Cutting one's losses wasn't just the privilege of heroes. The pirate leader also understood this principle. In the face of a dangerous situation where his entire army was wiped out, sacrificing the lives of some of his brothers in exchange for the survival of more of his brothers was a wise choice. The pirate leader didn't hesitate at all and obtained a satisfactory result. Eight of his brothers were surrounded and their fates were unknown. However, he and more of his brothers had already escaped.
However, not all of the pirates who managed to escape could understand the painstaking efforts of the pirate leader. They felt that the pirate leader was afraid of death, which was why he let his eight brothers be the scapegoats. Not only did they grumble, but they were also very dissatisfied with the pirate leader.
In other words, tonight's battle had caused the pirate leader's prestige to plummet. In any era, a leader's prestige was very important. It was also very easy for a leader to lose his prestige. As long as he made a few wrong decisions, his prestige would be swept to the ground. No one would understand the force majeure, and no one would sincerely consider the problem from the leader's point of view. As long as the final result was a crushing defeat, then it was the leader's fault. All the force majeure was fleeting. No one would listen to the leader's explanation. Victory was the foundation of everything. A leader who couldn't lead his team to victory was a fool. No matter how wise his decision was, no one would care.
For example, in the future, there was a fruit merchant's chairman who made a very wise move. Under his mediation, he negotiated a very low price for fruits, allowing a large number of merchants to buy in large quantities. In this way, all the merchants could make a huge profit.
Such a good thing was hard to come by in a thousand years. The merchants naturally wanted to seize this heaven-sent opportunity. They took out all their funds to buy in large quantities, hoping to make a big profit. However, the unexpected happened. There was a sudden outbreak of an infectious disease, and all the shops had to close. All the stored fruits were no longer bought and were all rotting in the shops. As a result, the more they stored, the greater their losses. These merchants were going to lose everything.
Under such circumstances, no fruit merchant would consider the chairman's efforts. They would not think about how much effort the chairman of the Fruit Merchant Union had put in to lower the price of fruits. They would only think about how much effort the chairman of the Fruit Merchant Union had put in to lower the price of fruits. They would only think about how their stocks had all been overstocked and how they had lost everything. And the reason for this was because the chairman had negotiated a very low price. If the chairman had not negotiated such a low price, they would not have bought so many goods. As for the sudden outbreak of the infectious disease, it was not the chairman's fault. It was the infectious disease that had caused their goods to rot. However, no one cared about this. They could not hate the infectious disease. Therefore, they could only hate the chairman of the Fruit Merchant Union.
That was why it was said that being a leader was the most difficult job. A leader had to be able to lead the team to achieve results. That way, they would have prestige. Even if they were lucky, others would be convinced. And no matter how wise or capable a leader was, they would always encounter unexpected situations that caused them to be unable to achieve good results. It could even cause the entire team to suffer heavy losses. That was the leader's incompetence. People were more willing to see the final result and not pay too much attention to the process.
For example, tonight's encounter. Could it be the fault of the pirate leader? Of course not. The pirate leader did not have the ability to predict the future. How could he have known that he would encounter Ang Lee's huge fleet when he brought a group of brothers out to look for a target? This was a completely unexpected situation. He did not want his brothers to suffer heavy losses. However, his brothers had placed the blame on him.
The pirate leader's face was gloomy. He was also very upset. If he were to encounter such a situation again in the future, he would not be able to survive. Today, they had at least preserved more than half of their strength. But if they were to encounter such a situation again, they would probably be completely wiped out.
"Why don't we stop doing this in the future?"
The pirate leader asked.
These words had been spoken after careful consideration. After all, tonight's setback had been too great. If it were to happen again, it would be a disaster for them. The number of soldiers, the strength of their fighting power, and the determination with which they pursued had far exceeded the pirate leader's expectations. He had never expected to encounter such powerful soldiers. He also did not know where these soldiers had come from or if they would continue to patrol the Wenshui. If these soldiers continued to exist, then their livelihood would be over. Thus, it was better to leave this business as soon as possible and find a safe and reliable line of work to make a living.
When he thought about how the soldiers had killed five of his brothers with crossbows and injured even more, the pirate leader felt a chill run down his back. The soldiers' archery and equipment were truly too powerful. The gap in strength between them and the soldiers was truly too great. They simply did not have the ability to resist. This time, they had sacrificed eight of their brothers to temporarily escape. But next time, when the soldiers were even more prepared, they would have no chance at all.
"Boss, you can do business, but what about us? Besides robbing, we don't know anything else."
"That's right. Boss wants us to change jobs with just a few words? How could it be so easy? At the very least, you have to give us enough money to settle down."
"I don't want much. Just give me a hundred strings of string. In the future, we'll go our separate ways. No one owes anyone anything."
"That's right. If each person gives us a hundred strings of string, we'll agree to disband."
"No, I'm injured. I need at least twenty strings of string."
The group of pirates agitatedly raised their conditions. At a glance, it was clear that they were all insatiably greedy people. None of them were easy to deal with.
Seeing the pirates under his command demand so much, the pirate leader was filled with worry. These guys were completely entangled with him. If he did not give them enough benefits, they would not give up. Although he had accumulated quite a bit of savings over the years, it was not enough to satisfy the demands of his brothers. If everyone gave him this much, he would have to sell off many of his assets. This was equivalent to destroying his family's property.
The pirate leader was originally a businessman. However, due to his limited abilities and the fact that he had many competitors, his business wasn't doing very well. Compared to his peers, he was in a weaker position. He was a genuine small businessman who lived in the cracks between the two sides.
In order to change this lifestyle, he hooked up with a group of scattered water bandits. Using his knowledge of business, he became the leader of the water bandits, and from time to time, he would disguise himself as a merchant and rob merchant ships passing by the Wenshui. A portion of the money he robbed naturally had to be given to the water bandits, and he also had a market for the goods he intercepted and could easily sell them for cash, thus obtaining a sizable sum of money. This method of making a fortune through robbery was too tempting, and the income was considerable, much better than doing business with great difficulty. As a result, the leader of the water bandits and his brothers could not stop. After robbing on the Wenshui for many years, they had reaped a bountiful harvest, accumulating a considerable amount of wealth.
These assets mainly included real estate in a few counties, as well as shops, warehouses and the like. Of course, there were also some goods piled up. If all these assets were converted into cash, there should be quite a bit. However, the conversion would not be completed in a short period of time. If he really sold all these assets for cash, the pirate leader would definitely be reluctant.
After the income increased, the expenses were also not small. Because they robbed a lot of goods, they needed warehouses to store them. Warehouses also needed to have custodians. These custodians naturally had to be paid a certain amount of money. After having money, their requirements for life would naturally be higher. Their food and clothing would have to be better. This way, their expenses would also be higher.
In addition, they also had to establish good relations with the soldiers so that it would be more convenient for them to rob. For example, the soldiers patrolling the river would often be given benefits by the pirate leader. As such, these soldiers would naturally not board the ship for inspection for no reason. As for whether the soldiers knew that the pirate leader was a pirate, it was hard to say.
However, even if these soldiers suspected that this courteous pirate leader was a pirate, for the sake of money, they wouldn't search the ship. As long as they weren't sure that the other party was a pirate, they wouldn't do anything. After all, who wouldn't want to give them money to pass through?
Of course, the pirate leader would not rob a merchant ship in front of the patrolling soldiers. As such, no matter how much benefits he gave the soldiers, the soldiers would not sit by and do nothing. This kind of public face-slapping was not tolerated by the soldiers. They maintained a balance between them. If the pirate leader gave the soldiers money, the soldiers would not make things difficult for him and would not search his ship. However, if he robbed in front of the soldiers, the soldiers would not sit by and do nothing. The bribe from before would be useless. This was the rule that no one could break.
The pirate leader was a shrewd merchant and naturally knew this well. Therefore, when there were soldiers patrolling, he would never rob. He would only rob when the soldiers were not around. For this reason, he had continued for so many years without any incident. However, this time, so many soldiers had suddenly appeared and wanted to search. This really caught him off guard. He did not even have time to pay his respects before the other party had already displayed a stance that would not stop until they searched. He had no choice but to escape, which resulted in a fierce pursuit by the soldiers.
At this moment, the pirate leader was most depressed about the soldiers he met tonight. Why were their attitudes so firm? They had just met face to face, and their attitude was so unyielding that they wanted to search him. It was as if they already knew that he was a pirate. But this was completely illogical! He looked very gentle and was obviously a merchant. The few people beside him also looked more honest. His fierce-looking brothers were all hiding in the cabin. How did these soldiers know that there was something strange about his merchant ship? Or was it just a blind cat running into a dead mouse?
"Brothers, is there a traitor among us?"
The pirate leader suddenly opened his mouth and said.
"Boss, what do you mean? Who is the traitor?"
"We are all brothers. How can there be a traitor?"
"Boss, what you mean is, why did the soldiers we met tonight want to search us? They seem to think that we are all thieves."
"Who is the traitor? Step forward and let me know who is the traitor. I will definitely kill him."
A few pirates said hatefully.
"No, there shouldn't be a traitor. We haven't seen these soldiers before. They're new. These soldiers are all new!"
The pirate leader suddenly said.
After thinking for a long time, he still felt that his brothers were all reliable. There shouldn't be any traitors. Moreover, so many people had died. If they continued to suspect his brothers, it would be too chilling. His brothers had risked their lives for him, but in the end, they were still suspected. This was indeed too cruel. It could easily shake the morale of the troops. Furthermore, he felt that the chances of a traitor were not high. Perhaps it was just a new soldier who was anxious to gain merit. Thus, they checked the merchant ship along the way and discovered him.
"Boss, no matter what, we have to avenge our dead brothers! We can't let our brothers die in vain! "
A pirate angrily said.
"Avenge? With our little strength, how can we avenge them? What can we avenge them with? Aren't we just sending ourselves to our deaths?"
"I think we should hide for a while! Send a few more brothers to investigate the situation. See where these soldiers came from and why they suddenly appeared here. "
"Yes, let's go ashore and bury our dead brothers. Let's settle our injured brothers. Then, we'll split up and investigate the situation. See where these soldiers come from."
A few pirates said.
The pirate leader felt that this was very reasonable. First, they would bury their dead brothers, settle their injured brothers, and finally investigate where these soldiers came from. Only by understanding the situation could they make plans for the next step.
The pirate ship sped up and fled. Meanwhile, on Ang Lee's side, the battle was gradually coming to an end. The chaotic underwater battle lasted for almost an hour. Dozens of boatmen and soldiers completely annihilated the eight pirate leaders. Even the pirates who tried to escape and almost reached the shore were shot by crossbows. In the end, they were captured and brought back. Not a single one escaped.
"Assistant Minister Li, all the pirates have been captured. Not a single one escaped."
Chen Long excitedly said.
How could he not be excited? Out of the eight pirates, four had been beheaded and the other four were captured alive. Only six boatmen and soldiers were injured. As long as they were treated in time, their lives would not be in danger. This was a complete victory.
The heads of the pirates that had been beheaded had to be displayed to the public. The corpses were directly thrown into the river. As for the pirates that had been captured, they naturally had to be treated well. As long as they could pry open their mouths, they would be able to find clues about the other pirates. Capturing the rest of the pirates in one fell swoop would not be a difficult task.
"Chen Long, lock up the four of them separately and immediately interrogate them. We must dig out all the other pirates. Not a single one can be left out. The sooner the better."
Ang Lee ordered.
"Assistant Minister Li, just you wait and see! We must make them tell us everything they know. "
Chen Long said confidently.
The Apex
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