Ang Lee had not been idle these days. First, he went to Giant Tree Island to have a look. Then, he went to Red Iron Island. After that, he wandered around Bullhead Island. The soldiers who came with him were also busy. They gave some benefits to the fishermen and asked them to take them out to sea. The fishermen were busy fishing, while the soldiers took the opportunity to explore the hydrology nearby. From time to time, they would ask the fishermen. After all, no one knew the hydrology better than the fishermen. If they wanted to know the hydrology nearby, they just had to ask the fishermen.
Of course, they could not ask the fishermen directly. Their purpose was too obvious, which would easily arouse the fishermen's suspicion. Once they aroused the fishermen's suspicion, it would be bad. Therefore, they had to ask the fishermen quietly and casually while chatting. In this way, they would not easily arouse suspicion and would make the fishermen feel very natural.
After a few days of investigation, Ang Lee found that the hydrology of the Black Dragon Sea Area was very bad. If a fleet broke in without knowing the situation here, it would definitely suffer a great loss. No matter whether it was a large ship or a small one, there was a high probability that it would hit the reef. For a ship, as long as it hit the reef, there was a high probability that it would sink, resulting in the tragedy of the destruction of the ship and the death of the people.
These pirates were entrenched here. Usually, they were supported by ten times the number of people. Occasionally, they would go out to rob, so they lived a good life. Occupying the geographical advantage here, the pirates were not afraid of the Tang Dynasty's army. At least, in their opinion, the heavy warships of the Tang Dynasty could not get close to here. If they were careless, they might hit the reef and sink. There was no need to take such a big risk to eliminate them. Moreover, they never robbed nearby. They would go at least five hundred miles or even a thousand miles away to rob. If they went so far to rob, it would not be easy to be discovered, so the probability of being attacked was not high.
"Assistant Minister Li, the terrain of the Black Dragon Sea is too advantageous for the pirates. Many routes can only accommodate small and medium-sized ships. The elite warships of the Tang dynasty are too big and not flexible enough to turn. If they come to encircle and suppress the pirates, they will easily hit the rocks. Without elite warships, the warships modified from ordinary fishing boats are not as well-equipped as the pirates. Plus, they are not familiar with the terrain, so they will easily be at a disadvantage."
Chen Long looked at the hydrographic map of the Black Dragon Sea in Ang Lee's hand and sighed.
"The pirates chose a good place. However, if you want to eliminate the pirates, you don't have to hit a nail here. Since they are pirates, they will always go out to rob. If you attack them halfway through their robbery, they won't have the terrain advantage."
Ang Lee said with a smile.
"However, it is not easy for us to find out the whereabouts of the pirates. When pirates go out to rob, they will definitely not publicize it with great fanfare. How can we find out about it?"
Chen Long said. The pirates were not fools.
The pirates were not fools. They were clear about the strength of the Great Tang's warships, so they naturally did not dare to act brazenly. They would definitely be careful when robbing, fearing that others would discover their whereabouts. Therefore, it was more difficult to find the whereabouts of the pirates. The sea was so vast that if one did not get the news in advance, finding the whereabouts of the pirates on the sea was really no different from finding a needle in a haystack. It was almost possible that one would not be able to find the pirate's ship at all.
This was indeed a very difficult thing. If there was an insider, things would be much easier. However, it was obviously unrealistic to arrange an insider temporarily. The specific plans of the pirates to go out to sea to rob must only be known by the core pirates. The small pirates below were not clear at all. It was too difficult to let a new insider sneak into the core pirates. Without several years of getting along, the pirates would not casually trust a brother. At present, each of the six brothers of the Black Wolf King had been friends with him for more than ten years. They were all sworn brothers who could trust each other with their backs. If he directly developed an insider among these people, the difficulty was not ordinary. These were all core pirates who were quite strong-willed. It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be to make them yield.
There were only six brothers under the Black Wolf King's command, which was three wolves and three dogs. These brothers were inseparable from the Black Wolf King and spent every day together with him. Their relationship was not something that could be easily alienated. The six of them were not married, so they did not have the opportunity to use a chain of tactics.
"Have you found out the situation of the six brothers of the Black Wolf King?"
Ang Lee opened his mouth and asked.
Chen Long shook his head and said, "It's not that easy. Only the ingrate's identity has been found out. As for the origins of the other five, the fishermen nearby were not clear. This ingrate's father was an ordinary fisherman who has passed away long ago. The ingrate's mother also passed away. It can be said that all his relatives are no longer alive, and he is the only one left. Because of his strong body, the ingrate quickly won the appreciation of the Black Wolf King and became one of his brothers."
The Black Dragon Sea had a population of more than ten thousand, but there were only a little more than a thousand pirates, which accounted for only ten percent of the population. However, all the pirates here came from ordinary people and were selected from the ordinary people. In the eyes of outsiders, the thousand pirates were selected from the ordinary people, but in the eyes of the pirates, they formed the sea force to protect themselves. Occasionally, they would go out to rob the rich to help the poor. It was to fight against the rich and heartless merchants, and at the same time, to improve their own living standards.
In other words, in the eyes of the ordinary people in the Black Dragon Sea, the thousand pirates were an army to protect them. They were an indispensable force to establish a foothold here. Of course, this force would protect them from being bullied by other forces, but it would also occasionally bully them. For example, the Black Wolf King was a lecherous man. All the beautiful girls under his rule would become his women, and this was obviously not popular. Of course, this was a small matter. After all, only a small portion of the girls were harmed by the Black Wolf King. Most people lived under the wings of the Black Wolf King and did not have to worry about being bullied by foreign pirates.
As for the fact that all the ordinary people had to support the pirates, they all thought that it was natural. Many of the pirates had family members who were pirates, so they naturally did not care about this.
Speaking of the ten thousand ordinary people here, how many people hated the pirates? Probably only those whose family members were harmed by the Black Wolf King would hate the pirates! Most of the pirates regarded themselves as part of the coexistence with the pirates. If the pirates were good, they would be good. If the pirates disappeared, they would also lose power. Perhaps, in the eyes of outsiders, the ordinary people here were also pirates. If the soldiers encircled and annihilated them, in order to obtain more military merits, they might treat the ordinary people here as pirates and annihilate them. In this way, the military merits could be increased tenfold.
Since ancient times, when the soldiers encircled and annihilated the bandits, when they found the bandits' lair, they would treat everyone in the lair as bandits. Even three-year-old children were no exception. Many of the children were the children of pirates, so there was nothing wrong with eliminating the roots. Even if they were not the children of the bandits, they were people who had lived with the bandits for a long time, so it was easier to annihilate them all.
Therefore, since ancient times, when the bandits were annihilated, there would be many unjust cases. If 30% of the young people in a village went out to rob, then after they were discovered, the entire village would be defined as the bandits' lair and would be destroyed. As for some people who were wronged, they could not care so much. The generals needed a lot of credit to promote themselves. Since it was not easy to find the bandits' lair, they naturally had to annihilate them all. It should be known that every head was a military merit. The more heads, the greater the merit. This principle was the simplest.
The ordinary people in the Black Wolf Waters obviously understood this principle. Since they had already lived with the pirates, they had to realize that they had become one with the pirates. If the soldiers annihilated the pirates, they would also be annihilated at the same time. At the very least, they would become slaves and suffer for the rest of their lives. They had no choice. This was their destiny.
Just as Ang Lee was thinking about how to annihilate these pirates, the leader of the Black Wolf Waters, the Black Wolf King, was also discussing with his subordinates where to rob in order to obtain more wealth to celebrate his upcoming new love.
"Big Brother, there's only half a month left. There's not enough time!"
"That's right. Big Brother is just taking in a young lady. There's no need to be so well-prepared!"
"Haha! Big Brother's taste is getting more and more strange. An eleven-year-old young lady hasn't even grown up yet? Even with this, Big Brother can still do it. "
"You can't blame Big Brother for this! These damn guys. As long as there's a good-looking young lady at home, they will be sent away before the age of twelve. As a result, Big Brother hasn't had a new love for five or six years. Big Brother is doing this to teach these guys a lesson and tell them not to go against Big Brother. "
"Haha! Got it. It seems like Big Brother wants to take her into his house first and raise her for a few years. When she grows up, then … hehehe! "
"No matter what decision Big Brother makes, us brothers will always support him. Big Brother will always be our big brother."
The six brothers of the Black Wolf King said with a grin.
The Black Wolf King smiled and said, "Brothers, the reason why I'm so well-prepared this time is because I'm very satisfied with this young lady. Although this young lady is only eleven years old, her appearance is undeniable. As long as I raise her for three to five years, she will definitely be a beauty. So, I'll have to trouble you all. I know that half a month is a little tight, so I won't go too far this time. I'll just go to White Dragon Island to rob."
"White Dragon Island? Rob the Zhou Family?"
The white-eyed wolf said with a frown.
The big-eyed wolf said, "Big Brother, if I remember correctly, this Zhou Family is not simple! The heroes of the Seagull Archipelago seem to have been raised by the Zhou Family. I don't know what happened, but the heroes of the Seagull Archipelago betrayed the Zhou Family and stole a lot of treasures. However, in the end, the imperial court picked up the leftovers. The Zhou Family's resources are indeed extraordinary. They are a big fat sheep. "
The Red Dog said, "Since Big Brother said to rob the Zhou Family, then let's rob the Zhou Family. However, White Dragon Island is not small. I heard that there are three hundred experts on the island, and there are only a hundred of us brothers. How can we be their opponents? I'm afraid we can't beat them!"
Hearing this, the white dog also said, "Big Brother, this Zhou Family is not to be trifled with. If our Black Dragon Great Emperor takes action, we may be able to flatten the Zhou Family. However, with our strength alone, we are not as strong as the Zhou Family."
Upon hearing this, the Black Wolf King looked at the six brothers beside him and said, "Brothers, you worry too much. According to the latest news from White Dragon Island, there are less than a hundred of the three hundred heroes left on the island. More than two hundred of them have been eaten by the fishes. Now is the time when the Zhou Family is at its weakest. It is also our chance. It would be a pity if we miss it."
Upon hearing this, the One-Eyed Wolf said with a ferocious smile, "If that's the case, then it's really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Hahaha! "
"More than two hundred heroes have been eaten by the fishes. What happened?"
The Green Dog asked doubtfully.
Of course, the Black Wolf King would not hide the truth from his brothers. He told them the cause and effect of the matter in detail. Suddenly, his brothers were enlightened and understood how rich the Zhou Family was.
"Big Brother, this is really unexpected! The Zhou Family is actually so rich. Five hundred chests full of gold and silver treasures. That's too much! The Zhou Family must have robbed them! Otherwise, how could they have so much gold and silver treasures? "
The White-Eyed Wolf said doubtfully.
The Big-Eyed Wolf said, "Since the Zhou Family can put five hundred chests of gold and silver treasures on the merchant ship and prepare to ship them back to the Tang dynasty, then the Zhou Family's warehouse must have more treasures. Maybe there are more than five hundred chests of gold and silver treasures?"
The One-Eyed Wolf said with greed in his eyes, "Big Brother, since the Zhou Family has so many treasures, then we don't have to be polite to them. There are less than a hundred heroes. Although their strength is not inferior to ours, we launched a sneak attack. As long as we are well prepared, we can defeat them and rob the Zhou Family of their wealth."
The Red Dog said, "If we cut the weeds without removing the roots, they will grow again when the spring breeze blows. Why don't we just wipe out the Zhou Family in one breath and leave no one alive?"
"The Red Dog is right. Since we have decided to rob the Zhou Family, we can't leave any future troubles. The Zhou Family is really powerful. Either we don't rob them, or we have to be ruthless. We can't give them a chance to take revenge."
The Green Dog echoed.
The Black Wolf King nodded and said, "Brothers, this time I will personally take action. All of our brothers, except for the White Dog and five brothers who will stay behind, will go. In addition, select more than a hundred strong men from the fishermen and let them be in charge of sailing the ships. We also need to prepare a few more empty ships. God knows how much wealth the Zhou Family has."
"Big Brother, the Zhou Family also has a lot of ships. Why do we have to take our own ships? Isn't it better to use the Zhou Family's ships?"
The Big-Eyed Wolf asked.
The Black Wolf King shook his head with a smile and said, "I'm afraid the Zhou Family doesn't have many ships left. Most of them have been destroyed, either by fire or torn apart by hurricanes. In short, there are only a few ships left."
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