The main task of the Giant Tree Island was to build ships. This was the main business of the island's craftsmen. Of course, they also needed to make other things, such as spear shafts, crossbow accessories, arrow shafts, seats, and so on. These other things only accounted for 20% of the total. 80% of the wood was used to build ships.
Due to the lack of manpower, the production of ships wasn't high. It took half a month to build a small fishing boat, a month to build a bigger one, three months to build a medium-sized one, and at least half a year to build a fast ship. As for large ships, they didn't have the ability to build them. Even if they had two production lines, the production speed wouldn't be fast enough. Of course, it wasn't suitable to build too many ships. After all, this was only an island. Even if the island had a lot of wood, it couldn't be cut down without a limit. The speed of cutting had to be the same as the speed of the trees' regeneration, which was just right for the current production line.
The profits from building ships were good, but the sales of fishing boats weren't high. Therefore, building too many ships too quickly didn't make much sense. Building too many ships would cause slow sales. Currently, the Giant Tree Island had five small fishing boats in stock, and the Bull Head Island had three. So at least for a few months, the Giant Tree Island wouldn't continue to build small fishing boats. They would take advantage of the slow sales of small fishing boats to build fast armed boats to meet their needs of robbing merchant ships.
As the population of the Black Dragon sea continued to increase, the number of pirates would also increase. More pirates would need more fast armed boats. This way, they would be able to dispatch more people to rob, and the range of their activities would also increase a lot. They could go a thousand miles away to rob and leave after robbing. The place where they robbed was a thousand miles away from their own nest. This distance was something that the soldiers wouldn't even think of. Naturally, they would be able to guarantee their safety. For a long time, they had been doing this. As the number of fast armed boats increased, the location where they robbed merchant ships was getting farther and farther away from the Black Dragon sea.
This was the saying, "Rabbits don't eat the grass near their burrows." This was to ensure their own safety to the greatest extent.
In order to maximize the confusion, the pirates of the Black Dragon sea would send a different number of fast armed boats each time. Sometimes there would only be one, sometimes there would be three or four, and sometimes there would be seven or eight. In short, there wasn't a single time that was the same. Every time they robbed, it would take about a month to go back and forth. Because they had enough fast armed boats, the pirates could divide the team into several groups. At least one group would stay in the Black Dragon Archipelago, while the other groups would go to faraway places to rob...
Through Niuer's introduction, Li An finally understood that the pirates of the Black Dragon Archipelago would go nearly a thousand miles away to rob. No wonder they had not been attacked for so many years. They were so secretive that it was difficult for the soldiers to figure out the location of their lair.
In the middle of the island, dozens of tree trunks were piled up randomly. These were all cut down by the loggers in the past few days. Because the number of loggers was limited, in addition to cutting down trees, they also needed to sort out the branches and transport these trunks and branches to the designated location. Therefore, the number of trees that could be cut down every day was limited.
More than a dozen loggers were sitting on the tree trunks randomly. When they were tired from working, they would stop to rest for a while and talk about life. They looked very unhappy.
Most of these loggers were descendants of the Tang Dynasty. Their fathers came from the coastal area of the Tang Dynasty, and some of their mothers came from the local area. But they had learned the culture and language of the Tang Dynasty since childhood. A few of the locals were familiar with the people of the Tang Dynasty. At least, they could speak the Tang Dynasty very well. If you didn't look at their appearance, you might think that they were people of the Tang Dynasty.
"How many hours do you work every day?"
Ang Li took out the good food and wine that he had prepared beforehand and gave them to the loggers to get close to them.
The loggers recognized Niu Er. When they saw Ang Li and the others with Niu Er, they naturally didn't have any vigilance. Seeing that there were benefits coming to their door, they naturally had no reason to refuse. They readily accepted Ang Li's gift.
"The wine is good. The meat is also good. Thank you."
One of the lumberjacks expressed his gratitude.
"Ten hours a day. But if you are tired, you can rest for a while. As long as you complete the task given by the higher-ups. If you work fast, six hours a day is not a problem."
Another lumberjack said.
Ang Li asked, "How long have you been working here? Are you tired?"
These loggers have been working on Giant Tree Island for a long time. The shortest one has been working for more than a year, and the longest one has been working for more than ten years. They can be considered as old employees. They only cut wood every day. Their life is very monotonous and boring. Naturally, their work is very hard. However, they are already used to it. Their biggest tiredness is their heart. They feel very lonely. The whole Giant Tree Island is full of men, and there is not a single woman. When they work, they have no energy at all. People who have been lonely for a long time will feel a sense of beauty when they look at the trees and flowers. When they get together to rest, the most they talk about is women. They seem to be very uncomfortable, but there is no solution. They can only endure. Yes, they can only endure. They are only the lowest level loggers. They can't be like Black Wolf King, who has more than ten young and beautiful women in his nest. Most of these women were snatched from the outside. Some of them obeyed him, and some of them swore to die, so they have been locked up. Although this Black Wolf King is a bastard, he is still respectful to beauties. He has never forced himself on them. This is his character, a strange character. It is strange for a pirate to have such a character.
Although Niu Er was familiar with the Black Wolf Archipelago, he didn't know everything. There were still some things he didn't know, and these lumberjacks could provide a lot of information. They had also lived on the archipelago for a long time, so naturally, they knew a lot of things. The reason they were willing to tell Ang Lee this was that Ang Lee gave them good wine, which made them feel that Ang Lee was a good friend. Since they were friends, naturally, they could say anything and didn't have to worry too much.
"Speaking of this Black Wolf King, he's not a bad person. He usually takes care of us fishermen, but he's a little lecherous. Of course, which man isn't lecherous? This is human nature. But he snatched our fishermen's daughter, which made us unhappy. Therefore, all of us who have beautiful daughters at home will find ways to send them away before they grow up. We don't dare to stay here. If the Black Wolf King sees them, it will be terrible."
A lumberjack said.
"Didn't you say that the Black Wolf King won't force girls?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Bullsh * t, I just won't force myself on her, but I'll keep her under house arrest until she agrees to be his woman. Over the years, he's snatched at least dozens of young and pretty ladies, and many of them committed suicide because they were unwilling. Those who agree to be his woman won't have a good life either. However, Black Wolf King is a thief, and all thieves are the same. You can't expect him to be a good person. Fortunately, I don't have a daughter, so don't worry."
A lumberjack said.
"But your son will marry a wife sooner or later, haha!"
The lumberjack next to him joked.
"Then just marry an ugly wife. There are three treasures at home: an ugly wife, a poor land, and a shabby cotton-padded jacket. The Black Wolf King won't like an ugly wife. What do we have to worry about?"
"Haha! I'm afraid that your son won't think so. Which young man doesn't like beautiful women? If you ask him to find an ugly wife, will he be willing? "
"He has to be willing even if he doesn't want to, unless he doesn't want to live a good life."
The two lumberjacks argued. Ang Lee felt that they were quite cute. This phenomenon was very common since ancient times. Many people at the bottom liked to marry ugly wives. It wasn't because they liked ugly women, but because ugly wives weren't easy to be thought of and wouldn't cause unnecessary trouble for themselves. On the other hand, beautiful wives were always easy to be thought of and would add a lot of unnecessary trouble to their husbands.
Similarly, because of the frequent wars in ancient times, many beautiful women liked to marry disabled people. The reason was that disabled people couldn't join the army and war. In the future, they wouldn't be able to be recruited by the imperial court. How sad was that?
There were many kinds of wood that could be used to build ships. However, there were some differences in quality. The main wood on Giant Tree Island was yellow rosewood. It was a very good wood. If this wood was used to build ships, the quality of the ships would be guaranteed.
After chatting with more than a dozen lumberjacks for a while, Ang Lee went to the seaside to chat with the craftsmen there. There were more craftsmen here. They were responsible for making wood into various parts needed for ships. This was a very tedious and tiring job.
Most of them were working, but there was also a craftsman who was hiding and sighing. The other craftsmen didn't say anything to him. They just let him rest on the side.
"Niuer, what's wrong with this person? Go and ask him."
— — —
Niuer walked over and soon came back.
"The Black Wolf King has taken a fancy to his daughter. He will come to pick her up in a few days. He doesn't know what to do."
Niuer said.
"Oh, his daughter is very beautiful?"
Ang Lee asked.
"It's hard to say whether she's beautiful or not, but I know that his daughter is only eleven years old. She's still very young. What's wrong with the Black Wolf King? Why can't he let go of such a young girl? "
Niuer said with a frown.
Ang Lee said, "Your Black Wolf King is too bad. He can't even let go of an eleven-year-old girl. It's really the nature of a beast."
Niu Er nodded. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Li An's words. The Black Wolf King was indeed a beast in this aspect. He already had so many women, but he still wanted to taste them. Previously, he had only tasted women who were at least fifteen years old. But now, he didn't even let go of an eleven-year-old girl.
Ang Lee personally went over and asked some questions about the Black Wolf King marrying the eleven-year-old daughter of a craftsman. After that, the group left Giant Wood Island.
At this time, the sky was already a little dark. It would be difficult to return safely if they didn't go back. After all, there were too many reefs here. During the day, Niuer could easily shuttle through the reefs, but once it was night time, even with his experience, Niuer would feel some pressure. Without a reference, it was easy to get lost. Ang Lee didn't want to take the risk.
After returning to Bull Head Island, Niuer temporarily left, while Ang Lee and the others stayed in the best hotel.
"Assistant Minister Li, the strength of the pirates in the Black Dragon Sea has been growing. Sooner or later, we will eliminate them."
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Of course, but we don't have a warship now. We can't beat the pirates' armed ships. If we fight side by side, we have a good chance of winning. We can hide two or three hundred elite soldiers on the ships. We can certainly defeat the pirates' armed ships."
"We have three thousand soldiers. We can get more merchant ships and fight side by side with them. Eliminating the pirates here is not a problem."
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee said, "Let's not talk about eliminating the pirates here first. Let's think about how to deal with the Black Wolf King in front of us! This kid is really something. He can't even let go of an eleven-year-old girl. This is too bad. "
"How about we take away the carpenter's eleven-year-old daughter?"
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "I'm afraid it won't be that easy. Since the Black Wolf King has his eyes on this eleven-year-old girl, why wouldn't he send someone to keep an eye on her? I'm worried that we will alert the enemy. If our identity is exposed, it will be terrible. "
"Oh, they will send someone to keep an eye on a little girl."
"If you don't believe me, you can go and see for yourself. See if I'm telling the truth."
"Okay, I'll go and see."
Chen Long came back not long after he left.
"It's true. There are five or six pirates in front of the carpenter's house. They don't even have the intention to hide. They are planning to rob!"
Chen Long said angrily.
"Not only do they want to rob, but they also want to choose a good day. This Black Wolf King is really something. We can't let him succeed. Maybe this is an opportunity to wipe out all the pirates."
Ang Lee said.
"The good day chosen by the Black Wolf King is only half a month away. We don't have much time left. Our soldiers are still in Tianguang Port. They need time to send the message back and mobilize the troops and ships."
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Don't worry. There's definitely enough time. But we have to arrange it as soon as possible. We won't have a chance later."
Although these pirates weren't very dangerous, if they weren't eliminated, they would become a threat sooner or later. It was better to eliminate them. Li An had always had zero tolerance for these pirates. He would eliminate all evil.
After a night's rest, Ang Lee's group met up with Niu Er again and prepared to go to Red Iron Island. There were almost no trees on the island, but there was a mountain range on the island. Most of the rocks in the mountain range were iron ores. Thus, it became an iron-smelting workshop. At the same time, many iron instruments were manufactured here.
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