Chapter 10 Is There Anything That Can Be Done?

  This time out to sea fishing, relying on Ah Xi and a group of fishermen's guidance, it was not a complete loss.

  Hong Diao Yuan was indeed a big winner, and as soon as he got off the boat, he smiled and said: "Old brother, let's go for a walk. Tonight, I'll invite my brothers to drink together, and we can consider it a welcome party for you."

  Back to the barracks, those ten brothers who went out to sea fishing also returned. It was said that a new inspector had arrived, and everyone was surprised. This ghost place, only people want to leave, but really haven't heard of anyone coming in.

  Ding Yunyi's identity as a touring inspector made him the second "high-ranking official" in Penghu, and all ten of the soldiers had come to pay their respects to Inspector Ding.

  Hong Diao Yuan was completely without airs here, smiling and letting his brothers accompany Ding Xun Jian to talk while he called up Lao Ji together to go prepare wine and dishes.

  Ding Yunyi was the youngest among them, and everyone thought he was just a patrol officer. But when they heard that he was the son of Ding Yuanzhao, the great Mr. Ding, no one dared to say much at first. However, as time passed, they discovered that this Patrol Officer Ding was just like Hong Butou, without any airs, and only then did things start to get lively.

  The brothers were all curious about how Ding Yunyi ended up on this deserted island. Ding Yunyi knew that it was useless to talk big principles with these soldiers, so he thought for a moment and simply told the truth: "What could I do? A few days ago, I was just like you brothers, a small soldier, occasionally achieving some military merit, and was promoted to be a patrol officer. But then I got stuck with an unfilial father. What can I do? In terms of official rank, he is my superior; in private, he is my old man. If I didn't agree, I would have been beaten by him at home."

  With a "boom", the brothers burst out laughing together and suddenly felt that this inspector was quite approachable.

  After laughing, a soldier suddenly sighed: "Patrol, is there any way to leave this place quickly? The brothers are all thinking about ways to get out of here. If it weren't for Commander Hong treating us well normally, the brothers would have dispersed long ago. It's nothing great, just take off these clothes and go home to farm."

  Just now when introducing, Ding Yunyi had already remembered all the brothers' names. He recognized this man as Chen Dong, who was one of the earliest to follow Hong Tiao Yuan to Penghu. Seeing that even he was full of complaints, Ding Yunyi began to feel that if he didn't take some measures, these brothers would eventually disperse.

  After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said mysteriously: "I think this place has great potential..."

  One sentence drew everyone's attention, and just as they were about to ask questions, the aroma of fish wafted out, followed by Hong Diao Yuan and Lao Ji walking out with a large basin each: "Come on, brothers, let's eat! Today's meal is quite sumptuous. Lao Ji, go get the wine."

  "What a feast." Chen Dong and his brothers stood up, muttering: "It's all fish, every time I smell the fishy smell now, I feel like vomiting."

  As Chen Dong said, there were two large basins in front of me. One basin was braised fish and the other was fish soup. This stuff had to be eaten every day, it was really disgusting to the extreme.

  Hong Diao Yuan had the brothers sit down, took over the wine jug brought by Lao Ji, and smiled as he poured full cups of wine for everyone. He raised his cup first: "Come on, it's an honor that you, Inspector Ding, have come to this godforsaken place. This cup is a toast to Inspector Ding!"

  The brothers made a loud noise and raised their bowls, all of them drinking to the bottom. Hong Diao Yuan repeatedly said to Ding Yunyi with courtesy: "Younger brother, try it, try it! I may not have other skills, but this cooking skill is even better than that of a professional chef."

  Ding Yunyi took a bite, and the fish meat was indeed tender and delicious. Xiao Yifeng and Bao Zonghua were having a great time eating, praising the dish nonstop, but others had already eaten their fill and were too lazy to show any interest in the two large bowls of fish meat.

  Chen Dong still had in mind what Ding Yunyi had just said: "Ding Patrol, tell your brothers that this place has great potential."

  One sentence raised everyone's curiosity, and only Hong Diao Yuan asked unclearly: "What can be done?"

  "Hong said, 'Director Ding says we can benefit from being here.'"

  "Ah——" Hong Diao Yuan stared blankly at Ding Yun Yi, his face full of expectation.

  It's also possible that if this goes on, Hong Tiao Yuan will become the commander of the light cavalry. When I heard Ding Yun Yi say he had a plan, how could I not look forward to it?

  Ding Yunyi was a bit embarrassed, he just casually said it, who would have thought that his brothers actually took it seriously?

  Those pairs of expectant eyes...

  Suddenly an idea struck him: "I've heard people say that pirates and foreigners often come here to replenish their supplies?"

  "Yes!" Hong Diao Yuan nodded: "Don't look at Penghu as small, but it often has ships coming to supply. Sometimes they are pirates, sometimes they are 'Taisi'."

  Ding Yunyi asked, "Taiwan is not far from here, why did they choose this place?"

  Hong Diao Yuan explained carefully: "Taiwan's red barbarian power is now surging, and the dry silk people can't fight against the red barbarians..."

  Ding Yunyi knew that these were all Ming dynasty terms for Westerners.

  The term "Tàixī" refers to the Western world. The character "" means "distant", so Tàixī literally means "Distant West". This was a term used by scholars during the Ming dynasty to refer to Europe. During this time, knowledge of Europe came mainly from European missionaries such as Matteo Ricci, who brought information that was often confusing and disorganized. As a result, there were many different terms used to refer to Europe, including Tàixī, Yuǎn Xī (Distant West), Dàxī Guó (Great Western Country), Dàxī Zhōu (Great Western Continent), Fǎng Láng Jī (France), and ōubāluò (Europe). There were also varying accounts of the number of countries in Europe, with some people even believing that Europe was part of Portugal. However, overall, Ming dynasty scholars had a relatively good understanding of European countries, particularly major ones such as Portugal, Holland, Spain, England, and France. Some people even knew which countries were sworn enemies and which were allies. Compared to the ignorance of Europe during the late Jin dynasty, the Ming dynasty was quite progressive in this regard.

  As for "red barbarians", it refers to the Netherlands, also known as "He Lan". Fo Lang Ji refers to Portugal, while "Gan La Xi" actually refers to Spain.

  Hong Diao-yuan continued to speak on his own: "The Dutch are absolutely not allowed to let the Lantern people go to their controlled ports for supplies, and they are also very guarded against pirates. Except for Liu Xiang, who has been in collusion with the Dutch for a long time, other small groups of pirates are strictly forbidden from approaching the ports. Taiwan is still like this, let alone Fujian. Therefore, those small groups of pirates and Lantern people, as well as the Buddha Lang people, chose Penghu as a compromise point. Here, both the Ming dynasty's power and the Dutch influence are very weak, and there is no time to take care of this place."

  Ding Yunyi nodded: "Did they burn, kill and loot after landing on the island?"

  Hong diaoyuan shook his head: "It's not that serious."