Late Ming Dynasty: The Counterattack Begins with Sea Pirates

Upon seeing the British ships captured by Zheng Zhilong, Chen Qian knew that his partner had also fallen into Zheng Zhilong's hands.

Moreover, the collusion between himself and this partner was not as deeply entrenched as in officialdom, where selling himself out for survival was a matter of minutes.

At this point, Chen Qian was very clear that Zheng Zhilong must have something on him that he was secretly colluding with foreigners.

"Lord Zheng, you've gone to so much trouble to come here. May I ask what favor you wish to repay?"

Chen Qian's tone softened, losing its previous arrogance.

"Not at all, I'm just trying to ease His Majesty's burdens. General Chen, you're too kind of yourself."

The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Lord Zheng has come all the way to my Guangzhou Prefecture, and my brothers have just finished a fierce battle. As the General of Guangzhou, I must reward the soldiers well as a token of my gratitude. I hope Lord Zheng will not refuse."

Having been involved in officialdom for a long time, Zheng Zhilong naturally understood the meaning behind those words and went along with it.

"Since General Chen has extended such a warm invitation, I, Zheng, would not want to disappoint the General. Very well, the soldiers have just finished a battle and need to rest."

"Very well, I will return to the city to make arrangements. Please wait for me, Lord Zheng."

After the tug-of-war, Chen Qian led his men away first.

After listening to the conversation, Chi Honghai, who was standing to the side, understood the underlying meaning—Zheng Zhilong's influence had extended to Guangzhou Prefecture.

"Chi Honghai," Zheng Zhilong called out, his voice full of pride.

"This humble subject is here. What are your orders, sir?"

"You didn't lie to me, you did a great job."

Just as Chi Honghai was about to speak, he was interrupted by Zheng Zhilong's follow-up remarks.

"But why should I agree to your request?"

After he finished speaking, the people around him drew their knives and pointed them at Chi Honghai.

Chi Honghai was momentarily at a loss, and Shen Er and Pang San stood in front of him, confronting the soldiers who had drawn their swords.

He pulled Pang San and Shen Er back, signaling them not to act rashly, and then looked at Zheng Zhilong.

Even if this person goes back on their word, and I have a thousand grievances, this is definitely not the time to break off relations. After all, if we break off relations, it won't be like I've traveled through time; it will be like I'm starting over.

"Although Lord Zheng has made friends in Guangzhou Prefecture, whether these friends are truly sincere and worth making friends with remains to be seen, doesn't it?"

"But the small ones are different. The small ones need to rely on Lord Zheng's big ship to shield them from the waves, otherwise they are easily capsized by the big waves. But the small boats are easy to capsize, but they can help the big ship to further explore the situation in the distance."

After listening to Chi Honghai's words, Zheng Zhilong smiled meaningfully, then raised his right hand, signaling the soldiers next to him to put away their weapons.

"Well said, that makes sense. So, you little wrecked boat, stay on some island and keep an eye on this vast Guangzhou Prefecture."

"Thank you, Your Excellency. You are wise to see the truth."

"You don't need to pay for your goods; consider it a reward."

Upon hearing this, Chi Honghai knelt down on both knees.

"Thank you, Your Excellency. I am willing to serve you faithfully."

Zheng Zhilong got everything he expected, and Chi Honghai also achieved his goal without any major incidents.

Subsequently, under Zheng Zhilong's arrangement, Chi Honghai and the other two returned to their original boat.

As for the matter between Guangzhou Prefecture and himself, how could a lowly thief possibly meddle in it?

Back on their cargo ship, the crew stood on the deck watching their master return safely, all with expressions of disbelief.

Back then, the moment they sailed into Kinmen Harbor, they had already decided what kind of good job they should get in their next life.

After all, the master had done so many things that offended the heavens, and even took the initiative to seek trouble with Zheng Zhilong.

Unexpectedly, Lord Zheng was able to release him. I really don't know what kind of bewitching drug the master gave Zheng Zhilong.

"Master, master, why are you back...?"

Chi Honghai scoffed, "What's wrong? Are you all hoping for my death?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant at all. What I meant was that it's truly amazing that you, sir, were able to return after entering the Golden Gate."

Chi Honghai raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"Your master is very capable. You can't go wrong following me."

"Raise the sails and head back to the island!"

With its sails billowing, a cargo ship broke away from the entire fleet at Humen and slowly sailed away.

After nearly two days of sailing, Chi Honghai finally returned to the island and resumed his position as the island's owner.

Chi Honghai stepped off the ship and looked at the newly built houses on the island and the newly sprouted crop seedlings in the distance during his absence.

This place doesn't seem to be any worse than Kinmen.

Shen Er was the first to approach, but Wu Wanruo had been waiting on the shore since she learned that a boat was approaching.

"Master, master, while you were away, the brothers have almost finished tidying up the place."

Chi Honghai held Wu Wanruo's hand and looked at her, saying, "I understand."

"Next time, don't always wait on the shore; it's the same inside."

Seeing that the master's eyes were full of affection for his wife, Shen Er changed the subject.

"Master, while you were away, Madam had almost completely healed the wounded brothers, and she even taught them some medical skills."

Upon hearing this, Chi Honghai smiled and replied, "Thank you for your hard work, Madam. How can I possibly repay you?"

Wu Wanru lowered her head and did not reply.

As for the reward, Wu Wanruo's thoughts were mostly on her damned old man.

But now, she genuinely likes the pirate captain in front of her.

Therefore, it's neither appropriate to say what one should give back to oneself.

At least if I speak out now, the answer I get will probably be the same as before.

If things aren't handled properly, this tender and affectionate relationship could also plummet to rock bottom.

She never experienced true love, nor did she truly enjoy freedom.

Seeing that Wu Wanruo didn't answer shyly, Chi Honghai led her back into the house, said he had something else to do, and then hurriedly left the room.

I haven't been back for many days, and the situation on the island has changed a lot.

As the head of the island and the leader of nearly two thousand people, he naturally had to inspect the situation on the island.

The issue of housing needs no further explanation. Apart from Shen Er's reminder, the number of houses is nearby and can be counted with the naked eye.

The accommodations were also rearranged in an orderly manner under Ai Si's arrangement.

Chi Honghai asked Shen Er to call Ai Si to check the situation on the island with him.

He walked ahead, his back to Ai Si.

"Ai Si, give me a summary of the situation on the island recently."

"Yes, sir."

"We currently have 1556 people on the island. Including the brothers who surrendered a few days ago, there are 800 able-bodied men. The grain stored in the warehouses is enough to feed our current population for three or four months. We also have about 3000 taels of silver left. If we sell all the government ships we robbed earlier, we should have around 120,000 taels."

"The goods from Guangzhou Prefecture are definitely better than those from the old man in Xin'an County. They deserve to be worth double the price."

Chi Honghai mocked.

Of course, he wasn't satisfied with just this little bit of cargo on the ship; it's just that he wasn't capable of taking on anything bigger right now.

As Ai Si reported his work records beside him, Chi Honghai and his group arrived at the foot of the mountain.

He looked up at the mountain, where many women and men were busy clearing land, weeding, and carrying water.

"Ai Si, you just said, how long will our food last?"

"Three or four months, sir."

"Um......."

What's the difference between having three or four months' worth of food reserves and starving to death in a couple of days?

What we Chinese value most is having enough to eat and wear!

Chi Honghai looked at the people working on the mountain, then looked back at the other side of the strait.

It seems like they've come up with a new idea.