Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Back at Fort Zeelandia, all the prisoners were gathered together, including the Spanish and the Dutch.

The first to be tried was Hans.

He was pushed onto the stage, facing the huge crowd below. He was so nervous that his legs went weak, and he knelt down.

Chi Honghai didn't have anyone lift him up. In Chi Honghai's view, and in the view of so many people, he should kneel down to accept judgment.

Hans was still somewhat unwilling to give up. He thought that he had already surrendered, so why should they kill him?

However, there was no such convention at that time, and whether or not prisoners of war were treated well depended on personal will, not on treaty agreements.

"I've already surrendered, why are you still trying to kill me?"

Chi Honghai was amused by Hans's words.

He walked up to Hans, used his sword to lift Hans's chin, and spoke in detail.

"First of all, I never told you that surrendering means you can't die. Secondly, this isn't killing prisoners; this is a trial, their trial of you."

Chi Honghai glanced around at the scene below, where the crowd was in a state of high spirits. He bent down and looked at Hans's face.

"Looks like nobody really wants you to live?"

Then, Chi Honghai stood to one side and loudly read aloud the prepared charges against him to the crowd.

Hans, the former governor of Fort Zeelandia, occupied Taiwan for decades, enslaving the people of our Great Ming Dynasty. Far from repenting, he colluded with officials in Guangzhou to plot against the Chinese mainland. Now that our royal army has recovered our lost lands, he must kneel and face trial—this villain's crimes are heinous and unforgivable.

After he finished speaking, the crowd became enraged and brandished their weapons, demanding that he be executed.

Hans was pushed to the executioner's place, and amidst the shouts of the crowd, his head was severed with a single stroke.

Blood splattered all over the executioner's face, and after his severed head rolled a few times, it lay horizontally on the stage.

While some cheered with joy, others trembled with fear.

Seeing the fate of Governor Hans, the Westerners in the audience looked around in panic, some even collapsing before they even got on the stage.

However, the Spaniards are an exception; even if they fall, it won't make a difference.

Chi Honghai was well aware that the Spanish were extremely unpopular under his command.

The Portuguese hated the Spanish to the core, after all, it was the hatred of losing their country.

The locals hated the Spanish far more than the Dutch, and the Spanish methods had been evident ever since they arrived in the Americas.

The experiences of the Aztecs and other indigenous peoples can largely be replicated in the lives of our compatriots in Taiwan.

For some of his own men, it was a genuine glimpse into the inhumane acts committed by the Spanish.

In short, he's caught in the middle, pleasing neither side!

If we try to keep them, their subordinates definitely won't accept the situation. If we force them to stay, who knows what kind of trouble they might cause.

Occupying Fort Zeelandia is not the end of the story. Before long, news of the change of control of Fort Zeelandia will reach Zheng Zhilong.

If that old scoundrel finds out that he has taken Fort Zeelandia, the consequences are self-evident.

Unity is always important, no matter what, so the Spanish absolutely cannot allow any of it to be left behind.

As for the Spanish's handling and statements, Chi Honghai also had his own methods.

First of all, the Spaniards were prisoners of the Dutch, but prisoners of prisoners do not mean they are my prisoners. We have never taken in these Spaniards.

Besides, the Spaniards deserved to die!

With a wave of his hand, Chi Honghai handed the Spaniards over to the Portuguese.

This choice can be described as a mixed bag of joy and sorrow. The Portuguese were overjoyed, while the Spanish listened to the verdict with utter despair.

Upon hearing the news, even the usually composed Instructor Lang could not contain his joy.

You know, ever since he came to the East and heard that his homeland had been occupied by the Spanish, he has felt disgusted with the Spanish from the bottom of his heart!

In the eyes of the Portuguese, the Spanish were blatant traitors, and for such treachery, which was also a source of national humiliation, death was the only possible outcome.

The most important thing is to see how someone dies and how painful the death is.

Chi Honghai instructed Instructor Lang to take all the Spaniards away. As they went up on the stage, he whispered to Instructor Lang, "These people are yours to deal with, but remember, when you deal with them, take them to the countryside, set up a platform, and let the people in the city and the natives have a good look."

Instructor Lang nodded with delight, his great revenge fulfilled!

Chi Honghai's move can be described as killing two birds with one stone. By handing the Spanish over to the Portuguese, the Portuguese, who already owed Chi Honghai a favor, now owe him even more. In this way, they have almost become Chi Honghai's loyal followers.

Who wouldn't want to follow a leader who can spare their life, provide them with generous treatment, and avenge the loss of their country?

Taking these Spaniards to the wilderness for public disposal demonstrated his firm resolve to establish a foothold in Taiwan and showed that anyone who violated the territory of the Ming Dynasty would ultimately meet a bad end. This action, combined with the work done by Liu Qingjiang beforehand, can be said to have essentially won over the indigenous people in the mountains.

With a new backer, not only can they help me beat the enemy, but they can also lead me to a life where I have enough to eat and wear. Of course, I'll follow them!

And so the Spaniard was taken away to await the Portuguese's judgment.

The remaining soldiers were the Dutch soldiers who originally belonged to Fort Zeelandia and Fort Chikan.

Although these soldiers had committed atrocities, they could not be killed at the moment, as the Dutch did not need to help train their troops.

Because prior to this, through training by the Portuguese and English, coupled with their own instruction, a mature system had been formed, and most of them possessed good training skills.

However, the reason they couldn't be killed was that they were needed; the Dutch were used, not Dutch soldiers.

There are also many Dutch artisans and merchants in Hong Kong Island and Fort Zeelandia.

Now there is an urgent need for a large number of experienced craftsmen so that large shipyards and warships can be built and a foothold can be truly established on the southeast coast.

Fort Zeelandia happened to have this foundation: a shipyard that was almost completed, plus a large number of skilled craftsmen, and a systematic one at that.

If we kill all the Dutch soldiers now, even if we force other Dutchmen to do things later, the efficiency won't be very high.

Especially for technicians, if you don't win them over, it's very difficult to extract their technical knowledge from them, and they might even resort to tampering with things.

This is absolutely unacceptable to Chi Honghai.

But the more you threaten someone, the greater the chance that this will happen.

Therefore, he had his own plans regarding the sentencing of the Dutch soldiers.