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Shen Feng's face is really amazing when she smiles. It can make people stare at her with their mouth corners slightly curled up.
However, at this moment, the interpreter couldn't laugh at all. His whole body felt like it was shaking, and he couldn't even kneel.
If the big boss on the sea wants to take revenge, the means he will use will be so cruel that it’s frightening to think about it.
However, as he was being stared at, he did not dare to delay and tremblingly passed the message to the person next to him. The captain named Lance also looked unhappy and said something hurriedly.
"General Lan said he's willing to pay two thousand Xisai silver coins for his life..." The interpreter, fearing the other party didn't know the exchange rate, added, "Xisai coins are heavy. One silver coin weighs ten taels!"
Twenty thousand taels of silver to buy a life is not a small sum of money no matter how you look at it.
Besides, pirates always value money over lives. If someone is dead, how can revenge bring the dead back to life? Of course, asking for a ransom is more cost-effective.
It was probably because of this thought that he raised the flag to surrender instead of fighting to the death.
Shen Feng smiled upon hearing this. "I lost many soldiers and nearly died. Could it be that it's only worth a few tens of thousands of taels? Tell me, how did you get involved with the Long Whale Gang? How many troops do you have? What are your plans?"
The interpreter translated as usual, but this time the captain did not answer.
This is not surprising. After all, Shen Feng was asking about their military secrets. After traveling thousands of miles to the East, he could probably only rely on his own troops.
If all your secrets are revealed, how can you protect yourself?
Seeing that the other party showed no intention of answering, the interpreter became anxious and said to himself, "I heard him tell the rebels that he wanted to occupy Jinshan Island and do business in Quanzhou."
I don't know if he understood what he said, but the red-haired man kept his lips tightly closed and had no intention of speaking.
Shen Feng didn't care and said to the two people: "It's okay, if you don't accept the soft approach, you can always use the hard approach."
After saying that, he waved his hand, and the guards immediately dragged in several men and threw them into the torture room nearby.
The two rooms were connected, and the door of the torture room was not closed. One could clearly see the men being hung up and being tortured.
This was not a simple beating or whipping, but saws, drills, chisels, and hammers were used. The screams and the burning smell were so terrifying that it made people's hair stand on end.
The interpreter was so scared that he pissed himself, and kept talking incoherently, blurting out everything he could remember. The red-haired man turned pale and began to tremble. More and more beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he still couldn't open his mouth.
Shen Feng didn't care about their reactions. Instead, she said to Cheng Xi with concern, "It's a bit noisy in the room. Do you want to go out for some fresh air?"
Cheng Xi glanced at him and said calmly, "It's okay, just continue the interrogation."
When it comes to torturing enemies, humanity has never been absent in its "progress." Not to mention the training she has received, she has witnessed quite a few such scenes with her own eyes.
What's more, compared to these, the atrocities suffered by civilians in war are bloody, brutal and horrific.
Seeing that she really didn't care, Shen Feng laughed and turned to his subordinates and ordered: "Since he refuses to talk, just serve him for a while and find someone who is soft-hearted to continue the interrogation."
Upon hearing this, the attendant immediately rushed up and lifted up the red-haired foreigner. The foreigner was horrified and struggled desperately. The interpreter next to him was so frightened that he fell to the ground and kowtowed continuously.
Just as the man was about to be dragged into the torture chamber, Cheng Xi spoke up: "He must know more. Why not give him another trial?"
If she still doesn't understand by now, her trip would be in vain.
During an interrogation, there must be a good cop and a bad cop. Since Shen Feng wanted to shout for killing, she should have tried to dissuade him.
Seeing her being so understanding, Shen Feng pretended to say "Huh?" "I didn't expect Gang Leader Cheng to be so kind. Well, as long as you're willing to ask, it's not impossible to be flexible."
Cheng Xi knew this guy was acting, but he didn't care. He said directly to the interpreter: "Tell him that we only have a grudge against the Changjing Gang and have almost nothing to do with Xisai. As long as they tell the truth, we can spare their lives."
The interpreter didn't dare to hesitate and immediately told the other party exactly what he had said.
Feeling that he had escaped death, the red-haired captain stopped pretending and confessed everything honestly.
It turned out that Xise's fleet had arrived in the strait four or five years ago. Before that, they had been fighting fiercely with Srivijaya for the purpose of competing for the trading port. Later, the Long Whale Gang retreated to the South Seas and had a head-on conflict with them.
It's just that they were weak before and had few gunboats, which led to the stalemate. It was not until last year when they sent a large number of troops that the Changjing Gang saw the situation was not good and started negotiations.
The result was that the Changjing Gang went north and returned to dominate the South China Sea, while Xisai's fleet could pass through the strait safely and have its own territory along the coast of Dagan.
The only condition is that they must send troops to assist the Changjing Gang in defeating the Chiqi and Qingfeng Gangs.
Both Cheng Xi and Shen Feng had guessed about these things before, but they were concerned about something else.
"How many gunboats do you have?" Cheng Xi asked immediately.
The red-haired captain hesitated for a moment before answering. The interpreter beside him, having heard something, quickly replied, "He said Cisse has sent a fleet of twenty ships as large as his."
Cheng Xi and Shen Feng couldn't help but look at each other, their hearts full of alarm. Just seven gunboats were so difficult to deal with, how could they triple the number?
Cheng Xi immediately pressed the issue, "Besides your fleet, have any other ships entered the South China Sea?"
This was also the most crucial question. The captain obviously hesitated again. Cheng Xi simply stood up, drew the long sword from his waist and put it on his neck: "I want to hear the truth!"
Unexpectedly, the woman who had pleaded for him before would turn against him. The red-haired captain was shocked and his face changed drastically. He hurriedly answered.
The interpreter trembled and said, "He, he said that a fleet followed the Long Whale Gang to Qiongzhou..."
"How many boats!" Cheng Xi shouted.
"He, he said he didn't know. They left early and didn't know the subsequent arrangements..." The interpreter squeezed the words out of his throat. Who would have thought that this seemingly beautiful woman could be so scary when she got angry.
Cheng Xi didn't look at the interpreter, but stared at the captain in front of him. His green eyes were full of panic and he seemed a little lost. He didn't look like he was lying.
Sheathing the knife, Cheng Xi turned around and returned to her seat without saying anything. Shen Feng's face was also a little gloomy, and he whispered to her, "I'm afraid we need to think about it carefully."
A standard ocean-going fleet cannot consist of only large ships. It should also have a large number of frigates and fast ships, which also have more or less long-range firepower.
As for joining forces with a large ship gang like the Changjing Gang, I'm afraid no one would be stupid enough to divide up the troops again and again, and the number of troops heading to Qiongzhou will definitely not be small.
But this matter cannot be solved simply by asking for a ransom.
Without hesitation, Shen Feng waved his hand and had the two prisoners dragged away.
After the situation was cleared, he immediately said to Cheng Xi, "These barbarians only want trade, and perhaps we can win them over to our side. However, the strait is still in the hands of the Long Whale Gang, so it may not be that easy to make them break off relations."
Negotiate the conditions and get the people back. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, it will be enough to make the Changjing Gang wary.
However, there are problems. As long as Haixia does not give up, the other party will not be able to break off relations with the Changjing Gang.
Cheng Xi pondered for a moment and shook his head: "Now is not the time to negotiate. We should fight first before talking, otherwise it will all be empty talk."
Shen Feng raised an eyebrow: "They are not here to fight to the death. It is common to bet on both sides. It would be a pity not to win over one or two of them."
If they really wanted to fight to the death, they would not surrender and pay the ransom.
And from what General Na Lan said, Xisai and the Long Whale Gang have been at war for a long time and have only recently reached peace. How could they be so determined to help the enemy? It would be a shame not to use this opportunity.
Cheng Xi said, "The Xisai people are quite ambitious, and now is the time to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. There is no point in talking. Only when they suffer a loss and are hurt, will there be a possibility of talking."
Shen Feng sighed when he heard this: "Really the temperament of a barbarian."
He believed this. In the previous battle, the foreign ships were extremely ferocious and fought as if they were risking their lives.
After he sank three ships, their behavior changed drastically, and they even surrendered when they had no way to retreat.
You're asking for a beating. Who will listen to you if you don't show your fists?
However, this would increase the risk of facing the Changjing Gang. Shen Feng couldn't help but say, "With that bastard Ning Fu here, there will probably be quite a few foreign ships joining the battle. If we don't think of any solution, it will be difficult to fight when the time comes."
He knew the rebels' level very well. Even if no one helped, he had a way to clean up the situation, it just would take more effort.
But the situation is different with the addition of those gunboats, and that is why he has to ask for help.
If this is the case with seven ships, then if there are more than ten, we won’t be able to fight the war.
Cheng Xi smiled and said: "We can't negotiate, but we can still sow discord. We can still use them to disrupt the retreat of the Long Whale Gang."
Shen Feng immediately became alert: "Wait, are you trying to get through Lu Er's way? He's not that reliable."
The words were quite sarcastic, but Cheng Xi pretended not to hear: "Lu Mingde has already promised me to contact the Jiaozhi troops, but those are just small-scale fights and may not amount to anything. Now that we have the Xisai people, we can be considered safe."
Shen Feng was slightly surprised that Lu Jian was willing to use his connections in Jiaozhi. This was really a risky move, which was really unlike this guy's style.
However, the thought only flashed through his mind before he pulled his attention back to the topic: "So how do you plan to use this wave of surrendered soldiers?"
Without negotiations or ransom demands, what other methods could be used to alienate the two sides? He was truly baffled.
"I need to talk to him privately about this." Cheng Xi kept the question a secret this time.
Shen Feng looked at her for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "I still believe in Boss Cheng's eloquence. I'm going to trouble you with this matter."
He was indeed a little curious. Why was Cheng Xi so interested in the ship from the West?
However, things have their priorities, and some secrets are not open to everyone. He doesn't mind the other party hiding their thoughts. As long as he can win, why would he be afraid of not having another chance in the future?
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