Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

After Chen Qian drank the tea, it signified his acceptance of the "cooperation".

However, Chi Honghai was also very clear that it was impossible to live off someone's weaknesses for a lifetime. Even if he did try to do that, the other party would definitely be preparing behind the scenes and would try to destroy him as soon as he had the chance.

So after some back and forth, the two of them set a deadline for the cooperation.

No more, no less, five years—fulfilling the contract for five years—the two paintings were returned to General Chen intact.

Chen Qian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

He had planned to pay the full amount over five years to redeem the painting, but Chi Honghai refused, saying that they would settle for a long-term relationship.

This refusal also gave Chen Qian a certain sense of security—the other party wasn't entirely after money, but needed security during this period, so he needed to have leverage over them to ensure his own safety.

As for the time and place of the transaction, it was stipulated that it would be in March of each year. However, for safety reasons, Chi Honghai chose to make the specific time and place arrangements on an ad hoc basis.

After the negotiations were over, neither of us wanted to stay any longer, so we decided that you would return to your Guangzhou and I would return to my pirate den.

Chi Hung-hoi finally breathed a sigh of relief after returning to Hong Kong Island, though not much.

At least for now, he is relatively safe in this area and is still considered one of Zheng Zhilong's men. Although Zheng doesn't treat him like a human being, it is precisely because he looks down on him that he won't bother him for the time being.

He secretly made a deal with the garrison commander of Guangzhou Prefecture, which also ensured that no one would touch him in Guangzhou Prefecture for the time being.

Ordinary people can't do anything to me. If they can, they'd have to go to Chen Qian, and Chen Qian won't cause me any trouble.

The only downside for Chi Honghai was that his income was not as plentiful as before. After talking with Chen Qian, it was no longer possible for him to directly rob the ships. Chi Honghai would not rob the ships of Guangzhou Prefecture, and given his current strength and needs, it was not appropriate for him to rob the foreigners' ships.

Although Guangzhou Prefecture would pay tribute to him on time, the time span was indeed too long, which greatly delayed his ability to make money. After all, he had always made quick money, and he had never experienced anything that required waiting for a while.

However, the island currently has a total of about 100,000 taels in reserves. As long as that spendthrift son doesn't suddenly show his bad habits, it should be enough to last until March next year. After all, it's almost November now. Just hang in there and March will be here in the blink of an eye.

Before that, Chi Honghai had more to worry about than his shipbuilding business.

To become a pirate, you need a "suitable" ship, and to become a great pirate, you naturally need a ship that can roam the seas freely.

By December.

At this point, the materials needed for building the shipyard were almost all prepared, including stones, timber, tools, and so on.

The foundation was completed during this period, and the next step was to build a tilting slipway.

The inclined slipway is the core of the shipyard, where all components will be assembled to form a complete ship.

Because the stone used for the slipway is not ordinary stone, but granite, Chi Honghai had previously led his men to quarry this type of stone all over the mountains of Hong Kong Island, which took a lot of effort.

They are now fixing it to the ground with granite as a base, and then laying heavy wooden planks on top, so that the entire slipway can withstand hundreds of tons or even more of pressure in the future.

Meanwhile, under the hands-on operation and guidance of Dutch shipbuilders, the relatively complex slipway system in the center of the slipway has also been planned and designed. This system will extend directly into the seawater. After the ship is completed, these slipways will be coated with grease to reduce friction with the ship and allow it to slide smoothly into the seawater.

The craftsman's drawings also depicted a colossal object—a massive lifting device.

This kind of thing actually existed in the Ming Dynasty as well; similar lifting devices were used in the construction of palaces and ships.

However, judging from the craftsman's drawings, the pulley system of this lifting device is more complex, which means it is more labor-saving.

Chi Honghai pointed to the blueprints and asked about various aspects of the lifting device, having initially thought it would require about ten people to operate.

But the other party told him that the lifting device usually only requires four to six people to operate.

Upon hearing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Chi Honghai's eyes. He bent down to examine the intricate pulley combinations on the blueprints and nodded thoughtfully.

"Four to six people?" he repeated, his finger lightly tracing the intricate rope patterns on the diagram. "This will definitely require less effort than the boom we used before."

The Dutch craftsman explained in broken Chinese interspersed with Dutch: "This design has five groups of pulleys, one above the other, distributing the force among the ropes, thus saving effort for the workers." He gestured as he spoke, "It looks like many people are pulling together, but in reality, only a few people are needed."

Upon hearing that the Dutch craftsmen had learned some Chinese in such a short time, Chi Honghai asked, "Did you come to the East for a while and learn some of the language of the Ming Dynasty?"

The craftsman shook his head: "No, no, sir, this is my first time setting foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty. Recently, in order to teach them, I had a translator guide me to learn a little bit of your language."

Chi Honghai was very satisfied with his dedication, but corrected the problem in his words: "This is the second time you've set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty."

The craftsman was puzzled, wondering why this was the second time.

Chi Honghai patted him on the shoulder: "Fort Zeelandia was originally part of the Ming Dynasty. We'll lend it to you for a while."

The Dutchman looked at Chi Honghai, not quite understanding the meaning behind his words, but for him at this moment, the most important thing was to get things done at the shipyard.

"Go ahead and get busy. Just let me know if you need anything."

Chi Honghai dismissed the Dutch craftsmen and walked on the beach, watching the construction scene from different angles.

At that moment, Shen Er suddenly ran to his side, panting, and said, "Boat, boat, sir, boat!"

"Slow down, what ship?"

"A ship from Guangzhou Prefecture! Sir!"

"Are you stupid? We just finished negotiating a business deal with the Guangzhou government, and you're going to turn around and ask the master to do this? What about the master's credibility?"

Since Xin'an County was also a county under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou Prefecture, Xin'an County was equivalent to Guangzhou Prefecture.

Logically speaking, hijacking the ship would be tantamount to breaking the agreement.

However, it's not impossible to rob.

Looking at the sea, Chi Honghai calculated the time but was still unsure of his deduction. With his back to Shen Er, he asked, "Are you sure it was a ship from Xin'an County?"

"Sir, brothers, we've seen it clearly. It's definitely a ship from Xin'an County. The ship's design is completely different from those in Guangzhou Prefecture, and judging from its tracks, it came from Xin'an County!"

After Shen Er finished speaking, he thought that the master was going to let them off the hook.

"Call everyone on board!"

"Sir, what! Didn't we agree not to rob ships from Guangzhou Prefecture?"

"Xin'an County is Xin'an County, and Guangzhou Prefecture is Guangzhou Prefecture. I'm just not going to hijack Chen Qian's ship."