Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 816: Nanhai King Chen Zuyi
"But we originally thought that, relying on the natural barrier of Dadu Creek, these troops could at least hold off the Ming army for three or four days... But now all these people have been defeated, and they can't even hold them off for a day. Boss Chen, it won't hinder your grand plan, will it?" Fu Puxin asked the dark and thin man, with some sarcasm in his words.

The thin, dark-skinned man in fancy clothes twitched his lips, seeming to be quite distressed. The tribe responsible for intercepting them was one of the tribes that he had infiltrated most thoroughly and supported him the most. Now, after just one night, they were beaten and dispersed by the Ming army. How could he not feel heartbroken?
But he still said stubbornly: "It doesn't matter, the lives of these mountain barbarians are cheap, and there are as many of them as you want in the mountains of Dawan Island... Since the Ming people are rushing to die, let them come, and I will treat them well with good food."

He squinted at Fu Puxin and said coldly, "Fu, I've told you not to call me the boss anymore. I'm different from you bandits. I have an official position and a foundation. I'm not like you bandits who can't accomplish anything."

"After months of operation and careful planning, we still lost in one battle... Those good ships I lent you were wasted!"

"You are the only one who is worthy of mocking me? You are so bluffing that you even believe it yourself? Hey, you stray dog, do you really think you have the protection of the Ming Wang?"

This man's words were even more harsh than Fu Puxin's. He didn't leave Fu Puxin any face at all. Fu Puxin's face turned blue and white, but he had to endure it. He bit his lips for a long time before he endured the insult and smiled reluctantly: "King Chen Hai is teaching you a lesson. I just said something wrong..."

"The Sea King is so kind to take me in. I am not an ungrateful person. I am always truly grateful... It's just a misunderstanding."

“Hey, you are worthy of calling me my brother…” The dark and thin man known as the Sea King spat, but didn’t say anything else in the end.

This dark and thin man who was full of resentment towards Fu Puxin was Chen Zuyi, who dominated the Srivijaya in Southeast Asia. He had usurped the position of the king of Srivijaya, gathered a large group of filthy bandits as his subjects and established himself as the king, taking Srivijaya as his own foundation. He also had hundreds of warships crisscrossing the sea, blocking the Silk Road and the countries traveling on the sea. No one could compete with him, so he gave himself an inappropriate title, "King of the South China Sea".

This sea king was originally a fugitive from Chaozhou, China. Although he was used to burning, killing and plundering at sea, and found a small country in Southeast Asia to establish himself, Chaozhou has always attached great importance to ancestor worship. As a Chaozhou native, this man still couldn't break away from his roots in his hometown when he dreamed at midnight, and always wanted to return to his clan.

However, he was rewarded by the Ming Dynasty, and when he fled in the past, he implicated his clan, causing great trouble to his clan. Even if he wanted to move his clan to Srivijaya, it was impossible. Moreover, such people are used to doing business without capital. Even for the sake of their clan's homeland, they are unwilling to give up their great "business" to be recruited by the court and bound by the laws of the Ming Dynasty. Seeing that his own maritime power was growing day by day, this guy wanted to compete with the Ming Dynasty.

He thought, why not just seize Chaozhou and other places along the coast of the Ming Dynasty and claim to be the king? Wouldn't that be considered returning to the homeland and bringing honor to the family?
As for the great reputation of the Ming Dynasty, he was actually not afraid of it. In his opinion, although the Ming Dynasty was invincible on land, when it came to the sea, wouldn't it be his, King Chen Hai's, world?

The navy of the Ming Dynasty? Aren’t they turtles that dare not even go to the deep sea and can only paddle in shallow canals?
Chen Zuyi is full of confidence.

He secretly accumulated strength, robbed merchant ships in the surrounding area, recruited bandits, and cooperated with the ambitious Western barbarians, waiting for the day when he would lead the navy to invade the southern coast of Daming. Until a few years ago, he heard that the fifth son of the Daming Emperor, Zhu Su, took a huge boat to support the fourth prince, Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, by sea, and the tyrant of the sea wanted to rob him. As far as he knew, the bigger the boat on the sea, the better, but the big ships of the court must have abundant supplies, not to mention that they were going to support another son of the emperor, and there must be a lot of good things on the ship that were hard to get on weekdays.

What's more, I heard that Prince Zhou Zhu Su was one of the sons of the Ming Emperor who was extremely trusted... If I had this hostage in my hand, maybe I could force the Ming Emperor to cede Chaozhou to me?

So Chen Zuyi took advantage of the fact that Zhu Su had not yet arrived in Nanyang and set up an ambush with his troops, intending to intercept this team of Ming navy in his own territory of Malacca. He then personally went out to sea on a speedboat to investigate the details of Zhu Su and others.

At that time, the Ming fleet was building Tamjiang Port on Daliuqiu Island, now Dayuan Island, and conflict with the indigenous people was imminent.

Then Chen Zuyi saw the terrible artillery battle on Tamkang Harbor that almost made the sun and moon darken. The Ming army's warships kept roaring and roaring, firing shells one after another, smashing the indigenous people's ships into the sea mercilessly.

In Chen Zuyi's hand, there was a telescope that he had bought from the Ming Dynasty at a high price... With this telescope, the shouting and wailing of the foreigners were heard from far away across the sea and were brought to the eyes of Chen Zuyi.

Chen Zuyi, who was hiding in a bay watching the battle, was sweating profusely. It was the first time for him to see a few warships actually able to fight against such a large number of enemy ships... Although the foreign ships did not seem very strong in his opinion, they could be penetrated by a single shot! What a terrifying weapon!
If my ship were to fight it... even if it didn't penetrate the enemy completely, it would be easy to punch a hole in it...

Then when the sea water floods back in, won’t I be dead without a burial place?

Chen Zuyi, who was terrified, quickly ordered his men to turn around and return to his Srivijaya in a panic. He also quickly withdrew the ambush on the Ming fleet in the Malacca Strait... Just kidding, the Ming army had such terrible weapons. If a fight really broke out, even if he lost all his fortune, it would not be enough.

Therefore, when Zhu Su went west, Chen Zuyi restricted the deployment for fear of provoking the fierce dragon crossing the river, so Zhu Su did not feel anything unusual in the waters near Malacca. But the roaring firearms on the Ming army warships that day left a deep impression in Chen Zuyi's heart.

"I must get this thing!" Chen Zuyi thought to himself. If he could get this thing, he would be able to get a share of it not only in Nanyang, but also in the West Sea and even in the East Sea of ​​Ming Dynasty Yingzhou!
(End of this chapter)