The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 122 Straight to Zhelin Bay

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, in the residence of the Deputy Commander of Nan'ao in Chaozhou Prefecture, a somber atmosphere prevailed.

Since Ma Chenglie returned from Zhelin Bay looking disheveled a few days ago, he has locked himself in his study and refused to come out.

Even his most favored concubine, who came to visit him, was slapped away by him.

Ma Chenglie wasn't giving up on himself; instead, he was studying words and phrases.

The loss of Nan'ao Island and the disastrous defeat of the navy are things that cannot be hidden and will be exposed sooner or later.

Rather than being impeached by others, he should take the initiative to submit a memorial, give the court an explanation, and take control of the situation.

Of course, how to write this memorial is a skill in itself.

To tell the truth, I'm doomed.

Embarrassing battle reports is meaningless.

Ma Chenglie had to find a good way to both tell the truth and shirk responsibility.

Therefore, for several days after returning home, he locked himself in his study, deep in thought.

"Dong dong dong."

There was a knock on the study door.

"Master," the concubine called out sweetly.

"Get out!" Ma Chenglie cursed.

The concubine sobbed through the door, "Master, I've come to bring you food. It's alright if you don't see me, but please eat on time and don't let yourself get sick from hunger."

Ma Chenglie was in a bad mood and scolded, "Stop crying and wailing! I'm not dead yet! Put the food at the door."

"Yes." The concubine dared not disobey, gave a resentful reply, and left gracefully.

Ma Chenglie calmed his mind, took out a piece of paper, placed a paperweight on it, selected a wolf-hair brush, dipped it in thick ink, and began to write.

"Your subject, Ma Chenglie, respectfully reports: 'By imperial decree appointing you as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief stationed in Nan'ao to assist in the defense of Zhangzhou, Chaozhou, and other areas.'"
Because of the rampant pirates and the loss of the fortified positions, we earnestly beg Your Majesty to quickly send reinforcements to quell the maritime unrest.

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month of this year, bandits gathered more than 20 large ships and suddenly attacked Nan'ao.

Your Majesty immediately led three large ships and fifty patrol boats to suppress them. Unexpectedly, the tides changed abruptly… Although I personally killed three of the traitors, I was ultimately no match for them and retreated to Zhelin Bay. This is all due to my poor command, underestimating the enemy, and acting rashly…”

The more Ma Chenglie wrote, the colder his neck became. He felt that he was not far from the Ministry of Justice's prison. In anger, he threw down his pen, crumpled the paper, and tossed it aside.

The same scraps of paper had already covered the ground.

Ma Chenglie slumped back in his seat, clutching his hair in anguish, his eyes bloodshot.

He did not achieve any merit on this voyage, but if he had been able to kill some pirates and capture one or two pirate ships, he would not be without any achievements to report.

Despite his pride in his intelligence, faced with this utter defeat, he racked his brains but couldn't come up with a single excuse.

Ma Chenglie stared dejectedly at the ceiling, muttering, "Could this be the end of me?"

Just then, there was another knock on the door. Ma Chenglie was filled with rage and smashed the inkstone with it.

The inkstone slammed against the door frame with a loud crash, shattering into pieces on the ground, splattering ink everywhere.

"Get out!" Ma Chenglie roared.

There was a moment of silence outside the door, then someone whispered, "Commander, it's news from Nan'ao Island."

"What!" Ma Chenglie exclaimed as if grasping at a straw. He opened the door, pulled the guards outside into the study, carefully locked the door, and urged in a low voice, "Speak quickly!"

“In the morning, Commander Huang sent a boat to Zhelin Bay and brought more than two hundred heads.”

Ma Chenglie pressed on urgently, "Whose head is it?"

"They didn't say, but judging from the ships, they should be a group of pirates." The soldier said, taking out a letter from his pocket. "This was sent along with it."

Ma Chenglie snatched the letter and tore the envelope to shreds in a few swift movements. The lettering on the paper read "Official Gazette."

The date is also printed below: "First day of the twelfth lunar month of the first year of the Tianqi reign".

Ma Chenglie flipped through it again and again, and was convinced that it was just an ordinary official report with no other words or phrases. He was greatly disappointed and full of doubts.

"Any other news?"

"Gone."

"You go down first."

After dismissing the messenger, Ma Chenglie took the official gazette to the table and began to read it.

He had read the official gazette; it was still filled with verbal sparring over the Red Pill Case and the Palace Transfer Case, with the topic being the punishment of Li Kezhuo, who had presented the Red Pill.

The Zhejiang and Hubei factions believed that Li Kezhuo's mistake was merely a misuse of medication and should be punished leniently.

The Donglin Party, however, believed that Li Kezhuo had premeditatedly murdered the emperor and must be severely punished.

As the Donglin Party gradually gained the upper hand, the court changed its punishment for Li Kezhuo repeatedly.

Initially, the plan was to reward Li Kezhuo with fifty taels of silver, then the plan was to deduct a year's salary, and finally the case was decided to exile him. This controversy has now come to an end.

In fact, anyone with eyes to see clearly knows that no one in the court cares whether Li Kezhuo is alive or dead.

Li Kezhuo was recommended by Grand Secretary Fang Congzhe.

The Donglin Party's demand for severe punishment was actually a pretext to attack Fang Congzhe, the leader of the Zhejiang Party, which was essentially an attack on the Zhejiang Party itself.

The passing of two emperors this year has led to frequent changes in power, and the factional struggles in the court have reached an unprecedented level.

In all matters, big or small, they don't care about right or wrong, only about their stance.

Those who share the same stance will be rewarded with silver even if they kill the emperor.

Even a high-ranking general stationed on the border could be dismissed and stripped of his title if his stance differed.

Take, for example, Xiong Tingbi, the previous Liaodong military commissioner. He was appointed to the post in a time of crisis after the disastrous defeat at Sarhu. He quickly stabilized the situation in Liaodong and was a man of great military talent, a pillar of the state.

Such a person straddled the fence between the Chu Party and the Donglin Party, and was disliked both internally and externally. He was dismissed without much fanfare, and a scholar named Yuan Yingtai was appointed as the Liaodong Military Commissioner in his place.

Thinking of this, Ma Chenglie's eyes suddenly lit up and his heart leaped. In a situation where there was no hope of survival, he found a way out.

If his stance is correct, can he be exempt from punishment?
So the question is, which stance is the normal stance?
The Donglin Party is currently very powerful in the court, but the Donglin Party members are all aloof scholars who are bound by their relationships as classmates, fellow students, and mentors. Even if Ma Chenglie wanted to join them, they wouldn't want him.

Moreover, since his ancestral home is in Hubei, he is a natural member of the Chu Party. By shifting the blame for the defeat onto the Donglin Party, he will naturally receive the protection of the Chu Party, and incidentally, the protection of the Zhejiang Party and the Qi Party as well.

Nan'ao Island is just a small place, and its popularity is far less than that of the Red Pill Case and the Palace Transfer Case. It will soon be drowned out by the court's verbal battles and fade away.

Upon thinking of this, Ma Chenglie immediately laid out paper and picked up a pen.

"Your subject, Ma Chenglie, Imperial Envoy and Deputy Commander-in-Chief in charge of the local areas of Nan'ao and other places, respectfully reports:"

With the arrival of two hundred new heads and several wrecked ships, Ma Chenglie, in his memorial to the throne, lauded the naval battle fought on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, portraying the major defeat as a bloody retreat.

Then the tone shifts, describing how the bandits were too powerful and how, in order to protect Zhangzhou Prefecture, he was forced to abandon Nan'ao in exchange for thwarting the bandits' attempt to land in Zhangzhou.

Next, the reasons for the loss of South Australia despite the victory were analyzed, attributing them to insufficient military funds, gunpowder shortages, and disrepair of warships.

Reducing or exempting commercial taxes was a policy consistently advocated by the Donglin Party. When Ma Chenglie raised the issue of military expenses, he was subtly shifting the blame onto the Donglin Party while avoiding accusations of blaming his superiors or resenting the court.

Finally, he stated that he was rebuilding defenses, earnestly requested the court to allocate ships and provisions, and asked to atone for his crimes through meritorious service.

His memorial was earnest and sincere, revealing his deep patriotism, which even convinced himself of its sincerity.

After finishing writing, Ma Chenglie read it over and checked it several times. After thinking for a while, he picked up his pen again and added a sentence: "The bandits on Nan'ao Island are suspected to be Li Dan's troops."

This way of writing has three advantages.

Firstly, Li Dan was notorious and powerful, so having such a person invade Nan'ao would lessen his guilt for failing to defend the territory.

Secondly, it prevented the court from associating the matter with a popular rebellion. After all, both were acts of defending territory, but the fact that the land was occupied by pirates was far less serious than that of rebels.

Thirdly, once the court learns that Li Dan has sent people to occupy the island, it will certainly take appropriate measures and will not urge Ma Chenglie to send troops hastily, thus allowing time for maneuver.

After Ma Chenglie finished his inspection, he took out the memorial, copied it, blew the ink dry, and wrote "Memorial on the Maritime Affairs of Nan'ao" on the cover of the memorial.

Having finished everything, Ma Chenglie felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders and let out a long sigh. Looking up, he saw that it was almost dusk outside the study. Just as he was about to go out to ask someone to deliver the memorial to the emperor,

A soldier came running in a panic.

"General..."

Ma Chenglie's heart clenched. He knew it must be bad news, but he was already in such a terrible state that he couldn't imagine anything worse.

The soldier ran up, panting, and said, "General... Zhelin Bay has been besieged by pirates!"

"What!" Ma Chenglie felt a chill in his heart, and the memorial fell to the ground.

……

Just a few hours ago.

Ten miles south of Zhelin Bay, the Linqian Fleet assembled.

In the officers' mess of the St. Anna, Lin Qian's sworn brothers, the owner and acting owner of the Seawolf ship sat around a table.

There were too many people, and some of the boat owners had no seats and had to stand aside.

On the table was a hydrological map of Zhelin Bay, drawn in great detail. The location of each military tent, the berth of each ship, the height and direction of the fortified walls, the waterway routes, and the location of the reefs were all marked.

This was drawn by Shi Jun and his family soldiers under the Great Memory Restoration Technique.

The battle plan had already been explained before setting sail, and Lin Qian repeated it again: "Let me say it again, the objective of this battle is to capture the ships, do not linger in the fighting."

"First, the Saint Anna will breach the stockade walls, then the Seawolf will storm in. Bai Qing, your ship goes here."

Lin Qian pointed to a teardrop shape on the map, next to which was a line of small characters: "Jia No. 2 Great Fujian Ship".

"Yes!" Bai Qing replied, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

“Zheng Aqi, your target is here.” Lin Qian pointed to the map again, which was “the No. 3 Jia Fu Ship”.

Zheng Aqi also clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

Lin Qian continued, "Shi Kai and Mu San, your boats will be responsible for providing support around the Dafu ship, and you will also be required to board the ship to make contact if necessary."

The two ship owners whose names were called stood up and accepted the order.

"As for the other naval ships, seize them if you can, and if you can't, set them on fire and sink them. Every ship is equipped with carbide, so be careful when using it and don't burn your eyebrows."

Lin Qian's lighthearted tone made all the pirates burst into laughter.

After laughing, Lin Qian's expression turned serious: "That's all for now, everyone take your positions!"

"Yes!" The pirates all stood up and clasped their fists, their killing intent palpable. After all the ship owners had left, Bai Langzai said, "Helmsman, let me go help on my sister's ship. This knife hasn't seen any blood since it came into my hands."

Lin Qian thought for a moment and nodded in agreement: "Okay, but be careful. If you are outmatched, retreat immediately. You and your sister are much more important than the boat."

"Yes, Captain, rest assured!" Bai Langzai excitedly clasped his hands in a fist salute and disembarked with Bai Qing.

Bai Langzai is extremely loyal, and Lin Qian would not easily let him take risks.

However, according to Shi Jun's confession, on the night of the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, each naval warship had its own soldiers supervising the battle, which kept morale high and prevented them from collapsing for a long time.

Now that the navy has suffered a recent defeat, the private soldiers borrowed from the commanders of various garrisons have all returned to their original posts, and morale has surely plummeted.

Furthermore, the pirates who landed at most looted villages and did not directly attack the imperial navy. For decades, there had been no Japanese pirates in the southeastern seas, and the troops had no intention of taking precautions. This surprise attack can be described as seizing the initiative.

Therefore, this attack on Zhelin Bay is basically a sure thing.

The large ship was very important to Lin Qian, which is why she agreed to let Bai Langzai help with the boarding.

After the boat owners returned to their ships, the fleet headed north and entered Zhelin Bay in less than half an hour. After turning past Xunzhou Island, it sailed to a point two hundred paces outside the water village, with no obstacles along the way.

Lin Qian raised her binoculars to check the situation at the water fortress. She could see soldiers on the fortress walls running around nervously, warships inside the fortress damaged beyond recognition, and a deathly atmosphere in the barracks.

Lin Qian put away her binoculars, her voice cold and stern: "Fire!"

"Fire!" Chen Jiao shouted.

On the gun deck, Lei Sanxiang was already prepared to fire, and upon receiving the order, he shouted, "Fire!"

In an instant, the fourteen siren cannons spewed fire, and towering columns of water rose around the stockade walls.

The shelling lasted for half an hour, and most of the stockade wall was destroyed.

The shelling stopped, and the blue flag fluttered.

Ten Seawolf ships lined up in a row and rushed into the water fortress like hungry wolves pouncing on sheep.

The Santa Ana moved to the northwest of the water fortress and began shelling the barracks on the shore.

Through the telescope, one could see that as solid iron bullets fell, the barracks kicked up clouds of dust and dirt, more than a dozen barracks collapsed, and soldiers ran around the barracks like headless flies.

Officers were shouting at the soldiers to line up and board the ship, but no one obeyed their orders.

On the water, the Seawolf had already sailed to the side of the warship. As usual, the deck was first cleaned with arquebuses and breech-loading cannons before boarding and boarding the ship.

Amidst the smoke and fire, Bai Qing and Zhong Aqi's Sea Wolf ship arrived at the two large Fu ships. The crew members threw out grappling hooks to pull the Sea Wolf ship and the large Fu ships closer together, and then climbed up the deck of the large Fu ships using the grappling hooks.

Bai Langzai charged ahead and climbed onto the deck. His large Miao sword gleamed coldly, its blade flashing. With a few quick maneuvers, two soldiers' necks splattered with blood, and another had his leg severed, a truly gruesome sight.

Bai Langzai was already agile, and with a sharp blade in hand, dealing with the demoralized soldiers was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, or boiling water being poured on snow. His large Miao sword was wielded with wide, sweeping movements, and wherever the blade's light reached, the soldiers retreated in disarray.

As the remaining crew boarded the ship, the situation on the deck of the dafu ship became increasingly one-sided, with the naval troops offering almost no resistance and scrambling to escape to shore.

The gangway was crowded with soldiers fleeing for their lives, and people were constantly being pushed and falling into the water.

Some soldiers, seeing the gangway crowded, simply climbed over the gangway and jumped directly into the water.

The Spring Festival had just passed, and the sea was bitterly cold. The large ship was not far from the shore, and the pier was too high and difficult to climb.

The soldiers in good physical condition were able to swim to the shore with difficulty.

Many soldiers suffered cramps as soon as they entered the water, and soon they were exhausted, lost body heat, and froze to death in the sea.

Such a scene is hardly worthy of being called boarding action; rather, it's more like herding ducks into the water.

Meanwhile, several Haicang and Cangshan ships had been captured and sailed out of the water fortress by Lin Qian's men, anchoring alongside the large sailing ship.

Some of the warships were leaking badly and had no value as prisoners, so Lin Qian's men would get close, light the carbide rods, and throw them onto the ships.

After the black powder on the carbide rods burned out, the reduction reaction began, and molten lead at thousands of degrees flowed out. No matter how heat-resistant the wood used on the warship, it immediately caught fire. The deck was quickly melted through by the molten lead, and the entire cabin was also on fire.

In just a short while, the entire Zhelin Bay was engulfed in flames.

The flames billowed thick black smoke, visible for miles around.

Amidst billowing smoke, two large Fujian ships emerged from the smoke, followed closely by the remaining Sea Wolf ships. Some of the Sea Wolf ships had fires still clinging to their sails, and the crew frantically extinguished them with sand and water.

The fleet anchored outside the Zhelin Bay water fortress for a long time, counting that all members had arrived and that there were no more of their own personnel or boats in the water fortress.

Lin Qian ordered them to return to the island.

The fleet set sail and soon entered the nearshore waters, with Nan'ao Island in the distance.

Lin Qian stood on the stern deck and looked back. Under the gloomy sky, black smoke rose high into the air from Zhelin Bay.

Behind the St. Anna, two large Fujian-style boats followed closely with their sails raised. On the No. 2 Fujian-style boat, Bai Langzai was standing at the bow, carefully wiping the large Miao knife with a cotton cloth and water. The cold gleam of the blade could be seen from a distance.

On the No. 3 Jia Fu ship, Zhong Aqi was directing the crew to scoop water out of the cabin. The ship had been severely damaged in the naval battle on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month and needed to be repaired after docking at Nan'ao.

Alongside the two large Fujian ships, ten Hailang ships followed, and further out were more than twenty naval ships, including Haicang and Cangshan ships.

When Lin Qian arrived, the fleet consisted of only eleven ships. By the time they returned to the island, the fleet had more than doubled in size, indicating a very fruitful haul.

These two large Fujian ships are especially important.

Ming warships generally had low freeboards, and due to their small size and watertight compartments, it was difficult to build gun decks. They could only deploy cannons on open decks.

However, the open deck bulwarks have low strength, and considering the ship's center of gravity, large-caliber guns cannot be installed. Therefore, the design can only accommodate the breech-loading guns, similar to the Seawolf.

The large-scale ship was different; since it could be equipped with heavy breech-loading cannons, it could also be equipped with twelve-pound siren cannons.

Capture these two large Fujian ships and modify them; they can serve as Lin Qian's most scarce main warships.

This is only one of the reasons why Lin Qian attacked Zhelin Bay.

He also has strategic considerations.

He had previously sent heads and official documents to the deputy commander of Nan'ao in the hope that Ma Chenglie could retain his position as deputy commander of Nan'ao, so that the court would not send any powerful figures to retake Nan'ao.

At the same time, eliminating Ma Chenglie's manpower would prevent him from boasting to the court about recovering Nan'ao, so he could only try to maintain the status quo and coexist with Lin Qian.

Once this goal is achieved, Ma Chenglie will have no naval ships left, meaning he will have no trump cards left and will be completely at Lin Qian's mercy.

To put it more bluntly, Lin Qian hoped that Ma Chenglie would join the Chu Party, Qi Party, and Zhejiang Party.

These people, who would later become the eunuch faction, were easily corrupted, making it easier for Lin Qian to follow Ma Chenglie's line to infiltrate the central government of the Ming Dynasty and seek a more stable external environment.

Of course, all of the above inferences are based on the premise that Ma Chenglie is rational and capable.

If Ma Chenglie were determined to die, he would have told the truth, or perhaps he lacked political wisdom and the court would have seen through his scheme.

The imperial court will still launch a campaign to suppress them.

At the very least, Lin Qian eliminated the navy's fighting force ahead of time, while simultaneously strengthening herself, giving her more confidence to deal with the navy's encirclement and suppression.

After all, no one in this world can be perfectly strategized. All Lin Qian can do is devise an endless series of Plan Bs.

Zhelin Bay is not far from Nan'ao Island.

An hour later, the fleet docked at Houjiang Bay.

The Houjiangwan Wharf is now packed with over a thousand Tanka boats, as well as captured ships belonging to Li Kuiqi and newly captured naval warships, making the port as crowded as if dumplings were being dropped into a pot, with no place for newly arriving ships to dock.

When the dock was built, Lin Qian had left a lot of extra capacity, but she did not expect the fleet to develop so quickly that the extra capacity was used up in less than a year.

Lin Qian had no choice but to order some of the idle ships to dock at Shen'ao Port and make way for the newly arrived warships at the berths in Houjiang Bay.

At the same time, craftsmen from the island were brought to the dock to urgently repair the large Fu-style ship.

In the evening, in the captain's cabin of the St. Anna, Xiao Jiu, the apprentice of the mute Huang, knocked on the door and came in to report: "Helmsman, among the ships returning to port this time, there are two large Fu ships, two Fu ships, fifteen Haicang ships, and nine Cangshan ships. Master is ordering the craftsmen to speed up the repairs."

After saying that, he handed the data of the large Fujian ship that he had measured to Lin Qian.

On the paper, a design of the large Fuchuan ship was drawn, imitating the style of Lin Qian's design.

The large Fuzhou ship is 12 zhang long, 3 zhang wide, and has a draft of 6 chi. It has a tall sterncastle and four decks, including one deck inside the cabin, one deck in the open air, and two decks on the sterncastle.

Lin Qian roughly judged that the ship could be equipped with twelve Siren cannons. If one floor of the sterncastle was removed, two more light four-pound cannons could be installed on the sterncastle deck.

By this calculation, arming two large Fujian ships, plus adding gun decks to the St. Anna, would bring the total number of Siren cannons to forty-eight.

Lin Qian asked someone to call Jose.

A moment later, José knocked on the door and entered the captain's cabin.

Lin Qian said, "Go place an order with the Bugalau Cannon Foundry, they've got a job."

……

As the new ship is welcomed on Nan'ao Island.

At Zhelinwan Water Village, Ma Chenglie galloped over on horseback. He ran to a hilltop, tumbled and scrambled off his horse, and his bloodshot eyes were filled with despair.

The flames at Zhelin Village had been extinguished, leaving it charred black and billowing with thick smoke. Most of the village walls had collapsed, and two large Fujian-style ships in the harbor had vanished without a trace, along with the warships in slightly better condition.

Only a few burnt-out warships remained floating on the sea, their broken planks and tattered sails covering the entire surface.

There were also frozen, pale corpses on the shore, constantly pushed ashore by the waves, like a group of dead fish turned belly up.

On the shore, the surviving soldiers, their faces numb, carried away the corpses; several piles of bodies had already accumulated at sea.

The barracks on the shore were less damaged, with about 60-70% of them still standing. However, the ground was covered with bricks and rubble, and the soldiers could only move forward with difficulty through the ruins.

This is the current state of Zhelin Village, one of the six major water villages in Fujian and Guangdong. Apart from the name, almost nothing remains.

Ma Chenglie felt waves of dizziness wash over him. His eyes were vacant as he stared at the sky, roaring inwardly, "Damn you, God, why are you doing this to me?!"

"Commander-in-Chief," the soldier said, forcing a smile, as he stepped forward and reported the casualties, "Over two hundred have been killed or wounded at Zhelin Bay, and dozens more are still missing..."

Ma Chenglie felt a faint, sweet taste rising in his throat, and forced it down as he asked, "Where's the ship?"

"There are only a dozen or so sampans left, but the warships... not a single one remains."

"Ah!" Ma Chenglie roared to the sky, screaming hysterically towards Nan'ao Island, "Five-Clawed Dragon, I'll fuck your ancestors!"

Even now, Ma Chenglie doesn't know the name of the island-occupying bandits. He only knows that his men call him "Boatman" and that the common people call him "Five-Clawed Dragon."

"General Commander".

"Commander-in-Chief!"

Seeing that Ma Chenglie was acting like a madman, the surrounding soldiers all stepped forward to persuade him.

With a whoosh, Ma Chenglie drew his sword, ready to commit suicide. The surrounding guards, who were prepared, rushed forward and grabbed his sword-wielding hand tightly.

(End of this chapter)