Chapter 704 - Plans for Peace Negotiations
If the Portuguese were willing to dispatch ships to patrol the Pearl River Estuary, the crop-head vessels would face great difficulty trying to enter the inland waterways.
"However, there's the matter of His Excellency Gao..." another advisor said quietly.
Guangdong Regional Inspector Gao Shunqin was still insisting they must "fight the crop-heads to the death." Gathered around him were hardline isolationists and strict maritime prohibitionists from officialdom and the literati. In the past, their targets had been the Portuguese at Macau; now they aimed at the Australians. Of course, the Portuguese hadn't been forgotten—amid all this chaos, Gao was still routinely memorializing the throne, demanding that the Portuguese be prohibited from entering Guangzhou to trade.
"I've heard Regional Inspector Gao's memorial has already been dispatched," said the advisor who specialized in gathering intelligence from various yamens and offices. "I'm afraid this matter cannot be reversed."
"Might we approach grandees in the capital to delay this matter? If we can drag it out for two or three years, it will fade away on its own."
"To accomplish that would require at least ten thousand taels," He Chengzong said gravely. "Moreover, the Portuguese mustn't learn of it."
One advisor blurted out: "That makes things difficult!"
Under normal circumstances, leaking the news would likely prompt the Portuguese to pay the expenses themselves. Anyone handling the matter could easily pocket two or three thousand taels in the process.
But the current situation was delicate. The Portuguese themselves probably sensed that Guangdong officialdom needed their help. With cards in hand, expecting them to provide both troops and money was pure fantasy.
Li Fengjie certainly wasn't about to produce ten thousand taels himself.
He heaved a deep sigh. He had discussed this matter privately with Gao Shunqin multiple times, but never reached agreement. Gao Shunqin's attitude was extremely rigid—which greatly displeased Li Fengjie. As he saw it, Gao Shunqin was merely a Regional Inspector; military success or failure wasn't particularly his concern. His bellicose posturing was pure posturing for reputation. And once the court truly prohibited Portuguese trade, how much interest the Portuguese would retain in defending the Pearl River Estuary's security became very uncertain.
"However, even without dispatching someone to work the capital, it will take until next year at the earliest for the court to reach a decision," He Chengzong said. "The Portuguese can't possibly learn what's happening in the capital. As long as we maintain strict secrecy on our end, they'll still exert themselves."
Another advisor interjected: "Though the Portuguese can't reside in the city, many here have benefited from them. This matter probably can't be kept secret."
"We'll simply have to deny everything!" Li Fengjie sighed. To this end, he strictly ordered that no one should leak this matter to the Portuguese. He also instructed the Xiangshan County Deputy and County Magistrate that if the Portuguese asked about this, they must state unambiguously: "Pure rumor."
He decided to immediately send someone to contact the Portuguese while simultaneously intensifying the tribute-and-peace efforts. Li Fengjie's biggest headache was the lack of any intermediary for negotiations. The Purple Firm in Guangzhou would have been ideal, but at the height of the suppression campaign, the Purple Firm had been confiscated as "rebel property"—all goods seized and sold, all real estate seized pending disposal. The once-bustling Ziming Tower and Huifu Street now stood cold and empty, not a soul to be found.
Besides the Purple Firm's proprietors, the Gao family would be most suitable. After all, they were the Australians' agents. But the Gao family proved quite shrewd, repeatedly telling the Governor's yamen advisors who visited that Master Gao Ju had gone to Jiangnan on a purchasing trip. He wasn't in Guangzhou at present; whatever the matter, they could discuss it when he returned.
That slippery fellow! Li Fengjie cursed silently. Gao Ju's refusal to step forward showed he found the situation still unclear and didn't want to stick his neck out. Besides, regarding the disposition of the Purple Firm's properties, the Gao family had grievances with Guangzhou officialdom. He was plainly standing on the riverbank watching the waters rise.
As soon as Guo Yi and the others withdrew, Nanhai County had immediately sealed all Purple Firm properties—instantly attracting countless covetous hands. The most eager was Tian Da. He pestered Guangzhou Prefecture day after day, demanding that these "rebel properties" be sold to him.
Since Lü Yizhong had accompanied the army to Qiongzhou, Tian Da had found no one in officialdom to run errands for him and had lain low for a while. But upon hearing that Director Guo, Miss Pei, and the rest had all fled—leaving only real estate, equipment, and fixtures behind—his fury knew no bounds. Of course Tian Da knew the Purple Firm could mint money daily because of the Australians' management. Now everyone had fled—not just the Australians, but even their assistants and craftsmen. What use were empty buildings, brand names, and mysterious machines nobody knew how to operate?
He had guaranteed his master this Guangzhou trip would yield tens of thousands of taels plus a grand Australian establishment offered in tribute. Now there was nothing. How could he explain things to his master? He might even be expelled from the household.
Tian Da understood perfectly well how precious his status as a servant to the Tian imperial affines was. Given his many crimes and sins, the moment he lost the Tian household's protection, he would immediately be hounded to death.
Using his connections, Tian Da harassed Guangzhou Prefecture and badgered Nanhai and Panyu Counties, forcing the prefectural and county yamens to send people to make arrests for him. The officials of the one prefecture and two counties couldn't bear his pestering, so they randomly arrested some assistants and craftsmen to placate him. All knew nothing useful whatsoever, infuriating Tian Da so much that he scurried from yamen to yamen daily, clamoring to "purchase" the Purple Firm's properties.
Guangzhou's officials and magnates all felt there was no point in antagonizing this petty villain, so none competed with him. Gao Ju had originally intended to let Tian Da have the valuable Ziming Tower building while purchasing the Huifu Street residence, shops, and workshops himself. This way, after the Australians secretly returned, everyone could continue their partnership. He would gain both the Australians' gratitude for preserving their property and seize partial ownership of the Purple Firm in the bargain.
Unexpectedly, Tian Da proved insatiably greedy—not only wanting to occupy Ziming Tower but also to swallow all of Huifu Street's properties whole. Gao Ju knew his Eunuch Yang's palace status and power couldn't compare to the ascendant Consort Tian's, yet he was unwilling to simply retreat. This wasn't just about commercial interests—everyone knew Director Guo was his business partner. If he couldn't effectively protect his commercial partner's interests, the Gao family's reputation in business circles would suffer greatly.
Gao Ju therefore personally called on Li Fengjie, hoping the Provincial Governor and Guangzhou officialdom would assist him. Naturally, he promised substantial benefits.
But Li Fengjie was unwilling to antagonize Tian Da over this, much less antagonize Tian Hongyu. Every official knew the most frightening thing wasn't supervising censors but the mouths in the palace—a few careless words spoken at any moment could plant the seeds of disaster.
Knowing he couldn't contend with Tian Da, Gao Ju reluctantly let the matter drop.
Thus the former Purple Firm properties fell into Tian Da's hands without suspense. However, Li Fengjie had left himself a way out: he instructed the Guangzhou Prefect that while promises could be made, there was no rush to process the deed transfers and other formalities—just "drag things out."
"Understood," the Guangzhou Prefect replied. "But so long as Tian Da doesn't get the deed, he'll come make trouble every day. How long shall I drag this out before proceeding?"
"You can process when the dispatch arrives reporting General He's troops have entered Lingao," Li Fengjie instructed privately. "For now, just drag it out."
Li Fengjie reflected: Fortunate indeed that I hadn't transferred the Purple Firm properties to the Tian family yet! Otherwise, negotiating appeasement now would be ten times more troublesome. As it stood, it wasn't too late—the Tian family still wasn't the owner of record.
As for Tian Da continuing to make trouble, Li Fengjie wasn't concerned. Setting aside how the Australians obviously bore burning hatred for Tian Da—once they returned to Guangzhou, he would certainly meet his end. Even if the Australians proved magnanimous enough not to bother with him, others would voluntarily handle him on the Australians' behalf.
The immediate problem was finding someone who could serve as intermediary. This person absolutely couldn't be an official, and preferably not one of his own advisors either—lest news leak and implicate himself. Li Fengjie's advisors racked their brains for ages before finally thinking of Huang Shunlong.
Huang Shunlong was a gray-area figure in Macau—quite active in trafficking with pirates and selling contraband. Though Li Fengjie, as a high provincial official, wasn't well-informed about such matters, the local advisors and lower officials knew perfectly well. They knew Huang Shunlong had deep connections with pirates along the Guangdong coast. Presumably he wouldn't lack contacts with the Australians. Using him as intermediary should be a reliable and safe method. If the matter came to light, deflecting responsibility would be easiest.
Besides Huang Shunlong, Li Fengjie's people thought of a second option: the Qiwei Escort Bureau.
The Qiwei Escort Bureau's close relationship with the Purple Firm was no secret in Guangdong. It was precisely because Qiwei's Sun Kecheng had connected with the Purple Firm's Director Guo that the originally small escort bureau had grown within a few short years into a massive enterprise spanning carriages, boats, inns, and dockyards—both land and water operations.
After Guo Yi and the others fled Guangzhou, the Qiwei Escort Bureau hadn't suffered much damage—its service relationships with local gentry and high officials had created a substantial protective network. Of course, Sun Kecheng had spent over twenty thousand taels front and back greasing various palms—ten thousand of which were "voluntarily contributed" as "crop-head suppression military funds."
Li Fengjie had no doubt that Sun Kecheng was still secretly colluding with the crop-heads, passing information. Perhaps those mysteriously vanished Purple Firm assistants and craftsmen were under Sun Kecheng's protection. But this wasn't his concern. All that mattered now was that Sun Kecheng help him establish a channel—the ability to communicate with the crop-heads. Moreover, Qiwei was also a bargaining chip in negotiations. Didn't the crop-heads claim to be supremely trustworthy? Sun Kecheng and his escort bureau people could serve as hostages if needed.
(End of Chapter)