After a search in the wreckage of the pirate village, a total of more than thirty helmets' banknotes were found. In order to prevent the sailors from fighting for them, the company commander ordered not to hide them privately. They gathered them all and returned to the ship to ask the captain for instructions. These banknotes
Most of them are Dutch guilders, and there are also a lot of Mingyang, US dollars, pounds, francs, and Japanese yen. Most of these banknotes were burned to pieces, but half of them are still intact. There are also four and a half steel coins. These silver coins are all
It is the auxiliary currency of some gold standard countries, weighing dozens of kilograms.
In addition, there is also a helmet's gold ring, gold necklace, earrings, gold teeth, and gemstone jewelry. Many of these jewelry were damaged by the explosion, and many gemstone particles fell off. But because their value is mainly reflected in the material, so
Still very valuable.
After searching several times, this is almost all. This is the wealth of pirates.
These sailors' eyes turned green when they looked at the wealth in their helmets. However, they did not dare to disobey the company commander's strict orders, and no one dared to put it in their pockets.
Three platoons lined up neatly in the open space of the village, holding their helmets and not squinting, but their hearts were filled with anger. The remaining platoon dispersed into the village and set fire to the bamboo buildings that were still intact.
The sailors set the fire happily while laughing and saying:
"Hey, this is called the three-guang policy!"
"What is the three-guang policy?"
"The name I gave you, sir, is to kill them all, burn them all, and rob them all. This is our policy towards the pirate village!"
"Kill them all, burn them all, rob them all, hey, it's true!"
A sergeant walked between the fire-setting groups and shouted:
"Brothers, listen up, don't leave anything usable! Take whatever is worth taking, and smash whatever you can't take! In short, don't leave anything for them!"
Some bamboo buildings that were not hit by the shells are now on fire, and some half-burned bamboo buildings that were blown up by the air waves are now on fire again.
A bag of rifle bullets from the pirates was discovered, which was still wrapped in oil paper. The sailors threw the whole bag into the burning bamboo building. Soon, there was a "crackling" explosion in the bamboo building.
There were also more than a dozen chickens that had been killed by the explosion, which were also picked up by the sailors on the tips of their rifles and carried on their shoulders. There were also a few alive ones, flapping their wings and clucking. A small buffalo had its belly opened by the explosion.
But he was not dead yet, and his mouth was still opening and closing. He was shot to death by the sailors, tied to a small tree trunk, and carried back by the two of them laughing and joking.
In addition, there used to be strings of beef sausages, smoked fish, or cured lamb legs hanging outside almost every bamboo building. Although most of them were burnt to charcoal with the bamboo buildings, many intact ones were still found.
It weighs about dozens of kilograms. In addition to these, there is also a lot of grain, mainly rice, with more than a dozen sacks of various sizes.
The soldiers talked and laughed, gathering the food they found one after another:
"Haha, there is chicken, veal, lamb leg, and smoked fish. Tomorrow's breakfast will be very rich!"
"Let the kitchen bring some sharks up in the morning and make shark fin soup!"
"Really, there are so many sharks in this tropical sea, and you can eat shark fins as soon as you go out to sea! It's such a wonderful thing to come to Nanyang!"
"Good job? Then we go back to China and you stay."
"Hey, why have you been working on this for so long? There are either cows or sheep in the village, not even a pig?"
"Don't you understand? These natives of East India are all Huizi, believe in Islam, and don't eat pork."
"Damn, the problem isn't..."
The Malay translator was painting slogans at this time. He tore off the fabric of the pirate's clothes, dipped it in the blood of the pirate who had just been shot, and wrote a few bloody words on several big trees around the village:
"This is what happens when you rob the Ming Dynasty's ships!"
"Pazia Island has been under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, and the pirates on the island will be killed without mercy!"
"Revenge for the Yong'an Princess!"
"This is just the beginning!"
…
"Gather all the pirate ships!"
Several officers ordered the sailors to climb onto several wooden fishing boats, start the motors, and dock them all together. There were six wooden fishing boats in total, all docked in the mangroves near the village, and their styles were similar to those that were sunk at sea.
The one is almost the same and looks no different from an ordinary fishing boat. The difference is that these shabby-looking wooden boats are equipped with diesel engines.
On the shore relatively close to these fishing boats, there is a bamboo shed with several large barrels of diesel in it. This shed is some distance from the village and was not hit by the artillery fire. It is now used to burn the boats. The sailors moved these oil barrels to the pirate ship.
In the cabin, put one in each boat, then tip it down and unscrew the lid.
If it were gasoline, it would be enough to ignite it directly. But this is diesel fuel, which is not easy to ignite. After the sailors withdrew to the shore, they stayed far away and threw a grenade into each boat.
With six loud noises, the six pirate ships suddenly burst into flames. Although the diesel was not as powerful as gasoline, it still illuminated the river several kilometers wide with a red light, and you could clearly see the other side. You could smell the diesel from far away.
Smell. The sailors on the Kuimulang were climbing on the railings and watching the fire happily.
Seeing that the pirate village had been engulfed in raging fire, the company commander ordered to withdraw to the ship. The 12 small boats first carried half of the sailors and escorted the spoils of gold and silver, food, and livestock back to the ship. Then they came back.
Six small boats carried the remaining half of the sailors back to the ship.
The deck was extremely lively. The sailors were in high spirits, talking loudly about their "deeds" to their companions on the ship, enjoying their envious looks. Xiang Xiaoqiang and Qiu Qiu were also happily joining in the fun.
The cooks in the kitchen first moved the livestock, meat, and grain into the warehouse. Then the company commander reported to the captain what they had seized in the pirate village: the property of more than thirty steel helmets. Because there were important people on the ship, the captain did not
Dare to make the decision on my own, so I quickly invited Xiang Xiaoqiang over, showed him these things, and asked for instructions on what to do.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at the burnt banknotes, silver coins, and jewelry in the helmets. He didn't like such junk at all. But when he looked at the sailors on the deck who were almost drooling, he smiled and said:
"How did our army handle the seizures it captured on the battlefield in the past?"
"This..." The captain looked like Xiaoqiang, and then looked at the brothers around him. He didn't know how to answer for a moment. He rolled his eyes and said, "Sir, we are the navy, and we have never seized any property...
...However, generally speaking, whoever gets the things on the battlefield always gets it..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang understood that today's Ming army does not have "three major disciplines and eight points of attention", and there is no such thing as "all seizures must be returned to the public". It is still like the US military, whoever gets it belongs to whom. The reason why the company commander asked
They were concentrated because the amount seized this time was too large. If all the sailors ashore were divided up, it would definitely be unfair to the sailors on the ship.
After Xiang Xiaoqiang understood this, he realized that if he asked them to hand over the seizure, he would be very ignorant. In this case, he would be happy to do favors. He smiled and said:
"Oh, in that case... come on, come on, turn on the lights, spread out the tablecloth here, pour out everything, and I will personally take charge of the counting here, count out the numbers, and see how to distribute them to the brothers."
Hearing what he said, the sailors all cheered. They all knew that in addition to bonuses, they could also get a considerable amount of external wealth.
The Kuimulang turned on the lights, and the deck was brightly lit again. A large tablecloth was spread on the deck, and Xiaoqiang sat down cross-legged. He called Qiu Qiu and several officers, and in front of the whole ship, he put his helmet in
The things were poured on the tablecloth and counted.
The first thing to count was the banknotes. They picked out all the intact banknotes. The captain took an abacus, pen and paper, and the "Navigation Manual" from his room, turned to the currency exchange tables of various countries, and began to transfer the large number of foreign currencies.
Converted to the value of Mingyang. At this time, many countries were still implementing the gold standard currency system, that is, the currency was directly linked to gold. The currencies of many other small countries were also linked to the currencies of these gold standard countries. The advantage of this is that the exchange rates between the currencies of various countries at this time
It is quite stable. It is not like later generations who printed a large number of banknotes that are not redeemable for gold. The price comparison between countries is erratic, with the price changing every day.
After a final count, the intact banknotes and silver coins were worth a total of about 87,000 mingyang. These were only equivalent to more than two months of Xiang Xiaoqiang's annuity, but in the eyes of these sailors, it was an astronomical sum. Xiang Xiaoqiang asked Qiu Qiu to give those jewelry
The price was estimated to be between 50,000 and 60,000 yuan. Xiang Xiaoqiang knew that Qiu Qiu was a gangster lady and had been a master of jewelry since she was a child, so her estimated price should be about the same.
Xiang Xiaoqiang stood up and said to the sailors:
"Brothers, I have made the decision. All the money will be given to everyone! In this way, everyone on the ship will have a share regardless of military rank! It's just that yesterday and today, the brothers who participated in the battle twice will each get more.
Do you have any comments?"
There was cheering on the deck:
"No comment!"
"That's fair!"
"As it should be!"
"Justice to the Lord!"
Xiang Xiaoqiang said again:
"Brothers, when we are sharing money here, we must not forget the brothers who were injured or killed. We must leave a share for them! The brother who was injured in the thigh is recuperating at the Songkhla base. He bled and deserves more! And he deserves more!
Those three brothers who died in battle deserve more! We want to send what they deserve to their families! Do you have any opinions?"
This is even more acceptable. The sailors all agreed. Generous pensions for casualties are the most popular among soldiers, because they may also be injured or killed one day, and of course they also want to be treated generously.
"Brothers!" Xiang Xiaoqiang pointed to the small pile of jewelry again and said seriously, "These jewelry, gold teeth, there is blood on them! These are from passenger ships like the Yongan Princess and the Xiangjiang.
Those who were plundered, their original owners were either thrown into the sea or bought into brothels! To be honest, these jewelry are not as valuable as these banknotes, and they are not easy to divide. Most importantly, I don’t think the brothers will bear it.
Get these blood-stained things!”
The sailors on the deck looked at him quietly. Most of the sailors listened and thought that these things were stained with blood, and they would feel guilty if they separated them. But some sailors thought that Xiaoqiang wanted to monopolize them, so they stared at him and looked at him.
How to arrange it.
Xiang Xiaoqiang looked around at the sailors, took a deep breath, and said loudly:
"These things will be sent back to China, auctioned and distributed to the families of the Yongan Princess victims as part of the condolence money. Brothers! Do you agree?"
When he said this, everyone's concerns were dispelled. Everyone believed that this approach was indeed the most appropriate and the most comfortable for their conscience.
…
Next it’s time to divide the money.
A fixed number is divided into three parts with different numbers according to a proportion. This is almost a primary school mathematics application problem. But Xiang Xiaoqiang is very poor in mathematics. He grabbed a pen and paper and counted over and over again. He was scratching his head and scratching his head, but he couldn't figure out one.
A suitable distribution plan was coming. Qiu Qiu couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed the abacus and was doing the calculations with one hand and counting on the paper with the other. Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at him enviously. He knew that Qiu Qiu was a top student in the military field, and
It's a technical branch like the Navy. Generally speaking, the scores in mathematics, physics and chemistry are not very good.
Qiu Qiu quickly calculated a suitable plan: the 84 officers and soldiers staying on the ship were each allocated 300 mingyang. The 116 officers and soldiers who went ashore to fight were each allocated 500 mingyang. The injured sailor was allocated 800 mingyang.
.The three sailors who died in battle were each divided into 1,000 mingyang. This adds up to exactly 87,000 mingyang.
When this announcement was made, all the officers and soldiers on the ship supported and cheered. Most of these sailors came from rural areas. With a few hundred yuan, they could build a house and marry a wife in their hometown. Everyone even envied the injured sailor.
.If you take a shot in the thigh, you can get an extra 300 mingyang, which is really a good deal. If that guy saves a little money, he can marry two wives.
Xiang Xiaoqiang asked people to pour out the other half of the burned banknotes and mix them thoroughly. These banknotes had been burned to pieces and were already waste paper in the eyes of the sailors. No one cared about it at all. But like Xiaoqiang, he shouted
This large pile of "waste paper" was divided into 200 equal parts, and each officer and soldier on the ship was asked to take one part.
Many sailors were very disdainful and wondered what Mr. Xiang meant by this. Xiang Xiaoqiang smiled and said:
"I've collected them all. I'll go to the bank to exchange them after I return home. Generally, these kinds of residual coins can also be exchanged at a certain ratio. These residual coins are from different countries and have different denominations. Haha, but I mixed them all evenly. Each person can
How much you change depends on your luck."
Only then did the sailors suddenly realize, holding the "waste paper" in their arms as if they had found a treasure, and resumed looking at the banknotes.
…
The Kuimulang turned around and sailed out of the Gamba River, returned to the sea, and headed northeast to send Xiaoqiang to Singapore.
The captain came to ask Xiang Xiaoqiang how to deal with the remaining two pirates. Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that these two pirates had already returned to their country alive, so it would not be appropriate to kill them again. Besides, the Ming Dynasty would soon wipe out pirates in Sumatra.
Having two living mouths should be useful.
But the captain quietly suggested that it was best not to keep them. It was the first time that the Ming Dynasty captured pirates alive. Reporters must have swarmed during the trial. After all, the Kuimu Lang hung 12 pirates by their collarbones and dragged them to death in the sea. Those two
All the pirates have seen it. They will definitely tell it in court, and reporters will definitely exaggerate it. The International Red Cross and various humanitarian organizations will also jump out and speak out. This will definitely affect the Ming Navy.
The image is too unfavorable.
Xiang Xiaoqiang thought quietly and carefully studied the captain's words. What he said was right. It would not only affect the image of the Ming Navy, but more importantly, it would affect Xiang Xiaoqiang's own image, and it might also affect the captain's future.
.
"Yes," he nodded and patted the captain on the shoulder, "You are right, let's do it like this."
The captain showed a pleased smile:
"Be wise to your lord."
Then, he called the first mate and gave him some instructions. The first mate nodded and went out.
After a while, the shouts of the two pirates came from the deck. Xiang Xiaoqiang looked down on the bridge and saw four sailors carrying the two pirates, swung them twice and threw them into the sea, then picked up the submachine gun and said,
"Da da da" means half a shuttle.
In this way, all pirates have been dealt with.
…
It is now three o'clock in the morning. Xiang Xiaoqiang has not slept for 24 hours, and Qiu Qiu next to him is also very sleepy. If it hadn't been so exciting in the past 24 hours, they would have fallen asleep several times. But now they can't
Go to bed, we will arrive in Singapore in three hours, and Xiang Xiaoqiang and his party are about to go ashore. Xiang Xiaoqiang sat blankly in the command room, Qiu Qiu leaned on his shoulder, dozing off every now and then.
When the captain saw them like this, he smiled and said:
"Sir, you'd better go back to the cabin and take a nap. I'll call you when we arrive in Singapore. It's time for the first mate to replace me when we get there."
Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly woke up and remembered that the captain had not slept for 24 hours, so he thanked him and called Qiu Qiu to go back to the cabin to sleep. When he reached the door, the captain suddenly shouted:
"To your lord!"
Turning to Xiaoqiang, the captain said excitedly:
"Sir Xiang, although... your time on my ship was very short... only a few dozen hours, but during these dozens of hours, I was fortunate enough to fight side by side with you, jointly rescue the Yong'an Princess, and jointly destroy the pirates.
… This will be a source of pride for me throughout my life.”
"ah……"
Only then did Xiang Xiaoqiang remember that he would have to say goodbye in two hours, and he had yet to say anything. In his own opinion, this captain was just an ordinary middle- and lower-level officer, but in others' eyes,
But he is the hero of the Ming Empire, an extremely big shot.
He showed an encouraging smile, patted his arm, held his hand, and said firmly:
"I will always remember the dozens of hours I spent fighting side by side with you. I have a feeling that we may still have a chance to fight together in the future."
When the captain heard what he said, he held his hand tightly and was extremely excited.
At around six o'clock in the morning, the Kuimulang arrived at a designated location off the coast of Singapore and dropped anchor. After a while, a small yacht of dozens of tons sailed out of the Johor Strait in the northeast. The small yacht cut through the waves.
The Kuimulang came. When we got close, we could see the destroyer's flag clearly, and the signal light came from the small boat. The signal was also returned from the Kuimulang. The small boat officially came closer.
This small boat was rented by the Ming Dynasty Consul in Singapore and was specially driven out to pick up Xiang Xiaoqiang and his party.
All the officers and soldiers on the ship, dressed in white uniforms, stood upright on the deck to see each other off. Xiang Xiaoqiang hugged the captain goodbye, and then he, Qiu Qiu, and four guards saluted all the officers and soldiers on the deck, and then
I waved goodbye and boarded the small yacht along the gangway.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Xiang Xiaoqiang and his party entered the Ming Dynasty Consulate. After shaking hands with three old advisers and greetings, the two returned to the room and fell asleep.
They slept until after seven o'clock in the evening, and it was still an hour before the cruise ship to Europe left. If Song Ruhai hadn't come to call them, the two young people would have stayed asleep and almost missed the ship.
Xiang Xiaoqiang has always wanted to see what the legendary Singapore is like, but there seems to be no luck in coming here twice. The last time I came to Singapore, I just gave a speech at the pier and didn't go into the city. This time I came in a hurry and slept here for a day.
I walked in a hurry again, but still didn’t make it to Singapore.
At 8:30 pm on March 19th, Xiang Xiaoqiang’s delegation boarded the boat.
This beautiful cruise ship weighs more than 20,000 tons and belongs to the Zheng Shipping Company. It is particularly worth mentioning that Zheng Gongyin owns two cruise ships in the Zheng Shipping Company, one of which is named after his precious son.
, called "Yutang", and one ship was named after one of his proudest daughters, called "Yucong". The cruise ship coming tonight happened to be the "Yucong".
Xiang Xiaoqiang slowly walked up the gangway, stroking the railings with his hands, yining evilly in his heart:
"I first played 'Princess Yong'an', and now I'm playing 'Yu Cong'..."