Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 310 The Final Danger
After several rounds of artillery fire, the Fanguitang Water Fort that Li Zhongguo had painstakingly managed for many years was almost razed to the ground. The ruins were still silent under the moonlight, and no loud noise or screams could be heard.

He Rubin was anxious to know the whereabouts of Li Kuiqi, so he said to Lin Hai: "My dear nephew, can we send a boat into the water fort now?"

Lin Hai nodded and said, "Please give the order, Marshal. We can only enter the water fort and must not go deep into the interior of Lantau Island."

Lantau Island is more than 140 square kilometers in area, larger than Nan'ao Island. Lin Hai believed that Li Kuiqi was probably still on Lantau Island, and might have gone to Kap Shui Mun by land.

In fact, Li Kuiqi was almost at Qiaoao Island at this time, which was the place where he asked his second in command Chen Shengyu to hide with the gold, silver and treasures.

Shortly after the battle with the surprise attack fleet led by Wei Xiaodong, Li Kuiqi knew that the battle was completely lost, and quietly lowered the boat and left the battlefield.

15 200-ton boats entangled his main fleet, which was far beyond Li Kuiqi's expectations. In order to save his life, he chose to escape before Lin Hai's main force arrived.

Li Kuiqi was different from Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang. Before Li Dan opened up Dongfan, he was the biggest pirate in the Penghu area and his reputation in the underworld had long been established.

As long as he had money, he could recruit soldiers and make a comeback at any time. After all, the coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty were full of fishermen who could not make a living.

After arriving at Qi'ao Island, Li Kuiqi quickly found Chen Shengyu, who had also just arrived. Chen Shengyu was surprised to see Li Kuiqi arrive so quickly: "Brother, what happened? We were defeated so quickly?"

Li Kuiqi had nothing to hide from Chen Shengyu, and said dejectedly: "Don't mention it, it's really fucking hell, a dozen damn boats have entangled our main force, and what can we do about it?"

Chen Shengyu was also numb when he heard it: "Fuck him, how is this possible?"

Li Kuiqi said: "There are seven or eight cannons on a small boat. No wonder Zhong Liu and Liu Xiang were beaten so badly. I thought that the most powerful part of that guy was the army, but now it seems that the navy is more powerful..."

Chen Shengyu was silent for a while after hearing this, and then he said, "According to this, we have made an enemy of that Lin. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to survive on the sea in the future."

Li Kuiqi was also somewhat disheartened at this time, and he sighed and said, "Liu Xiang is still a foresighted guy, but he may not have a good ending in the future. Anyway, I don't trust those officials."

"Brother is right. If all else fails, we can just hide our identities and become rich men..." Chen Shengyu said, "Brother, we don't have many brothers around us now, and this place may not be safe. How about we just go to Haojing to take shelter?"

Qiaoao Island is on the west coast of the Pearl River Estuary, not far from Haojing. When Lin Hai fled with Zhu Niang's family, they spent a night on Qiaoao Island.

"Second brother, did you accept money from that old thief Huang Mingzuo?" Li Kuiqi immediately became alert. It turned out that Huang Mingzuo had come to Haojing not long ago and wanted him to release his son.

"I did accept a little gift money from him, but I only agreed to persuade you to release Young Master Huang." Chen Shengyu admitted honestly, and then he advised, "Brother, Manager Huang is also a shady person now, why do we have to hold Young Master Huang in our hands? This will only ruin the friendship between the two families."

Li Kuiqi was a little angry at first, but he was relieved after hearing this. Huang Mingzuo's son had always been under the care of Chen Shengyu, so he had plenty of opportunities to secretly release him. If he was just paid to be a lobbyist, it wouldn't be a big deal, after all, the two had been friends for decades.

"It's okay to go to Haojing, but whether to release Young Master Huang or not, we'll talk about it when the time comes..." Li Kuiqi hesitated for a while, and finally decided to go to Haojing to avoid the limelight. After all, it was a place where all kinds of people gathered, and it was most suitable for avoiding Lin Hai's pursuit.

In Li Kuiqi's opinion, Lin Hai made such a big scene this time, and he would definitely search the mountains and seas at the mouth of the Pearl River next. He would want to see him alive or dead. Little did he know that Lin Hai really had no such intention, otherwise he would not have brought the army with him this time. Of course, as long as Li Kuiqi escaped in time, it would be difficult to catch him even with the army. After all, the mouth of the Pearl River is not Dongshan Island or Xiamen, and it cannot be sealed off anyway.

Lantau Island, Tai O.

He Rubin and Lin Hai sent ships into the Fanguitang Water Fort, but they found nothing. Not only did they fail to catch any pirates, they also found almost no valuables.

This was somewhat beyond Lin Hai's expectations. The reason why he sent frigates to blockade Tai O as soon as possible was that he did not want to give Li Kuiqi time to transfer his property by water.

However, not to mention treasures like gold, silver and jewelry, even bulk goods like silk and porcelain were completely missing. How could this be the lair of Li Kuiqi, a tycoon on the sea who was both a businessman and a thief?

Lin Hai said to He Rubin, "Mr. Zhongsheng, it seems that Li Kuiqi has already escaped. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to catch him this time."

"This guy is really as slippery as the rumors say..." He Rubin nodded helplessly, and then said, "My dear nephew, how do you think we should fight this battle?"

"I didn't bring the army this time, so I can't fight a land battle. The water in the Pearl River Estuary is shallow, and my fleet can't go any further north. But Li Kuiqi has deployed a large number of troops at Jishui Gate. I have sent ships to block the waterways at both ends of Jishui Gate. Next, let's see if I can persuade the bandits here to surrender."

He Rubin had already made up his mind to follow Lin Hai's orders in this battle. Hearing this, he stroked his beard and said, "Very good, I'll follow your wishes, nephew."

That night, Lin Hai sent a captured pirate leader to Jishuimen to persuade them to surrender, but he was like a meat bun thrown at a dog and never came back.

Early the next morning, one of Li Zhongguo's captured men was released, saying that the pirates of Jishuimen were unwilling to surrender and wanted to challenge the officers and soldiers.

Hearing this, Lin Hai smiled and said to He Rubin, "It seems that the bandits have different opinions among themselves. Some leaders may still want to surrender."

He Rubin nodded and said, "I think so too, otherwise there would be no need to send someone back to deliver the message."

Kap Shui Mun is located at the northeast corner of Lantau Island, with Lantau North Channel to the west and Sai Pok Liou Channel to the south. No matter which direction the attack is from, the attacker is at a disadvantage, and the Kap Shui Mun pirates obviously have fire ships.

In addition, there are mainlands to the east and north of Jishuimen. If the war goes badly, they can choose to run to the land. Of course, the price is to abandon their warships.

Because of this, He Rubin agreed with Lin Hai's judgment. After all, the pirates of Jishuimen had a way out. Sending them back to deliver the message only meant that some of them were unwilling to abandon the ship and go ashore. If they could not hold on at sea, they would consider surrendering to the officers and soldiers.

He Rubin pondered for a moment, then continued, "My dear nephew, if we forcefully attack Jishui Gate, I'm afraid there will be heavy casualties. Why not just withdraw our troops?"

So far, the number of heads and pirate ships captured in this battle is not small, which is enough for Marshal He to report to the court. He Rubin certainly wants to gain greater military merits, but he is unwilling to owe too many favors for this.

Unexpectedly, Lin Hai shook his head and said, "Since we have already sent people to persuade them to surrender, it would be a disgrace to my reputation to withdraw the troops just like that. Don't worry, Lord Zhongsheng, I have my own way to take over Jishuimen."

(End of this chapter)