Regardless of whether it was out of morality or out of interest, Li An had to eradicate the pirates in the Malacca Sea for the Great Tang Empire and turn the Malacca Sea into a sea of peace and happiness.
Ang Lee also had this ability. It was not difficult for the current navy of the Tang Empire to annihilate the pirates. As long as it was a head-on confrontation, the pirates could be said to be vulnerable. However, if the pirates played dirty and hid in the dense jungle dozens or hundreds of miles deep on the big island and came out to harass from time to time, it would be more troublesome.
Since ancient times, the bandits in the mountains and forests had been a sore point for the imperial court. Under normal circumstances, the imperial court's strength could only control the cities and strategic locations in the country. As for the less important bandits in the mountains and forests, they could do nothing about them. It was very difficult to wipe them all out.
Of course, if there were too many bandits in a certain mountain and they showed signs of fighting against the imperial court, the imperial court would send a large number of regular troops to wipe them out to maintain their rule.
Because of their familiarity with the terrain and the accumulation of years of operation, many bandits could defeat the imperial court's army to a certain extent after they grew stronger, bringing shame to the imperial court.
There were also a large number of bandits in the mountains of the Tang Empire. There were also a large number of bandits in the poor areas. However, after Ang Lee started industrialization, the equipment of the Tang Empire's army had been greatly improved. The provincial governors of each town had been equipped with a large artillery force, which could attack the bandits from a long distance and actually eliminate many bandits who had done many evil things.
But so far, there were still a large number of bandits in the mountains and rivers of the Tang Empire. Because there were too many of them, it was impossible to wipe them all out. As long as they were not too excessive and did not do much harm to the development of the Tang Empire, they could only be temporarily put aside.
However, the huge pirate group in the Malacca Sea had seriously endangered the national interests of the Tang Empire and must be eliminated as soon as possible. Therefore, Ang Lee would never be soft-hearted.
After leaving Guda, Ang Lee ordered the fleet to head south. Their target was Chao Island in the south. This island was quite large, about 2,000 square kilometers. Moreover, there were many archipelagos around it, about 300 of them.
These islands were covered with a large amount of vegetation and had sufficient rainfall. They produced timber, coconuts, cocoa, rice, and other crops. The largest island had its tallest mountain nearly a thousand meters above sea level. It could be said to be a very good island.
This island was actually the Natuna Island in the future, and the archipelago was also called the Natuna Archipelago. It had always been the boundary between the Hua Xia Empire and other countries. As long as the ships from the west crossed the Natuna Archipelago, they would enter Hua Xia.
In history, the Natuna Archipelago had been ruled by the Hua Xia Empire for more than 200 years. During the Ming Dynasty, the Natuna Archipelago belonged to the Hua Xia Empire.
In history, during the period of Zheng He, people called the Natuna Archipelago the Wansheng Stone Pond Island. The entire island was an important supply base for Zheng He's voyages. In this supply base, there was a good deep-water port, a large number of barracks, and a large number of guards. Not only were there carpenters and bricklayers, but there were also carvers, painters, and painters. It almost formed a small society.
Later, people called the Wansheng Stone Pond Island Ambuna Island. After Zheng He's last voyage to the Western Ocean, he considered the important role of this island and proposed to station troops here. After the Emperor heard about it, he felt that Zheng He's words were very reasonable, so he agreed and gave the island the name Ambuna. After that, many famous boatmen brought the Emperor's handwritten order and their families to this overseas island and lived there. For a long period of time, they enjoyed a wonderful life like a paradise.
In fact, ever since Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, the Natuna Island had been directly managed by the Ming Dynasty. It could be considered the territory of the Great Ming Dynasty. However, because it was isolated overseas, it was difficult to manage. Therefore, all the people of the Great Ming Dynasty who stayed on this island did not have to pay taxes. Their lives were quite easy.
The first batch of people of the Great Ming Dynasty who stayed on this island were ordered by the Great Ming Dynasty's Emperor to guard the island. This also meant that this island was the first territory in the history of Hua Xia. The wife of the first generation of people, Zeng Yuanfang, was still alive in her nineties. Because of her noble character, she had always enjoyed great honor and was respectfully called Mother Zeng by the local people.
Because of their worship of Mother Zeng, they called the western archipelago Zeng Mu Western Archipelago. Even the southernmost territory of the Hua Xia Empire was called Mother Zeng Dark Sand. This Mother Zeng referred to the wife of the first generation of soldiers on this island, Zeng Yuanfang.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the strongest power in the West, the Netherlands, occupied Java and Jakarta and established their headquarters in the East Indies. The Ambuna Archipelago of the Hua Xia Empire also fell into the hands of the Dutch and was ruled by them for 300 years. After that, the Japanese navy went south and defeated the Dutch army and occupied the archipelago.
After World War II, the Japanese were completely defeated. The Dutch made a comeback and tried to regain control of their colony. However, after World War II, the people of the world had awakened. The Dutch lost three wars and completely lost their colony in Yazhou. Afterwards, the Ambuna Archipelago returned to the hands of Indonesia and not the Hua Xia Empire.
The Hua Xia Empire had once included the Ambuna Archipelago in their territory. However, due to the influence of their strength, they were unable to control the island and could only helplessly give it up. However, as the Hua Xia Empire gradually grew stronger, there was still hope for them to reclaim the Natuna Archipelago in the future.
The Natuna Archipelago was extremely rich in resources. Needless to say, the oil and natural gas resources were extremely rich. In addition, there was a large amount of fishing resources and the scenery was also very good.
For now, the biggest advantage was the geographical location. After the merchant ships from the West passed through the Malacca Strait, it would not take long for them to pass by the Natuna Archipelago. It was very good to stop and resupply.
As long as it developed well, in the future, Natuna would definitely become a very prosperous county of the Tang Empire. Of course, the name of Natuna must be removed. It was better to call it Rising Sea County. In the Tang Dynasty era, this island was called Rising Sea Island.
Before going south, Li An had already begun to collect information on various areas in the south through various channels. Of course, this included the island of Hong Kong. He also learned that the island was now occupied by pirates and had become a veritable pirate lair.
This group of pirates had a total of 5,000 people. It was the largest group of pirates outside the Black Wolf pirate group. This group of pirates was actually part of the Black Wolf pirate group. They belonged to the peripheral group, not the core group. It was similar to a country's vassal state.
Ang Lee attached great importance to the strategic position of Rising Sea Island. Therefore, this island must be taken down. Moreover, it must be occupied for a long time and make this large island a county of the Tang Dynasty. The number of elite troops stationed there for a long time must not be less than 1,000. They must also be equipped with advanced artillery units to fight against invading enemies.
It would take several days to reach Rising Sea Island from Guda. Even if Ang Lee's fleet was made of high-speed steam ships, it was no exception.
On the way, Ang Lee had already begun to study how to attack Rising Sea Island. Although the topographic map of the island given by the fishermen in Guangzhou was too simple and many of the reefs were not accurate enough, it was enough to attack this pirate group. The focus of Ang Lee's study at the moment was how to avoid the reefs and shallow water and smoothly occupy Rising Sea Island.
"Big Brother, there's a big ship sending a distress signal. What's the meaning of this?"
Li Feiyu walked into the cabin and said.
"Could it be a pirate?"
Ang Lee said lightly.
Li Feiyu said with a smile, "Big Brother, pirates wouldn't be so bold as to walk into a trap."
"That's true. Pirates aren't stupid. Let's go out and have a look. "
Ang Lee stepped out of the cabin and walked to the command platform. He habitually picked up the high-powered binoculars and looked at the ships in the distance that were greeting each other.
"It's the flag of Wen Kingdom. This small country has just been established a few years ago and has some connections with the Tang Dynasty. They are not affiliated yet. Hey, they look like they have suffered a great disaster. All of them are covered in dust."
Ang Lee recognized the flag of Wen Kingdom and saw the flustered faces.
"Big Brother, let the soldiers go up and check carefully in case there's a trap."
Li Feiyu suggested.
Ang Lee nodded and asked a steam ship next to him to move forward. He was ready to thoroughly check the other ship to find out what was going on.
"Assistant Minister Li, the situation has been clarified. The other party is a diplomatic mission of Wen Kingdom. They were about to go to Chang 'an City but were attacked by pirates on the way. Their princess's ship was taken by the pirates. The princess and many ministers fell into the hands of the pirates. The soldiers and some officials who didn't want to be captured by the pirates jumped into the sea and were rescued by a ship that came later."
The general of the Tang Dynasty army reported.
Ang Lee nodded and ordered, "Since they are allies, of course we can't help. Bring the leader here. I have something to ask."
Soon, a drenched middle-aged man was brought over.
"Great Assistant Minister Li of the Tang Dynasty, please accept my kowtow."
Seeing that the Tang Dynasty fleet was so powerful, the minister of Wen Kingdom knelt down unconsciously.
He had lived in Wen Kingdom for a long time and had never been too far away, let alone seen the power of the Tang Dynasty fleet. When he saw the Tang Dynasty fleet just now, he was shocked and couldn't believe his eyes. If he hadn't seen the flag of the Tang Dynasty fluttering in the wind, he would have been scared away.
"Are you going to Chang 'an City?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Assistant Minister Li, our king has always admired the Tang Dynasty and sent me to lead our beautiful princess to Chang 'an City to officially accept the conferment of the Tang Dynasty on behalf of our country. Unfortunately, we were attacked by pirates on the way. More than 100 of our soldiers were killed and the princess was captured. If the transport ship behind us hadn't arrived, we would have been fed to the sharks in the sea."
The official said.
"Oh, I see. How long has it been? Why didn't you go back and report to your king?"
Ang Lee continued to ask.
"It's been a whole day. I've sent several soldiers back by boat to tell the king the bad news. I'll lead this ship to Chang 'an City with local specialties to meet the great emperor of the Tang Dynasty and complete the important mission given by the king."
Shi Chen said righteously.
Li An was very clear about Wen Guo's strength. He smiled indifferently and said, "This official will ask you one thing. If your king knew that his precious daughter had been taken away by pirates, what would he do?"
"Well … the king will be very angry. He will hate these abominable pirates and will never forgive them."
The official of Wen Kingdom seemed to have no confidence.
"Haha!"
Li Feiyu and other generals of the Tang Dynasty couldn't help laughing, which made the official of Wen Kingdom very uncomfortable.
Li An couldn't help but reveal a smile. He said faintly, "Never forgiving pirates? Does that mean that your king can't do anything to pirates? So, you're in a hurry to continue to Chang 'an City. You want the Tang Dynasty to make decisions for your Wen Kingdom, right? "
The official of Wen Kingdom was very uncomfortable and hurriedly said, "Our Wen Kingdom has 3,000 soldiers and horses and a strong city. If the pirates attack, they will definitely be defeated. However, the pirates have been operating on the island for many years and have 5,000 soldiers. If our Wen Kingdom sends troops to attack the pirates, we won't get any advantage."
"Come here and have a look at the topographic map of the island. Is it like this?"
Ang Lee handed the map to the official of Wen Kingdom.
"This is the topographic map of the island, but the marks are not accurate enough. I know more than this map. After all, the fishermen of our Wen Kingdom also secretly go fishing."
The official of Wen Kingdom suddenly became proud.
Ang Lee said happily, "Then hurry up and mark it and tell me what you know."
"Yes, I understand."
The official of Wen Kingdom replied happily and suddenly realized, "Assistant Minister Li, what do you mean? Are you going to attack the island?"
Ang Lee looked at his subordinates and said with a smile, "I personally led more than 100 warships here. Are we here to fish? There are only 5,000 pirates here. We can break it in a day. "
"Wow, that's great. Our beautiful princess can be saved. She can be saved."
The official of Wen Kingdom was so happy that he almost jumped up.
Ang Lee joked, "Then, are you still in a hurry to go to Chang 'an City?"
"No hurry, no hurry. I'm going to take our beautiful princess to Chang 'an City. This is the king's order. That's good."
The official of Wen Kingdom said happily.
Soon after, a more detailed map of the Rising Island appeared in front of Li An. With this, Li An's confidence in attacking the Rising Island increased by another step, and the losses he might suffer would also be smaller.
Li An calculated the location of the island and found that they would be able to reach it in less than a day. They would be able to reach this beautiful island at dawn.
Dawn was the time when people were most relaxed. It was the most suitable time to attack the pirate's lair and minimize their losses.
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