, and these single-masted boats will be the first orders for the shipyard to start construction.

However, the construction of urban areas, the building of shipyards, and the construction of new ships are all necessary.

A large number of carpenters, bricklayers, mastmen, morticians, blacksmiths, etc., will be needed...

Where do the craftsmen come from?
Even before he went to the Feast at Hongmen, he had ordered Chen Jiao and Lei Sanxiang to collect the residences of the artisans along the river.

Sailing along this route, we were just checking off each of the Kings of Hell.

So along the way, new faces boarded the ship almost every day.

Moreover, the tactics used to force people to comply are all pretty much the same.

Su Kang was shocked to discover that the story that happened to him was being played out on the ship every day.

……

a few days later.

The Santa Ana arrived at South Australia Island.

Through the telescope, Nan'ao Island appears as two high mountains on the east and west sides, with a wide flat area in the middle, resembling a gourd lying on the sea.

According to the information Chen Jiao gathered, only a few hundred fishermen lived on Nan'ao Island.

This island is located at the junction of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, a strategically important location.

The imperial court stationed a deputy commander-in-chief on the island, with over a thousand officers and soldiers, more than twenty warships of various sizes, and numerous artillery emplacements.

The Santa Ana took a detour and sailed to White Sand Bay on the north side of the island, where the deputy commander's residence was located.

Lin Qian picked up her binoculars and looked out. She could see a camp on the shore, backed by mountains and facing the water.

However, there were not many soldiers. More than ten small boats, more than twenty small boats, and countless fast boats were moored in the harbor. No large warships were seen.

Judging from their strength on paper, the warships of Nan'ao Island were slightly stronger than those of Naozhou Zhuchang.

Even if someone is receiving a salary without working, this is not the way it should be done.

Lin Qian became suspicious, fearing that there might be other ships lurking in the shadows.

Hearing Lin Qian's concerns, Chen Jiao explained, "Captain, there's no need to worry. The large ship isn't in the harbor; it must have gone to transport cargo."

"Really?" Lin Qian was quite surprised, thinking to herself that while the Ming generals lacked the ability to fight, they were adept at amassing wealth.

Previously, in the pearl field of Naozhou, he saw several Ming warships with fishing nets and fishing gear on them, and thought that using warships as fishing boats was already outrageous enough.

Now, we've encountered another ship that has sailed away from its base to transport goods by sea.

Chen Jiao nodded: "Absolutely true."

Zheng Zhilong added: "In the southeastern navy of the Ming Dynasty, apart from Shen Yourong and Yu Zigao who were relatively strict in their military management, it was common for other generals to embezzle salaries, exploit soldiers, and assign private tasks."

The Ming Dynasty has historically neglected coastal defense.

In particular, after Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou quelled the Japanese pirates during the Jiajing era, there were very few battles in the southeastern seas.

Coastal defense was thus further neglected, leading to the current situation.

In that case, the number of soldiers on the island is even less than the number of men under Lin Qian's command, so taking the island would be effortless. Lin Qian was just formulating a plan to attack the island when...

In White Sand Bay, a speedboat departs from the harbor, heading towards the Santa Ana.

Lin Qian raised her binoculars and saw that there were only four soldiers on the ship, and a person wearing a blue silk coat was standing at the bow.

Before long, the speedboat sailed up to the side of the Santa Ana.

The crew lowered a rope ladder for the man to climb up.

After boarding the ship, the man looked Lin Qian up and down, then walked up to her and respectfully cupped his hands, saying, "I am Huang Hetai, the garrison commander of Nan'ao. May I ask which ship owner you serve under?"

"Boat owner" was the Ming Dynasty's term for the leader of a major pirate group.

For example, Li Dan, a Ming Dynasty merchant who occupied Japan, was respectfully called "Master Li" by the people.

However, it felt somewhat incongruous for such a Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world) title to be spoken so respectfully by a Ming Dynasty military officer.

Lin Qian decided to test the waters first, so she said, "I am under the command of Master Li. I encountered a storm at sea recently and would like to rest on your island."

Huang Hetai looked troubled and pulled Lin Qian aside, whispering, "Master Li pays a water report every year in exchange for the General Commander not arresting smuggling ships. We all keep to ourselves and don't interfere with each other. This was agreed upon beforehand. Now that the leader suddenly wants to land on the island, I don't know how to explain it to the General Commander."

"Baoshui" means to pay for the journey or toll.

A high-ranking second-rank deputy commander-in-chief actually made a deal with pirates, accepted bribes, and tacitly approved smuggling!
Although it's outrageous, it doesn't seem so bad compared to using warships for trade and cargo transport.

Lin Qian feigned anger, testing the waters: "Master Li pays tens of thousands of taels of silver annually for water transport, and can't even get a moment's rest in return? I think you're deliberately trying to humiliate me!"

Huang Hetai was startled, then immediately smiled apologetically and said, "Leader, you're joking. We don't have tens of thousands of taels... Why don't you bring your ship ashore and let the brothers on the other ships rest at sea?"

This statement conveys two meanings.

First, Li Dan didn't take this deputy general position seriously, paying him less than 10,000 taels of silver a year for travel expenses.

Secondly, although the deputy commander-in-chief sounds imposing, he is actually a paper tiger. When his subordinates are threatened by the pirates, they don't dare to say a word against him.

Lin Qian continued to maintain her arrogant demeanor, probing, "Where is your general? I want to see him."

Huang Hetai replied more cautiously, "General, he went to the Chaozhou Prefecture a month ago and is not on the island at the moment..."

In Lin Qian's mind, the General's crime had been compounded by dereliction of duty.

"Alright." Lin Qian patted Huang Hetai on the shoulder. "The garrison commander is in charge of the island. I can speak with him. My men can stay on the island, but the cargo on the ship has been soaked by the wind and waves. I hope you can lend us your place to dry it."

As Lin Qian spoke, she gave Zheng Zhilong a look.

Zheng Zhilong understood immediately, went down to the warehouse, picked out a large pearl, and handed it to Lin Qian.

Lin Qian placed it directly into Huang Hetai's hand and said with a smile, "This is just a small token of my appreciation. I will present you with a much bigger gift after we get ashore."

Huang Hetai glanced at the pearl in his hand.

The bead was the size of a longan, with a lustrous sheen and shimmering brilliance, truly a rare and extraordinary sight.

Why should the deputy commander, brigade commander, and guerrilla commander enjoy themselves on the shore all year round, while a garrison commander suffers on the island?

If there's no profit to be made, then forget it.

He, a dignified fifth-rank garrison commander, had to humble himself and swallow his pride before the pirates.

He'd had enough of this kind of life, so he decided to stand up for himself this time!
A greedy glint flashed in Huang Hetai's eyes, and with a flick of his sleeve, the pearl vanished.

"Since the leader is one of Ship Owner Li's men, and Ship Owner Li is a friend of the Generalissimo, I assume there should be no problem with drying goods on the island. Please!"

Huang Hetai's permission was obtained.

Lin Qian arranged for the people of Zhu to land on the flat land between the east and west mountains of Nan'ao Island.

Huang Hetai was a little puzzled and asked, "Why doesn't the leader just disembark at Baisha Bay, which is nearby?"

Lin Qian casually made up a story: "There's too much cargo on the ship. If we put it in the adults' barracks, it might block the way. I think the island is flat and sparsely populated, so it's perfect for drying goods."

The island of Nan'ao has a small population and a severe shortage of naval personnel.

Most of the population is concentrated in the Shen'ao Port area next to Baisha Bay, while the rest are scattered along the bays of various harbors.

Although the island is flat, it is overgrown with weeds and trees, and is usually sparsely populated.

Lin Qian used it to dry goods, which was naturally the most suitable thing for her.

However, since he wasn't watching right under his nose, Huang Hetai felt a vague unease, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

Before he could think it through, Lin Qian had already pulled him toward the captain's cabin.

“Commander Huang, we hit it off immediately. I happen to have some fine cigars in my room, let’s smoke and chat.”

Lin Qian practically dragged and begged him, so Huang Hetai had no choice but to follow.

A moment later, smoke filled the captain's cabin, and Huang Hetai immediately put his doubts to the winds.

(End of this chapter)