Chapter 15: Treasure of the Isolated Island

  The leader of the pirates in the cave was named Lin Haisheng, about 30 years old. At this time, he looked listless and lazy, lying on a stone bed. His hair was like straw, and his braid was loose and unkempt. Perhaps due to living at sea for many years, Lin Haisheng had a dark bronze face with a thick beard, which was the mark of making a living in the vast ocean. His open jacket revealed a dense black fur on his chest.

  It's getting harder and harder to do business at sea, especially with the tonnage of merchant ships traveling by sea getting bigger and bigger. His small pirate ship can't even rob them. A few days of storms, the pirates were trapped on the island, and food was cut off again. It was difficult to get a few fish from the sea during the storm, so everyone relied on stinky fish and rotten shrimp for several days.

  Nowadays, there are more and more Western devils, although the good things on the Western devils' ships are countless, looking at them makes people dizzy, but they can only look with envy and drool. The Westerners' ironclad ships have big guns, one shot of cannonballs would make their ship shattered to pieces, instantly sinking to the bottom of the sea. Although the good things of the Westerners often make him have beautiful dreams, he dare not take action, but can only have a share of having beautiful dreams.

  In the past two years, he could still go ashore to plunder, but in these two years, half of his men were eliminated on land, and now he doesn't even dare to go ashore. Having no choice, he can only linger by the shore, robbing those poor fishermen who have no one to rely on, making a living at sea is also a way to pass the days. By rights, they are all poor fishermen, but were forced to become pirates due to having no other options.

  "Go check if the rice is done, I'm starving!" Lin Haisheng kicked a small servant beside him. The servant immediately got up, and at this time, a shout suddenly came from outside: "Hey! People inside, listen up, you're surrounded, come out and surrender now!" "Boss, it's not good, the government army is here!" Instantly, the cave was in chaos. "What's the panic about? Since we became pirates that day, we've been on a path of no return. It's just the government army, isn't it? We'll fight one and make up for it, fight two and gain one, brothers who have guts follow me out!"

  Deng Zixuan was delighted to see the pirates rushing out, and this group of pirates was simply like a bunch of beggars. In his mind, he couldn't help but think of those directors who would make historical dramas in the future, where the pirates in the play were enviable in terms of their clothes, demeanor, and living conditions, while the pirates in front of him couldn't even be called thieves, looking at them with tattered clothes, pale faces, and thin bodies, if it weren't for the weapons in their hands, they would be no different from beggars.

  "What are you people? What brings you here?" Lin Haisheng's expression changed, and he looked at them with a hint of fear. "What we are is not important, put down your weapons and let's talk!" Deng Zixuan said almost commandingly. Lin Haisheng was furious upon hearing this: "Damn it! A few insignificant thieves dare to threaten me? Brothers, take these little insects down for me immediately!"

  As soon as the words fell, the pirates shouted loudly and rushed forward with big knives. Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and one of the pirates was hit in the leg and fell to the ground, starting to yell. Lin Haisheng found that all seven people in front of him were holding fire tubes, and he was startled. However, he reacted quickly and said: "Brothers, they have fire tubes, but the fire tubes only have one bullet, don't be afraid, let me rush for you!" The pirates regained their spirits and rushed forward again with loud shouts.

  Another shot rang out, and a bullet hit the arm of one of the pirates. The pirate dropped his knife with a clang and crouched on the ground, clutching his arm. Deng Zixuan fired three more shots in quick succession, striking the rocks in front of him and sending sparks flying everywhere. The pirates were terrified once again. "Who said there was only one bullet in this gun?" Deng Zixuan sneered. "Let me tell you, I have six bullets in here, and you people aren't enough for us to shoot!"

  Chen Jintang stepped forward and said, "Everyone, we are just passing merchants and do not intend to be enemies with you. Put down your weapons, I guarantee that we will not harm you!" Deng Zixuan turned to Lin Haisheng and said, "It seems like you're their leader. Just now when we opened fire, it was a deliberate miss, and we didn't aim at vital parts. Now I'll count to three, if you don't put down your weapons, we'll kill without mercy!" The brothers heard this and raised the guns in their hands.

  "One! Two!" Before Deng Zixuan could shout "Three", a pirate's knife clattered to the ground, followed by a chaotic commotion. The pirates' mental defenses completely collapsed. Lin Haisheng saw this scene and had no choice but to drop his knife as well. "Wan Chuan, quickly treat those two brothers' wounds." The pirates looked on in shock as Wan Chuan tended to the two brothers' injuries.

  Deng Zixuan walked up to Lin Haisheng with a smile and said, "Looks like you're the leader, what's your name?" Lin Haisheng puffed out his chest and said, "I'm not afraid of death or imprisonment, my name is Lin Haisheng, do as you please!" "Wow! You've got quite an attitude! Why would I kill you? We're neither officials nor soldiers, and we don't have any family feuds, I have no reason to kill you!"

  "Why don't you kill us? What are you doing on this island?" Lin Haisheng said angrily. "We are merchants, and the storm blew us onto this island. We didn't expect to run into you, we're just defending ourselves, that's all!" Lin Haisheng still glared at them, not believing a word. Deng Zixuan stood up and added, "Look! You're living like this, it's also how people live! I thought being a pirate would be carefree, drinking big bowls of wine and eating meat with abandon! But your leader is really incompetent!" Deng Zixuan sneered as he walked over to the stove and lifted the lid to take a look.

  "Look! Stinky fish and rotten shrimp, can you stand eating this every day? How pitiful! Lin Hai's veins bulged with anger. Deng Zixuan continued to mock: "I say, Lin Hai, the brothers who follow you are simply unlucky. Look at your subordinates' clothes, they're like beggars. Lin Hai, with skills like yours, you're an embarrassment to the Green Forest heroes!"

  Deng Zixuan pointed at Lin Haisheng, intentionally provoking him. He seemed to have touched on Lin Haisheng's sore spot, and Lin Haisheng suddenly stood up and said: "You're standing while talking, aren't you afraid of aching waist? If you have the ability, try being a pirate!" "Damn it! If I were to become a pirate, I would turn the entire East Sea upside down. Brother Chen, tell him about it!" "Everyone, to be honest with you, we used to be part of the Nian Army, but now we've surrendered to Young Master Deng's command!" "Nian Army!" The pirates looked at each other with admiring gazes! Lin Haisheng was somewhat skeptical.

  Deng Zixuan saw that the fire was almost ready, and suddenly changed the subject: "As the saying goes, when you're poor, you think of changing. I like to make friends with good people from the rivers and lakes. I don't care about their background or origin, it's not a problem here. Especially those who are rebellious and unorthodox, I like them even more. Putting down your butcher knife and becoming a Buddha on the spot is the only way to change your fate. How about you, are you willing to follow me? Although I can't guarantee that each of you will become rich and noble, at least you'll be able to eat well and drink well. I'm speaking bluntly, I don't have any intention of forcing you, it's all up to your own free will."

  The crowd's eyes widened in shock, and a glimmer of hope flickered in their gazes as they all turned to Lin Haisheng. Lin Haisheng saw the look on everyone's faces and knew that his brothers had been moved by Dengzi Xuan's words. "Dengzi Xuan, how can we trust you? Perhaps if we follow you, we'll be handed over to the authorities for a reward!" Lin Haisheng refused to believe him. "I, Dengzi Xuan, may not have a fortune at my disposal, but I'm not so desperate as to covet that paltry reward money. Is Chen Daige worth more than us? What's the difference now? We're all good brothers!" Dengzi Xuan laughed.

  "Damn it, you really don't know how to appreciate kindness! Master Deng's willingness to take us in is a great blessing, what are you being so arrogant about?!" Wan Chuan was indignant. "Master Deng doesn't need to waste his breath on them, let's just leave!" A pirate named Hai suddenly became anxious: "Big brother! Master Deng is willing to take us in, he must be a chivalrous person. Think about the kind of life we've been living every day, it's better to change our ways, big brother, just agree to it!" "Big brother!" The pirates all knelt down on the ground.

  "Enough!" Lin Haisheng flipped over and knelt on the ground, continuing: "I, Lin Haisheng, lead my brothers to surrender to Master Deng's command. Our lives are in your hands now, I swear not to betray you, heaven is my witness, the sea is my guarantee!" "We wish to follow Master Deng!" The pirates shouted in unison! "Great! Brother Lin, please get up quickly. From now on, you are all my good brothers. We'll share hardships and blessings together, heaven is my witness, the sea is my guarantee!"

  "Look! A big ship is coming!" a pirate exclaimed. The pirates stood up with a whoosh, all looking at Deng Zixuan in unison. "Don't be afraid, everyone, that's my ship!" Deng Zixuan said. At this time, Lin Haisheng carefully identified the small boat being towed by the big ship and found it was his own: "Young Master Deng! So you've cut off our retreat!" "It just so happens to be a convenient coincidence!" Deng Zixuan replied with a smile.

  Then Deng Zixuan ordered to go to the big ship to fetch food and let this group of brothers eat a full meal. The pirates hadn't eaten grain for a long time, and three pots of rice were enough to stuff them. The dried meat they brought from Guangzhou also made them a good meal. Seeing the pirates gobbling down their food, Deng Zixuan had no appetite, but instead observed the expression of each person.

  Suddenly, the ceramic bowl in Hai's hand caught his attention. Deng Zixuan subconsciously walked to the stove and picked up a bowl to examine it. The ceramic bowl was dirty and almost unrecognizable. He rubbed the bowl with sand a few times, and the words "Song Dynasty Porcelain" faintly appeared on the outer bottom of the bowl. Deng Zixuan immediately took the bowl to Lin Haisheng's face and asked: "Lin Dage, where did these ceramic bowls come from?" At this time, Lin Haifeng was still chewing with his mouth full, he swallowed hard and then gulped a mouthful of water, saying: "Deng Gongzi, what is the use of these broken bowls? There are plenty of them in the cave!" "Take me into the cave immediately!" In no time, Deng Zixuan and Lin Haisheng entered the depths of the mountain cave. Lin Haifeng lit a torch and wondered: "Deng Gongzi, this is it. This is a sand pit, and inside are all ceramic vessels. What's the use of these broken toys?"

  Deng Zixuan saw that there were many broken boxes in the sand pit, and inside the boxes, there were still many porcelain bowls, piled up randomly, and also many fragments of porcelain bottles. The porcelain bowls were covered with sand, and it was impossible to see their original colors. "It's a pity that these bowls are broken," Lin Haisheng muttered. "I don't know who put them here." Deng Zixuan picked up the fragments and examined them carefully. In his heart, he felt great regret - these were not porcelain at all, but white porcelain with silver patterns. Deng Zixuan thought to himself: it was undoubtedly Song Dynasty porcelain, but how did it end up here? It was probably looted by pirates from a ship and then transported here. "Master Deng, what are you doing examining these porcelain bowls?" Chen Jintan asked as he walked in.

  "You let everyone come in, I want to dig out all the porcelain!" Not long after, everyone came in, Deng Zixuan shouted: "Dig out all the porcelain from the sand pit for me, remember to be extremely careful when digging, whoever breaks it for me will be held accountable." After several hours of excavation, they dug three meters deep and excavated more than 30 boxes. Many boxes had rotted, but the porcelain was intact. Among them, 12 boxes were well-preserved. The brothers wanted to open the boxes to check, but were stopped by Deng Zixuan.

  Then all the porcelain was loaded onto the ship, and even the dirty ceramic bowls used by the pirates were not spared. After all personnel boarded the ship, the wind sail rose and set off. Looking at the porcelain on the deck, Deng Zixuan's mood was particularly joyful, wondering if this was fate? "Master Deng, how much are these porcelains worth?" Chen Jintan came over and asked in confusion. Deng Zixuan looked around and whispered, "Brother Chen, to be honest, this is the real treasure. These porcelains are all Song Dynasty porcelain, with a history of over 1,000 years. I don't have any knowledge about porcelain, but I know that Song Dynasty porcelain is valuable. As for how much it's worth, I'm not sure either, but it must be worth a lot!" Deng Zixuan was beaming with joy.

  "Deng Gongzi, if these porcelain pieces are treasures, it means that our trip to Guangzhou has been very rewarding. Perhaps fate has destined you to have unexpected wealth!" "Perhaps! In any case, this trip hasn't been in vain." This small unnamed island is about 100 nautical miles away from the shore. They sailed along the coast and continued north after seeing the coastline. After arriving in Fuzhou, Deng Zixuan decided to stay there for two days. At the same time, he ordered Wan Chuan to lead Chen Gensheng and others to take a Shanghai pirate's fast ship back to Shanghai ahead of schedule. He also instructed them to rent a place to dock large ships at the Songjiang Wharf and quickly purchase houses near the wharf. When this group returns to Shanghai, it is impossible for all of them to go to their own homes, or else it would be chaotic.

  The boat docked in Fuzhou, and Deng Zixuan decided to stay there for two days. Firstly, he wanted to experience the local customs of Fuzhou, and secondly, he wanted Lin Haisheng and his men to change their appearance. After disembarking, he gave Lin Haisheng 5 taels of silver and each of the brothers 1 tael of silver, instructing them to take a bath, get a haircut, and buy new clothes. As for giving Lin Haisheng 5 taels of silver, it was simply to let him have some fun, guessing that he would definitely visit a brothel. The brothers left in high spirits, eager to carry out their tasks.

  At present, the Fuzhou Mawei Shipyard is still nowhere to be seen. Deng Zixuan made a special trip to the site and took a look. The shipyard's earthwork project has already begun, and history continues to move forward along its original trajectory. Deng Zixuan felt very satisfied. After staying in Fuzhou for two days, they continued northward and arrived in Shanghai in late May.