Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Inside the cockpit.

"Since I said salvage, it means the ship had already sunk when I arrived. As for why the inscriptions and military flags from these three ships were left on the sea, you're probably not asking me. As for the crew, forget about it. I only saw corpses, no living people."

As Chi Honghai spoke, he shook his head and turned back to look at the British representative: "You have no trading posts in the southeastern seas. May I ask, Your Excellency, where are these three ships headed north?"

The British representative's eyes darted around, his hand resting on the corner of the table: "Trade northwards, sir, you know that we've come from afar just to do business."

"Do business? In this sea area, if we're talking about doing business, aren't we doing it with my Great Ming Dynasty? But my Great Ming Dynasty hasn't opened its ports, so where are you going to do business? The Spanish? The Dutch? As far as I know, you're not on good terms with them, are you?"

The representative was speechless, never expecting that this official from the Ming Dynasty could understand their relationship so well.

"Um... sir, you may not know this, but we have already reached a cooperation agreement with the Spanish. In this business, we are now in a cooperative relationship."

"Oh? A cooperative relationship? Here? What you have here, is it that you have but he doesn't, or that they have but you don't? Didn't you all obtain it from our Great Ming Dynasty? Cooperating with them is just an attempt to squeeze out the Dutch from Fort Zeelandia, isn't it?"

Chi Honghai raised an eyebrow: "Am I right, on behalf of Your Excellency?"

Before the representative could begin to explain, Chi Honghai interrupted him: "Hey, representative, there's no need to say more. The affairs of your two countries are naturally none of my Great Ming Dynasty's business, nor do I care to interfere. But Fort Zeelandia is different. This is my Great Ming Dynasty's territory. Even if you drive the Dutch out and sit there yourself, do you think His Majesty the Emperor will allow you to sit comfortably any day in the future?"

"But...the Dutch and Spanish have occupied this land for so many years, and your country hasn't done anything about it?"

"Insolence!" Chi Honghai roared, "You didn't care before because the court didn't have more important matters to attend to. Do you think you'll ignore us in the future just because the court is busy? You don't want to go through what happened at Humen again, do you?"

The sudden shout startled the British representative. Whether in terms of prestige or current strength, they dared not act rashly, at least not in front of the Ming Dynasty.

"No, sir, no, that's not what I meant."

Seeing that the man had been trembling slightly, Chi Honghai said, "Don't be nervous, sir. My purpose in coming here is not simply to tell you that your ship was hijacked by the Dutch and to stay out of the Southeast Maritime Affairs. Rather, I have a cooperation agreement to discuss with you."

As he spoke, Chi Honghai picked up two blue-and-white porcelain cups and handed one to the representative. The crisp sound of the cup's stem touching the table rang out along with Chi Honghai's words: "Friend, as you know, cooperating with the Ming Dynasty means business, and you should understand the benefits better than I do."

The representatives did not hesitate, but instead pressed on with questions about the relevant matters. In their English view, the Spanish, Portuguese, and Dutch already had footholds in this area, while they did not, which put them at a disadvantage in terms of trade competitiveness.

That's how people are. They're afraid their brothers will suffer, and even more afraid of their brothers driving Land Rovers. Besides, there are old enemies they don't get along with. If it weren't for jealousy, they wouldn't have fired the cannon at Humen that day.

Seeing that the other party was so pragmatic, Chi Honghai didn't keep them in suspense and directly told the Englishman that Taiwan was not a place to be touched, that the Ming Dynasty had already begun preparations to recover it, and that getting involved in this mess now would be a loss.

If the English can help the Ming Dynasty in this matter during this time, then after the matter is accomplished, the court can grant the English permission to conduct normal trade and commerce in a special area designated by the Ming Dynasty, without having to bear the high toll fees.

This condition is significant, not just to the English, but to anyone who wants to do business in the Ming Dynasty.

"The reason we considered you Englishmen is because the court wanted a stable business partner, one that had not occupied any of the court's territory."

Chi Honghai clapped his hands and poured the tea from the teapot into two teacups: "Of course, you can also choose not to get involved. The Dutch have experienced the power of the Fujian General, and you have also suffered in Guangzhou. This is a rare opportunity, a truly rare one."

After saying this, Chi Honghai picked up his teacup, blew on it twice, and took a sip: "Won't you like to try this excellent black tea before you leave?"

The British representative looked at the blue and white porcelain teacup in front of him and the brownish-red tea inside. After a moment of contemplation, he picked it up with both hands and took a sip.

The aroma of the black tea traveled from the lips and teeth to the throat, layer upon layer, and the representative's expression improved somewhat: "Sir, how should we cooperate?"

"The content of the cooperation is also very simple. You don't need to send people to fight. You just need to pay a military expenditure." After saying that, Chi Honghai gestured the number two to the British representative.

"Two million taels of silver?" the British representative exclaimed.

Chi Honghai slowly shook his head: "It seems you still can't do the math. Two million taels of silver, isn't it worth it to be able to do business with peace of mind in the future? The goods you buy from the Ming Dynasty and ship to your side will cost several times, ten times, even dozens of times more. By then, only you will have the goods from the Ming Dynasty. Are you worried about not being able to earn back those two million taels of silver?"

This statement makes sense. If a company could handle such a large business without having to pay Zheng Zhilong any tolls, not only would the cost be lower, but the selling price would also be determined by the company itself.

"Don't worry, you're not asking to come up with all two million taels at once. You can just pay five hundred thousand taels every year."

"However... during this period, you will also need to provide support to the Spanish."

"What? Sir, did I hear that right? We're being asked to support the Spanish?"

Chi Honghai refilled the two teacups with tea: "Of course, let them fight first. Once they're tired, it'll be our turn." He then curled his lip and slightly raised his head towards the representative: "Don't you guys do this all the time?"

These words truly puzzled the British representative. He knew that the official was telling the truth; the English were very familiar with such matters. But what puzzled him was how an official of the Ming Dynasty could know so much. After all, the last time the Ming Dynasty embarked on an overseas adventure was two hundred years ago with Zheng He.

However, this issue wasn't something he was really struggling with. As a representative, money was an option, and support was also an option.

But surely it couldn't have been all his own doing for those four years (before 1641)? The representative continued to raise his concerns about this.