Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

"If you don't explain clearly, you should know the consequences better than I do. If you do explain clearly, I might spare your lives this time."

"Master!" "Master! Brothers, are you...!"

Chi Honghai raised his hand and gestured for his subordinates to shut up.

"Have you thought this through? Stealing ships and killing people are all for survival. Are you living for yourself, or for those who don't treat you like a human being?"

The man hesitated for a long time, and Chi Honghai didn't give him much patience.

"Since you're willing to be a dog, then die like a dog! Someone!"

"Wait!" the man tensed up and shouted.

"It was Zheng Zhilong...he sent us..."

As Chi Honghai had predicted, this group of people were deliberately sent by Zheng Zhilong to cause trouble along the southeast coast.

By this time, it was no longer the era of rampant Japanese pirates as it was during the Jiajing reign. Most of the large groups had been wiped out, and even the larger ones had been pacified by imperial decree.

These Japanese pirates naturally didn't have the guts or the strength to cause trouble along the southeast coast again; even if they did, they wouldn't last long.

As for why they were allowed to come over, and what they were specifically here to do, Chi Honghai naturally didn't need to ask.

This is all the wisdom of our predecessors—the Japanese pirates must be eradicated, but not completely.

With these Japanese pirates along the southeast coast, they have a reason to ask the imperial court for money. If the imperial court doesn't have money, it's simple: just let me raise it locally.

Moreover, the things the Japanese pirates stole weren't necessarily all theirs; they also had to pay taxes to Lord Zheng. At the same time, they, like him, served as Zheng Zhilong's "eyes." However, it was hard to say whether these eyes were real or fake. Everyone who made a living on the high seas had some tricks up their sleeve.

Chi Honghai continued by asking other questions: "How many people are in your group? Where is your base around here?"

The other party stopped hesitating and said, "We have more than 300 men on this mission. There are some who have lost contact with us, but one of our brothers went out to sea to rob a ship and then disappeared. We guess they went back to Shikoku Island."

Chi Honghai laughed mockingly: "You mean those people were used as targets for my ship's cannons?"

"Nani!" The man knelt down and stepped forward.

Chi Honghai turned around and looked at the man, his eyes bloodshot and his lips clenched tightly: "What? Your group killed my men, and I can't even retaliate?"

"But don't worry, since you weren't involved, I personally will definitely let you go. They all know I'm a person of my word." Chi Honghai said, glancing up at his subordinates. "What do you say?"

"Yes! Master is a man of his word, it's just a pity he can't personally deal with these scoundrels!"

"Go on, where is the base?" Chi Honghai asked.

"Aren't you afraid that if you let us go back, we'll cause you more trouble?" the man pressed.

"What I'm asking now is, where is the base?"

"We have no base. We came from Japan and have been at sea for the rest of our time. We only go ashore to plunder along the coast."

"Very well, very well, quite a long-distance raid, you really went all out. But from my last observation, your ship didn't fly any special flags belonging to the Zheng family, so how can we identify you?"

The Japanese pirate remained silent. He knew that if he spoke up, these men would definitely go to sea using this method, and if the numbers were not right, Zheng Zhilong would definitely use his own men as a scapegoat.

"Not going to talk? Afraid that Lord Zheng will make an example of you? Will he stop making an example of you just now? From the moment you arrived here, you were already dead to him. The chance to live you now is given to you by me, not by him."

The Japanese pirate took a deep breath and then exhaled, his mouth open, repeatedly inhaling and exhaling rapidly.

"The flag on the ship is pure black. No one in the southeastern sea area dares to do that. When we encounter the Zheng family's fleet, we raise this black flag, and they will naturally know that it is us."

Chi Honghai clapped his hands and thought about the situation that day. There was indeed a black sail hanging at the stern.

After questioning the other people, Chi Honghai also kept his promise to the four of them.

"Take these four people off the ship and untie them."

"master!"

Do I need to repeat myself?

"yes......"

The four were taken ashore and the ropes binding them were untied.

Chi Honghai said to the four people, "I mean what I say, you can leave now."

The four people looked around, unsure of what to do.

"This place is surrounded by waterways; how can we get around without a boat?"

"Can't even swim across? You dare show your face in public with such meager skills?" Chi Honghai mocked the four. "Fine, I'll take pity on you and give you a small boat. Look, over there!"

The four men looked in the direction Chi Honghai had looked up and walked over.

"Sir, are we really just going to let them go like this?"

"Didn't you say you were going to let them go?"

"What? Master? Us?"

"I just said I personally spared their lives. If you don't act now, isn't that the same as letting them go?"

Once everyone understood what the master meant, they rushed over together, grabbed the four men, and began to beat them mercilessly.

"Baka!" "Baka!"

As the crowd continued beating him, Chi Honghai strolled over leisurely, the shouts from earlier making him feel quite pleased.

He pushed aside his subordinates and looked at the Japanese pirates whose faces were covered in blood.

"Tsk tsk, I never realized you guys were so ruthless."

"Baka! Didn't you say you'd spare our lives and let us go?!" the Japanese pirate who could speak Chinese said angrily.

"Hey, that's right? I meant I personally spared your lives and let you go, and I did it, didn't I? Not only did I do it, I even gave you a boat to get you out." Chi Honghai said, tugging at his hem. "But, it was me who let you go, not them. You'll have to ask them about that."

After Chi Honghai finished speaking, these people realized they had been tricked by words, but before they could react, Chi Honghai turned and walked away, leaving only one sentence: "Remember to feed the fish."

A group of people swarmed forward again, shouting and yelling. Screams rang out once more, but Chi Honghai, who left, showed no emotion.

Throughout the journey, he kept thinking about one question: how many Japanese pirates did Zheng Zhilong secretly keep?

This not only concerns the safety of the people and merchants in the southeastern sea area, but also the safety of his people going out to sea to fish and do business, and even the safety of Hong Kong Island. Who knows when they might run into him again.

He understood that these Japanese pirates, like Zheng Zhilong, were people who could not be cooperated with. In their culture, credit was a useless word. In modern parlance, the combined credit scores of the Japanese pirates and Zheng Zhilong wouldn't even be enough to buy a shared bicycle. All rules were determined by strength.

If one day you really want these people to work for you, you'll need to have greater strength, stricter rules, and the heart to not treat them like human beings to be bossed around.