Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Mid-March, 1638.

The cold weather meant that the snow on the ground had not completely melted, and people were still wearing their cotton-padded clothes.

Chi Honghai led his men to walk around the fields from top to bottom. Apart from the vegetable plots that were truly beyond saving, most of the crops had survived the winter.

There were losses, but not many, and they were enough to give people a sigh of relief.

The existing farmland could not support so many people on the island, and the grain stored in the warehouse was almost empty after a winter. Therefore, Chi Honghai sent about a hundred people to carry out large-scale land reclamation on the mountains behind the island.

The main crops grown are rice, corn, and sweet potatoes, with some cotton and jute and hibiscus needed for shipbuilding.

At this stage, all we can hope for is that the weather will gradually warm up. According to the Guangzhou Prefecture, which can harvest up to three crops a year, the grain we consumed last winter can be replenished. However, for now, we will have to be a little tight on food before the first harvest.

March is the season of rejuvenation, and it is also the time that Chi Honghai and Chen Qian, the general of Guangzhou Prefecture, had agreed upon.

Chi Honghai first sent Shen Er to Guangzhou Prefecture again to inform Chen Qian of the specific date of the transaction, and then set sail to the outskirts of Guangzhou Prefecture to wait.

Chen Qian was a straightforward person in this regard. He did not delay in delivering the tribute he was to pay and quickly led his men, dragging several horse-drawn carts full of boxes, to the outskirts of the city.

When Chi Honghai saw the carriage loaded with silver, he couldn't suppress the urge to cough. He coughed twice to cover his mouth to calm himself down, but his expression remained unchanged.

In the past, we were the ones who eagerly offered tribute to the officials, but now the roles have been reversed. It's incredibly satisfying to have this role reversal.

It's like the girl you secretly love day and night suddenly turns around and tells you "I like you." Before going to sleep, you'd be wide-eyed and hug your pillow and blanket tightly.

"I am deeply humbled by the personal escort of the General. Someone, bring me the tea that was just brewed on the boat."

"No need, Chief Chi. You can take stock of everything. I have important business to attend to and cannot stay here any longer."

"What could be so important to Lord Chen that you don't even have time for a cup of tea?" Chi Honghai turned around, picked up a teacup, and handed it to Chen Qian. "We've known each other for a while and have worked together. Surely you won't refuse such a small courtesy?"

Chen Qian looked at the teacup that Chi Honghai was holding with both hands, reached out and took the teacup, tilted the lid of the cup, swirled it around the rim, and took two sips.

"The tea is good tea."

"General, you flatter me. How could I dare to let you taste such inferior tea? It would only ruin our reputation."

Chen Qian raised his eyebrows and looked at Chi Honghai, then smiled and said, "How could that be? We don't want this tea to ruin anyone's reputation."

"That's natural," Chi Honghai said, then picked up his teacup and drank his tea.

After exchanging some perfunctory pleasantries, the two parted ways.

With the 300,000 taels of silver in his car, Chi Honghai left the outskirts of Guangzhou Prefecture with satisfaction.

Back on Hong Kong Island, Ai Si and the others wanted to count all the silver they had brought down, but Chi Honghai told them that there was no need to count it.

Chen Qian's life was in his own hands, and this little bit of trickery was not worth it for a general like him. Besides, he didn't have to do anything all year to collect so much silver, so even if the amount was a little less, it wouldn't be unacceptable. He couldn't possibly make a scene at the government office over a few taels of silver. As long as the silver wasn't made of mud, it was fine.

With the money in hand, one naturally wants to make a big splash.

Nowadays, those with money and manpower must hurry up and complete their main business—shipbuilding!

A winter has passed, and apart from a few days when the weather is kind enough to clear up and work can resume, most of the time the snow and wind are so heavy that people have to go to the shipyard foundation area to shovel snow every day.

With ample manpower, the island was busy building new houses and meeting various needs. Naturally, more people went up the mountain to dig granite. Every day, granite of different sizes was hauled back by a group of people on wooden rafts and placed next to the shipyard.

Smaller stones are hammered into suitable shapes, and then used with clay made by craftsmen from a mixture of lime, glutinous rice paste, and fine sand to fill gaps or openings.

The larger stones were hauled into the sea and piled up to form a seaway, which is actually the current seaside promenade in the harbor.

The entire seaward side of the shipyard is protected by these two stone walls on the left and right sides. They not only protect against wind and waves, but also delineate the entire shipyard area, making it easy to observe the overall situation of the shipyard. At the same time, they also allow previous ships to dock along these two sea routes.

To further facilitate the construction of the shipyard, and with the rapid increase in population, the housing also needed to be replanned and re-laid out. The original sheds were moved directly next to the shipyard.

At this time, it was no longer just the usual workshops of carpenters and blacksmiths; the workshops of sailmakers and ropemakers also moved here.

In addition, a new warehouse was built nearby, with timber and stone materials specifically for shipyard and ship construction. Tung oil and hemp fiber warehouses were also set up next to the warehouse.

After the cold winter faded, about a hundred people worked day and night around the area until June, when the small shipyard was finally fully operational.

The good news is that it's been completed; the bad news is that the shipyard is currently only large enough to build small sailboats, not even medium-sized ones.

The Caravelle sailboat is already the limit in this shipyard; any bigger and it would break the shipyard's foundation.

If we really want to build such a large warship, our current strength is far from enough. After all, the consumption of wood for just one large warship is enormous. According to Dutch craftsmen, the amount of wood used for a slightly larger warship in the West (about a third-class battleship) already exceeds the total amount of wood used in all of our current ships.

However, this awkward situation is not entirely in vain. At least in the future, whether it is ship repair or ship construction, we can accumulate experience and gradually become self-sufficient.

By mid-June, all the materials for building the ships had been prepared, and Chi Honghai instructed the Dutch craftsmen and their apprentices to shift from model building and theoretical research to practical application.

By this time, including those they had taught, the number of people on the island with shipbuilding experience had reached about 150, but they still lacked experience in actual shipbuilding.

As everyone devoted themselves to the construction of the ship, Chi Honghai, though knowledgeable about maritime affairs, did not concern himself with the principles of shipbuilding. Unable to put his mind at ease, he could only stand aside and watch the process of a new sailboat going from scratch.

The days were peaceful, busy, and wonderful, until one day, Shen Er rushed to Master Chi and knelt down with bloodshot eyes.