The people on the 60 boats shouted as they chased. The distance between them was getting closer. They were strong, and there were many people who took turns to row the boats.
The 100 boats that were running did not reply. They used all their strength to row the boats as fast as they could.
In the midst of the chase, the 160 ships were getting further and further away from the shore. The group in front of them ran in a curve, closing the distance between the two sides. If they stopped and did not run, it would only take them a quarter of an hour to catch up.
The pirates on the 60 boats did not care which direction the other party ran in. As long as they could catch up, they would let them know the price of running. They would be exhausted to death.
After another hour of chasing, the distance was getting closer. They estimated that they would catch up in another quarter of an hour. The distance was about four miles.
At this time, the people on both sides were struggling to control the boats. In the deep sea, the waves were not as beautiful as when they were at the seaside. There were not many splashes, but this was the most dangerous place. When a wave came, the boat would be swerved.
"Captain, they actually ran here. When we catch them, I must let them know how powerful we are." A person who had just been replaced swung his arm and complained to the captain of the action team.
The captain frowned. He felt that something was wrong. Logically speaking, the 100 boats should be running directly in the direction of Jili State. Although they could not escape, it was better than running here. If they were not careful, the boats would capsize.
Just as he was puzzled, six big boats suddenly appeared in his field of vision. They were very big boats with full sails. They were very fast. It did not look like they were passing by. Instead, they were heading in this direction.
Before the captain could figure out what was going on, the big ship quickly approached them. The hundred small boats in front of them suddenly scattered, making way for the big ship.
"What boat is that? Is it a big cargo boat? Or a soldier boat? "The captain asked blankly.
The four people on the boat shook their heads, indicating that they were not sure. They stopped rowing and waited to see what was going on.
They stopped moving, but the big boats started to turn their rudders. The sails also changed. The hull gradually turned horizontally and formed a line.
Without waiting for the 60 ships to get a clear look, a rumbling sound came from the big ship. Then, countless black dots suddenly appeared in the air and flew towards them.
"What is this? Bird? " The captain muttered. Before he could finish, the black dot landed first. A few ships were directly hit by the black dot, and with a boom, the entire ship was gone.
A pillar of water rose up from the surface of the sea, and there were even more black dots that did not hit the ship. Instead, they smashed into the water, and there were also quite a few that caused a huge commotion, causing pillars of water to rise up.
The black dot that landed beside the small boat not only brought out a water pillar, but also many things that flew out and destroyed the boat.
After this round of fighting, the big ship began to turn again to reveal the other side.
At this time, there were only thirty-seven boats left. The people on the boats finally knew what the other ship wanted to do. Although they didn't know what was flying towards them, they understood that the other party wanted their lives. They no longer cared about chasing the small boats in front of them. They turned their boats around and fled in the direction they came from.
At this moment, they did not feel tired, and their arms were not sore. They rowed the boats as if they were flying on water.
On one of the big boats, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were looking through their binoculars. There were six big boats, and each boat had 40 cannons. After firing once, someone had to clean the cannons. That was why they had to turn to the other side after firing.
There were 20 cannons on each side, but there were no bow cannons or stern cannons. A total of 120 cannons had been fired. Because the 60 boats were relatively close to each other, they were able to destroy 23 boats at once.
However, this result did not satisfy Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan.
"The cannons did not all explode. I only saw a dozen of them. One of them had already hit the boat, but it did not explode. It seems that it still needs to be improved."
At this time, Zhang Xiaobao did not let the big boats fire anymore. He sent the small boats to save the people. It was not that if the boat was damaged, the people would die. Some people were still floating on the water. When the group left, they were all trying to save their own lives. No one went to save their companions.
Wang Juan nodded. "This improvement process is not easy. We can only use it now. It's better than not having any cannons. It's the technology that can't keep up. We must preserve the cannons well. We can't let them rust. Otherwise, it will be another Jiawu. In addition to the tactical problems, there are also problems with weapons and morale."
"Let's not talk about this first. I'll chase after them. I want to see where the rest of their boats are going." Zhang Xiaobao did not worry about the cannons. After giving the order, the big boats chased after the escaping boats. He did not chase all of them. He left one behind, afraid that the small boat here would accidentally capsize.
The big boats turned slowly, but they moved faster than the small boats. They moved with full sail, getting closer and closer to the escaping boats in front. When they reached a certain distance, the big boats slowed down a little. The so-called slowing down was to move in a zig-zag pattern.
Every time the big boats did this, the small boats in front would be able to move a little faster. They were afraid that the big boats would turn sideways, and then there would be another explosion.
After a chase, the people on the small boats finally returned to the big boats when they were almost out of energy.
Zhang Xiaobao's boat suddenly sped up, then stopped, put down the small boat, and continued to chase. The small boat's speed was very fast. There were four people on each boat. One person was in charge of the direction, one person was idle, and the other two people were there at full speed. Behind the small boat, there was a splash of water, and the boat quickly caught up.
The escaping people had never seen such fast boats. They used the last of their strength and ran as fast as they could. When the boats behind them were about to catch up, the 37 boats finally hit the beach and were stranded there. The people on the boats jumped off and ran in the water.
There were 20 small boats behind them. There were four people on each boat, so the 80 people were stranded there. They jumped off and continued to chase. They were the last ones to come down, so they had enough strength. They quickly caught up with the people running in front of them.
The people running could not run anymore. They gritted their teeth and turned around. They picked up their weapons and faced the 80 people who were chasing them. They looked like they were going to fight to the death.
"Put down your weapons and don't kill. You evil pirates, you still want to run? Come with us to see Daxing City's Lord Li. We'll deal with you then. "
The 80 people who were chasing them stood in front of the remaining 180 people and shouted loudly.
There were still people waiting to move. Just as they were wondering why the boats had not arrived, they saw people coming ashore one after another.
Some of the commoners immediately recognized a few of the more than 180 people and shouted, "They are not pirates. They are the army of Daxing City."
"Oh, I see. Daxing City's army pretended to be pirates and went to rob us? We need to talk to Li Qingying about this. "
The leader of the eighty people said angrily, pretending to be enlightened.
The people were also stunned. They looked at the soldiers of Daxing City in disbelief. They wanted to hear their explanation.
"We're not soldiers of Daxing City, we're pirates." One of the more than one hundred and eighty people suddenly shouted out loud.
As soon as he finished shouting, the captain who was lucky enough to survive slapped him in the face. He turned around and pretended to be relaxed as he said, "You've got the wrong person. We're not pirates, we're soldiers of Daxing City. Who ordered you to chase us and slander us as pirates?"
The quick-witted soldier next to him immediately echoed, "Yes, we went out to sea to catch pirates, but just as we were about to catch them, we were suddenly attacked by you, and many of our people were injured or killed. Where are you from? Who ordered you to attack Daxing City's soldiers? "
The first ones who didn't believe such a lie were the surrounding people. They weren't stupid, so it didn't take them long to figure out that Li Qingying, the City Lord of Daxing City, must have pretended to be a pirate and attacked those hundred ships in order to prevent them from leaving by ship.
However, they were not as strong as those people. They were beaten up, so they started to deny it.
The 80 people who chased them knew what they were going to say, so they did not argue. They just said that they wanted to see Daxing City's Lord Li Qingying and talk to him face to face.
Zhang Xiaobao sent out small boats from the big ship. The people on the boats were there to talk about this. They pulled back the boats with propellers and put down the ordinary boats.
On one hand, the 80 people followed the 180 people into the city to find Li Qingying. On the other hand, they used small boats to pull the local people onto the big ship.
This time, they pulled a lot of people, and it was the last batch to leave Daxing City. There were not many people left in Daxing City.
What happened next was simple. Daxing City and Jili Province argued back and forth, blaming each other for the mistake, while they stood on the side of justice. This went on for a few months, and then they sent letters to the capital city.
Li Qingying even threatened to use force to retaliate. However, after a few days, he did not send a single boat to take revenge.
Not only did he not do anything, but when Zhang Xiaobao went to other places to pull people, the other side did not send ships to stop him.
One was that Jili Province had almost 30,000 soldiers, so he could not pull too many people away. The other was the most important one, so no one dared to.
When the people sent by Li Qingying came back, they reported the situation at sea. There were six big boats, very big, fast and stable. When they were still far away, they suddenly stopped. Then it was like thunder. Twenty-three boats were destroyed and many people died.
What hit them? They did not know. How did it hit them? But it was definitely not a catapult. Catapults could not hit so far away, and it would not be like thunder.
Li Qingying was scared. He was afraid that the Tang Emperor would attack here. This place was nominally under the control of the Tang Empire. He did not expect that what he feared would happen. It seemed that he could not count on a naval battle. In the past, he could not win against the Tang Empire in naval battles. Now that the Tang Empire sent the two most powerful people here, it would be difficult to deal with them in the future.
The others also had the same thought. In the past, they had inquired about how powerful the new provincial governor and registrar general were. They didn't see it with their own eyes, but this time, they knew.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not in the mood to start a war with others immediately. They had to stabilize the situation and then deal with others through other means. When others wanted to fight back, they would fight.
Now they were busy settling the people who came.
The thirty thousand soldiers had been gathered, and after a period of time, they would be sent to other places. When the time came, they would first stay in the bustling areas and be separated. They would still be given three meals a day with meat for every meal. When they were sent to the borders, they would be given ideological and political education so that they would know why they were fighting. They had to embody the spirit of hardship and simplicity. Those who wanted to continue to have meat for three meals a day would be threatened to send them back. Furthermore, their families would not care.
This idea was very immoral, but Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also helpless. If the 30,000 soldiers stayed in Jili Province, they could still afford to feed them. The problem was that they were sent to other places. If they continued to feed them like this, what about the other soldiers? They could not afford to feed them.
As for the families of the soldiers who came here, it was easy to deal with them. The soldiers were protecting the country at the front, so they would be provided with normal food and daily necessities, free education, and free medical care.
When Li Longji felt that it was about time and was ready to implement it throughout the country, they would ask Li Longji for money to make up for the losses in Jili Province. If it was not enough, they would fight for it. If it was not enough, they would need some policies.
The families of the soldiers were now being settled. They were given land, but the land needed to be rented. They could also arrange shops for them. These shops also needed to be paid taxes.
Xue Daobi was now promoted. He did well. He was promoted to Sector-General and managed the population. He did not need to manage the money.
Sector-General Xue was very happy. His salary really increased. His family built a good house. He was now a famous person in this area.
He followed Zhang Xiaobao and was busy. He also asked about how they could use ships to release mines.
That day, Sector-General Xue sorted out the number of people who came here and the local people. When he went to investigate, the people were very cooperative. They were afraid that he would leave someone behind. That was related to the ration of food and other things.
The local people could also get the same treatment if their family had joined the army. As for those who did not join the army, they could not. They only cared about the children going to school and did not care about the rest. Unless there was no man in the family, they would care about it.
The 30,000 soldiers brought more than 130,000 family members. Large families would send one person out of every five people. Small families would send one person out.
130,000 people. Including the original people in Jili Province, there were still 130,000 people. The food that so many people ate every day was not a small amount.
In order to improve his relationship with Zhang Xiaobao, Sector-General Xue took the book about the population and found Zhang Xiaobao.
"Daren, why don't you think of a way? Do you know how many people eat in a day?" Sector-General Xue looked very anxious.
Zhang Xiaobao was drawing things on the map. He wanted to make the economy here prosperous. When he heard Sector-General Xue's words, he nodded: "I know, a lot. There is also the oil they use and the cloth to make clothes. There is also the two eggs that each child gets in school every day."
"Daren, why are you still taking it out?" Sector-General Xue seemed to be spending his own money.
Zhang Xiaobao put down the pen and sighed: "Can I not take it? The emperor treats me and Cuckoo differently from other people. Others don't have to pay taxes, but we have to. Without people, who will farm? Without people, how can I do business? "
Sector-General Xue was also in a dilemma. He suddenly asked: "Why? He is the emperor. How can he bully people like this?"
This was a crime, but Zhang Xiaobao didn't care and said: "Isn't that so? It's too unreasonable. Didn't he just give both of our families an official title? Didn't he just allow me and Cuckoo to enter and leave the Imperial Palace as we please? Didn't he just let us manage the Tang Bank, which is the most likely to cause trouble but also the most profitable? Isn't it just a matter of Cuckoo and I killing any local official we want to kill before we tell him? Didn't he just … "
Zhang Xiaobao said one after another. At the beginning, Sector-General Xue was on the same side as Zhang Xiaobao. After Zhang Xiaobao finished all the 'didn't he just say', Sector-General Xue finally felt that Li Longji was actually quite pitiful. He was a good person.
No wonder Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were sent here. They weren't sent away, they were used as pillars. It seemed that following Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan was the right choice. They actually had such a big advantage over the emperor. He didn't expect that even Xiaobei and the others could unite to impeach someone. They were given too much power.
Thinking like this, Sector-General Xue felt that he should say a few words on behalf of the good emperor.
"Daren, this little one understands. The emperor will be very happy when he knows what Daren has done."
"Do you need to say that? We took the money ourselves. How can he not be happy? We can't get the money back. We have to find a way to earn it back here. "Zhang Xiaobao immediately knew what Sector-General Xue was thinking.
"Then how do we earn it? We're spending money now. "Sector-General Xue was very curious.
"Let me ask you. Under normal circumstances, can you support your family by working for others?" Zhang Xiaobao asked.
"Yes." Sector-General Xue replied.
"Then do you think that merchants don't earn a single copper coin and give all the money to the people who work?" Zhang Xiaobao asked again.
"How is that possible? Merchants are black-hearted. It's good enough that they give the people who work for them one copper coin for every ten copper coins they earn. "Sector-General Xue answered again.
"In that case, all I'm doing is paying them double the wage. I'll get them to work for me, and I'll pay them double the wage. I'll still be the one who earns the most. It's better than having no one to work for. All the people here came with the army, and none of them are very rich. Therefore, I'll be the one to sell the things they make here. I'll ship the other things they need from other places and sell them at a higher price."
Zhang Xiaobao's words were very clear. He was using the wage once to support the people. When the time came, the people would get an extra wage. Even if the double wage didn't affect the profits.
Sector-General Xue nodded in admiration. He really didn't think of this problem.
"Daren, what if merchants from other places also come to compete with you for business? Won't they …? "Sector-General Xue made a beheading gesture as he spoke.
Zhang Xiaobao was so angry that he laughed. "What are you thinking? It's better if other merchants come. This place will definitely prosper. When the time comes, the provinces can pay more taxes. I'll lose money, but I'll gain political benefits. Alright, you do what you need to do. I'll write a letter to the emperor and complain about the money spent."
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
