Maye was fortunate and tough. After the four elderly physicians administered a potent remedy, treating him as if he were a dead horse they hoped to revive, about an hour later, Maye vomited half a litre of black blood…
Seeing so much blood, Zhu Ping’an thought Maye was done for. To his surprise, the four physicians clapped their hands, declaring that expelling the stagnant blood was a good sign.
Sure enough, less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after vomiting, Maye slowly regained consciousness.
Upon waking, the first thing Maye saw was Zhu Ping’an.
Startled at the sight of Zhu Ping’an, Maye struggled to rise, weak but gnashing his teeth with hatred. “What?! You dog-thief Zhu Ping’an! You dare invade my dreams? I’ll tear your flesh, drink your blood, and sleep on your skin to sate the hatred in my heart!”
“Insolent! How dare you disrespect the Lord Governor! You must be tired of living!” Hearing Maye’s curses and threats to devour Zhu Ping’an, Liu Dadao roared in fury, drawing his waist knife, ready to teach Maye a lesson he’d never forget.
Zhu Ping’an waved his hand to stop Liu Dadao, then smiled at Maye. “It’s not I who’s in your dream, but you who’s in my office.”
“What?! This isn’t a dream?!” Maye froze, looking around in disbelief, unwilling to accept reality.
“A dream?! Let’s see if this feels like one!” Liu Dadao stepped forward and delivered a resounding slap across Maye’s face.
The slap twisted Maye’s face to one side.
“You dare strike me?!” Maye glared at Liu Dadao, teeth clenched. As a pirate leader who once commanded tens of thousands, revered by all, even treated courteously by Xu Hai as “Brother Maye,” when had he ever been slapped? The humiliation infuriated him.
“You still don’t understand your situation?!” Liu Dadao backhanded him with another slap.
Zhu Ping’an didn’t intervene.
Treating captives kindly depended on the person. For a heinous pirate leader like Maye, not killing him outright was mercy enough. A couple of slaps? Even two hundred wouldn’t be excessive.
As long as he wasn’t killed, Maye’s fate was likely to be paraded in a prisoner’s cart to the capital for execution. The authorities in the capital would probably choose between waist-slicing, public execution, or death by a thousand cuts.
Maye’s forces in Tuolin had been nearly wiped out. Though only a day had passed, reports from Tuolin indicated Xu Hai had consolidated power, becoming the sole leader.
Maye had little value for recruitment.
Thus, his only remaining worth was to be sent to the capital as a captive for a substantial military merit. Of course, even if he died, his head could still earn merit, though it would be less than a living captive.
The two slaps, one forehand and one backhand, left Maye dazed but also snapped him into reality. He was no longer the mighty pirate leader commanding thousands but a prisoner under Zhu Ping’an’s control.
Still, he couldn’t fathom how Zhu Ping’an had captured him. They had escaped Zhejiang’s borders. What of Zhao Gou, Wang Tie, and the true Japanese pirate Matsushita Saburo? Were they captured together, or had something else happened?
At that moment, a guard stepped forward to report, “My Lord, the two surrendered pirates, Zhao Gou and Wang Tie, are begging for a physician to treat their injuries. I dare not decide and seek your instructions.”
Zhao Gou and Wang Tie, true hardened pirates, had survived drinking tainted well water and then endured a hundred military lashes. Zhao Gou remained conscious throughout the lashes, while Wang Tie fainted but awoke shortly after the punishment, both pulling through.
Before Zhu Ping’an could respond, Maye, newly awake, erupted in fury.
It all made sense now. Hearing the guard mention the “surrendered” Zhao Gou and Wang Tie, he understood everything.
How had he, having escaped Zhejiang, ended up Zhu Ping’an’s prisoner? Because of betrayal by those closest to him!
Damn Zhao Gou! Damn Wang Tie! Those treacherous, backstabbing curs! They betrayed me and surrendered to Zhu Ping’an!
It was obvious!
They must have surrendered to Zhu Ping’an, offering him up as a token of allegiance to secure their own advancement!
Damn them! Those disloyal beasts sold me out to climb higher! They deserve a thousand deaths!
The more he thought, the angrier he grew, until rage overwhelmed him. Spitting another mouthful of black blood, Maye roared, “Zhao Gou! Wang Tie! You treacherous villains! You dared betray me!”
“You sure can spit blood,” Zhu Ping’an remarked, tugging at the corner of his mouth. “They’ve abandoned darkness for light, seen the error of their ways, and chosen wisely…”
“You…” Maye spat yet another mouthful of blood.
Zhu Ping’an ignored him, asking the four elderly physicians to check Maye’s pulse again and prescribe medicine, then to treat Zhao Gou and Wang Tie’s lash wounds.
To prevent Maye from lashing out, Liu Dadao and Liu Mu held his shoulders while the physicians examined him.
“The stagnant blood has been cleared, and his life is no longer in danger. However, his organs are damaged, and recovery will be extremely difficult. He’ll need slow nurturing. His body will never be as strong as before, and weakness is inevitable. We’ll prescribe a herbal decoction to be taken daily for forty-nine days, after which he can stop and continue gradual recovery,” one of the physicians said after they conferred, writing a flowing prescription for the guards to procure and administer for forty-nine days.
“Take Maye away. Lock him in a solitary cell, guard him strictly, and administer the medicine daily as prescribed. If he resists, force it down,” Zhu Ping’an ordered, having Maye carried off to a cell. He planned to let him recover for a few days while interrogating him about the Tuolin pirates, squeezing out any remaining value before sending him to the capital.
While Zhao Gou and Wang Tie had surrendered willingly, their low rank in the Tuolin pirate hierarchy limited their access to high-level secrets. Maye, however, was a major leader, privy to far more valuable information.
To know the enemy and yourself ensures victory. Through them, Zhu Ping’an could learn the Tuolin pirates’ strengths and weaknesses, aiding future efforts to eradicate them.
Next, Zhu Ping’an clasped his hands to the physicians. “Please, gentlemen, take the trouble to examine the two men who received a hundred lashes.”
“Your Excellency is too kind. This is our duty,” the physicians replied, returning the gesture, happy to comply.
One of the physicians specialised in treating lash wounds. After examining Zhao Gou and Wang Tie, he provided a salve recipe, instructing them to prepare it, apply it for a month, and rest to recover.
