Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

But neither of these situations is a good thing!

Looking at the brothers' gritted teeth and glaring faces.

Liu Qingjiang said, "There are Spaniards in the woods. Should we fight them or not?"

"Brother, let's do it!"

Immediately, Liu Qingjiang led three hundred men up from the side of the woods.

The closer they got to the forest, the clearer the sound became.

Not only were there shouts in incomprehensible Spanish, but also screams of agony and the sound of whipping.

Everyone knew that this was the Spanish enslaving the local inhabitants to do things, and in the forest, they probably made them cut down trees and drag them to where they were supposed to be dragged.

For these people, these residents are very convenient; they don't need to be paid or fed, and they can be thrown away after use. There is almost no cost to them. If there is a cost, it is that they need to be whipped a few times, otherwise no one will be willing to work for them.

Liu Qingjiang led his men to probe further up, and from the side, it was exactly as he had expected.

Dozens of Spaniards, armed with muskets and whips, were lashing the loggers and those hauling logs.

Those enslaved indigenous people were all dressed in thin clothes, or even without clothes on their upper bodies. When the whip struck them, a deep red welt immediately appeared. A few more lashes would tear the flesh open.

Almost everyone was working with blood streaming down their backs, but the Spanish seemed oblivious to these wounds, focusing only on scolding and whipping. If you made a loud noise, you would get a couple more lashes.

Without protective gear, the dragging had to be done by shoulder, and the friction between the shoulder and the hemp rope and rough wood left no good spot. In severe cases, the bones were even worn out.

It looks painful.

Liu Qingjiang immediately issued the order.

"You, take a hundred men and go around from this side. Wait for my signal, and then you can attack from the rear."

"clear."

The subordinates led a hundred people around the area, and waited until they were almost in position.

Liu Qingjiang took a bow and arrow from his subordinate, aimed at the Spaniard's head, and shot an arrow.

"call out--!"

The Spaniard was pierced through the entire skull by the arrow and fell to the ground.

The Spaniards were thrown into chaos, unsure of which side was making the commotion.

Immediately, more arrows flew from the forest, aimed at the Spaniard, and more than a dozen fell in an instant.

The remaining Spaniards tried to hold out against the trees, even pointing their muskets at the backs of the indigenous people and making them walk in front as shields.

But little did they expect that the men behind them had already attacked, first shooting arrows into their backs, and then rushing forward to fight a righteous multi-on-one battle.

The dozens of Spaniards were quickly dealt with by Liu Qingjiang's troops, but the people in the mountains had never seen this group before and were unsure of which side they belonged to.

Aside from the pain of his injury, his expression was filled with fear.

They feared that they had just escaped the clutches of the Spanish, only to fall into another abyss.

Looking at the people squatting or lying down, Liu Qingjiang closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

There is a great deal of pity for their misfortune and anger at their lack of resistance.

"Hey, get up, we are people of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing the words "Ming Dynasty," the group relaxed their fear slightly and looked up at Liu Qingjiang.

Judging from their clothing and appearance, they were certainly not Westerners.

"The Ming Dynasty? Have the Ming soldiers returned?" one of them exclaimed excitedly.

This remark made Liu Qingjiang feel somewhat embarrassed and awkward, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment.

The Ming Dynasty, so many years have passed, and they still haven't been able to retake it...

"We were the advance troops who came to scout out the situation. Later, the main force would then focus on retaking Taiwan."

As he spoke, Liu Qingjiang instructed his subordinates to distribute some bows and arrows, along with their personal short weapons, to one of them.

"These are weapons. Protect yourselves and wait for the Ming Dynasty to come and reclaim Taiwan." As he spoke, Liu Qingjiang sighed. "We've already searched the area down the mountain; it's no longer habitable. The only place we can hide is up in the mountains."

"We came up from the foot of the mountain. There are some indigenous people on this mountain who, like us, are enslaved and hunted by the Franks and the Dutch. If they don't obey them, they will die."

"Now you all need to hide and wait for the main force's counterattack, understand?" Liu Qingjiang continued to ask.

The man nodded, gripped his weapon tighter, and replied, "Understood."

"When the Ming Dynasty returns, we will definitely come down from the mountains to help you drive out these foreigners!"

"Definitely!" Liu Qingjiang's tone was very firm.

After the explanation was finished, one side headed deeper into the mountains, while the other headed down the mountain.

"Brother, they're going up so high, can they survive? There's hardly anything to eat up there."

"It's fate. If we act now, no one will treat them like human beings. They won't even have a chance to live. We can't help them in front of the Westerners."

"I'll kill all these foreigners sooner or later."

"It's only a matter of time, it shouldn't be far off."

When Liu Qingjiang said this, his subordinates probably perceived it as an emotional expression.

Because they knew that if the Ming Dynasty were truly determined to recover Taiwan, it would have done so long ago. It was impossible for them to recover Taiwan with such a small force. Although Liu Qingjiang was the eldest brother, he believed that recovering Taiwan and driving out the Dutch and Spanish would be no problem for him. Everyone thought the same thing.

However, they were outnumbered and outgunned, and though they had the will, they lacked the strength.

But only Liu Qingjiang truly understood that his statement, "It's only a matter of time, it shouldn't be far off," was true.

He had complete faith in what Mr. Chi had said to him and the attitude he had expressed when he left Hong Kong Island.

If the Emperor doesn't take Taiwan, then Master Chi will definitely take it.

And it will definitely be able to be received.

Although deep down he understood that there were only so many of them, and if a real fight broke out, the outcome was still uncertain.

But this is a belief, an unbreakable belief, and also an absolute trust in Chi Honghai.

……

After the Dutchman caught up, he asked Liu Qingjiang how well he had gathered information about the situation ahead.

Liu Qingjiang also truthfully reported everything that had happened to the Dutch.

"As we explored along the way, we found that all the villages, big and small, had been burned to the ground, and all the villagers inside were dead."

I thought the Dutch would have some change of heart, but to my surprise, they just chuckled and didn't care at all.

"Brother Liu, don't be upset about these people's lives or deaths. What we should regret is that these people lying on the ground are not Spanish, and these burned-down houses were not built by the Spanish."

"You're right, but we're here to kill the Spanish and burn down the houses they built."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter, showing no trace of the distress they had felt when they met the residents.