My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Zheng Zhilong said no more, bowed deeply, turned and strode away, the blades of his armor clanging.

He already understood that the father and son from the Tian family did not just want to watch the spectacle, but also wanted to test the value of this sea monster and the Zheng family navy's ability to handle such special missions.

This is an "exam" that cannot be missed!
Moments later, new, more urgent and rhythmic bugle calls and flag signals rang out from the fleet!

The fleet formation, which was originally in a state of alert and expulsion, began to change significantly.

About twenty or thirty smaller but more agile and faster hull ships and haicang ships, under the command of Zheng Zhilong's flagship, sailed out of the main formation like cheetahs and began to silently encircle the distant whale pod.

Instead of rushing closer, they used their speed and numbers to gradually reduce the whale pod's space, driving it towards a more favorable hunting area.

The entire operation was swift and well-organized, demonstrating the Zheng family's navy's extremely high level of training and coordinated combat capabilities.

Meanwhile, a more robust second-class warship, with a specially reinforced hull and a wide deck, was designated as the "Imperial Viewing Ship" and slowly approached the warship carrying Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Zhu Cilang.

Under the personal command of Zheng Zhilong and with the tight protection of a large number of elite guards, Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Zhu Cilang, and a few close officials who were specially allowed to accompany him were transferred to this observation ship.

This ship has excellent visibility and is located at a safe distance on the outer edge of the encirclement, allowing it to see the battle situation clearly while ensuring it will not be affected by the whale's dying counterattack.

When Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Zhu Cilang stood on the bow deck of the observation ship and raised their binoculars to look at the sea several miles away, a magnificent sight that would be unforgettable for a lifetime came into view:

On the azure sea, dozens of enormous fin whales were swimming. Their dark blue backs resembled moving islands, and the water spouts they spouted formed rainbows in the sunlight. Their long, deep whale songs could be faintly heard, full of primal and magnificent vitality.

Zhu Cilang's eyes almost sparkled as he looked at this enormous "protein and energy reservoir".

He quickly calculated in his mind how much relief the meat, oil, and other byproducts produced by these dozens of whales could bring to the logistics supply on the Liaodong front and even to the livelihood of the people in the entire north if they could be used properly!
Of course, he also knew that large-scale commercial whaling was a matter for later; the key right now was to witness this historic moment and verify its feasibility.

The Ming Dynasty's path of maritime expansion may well begin a new chapter with this unexpected whaling demonstration.

Soon, with Zheng Zhilong's order, the sharp and urgent sound of the horn once again shattered the tranquility of the sea.

This time, it's no longer a warning or a drive away, but the clarion call to attack!
The Ming navy fleet, which had been poised for action, sprang into action like a startled wolf pack!
From the massive main force, about twenty long, narrow, and extremely fast "scouting ships" and "scouting boats" emerged.

These ships have a shallow draft, use both oars and sails, and are highly maneuverable, making them the main force for carrying out assaults and boarding maneuvers.

Each ship was filled with more than twenty elite sailors and soldiers, who were bare-chested or wearing only short jackets. Their skin was tanned bronze by the sea breeze and the scorching sun, their muscles were bulging, and their eyes were as sharp as eagles.

At the bow, a specially made giant crossbow was prominently mounted, requiring three or four people to operate. The crossbow bolts, as thick as a child's arm, did not have sharp spearheads, but rather heavy steel forks with barbs and blood grooves. The tail of the crossbow was tied with a neatly coiled, wrist-thick, and hundreds-of-foots-long oil-soaked hemp or palm rope, the other end of which was firmly fixed to a huge winch at the stern.

The target had already been chosen: an adult fin whale that was on the edge of the pod, relatively large in size, and estimated to be over eight zhang long.

Its dark blue back resembled a moving reef in the sunlight, and the water jets it spewed up were several meters high.

"rush!"

The captains of the small boats roared in anger.

In an instant, more than twenty fast boats shot off like arrows, cutting through the waves and rushing toward the giant whale from different directions!

The oars flew, stirring up white waves, and shouts and drumbeats shattered the calm of the sea.

The giant whale clearly sensed the danger; its massive body began to writhe restlessly, attempting to dive or turn.

However, the Ming navy coordinated extremely well. Several fast ships took the lead and circled around to the front and flanks, using gongs, drums and horns to intimidate and drive them away, thus restricting their escape route.

Meanwhile, the main attacking ships took advantage of the moment when the giant whale's attention was diverted and quickly closed in to a dangerous distance of less than thirty paces!
"put!"

With a command given, several deep and powerful thuds of bowstrings rang out: "Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several enormous harpoons, with a piercing whistling sound, plunged viciously into the whale's back and sides! The sharp barbs, propelled by immense kinetic energy, instantly tore through the thick whale skin and blubber layer, embedding themselves deeply into its muscles!

"Moo!"

A deep, painful, and furious roar, like muffled thunder, came from the seabed, making the eardrums of the sailors on the nearby boats go numb! Severely injured, the whale, in its agony, unleashed astonishing power, its massive body swung violently, stirring up towering waves that nearly capsized the nearest speedboat!
It began to struggle and dive frantically, trying to get rid of the foreign object and the excruciating pain.

However, the Ming army was prepared, and the rope at the end of the steel fork was instantly snapped straight, making a teeth-grinding "crunch" sound.

But the other end of the rope was not connected to those light and nimble boats, but to two medium-sized "Haicang boats" waiting in ambush behind them.

These two ships were large and rock-solid, and the sailors on board were already on high alert, holding tightly to the winches.

When the giant whale tried to drag it, the immense force was offset by the weight of the Haicang ship itself and the anchor chain. Although the rope was taut and about to break, it firmly bound the sea monster! It was like a bull chained up, and no matter how much it struggled, it could not break free.

Having succeeded in striking, the attack did not stop.

More fast boats surrounded them, and the sailors used powerful bows and crossbows to rain down arrows on the whale's exposed head, blowhole, and other vulnerable parts.

Although these arrows were like mosquito bites to the giant whale, the continuous harassment and bleeding accelerated its depletion.

In order to end the battle as soon as possible and demonstrate the absolute power of the Ming Dynasty's navy, Zheng Zhilong issued a further order: to use artillery!
Under normal circumstances, whaling rarely uses artillery in order to save on expensive gunpowder and avoid excessive damage to the whale's value.

But today, the intention is to "perform martial arts" and "make a quick decision"!
"Target: the waters surrounding the giant whale! Fire!"

Commands were conveyed swiftly via flag signals.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The cannons deployed on the sides of several large Fujian ships roared!

Black smoke billowed as cannonballs whistled into the seawater surrounding the giant whale, creating towering columns of water!
Although it did not directly hit the whale's body, the huge shockwave and water pressure generated by the explosion at close range, as well as the deafening sound, caused great fright and damage to the whale underwater.

It was already injured, and now it was even more disoriented and in great pain from the explosion.

The whale made a final struggle, diving sharply into deeper water in an attempt to escape the attack.

But Zheng Zhilong had a contingency plan! On the outer edge of the encirclement, several smaller "mineships" carrying simple trigger-activated or delayed-detonation underwater explosives were already on standby. When they detected the whale's intention to dive, these mineships quickly approached the predicted diving area and launched several "underwater dragon king cannons" or similar devices wrapped in waterproof tarpaulins and filled with gunpowder and iron nail fragments into the water.

"Bang! Bang!"

Several muffled explosions came from underwater, and turbid waves surged up on the sea surface.

The giant whale, which had just dived, was clearly struck again by the attack from underwater, and was in excruciating pain, forcing it to surface again.

By this time, it was at its last gasp. Its massive body was covered with arrows and steel forks, and dark red blood gushed from its wounds, staining a large area of ​​the surrounding seawater red.

It thrashed its tail fin helplessly, emitting mournful cries, no longer able to mount an effective resistance.

The entire process, from the start of the attack to the whale losing its ability to resist, took only a little over half an hour.

The Ming Dynasty navy demonstrated exceptional tactical skills, excellent teamwork, and superior weaponry.

On the imperial observation ship not far away, Emperor Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang took in the thrilling maritime hunt through their telescopes.

Zhu Cilang held up the binoculars, his face calm, his heart undisturbed.

In this era of low productivity and immense pressure to survive, concepts like animal protection and ecological balance are far too advanced.

His thinking was extremely pragmatic. This behemoth before him meant tens of thousands of kilograms of protein and fat, the potential to save tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians from hunger, and a strategic resource that could be obtained on a large scale at a relatively low cost.

Its value is immeasurable, provided that the issues of preservation and transportation can be effectively resolved.

Faced with such enormous practical benefits, the cries of individuals about life and death seem insignificant.

All he could think about was how to transform this "heaven-sent" resource into the cornerstone of the Ming Dynasty's prosperity.

Finally, under the multi-layered and three-dimensional attack of the Ming navy, this behemoth lost all its vitality. Its huge body flipped over, revealing its white belly, and floated on the sea surface, no longer moving.

"Success!"

The sailors on each ship erupted in deafening cheers, waving their weapons in celebration of this resounding victory.

Zheng Zhilong's tense nerves finally relaxed, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

From launching the attack to successfully hunting down the enemy, the time was short, and there were no casualties on our side. It perfectly demonstrated the strength and naval combat capabilities of the Zheng family's navy to the emperor and the crown prince.

He knew that if he used traditional whaling methods, using small boats and harpoons to deal with and wear down the giant whale, it would often take several hours or even longer, and the risks were extremely high.

Today's "luxurious" tactics, although consuming a lot of gunpowder and arrows, have been remarkably effective, with political significance far outweighing economic costs.

Standing beside him, Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded and speechless for a long time.

He slowly lowered the binoculars in his hand, his face filled with extreme shock and disbelief.

Although he knew from books that whales were huge, witnessing firsthand how "quickly" this living, mountain-sized beast was subdued and hunted down by the well-trained and well-equipped Ming Dynasty navy was an unparalleled visual and cognitive shock.

He murmured to himself:
"My navy is truly powerful!"

His tone was filled with incredulous admiration and a newfound understanding of his own military strength.

At this moment, Zheng Zhilong turned to face Chongzhen, bowed, and reported:
"Your Majesty, the whale has been hunted, but it is enormous, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms. It is difficult to handle at sea and must be towed to shore for decomposition. If it is delayed for too long, the carcass will decompose, and the value of its meat and oil will be greatly reduced."

"Furthermore, it is getting late, and sailing at night is inconvenient. I humbly request Your Majesty's decision: may we choose a place to anchor on the nearby coast tonight and set sail again tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen snapped out of his shock and looked at the enormous whale carcass on the distant sea, and the naval vessels busily securing it with thick ropes and hooks in preparation for towing it. Without hesitation, he nodded in agreement.

"Granted! As you say, my dear minister."

"The minister obeys the order!"

Zheng Zhilong accepted the order and immediately turned around. Using flag signals and messengers, he directed the entire fleet to adjust its course and head towards the coastline of the Shandong Peninsula, which was faintly visible in the distance.

It wasn't a proper port like Dengzhou; it was just a relatively flat bay with sandy beaches for landing, but it was sufficient for temporary mooring and handling whale carcasses.

With a large entourage and ample supplies, setting up camp was not difficult.

The fleet slowly approached the shore and anchored.

Zheng Zhilong's experienced crew members and sailors immediately got to work.

They cleared a space on the beach, set up a stove, and prepared various tools such as knives, axes, hooks, and wooden buckets.

Then, using the tide and a winch, the huge whale carcass was slowly dragged onto the shallows.

Then the breakdown of tasks began, which was an extremely arduous and physically demanding task requiring skill.

Experienced craftsmen first use long-handled sharp blades and axes to make a huge incision along the belly of the whale, and then cut off the thick blubber piece by piece, as if peeling off a huge package.

These lumps of oil, as large as door panels and over a foot thick, were thrown into a huge iron pot to render whale oil.

Next came the cutting of the fish meat. The red whale meat was cut into large chunks and carefully preserved with a large amount of sea salt carried on board, as instructed by Zhu Cilang, to prevent spoilage.

Whale baleen, whale skin, internal organs, bones, etc., were also processed and collected in a categorized manner.

The entire beach was filled with a strong smell of blood, grease, and the salty smell of seawater, creating a scene that was both spectacular and primitively rugged.

It may seem cruel to some others, but for anyone at that time, it was a gift from nature, enough to ensure that even the lowest-ranking soldiers and sailors could enjoy a delicious meal of fish on this voyage.

As for other things, they are not important!
Besides, Da Ming's neighbor, Xiao Rizi, has a long-standing tradition of whaling. If Da Ming didn't hunt, those whales would probably end up in Xiao Rizi's hands. (End of Chapter)