The Tang Dynasty fleet sailed for a whole day and night. The next morning, just as dawn broke, the fleet arrived at the port in the northwest.
At this time, there were not many ruins in the port. Most of the dilapidated walls had been cleared by the Tang Dynasty's army. In addition, in order to defend the port and prevent pirates from sneaking up on the port, arrow towers several meters high were set up in some key positions. Each arrow tower was guarded by at least five soldiers. It could not be said that the port was impregnable, but as long as the pirates were exposed, they would definitely be attacked.
Ang Lee walked on the deck and looked at the half-moon port in front of him with a satisfied smile. This shape of the port was the best and also the most promising.
"Good, this is really a good natural port! In the future, this will be a prosperous metropolis. "
Ang Lee sighed.
"Assistant Minister Li, how long will we stay here this time?"
His subordinate asked.
Whether it was in Malacca or Anshi Province, the Tang Dynasty fleet had rested for a long time. Everyone knew that this natural port was also a very important position, so they had to stay here for a while.
"Same as before, one or two months! It should be enough. "
Ang Lee said.
As long as everything went smoothly, the gradual planning could be completed in one or two months, and the follow-up construction could be left to the imperial court.
After taking over this land, Ang Lee had written a memorial and suggested that the imperial court send officials to rule here. Because this place was not far from Tocharia, and the railway in Tocharia was connected to the land in the middle of the river, the railway in the land in the middle of the river had long been connected with the Anxi Railway of the Tang Dynasty.
In this way, the people sent to deliver the letter only needed to ride a horse to Tocharia by land. In this way, they could use the railway to reach Chang 'an City at the fastest speed. They would report the newly acquired port and the surrounding land, as well as many plans and suggestions, and let the imperial court send people to manage it as soon as possible.
Ang Lee's plan was very good. It was enough to build and plan a new port with the seized wealth of the pirates. There was no need to let the imperial court pay extra. As long as it was well managed, it could make a lot of money for the imperial court in the future. Therefore, the imperial court would definitely not refuse such a good proposal.
After the ships docked, most of the soldiers left the ships and set up camp on the shore. They would stay here for a long time and have a lot of work to do.
"Assistant Minister Li."
Many of the generals who had arrived earlier walked over.
Ang Lee looked around and asked, "What's the situation recently? Are there any pirates who dare to come and make trouble?"
"Replying to Assistant Minister Li, the remnants of these pirates are very stubborn. Last night, they launched a sneak attack and killed one of our soldiers."
The general answered angrily.
"You're still not stopping? How many pirates have died? Your defense is too weak."
Ang Lee said unhappily.
The general felt wronged and said, "Assistant Minister Li, we have deployed many arrow towers on the periphery. The soldiers who were shot were the soldiers patrolling on the arrow towers. There were not many pirates, only five or six of them. Because after shooting our soldiers, they immediately ran away. Our pursuit was fruitless."
"Oh, they are playing guerrilla warfare with us!"
Ang Lee did not continue to blame the general. He began to think about how to deal with these guys.
"Assistant Minister Li, if there are only a few dozen or a few hundred pirates left, our army can easily deal a heavy blow to them. Just like a few days ago, we captured over a hundred people and killed them all. But if there are only three to five of them and they secretly shoot arrows at us, it will be very difficult for us to defend against them. This move is too damaging."
One of the subordinates said.
Ang Lee nodded in agreement. There was nothing wrong with that. It was easy to dodge a spear in the open but hard to defend against a stab in the dark. In a large-scale face-to-face battle, these pirates would only be courting death. But if a few of them came to sneak attack and hid in a corner, it was really difficult to find them, especially at night. Moreover, the pirates had been operating in this place for more than a year and were very familiar with the terrain nearby. Ang Lee's Tang dynasty troops were new here and did not know much about the terrain. In terms of guerrilla warfare, they really could not beat them.
"Assistant Minister Li, these pirates have also learned to set traps. So sometimes when we see them run away, we dare not chase too far. Otherwise, some soldiers will fall into the trap. Especially at night, even if the trap is right in front of us, it is difficult to find it."
A general had stayed here for a few days and learned some experience in the confrontation with the remaining pirates.
"Traps, they actually set traps around here. They are very good! It seems that this official has underestimated them. "
Ang Lee nodded with a smile and asked, "Do you have any good ideas to deal with these remaining pirates? Also, do you know how many pirates there are left? "
The subordinates looked at each other and did not know how to answer.
"Assistant Minister Li, most of these pirates have been annihilated. The remaining pirates are estimated to be less than 100 people!"
"No, this subordinate thinks that there are at least 200 or 300 people. This number is still possible."
Several of the subordinates began to argue.
Ang Lee asked the subordinates to be quiet. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Don't argue. No matter how many pirates there are left, we will wipe them all out. From today on, this official will do two things at the same time. One is to build the port and the port city, and the other is to wipe out all the remaining pirates. No one can be left alive."
"We will cooperate well with Assistant Minister Li and do these things well."
The subordinates responded.
"How is the detailed map of the nearby area?"
Ang Lee asked.
"Assistant Minister Li, please take a look. These are the maps that have just been drawn. The map of the surrounding fifty li has been more or less mapped. It is just that the forest is too dangerous, so the specific terrain of the forest is not clearly mapped."
The subordinate handed a map to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee took the map and carefully studied it for a moment. A strange smile appeared on his face.
"Assistant Minister Li, have you found a way to deal with these pirates?"
Seeing Ang Lee smile, the subordinate hurriedly asked.
Ang Lee looked at his subordinates and asked, "You all know that the pirates are hiding in these deep mountains and forests. There are more than 100 of them, but is there any food in the deep mountains? Is there any use? Have you thought about it? "
"Assistant Minister Li is right. The conditions in the deep mountains are very harsh. It is very difficult to eat and use."
"Assistant Minister Li means that these pirates are supported by the people in the surrounding villages. The food they eat and use comes from the surrounding villages?"
The subordinate analyzed.
Ang Lee smiled and nodded. "That's right. There is a shortage of food in the mountains, and there are no supplies at all. Their supplies must come from the people in these villages. In other words, these pirates are the children of the people in these villages."
"Assistant Minister Li is right. Although these pirates have done a lot of evil, they are still the children of their parents. Many of them must have come from the surrounding villages. In addition, there is a saying that a rabbit does not eat the grass near its burrow. It is true that they robbed merchants, but they definitely did not rob the surrounding villages. Otherwise, these people would have tied up the remaining guys."
A subordinate analyzed.
Li An smiled and said, "That's not all. Who knows, maybe the pirates will even share some of their loot with the local people? Because these pirates come from the surrounding villages. When they get the money, won't they give some to their parents and relatives? "
"Assistant Minister Li, I request you to arrest all the people in the nearby villages. As long as we interrogate them, we will definitely find out the remaining pirates who are hiding."
One of the generals asked for orders.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "No, if we really do that, what's the difference between us and the pirates? The Tang dynasty has to convince people with reason."
"Then, Assistant Minister Li, what's your opinion?"
The subordinate asked.
Ang Lee thought for a moment and said, "This needs to be done in several steps. First, send soldiers to each village to guard. 100 soldiers in each village should be enough. There are only 30 villages around, so we only need 3,000 soldiers. As for the rest of the soldiers, send 2,000 soldiers to search back and forth in the deep mountains. If they find any pirates, they will kill them on the spot. This is the preparation of military force."
After thinking for a moment, he continued, "In addition to military force, we also need to use psychological tactics. The people in the villages shelter the pirates, but there must be some people who hate the pirates. Of course, there will also be greedy people. These are the weaknesses we can use. As long as we offer a big reward, someone will be willing to reveal the hiding place of the pirates."
"Assistant Minister Li, this is really a smart move. I will arrange it right away."
The subordinate replied.
On the same day, 5,000 soldiers of the Tang dynasty immediately set off to their respective areas to achieve the goal of attacking the remaining pirates.
In order to show his support for the severe crackdown on the pirates, Ang Lee personally led his soldiers to the nearest village to see the situation in the village.
"Assistant Minister Li, since someone in the village is secretly communicating with the pirates, you'd better not go! It's too dangerous. "
The subordinate advised.
Ang Lee waved his hand and said, "What's there to be afraid of? With so many people protecting me, how can I be in danger? If I don't go to the village to see for myself, how can I better understand the local people's attitude towards the soldiers of the Tang dynasty?"
The subordinate couldn't persuade Ang Lee, so he had to go with him.
Sending 100 people to each village could be said to be a great force. Ang Lee also took 50 elite soldiers with him. Therefore, Ang Lee's team had 150 people, which was the largest among all the teams. As long as they paid a little attention, there was no need to worry about their safety.
Ang Lee took his team of 150 people and marched to the nearest village in a mighty manner. It felt quite like the Japanese invading the village.
Of course, Ang Lee was not a Japanese, and he would not harm ordinary people for no reason. But at least on the surface, it was true. The local villagers were not familiar with the soldiers of the Tang dynasty, so mistrust and misunderstanding were inevitable. Therefore, it was easy for them to regard the soldiers of the Tang dynasty as invading Japanese.
Therefore, before making this decision, Ang Lee had made it clear that all the soldiers were not allowed to bully the villagers, let alone the women in the village. Otherwise, they would be punished by military law.
As long as they didn't wantonly hurt the people, and then slowly persuaded them with reason and emotion, pointing out the evil of pirates robbing merchants, and that the Tang dynasty would help the local people to build a better home and let them live a better life, these people would slowly identify with the Tang Empire. Then, they would spread the benevolence of the Tang Empire to farther places, so as to attract more human resources for the Tang dynasty.
"Assistant Minister Li, Tuer Village is in front of us. We've arrived."
The subordinate who was in charge of leading the way pointed to the small village not far away and said.
Ang Lee looked up and found that the small village in front of him was not bad. There were about a few hundred houses, and it seemed that there were more than 100 families.
"This village is not bad. There are more than 100 families!"
Ang Lee asked.
The subordinate replied, "There are 130 families in this village, and the population is more than 500 people. It's a relatively large village."
Ang Lee nodded and waved his hand. "Enter the village. Everyone enter the village at once."
Hearing the order, the subordinates immediately entered the village.
They met some naughty children on the way. Because they had never seen these soldiers and horses before, they were so scared that they ran away. Even some adults also ran back home to hide when they saw the Tang dynasty's troops entering the village, as if the Tang dynasty's troops would do them harm.
"This village has three entrances and exits. Build an arrow tower on both sides of each entrance. Six arrow towers should be enough to control all the people entering and exiting the village. In addition, three arrow towers should be built in the center of the village in a triangular formation. In this way, the defense will be impregnable."
Ang Lee arranged.
"Assistant Minister Li, how long do we need to station here?"
Seeing that Li An had made plans to defend and even requested for the construction of fixed defensive arrow towers, his subordinates were somewhat puzzled.
"Don't worry! It won't be long. As long as we station in all the villages, the remaining pirates will find it difficult to get supplies. In order to fill their stomachs, they will definitely take risks to enter the villages. In this way, it will be much easier to deal with them. This is the worst-case scenario. As long as we gain the trust of the people, it will be easier for us to deal with these pirates. "
Ang Lee said.
"Building the arrow towers requires manpower and materials. Should we leave these to the people in the village?"
The subordinate suggested.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "Indeed. The soldiers are understaffed, and they also need to carry out the necessary defense. Building the arrow towers is indeed a little difficult. Let the villagers be responsible for the construction later. They will be provided with labor and materials. Pay them first so that they can work without worries."
"Yes, I will arrange it now. Let the villagers gather in the center of the village and arrange tasks for them. Pay them first."
The subordinate immediately went to prepare.
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