“Rest assured, Zhu Ping’an won’t kill us. After all, we’re the first pirates to willingly bind and surrender a pirate leader to him. You’ve heard the saying about spending a fortune to buy a horse’s bones, haven’t you? As long as Zhu Ping’an is clever—and he is—he absolutely won’t kill us. Brother, tell me, is Zhu Ping’an a clever man?”
The trusted pirate spoke with full confidence.
“If he’s not clever, who is? He’s the top scholar, the smartest man in the land. A genuine top scholar! Have we not suffered enough at his hands? Take this time, for example—we didn’t even see their faces, and he’s already decimated us, leaving barely a few alive.”
The other pirate replied without hesitation. Though Zhu Ping’an was their enemy, he didn’t dare underestimate him.
Truth be told, he’d never met anyone smarter than Zhu Ping’an.
Neither Leader Maye nor Leader Xu Hai could compare—otherwise, how could they have suffered such heavy losses at Zhu Ping’an’s hands?
“But we’re pirates, after all. Whose hands aren’t stained with the blood of common folk? Can Zhu Ping’an really spare us? These officials always claim to love the people like their own children. Zhu Ping’an may be clever, but is he an exception?”
The pirate still had doubts, uneasy about Zhu Ping’an, fearing their surrender might lead to their heads being lopped off.
“Don’t worry, Zhu Ping’an definitely won’t kill us. Yes, our hands are stained with the blood of common folk, but sparing us can prevent even more bloodshed. Any clever man would know which is the greater good. Besides the reason I mentioned, let me give you a few more reasons why he won’t kill us,” the trusted pirate said with absolute certainty.
“Tell me quickly,” the other pirate urged eagerly.
“First, though our hands are stained with blood, you know the principle of atoning for crimes through meritorious deeds, don’t you?”
“That makes sense. Go on, keep talking,” the pirate nodded, urging him to continue.
The trusted pirate continued confidently, “Second, we’re offering him Leader Maye. Do you know what a massive achievement that is for Zhu Ping’an? Last time, under Suzhou’s walls, Zhu Ping’an captured our Leader Chen Dong, and that propelled him from deputy judicial commissioner of Zhejiang to Right Vice Minister of War and Governor of Zhejiang—a rare and powerful regional governor! Leader Maye is just as significant as Leader Chen Dong. Imagine the rewards Zhu Ping’an will receive! Such a huge merit is our gift to him. By reason and sentiment, could he possibly kill us?”
“Hmm, that holds up,” the pirate nodded, finding the second reason quite convincing.
“Third, we’re of great use to Zhu Ping’an,” the trusted pirate continued.
“What? Us, useful to Zhu Ping’an?” The other pirate shook his head. “What use could we be? We can fight a bit, but compared to the Zhejiang army’s firearms, we’re insignificant.”
“We’re absolutely useful. As the saying goes, know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose a battle. We’re seasoned pirates who’ve followed Leaders Maye, Xu Hai, and Chen Dong, raiding and establishing Tuolin as our stronghold for years. We know every blade of grass, every tree, every river, and every hill in Tuolin like the back of our hands. We also know everything about the pirates in Туоlin, about Leader Xu Hai, and their dealings with the true Japanese pirates. This is invaluable to Zhu Ping’an. Plus, we’ve made connections in Tuolin. If Zhu Ping’an attacks the Tuolin pirates in the future, we can contact our allies there to act as insiders and aid him. With all these uses, for the sake of the bigger picture, he won’t kill us,” the trusted pirate added, providing two more reasons.
The other pirate couldn’t help but nod. He understood the logic, but he still worried that Zhu Ping’an might not play fair and execute them.
Seeing his companion’s concern, the trusted pirate added fuel to the fire. “Do you know who formed the original core of the Zhejiang army?”
“Weren’t they the Yiwu recruits?” The pirate stroked his chin, uncertain. He only knew Zhu Ping’an had recruited heavily in Yiwu, and most of the Zhejiang army were Yiwu soldiers.
“No, the Zhejiang army’s original core was a group of mountain bandits that Zhu Ping’an recruited through amnesty.”
The trusted pirate said slowly.
“What? The Zhejiang army’s core was mountain bandits?” The other pirate’s jaw dropped in shock.
“Is that true? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” he asked, incredulous.
“Why would I lie? Ask around, it’s no secret. Remember the great disaster last time? We survived thanks to overseas aid, but a group of mountain bandits, desperate and starving, tried to rob Zhu Ping’an’s relief grain. They fell into his trap, and he offered them amnesty, using them as the foundation for the Zhejiang army,” the trusted pirate explained.
“Is that so?” The pirate stroked his chin again.
“Bandits rob and plunder—do you think their hands are clean? Do you believe villagers just handed over their goods because they looked handsome? Of course not! Their hands are just as bloody as ours, if not more so. Yet Zhu Ping’an offered them amnesty and built the Zhejiang army around them. We’re surrendering with Leader Maye, delivering him such a massive achievement, and we’re useful to him. Could Zhu Ping’an possibly kill us?”
“If Zhu Ping’an can offer amnesty to bandits, why not to pirates? Are bandits somehow nobler than us?”
The trusted pirate fired off two rhetorical questions.
The other pirate’s eyes lit up. With the precedent of Zhu Ping’an offering amnesty to bandits, he felt reassured.
If Zhu Ping’an could amnesty bandits, he could amnesty pirates. If he’d done it once, he could do it again.
Seeing his companion wavering, the trusted pirate pressed on, “Throughout history, how many times have amnesties been granted? Haven’t you heard of the Water Margin? The Song emperor offered amnesty to the heroes of Liangshan, granting them gold and official posts. Sure, the leader, Song Jiang, was eventually given a poisoned cup, but that’s because he was the head of the rebels. The court couldn’t rest easy otherwise. The rest of the Liangshan heroes became officials, enjoyed wealth and honour, and the court didn’t touch them. We’re just small-time pirates, not leaders. We don’t need to worry about the court going back on its word—we’re not significant enough.”
“And closer to home, the court brought in foreign troops to suppress us, with the most famous being the Guangxi Wolf Soldiers. Do you know about them? They were originally rebels who killed officials and rose up. The court sent troops to crush them, but after a few battles, seeing their fighting prowess, they offered them amnesty. Now they’re proper soldiers, eating the emperor’s grain. With so many examples, are you still worried?”
The trusted pirate’s lips curled slightly, his gaze encouraging as he looked at his companion.
“You’re right. You’ve convinced me. Let’s surrender to Zhu Ping’an and seize a chance at wealth and glory.”
The pirate gritted his teeth, making up his mind.
