I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 598 Lamma Island

Chapter 598 Lamma Island

Looking at the silver on the ship, Liu Wei felt like he was dreaming! A full 25 taels of silver! Having been a pirate for so many years, Liu Wei had seen silver before, but the key was that even kidnapping a few wealthy merchants wouldn't bring in this much ransom. He hadn't had high hopes at first, thinking that getting tens of thousands of taels of ransom would be a blessing. He never expected Wang Wenzhou to be so generous, not only keeping all 50 taels of silver but also receiving half of the deposit before even releasing the prisoners.

Liu Wei always felt that Wang Wenzhou was a fool with too much money. Along the way, he kept thinking that after releasing these prisoners, he would launch another raid on Quanzhou Port in a few days. This business would be more profitable than robbing at sea.

Chen Yuanyuan couldn't understand why Wang Wenzhou gave the money so readily. She took a sip of wine, fed it to Wang Wenzhou, and asked, "Husband, why did you give them 25 taels of silver before even seeing the prisoners?"

"Haha!" Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "I'm digging a pit for them!"

"Huh?" Li Meibao quickly said, "Husband, are you giving them money or are you ripping them off? If that's the case, everyone would be happy to let you rip them off."

Wang Wenzhou reached into Li Meibao's clothes and said with a smile, "Think about it, they can get a hundred taels of silver just for capturing an ordinary soldier. That's not a small ransom, is it?"

Chen Yuanyuan pouted and said irritably, "Of course there are a lot! Husband, you know that officials in Fujian secretly call you a spendthrift."

Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, explaining, "If there is a war next time, the pirates will definitely want to collect more ransom. During the war, they will capture more prisoners. If someone dies, you won't get the money."

Wang Wenzhou laughed loudly, "On the battlefield, it's a fight to the death, but they're hesitant and only want to capture the enemy alive. They can't fully commit to the battle. They're destined to lose like this. I only spent 50 taels of silver to win this great battle, it's a great deal! And as long as we defeat the pirates, we can take back those 50 taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Chenggong exclaimed excitedly, "My godfather's strategic planning and decisive victories are truly admirable!"

Wang Wenzhou laughed and scolded, "You little brat, all you know is how to flatter me. Go and call your father and your uncle over, let's discuss the war."

"Father, please wait a moment, I'll be right back." Zheng Chenggong hurriedly left.

Wang Wenzhou hugged Chen Yuanyuan and kissed her, saying with a smile, "Yuanyuan, this fish is good today. Eat more. You were just injured, so you should nourish yourself. Also, be good from now on. If you see any unfamiliar small animals, don't hug or touch them. You're not some young master, why are you hugging them?"

Chen Yuanyuan quickly replied, "I know!"

A short while later, the Zheng brothers arrived in a hurry.

"This humble general pays his respects to Lord Wang!" The two brothers knelt down and kowtowed.

Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and said with a smile, "Xiaolong, Xiaohu, get up quickly. We are family. There's no need for so much formality in the future."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Zheng Zhilong quickly expressed his gratitude.

"Zheng Chenggong, quickly get stools for your father and uncle, come sit down and eat with us!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.

Zheng Zhilong quickly sat down and said respectfully, "Thank you, Your Highness, we have already eaten."

Wang Wenzhou took a sip of wine from Li Mei's mouth and said, "The reason I called you here today is to ask you, how can Liu Xiang, who is a Ming Dynasty citizen, be mixed up with the Dutch?"

Zheng Zhilong briefly explained his feud with Liu Xiang, but of course, he didn't dare tell Wang Wenzhou about the child's mother. Wang Wenzhou's reputation for womanizing was well-known. Zheng Zhilong was already firmly attached to Wang Wenzhou and saw no need to be cuckolded or sacrifice his own wife.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Since Liu Xiang has an irreconcilable personal grudge against you, then just kill him. I was initially thinking of recruiting him into the government."

Zheng Zhilong quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Lord Wang!"

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then asked, "How many men and how many warships does Liu Xiang have under his command? Where is his base located?"

Zheng Zhilong replied, "Your Excellency, this villain Liu Xiang has his base on Lamma Island, where he has taken more than 60,000 civilians, more than 20,000 elite soldiers, and more than 2,000 warships of various sizes under his control."

"Pfft..." Wang Wenzhou spat out his drink. Damn it! Are these pirates? This kind of military power is almost equivalent to a small country.

Chen Yuanyuan quickly wiped Wang Wenzhou's mouth with a handkerchief while complaining, "Just eat properly, why are you making such a fuss!"

Wang Wenzhou thought about it and realized that it wasn't surprising that pirates were so powerful. In his timeline, during the late Ming Dynasty, pirates led by Zheng Zhilong and his son had defeated Western fleets. Until the early Qing Dynasty, the Zheng family remained the dominant force in the South China Sea.

Wang Wenzhou asked, "Where is Lamma Island?"

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment, then quickly took out a map and pointed it out to Wang Wenzhou.

Wang Wenzhou looked around and realized that Lamma Island was next to Hong Kong. At that time, Hong Kong was still a small fishing village with not many people.

Wang Wenzhou then asked, "So, many of the 6 people on the island are family members of pirates who lack fighting ability?"

"Yes!" Zheng Zhilong nodded.

"Xiaolong, how many men do you have under your command? How many troops are there in Fujian?" Wang Wenzhou asked.

Zheng Zhilong replied, "My lord, I have over 10,000 men and more than 800 warships of various sizes under my command. In Fujian, we only have a little over 5,000 soldiers from the garrisons who are capable of fighting."

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and said, "In other words, even with the men I brought, it would be very difficult to defeat Liu Xiang."

Zheng Zhilong nodded with a wry smile and said helplessly, "Moreover, Liu Xiang has allied with the Dutch. If we attack Liu Xiang, the Dutch will not stand idly by."

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then asked, "How many troops does Guangdong have? Who is the governor of Guangdong?"

“Guangdong has not had a governor in recent years; it has been controlled by Zhang Jingxin, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi,” Zheng Zhilong replied.

Wang Wenzhou said, "Go and tell Zhang Jingxin to come see me."

"Pfft..." Zheng Zhilong was completely dumbfounded. Lord Wang, although you are also a governor-general, you are only the governor-general of Fujian. Zhang Jingxin is the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi. In terms of official rank, you two are of equal rank. How could he obey your orders?

Zheng Zhilong said with a wry smile, "This humble general is of low rank and little power. Even if I were to write a letter of divorce to Lord Zhang, he would not heed it."

Wang Wenzhou thought about it and realized that it made sense. He didn't have much of a relationship with Zhang Jingxin, and given his reputation in official circles, Zhang Jingxin might not even bother with him.

“Here’s what we’ll do: go and inform Zou Weilian to invite Zhang Jingxin to Fujian so we can discuss a joint operation to wipe out Liu Xiang in one fell swoop!” Wang Wenzhou said.

"Yes!" Zheng Zhilong nodded quickly in agreement.

Wang Wenzhou thought for a moment and then asked, "Xiaolong, if we attack Liu Xiang and the Dutch don't help us, what are our chances of winning?"

Zheng Zhilong thought for a moment and then said, "If it's a decisive battle at sea, your fleet, together with the warships I lead, has a 60% chance of winning. However, if Liu Xiang retreats to Lamma Island, our chances of attacking the island are slim."

Wang Wenzhou nodded. It seemed that only a clever strategy would work. If they attacked head-on, even if they won, the losses would be considerable.