The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 64 Guiding the Southeast
The "General Commander" refers to the Deputy General Commander of Nan'ao.

According to Huang Hetai, the garrison commander of Nan'ao, this general usually works at the Chaozhou Prefecture's administrative office and spends only a handful of days a year on the island.

There have even been instances where someone didn't go to the island for a whole year.

Could it be that this commander-in-chief has suddenly decided to go to the island on a whim?
Lin Qian nodded: "Alright, I'll go see Commander Huang."

The sergeant invited Lin Qian to travel together by fast boat.

The carpenters and shipwrights are coming today to repair the gun ports, so the Santa Ana should not leave port.

Lin Qian decided to go on the same boat. Before leaving, she called Bai Langzai and brought five or six skilled men with her. She also gave Chen Jiao a few instructions.

The bay where the Santa Ana anchored was called Houjiang Bay, which was very close to Baisha Bay, with the ridge of Guolao Mountain sandwiched between them.

In the time it takes to eat a meal, the speedboat has already entered Baisha Bay.

This was Lin Qian's first time getting so close to Shen'ao Port.

In addition to more than a hundred small boats, a three-masted Fujian ship was moored in the harbor. The ship was smaller than the ordinary Fujian ships, but had larger sails and a shallower draft. This type of ship was the Haicang ship of the Ming Dynasty navy.

It seems the cargo ships have returned to port.

The naval vessels Lin Qian had seen before were either leaky, decorative items or small, rowing boats like fishing vessels.

This is the first time I've ever seen a decent warship.

Lin Qian couldn't help but feel curious, so she took out her binoculars and observed carefully.

The boat was in excellent condition; the hull was intact, the sails were undamaged, and the deck was flat and free of water.

As you get closer, you can see many naval soldiers standing on the ship, carrying supplies.

These soldiers were strong and agile, quite unlike the naval forces on the island.

Seeing that Lin Qian was interested in the Haicang ship, the soldier said, "Those are the general's servants, they help the general watch the ship and transport goods."

"Hmm." Lin Qian remained noncommittal.

"Household servants" are also called "household soldiers," which, to put it bluntly, are private armies.

The soldiers' pay was paid by the generals themselves, and not only was there no deduction, but their welfare benefits were also much better than those of the government troops.

There's a folk joke that goes, "The Ming army is invincible when its pay is not full, but when it is, it is invincible."

These private soldiers can be regarded as Ming soldiers with full pay, not only with full pay, but with a super double pay.

After hearing this explanation, Lin Qian had already looked away, but suddenly noticed that one of the servants was standing in a strange posture.

The man stood on the shore, his knees slightly bent, looking different from ordinary people.

Lin Qian took out her binoculars again and carefully observed the servants on the shore. She noticed that most of them had bent knees to varying degrees.

This standing posture is a hallmark of the Tanka people.

Because the Tanka people live and work on boats, they often bend over, curl up their legs, and bend their knees, which leads to many knee joint diseases.

It wasn't obvious while on the boat, but it became apparent once ashore.

The stigma of "curved hooves" originated from this.

The servants bent their knees very slightly.

If Lin Qian hadn't had long-term contact with the Tanka people, it would have been difficult to tell.

Even if the general were to recruit servants, he would never recruit the Tanka people, who are often discriminated against.

Something's fishy!

Lin Qian subtly nudged Bai Langzai with her elbow, gesturing for him to look at the shore.

Bai Langzai glanced at her and nodded slightly to Lin Qian.

This confirmed Lin Qian's guess.

Immediately, Bai Langzai's expression turned cold. He gripped his Japanese sword tightly in his left hand and looked at the neck of the soldier in front of him.

Lin Qian slowly shook her head at him, signaling him not to make a move.

There are now 3,000 islanders on Nan'ao Island, and the St. Anna is anchored at sea.

Before coming here, Lin Qian had already instructed Chen Jiao that if he did not return within an hour, the Saint Anna would block the harbor.

Bai Qing would also lead the islanders over Guolao Mountain to surround Shen'ao Port from the land.

Based on Lin Qian's understanding of Huang Hetai, this man was greedy and afraid of death, and would never dare to lay a hand on him. Even if there were foreign pirates or government officials on the island, they would have some reservations in the face of this situation.

On the surface, Shenzhen-Macau Port is under the control of Huang Hetai, but in reality, it is under the control of Lin Qian.

Since things have come to this, we might as well see what they're really up to. The ship arrived at the dock, Lin Qian disembarked, and followed the soldiers toward the garrison barracks.

The soldier led him to a magnificent vermilion-lacquered government office.

A plaque hangs above the gate, bearing the inscription "General Headquarters of Nan'ao, Fujian and Guangdong".

The soldiers entered first, walked past the government office, through the courtyard, and arrived at a hall. Above the hall door hung a plaque with two gilded characters that read "Commander's Hall".

Behind the hall door is a screen wall with a huge painting of a tiger descending the mountain. The tiger is exquisitely painted and full of imposing presence.

After passing through the command hall, the soldiers stood in front of the inner courtyard's side rooms.

"Go inside. The guards will wait for the leader inside," the sergeant said.

Lin Qian led Bai Langzai inside, and unsurprisingly, the Japanese sword in Bai Langzai's hand was taken away, but he was not searched. The other crew members stood guard outside the door.

Pushing open the door, one sees Commander Huang brewing tea at the table.

There was another person sitting at the table. He was tall and strong, with a broad face, wide nose, dark skin, and bulging muscles all over his body.

The man was holding a teacup in one hand, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Lin Qian.

Commander Huang stood up warmly to greet them: "Chief Lin has arrived. This is Chief Li. You two are both under the command of Master Li, so I suppose I don't need to introduce you."

The man put down his teacup, stood up, and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Li Kuiqi, may I ask your name, brother?"

This person speaks with such a powerful voice that it makes one's eardrums ache.

Lei Sanxiang was already considered tall, but unexpectedly, Li Kuiqi was even a head taller than him.

Lin Qian estimated that this person was over 1.9 meters tall, and with his muscular physique, he was quite imposing when he stood up, making the room seem smaller.

Moreover, Li Kuiqi is actually Li Dan's subordinate. His arrival will not only expose Lin Qian's impersonation, but may also cause other disputes.

After all, the deputy commander of Nan'ao had been accepting bribes from Li Dan for many years, so Nan'ao Island was, in a sense, Li Dan's territory.

Lin Qian was used to all kinds of situations and handled the situation with ease. She cupped her hands in return and said, "Lin Qian, this is my brother, Bai Langzai."

"So it's Brother Lin and Brother Bai. My apologies for not being here sooner. Please." Li Kuiqi said with a smile, then invited Lin Qian to sit down, as if he were the host of the place.

Commander Huang handed Lin Qian a cup of tea, then lowered his head to concentrate on brewing the tea, not wanting the two living devils to see his expression.

Li Kuiqi glanced at Bai Langzai and praised, "This Brother Bai has a calm demeanor; he must be quite skilled!"

Bai Langzai kept a cold face and didn't say anything.

Li Kuiqi felt no embarrassment and turned to Lin Qian, saying, "Brother Lin, you are a smart man, you should have guessed why I came here."

You've just arrived, yet you dared to impersonate the owner and occupy this island; you must be a daring and heroic man.

In my life, I, Li Kuiqi, have always admired heroes and valiant men! As for my brother's misuse of the ship owner's name, I will plead with the ship owner on his behalf, and he will surely not blame me.

However… Nan'ao Island is a strategically important maritime location between Fujian and Guangdong; we cannot occupy it all ourselves. Let's lead our men and find another place.”

Lin Qian declined, saying, "The houses on the island have all been built; how can I just leave like that?"

Li Kuiqi's tone turned cold: "What, brother, do you want me to pay you back?"

Lin Qian smiled apologetically, "Of course I wouldn't dare. I'm new to your place and don't know anyone. If I were to move away from the island like this, where would I go to settle down? I would like to ask you to point me in the right direction."

Li Kuiqi laughed loudly: "Hahaha... I see, brother, just tell me directly."

After saying that, he took out a nautical chart from his pocket and pointed to a spot on the chart: "This place is called Hailing Island. It is located west of Macau and is under the jurisdiction of Zhaoqing Prefecture in Guangdong. There are only a few soldiers on the island. Brothers, just take it."

Hailing Island was the island where Zhu Min stayed and rested when he returned to Guangzhou, and Lin Qian once anchored there.

After pretending to think for a moment, he said, "This island is mountainous with too little flat land, making it difficult to accommodate my more than five thousand men. I hope you will find another place, brother."

Li Kuiqi was surprised and suspicious. He glanced at Commander Huang and thought to himself, "Huang clearly said that this kid has more than three thousand men under his command. How come he said there are five thousand?"

This kid looks sincere; he doesn't seem to be faking it.

Could it be that the man surnamed Huang is deliberately trying to trick me?
Even if we take a step back, whether it's three thousand or five thousand, it's still a considerable force, so we should be cautious.

Fine, I'll just point to another place. Anyway, the southeast coast has no shortage of islands.

Having figured this out, Li Kuiqi pointed to the Fujian coast: "Here, Kinmen Island, has enough land. There's a garrison on the island, full of good-for-nothings. Brothers, send five hundred elite troops, and we can take it at will."

Lin Qian looked at it and shook her head, saying, "No, this island is too close to Yuegang. Sooner or later, it will attract the imperial court's encirclement and suppression."

Li Kuiqi's eyes widened in anger, thinking to himself, "If it weren't for the fear of the imperial court's encirclement and suppression, how could it have been your turn to occupy it?"

Ultimately, out of consideration for Lin Qian's five thousand people, Li Kuiqi forcibly suppressed his anger and pointed to another island.

Sure enough, Lin Qian shook her head again.

(End of this chapter)