Chapter 409 - First Arrival at Nanri Island

When the timer was up, he began using the coal gas flame to gradually heat the tail end of the glass tube, causing it to gradually fuse into a cord and then naturally break off. This procedure required great care. The glass tube couldn't have the slightest crack, or all previous efforts would be wasted. Xiao Bailang's dark glasses were almost touching the flame head, sweat dripping down from under his work cap.

"Done!" With Xiao Bailang's loud shout, a complete, shiny thermos bottle flask was finally born. It was carefully placed into a rattan-woven thermos bottle shell and secured.

"Pour in boiling water!"

Mo Xiao'an saw that all the workers were soaked with sweat on their backs. The thick cotton work clothes had sweat stains seeping through. The heat from the furnaces and annealing kilns in the workshop raised the temperature to nearly 50 degrees. The only cooling measures were the ventilation windows in the roof and two large wooden barrels at the door—filled with oral saline solution and kuding tea prepared by the pharmaceutical factory.

"Too hard." Mo Xiao'an sighed.

"Factories are all like this." Xiao Bailang gulped down a large cup of tea and swallowed a salt tablet. "The pharmaceutical factory also brought over a lot of heat-relieving medicine. Furnace workers rotate every fifteen minutes. There won't be any incidents."

After an hour, Mo Xiao'an poured out water from the thermos bottle—the water was still scalding. Using an industrial thermometer to measure, the temperature had barely dropped.

The insulation test results were satisfactory. Mo Xiao'an was greatly encouraged and ordered people to bring many barrels of kvass from the food factory to distribute to the workers as a reward. The indigenous workers didn't really understand what use this laboriously made item had, but seeing Mo Xiao'an so happy, they knew something good had probably been made, and everyone laughed along.

"Make some more wide-mouth thermos bottles."

"Just need to have the machinery plant open a few more mold sets." Xiao Bailang readily agreed.

"Manager Lin, please—"

The little pirates standing by the ship's railing made a respectful "please" gesture. Lin Baiguang steadied himself, placed his hand on the pirate's arm, and calmly stepped from the deck onto the gangway.

The gangway was crudely built and swayed when stepped on. Seawater rushed and crashed below, splashing spray. The bay of Nanri Island was densely packed with ships with lowered sails. It was now dusk, and wisps of cooking smoke rose from many ships.

Lin Baiguang finally, for the first time in his life, saw a real Ming Dynasty pirate stronghold. In the summer sunset, the bay was filled with an endless array of ships, masts like forests, sails like clouds.

Countless ships of all sizes lined up from the shore to the end of the bay. Lin Baiguang was almost stunned. In modern times, he had never seen so many ships at once. How could the scene before him not astonish him?

This wasn't a modern industrial society—it was an era where everything had to be done by hand. How much manpower and resources would it take to build such a fleet!

Such a fleet, setting sail, could establish a new nation wherever it went! The Chinese had expanded on land to the limits that agricultural peoples could survive, yet they stopped short at sea, always lingering near the coast, never taking that crucial step.

While sighing, Lin Baiguang's eyes revealed a greedy look. Pity that such an enormous fortune would soon disappear from the sea: either turn into blazing torches on the water or be swallowed by Zheng Zhilong. Thinking of this, an urgent feeling enveloped him.

Most of the ships were small coastal fishing boats or cargo ships of forty to fifty tons, crudely built. They looked no different from the ordinary fishermen's boats he had seen in Lingao. Only occasionally were there larger ships of over a hundred tons mixed in, and even Western-style sailing ships. Lin Baiguang noticed that almost every ship had cannons of various sizes and styles, set up or tied onto the decks in various ways. The pirates sat quite casually by the cannons eating, smoking. There were even women and children on the ships.

This large settlement-style pirate group was truly a rare sight.

Suddenly, a woman's scream came from one of the ships. Looking toward the sound, he was startled: he saw a woman tied naked to the ship's side, and a wiry pirate was viciously whipping her bare back, buttocks, and thighs with a seawater-soaked whip. With each lash, the woman let out an ear-piercing scream, desperately twisting her body against the wood.

On the ship, men and women, old and young, were unconcerned, going about their work or smoking.

Because of the distance, Lin Baiguang could only vaguely hear the man's scolding: "...Who do you think you are? Pretending to be virtuous, look where you are! See if I don't beat your stinking c*nt raw. Still acting coy with me..."

This scene, rich in S&M flavor, made Lin Baiguang shudder—he reminded himself that these were the people he had to deal with. They were almost completely unrestrained by any law or morality, with not a shred of mercy in their hearts.

Shi Shisi led him ashore. Unlike what he had imagined, the pirates on Nanri Island had built no kind of stockade or fortress. On shore were some ships pulled up onto the beach for repairs. The pirates had put up some grass sheds as temporary shelters. Obviously, the pirates didn't think anyone could charge ashore and directly threaten them—the fleet was their fortress.

Because Lin Baiguang had already changed into Ming-era clothing beforehand, he didn't attract much gawking. Walking along, he saw several open spaces enclosed by makeshift fences of broken wood and stones, with pirates carrying knives, spears, and cracking whips standing guard on all sides. Inside, many people—men, women, old, young—either squatted or lay. There were wealthy people in silk brocade and poor people in rags. After squatting in this place exposed to wind and rain for ten days or several months, many had already lost all color in their faces and were filthy beyond description. Several corpses hung from wooden stakes outside the fences, apparently dead, covered in flies.

Outside the fence was apparently a graveyard, shallowly buried, emitting a nauseating stench.

"This is the Ticket House." Shi Shisi said. "Hostages captured from various places are all kept here."

"Why bother capturing such poor wretches?" Lin Baiguang feigned surprise.

"When raiding ashore, who has time to sort the poor from the rich? Grab everyone first and sort them out later." Shi Shisi said.

"If they can't pay ransom, what's the use of capturing them?"

"Same as you Australians—to do work." Shi Shisi laughed. "We're not as clever as you, able to make so many exquisite goods. But there's plenty of odd jobs in the big gang. Having some unpaid hands around is convenient."

Those captured who couldn't pay ransom were all put to work, from gathering firewood, cooking, repairing ships, to hauling water—nothing was off-limits. They slept outdoors and ate sporadically—the pirates didn't care whether these captives lived or died. If they could survive a few months without dying, the chief might show mercy and release them. If the gang was short on men, they would be pressed into service as pirates.

Women with any looks were used to satisfy physical needs. Once everyone tired of them, they were sent to the mainland to be sold, or sometimes to Southeast Asia—Chinese merchants doing business in Southeast Asia could take local women as partners, but women from China were more favored—fetching good prices.

Lin Baiguang followed him past the Ticket House. In the distance, he saw a complete stockade on a small hill by the sea, flying Zhu Cailao's banner. He was startled—this stockade was so neat and orderly! But walking closer, he saw that the stockade walls had collapsed in many places, and some buildings inside had also caved in. Looking at the watchtowers and flagpole bases on the walls, he realized this was originally a Ming military water fortress that had been abandoned for a long time before being occupied by pirates.

Around the stockade, many sheds and tents were densely set up, probably the quarters for Zhu Cailao's trusted subordinates and various bosses. Pirates carrying swords and bamboo pole spears became more numerous. Lin Baiguang knew they were probably nearing Zhu Cailao's headquarters.

The group headed toward the abandoned Ming fortress. Along the way, they kept encountering small patrolling groups of pirates. Compared to the refugee-like pirates they'd seen on the beach, these looked more capable, showing they were getting closer to Zhu Cailao's central army.

However, even with Lin Baiguang's unprofessional eye, Zhu Cailao's shore camp didn't seem particularly impressive. At a glance, it was clearly haphazardly arranged without any plan. The sentry posts and patrols were quite casual, and defenses at many points were very lax—all appearance, no substance.

Such a seemingly mediocre pirate force had repeatedly landed, penetrated deep inland to rob counties, and was mostly unstoppable. Either his strongest forces weren't on Nanri Island, or his opponents were truly terrible. Lin Baiguang thought the latter was more likely.

Assessment of Ming military combat capability had always had two extremes in the transmigrator group. One view was that they were utterly useless, with visions of a few hundred armed men sweeping through Guangdong and even taking Nanjing. The other view was that no matter how bad the enemy was, they were still regular troops, while no matter how strong they were, they were amateurs—victory wouldn't be possible without full body armor, AK-47s, or Maxim machine guns.

Now it seemed that at least the Ming troops of Guangdong and Fujian were nothing to fear. Forces at Zhu Cailao's level could run rampant through Guangdong and Fujian provinces, leaving the Ming military helpless. Given the equipment, training, and discipline of Lingao County's Security Regiment, defeating ten-to-one might not happen, but defeating three or four times their numbers would be no problem at all.

After walking a while longer, though still at some distance, in the clear sky Lin Baiguang could clearly see the large banner on the stockade embroidered with the character "Zhu," beside which flew another flag embroidered with "Commander of Three Armies."

So the pirates also flew Ming military flags. Lin Baiguang was speechless. It seemed that even rebels like bandits and pirates had a weakness for worshipping the establishment.

Arriving at the stockade gate, Shi Shisi stopped. After saying a few words to the guards, he turned back:

"Manager Lin! Please wait here for a moment. Allow me to go in and announce you." Shi Shisi said. "If the Big Boss is in the stockade, he'll see you soon."

"Go ahead." Lin Baiguang nodded. Shi Shisi gave some instructions to those around him and went in on his own. The little pirates brought out a table and chairs, invited him to sit, and brought a bowl of tea.

Lin Baiguang saw that the tea bowl was chipped, with a ring of grime around the rim. The tea was murky yellow—who knew what it tasted like. Forcing down his disgust, he took a big gulp, even smacking his lips in a satisfied manner.

The tea was bitter and astringent, with a salty, fishy taste of seawater. Yet Lin Baiguang said: "Finally got to drink some tea!"

The pirate who delivered the tea smiled: "Whether the tea is good or not, we don't know. The water here is so salty and bitter that we couldn't drink it without adding some tea leaves."

Although Nanri Island had fresh water, it couldn't sustain over ten thousand troops gathered there. Drinking water was a daily problem for most people, who could only dig wells wherever they were. On such a small island, the groundwater was somewhat infiltrated by seawater—barely enough to get by.

The gate-guarding pirates didn't know who he was, but Lin Baiguang had been brought by Shi Shisi, clearly someone of status. His attire was neither wealthy nor lowly, yet he exuded capable energy. Everyone figured he was probably a fellow traveler from some other faction. They were therefore somewhat more courteous: recently the Big Boss's days weren't good; a fellow traveler arriving was probably here to discuss an alliance.

Lin Baiguang intentionally engaged them in conversation. Having been an office director, he was particularly good at sweet talk and managing interpersonal relationships. He had his own gift for gab. Soon he was chatting with the several guards like old friends.

Very quickly, Lin Baiguang learned some things from these few little pirates: the fleet gathered here was basically all of Zhu Cailao's assets. Apparently, the Big Boss was going to lead them to "pull off a big job." What big job, they didn't know. Lin Baiguang knew—obviously, it referred to the attack on Min'an.

Lin Baiguang didn't inquire about sensitive matters like ship numbers or troop counts. He felt those weren't worth concerning himself with. What he wanted to grasp was the pirates' morale and supply situation. To pull people away during the army's collapse, that was what truly mattered. From the fragmentary bits of conversation with the pirates, he could sense their morale wasn't high—gathering this huge crowd together created enormous logistical problems for food and daily necessities. To supply grain and vegetables, they had to dispatch fleets daily to scrounge. Even so, some ships occasionally ran out of food. Some smaller groups, finding eating difficult and water access inconvenient, had already come and gone, drifting away.

"Only we in the central army here eat and drink without worry. Sometimes we even get meat. The other small groups have meals only hit or miss—they can only catch fish to eat every day." One pirate said proudly.

This kind of idle boasting went on for who knows how long. Just when Lin Baiguang had drunk his fourth bowl of tea and was about to give out, loud conch horn sounds suddenly came from the central army camp.

"The Big Boss is holding court!" the sub-leader said. "The Big Boss probably wants to see you immediately."

As the conch sounds echoed through the camp, suddenly many small groups of pirates appeared, swords drawn, rushing toward the stockade walls and lining up along both sides of the road.

This was putting on a welcoming display. Lin Baiguang thought to himself.

On the good side, it was respect for him as an envoy. On the bad side, it was intimidation. Perhaps both, depending on how he handled it.

Looking at the bustling, chaotic scene before him, Lin Baiguang felt deeply moved. He had pushed aside all objections, risking his life alone to come here, all to infiltrate the pirate group from within. Zhu Cailao, this sea hawk commanding the seas, probably never dreamed that his purpose in coming was actually to undermine him—

Just as he was thinking, several neatly dressed pirates came running down the road from the main gate. Arriving nearby, they called out loudly: "Would the fellow traveler who has arrived please identify himself?"

From their call, Lin Baiguang guessed that Zhu Cailao didn't want news of his arrival to leak out. As for why he was doing this, he didn't yet understand. He could only play it by ear.

Lin Baiguang cupped his hands: "It is I!"

That sub-leader returned the bow, then said: "Fellow traveler, our Big Boss invites you to rest at the old camp first! Please!"

So pirates also called it the "old camp"—was this term common in Ming dynasty armies?

Lin Baiguang nodded and bid farewell to the guards at the gate with a bow to all four directions: "Brothers, many thanks for your hospitality! Until we meet again!"

Everyone hurriedly and respectfully cupped their hands in return. They all felt this fellow traveler handled matters impressively, with impeccable manners—they just didn't know which road's hero he was.

By the time they reached the old camp gate, two rows of troops had already lined up outside to welcome Lin Baiguang's arrival.

These men were neatly dressed with gleaming weapons, looking very fierce—clearly Zhu Cailao's elite trusted followers. Compared to the refugee-like pirates seen along the way, they were worlds apart.

The weapons in the hands of the pirates lining both sides of the road glinted in the sunlight. One look conveyed an overwhelming aura. They all held standard Ming military long spears and wore Japanese katanas at their waists. Cold faces featured pairs of fierce eyes, shooting terrifying glares.

Under the wolf-like stares of the pirates on both sides, Lin Baiguang walked onto the road leading to the central army. That wordless pressure was indeed frightening—in the past, when Lin Baiguang saw such scenes in TV and movies, he thought they were just for show. Only when experiencing it firsthand could one feel the terror. At one point, his face went somewhat pale, feeling like he couldn't breathe.

Just at that moment, Shi Shisi, who had gone in earlier to announce him, came running out, calling loudly: "Will the honored guest please enter!!"

Lin Baiguang steeled his nerves—having come this far, fear was useless. He couldn't help but close his eyes and pray silently to heaven:

"Transmigrating predecessors struggling in various timelines, transmit your protagonist aura through space-time to me!" After silently praying several times, when he reopened his eyes, he felt energy throughout his body. Behind him seemed to appear a faint halo with two large characters written on it: "Protagonist."

"Lead the way, please!"

After following Shi Shisi for a while, a camp gate appeared on the road ahead. A pirate by the gate shouted:

"Visitor, remove your sword!"

"I don't have one." Lin Baiguang said calmly. "Would this brother like to search me?"

"No need, no need!" Shi Shisi hurried over to negotiate. Having accompanied him all the way, he knew this Manager Lin was completely unarmed, bare-handed through and through.

(Chapter End)