Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 193: Chapter 30: Ripples of the Storm

Lin Yuanfu did not fully understand Li Yan’s intentions and only provided a rough translation. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, George’s eyes spun and he immediately expressed his long-standing admiration for Eastern culture, hoping that Li Yan could help him choose a Chinese name.

His slightly shrewd thoughts were not deep, but this was precisely what Li Yan had hoped to see. If he had been exchanging knowing looks with Old Man Lin and showing too obvious an enmity toward the Red Flag pirates, then Li Yan would have had no choice but to kill him after use to prevent future troubles.

Thus, Li Yan gladly gave him a Chinese name.

Surname Suo, called Suo Heier…

Boxes of cannonballs passed through the silvery portal of the “Heavy Cannon Regeneration Machine,” rolling along the conveyor belt to Li Yan’s front, adorned with smooth arcing cracks. Li Yan picked one up and carefully examined it, the split in the middle reflecting a crimson light.

“It’s cracked, not broken, right?”

“One shot will tell.”

Gu, as instructed, grabbed a modified cannonball, loaded it, and lit the fuse. Those around covered their ears.

Boom~ Boom~

A golden-red sphere burst from the muzzle and arced down onto the distant sea surface, creating a gourd-shaped cloud similar to a small mushroom cloud. The fireball was initially red but gradually became enveloped by black smoke, rolling into the sky.

“Wow~~~”

Everyone on the ship was stunned.

“Not bad,”

Li Yan nodded.

“But it’s too close, just over two hundred meters, far from enough. We need to find some good cannons.”

To transform ordinary gunpowder cannonballs into something with such power took ten minutes each. In Lantau Island’s gunpowder warehouse, there were about sixteen hundred gunpowder shells and over two thousand solid iron shots left. With this “Heavy Cannon Regeneration Machine,” it would only take a month or so for Li Yan to recreate the firepower of the Wrath. Of course, there was still a gap in range when compared to the Wrath.

Li Yan stole a glance at Lin Yuanfu and saw his expressionless face. This old man was not panicking, as after all, the government owned the world. If they paid attention, the naval firepower could be quickly established. No matter how sharp the pirates’ firearms or how bravely they fought, they were just a drop in the ocean compared to the manpower and wealth the government could mobilize.

George, no, Suo Heier burbled to Lin Yuanfu, explaining that this was a national treasure-level technology in Europa, worth as much as a medium-sized island.

Li Yan patted Suo Heier’s shoulder, “Once we get to Lantau Island, I’ll treat you to a drink, George, oh, I mean Mr. Suo.”

…

Three days after Li Yan broke through Humen, Guangzhou.

Ever since the government opened up trade, Guangzhou rapidly became the southern gateway for overseas trade in China. Ships crowded at the Xijiang River Mouth day and night without pause. Boss Street bustled with wealthy gentlemen and ladies, lively with nightlife every evening. On Xiguan Road, the elegant and magnificent buildings towered, where spices, tea, porcelain, opium, salt, iron, and erotic gadgets were frequently seen. Its wealth blossomed like flowers on brocade, unrivaled in its time.

How prosperous was Guangzhou? The tax revenue from Guangzhou alone accounted for more than forty percent of the nation’s total. The richest man in Guangzhou, Wu Wenci, visibly one of the heads of the Thirteen Brokerages, owned twenty-five million taels, equivalent to the total annual income of the national treasury. Last year, a fire in the silver repository of the Thirteen Brokerages melted the silver into the drains; the streams of silver expanded for miles, leaving onlookers dumbstruck.@@novelbin@@

To put it bluntly, early 19th century Guangzhou handled the world’s highest volume of cargo. It was the gathering place for a quarter of the world’s silver and one of the most thriving trading cities in the world.

The day was sunny, yet inside the Guangdong Governor’s office, it was so cold that it could chill your teeth.

Prince Gu Shan, who had inherited the military leadership and was also the stationed General of Guangdong, Aixin Jueluo Tabai, also known as Fulin, was the highest military commander in Guangzhou. Until Lin Yuanfu took over as Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Fulin was the head of this wealthy kingdom.

Hysterical curses and the sound of vases smashing to the ground could be heard from the study.

Tea porcelain shards scattered on the floor.

Below, stood seven or eight managers from the Guangdong Thirteen Hongs, men of enormous wealth who usually strutted about proudly but today were trembling like quails.

Fulin looked dignified, his eyebrows like glossy varnish, with a shiny forehead that made him appear in his forties. At this moment, he was gripping a report, his eyes nearly bursting.

The Red Flag Gang’s Tianbao launched a surprise attack on Humen, dispersing hundreds of naval soldiers, killing the commanding officer of Humen and the naval Governor Zhuo Huxing, plundering goods worth more than twenty thousand taels of silver, and then fleeing. At the same time, the whereabouts of the newly appointed Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Lin Yuanfu, who had been on a secret visit to Humen, along with his student Zhang Dong, were unknown…

“Your boss, Cai Qian, kept telling me that he would behave these days! He promised not to let that old man Lin spot any flaws. But what’s happening now? What’s going on with Humen? Where is Lin Yuanfu?”

The leading manager bowed deeply, gathering his courage to answer, “Sir, Tianbao is from the Five Flagsi Alliance, and he doesn’t mix with our boss Cai. They don’t interfere with each other’s business. We are in the shipping trade, but those from the Five Flags, they are… are… rebels.”

Another person, wiping sweat from his brow, stood up, “Mr. Cai has already personally led people to Lantau Island, and by all means, we must bring Lin Yuanfu back, so you can set your worries aside, sir.”

“Set my worries aside? What if Old Man Lin is dead? Can you produce another one for me? I’ve heard that Cai Qian’s family has worshipped the Fiery Cauldron Couple for generations, and they can turn lead into thousands of taels of gold, and herds of cattle and sheep. Can they produce a lively, hopping Lin Yuanfu for me?”

“Sir, you jest.”

“I’m not in the mood for jesting! I will definitely reclaim what’s owed to us by Humen, but before that happens, Cai Qian had better burn incense and pray, hoping that Old Man Lin is fine. If anything happens to him, I won’t be able to guarantee his safety, and the thirteen brokerages of Guangzhou won’t bear the name Cai any longer! Get out!”

Several managers left with apologetic smiles. The several large chests of silver and jewels they brought, a Tang Dynasty Dragon Spring Mage’s Vimalakirti illustration, a set of sixteen heliotrope agates, and twelve Ru ceramics, were laid out in the courtyard, and not a single person gave them a glance.

Fulin cursed and sent Cai Qian’s people away, stewing in anger alone in the Taishi Chair, muttering something under his breath.

The tea-bearing concubine in a red jacket, vivacious and charming, placed the tea down and signaled with her eyes for the servant cleaning up fragments to leave. She wrapped her lotus-like arms around Fulin’s neck, calling “master” in a voice so sultry it could make one tingle.

Fulin’s expression eased a bit, and he reached for the cup on the table.

“Didn’t you say last time that Old Man Lin was no good, that his coming to Guangzhou was nothing but trouble for you? If he really does die at the pirates’ hands, it would save us the effort.”

“What does a woman know! Do you think the two Judges in the Capital City, all the scholars and warriors of the full court are deaf? Blind? If Lin Yuanfu dies, I’ll have to go to the Capital City to confess my crimes immediately following! Think I’d ever come back in this lifetime? Hmph…”

The woman Fulin was scolding turned red around the eyes. He drank the tea greedily like a bull, and irritably waved his hand, “Go, get out!”

After the concubine left the room sobbing, Fulin stood up from the Taishi Chair. He glanced over the report a few more times, grinding his teeth, he cursed, “Red Flag Gang… Tianbao!”

…

“The esteemed British East India Company,” Guangzhou branch. A statue of Saint George on horseback stands in the middle of the garden. Huge clocks are embedded on top of the white marble rotunda.

Manager Albert from the Gagelda Trading Company headquarters was frothing at the mouth with frustration.

“I don’t care what problems have arisen here, Wrath has been missing for three days now, gentlemen. The last time seven huge ships were destroyed, it was during the struggle with France, and we emerged victorious from that. But this time, one of the Seven Huge Ships of Helun has vanished without a trace, along with a full cargo and hundreds of personnel including two managers. I want to know, gentlemen, who among you is prepared to take responsibility for this kind of loss?”

“We’ve already lodged a protest with the local authorities and have dispatched numerous ships in search. Moreover, I don’t believe that there is any force in the South Seas that could threaten Wrath. I think we need to wait.”

“Wait for your mother to remarry, Athos!”

That manager said coldly.

“Albert, there’s absolutely no need for such nastiness. If Wrath really has met with disaster, then it can only be, the [Jealousy] currently stationed at Macau…”

“That’s impossible! Do you think the reason Britain and Portugal sent one of the Seven Huge Ships of Helun to the Far East was for them to cannibalize each other?”

As soon as Albert spoke, he realized his slip-up, with several people’s gazes flickering, seemingly catching on to something from his words, while those who were better informed showed an expression of ‘that explains it.’

“Even Napoleon didn’t get the best of the Seven Huge Ships of Helun, so do you mean to say the Far East is more terrifying than that tyrant?”

“The sea conditions have indeed been poor these last few days; perhaps it’s just a delay.”

The crowd was all abuzz with discussion, most struggling to believe that Wrath could have met with a maritime disaster.

At that moment, a soldier wearing a red hood burst in, handing a letter to Albert in a panicked manner.

Albert scanned it swiftly, his face turning ashen. His hawk-like gaze swept across the table, and after a long pause, everyone noticed his murderous glare and hushed.

Albert spoke in a hoarse voice, “We’ve just found at sea the remains of Wrath, as well as a substantial number. The flags and bodies of Chinese pirates, the crew of the company nowhere alive nor dead in sight, and the core part of the Wrath, the Heavy Cannon Regeneration Machine, vanished into thin air. The preliminary determination is that it was the work of Yishi Zhufen and the Demon Thief Zhang He, two pirate factions.”

“They don’t have that kind of capability!”

“Zhang He? Zhang He from An Nan?”

“Mr. Zhu and us are in a partnership!”

The people around showed stunned expressions, and the meeting suddenly buzzed like a marketplace, murmuring non-stop.

“The biggest problem now is!” Albert banged on the table, “We must demand from these pirate gentlemen the return of what belongs to us, the heart of Wrath.”