The next morning, the fleet set sail from Dagukou.

It takes five days to travel from Chengshantou to Dagukou upstream, while the return trip is downstream, and it takes two days to reach Chengshantou.

Jin Ke told Zhao Hao that because there were too many captives and the weather was too hot, they would all die in a few days if they were locked up in the cabin, which was stuffy and smelly. Although the death of the Japanese pirates was not a pity, it would be a pity to kill the free labor that was captured with great difficulty.

So he asked Wang Rulong to lead the Wuwei ship fleet to Gap Island, not far south of Jeju Island, to use the barracks of the Joseon navy to detain prisoners and wait for the reunion.

Therefore, the fleet did not follow the ocean current southward along the Ming coastline, but returned to Jeju Island along the original route.

As a result, it took six days to reach Gapo Island, which was supposed to be a three-day voyage.

~~

Gapo Island is square, almost a square with a side length of one kilometer. A long cape protrudes from the south of the island, forming a natural shelter, where Wang Rulong's fleet anchored.

However, the Wuwei ship was similar to the Fuchuan ship, with a sharp bottom like a knife, so they dared not easily dock and could only drop anchor in deep water. Then they used the ten captured Korean sword ships to send the marines to the island.

There was a Joseon Dynasty outpost on the island, with a dozen Korean sailors stationed there. They were responsible for monitoring the Japanese pirates attacking from the east and south. It was they who set the beacon fire before.

These sailors lived in a terrible environment and were treated very poorly. Not only did they not get a share of the spoils, but they often did not even have enough food to eat. So how could they resist? They would surrender immediately even if Japanese pirates landed on the island, let alone the Chinese.

After taking control of the situation on the island, the security team transported the prisoners down by boat and locked them up in the island barracks. Although it was still crowded, it was at least much better than the stuffy cabin.

Although the fleet had plenty of food, the Jiangnan Group had no reason to raise prisoners for nothing, and only had the rule of letting the prisoners sublimate their souls through labor. Wang Rulong ordered them to dismantle the dilapidated pier on the island, cut down trees and quarry stones, and rebuild a larger dock.

During these days, more than 600 Japanese prisoners, plus more than 100 Joseon prisoners, got up at dawn and began to work under the bayonets of the Marines.

Of course, there are differences between the Japanese and the people of the Joseon Dynasty.

All the hard, tiring and dangerous work on the construction site was undertaken solely by the Japanese prisoners.

As for the prisoners of the Joseon Dynasty, they either served as foremen to supervise the work of the Japanese prisoners, or cooked, delivered meals, and did some lighter work.

At the very least, you can become a lumberjack.

Because swords and axes have lethality, it is impossible to let Japanese prisoners touch them. So although the people of the Joseon Dynasty suffered more and were more tired, they felt extremely honored because of the trust of the Celestial Empire, and they were particularly energetic in chopping trees.

Not to mention the people of the Joseon Dynasty who were given some power, the whips were swung loudly! The Japanese prisoners would be whipped if they were caught even if they were not lazy, not to mention being lazy.

As for the Koreans who cook, they deliberately mix bran and grass leaves into the rice, and sand into the rice balls. It is even more common for them to deliberately throw the rice on the ground and spit into the pot when putting it in the pot.

Facing the whips of the Joseon supervisors, the Japanese prisoners dared not speak out, but endured silently while cursing the Koreans in their hearts. Unconsciously, the object of their hatred shifted from the Coast Guard that destroyed them to the Joseon people.

Wang Rulong learned this method of dividing prisoners from Tong Zigong. It can make the prisoners clearly divided and hate each other, which makes it easier to manage the prisoners and greatly reduces the burden of supervision.

When later historians studied Director Tong's concentration camp, they all criticized it as being too brutal, not only disrespecting basic human rights, but also potentially triggering riots.

But they ignored the fact that ordinary people of that era, whether in China, Japan or Korea, all survived through hardships and had endurance far exceeding that of later generations. As long as they had food to eat and sleep to sleep, they would not find it unbearable.

So Director Tong discovered that as long as the food was not skimped on, the prisoners would accept it even if the management was a little abnormal, even if it meant being killed for a thousand years...

~~

When Zhao Hao's fleet arrived at Gapo Island, a simple dock had already taken shape.

However, such a large fleet could not be accommodated by the small Gapo Island Port, so the fleet had to drift on the sea and take turns docking to unload cargo.

Fortunately, the sand ship has a flat bottom and shallow draft, so it can directly land on the beach to unload cargo without worrying about running aground. Once all the cargo on the ship is unloaded, it will naturally float again. Otherwise, it would take several days just to unload cargo.

The Pingjiang ship's planks were placed on the dock, and the fully armed guards rushed down to form a seemingly chaotic but actually very sophisticated defense line. It's not that he didn't trust Wang Rulong, but there were too many prisoners of war on the island, and Gao Wu couldn't be careless at all.

After making sure there was no threat, Gao Wu signaled the young master to get off the boat.

Wang Rulong and others who came to greet him stood up straight. Captain Wang even arranged military music to welcome the young master.

When Zhao Hao heard the enchanting suona sound, his legs went weak and he almost fell into the sea.

Young Master Zhao whispered to Secretary Ma behind him, "We must get a trumpet, otherwise our security team will be turned into a yangko dance team."

Secretary Ma smiled and wrote it down.

"Welcome, young master!" Wang Rulong saluted the security team.

"At ease, stop playing the music." Zhao Hao patted Wang Rulong's arm and said half-jokingly, "Marshal Qi is better than me in everything except music."

"Sir, you are too modest." Wang Rulong hurriedly stopped the suona and gongs and drums, and said with a smile: "You are all good at your own things."

Secretary Ma, who was trying hard to hold back his laughter, secretly said, "Sir, the second half of your sentence is really not modesty."

"Let's redesign it later and make it something presentable." Zhao Hao said, looking at the security guards wearing the uniforms of the gunners' battalion, but with modern police ranks embroidered on their chests, which looked a bit out of place. He then added: "And the police uniforms, we also need to design them well."

Secretary Ma quickly wrote it down in a notebook, otherwise the young master would forget about it later.

"This all takes time and energy." Jin Ke said softly, "Young Master and the Group are busy with important matters right now, so let's talk about it later when we have some time."

"Nothing is trivial in the security team." Zhao Hao said calmly, "Don't worry about it. I'll have someone come up with a few plans and we can pick one together."

"Yes!" Jin Ke and Wang Rulong answered at the same time, feeling warm in their hearts.

"Let's go around the island." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "I have been to Jeju Island so many times, but I have never been to Gapado Island."

"Young Master, have you been to Tamluo?" Wang Rulong was surprised.

"Oh, I was dreaming. I even gambled on the island." Zhao Hao knew he had said something wrong, but he was too lazy to hide it.

"..."After all, Wang Rulong was not a person who made a living by flattering others, so he didn't know how to continue.

~~

The area of ​​Gapo Island is less than one square kilometer. It has no mountains or rivers. It is just a flat deserted island.

As the first overseas island occupied by Jiangnan Group, it is really a bit shabby.

Fortunately, there is plenty of groundwater, so we can still station troops there.

After Zhao Hao took a walk around, he found that the island was bare and there was nothing to see. He was on the beach on the north side of the island, looking at Tamra Island four or five miles away.

"This island will belong to the Coast Guard from now on."

When he said this, he did not consider that this was actually the territory of the Li Dynasty.

"Yes. Once maritime trade is on track, this route will be very busy. The Coast Guard will certainly not be able to escort every ship one by one. It is still necessary to set up a patrol base here. Moreover, the land here can be cultivated, which is perfect as a base."

Jin Ke did not remind Zhao Hao, but continued to talk. In his opinion, an island enclave should belong to whoever occupies it.

Could it be that the Li Dynasty navy dares to come and conquer us?

"But this place is still too small to be used as a transit station for merchant ships and cargo ships." Zhao Hao sighed and stared at Jeonra Island not far away. "We still have to take over that island."

"Ah?" Jin Ke and Wang Rulong were so shocked that they were speechless. Young Master, this appetite is too big, isn't it? Jeonra Island is a large island with an area of ​​1,800 square kilometers. The area is 2,000 times that of Gapado Island, and it is as large as 25 Seosan Islands? !

You want to eat it, but aren’t you afraid of choking?

In addition, the Joseon Dynasty established one prefecture, two counties, three cities, nine towns, ten water battle stations, twenty-five beacon towers and thirty-eight smoke towers on Jeju Island, with a total of 40,000 to 50,000 people, 2,000 garrison soldiers, and part of the Jeolla Province navy stationed here.

Although the security team could sweep away the garrison on the island with its combat effectiveness, the Joseon Dynasty was very obsessed with Jeonra Island and would send a large army to recapture it no matter how obedient it was.

Even if the Li Dynasty's army didn't dare to come, they would definitely go to the capital to file a complaint. When the court investigated, even if the prince could cover it up, it would still be troublesome.

And how to maintain order after the invasion? Should we kill all 40,000 or 50,000 people of the Joseon Dynasty?

The two of them thought that the idea of ​​annexing Jeju Island was too fantastic.

Seeing their mouths open wide enough to fit a goose egg, Zhao Hao laughed and said, "You are too inexperienced in this area."

"Yes." The two nodded sincerely, thinking that it seemed that no one in the entire Ming Dynasty had this kind of experience?

"Yes, Jeonra Island is too big, and the Joseon people have been operating it for a long time. We can't swallow it all in one go." Zhao Hao said in a relaxed manner, "Then we can eat it bite by bite. As the saying goes, water drips through stone and a rope saws through wood. As long as we take small steps day by day, one day we will have the whole island in our hands."

He smiled and said to Wang Rulong, "Come on, let's take your Wuwei boat and go around to see where to make the first bite."

"Yes." Wang Rulong responded and asked Zhao Hao to return to the dock and board the ship. All warships were in combat readiness and could set sail at any time.

As everyone was talking and returning to the dock, a foul smell suddenly wafted.

Master Zhao covered his nose and looked in the direction of the smell, then he saw two people coming out of the camp carrying dung buckets.

For a moment, Zhao Hao thought that the Second Young Master Xu and the Second Master Xu from Xishan Island had moved to Gapa Island.

But upon closer inspection, it was discovered that both of them were still very young, and one of them was a bald thief, obviously not the Er Xu.

"That Japanese is the lord of Hirado Domain, Matsuura Jinxin, and the other is Park Sung-in, the younger brother of Park Sung-sung, the governor of Jeolla Right Province of the Joseon Dynasty." Wang Rulong introduced them hurriedly: "They are not capable of doing heavy work, so according to the custom of the young master, 'the one with the highest status will pour the night incense', they were asked to do this..."

p.s. I have something to do at home today, so I can only update twice, sorry.