After passing under the gate. The front suddenly became clear. The tents used to be used for the bandits to stay on both sides of the road were no longer visible in this gate, and a large open space was visible to everyone. It is a few feet higher than the surrounding area, and judging from the building materials scattered around, this is mostly the foundation of the government office of the former sailor camp.

On this foundation, a large tent made of various colors of silk and satin was built, which was very pirate-like. The tent doors were all open, and in the doorway stood four big men with large swords. There is a flagpole in the open space in front of the big tent, and the top of the flagpole is hung with the surname flag of the character "Zhu" fluttering in the wind.

"Please!"

Lin Baiguang walked into the big tent of the Chinese army. Directly facing this maritime merchant and pirate who has been on the sea for more than 20 years and has left a name in history like Zheng Zhilong, I can't help but feel a little nervous. So far, no one in the Crossing Group has actually seen a famous person in history. This is the first one.

Sitting on the chair in the center of the tent was an old man in his fifties. Gray hair and dark skin. A pair of fishermen's eyes sparkled. He wore an extravagant Nanjing-blue satin robe, with a rhino horn jade belt around his waist and soft leather boots on his feet. At his waist was a small Turkish scimitar with a gold handle and silver sheath studded with jewels.

Lin Baiguang's first thought was very strange: He was dressed like this, wasn't he afraid of the heat?

The mood had suddenly calmed down, and after being slightly stunned, he came back to his senses and quickly took a look at the situation in the tent.

This extravagant, extremely robust silk tent has a vast space. But it's stuffed with stuff. All kinds of Chinese and Western luxury ornaments are displayed in a disorderly manner. The original intention was probably to show off wealth, but it turned out to look like a grocery store.

There were less than ten men in the whole tent, and they sat in two columns on either side. Obviously, these people are the main leaders of the Zhucai bosses. There are men and women, old and young, and the composition of the personnel is very complex.

Seeing the situation in the tent clearly, Lin Baiguang walked arrogantly to the front of the old seat of Zhucai, bowed deeply and said: "Lin Baiguang has seen the treasurer of Zhucai!" ”

Zhu Cai Lao seemed to be very interested in Lin Baiguang, and looked him up and down for a long time before he said, "Where did the shopkeeper Lin get from the Australians in Lingao?" He actually spoke standard Nanjing Mandarin.

Lin Baiguang hurriedly replied: "Exactly, I am here to invite the treasurer to be safe!" ”

"It's bold." Zhu Cai said with a smile. said straight to the point: "You Australians robbed my things, killed my people, and didn't say anything, what did you do if you didn't have a tael of silver, make me sobering soup?" ”

The leaders of the tent let out a malicious laugh.

Lin Baiguang knew that the sobering soup of the heroes of the rivers and lakes was a famous dish, and it was usually made with human liver. This includes both his dissatisfaction and his intimidation.

"Huh! We have just arrived, we don't know the way, and for a while we don't know the tiger power of Mount Tai and collided with the great shopkeepers, is it ours-" Lin Baiguang bowed deeply, "Please also ask the big shopkeepers Haihan!" ”

"It's easy to say," Zhu Cai Lao still smiled, "the tiger is not mighty, it's nothing." You slaughtered all the good and cheap people in Gou Da's family, and it's nothing. It's just that the money, food, and goods saved by the Gou family have to give me an explanation, right? Throw a piece of silver into the sea, and I can hear a noise, and then you will be silent? ”

Lin Baiguang added caution. Although the negotiation with Zhu Cailao was just a cover, in order to convince him, Lin Baiguang still prepared the negotiation materials in the spirit of fake drama and real work. He thought for a moment before he spoke:

"The great treasurer is clear! Our elimination of the Gou family is really an unintentional move, and it is really not intentional. Lin Baiguang once again expressed that he had no hostility against him, "So when I put it back to the shopkeeper Shi, I proposed that my glass goods from Australia are not sold in Nanyang......"

"Whether it's glass or mirrors, it's all good things." Zhu Cai Lao smiled, "But it's not worth the silver of the white flowers." What do you think? Zhu Cai's old face suddenly sank, "Don't be sloppy, let's talk!" Do you recognize my conditions? ”

"How dare we neglect the affairs of the great treasurers." Lin Baiguang continued to hit his Tai Chi pusher, and was careful not to anger him, so as not to rush to "push it out and cut it" for a while, although he could learn from the protagonist of the novel and movie to save himself, but whether this trick will work in reality is only God knows.

"Just a few words, and let me report it—"

"Say it."

"The great treasurers demanded a great amount of silver. I'm waiting for the high index finger. I can't raise so much silver taels for a while," he said unhurriedly, "so the matter of paying 40,000 taels of compensation is difficult to ...... for a while."

Zhu Cai's face became cloudy, and it seemed that he couldn't figure out what he was thinking. But Lin Baiguang noticed that his eyebrows were gradually twisted—a sign of anger.

"As for the loan and the supply of firearms," he said, "our chief has approved—"

"Hmph." I could see that Zhu Cai's old eyebrows were loosened again.

“…… There are just a few conditions. ”

"Hehe, if you don't pay back, you still have to put forward conditions?" Zhu Cai Lao laughed again, "It seems that I have to personally lead the team to the door and ask for this account with interest!" ”

"This one doesn't dare to work."

"Hmph, how many people are there in Lingao? Even if you have four clippers and one iron ship, can you withstand our gang of 600 boats and 20,000 brothers?! A leader jumped out of the side and shouted angrily.

"I can't wait for a small situation in Lingao, how dare I compare with the big shopkeepers?" Lin Baiguang knew that most of this guy came out to sing whiteface, "It's just that at the moment when your gang is a big enemy, some people want to get rid of the big shopkeepers as soon as possible, and at such a critical time, I believe that the big bosses will not do such things as putting the cart before the horse......"

This sentence hits the key point of everyone in the big tent, the so-called personally leading the team to Lingao to ask for it, it is originally a threatening word - now they just want the whole team to kill back to the Guangdong Ocean and have to fight with Liu Xiang, I am afraid that if they can't go to Lingao, they will lose half of the people and ships at the mouth of the Pearl River, although the Australians have fewer people and fewer boats, but they are the masters of the ship's strong guns, even if such a hard walnut can be smashed open, it will have to lose the soldiers, Zuihou is cheap Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang in vain.

"Does Shopkeeper Lin know very well about the things on this sea?" Zhu Cai Lao said slowly, "Let's talk about what conditions your leader has proposed. ”

"The loan thing—"

"Wait!" Elder Zhu Cai stopped him and sneered. "Don't slip the word over just yet—give a letter: are you going to pay this debt or not?"

"It is only natural to repay debts. It's just that our chief feels that he doesn't owe the big treasurer any money......"

"What?!"

"Fart!"

"Pull it out and slash it! This kind of bastard who speaks wildly can't keep him! The crowd in the tent was suddenly turbulent.

"Everyone, listen to me." Lin Baiguang knew that he was in great danger, and it didn't matter if he made empty promises - he wouldn't keep them anyway. But he deliberately wanted to make a big impression on Zhu Cailao's subordinates, otherwise the pirates would not value anyone who agreed to anything.

"We are destroying the Gou family's village, and the property obtained is also the property of the Gou family, how can we say that it is the property of the great treasurers? Even if there is a debt, the money should be recovered from Gou Er - he is still alive. ”

The leaders below were almost going crazy, and they were all rushing up to him, and they didn't want to tear him to pieces. Although Lin Baiguang had already had the consciousness of putting life and death aside, he was still frightened for a while. I don't know if my "pretending to be amazing" rhetoric will work.

Zhu Cai Lao waved his hand to stop the noise of his subordinates. Looking at Lin Baiguang coldly, half a sound, he nodded:

"What kind of hatred do you have with the Gou family?"

"There's no grudge, it's just the so-called cutting of the grass and the roots—"

"Good!" Zhu Cai Lao nodded, "Once the second father and son of Gou get it, I will send someone to negotiate with you and others to see how much money I should pay back!" ”

In fact, Gou Er is dead or alive, and the group is not interested, Lin Baiguang is just a trick to confuse Zhu Cailao.

"As for the loan, the chief has approved it." It's just that you don't need cash. All payments are made with Lingao negotiable vouchers. The quota is $1,000,000. The loan term is one year, and no interest will be charged for the first three months, and one percent per month thereafter. Lin Baiguang said and explained the concept of the negotiable coupons they issued in Lingao.

"Take a piece of paper to pay your brothers?" Someone said angrily.

"Circulation vouchers are for buying things." Lin Baiguang did not show weakness, "Where did you say that I paid you." ”

In fact, the policy of the Executive Committee was to issue export credit loans - although they did not intend to give Zhu Cai Lao this loan, one million negotiable notes was not a small number, and it was impossible for them to put their precious resources and production capacity into producing weapons for Zhu Cai Lao.

Several leaders were furious, and they almost wanted to rush up and cut people directly. For them, without silver, they can't pay their salaries, and they can't stabilize the morale of the army, no matter what the Narausch negotiable coupons can buy in Lingao. To this Fujian ocean, it is just a piece of waste paper!

"This is the various goods that our leader has prepared to supply to your gang. All payments can be made with negotiable coupons. ”

The Executive Committee promised to sell a wide variety of things, from artillery, muskets, and ammunition to all kinds of medicines, dry food, and sugar.

As for the price, the price is clearly marked, and Tong Suo is not deceitful, and a line of small words is also indicated: "Real price transaction, no light and dark deduction".

"You made these -- right in Lingao?"

"Exactly," Lin Baiguang saw that his expression changed, and knew that this thing had moved him.

"I want your artillery, 24-pounders - Caron's, thirty! How soon can it be available? ”

"There is no stock, and it takes at least two months to prepare materials for casting."

"It's been too long." Zhu Cai Lao shook his head, "I can't catch up." ”

Lin Baiguang was originally afraid that he would buy artillery and then launch an attack on Min'an, and once the details changed, the direction of history might be very different. Now it seems that Zhu Cai Lao does not intend to delay the attack on Jihua. It reassured him.

"Although it has been a long time, the cannon still needs to be used."

"Hmm." Zhu Cai Lao nodded, "There is no silver, and the grain in Lingao is abundant?" ”

"Where there is a one-yuan negotiable coupon outside, Lingao will have a pound of brown rice reserves."

Elder Zhu Cai nodded and said, "Okay." ”

The two parties agreed that the goods would be picked up by the Zhucai old ship, and the money would be deducted from the credit limit.

As for repayment, Zhucai Lao naturally had no place to find negotiable coupons to repay the principal and interest, so the two parties agreed that Zhucai Lao would use the loot to pay the loan and interest. The two sides had a detailed discussion on how to calculate the value of the negotiable voucher and how to discount the goods. Lin Baiguang also prepared a detailed and thorough plan with the Finance and Finance Commission in advance.

Although the loan will not be implemented at all, this policy of granting credit loans will be implemented in the future. It's never a waste of effort to make a plan first.

Lin Baiguang saw that the matter had become more than half, and his heart was overjoyed. Zhu Cai Lao suddenly smiled and asked, "You give me this million to buy guns and food, aren't you afraid that I will come to deal with you after I clean up Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang?" ”

It's not a tricky question, but it's a sudden one, and it's very powerful. Lin Baiguang hurriedly settled down:

"The great treasurers are not right." Lin Baiguang said, "What kind of characters are Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang, how can they be easily beheaded?" ”

The implication is that he doesn't believe that he can defeat Zheng Zhilong and Liu Xiang at once - which is naturally true.

What Lin Baiguang wants to convey to Zhu Cailao is: If Australians want to survive on this Fujian, Guangdong, and ocean, they will not allow any shili here to dominate, and supporting Zhu Cailao is to protect themselves - Australians don't want Liu Xiang and Zheng Zhilong to sit big.

This makes strategic sense and makes sense. I can't help but believe it.

Zhu Cai Lao nodded: "You are very frank." ”

Lin Baiguang smiled: "I am an afterchild. How can this little bit of thought be hidden from the seniors? ”

Zhu Cai Lao took care of Shi 14 and took Lin Baiguang to the rear camp of the Chinese army, and pulled out a tent for him to rest. Lin Baiguang knew that this matter had become more than half of the matter, but with an old and cunning figure like Zhu Cailao, it was still unknown whether he could hide this trick from him.

Although he was nervous in his heart, he made a look of not caring and followed Shi 14 into the tent.

"This tent is yours."

"Thank you, Brother Shi." Lin Baiguang swept into the tent, only to cry and laugh. I don't know what kind of furniture was looted from the rich man's boudoir: embroidered tents hung in a mess, only a large bed with a bed board, and even a dressing table. There were some teapots on top.

"I'm sorry brother, we begged for food at sea, and these guys were found temporarily-" Shi 14 had seen the standard of living of the people.

"Where, you can't pay attention to it when you go out."

"Hehe, my brother will give you some fun in a while." Shi Shishi laughed a few times. Lin Baiguang knew that this was probably going to get a woman.

After a while, sure enough, Shi 14 really brought someone to send a woman.

"Well, this woman is not bad, right? But the daughter of a big family! Not many people have played, but it's quite fresh......"

Having a relationship with a local woman is a health risk, which the Ministry of Health has repeatedly reminded you of. Lin Baiguang has had the opportunity to find a woman in concealment since D-Day, but he has never been involved - succumbing to ** is a sign of human weakness.

But at this point, he decided to take the woman in. He is well aware of the mentality of this lower-class bandit: eating and drinking and playing with women are more important than anything else, and if you don't do it, you will "not plant", which is very detrimental to him to gain their trust and carry out his work.

I saw that the woman who was sent was about in her early twenties, and she looked white and tender, not like a woman from a sea family, wrapped in a man's green cloth, and looked listless.

"Have fun at night!" Shi Shishi seemed to be quite proud, "The big shopkeeper really thinks highly of you, and he takes care of finding you a woman, haha, none of our little bosses here have this treatment." Then he called for a food box to be brought in:

"There's nothing good to eat on the island, it's a little bit of the big shopkeeper."

"I can't afford it, I can't afford it, the big shopkeeper is so love-"

"Hehe, just enjoy it." Shi Shishi said with a smile, and said with a straight face, "If you have nothing to do at night, don't go out, you are not allowed to move around in the camp at night, and if you catch it, you will be beheaded - you are a distinguished guest of the big shopkeeper, although it is not enough to cut off your head, it is not necessary to suffer in vain." ”

"With this room full of spring, what am I going to do to eat the sea breeze in the black field." Lin Baiguang sent him away perfunctorily.

Lin Baiguang sent Shi Fourteen away, and walked to the food box to open it, Lin Baiguang was taken aback. The dishes inside are surprisingly sophisticated: boiled goose paws, stir-fried lamb, tofu and crab soup, pickled oysters...... In the center are two porcelain jars, one containing snow-white rice, and the other is chicken broth, served with sour and chives.

In addition to the dishes, it is also accompanied by two pots of wine, one yellow and one white.

It is not a small effort to set up such a table of dishes on a small island and cook them so beautifully.

He thought it was just a coarse fish and a lot of meat and something like that—how could pirates eat? He ignored one point, the maritime pirates of this time and space are not separated, Zhu Cai Lao and his leaders are not only pirates, but also big businessmen, and they have always been particular about food and daily life.

However, when Lin Baiguang thought that the sea bandits guarding the gate talked about the difficulty of supply, and some ships were even cut off, he knew that this luxury was built on the vast poverty - he did not feel any emotion from this, but was secretly happy, the upper class was poor and luxurious, and the lower class was starving, and the cohesion of this team was not much better. The likelihood of success in his own corner digging operation is even greater.

"What's your name?" Lin Baiguang drank by himself, and asked the woman who was still sitting on the ground in a daze.

"The maid's name is Xiaoshu." (！ )

[зZcｎ.]