Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

shipbuilding!

However, this shipbuilding project is not intended to build Western ships, as the progress is far behind the current anxious and chaotic situation.

That meant they had no choice but to build traditional Chinese warships, or even just small Chinese sailing ships used solely for transporting troops.

Although Chinese warships were not very powerful in combat at sea and lacked the ability to carry cannons, even larger sailing ships had very limited cannon capabilities.

In naval battles, the only options are usually the most traditional close-quarters combat methods, such as ramming and engaging in close combat.

Moreover, these ships could not withstand cannon fire because the timber used to build them was readily available and had low tolerance for defects.

Its short lifespan and lack of durability are drawbacks, but Chi Honghai couldn't care less about those at the moment.

Having something is better than having nothing. If a naval battle is absolutely necessary, just send your seven ships to the front.

He immediately ordered a halt to the construction of Western-style sailing ships and instead began building small Chinese sailing ships. His only requirements were that they be able to carry people and be as stable as possible; everything else was put aside for the time being.

This is definitely a troop transport ship.

After receiving Chi Honghai's order, the craftsmen on the island began to work intensively to build Chinese-style sailing ships. Under Chi Honghai's instructions, the wood that had been dried and prepared was put aside, and the wood for building the Chinese-style sailing ships needed to be cut down again in the forests of Hong Kong Island.

That's understandable. Fully dried and dehydrated wood is hard to come by. If it's used too easily and quickly on Chinese sailing ships now, then when we want to go back and build Western sailing ships later, we'll have to start from scratch. We should at least keep some stock for ourselves.

The craftsmen immediately led people up the mountain to cut down timber. After the back mountain was almost completely cleared, they went to the forest to the north to continue cutting down trees. Chi Honghai paid special attention to this matter and supervised the work all the way, even personally participating in the work.

He was not only worried about the safety of these artisans, but also about whether they, especially the Dutch artisans, would take this opportunity to escape.

Although Chi Honghai was known for his principle of "if you doubt someone, don't use them; if you use someone, don't doubt them," these Dutchmen were truly aware that he was building this ship to deal with the Dutch in Fort Zeelandia. If even one person leaked the news, it would be unacceptable to him.

Not only would the difficulty of attacking Taiwan increase dramatically, but it would also put Liu Qingjiang and his men in Fort Zeelandia in a certain death situation.

With great haste, the necessary timber has been almost all acquired. The construction of Chinese sailing ships is much easier than that of Western ones.

With fewer procedures and fewer details, especially in terms of structure, the overall construction process is much faster than building a Western-style sailing ship.

But construction, after all, takes time to fell trees, haul the timber back, and then there's a construction process, and even various tests, to prevent unforeseen circumstances when it's at sea.

In other words, even the fastest process takes time.

However, the current tense situation on Taiwan Island has made Chi Hung-hai realize that even if he abandons Western-style sailboats and turns to building traditional sailboats, it may not be too late.

You need to know that you're going to transport a large number of people over at once. It will take at least two or three years, if not three or four, to build the sailboats that can carry all those people.

After all, he didn't have that many skilled craftsmen.

This put Chi Honghai in a difficult position for the time being.

Watching the craftsmen working on Hong Kong Island, Chi Honghai was filled with anxiety. Where should they go to build this ship?

We can't possibly borrow ships from Guangzhou Prefecture, can we? That won't do. Ships from Guangzhou Prefecture are not so easy to borrow. Besides, Chen Qian will definitely find out about this. Not to mention that he is a seasoned official, even an ordinary person knows what it means to borrow the government's warships.

This is something we absolutely cannot let this guy exploit our weaknesses.

The evening breeze, carried by the setting sun, swept in. It was only early spring, and the warm wind still carried a hint of chill.

He watched as his men returned from the outer sea. Once ashore, they dragged all the fish they had caught that day onto the land and handed them over to the village women to handle.

Chi Honghai suddenly thought of something...

If official ships are not an option, then what about civilian ships?

Since the goal is to transport people, isn't it enough to be able to transport people and cross the sea?

Thinking of it, he immediately set to work. The next day, Chi Honghai took Shen Er and others to a coastal village near Xin'an County.

Dragging the silver, they found those fishing villages.

But the villagers all thought the officials were coming to rob them of taxes again, so they avoided seeing them. Chi Honghai said a few nice things, but it had no effect.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. If the soft approach didn't work, he would resort to the hard one.

He roared from the center, "If you don't come out now, I'll send my men to burn all these thatched huts down!"

This worked. The villagers, fearing their houses would be burned down, opened their doors and came out, bowing their heads to face Chi Honghai.

"Who are the fishermen in the village, and how many fishing boats do they have?"

None of the villagers dared to speak; they all just looked at each other.

"I'll ask you one more time: who are the fishermen, and how many fishing boats are there? If you still can't answer, don't blame me for being impolite."

At that moment, a young man raised his hand and stood up.

"Sir, I am a fisherman with a fishing boat, but I really can't afford to pay the tax. My family depends on this fishing boat for our livelihood... Sir, please give me some more time, sir!" The man knelt down in front of Chi Honghai, which surprised Chi Honghai.

These officials from Xin'an County seem to have shown no restraint whatsoever.

Chi Honghai gave a signal, instructing his subordinates to lift the man up.

"Who said I'm here to collect taxes?"

The villagers looked up in surprise, staring at him. If he wasn't here to collect taxes, then what was he here for?

Surely they're not here to steal the ship, are they?

"I have come here to requisition your fishing boats."

Before he could finish speaking, the fisherman who had been lifted up immediately broke free and knelt down.

"Sir, sir! How can we survive without our fishing village? Sir, please spare our lives!"

The villagers talked all at once, and then they all knelt on the ground, begging Chi Honghai not to take away their fishing boats.

"Get up! I haven't finished speaking."

"I will not requisition these fishing boats for nothing. Each requisitioned fishing boat will be paid twenty taels of silver as a subsidy."

Twenty taels of silver is enough to support a family of five for two years, so exchanging it for a fishing boat is indeed a very good deal.

In the past two years, not only have we had enough to eat and drink, but we can also rebuild the new fishing village. We can still build a fishing boat for the whole family within two years.

This is naturally a good thing, but the villagers don't take it seriously, fearing they'll be fooled by the official in front of them.

"Bring all the silver up!"

"Twenty taels of silver per boatload, exchange immediately!"

Seeing the gleaming silver, the villagers finally believed that what Chi Honghai had said was true.

They rushed forward, scrambling to exchange for those twenty taels of silver.