Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

The gunshots in the woods were exactly what the two men expected.

Hans's plan was to ensure his subordinates had food while hunting, while Chi Honghai's plan was to send the people inside the castle out, then surround it again to cut off communication between the two sides and further weaken the morale of the Dutch inside and outside the castle.

But the frequent gunshots in the woods were unexpected by the two men.

Logically speaking, a hunting game should only involve one or two shots at most. If you miss, the prey will escape, and there's no point in shooting again. However, the gunshots in the forest were like popcorn popping, bang bang bang.

This situation caused both commanders to ponder what exactly had happened in the forest.

Hans in the castle thought that Chi Honghai must have sent people to ambush him in the forest long ago, so he left a way out for him, waiting for him to send his men out before taking the opportunity to eliminate them.

Chi Honghai was quite surprised. He hadn't sent anyone to that forest. Who else was there?

The density of the gunfire could not possibly be that of a hunt; there must be someone there, but no one knows for sure who it is.

Could it be that some of the Spanish from before fled into the woods to escape the Dutch?

But that makes it strange, how could the Spanish have known in advance that the Dutch would attack and then hide in the castle?

Moreover, during the pursuit, their Spanish prisoners were all brought back. If they were hiding from the Dutch, why didn't they all go into the woods to create the illusion of a Spanish retreat? Instead, they insisted on leaving a portion of their troops in the castle.

Neither explanation nor explanation makes sense.

But even if it doesn't make sense now, we have to make it work.

Chi Honghai immediately sent men to the open spaces between the woods and the castle to prevent the two sides from meeting.

Hans, observing the enemy's movements, was well aware of what Chi Honghai intended to do. He quickly ordered his men to turn the cannons and guns around and fire to obstruct them.

However, the attacks from afar were ultimately limited, and he himself did not have the courage to send people out of the city, because once he left this dilapidated castle, he would lose the little advantage he had left.

Chi Honghai was very clear about this situation. He was certain that the people inside the city would not dare to leave, which is why he made this decision: let the Dutch out of the city first, and then close the gates to beat the dogs outside.

The Dutchman who suddenly appeared from the woods puzzled both sides.

Instead of forming a group, they ran separately, not like they were charging forward, but more like they were running for their lives. From their expressions, it was clear that they were all terrified, and they kept looking back as they ran, hardly noticing anyone outside the woods, as if something was chasing them.

They ran up to Chi Honghai's men, raised their guns and surrendered, then kept trying to squeeze into the crowd, leaving everyone a bit bewildered.

Then a group of people who looked like primitive people rushed out of the woods, carrying spears, muskets, bows and arrows, and chasing after the Dutch. Some of them were even carrying severed human heads.

They stared menacingly at the Dutchmen, but when they realized that the people outside the forest all had Eastern faces, the expressions on these primitive people softened considerably.

"These people?" Chi Honghai asked slowly.

Liu Qingjiang looked at the situation in the distance.

"Sir, these people are probably the natives of the island. They are often oppressed by the Spanish and Dutch, which is why they hate them so much."

"No, that's not what I'm wondering about. The Spanish and the Dutch are the same; they really don't treat people other than their own as human beings. What I'm wondering is how these indigenous people have firearms. Logically speaking, they should only have bows and arrows, spears, and the like at most."

Hearing what Master Chi said, Liu Qingjiang reacted and said, "Oh, sir, you don't know this, but when the Dutch attacked the Spanish, we were also sent out as the vanguard to scout."

"At first, I thought that since the brothers were ahead, they could warn the local people to run away quickly to avoid danger. But when we went there, all we saw were burned-down villages and no survivors. It wasn't until the brothers heard a noise in a forest and went in that they found the Spanish were enslaving these natives."

"My brothers and I dealt with those bastards and distributed some of our weapons to them. I suppose they've been using those weapons to attack some foreigners recently and have captured their equipment."

Chi Honghai nodded, approving of Liu Qingjiang's actions, and said jokingly.

"Brother Qingjiang, looking at him now, you would never guess that he was once a pirate."

Liu Qingjiang laughed heartily and replied to Chi Honghai's joke: "Sir, although I come from a pirate background, before that I was a genuine farm boy. Everyone comes from a peasant family, and I have experienced their hardships firsthand."

That's true, there's no fault in it. Apart from emperors and generals, how many of them weren't from farming families? But then again, were the families of emperors and generals originally emperors and generals?

Wasn't our founding emperor also a beggar who rose to the throne?

When the indigenous people encountered Chi Hung-hai's army, no battle or conflict broke out between them, because it was clear from their facial expressions that the other side had no ill intentions towards them, and even showed a lot of goodwill.

Some of the people in their group were residents who had moved from Fujian Prefecture and understood Mandarin.

Reaching the gate of the army camp, he exclaimed, "Has the Ming army returned?"

The group exchanged glances and replied, "The people from the Ming Dynasty have returned!"

The heartwarming scene of their long-awaited reunion only made things worse for Hans inside the castle.

Now things are really messed up. We haven't gotten any food, and none of the people we sent out have returned. Plus, the opposing team has even gained new forces! What are we going to do?

Even when despair seemed to have reached this point, Hans did not completely give up, in his mind...

The East India Company is about to send ships to Fort Zeelandia for supplies. If they discover that Fort Zeelandia has been lost, they will probably launch a counterattack. With Chi Honghai bringing so many troops, Fort Zeelandia must not have much strength to defend it.

When that time comes, the situation will be reversed. It won't be him who's surrounded, but Chi Honghai. At that point, he won't be able to retreat even if he wants to!

But the premise is that you have to hold on. If you can hold on for another ten days or so, there should be news!

As for food, we can just kill the horses in the city to eat, and we won't even spare the grass roots.

Just when I was thinking that the wonderful situation would turn around.

Chi Honghai's Tianquan came into view of both sides.

Everyone who looked at this Tier III battleship was filled with excitement.

Its appearance signifies the end of the entire battle.