Traveling through the late Ming Dynasty to promote Chinese civilization

Chapter 177 Li Fei's Insights

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The poor little leader was brought up, bound hand and foot. When he saw Liu Ye sitting on the seat, he knew that this was the leader. He knelt down with a thud, crawled a few steps on his knees, and begged with snot and tears streaming down his face: "Boss, I'm just working for Liu Xiang to make a living. I haven't done anything immoral. I have an eighty-year-old mother and an eight-year-old child. Please, have mercy on me and spare my life!"

Liu Ye watched his performance with great interest, and after he finished speaking, he suddenly asked, "What's your son's name?"

The man was stunned: "Huh?"

"Don't tell me your son is eight years old and still doesn't have a name?"

The man was speechless, stammering for a long time without being able to utter a word: "This..."

"Alright, put away your old tricks. I'll ask you a few questions. If you answer them to my satisfaction, I might spare your life."

The man immediately nodded vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice: "Of course, of course, I will tell you everything I know."

"What's your name, and what role do you play under Liu Xiang?"

"Liang Dong is just a small fry, barely a minor leader."

How many men and how many ships does Liu Xiang have under his command?

Liang Dong thought for a moment and answered uncertainly, "I'm not too sure about the smaller ones, but there are definitely two or three hundred boats of all sizes. As for the people, some are newcomers, and some start their own businesses. In total, there are probably more than ten thousand people coming and going..."

Liu Ye was slightly taken aback. Good heavens, two or three hundred ships and more than ten thousand people, while he had less than ten ships and a little over a thousand sailors. The difference in numbers was truly enormous.

"Why did you get into a fight with Elder Zhucai's people?"

"Boss... Liu Xiang and Zhu Cailao have never gotten along, and they've been fighting for a long time. But Zhu Cailao is no good now. He's lost several battles, big and small, and he's hiding in his lair on Nanri Island, too afraid to come out. He's run out of food. He came out this time to look for food, but we robbed him again. I guess his morale is low, and his managers and fleet are about to scatter like leaves in the wind."

So even pirates can be quite disharmonious. Liu Ye then asked, "Where is Liu Xiang's lair?"

Liang Dong scratched his head: "That's not accurate, Boss... Liu Xiang doesn't have a fixed place. She used to spend more time in Guangdong, but lately she's been spending more time in Jilong..."

"Chicken coop?" Liu Ye didn't react immediately.

"Yes, the government calls it Dongfan Island, and the red-haired people call it Dayuan."

"Oh, it's Taiwan." Liu Ye realized. "What are we doing there?"

"The red-haired people allowed Liu Xiang to dock at the port of Zeelandia, so he usually did business in the Guangdong and Fujian areas. When something happened, he would hide in Penghu. When Penghu was not safe, he would run to Keelung."

Liu Ye knew that Liu Xiang would join forces with the Dutch to deal with Zheng Zhilong, but he didn't expect the two sides to get so close in the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign.