In order to prevent the real Japanese pirates from escaping and hiding from the indigenous people, crossing the primeval forests and swamps of the Taipei Basin and escaping to Tamsui by land to report the situation, the Marines immediately regrouped, boarded ships and headed to Tamsui to quickly wipe out the Japanese pirates entrenched there.
The total distance from the sea to Tamsui is 50 kilometers, which is comparable to the land route, but the speed of a sailboat is much faster than that of a human on foot.
Zhao Hao did not go to Tamsui. With the improvement of the Coast Guard system, this level of combat does not need him to be in charge. If he were to stay, his subordinates would have to divert their attention to protect him, which would cause more trouble. Besides, he had more important things to do in Jilong.
In addition to his direct guards, he was also left with a light ship squadron, a speedboat squadron, two hundred marines and three hundred auxiliary police of the Li Dynasty.
The fleet was on guard at both ends of Dajilong Island, and the marines took the time to rebuild the east and west artillery positions and carefully remove the explosives stuffed into the gun barrels.
The quality of the artillery produced at the Bugalao Foundry is still very high. Although cast iron cannons are prone to rusting at the seaside, the age of these cannons is no more than one year. As long as they are carefully maintained, they can still be used for many years.
As long as the fort is restored, the safety of the harbor will be guaranteed. Of course, patrols at sea cannot be stopped. It would be ironic if someone imitates us and launches a night attack.
Under the command of Don Paul, 300 Li Dynasty auxiliary police registered the 3,000 rescued captives according to their origins. This was a huge project. The 3,000 captives came from all walks of life, less than one-tenth of them could speak Mandarin, and most of them were completely unable to communicate. Moreover, their physical condition was very poor and their hygiene conditions were also very bad.
The auxiliary police officers of the Li Dynasty, who were used to cleanliness and tidiness, were annoyed by them and had to put on another layer of masks silently and continue to communicate with the deaf.
This is not the fault of the captives. There is no need to elaborate on how terrible the conditions in the Japanese concentration camps were. Anyway, after hearing that the prince went in to inspect, he finally vomited violently and couldn't even hold back his vomiting by drinking soda.
According to those who were rescued, there were originally 5,000 captives in the concentration camp. After a summer of inhuman labor, hunger, and epidemics, a full 2,000 people had died.
Faced with this cruel reality, Mei Nan finally admitted that Master Zhao was not an invader but a rescuer. She also willingly revealed her identity as Ma Tianzhunu in front of the captured Ketagalan people, and as expected, she was immediately worshipped by these aborigines.
In the eyes of these Ketagalan people, Ma Tianzhu is the great savior sent by the goddess to save people from suffering and distress! She is God on earth!
At the same time, Don Paul checked the seized property and was busy all day, only compiling a list of the seized property at dusk.
"Sir, these little devils are quite wealthy." He happily reported to Zhao Hao, "In addition to selling our stolen goods, they also have the proceeds from their robberies over the past two years. Because they were blocked by the Marine Police, they cannot be transported back to Kyushu Island, so they are all piled up in the warehouse."
"Oh, how much?" Zhao Hao looked up from a chicken coop map drawn by the Shimazu family.
"There are about 20,000 taels of gold, 400,000 taels of silver, and various jewels and spices, which together amount to about 100,000 taels of silver." Tang Baolu said, "In addition, there are 3,000 deerskins, 2,000 felts, 40,000 dan of rice, 3,000 dan of flour, 2,000 kilograms of salt... and even hundreds of chickens and thousands of live pigs."
"So much rice?" Zhao Hao asked curiously. Although he had 3,000 laborers to feed, he didn't believe that the Japanese could feed them rice.
"They robbed the Ketagalan people," Tang Baolu explained. "I heard from the Maharaja that the Japanese were very bad. They threshed the straw during the summer harvest and looted all the food grown by more than a dozen villages. They also captured their people and made them do hard labor."
"I see." Zhao Hao suddenly realized, "I guess those deerskins, pigs, chickens and the like were also stolen from the indigenous people."
"I thought the natives here made a living by hunting, but I didn't expect they also farmed." Tang Baolu said with a smile.
"Nonsense, rice can be grown three times a year on Taiwan Island, why don't they grow it?" Zhao Hao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't think they are too barbaric. In fact, the indigenous people living in the plains, such as the Ketagalan, the Kavalan, and the people of the Big Du Kingdom, have long been engaged in farming. As long as you don't push them too hard, you can communicate with them. They can be generally called the Pingpu people, who are relatively easy to get along with. The most difficult people to deal with are the Gaoshan people living in the mountains. The difference in lifestyle is the biggest barrier. Take your time, and recapture the Pingpu people first..."
As the two were talking, Secretary Ma reported that he had heard that the prince wanted to see him.
"Please ask her to come in." Zhao Hao nodded, and then said to Tang Baolu, "Go, have someone ask those people what they think. Those who want to go home will be given half a month's rations and two hundred yuan, and they can leave now. Those who are willing to stay are also welcome. They don't have to work right away. Disinfect them, change their clothes, and let them recuperate for a while."
"Okay, okay." Tang Baolu walked away quickly.
Mei Nan, accompanied by Lin Feng, entered Zhao Hao's luxuriously decorated living room.
"Miss Mei, you've worked hard today." Zhao Hao stood up to greet her with a smile and asked with concern, "You don't look well."
"It stinks... No, it's too miserable." Mei Nan smiled sadly, leaning softly on Zhao Hao's... soft sofa, as if all his strength had been used up. "The Japanese are not human, but a group of devils. Fortunately, the young master helped us eliminate the pro-Japanese faction, otherwise if the Ryukyu Zhongshan Kingdom really fell into their hands, it would have become a hell."
"Miss Mei finally understands me." Young Master Zhao was very pleased and said masculinely, "But don't worry, with my Jiangnan Group protecting you, we will not let the Japanese pirates have the opportunity to harm Ryukyu."
"Well, thank you very much. From now on, I'll leave everything to you, young master." Mei Nan's eyes were misty, and she looked weak and helpless, which could arouse a man's desire to protect her.
Secretary Ma was standing behind Zhao Hao. Seeing this, he secretly spat, thinking that they were all thousand-year-old monsters, why were they pretending to be innocent little girls?
Ugh, green tea!
"What are you thanking me for? It's so strange!" But Zhao Hao seemed to like this. The two of them chatted intimately on the long sofa, getting closer and closer. If there were not two door gods beside them, they would probably be stuck together.
"Sir, I have an unreasonable request. I wonder if I should say it or not?" Mei Nan raised her head slightly and looked up at Zhao Hao with her pitiful big eyes, making people feel that it would be a great sin to refuse her.
"If you don't want to talk about it, then don't talk about it..." Secretary Ma now has no good feelings for this white lotus-like witch. She keeps saying that she wants to keep the chastity of the goddess, but she always makes the young man crazy. She is so cheap...
Alas, colleagues are enemies.
However, Lin Feng did not hold out much hope for Mei Nan's performance. She was certain of one thing: a man like Mr. Zhao, who was out of reach and unfathomable, would not fall for the beauty trap.
Even men like her elder brother who are shorter and shallower than Mr. Zhao will not be burdened by women. Because for powerful people like them who dominate a region, there are too many things that are more exciting than women, and too many things that are more important than women...
But Master Zhao surprised her again. He asked Mei Nan in a lustful and soul-confused manner, "What should be said or not? Your business is my business."
"Well, I'll tell you." Mei Nan nodded with emotion and whispered softly, "The Ketagalan people told me that all their food was robbed by the Japanese pirates. The Ketagalan people rely on slash-and-burn farming to survive. Without food, many people will starve to death in the winter."
"So what?" Zhao Hao asked with a smile.
"So..." Mei Nan mustered up his courage, took Zhao Hao's hand, held it in front of his chest and said, "Can you please be kind and return the food to them?"
"This..." Zhao Hao pondered, and subconsciously kneaded her little hand gently.
Mei Nan's face flushed from being rubbed, and he somehow remembered the crunching sound.
"Do you want to go to heaven?" She suddenly heard Zhao Hao ask while she was feeling dizzy.
"This..." Although Young Master Zhao's tone was sincere, Mei Nan was frightened and pale. She was afraid that he would vent his anger on the people of Ryukyu and the king, so she quickly grabbed his hand and said pitifully, "You, don't be angry. I can think of another way."
"Hahaha, Miss Mei misunderstood." Zhao Hao suddenly laughed out loud and said, "I meant what I said literally."
"Young Master is asking the prince if he wants to fly to the sky and take a look?" Secretary Ma added.
"Of course I do. I dream of visiting the Mother Goddess's Heavenly Palace, but how is it possible..." Menan murmured.
"As long as you want, as long as the weather is good tomorrow, we will go to heaven." Zhao Hao said in a very normal tone, as if going to heaven was as simple as visiting a neighbor.
"Uh, okay..." Menan's head was full of question marks, and he forgot about helping the Ketagalan people get food.
~~
The next day the weather was fine, with clear skies and no wind. It was a nice, cool autumn day.
After breakfast, Mei Nan and Lin Feng followed Zhao Hao and Secretary Ma off the boat and arrived at Dajilong Island.
On the flat ground on the ridge, a group of coast guard officers and soldiers in training uniforms were adjusting a huge blue sphere.
The sphere had a bamboo keel and was covered with a double layer of silk. It was naturally the hot air balloon invented by Master Zhao.
但这已经是二代舰用版了，比起最初版本来，改进不是一点半点。
首先，在海上使用，没可能在船上点个火堆制造热空气。取而代之的是一个带防风罩的甲烷燃烧器。
研究中心早已经量产甲烷气灯了。这个燃烧器不过是将其放大一百倍罢了，由一个充满压缩甲烷的熟铁罐供气，可以持续升空半小时。而且通过调节火力大小，还可以控制热气球的高度，自主决定降落。
研究人员还在气球上设计了泄气阀，只要拉开，气体就可以快速排出，实现紧急降落。
相应的，吊篮也就没必要设计成中空的了，乘坐体验自然更加舒适。
赵公子穿上皮夹克，戴上皮帽子和防风镜，又将另外一套装备递给梅南道：
“走，咱们上天！”
ps.月票马上过期了，大家投了吧。下一章12点前哈。