Chapter 34: Pirate Water Warriors (Part 1)

  Ouyang Yi this time deeply entered Liao territory, the atmosphere of Da Liao was even more tense than last time.

  In August, the Liao ruler Yelü Yanxi suddenly stopped hunting and personally went to the military camp. He dismissed the Liao general Yelü Orduo, who had been defeated at the Battle of Dagu City, and replaced a large number of generals. He appointed Abao as the commander-in-chief of the central army, Yelü Zhang Jiasou as the supervisor, and led an army of 100,000 soldiers from various tribes. He also appointed Langling King Xiao Fengxian as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guard, and Xiao Zhangnuo as the deputy commander-in-chief, with 20,000 elite soldiers as the vanguard. The remaining troops were divided into five divisions as the main army, with 1,000 noble sons as the hard army, and 100 officials as the guard army, marching out of the Luguangkou Pass. He also appointed Doudianjian Xiao Hulügou as the commander-in-chief, and Chai Yanxue, a scholar of the Secretariat, as the deputy commander-in-chief, leading an army of 30,000 Han infantry and cavalry to march south towards Ningjiang Prefecture.

  The result was that the vanguard had not yet reached the border when news arrived that Huanglong Prefecture had been breached. Then a letter from Zonghan arrived, but the Emperor of Liao did not finish reading it before he became enraged and tore up the letter, ordering the Northern Chancellor Shao Di to be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Expedition, to pacify the rear, and then issued an edict to personally lead the campaign.

  Ouyang Xiu immediately got the content of the imperial edict, and upon seeing the two sentences "The Jurchen rebels have gone too far, the great army will eliminate them", he thought to himself: "The Liao ruler has finally made up his mind to annihilate the Jurchens. Not only does he want to kill all the Jurchens, but also won't spare any Han people, Khitans or Balhae people who have surrendered to the Jurchens! But this doesn't leave any room for retreat for the Jurchens, it will only make the various tribes within the Jin borders unite against a common enemy."

  Ouyang Xiu's acumen for political intrigue was not inferior to that of Yang Yung-chi. After twice entering the Liao capital and hearing about various political changes over several decades, he had already sensed a certain atmosphere: under severe external threats, the Great Liao might simultaneously erupt in internal turmoil. Ouyang Xiu's antennae had yet to penetrate deep into the inner workings of the Liao state, but he still relied on his understanding of the interests and positions of various powerful officials to predict what might happen next. In the end, he focused his thoughts on Yelü Chong.

  Yelü Chún was the paternal uncle of Emperor Yelü Yanxi of Liao, and the most powerful contender for the throne of the Great Liao. The current emperor, Yelü Yanxi, had ascended to the throne as a grandson, his father having been forced to commit suicide in a political struggle forty years prior. At that time, Yelü Yanxi was still just a child, and it was Yelü Yixin, the powerful minister who had driven his father to death, who controlled the government. Yelü Yixin had once strongly advocated for Yelü Chún to succeed to the throne, sparking a considerable controversy at the time. Although Yelü Chún ultimately did not ascend to the throne, Ouyang Xiu believed that ambition, once having had an opportunity to flourish, would find it difficult to remain calm thereafter.

  However, all of this was just speculation on Ouyang Xiu's part, and he could not get in touch with more central figures in the Liao state, so he had no way to judge what Yelü Chong's true thoughts were, let alone push for events to happen.

  "What a pity!" Ouyang Shi thought to himself: "If my power in Liao Jing were greater, and my foundation was deeper, perhaps I could have destroyed the great army of Daliao without losing a single soldier or general!" As he thought about this, his blood surged with excitement. Using spies and traitors to destroy a country and establish a new one - that's something even Cao Guangyi and Xiao Tiennu couldn't do! Faintly, Ouyang Shi seemed to see some direction for his future. However, this foresight was still very vague, because up until now, Ouyang Shi still didn't count as a major figure.

  After the Liao ruler left Liaoyang, Ouyang Xiu knew that staying longer would not be of much value, so he followed Zhao Guan's advice and left. However, he did not return to Ning but instead went to Chenzhou, Ningzhou, and Suzhou. Chenzhou is not far from where the Liao River enters the sea, Ningzhou is in the central part of the Liaodong Peninsula, and Suzhou (this Suzhou is not the same as the one in Jiangnan) is at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. In these places, there were several "pirate dens" that frequently appeared.

  Ouyang Yi found his cousin, Ouyang Duo's son Ouyang Guo, and contacted a group of pirates. He knew that among the merchants active in the northern part of the East China Sea, the Ouyang family was at most second in terms of strength, with the Huang family, rooted in Quanzhou and Mingzhou, ranking first, far surpassing the Ouyang family in strength. The Huang family had done something big forty years ago, which was to facilitate the resumption of relations between the Song Dynasty and Goryeo.

  However, Ouyang Yi still didn't want to meet Huang Jia's patriarch, Huang Lü. At present, the Han Department's prestige was limited to the Hunjiang River Basin, and for a large family like the Huangs in Donghai, they might just be a force that could be ignored.

  "The Huang family, and the Chen family, Lin family... Let's talk about these when we become a true vassal state. " Ouyang Shi knew that these merchants were like bees, as long as the Han department had enough sweetness, they would come swarming without needing to be sought out."

  At this time, the attention of the Liao State was mainly focused on the northeast, and its control over the Liaodong Peninsula had obviously weakened, so the pirates in this area were all active. Ouyang Shi spent a lot of money to ask Ouyang Guo to help him recruit vagrants along the coast, and bought an old sea ship that was not too big or too small from the Ouyang family. He stepped onto the sea ship with great excitement, looking at the vast ocean he had been away from for two years, smelling the sea breeze, and feeling the sea waves, it felt like a child who had been weaned for two years smelling the milk fragrance again.

  Ouyang Shu had been in the Han Department for a long time, often interacting with Di Yu, Cao Guangyi and others, deeply influenced by their learning and military tactics. He was no longer the simple pirate he used to be, so he had some insights into selecting people and training troops. He carefully examined the dozens of people he recruited, dismissing more than ten troublemakers and keeping only thirty people, choosing a relatively strong and agile sailor Cao Xiaocai as their leader.

  Cao Xiaocai saw Ouyang Shi waving gold like dirt, and he took himself so seriously, gradually returning to his senses. One day, he asked: "Young Master Ouyang, you recruited us and trained us in this way, but it doesn't seem like you're going to do business with the Song Dynasty or Goryeo, rather, you are training a navy!"

  Ouyang Yi smiled and said: "Naval forces? Have you ever seen the training of naval forces?"

  Cao Xiaocai said: "Six or seven years ago, I was in the naval forces in Quanzhou. Later on, the officials above were too corrupt and my comrades couldn't take it anymore, so we set sail to find a new way of life. At first, I worked as a bodyguard for someone, but later when I had some money, I started doing some shady business on my own. Two years ago, my boat was capsized by the waves, and I drifted ashore holding onto a wooden plank. With no more boats, my comrades were gone, so now I make a living by fishing."

  Ouyang Shi was overjoyed and asked him some questions about naval training, but there was nothing particularly new or interesting - his father had also been in the Song Dynasty's navy and knew its ins and outs, having told Ouyang Shi all about it before. Ouyang Shi said: "You've been a sailor and you've been a pirate, so I suppose your connections are pretty good. Do you know of anyone around here who has some ability but is down on their luck?"

  Cao Xiaocai said, "I have an old brother named Gao Yaoshi. He also has a boat and over a hundred men under him. In the past, we often sailed together. However, two years ago, we encountered a big storm together - he was luckier than me, his boat wasn't lost, but it was badly damaged, and all the goods were ruined, so he couldn't sail far out to sea again. He had to turn his ocean-going boat into a fishing boat, occasionally catching some passing shrimp to make a living - but without a good boat, this business is hard to do, and as a result, his days are getting worse and worse, and most of his men have run away. There are also many of his old subordinates on our boat now."

  "Can you find him now?" Ou Yang sighed.

  Cao Xiaocai said: "His current lair is less than twenty nautical miles from here, Mr. Ouyang, if you trust me, I'll set sail now and bring him over."