Although Zheng Bao was disappointed, he still gave Wang You the title of master - at least Wang You had a good way of managing copywriting and accounting books, and Zheng Bao also lacked such talents. Then he took the money he had recruited from the ship to carry out his activities on the Internet.
He robbed salt ships and coastal residents in the offshore waters of the Bai area. He also went to Vietnamese waters to participate in several maritime conflicts between the Northern and Southern Dynasties and made a lot of benefits. After hearing that Liu Xiang's fleet had left the Pearl River Estuary, he
He quickly led the fleet to Lantau Island, preparing to take advantage of this opportunity to rush into the Pearl River to make a fortune.
After he arrived on Lantau Island, he found that many small groups of pirates had gathered here and there, and they were all ready to rush into the Pearl River inland to fight. The disastrous defeat of the officers and soldiers in Chengmai and Liu Xiang's sudden departure from the Pearl River Estuary gave rise to
They have great expectations of getting rich.
After Zheng Bao came to Lantau Island, he used his own strength to quickly integrate all the ships here. Now this improvised group has expanded to 70 large ships. There are more than 200 sampans and more than 4,000 pirates.
Just as Zheng Bao was preparing to wait for the right tide and wind direction to rush into the Pearl River Estuary, the news of the arrival of the Australian fleet made him temporarily give up this idea.
The fact that the Australians built a dock on Hong Kong Island showed that they were determined to stay here permanently. They also sent many ships. Zheng Bao thought: If we do not establish an alliance with them, once the fleet enters the Pearl River, the Australians will take advantage of it at the mouth of the Pearl River.
Robbery is very bad.
Either he can get an alliance from the Australians and the two sides sit on the ground and share the spoils. He is willing even if he has to pay more blood; or, he can completely defeat the Australian fleet so that they dare not come to seize the territory.
It was under such considerations that Zheng Bao sent Jin Caifa. In addition to testing the Australians' intentions, he also had the intention of inquiring about the military situation. In particular, he wanted to find out clearly that the Australians' most powerful "clippers" did not need sails.
"Are you coming?
He carefully asked his two confidants about the number of Australian ships, the number of cannons equipped on the ships, and the number of defenders on the shore. He was relieved to hear that the clippers did not come; he also heard that there were more than fifty Australians.
The ship was moored, and he sighed regretfully. It would be great if there were only ten or twenty ships! Although most of the Australian warships looked no different from the ships in Guangdong and Fujian, they were far from local ships in terms of sailing speed and firepower.
It can be matched. At the beginning, the big shopkeepers wanted to send people to seize the ship because they took a fancy to their "fast ship". They didn't expect that their sailboats were so easy to use!
Especially the "quick cannon" on their sailboat. When fired, the sea will be filled with water in an instant, and enemy sailors will be wiped out from a hundred or two hundred feet away. If you have such a magical weapon, why not dominate the sea?
?
Zheng Bao has been itching to think about this idea. In his opinion, although the Australian cannons are said to be very sophisticated, they are just another copy of the red cannons. This kind of cannon is expensive and heavy, and it is good at fighting.
It will explode on its own. The best thing is the "quick cannon" that can shoot far and accurately, and can fire continuously. If you can get a few of them and install them on a ship, you can sweep away the enemy.
"Master Wang!" Zheng Bao saw Wang You coming into the cabin and hurriedly greeted him.
"This group of thieves is very loud!" Zheng Bao, who has been going smoothly since becoming a pirate, couldn't bear this tone. "They actually asked us to register all our soldiers and ships and send them over - didn't these *** surrender? Even if you join a big gang, you won’t be able to eliminate people like this!”
Wang You looked at the "boss" without saying a word. Zheng Bao was not a fool - Zheng Bao was cunning and cruel, but unfortunately he was only the highest level of toubob. In terms of knowledge and talent, he was not on the same level as Zhu Cai Lao and others. Even the second-tier shopkeepers like Black Flag Lao Si are much better than him.
What a pity! Mr. Zhu Cai has already died in the battle in Nanri, and the shopkeepers under him are dying and surrendering. He has also been reduced to the position of being a master for this person. Wang You is very unwilling.
Don't forget to come to the Pearl River Estuary. Wang You thinks this is asking for death. The next step in the Pearl River Estuary Basin must be the focus of competition between Liu Xiang and Lingao's Australian group - it is the place that everyone can't avoid. , how could a small team like him get into troubled waters so easily? Besides, this was originally Liu Xiang's territory. Although Liu Xiang's main force has moved to the Fujian waters, it does not mean that he will give this territory to others.
In Wang You's view, Zheng Bao's behavior was a "double offender" act that offended both parties. In the end, he would definitely end up with a bad death.
But Zheng Bao felt very satisfied with his ambition. Now he was holding the title of so-called Marquis of Guiyi and General of Ninghai in the Dali Dynasty, and he felt like a "high official". He used all kinds of bells and whistles on his clothes, flags and honor guards, which was unclear. Something that made Wang You despise him very much.
But at the moment, he can only hold back. Zheng Bao wants to reuse Zhu Cai Lao's former subordinates but is worried about them, so he spends a lot of effort to divide and guard against them. Wang You knows that he is popular among Zhu Cai Lao's subordinates. The most important thing is that Zheng Bao takes himself very seriously. If he is not careful, he may "fall into the water and die" inexplicably.
"Master Wang, tell me, what happened to this bandit? It seems that they want to monopolize the territory of the Pearl River Estuary." Zheng Bao said angrily.
Wang You coughed. The Australians arrived at the Pearl River Estuary and built a fortress on Hong Kong Island. It was clear why they came. Zheng Bao actually had no choice. He could either make enemies of the Australians and fight a battle, or he could sail away. Just walk away.
In his opinion, leaving is the best choice for the Zhengbao Group - even if the Australians' ships are reduced by half, the Zhengbao Group will never be an opponent of the Australians. To deal with the Australians, there is no numerical strength A huge advantage is simply impossible.
Wang You just said a few reasons why "it's not appropriate to start a war" when he noticed an impatient look on Zheng Bao's face - Zheng Bao obviously didn't intend to leave. Not only that, he also fired Australian cannons. idea.
"I said, Lao Wang, you are afraid of tigers in front of you and wolves in behind. Where did the pride you had when you were under the big shopkeepers go?" Zheng Bao patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "No matter how strong the Australians are, they can't do it." There are only forty or fifty boats, and there are no fast boats or iron boats. I think they are similar to our boats. He has powerful firearms. I asked the brothers to join him and join forces, and I will drown them all!"
He said with confidence: "If you want to say that the ship's cannon is powerful, of course he is the Australian. But when it comes to swords, guns, fists, and kicks, I am the most powerful in Chinese Kung Fu. As long as I can get on the ship, no matter if he is a real Kun or a fake Kun, there will be no problem on the deck."
If you can’t use firearms, why don’t we just let us kill you at will?”
"I'm afraid it's not that simple."
"Then tell me, what's the difficulty?"
Wang You wanted not to mention how to get people onto the deck. Dozens of Australian ships were moored there, and it was not necessarily that the people on them were all deaf and blind, waiting for the enemy to come up one ship after another.
climb.
"Even if we can capture a few ships, if other ships find out, wouldn't it be a waste to attack them all together?"
"Well, what you said makes sense." Zheng Bao thought about it and it turned out to be the case. But he immediately had a second thought:
The second idea was to capture the thieves and capture the king. Zheng Bao planned to select a hundred brave men among the pirates and promised them a lot of money. Then each of them would carry a sharp knife. Then he would pretend to go and surrender, and kill the Australian leader in front of the tent.
An assassination.
According to the descriptions of Jin Caifa and others, although there were guards around the Australian tent, there were only forty or fifty people. Zheng Bao believed that as long as seventy or eighty people entangled these people, the remaining people would rush in at once.
Can kill all the bosses inside.
Wang You just couldn't laugh or cry - this plan is more realistic than the previous one, but the possibility of success is that the Australians are all fools and will allow a hundred strong men to approach their own center without searching them first.
.
Then Zheng Bao proposed several more "strategies", all of which were rejected by Wang You one by one.
"If the big shop owner is determined to make enemies of the Australians and obtain their ship's guns, there is only one word."
"What?"
"Wait." Wang You nodded, "The Australians and I are almost the same in strength. If we start a provocation rashly, even if we can win, it will be a miserable victory. Now we can only act by ear and see how the Australians behave and we will make further calculations."
In fact, he just did nothing and waited for the opportunity. Zheng Bao said dissatisfied: "When will this wait? When can we enter the Pearl River?"
"Entering the Pearl River is just a matter of effort. If we don't take care of the affairs of the Australians, there will be endless troubles!"
"Well, what you said makes sense!" Zheng Bao certainly didn't want to break into the Pearl River Estuary alone and leave such a fleet behind him.
"Brother, there is a way." Jin Caifa saw the opportunity to interrupt and hurriedly came out and said.
"What method?"
As if presenting a treasure, he told Zheng Bao and Wang You that he had met Shi Shishi on the dock in Hong Kong.
"...Shi Shishi is now dressed as an Australian. If I hadn't dealt with him before, I would have guessed that the Australian was Shi Shishi."
Zheng Bao became interested: "Oh, what kind of official position does he hold for the Australians now? How many ships does he manage?"
"I didn't dare to ask. He is far away, on a boat on the pier." Jin Caifa said, "With his line here, the boss's affairs will be clearer."
Wang You understood immediately: "Are you planning to bribe him?"
"That's right!" Jin Caifa said, "As the saying goes, people die for money, and birds die for food. Back then, Tarshish Shishi was just a second-class shopkeeper in a small company, and he might not become a big shopkeeper under the Australians. Most of them would be just that.
He only manages five or six ships. As long as the big boss is willing to pay a lot of money, he can't help but be tempted."
Whether he was asked to pull him out of the team, or to make a sudden counterattack when the two sides were fighting, it was an excellent opportunity. Zheng Bao's eyes lit up.