The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 92 The Attack on the Government
In the late Ming Dynasty, the commodity economy was highly developed. Even a large family like the Lin family of Huangyan could not be self-sufficient by farming and needed a sufficient amount of silver to circulate.

What Lin Qian wanted to do was to squeeze every last tael of silver from the Lin family.

This led to the decline of a prestigious family that had lasted for over four hundred years. The masters, mistresses, sons, and daughters of the mansion were left to wander the streets, die in poverty, and left behind a vast, desolate wasteland.

This is much more satisfying than killing someone with a knife.

Lin Qian explained her thoughts to her brothers, and everyone's faces showed understanding.

Lei Sanxiang scratched his head apologetically: "The captain is so thoughtful. Why is my brain only good at killing? Brother, you know I'm impulsive, why don't you stop me?"

Chen Jiao said irritably, "I'm afraid you'll use me as a chair and kill me."

Lei Sanxiang looked at the walnut chair that had rotted into pieces and said awkwardly, "I'll pay for this."

Lin Qian said, "What's the point of paying for a broken chair? We can just bring another one to sit on."

Lei Sanxiang scratched his head and, as instructed, moved a new chair and sat down.

"I already have a preliminary plan," Lin Qian said, standing up and pointing to the map of the Lin residence.

Seeing this, Xie Er prepared to walk out of the cabin.

Lin Qian called out to him, "Stay here and discuss this with me."

Xie Er bowed and said with a fawning smile, "Master, I am, after all, an outsider."

Lin Qian: "A wise man submits to circumstances. If you help us pull off this heist, you'll be considered part of the gang, and you'll get a share of the Lin family's silver. But if you leave this house, we'll stab you after we've robbed the Lin family."

"Captain..." Chen Jiao wanted to persuade him, but Lin Qian stopped him with a gesture.

Xie Er struggled with his conscience for a long time before finally coming to a conclusion. He gritted his teeth and said, "Master Lin... no, Lin Jiren's perverse actions have long been unbearable for me. Today, thanks to the Lord of the Helmsman's kindness in accepting me into the group, I am willing to follow you to the death!"

Lin Qian nodded and said to Bai Langzai, "Let's have Doctor Su fix his finger after we finish discussing this."

Bai Qing said, "There's no need for such trouble." After she finished speaking, she stepped forward and grabbed Xie Er's broken left little finger to catch it.

Xie Er let out a scream.

"Alright," Bai Qing said.

Xie Er was so heartbroken that he couldn't even utter a word of thanks.

Lin Qian ignored him and pointed to the back gate of the Lin residence, saying, "There is a river wharf at the back gate of the Lin residence. One end of the river connects to the Yongning River. We will take a bird boat to cross the waterway, and the large sailboat will meet us at the mouth of the Lingjiang River."

Among the more than fifty ships captured after defeating Li Kuiqi, there were about ten single-masted bird ships. These ships are slender and long, with sails when there is wind and oars when there is no wind, making them highly seaworthy.

Although it is a seagoing vessel, it has a shallow draft, making it suitable for river navigation.

Lin Qian continued, "There is a waterway connecting the mansion to the river wharf, but the waterway is narrow and can only accommodate small boats. We disembark at the river wharf and dive into the water to enter the mansion."

Bai Langzai reminded: "Boatman, there's a kennel at the back gate."

Lin Qian said, "We'll use meat buns with sleeping potion. Uncle Chen will steam the buns, and Doctor Su will prepare the sleeping potion. Yi Guan, you can take care of this."

Zheng Zhilong stood up and accepted the order.

The anesthetic Su Kang used when treating his injury last time was clearly similar in composition to sleeping potion.

However, Su Kang has a stubborn and unpleasant temper, so it is most appropriate to assign the smooth-talking Zheng Zhilong to use persuasion and gentle persuasion.

Lin Qian continued drawing lines on the map: "After entering the mansion, we split into three groups. The left and right groups went up the high walls and dealt with the guards on the walls."

They proceeded into the inner palace, dealt with the guards, gathered the Lin family members together, and moved the silver to the women's hall in the back courtyard.

After the men on the left side dealt with the guards on the wall, they went to the women's hall to meet up with those on the central side and carried the silver onto the ship.

The men on the right flank remained at the courtyard wall to keep watch.

At dawn, we signaled with two short and one long clapperbeats to withdraw from the Lin residence.

After hearing the plan, everyone cheered inwardly, feeling more confident about the matter. Chen Jiao pondered for a moment and said, "The crew members are used to sword and spear battles and are not afraid to fight the guards with knives, but what if they really have crossbows?"

Lin Qian: "We also need to prepare crossbows and shields."

Archery is a technical skill, and the crew members certainly don't have time to practice on the spot. Crossbows are much simpler to use.

The only problem is that crossbows and shields are prohibited, so even if you have the money, there's no way to buy them.

Fortunately, there was a ready-made naval camp on Nan'ao Island. Even if the Ming generals were greedy, there should still be a dozen or so sets of suitable equipment in the garrison with five thousand men on paper.

Lin Qian said, "Besides crossbows and shields, if there are any light armors, also search for a few sets, as well as weapons such as swords made of fine steel. This matter will be left to you, elder brother. Let's start with Commander Huang."

Chen Jiao: "Yes."

Lin Qian then said to Lei Sanxiang, "The crew members have little experience with sword fighting, let alone bows, crossbows, and shields. The training for the next few days will be left to you, Third Brother."

Lei Sanxiang patted his chest and said, "Leave it to me."

Lin Qian said to Bai Qing, "Bai Qing, the plan to raid the mansion is only in its initial stages. It still needs to be adjusted based on the handover time of the guards in the Lin mansion, the route of action at night, and the daily routines of the masters and servants in the mansion. All the information gathering is entrusted to you. Don't act rashly this time."

Bai Qing cupped his hands in greeting: "Rest assured, Captain."

Lin Qian thought about it and was still worried. She said to Bai Langzai, "You and your sister go together, and bring Xie Er with you too. He is familiar with the situation in the mansion and might be of use."

“Yes,” Bai Langzai replied.

Zheng Zhilong said, "Master, is it too simple to just ask me to find sleeping pills? Is there anything else I can do to help?"

Lin Qian said, "I've left you with one more thing. At the mouth of the Lingjiang River, there's a garrison called Haimenwei. We can't sail into the inland waterway without getting past Haimenwei. As for whether to bribe them or go around under cover of darkness, it's up to you. This is a difficult task, so I'm leaving it to you."

Zheng Zhilong excitedly clasped his hands in a fist and paw salute: "Yes, sir!"

Scholar Zhou stood up and said, "Master, what can I do?"

Lin Qian did not assign any tasks to Zhou Xiucai, since he was not capable of helping with matters involving knives and guns.

But after thinking for a moment, I realized I had overlooked something important.

Lin Qian asked, "After Li Kuiqi's death, who is the largest pirate force on the Fujian and Guangdong coasts?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, thinking to themselves, "Isn't it us?"

Lin Qian realized she had asked the wrong question and added, "Besides us."

Chen Jiao said, "It should be Yuan Jin and Li Zhong. These two groups are evenly matched."

Zheng Zhilong vaguely guessed Lin Qian's intention; she probably wanted to find a pirate leader to be a scapegoat.

Zheng Zhilong then said, “Along the coast north of Fujian, in the waters off Zhejiang and southern Zhili, there are also several groups of pirates, among whom the owner of the Shuangyu ship is the most famous.”

Lin Qian thought for a moment and said, "This crime isn't big, so let's pick a small-time pirate to use for now. Second brother, find out about Yuan Jin and Li Zhong, find out their characteristics, appearance, number of men, and where they are hiding. I'll leave this to you."

Scholar Zhou replied, "Yes, sir!"

Yuan Jin and Li Zhong are just small-time pirates who act recklessly and have many flaws. Unlike Li Kuiqi, whose whereabouts are difficult to find, it should be fine to entrust the investigation to Zhou Xiucai.

Xie Er, listening from the side, was already somewhat stunned, thinking to himself, "This response plan doesn't seem like we're going to rob the Lin family of their silver; it's more like we're going to attack the capital of Taizhou!"

“Helmsman,” Zheng Zhilong said, “water gates are usually surrounded by iron fences. It would be faster to use grappling hooks to climb the wall.”

"No need for the grappling hook," Lin Qian said calmly. "I'll handle the breaching of the water gate."

To prevent claws from attaching to the walls of these wealthy households, the walls were made of water-polished blue bricks and mortar, resulting in an extremely smooth and flat surface. Some walls were even topped with tiles, leaving the claws nowhere to get a foothold.

To get in, you must first break through the water gate.

(End of this chapter)