After dismissing Wang Zeng.
Yang Ge carefully studied the enticing assassination strategies offered by Wang Zeng.
Wang Zeng had proposed two assassination strategies.
The first strategy involved the large Liuheng Island in the Zhoushan Archipelago, isolated overseas, which had a port called Shuangyu Port; it was not only an important port for external trade for Prince Ning and the Zhe faction but also the center of currency and goods circulation across the entire southeastern coast and even Southeast Asia.
Shuangyu Island was out of Wei’s legal jurisdiction, and Dongying pirates, who had repeatedly raided the southeastern coast, used Shuangyu Port as a bridgehead and replenishment station.
By stationing a heavy ambush on Shuangyu Island, they could wait at ease for the pirates who entered the port for pleasure and then strike to sink the various advancing groups of pirates.
The other strategy was for Wang Zeng, under the guise of the Pirate King of the East Sea, to funnel the various groups of pirates into his water fortress at Jintang Island in Zhoushan. Setting an ambush there could achieve an effect similar to that at Shuangyu Island.
However, Wang Zeng made it very clear. Although he held the nominal title of Pirate King of the East Sea, he could not control the pirates and Dongying raiders not aligned with him; hence, those pirates entering his fortress wouldn’t relax their guard. On the contrary, to prevent him from turning on them, they would be even more vigilant.
An ambush at the fierce port could only defeat those groups of pirates; completely wiping them out would be extremely difficult!
At a glance, both strategies from Wang Zeng seemed like he was being very generous, even offering up his stronghold and reputation...
But the more Yang Ge thought about it, the more he felt that the first strategy was using others to eliminate his enemies and the second was trying to hatch chickens from borrowed eggs!
What did it mean to "use others to eliminate one’s enemies"?
Shuangyu Port, being a significant trade port remotely controlled by Prince Ning, inherently impacted Wang Zeng’s interests as the Pirate King of the East Sea.
If the battle took place at Shuangyu Port, success or failure aside, the trade port would definitely be destroyed. Even with the backing of Prince Ning, it would be exceedingly difficult to recover within a decade or eight years. Moreover, under the guise of Yang Erlang’s banner, the firepower of Prince Ning would be restrained too.
Wang Zeng would reap the benefits!
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And what did it mean to "try to hatch chickens from borrowed eggs"?
Didn’t Wang Zeng himself say that his title as the "Pirate King of the East Sea" was in name only?
If a battle at Liuheng Island decimated the other pirate groups on the East Sea, wouldn’t his title then truly be deserved?
Reputation?
In their line of work, strength and profit matter more than reputation.
As the old saying goes: "A bird in hand is worth two in the bush."
All these, yet Yang Ge had not even counted the risk of Wang Zeng’s apparent cooperation, which was actually a covert effort by Prince Ning to entrap him.
On the side, Yang Tiansheng, seeing him pacing back and forth around the map with a tea bowl in hand and remaining silent, also quietly reminded him, "Erlang, father always said that those old hands who have roamed the rivers and lakes for decades and still remain completely intact are not to be taken lightly. Each one is crafty; we must be extremely cautious and not let him lead us into the ditch."
Yang Ge, pretending not to hear him slyly calling him "Erlang", laughed and said, "That’s rare, Yang here actually bothered to use his rusty brain."
Without waiting for Yang Tiansheng to protest, he rubbed his throbbing temples and chuckled, "But this time, he didn’t resort to any despicable schemes or tricks; it’s all fair stratagem!"
"Fair stratagem?"
Yang Tiansheng paused, then moved closer to the map feigning an examination: "How so?"
After a slight hesitation, Yang Ge shared all the details he had discerned with Yang Tiansheng.
"Bang."
Yang Tiansheng slammed the table and angrily said, "I knew that bald monk wasn’t a good man. You should not have let him go earlier!"
Yang Ge, patting his shoulder, reassured gently, "There’s no need for such extremes. He has his calculations, and we have ours. As long as things can be done, the coastal citizens indeed benefit, and we can also save much effort and many lives... It’s like partnering in business: he has his profits, and we have ours, a win-win!"
"That’s not acceptable, we can’t let him win."
Yang Tiansheng, rationalizing as a matter of course, said, "Think of a way to let us win twice!"
Yang Ge laughed, "Do you think I’m a deity?"
Yang Tiansheng teased, "To us in Jiangzhe, you, Yang Erlang, truly are like a deity!"
Yang Ge was silent for a while before speaking, "If indeed we want to plot against him, it’s not entirely impossible, but currently, I can’t be sure what that old coot is really thinking. If, as he claims, his heart aligns with Wei and he practices principles and ethics, helping him along wouldn’t hurt. At least with his people patrolling at sea, the citizens along the southeastern coast will also have an additional layer of protection, right?"
"The fear is, if this guy presents one set of behaviors to your face and does another behind your back, after dealing with those pirates, he’ll turn around and prey on the citizens along the southeastern coast."
"Then, our well-meant actions would have backfired!"
Yang Tiansheng, less burdened by worries, quickly said, "Then let’s be straightforward and stew him together with those pirates!"
Yang Ge, massaging his sore nose bridge, countered, "But we cannot assume he has the capability to do wrong and then just treat him as a bad person—if that were the case, wouldn’t the emperor have to deal with you and me right now?"
"Also, if we get rid of him, the pirates lingering on those islands will have no concerns anymore. We can’t expect Prince Ning to do the right thing, can we?"
"Moreover, the fact that Wei has been isolating itself is also a significant issue; keeping him could leave a small breathing space in the tightly shut doors of Wei. If we get rid of him, from then on, we could only passively take a beating."