Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

By the twelfth month of the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen reign, Chi Honghai had not yet received much news about Taiwan.

The Dutch didn't contact him, the English didn't contact him, and neither did the Spanish.

However, this timing would allow him to take the initiative to seek out the Dutch.

It is now the twelfth lunar month. According to the customs of the Ming Dynasty, the Spring Festival is just around the corner. The officers and soldiers stationed on the island must be well taken care of, otherwise they will inevitably feel homesick, which will affect their combat effectiveness.

After pondering for a moment on Hong Kong Island, Chi Honghai led his men and some money and provisions toward Fort Zeelandia.

When Hans heard that Chi Honghai had come at this time, he was somewhat suspicious, because his arrival was rather coincidental.

But the suspicion wasn't that great. After all, his own men had just been rescued by the people he sent, and the other party's troops had indeed done something on the battlefield that exceeded his expectations. There was nothing wrong with that.

Upon meeting, Chi Honghai bowed to Governor Hans.

"I am acting on the orders of the Guangzhou government to reward the soldiers stationed at Fort Zeelandia."

"A reward? It seems Mr. Chi knows about what happened before?"

Hans's expression subtly changed as he sized up Chi Honghai in front of him, growing even more suspicious of him.

"Why does the governor say that? It's already the twelfth lunar month. According to the customs of our Ming Dynasty, we must distribute the holiday rations and pay to the soldiers and officers before the first lunar month. This part is extra, so it is also called a reward."

"Oh...I see?"

Chi Honghai pressed on, asking, "What did the Governor mention about what happened on this island? Did the enemy attack before?"

Hans gave an awkward laugh. He had asked the question directly. Since he had asked Chi Honghai if he knew about it, it meant that it must have happened. If he changed his mind now and said that it was nothing, Chi Honghai would definitely criticize his sincerity. It wouldn't be good if Chi Honghai brought it up again in future cooperation. Besides, now that he was here, if things got messy, he could just ask him to leave.

The main point is that if we don't say it now, he'll find out from his own people when the pay is distributed later, so it's better to just tell him directly.

"Sir, you guessed correctly. The Spanish invaded our northern city of Chikan before, but we drove them back."

As Hans spoke, he suddenly bit his lip, his tone becoming more serious: "But those bastards actually dared to intercept our fleet. We were originally going to give your brothers some of our cheese and fresh milk, but now these Spaniards have ruined it all."

"A few days ago, I sent men to raid the Keelung area and beat the Spanish to a pulp. We burned down their nearby strongholds. Your men fought very bravely. It seems you value our cooperation very much, otherwise you wouldn't have sent such warriors to Fort Zeelandia to help me."

Chi Honghai laughed heartily: "Governor, you are too kind. Your cooperation with Guangzhou Prefecture is certainly very important. Not only me, but also General Chen Qian attaches great importance to it. We are all looking forward to the day when this great undertaking is accomplished."

"Don't worry, with warriors like you and our Dutch forces with their powerful ships and cannons, we will surely succeed!"

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Chi Honghai made an excuse to go to Liu Qingjiang's place.

Liu Qingjiang was completely unaware of the master's sudden arrival in Zeelandia; it was utterly unexpected.

He looked at Master Chi excitedly, strode forward, and shouted, "Master!"

Chi Honghai walked up to Liu Qingjiang and first instructed him to send someone to collect the rations for the December festival, which were twice the previous amount, as a reward for the brothers here.

He then pulled Liu Qingjiang back to his room and asked him about various things.

"How many brothers were killed or wounded in the previous battle?"

Liu Qingjiang's smile faded, knowing that the master was about to bring up serious matters.

"Three hundred men followed them to the chicken coop to rescue those Dutch bastards. More than a dozen of the brothers died and more than thirty were injured."

This number may not seem like much, but for Chi Honghai, it's not insignificant either. After all, these are his elite troops, and he would be heartbroken if even one of them were injured, let alone killed.

"Have you figured out the situation here yet?"

Chi Honghai continued to ask. Although Hans had told him about the situation here, he still didn't quite believe it, or at least not completely. He needed to hear Liu Qingjiang's words to accept it.

"Sir, the Dutch and Spanish fought two battles before, and I have a general idea of ​​the strength of the troops at Fort Zeelandia."

"Speak quickly."

"When our brothers came, there were three hundred of them. There were about a thousand Dutch soldiers in the city, as well as many Dutch people, craftsmen, merchants, and so on. In total, there were nearly three thousand people. Moreover, according to my observation, they also had ships transporting various supplies and personnel to Fort Zeelandia, as if they wanted to further develop this place. I saw that the shipyard next to it was almost half-finished."

Chi Honghai nodded, confirming Liu Qingjiang's intelligence.

"What about Chikan City? What about the Spanish?"

"Chikan City isn't big; it's just a castle. Usually, only two or three hundred people are stationed inside the castle, and some of their people live nearby. As for the Spanish, I don't know much about them, but based on the last battle, I feel that the Spanish are about the same as the Dutch."

"But sir, I also discovered..."

"What did you find?"

"Whether it was the Spanish or the Dutch on this island, they were utterly inhumane to the people who originally lived here during the Ming Dynasty. From here to Keelung, there are no decent villages left. The remaining survivors have basically all fled to the high mountains to survive."

Liu Qingjiang continued, "When we went to Keelung earlier, we rescued some indigenous people on the mountain. I still feel a little sad when I think about that scene, but I also feel that these people should be able to become our strength in the future."

"Of course, they are Chinese, and so are we. We are all of the same ancestry, so it is only right that we work together to drive away the outsiders."

Liu Qingjiang leaned closer to Chi Honghai and whispered, "Master, when are we going to attack and deal with these bastards?"

Chi Honghai smiled.

"Why are you more anxious about this than I am?"

He certainly knew why Liu Qingjiang was anxious. He was there, but he could only watch from the sidelines, and in some special circumstances, he was even forced to do things that aided and abetted evil.

It's urgent, definitely urgent. If we don't hurry, these agonizing days will never end.

This applies to Liu Qingjiang, to the locals, and also to Chi Honghai.

Only with Taiwan as his base could he perhaps sleep peacefully.

"Don't rush, this can't be rushed, but remember, we'll recover Taiwan in about a year or two."