nucmednet Chapter 219 Deputy Commander of Nan'ao
Chapter 219 Deputy Commander of Nan'ao
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Gao Jie beat his chest and stamped his feet: "General, I shouldn't have made that bet with you. The fighting spirit of these Ming soldiers is so low, it's a disgrace to the military! Even a few hundred farmers with a wooden stick could hold out longer than them!"
"Haha, that's because you don't understand them. Don't use the standards of the Qiongzhou Army to judge these soldiers who can't even get enough food and pay."
Liu Ye laughed as he disembarked. Lin San brought an old-looking officer to him and said, "General... Chief Steward, this is the Deputy Commander of Nan'ao." Although he had been instructed beforehand not to use the usual title but to use the pirate's usual tone, Lin San almost blurted out "General" because he was used to saying it so often.
"Holy crap!" Liu Ye looked the man up and down in surprise. "He's supposed to be a deputy commander-in-chief, how can he act like this?" Back when He Rubin, the commander-in-chief of Guangdong, was suppressing Bofu, he was surrounded by a large entourage and had a large number of soldiers under his command. He was so glorious. This deputy commander-in-chief of Nan'ao is only half a rank lower, but the difference is like heaven and earth.
The old man replied awkwardly, "Good sir, I'm actually only forty-four years old this year. It's just that life on the island is too hard, and we don't know where our next meal will come from, so I look much older..."
As he spoke, he secretly sized up the "chief manager" before him. Judging from his demeanor and bearing, he seemed more like an official than a pirate. And then there were his men, all armed with muskets—more skilled than government soldiers. When did pirates ever have such professional musketmen?
Although I don't understand why this group calls themselves pirates or what their intentions are, I'm at their mercy, completely at their mercy. Whatever they say goes. Even if they call themselves bandits from northern Shaanxi or Tartars from Liaodong, I have to go along with them.
Liu Ye asked, "Deputy Commander, may I ask your name? How come a deputy commander like you has so few men under his command?"
The old man replied respectfully, "In response to your question, sir, I am Tang Baicai, the local deputy commander-in-chief, in command of the Guangdong and Fujian battalions. As for why I have so few troops, that's a long story..."
It turns out that although two battalions were set up on Nan'ao Island, each with a strength of 1,560 men, totaling more than 3,000 men, the superiors did not pay much attention to the defense of this place. In addition, the allocation of food and pay was jointly handled by Guangdong and Fujian provinces. Officials from both places often shirked responsibility and tried to get the other to share more, resulting in less than half of the food and pay being allocated each year. This was not enough to support 3,000 men, let alone 1,000.
Even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice. He spent his days racking his brains trying to get provisions from his superiors. Before long, at only forty, his beard and face were completely white, and he looked like a sixty-year-old. Even so, unable to endure such hardship, the young and strong soldiers deserted Nan'ao Island to seek their own lives on the mainland. Now, only a few hundred remained, mostly the old, weak, and disabled, with nowhere to go. They could only supplement their livelihood by collecting "stopping fees" from merchants who stopped for shelter and supplies.
"With so little silver, there's no guarantee we'll even collect it," Tang Baicai complained bitterly, trying to gain the sympathy of the "hero" and perhaps soften his heart and stop bothering him. "Powerful sea merchants have many strong men under their command who have seen blood, and we might not be able to beat them. Only small merchants, who go out to sea alone with no one under their command, will hand us some silver to buy us safety and replenish our water and vegetables."
Liu Ye was speechless. This was the first time he had ever seen soldiers in such a miserable state, not even much better off than the garrison households.
He couldn't help but ask Li Feicheng, "Didn't you stop your ship here before? How come the deputy commander of Nan'ao has been reduced to a mere platoon leader and you didn't even know?"
Li Fei sighed: "I'm just a small merchant with one or two ships, as he described. I paid some money for peace of mind, and I've never fought a war with them. Who knew I would be so easily defeated?"
Liu Ye thought about it and realized it made sense. Back then, he only had a few dozen men under his command, so there was no need for him to confront the government troops head-on. Naturally, he couldn't test the true strength of this seemingly strong but actually weak deputy commander.
Tang Baicai tentatively asked, "May I ask which group you are, and what brings you to Nan'ao Island?"
Liu Ye smiled and said, "We are managers under Liu Xiang. We are just passing through your island and would like to stay for a few days. Do you have any objections?"
Tang Baicai shrank back, forcing a smile, "No...no objection." Though he said this, he didn't believe it: This is ridiculous! Such neat attire, such powerful firearms, and these identical ships built from the same mold, along with the earth-shattering cannons—where do they look like pirates? If Liu Xiang had a few managers of this caliber under his command, they would have already surpassed Zheng Zhilong and dominated the Fujian and Guangdong regions. Why would they need to hide and avoid landing in Fujian and Guangdong, instead running off to Dongfan Island to collude with the red-haired devils?
He grumbled inwardly, while Liu Ye pondered. The so-called deputy commander of Nan'ao was far weaker than he expected. Since he could so easily control the island's officers and soldiers, why not make good use of this geographically advantageous island? If it were used as a temporary military base for the Qiongzhou naval force, it would be extremely convenient to fight Liu Xiang in Taiwan, the Dutch, or Zheng Zhilong in Fujian. Even after completely seizing maritime supremacy, using it as a permanent military base to control the Taiwan Strait wouldn't be out of the question. Using Qiongzhou as a base and establishing a naval base near Fujian and Taiwan would be tantamount to greatly expanding one's sphere of influence—the United States did this extensively in later generations, with military bases all over the world, from Asia to Europe, and with the support of carrier strike groups, countries and cities worldwide were within its strike range.
But all that is for later. Right now, ensuring the success of "Operation Tiger Fight" is the most important thing. Liu Ye waved his hand, "Deputy Commander Tang, as long as you behave, I won't make things difficult for you. We're going to do a big deal in a couple of days, but the target hasn't appeared yet, so we'll have to stay here for a few days. Hurry up and find us a place to stay."
Upon hearing that they weren't there to cause him trouble, Tang Baicai immediately agreed: "No problem, I'll have someone clean up the barracks and make room for the hero."
The guards and fleet sailors moved into the South Australia barracks without any apparent trouble. Fortunately, the barracks, which originally housed over three thousand people, were large enough to accommodate several hundred more. To prevent any accidents, the guards disarmed the island's soldiers, leaving them with nothing but sticks. These soldiers, however, were quite open-minded, showing no shame or remorse. Instead, they diligently served these "heroes," not only catching seafood daily but also providing them with vegetables grown in their own camp.