The ship sailed on the sea, braving the wind and waves. Other than the whistling of the wind, the deck was dead silent.
After a long time, Charlot lowered his head under Zhang Lisheng's calm gaze and said with great difficulty in a hoarse voice, "Sir Spiritual Monster, if you want me to lead the way to invade the Kattaman City State's city at sea, I won't give in no matter how miserable my fate is. I think … I think my family can understand why I'm making such a choice …"
"My goal is not the mainlander's city but the other Hellfire islands," the young man interrupted the old man's words.
"In that case, I'm willing to serve you, Sir!" Upon hearing Zhang Lisheng's words, Charlot became silent again. A series of expressions flashed across his face for a while before he finally made up his mind. Relaxing his body, he whispered. The instant he finished his sentence, he slumped down on the deck as though all his strength had been sucked away.
"A very wise choice, Charlot. In a sense, choosing to obey me is akin to provoking a civil war among the Hellfire people.
Not only can you consume the barbarians' strength, but you can also save the lives of your family and give them a happy life. What other choice could be smarter than this? " Zhang Lisheng whispered in admiration and cast his gaze at Hanoo, who was hugging his wife and young son tightly by the side. "Hanoo, my poor friend whose reputation has been ruined.
The city-state of Venis has banned you from sailing, but I can give you everything you want. You want to give your son the best life, and you want your wife to live a prosperous and comfortable life. These are all small things. As long as you can prove your loyalty in the future, everything will definitely come true. "
The young man's tempting words directly hit the weak spot of the abject navigator. He looked at his wife, who was filled with fear but was pretending to be calm in front of his son and continued to comfort the young child. With a trembling voice, he said, "I can serve you, Sir Lisheng.
But you have to promise that when my child grows up, you'll give him a sum of money and let him return to … return to human society. Not only that, you must never disturb him again. "
"I promise, Hanoo, I promise that when your child grows up, if he wants to return to the mainland to live, I'll definitely fulfill his wish!" The young man answered with a profound meaning in his words and shifted his gaze to the third sailor who had been captured.
With the first two examples and the fact that serving him was actually provoking a barbarian civil war, very soon, the last navigator also chose to surrender. In the following voyage, Zhang Lisheng did the same on the other two ships made by the mainlanders and gained the allegiance of the other four navigators.
Such a result was even more perfect than the best outcome that the young man had expected. It proved that he had exerted all of his skills, using the lizard's transformation power to lurk and investigate the selected targets, using the flood dragon's power to travel through the clouds and fog, flying in the sky to capture people onto the boat. After working hard for more than twenty days, he had only found seven targets, but all of them were families. It was an extremely correct choice.
When alone, old people who had experienced many hardships could easily see through life and death, but when their children and grandchildren were around and their lives were threatened at the same time, they could only choose to surrender.
Just like this, seven navigators with at least 20 years of sailing history submitted to Zhang Lisheng. From then on, he no longer had to rely on the Wizard Li fishermen to find and track the shoals of sharp-mouthed snakeheads.
Or he would personally lead the expedition army to explore the location of the other Hellfire islands blindly based on the direction at the risk of heavy losses.
To the aristocrats of the Venis City, these old people were just eccentric trash who had been exploited for their entire lives and no longer had much value left. However, to the Wizard Li Conqueror, they were indeed the 'eyes' that pointed to the next step on the road to glory.
Of course, in order to make these 'eyes' widen and brighter willingly, Zhang Lisheng, who had already shown his ferociousness and cruelty to the dissidents, must also show his true kindness to his supporters.
"I'll build a town by the sea so that your families can live happily in it." In the cabin of the large merchant ship where the banquet was held, Zhang Lisheng held a crystal glass filled with fruit wine in his hand and spoke to the navigators with fervor and assurance. "The surviving sailors, cooks, and maids of the Tantorn Family's fleet that was captured not long ago will also fill the town.
Of course, their status is completely different from your families. Not only that, if there's a chance in the future, I also plan to use the trading company in Venis City to trade with the mainlanders and buy some slaves so that the ratio of men and women in the town will be more even.
In short, you'll slowly understand that I'm completely different from ordinary spiritual monsters. The more cruel I am to my enemies, the more merciful I am to my supporters. "
"There's no need for me to slowly look at you to know that you're different from ordinary spiritual monsters, Sir." Charlot, who had drunk too much wine, smiled wryly. "Generally, the Conqueror who has controlled the entire Hellfire island will not bother to lay out a plan and spend a few months just to legally set up a trading company in a mainlander's city and conveniently kidnap a few old navigators and their families."
"I like your humor, Charlot." Zhang Lisheng stood up and clinked his glass with the old man, displaying the elegant demeanor of a celebrity trained in New York's Vanity Fair. "However, in my mind, wisdom is a kind of unparalleled wealth, and the heads of everyone here are filled with the wisdom that I have longed for.
In order to make this wisdom work for me, let alone a few months, it's worth it even if I have to spend a few years … "
When the young man was speaking, the big wooden door of the cabin was gently pushed open. A Hellfire warrior in iron armor walked into the cabin and kneeled on the ground before saying respectfully, "Great Conqueror, we've already sailed back to Lisheng Island."
"You've already sailed back? Looks like the speed of the steamship is much faster than I imagined. In that case, everyone, let's go take a look at 'my' island. I hope it can leave a good first impression on all of you," Zhang Lisheng smiled and looked around at the navigators before striding out of the cabin.
Looking at the young man's back suddenly disappearing outside the door, the seven old but still strong seafarers looked at each other and stood up to walk out of the cabin. At once, an unbelievable scene appeared before their eyes.
The coastline that stretched as far as the eyes could see was filled with endless ports and docks.
Huge steel ships with a length of three to four hundred meters were anchored in the port berths. There were hundreds of thousands of native warriors on the ships, practicing how to set up a battle formation in a narrow space.
In another port next to the long row of iron ships, hundreds of huge fishing boats were entering and exiting, tilting out a large number of catches with the help of complex pulley machinery. Above the fishing boats, more than ten purple balloons with a diameter of more than 100 meters, equipped with wind-driven mechanical cabins, were flying away with hundreds of short Hellfire tribesmen and loaded with goods.
Similarly, there were also some large balloons flying from afar that slowly landed on the coast, in the vast city.
Such a scene that was a mixture of a highly civilized and barbaric style made the mainlanders unable to believe their eyes for a long time.
It was only until they saw Zhang Lisheng's lean body clearly appearing at the bow of the ship overlooking the land that all of the Hellfire tribesmen, be it in the harbor, ship or city, that all of them kneeled on the ground like tender grass that was blown by the wind.
It was only when prayers and hymns resonated in the sky that they snapped back to reality and could not help but have a horrified look on their faces.
"Powerful island civilization, devout religious beliefs, elite weapons and equipment, a large number of elite warriors … May the gods bless us and let this demon …"
May the gods bless us and let this demon … demon … "Charlot blurted out in a low voice, wanting to express the emotions in his heart. However, in the midst of the pious prayers that filled the sky, he looked at Zhang Lisheng's thin back and realized that he could not say the word 'demon' no matter what. For this reason, he could only change his words." May this great being set his eyes on the other Hellfire islands instead of the cities on the mainland … "
As the old man was muttering to himself, the three ships were dragged by the Wizard Li steamship that had already begun to slow down and was ready to enter the port. When the wooden ship stabilized, Zhang Lisheng jumped down directly. After he landed, the Wizard Li headman and the chief craftsman, who were already kneeling on the shore, climbed up from the flat stone floor and went up to kiss the Conqueror's feet.
Aruba said proudly, "Great Conqueror, the giant steamship that can carry 150,000 elite Wizard Li warriors has been built. The 'airship' that you mentioned has also soared in the sky of the Wizard Li Island."
"I've seen it, Aruba. You really didn't let me down." Zhang Lisheng looked down at the chief craftsman at his feet and smiled in satisfaction.
Then, he shifted his gaze to the tribal headman and pointed at the navigators and their families who were slowly disembarking from the ship with the help of the wooden escalator. "Tugra, build a mainlander town for our distinguished guests next to this' separation '. The survivors of the mainland fleet that we captured not long ago will also live in this town in the future, so the scale must not be too small.
Build it as soon as possible. I hope that the distinguished guests can soon live a comfortable and comfortable life, understand? "
"Yes, Great Conqueror!" Tugra replied respectfully.
"Fellow navigators, I've already ordered the construction of a livable town for all of you. I believe it will be completed very soon, and by then, the lives of all of you and your families can be restored to almost the same as before.
However, all of you will be richer, have more servants to serve you, and be more respected. "Zhang Lisheng nodded and turned to look at the group of valuable captives who were coming ashore one after another before saying loudly," But before that, I need all of you to complete some work.
I'll show all of you a complete bird 's-eye view map of the Hellfire sea region that includes all the islands.
Then, Mr. Charlot will teach all of you how to communicate with the Hellfire tribesmen.
After that, all of you will lead an iron ship each to sail to the few islands closest to the island under our feet.
The journey is not short, it's about 10,000 feet, but I know that this kind of work is just a very simple thing for all of you, so don't deliberately fail. Remember, the price of teasing me is not something that anyone can afford. "
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