Chapter 152 Zheng Bao’s War and Peace
Although Zheng Bao was disappointed, he still gave Wang You the title of master - at least Wang You had good skills in managing copywriting and accounting books, and Zheng Bao also lacked such talents. [Read the full text] Then he took the money from the boats he had collected and moved around the offshore waters around Dianbai, robbing salt ships and coastal residents. He also went to the waters of Vietnam to participate in several maritime conflicts between the North and South Korea, and gained a lot of benefits. After hearing that Liu Xiang's fleet had left the Pearl River Estuary, he quickly led the fleet to Lantau Island, preparing to take advantage of this gap and rush into the Pearl River to make a fortune.
After he arrived on Lantau Island, he felt that many small groups of pirates had gathered here and there, and they were all ready to rush into the Pearl River inland to fight. The disastrous defeat of the officers and soldiers in Chengmai and Liu Xiang's sudden departure from the Pearl River Estuary gave them great hopes for wealth.
After Zheng Bao came to Lantau Island, he used his own strength to quickly integrate all the ships here. Now this improvised group has expanded to the size of 70 large ships. There were more than 200 sampans and more than 4,000 pirates.
Just as Zheng Bao was preparing to wait for the right tide and wind direction to rush into the Pearl River Estuary, the news of the arrival of the Australian fleet made him temporarily give up this idea.
The fact that the Australians built a pier on Hong Kong Island shows that they are determined to stay here permanently. And many ships were sent. Zheng Bao thought: If we don't establish an alliance with them, once the fleet enters the Pearl River, it will be very bad for the Australians to take advantage of the fire at the Pearl River estuary.
Either we can get an alliance from the Australians and the two sides sit back and divide the spoils. He would be willing to pay more blood; or, he would completely overwhelm the Australian fleet so that they would not dare to seize the territory.
It was with this consideration in mind that Zheng Bao sent Jin Cai. In addition to the attempt to test the Australians, there is also the intention to inquire about military conditions. In particular, we need to find out clearly whether Australia's most powerful "clipper" that does not require sails is coming?
He carefully asked his two confidants about the number of Australian ships, the number of cannons equipped on the ships, and the number of defenders on the shore. He was relieved to hear that the clipper did not come; and he sighed with regret when he heard that the Australians had more than fifty ships moored. It would be great if there were only ten or twenty Australian warships. Although most of the Australian warships look no different from those in Guangdong and Fujian, their navigation speed and firepower are far from what local ships can match. At the beginning, all the big shopkeepers wanted to send people to seize the ship because they took a fancy to their "fast ship". I didn't expect their sailboat to be so useful.
Especially the "quick cannon" on their sailboat. When fired, the sea will be filled with water in an instant, and enemy sailors will be wiped out from a distance of one to two hundred feet. If you have such a magical weapon, why can't you dominate the sea? ?
Zheng Bao has been itching to think about this idea. In his opinion, although the Australian cannons are said to be very sophisticated, they are nothing more than another copy of the red barbarian cannons. This kind of cannon is expensive and heavy, and it will explode on its own during battle. The best thing is the "quick artillery" that can shoot far and accurately, and can be fired continuously. If you can get a few of them and install them on a ship, you can sweep away the enemy.
"Master Wang" Zheng Bao saw Wang You coming into the cabin and hurriedly greeted him.
"This group of thieves is very loud." Zheng Bao, who has been going smoothly since becoming a pirate, couldn't bear this tone. "They actually want us to register all our soldiers and ships and send them over - isn't this guy surrendering? Even if he defected, Big gangs don’t bury people like this, right?”
Wang You looked at the "boss" without saying anything. Zheng Bao is not a fool - Zheng Bao is very cunning and cruel, but unfortunately he is only the highest level of toubob. In terms of knowledge and ability, he is not on the same level as Zhu Cai Lao and others. Even the second-level shopkeepers like Black Flag Lao Si are much better than him.
It's a pity that Mr. Zhu Cai has died in the battle in Nanri, and the shopkeepers under him are dead and surrendered. He himself has also been reduced to the position of being the master of this number one person. Wang You was very unwilling.
Not to mention, come to the Pearl River Estuary. Wang You thinks this is asking for death. The next step in the Pearl River Estuary Basin must be the focus of competition between Liu Xiang and the Australian group in Lingao - it is the place that everyone avoids. How can a small group like myself get into troubled waters so easily? Besides, this was originally Liu Xiang's territory. Although Liu Xiang's main force has moved to the Fujian waters, it does not mean that he will hand over this territory to others.
In Wang You's view, Zheng Bao's behavior was a "double offense" and offended both parties. It will definitely end in a bad death in the end.
But Zheng Bao felt very satisfied. He now holds the title of so-called Marquis of Guiyi and General of Ninghai in the Dali Dynasty. He feels like a "high official" and uses all kinds of fancy and obscure things in his clothes, flags and honors. This made Wang You despise him very much.
But at the moment, he can only hold back and not protect his subordinates. Zhu Cai Lao's subordinates wanted to be reused but were worried about them, so he spent a lot of effort to divide and guard against them. Wang You knew that he was the most popular among Zhucai's old men, and Zheng Bao looked at him very closely. If you are not careful, you may "fall into the water and die" inexplicably.
"Master Wang, tell me, what happened to this bandit? It seems that they want to monopolize the territory of the Pearl River Estuary." Zheng Bao said angrily.
Wang You coughed. The Australians arrived at the Pearl River Estuary and built a stronghold on Hong Kong Island. It was clear why they came. In fact, Zheng Bao didn't have much choice. He could either make enemies of the Australians and fight a battle, or he could sail away and leave.
In his opinion, walking away is the best option for the Zhengbao Group - even if the Australians have half as many ships, the Zhengbao Group will never be a match for the Australians. It is simply impossible to deal with the Australians without a huge numerical advantage.
Wang You just said a few reasons why "it is not appropriate to start a war", and he felt an impatient look on Zheng Bao's face - Zheng Bao obviously did not intend to leave, not only that, he also fired the Australian cannon idea.
"I said, Lao Wang, you are afraid of tigers in front of you and wolves in the back. Where did the pride you had when you were under the big shopkeepers go?" Zheng Bao patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "No matter how strong the Australians are, There are only forty or fifty boats, and there are no fast boats or iron boats. I think they are similar to our boats. He has powerful firearms. I asked the brothers to join him and join forces, and I will drown them."
He said with confidence: "If you want to say that the ship's cannon is powerful, of course he is the Australian. But when it comes to swords, guns, fists and kicks, I am the most powerful in Chinese Kung Fu. As long as I can get on the ship, no matter whether he is a real Kun or a fake Kun, there will be no problem on the deck." If you can’t use firearms, why don’t you just let us kill you at will?”
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"Then tell me, what's the difficulty?"
Wang You wanted not to mention how to get people onto the deck. Dozens of Australian ships were moored there. It was not necessarily that the people on them were all deaf and blind, waiting for the enemy to come up one ship after another. climb.
"Even if we can capture a few ships, if other ships show up, wouldn't it be a waste to attack them all together?"
"Well, what you said makes sense." Zheng Bao thought about it and it turned out to be true. But he immediately had a second thought:
The second thought is to capture the thief and capture the king. Zheng Bao planned to select a hundred brave men among the pirates and promised them a large sum of money. Then everyone carries a sharp blade. Then he pretended to go to the army and assassinated the Australian leader in front of the tent.
According to the descriptions of Jin Cai and others, although there were guards around the Australian tent, there were only forty or fifty people. Zheng Bao believed that as long as seventy or eighty people entangled these people, the remaining people could rush in and kill all the leaders inside.
Wang You just couldn't laugh or cry - this plan is more realistic than the previous one, but the possibility of success is that the Australians are all fools and will allow a hundred strong men to approach their own center casually without searching them first. .
Then Zheng Bao came up with several more "strategies." All were rejected one by one by Wang You.
"If the big shopkeeper is determined to make enemies of the Australians and obtain their ship's guns, there is only one word."
"What?"
The friend nodded, "The Australians and I are about the same strength. If we start a provocation rashly, even if we can win, it will be a miserable victory. Now we can only act according to the opportunity, and we will make calculations based on what the Australians do."
In fact, I just do nothing and wait for the opportunity. Zheng Bao said dissatisfied: "How long will this wait? When can we enter the Pearl River?"
"Entering the Pearl River is just a matter of effort. If we don't take care of the affairs of the Australians, there will be endless troubles."
"Well, what you said makes sense." Zheng Bao certainly didn't want to break into the Pearl River Estuary alone and leave such a fleet behind him.
"Brother, there is a way." Seeing the opportunity to interrupt, Jin Cai hurriedly came out and said.
"What method?"
He told Zheng Bao and Wang You that he had met Shi Shishi on the dock in Hong Kong.
"...Shi Shishi is now dressed as an Australian. If I hadn't dealt with him before, I would have guessed that the Australian was Shi Shishi."
Zheng Bao became interested: "Oh, what kind of official is he working for the Australians now? How many ships does he manage?"
"I didn't dare to ask. He is far away, on a boat on the pier." Jin Cai said, "With his line, we will have some clues about the big shopkeeper's affairs."
Wang You understood immediately: "Are you planning to bribe him?"
"That's right," Jin Cai said, "As the saying goes, people die for money, and birds die for food. Back then, Tarshish Shishi was just a second-class shopkeeper in a small company. He might not become a big shopkeeper under the Australians. Most of them would be just that. He only manages five or six ships. As long as the big boss is willing to pay a lot of money, he can't help but be tempted."
Whether he is asked to pull him out of the team, or to suddenly counterattack when the two sides are fighting, it is an excellent opportunity. Zheng Bao's eyes lit up. a! ~!
