Xu Chao Guang (許朝光), Yelang Beyond the Sea

In the previous months I've covered some Jia Jing Da Wo Kou (嘉靖大倭寇) topics, namely Zhang Lian (張璉), who was a mountain bandit being mistaken as Wokou, as well as Twenty-four Generals of Yue Gang (月港), who were a rare case of grassroots attempt to participate in smuggling/piratical activities. For this article though, I will cover another famous pirate lord named Xu Chao Guang (許朝光). In many ways, Xu Chao Guang was a quintessential Wokou, however he only became active during the later phases of Jia Jing Da Wo Kou, when Ming coastal defence began to improve, many notorious Chinese Wokou leaders had been wiped out, and the inflow of Japanese Wokou began to dry out. Thus, his piratical activities showed signs of transitioning from Wokou/Japanese-based piracy practices into Chinese-style piracy.

Rise to notoriety

Xu Chao Guang, also known as Xu Xi Chi (許西池) and Xu Lao (許老, lit. 'Elder Xu'), was born in Dongjiesuo (東界所, part of Raoping County) and had an uneventful childhood until a notorious pirate from Huanggang (黃崗, also part of Raoping County) known by the name of Xu Dong (許棟, not to be confused with another pirate with the same name) raided his hometown, killed his father, and kidnapped his mother to be his spouse. Since Xu Dong was childless, he also adopted the son of his new wife and gave Xu Chao Guang his current name. As the child grew older, Xu Dong made him the right-hand man of his pirate crew based in Nan'ao Island, and the duo terrorised the coasts of Zhangzhou and Chaozhou for years. Xu Chao Guang himself notably cooperated with Xie He (謝和) to raid and take control of Yue Gang (月港) and recruited some of the former followers of Wang Zhi (王直) in July 1557, as well as raiding Dajiajing Village (大家井, part of Jieyang County) in January 1558. He also attacked the Weisuo garrison of Pengzhou (蓬州, also part of Jieyang County) in February 1558, although that attack was repelled by Ming army and local militia.

Despite being treated well, Xu Chao Guang never let go of the hatred against his father's murderer and secretly swore vengeance. In March 1558, Xu Dong went on a trip to Japan to recruit more Wokou for a planned large scale operation, entrusting Xu Chao Guang to manage the day-to-day activities of his pirate crew in his absence. Xu Chao Guang immediately jumped at the chance to enact vengeance and prepared a banquet at Shibeiao (石碑澳, one of the eighty-one bays of Nan'ao Island) to welcome Xu Dong's return, but secretly hid ambushers in small boats outside the dock in advance, who then proceeded to kill Xu Dong in the middle of the banquet.

Having usurped his stepfather and took over his pirate crew, not to mention absorbing Xu Dong's newly-recruited Wokou, Xu Chao Guang quickly rose to become one of the most powerful pirate lords in this part of China. He self-appointed himself Ao Zhang (澳長, lit. 'Bay captain', a government position that manages coastal law enforcement and naval militia) and pioneered a new method of money-making called Mai Shui (買水, lit. 'Buying water') or Bao Shui (報水, lit. 'Reporting water')—essentially levying his own tax on all merchant traffic within the waters under his control, robbing those refusing to comply. This new racketeering method was so successful that it was imitated by later pirates such as Zheng Zhi Long (鄭芝龍) and Zheng Yi Sao (鄭一嫂), eventually becoming one of the defining characteristics of Chinese piracy.

Persistent thorn

Despite pioneering a relatively bloodless and risk-free method to earn ludicrous profit, Xu Chao Guang's greed still knew no bounds and he continued the old ways of violent piracy.

In November 1558, Xu Chao Guang attacked Raoping County and captured Huanggang Town (黃岡鎮), but was later repelled by Ming army. The next month, he colluded with thousands of Wokou from Niutianyang (牛田洋, part of Jinping District) to attack the village of Fengshan Mountain (鳳山). The raid was thankfully repelled through great effort by local gentry Chen Nan Ye (陳南野), who had the foresight to fortify the mountain after experiencing a raid from another Wokou earlier in the same year. Nevertheless, this only made Xu Chao Guang redirecting his attention to Heping County, Chiliao (赤寮, part of Chaoyang County), and Mianhu (棉湖, also part of Chaoyang County) instead. In March 1559, Xu Chao Guang raided Jieyang County but the attack was repelled. He made another attempt in November 1559, this time attacking the county seat of Chaoyang directly, and after the raid was repelled he returned to plunder Fengshan Mountain instead. The next month, Xu Chao Guang recruited another thousand Wokou to attack the Weisuo garrison of Haimen, although he was once again defeated by Ming army, suffering heavy casualties and had to shift to Haiyang County. He was again defeated by a combined Ming army and militia there, and had to flee to Pinghe County in Zhangzhou. However, he soon returned and attacked Huanggang Town again, only this time he was defeated by a combined force of Ming army and Tubing auxiliary and retreated to Pengzhou, where he was interdicted by another Ming army. Undeterred by the setbacks, Xu Chao Guang soon returned and plundered Mianhu, Caikuo (彩扩), Jiazi (甲子) and Luqing (蘆清) in January 1560, then attacked Gucheng Village (古埕鄉) in Chaoyang County soon after. It was at Gucheng Village he met his biggest defeat, as Ming army not only repelled Xu Chao Guang's attack, but pursued him all the way back to Yue Gang, which forced him to abandon Yue Gang and flee to the sea. Ming commander Wang Lin (王麟) then followed him to the sea and killed or captured hundreds in the ensuing naval battle, with thousands more drowned.

Unfortunately, the serious defeat only made Xu Chao Guang grow wiser and more cautious, which was made all the more evident by his next attack. On February 16, 1560, Xu Chao Guang suddenly attacked Dachengsuo (大城所, part of Raoping County) and plundered it empty, as he knew that the city would be defenceless after another pirate Wu Ping (吳平) raided and plundered it for months. He also successfully attacked the Weisuo garrisons of Xuanzhong (懸鐘, part of Zhao'an County) and Lu'ao (陆鳌, part of Zhangpu County) in 1561, plundering and razing several other settlements to the ground in the process.

Legal criminal

Unable to cope with a pirate lord of such notoriety, not to mention capable of launching frequent raids as well as attacking Ming military garrisons directly, in 1563 the cowardly local authorities approached Xu Chao Guang to negotiate a peaceful settlement (much to the ire of many) inside Chaozhou City, to which he made three outrageous demands as prerequisites to his attendance: he must be allowed entry into the city with his armed guards, and the city should not close its gates during his stay; he must be allowed to set up sentry posts manned by his own men in the city, and the county official must prepare a lavish banquet to welcome his arrival, but he is not required to meet any other higher-ranked officials. Being the weaker party in this negotiation, local authorities had no choice but to agree to his demands. Thus Xu Chao Guang openly sailed to the port with dozens of pirate ships and entered the city accompanied by an entourage of of mounted guards carrying his banner, both to flaunt his power and as a show of force. He was offered amnesty and awarded the military rank of Company Commander (把總).

Knowing full well that his new status as a Ming military officer made him effectively immune to prosecution, Xu Chao Guang quickly brought his clandestine trade into the open. He openly stationed his ships at Niutianyang to collect racket money, and built at least two strongholds on Nan'ao Island, although he later moved his base of operation inland to Donghu (東湖, part of Chenghai District). Such was Xu Chao Guang's power that his pirate crew was given the moniker Hai Wai Ye Lang (海外夜郎), or "Yelang beyond the sea", as it was effectively a kingdom unto itself. Initially Xu Chao Guang at least put up a pretense of being law-abiding and cooperative with Ming government, even lending his help to Ming army during Pinghaiwei campaign on April 1563, although he quickly returned to his old ways and raided She'an Fort (畬安土堡, an ethnic minority fortified settlement of She people in Zhao'an County) later in the same year, massacring 600.

Brooks no rivals

Even with his protected status, not everything was smooth sailing for Xu Chao Guang, and he would face his greatest challenge in the following years. In 1564, Wu Ping, who commanded a far more powerful pirate crew than Xu Chao Guang's, rebelled against Ming Dynasty, which prompted Ming authorities to send in commander Qi Ji Guang (戚繼光) to eliminate him. Intimidated by Qi Ji Guang's fearsome reputation and elite army, Wu Ping relocated to Nan'ao Island to evade him. However, this placed Xu Chao Guang in a conundrum—Wu Ping's arrival would certainly erode his power on Nan'ao Island, yet he was unwilling and unprepared to openly confront Wu Ping's stronger crew in a power struggle.

Ever the cunning person, Xu Chao Guang quickly resorted to his old trick by inviting Wu Ping to a banquet only to intentionally intoxicate Wu Ping's men and incite infighting among them. Alas, the plan didn't go the way Xu Chao Guang envisioned. Although he was able to trick Wu Ping into killing his own son in a fit of drunken rage, Wu Ping sobered up the next day and angrily retaliated, resulting in a brutal Wokou-on-Wokou battle on Nan'ao Island. Xu Chao Guang's pirate crew was no match to Wu Ping's and was soundly defeated, although Xu Chao Guang prevailed by holing up inside his stronghold. Fortunately, a mighty Ming army which was already on Wu Ping's tail arrived at Nan'ao Island some time after the incident, and Xu Chao Guang was all too happy to lend help to Ming army again to get rid of his rival.

Karmic End

Xu Chao Guang's remarkable luck didn't last forever, and his demise was every bit as dramatic as his meteoric rise. One day, a downtrodden Confucian scholar known by the name of Chen Cang Hai (陳滄海) came to seek refuge in Xu Chao Guang's pirate crew for unknown reason. Xu Chao Guang quickly took a liking of him, and the two became fast friends. As time went by, Xu Chao Guang became increasingly trustful of his friend at the expense of his other subordinates, which bred discontent. This eventually boiled to a point where Mo Ying Fu (莫應敷), one of Xu Chao Guang's subordinates, openly accused Chen Cang Hai of being a traitor in 1567, to which Chen Cang Hai vehemently denied and even swore an oath of innocence. Eager to make amend and restore trust, Chen Cang Hai invited Xu Chao Guang and his pirate crew to a banquet the next day, and the incident appeared to be over.

Unfortunately, Chen Cang Hai severely underestimated the insidiousness of the Wokou. After the banquet ended and everyone dispersed to rest, Mo Ying Fu suddenly stormed into Xu Chao Guang's private quarter and slew him, then framed Chen Cang Hai as the traitor that assassinated the pirate lord before putting him to death. After his death, Xu Chao Guang's pirate crew—now taken over by Mo Ying Fu—would remain active until 1573, albeit in much diminished capacity.

Thus ended the storied life of pirate lord Xu Chao Guang, who died the same way he usurped his stepfather.