Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

"Friend, I know this treasure of yours is indeed not cheap. Name your price."

Chi Honghai raised his hand and handed over five thousand taels.

The Portuguese man was taken aback, looking at Chi Honghai pointing at the painting on the table.

"Friend, you're not saying these three paintings cost five thousand taels of silver, are you?"

The wealthy merchant shook his head violently: "Are you kidding me? This painting costs five thousand taels of silver."

The other person hesitated, turned to look at the contents of the painting again, and was torn between the two options.

Indeed, even in the Ming Dynasty, works like Wang Xizhi's "Zhanjin Tie" wouldn't fetch this price, so the price Chi Honghai offered was really too high.

But this is takeout, and takeout has takeout prices.

Seeing that the other party was wavering, Chi Honghai, who was good at negotiating business, began to use his old skills—deception.

"Friend, don't let the price fool you. Without me, who else would dare take that risk?"

He patted the Portuguese man on the shoulder, then looked up and gestured for him to look at the portrait of the king hanging inside the tent.

"Think about your future. Three paintings, 15,000 taels of silver. Take them back to your place, and they'll be worth much more than that. Your future, your future is priceless, my friend."

"Couldn't you lower the price a bit more? Considering our previous transactions, and besides, it's not like we haven't bought paintings like this before, but..."

"Hey friend, of all the paintings you've collected before, are these any better than mine? If I offered eight thousand taels each to the Dutch, they would definitely buy them, but I'd rather not have those extra three thousand taels and come to you. Don't you think I'm being kind enough?"

The Franks were taken aback; the Dutch at that time were indeed a large and powerful nation, renowned as the "maritime carriers."

He could take a precious treasure back with eight thousand taels of silver and probably pay for it without even blinking an eye.

But merchants are always driven by profit; if it were only a hundred or so taels, that would be fine.

But that adds up to a difference of nearly ten thousand taels of silver. How could such a good thing fall into my lap?

The Portuguese asked Chi Honghai about the situation.

Chi Honghai was taken aback; this guy wasn't completely stupid.

"Ah, you don't know, the journey to their side is long, and it's easy to encounter storms and pirates. Most importantly, the ships there are under Lord Zheng's surveillance. You know, I did this behind everyone's back. If Lord Zheng finds out, I can't bear the charges of selling a country's treasures and not paying tribute."

"Even though we're talking about selling things, we still have to value our lives."

The Portuguese nodded repeatedly, affirming Chi Honghai's words, patting him on the shoulder and sighing about his hardships and his dissatisfaction with the Ming Dynasty's maritime ban policy.

Completely forgetting that, apart from these three paintings, the rest of what Chi Honghai sold was enough to kill him hundreds of times over.

However, it can also be rounded up.

The businessman Chi's initial statement and current actual identity are indeed those of Zheng Zhilong's subordinates.

As long as the other party has not met with Zheng Zhilong, it can be said that Zheng Zhilong instructed them.

As for whether we'll see each other again, we'll have to wait and see.

Once the price for the precious items was agreed upon, there weren't any major issues with the other goods.

Chi Honghai thoughtfully told the other party that if they didn't want to pay silver, they could use some cannons as payment.

They were informed that this was to train a new firearms unit, which would be used in response to the imperial court's campaign to suppress the rebels in the north.

Both parties were happy, and the money and goods were settled.

In addition to the ten cannons they acquired in exchange, they also received over 60,000 taels of silver.

As the sailboat sailed away, they didn't forget to say goodbye to each other, looking forward to the next transaction.

As the sun and moon turned, the ship returned to Hong Kong Island once again.

When Wu Wanruo learned that her master was about to arrive, she waited on the shore early.

Chi Honghai did not rush to reunite with his family. Instead, he stayed on the ship to oversee the unloading of the cargo before disembarking.

"You came back quite quickly this time."

"So anxious, so anxious."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Chi Honghai told Wu Wanruo to go back to her room, and then called Shen Er and Pang San to go to the north bank together.

I jumped off the small boat and hadn't gone far when I heard some noise.

It wasn't the usual orderly chanting, but rather a shout filled with gritted teeth and hatred.

Upon closer inspection, the brothers on the training field were engaged in a fierce battle.

Chi Honghai did not disturb the progress and quietly watched for a while from behind Liu Qingjiang and the others.

Ruthless, indeed, he has a ruthless streak.

When things get heated, people can't even tell the difference between what's important and what's not.

However, that's not the main point.

The key point is that while the bloodthirstiness of shouting and fighting has emerged, it lacks any order or method.

Throughout history, warfare has been about more than just the individual qualities of soldiers.

It places greater emphasis on the team's collaborative abilities.

Rules and regulations, and the strict enforcement of orders, are all exemplified by this principle.

Chi Honghai led the two men behind him into the center of the formation and ordered Liu Qingjiang to stop the activity.

After everyone, dragging their tired and aching bodies, lined up again.

Although there was some unbearable pain and slight misalignment, overall it looked satisfactory.

Facing the crowd, Chi Honghai spoke.

"Brothers, is it difficult when you're fighting alone?"

The person below struggled to answer.

"Is it difficult when you're facing multiple opponents?"

The voices grew louder, with some even complaining that it wasn't fair when they were outnumbered.

Chi Honghai heard this.

"One against many is unfair, but when it really comes down to a fight to the death, what fairness is there? Since everyone knows that fighting one against many is difficult, why not cooperate and have many against one?"

After saying that, Chi Honghai walked to the middle of the training field and called some people out.

They set up the smallest group of three people, and then expanded the group to five, nine, and eighteen people.

By giving examples one by one, shields, swords, spears, firearms, and command flags are paired in sequence, allowing those in the formation to make the most of their weapons.

The article also discusses some key points regarding the coordination and combination between different formations.

Once the small formations are combined into a large formation, only one command flag will be used to command the entire formation. If they are separated, the original flag will be used for command.

When advancing and defending in multiple formations, there should be coordinated efforts when allies are nearby; one should not advance or retreat alone.

Liu Qingjiang looked at Chi Honghai, and sweat involuntarily poured down his face.

This formation and combination, although I don't know where the master came up with it from, feels somewhat familiar.

Then, Chi Honghai turned around and said to Liu Qingjiang.

"Qingjiang, the deck on the ship is narrow, not as spacious as on land. These three-man and five-man formations must be practiced well and combined with ship combat. Remember, never let the brothers fight alone, but cooperate with each other to maximize their fighting power."

"Understood, sir."

After imparting the tips on teamwork, the training for the next few days focused on the allocation and coordination of the formation of troops.

Chi Honghai naturally couldn't spare any energy for military matters.

He would frequently visit the training grounds on the north shore to check on the training content and results, and during this time he would also constantly discuss his experiences and insights in naval warfare with Liu Qingjiang and Instructor Lang.

Based on the lessons learned and training conducted, a set of operational methods suitable for the current situation were developed.

And practice and drills were conducted.