Chapter 1154 We Can Go
The two young men immediately grew excited, jumping with enthusiasm. "Let's deploy troops and drive them out! We both hold official positions from the imperial court, so we can legitimately mobilize our forces."
Just then, Bai Gongzi, having recently docked his paddlewheel ship, the Little White 3, leaned in, listening, then immediately shook his head. "You two just spout nonsense. It's precisely *because* you hold official positions that it becomes inconvenient for you to intervene."
The two young men exclaimed, "Huh?"
Bai Gongzi explained, "Before, we could claim to be pirates, raiding wherever we pleased, and that was that. But now that you're imperial military officials, you have your own assigned jurisdictions. Matters outside your jurisdiction, you cannot interfere with, otherwise, you'll only undermine the status we worked so hard to achieve and cause trouble for our Gao Family Village."
The two young men mumbled, "Oh, come on..."
Shi Lang pressed, "General Cao's current position as Coastal Regional Commander, doesn't that grant him authority over the entire coast?"
Bai Gongzi shook his head. "Of course not. The Suzhou and Songjiang fleet can only manage the coast of the Suzhou and Songjiang region, the Fujian Naval Commander can only manage the Fujian coast, and the Guangdong Regional Commander can only manage the Guangdong coast. General Cao, in his capacity as Coastal Regional Commander, can likely only manage the coastal areas near Tianjin and Shandong. Don't you dare act recklessly."
Shi Lang declared, "But the English are brazenly challenging us! We have powerful ships; we should teach them a lesson."
Bai Gongzi conceded, "I also think we should give the English a beating, but how to go about it will likely require further discussion."
This ship flew Zheng Zhilong's flag, and a burly man sprang from the deck, shouting, "Young Master! Young Master!"
Zheng Sen recognized him. "Oh? That's my father's trusted confidant."
The man rushed over. "Young Master, my master sent me to inform you that there's some entertainment to be had. He asks if you'd like to see it?"
Zheng Sen asked, "What kind of entertainment?"
The man replied, "Four English warships..."
Zheng Sen interrupted, "Bombarding Humen Fortress?"
The man blinked. "Ah? So Young Master already knows."
Zheng Sen waved a hand. "I just heard the news myself, but hasn't the battle already concluded? What's left to see?"
The man quickly explained, "The Westerners' bombardment of Humen Fortress incensed the provincial governor and the Vice Commissioner of Maritime Affairs. Several high-ranking officials ordered Guangdong Regional Commander Chen Qian to immediately expel the English. However, Chen Qian had few troops and his ships were dilapidated. Unable to drive off the English, he sought assistance from my master."
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly understood.
It turned out the Guangdong Regional Commander had appealed to Zheng Zhilong for help.
Zheng Zhilong was currently the most powerful de facto ruler of the Great Ming's southeastern coast, commanding vast forces and possessing immense power. He also had extensive experience fighting Westerners. It was Zheng Zhilong who had intervened in the Battle of Liaoluo Bay, driving away the Dutch.
With Guangdong now bullied by Westerners, it was only natural to think of Zheng Zhilong.
Seizing such an excellent opportunity, Zheng Zhilong naturally wanted to take his son to witness it and learn something.
Shi Lang rejoiced, "Little Sen, you must go! You're definitely going, aren't you? And while you're at it, take me along to see the spectacle. That's perfectly reasonable, right? I won't reveal my identity; I'll just pretend to be one of your subordinates."
Zheng Sen was overjoyed. "That would be absolutely splendid!"
With Zheng Zhilong personally intervening in this matter, Gao Family Village decided against deploying a large force. They would only send two ships: the Wanli Sunshine, and the paddlewheel ship Little White 3, which Bai Gongzi had just completed.
Shi Lang discreetly disguised himself, posing as one of Zheng Sen's men.
The two ships departed Zhoushan Harbor and sailed towards Fujian.
Before long, the two ships arrived at Anhai Town, Jinjiang, Fujian, Zheng Zhilong's stronghold.
The docks beside Anhai Town were crammed with ships.
The largest was a Western galleon, approximately fifty meters long; no one knew where Zheng Zhilong had acquired it, but it certainly wasn't one he'd built himself.
The fleet's composition then showed a noticeable gap in size; the next largest were about a dozen junks, each only around twenty meters long, followed by a swarm of miscellaneous small craft.
The arrival of Gao Family Village's two massive ships immediately dwarfed Zheng Zhilong's largest Western galleon. The Wanli Sunshine, over sixty meters long, and the paddlewheel ship, also over sixty meters, left Zheng Zhilong's sailors marveling in awe.
"Young Master! The Young Master is back!"
"Young Master, long time no see!"
Many on the dock waved to Zheng Sen.
Zheng Sen happily returned their greetings, addressing them as 'Uncle Zhang,' 'Uncle Li,' 'Uncle Zheng,' and so on... each of them senior to him in status.
Zheng Zhilong stood on the dock to greet them. Seeing Zheng Sen, a smile spread across his face. "Little Sen, it's been a long time. Have you learned anything while studying with Mr. Li... ah... Mr. Li?"
Zheng Sen immediately replied, "Father, this trip, I've learned truly incredible things! I've learned about the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the universe... I also know how tides and monsoons are formed, and so much other oceanic knowledge; it's truly astounding. Mr. Li truly knows far, far, far too much."
Naturally, the father was delighted to hear of his son's learning, and burst into laughter.
Zheng Sen then added, "Oh, and I also secured an official position!"
"What?" Zheng Zhilong was astonished. "You have an official position? What position?"
Zheng Sen chuckled, "A Centurion!"
This rank left Zheng Zhilong utterly stunned. His son was only thirteen years old! And he was already a Centurion? How many indignities had he endured in his youth just to secure the position of a guerrilla general? It had been a struggle, to say the least.
Indeed, sending his son to Eunuch Li had been the right decision. Following a eunuch under the Emperor's command, the speed of promotion was simply astonishing... Who knew, perhaps he could even rise in status through his son later!
"How did you manage to get this Centurion position?"
"That's a long story; I'll tell you later," Zheng Sen laughed. "Father, let's hurry and set off to give the English a good beating!"
"Good!"
Zheng Zhilong had actually been ready for a while, just waiting for his son's arrival. He immediately prepared his fleet.
The English had only brought four ships, and Guangzhou was a long distance from Fujian. He didn't want to take too many ships too far. Smaller vessels couldn't make such a long voyage anyway.
He selected only ten medium-to-large ships capable of long-distance voyages, commanding from his largest Western galleon. His younger brother, Zheng Zhihu, led the vanguard in a twenty-meter junk. They departed Anhai Town, sailing towards Guangzhou.
Along the way, Zheng Sen recounted the Battle of Pi Island, which secretly startled Zheng Zhilong. So a battle of such immense scale had been fought at Pi Island! Fortunately, their forces had won; otherwise, the Great Ming would have been in grave danger.
Zheng Sen also shared various strange knowledge he'd acquired at the naval academy. He spoke of the Earth being a great sphere – a fact Zheng Zhilong was already aware of. However, when he explained that tides were caused by the moon's gravity, Zheng Zhilong was utterly bewildered.
He went on to describe ocean currents, monsoons, steam-powered paddlewheels, propeller propulsion, and all sorts of other miscellaneous knowledge.
Zheng Zhilong couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "My son, in the future, your father will surely not be able to match your accomplishments."
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