The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 126 The Campfire Method of Luring and Killing the Jianzhou Slaves

"The general wants to go ashore to rescue people?"

"That's natural."

Bai Qingwen said in a refined manner, "As a member of the government army, I have the responsibility to protect the land and ensure the safety of the people. How can I sit idly by and watch the people be harmed by the Tartars without doing anything about it!"

These weren't Bai Qing's own words; they were taught to her by Zhou Xiucai to explain her purpose in coming to Liaodong to others.

Upon hearing this, a fisherman tucked the dry bread into his pocket and immediately knelt down: "If the general wants to go ashore to rescue people, count me in."

The other two fishermen also knelt down.

"Count me in too!"

"The three of us brothers are all willing to follow the general!"

The common people of the Ming Dynasty would not easily join the army, let alone want to get involved with the government troops. Today's situation shows that they really hate the Jurchens to the extreme.

Bai Qing smiled and said, "Get up first. Before saving people, we need to find out the situation clearly."

By evening, the campsite on the island was set up.

Bai Qing, the boat owners, and the three newly surrendered fishermen gathered around the fire to talk.

The three brothers, from eldest to youngest, were named Zhang Haisheng, Zhang Tiemao, and Zhang Ganchao. They lost their father at a young age and were raised by their mother, who made a living by fishing.

According to the Zhang brothers, the island they were standing on was called Guanglu Island, located in the sea east of Liaodong. The nearest city was Jinzhou, which had now been occupied by the Tartars.

The three brothers' hometown was not far east of Jinzhou, in a village called Wanghaiguo. It was just slaughtered by the Tartars yesterday, and their mother died tragically under their swords.

Wanghaiguo and Guanglu Island are basically separated by the sea, which is why they happened to run into Bai Qing.

The crew brought out some wine, handed it to the three brothers, and offered them a few words of comfort.

Bai Qing felt a surge of anger welling up inside him. He forced himself to pick up a thick tree branch, poked at the campfire, and asked, "What are the Tartars trying to achieve by killing people indiscriminately?"

Zhang Tiemao roared, "The Tartars aren't human! They kill people just for fun, old people, children... they don't even spare pregnant women!"

Zhang Haisheng patted his brother on the shoulder and added, "It's not that they killed them all. I heard from the refugees who fled from Jinzhou that the Tartars kept some young men and took them all to Tuokesuo to be their servants."

“Tokso? Aha? What does that mean?” Zhong Aqi lifted the wine bag, took a swig of wine, and asked.

Zhang Haisheng shook his head: "I don't know. I only know that when you become an Aha, you have to shave your head. If you don't shave it yourself, the Tartars will grab you and shave it. If you struggle too much, you will be chopped off with a knife."

"A haircut?" Shi Kai, the captain of the Sea Wolf III, asked in surprise, "How do you do that?"

Zhang Haisheng gestured on his head: "Like this, shave all the hair on the front, back, left and right, leaving only a small tuft on the back of the head, which is tied into a braid. That's how the Tartars wear their hair."

"Barbarians!" Shi Kai spat.

Bai Qing knew that Tuokesuo meant farm, and Aha meant slave or serf. Lin Qian had told her this before she left.

Although both were forced labor, the prisoners on Nan'ao Island lived like they were in paradise compared to the Jurchen Akha.

Bai Qing looked at the campfire and asked, "How many Tartars were there who slaughtered your village? Where are they now?"

"There were more than thirty people, ten on horseback and twenty on foot, all armored and with powerful bows and arrows. They were not moving fast with Aha, and were heading northeast towards Guifu Fortress along the main road."

Zhang Ganchao added, "The Tartars kill as they go, leaving hardly any people behind wherever they go. If you want to save people, General, you have to get ahead of the Tartars."

Bai Qing thought for a moment and ordered, "Zhong Aqi, Shi Kai! You two will set sail tomorrow, with the Zhang brothers on board as guides. Explore along the coast, heading north and south respectively. If you encounter any Han refugees or traces of Tartars, report back immediately!"

"Yes!" The two captains of the Seawolf ship bowed in unison.

……

The next morning, the Sea Wolf II and Sea Wolf III ships set sail as instructed by Bai Qing.

We returned to the island in the evening.

Shi Kai reported: "Just as the Zhang brothers said, the south is basically a wasteland. Wanghaiguo was burned to the ground. I sailed southwest along the coastline for most of the day and didn't see a single living person. However, I could still see Jinzhou City in the distance, but I was worried about encountering the Tartars, so I didn't dare to sail closer."

"Hmm." Bai Qing pretended to be deep in thought, then asked Zhong Aqi, "What about the north?"

“Heading north, we see no living people, but there are many corpses.” Zhong Aqi paused and said, “I think the Tartars are stationed at Guifu Fort.”

"Guifu Fortress?" Bai Qing murmured, then asked, "Did you get a closer look at that place?"

Zhong Aqi nodded: "I saw it. It's a small town that was once a military camp. It's about two miles in circumference, and there are traces of Tartar activity around it."

How far is this place from the sea?

"About five miles away, the road to the shore is flat and unobstructed."

Bai Qing recalled Lin Qian's instructions before his departure: the main purpose of this trip was to rescue refugees, and to avoid conflict with the Jurchens as much as possible, especially to avoid fighting the Jurchens on land.

The tactics for land and sea warfare are vastly different. This pirate force was not only untrained, but also lacked horses. Fighting on the Liaodong Plain without horses was a huge disadvantage.

Moreover, since its establishment, the team has only won battles with an easy advantage, and has only bullied the Ming Dynasty's garrisons, soldiers, and pirates.

Suddenly facing the Jurchen cavalry head-on was something I was really unsure of.

Their only advantage was their advanced firearms; almost every crew member had a Portuguese matchlock musket.

However, early matchlock muskets were too slow to reload, and could only fire one volley when facing a cavalry charge.

If we are defeated by the Jurchens and end up with matchlock muskets, it would be a grave mistake.

Therefore, Bai Qing hesitated for a long time before saying, "Let's not move Guifu Fort for now, but absorb refugees on the shore. A small Tartar team of a few dozen people can't possibly kill all the Han people in Liaodong. There must be some hiding in the mountains and forests."

……

The following day, Bai Qing personally led three Sea Wolf ships and six Haicang ships to dock on the coastline between Wanghaiguo and Guifubao.

Bai Qing ordered his men to light a bonfire on the coast and then gather fallen pine trees, pine cones, and damp moss to burn around the fire.

Soon, thick, gray-black smoke rose high from the campfire, clearly visible even ten miles away.

Bai Qing intended to use this method to lure the refugees out.

The method is a bit clumsy, but at least it's close to the coast, which ensures safety.

Thick smoke rose from dawn until noon, and there wasn't a single person in sight along the coast, on the main road, or in the mountains.

Fortunately, Liaodong has abundant forests, and there is plenty of wood to burn.

On the ship, the crew members had finished lunch and were waiting listlessly.

The lookout suddenly pointed to a cloud of dust rising from the dirt road in the distance: "Someone's coming!"

"It looks like Tartar cavalry!" A crew member shaded his eyes with his hand and squinted at the smoke and dust.

"Perfect timing!" After hearing about the Zhang brothers' plight, the crew members were filled with hatred for the Tartars. Coupled with their consecutive victories, they had no regard for the Tartars and had long wanted to fight them.

Without Bai Qing giving any instructions, the ship's captain had already ordered the crew to take out the muskets and prepare the breech-loading cannons for loading.

"Wait!" Bai Qing stopped him.

"The ship owner!"

"Captain! Let us fight!"

Knowing Bai Qing's attitude, the crew members pleaded with him.

The crew members with guns kept blowing on the matchlock to light it, and the matchlock was burning hot.

The artilleryman had already loaded the cannon, and was holding another cannonball in his arms.

Looking at the ship full of arrogant and fierce soldiers, Bai Qing smiled and said in a deep voice, "The Tartars are not fools. Seeing that our firearms are powerful and we are all at sea, they will not dare to come closer. We need to find a way to lure the Tartars over and kill them all!"

Under Bai Qing's orders, all the Haicang ships left the fleet and entered the open sea. There was also a small boat carrying more than ten crew members, which rowed towards the shore. The crew members disembarked and pretended to tend the campfire.

The Jurchen cavalry leader, Murihan, reined in his horse before the coast, and ten cavalrymen behind him followed suit.

"Zhuan Da, why did you stop?" his subordinate asked in Jurchen.

Murihan looked at the three large ships on the sea three hundred paces away, a look of vigilance appearing in his eyes. "The southern barbarians have powerful firearms. I don't know where these three ships came from. We need to be careful."

Just as he hesitated, the dozen or so people by the campfire also saw the Jurchen cavalry and were so frightened that they all got up and ran towards the large ship.

The three large ships were in even worse shape; they raised their sails and prepared to turn around, seemingly ready to escape, no longer caring about the dozen or so of their own men on the shore.

From afar, Muriham could see chaos on the decks of the three large sailing ships. The crew members were scrambling to raise the sails and turn the rudder, but they were in such a flurry of activity that after half a day, the sails were still not raised, and seven or eight people had already tripped over the ropes.

From afar, one could still hear the panicked cries of the crew.

His subordinate urged, "Zhuan Da, those are clearly a group of weak roe deer. Don't hesitate, let us go!"

Another person added, "If we hesitate any longer, the barbarians will board the ship and run away!"

Upon hearing this, Murihan drew his bow and arrows, spurred his horse forward, and shouted, "Boys, follow me and kill!"

The ten Jurchen cavalrymen were extremely skilled riders. From stopping their horses to galloping at full speed in no time, each of them grabbed a bow and arrow and charged towards the Han people on the shore with shouts and yells.

Their cries were like thunder, and although there were only ten of them, they had an indomitable spirit.

As they drew closer, Mulihan was horrified to discover that the dozen or so Han Chinese who had been hesitating on the shore, afraid to go into the water, had taken off their clothes and, like fish, plunged into the sea and disappeared.

The three ships that had frantically turned around also calmed down, and for a moment, the world was quiet except for the sound of horses' hooves.

Subsequently.

"Boom boom boom..."

"Clap clap clap..."

Gunshots and cannon fire rang out in rapid succession, like beans being poured from a bamboo tube.

Murihan came to his senses, but it was too late. He watched helplessly as a cavalryman's arm turned into a cloud of blood mist beside him. Before the man could even scream, another piece of his head exploded. As more bullets rained down, his whole body was covered in blood, and his warhorse let out a mournful cry before turning into flying flesh and blood.

Murihan was terrified. His warhorse neighed and collapsed to the ground.

He rolled twice on the ground, and when he turned around, he saw that his men were as if they had run into an invisible scythe, their bodies oozing blood and all of them losing their life force.

Those who were shot multiple times were even reduced to pieces on the spot, unrecognizable as human.

The entire beach was soaked in blood, a shocking crimson stain.

"Ugh!" Murihan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked down and realized that he also had three or four bloody holes on his body, from which blood was gushing out.

He felt a surge of strength coursing through his body, and unable to stand, he collapsed to his knees.

In a daze, he heard a woman's voice beside him: "Stop, spare his life... let the Zhang brothers do it."

At Bai Qing's command, the Zhang brothers each grabbed a dagger and jumped into the sea without waiting for the small boat. They swam to Mulihan's side in a moment.

Murihan had lost too much blood and was on his deathbed. He barely opened his eyes, looked at the person in front of him, and mocked with bright red teeth: "South..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Zhang brothers' daggers had already fallen, and Mulihan was stabbed to death in a few blows.

The three brothers continued stabbing with their daggers, stabbing dozens of times until Mulihan's body was almost turned into a bloody mess, before finally stopping, exhausted, and collapsing to the side, panting and weeping bitterly.

Bai Qing ordered his men to clean up the battlefield. The corpses of the Jurchens and horses were burned, and the remains and blood-stained sand were thrown into the sea.

This action was merely to conceal their whereabouts, not to help the Jurchens collect their corpses.

After everything was done, it was already dark, and the departing Haicang ship returned. According to one of the ship owners, the garrison of Guifu Fort did not make any rash moves.

……

For the next two weeks, Bai Qing set up campfires at various locations along the Liaodong coastline, using the same method to lure Jurchen cavalry to kill them.

Although they used the same old tricks, they never left any survivors, which often led to Jurchen cavalry falling into their traps.

The Jurchens have just conquered Liaoshen and have limited control over Han territories. Most of their military forces are concentrated in the key towns and passes along the Liaoshen line. The southeastern part of Liaoshen, from Jinzhou to Zhenjiang, is very undefended and is mostly composed of Jurchen old, weak, and disabled soldiers and small groups.

Each time they fell into the trap, they were subjected to a saturation attack by arquebuses and breech-loading cannons, yet they all passed away without suffering.

As more and more cavalry squads died, the Jurchens' control over southern Liaoning gradually declined.

Han Chinese refugees, following the smoke and fire, found the Bai Qing fleet.

Moreover, Liaodong is a vast area with few Tartar cavalrymen, and many villages that survived the attack were also taken to the island by Bai Qing.

In the past two weeks, the camp has taken in nearly two thousand refugees.

As instructed by Lin Qian, Bai Qing compiled statistics on the refugees' identities and occupations.

Thirty artisans of various kinds were selected and sent on the carrier pigeon to Nan'ao Island. At the same time, a letter was written to Lin Qian informing her of the events that had occurred in the half month since they landed in Liaodong.

……

At the same time as the carrier pigeon set sail.

Nurhaci, who was in the Hunhe military camp, also received news from Liaonan.

Inside the tent, Nurhaci, clad in cotton armor, had a cold gaze and his dark face trembled with menacing flesh.

Now that the Jin dynasty has just won a major battle, conquered Liaodong, and fought a bloody battle with the Ming army at Hunhe, it should be recuperating and consolidating its rule in preparation for military action next autumn and winter to advance on Guangning.

Therefore, Nurhaci had just implemented the "Liaoyang New Deal" in an attempt to appease the Han people in exchange for stable rule.

He never expected the Han people's resistance to come so quickly; it was like a slap in the face to his old man.

“These southern barbarians are truly ungrateful. I spared their lives, and this is how they treat me?” Nurhaci gritted his teeth, his voice like a bear’s growl, extremely deep and unpleasant.

Inside the tent, the four princes and the banner lords kept their eyes fixed on the ground, not daring to utter a sound.

Nurhaci always held himself in high esteem and looked down on the Han people. He also harbored resentment towards the Han people due to the deaths of his father and brothers and the long-term oppression by the Ming Dynasty.

Since he raised his army, he has won one battle after another. This time, by taking advantage of the Mongol insiders to break through Liaoshen, he has forced Yuan Yingtai, the Liaodong military commissioner of the Ming Dynasty, to commit suicide by burning himself.

Its authority reached its zenith for a time.

Although the Jin dynasty won the Battle of Hunhe, it suffered heavy casualties, which already greatly annoyed Nurhaci. Now, he received news that Liaonan was being harassed by the Ming navy and that Han Chinese people were fleeing to the sea. How could he not be furious?

Unfortunately, the Jin dynasty lacked a navy, and its close-quarters mounted archery tactics were ineffective against the Ming navy at sea. They could only suffer harassment and watch helplessly as the Ming forces sailed out to sea.

After pondering for a long time, Nurhaci raised his head and said in a sinister tone, "Since the southern barbarians are ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless. Send an order to Tong Yangzhen in Zhenjiang to slaughter all the southern barbarian people in the area from Jinzhou to Zhenjiang!"

The people in the tent were shocked and looked up, but no one dared to dissuade them.

After hesitating for a long time, Fourth Prince Huang Taiji said with a forced smile, "Father Khan, Liaodong is a vast and sparsely populated land, and with years of heavy snow, the harvest has been poor. We still need these Han people to farm in the farms. If we just kill them, we will inevitably run out of food when we attack Guangning next year. Perhaps... we should move to the sea."

Nurhaci had little interest in civil affairs but was extremely interested in leading troops into battle. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but consider his grand plan to attack Guangning. He suppressed his anger and said, "Go on."

Huang Taiji said, "Relocate all the southern barbarian people from Jinzhou to Zhenjiang to the heart of Liaozhong. Those who cannot be relocated should be settled around the major cities of Jinzhou, Fuzhou, Haizhou, Gaizhou, and Zhenjiang. We will abandon the small garrison fortresses along the coast, set fire to the forests along the coast, and implement a scorched earth policy. In this way, we will no longer have to worry about the Ming navy launching surprise attacks."

Nurhaci pondered for a long time: "Your method is sound, let's do it this way."

Huang Taiji should be the one to beat a thousand.

“However, the blood of the Jurchen warriors cannot be shed in vain.” Nurhaci’s cold voice rang out again. “The Ming navy killed more than a hundred of my warriors, so I will kill twice as many Han people. Issue my order to have Tong Yangzhen kill two hundred Han people, behead them, and set up stakes to show the southern barbarians the consequences of rebellion!”

……

the end of April.

Yandun Bay Dry Dock, Nan'ao Island.

Lin Qian was holding the blueprints for his single-masted sailboat design and communicating with the mute Huang and a group of shipwrights, carpenters, and lacquerers.

"This ship is different from the Ming Dynasty's ships; its hull is streamlined..."

Seeing that the shipwrights around her seemed a bit confused, Lin Qian changed her approach: "To give you an analogy, the ships of the Ming Dynasty are like birds, and this ship is like a fish."

The surrounding craftsmen looked on with sudden realization.

Lin Qian pointed to the blueprints and said, "This ship is three zhang long, one zhang wide, and has a draft of three chi. It has one or two crew members and adopts a pointed bow and flat stern design. The stern is recessed near the waterline and the bottom of the ship is raised to reduce the wake."

Lin Qian then pointed to the sailboat mast on the blueprint and said, "This ship uses a single mast and can hoist a hard sail or two Bermuda sails, one at the front and one at the back."

As Lin Qian spoke, she pointed to one side of the drawing, which showed a schematic diagram of the Bermuda sail.

Bermuda sails are technically also a type of triangular sail, but they are different from the triangular sail on the bow of the St. Anna.

The Santa Ana's triangular sail, which is rigged at the bow by a cable and supported by a slanted barge, should be strictly classified as a Latin sail.

Bermuda sails are larger, with the entire mainmast forming the front edge of the sail, making them look like a right-angled triangle hanging on the hull.

Compared to Latin sails, Bermuda sails are more aerodynamically efficient, better able to sail against the wind, and require less manpower.

Almost all modern sailboats, especially yachts, use Bermuda sails.

The same applies to the ship that had an accident in Lin Qian's previous life.

Lin Qian was very familiar with this kind of sail.

Of course, while this sail surpassed other sail types of the same era, it was not without its drawbacks. The sail surface was too large and too heavy, requiring the use of modern materials such as polyester film and carbon fiber.

The cotton and linen sails, meticulously sewn by Portuguese sailmakers, could probably be used as a substitute, but the sail surface had to be minimized, so the ship was designed to be three zhang long.

Lin Qian had drawn this design before landing on Nan'ao Island, and now it finally came in handy.

Lin Qian then explained the ship's other design concepts, such as its multi-functional modular layout and standardized dimensions.

The craftsmen asked a series of questions, which Lin Qian answered patiently.

In his view, communication between designers and construction workers is crucial to the progress of a project. Good communication in advance can save a lot of trouble and improve efficiency.

The discussion lasted for more than an hour. Lin Qian drank two pots of tea and had lunch. In the afternoon, the craftsmen continued to ask questions.

This ship is a blend of Chinese and Western construction methods, and it also features Lin Qian's original design, so it's normal to have many questions.

Lin Qian first had the shipwrights try building this kind of boat, intending to give them practice.

If there are any problems, let them manifest on the small boat first, and then make corrections at a lower cost.

This laid the technological groundwork for building large ships and battleships in the future.

Lin Qian chatted with the artisans until evening, and finally answered most of their questions.

Dumb Huang gestured to his apprentice Xiao Jiu, who then said, "Master said this ship should be built with camphor wood, and the main mast should be made of spruce or camphor wood. Not counting the cost of the timber, the construction period will be at least three to four months."

Then Dumb Huang made a few more strokes, and Xiao Jiu said, "Master said this boat is small and doesn't need to be built in a dry dock; it can be built on the beach. Master asked the helmsman how many to build and when to start construction?"

Lin Qian said, "Build ten first. We'll start building them after the Yunfan ship leaves the dock."

The Yunfan was the No. 3 Jia-Fu ship in Zhelin Bay. Its sister ship, the Changfeng, had been completed and launched at the end of March, and had gone to Dongfan Island with Chen Jiao.

With the experience gained from the renovation of the Changfeng, the Yunfan has been repaired to be more solid and robust. It has been in the dry dock for almost a month now since it entered the dock in early April.

The Yunfan has had its damaged wooden planks replaced, one deck removed from the stern, and siren cannons installed. It will be launched from the dock in the next few days.

"In addition, after the Yunfan leaves the dock, the St. Anna will have to enter the dock for modifications to the cargo hold and the addition of gun decks," Lin Qian added.

Upon hearing this, the craftsmen all wore wry smiles. They had to modify the large sailing ship and build ten small sailing ships. Some of the craftsmen on the island were also sent to Dongfan Island.

The craftsmen all knew Lin Qian's temperament; she was a workaholic, and there was no project she wasn't in a hurry to complete.

Even if you split them in half, you still won't be able to handle it all.

With a bitter expression, Huang the mute gestured, and his apprentice Xiao Jiu said, "Master said that the single-masted ship you designed is about 130 liang (a unit of weight) long. If you build ten of them together, you will need a lot of manpower. In addition, with the conversion of large sailing ships, we really can't keep up. Even if you give us more money, it won't help. We can't keep up even if we don't sleep."

Lin Qian smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll add more people for you, thirty more carpenters, is that enough?"

The craftsmen exchanged glances, wondering which coastal village carpenter was about to be blessed.

On Nan'ao Island, prisoners of war were responsible for all the rough and tiring work, while craftsmen mostly did fine work or directed prisoners to do the work.

Adding thirty more carpenters would be equivalent to adding thirty more work groups, significantly increasing productivity and perhaps enough to manage the situation.

After thinking for a long time, the mute Huang nodded.

Lin Qian clapped her hands: "It's settled then. Starting tomorrow, the small sailboat... oh, this new type of boat doesn't have a name yet, let's call it the Eagle Boat."

The single-masted bird ships of the Ming Dynasty generally had a pointed bow, a long and straight hull, and a relatively high speed.

Lin Qianzao's single-masted sailboat is clearly a superior replacement for the bird boat, hence the name Eagle Boat.

Lin Qian continued, "Starting tomorrow, let the prisoners go up the mountain to collect timber."

"Yes." The newly appointed head of the Construction Department responded while writing down Lin Qian's order.

(End of this chapter)