Chapter 162: Capturing Li Guozhu Alive

Li Guozhu steadied his nerves, putting on a look of nonchalance as he slowly gazed back at the fleet behind him.

Only ten ships remained following behind him.

Further out on the sea, four ships were severely flooded, crawling toward shore at a snail's pace, one was fleeing southward, and two had vanished without a trace.

The enemy flagship was leading its line of battle in a turn, and from beside the battle line, a small squadron of three Haicang ships burst forth, charging toward the flooded and crippled Ninghai of the Fire Sail Battalion.

Li Guozhu had assumed they were going to board and capture the Ninghai, but unexpectedly, the three Haicang ships closed to a distance of about two thousand paces and began blasting the Ninghai with Folangji cannons.

Countless iron shot, as if they cost nothing, slammed into the hull of the Ninghai, which was already a turtle in a jar.

Moreover, the Haicang ships' positions were extremely cunning—either at the bow or the stern.

The Ninghai was severely flooded, having almost completely lost its ability to steer, unable to turn its broadside at all, and could only let the Haicang ships pour in fire at will.

The Folangji cannons had an extremely rapid rate of fire; in an instant, over ten volleys had been fired, and the Ninghai's deck was riddled like a honeycomb, with not a single living soul left.

The three Haicang ships ceased firing and sailed toward the Jinghai to do the same.

Li Guozhu wanted to cry but had no tears. The Fire Sail Battalion embodied all his painstaking effort; every crewman on those ships had been personally recruited by him, all his brothers. To have them die so ignominiously—how could it not grieve him?

But the time left for him to grieve was short.

The enemy's three great galleons had completed their turn and were giving chase.

"Shipmaster, we can't match them in an artillery duel—let's charge in and board them!" A crewman drew his blade and shouted his proposal.

This plan quickly drew assent from the other crewmen.

But Li Guozhu could see clearly that the enemy ships were also far faster than theirs; charging in was simply impossible—they would be dragged to death along the way.

Moreover, the enemy's tactics were bizarre—they would rather waste gunpowder and shot in indiscriminate bombardment than ever board.

As if human lives were more precious than cannons and shot!

In an instant, Li Guozhu's mind raced through a thousand turns, various tactical plans built up one by one in his thoughts, only to be rejected one by one.

After long deliberation, a decision was finally made—temporarily avoid the enemy's edge!

In plain words: flee.

Even Marquis Wu had turned back his army at Xie Valley, and the Song emperor had fled by donkey cart in the night; recognizing reality and temporarily avoiding the enemy's edge was nothing to be ashamed of.

When he made his comeback another day, leading a great army back into battle, he could wipe away today's shame!

With this thought, Li Guozhu commanded in a loud voice: "Course due north, full speed ahead!"

"Shipmaster!"

"You can't, Shipmaster!"

His crewmen were greatly bewildered by this order—even if they couldn't match the enemy's cannons, were they to tuck tail and run without even daring to draw their blades?

The two sides had exchanged cannon fire for no more than ten volleys.

Formal combat had lasted less than an hour.

And now they were to retreat?

With this retreat, who would avenge those brothers slaughtered as living targets by the Folangji cannons?

But Li Guozhu's resolve to retreat was firm; as long as he didn't relent, the fleet would only sail northward.

As luck would have it, another Fire Sail Battalion fleet had also chosen to flee north, and the two groups joined forces once again.

Li Guozhu made a rough count—only twenty-four ships remained in the fleet.

Losing nine ships was merely a flesh wound for the entire Fire Sail Battalion; as long as they could return to Hirado and send out the battalion's main force, their numerical advantage would easily crush the enemy ships.

"Enemy fleet, stern quarter, eight hundred paces!" The lookout's voice trembled slightly, and he added an extra note: "The enemy ships are very fast!"

Li Guozhu turned to look and indeed saw the enemy ships sailing at full speed, their bows cleaving through waves and throwing up white foam, rapidly closing the distance. The distance from here to Hirado Island was no more than a hundred forty-odd li—if they could just sail into the vicinity of Hirado Island, relying on the narrow, elongated sea channel between Hirado Island and Kyushu, they might be able to shake off the enemy vessels.

The Fire Sail Battalion's ships were all Fujian junks and Haicang ships, with drafts only half that of the barbarian vessels—perfectly suited for navigating such narrow, complex waters.

If they could just hold out for three or four hours—no, they didn't even need three or four hours; they only needed to hold on for one more hour.

Once night fell, the enemy fleet, unfamiliar with the surrounding sea conditions, would surely dare not continue the chase.

Li Guozhu looked up at the sky, praying only that darkness would come faster.

Meanwhile, aboard the Changfeng.

The supervisor Qian Zhong, bound to the aft mast, was in a miserable state.

His stomach was empty, his mouth parched, his head splitting with pain, his heart trembling with fear, his eyes vacant, his face streaked with tears.

Half his body was stained red with blood, and his shoulders and clothes were covered in wood splinters and bits of shredded flesh.

That was from when a crewman had been blasted into a mist of blood by cannon fire and splashed onto him.

The other half of his body was covered in blackened grease—stained by the smoke of black powder.

The smell of blood, sulfur, and salty sea air mingled into one, boring straight up into his crown, nearly searing his airways.

"Let me down! I won't dare anymore, Master Bai, please be merciful, let me down!"

Qian Zhong wailed in a hoarse voice without cease, his lower body soaked through, reeking of filth—fortunately, the smells of blood and sulfur clogged his nose, so he couldn't smell himself.

Bailangzai stood on the deck not far from Qian Zhong, deaf to his blood-tear pleas.

His eyes were fixed on the flagship overhead, and from time to time he raised his telescope to scan the sea off the starboard side.

He saw the flagship make a slight move.

Bailangzai immediately said: "Rudder to starboard!"

"Rudder to starboard!" the helmsman shouted back as he turned the wheel.

"Ugh—" The violent turn sent a wave of nausea through Qian Zhong, and he vomited again—though his stomach was empty, all he brought up was sour fluid, which burned his esophagus badly.

Bailangzai glanced at the wind pennant and said: "The wind has shifted—north by west. Change the sails!"

"North by west wind, sail handlers change sails!" the boatswain shouted the order.

The instant the wind shifted, the sail handlers had already prepared with practiced ease; at the boatswain's command, the sail change was completed immediately, without the slightest hesitation.

Qian Zhong wept: "Grandpa Bai, this humble one begs you, let me down, or—ugh—a few more of those and my life will be finished."

Bailangzai's face was as hard as ice, deaf to all around him.

Qian Zhong's two eunuch attendants were also tied up nearby, and upon hearing this, could only weep.

A sailor laughed: "Eunuch Qian, why lower yourself so? You are the army supervisor—when battle comes, you naturally must stand on the deck, or how else would you supervise?"

Qian Zhong wept and smiled fawningly: "Then untie my ropes, they're bound too tight, my hands and feet have gone numb."

"That won't do. In a sea battle the deck is slippery, and the ship turns constantly. If we didn't tie you up, you'd sooner or later pitch headfirst into the sea. If you died, we couldn't answer for it."

Qian Zhong begged humbly: "Then loosen the ropes a bit for me—if you keep binding me like this, I truly won't survive."

"Bound tight, at worst you lose an arm or leg—just cut it off. Bound loose, you'd lose your life."

Tears burst from Qian Zhong's eyes: "I was wrong, I—"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Before he could finish speaking, the Siren cannons on the flagship Tianyuan's broadside let out their roar—an earth-shaking thunder that drowned out all other noise.

Bailangzai shouted: "Open fire!"

The helmsman and boatswain passed the order in turn, and the broadside cannons of the Changfeng fired in staggered volleys.

One light four-pounder sat on the Changfeng's stern deck, and its blast erupted almost right at Qian Zhong's ear, rattling his ears with a ringing buzz.

Qian Zhong squeezed his eyes shut, his legs trembling violently—had the ropes not held him, he would have collapsed into a puddle of mush on the spot.

Bailangzai said: "Supervisor, please open your eyes. If you don't see clearly, how will you write the battle report?"

Qian Zhong squeezed his eyes even tighter, his face contorting into a mass of wrinkles.

"I'll do whatever Grandpa Bai says—whatever Grandpa Bai says the report should say, this humble one will write."

"I told you to write truthfully. Open your eyes!"

Bailangzai's voice was not loud, but the chill in it was piercing.

Startled, Qian Zhong shuddered, hastily opened his eyes, and looked into the distance.

There, beneath the grey-white sky, the enemy fleet with its fiery red sails stood out like a bright red target.

The just-fired volley had shattered the enemy's charge. One enemy ship was struck and broke apart on the spot—its mainmast toppled, then caught fire, the flames spreading ever larger until they triggered a secondary explosion of terrifying scale.

The remaining enemy ships fled in panic, retreating toward the shore.

On the ship, the five-colored flags of the flagship Tianyuan waved.

A moment later, five Haicang vessels broke from formation and fanned out like a great net, sailing to the very front of the fleet.

Bailangzai used the scabbard of his large miao saber to pat the cheeks of the two young eunuchs.

"You two open your eyes and look too—look carefully!"

The two young eunuchs had long since been scared out of their wits; at his words they immediately bulged their eyes wide, staring at the distant battlefield.

One of them shouted in a cracked voice: "This slave opens his eyes and looks! This slave sees clearly!"

An hour later, the Fire-Sail Battalion, hunted and cornered with no way out, fled into a bay.

This bay lay southwest of the Nagasaki Peninsula, east of Mount Gongen, connected to the East China Sea by a long narrow channel—at its narrowest only thirty meters wide, while the bay itself stretched over three hundred meters at its widest.

The bay's depth was unknown, and with darkness falling, the Tianyuan did not order pursuit. It only sent the Sea Wolf into the bay to scout, and after confirming the bay had no other outlet, ordered the fleet to anchor at the bay's mouth and lay siege.

Darkness fell completely, and the surrounding ships lit their lanterns.

Bailangzai ordered: "Untie the ropes."

Once freed, Qian Zhong immediately collapsed onto the deck like a maggot, his limbs already bound red-purple by the ropes.

Seeing his own wretched state, Qian Zhong cared about nothing else, knocking his forehead repeatedly against the deck: "Thank you, Grandpa Bai, for loosening the bonds! Thank you, Grandpa Bai, for loosening the bonds!"

Bailangzai ignored him and went off to eat dinner on his own.

It took Qian Zhong nearly an hour before he could feel his limbs again, first a wave of cold and stinging pain, then a sensation like needles pricking all over. Qian Zhong clenched his teeth desperately, not daring to make a sound.

After he had carefully finished his dinner, paper and brush were set before Qian Zhong.

"Write."

"May I ask, Master Bai, what should I write?" Qian Zhong smiled fawningly.

"The day's sea battle. The battle report."

"Oh, oh." Qian Zhong immediately took the paper and brush. "This humble one will write at once—ah, may I ask Master Bai, where are we now?"

Bailangzai's gaze swept over: "You don't know?"

"This humble one truly doesn't know."

Qian Zhong wanted to cry but had no tears. On shore he had lived in silk and luxury—food brought to his lips when hungry, someone fanning him when hot. Aside from answering nature's call himself, nearly everything else was done for him by others.

Ever since boarding this ship, what kind of life had he led? Living was worse than death!

Food, clothing, shelter, travel—none of it suited him. He spent every day vomiting until the world spun, wishing he could hang himself. How could he have paid attention to where the ship was sailing?

"Take a guess?" Bailangzai said meaningfully.

Qian Zhong summoned his skill at reading a superior's intentions and answered cautiously: "How could this humble one possibly guess—"

"I told you to guess." Bailangzai said slowly.

"Zhoushan?" Qian Zhong guessed wildly.

"Correct. East of Zhoushan, on the waters of the East China Sea." Bailangzai said. "Write."

He'd guessed right on a random shot? Qian Zhong found it strange, but his spirit had already been tortured to the brink of collapse, and he had no spare mental capacity to think it over.

Trembling, he picked up the brush and began writing the battle report.

Nightfall, aboard the Tianyuan.

Seven prisoners lay bound hand and foot, lying on their sides on the deck, shivering violently. This was not from fear.

Winter had now set in. These seven men were soaked through, and after being blown by the cold wind for nearly an hour, their faces were drained of all color from the cold.

Before the seven prisoners, Zheng Zhilong sat at ease, wrapped in a blanket, holding a cup of hot tea, utterly comfortable.

Looking at the blanket and the hot tea, the prisoners' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

After another an hour, some could no longer hold on, peacefully closing their eyes.

Then Zheng Zhilong said, "No sleeping. Take that one below to warm up, and bring him back once he recovers."

"Yes!" Two soldiers in cotton armor obeyed and led the man away.

After the time of a meal, the man had regained some vitality and was dragged back onto the deck.

"Splash—"

A bucket of seawater came down over his head and face, the cold making all the captives struggle like fish, cursing Zheng Zhilong without pause.

Finally someone could not take it anymore: "I'll talk."

With a look from Zheng Zhilong, the man was taken below to the cargo hold for individual questioning.

The others continued to endure the cold wind.

One captive said, "He's already confessed—why keep torturing us? Give your grandpa a quick death."

Zheng Zhilong smiled: "The navigator said everyone must confess. Geng Wu, pour the water."

"Yes!" A soldier obeyed, lifting another bucket of seawater to douse the captives.

A chorus of profanity rang out across the deck.

An hour later, Zheng Zhilong walked into the officers' mess carrying seven interrogation records.

By the table, Lin Qian, Bai Qing, Lei Sanxiang, and Lü Zhou were already waiting.

"Navigator, the interrogations are done." Zheng Zhilong stood before the table.

Lin Qian: "Give me the essentials."

"According to the captives, the enemy's hiding place is called Shimabara Bay, with only one exit, many hidden reefs within, and a village four or five li east of the bay.

The enemy fleet's leader is called Li Guozhu, Li Dan's son—the Fire Sail Battalion was founded by him personally.

Hirado Castle is heavily defended, with six coastal artillery positions. The Hirado domain lord, the Matsuura clan, has close personal ties with Li Dan, with roughly two thousand soldiers and over three hundred sea vessels.

Furthermore, on Kyushu Island there are several powerful domains such as Satsuma and Higo, all with deep connections to the Matsuura clan."

"At dawn tomorrow, send the Cloud Sail to transport the marines south of the peninsula to cut off Li Guozhu's retreat by land." Lin Qian ordered.

Li Guozhu was a big fish—he could not be allowed to escape.

Lei Sanxiang said, "Navigator, the land south of the bay doesn't look wide. Why not have the Cloud Sail bombard the bay from the south and flush Li Guozhu out? Or send the Sea Wolf ships straight into the bay to grab the bastard."

"Good." Lin Qian nodded slowly. "Remember—he must be taken alive. He'll be of great use."

Lü Zhou spoke up: "Navigator, the eighteen merchant ships are still anchored near Dan Island. Whether they sail or stay, I await your orders."

These eighteen ships were loaded full of silver, copper, and other Hirado trade goods—worth a fortune, and absolutely not to be risked.

Lin Qian was uneasy about letting them sail alone, and the other warships would need to remain here for a while longer, waiting for a surprise.

So Lin Qian pondered a moment and said, "Wait ten days first. After ten days, the merchant ships set sail."

"Navigator, should we take the opportunity to move against Hirado?" Zheng Zhilong asked.

The list of interrogation questions had been given by Lin Qian, and Zheng Zhilong could already see that Lin Qian's aims went far beyond Li Dan.

To be honest, Lin Qian had mobilized this many warships precisely because he harbored thoughts of testing Hirado.

Since the second shogun had taken power, the Tokugawa shogunate had gradually trended toward national seclusion, and the domestic shipbuilding industry had shrunk dramatically.

The Japanese-made galleons of old had been sold off or sunk, never again to enjoy the glory of crossing the Pacific as in years past.

The atakebune and osekibune that now served as the main strength of Kyushu's naval forces were a joke before the Tianyuan—more fragile than something held together with glue.

What made Lin Qian cautious were Kyushu's land forces and the shogunate's policy trends.

A few months ago, Lin Qian had Ma Chenglie's household troops help him train soldiers, and results were already showing—but in the end there were only three hundred men, with short training time and no battle experience.

Using them in coordination with the gunboats, taking Hirado might be possible.

But once the surrounding daimyo grew wary, Hirado was but a lone city that could never be held. The moment land trade was cut off, Hirado's maritime trade value would vanish—an absolute guaranteed-loss venture.

Not to mention the shogunate was already wary of maritime trade.

Thinking of this, Lin Qian asked, "What is Hirado Castle's attitude toward the missionaries?"

"Two months ago, Nagasaki just executed over fifty people—beheading and burning at the stake." Lü Zhou said.

"Damn it all—those Japanese pirates really are bloodthirsty!" Lei Sanxiang said angrily.

Lin Qian knew this wasn't entirely the pirates' fault. Those missionaries aggressively exported ideology and colluded with local powers to weaken shogunate rule—they weren't exactly good people either.

Right or wrong, the shogunate's policy of national seclusion was the grand direction.

At such a sensitive juncture, what Lin Qian needed to do was use the window before the shogunate closed the country—make money quietly, trade fiercely, and grow stronger.

Not pour oil on the fire by capturing Hirado to vent frustration, provoking the shogunate into closing the country early.

Of course, Lin Qian's forbearance had its limits. Once his navy grew strong enough to have the capital to overturn the table with the shogunate, he could stage a "Black Ship Incident" of his own.

What Lin Qian needed to do now was weaken the maritime strength of all friendly merchants as much as possible—especially Li Dan.

And it had to be done quietly, without touching the shogunate's sensitive nerves.

At the same time, it had to be flashy—to properly stimulate the eyes of the supervisor Qian Zhong.

The requirements sounded contradictory, but Lin Qian had already figured out a way.

The next morning at dawn.

Li Guozhu woke to the sound of cannon fire.

At the southern end of the bay, across the strip of land, the Cloud Sail gunboat was already anchored on the open sea, its broadside cannons firing without pause.

At the bay's entrance, five Sea Wolf ships had already surged in. Li Guozhu understood that even if he could break out, the great gunboat waited beyond the bay—he was already in a death trap.

"Shipmaster, what do we do?" The navigator hurried over.

Weighing his options again and again, Li Guozhu gritted his teeth: "Sink all the ships. We go by land!"

Under his orders, the Fire Sail Battalion crew began to disembark in an orderly fashion and set up gunpowder.

As barrel after barrel of gunpowder exploded, the Fire Sail Battalion's vessels sank one by one into the water.

Seeing this, the Sea Wolf immediately pressed forward. After ten volleys of grape-shot from the Folangji cannons, the crewmen left behind to haul gunpowder were virtually all dead.

More than twenty ships remained intact, and these warships, along with their cannons, all fell into enemy hands.

The crewmen who had come ashore returned fire at the Sea Wolf with iron-barrel guns, but a Folangji cannon was after all a genuine artillery piece, and it fired grapeshot.

After leaving behind a dozen or so corpses, Li Guozhu's men could only retreat in haste.

Reaching a high point, Li Guozhu turned back and looked at the harbor, where the Fire Sail Battalion's ships and cannons were being captured by the enemy. He could only sigh helplessly.

"I, Li Guozhu, swear to Heaven—if I cannot avenge this, I will never set foot on the seas again for the rest of my life!" Li Guozhu silently made this solemn vow in his heart.

Just then, a volley of musket fire rang out.

Beside Li Guozhu, a burst of screams erupted.

The navigator shouted: "An ambush! Fight our way out!"

Li Guozhu followed the sound and saw, among the trees all around, a group of soldiers clad in cotton armor emerging.

The soldiers carried sabers and shields, long spears, wolf-brush poles, and trident forks, forming a wedge formation, with the musketeers in the rear.

Even if one had never seen this formation with one's own eyes, one had heard of it—it was the famous Mandarin Duck Formation.

Li Guozhu's men, for convenience in operating at sea, all wore plain cloth; those better off wore leather armor, and their weapons were waist sabers and iron-barrel guns. Just laying eyes on the enemy's tooth-and-nail cotton armor drained much of their courage.

On top of that, they were a freshly defeated force, now surrounded by an enemy who had lain in wait at their ease.

After only token resistance, they dropped their weapons and surrendered with hands raised.

Li Guozhu lamented inwardly that the situation was lost, yet refused to surrender tamely. While the cotton-armored soldiers were capturing his crewmen, he took off running toward the bay and plunged into the water with a splash.

The winter seawater off Kyushu Island was bone-chillingly cold. Li Guozhu had barely swum five paces before his limbs cramped up. He floundered on the surface, swallowing several mouthfuls of water, feeling as if even his three souls and six spirits were being frozen solid—only then did someone throw him a rope and haul him up.

Soaked through, Li Guozhu curled into a ball, teeth chattering, face pale as paper. All thought of vengeance was gone; he only wished for a brazier.

The marines finished counting the prisoners, confirmed Li Guozhu's identity, then bound him and brought him back aboard ship.

Before going ashore, Squad Leader Geng Wu had picked two clever subordinates and given each twenty taels of silver.

The two were overjoyed: "Thank you for your generosity, Squad Leader!"

Geng Wu said: "It's not for you. The helmsman ordered that you go to a nearby village and buy some fresh meat and vegetables."

After so long at sea, the ship's fresh vegetables had long since run out, though dried grain and bean sprouts were still in ample supply. The two couldn't understand why fresh meat and vegetables needed to be bought.

But the two had long been trained to obey without asking why. They acknowledged with a "Yes!" and turned to head for the village.

Geng Wu hurriedly called them back: "Take off your armor and weapons, and bring the interpreter along too."

At the same time, Qian Zhong, who had slept only two hours, was jolted awake by the ship's pitching.

"Have the sea bandits attacked again?" Qian Zhong rolled straight off onto the floor and, ignoring his body's exhaustion and pain, scrambled under the table.

The two young eunuchs hastily stopped him: "Godfather, it's just normal sailing! Listen—no cannon fire."

"Thank Heaven and Earth, may the Bodhisattva protect us." Qian Zhong let out a long breath of relief.

"Time to eat." A crewman pushed open the door, set down breakfast, and let out a contemptuous snicker at Qian Zhong's habit of hiding under the table—he was long accustomed to it.

Qian Zhong plastered a fawning smile on his face and watched the man leave, whereupon the smile collapsed into a venomous expression. He silently swore in his heart: "Just you wait, you lot. See how I deal with you once I'm ashore, you pack of base soldier scum! Pah!"

"Creak!" The door was pushed open again.

Qian Zhong reflexively switched back to a smiling face—so quickly that the muscles of his face twitched from the strain.

"Eat quickly. When you're done, we'll be troubling Your Excellency to go up on deck today to supervise the troops."

"Fighting again today? Surely that's not necessary, I—" Qian Zhong begged piteously.

But the man had only come to deliver the message. Having said his piece, he closed the door and left, utterly disdaining to listen to anything Qian Zhong said.

In an instant, Qian Zhong's face turned venomous again, his eyes cold as a viper's, screaming ceaselessly in his heart.

"Han Xin endured the shame of crawling between a man's legs; the King of Yue tasted bitterness sleeping on firewood. One who achieves great things must first suffer in heart and mind, labor in sinew and bone. Hardship and suffering temper a man into greatness! No matter how great the suffering, this lord can endure it!

You surnamed Ma! You surnamed Bai! If you two have the ability, then keep this lord from ever reaching shore.

So long as this lord keeps his life, the two of you, your entire families, the families of every single person on this whole ship—not one of you will escape! You will all die at this lord's hands!"

Seeing Qian Zhong lost in thought again, the young eunuch reminded him with a mournful face: "Godfather, please eat quickly. They said we still have to go up on deck after eating."

"Do I need you to remind me? You worthless thing with no eyes!" Qian Zhong snarled viciously under his breath.

These past days, Qian Zhong had groveled like a lapdog before "Grandpa Bai," his dignity utterly shattered.

The young eunuch, in truth, no longer feared him as before. At this he said with concern: "Godfather, do eat a little. Even if you throw it all up on deck, it's better than retching bile."

That was the truth—the taste of retching bile on an empty stomach was something he never wanted to experience again.

Qian Zhong helplessly sat back down at the table. Staring at a plate of saltwater bean sprouts and three bowls of rice porridge, he made no move to pick up his chopsticks, having no appetite at all.

The two young eunuchs took the opportunity to sit down as well.

"Did I say you could sit?" Qian Zhong snapped. "Disciplineless things!"

The two young eunuchs stood up aggrievedly, and one of them muttered something under his breath.

That immediately touched Qian Zhong's raw nerve. He barked: "What did you say? Say it louder!"

That young eunuch had in fact been cursing Qian Zhong, but with a flash of inspiration he said: "This servant was saying how strange it is."

"What's strange about it?"

"We've been at sea for nearly a month now. Where would fresh bean sprouts come from on this ship?"

"Hah, ignorant thing—these are sprouted from soybeans. With water, they—wait. Did you say we've been at sea for a month?"

"Yes, that's right."

Qian Zhong connected this with the battle report he had written earlier and calculated based on the usual speed of Ming Dynasty seagoing ships.

He suddenly realized he should not be anywhere near Zhoushan—he might even have left the Great Ming entirely.

This Ma Chenglie! What exactly was he planning?

Fear surged in Qian Zhong's heart.

At the same time, he realized something even more terrifying: the Changfeng had been sailing the seas for over a month without ever taking on supplies.

With endurance like this, sailing east could reach the Wa country (Japan)—

If sailing north—wouldn't the capital region also be within range?

Whether or not Ma Chenglie harbors rebellious intent, with his powerful warships and long-range sailing capability, he already poses a threat to the capital region!

Isn't this exactly the grounds for impeachment?

Ma Chenglie has the capability to rebel, and on top of that, he mistreated him, the army supervisor, showing contempt for imperial authority—rebellious intent is evident.

A charge of high treason, with his three clans exterminated, is already a foregone conclusion!

"Hahahaha—" Qian Zhong couldn't help but burst out laughing, his face twisted with glee, written all over with the satisfaction of revenge.

Just then, the cabin door was pushed open again.

Qian Zhong hastily changed his expression again, replacing his sinister grin with an ingratiating, awkward smile.

"Up to the deck, there's work!" the sailor tossed out a single line.

Yahei

Pink Round

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