Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 315 Ending
After Huang San finished speaking, there was a sudden noise around, and the pirate leaders began to discuss among themselves. Not to mention the pirates from the Pearl River Estuary, even some of the leaders under Li Meiyu were tempted after hearing this.

They had many concerns about surrendering to the imperial court. After all, they never knew they might be tricked like Wang Zhi. But following Liu Xiang was another matter.

Moreover, Liu Xiang was a well-known person who protected his own people. In the Battle of Dongshan, he risked his life and took the initiative to ask to be an envoy in the negotiation of prisoner exchange. Zheng Zhilong's former subordinates were well aware of this.

As for the pirates of the Pearl River Estuary, they also trusted Li Zhongguo. Boss Li was like Liu Xiang. Although he was greedy and cunning, he still cherished his reputation after being the boss for so many years. At least he would not openly do anything that violated the moral code of the underworld.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Li Meiyu suddenly laughed out loud: "Haha, that dog official surnamed Lin has really run out of tricks. We are not fools who have never seen anything. Who can be fooled by such a trick?"

Ma Xuansheng also said loudly: "The Third Master is right. Huang San, let me ask you, why did Lin Gouguan go to so much trouble, but in the end he reduced his own merits and helped others? Why did he do this?"

"Of course there is a reason for this, because he wants you dead, as well as your sworn brother Xu Guixiang. My Lord Lin said that everyone in Jishuimen can surrender, but you two must die!"

Huang San took the opportunity to pit Ma, Xu and his leaders against each other, and then said, "To be honest, leaders, we did not send out land troops this time. Lord Lin did not intend to kill you all from the beginning. The reason why he came to the mouth of the Pearl River this time was, first, to help the leader Li, and second, to capture Ma Xuansheng and Xu Guixiang, the two servants of the three surnames."

Ma Xuansheng's face turned pale when he heard this, but he couldn't say a word. What he did back then was well known among the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River. No matter what he said now, it was inevitable that some people would think that he wanted to drag everyone down for his own benefit.

Chen Wu also took the opportunity to shout: "Brothers, Lord Lin did say so, I can testify to this."

In fact, Lin Hai never said this, but he explained to Huang and Chen that the breakthrough point for surrender lies in the leader of the Pearl River Estuary faction, and if necessary, they can use the dark history of Ma and Xu to sow discord.

Li Meiyu felt that the situation would get out of control if this continued, so he shouted, "Official Lin, you underestimate me, Li. How could I do such a thing as selling out my friends for fame? Come on, arrest Huang San!"

However, several Pearl River Estuary pirates, including Hu Han, rushed forward and blocked Huang San, saying, "Third boss, this matter concerns the lives and property of all the brothers, and it is not up to you alone to decide!"

Li Meiyu was furious and said, "Hu Han and the others are collaborating with the enemy, so I will take them with me."

Unexpectedly, this triggered a bigger reaction. More Pearl River Estuary bandits came forward and started making noise. Some of them were so impatient that they even drew their knives to prevent Li Meiyu's men from capturing Huang San and others.

The two sides began to confront each other. Li Meiyu was in a dilemma whether to withdraw the order or not. For a moment, he was in an awkward position.

Fortunately, Ma Xuansheng was resourceful and suddenly said, "Brothers, listen to me. It's not that I, Ma, value my life. Officer Lin wants you to surrender, but he sent two surrendered generals to act as lobbyists. This is a bit insincere. Let alone the stone wall, as long as he sends Li Zhongguo here, you can surrender if you want. Ma, I am willing to die!"

These words did play a certain role after all. Most of the leaders of the Pearl River Estuary faction did not trust Lin Hai, but they believed in Li Zhongguo.

If Li Zhongguo had come here in person and said what Huang San said, they would have rebelled on the spot. As long as the two sides started fighting, Lin Hai would certainly take advantage of the situation to attack Jishui Gate, and Li Meiyu's side would definitely be the loser.

But they don't dare to do so now, mainly because they are not sure about Lin Hai's surrender. Who knows if both parties in the fight will be caught by Huiyou Company in the end?
"What Chief Ma said makes sense." A leader of the Pearl River Estuary bandits stood up and said to Li Meiyu, "Third boss, why don't you let Huang San go back and tell that guy surnamed Lin to send Boss Li here again. If Boss Li refuses to come, we will unite to fight the enemy without further ado." Upon hearing this, the leaders of the Pearl River Estuary faction echoed the words one after another. Li Meiyu had no choice but to nod and agree, "Since all the brothers agree, I can't just do it on my own. I'll just follow their wishes."

That night, Huang San and Chen Wu were released. After listening to the story of persuading the surrender, Lin Hai went from the North Channel of Lantau Island to the northern end of the West Bac Liou Channel overnight. He thought it would be best to let Li Zhongguo make the decision on whether to go to Kap Shui Mun to persuade the surrender.

After all, the main purpose of recruiting the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River is to strengthen the strength of Li Zhongguo's army. Huiyou Company will not directly accept these people. What the Navy Department lacks most now is not people but ships.

As for Lin Hai personally, he was not very inclined to let Li Zhongguo take the risk. After all, this man was quite prestigious among the Guangdong pirates, and it would be a pity if he was defeated in Jishuimen. It would not be easy to find such a black glove who was both prestigious and friendly.

"Master Li, this is the situation. It's up to you whether to go to Jishuimen or not." Lin Hai explained his meaning in detail to prevent the other party from misjudging and taking risks under his pressure.

"Lord Lin, I'll go!" Li Zhongguo was indeed a man of courage and made the decision immediately.

However, before he could set off, the Jishuimen pirates sent a ship to surrender early in the morning. It turned out that Li Meiyu and others had abandoned the ship and gone ashore last night, fleeing to the mainland by land.

What Ma Xuansheng said last night was actually a delaying tactic, just to buy one night to persuade Li Meiyu to flee with Li Kuiqi's old subordinates.

After releasing Huang San and Chen Wu, Ma Xuansheng told Li Meiyu that Li Zhongguo would definitely come to persuade them to surrender. If he could then incite the Pearl River Estuary pirates to work together with the Huiyou Company, it would not be easy for them to escape.

Li Meiyu himself actually didn't want to escape by land, especially if he couldn't take the Pearl River Estuary bandits with him. After all, losing so many people and ships would always be painful.

Moreover, excluding the pirates at the mouth of the Pearl River led by Ma and Xu, he now has only two thousand men under his command. Once Guangdong mobilizes a large army to encircle and suppress them, who knows what the outcome will be?

However, the situation was stronger than the person, and Li Meiyu could not think so far ahead. He could only call a meeting of all the leaders overnight. It was up to everyone to decide whether to leave or stay.

Most of the Pearl River Estuary bandits, including Hu Han, chose to stay, while most of Li Kuiqi's former subordinates chose to flee.

The two sides finally reached an agreement that Li Meiyu and others must not destroy the warships when escaping, and Hu Han and others must not take the opportunity to cause trouble, so as to avoid ending up in a situation where the fisherman benefits from the conflict between the snipe and the clam.

The Battle of the Pearl River Estuary came to an end here. A small half of Li Kuiqi's former troops were wiped out, and the rest escaped by land and sea. The newly recruited Pearl River Estuary bandits surrendered to Lin Hai, and were finally assigned to Li Zhongguo.

This result was acceptable to Lin Hai. Just as Huang San said, he had no intention of killing Li Kuiqi, but rather wanted to keep the enemy at bay.

At the same time, this would also help him arrange the whereabouts of Li Zhongguo's troops. After all, if Li Kuiqi could gather his old subordinates, his strength would still be above Li Zhongguo's.

(End of this chapter)