Chapter 28: The Call to Counterattack

The night was as dark as ink, and the sea breeze carried a chill. Li Chuan stood on the deck, his eyes fixed intently on the distant horizon. From the translated ledgers he had recently deciphered, he had uncovered a staggering secret: Cao Qing was merely a pawn for a mastermind, and the true force behind the chaos at sea was a tycoon operating within the Nanyang trade circles. On the surface, this man was renowned for his trade in spices, silk, and medicinal herbs; in the shadows, however, he exploited the Wokou pirates to harass coastal villages, seizing the opportunity to monopolize maritime trade routes and amass enormous wealth.

"No wonder these Wokou have such sophisticated weaponry and abundant food supplies," Li Chuan muttered to himself. "Without a powerful backer, they could never have wreaked havoc for so long."

To gain a deeper understanding of the situation, Li Chuan decided to start by consulting the veteran fishermen along the coast. At dawn, he and a small team boarded a secluded island not far from Shuanglong Bay. Uncle Li, an elderly fisherman over sixty, was intimately familiar with every reef and tidal shift in these waters and was one of the few who had dealt with Nanyang merchants in the past.

"Uncle Li, I heard that when you were younger, you worked with many Nanyang merchant fleets. Do you know a merchant named 'Xie Tonghai'?" Li Chuan asked tentatively.

Upon hearing the name, Uncle Li’s expression shifted instantly. He glanced left and right, and after confirming that no one was around, he lowered his voice. "Xie Tonghai? How do you know that name?"

Seeing the man’s nervous demeanor, Li Chuan knew he had asked the right person and briefly recounted the clues he had discovered.

"It is him, indeed!" Uncle Li gritted his teeth. "This Xie Tonghai is a smiling tiger—polite on the surface, but ruthless and black-hearted in reality. He built his fortune in his early years through deception and plunder, and later, after getting rich in Nanyang, he bribed many officials. I suspect he has been behind the Wokou raids for a long time!"

"Do you have any evidence?" Li Chuan pressed.

"No," Uncle Li shook his head with a sigh. "But I remember once when someone from our village accidentally stumbled upon one of Xie Tonghai’s ships; it was loaded with Wokou weaponry. Not long after, that villager went missing."

Li Chuan clenched his fists. "Since this man is the key, we must find him!"

To better track Xie Tonghai’s movements, Li Chuan decided to dispatch several fishermen skilled in swimming and stealth, disguised as ordinary Nanyang merchant crew members, to infiltrate the ports Xie frequented.

A few days later, the scouts returned with news: "Xie Tonghai’s fleet has been appearing frequently in Sancha Bay lately. It is rumored that his secret warehouse is located there. He is also in close contact with the Wokou leaders, though the area is heavily guarded."

Sancha Bay was a natural deep-water port with complex terrain, accessible only through a single, narrow waterway. This served as both a natural defensive barrier and Li Chuan’s point of breakthrough. A bold plan gradually took shape in his mind.

Li Chuan gathered the village elders and key team members for a secret meeting.

"We face two paths," Li Chuan said in a low voice. "One is to strike directly at Xie Tonghai, but his influence is too vast, and we have no chance of winning. The second is to first deal with the Wokou, severing Xie Tonghai’s claws, and then gradually dismantle his power."

Village Chief Li Laogen nodded. "You are right. The Wokou are the immediate threat. If we do not eliminate them first, no matter how cunning Xie Tonghai is, we will not have the strength to deal with him."

"But the Wokou are well-equipped and numerous. What can we do?" a team member asked.

"Divide and conquer," Li Chuan replied with confidence. "Although Sancha Bay is their supply base, their range of activity is limited. We can use our knowledge of the terrain to set ambushes at key locations and gradually weaken their strength."

"But if we attack the Wokou, will Xie Tonghai notice?" another villager asked worriedly.

"He will notice, but that is exactly our opportunity," Li Chuan sneered. "If we push the Wokou to the brink, he will inevitably come to their rescue. When he does, we will turn his own tactics against him."

After the meeting, Li Chuan felt unprecedented pressure. He understood that the relationship between the Wokou and Xie Tonghai was intricate; a single mistake could lead to total ruin. But to protect the villagers' homes, he had no choice.

That night, he sat alone by the sea, pondering his next steps. He looked up at the stars, the sound of the tide in his ears, while visions of ravaged villages and oppressed people filled his mind.

"This sea is our home, not a hunting ground for these greedy bastards," Li Chuan vowed silently. "I will show them that the resistance of fishermen will make them pay."

He rose and returned to camp to deploy the next phase of his plan. He knew this was a war of the weak against the strong, but it was also a war they had to win.

Li Chuan sat at the bow, his hands clenched, calculating his next move. He had decided to thoroughly map out Xie Tonghai’s patterns, especially the secret warehouse in Sancha Bay. He knew that any risky operation required the support of solid intelligence.

The next morning, Li Chuan took five carefully selected team members and chose an inconspicuous boat from the fishing fleet, quietly sailing toward Sancha Bay. The boat was loaded with mundane goods, disguised as an ordinary merchant vessel. To avoid suspicion, they deliberately took a remote route, avoiding any encounters with suspicious ships.

Three days later, they stopped five miles outside Sancha Bay, hiding near a dense mangrove forest. With its wide view and secure concealment, it was the perfect observation post.

"Look, the flag on that ship has a 'Xie' character in gold on a black background," a team member whispered. "It’s very likely Xie Tonghai’s men."

Li Chuan followed his gaze and indeed saw a massive sailing ship slowly entering Sancha Bay. Its hull was long and slim with a huge cargo capacity, clearly built for transporting goods.

"It seems this place is not just a Wokou supply depot, but also a major cargo port for Xie Tonghai," Li Chuan smiled coldly. "They are truly daring, conducting these crimes right under our noses."

Just as Li Chuan was observing the port, a small patrol boat suddenly emerged from the bay, heading straight toward the mangrove forest.

"Hide!" Li Chuan whispered.

The five men quickly tucked the boat under the shade of the trees, holding their breath. The patrol boat drew closer, and several armed men on board scanned the sea with hawk-like eyes.

"Doesn't seem to be anything unusual here," one crew member dressed in Wokou attire said.

"Don't let your guard down!" another warned. "There's talk lately that the fishermen of Shuanglong Bay are resisting the Wokou. We must be cautious."

Li Chuan felt a jolt of alarm. He realized his actions had alerted the enemy, but precisely because of this, the enemy would reveal more flaws.

The patrol boat circled the perimeter of the mangrove forest twice before finally departing. Li Chuan breathed a sigh of relief but remained vigilant. He whispered to his team, "The Wokou are on alert; we must be more careful. We will split into two groups and continue to scout the surroundings."

After splitting up, Li Chuan and one other member chose to infiltrate a small fishing village in Sancha Bay to gather intelligence in disguise, while the other three quietly followed the patrol boat to record its activity patterns.

In the village, Li Chuan noticed a strange phenomenon: although many villagers appeared to be fishing normally, their eyes betrayed fear. Whenever a ship from the port docked, these villagers would quickly retreat, even bolting their doors and windows.

"They fear more than just the Wokou," Li Chuan realized with growing alarm. "I fear there is something even more terrifying here."

Together with his teammate, he posed as an ordinary merchant and approached a small tavern, intentionally speaking loudly about Nanyang trade. Sure enough, a sailor drinking nearby was drawn in.

"Are you from Nanyang?" the man asked with interest.

"Yes," Li Chuan said with a smile. "I heard Sancha Bay is an important trade port, and I wanted to see if there were any good deals to be made."

The man’s expression turned guarded. "Trade in Sancha Bay isn't for everyone. You need the right connections."

"Oh? What kind of connections?" Li Chuan asked tentatively.

"Hey, don't play dumb," the man said dismissively. "If you knew Xie Tonghai, you wouldn't ask such questions. Only certain people can touch the goods under his hand."

Li Chuan feigned sudden enlightenment. "I see. Thank you for the advice, brother."

Through these conversations, Li Chuan learned that the cooperation between Xie Tonghai and the Wokou had lasted for years. He not only provided the pirates with grain, fodder, and weapons but also used these marauders to suppress other merchants who refused to obey him, establishing a monopoly over the trade system. Sancha Bay was one of his most important bases.

The other scout team also returned with vital intelligence: there was a hidden warehouse within Sancha Bay containing large quantities of ordnance and supplies. This warehouse was heavily guarded, and only Xie Tonghai’s trusted confidants could enter.

"This is our breakthrough point," Li Chuan clenched his fists, his eyes burning with determination.

Upon returning to the mangrove forest, Li Chuan convened a meeting to decide the next move. He knew they could not attack a stronghold like Sancha Bay directly with just a few men. But if they could destroy the warehouse's supplies, the Wokou’s combat effectiveness would be greatly diminished.

"We cannot confront them head-on," Li Chuan said calmly, "but like we did with the Wokou ships, we can use the terrain and the cover of night to slip in and destroy their supplies."

"But Sancha Bay is so heavily guarded, how can we get in?" a member asked.

"We must rely on the currents." Li Chuan drew a simple map in the sand. "There is an undercurrent near the warehouse; the water is deep but the flow is slow. As long as we follow the current at night, we can approach the warehouse without making a sound."

The team nodded in agreement, though they understood the danger of this mission was extraordinary.

"Remember," Li Chuan cautioned, "the key to this mission is stealth; we cannot expose our identities. If things go wrong, retreat immediately. Do not get bogged down in a fight."

Night fell, and the sea was pitch black. Li Chuan led his men in the small boat, silently sailing toward Sancha Bay. They lit no lamps, guiding themselves only by the starlight and the pull of the current.

The surrounding sea breeze grew cold, signaling the approach of danger. But in everyone's eyes, a steady light shone, for they knew this battle concerned the survival of their village, and there was no room for retreat.