Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Five hundred men left Zeelandia.

Liu Qingjiang watched these people from inside the city.

"Brother, what do you think all these people are going to do?" the henchman next to Liu Qingjiang asked.

"Where are they going? Look what they're holding," Liu Qingjiang replied.

"A musket?"

"So what do you think all those people are doing taking out rifles? Shooting birds?"

"Why do you need so many people to hunt birds? These guns aren't even as accurate as my slingshot. I bet they're heading north to cause trouble for those Portuguese."

"If you already know, why ask?" Liu Qingjiang glanced at him and patted his subordinate on the head.

"Well, we'd like to know, the master sent us here to help them, but why didn't they take us with them when they went out to fight?"

"What's wrong? You're eager to risk your life for the Dutch? With such enthusiasm, how much did they pay you?"

The underling chuckled and said, "There's no reward, brother. You know we've been with the master for so long. If we're going to risk our lives, it's for the master. Why would we risk our lives for these red-haired bastards? We wouldn't sell them for any amount of money. We're just worried that the master sent us here to help them, and now we're just sitting here doing nothing. Aren't we making the master lose face?"

Liu Qingjiang forced a helpless smile. Although he knew his subordinates were unaware of Master Chi's plans, he still couldn't figure out how they came up with this train of thought.

"You've come here to eat and drink for free, and you think the Dutch food is bad enough? Let me tell you, this isn't about embarrassing our master. You're eating and drinking well now, but you'll be the one to earn back all the face for him later, understand?"

"Hehe, I got it, I got it, brother. Let's just eat as much as we want."

The conversation between Liu Qingjiang and his subordinates was overheard by Governor Hans from a distance. Although he did not understand Chinese, he wanted to further probe the group of people who had come to Fort Zeelandia.

With a translator by his side, Hans approached Liu Qingjiang.

When Liu Qingjiang saw Hans arrive, he also bowed to him without hesitation. Although he was resentful and even looked down on the Dutchman, since it was his land, he thought that if anyone should bow, it should be Hans to him.

On the surface, the other party is indeed the highest commander here, his superior, and he carries the master's entrustment on his shoulders. Now is not the time to worry about this trivial matter.

When Hans saw Liu Qingjiang take the initiative to bow, he was quite satisfied with the man in front of him. After all, Liu knew how to handle things and was respectful of him, unlike Zheng Zhilong who had been so arrogant before.

"Liu, I heard you talking. I'd like to ask what you were discussing while watching our troops?"

After listening to the translator's words, he smiled and said, "We were just now? Oh, Governor, your army's uniforms and equipment are really good. I was just discussing these things with my subordinates. Excellent, very good indeed."

Hans was delighted upon hearing this and nodded with a smile, affirming the quality of his army.

"These are all soldiers I brought from the Netherlands, thousands of miles away. They are all experienced veterans."

After listening to Hans's words, Liu Qingjiang was still showering Hans with compliments.

"Alas, I think the Governor has overstated them. Even experienced veterans need someone like the Governor to lead them. Without your experience and prestige, they won't have an easy time here."

"Look, they are well-equipped and well-fed now. Fort Zeelandia is prosperous and no less so than Guangzhou."

Liu Qingjiang's playing made Hans beam with joy.

"They're going to beat those damn Spaniards right away and make them pay."

Liu Qingjiang could now understand why they were going on a campaign even though winter was approaching.

After all, the Spanish had been killing and burning in the south a few days ago, causing a great deal of unrest. If it were him, he wouldn't have been able to swallow this injustice and would have definitely sought out the Spanish to beat them up.

Then Governor Hans said something thought-provoking.

"I was going to treat you to some cheese this winter, but those damn Spaniards ruined it all."

This statement reveals two pieces of information.

In the first part, although Liu Qingjiang didn't quite know what cheese was, he could roughly guess that it was being transported from somewhere else to Zeelandia, and that the Spanish had intercepted the ship on the way. However, he didn't know yet that the ship interceptors were not the Spanish, but his own Master Chi.

Because he never expected that this Master Chi would dare to so blatantly intercept the Dutch ship not far from Fort Zeelandia.

The second half of the sentence is even more worthy of deep thought.

If this cargo ship hadn't been intercepted, I and my brothers could have had a good meal, something we'd never eaten before. This is a kindness from Governor Hans to you, and you should remember this favor.

But now, what originally belonged to you has been intercepted by the Spanish halfway through. That means they not only stole what belonged to us Dutch, but also what belonged to you.

Are you saying you can just sit idly by after your things have been stolen?

Liu Qingjiang understood the implication in those words; it was time for him to make a statement.

"These damned Spaniards, damn it, they've ruined the governor's good intentions. We brothers haven't even tasted this cheese yet. No way, we're partly responsible for the governor's actions. Otherwise, you should ask us to join the battle."

Hans was very satisfied with Liu Qingjiang's statement.

He was also considering whether to send these people to the front lines, and the reason for his dilemma remained the same.

I look down on the people of the East. My previous defeats against the Ming Dynasty were simply because you had the advantage of having more people and ships. If that advantage hadn't been so great, how could I have lost to you?

But then again, which family didn't start out as monkeys and gradually rise to prominence? What, are the people of my Great Ming Dynasty hundreds of years more advanced than you?

After much deliberation, he decided to let Liu Qingjiang and the others set off.

After hearing the question, Liu Qingjiang knew that he couldn't avoid this expedition, but he couldn't not go. Not going would mean that he was just there to coast along, which wouldn't do. That would not only be a simple loss of face for Master Chi, but would also make the Dutch suspicious.

Fortunately, although Governor Hans allowed them to accompany his 500 men on the expedition, their 300 men were primarily responsible for tasks other than combat.

Instead, they were responsible for plundering and killing surrounding villages, people, food, and so on.

Liu Qingjiang received the order and led his men to join the Dutch army.

Along the way, the younger brother asked him, "Big brother, are we really going to do those things?"

Robbery was Liu Qingjiang's forte, something he was very familiar with, but he said something to his subordinate.

"Fool, orders are rigid, but people are flexible. Would you do something like this to your own people?"

"We'll close our eyes and attack the Spanish, and we'll pretend we didn't see our own people. When the time comes, you should send someone out to pretend to gather information. When they encounter our own people, tell them to take their things and run away quickly, and find a place to hide."

"Yes, brother."