Chapter 149: Pirate King Chen Zuyi’s deployment

Penghu Archipelago, Bazhao Island^[1]Wangan Island

Chen Zuyi sat upright in the temporarily constructed building, his sharp gaze sweeping over the chattering pirate leaders. The imposing aura gradually silenced everyone.

“Boss Chen, what are the odds of success in this matter? Give us some insight. After all, the Ming Navy is not to be trifled with. If we provoke them, we might have to leave the South Seas!”

Pirate leader Sun Sanshui waved his hand with only three fingers left, solemnly inquiring.

“Sun San, if you’re afraid of the Ming Navy, you can leave now!”

Chen Shiliang, standing beside Chen Zuyi, stepped forward. In his anger, the scar on his forehead appeared even redder.

Sun Sanshui glanced at the 25 or 26-year-old Chen Shiliang and said in a deep voice, “You are just a kid. Adults are discussing matters, and it’s not your turn to interrupt! Chen Zuyi, is this how you discipline your son?”

Chen Zuyi raised his hand, gripping the heavy blade standing by the table as a cane, and coldly said, “My son’s words are my words! If anyone fears the Ming Navy, you can leave now! If anyone wants to leave, Chen will not stop you!”

The pirate leaders looked at each other, and no one stood up.

Chen Zuyi sneered and said, “Since no one is leaving, we’re left with a united fight. What else is there to discuss? Although the Ming Navy is strong, there are only twenty ships, led by an inexperienced eunuch with a strong desire for achievement. What’s there to fear?”

“This is the Penghu channel, where large ships are not conducive to maneuvering. If we unite and attack with ten times the strength in numbers, we can easily eliminate Zheng He’s fleet. What’s the likelihood of victory? Ridiculous! I, Chen Zuyi, have roamed the South Seas and never been defeated!”

“Kill! Kill!”

Under Chen Zuyi’s instigation, the group of pirate leaders became fierce, displaying the courage for a decisive battle.

Chen Zuyi stood up, and shouted with a domineering air, “If we win this battle, we will completely control the South Seas. Ming will have no strength to deal with us! Not to mention the Guangzhou coast, even the Southeast coast, the capital, all will be open to us. Countless women and treasures are within reach. How can we retreat? Kill Zheng He, and today, we’ll establish dominance in the South Seas! Kill!”

The crowd, raising their long knives, looked at Chen Zuyi with fanatical eyes, shouting loudly, “Kill Zheng He! Establish dominance in the South Seas!”

“Now!”

Chen Zuyi dropped the blade, and the whole room fell silent!

“Everyone listen: cripple Chen, you and ruffian Liu, Wang Ye lead your men to the east; Sun Sanshui, Yang Jiu, Zhou Liang, lead your men to the west; Big mouth Feng, One-eyed Wang, take your men to flank behind Zheng He’s fleet! The rest, follow me and attack Zheng He’s fleet head-on!”

“Whether we can completely control the South Seas depends on this battle. Whoever hesitates or retreats is my enemy! Do you understand?”

Chen Zuyi arranged it clearly and sternly.

“We understand!”

Everyone answered in unison.

Chen Zuyi nodded slightly and said, “The arrival of Zheng He’s fleet is still more than four hours away. Now, everyone on board. Wait for my command, and we’ll charge together for a complete victory.”

With that, Chen Zuyi lifted his wine cup and said to everyone, “For our great cause, for this eternal event! Cheers!”

Crash!

As the wine was drained, the cup shattered.

“Set off!”

Chen Zuyi said sternly, walked out of the room with a majestic demeanor, and others followed suit, heading to their respective fleets.

Standing on the largest warship, Chen Zuyi stood at the bow, watching the gradually darkening sea.

Night fell.

Chen Shiliang walked up to Chen Zuyi and said, “Father, in this battle, your child is willing to be the vanguard!”

Chen Zuyi’s mouth twitched slightly. He turned around, looked at Chen Shiliang, and said, “What’s this? Isn’t a scar enough to make you remember? You are my son, the future king of Palembang. As a king, how can you charge at the forefront?”

“You still have a lot to learn. Look carefully at these people. Among them, there are natives of the south seas, there are also people from the outer places, there are Japanese, and there are also people from Ming. But now, they all must listen to us. Do you know why?”

Chen Shiliang pondered for a moment and said, “Because we are powerful.”

“Haha, exactly, because we are powerful! But you must know that if one day we become weak, they will turn around and devour us!”

Chen Zuyi looked at Chen Shiliang with seriousness and said, “Therefore, strength must continue to grow! On the sea, only strength is recognized! Without strength, it means death!”

Chen Shiliang looked at his father, pounded his chest, and said, “Father, I understand.”

Chen Zuyi nodded heavily, looked at the ships in the distance at sea, and slowly said, “These people are just stepping stones to our strength. After the charge begins, you stay in the rear. Once the situation is unfavorable, retreat immediately. No lingering in battle, understand?”

Chen Shiliang was somewhat puzzled. His father had never made such an arrangement before.

In which operation did they not charge forward without considering a retreat?

“Father, what about Zheng He…”

“Go down and prepare.”

Chen Zuyi interrupted Chen Shiliang and looked silently at the sea.

Above the sea, on a ship with only forty or more people, the Chinese merchant Zheng Bo looked at everyone and said solemnly, “How should we decide?”

“Zheng Bo, King Liang Daoming entrusted us, absolutely not to engage in war with Ming. Now that Chen Zuyi is persistently wrong, we must inform the Ming Navy.”

A leader with a steel blade spoke quickly.

Zheng Bo nodded slightly and said, “We are King Liang Daoming’s subordinates, not pirates under Chen Zuyi. In that case, we will extinguish the lights and quietly find the Ming Navy and inform them of the danger.”

“Good!”

Everyone agreed.

The lights on the ship went out, and they silently moved northward.

No one would notice a small boat, their eyes filled with madness and slaughter.

“Vice Admiral, that is Longmen Port in Penghu. If we go further, it may be dangerous. There are too many hidden reefs in the nearby waters. If we are not familiar with the waterway, it is likely to damage the ships.”

Zhang Yujin cautiously reminded.

Zheng He looked in the direction of Longmen Port and asked, “Where is Li Jinglong’s navy?”

“There is still no news at the moment. If nothing unexpected happens, they should have reached Hujing Island.”

Zhang Yu replied.

Zheng He looked at the night and ordered, “Arrange a ship to explore the channel and proceed cautiously.”

“Vice Admiral…”

Zhang Yu was somewhat worried.

Zheng He shook his head and said solemnly, “The enemy is right in front of us, and we can’t eliminate them here! To avoid the ships hitting reefs due to excessive draught, order all soldiers to throw away everything unrelated to combat, including food, water, clothes, and goods. Everything that needs to be discarded, throw it into the sea!”

Seeing Zheng He’s determination and a nod from Zhu Neng, Zhang Yu turned around and shouted loudly, “Military orders, throw everything unrelated to combat into the sea, quickly!”

Upon hearing this, the soldiers quickly carried out the orders, and no one asked why.

This was an iron army, an extremely powerful iron army!

And whether the Iron Army is powerful, whether it is sharp and invincible, depends on the honing, on how many enemy corpses lie beneath!

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