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When Lu Nan was taken off the boat, his hands and feet were not tied, but where could he escape to when he entered the enemy camp alone?
This group of people was too cruel. They threw all his subordinates on Wuyuan Island. Now he was helpless and could only cry out to heaven and earth for help.
At this point, Lu Nan stopped thinking about it and obediently followed Yan Yuan and the young man into the camp.
The village has changed a lot since he left. The houses seem to have been renovated and the defenses at the village gate are much stricter. Are these all Lu Jian's methods?
Thinking about the evil plot this time, Lu Nan was convinced. Apart from anything else, he was still able to be so resourceful after leaving the Lu family, which made him better than the third young master who was still relying on the Lu family for support.
After all, he is a member of the Lu family, and in fact, he is Lu Jian's cousin. If he really joins the team, he should be able to be valued, right?
But even though he thought so, when he actually arrived at the meeting hall, Lu Nan was stunned. There was no one in the main seat in the hall. Did Lu An take the reins and Jiang Da take a back seat? But where was Lu An? Why hadn't he shown up yet?
Before I could ask the questions in my mind, I saw the young man walk straight forward and sit down at the top seat with confidence.
Lu Nan was stunned. What was going on?
Cheng Xi's demeanor remained calm, and he smiled, "I'm sorry for the deception I just received. Boss Lu, please forgive me. I'm Cheng Xi, the leader of the Red Flag Gang, and the owner of this place."
Lu Nan didn't react for a moment, and said in a daze: "What about Lu An? Didn't he join the Second Young Master?"
Cheng Xi sighed softly, "Lu An was indeed a loyal and brave man. He led the charge to seize the island and died a long time ago. I single-handedly killed all the leaders on Luoling Island and changed their flags."
Lu Nan felt a buzzing in his head and almost fainted.
It turned out that Luoling Island had been taken away long ago! How could he be so foolish? If he hadn't rescued the people and didn't believe Yan Yuan's lies, even if he had just sent a small boat to check the island, it wouldn't have fallen into the hands of thieves so easily!
His lips trembled again and again as Lu Nan managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Then what about Lu Jian, could it be that he lied to me as well?"
"Oh, this is half true." Cheng Xi smiled. "Second Master Lu teamed up with the Straw Clothes Gang to rob the prison in Panyu City, then turned around and framed the Lu family. The old shopkeeper Liu Yuan was his insider in the Lu family. Because he was so deeply involved in the incident and mysteriously disappeared, the Lu family was left speechless. A hundred death row prisoners escaped, and a major leader of the Straw Clothes Gang escaped. This is a huge incident, and Master Lu is also worried. I don't know if he can survive this."
Lu Nan's face suddenly turned pale, not because Lu Jian had done something as serious as "prison break" which could cost him his life, but because the young man in front of him spoke too bluntly without any concealment.
Can such a secret be told to others casually?
Could it be that he is no longer useful and the other party is ready to get rid of him?
Seeing his expression, Cheng Xi's smile deepened. "You don't have to be afraid. Since we've already agreed, I will still send you to see Lu Jian. However, he has the final say on how to deal with you. Take a good rest on the island for the next two days. If you have some free time, you might as well make a list and count what cargo is on the ship."
Lu Nan finally recovered and managed to support himself with his legs to avoid falling.
No matter how many times he was deceived, at least the other party was right about one thing: Lu Jian was a businessman, and he was familiar with ocean shipping routes. If he went there, he might have a chance of making a living, which was better than waiting to die.
As for the list, he was probably asked to write it because he was worried that the subordinates who went on board to take inventory would keep some secrets. This matter cannot be sloppy.
Without another word, Lu Nan was taken away staggeringly.
Only after the people left did Yan Yuan let out a long sigh and his stern face relaxed.
The ones who took the biggest risk this time were him and Cheng Xi. Yan Yuan was not afraid of being a death warrior, but Cheng Xi also wanted to get on the boat, which made him sweat.
Unexpectedly, even when surrounded by hundreds of enemies, she could still fight freely and without any flaws. She was much better than me who had practiced hard for a long time.
Now, without using any of the three backup plans, they directly captured this ocean-going fleet. Such a psychological attack method is rare in the world.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Does the boss really want to take him to see Lu Jian?"
Cheng Xi nodded: "Not only him, but also those close to the Lu family. It would be difficult for us to subdue them alone, so it would be better to let Lu Jian do a favor."
This is not without reason. The reason why Lu Nan surrendered was for Lu Jian's sake. To put it bluntly, it was not surrendering to the enemy, but just changing sides.
There must be many Lu family members who hold such an attitude. It is extremely difficult for this group of people to return to their original affiliation, and they have been deceived, so they must be unwilling in their hearts.
But it would be a pity to kill them all. After all, they are all veterans who can sail ocean-going ships. It would be better to leave it to Lu Jian to deal with it, and then discuss matters of ocean-going cooperation.
Yan Yuan also understood the other party's implication: "Do you want to leave a group of people behind?"
With the addition of a thousand-ton ship, not only is it necessary to replenish troops, but also to equip it with a lot of experienced crew members. In addition, several Fujian ships also need people to operate them, and these captives certainly cannot be let go easily.
Cheng Xi smiled and said, "Let's lock him up on Wuyuan Island first. After a few days, we should be able to go and pick someone."
This is also a way to win over people's hearts. Wuyuan Island is an isolated island and not close to the coast. If you are trapped on it, you may not be able to escape even if you rebel.
If we select people in batches, I'm afraid the prisoners will be scrambling to get in, right?
Yan Yuan finally felt relieved and added, "Although there are some prisoners, we have also killed quite a few. We still need to find a reliable source of troops."
Cheng Xi smiled slightly: "It's more than just people. Once we finish processing the spoils of war, we should also add some more ships..."
…
Standing in the huge cabin of the treasure ship, Li Niu's face was flushed, and he was almost laughing with his hands on his hips.
A ship full of treasures! Gems, pearls, gold, silver, ivory, as well as mountains of spices, shellac, and various medicinal herbs... Twenty percent of this ship's wealth will be distributed to those who participate in the war! Hahahahahaha, isn't he going to be rich!
When arranging the task before, Li Niu was still a little reluctant. After all, he didn't know if he could fool people by pretending to be a pirate on Wuyuan Island. But Yan Yuan actually got the good job of pretending to surrender on the enemy ship. If he could capture the enemy chief alive, he would definitely be the first to achieve the credit!
Fortunately, the task of intercepting the Fu ships finally fell on him. With more than a dozen ships attacking him from the front and back, he had a great time killing them!
None of the five Fu ships sank, and the casualties were not too great, which thoroughly demonstrated the ability of Chief Li Niu Li to lead his troops! Hahahahahaha, in the final analysis, robbing ocean-going ships is still more satisfying!
Li Niu's mouth was almost wide open, but when he saw his trusted followers around him, he put on a serious face: "When you check the goods, keep your hands and feet clean! Don't forget that everything here must be handed over to the public treasury. If anyone dares to steal, I will hang him from the bow of the ship!"
There are not only people from his Li family here, there are other families watching too.
Besides, since almost no one on the treasure ship was killed, how could the accountant not remember what cargo was on board? If he reached out at this time, it would be giving him a handle, which he would not do.
Although they brought a lot of people on board, it still took a whole day to inventory the goods. Li Niu and Lin Meng finally returned from the sea and handed over the detailed list of the spoils of war.
Ten boxes of South China pearls, one hundred pieces of ivory, three dou of gemstones, fifty stones of pepper, two thousand taels of gold sand, fifteen thousand taels of silver, as well as sumac, shellac, camphor, fragrant wood, and so on... After looking through the list, Cheng Xi sighed, "This is a business with no capital."
Of course, Lu Nan had already submitted a detailed list before, and there was basically no discrepancy between the two. This was what made Cheng Xi most satisfied.
It seems that these subordinates can withstand the test of mountains of gold and silver.
Li Niu's eyes lit up, and he whispered, "Boss, it's impossible to estimate the value of those jewels. The goods are worth at least 80,000 taels. We've made a fortune this time!"
It was not unusual for a fleet to carry tens of thousands of taels of cargo, and it was even more common for the price to increase several times over after a long ocean voyage. What was rare was that Lu Nan had superb skills, securing the greatest benefit along the way, and not suffering any loss or sinking due to a shipwreck.
As a result, all the wealth that they had worked so hard to obtain fell into their hands.
Cheng Xi did a quick calculation and said, "Everyone who participates in this battle will be rewarded with 20 taels. Each of you three leaders will receive 50 taels of gold and 500 taels of silver. The remaining share will be used to purchase artillery. In the future, each of you leaders will be equipped with a brig, and each of you will be equipped with artillery."
Li Niu swallowed his saliva with a gulp. Wow, this is really a big deal! He only quoted the payment for the goods because he felt that the value of the jewelry was too high and a 20% share was unlikely.
However, the gang leader was very generous. He gave each person 20 taels of silver as a reward. There were probably 500 to 600 people participating in the battle, so he spent more than 10,000 taels of silver at once.
As for their reward money, hehe, there is no such thing as too much. Cannons are valuable!
Now Li Niu has also witnessed the power of artillery. The cannons of the thousand-ton treasure ship are enough to shock many people.
He could be given a brig with ship-mounted artillery, what else could he not be satisfied with?!
Cheng Xi didn't care about the expressions of his subordinates and continued, "As for those who died or were injured in the battle, they will all be compensated according to the original standards, and the money will be paid from the public treasury as usual."
Li Niu's expression became a little more solemn now. The public treasury has always been used for this purpose, and it is also for this reason that the soldiers can risk their lives.
Now that the treasury is well stocked, pensions and rewards are naturally indispensable.
"When everyone comes back tomorrow, we will hold a celebration banquet on the island. We need to prepare cattle, sheep, wine and drinks. This time we want to make it bigger." Cheng Xi said again.
If you don't reward people for their merits, you will be hated. Moreover, when everyone knows that you have hit a big fat sheep, you should reward the troops and win over the people's hearts.
Of course, Cheng Xi also knew in his heart that the most soothing thing was the high rewards and pensions. "Discipline" must go hand in hand with "fairness". Only when people are free of worries will they be willing to die for their country.
However, now that all the cash has been spent, it is necessary to find Lu Jian to sell the stolen goods.
There are several other factories that need to be opened as soon as possible.
Before Cheng Xi could continue making arrangements, Lin Meng suddenly spoke up, "Boss, aren't you planning to build a workshop? Can I use my reward money as a stake?"
These days, there is of course the concept of "investing", and you can also get dividends, but Cheng Xi did not expect Lin Meng to make such a choice.
You have to know that this money is nominally given to the bosses, but they also need rewards at all levels. If all of it is used to invest, there will be less opportunity to win over people's hearts.
Raising an eyebrow, Cheng Xi asked, "Why do you suddenly want to buy shares?"
Lin Meng's tone was very serious: "I'm not good at business, and my subordinates are all fighters. It's better to keep the money in the bank or invest it in the workshop. It won't be wrong to follow the gang leader."
He had previously gone to Hepu to transport grain and missed such major events as the surrender of the salt fields and the initial establishment of the bank.
However, after returning, Lin Meng thought about it carefully. The salt field must belong to the gang, but those workshops may not.
Isn't the purpose of building a bank loan to raise money to build a workshop? If so, it would be best for him to invest money. In the future, he could acquire a stake, or even open his own workshop. This would be a business that could be passed down from generation to generation, and would certainly benefit more than just himself.
Li Niu's eyes widened as he suddenly shouted, "Boss, I have money too! Let me invest some in it!"
Damn, this guy has become so smart, how could he fall behind? Not to mention trying to please the gang leader, this is clearly a big business that can make money.
Now that I am not in the Dongning camp, I can't give up such a good thing to others!
Looking at the two people who were eager to try, Cheng Xi smiled and shook his head: "In that case, I won't stop you. Let's start preparing and discuss the shareholding matters later..."
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