Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

The Tianquan signaled, and the three ships behind it broke formation and began to charge toward the three armed sailing ships.

As for the remaining Clark sailing ship, the Tianquan took off after it while it was still turning to escape.

With the wind at its back, the Tianquan sails adjusted their angle and became very fast, soon pressing down on the face of the Karak sailing ship.

The two ships faced each other and fired almost simultaneously. The distance was so close that the wood chips fired from one ship could even hit the other's deck.

Chi Honghai's face was covered in sawdust and dust. He didn't care about himself at first, but risked going to the edge of the ship to check the damage to the Tianquan.

"Fire! Fire! Bomb them!" Chi Honghai shouted.

The Dutch were not only panicked, but also stunned by the close-range bombardment from sixty-four cannons.

The outer deck of the Tianquan was reinforced with extra materials, including high-quality wood, sheet metal, and nails.

Although it was hit head-on at close range by a Clark sailboat, most of the damage was superficial, with little actual damage to the hull, and the overall number of casualties was not significant.

After sufficient training, the deck crew on the gun deck of the Tianquan quickly reacted and carried out a second round of loading, launching another round of bombardment before the enemy could open fire.

Because the Tianquan was slightly longer than the Clark, many of the cannons were aimed at the center of the Clark and bombarded it.

This round of artillery fire blasted a large hole in the enemy ship's hull, revealing the horrific scene inside the deck.

Meanwhile, the impact and the ship's rocking caused a certain amount of gunpowder on the enemy's deck to explode, further damaging the already large breach.

Before long, due to the large wound in the middle, a large area of ​​the timber used to connect the hull was broken, and the pressure on the left and right sides was too great, which tore the hull in two.

But Chi Honghai was still not satisfied and gave the order to fire a third time.

The Clark sailing ship, which was about to be fully loaded, lost all will to fight when the hull suddenly broke apart. It only cared about how to escape. The third round of cannon fire completely blasted the sailing ship to pieces. The huge Clark sailing ship could not be found with more than a few decent planks.

Looking around, the three armed merchant ships were in no better shape. The Dutch were all trying to survive at this point, so after a few symbolic resistances, they all surrendered.

Chi Honghai steered the Tianquan over and looked at the three surrendered Dutch sailing ships, feeling somewhat annoyed.

If we take all these people back and let those Dutch craftsmen see them, or even learn about the situation, wouldn't they rebel?

But if one consistently kills those who surrender, that is definitely not a good thing.

"Sir, there are still more than two hundred Dutchmen in total. What should we do?" Instructor Lang asked.

"Take it back."

Instructor Lang was somewhat surprised. He had originally thought that Chi Honghai would execute all of these prisoners of war, or leave them at sea to fend for themselves, that is, to be fed to the fish.

But he never expected to take these people back, because he knew that there were many Dutch artisans on the island, and if the artisans found out, they would definitely go on strike.

"Sir, the craftsmen of the island?"

"I know."

"Then what about you?"

"Instructor Lang, we're on the same team now, so I won't hide anything from you that I didn't dare say before."

Instructor Lang looked at Chi Honghai, wondering what he hadn't dared to say back then.

"Sir, please speak."

"I'm the real Black Sail here, just wearing the skin of an official. They're going on strike or rebelling? I'd like to ask the people on the island whether they prefer cheese or bullets."

"Take them back. Bring them all up from the sea, take them all back," Chi Honghai continued, "Pang San, tear down that flag at the stern and throw it into the sea, and hoist the black sail!"

"Master, what about these three merchant ships?" Pang San asked.

"Give some of your brothers a ride back together, and even if you have to dismantle it, don't leave it to the Dutch."

……

Upon returning to Hong Kong Island, Chi Honghai first transported the Dutch prisoners to the north, separating them from the craftsmen in the south, in an effort to prevent such sentiment from spreading.

He then immediately ordered that all the latest and most usable timber be used for repairs on the Tianquan.

Just as the repair work was about to begin, the three Dutch armed merchant ships that had been brought back did not escape the eyes of the Dutch on the port island.

They all asked what was going on. Dutch ships had undergone their own unique modifications, which were not found in other countries, so they were very sure that these were Dutch ships.

The craftsmen flocked to Chi Honghai, wanting to demand an explanation from their employer and ask if he had intercepted their ship.

Without exchanging any words with the craftsmen, Chi Honghai waved his hand, ordering Pang San to lead his men to trap all of them.

Then they had the Dutch from the north transported to Hong Kong Island and crammed in with the craftsmen.

"Not only are you occupying the land of my Great Ming Dynasty, but I also hired you to work for me with double the salary, and now you want to rebel?"

"You think that what you called gaining freedom and victory in the Low Countries is enough? Let me tell you, this is the Ming Dynasty, not your Netherlands."

Looking at the Ming Dynasty craftsmen being trained beside him, Chi Honghai felt even more confident: "Soon, the Ming Dynasty will reclaim Taiwan. You will all die there. I kindly brought you out to avoid the chaos of war and death, and to earn more money so you can return home sooner. What, are you dissatisfied now?"

"You intercepted our Dutch ships! You killed our Dutchmen! And you still want us to work for you! Bah!" shouted the Dutchmen below.

"So you didn't intercept Ming Dynasty ships back then? You didn't kill any of our Ming Dynasty people! Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen."

"Alright, I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you. Now you have two choices. First, work and serve here peacefully, I'll keep paying you your salaries, and when the time is right, I'll let you go back to Europe and never come back. Second, it's simple, die."

After Chi Honghai finished speaking, there was a commotion below, but Chi Honghai couldn't stand the commotion.

He picked up the pistol in his hand and fired a shot into the air.

"Bang!"

The people present fell silent instantly.

"I told you, you'll die in Zeelandia, but you can live and make money here. If you want to die, I won't hesitate to use my firearms."

"Don't think that if you die, no one will repair my ship. You have already trained a group of very good apprentices, and there are Englishmen and Portuguese. We don't need one more Dutchman. Now I'm giving you a chance, not the other way around."

After saying that, Chi Honghai gave Pang San a wink.

Pang San then led his men to raise their guns, pointing them at the group of Dutchmen, awaiting the master's order.

"Wait!" came the Dutchman's voice from behind.

Chi Honghai turned around and looked at the Dutch crowd behind him with a blank expression.