() Huang Chen was very satisfied with Lin Xishan, but did not immediately allocate him a sea ship. First of all, he had not accomplished anything. Secondly, although the matter was forcibly suppressed by Huang Chen, Huang Fang was a generous and generous person, and he must have made many friends.
These people are dissatisfied and even hate Lin Xishan in their hearts. Treating him too kindly will only make him a target of public criticism, which is not conducive to integrating into the group.
Of course, Huang Chen didn't intend to treat him badly. He asked him to board Zhang Xing's ship starting from the third or fourth rank. I believe that with the latter taking care of him, Lin Xishan would be much more relaxed, and his ability could also help Zhang Xing open up the situation as soon as possible and sit down.
Stay at the top of the team.
Lin Xishan was a vigorous and resolute person, so he politely refused Huang Chen's suggestion to take a rest for a day, and immediately went to find Zhang Xing after leaving.
As Lin Xishan left, the room became quiet again. Huang Chen's attention turned back to Hong Ju, holding a tea bowl and lost in thought. Zhuang Mo and the three ship owners have been punished, but how should Hong Ju be dealt with?
, he has not made up his mind yet. He will definitely not kill him. Although Hong Ju's actions were extreme, they were excusable and did not cause any casualties. Huang Chen is willing to forgive him once. The question is whether Hong Ju is resentful or not.
Are you willing to forgive him? Once you have a grudge in your heart, it will be difficult to work with him.
"Perhaps, give him a sum of money and let him go?" Huang Chen thought silently. Hong Ju is almost fifty and is about to enter his old age. Instead of continuing to do a whole day to lick the blood, who knows which day he will
A pirate who died suddenly would be better off spending his old age as a rich man. Huang Chen made a decision in his heart.
In the afternoon, Ruan Jin and Chen Si simultaneously reported that the Battle of Yuegang had entered its final stage and requested that more manpower be sent to seize the victory. Huang Chen immediately decided to gather all the warships and go there in person. Before leaving the center and left, he could hear a steady stream of people from the west.
The sound of artillery fire has almost never stopped since last night.
Haichengyue Port is the only legal outlet for the Ming Dynasty. At the end of April, when the southerly winds began to blow, it was the time to trade with Japan. The Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited merchants from traveling to Japan. All merchant ship owners openly applied for chicken coops and Ryukyu ships.
Anyway, as soon as the ship leaves the port, it is up to you to decide where you want to go. Officials are also aware of this, and they are just pretending to be confused. Japan is the most important trading object of the Ming Dynasty, and at this time of year, Yuegang
The city has become extremely lively. At this time, there are more than fifty large ships gathered in the bay, plus some other ships, nearly a hundred ships. In addition, the officers and soldiers were defeated yesterday evening. The remaining army retreated to Moon Harbor and joined with them. Their strength cannot be underestimated.
Look, the pirate coalition launched a fierce offensive against it last night, and they have not seen the results until now.
Huang Chen moved quickly, and so did the others. In just one or two hours, almost all the ships in Zhongzuo Harbor were empty.
On the way, pirates could be seen chasing the ships of officials and merchants from time to time, but Huang Chen remained unmoved and headed straight for the Moon Harbor. When he arrived, he found that the officers and soldiers were dead, fled or surrendered, and the whole army had been wiped out. Only a dozen merchant ships were left.
When fighting against a trapped beast, he often won't fall behind against two or three pirate ships.
Huang Chen was not surprised at all. Merchants have always been interested in money rather than life, and maritime merchants were especially fond of it. They sailed out to sea, traded with foreign countries, and were often lost in storms and died in foreign lands. They also had to fight pirates and barbarians all the time.
Yong. It can be said that he has been walking on the line of death all day long. He has put life and death aside for a long time. It is more difficult for them to capture them without any help and to obediently offer the cargo to them than to kill them.
Furthermore, there is a very strange phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty. Private merchant ships are much stronger than military warships. The reason is actually very simple. It is nothing more than the word "money". Government shipbuilding mainly uses the lowest-grade pine and fir wood.
, even so, there are still some people who enrich their own pockets, cut corners, and use old lumber and rotten nails to pass it off as inferior quality. A moderate storm may cause the hull to disintegrate. Businessmen are never stingy with money. They build it as strong as possible, except for loose firs.
In addition, they also used camphor, nan, grid, iron and other fine woods, and even used Nanyang teak to build ships, which often cost three or four thousand gold, which was even worse than the Ming Dynasty's prestige of "sealing Ryukyu ships across the ocean".
Therefore, it is not surprising that the merchants persisted longer than the officers and soldiers. However, no matter how tenacious the merchants were, there was a limit. Moreover, they had been fighting for seven or eight hours and were already extremely exhausted. Even without the arrival of fresh troops such as Huang Chen, they would not have been able to escape defeat.
ending.
Huang Chen, who was observing the battlefield with a telescope, suddenly saw his eyes light up. His attention was not on General Chen Si, but on his opponent - a Dafu ship with a length no less than twelve feet. He had long wanted to change the ship.
To this day, it seems a bit petty to continue riding a ten-foot-foot bird ship with his power, but a big ship cannot be built overnight, and it will take autumn and winter at the earliest.
"It seems I don't have to wait so long." Huang Chen unconsciously drew an arc at the corner of his mouth and said without looking back: "Yang Dong, ask the helmsman to move closer to Chen Si."
"Yes, big boss."
Hearing the response from Yang Dayan, Huang Chen then remembered that Yang Dong was imprisoned by him and did not go to sea with him.
Huang Chen shook his head. This young village boy who often bullied 'him' in the past is now more loyal than anyone else. Although he is illiterate, he is quite capable. Huang Chen really can't live without him. However, this guy is arrogant and conceited.
He is simply a mad dog, Zhang Xing, Zhuang Mo, Ruan Jin, Zhang Yunlong... there is no one he dares to bite. Some people call him a "dog leg" in private, but Yang Dong is not ashamed but proud, so he almost "
"I have the support of a big leader, what can you do to me?" is written on his face. Huang Chen knows that his nature is hard to change, and this beating can only make him calm for ten and a half days at most, and then he will return to his old ways.
"Kill, kill, kill for me...!" Chen's face turned red, his veins were exposed, and he roared with his sword. Unfortunately, his subordinates did not live up to expectations and soon retreated in defeat.
"The fourth time!" Chen Si was both angry and helpless. He had known that a twelve-foot-long fortune ship would not be an easy character to deal with, but he did not expect it to be so difficult. When he first set his sights on it, he found that there were only
A few bronze cannons, with a bit of contempt in their hearts, they didn't want to be plowed and sunk a six-foot-long blue boat immediately, killing and injuring more than ten people. In the next few hours, they were hit and sunk by an eight-foot-foot bird boat. They finally trapped it.
, countless men rushed onto the deck, thinking that they had a chance to win, suddenly about thirty Japanese people came out of the cabin, equipped with big guns, long knives, and Japanese blunderbuss, and all of them were brave and fearless. They were firmly nailed to the deck, with all their strength.
May the ship of blessing not be lost.
Chen Si gritted his teeth and said: "Dog Japanese slave! Don't fall into my hands, otherwise you will regret coming to this world! - Attack again!"
The little leader quietly approached and said cautiously: "Fourth Master, I hope Dou will report. The big leader is here and is heading this way."
Chen Si's expression changed when he heard this. Why did it happen at this time? Give him a little more time and he will be able to capture the Great Fortune Ship. Compared with it, the two sunken warships are not worth mentioning at all. If you dedicate it to Huang Chen, then
If the latter is happy, he may be given more resources in the future. Resources such as people, ships, and equipment are limited. Huang Chen's personal fleet has always received the most, followed by Zhao Hongyi, Ruan Jin, and Chen Si.
As the name suggests, he can only be ranked fourth, only higher than Liu Bin in the past and Zhuang Mo today. He believes that if he had as many resources as Zhao and Ruan, he would have defeated his opponent long ago.
Chen Si was so anxious that in order to resolve the battle before Huang Chen arrived, he personally rushed to the bow of the ship to supervise the battle and dispatched all the leaders on the ship who had never participated in the battle. This time he issued a death order. Anyone who dared to take a step back would be killed without mercy!
Sometimes a word of killing without mercy is worth a thousand words, and for a time the pirate offensive was far more fierce than the previous four. The Japanese were the absolute main force on the Dafu ship. After several fights, most of them were killed or injured. Facing the desperate Chen four,
They only resisted for a moment and then protected the merchant ship owner and retreated into the cabin. They used the narrow passage to offset their numerical disadvantage and resisted stubbornly.
Seeing that all the enemies on the deck had been wiped out, Chen Si breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't wait to board the Dafu ship, and while his men were fighting, he was waiting for Huang Chen's fleet.
In Dachen Mountain, a ten-foot-long ship is a symbol of status and a standard for measuring a pirate. Leaders are all proud to own a ten-foot-long ship. Similarly, a twelve-foot-long ship is another standard - the overlord level.
, Huang Chen still clearly remembers the fierceness in his eyes when he looked at Lin Qilao and Wednesday's old ship. The twelve-foot-long ship and the ten-foot-long ship are not much different in terms of numbers, but they are just like the twelve-foot-long ship.
Only when you see it with your own eyes and compare it with a 15-foot-long ship can you have an intuitive feeling.
Huang Chen's ship is a bird ship, with a sharp head and a wide body, and a low hull. In front of the majestic Dafu ship with its high bow and stern, it looks like a weak child and a strong young man. They are not in the same class at all. The contrast between the two is even more intense.
Obviously, Huang Chen is happier because the Dafu Ship is about to belong to him. Of course, he hopes that his new ship will be as majestic as possible.
"The big boss..."
Huang Chen stepped on the deck of the Dafu ship, nodded slightly to the people on both sides who were paying tribute, and looked around at the same time. Many of the buildings on the ship were damaged due to the battle, but he didn't care. There was a certain difference between merchant ships and war ships, and they would definitely have to be rebuilt afterward.
As long as it doesn't damage the fundamentals of the ship, the rest won't matter.
Chen Si said: "Big boss, the battle is not over yet, why did you come here? If..., how can I afford it?"
Huang Chen waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's not like you don't know my background, it's not that expensive. - This ship is not bad."
"In order to deal with it, I have already lost two ships." Chen Si said with a slight worry.
When Huang Chen heard this, he immediately stopped smiling and frowned: "What's going on?" After listening to Chen Si's explanation, he lectured: "Be careful next time and don't be careless again."
Seeing that Huang Chen only said a gentle word to him, Chen Si was relieved, and suddenly a burst of cheers erupted in the cabin.
"Victory?"
"Victory!"
Chen Si was overjoyed. He bid farewell to Huang Chen and entered the cabin. Soon he came back escorting a middle-aged man with a wide body and fat body and disheveled hair. His face was red, as if he was drunk. He couldn't help shouting excitedly from a few steps away: "Big Chief,
This is a cargo ship that is about to set sail, with more than a dozen warehouses filled with cargo!"
Huang Chen was startled for a moment, and then he was overjoyed. The load of this ship was at least two thousand stones. How much wealth would this be?
Chen Si pointed to the trembling fat man next to him and said, "The ship's owner is dead. He is the finance mate on the ship." The finance mate is the person who manages the finances on the ship. He is not short, even if he is stooped and his head is lowered, he is still taller.
Chen Siyi is about the same as Huang Chen, about 1.75 meters tall. He is a tall man in this era, but he is as fat as a ball. He is probably 245 pounds if he does not have 300 pounds. Because he has always been
He never raised his head, and at the moment, his hair and face were unkempt, so he couldn't see his exact appearance clearly.
Before Huang Chen could ask a question, the fat deputy knelt down on the ground, kowtowed and said, "Young man Zheng Qiu, please pay homage to the great leader."
Huang Chen couldn't help but laugh. His name matched his appearance. His parents were really foresighted. In fact, Huang Chen knew that this ball had nothing to do with leather balls. In ancient times, balls, like Jin and Yu, symbolized beautiful jade. From this, we can know his origin.
He came from an educated family and turned to business because he wanted to fail in the imperial examination. There were many people like him in Zhang and Quan prefectures, such as Zhou Zhou's old confidant Ye Fu.
"Don't be afraid. Tell me, what's on board?"
Huang Chen showed what he thought was a kind smile, but unfortunately the other party didn't appreciate it. Even when answering questions, his face remained close to the deck. After understanding this, Huang Chen was disappointed and relieved. What was disappointing was that sugar took up the bulk of the 2,600 to 700 loads of cargo.
Most of the time, the price of white sugar purchased in Japan is six taels per quintal. If it can be transported to Nagasaki, it can get tens of thousands of taels of silver. The problem is that Huang Chen cannot go to Japan. The price of white sugar in Fujian is less than two taels, so it is sold to the coast at a discount.
The merchant asked for more than a thousand taels in exchange. Fortunately, after excluding the sugar and groceries, the ship still carried a considerable amount of raw silk, silk fabrics, medicinal materials and other valuables, worth about four to five thousand taels in silver.
At the same time, the battles in various places ended one after another. In the two battles yesterday and today, Huang Chen's banner lost several ships, but captured more. One plus and one minus, seven more ships were added to the banner, not counting the attached boats.
There are thirty-nine ships in total. And Huang Chen also has a new ship - a big fortune ship that is more than twelve feet long, two feet seven or eight feet wide, with a draft of one foot and a load of 2,800 stones.
After the victory, the pirates were slightly revised and roughly divided into three groups. Among them, Zheng Zhilong's brother Zheng Zhihu led the fleet east along the coast, aiming at his hometown of Quanzhou. Li Kuiqi and others gained great benefits in this battle, and were satisfied and turned around.
Return to the center left. The last one is the one with the most people and ships, represented by Zhou Lao. They are greedy for Haicheng's gold and silver treasures and pile them up in mountains, preparing to land and attack the town.
Quanzhou is Zheng Zhilong's forbidden favorite. He can plunder Zhangzhou Prefecture without any scruples, but he cannot do this to Quanzhou. Firstly, Quanzhou is his hometown after all, and he still cherishes some hometown friendship. Secondly, many Quanzhou merchants have thousands of connections with him.
For example, the Huang clan of the mother clan and the Yan clan of the wife clan, in order to recruit people to be safe after three days, it would take a word or two from the Quanzhou gentry to warn the thieves in advance not to rob the Quan land, nor to plunder and kill the Quan people.
It's not cheap. Huang Chen will naturally not go to Quanzhou. As for attacking Haicheng, it is even more stupid. There are not only local officers and soldiers from Zhangzhou Prefecture in Haicheng, but also reinforcements from Tingzhou and Yanping Prefecture. You can't do anything they can do at sea. Go ashore.
Wouldn't it be like throwing himself into a trap? When he learned that three of the six merchant ships acquired in this battle were loaded with cargo, worth more than ten thousand taels of silver, he couldn't help feeling that the maritime merchants were rich. He had been in Fujian for two months, worked hard, and accumulated a lot of money.
The money that came down was only more than ten thousand taels. No wonder Zhou Lao and others looked at Haicheng with red eyes and wanted to take a risk. Huang Chen is not greedy and has a harvest of more than ten thousand taels. He is already very satisfied. (To be continued.