Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Board the Fujian ship and set sail immediately.

In Chi Honghai's view, there was nothing wrong with taking the Fujian-style ship on this trip.

The pirates in the southeast have been basically eliminated, and there is only one competitor around Guangzhou Prefecture, which has been optimized by itself.

The foreign ships sailing in the nearby waters on Zheng Zhilong's sea route were generally merchant ships and were not likely to cause trouble. When they saw the Fujian ship, they would naturally know that it was a Ming Dynasty ship and would definitely be more careful.

I thought it would be a smooth journey, but I never expected it to almost cost me my life halfway through.

After leaving Hong Kong Island, the Fujian-made ship was supposed to sail along the southeast coast before heading to its destination via the strait.

However, unexpectedly, during the crossing of the strait, they were intercepted by Zheng Zhilong's men.

Although Chi Honghai's sailing skills were superb, he was still unable to shake off several ships chasing him.

He tried to shout from afar to clarify his identity, but the other party only looked at the special flags hanging on the ship.

Chi Honghai knew that if he continued to run, the ship would sink there, so he gave up resisting and let the approaching ship catch up.

Upon seeing the officers and soldiers on the ship, Chi Honghai kept explaining that he was also one of Lord Zheng's men, otherwise why would he have so openly sailed here?

To everyone's surprise, the soldiers wouldn't listen to a word. Faced with Chi Honghai's explanation, they only replied, "Since you're Lord Zheng's men, aren't you afraid to see Lord Zheng? Come back to Kinmen with us and talk!"

And so, Chi Honghai, who originally wanted to go to Fort Zeelandia, was towed to Kinmen along with his boat.

After meeting Zheng Zhilong for the second time.

On stage, Zheng Zhilong said with a hint of mockery, "Oh! Isn't this the one who delivered intelligence to me? What brings you to Kinmen like this?"

It's not hard to tell from Zheng Zhilong's tone that he actually knew why Chi Honghai had come, but he just didn't say it explicitly.

"My lord, I was sailing through your waters when I was stopped by your soldiers. No matter how I explained, they couldn't understand, so they brought me here."

"Untie me, loosen me, it's all a misunderstanding. Why are you tying up our own people?" Zheng Zhilong on the stage didn't feel a bit apologetic at all; instead, he had a smile on his face.

"My lord, some of my brothers are injured..."

"Oh, that's a misconception. Injuries at sea are common, sir. Surely you won't blame me for this?"

Chi Honghai naturally dared not say that, so he swallowed his bitter pill.

Moreover, although Zheng Zhilong knew that Chi Honghai was a pirate leader, he did not directly reveal his name. Clearly, in Zheng Zhilong's eyes, who Chi Honghai was did not matter. Logically, this was indeed the case. Why would a super pirate leader, who was also the Fujian General, remember a villain like you?

However, Chi Honghai had previously done Zheng Zhilong a great favor, enabling him to intervene in the affairs of Guangzhou Prefecture. But now, not only was he not treated with courtesy, but he was not even worthy of having his name in the other party's memory. For Chi Honghai, this was not only a matter of dissatisfaction, but also a reflection of the fear he had felt before.

Zheng Zhilong only cares about profit. When you are no longer useful, or when the benefits you bring are not as good as he expected, you are no longer of any use.

However, Zheng Zhilong still needed to put on a show at this point, otherwise, he would find it difficult to come to his door again if he could get such a freebie in the future.

He let Chi Honghai and his group and their ship go, and before leaving, he tossed a special sea flag bearing the mark of the Zheng family in front of Chi Honghai, telling him to hang it properly on the ship.

Chi Honghai bent down and picked up the sea flag, secretly pressed Pang San down, and knelt on the ground to thank Zheng Zhilong for his kindness.

"Master, why didn't you let me do it to him just now!"

"Pang San! Even if you kill him, what about you? What about all the brothers on this boat? Do you know the saying, 'A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years' delay'?"

Chi Honghai stood on the shoulder, his hands gripping the edge of the boat tightly, veins bulging, as if enduring excruciating pain from a broken bone; the sweat in his palms even soaked through some of the wooden planks.

He looked at Kinmen Island and calmly ordered Shen Er behind him, "Set sail!"

The people on the boat left Kinmen, still seething with anger.

A flag was added to the sail; Chi Honghai didn't want to hang it, but he had no choice.

As they sailed through the strait and gazed at Fort Zeelandia, which grew increasingly clear, Chi Honghai's heart did not calm down; instead, it became even more excited.

Upon approaching Fort Zeelandia, the Dutch spotted a Ming dynasty ship bearing a distinctive nautical flag and signaled it to stop nearby.

They were only allowed to disembark after confirming that there were no armed forces on board and that it was a merchant ship.

After disembarking, facing the approaching foreigners, Chi Honghai immediately began his performance of linguistic artistry.

He spoke fluent Dutch, even with a hint of Amsterdam dialect, making the Dutchman in front of him momentarily unable to believe that he came from the Ming Dynasty.

From Chi Honghai's words, the Dutch learned that he was sent by the Guangzhou government to discuss cooperation with Mr. Hans Putmans.

Upon hearing the names of Guangzhou Prefecture and Hans Putmans, the Dutchman, who had originally come to inquire about the situation, immediately became much more polite and even respectful.

After a brief conversation, the man walked ahead to lead the way for Chi Honghai and the others.

"Master, what did you say to this red-haired barbarian? Why did his attitude change so much? He looked so disdainful when he first came over."

"I say, the might of our Celestial Empire is right here. If you continue to look at me with that attitude, I will have the imperial court wipe you out."

Chi Honghai's joke made Shen Er and Pang San behind him burst into laughter, after all, many ordinary people in the southeast coastal area knew that the red-haired barbarians had been taught a lesson a few years ago.

Upon arriving at Zeelandia, since they were sent by the Guangzhou government and their superior's name was mentioned, the group was not subjected to any blindfolding or other similar methods.

After passing through the towns of ordinary people ahead, we arrived at the true core area.

Looking ahead at Fort Zeelandia.

It is called a city, but it is actually more like a castle—a European-style prismatic fortress.

Its core feature is a square inner city with prominent prismatic fortresses at the four corners, divided into three layers, and the entire castle has no blind spots in terms of firepower.

The outer walls are mostly made of brick and stone, and a watchtower was built on top to overlook the inner sea of ​​Taijiang and the surrounding sea.

But on his way to see Hans Putmans, Chi Honghai also discovered that the castle was like a small town, with basically everything.

Church, soldiers' barracks, warehouse, prison.

Many people were pushing carts full of sugar and deerskin back and forth between warehouses.

Although Chi Honghai had heard of the Bastion's reputation from browsing posts and short videos before, he was truly shocked when he saw it in person.

Soon, the group was brought before their superior.

When Commander Hans heard that they were from Guangzhou, he was very enthusiastic.

"Friend, would you like a cup of hot milk to wash away the fatigue of your journey?"