On the third day of April in the eighth year of Chongzhen (1635), off the coast of Zhangzhou, Fujian, at Shenshi time (15:00 to 17:00), the sky was high and the clouds were clear, and a few seabirds soared over the sparkling blue ocean in the distance.

However, when the smoke cleared, it was revealed that a small-scale naval battle had just ended. Broken ship planks, damaged sails, and even a few corpses were floating on the sea.

A larger fleet of about 60 large and small ships came up, including about 20 huge Fu boats, bird boats and Haicang boats. Some of the boats were towing 2-3 boats behind them.

The remaining single-sailed paddle boats were all two-sailed or three-sailed junk ships. It was obvious that the fleet had experienced a naval battle not long ago, and the masts and canvas of some ships were damaged. Some ships even had their sides damaged.

Several horrific holes were exposed on the side.

"Xiang Lao, what should I do with the captured... Zheng Yiguan's men...?" In the middle of the fleet, there is a warship with a length of more than 30 meters, a displacement of 600 tons, and a two-deck warship. In the captain's room on the upper deck,

A stout man with a red beard asked respectfully.

"All of them will die!" said the man in his forties with a gloomy face, a sallow complexion, and a short build, "They are all Zheng Yiguan's bastards, they all deserve to die!"

Xiang Lao, the famous pirate Liu Xiang on the southeast coast, was a native of Lamma Island in Hong Kong, Guangdong Province. He was one of the members of the "Eighteen Zhi" armed maritime merchant group formed by Zheng Zhilong. Because he refused to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he broke up with his former brothers.

Zheng Zhilong broke up in 1629 (the second year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty).

After Zheng Zhilong accepted the Ming Dynasty's recruitment, he defeated the pirate kings who were more powerful than him one by one, such as Yang Lu, Li Kuiqi, Zhong Bin and others. After that, Zheng Zhilong left the coast for some reason.

The pirates who originally made a living by looting suddenly became leaderless. Liu Xiang, who had been active at sea all year round, became the only pirate who survived and had leadership skills. Liu Xiang quickly absorbed the remaining defeated bandits along the coast and harassed the coast.

In the fifth year of Chongzhen (1632), Liu Xiang had become a pirate with more than 150 ships and more than 3,000 men, invading areas from Wenzhou, Zhejiang to Leizhou, Guangdong, and even temporarily shaken Nanjing, the capital of Southern Zhili in the Ming Dynasty.

However, perhaps the most important invasion was the time when Liu Xiang invaded Zheng Zhilong's hometown of Shijing Town. At that time, many members of the Zheng family were killed by Liu Xiang, and Zheng Zhilong also went to Liu Xiang's hometown to dig up Liu Xiang's family in order to take revenge.

Ancestral tombs. As a result, the two sides formed a sworn blood feud.

When Kang Yongzu heard this, his eyes twitched. He sank all the prisoners into the sea, which was a bit unethical. But when he saw Liu Xiang, who was a little angry, he didn't dare to say anything, but he looked at the other person next to him in an incomprehensible way.

The man gestured.

"Brother Xiang, let's... where should we go next?" The man next to him understood and stepped in to ask.

"Where to go?" Liu Xiang looked away from the sea and glanced at the few confidants standing in front of him, "Kill to Zhangzhou and attack Xiamen!"

"Xiang! You can't do it..."

"Brother Xiang, don't act out of anger..."

"Xiang Lao..., take a break for a while!"

"..."

The next few people stopped him with anxious expressions.

"Hahaha..." Liu Xiang looked at the frightened expressions of several of his men and couldn't help but laugh angrily, "Wait, are you scared!?"

"Brother Xiang, we, we are really not afraid of that Zheng Yiguan! ...We are now...not as powerful as others, so we will stay away for a while. When we recharge our batteries and accumulate strength, we will definitely defeat Zheng Yiguan with one blow!

"Zhang Yijie took a step forward and said in a deep voice.

"Xiang Lao, what Second Brother Zhang said makes sense!" Xia Zhimu agreed, "We brothers have been following Xiang Lao for seven or eight years, and we have never been scared at any time!... Zhangxia is Zheng Yiguan's hometown, defense.

It must be tight, and we don't have to fight with its turtle shell! ...Xiang Lao took us, and as before, we gave him a chill to slowly weaken their strength. When we have a lot of ships, more people

, let’s find him again to show off!”

"..."

Liu Xiang doesn't understand how to recharge his batteries and accumulate strength, but he is really unwilling to do so. Two years ago, in Liaoluowan, with the support of the Dutch red-haired ghosts, he was defeated and fled, with a loss of more than fifty

A ship with more than 2,000 brothers. Even the Dutch red-haired ghost's Galen ship had two ships sunk and three captured. This Zheng Yiguan and Zheng Zhilong are getting stronger and stronger. When can I kill his people and mince his flesh?

, taste his blood and take revenge?

Liu Xiang shook his head. He was indeed weak at the moment. In an encounter that took place at noon, although he sank seven or eight small boats patrolling the sea of ​​Zheng Zhilong, killed and injured nearly 200 people, and captured more than a dozen people, he also sank.

Three ships, with 700 to 800 casualties. But the difference is that Zheng Zhilong has a court official status and is backed by the mainland, so the replenishment speed is far beyond what he can match.

"Let's go to a market town and capture some people and property!...Then we go to Batavia in the Red Ghost (Netherlands) and buy more guns and cannons... It's best to buy a few red ghost ships.

Lun Ship." Liu Xiang suppressed the unwillingness and depression in her heart and said fiercely.

"Brother Xiang, you really need to buy some cannons, especially the Hongyi cannon. Put it on the boat. It is very powerful. Two years ago, in Liaoluo Bay, Zheng Yiguan not only had many ships, big ships, but also had sharp cannons.

, we have really suffered... But, is this Galen ship, the red-haired ghost willing to sell it to us?" Zhang Yijie asked.

"Why don't you buy it?" Liu Xiang sneered, "Do you think the Dutch red-haired ghost just wants Zheng Yiguan to continue to grow? The red-haired ghost is willing to pay the money to travel to Guangdong and Fujian every time?..." After saying that, he glanced at it.

He circled a few subordinates and continued, "Why are the red-haired ghosts here? They are just looking for money and profit! They have always wanted to get involved in and monopolize the overseas trade of South Zhili, Fujian, and Guangdong, but they have been blocked by Zheng Yiguan.

Let's see, sooner or later the red-haired ghost will face Zheng Yiguan again, and when the time comes, maybe it will be our chance!"

After hearing this, everyone nodded. Liu Xiang used to cooperate with the Flemish people, and later got entangled with the Dutch red-haired ghosts, and did a lot of things for them that were inconvenient for the Hong Yi people to come forward.

"Where's Cao Xiong?" Liu Xiang looked at everyone and asked suddenly.

"Lao Cao was behind the fleet. One of his nephews encountered Zheng Yiguan's fleet at noon. When he jumped to the side, he seemed to have fallen into the sea and was hit by a barrel... He was finally fished out. I don't know what happened.

That's it. I guess this time..." Xia Zhimu finished speaking and shook his head.

"Oh..." Liu Xiang's expression dimmed for a moment, then he cheered up, "Ajie, look at how many brothers are injured, and then each of them will be given twenty taels of silver... Those who died have family members on the boat,

Get fifty taels of silver."

Zhang Yijie nodded in agreement, and at the same time subconsciously glanced at Kang Yongzu, whose arm was covered in paint. A few traces of blood oozed from the hastily bandaged wound.

"Tomorrow, when we get to the land, if we break the village, Lao Kang will go in first!" Liu Xiang said with a smile. As a pirate, breaking the land village and being the first to go in means that he can have priority in selecting the loot.

"Thank you Xiang!" Kang Yongzu smiled and arched his hand towards Liu Xiang.

"Okay! You go back to your respective ships and restrain your men first. Let's walk along the coast first to see where there is a suitable place to land. Tell the brothers to relax and relax!" Liu Xiang waved his hand and said.

Everyone said goodbye one after another and took their own boats back to their tribes.

"Brother Xiang, it's not safe for us to walk along the coast. Fujian and Guangdong are all within Zheng Yiguan's sphere of influence. Should we..." Just as Liu Xiang turned his attention to the blue waves in the distance, a tiger with a strong back was behind him.

, the man with a fierce look said in a sullen voice.

"Hu San, we encountered Zheng Yiguan's patrol fleet on the sea surface of Zhangzhou this afternoon. Do you think, as the deputy commander of Zhangxia, does he have to come out to look for me?" Liu Xiang said without looking back.

"What if Zheng Yiguan comes to block us directly off the coast of Chaoshan?" The man known as "Hu San" is Li Husan. He followed Liu Xiang when he first engaged in the promising career of piracy.

Loyal.

"He is an official and has guarding responsibilities. Moreover, there are criticisms from the officials above and below. How dare Zheng Yiguan not come out to look for me?" Liu Xiang turned to look at Li Husan, "Don't worry, we have arrived at Zhangpu.

Find a remote place and go in and out quickly so that no one will block you!"

Li Husan remained silent after hearing this.

At the rear of the fleet, on a bird boat about twenty meters long, a group of people were surrounding a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy.

"Fourth brother, where are you injured? Talk!...I'm so anxious!" A tall, tall man about twenty-seven or eighty-year-old rubbed his hands and looked at him slumped on the bed with anxious eyes.

"Xiaotian, Xiaotian..." Another stout man with a beard was also shouting, "Brother, look at this, could it be that the fourth child has been in the sea and become stupid?"

"Ah!" Another thin boy, about 18 or 19 years old, exclaimed, "No way. When the fourth child fell into the water, I saw that he was hit by the barrel, but I quickly removed him.

He caught it!...Does this make him a fool?"

"..."

"Why don't you, Qi Da, give me a slap in the face? See if you can regain your soul?" A man with a dark complexion and a grimace sat on the wooden chair fixed to the boat opposite and said solemnly.

Sitting on the wooden chair is one of the pirate leaders whom Liu Xiang calls Cao Xiong. The four young men inside are his nephews.

He was born in Dengzhou Navy, Shandong Province, and was hijacked by Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming during the Shandong Rebellion in the fourth year of Chongzhen (1631).

Later, the imperial court sent a large army to encircle and suppress Kong Youde. Geng Zhongming was defeated, so he led his troops across the sea by boat to Lushun (now part of Liaoning). The Ming guard general Huang Long sent out troops to intercept and forced him to retreat to Xiaoping Island (70 miles east of today's Lushun).

The rebels were trapped in the waters near the island for half a month, and their number was reduced by thousands due to casualties, being captured and returning to the Ming army.

Kong Youde sent Zhang Wenhuan to Gaizhou (today's Gai County) to ask for the surrender of Hou Jin. With the support of the Hou Jin army and the Korean army, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led more than 12,000 troops to land in Zhenjiang (near today's Dandong).

Emperor Taiji of the Jin Dynasty sent General Beiljir Harang to welcome Kong Youde to Shengjing (today's Shenyang), and appointed him as the marshal of the capital, and Geng Zhongming as the chief military officer.
Chapter completed!