Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

After completing overseas training and testing, before the ships arrived, Chi Honghai led his fleet towards Hong Kong Island.

He wanted to take a closer look at the usual training, but with such a large ship out there, it would be too conspicuous. No Western warship could bring a Tier 3 battleship this far yet, so even with insurance, he would try to avoid being exposed for now.

Back on Hong Kong Island, he was very satisfied with the results of the training. He was so happy that he waved his hand and gave all the sailors who had gone out to sea an extra meal.

With seven ships and a flagship, the Tianquan was a formidable force among pirates in the southeastern seas.

But Chi Honghai didn't just want to be a pirate or do business in the southeastern seas. The bigger his ambitions, the higher the requirements for strength.

Even with the Tianquan, there are only seven ships in total, with less than two thousand people. They have an advantage in firepower, but the difference in numbers will outweigh this advantage, even if the cost is high.

Chi Honghai's idea was to regard Zheng Zhilong as his biggest enemy. He had no choice but to regard Zheng Zhilong as his biggest enemy because Zheng Zhilong was the strongest force in this southeastern sea area.

Although the Dutch, Franks, and even the English possessed advanced firearms, technology, and ships, their overall quality, while high, was not unparalleled. More importantly, while their quality was high, their quantity was severely insufficient.

Previously, the Ming Dynasty's battles with them at sea were won by overwhelming them with sheer numbers. When numerous ships rushed to their side and boarded, no matter how powerful the firearms were, they could only engage in bitter hand-to-hand combat. At this point, the advantage of numbers became very obvious.

When you see wave after wave of people rushing towards you, and a large number of ships approaching at sea, even the strongest fighting spirit will be worn down by more than half.

So for Chi Honghai right now, there are only nine words to say: stockpile grain, build ships quickly, and recruit people frequently.

It's easy to stockpile grain. Hong Kong Island has vast tracts of wasteland and wild mountains, and the climate is also very suitable. Waterways can guarantee two harvests a year, and with proper cultivation, three harvests a year are possible. In addition, there are high-yield crops such as potatoes and corn. As long as the wasteland is cultivated, people will mostly not go hungry. Moreover, there is the fishing industry, and with the game in the mountains, people can often smell the meat.

Chi Honghai faced some difficulties in quickly building the ship.

If you really want to build a ship "quickly," you can only follow Eastern standards. The shipbuilding process in the East is not as strict and complicated as that of Western ships. Most importantly, the strength requirements for wood in Eastern ships are not as high as those for Western sailing ships.

As long as you want to build it and have suitable timber, you can start construction immediately without waiting for processes such as timber dehydration.

However, convenience has its drawbacks. Although ships built in this way have a shorter construction period and can be quickly formed, their quality is not high because the overall wooden structure is not strong enough. They are often more susceptible to damage from shelling or collisions.

Although in the waters near the Ming Dynasty, even ships carrying cannons have a limited number of cannons and do not have the ability to devour a "fragile ship" in one salvo like the Tianquan, it is acceptable to sail faster and take fewer hits during combat.

But that's the problem. People were not a rarity for the Ming Dynasty, but they were an extremely valuable resource for Chi Honghai.

While avoiding artillery fire or reducing the frequency of shelling can decrease casualties to some extent, does hand-to-hand combat guarantee no casualties? In fact, the casualty figures might be even higher.

Hand-to-hand combat is usually very brutal. Even if you are experienced and have strong hand-to-hand combat skills, a person's physical strength is limited. During hand-to-hand combat, physical strength is rapidly depleted, and even the most capable fighter will have little room to fight back in the end.

To put it bluntly, hand-to-hand combat relies not only on experience, skill level, and overall quality, but also on risking lives.

Everything requires people. If one dies, there is one less person. And the one who is lost is an experienced person. The time, energy, and money required to train someone with the same experience is very high.

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Chi Honghai was naturally unwilling to accept this outcome, because he really didn't have many men, and they weren't enough.

If a battle results in hundreds or even thousands of casualties, for Zheng Zhilong, the Westerners, and the Guangzhou government, it might just be a matter of losing a layer of skin or a small piece of flesh.

But for Chi Honghai, this number is no different from losing an arm.

Therefore, in shipbuilding, although speed is important, it is still necessary to build more robust Western-style ships that can carry a certain number of cannons.

Although only small sailboats can be built at present, the overall practicality is not bad. They not only have a certain combat capability, but also fit the geographical environment of the southeastern sea area.

As for how to speed up shipbuilding, the only solutions are to increase the amount of dehydrated timber, train more shipbuilding technicians, and expand shipyards to allow for the simultaneous construction of multiple ships.

The Eastern warships that Chi Honghai set aside for the time being also have their uses. Unique Eastern tactics, such as fire attacks with small boats, can be used in the future, but for now, they are not needed much.

Even if needed temporarily, these small boats for fire attacks could be hastily made.

The ship problem can be solved quickly, but ships need people to build them, maintain them, operate them, and run them. The cannons inside also need people to operate them, and it also takes people to support the shipbuilders and sailors.

People are always the most important resource, so we need to recruit people frequently.

Chi Honghai initially faced some difficulties with this, because he could no longer recruit local residents in Guangzhou, even those from remote villages. If he were discovered again, he would not be able to handle things smoothly with Chen Qian. He couldn't send a good news every time he recruited someone; where would he get so many messages?

Even if it were true, wouldn't Chen Qian be suspicious? Your news is coming in far too frequently.

But now Chi Honghai has a new method. The refugees from Hubei heading south are not a good thing for Guangzhou Prefecture. You see, the reason why refugees are refugees is because they have no permanent place to live.

Without a permanent place to stay, these refugees have little property and nothing to provide for their food and shelter, making them extremely vulnerable to becoming bandits or even rebels.

Unless the Guangzhou government takes charge of this group of people, but while it's possible to manage people, it's not possible to spend money on them; however, managing people does require spending money!

These refugees were naturally beyond our control. Although the Guangzhou government was somewhat worried that a large number of refugees might turn into rebels, it was nothing compared to spending the officials' money. After all, if a peasant uprising really occurred, the blame could be pinned on Zhang Xianzhong in the north, and they might even be able to ask the emperor for money. If not, they could simply impose additional taxes on the spot. In short, it was all for the good of the people.

Since the Guangzhou government wouldn't take care of it, then I, Chi Honghai, would. So Chi Honghai instructed Liu Qingjiang, Pang San, Shen Er, and others to sail to the outskirts of Guangzhou in the coming days to take in refugees.

Once brought back to Hong Kong Island, these refugees would soon become his capable sailors.

In this way, the Nine True Formula can be gradually formed and preserved.