After two months of continuous encirclement and suppression, the pirates in the Malacca Sea had basically disappeared. When the commercial expedition team, the exploration team, and the officials of the imperial court entered the surrounding small countries, they could no longer see the shadows of the pirates. The passing merchant ships could also pass through unscathed.
Because of the meritorious service of eliminating the pirates, the imperial court quickly rewarded them and sent them all the way to the front line of Malacca and handed them to the soldiers. Even the soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion who surrendered were rewarded. Among them, the most important reward for the Vanguard Battalion was that they were pardoned for their previous crimes, so that they would no longer be punished.
In addition, the countries along the way also expressed their gratitude and sent a lot of gifts. After all, Ang Lee had done them a great favor by eliminating the pirates, so they would no longer be bullied by the pirates.
There were also many passing merchant ships who left a part of their goods as a reward for the soldiers who eliminated the pirates. They left these goods willingly. First, it was to express their gratitude. Second, it was to express their own request in the process. They asked the navy of the Tang dynasty to stay here to deter the remaining pirates along the way and prevent the pirates from reviving in this sea area. This was to protect the rights and interests of the merchants.
That was why it was said that merchants were all people who did not get up early without benefits. Even when they expressed their gratitude, they did not forget their own request. It felt like they were making a long-term investment, that is, an investment in the security aspect.
Since the countries and merchants along the way were the beneficiaries of the elimination of the pirates, Ang Lee accepted the goods they sent as thanks with a clear conscience. It would be a waste if he did not accept it. There was no need to save them.
"Big Brother, the goods we seized now are enough for the Vanguard Battalion to use for two years. In addition to the goods sent by the countries and merchants along the way, we have more than enough. We don't even need the imperial court to allocate them."
Li Feiyu concluded happily.
They were about to leave Malacca and head to the Indian Ocean. Before they left, they had to do some statistics, including how many soldiers they would leave behind, how to distribute the various resources they had seized, how to determine the daily patrol route of the soldiers, and so on.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Most of the goods we have now were seized from the pirate lairs, and the goods in the pirate lairs were snatched from the merchants and the people. Therefore, we have taken these goods from the people in disguise. We should return them to the merchants and the people, but we have to continue to the Indian Ocean, so we kept these goods for our own use. With these provisions, the army will not be in chaos."
It was very obvious that Ang Lee was not a good person. He would not easily return the goods to the merchants and the people. Moreover, there was no way to return them. These seized provisions were not written on them. Who knew where the pirates had robbed them, and what proof they had. If an ordinary citizen said that they had 10,000 dan of provisions stolen by the pirates, how could Ang Lee verify it? Could it be that because of this one sentence, he would have to give them 10,000 dan of provisions? Obviously, this was impossible. To be able to eliminate the pirates and prevent them from being robbed in the future, this was already a great kindness. The commoners could not ask for too much.
"Big Brother is right. We have reorganized 10,000 soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion and consumed a lot of provisions. These seized provisions will be the provisions of the Vanguard Battalion."
Li Feiyu also very much agreed with Ang Lee's distribution method. After a pause, he reported, "Big Brother, the imperial court has transferred some troops from Guangzhou and Yazhou to the south, together with the newly appointed county magistrate. They are going to Lin Island, Chonghai Island, Dragon Tooth Gate, and Malacca County respectively. These are the four newly established counties of the Tang Dynasty: Lin County, Chonghai County, Dragon Tooth County, and Malacca County. These counties do not have many troops, only about 300 people. Among them, Lin County has the least, with less than 100 people. They can be regarded as government runners to protect the territory and the people. In addition, after the county magistrate takes office, he will recruit hundreds of troops from the local area to be at his disposal. Lin County is too small, with less than 100 residents, so naturally it cannot be conscripted. The other three counties can recruit troops from the local area.
Obviously, the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty had agreed with Ang Lee's plan to set up three big counties in the Malacca Sea to deter this sea area. At the same time, they also set up a small county in the archipelago in the south of Yazhou to show that the Tang Dynasty attached great importance to the sea. After all, the vicinity of Lin Island was a place that merchant ships had to pass through. The geographical location was very important. No matter how small the island was, they had to set up a county here.
In addition, the area around Lin Island was also frequented by a large number of fishermen. When there were strong winds and waves, the fishermen would come to Lin Island to take shelter to avoid their ships being overturned by the wind and waves.
There were very few people living on the island, only dozens of households. Without exception, they were all descendants of fishermen. Their ancestors had made a living by fishing for generations.
With the size of Lin Island, it was easy for tens of thousands of people to live there. In later generations, the capital of a certain country was an island. It was not as big as Lin Island, but it had 150,000 people living there. Of course, this was because they had built a large number of super high-rise buildings. If they had only built low-rise buildings with less than five floors, they probably would not have been able to accommodate so many people. However, it was more than enough to accommodate 10,000 people. Fishing could provide enough food sources, and the land could also be used to grow vegetables. As for water sources, it was very convenient to build a rainwater collection device.
The Rising Island and the Dragon Tooth Gate were large islands with a very large area. The living conditions there were much better than Lin Island. It was not a problem for millions of people to live there, let alone a small county government.
The most powerful one was, of course, Malacca. It was a coastal area, not an island. As long as the imperial court of the Tang dynasty was willing, they could use Malacca as a base to gradually penetrate inland and expand the territory of Malacca County step by step until they could establish a prefecture. At that time, it would not be Malacca County, but Malacca State.
Of course, Ang Lee knew the importance of these islands. Therefore, even if the imperial court had sent troops to guard them, Ang Lee could not completely rest assured. Moreover, the reason why the remaining pirates had disappeared was that there were more than 10,000 elite troops of the Tang dynasty cruising nearby. They were deterred by their powerful strength and did not dare to make any more moves. However, once these powerful forces withdrew, they would be replaced by hundreds of weak troops from each county. It was possible that the pirates would not sit still and start plundering again.
In order to prevent this from happening, Ang Lee had to leave some troops to completely deter the pirates. In addition to the Vanguard Battalion, the navy of the Tang dynasty also had to leave some steam gunboats to effectively deter the pirates. "The Vanguard Battalion has been established.
However, the remaining pirates have not been completely eliminated. In order to prevent the remaining pirates from coming back, we must deploy a large number of troops around Malacca. The eighth Vanguard Battalion will guard Malacca, the ninth Vanguard Battalion will guard the Dragon Tooth Gate, and the tenth Vanguard Battalion will guard the Rising Island. These three battalions cannot be mobilized in order to prevent the pirates from coming back. In addition, five steam gunboats will be left in Malacca to deter the rascals. The three Vanguard Battalions will each be equipped with ten warships and a small number of other ships, such as fishing law enforcement ships and so on. I believe that with these forces, the remaining pirates will not be a threat. "
Ang Lee said seriously.
Li Feiyu nodded and said, "Big Brother is right. The Malacca Sea is narrow and is a natural place for pirates to rob. Merchant ships can't go around it and have to pass through this narrow waterway. It is necessary to maintain a troop here."
Ang Lee continued to ask, "How is the situation of the Vanguard Battalion? After a series of reorganization and training, as well as ideological education, how is their condition? "
"Big Brother, don't worry. Although the officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion are all pirates, most of them joined this industry because of poverty. There are not many people with bad intentions. After a series of education, more than 90% of the officers and soldiers are qualified. There are also a few with bad intentions who won't be able to cause any trouble."
Li Feiyu answered happily.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Good, that's really good. As long as the officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion can learn well, they will be qualified officers and soldiers of the Tang dynasty. I am completely relieved to let them guard this sea area. Most of them are locals and are familiar with the terrain and climate here. The effect of letting them guard this sea area is very good. As for the small number of soldiers, they will be educated for the time being. If they don't change their mind in the future, they can be dealt with slowly."
Obviously, at present, everything must be done with the overall situation in mind. Everyone must be aware of the overall situation. Ang Lee was no exception. The Vanguard Battalion had just been reorganized. As long as the officers and soldiers didn't make big mistakes, they couldn't be punished to death. Otherwise, it would cause panic among the officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion. They would think that the imperial court was deliberately making things difficult for them. In this way, things would be troublesome.
For some of the officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion who had been educated for a long time but didn't have significant effects, the best way was to continue to educate them personally. If they still didn't change their mind in the future and did something bad, there was no need to be polite to them. They could be killed directly to prevent a single soldier from harming the entire Vanguard Battalion.
The reorganized Vanguard Battalion had a total of 10,000 soldiers and horses. It was divided into ten battalions. The eighth, ninth, and tenth battalions were respectively guarding Malacca, Dragon Tooth Gate, and Chung Island. The remaining seven battalions were naturally going to follow Ang Lee to continue to fight in the Indian Ocean. The Dragon Martial Army had traveled so far all the way from Chang 'an City, so the Vanguard Battalion's journey was nothing.
The main force of the naval battle was 30 steam gunboats. Five were left to guard Malacca, and the remaining 25 were to follow Ang Lee to continue westward to the Indian Ocean. There were many pirates in that direction, so their powerful deterrent force was needed.
One Sky Army mothership and five landing steamboats were also going south. As the main force of the landing, they had to follow the majority of the troops. They would only be useful when attacking a large number of powerful pirate groups. They were at the level of a butcher's knife, so they naturally couldn't be left behind to kill chickens.
The number of logistics ships and other auxiliary ships that they had brought and seized had already reached 200 to 300. Other than 50 to 60 ships left behind, the rest had to follow the main force. After all, a powerful army couldn't do without the support of logistics. If these ships weren't responsible for transporting large amounts of food and other supplies, the soldiers on the warships at the front would starve. Thus, they had to bring more, and more.
The date of departure was approaching. Ang Lee had already been delayed in Malacca for two months, so he couldn't delay any longer. Otherwise, when would he be able to completely open up the Silk Road on the Sea?
In fact, the preparations for departure had already been in progress. As long as Ang Lee gave the order to set off, all the troops would be ready within a day and immediately set off for the vast Indian Ocean.
Ang Lee wanted to see the conclusion of the commercial exploration team's investigation, and also wanted to see what mineral resources the exploration team had found. However, in order to open up the Silk Road on the Sea as soon as possible, he had to retain his curiosity and focus on opening up the sea route first.
"Reporting, Assistant Minister Li. Someone outside claims to be the King of the Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom and requests to see Assistant Minister Li."
A subordinate hurriedly ran in to report.
Ang Lee was taken aback. He didn't know what this so-called King of the Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom wanted to do.
"Big Brother, didn't this guy escape long ago? Why did he suddenly appear now? What does he want to do? Is he delusional to take back his throne? "
Li Feiyu said with a frown.
The Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom was a weak island country. Its military strength was very weak. Just a year ago, this weak island country was taken over by the Black Wolf. In order to save his own life, the King let all his soldiers surrender to the Black Wolf without much resistance and allowed the Black Wolf to send elite troops to occupy the palace to protect his safety.
In addition, in order to please him, he also married his beautiful daughter to the Black Wolf. Even his concubine was taken over by the leaders of the Black Wolf's subordinates. It could be said that he suffered humiliation. At the same time, his little Xiao Wang Kingdom also became a pirate's puppet. All the appointment of officials and recruitment rights belonged to the Black Wolf. As the King, he had become a veritable puppet. The Black Wolf kept him alive just to appease the people here and make them willingly follow the Black Wolf.
In just a few months, the Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom was completely corrupted. For personal interests, many soldiers who were originally from the kingdom joined the pirates. Although the Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom still had the name of a country, it was actually a pirate's nest.
After Ang Lee raided Malacca, the main force of the pirates suffered a devastating blow. The pirates deployed in the Dragon Tooth Gate Kingdom also lost their leader. When the remaining pirates heard that the main force of the Tang Army had captured the Black Wolf and was marching here, they were so scared that they abandoned the city and hid in the mountains. No one cared about the puppet King at all. The King might have been worried that the Tang Army would punish him. After all, he was already a puppet of the Black Wolf. Therefore, he also fled. As for where he went, Ang Lee really didn't know. Because he hadn't found him, he didn't care. Anyway, it was just a King of a small country. It was no big deal.
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