The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 10 The Five Precepts
Bai Langzai nodded slightly in agreement.

Everyone looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Lin Qian said, “In that case, there should be some rules from now on, such as the distribution of silver. After each trip, the silver cannot be distributed in full. Some must be kept in the public account for purposes such as repairing ships and purchasing weapons.”

Lei Sanxiang slapped his thigh: "That's exactly right. Brother Lin already has an idea. Just say it. Brother Lin's ideas are never bad."

"Alright, from now on, for every hundred taels of silver obtained by the ships, whether from plunder or trade, seventy taels will be used for the public account, ten taels will be given to the helmsman, ten taels to the crew who participated in the battle, and ten taels to the officers such as the fire chief and gunner, as well as the carpenters, cooks, doctors, etc., according to their rank."

This was a distribution ratio that Lin Qian set based on the historical records of Zheng Zhilong's gang and Zheng Yi Sao's gang, and it also conformed to the current rules among pirates, so no one objected.

The 150 taels of silver given to each boatman today, when factoring in the discounted value of the boat, is actually equivalent to a 10% share for the boatmen.

Then Lin Qian recited five more precepts.

1. You must not disobey the captain's orders.

2. Fighting is prohibited.

3. No one may keep spoils of war.

4. It is forbidden to commit adultery with women.

5. It is forbidden to rob or plunder the poor and common people.

Lei Sanxiang looked troubled: "Brother Lin, all of the other five conditions are negotiable. If we don't rob the people, who are we going to rob?"

"Naturally, we'll rob whoever has the money," Lin Qian replied calmly.

"The rich have strong ships and many people, so it's not easy to succeed."

Lin Qian smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have a big deal coming up right now. If this deal goes through, it'll be worth dozens more ship hijackings."

Upon hearing this, everyone became interested and began asking for details.

Lin Qian smiled but did not answer, instead pointing to the sea outside the window.

Following his finger, everyone looked out the window and saw the port of Manila. It was already night, and the gunwales of the large sailing ship were faintly visible in the torchlight of the patrolling soldiers. The towering mast stood straight like a dark spear, its top disappearing into the dark night sky.

Everyone was confused and stunned for a moment. Lei Sanxiang said in disbelief, "Damn it, you're going to rob the Frankish sailing ship?"

Everyone's gaze fell on Lin Qian, and they were all shocked.

This was beyond fantastical; it was downright outrageous, to the point that no one dared to even consider it at first.

Not to mention the Spanish had superior ships and cannons, the Spanish guards outnumbered them by more than ten times, making it impossible for them to win.

Even if they could barely manage to seize a ship, the sails and rigging of the Ming Dynasty's Fuchuan and the Manila Galleon were completely different, making it impossible for anyone to steer them.

Even if they were lucky enough to sail out of port, they would still be followed and pursued by the Franco-Germain warships, and would ultimately perish in the belly of the fish.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Lin Qian first calmed them down and said, "Let's discuss this matter in detail. Before that, please go and do some things separately."

His entrepreneurial experience in his previous life taught him a lesson: the bigger the undertaking, the less likely it is to be stable and secure.

Starting a business or becoming a pirate are both extremely risky ventures; every step involves taking a gamble.

If you don't have the guts to sit at the gambling table, you're destined to be the one put on the table!
The brothers exchanged glances and said in unison, "We will obey the captain's orders."

"Okay." Lin Qian clapped her hands.

Then he assigned tasks to everyone.

Chen Jiao was in charge of recruiting boatmen. Their ships had no firearms, and they relied entirely on boarding and jumping to fight at sea. They needed a large number of people to gain an advantage.

Lin Qian sensed that Chen Jiao was experienced and likely had previously worked as a pirate, making him the most suitable person to recruit shipwrights.

Lei Sanxiang was in charge of purchasing weapons, especially firearms. Unlike the Ming Dynasty, Manila did not strictly control firearms; as long as you had connections, you could get a few.

Lei Sanxiang had experienced the Battle of Sarhu, so he must have been a soldier in the Shenji Battalion. He used a three-barreled gun, which is why he was nicknamed "Sanxiang" (meaning "three-barreled gun").

As the brother who was most familiar with firearms, he was the best candidate to purchase them.

Zhou Xiucai was in charge of bookkeeping. Since 70% of the silver earned went to the public, how it was used naturally had to be recorded publicly in order to convince the public.

At this moment, Bai Langzai said, "Sixth Brother, what am I doing?"

"Your mission is the most important and the most dangerous," Lin Qian said solemnly. "I'll tell you more in a few days when I'm all ready."

Lin Qian said to everyone, "Everyone should be careful in their actions and make sure no one notices."

Everyone stood up, clasped their hands in greeting, and then left the cabin.

Lin Qian sat back down at her desk. She had stayed up all night yesterday and hadn't closed her eyes yet. Now, waves of drowsiness were washing over her.

But he still can't sleep.

They pioneered the way through hardships and difficulties to open up the mountains and forests.

To start from scratch, pulling two or three all-nighters is commonplace. Lin Qian took out a piece of paper, drew a fan shape, then drew markings on its arc, and then drew lenses at the dots, gradually revealing the shape of a sextant.

After witnessing Huang's skill, Lin Qian decided to have him handcraft a sextant.

The sextant has a simple structure, requiring only three materials: a convex lens, a mirror, and metal.

Considering that Dumb Huang is a carpenter, replacing the metal frame of the sextant with a wooden one should also work.

There is a type of ironwood in Southeast Asia that is extremely expensive. It has a high density and is not easily corroded or deformed, making it a perfect substitute for steel.

The glass could be bought in Manila, and the convex lens could be removed from the monocular telescope he bought yesterday.

In general, the structure and materials of the sextant are not the problem.

The problem is that precision is difficult to achieve; the markings on a sextant cannot be drawn arbitrarily.

If the scale is incorrect, even by just one degree, the measured actual distance can be more than two hundred miles off.

Lin Qian plans to draw up the design first, and then go to Manila tomorrow to see if she can find any tools like a protractor.

The wax burned out as the tide rose and fell.

Lin Qian stood up, yawned, and walked to the window, where she saw that it was already dawn.

After a quick wash, Lin Qian grabbed a pen and paper and called Bai Langzai to go to Manila.

First, I bought some gifts and paid a visit to Master Lu.

Even after the business is done, the goodwill shouldn't be lost.

After having a casual meal with Lu Dongzhu, Lin Qian asked him to buy some Spanish nautical instruments, such as astrolabes, compasses, nautical charts, rulers, protractors, and the like.

Lu Dongzhu hesitated for a moment: "Brother Lin, most of these things are in the Cavite shipyard. The Portuguese there keep a close watch on them, and the governor has repeatedly ordered that these items not be allowed to leave the country."

Lin Qian said, "I know the difficulties involved, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you for help, brother. I'm curious about the Frankish navigation skills, but it's not a big deal if I can't buy them."

Master Lu smiled and said, "In that case, I will do my best."

After leaving Lu Chengji's shop, Lin Qian strolled around the Balian Market and bought copper wire, coarse salt, vinegar, kelp, and other items.

Bai Langzai held back for a while, but finally couldn't help but say, "Sixth Brother, if you want to eat something, just ask the cook to buy it. Why do you have to come here yourself?"

Lin Qian smiled mysteriously and said, "Some ingredients taste better when you buy them yourself."

The area around Balian Market was full of gambling dens and brothels. Lin Qian encountered many familiar faces on the boats along the way, so she asked the boatmen to bring the ingredients she bought back to the boat.

Afterwards, Lin Qian took Bai Langzai to Wangcheng District.

His original intention was to try his luck and see if he could find what he wanted.

Unfortunately, after spending the whole afternoon there, my luck was still bad, and I came up empty-handed.

At this moment, Lin Qian stopped in front of a bar and asked Bai Langzai, "How's your alcohol tolerance?"

"I've never had it."

Lin Qian smiled wryly. He didn't like drinking, but in society, sometimes he had no choice but to drink, and today was such a case.

The two pushed open the door, chose a seat by the window, and ordered two glasses of rum.

It was nearing evening, and the bar was gradually filling up with Spaniards.

Upon seeing Lin Qian and her companion, both men cast scrutinizing glances at them, clearly noting that Han Chinese faces were rarely seen in the bars of Wangcheng District.

At the same time, Lin Qian was also observing the Spaniards. From their clothing and smell, she could tell that most of them were sailors from the ship.

Most of the sailors would order some coconut wine or rum, and then sit together and play cards.

The game is extremely simple; it's purely about comparing sizes, with the stakes usually being a few rials.

Lin Qian glanced at the rules and understood them, then picked up her wine glass and went over.

"Gentlemen, may I participate?"

The Spaniards were somewhat stunned, after all, they were all in the same boat and cooperated well, making cheating easy.

Lin Qian, an outsider, participating in their gambling game was no different from being a fat sheep delivered to their door.

After a brief hesitation, the Spanish crew members smiled, each seeing greed in the other's eyes.

An old sailor pulled out a chair.

"Welcome, sir."

(End of this chapter)