Chapter 726 - Borrowing Soldiers
These negotiations were still in progress. The Portuguese Municipal Council in Macau had some interest in the Guangdong authorities' proposal—after all, protecting their trade with China was their paramount concern. The Australians' bold entrance into the Pearl River mouth, sailing past and firing salutes, had also made the Portuguese feel unprecedented threat.
These so-called "Australians" in Lingao, while so far not directly harming Portuguese interests—besides granting a few ships India-Lingao trade privileges, they hadn't made major moves in overseas trade. Their dealings with Chinese in Guangdong were mostly in basic commodities the Portuguese had no interest in: grain, cotton, and various bulk cargo like minerals, metals, and timber.
Overall, the Portuguese and Lingao's Australians kept to their own lanes, even finding mutual benefit. The Australians sold the Portuguese large quantities of high-quality, cheap industrial goods, enabling them to profit handsomely in various resale and distribution markets. The Portuguese also sold much "Indian merchandise" to Lingao. This gave the Portuguese—who had despaired of opening the Chinese market—great interest in the Australians. Perhaps if they could establish stable trade relations, they might open a sales channel to Australia.
However, the Australians' crushing defeat of Ming forces at Lingao, followed by their fleet entering the Pearl River, had alarmed the Portuguese. The Australians clearly weren't content to remain holed up in a remote backwater as mere pirates or merchants. They had grander ambitions.
Among the Chinese in Guangdong, a vague rumor had reached Portuguese ears: the Australians were Chinese who had left for overseas centuries ago. They had returned to reclaim their ancestors' thrones, titles, and fiefs.
Gelaazzini received updates every few days on the negotiations—unsurprisingly. The Ming intermediary sent from Guangdong was Li Luoyou, who had studied at the Jesuit mission as a youth. Though he had his own residence in Macau, he still visited familiar priests at the mission every few days.
Li Luoyou didn't hide his purpose or the negotiations' content. In Macau, the Jesuits wielded enormous influence over the Municipal Council. He believed keeping the Jesuits informed could only help.
Li Luoyou had been shocked by the Ming authorities' attack on Lingao. He had not expected the government to act so rashly—hadn't they thought to send scouts first? He reflected regretfully: if they had just sent someone to observe, this war might have been avoided, preserving more of the government forces' strength. In his assessment, Guangdong's armies were absolutely no match for the Australians. He knew that without numerical advantage, Ming soldiers couldn't handle even the Portuguese—a patchwork force of various peoples. Let alone Australians whose weapons and training were ten times superior.
When Guangzhou's merchants and gentry fell into a scramble over Purple Letter franchises, and many merchants broke off trade with the Australians for various reasons, Li Luoyou had quietly continued his Lingao trade. Ship after ship of medicines, metals, grain, and fabric went to Lingao, returning with Australian goods. This continued until government forces blockaded the Qiongzhou Strait. This trade made his Qionghai Company branch in Lingao enormously profitable, greatly surprising Gu Baocheng, who was managing his first business venture.
Among Li Luoyou's enterprises, Qionghai barely ranked. But he treated it as a crucial foothold. It was also Gu Baocheng's first property to manage—Li Luoyou even considered it the starting point for the Gu family's restoration. So his investment there was quite generous.
He had spared no expense buying a large plot in the East Gate Market's newly developed area. Part was built up with the Qionghai Company building; the rest, he instructed Gu Baocheng to hold without immediate use or sale.
"Isn't leaving such fine land idle wasteful?" Gu Baocheng had asked.
Li Luoyou told him to find some vegetable farmers to lease the empty land for gardening. In Lingao, this was highly profitable—the large non-agricultural population in industry, administration, and military needed enormous quantities of vegetables as side dishes.
"Growing vegetables isn't just for extra income," Li Luoyou taught. "It's to avoid gossip! Good land left fallow growing weeds—others won't think anything special, only that we're wasting heaven's gifts."
"I understand, Uncle."
"That you recognized land shouldn't lie idle shows good instincts." Li Luoyou praised him.
Just before the government began blockading the Qiongzhou Strait, an informed Li Luoyou dispatched a secret courier to Lingao. With the military expedition against Lingao making such noise, the Qionghai staff were all on edge, constantly urging Gu Baocheng to return to Guangzhou to wait out the storm.
"The master says if you feel the situation is dangerous, returning is acceptable. He absolutely won't blame you," the messenger said.
"Tell the master," Gu Baocheng said confidently, "the Australians will have a hard fight, but the government forces will never win."
The messenger reported Gu Baocheng's words exactly to Li Luoyou. Li Luoyou silently nodded—this boy's vision was still a bit lacking, but at least he wasn't just parroting others. He had formed his own judgment—and not a bad one.
He Cheng's total annihilation at Chengmai, then the siege at Qiongshan—none of this surprised Li Luoyou. Even when Li Fengjie quietly sent for him, asking him to serve as envoy to negotiate military assistance in Macau, he felt no surprise. The Governor's rash expedition was bound to fail. Afterward, someone had to clean up—and that someone would naturally be Li Fengjie.
Li Fengjie was Li Luoyou's greatest patron in Guangdong. Li Luoyou handled many of the Governor's business affairs, including investments and loans. He also fronted many enterprises in which the Governor had invested—pawnshops, overseas trade, smuggling, and other lucrative businesses that officials couldn't openly participate in or that had unsavory reputations. Their collusion ran deep. When Li Fengjie had wanted to compete for the position of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Li Luoyou had immediately wired five thousand taels to the Governor's office in Beijing as bribery funds.
Such connections were no small matter. So when Wang Zunde fell ill, Li Fengjie emerged to manage Guangdong's defenses while secretly arranging peace negotiations—and enlisted this "business partner" to approach the Portuguese about joint Pearl River defense.
"I'm sure you've heard, my friend." Li Luoyou said when receiving He Chengzong, who had come rushing overnight to Foshan. The visitor's expression was grim. "The crop-heads have entered the Pearl River! They're raiding and killing everywhere! Dongguan, Xin'an, Shunde, Nanhai—all counties are panicking three times a day..."
"They've taken the Bogue?"
"The Bogue fortress fell in just two days." He Chengzong was both dejected and uneasy. "A complete rout." He briefly described the Bogue battle. When mentioning Australian "ships and guns," Li Luoyou was secretly shocked—from the account, the Australians hadn't deployed their great iron ships or iron fast-boats. Just fifty or sixty ordinary sailing ships plus some smoke-belching self-propelled small craft had taken the Bogue with its multiple batteries and hundreds of cannon positions, routing two thousand government troops.
He hadn't imagined Australian naval power to be this overwhelming! Li Luoyou had secretly felt pleased about Guangdong's defeat—a fitting lesson for those arrogant officials. But now he worried—if the Australians were this strong and now hostile to the Ming, they might become another Jurchen threat!
"The master has an important task for you." He Chengzong whispered. "Only you can handle this. Once successful, the master will reward you generously!"
"I don't deserve such reward." Li Luoyou noted his secretive manner, knowing this must be important—and probably related to the Australians. Perhaps they wanted him to negotiate peace? He whispered back: "What does Your Excellency wish me to do?"
"This matter cannot be known to outsiders." He Chengzong continued.
"Rest assured!"
Only then did He Chengzong quietly reveal the purpose. Li Fengjie wanted him to personally travel to Macau and get the Portuguese to send forces to blockade the Pearl River mouth.
"...The Portuguese in Macau have seven or eight city-sized great ships, bristling with cannons. Even crop-head warships would have difficulty prevailing." He Chengzong said. "The crop-heads are now rampaging on the river, but all their gunpowder and shot must be transported a thousand li from Lingao. If the Portuguese cut off their supply, the crop-heads will run out of ammunition and have no choice but to withdraw."
Li Fengjie chose Li Luoyou as envoy first because he was a trusted confidant; second because Li Luoyou had deep connections with the Portuguese; and finally because Li Luoyou was a merchant—not an official or member of his staff.
Asking Portuguese help was essentially inviting foreign intervention. If censors and remonstrators learned of it, there would be an enormous scandal. Only someone like Li Luoyou—with absolutely no official background—could be sent, allowing officials to plausibly deny and disavow if information leaked. After all, he was genuinely a "civilian"—not even a "temporary employee."
Li Luoyou pondered silently. This was very tricky. Whether the Portuguese would agree was completely uncertain. As someone very close to the Portuguese who understood their thinking, he knew they wanted to protect their trade, but their commitment and capability were questionable. Also, since the Portuguese had settled in Macau, Sino-Portuguese relations had been rocky at best—toleration rather than harmony. Calls to expel the Portuguese from official circles had never ceased. Especially recently, rumors were everywhere that Inspector Gao intended to expel the Portuguese and ban trade—detailed and vivid. The Portuguese themselves had heard.
Asking the Portuguese to send forces under such circumstances—how they would react, he couldn't predict.
"This is extremely tricky." Li Luoyou decided to speak frankly. "Inspector Gao's memorial has become common gossip. The Portuguese surely know. If they ask about it, how do I respond?"
"Just say there's no such thing."
This was ridiculously childish! Li Luoyou thought. Inspector Gao's memorial couldn't be groundless. Simply denying it—if the Portuguese later learned the truth—wouldn't Ming officials look like complete liars?
"This... won't it greatly embarrass the authorities later..."
He Chengzong smiled blandly: "When did the authorities say any such thing?" His expression was quite self-satisfied.
Li Luoyou stared in disbelief—he now completely understood He Chengzong's meaning. The statement wouldn't come from any Guangdong official, but from him, their representative. And Li Luoyou wasn't "official," so the government technically wouldn't be lying. When the truth emerged, officials could simply deny any connection to Li Luoyou.
These people were thinking far too absurdly! Treating lying as strategy! And from He Chengzong's smug, shameless manner, having a mere merchant tell a few lies clearly didn't seem like a big deal. Li Luoyou felt suddenly cold.
"These scholars—they've all studied their books into dogs' bellies. Shameless schemes pour out endlessly." Li Luoyou was furious inside. But his expression remained serene, showing only a slight smile: "This... isn't quite proper, is it?"
He Chengzong still looked pleased: "What's improper? You're just a merchant. Even if you misspeak a few words, what difference does it make? Handle the immediate problem first."
"Ha ha, ha ha." Li Luoyou laughed along. His reputation was built on "integrity." If he deceived the Portuguese this time, his standing in Macau's business world would collapse. So this "substitution" lie was absolutely unspeakable.
If the Portuguese really asked about Inspector Gao's memorial, he would simply say he knew nothing about it. Let them judge for themselves. Guangzhou was full of people willing to sell anything for foreign silver. They would find the truth on their own.
After He Chengzong departed, Li Luoyou seriously considered this mission. Of course, unless he wanted to stop doing business in Guangdong, he couldn't refuse Li Fengjie's request. And he would have to try to succeed.
Though he was the Australians' business partner, he felt the Australians had gone too far this time. Disrupting Guangdong would only further weaken the already severely debilitated Ming body. In his view, the Australians should stay in Lingao selling Australian goods. The Portuguese might not achieve quick success, but applying some pressure could be useful.
The challenge was that this was nearly impossible. The Portuguese might patrol with warships to maintain commercial interests and try to expel the Australians. But their naval power—considerable in East Asia, enough to make pirate Liu Xiang wary of attacking Portuguese ships—was hopelessly outmatched by the Australians. Just one of those four fast-boats appearing at the Pearl River mouth could single-handedly defeat all Portuguese naval forces in Macau. Of this he had no doubt.
Regardless of Portuguese capability, the government was supplicating for help without offering any beneficial terms to the Portuguese. Ming senior officials had a "never forget who dug the well" mentality, always seeing themselves as the well-diggers. In Li Fengjie and his staff's view, the Portuguese residing in Macau was purely Ming's benevolence. If the Portuguese wanted to stay, they must serve Guangdong authorities unconditionally.
If they couldn't understand this, the bureaucrats were prepared to threaten them into understanding.
In other words, this wasn't equal negotiation but continuous "if you don't cooperate, you'll suffer" threats.
Of course, threats were a negotiating tactic—as long as one was powerful enough to carry them out. But threatening a potential ally when desperately needing help was problematic. The Macau Municipal Council would certainly want to know: if we spend military funds and deploy warships to antagonize the friendly Australians, what do we get?
After much thought, Li Luoyou could only use the Portuguese's core concern—maintaining China trade—as his persuasion: if they wanted to preserve Macau's position as Ming's sole foreign trade gateway, they must maintain Pearl River shipping security and ensure safe passage of vessels.
Li Luoyou's proposal from the Guangdong Governor was immediately brought before Macau's Municipal Council for discussion. Portuguese elites and guild leaders debated at length, forming two sharply divided opinions.
Though the Portuguese disliked the Ming government, this government had granted them a trading post and—thanks to its xenophobic policy of avoiding foreign merchants—effectively handed them a monopoly on China trade. If the Australians and Ming fell into prolonged warfare, Portuguese trade throughout the Pearl Delta would become unsustainable. So calls to help Guangdong authorities against the Australians ran high.
But others argued that Ming was a poor trading partner. They constantly restricted Portuguese trade—limiting what goods could be purchased, in what quantities, how much cash could be carried—even forbidding hiring or purchasing local servants in Guangdong. There were constant calls to expel them from this tiny colony. Some even felt this "arrogant" government deserved a "profound lesson"—if the Australians were willing to administer it, the Portuguese had no reason to intervene. On the contrary, the Portuguese might leverage their neutral position as intermediaries between the two sides for even greater advantage.
Note: The Qing-era Guangdong provincial government did once request military assistance from the Portuguese in Macau against pirates. The Portuguese did deploy naval vessels in joint operations with Qing naval forces.
(End of Chapter)