Chapter 86

The animal skin was actually a letter of last wishes, mainly recounting the life experiences of this group of people. 520 Official Website

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This sunken ship was a pirate vessel from the Qing Dynasty, belonging to the famous pirate Zheng Yiniang.

Speaking of Zheng Yiniang, she was a legendary woman during the Qing Dynasty.

She rose from a boat prostitute to become the leader of a band of female pirates, a journey filled with twists and turns.

In feudal society, women endured far more hardships than men of that era. Despite this, many still left behind their immortal legends.

Zheng Yiniang left her name in history, and in an extraordinary way.

Mentioning Zheng Yiniang, many might find her unfamiliar, but if you mention the character Lady Ching from "Pirates of the Caribbean," many would be very familiar with her.

The prototype for Lady Ching in the movie is this legendary female pirate, who rose from a boat prostitute to become a pirate leader, leading her pirate army to defeat the Qing Dynasty's navy multiple times.

Moreover, even Western powers' ships could not deal with her and had to pay "protection fees" obediently.

In the end, this female pirate accepted the Qing government's amnesty and made contributions during the "Opium War," earning the title of "Lady of the Imperial Decree."

In modern terms, Zheng Yiniang could be called the "Queen of Pirates" of her time.

Zheng Yiniang's original name was Xianggu, and she came from a poor family. To survive, she had no choice but to become a boat prostitute.

Her life was filled with bitterness, but Xianggu remained strong and struggled on.

At the age of 26, her life took another turn when a group of pirates came to the fishing village and captured her and her fellow prostitutes onto their ship.

Xianggu did not panic like her sisters; instead, she calmly accepted whatever was to come.

After all, being a boat prostitute was just a way to make a living. If the pirates provided food, life might not be much worse than before.

Coincidentally, the pirate leader Zheng Yi was attracted to this unique girl and married her as his wife.

At that time, pirates were divided into six factions: Red, Yellow, Blue, White, Black, and Purple. Zheng Yi was the leader of the Red faction, and with his rise, Zheng Yiniang became the official wife of the Red faction pirates.

Zheng Yi and his wife were a pair of ambitious pirates, aiming to expand their pirate empire.

As their business grew, Zheng Yi died in a typhoon, disrupting Zheng Yiniang's life once again.

With the support of her nephew and adopted son, Zheng Yiniang took over the Red Flag faction and became the next leader of the Red faction pirates.

Women had a low status in feudal society, and there was a saying, "When a woman is in charge, the house will fall." The fact that the pirates were willing to serve under Zheng Yiniang shows that she was capable.

She won the support of Zheng Yi's adopted son, Zhang Baozai, and established strict rules for the faction. The pirates, who were once a disorganized group, quickly became a disciplined and powerful force.

The pirates, who initially had no choice but to obey, eventually became loyal to her.

Under the leadership of Zheng Yiniang and Zhang Baozai, the Red faction pirates achieved great success.

After becoming the leader of the pirates, Zheng Yiniang took responsibility for their future and fate.

In her view, the best defense was a strong offense. Without powerful attacks, how could they plunder passing ships? How could they resist the Qing army's crackdown?

Without these, how could the pirate business grow and thrive?

Zheng Yiniang used a significant portion of the faction's income to purchase and build ships. At its peak, the faction had over 600 ships and 60,000 members.

The Red faction pirates pursued a sustainable development strategy, not plundering everything in sight.

Instead, they adopted a "raising pigs" approach. What does "raising pigs" mean? It means that any passing ship, whether official or foreign, had to pay various protection fees. If they refused, they would be plundered completely.

The benefit of this "raising pigs" approach was sustainability. They could collect fees from passing ships, reducing bloodshed and casualties.

Plundering everything in sight was like draining a pond to catch all the fish. Although it brought high profits, it also provoked resistance from the ships, making it less cost-effective than long-term gains.

This shows Zheng Yiniang's unique insight into the faction's strategy.

Even the Qing government and Western powers' ships could not avoid paying "protection fees," which damaged their pride. Thus, they joined forces to launch a crackdown on the Red faction pirates.

In the autumn of 1809, the Qing government, along with Portuguese and British fleets, attacked the pirates led by Zheng Yiniang.

Zheng Yiniang, stationed on Lantau Island, withstood the allied forces' eight-day siege, using tactics with great skill.

While defending, she also sent a surprise force to raid Guangzhou Bay, killing the commander of the Humen fort, Lin Guoliang, and destroying the fort.

The allied forces, on their way to reinforce, were ambushed by the pirates and suffered heavy losses. This battle showcased the Red faction pirates' prowess.

In 1810, the Qing government adopted a conciliatory policy and offered amnesty to Zheng Yiniang.

Zheng Yiniang demonstrated her intelligence again. She led a group of illiterate women to negotiate with Qing officials and secured the best possible terms for herself.

The Qing government required her to accept amnesty and kneel in submission, which she did not outright refuse. Although her army was strong, it could not withstand the Qing army indefinitely, even if they won a few battles, they could not win forever.

She gave the Qing officials enough face and in return secured significant benefits. She abandoned traditional notions and requested the Qing government to grant her marriage to Zhang Baozai, legitimizing their relationship.

From then on, she began to serve the country, successfully rehabilitating herself.

After accepting amnesty, Zheng Yiniang was appointed as a Lady of the Imperial Decree by the Qing government.

During the Opium War, Zheng Yiniang provided strategic advice to Lin Zexu against the British army. After Zhang Baozai's death, she settled on an outer island.

Zheng Yiniang's life was truly a legendary one.

However, this letter of last wishes was not from Zheng Yiniang but from one of her pirates. It recorded how the sunken ship was attacked by an official ship after plundering a merchant ship and was sunk. The pirate wrote the letter to prove his loyalty to Zheng Yiniang, stating that they did not surrender even when they were sunk.

Who would have thought that these items would be discovered by Ye Yuan in the ocean today? Perhaps the pirate never imagined he would die so quietly.

After reading this, Ye Yuan understood the origin of these items. He opened a large wooden chest, which was filled with silver ingots.

The ingots were about 12 cm wide and 7 cm high, with the inscription "Qianlong Year 20" on the front.

During the Qing Dynasty, there were two forms of silver currency: treasury silver and market silver.

Treasury silver was official silver deposited in the national treasury, required to be of uniform size and marked with special symbols. Market silver varied in size, including small and large ingots.

This was due to the different circulation methods of silver.

Treasury silver was generally used for officials' salaries and rewards to nobles and could not circulate in the market.

Market silver, on the other hand, could circulate freely in the market.