Every day, Ang Lee went out to sea to fish. He went out in the morning and came back in the evening. He really looked like a qualified fisherman. Of course, other people would do the fishing. Ang Lee was mainly responsible for admiring the scenery on the sea, familiarizing himself with the hydrology nearby, as well as the fishing boats and merchant ships that came and went. Thus, he had a basic understanding of the situation here. Only by mastering all these could he have a better control of this place, which would be beneficial for him to eliminate the pirates here.
Half a month later, Li An had become very familiar with the situation around Tianguang Harbor. The fleet had also harvested a lot of fish. After harvesting two whales, they had stopped hunting. However, they had killed a lot of sharks. Moreover, they only took the shark fins and threw the rest of the carcasses into the sea as food for other marine carnivores. Thus, they didn't waste any resources.
They also caught a lot of other small fish. Of course, they had to give a large part of the harvest to Chen Fugui and the others. Their four whaling ships consumed a lot of fuel every day. Not only did they need to consume fuel, but they also needed to pay the wages of so many people, which was a huge burden.
Of course, Ang Lee could be fully responsible for these burdens. It was nothing for him. However, it was a blessing for Chen Fugui to be able to share Ang Lee's burden. He didn't need Ang Lee and the imperial court to bear the cost. He could completely afford these losses. Of course, he also had people behind him. The Chen family had more than four whaling ships, and he wasn't the head of the family. This could be regarded as his family's goodwill to Ang Lee and the imperial court of the Tang dynasty.
Although Chen Fugui was willing to bear all the consumption and give all the benefits to the next year, Ang Lee naturally couldn't let them lose too much. Therefore, except for the first few days when all the fish were given to the soldiers, they gave more than half of the fish to Chen Fugui for his subordinates to sell at the harbor. This could more or less recoup some losses. The more fish they caught, the more losses they could recoup. However, because they needed to take Ang Lee on a tour, the number of fish they caught couldn't be compared to usual. Therefore, overall, there were still losses. The fish couldn't make up for the daily consumption. In this regard, Ang Lee could only feel embarrassed. This was what Chen Fugui was willing to do.
Ang Lee understood that the Chen family's foundation was quite solid. The damage to four whaling ships shouldn't be appreciated by their family. Besides, they could still recoup some losses.
Half a month later, the pirates who had nothing to do couldn't hold it in anymore. Not only could they not rob, but they couldn't even leave the nest they were stationed in. It was suffocating to stay in the nest every day. This was especially true for the pirates on Seagull Island. They were very comfortable in their own nest, but they were almost targeted everywhere when they stayed elsewhere. They had fought several times in half a month, which gave rise to some other ideas.
"Boss, we can't eat or sleep well here every day, and we're even bullied. It's not as comfortable as when we were on Seagull Island. Boss is king there. Who dares to glare at us? Let's go! Let's not stay here and suffer. "
A pirate on Seagull Island said angrily.
"Boss, let's go! We're actually being pointed at and scolded. Who is that old thing? Isn't he just a butler? If this old guy dares to speak like that on Seagull Island and glare at us, I'll kill him. "
Another pirate said.
The leader of the pirates on Seagull Island said, "I'm sorry to have let you guys suffer. Alright, since they're so heartless, don't blame us for being unjust. Let's plan first. If we're going to leave, we have to take away as many benefits as possible. Why don't …"
Just as the leader of the pirates on Seagull Island was discussing with his trusted brothers, in the main hall of the Zhou Family, the head of the Zhou Family frowned and asked, "What happened? Why did it become like this?"
The butler next to him said, "They're all unpresentable fellows. They've only been here for half a month and they've already gone crazy. They're shouting that they want to go out and rob. I reprimanded them harshly. I think they'll be quiet for a few days."
After saying that, the butler had a look of disdain on his face. Although he was only a servant, he was someone who stayed by the side of the head of the family. He always felt that he was superior. Among the servants, he thought that he was the highest.
"Sigh, these wolf cubs can't stand it after only half a month. I let them stay at the port for their safety. I didn't even give them less food and drink. They really don't know how to appreciate favors."
The head of the Zhou Family said angrily.
The butler said, "Master, these people are born ruthless. They're indeed wolf cubs. If they can't be controlled, I'm afraid they'll bite. I think we can kill a few of them who don't listen. In this way, the rest of them won't be quiet. At least we have to let them know who they are and who controls their fate. If it weren't for the protection provided by the head of the family, they would have been wiped out by the soldiers of the Tang dynasty."
The head of the Zhou Family said, "Okay, I'll leave this matter to you. If there are still some who don't know their place, we might as well kill a few of them in public. Nothing can be accomplished without rules and standards. It seems that there's going to be blood. Otherwise, these wolf cubs will think that they can be kings."
"Don't worry, Master. I'll arrange it right away. I won't let them continue to make trouble."
The butler said.
The reason why these pirates from Seagull Island were making trouble was that they were not used to staying here. They were controlled everywhere. The accommodation arranged for them was the worst. Their treatment was far worse than that of the pirates who were originally stationed here. They were raised by stepmothers. Their food, drink, and accommodation were ranked last.
The butler couldn't be blamed for making such arrangements. The number of people in each base was limited. There weren't many people and houses left. Fifty to sixty pirates who were supposed to be stationed on Seagull Island suddenly came. With so many pirates suddenly appearing, it was naturally impossible to arrange enough houses for them. Therefore, the living environment was naturally more crowded, which made the pirates very dissatisfied.
Since these pirates were no longer robbing, they could no longer bring profits to the Zhou Family. Therefore, the food provided to them was not very sumptuous. It was good enough that they could fill their stomachs. Although it was not these people's fault that Seagull Island was exposed, the butler didn't think so. He felt that these people were too useless. They actually revealed a flaw. They deserved it. Since he was dissatisfied with these people, he naturally wouldn't provide them with good food and accommodation.
Of course, this was nothing. What infuriated them the most was that the Zhou family's hired thugs and servants at the port were bossy and arrogant. It was as if they were parasites who did not work and only ate. They even asked them to carry water and chop firewood in a commanding tone. The housekeeper also asked them to do a lot of work that they were not good at. He even asked them to clean up the feces. This was unbearable for them, so they complained a little and were actually scolded by the housekeeper.
Perhaps in the butler's eyes, these secret forces needed to be taught a lesson. Only by teaching them a lesson could they understand what rules were.
In addition to prejudice, these pirates, who were used to abusing others, had bad temper and rules. On the first day they came, they molested a maid, which made the butler very angry. Otherwise, they wouldn't have targeted these people everywhere and caused such a big commotion that even alarmed the family head. It was precisely because he heard the commotion that the family head made up his mind to teach these pirates a lesson. Although the pirates were strong, the Zhou Family's secret forces were not limited to this group of pirates. They even had more elite guards. There were more than 300 of these guards on the main island, and their strength was comparable to the strength of 1,000 pirates. It was easy to deal with 50 to 60 pirates.
These elite thugs were the confidence of the Zhou Family's head. At the same time, they were also the reason why he dared to raise pirates for his own use. They had powerful thugs to bolster their courage, so naturally, they were not worried that the pirates would bite them back. As for the pirates being caught and exposed them, they were also not afraid. They had already bribed some big forces to speak up for them at critical moments. At the same time, they also had enough means to pull out some people to be their scapegoats. For example, the butler was a very good scapegoat. Once the pirates were really caught by the Tang dynasty's army and exposed the Zhou Family, the Zhou Family's head could let the butler take the blame, or let an even smaller butler take the blame. The Zhou Family was rich and powerful, so it was easy for them to raise men of sacrifice. Letting the men of sacrifice take the blame was a very good way.
After leaving the main hall, the Zhou Family's butler was in a very good mood. The head of the family had already promised that if the situation permitted, he could kill a few of the leaders. He had already chosen his targets. He was going to let people provoke these guys tomorrow and then mobilize 100 thugs to execute these people on the spot. He believed that as long as he had enough strength, he could suppress the remaining pirates and make them obedient. Of course, he planned to kill the pirate leader and the leader's confidants. As for the rest of the followers and the leader, they definitely did not have a deep relationship with him. As long as the leader was killed, these people would naturally be obedient. The Zhou Family not only wanted pirates who could bring benefits to the family, but also pirates who should be obedient. If these pirates were not obedient, then they could not be kept alive.
Of course, the Zhou Family's butler would never know that these pirates had already made plans in advance after being reprimanded by him. They were ready to strike first. Naturally, they did not want to kill anyone. Instead, they wanted to take the opportunity to make a fortune on the island and then return to their Seagull Island. Although the Zhou Family was powerful, as long as they reached Seagull Island, they were not afraid that the Zhou Family would destroy them. If they really could not, they could just escape. As long as they could get more benefits, they could survive anywhere.
In addition, the reason why they dared to return to Seagull Island was because half a month had passed and there was no movement on Seagull Island. The Tang dynasty's army did not take any action on Seagull Island. Perhaps they were just being paranoid.
On a moonless and windy night, dozens of pirates split up and began to act.
"Boss, good news! There are a lot of valuable jewels in the merchant ship docked at the port. They should be planning to ship them back to the Tang dynasty tomorrow. I personally went up to take a look. There are 500 boxes of jewels. If we can snatch them, we'll make a fortune. "
A pirate stood in front of the leader with seawater all over his body.
He had just sneaked into the sea and swam near the merchant ship. When he sneaked into the ship, he was shocked to find that there were a lot of treasures on the ship.
"Motherf * cker, we've been robbing for so many years and we've done a lot of surveillance, but we've never gained so much! The Zhou Family brought so many treasures. 500 boxes of treasures. That's too much! "
The leader said excitedly.
"Boss, I've heard that the treasures accumulated overseas will be shipped back to the Tang dynasty's ancestral home every three years. The ancestral home is guarded by their ancestors. The treasures on this ship should be most of the treasures accumulated by the Zhou Family in this area over the past three years. If we can get all these treasures, hahaha!"
A confidant laughed excitedly.
The leader nodded and said, "Well, since the Zhou Family treats us like pigs and dogs that they can order around, then we don't have to be polite to them. We've been their secret weapons for so many years and collected so many benefits for the Zhou Family. How dare they treat us like this? Let's rebel tonight and drive this merchant ship away."
"Boss, robbing a merchant ship is not a small matter. We have to plan it well."
A confidant said.
A few of his confidants began to discuss. They would definitely attack from multiple directions and use the strategy of creating a diversion to drive the merchant ship away in one fell swoop. When most of the people were asleep at night, they would definitely have the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
They were divided into several groups. One group would go to various locations of the Zhou Family to set fire at night and create large-scale chaos. The other group would set fire to the harbor and burn several fishing boats. The core group, under the leadership of the leader, would raid the merchant ship with a lot of treasures and drive it away quickly. The last group would control several fishing boats and pick up the two groups that had created chaos. When all the people returned to the fishing boats, they would immediately leave the harbor and catch up with the previous merchant ship. They would go to Seagull Island overnight. As long as the chaos was big enough, they could drive the merchant ship far enough away before the Zhou Family could react, so that the Zhou Family could not catch up with them.
"It's on fire! It's on fire!"
The first to catch fire was several warehouses belonging to the Zhou Family. This immediately attracted most of the Zhou Family's manpower. Many servants with various copper basins joined the fire to put out the fire.
"What's going on? What happened?"
In the middle of the night, the Zhou Family's Patriarch was woken up because of the loud noise.
"Patriarch, several warehouses of the family are on fire at the same time. This old servant is leading people to put out the fire."
The steward said.
"Several warehouses are on fire at the same time. Who wants to make trouble for this old man?"
The Zhou Family's Patriarch had just woken up and looked a little irritable.
"It's on fire! It's on fire!"
Soon, several fishing boats in the harbor were also on fire.
A pirate, holding a basin, looked at the dozen or so thugs stationed beside the merchant ship and said loudly, "It's on fire! Why don't you go and help?"
The dozen or so thugs were responsible for guarding the merchant ship. Naturally, they knew that their responsibility was very important and did not dare to act rashly. However, the merchant ship next to them was on fire. If they did not help and the fire spread and set the merchant ship on fire, their task would not be completed.
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