The Duo Eaters were captured one by one. Twenty-seven of them were killed, and the remaining fifty-four were taken captive.
In fact, nineteen of them were killed, and eight of them were seriously injured.
The medical team looked at the injuries and concluded that there was a chance to heal five of them, but they couldn't do anything about the remaining three.
However, although there was a chance to heal these five people, it didn't mean that they had to heal them. The reason was that it wasn't worth it. Only Tang Empire would go all out.
The heavily injured ones who were not dead were shot and thrown into the sea. Among the remaining fifty-four people, there were some who were slightly injured. At first, they were still shouting, saying that it was painful and that they could not make it. When they found that the eight heavily injured people had directly turned into corpses, they stopped shouting. They were afraid, afraid that they would be dealt with as well.
The battle ended very quickly. It was a one-sided battle. Two people were injured on Tang Empire's side. One of them was nervous when he fired the gun, and the butt of the gun lost its position during the vibration. His chin was bruised, and one could see that it was swollen. The other one was climbing on a surrendered enemy ship. He accidentally put his hand between the rope and the ship's railing, and three of his fingers were swollen.
These two injured people would be punished when they returned. Although they felt uncomfortable when they were injured, they would still be punished. Their injuries showed that their combat skills were not solid enough. If they were sent out to rescue, a small mistake would put the hostages in danger.
The two injured people indeed had worried expressions. They sat next to each other and looked at each other. They were in the same boat, and didn't say a word. No one came to comfort them. It was just a punishment, and it wasn't a big deal.
The fishermen who rushed over were very satisfied with the battle, but they weren't satisfied with the number of Duo Eaters. There were only fifty of them, and it was too little. If only there were five thousand of them. The Fuzhou Shipyard was expanding, and there were still some small hills and potholes behind it.
"Where are they? Only so few? "Chen Xihong pulled one of the Duo Eaters who was tied up and asked.
Fortunately, this person could understand Tang Empire's language and replied, "They died on the road. Storm."
"What a wastrel." Chen Xihong scolded and began to look at the two captive boats. He looked left and right and shook his head. "There's no need. Go back and change it. Put it on the water beside the dock and use it as a restaurant on the water. The two boats will be next to each other. Put a plank on the top and use it as a catamaran.
Chen Xihong's mind worked quickly, and he immediately found a good place for the other party's ship. The more he thought about it, the better he felt his idea was.
After discussing with the other fishermen, everyone agreed to get the fish and let their families help cook on the boat, which could also increase their income. They could also provide a part of the fish they caught to the restaurant. Not only would they have more sales, but they could also save the cost of buying other people's fish from the restaurant.
To the current group of fishermen, Chen Xihong was the most knowledgeable among them, and they were willing to listen to him.
Chen Xihong then went to negotiate with Number 576. He wanted to buy a ship, but he didn't want to take advantage of the guards.
No. 576 originally planned to give the boat to them directly. The wood on the boat was not bad. It would be easy for them to dismantle and use it to build their own small fishing boat.
Now that she heard that Chen Xihong wanted to buy it, and that he even had the intention to negotiate, her attitude changed.
"Are you sure you want to buy it and not ask for it?" No. 576 asked for the last time.
Chen Xihong nodded. He suddenly felt that he had heard No. 576's words today, but he couldn't remember it at the moment.
"Five hundred strings of coins. Give me the money, and the boat is yours." No. 576 gave a price.
"Rob? Two hundred strings of coins is enough to build a new one, including the mast and the sail. Look at that one, the mast is gone. If we didn't deal with it in time, the boat would be gone too. The sail on the other boat is also broken. Later on, we still have to cut the mast. The wood is good, and it's more than enough to make the beam of two rooms.
Now it's a second-hand boat, so we have to buy it back. At most, 120 strings of coins … Ah, 100 strings of coins, yes, more than that, you have to take it back to play with yourself. "
Chen Xihong almost offered 120 strings of coins, but fortunately, he reacted quickly enough.
"100 strings of coins for you, but in the future when we eat at your restaurant on the water, you have to give us a 20% discount, and it will always be like that." No. 576 bargained with additional conditions.
"No, it's expensive. You have been eating here, and you are taking advantage of me. 50 strings of coins, I will give you a 5% discount in the future, but you can't order expensive dishes." Chen Xihong was thinking about the price.
No. 576 shook her head and said with a smile, "When it comes to doing business, you are too far behind. Don't mention Young Master Xiao Bao, even Xiaobei and the rest are better than you. If it were Xiaobei and the rest, they would immediately agree."
"Why?" Chen Xihong couldn't figure it out.
"Because you will also profit from the 20% discount. When we eat at your restaurant, we have more people, so you will naturally earn more. At the same time, it will also give publicity. When others see the soldiers stationed in Fuzhou eating at your restaurant, they will think that the food in your restaurant is good. If you continue to bargain, I will sell the boat to others for 150 strings of coins, and we will have a 20% discount when eating there. I believe many people will rush to buy it. "
No. 576 was a little disappointed. Although the fisherman opposite her was smarter than other fishermen, there was a limit to his intelligence. He didn't consider the problem comprehensively enough.
Chen Xihong slapped his thigh hard. "Oh, I remember. No wonder we are so familiar. The newspaper reported that between adults and children, if the child asks for something, you will give it if you can. If you can't, you will explain clearly. If you negotiate with the child, you have to accompany the child to negotiate even if it's just a copper coin.
Let the child understand that family is family, and an agreement is an agreement. Just like when Xiaobei and the rest negotiated with Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. I have learned another skill. When I go back, I will do the same for my children and nurture them. But there is a problem. "
No. 576 looked at Chen Xihong and motioned for him to continue.
"The problem is that we can't take out 100 strings of coins in cash. We are building a new house, and life is better now. It's not like before, where we can only take out the money saved by several generations to build a house for the children who are about to get married.
It's easy for us to make money. We can tear down all the small houses in the past and build a two-story building. We can add a big yard, grow vegetables in the front yard, and rear pigs in the back yard. The seaweed washed up by the sea can be used to feed the pigs. The money can be used to hire people and buy materials. If it's not enough to buy a boat, there is still the cost of opening a restaurant. "
Chen Xihong showed an awkward expression. However, there was a hint of happiness between his eyebrows. It seemed that he was looking forward to the new house.
"Congratulations, congratulations." No. 576 cupped his hands and was happy.
Chen Xihong smiled shyly: "Hehehe, thank you. I want to say thank you. The longevity tablets of Xiao Bao and Cuckoo will never be removed. Who is good and who is bad, we know in our hearts. If other officials have money, we will be suspicious. If Xiao Bao and Cuckoo have money, we think it's normal. We don't care about the rule that officials can't do business."
"Thank you." No. 576 also thanked him. He was praising his master's family. Then he gave an idea: "You can tow the two boats back, and then use the two boats to get a loan from the bank. The people in your family who run the restaurant are women and older, right? In their name, the bank will give a very low loan interest.
If you have people in your family who are not very healthy, the loan interest given by the bank will even be lower than the interest of your savings. There is also the government's tax reduction policy. "
"Two boats can get a loan of 100 strings of coins from the bank?" Chen Xihong didn't believe it. The bank usually estimated the price of things very low.
"No." No. 576 shook his head. "But you can give a loan of 100 strings of coins to the restaurant of two boats. If you use the restaurant to get a loan, it's a project. If you use the boat to get a loan, it's a physical mortgage. According to the risk ratio of investment return, the risk of the former is less than the latter. The bank will evaluate it."
"I've learned something new. People often say that any one of the people from the Zhang Family and Wang Family is very powerful. Today, I agree with this saying. If you use this idea to deceive people, your two families will definitely be invincible." Chen Xihong said gratefully.
No. 576 was still smiling and said: "The highest level of deceit is not how to deceive, nor who to deceive, but to not deceive anywhere. My wife said since she was very young that there are no deceivers in this world. Everyone is good, hehe."
"Uh! Hahaha, I've heard, I've heard. It is said that Cuckoo was laughing at that time. A maid said that there was a deceiver on the other side of the bridge. In the end, Cuckoo said how could it be possible? Good people, they are all good people. Go, bring Xiao Bao here. Hahaha, I can't help but laugh when I think of it. I did as you said. Will the bank think that we are not honest? "
Chen Xihong laughed happily for a while, then turned back to the topic and became serious.
No. 576 said with certainty: "Go, go. This is not deceit, because deceit does not make one invincible. The real invincible is benevolence. The imperial court has a policy of supporting people. Benevolence leads to people's hearts."
Chen Xihong happily continued to discuss with the others. After that, they decided to send people to watch over the area while the other fishing boats brought the captives back. When they arrived at the seaside, they would hire a big boat to help pull the two boats back. It would be too slow if they dragged the boats themselves, so everyone agreed.
Chen Xihong told No. 576 what they had discussed. No. 576 proposed to use four new boats to help pull the two boats back directly. There was no charge, and they could see how the new boat's power system was.
When the fishermen heard this, they were happy. They were happy not because they could save money, but because they could see the boats that flew on the water before.
Li Qing, the Princess of Tongbei, introduced the boats to the fishermen like a tour guide: "I don't know how many new boats the Ministry of Works has built in total. I only know that they sent four to Fuzhou and four to Quanzhou. Lu Zhou might have more, but they didn't tell me. As a princess, I don't have the power to ask.
The information I can get is that there are small diesel engines behind the four boats. The workmanship is more delicate, and the failure rate is higher. Especially the propeller at the bottom, it was calculated by Xiao Bao and Cuckoo. Yes, it was calculated. This is the importance of knowledge.
After that, the Ministry of Works sent skilled craftsmen to grind it little by little on the lathe, and it almost had to be remade. It's not that it's impossible, but it's Xiao Bao and Cuckoo's request. When it comes to noise, thrust, and so on, the unqualified products are quite good when used on other boats. It's just that they don't meet their requirements. "
"Princess Qing 'er, we know. It's said that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo want to build our own Tang Heavy Industry. The requirements for craftsmen are very high. With a casual look and touch, they can find the difference of 0.2 millimeters.
The most simple training class is to graduate. It requires a small hand file and an iron rod to make a beautiful multi-functional hammer. With this hammer, you can make better things with the hand file, and then continue to work with it.
What we want to know now is when we can use this boat. Hurry up, once this boat is out, the other boats will be like crawling. Can we use the same thing on the bigger boats? "
A fisherman mustered up the courage to speak to Princess Li Qing. His hand was pinching his leg hard, and he was nervous. It was the first time in his life that he talked to a beautiful princess. In the past, he would not even dare to think about it. He thought that he was a good-for-nothing.
Princess Li Qing sensed the other party's nervousness and felt a little disappointed. She felt that she had not done a good enough job. If Xiaobao and Cuckoo were here, she believed that the fishermen would not be so nervous. However, in reality, their status was much higher than hers.
After considering the question, Princess Li Qing felt that it was not a big deal to reveal the secret. So, she answered, "Lu Zhou already has a boat in use, and it needs something called diesel. It has been used in the military. If you want to use it, I guess it will take five years. Five years later, more advanced technology will be developed and used in the military. The blockade will be lifted for civilian use."
"Are you afraid that we will buy it and leak the technology?" the fisherman asked again.
"No, you can't copy it at all. You can use it or take it apart. If you can't put it back, you will have to spend money. We can't let you use it now because we don't have enough diesel. Are you willing to spend 5,000 strings of coins to drive the same boat back and forth? Unless you are a rich person and use it for fun or fishing, you will have to catch some fish to earn back the cost. "
Xu Qing said. In fact, she did not know the price of diesel. She only knew that the production was not high, and it was mostly used for military research.
When the fishermen heard this, they were discouraged. They would rather buy a big boat with a steam engine in the future.
The news that the Duo Cannibals who came from afar was soon reported in the newspapers. Many people complained that a large number of Duo Cannibals were drowned in the storm. Otherwise, there would be more slaves to do the work.
*****
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan knew the news earlier. When the fishermen just found out about the Duo Cannibals, the telegram was sent back, and other telegraph offices received the signal and sent it to the west at the same time.
"Everything is stable. Now we just need to enter India from here, and then quickly pass through and attack the Duo Cannibals." Zhang Xiaobao put down the information and said to Wang Juan who was walking next to him.
Wang Juan also had a copy of the content in her hand. When she knew that the last thing she needed to worry about was solved, she was also very happy.
As for the Duo Cannibals who encountered the storm, she did not care at all. She was glad that the Duo Cannibals survived and reached the coastal area. Otherwise, if they all died, her side would always be on tenterhooks and waste a lot of manpower and resources to patrol.
At this time, their team had already passed through the residential area of the Meng tribe. The people of the Meng tribe did not show the slightest hostility. On the contrary, they prepared sheep and placed them on the side of the road. They also had practical leather, some cut into pieces and some cut into strips to be used as bandages.
There was even one person who could speak simple Great Tang language and wanted to trade things with Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, especially salt.
Zhang Xiaobao thought about it and did not trade for salt with the locals. Instead, he introduced the person surnamed Cuan, who was going to be the interpreter, to them so that they could trade among themselves.
The team only exchanged some silk with the Meng people and some crop seeds. They told them to plant them well and that they would be very valuable in the future.
The interpreter surnamed Cuan very proudly told the Meng people that they had an inexhaustible supply of salt and that the price was cheap. If they wanted to trade, they could bring something with them. At the same time, he warned the other party not to use force to snatch the salt, because there were Great Tang soldiers stationed there and their weapons were very powerful.
The Meng people did not dare to believe it at first, but when they received confirmation from Zhang Xiaobao, they were very happy. The person who spoke simple Great Tang language had not even seen the real thing and had not even begun the trade, but he could not help but haggle with the Cuan people. He pointed at a sheep and said, "One sheep for one leather bag of salt."
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the sheep. Its wool weight was around forty jin, which was not considered small. That leather pouch could probably hold about ten catties of water, but the salt pouch was much heavier. It could hold about twenty catties.
The Cuan person shook his head with a smile.
The Meng person said again, "This." He gestured to half of the bag.
The Cuan person still smiled and shook his head.
The Meng person thought about it and then lowered his hand to about one-tenth of the water bag. He then looked at the Cuan person.
This was after considering that the other party had said that there was a lot of salt. Otherwise, he would have been willing to bring another sheep with the same amount of salt.
The Cuan person picked up half of the sheepskin and said to the Meng person, "This sheepskin can be exchanged for a bit of salt."
The Meng person was angry. He thought that the other party was lying to him. How could a bit of sheepskin be exchanged for a full bag of salt?
The Cuan person quickly said in the other party's language, "It's true. There is a lot of salt. You can dig it up. Some of it can be eaten directly, and some of it needs to be processed. It's not worth much. I also want to sell it to you at a high price, but I'm afraid that Xiao Bao and Cuckoo will be angry.
If you don't believe me, you can bring a few people back with me. I'll let you see with your own eyes how much salt there is. No matter how much you eat, you won't be able to finish it. It's just that you'll have to walk back and carry a lot of it. "
"We're not afraid of the weight. We'll call someone to go with you right away." The Meng person was still worried before he was sure, but he chose to go and take a look.
The matter was resolved. After that, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan sent a telegram to confirm it through the people who stayed behind. The Meng person was very happy and said that he was willing to consider joining the Tang Empire, provided that he would not be a slave after joining.
"Now we should speed up and continue to the west, through the territory of the Six Zhao, and then turn northwest. That's the Brahmaputra River, which happens to be our front line. We specialize in attacking the Duo people from India. We should cooperate with them."
Zhang Xiaobao stopped, opened the map, and said to Wang Juan.
Wang Juan looked at the map and nodded. "Soon. Some areas in India and Duo people have started to harvest wheat and other crops in autumn. I hope that the fleet that went to the strait to attack will be in time. We can't let them safely harvest the grain."
"Let's hurry up and ask the small countries in India why they are helping the Duo people. Then we can talk to them about the purchase of grain. If they say they don't want to sell, we can attack them on the grounds that they want to continue to support our enemy countries."
Zhang Xiaobao echoed.
"What if they say they're willing to sell?" Wang Juan asked.
"Impossible. Would you be willing to sell ten catties of wheat for one copper coin?" Zhang Xiaobao meant that he wanted to lower the price.
"Yes, we can exchange it for foreign exchange." Wang Juan said with a smile.
"Uh! Then one hundred catties, I don't believe it. "Zhang Xiaobao said in a huff.
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