Chapter Thirty-Eight: Building a New Ship

  The Oni Kingmaru, which was rampant on the sea at that time, was destroyed just like that.

  Perhaps Guiwang Maru, who is now in the underworld, was unwilling to fail like this, but for the Penghu military and civilians, it was the happiest thing in these years.

  They never thought they could defeat Kongbo Tianbao, let alone Guiwang Wan.

  And the one who brought all these miracles was just one person:

  Ding Yunyi!

  Ding Yunyi has become a reliance for Penghu people from this moment on and a spiritual dependence.

  The emperor of the Great Ming was Chongzhen Emperor, but for the Penghu military and civilians, there is only one invincible King of Penghu:

  Ding Yunyi!

  Most of the pirates were eliminated, and the only regret was that Li Zihu, who had almost brought a devastating disaster to Penghu, had run away with more than a dozen pirates at some unknown time.

  This also made Hong Deyuan extremely regretful.

  "Hong is too kind and too soft. Although he showed heroic spirit this time, after all, he is not the material for doing big things." Qin Yun said in a low voice after knowing the whole story.

  Ding Yunyi pursed his lips and did not answer. He asked Cai Jiu Zhou to escort the pirates back to Fujian to request a reward for the military and civilians of Penghu, and also had Qin Yun write two letters to Fujian Governor Zou Weiqian and his own father, explaining the invasion of Gui Wang Wan and the process of being defeated.

  Qin Yun Jie Yuan was born with a wonderful pen, and in his letter, he didn't mention Ding Yun Wei's leading of the brothers to secretly eat black things. It only mentioned that Gui Wang Wan first sent his disciple Chang Lu Kongbao Tian to offend Penghu, but was defeated by Hong Diao Yuan and Ding Yun Wei. Later, Gui Wang Wan personally offended again, and was defeated once more. In anger, Ding Yun Wei beheaded Gui Wang Wan.

  It seems that the two who defeated the pirates twice were Hong Diao Yuan and Ding Yun Yi, but in fact, under Qin Yun's brush, the main credit goes to Ding Yun Yi, while Hong Diao Yuan only assisted on the side.

  For Ding Yunyi and for his own future, Qin Yunyi worked hard...

  This time, Ding Yunyi not only won a complete victory but also gained a rich harvest. Except for the main ship destroyed by Wei Jide and the boat that Li Zihu quietly took away, Ding Yunyi obtained 24 ships of Guī Wáng Wán out of thin air, as well as the large sum of wealth plundered by Guī Wáng Wán.

  From Xie Tian's mouth, Ding Yunyi learned about Wei Jide's affairs. After a moment of contemplation, he asked Qin Yun to write another letter, which vividly described the process of Wei Jide's heroic sacrifice, and it could be considered as a way to comfort his spirit in heaven.

  Cai Jiuzhou set aside the majority of his fleet and sailors to escort the pirates back to Fujian, while he himself stayed behind with two ships' worth of men, willingly staying by Ding Yunyi's side to share in the glory.

  Ding Yunyi was originally short-handed and lacked naval talents, but now Cai Jiu Zhou voluntarily stayed behind, which was exactly what he needed. However, Ding Yunyi was only a small inspector at the moment, so he could only humbly appoint Cai Jiu Zhou as a battalion commander. Fortunately, Cai Jiu Zhou didn't mind.

  "Let's patrol the borders." Cai Jiuzhou suggested, "Although we defeated Guī Wáng Wán, our victory was due to catching them off guard, and also because we beheaded Guī Wáng Wán first. There was also an element of luck involved. If a large group of pirates comes again next time, it might not be so easy to deal with, let alone the even more ferocious Red Barbarians."

  "This is exactly what Ding Yunyi was most worried about: 'Does Brother Zhen have any good suggestions?'"

  Cai Jiu Zhou first apologized: "It's not that my Cai family is stingy, this time the fleet brought back mostly went back, only leaving two small boats for Ding Xun Jian, but to build a ship that can withstand the wind and waves at sea, and can protect itself when threatened, it really takes a lot of time, my Cai family's marine business is really busy..."

  "Zhen Xing brother said where words." Ding Yunyi smiled and said: "This time Cai family helped me so much, I thanked them but it's not enough, where would I blame? Moreover, they left two ships for me, I'm already satisfied. Besides, didn't we also capture twenty-four ships?"

  "What I want to say is exactly these twenty-four ships." Cai Jiu Zhou took over and said: "Since Gui Wang Wan was defeated by Zheng Zhi Long, his fleet has been scattered. He can still make people tremble with fear, relying solely on his personal bravery, not his fleet. His so-called fleet, once the war begins, except for three or four barely usable ones, the rest are not worth fighting."

  Ding Yunyi furrowed his brow as he listened.

  He didn't quite understand ships, but Cai Jiu Zhou was from a seafaring family and what he said made sense.

  I thought I had taken over the Ghost King Maru's fleet and could make a name for myself at sea, but it seems that's not the case after all. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask: "So what do you mean by that?"

  Cai Jiu Zhou patted his chest confidently: "According to my plan, I'll send someone to sell off all the ships of Gui Wang Wan. If anyone asks, just say that most of Gui Wang Wan's ships were destroyed by me in the sea battle. They probably won't investigate further."

  This is a sentence that awakens the sleeping person.

  Yes, these ships are broken and returned, but it's uncertain whether they belong to Ding Yunyi or not.

  Zou Weiqian heard the great victory, he must be delighted, and then he will definitely ask about the whereabouts of the Guiwang Maru fleet. What to say at that time? It's better to sell it outright and save trouble. I think his Cai family has a secret way to sell these ships without leaving any traces.

  Just then, Cai Jiu Zhou said: "Then we use the money from selling the ship and add it to the spoils of war from the Gui Wang Wan treasure, and build a few good ships. All these can be handed over to my Cai family to handle, I guarantee that the newly built ships will meet the inspector's requirements in terms of performance and price."

  Ding Yunyi was overjoyed: "Good, I'll let you handle everything. Remember, all ships must be equipped with Folangji cannons. If the money is not enough, I will think of a way."

  "We just calculated it and it's barely enough if we use it sparingly."

  Cai Jiu Zhou had only spoken to this point when Ding Yun Yi interrupted him: "No, you still have to leave me some silver. I need to rebuild the fortifications at Penghu."

  In those years, in order to quickly increase the high-quality labor force of Dutch East India, Governor-General of the Netherlands, who had a special liking for Chinese laborers, repeatedly ordered: "Plunder as many men, women and children from China as possible to fill Batavia, Anping and Banten."

  The Dutch fleet faithfully carried out this task, which eventually enraged the Ming dynasty.

  In the third year of Tianqi in the Ming dynasty, the hawkish official Nan Jiyuan was appointed as the governor of Fujian. In November of the same year, he burned down a Dutch warship and captured 52 people, killing some. The next January, 40 warships carrying 2,000 Ming soldiers suddenly appeared before the Penghu fortress built by the Dutch in one night, and launched a fierce attack under the Dutch artillery fire.

  The Dutch were a seasoned army, and they retreated to the Wind Cabinet City, which was surrounded by sea on three sides and only connected to land on one side. The Dutch army dug deep trenches as obstacles on land and controlled the sea with warships, relying on the crossfire of naval guns and shore-based artillery to successfully block the Ming army's attack.

  Seeing the siege not falling, the Ming army also built a stone city in Penghu, and both sides confronted each other, attacking each other. Nan Jiyuan personally came to Penghu to supervise the troops, directing the Ming army from various places to gather, and finally gathered more than 10,000 Ming soldiers and nearly 200 warships on this small island. The Ming naval forces set up fireboats throughout Penghu Port, attacking Dutch warships, while infantrymen set up cannons in Magong Mazu Temple to bombard Fort Zeelandia across the sea.

  In addition, the Ming army arranged giant shields 5 feet long and wide, with circular wooden boards at the bottom, filled with broken stones in an array. During the day, they used them as cover to rest or fire cannons, and at night, they pushed them forward. The Dutch artillery was powerless against this.

  At the same time, Nan Jiyí sent a letter to the newly appointed Dutch commander, threatening that if they didn't leave, he would fill up Penghu Bay with sand and rocks.

  The Dutch, who claimed to have traversed the seven seas, had never encountered such a fierce attack and finally could not hold on, were forced to dismantle the Penghu fortress they had operated for two years under the supervision of the Ming army, and slunk away with their tails between their legs.

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