Byrne Vanke shrugged, his expression exaggerated. "Please, anyone being chased at sea by a warship would be scared, wouldn't they? I'm a timid person, so naturally, I chose to flee. Now that you've checked, can I leave?"
Yang Tao's face grew even more somber.
After chasing this ship for so long at sea, it was bound to have some problems—yet the issue was that he couldn't find any!
Yang Tao snorted, about to order the Yizhou to withdraw. However, Hu, a Embroidered Uniform Guard captain who had boarded with Yang Tao, reached out and stopped him. He took out his Embroidered Uniform Guard waist token and waved it in front of Byrne Vanke's eyes, smiling. "Why the rush? Since we're here, shouldn't we give it a proper inspection?"
Upon seeing the waist token in the captain's hand, Byrne Vanke's heart sank to the bottom.
As a member of the East India Company, and one who specialized in operating in the Far East, Byrne Vanke certainly knew what that waist token represented—even within the Ming Empire, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was notorious. Outside the Ming Empire, they were even more lawless.
Once again feigning casualness, he shrugged and said, "Whatever you wish. I can even let the ship stop here and let you inspect until dawn. Of course, after dawn, I'll need to dock for supplies."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain chuckled softly, cast a meaningful glance at Byrne Vanke, then motioned for Byrne Vanke to lead the way into the ship's cabins.
As Yang Tao followed, he said in a low voice, "Since you found nothing, what else do you need to check?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain sneered, "Who says I found nothing?"
Yang Tao was startled. "What did you find?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain replied, "Who gets to decide what's found or not found? Even if I casually throw a flintlock gun onto their ship, wouldn't that be evidence?"
Hearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's words, Yang Tao was utterly astonished. He couldn't help but wipe away imaginary cold sweat from his forehead—Look at this, this is the Embroidered Uniform Guard of our Great Ming? Are these fellows always like this?
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain, seeing the strange look on Yang Tao's face, smiled and said, "Don't look at me like that. We Embroidered Uniform Guards don't have the direct authority to arrest or interrogate people within the Great Ming, unless we have an imperial decree from His Majesty, or a warrant from the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, or the Office of the Grand Censor."
"Of course, once we're at sea, the Ming Law no longer restricts us, unless the other party is also a subject of the Great Ming, otherwise..."
The expression on the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's face slowly turned cold. "Don't think that we Embroidered Uniform Guards disregard the law, nor think that we resort to any means to achieve our goals, fabricating evidence, or treating human lives as mere grass."
"Because this world is never as beautiful as you imagine—you'll understand when you reach the position of Commander of the South Sea Fleet or a Fleet Commander of your rank."
"Last year alone, the number of Embroidered Uniform Guards who died in the line of duty was over seventy. The number of casualties from the Tiandihui was close to a hundred. Even the intelligence bureaus under the Five Military Commissions had more than fifty casualties, and that's not counting the Jingyiwei."
"But it doesn't matter. For those of us in this line of work, from the very first day, a good end was never guaranteed."
Saying this, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain shook his head and smiled. "Let me teach you another trick. Remember this—barbarian merchant ships often double as pirate vessels. Of course, our Ming merchant ships are no different. Those who make a living at sea are all equally un-clean."
"For example, the sailors."
"These barbarian merchant ships particularly like to use slaves as sailors because they don't care if slaves die; they just throw them into the sea and it's over."
"However, these Dutch merchant ships are among the most unruly. Their backgrounds are the dirtiest, and thus they are the easiest to catch with leverage."
"For instance, if among their slave sailors, there happens to be a citizen of the Great Ming..."
Yang Tao looked at the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain in bewilderment and asked, "What does this have to do with the Pearl? Do they necessarily have any Ming citizens on board?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain sneered, "What if they do? If not, then pick anyone who looks suitable. Unless all the sailors on this ship are Kunlun slaves."
"As for household registration... at most, we can have the Guangzhou Prefectural Office issue a household registration certificate—do you think the Guangzhou Prefectural Office will side with the two of us, or with that fellow named Byrne?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain made no effort to conceal his words. Even knowing that Byrne Vanke could understand and speak Chinese, the captain continued to speak normally with Yang Tao while having Byrne Vanke lead the way.
Byrne Vanke, though filled with resentment, had no choice but to obediently lead the way for the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain and Yang Tao.
Because Byrne Vanke knew that what the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain said was true, at least true for the Pearl, which he commanded.
At the same time, Byrne Vanke was also aware that if the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain genuinely threw a flintlock gun onto his ship, he would have to accompany them to the Ming authorities for interrogation. Even if he were eventually released, he would likely have to pay a price, while the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain would go unpunished.
However, as the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain inspected cabin after cabin, Byrne Vanke's heart gradually calmed.
As long as they found nothing, the Ming authorities would have no reason to do anything to him.
As for whether there were any Ming people working as slaves among the sailors?
That was impossible. The sailors on the Pearl were all captured from Africa. Even if this Embroidered Uniform Guard captain was shameless, he couldn't point to an African slave and insist he was Caucasian, could he?
It wasn't until they slowly reached the lower decks where the sailors were housed.
As Byrne Vanke had predicted, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain lost interest upon seeing these slave sailors. Who could expect to find a citizen of the Great Ming among these dark-skinned African slave sailors?
Seeing the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's expression darken bit by bit, Byrne Vanke immediately puffed up his chest. "I told you, although our East India Company doesn't do many good deeds, we are very respectful of the Ming Empire and would never capture civilians of the Ming Empire as slaves."
Saying this, Byrne Vanke first pointed to himself, then to the African slaves. "You, me, we are white. And they are black, do you understand, sir?"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain glared hatefully at Byrne Vanke, unbuckled his Xiu Chun sword, and threw it onto the deck, saying, "Pick it up."
Byrne Vanke, however, shook his head. "No, no, no. You can send me to the Ming Empire's authorities. I am willing to be interrogated—after all, I haven't violated any Ming Empire laws. If I pick up this sword, the nature of the matter will be entirely different."
Looking at the increasingly grim expression on the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's face, Byrne Vanke couldn't help but want to laugh heartily—he, Byrne, had encountered such petty tricks before!
However, before Byrne Vanke could laugh, someone suddenly shouted from among the dark-skinned slave sailors, "Ming! Ming! I am a Ming person!"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain quickly walked up to the slave sailor, examined him, and asked, "What did you say? State your name? Your place of origin?"
However, the dark-skinned slave sailor let out another series of gibberish, and after finishing, continued to shout, "Ming! Ming! I am a Ming person!"
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain couldn't help but turn to look at the interpreter, only to see the interpreter shake his head, indicating that he couldn't understand anything the laborer was saying.
As the slave sailor let out another cry, the sliver of hope that had just arisen in the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's heart was extinguished—forget about being a citizen of the Great Ming, even the Kunlun slaves from the South Seas were not this dark. Merely speaking a few phrases in Chinese did not prove he was a citizen of the Great Ming.
As for rescuing these slave sailors... the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain had no interest in that. There were many ways to get rid of Byrne Vanke, and there was no need to make an issue out of these laborers.
He shook his head slightly and was about to leave. However, the slave sailor suddenly knelt down and cried, "Zheng He! ... Zheng He! Treasure Ship! ... Fleet! Descendant!"
Upon hearing these words, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's expression turned extremely grim. He looked at Byrne Vanke, whose face was also extremely grim, and asked, "What is he saying? And where did you capture him? Speak clearly. This matter will be dropped, otherwise..."
Seeing the killing intent in the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's eyes, Byrne Vanke trembled inwardly and quickly looked at the interpreter on his ship.
The interpreter on the Pearl also hurriedly and carefully translated, "He says he is from an island in Africa, and many people from his island are like him. They are all descendants of a high-ranking official of the Great Ming Empire named Zheng."
"He says that the high-ranking official named Zheng commanded an invincible fleet, and the largest ship was called the Treasure Ship. He says their ancestors had been waiting for Lord Zheng to send people to pick them up, but they never came."
"He says that because they never received anyone from Lord Zheng to pick them up, their ancestors gradually intermarried with the local people. Many generations have now passed, and they have gradually lost their original language. But there are many people in their tribe like him who know the words 'Ming', 'Zheng He', 'Treasure Ship', and 'Descendant'."
"He also says that he just heard you mention the Great Ming Empire to Mr. Byrne Vanke, so he hopes you can help him and take him back to the Great Ming Empire."
Seeing the increasingly solemn expressions of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and Yang Tao, Byrne Vanke trembled and shouted, "If you need it, I can tell you the location of that island and the route."
"But, I truly don't know what connection he has with your Great Ming Empire... and, he wasn't captured by me, he was sold to the Pearl."
"Also, you just said that as long as I tell you the location of that island and the route, this matter will be dropped, and you cannot pursue it further."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain exchanged a glance with Yang Tao, then nodded seriously and said, "Alright. As long as you hand him over to me, along with the sailors you bought from that island and brought onto the ship, and tell me the location and route to that island, this matter will be dropped. Of course, next time it might not be the same."
Hearing the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain's final threat, Byrne Vanke finally let out a long sigh and said, "Alright, sir. From now on, he is yours. And I can guarantee you that he is the only one from that island on my ship. I will draw you the route to that island."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard captain nodded again, and together with Yang Tao and others, they left the lower decks, bringing the slave sailor who claimed to be a descendant of Zheng He with them.
Once they reached the deck and had the slave clean his face, the Embroidered Uniform Guard captain and Yang Tao discovered that the slave sailor's appearance and the darkness of his skin were vastly different from other Kunlun slaves.