The fighting continued.
Calling it a fight was inaccurate. It was more a one-sided crushing.
In fighting spirit, unit coordination, weapons and equipment…
The escorts dominated the water bandits in every aspect.
At first, the third-in-command had led some resistance, but later even he fell into despair.
More and more water bandits began jumping off the cliff voluntarily.
After all, below was the open sea. If luck held and they landed feet-first, there was still a slim chance of survival.
Against the escorts, they saw no path to life.
The battle began before dawn and ended when the sun fully cleared the horizon.
Of the more than a thousand water bandits on Crab Pincer Island, some were slain, others driven over the cliff.
Only the chief remained alive, delivered by Han Feng to Jin Feng.
“Mr Jin, I was wrong! I know I was wrong!”
The chief, terrified by the escorts’ ferocity, began kowtowing frantically the moment he saw Jin Feng, begging for mercy.
His forehead thudded against the stone with loud bangs.
“Enough, stop that.” Da Liu kicked him over. “Our sir has questions for you.”
“Ask anything, sir. Whatever this humble one knows, I dare not conceal.” The chief raised his hand in immediate assurance.
“Who ordered you to move against Zhen Yuan Escort Agency?” Jin Feng asked.
“Adviser Liu,” the chief replied quickly. “Adviser Liu said Madam Tang was the chief steward of Jin Chuan Chamber of Commerce and must carry many water jade pearls. If we robbed her, we would strike it rich!
I was blinded by greed and agreed…”
“Have you captured this Adviser Liu he mentions?” Jin Feng asked.
“No,” Han Feng shook his head.
He had truly been unaware of any Adviser Liu before.
When Jin Feng told him to seize the bandit leaders, he had simply kept the chief alive.
“Adviser Liu is not on Crab Pincer Island. He went ashore a few days ago on business and has not returned.” The chief added hastily.
“Tell me everything about this Adviser Liu.” Jin Feng said.
The chief dared not hold back. He honestly recounted Adviser Liu’s background.
Jin Feng and Han Feng exchanged a glance. Both understood this Adviser Liu was the mastermind.
Or rather, a pawn sent by the true mastermind.
“Do you know Adviser Liu’s origins?” Han Feng asked.
“Adviser Liu said he was a fallen scholar who offended nobles in the prefectural city, lost all prospects, and came to join us on the Mangdang River…”
At this point, the chief finally began to catch on. “What do you two mean? Is there something wrong with Adviser Liu?”
“At least you are not hopelessly stupid. On the brink of death, you finally see clearly once.”
Han Feng sneered. “This Adviser Liu was using you Mangdang River bandits as his blade!”
“As his blade?”
Images of his time with Adviser Liu flashed rapidly through the chief’s mind.
He had never considered it before, but with Han Feng’s prompt, the chief gradually pieced it together.
Adviser Liu had indeed constantly urged them to oppose Zhen Yuan Escort Agency.
The thought that Han Feng might be deceiving him crossed the chief’s mind, but he dismissed it himself.
Now a prisoner with all his men dead, Han Feng had no reason to lie.
“Liu Changyun, I curse you to die a wretched death!”
The chief pounded the ground with his fist, filled with regret.
But there was no medicine for regret in this world. What use was remorse now?
“Where did Adviser Liu go after going ashore? Do you have hideouts on the mainland?” Han Feng asked.
“Yes, Liu Changyun disembarked at Cool Water Village. Go catch him quickly!”
The chief knew he would not live. His only remaining hope was to drag Liu down with him.
“Describe Adviser Liu’s appearance and features, the clothes he wore when leaving, and all your hideouts on shore.”
Though Jin Feng knew catching Liu now would be difficult, he intended to try.
The chief promptly revealed everything he knew.
“General Zheng, I am afraid I must trouble you with this matter.”
Jin Feng turned to Zheng Chiyuan.
Jin Chuan Chamber of Commerce’s trade reached only as far as Jiangnan. In the East Sea, they were strangers. Finding one man would be exceedingly hard.
“A trifle.” Zheng Chiyuan agreed at once.
“Then many thanks, General Zheng.”
Jin Feng cupped his hands and asked, “By the way, General Zheng, who governs this island?”
“A barren island. It has always been pirate territory. Who would govern it?” Zheng Chiyuan shook his head.
In recent years, Da Kang’s population had dwindled. Vast tracts of land in the heartland lay fallow. No one cared about barren islands unfit for crops.
An idea stirred in Jin Feng. “In that case, may I claim this island?”
“Pirates can occupy it, so naturally sir may.” Zheng Chiyuan asked curiously. “But what would sir want with a barren island?”
“We suffered such heavy losses this time precisely because we cannot fight on water. Zhen Yuan Escort Agency will often navigate the Yangtze in future, and may even expand trade overseas. Thus, I wish to train a force capable of naval combat.”
Jin Feng concealed nothing and spoke truthfully.
His ambitions had never been limited to Chuan Shu, nor even to Da Kang.
Overseas trade was something he would pursue sooner or later.
That would certainly require personnel skilled in maritime warfare.
In fact, Jin Feng had long harboured plans to build a navy, but training one was far harder than raising land forces, and Chuan Shu lacked suitable locations. The idea had been postponed until now.
This water bandit incident had dealt him a sharp wake-up blow, strengthening his resolve to establish a naval force.
Crab Pincer Island, ringed by mountains on three sides, formed the perfect natural sheltered harbour.
Zheng Chiyuan nodded upon hearing this and smiled. “All islands here are ownerless. General Jin may claim whichever he wishes, but there is one thing I must mention.”
“What is it?” Jin Feng asked.
“In recent years, Japanese pirates from the east have grown increasingly bold. Occasionally, golden-haired foreigners appear too. When they come to Da Kang, this is a route they must pass. The general should remain cautious.”
Zheng Chiyuan warned.
“Golden-haired foreigners too?” Jin Feng started. “What is their skin colour?”
Asians rarely had golden hair. His first thought was of Europeans.
“Skin colour?” Zheng Chiyuan paused before grasping Jin Feng’s meaning. After thinking, he said. “Their skin is much like ours, but their eyes are different. Blue, like ghost fire, and very high-bridged noses.”
“Blue eyes, high noses…”
Jin Feng was now certain Zheng Chiyuan meant Europeans.
Sailors were often tanned by sun and wind. Even white people could darken.
But eye colour did not change.
This gave Jin Feng his first real sense of crisis.
Da Kang’s industry was so backward, yet Europeans could already sail to Asia.
That meant their shipbuilding technology far surpassed Da Kang’s.
What Zheng Chiyuan said next nearly made Jin Feng leap in shock.
“Oh yes, those golden-haired foreigners’ ships are strange too. Dozens of zhang long, yet the deck cabins are very low, and they rig three great masts…”
