1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 45 Talking about Conditions ([-])
Tao Donglai almost choked on the tea he just drank: "What did you say? Are you going back to Yazhou City?"

Luo Shengdong nodded: "And we have to go back with the pirate's head."

Looking at his expression, Tao Dong didn't seem to be joking. He slowly put away the smile at the corner of his mouth and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know what you're talking about now?"

Luo Shengdong ignored Tao Donglai's question and continued to say to himself: "In recent years, pirates have been rampant under the Yazhou rule, and they have repeatedly violated the border and harassed the people. If I can bring back some pirate heads, Shangfeng will definitely reward them. Now There is still one vacant position for the two positions in Yazhou Water Village, so I can give your ministry a lot of convenience within the limits of my authority.”

Tao Donglai heard what he said, and he understood Luo Shengdong's intentions - this guy learned that Chuanzhong had defeated a group of pirates, so he moved his mind and wanted to get a little benefit from it.However, his heart was too big, and he actually wanted Chuanzhong to let him go back to promotion and make a fortune.

Tao Donglai leaned his body on the back of the chair, changed to a more comfortable position, and said slightly mockingly, "Put it aside for convenience, what if we don't want to let you go?"

After Luo Shengdong thought about it last night, these questions had naturally been mulling over in his mind for a long time, and he immediately responded: "I led my brothers to patrol the sea, and the half-month period has passed. If you don’t return, you will definitely send manned ships to search all the way. In the future, there will be constant battles here. Although your department has excellent armaments and strong combat power, if you want to keep sending a large number of people to deal with the offensive of our Ming army, your department wants to be here. It’s also not easy to take root anywhere.”

Tao Donglai frowned, but did not respond immediately.Luo Shengdong's words do have some truth, and it is one of the things that the Executive Committee has been worried about since this time.The patrols of the Ming army navy did not just catch it, and sooner or later Yazhou would find out that something was wrong and send someone over.It may be feasible to capture it once or twice, but sooner or later it will be revealed, and the Ming army will definitely be called to attack.

Although the Executive Committee has full confidence in its own combat power, even if the Ming army of Yazhou marches out regardless of land and water, it should be repelled by the powerful military and technological advantages of Transcendence. Losses, delays to various jobs, are likewise non-negligible.

The battle last night seemed to be a good one, but after counting the ammunition, it was found that the combatants consumed more than 56 bullets in this battle.In the list of arms purchased by the Preparatory Committee at the beginning, there were only tens of thousands of rounds of [-] and a half bullets, and hundreds of rounds were destroyed in such a small-scale battle. If ten times as many enemies attacked in the future, they would have to be destroyed. How many bullets?How many times can a battle of this scale last?Today's Chuanzhong has not even started to build black powder, not to mention the reloading technology of bullets. This ammunition is only one round less after one round. It is really the day when the ammunition runs out. Is it true that these hundreds of modern people With a sword and a spear to fight with people?
Seeing that Tao Donglai didn't refute him immediately, Luo Shengdong went on to give him a strong medicine: "The transaction between your ministry and the Li people seems to be going smoothly, but there are 27 Li caves under the rule of Yazhou, and each cave owner has received a reward from the imperial court. For these Li people, my Ming court is the orthodox one. According to an order from Yazhou, these Lidongs will send troops. Even Lidong, who has a good relationship with your ministry, will be cut off from your ministry even if he does not turn his face. contacts."

Tao Donglai was indeed a little moved. The Ming army's massive attack was still on paper, but if Yazhou really gave Li Dong orders one by one, it was really hard to say which side these Li people would stand on.The disadvantage of Chuanzhong is that its foothold is not stable. If it can operate for two or three years, Tao Donglai must have full confidence to let the nearby Li Dongquan stand on his side.Whether these Li Tongs will take a hostile attitude at that time is the next thing, even if they just cut off communication with the Chuanzhong side, it will be enough to create a huge gap in the labor force.

"Your department has detained more than [-] people from our department. It seems that there is a lot of available labor, but in fact, there are many hidden dangers. If your department is willing to let me go back, I will send ten times the labor to this point in the future!" Luo Shengdong Hit the iron while the iron is hot and throw out his trump card: "When the time is right, your ministry can send people to live and trade in Yazhou City, and I will definitely arrange it properly."

The word "ten times the labor force" immediately stimulated Tao Donglai, and finally asked, "Where can you transfer ten times the labor force? As far as I know, the common people's labor service is assigned by local officials, with you The military has nothing to do with it directly. Yazhou... It should be Zhizhou or Tongzhi who has the final say?"

As soon as Luo Shengdong heard that he had a door, he immediately replied: "What Chief Tao does not know, Yazhou has been a place of exile since ancient times. Every year, hundreds of prisoners and their relatives are escorted from all over the country. These prisoners They are all under the control of the Yazhou garrison, and they are used as hard labor every day. As long as there is a little benefit, it is not difficult to mobilize the prisoners to come here to reclaim the land.”

"Since there is such a way, why did you put it up after being locked for more than half a month?" Tao Donglai asked casually, but his mind was spinning extremely quickly, calculating the pros and cons of letting go and not letting go.

Luo Shengdong smiled bitterly and said, "I didn't know what your ministry wanted at first, but after these days of hard labor, I realized that your ministry really wanted to take root here. But my position in the military is low and I have no power or authority. What conditions can be negotiated under the situation? Yesterday, I saw your department arresting pirates, and I had this idea. If your department is willing to help me, Luo will be rewarded in the future!"

Tao Donglai was silent for a long time before he said: "The pirates we caught yesterday can't be given to you, there are two reasons. First, these pirates know of our existence, and bringing you back to Yazhou may lead to exposure; third Two, we need labor, you know that, and many of these pirates are sailors we need right now."

Luo Shengdong opened his mouth to speak, but Tao Donglai didn't give him a chance to speak: "If you want to say that these pirates will be beheaded directly, then you should save it. If we are bloodthirsty people, you can still survive. Now?"

Luo Shengdong was not blocked by Tao Donglai's words. He had already imagined all kinds of possibilities, and when he heard the words, he replied: "Stay alive, give me the dead. In the military, only the head is judged. It is a great achievement in Yazhou to have twenty or so pirate heads! Your department will never keep the dead, right?"

Tao Donglai shook his head: "It doesn't matter if the dead are dead. But you can't take all your subordinates away."

"It's okay, I'll just bring a few of my own soldiers back to Yazhou first, claiming that others are temporarily stationed here."

"The Haicang boat can't be taken away either!"

"This... Then I will say that the ship was severely damaged during the battle. It has been towed ashore here for repairs and will not be able to return in a short time."

"In addition to labor, we also need to purchase materials such as saltpeter, sulfur, tung oil, and coal."

"If you are willing to contact the center on your behalf, your ministry can make a list."

Tao Dong came to a stop and stared at Luo Shengdong for a long time before he said with emotion, "You are so good at being a person, how come you are now a hundred president?"

After the negotiation with Luo Shengdong was over, Tao Donglai had him escorted back to the ship first.However, this time Luo Shengdong's treatment has been upgraded. Instead of staying in the unpleasant cargo hold, he was transferred to an idle crew room on the iron-hulled fishing boat.

Although Tao Donglai had basically accepted Luo Shengdong's proposal, he did not agree immediately.The Executive Committee is not a single word, and Tao Donglai is not a dictator. Such an important line issue must be discussed and approved by the Executive Committee.

In fact, there has always been a debate among the Executive Committee on whether to choose the peaceful route or the combat route in the early stages of the crossing.The warmongers headed by the Military and Police Department have always held the concept of "power comes from the barrel of a gun", and believe that only armed struggle can ensure that the Crossroads can gain a firm foothold in the initial stage of construction.The other faction believes that armed struggle is only a tool rather than a necessary means. Conflicts with surrounding armed forces, especially the Ming army, will have a very negative impact on the future trade expansion of Transcendence.

As a veteran and a member of the Military Police Department, Tao Donglai is naturally inclined towards the fighting faction, but his reason reminds him that fighting can't solve all problems. Where to bring in large numbers of people?Where do you go to find a market as big as the mainland for trade?

Tao Donglai planned to communicate with Yan Chujie after he returned, and then escorted the pirate prisoners to the labor camp construction site in the upper reaches of the Tiandu River in the afternoon, and convened a meeting of the committee members to discuss the matter in the evening.

At this time, Yan Chujie had already led the team to land on the sandbar where the pirate ship ran aground yesterday, and there was no sign of anyone moving within the range as far as the eye could see.But Yan Chujie believes that the pirates who disembarked yesterday did not escape very far, because these pirates also know very well that escaping into the deep mountains does not mean safety, but will reduce the possibility of returning to the civilized world.Starvation, disease, wild beasts, natural disasters, there are so many things that can send them to hell.

The Military Police Department picked out seven or eight of the pirates that were captured yesterday, and took them to this sandbar together.Their task was to appeal to the surrounding mountains and forests to persuade the pirates to surrender.

However, the effect of this kind of shouting is obviously very limited. Seven or eight people shouted hoarsely for more than two hours. In the end, there were only a dozen pirates who came out of the forest and surrendered, which was at least one less than the number controlled by the military and police department. times more.

"Okay, let's see how long you can last!" Yan Chujie waved his hand: "Set up the stove, bury the pot, and cook!"

It is said to be cooking, but in fact the lunch of the military and police department was cooked and shipped in the morning, and now it is just a hot fire.The aroma of Fan's seafood rice quickly permeated the entire sandbar, and penetrated deep into the forest under the breeze of the sea breeze.So before lunch was over, another dozen or so pirates who couldn't stand the torment of hunger went to the sandbar and surrendered.While there won't be a delicious paella waiting for them, at least you can get a small bowl of steaming white rice porridge.

(End of this chapter)