Chapter 45 Negotiating conditions (2)

Tao Donglai almost choked on the tea he just drank: "What did you say? You want to go back to Yazhou City?"

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

Tao Dong looked at his expression and it didn't seem like he was joking. He slowly put away the smile on his lips and asked in a deep voice: "Do you know what you are talking about now?"

Luo Shengdong ignored Tao Donglai's question and continued to talk to himself: "In recent years, pirates have been rampant under Yazhou's rule and have repeatedly invaded the country and disturbed the people. If I can bring back some of the pirate heads, there will be a reward from the top. Now.

There is still one vacant position among the two commanders in Yazhou Shuizhai. If I am promoted to commander, I can provide your department with a lot of convenience within my authority."

When Tao Donglai heard what he said, he understood Luo Shengdong's intention - this guy learned that the time travelers had defeated a group of pirates, so he became interested and wanted to get some benefits for himself. But he had this intention

It was too big, and he actually wanted the people to let him go back to get promoted and make a fortune.

Tao Donglai leaned his body on the back of the chair, changed to a more comfortable position, and said with a slight irony: "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 considered over and over in his mind for a long time. He immediately responded: "I led my brothers to go out to patrol the sea. The half-month period set has passed. Yazhou Water Village meets our troops.

If you don't come back, you will definitely send out men and ships to search all the way. There will be constant wars here in the future. Although your army has excellent weapons and strong combat power, if you want to continue to dedicate a large number of manpower to deal with the offensive of our Ming army, your army wants to be here

It may not be easy to settle down and take root anywhere.”

Tao Donglai frowned, but did not respond immediately. Luo Shengdong's words did make some sense, and they were also one of the things that the Executive Committee had been worried about during this period. The patrol team of the Ming Navy Navy did not just catch them and be done with it.

Sooner or later, Yazhou will find that something is wrong and send people here. It may be feasible to catch him once or twice, but sooner or later the secret will be revealed a few more times, and then a large-scale attack by the Ming army will definitely be called.

Although the Executive Committee has full confidence in its own combat power, even if the Yazhou Ming army marches out regardless of land and water, they should be repelled by the powerful military technological advantages of the time. However, a big war will have a huge impact on military supplies.

The losses and delays caused to various tasks cannot be ignored.

The battle last night seemed to be a lively one, but after counting the ammunition, it was found that the combatants consumed a total of more than 300 bullets in this battle. In the original arms list purchased by the Preparatory Committee, only 56 and a half of the bullets were

Tens of thousands of rounds, hundreds of rounds were destroyed in such a small-scale battle. If ten times as many enemies attack in the future, how many bullets will be destroyed? How many times can a battle of this scale last? Today's time travel

We haven't even started to make black powder yet, let alone the bullet reloading technology. This ammunition will lose one round every time it is fired. When the day comes when the ammunition is exhausted, will these hundreds of modern people really be allowed to hold big swords?

Are you going to fight someone with a spear?

Luo Shengdong saw that Tao Donglai did not immediately refute him, so he continued to give strong medicine: "Your department's current transactions with the Li people seem to be smooth, but there are twenty-seven Li caves under Yazhou, and every cave owner has been punished by the imperial court.

Rewards, for these Li people, our Ming Dynasty is the orthodox one. With an order from Yazhou, these Li Dongs will send troops. Even Li Dongs who have a good relationship with your tribe now will still be with your tribe even if they don’t fall out with you.

We will cut off all contact with you."

Tao Donglai was indeed a little moved now. The Ming army's large-scale attack was still on paper, but if Yazhou really gave orders to Li Dong one by one, it was really hard to say which side these Li people would take. Chuanzhong's

The disadvantage is that it has an unstable foothold. If it can operate for two or three years, Tao Donglai will definitely have full confidence in getting all the nearby Lidongs to his side. Whether these Lidongs will adopt a hostile attitude by then is another matter, even if

Just severing contact with the Chuanzhong would be enough to create a huge gap in the labor force.

"Your department has detained more than 30 people from my department. It seems that there is an extra batch of available labor, but in fact there are many hidden dangers. If your department is willing to let us go back, I will send ten times the labor force here in the future!" Luo Shengdong

He threw out his trump card while the iron was hot: "When the time comes, your department can also send people to live in Yazhou City and conduct transactions. I will make appropriate arrangements."

The word "ten times the labor force" immediately stimulated Tao Donglai, and he finally asked: "Where can you get ten times the labor force? As far as I know, the people who serve in labor are all assigned by local officials. With you,

The army has nothing to do with it directly. Yazhou... it should be the Zhizhou or Tongzhi who has the final say, right?"

As soon as Luo Shengdong heard that there was a door open, he immediately responded: "Mr. Tao doesn't know something. Yazhou has been a place where prisoners have been exiled since ancient times. Every year, there are no less than hundreds of prisoners and their relatives 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 on a daily basis. As long as there is some benefit, it is not difficult for our military to issue an order to mobilize prisoners to reclaim wasteland."

"If there is such a way, why did you wait for more than half a month before bringing it up?" Tao Donglai asked casually, but his mind was running very fast, calculating the pros and cons of letting him go or not.

Luo Shengdong smiled bitterly and said: "I didn't know what your ministry wanted to do at first. After doing these days of hard work, I realized that your ministry really wanted to take root here. But I have a low official position in the army and have no power.

What conditions can we negotiate under such a situation? Yesterday I saw your department arresting pirates, so I came up with 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: "We can't give you the pirates we caught yesterday for two reasons. First, these pirates know our existence, and letting you take them back to Yazhou may lead to the revelation of the matter; second

Second, we need labor force, you know this, 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 behead these pirates directly, then just save it. If we are murderous people, you can still survive.

Now?"

Luo Shengdong was not put off by Tao Donglai's words. He had already imagined various possibilities, and when he heard the words, he responded: "Keep the alive and give me the dead. In the military, only the head is considered when judging merit.

Having twenty or so pirate heads is already a great achievement in Yazhou! Your department won't keep the dead, right?"

Tao Donglai shook his head: "The dead don't matter. But you can't take away all your subordinates."

"It doesn't matter, I will return to Yazhou with only a few personal soldiers and declare that the others will be temporarily stationed here."

"That Haicang ship can't be taken away either!"

"This... then I will say that the ship was seriously damaged in the battle. It has been towed ashore here for repairs and will not be able to return home in the short term."

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

"I would like to contact you on my behalf. Your department will just issue a list."

Tao Donglai stopped and stared at Luo Shengdong for a long time, and then said with emotion: "You are so good at life, how come you have only managed to become a CEO now?"

After the negotiation with Luo Shengdong ended, Tao Donglai asked someone to escort him back to the ship. However, this time Luo Shengdong's treatment was upgraded. He no longer had to stay in the smelly cargo hold, but was transferred to

In an unused crew room on an 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 monologue, and Tao Donglai is not a dictator. Such an important line issue must be placed in the Executive Committee

Only if it passes the discussion above.

In fact, there has always been controversy in the Executive Committee over 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 "bringing political power out of the barrel of a gun" and believe that only armed struggle can

It ensures that the Travelers can gain a firm foothold in the early stages of construction. The other faction believes that armed struggle is just a tool rather than a necessary means. Conflicts with surrounding armed forces, especially the Ming army, will have extremely negative consequences for the future trade expansion of the Travelers.

Influence.

As a veteran and a member of the military and police department, Tao Donglai was naturally inclined towards the militant camp emotionally, but his rationality reminded him that fighting could not solve all problems. If he really defeated the Ming army, he would have to start from scratch.

Where can we introduce a large number of people? Where can we find a market as big as the mainland for trade?

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

At this time, Yan Chujie had led his team to land on the sandbank where the pirate ship ran aground yesterday. There was no sign of human activity as far as he could see. But Yan Chujie believed that the pirates who disembarked yesterday did not escape very far, because these pirates also

It is clear that escaping into the mountains does not mean safety, but it will further reduce the possibility of returning to the civilized world. Hunger, disease, wild beasts, natural disasters, there are too many things that can send them to hell.

The military and police department selected seven or eight more clever pirates from the pirates captured yesterday and escorted them to this sandbank. Their task was to shout to the surrounding mountains and forests to persuade them to surrender, so that those who were hiding in the woods could observe the situation.

The pirates quickly came out and surrendered.

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

twice as much.

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

It's said to be cooking. In fact, the lunch of the military and police department has been cooked and shipped in the morning. Now it's just a matter of lighting a fire to heat it up. The fragrance of Fan's seafood rice soon filled the entire sandbank and penetrated deep into the mountains and forests under the sea breeze.

. So before the end of lunch, a dozen more pirates who could not bear the torment of hunger walked to the sandbar and surrendered. Although there would not be delicious paella waiting for them, they could at least get a small bowl of steaming white rice porridge.
Chapter completed!