Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Just as Chi Honghai was figuring out how to maximize the use of the million-odd taels of silver in the treasury, another message reached his ears.

A subordinate reported that another group of pirate ships had appeared in the waters northeast of Hong Kong Island, and the brothers, who had just gone out to fish, had run into them.

Chi Honghai was worried about the casualties among the fishermen at sea when his subordinates told him that the pirates were in a small boat with only a few people on board. When the brothers saw the hairstyles of those people, they recognized them as the same group as before, and they rushed over in their fishing boat.

"Have you all forgotten that you are not allowed to act without my orders?" Chi Honghai said hastily, his tone tinged with anxiety and anger.

"Sir, please don't get agitated. Our brothers suffered no casualties this time. There weren't many pirates, and some of them were injured. Their small boat went out to sea immediately after being hit," the subordinate explained.

Chi Honghai was not entirely satisfied with his subordinate's explanation and took a deep breath as he waited for the fishing boat to return to Hong Kong.

He walked to the shore and watched from afar until the fishing boat docked and lowered its boarding plank. Before anyone on board could disembark, he hurriedly went aboard.

He glanced at the four Japanese pirates tied up on the deck, then turned his gaze back to the bow of the fishing boat.

"Master, we just caught a few pirates!" The captain of the fishing boat announced to his master with a grin.

Chi Honghai excitedly raised his hand to slap him, but then withdrew it and ultimately did not strike.

"Was it that you wouldn't listen to what I said before?"

The captain immediately felt guilty at the master's question. He knew, of course, what the master had warned everyone before—no one was allowed to act without his permission.

The captain lowered his head, not daring to look Master Chi in the eye, and explained aggrievedly like a child who had done something wrong: "Master, these bastards killed so many of our brothers before, and I just couldn't help myself when I saw them today."

Suddenly, the captain knelt down in front of Master Chi: "Master, this was all my idea. The brothers all listened to me. If you want to punish someone, punish me."

"Thump" "Thump".

"Master!" "Master!"

"Get up! I didn't tell you to kneel. What are you kneeling for? Get up!" Chi Honghai said in a serious tone, but he didn't raise his voice.

The master's orders were obeyed without question, and the others stepped forward, but the captain remained kneeling, begging for punishment.

Chi Honghai reached out a hand, grabbed his arm, and lifted him up.

"You've done a great service by capturing this gang of pirates, and you'll be rewarded." As soon as Chi Honghai finished speaking, the group of people lost their previous tension and showed some smiles.

"However, any act taken without authorization, regardless of the reason, must be punished. Merits and demerits cannot offset each other." Chi Honghai glanced at everyone and continued, "Considering that you acted to avenge our brothers and there were no casualties, we will be lenient this time. After dinner, you will all run five laps around the north bank."

After dealing with their own people, it was time to deal with the four people tied up on the deck.

Chi Honghai walked up to them and pulled the rag out of their mouths.

"Baka!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a subordinate slapped him across the face: "What are you yelling about? Can't you speak like a human being?" The subordinate pointed at the Japanese man and said to Master Chi, "Master, these people have been quacking non-stop ever since they boarded the ship. They're practically like ducks. The brothers were really annoyed, so they stuffed their mouths with the rags we use to wipe the ship."

Even after being slapped, the Japanese man didn't stop, glaring fiercely at Chi Honghai.

Chi Honghai looked down at the Japanese man, his scrutinizing gaze not as if he were scrutinizing a person, but that was normal, since Master Chi had never regarded this Japanese man as a human being from beginning to end.

Although the person was tied up in front of him, the biggest problem was the language barrier. Apart from understanding the foul language spoken by the other party, he didn't know what the rest meant.

"Did you search his body?" Chi Honghai asked.

"Sir, not yet. The brothers have tied them up after they were caught at sea and haven't moved them."

"search".

At Chi Honghai's command, several subordinates grabbed the clothes of the four Japanese men and searched them thoroughly, but they found nothing.

Just when he was feeling helpless, he suddenly thought of something.

Although the languages ​​were different, the writing system was the same. At this time, Japan had not yet fully developed its own writing system. Although they did not speak Chinese, they wrote letters in Chinese characters.

Thinking he had found a way to communicate, Chi Honghai immediately asked someone to bring him pen and ink, wrote down his questions on a piece of paper, and then presented it to the four people.

But to everyone's surprise, after glancing at the contents of the paper, the four men all stared blankly at Chi Honghai, clearly indicating that none of them could read.

That's normal, after all, if a family is wealthy and has the ability to read and write, who would go out and do this kind of business where their life is constantly in danger?

Chi Honghai sighed helplessly, turning his head to the side, and muttered, "What a waste."

"Go to Guangzhou Prefecture and find someone who can speak Japanese. Remember, it's 'invite,' not 'kidnap.' Be respectful."

"Yes, sir!"

"Take him away!"

Seeing that a translator was needed and they could no longer pretend, one of the people inside spoke up.

"I, I speak Mandarin."

Chi Honghai turned around and looked at him: "You've been pretending pretty well. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I'm afraid you'll kill me."

"Hey, isn't that obvious? Do you think I can't kill you if you don't speak? You're doing this pirate business, are you afraid of dying?"

The man didn't reply, but looked at Chi Honghai, panting heavily, hoping to gain a shred of pity.

Chi Honghai ignored him, turned his back to him, and asked.

"Speak, what exactly are you here for?"

"What else can a pirate do... naturally, rob..."

"That's not what I want to ask. Who's behind this?"

The Japanese man paused for a moment, then said, "We've already fallen to the point of becoming pirates. Who else could possibly be behind us? Who wouldn't want to live a peaceful life?"

"Peaceful life? You little Japanese pirates can run around right under Zheng Zhilong's nose without a care in the world! What's wrong, are you afraid to reveal your master now? Does he even consider you human?"

At this point, Chi Honghai had already guessed who was behind them.

Generally speaking, pirates don't have much backing. If they did, they wouldn't have become pirates. That's how Chief Chi got his position.

If you really become a pirate, unless you become big enough and have the necessary leverage to force others to cooperate and negotiate with you, you have no legitimacy.

But this small group of Japanese pirates, not only lacking in strength, is actually able to roam freely along the southeastern coast, especially near Fujian, which is quite illogical.

You should know that Zheng Zhilong's eyes are all over this surrounding sea area. Even a fisherman like you who goes out to sea to fish is within his sight. As a pirate, it is really unreasonable that you can live in peace.

But guessing is one thing, but it's always best to get the other person to say it out loud.

Coercion is effective, but combining it with incentives is the key.