Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 179 King of the Night

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King of the Night! What an alluring title! Wang Qinian couldn't remain calm. Since birth, he had been passively made an unofficial member of the Imperial Guard, engaged in covert intelligence gathering since he was old enough to understand things. He had been doing this for most of his life and had become accustomed to this atmosphere. To be able to return to his original profession, and receive full financial support, to compete with his former employer, the Imperial Guard, in planting spies and gathering intelligence—just hearing about it was exciting, let alone surpassing them.

Wang Qinian knelt down with a thud and said respectfully, "If the general is willing to trust me, I will repay the general's trust and support with my life!"

Liu Ye was very pleased to have persuaded Wang Qinian. Everyone has their unique value; the key is to place them in the right position. As for the matter of infiltration, no one has yet surpassed Wang Qinian in terms of patience and perseverance.

Liu Ye told Wang Qinian to stand up, pointed at Liang Dong and said, "This is one of the pirate leader Liu Xiang's men. He was captured by us during the naval battle. Your first test is to use him to infiltrate Liu Xiang's ranks, act as a mole for the Qiongzhou Camp, and provide intelligence so that we can annihilate him in one fell swoop."

Wang Qinian looked at Liang Dong and nodded: "General, please rest assured."

Liang Xiaoming couldn't help but ask, "How can you guarantee that this person will still listen to us after we release him?"

Wang Qinian replied, "That's easy. If they don't listen, just tell Liu Xiang that we released them."

Liang Dong frowned and said, "No, if you say that, the boss will definitely become suspicious and might just chop me up with a knife." He said that if he escaped back, he would probably be fine, but if the enemy released him, everyone would think he was a spy.

Liu Ye laughed and comforted him, "You don't need to worry. What future is there in following Liu Xiang? He's still just a nobody, living on the edge all day, probably barely making ends meet. You'd be better off joining me. Once you join the navy, you'll get at least two taels of silver a month. If you do well, you can get promoted and earn a hundred taels a year. And if you win a battle, you'll get a reward."

Upon hearing this, Liang Dong licked his lips; it sounded promising. Although Liu Xiang was one of the most powerful pirates, his crew was rife with corruption. His trusted confidants and managers took the lion's share of the loot, leaving them, the lower-ranking pirates, with hardly anything left. If switching allies were truly so lucrative, no one would willingly risk their lives at sea with Liu Xiang, enduring harsh conditions. This man before him was a legitimate military commander; following him would mean no longer being a pirate, but rather holding an official position. His actions outpaced his thoughts; he swiftly knelt and kowtowed, saying, "I am willing to lend a hand to the General in annihilating Liu Xiang."

Liu Ye said with satisfaction, "Very good. Wang Qinian, your first task is to infiltrate Liu Xiang's camp with him and provide intelligence for me to wipe out Liu Xiang. I will send the 'Far Voyage' to Taiwan every fifteenth of even-numbered months. If there is any valuable intelligence, we will find a way to make contact at sea. The 'Far Voyage' is all white, with a long and narrow hull and extremely fast speed, making it easy to identify."

"As commanded.