Tao Donglai was almost choked by the tea he had just drunk: "What are you talking about?

Luo Shengdong nodded: "And I want to go back with the head of the pirate." （.）”

Tao Dong looked at his expression, it didn't seem like he was joking, he slowly put away the smile on 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 rule of Yazhou, and they have repeatedly violated the border and disturbed the people. Now there is still a vacant position in the two general positions of Yazhou Water Village, and I have been promoted to the general manager, so that I can give your department a lot of convenience within the authority. ”

Tao Donglai heard him say this, and he understood Luo Shengdong's intentions, this guy learned that the traversal had defeated a group of pirates, so he moved his heart, wanting to get a little benefit for himself. However, his heart is also a little too big, and he actually wants the traversal to directly let him go back to be promoted and make a fortune.

Tao Donglai leaned his body back on the chair, changed to a more comfortable position, and said with a slight mockery: "It's convenient or something, put it aside first, what if we don't want to let you go?"

After Luo Shengdong thought about it last night, these questions had naturally been repeatedly considered in his mind, and he immediately responded: "I led my brothers to go out to sea to inspect, and the half-moon period set has passed. Although your troops are well-armed and powerful, if you want to keep pumping out a large number of people to deal with the offensive of our Ming official army, it may not be easy for your troops to settle down here. ”

Tao Donglai frowned, but did not speak immediately. Luo Shengdong's words do have some truth, and it is one of the things that the Executive Committee has been worried about during this period of time. The patrol team of the Ming Army's naval division is not over after it is caught, and sooner or later the Yazhou side will find out that something is wrong and send someone again. It may be possible to catch it once or twice, but sooner or later, it will be exposed, and then the Ming army will definitely be summoned to attack.

Although the Executive Committee has full confidence in its own combat strength, even if the Yazhou Ming Army pours out of the nest regardless of land and water, it should be repelled by the powerful military and technological superiority of the people, but the loss of military materials and the delay caused by various work in a major war cannot be ignored.

Last night's battle seemed to be fought in a hearty manner, but after the inventory of ammunition, it was found that the combatants had consumed more than 300 rounds of ammunition in this battle. In the list of munitions purchased by the Preparatory Committee, 56 and a half bullets can be fired at 10,000 heads, and one thirtieth of such a small-scale battle can be killed, if there is an enemy ten times as large in the future, how many bullets will have to be killed? How many times can a battle of this scale be sustained? Today, the crossing crowd has not even begun to make black powder, not to mention any bullet reloading technology, this ammunition can be fired with one less round, and when the ammunition is exhausted, is it really to let these hundreds of modern people with big swords and spears to fight with people?

Luo Shengdong saw that Tao Donglai did not immediately refute himself, so he continued to take a fierce medicine: "Your ministry now seems to be trading with the Li people, but there are twenty-seven Li Tong under the rule of Yazhou, and each of them has been rewarded by the imperial court. (Baidu search update is the fastest and most stable)"

Tao Donglai was indeed a little moved at this time, the Ming army's large-scale attack was still on paper, but if Yazhou really gave Li Tong orders one by one, it was really difficult to say which side these Li people would stand on. The disadvantage of crossing the public is that the foothold is not stable, if it can operate for two or three years, Tao Donglai must have full confidence to let the nearby Li Tong stand on his side. Whether these Li Tong will adopt a hostile attitude at that time is secondary, even if it is just to cut off contact with the traversal side, it is enough to make a huge shortage of labor.

"Your ministry has detained more than 30 people from our department, which seems to have an extra batch of available labor, but in fact, there are many hidden dangers. If your ministry is willing to let us go back, I will send ten times the labor here in the future!" Luo Shengdong threw out his killer weapon while the iron was hot: "When the time is ripe, your ministry can also send people to Yazhou City to live and trade, and I will make proper arrangements." ”

The phrase "tenfold labor" immediately stimulated Tao Donglai, and he finally asked: "Where can you transfer tenfold labor?" As far as I know, the common people are assigned by local officials to perform labor, and they have nothing to do with your army. Yazhou ...... It should be the governor or the same acquaintance who has the final say, right?"

As soon as Luo Shengdong heard that there was a door, he immediately responded: "Chief Tao doesn't know, my Yazhou has been a place for exile prisoners since ancient times, and there are no less than hundreds of prisoners and their relatives escorted from all over the country every year. As long as there is some benefit, it is not difficult for our military to issue an order to mobilize prisoners to come here to reclaim the famine. ”

"Since you have this method, why did you put it up after being locked up for more than half a month?" Tao Donglai asked casually, but his mind was running very quickly, calculating the pros and cons between putting it and not letting it go.

Luo Shengdong smiled bitterly: "I didn't know what your ministry wanted at the beginning, but after doing these days of hard labor, I realized that your ministry really wanted to take root here. But what conditions can I talk about when I have a lowly official position in the army, and I have no power or power? Yesterday, when I saw your ministry arresting pirates, I had this thought, if your ministry is willing to help me, Luo will definitely be rewarded in the future!"

Tao Donglai was silent for a long time before he spoke: "There are two reasons why the pirate we caught yesterday can't be given to you. First, these pirates know that our existence is in place, and if you bring it back to Yazhou, it may lead to the revelation of the matter, and second, we need labor, as you know, and many of these pirates are sailors that we need very much 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 it's better to save it." If we were murderous people, would you still have the life to live until 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 responded: "Stay alive and give me the dead." In the army, merit is only judged by the head, and to have more than 20 pirate heads is already a great achievement in Yazhou! Your ministry will not keep the dead, right?"

Tao Donglai shook his head: "Dead people don't matter. But you can't take all of your subordinates with you. ”

"It's okay, I only took a few of my own soldiers back to Yazhou first, claiming that others can be stationed here temporarily. ”

"That sea boat can't be taken away!"

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

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

"If you wish to contact the center, your ministry can issue a list. ”

Tao Donglai stopped and stared at Luo Shengdong for a long time before he said with emotion: "You are so good at being a man, why are you only a hundred presidents now?"

After ending the negotiation with Luo Shengdong, Tao Donglai asked people to escort him back to the ship first. However, this time, Luo Shengdong's treatment has been upgraded, and instead of staying in the foul-smelling cargo hold, he was transferred to an idle crew room on an iron-hulled fishing boat.

Although Tao Donglai had basically accepted Luo Shengdong's proposal in terms of intention, he did not agree immediately. The Executive Committee is not a hall of words, and Tao Donglai is not a dictator, so such an important issue of line must be discussed at the Executive Committee.

In fact, there has been a lot of controversy in the Executive Committee as to whether the peaceful route or the combat route should be chosen in the early stages of the crossing. The warmongers, led by the Military Police Department, have always held the concept of "power coming out of the barrel of a gun" and believed that only armed struggle could ensure that the crossers would be able to gain a firm foothold in the initial stage of construction. On the other hand, the other faction believes that armed struggle is only a tool rather than a necessary means, and that a conflict with the surrounding armed forces, especially the Ming army, will have an extremely negative impact on the future trade expansion of the Crossing People.

As a veteran and a member of the military police department, Tao Donglai was naturally emotionally inclined to the militant faction, but reason reminded him that fighting really could not solve all problems, and where would he bring in a large number of people after the Ming army was really defeated? Where would he go to find such a large market on the mainland for trade?

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

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 human activity as far as the eye could see. But Yan Chujie believes that the pirates who got off the ship yesterday did not escape very far, because these pirates also knew very well that escaping into the mountains did not mean safety, but would further reduce the possibility of returning to the civilized world. Hunger, sickness, 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 more clever pirates captured yesterday and escorted them to the sandbar. Their task was to shout to the surrounding mountains and forests to persuade them to surrender, so that the pirates who were hiding in the forest to observe the shape of shì would come out and surrender quickly.

However, the effect of this shouting was obviously very limited, and seven or eight people shouted hoarsely for more than two hours, and finally only a dozen pirates came out of the mountains and forests to surrender, which was at least twice as many as the number of pirates in the hands of the military police department.

"Okay, let's see how long you can last!" Yan Chujie waved his hand and said, "Build a stove, bury a pot, and cook rice!"

It is said that it is cooking, but in fact, the lunch of the military and police department was cooked and loaded on the ship in the morning, and now it is just a hot fire. The aroma of Fan's paella soon permeated the sandbar and penetrated deep into the mountains and forests under the sea breeze. So before the end of lunch, a dozen or so pirates who could not bear the torture of hunger went to the sandbar and surrendered. While there won't be a delicious paella waiting for them, at least a small bowl of steaming white rice porridge will be available.