Chapter Thirty-Four: Why Don't You Take Office?

  "Since last year, he has had many conflicts with the Dutch. It is said that he wants to surrender, but the imperial court seems to have no great sincerity. He can only live as a pirate."

  Li Guozhu finished speaking and took a sip, Han Bin naturally echoed him, saying: "Young Master Li is right, Zheng Yiguan also wants to be an official, but he's far from it."

  "The Second Master's words are quite wrong."

  Han Bin looked again, and it was Chen Xin. This man had been boasting the day before, generously giving out silver rewards to everyone, and even personally burying several sailors who had died at sea. The whole crew admired him greatly, and their gaze when looking at him was completely different. Han Bin regretted giving him the pistol earlier, otherwise how could this man have risen in status due to killing the murderer? At the same time, he felt angry in his heart, having been on the ship with these people for several years without ever gaining their admiration like this. He was just a financial officer, and in just twenty days, Chen Xin had already reached the same level as him. Now if he agreed with one sentence, Chen would also come to oppose it, and they would inevitably clash.

  "What great wisdom does Chen the accountant have, even if it's Qinghai Wang, the court's surrender was also fake back then. When has the court ever put us merchants in their sights?" Han Bin deliberately called Chen Xin an accountant to remind Li Gongzi that he was just a person who calculated accounts. And the Qinghai King Wang Zhi he mentioned was also killed by Hu Zongxian after being deceived into surrendering. From then on, pirates often fought to the death, causing many troubles for Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou at the time. This matter is known to all merchants.

  Chen Xin calmly said: "What Second Master said was during the Jiajing era, when the imperial court indeed did not have a peaceful recruitment, but now it is the seventh year of Tianqi."

  Han Bin angrily said: "The Tianqi Emperor is also a member of the Zhu family, what's the difference?"

  Li Guozhu also quietly looked at Chen Xin, waiting to see what he would say.

  During the Jiajing period, the nine borders were relatively stable, and there were also fierce generals like Qi Shaobao and Yu Dajou. Naturally, they would not deign to surrender a pirate. In the 46th year of Wanli, Nurhaci launched an attack with seven major grievances, and the Ming dynasty had been retreating in Liaodong. This time, the new slave leader attacked Ningjin again, threatening the capital, and in the southwest, the She An rebellion was not yet pacified. These two places were already keeping the court busy, so if Zheng Yiguan stirred up trouble again in Fujian at this time, how would the court handle it?

  Han Bin was stunned for a moment, and before he could think of an answer, Chen Xin continued: "If the conditions are suitable, the court will really amnesty him. This person can make Li Gongzi such a talent so valued, must be a very astute person, with such strong forces in his hands, once he is amnestied to become a Ming official army, it will be difficult to control."

  Li Guozhu finally furrowed his brow, Zheng Zhilong was a man he was very familiar with, a talented person who was proficient in Minnan dialect, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese. He had received Catholic baptism and also worshipped Mazu and the Buddha, and could even play the Spanish guitar. He had intricate relationships with all parties and was very cunning, with a thick skin to boot. If he really became an official soldier, he should be able to get by quite well. Song Wenxian looked at Chen Xin, his left hand stroking his whiskers, lost in thought.

  Han Bin was dissatisfied: "What about the government army? I've killed government soldiers before..."

  The black cannon coughed twice, and Han Bin only remembered that Song Wenxian, this official representative, was still here. Although they were on the same road, they were all officials behind their backs, and it didn't look good on the surface.

  Song Wenxian narrowed his eyes, pretending not to have heard. Chen Xin took the opportunity to suppress: "This is all among ourselves, Second Master can say it without harm, but if we return to the Great Ming, we must be more careful and not provoke unnecessary trouble."

  Hei Pao Dao: "Brother Chen's words make sense, Second Master should be more careful with his words."

  "Scar said with a scowl: 'So the Second Master has killed government soldiers before, if caught, he'll be beheaded.'"

  Han Bin's face turned bright red with anger, and he was about to explode like a black cannon. He spoke righteously, but it wasn't good for him to lose his temper. Li Guozhu looked at the few people, smiled, and offered Han Bin a cup of wine, letting him save face.

  Li Guozhu was still thinking about Chen Xin's words in his heart. Since the Wan Zhi rebellion, there have been few cases of pirates surrendering to the authorities. This is due to two reasons: firstly, the Ming court has always adopted a tough policy towards pirates; secondly, the pirates themselves are highly suspicious of the Ming court. Even if some pirates do surrender, it is often with mutual distrust and cannot last long. Therefore, Li Guozhu had always believed that such a possibility did not exist. However, Chen Xin pointed out that the main threat to the Ming dynasty comes from the north, namely the Later Jin, and that the policy towards pirates might be relaxed. As for himself, being far away in Japan, he would not need to surrender, but if Zheng Zhilong were to surrender, it would be disadvantageous for him to try to settle accounts with him later on.

  Li Guozhu bowed to Chen Xin and said: "Vice Chen's words just now made me realize my mistakes. If I follow Vice Chen's opinion, how should I deal with this official? I hope you will not hesitate to point out."

  Chen Xin wore an expression that wasn't quite clear, looking at Song Wenxian. Song Wenxian was understanding and explained to Chen Xin: "Brother Chen may not be too clear about the twists and turns of this matter. This Zheng Yiguan is said to be Li Gongzi's sworn brother. In the past, he deeply gained the favor of Li Gongzi's late father, but his character was not good. Taking advantage of Li Gongzi being in Japan handling his late father's affairs, he embezzled the Li family's external assets and then dominated a region in the outer sea of Fujian."

  Li Guozhu said with hatred: "Swallowing up wealth is not counted, this person is worried about my revenge, and has repeatedly sent people to secretly return to Japan, trying to harm me in secret, and also intercepted my ships in Fujian. He and I are already irreconcilable."

  Chen Xin knew that Li Guozhu said mostly true, Zheng Zhilong suddenly rose in the fifth year of Tianqi, a year ago he was just an interpreter on a Dutch ship. After swallowing Li Dan's property and receiving Yan Siqi's power, he became the strongest force in the outer sea of Fujian, at that time he was only 21 years old. Because he had a wife with the surname Yan, some people speculated that he was Yan Siqi's son-in-law, of course, there were also more vicious ones, just like what Pockmark said earlier, Yan Siqi had a good relationship with men, and Zheng Zhilong relied on his male charm to gain favor. However, Li Dan's wealth in Anping should be Zheng Zhilong's greatest gain, Li Dan operated for decades, with his ability as the largest sea merchant in East Asia, Anping's assets were at least tens of millions of silver taels, unfortunately, it was all taken away by this conspirator. Taking other people's things always worries about others coming to ask for them, Zheng Zhilong sent someone to deal with his sworn brother to avoid worrying again, which is reasonable.

  Chen Xin thought of the hundreds of millions of taels of white silver, and almost drooled. He swallowed his saliva with difficulty, looked at Li Guozhu seriously and said: "Such an unrighteous and unfilial person, anyone can kill him, to be able to do something for Brother Li is my honor."

  Han Bin looked at Chen Xin with infinite jealousy, this man relied on his two mouths, all the way to bluff and boast, on the boat, he could talk nonsense with sailors at any time, from Song Wenxian to the cook, anyone could talk for half a day, Li Guozhu saw many things and knew much, but was actually attracted by his few words.

  Chen Xin thought for a moment before speaking: "Li Gongzi, let's first clarify one thing. Is your goal to seek revenge or become the greatest maritime merchant?"

  Li Guozhu hesitated for a moment before finally saying: "Revenge."

  "Revenge is either taking his life or retrieving the stolen goods. For now, let me discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Li Gongzi and Zheng Zhilong. If there's anything improper, please forgive me, Li Gongzi."

  Li Guozhu urged: "Brother Chen, please speak." He now addressed him as Brother Chen.

  "What Li Gongzi relies on are two things: first, the assets left behind by his father in Japan, which, after many years of operation, would not be weaker than those of Zheng Zhilong; second, the geographical advantage in Japan, where Li Gongzi's power far surpasses that of Zheng Zhilong. Although Zheng Zhilong has a thousand ships, only a few dozen can come to Japan, whereas Li Gongzi is at a disadvantage in two respects: first, he lacks a source of goods; second, his influence in Fujian cannot compare with that of Zheng Zhilong."

  Li Guozhu nodded as he listened.

  Chen Xin continued, "Zheng Zhilong has three advantages. Firstly, the Fujian overseas pirates have gathered under him, and he has both wealth and ships and men from Yan Siqi. At present, the pirates are pushing him as their leader, and his power far exceeds ours. Secondly, the coastal areas of Fujian that he occupies are an important source of goods for trade, with many good ports. Even if they don't do business with Japan, they can still trade with Southeast Asia, and also serve as middlemen for countries like Holland, England, Spain, and France, earning huge profits. Thirdly, being close to the Ming dynasty, given the current situation of the Ming, there is a possibility that he will be pardoned. Once pardoned, he will become an official military force of the Ming, and if he establishes connections with officials and receives support from the Ming government, he can unify the various pirate factions into a group that is both official and bandit. Li Gongzi, think about it - with trade profits, his own large following, and the support of the Ming government, how can we deal with such an opponent?"

  Li Guozhu's eyebrows were tightly locked, if such a situation really occurs, Zheng Zhi Long would be the next Jing Hai Wang, and even more terrifying than Jing Hai Wang. Chen Xin's original timeline had Zheng Zhi Long as just such an existence, of course with many twists and turns in between. After Zheng Zhi Long surrendered, his former subordinates all turned against him and went to war, taking eight years to unify the rivers and lakes. But Li Guozhu currently has no way of knowing that these people would turn against him from within, according to the current situation, it's possible for the situation Chen Xin described to occur.

  He suddenly raised his eyebrows, smiled and stood up: "Brother Chen has made it clear, although there is still some meaning left unsaid. Since everyone has come from afar today, let's all go to the other courtyard to rest early."

  Han Bing and Hei Pao were a bit stunned, saying that they were fine, but suddenly Li Guozhu got up and said he wanted to take a break. Since Li Guozhu had already stood up, they could only get up and bid farewell. Song Wenxian and Chen Xin both knew that Li Guozhu was afraid of being overheard by many people, so he would definitely come separately to find Chen Xin alone again.

  Li Guozhu escorted them to the gate and instructed one of his attendants, "Arrange for Mr. Song and Brother Chen to rest in another courtyard, and have those who are injured also taken care of there."

  That man agreed, and Li Guozhu said to several people: "You all go to the other courtyard to rest first, but the other courtyard can't accommodate many people. Except for the wounded, it's best for everyone else to stay on the ship, so as not to spread out the Japanese pirate ship's affairs."

  "Hei Pao replied: 'Don't worry, Li Gongzi, this is what I've arranged for. Before I got off the boat, I gave instructions already. Tonight, I'll also be on the boat and won't let anyone slip out.'"

  Chen Xin and others bid farewell to Li Guozhu, Chen Youweimen followed closely behind Li Guozhu, his hand always on the hilt of his sword, it seems that Li Guozhu's mention of assassination was indeed true.

  A group of people followed the attendant from the Li family to another courtyard, which was a two-story house. The outer room had eight rooms, and the inner room had six rooms. Several wounded men were living in the outer room, while the inner room was arranged for leaders like Song Wenxian. Several maids were still busy tidying up the bedding in the house.

  Four seriously injured and several lightly injured were transported here, among the seriously injured, one had his abdomen pierced and struggled to get here, already at the last gasp. The person whose eyes were damaged by the bamboo splinters also had festering wounds, it's estimated that they will not survive. Two with broken legs and hands are slightly better off. Chen Xin insisted on using boiling water to disinfect the cotton before re-bandaging, which kept their wounds from deteriorating too much. Today after arriving at the private port, Li Guozhu sent a doctor who prescribed some medicine, it's possible that they will survive.

  Chen Xin called over a maid and had her boil the cotton cloth in hot water, then hang it up to dry, preparing to change the dressings for the two of them the next day. The person who was injured in the eye continued to wail in pain inside the house, and everyone who heard it felt a bit uncomfortable, reminding them of the bloodshed that day.

  After the servant girl left, Song Wenxian pulled Chen Xin to one side and said in a low voice: "Brother Chen, Li Gongzi's first name is Li Dan. He is a famous person in this country of Japan. If you can get his help, it will be very beneficial for your future business as a merchant."

  Chen Xin knew that he reminded himself to help Li Guozhu come up with a good idea, and it was also kind-hearted. He smiled and agreed, and asked Song Wenxian: "Mr. Song, does this mean we won't be going to Nagasaki? Will we hand over the goods on the Five Islands?"

  "Yes, our boat doesn't have a vermilion seal, although Li Gongzi is an old acquaintance, but this thing is also not willing to lend. He makes some profit from our goods, we make some profit too, and it's convenient."

  "Is it always like this?"

  "It's all like that, this private port is only half a day's journey from Nagasaki, he has to make a detour, but who made him have a Zhu Yin certificate."

  Chen Xinxin thought: "Isn't there a Zhu Yin seal on that Zhu Yin ship?"

  Song Wenxian smiled and said: "The names of the ship owners are written on it, and the people under Nagasaki's jurisdiction should all recognize these ship owners. How can we go there and talk to them?"

  Chen Xin smiled after hearing it, he was just casually asking.

  Song Wenxian looked around and asked mysteriously: "Brother Chen, has the cargo on the Zhu Yin ship been checked?"

  Chen Xin looked at him and already guessed what he was going to say, also lowering his voice: "The cabin is small, it's just a rough guess, others ask me and I all say that it can't be taken out for counting, anyway the varieties are pepper, dragon's blood resin, frankincense, silk, and some unknown fabrics."

  Song Wenxian nodded: "The goods on the Zhu Yin ship were also bought by Li Gongzi, and the account book of this Japanese ship was thrown into the sea that day. Now it's gone, and you have to do it yourself. If Chen brothers do well, they can earn half of their own capital as a merchant."

  Chen Xin understood what Song Wenxian meant, which was to let some of the price go to Li Guozhu and then Chen Xin would make a false account. The two of them would embezzle part of the goods money. Chen Xin looked at him straightforwardly and didn't blush: "Mr. Song, rest assured, I know how to do it. At that time, I won't forget your share of hard-earned money. It's just that when checking the goods, you still need to be present to shut other people's mouths."

  "Naturally, I reckon Li Guozhu will still come looking for you. If it's convenient, you can discuss this matter with him first when the time comes. If not, I'll go look for him instead."

  Chen Xin nodded while looking around, this Song Wenxian looked refined but actually had a belly full of evil water, no wonder he was good at learning things that were unclear. The two of them were in cahoots all along, after several attempts to sound each other out they became thick as thieves, the best part being that neither of these two officials were the actual owners, just perfect for colluding together.

  But this matter, Song Wenxian alone couldn't have done it, Chen Xin had to cooperate with the finances. Chen Xin alone also didn't dare to swallow it all by himself, he needed Song Wenxian's leadership to seal others' mouths. Chen Xin didn't know what Zhao Dongjia said to Song Wenxian before his death. On that day when everyone else was grieving, Song Wenxian first looked for the Japanese ship's account book and threw it into the sea to destroy the evidence. Then on the island, he said that in the past, he had spoken well of himself in front of Zhao Dongjia, drawing closer to him. If Song Wenxian had already planned today's income during his short time being injured at Zhao Dongjia's house, then his mind was actually above his own.

  Chen Xin saw Lu Maozi walk out of a room, and at that time, his right arm was cut by a knife, not seriously injured, and he also sent it here. Chen Xin was about to go over when Song Wenxian suddenly asked another question: "Brother Chen, you said that Zheng Yi's surrender and joining the government army has many benefits, why don't you get an official position for yourself?"

  Chen Xin turned his head in surprise and muttered: "Right."