Chapter 383 The entire island is
Qiao Erlang was extremely frustrated. He had gone from a lawless pirate with military support to some kind of "chief." He had every reason to be frustrated, but offending two powerful figures from the Western Continent on his second day in office made him even more frustrated.
Watching the fastest clipper sailboat, Jia 608, carrying Debbie and Prome, sail away from Aden Port, his frustration eased slightly.
"Second Brother, how about I take the brothers to a port a little further away and give them a run for their money? These bastards are too despicable. They offered such a low price, but they can make several times that price when they get to Xizhou. When have we ever been treated like this?" Jin Wuxin, as Qiao Erlang's sworn brother, naturally came to Aden with him. However, his marine battalion was changed to an office guard battalion, which lowered his status even further.
"Forget it, Lao Jin. Our goods have increased in value several times since they came from Malacca to here. The prince said that the people here are not cowards like those in Java and India. They have a unified faith and can easily mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry. We're not here to cause trouble, we've come thousands of miles from home."
"Sigh! Second Brother is right. We are indeed short of men, but if the Master can provide us with the first-class ships and artillery battalion that he promised, I would really like to give it a try." After years of being a pirate, Kim Moo-shin was no longer the young master from Goryeo who wanted to vomit at the sight of blood. Now he was a vicious wolf that got excited at the sight of blood.
"Stop talking about first-class ships! Wasn't I ruined by first-class ships? You... go and train them! See if your men have any discipline at all!" Qiao Erlang suddenly flew into a rage and roared at Jin Wuxin.
"After three years as pirates, what rules have been learned..." Jin Wuxin muttered to himself as he slipped away. His men were indeed incredibly undisciplined, but that wasn't his fault! Free pirates, after all, were bound to be disorganized and undisciplined.
Qiao Erlang sat on the third floor of the Aden office of the Taiyuan Development Administration, watching the cargo ships continuously setting sail in the port, filled with emotion. In just a few years, Taiyuan's fleet had developed to this extent.
When I was first assigned to be a pirate in Lion City, the bigwigs in the capital were fighting tooth and nail for a large galleon. My father, as the head of the shipyard, had been squeezed out a lot. They were all old brothers who had gone through life and death together. How could you refuse them?
In less than three years, every one of the prince's old subordinates owned at least ten or eight large galleons.
Now, even large gallons are no longer rare. Keelung's shipyards have opened hundreds of docks, and those Russian workers are working themselves to the bone to build ships for freedom. Relying on the "standardized shipbuilding operation method" passed down by the prince, those large ships are being built and launched like dumplings being dropped into a pot. Even those farmers who are slow to realize the potential can get one or two of them.
This year, the shipyard has developed two new types of ships. One of them is the clipper high-speed sailboat that just left the port. Although it carries one-third less cargo than a galleon, it is almost twice as fast and requires fewer crew members.
For a time, all the bigwigs of the high-ranking officials turned Master Qiao's house into a card room, spending their days loitering at the mansion playing cards and drinking, all waiting for the allocation of those few new ships in Master Qiao's hands!
Qiao Erlang wasn't very interested in these high-speed sailing ships, but another new type of warship completely captivated him, and he was then sent to the desolate place of Aden to serve as a "section chief".
The new warships were designated as first-class ships. Five tall masts and two sets of wind-gathering arrays provided them with ample power, while three decks and two hundred gun emplacements gave them terrifying firepower. More importantly, these first-class ships were equipped with the latest "breech-loading guns," whose rate of fire was three times faster than that of older cannons.
Which captain wouldn't be envious of such a powerful weapon at sea? With his father being a big shot in the shipyard, Qiao Erlang naturally wouldn't hesitate to take the lead.
Qiao Erlang abandoned his post and left his pirate stronghold, returning to Dayuan. He first went to his mother to cry and tell her that he was now neither human nor ghost and had no future, and wanted to ask his father to transfer him to a first-class ship as captain.
As the wife of a powerful figure, Madam Qiao naturally knew that there was a special type of person in the army who did the dirty work. They could make merits but couldn't show them in the light, and if they made a mess, they would take the blame themselves, which was quite pitiful.
Hearing her son say that, she was furious. That very night, Madam Qiao slammed her fist on the table and berated Mr. Qiao for half the night, forcing him to go to the military headquarters to find Wu Shengze the next day.
Wu Shengze didn't say anything, but Qiao Shouren, the eldest son of the Qiao family, was furious. What kind of work had Qiao Erlang done? Not only had he returned to Dayuan without the military's transfer order, but he had also revealed his secret to his parents. This was a violation of military law, and Wu Shengze was determined to put righteousness above family ties and have Qiao Erlang put on trial in the military headquarters.
Upon hearing the news, Qiao Erlang went to beat up his elder brother without saying a word. Ever since he became a cultivator, he had long wanted to avenge the "blood feud" he had suffered at the hands of his elder brother when they were children. Since he was going to be in trouble anyway, he decided to beat up this "traitor" first.
In the end, Lin Huaiyuan stepped in as a peacemaker and transferred Qiao Erlang from the military to Lin Yongqian's Development Administration Bureau, assigning him to Yading as the director.
"Erlang! Don't be discouraged. The Development Bureau will also provide a guard battalion and a guard fleet. Look at Lin Dalang, he has tens of thousands of men under his command. As long as you work hard, it's not impossible for you to become a first-class ship!" Before leaving, his father pulled him aside and whispered a few words to calm Qiao Erlang's restless heart.
"Sigh! First-class ships? When will we ever get one?"
Looking at the empty harbor with only a few escort ships remaining, Qiao Erlang sighed. Lin Yongqian was just passing through. Today, he took the fleet that Qiao Erlang had been eyeing and headed south, seemingly to carry out a new mission for the prince.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com