Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Looking at the thousand-strong group in front of him splitting into two again, Chi Honghai chuckled to himself, thinking, "Hans really doesn't treat his men like human beings when he's risking his life."

He then led his men and charged forward, surrounding the five hundred men who had been abandoned.

He watched Hans continue to walk away and realized that he probably couldn't catch up with him anymore, and even if he did, it would be difficult to keep up.

Looking at the five hundred men who had been abandoned, Chi Honghai, mounted on his horse, pointed his sword at them and said in Dutch, "Your commander has abandoned you here to die. Do you really intend to die for him?"

The adjutant, having clearly seen Chi Honghai's face, also unleashed a torrent of curses: "You bastard! You have no sense of contract! God will never forgive you; you won't go to heaven after you die!"

Listening to his adjutant's curses, Chi Honghai no longer wanted to explain that he wasn't under God's control.

"I understand, everyone. Look back carefully. Your superior sent you here to die. Don't you realize that? Is it worth dying for him? How much are you being paid to risk your lives like this?"

"This isn't about money! This is about a soldier's honor!" the adjutant shouted. "Don't listen to him trying to demoralize the troops!"

"Really? My lord, what were your orders?"

"As you see and say, covering the main force's retreat is a soldier's duty!" the adjutant shouted, wanting the other separated soldiers to hear as well.

Chi Honghai echoed loudly, "Then your mission is complete! I will not pursue Hans any further. A soldier's honor is to complete the mission. Now that the mission is complete, shouldn't we avoid unnecessary sacrifices?"

"Whether you choose to die or stay alive is up to you, but I must remind you that your deaths will have no sympathy for Hans, who just ran away. If he truly cared for you, why didn't he cover your retreat himself?"

Hearing Chi Honghai's words, everyone was moved. They all came here to make money and get a better life and honor. Now that they were dying here, they might not even be buried. What honor could they possibly have?

Hans had previously said when he led them to victory against the Spanish that losers have no need for dignity or honor.

"Don't listen to his nonsense! Our efforts will be remembered by Governor Hans, and our deeds will be reported back to the Netherlands! If you lay down your weapons now, you'll be lambs to the slaughter!" the adjutant continued to shout, trying to calm the troops.

"Do as you please, but I must tell you, Hans, he can't escape either. If you resist stubbornly, no one will ever know how you defeated the Spanish or how you fought so bravely. The so-called Netherlands will only see you as defeated soldiers."

Chi Honghai continued with a smile, "If you lay down your weapons and surrender now, I will guarantee your lives. As for whether you believe it or not, you can look at the Portuguese and Englishmen who fought against you just now. They were even willing to follow me. Do you think I treat you any worse than Hans did?"

As soon as they finished speaking, their survival instinct overcame their trust in Hans. In their view, if Governor Hans really cared about his brothers, why would he send them to their deaths?

Governor Hans, wasn't he just like himself, coming here to make money? And Hans had done quite a few things that were criticized in the past for the sake of money and power—such as deducting some of their salaries and fabricating a fancy reason to impose taxes on distant lands.

The first person laid down their weapon, then the second, the third, the fourth...

Seeing his surrendering subordinate, the adjutant gritted his teeth but did not make a move to kill his own man. Instead, he placed his sword to his neck, preparing to commit suicide.

Just as he was about to end his own life, Chi Honghai used the tip of his sword to stop his adjutant's blade: "What's wrong with living, my friend?"

The adjutant looked at Chi Honghai.

"Your brothers are waiting for you to bring them home."

Looking at his subordinates around him, the adjutant slowly pulled his sword away from his neck, sighed deeply, and then loosened his grip, causing the sword to slip to the ground.

All five hundred-plus people here were captured by Chi Honghai.

"Take them back to Fort Zeelandia!" Chi Honghai ordered his subordinates. "The rest of the troops continue the advance!"

"Wait a minute!" the adjutant said to Chi Honghai.

"What's wrong, sir? It seems there's something you're not clear about?"

"There are indeed some things I'm not clear about. Although I am now the defeated one, I still want to ask you."

"Speak, but you'd better hurry, I'm eager to see Governor Hans with you again."

"How did you know we were going to attack the Spanish at this time? Those men at Fort Zeelandia didn't have a chance to tip you off."

Chi Honghai looked at his puzzled adjutant and burst into laughter.

"They certainly had no chance to give me any information, but that doesn't mean they were my only source of information?"

"You mean you bribed our people?! Who?!"

"No, no, no," Chi Hung-hai waved his hand, "The situation in Taiwan is complicated. It's not just about you and me, but also the Spanish and the English."

Upon hearing "Spanish" and "English," the adjutant suddenly realized what was going on.

It turns out that this person never intended to cooperate properly. He not only colluded with them, but also with these people. No wonder he knew all this information so clearly.

"What about Guangzhou Prefecture?" he pressed, his voice now much softer.

"Oh, Guangzhou Prefecture, that's true. Chen Qian did want to cooperate with you. It's just a pity I'm not from Guangzhou Prefecture. I only hijacked his ship, got those information, and impersonated an official from Guangzhou Prefecture to negotiate. That's why I told you not to go directly to Guangzhou Prefecture, because it's inconvenient."

Chi Honghai emphasized the words "inconvenient," which deeply enlightened his adjutant.

After another deep sigh, the adjutant lowered his head, resigned to his fate, and obediently allowed himself to be taken away by Chi Honghai's subordinates.

"Hurry up! Let's go!" Chi Honghai continued to shout.

The path was littered with the footprints of Hans and his men who had fled in panic, which served as a perfect anchor point for Chi Honghai's pursuit.

……

Hans, who had fled to the chicken coop, looked at the last castle he had just blasted into a crater and secretly rejoiced that he hadn't set it all on fire when he left.

I can still barely use it as a place to live.

There must be someone chasing after them, but they haven't shown themselves yet. He immediately led his team into the castle and used what little they had and some scattered stones to block the gap.

But here's the problem.

How can we escape? How will reinforcements arrive?