Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Chi Honghai re-found the group of captured Englishmen and interrogated them about their purpose in coming here.

After much effort, they finally managed to extract a crucial piece of information from these people.

Because the Portuguese and Dutch occupied Haojing (occupied by Portugal), Keelung (occupied by Spain), and Fort Zeelandia near China, and the Portuguese also occupied the more distant Luzon Islands.

It was very difficult for the English to open up this trade market. Not only were their shipping routes threatened by the Portuguese, but there was also no nearby transit point, which was very inconvenient for shipping.

But they all agreed that this market was incredibly lucrative, so the English never gave up on developing it. This was evident in their collaboration with Chen Qian, the general of Guangzhou, to bombard Humen with ships.

After their failure in Guangzhou, the English did not completely give up hope of the Ming Dynasty market. However, they did not dare to confront the Ming Dynasty directly again and instead turned their attention to the Southeastern islands.

At this time, Taiwan was occupied by the Spanish in the north and by the Dutch in the south, including Fort Zeelandia and Chihkan Tower, leaving no room for the English to squeeze in.

It is incredibly difficult to go from being an outsider to an insider. Not to mention the English, even the Spanish and Dutch, who are currently divided into north and south on the island, want to kick each other out and take over Taiwan. However, neither side has the strength or preparation to do so yet, so they have maintained a fragile balance on the island.

But the English don't think that way. They believe that what belongs to them is something they want even if it's not theirs, and they destroy what they can't have.

Since the English can't get this market, the Dutch shouldn't expect to live well in Fort Zeelandia either. So this time, the English plan to help the Spanish in the north kick out the Dutch in the south. After the matter is settled, they will share the north and south equally with the Spanish.

However, back in his early years, when Chi Honghai came into contact with some Portuguese (Spanish) people, he heard from them that they were mortal enemies with the English, and they lamented more than once what would have happened if their invincible Armada had defeated them in 1588.

Logically speaking, the English, Spaniards, and Dutch should all be jealous of each other's success, but when it comes to interests, these are minor matters.

The reason why the English chose to cooperate with the Spanish was simple: they had already dealt them a heavy blow and were not worried that the Spanish would become too powerful because of this. Moreover, the English were currently competing mainly with the Dutch.

As for the Spanish, although they hate the English, they hate the Dutch just as much, because decades ago, the land beneath the Dutch's feet belonged to the Spanish! They took away our fertile lowlands! And today they want to take Chicken Coop from us! That's definitely impossible.

Therefore, under these circumstances, both parties quickly reached an agreement.

While listening to the translation, Chi Honghai asked about related matters, his mind racing as he considered the current situation.

If these three ships were indeed sent to support the Spanish in the north, then their definition by the English and Spanish must have been more than just merchant ships.

With the ship gone, the cargo lost, and the affair exposed, the two opposing sides would certainly pursue the matter deeply. It was hard to say whether they would trace it back to him. If he remained calm and unchanged at this point, the Spanish and English would naturally focus their attention on the Dutch first.

After all, it is true that this island belongs to the Ming Dynasty, but the Ming Dynasty was beset by internal and external troubles at the time and had little spare capacity to deal with things there. Even if the Ming Dynasty knew what the British were up to, Emperor Chongzhen could only watch and say: "There is still a long way to go."

So no matter how you look at it, the Dutch can't escape responsibility. It's just that there are no eyewitnesses and no evidence. It can't really be that Eastern pirates were robbing foreign ships—those were three armed merchant ships! And there were quite a few British soldiers on board!

After careful consideration, Chi Tou Ling realized that as long as he didn't take the three ships he brought back out and flaunt them in public, he would be safe from trouble for the time being.

The Dutch dared not sell to me for a simple reason: they couldn't afford to offend Guangzhou Prefecture or the Ming Dynasty for the time being. They still coveted the wealth of this land and the resources of the Ming Dynasty. Without this cooperation behind them, being surrounded by enemies was better than being surrounded by enemies all around them.

Foreigners might only be causing minor trouble on the island, but if they really provoke the person on the throne, their fleet will be on their doorstep in a couple of days, and then it will be no use begging for mercy.

However, while it is good to be law-abiding, Chi Honghai is a businessman by trade, and a smuggler by trade. This background often allows him to see the interests behind a matter. The risks are great, but the rewards are also great.

After listening to all the information, he confirmed one thing: this murky water was worth wading through.

He then immediately ordered his men to remove the remaining British flags from the two ships, fold them neatly, and put them in the warehouse.

Although his subordinates didn't understand why the two tattered flags had to be put away, they did as instructed.

Afterwards, Chi Honghai went to the shipyard to take a look around and saw that there were words engraved on the back of the three sailboats. Chi Honghai understood that these should be the names of the ships.

He instructed the craftsmen to find a way to remove the part with the names on it, and then renamed the three ships: Dingbo, Dinghai, and Dinglang. He also named the two previous Caravelle sailing ships and one pirate ship: Hoi An, Hoi Cheng, and Hoi Yuan.

After removing the inscription from the back, Chi Honghai had it carried into the warehouse.

"Master, I don't understand. Why are you putting away that tattered flag and this wooden board with foreign characters carved on it? Are these things more valuable than the silver in the treasury?" Shen Er asked from the side.

"More important than money."

"More important than silver?" Shen Er was very puzzled, but did not receive any further answer from Master Chi.

In the days that followed, Chi Honghai was basically in a state of waiting. He was waiting for the ships to be repaired and for new news from the English.

However, waiting was of no use. For more than ten days, the brothers sent out to sea said they had not seen any English ships. All they could see coming and going were ships with other flags.

Although this seemed to confirm Chi Honghai's previous deduction, it was not what he wanted. He could no longer continue to wait like this. If the Englishmen did not appear, he would have to keep waiting.

Chaos is inevitable; we must find a way to create chaos.