Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The news of the launch of the "Qinglong" arrived in Xiamen almost simultaneously with the imperial decree appointing Zheng Zhilong as "General Jinghai" and ordering him to integrate the East China Sea Fleet.

Zheng Zhilong, a man who had spent half his life fighting at sea, trembled slightly when he received the imperial edict and saw the design of the "Azure Dragon".

It wasn't fear, but an irrepressible excitement.

He had seen countless ships, from the bird boats and Cantonese ships of Fujian to the Spanish galleons and the Dutch deckboats, but he had never seen such a peculiar hybrid—possessing both the steadiness and grandeur of the Fujian ship and the slenderness and firepower of the galleon.

"This ship...can it really be built?" he asked the black-clad guard who came to deliver the imperial decree.

"Reporting to the General, the ship has been launched and is undergoing sea trials and adjustments. His Majesty orders you to proceed to Jinling immediately to personally inspect it and lead the ship to execute the first battle order."

The guard in black answered respectfully and handed over another sealed letter with sealing wax.

Zheng Zhilong opened the secret letter, which was written by Xiao Chen himself. It contained only one sentence: "There are rats in Penghu who have taken over my land. You may take this sharp sword and drive them away for me."

Penghu! Zheng Zhilong's pupils suddenly contracted.

He knew all too well the importance of Penghu. That archipelago in the middle of the Taiwan Strait was the throat controlling the shipping lanes on the Fujian-Guangdong coast.

Many years ago, the Dutch East India Company's fleet forcibly occupied Penghu, built a fortified castle (Fengguiwei Castle), and used it as a base to intercept merchant ships, force the Great Xia to open trade, and even harass the Fujian coast.

The previous dynasty's navy launched several expeditions, but all failed due to inferior ships and cannons and a lack of expertise in naval warfare. In the end, they tacitly allowed the Dutch to move to Taiwan, but Penghu remained under Dutch control, like a poisonous thorn stuck at the gateway to Fujian.

Now, Your Majesty is going to remove this thorn! With this unprecedented new ship!

Without any hesitation, Zheng Zhilong handed over the defense of Xiamen to his younger brother Zheng Zhihu, and took only a dozen or so trusted old brothers with him. They traveled day and night by fast boat to Nanjing.

When he saw the "Azure Dragon" ship, which looked like a giant blue beast, docked at Longjiang Wharf, even he, with his extensive knowledge, couldn't help but take a deep breath.

The ship was larger and more imposing than he had imagined. Especially the tightly closed gun ports on both sides, which resembled the sharp teeth of a lurking beast.

"How is it, General Zheng? Is this ship any good?" Xiao Chen greeted him personally at the dock and asked with a smile.

Zheng Zhilong knelt on one knee, his voice booming: "Your Majesty's craftsmanship is divine! This ship is the most magnificent I have ever seen in my life! If it can set sail, it will surely be like a dragon entering the sea, or a tiger or rhinoceros escaping its cage!"

"Great! That's exactly what I wanted to hear!"

Xiao Chen helped him up. "I'm entrusting the ship to you. The cannons are the 'Yuanfeng Cannons,' personally supervised by Zhao Tie. Their range, power, and rate of fire far surpass those of the red-haired barbarians' naval cannons. The sailors are the best recruited by Director Shen from the coast, and they've also been trained by those old Western devils. Now, all that's missing is a captain who can steer the ship and a fleet commander."

"Your subject would gladly die ten thousand deaths!" Zheng Zhilong declared, head held high.

"I don't want you to die ten thousand times, I want you to win."

Xiao Chen's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression. "Penghu must be taken back. Not only must it be taken back, but it must be won decisively, so that those barbarians, all the demons and monsters who covet our maritime territory, will tremble at the mere mention of the name 'Azure Dragon'! This battle is a testament to the prestige of the Royal Maritime Administration and our Great Xia's modern navy!"

"Your Majesty, I understand!"

In the days that followed, Zheng Zhilong lived and ate on the "Qinglong".

He discussed the timing and angle of broadside salvos with the Western gunnery officer Van der Sar, explored with the Portuguese captain Antonio how to maneuver this massive ship with mixed sails under different wind conditions, and talked with every sailor and gunner to understand their abilities and temperaments.

He was a dragon of the sea, and his understanding and mastery of this new ship was astonishingly fast.

At the same time, orders from the Maritime Department were sent to the coastal ports.

More than sixty ships, including the former pirate fleet that had been incorporated into Zheng Zhilong's forces and elite warships from the Fujian and Zhejiang navies, began to assemble in Xiamen Bay.

Although most of them were traditional Fujian and Guangzhou ships, there were also twelve smaller sister ships of the Qinglong class (displacement of about 200 tons, carrying 12-16 guns) that were started or modified at the Longjiang Shipyard during the construction of the Qinglong. An unprecedented fleet was taking shape.

On the 18th day of the ninth month in the autumn of the seventh year of the Great Summer Heaven, off the coast of Quanzhou.

The enormous azure body of the "Azure Dragon" cleaved through the deep blue sea, taking the lead.

Its freshly painted surface gleamed with a cold, hard sheen in the autumn sunlight, and a huge bright yellow dragon flag fluttered on the mainmast.

Behind it were twelve new warships, and further behind were more than fifty traditional warships and supply ships of varying sizes.

Sails and masts were like a forest, and banners blocked out the sun.

Zheng Zhilong stood on the tall stern of the "Qinglong" ship, holding a monocular telescope, gazing at the faint outline of the islands emerging at the horizon where the sea met the sky.

The sea breeze ruffled his slightly graying temples, but it couldn't cool the boiling passion in his heart.

Penghu, we've arrived.

Hans Putmans, the Dutch East India Company's commander in Penghu and the fleet commander, was standing on the watchtower of Fengguiwei Castle, observing the massive fleet through his binoculars.

His face looked extremely pale.

"God...when did the Bactrians get ships like this?" he murmured to himself.

That huge blue warship was unlike any Chinese ship he had ever seen.

The smaller warships that followed closely behind also clearly had a Western style.

"Was it the Portuguese? Or did those damned British build it for them?"

"Commander, they're signaling with flags, demanding that we leave Penghu immediately and dismantle the castle, or else it will be considered a provocation and invasion of the Great Xia Empire, and we'll bear the consequences," the adjutant reported nervously.

"Leave? Demolish?"

Putmans laughed in exasperation, "We've been operating here for so long! How many silver coins did this castle cost the company? The Great Xia people came to attack several times before, and they all slunk away, didn't they? Tell them that Penghu is a legitimate trading post of the Dutch East India Company, protected by the Republic of the Netherlands! Tell them to leave immediately, or our forts will not be so polite!"

"But Commander, their fleet is unprecedented in size, and that large ship looks very dangerous... Should we request assistance from Batavia (the Asian headquarters of the Dutch East India Company) first?" the adjutant suggested.

"Request reinforcements? How long will it take for Batavia to get here? By the time reinforcements arrive, it'll be too late!"

Putmans waved his hand irritably, but a hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes.

He commanded only four professional warships (two large galleons and two smaller fast ships), as well as a dozen armed merchant ships and transport ships.

The Marines, including the sailors, numbered less than 1,500 in total.

The Great Xia fleet appears to have sixty or seventy ships and a force of over five thousand.

But Putmans had confidence in his castle and warships.

Fengguiwei Castle is a fortress built with megaliths and coral ash, equipped with more than twenty heavy cannons, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Although his four warships were few in number, they were all real warships with powerful firepower.

As for the ships of the Great Xia people, apart from those few new ones, the rest... were nothing more than slow-moving targets in his eyes.

"Return the signal: Penghu is Dutch territory. The Great Xia fleet must immediately withdraw from view, or open fire!" Putmans made up his mind to take a gamble. He gambled that the Great Xia people wouldn't actually attack, and that their new ships were just a bluff.

However, the other party's response was quick and concise.

A huge red flag was raised on the mainmast of the "Qinglong" ship, fluttering in the wind. On the autumn sea, the red was dazzling and startling.

That's a signal to attack.

Putmans' heart sank. He knew the negotiations were over. What followed was only gunfire and bloodshed.

"Send the order! All ships, to battle positions! Prepare the guns! Let these Great Xia people know that the sea is not a place for them!" he roared hoarsely.

The sea breeze carried a salty, fishy smell, and also brought the oppressive atmosphere of an impending great battle.

Two fleets, two civilizations, silently confront each other on the azure waters of Penghu.

The row of closed gun ports on one side of the "Azure Dragon" cast a chilling shadow in the sunlight.

A clash that will determine the ownership of maritime power in East Asia is about to erupt.