During the melee on Duanyan Island, Hutong felt deeply that he had no one under his command!
There were four silver subordinates under him, and as a result, their performance on the battlefield was worse than the last.
Under the silver, there is no team.
Huantong was basically resisting the pressure that led to the war.
His subordinates are more of a decoy, responsible for luring out the enemy's military strength and purpose.
After the melee ended, Huantong's feeling became even deeper.
Because he really has no one.
Of the original four Silver-level subordinates, two were dead, one was seriously injured, and one was left.
Most of the city guards were lost, and the barracks were in ruins.
The patrol fleet also suffered heavy casualties.
The light-concentrating turrets that Hutong secretly built before were scattered all over the new island, and almost all of them were destroyed.
It was not only the alchemy cannon buildings that were destroyed, but also the many gunners in the buildings.
Hutong defended its territory, but the island's strength was consumed too much and was in urgent need of replenishment.
The distant water could not quench the near thirst, so Huantong set his sights on the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group.
To be honest, the performance of the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group during the melee left a very deep impression on Huantong!
Therefore, on the night after the battle, he couldn't wait to come secretly and extend an olive branch to the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group.
Zong Ge shook his head: "Lord Hutong, you seem to have forgotten that we are not a simple mercenary group."
The implication is that they refer to their deeper identity - arms smugglers.
Huantong nodded: "I understand what you mean, Lion Flag."
Those who can smuggle arms naturally have a deep background.
By raising this false identity, the survivors were able to bluff, virtually resolving many troubles and gaining a lot of convenience.
Huntong coughed: "To be honest, it is because of your status that I think it is more suitable to join my Eye Island."
"What do you want to sell? Isn't this the best place?"
"Of course, I know that you have original channels and buyers who need to transport goods."
"Eye Island can still help you. In the future, I will build it into a regional transportation center."
"And I think the leader of the dragon suit is strong enough to guarantee your actions."
"Lion Banner, the person I really want to recruit the most when I come here is you!"
Hutong is a smart person.
If he was not smart, he would not start from scratch and turn Double Eye Island into a large commercial island.
Like the pharmacist, this melee also brought him a lot of intangible wealth.
For example, he clearly recognizes the weakest link in his territory——
He has no subordinates who can take charge alone!
It's not enough for him to fight alone, he must have more people to hold on to this foundation.
And this kind of subordinate must be at least Silver level.
But just having a life level is not enough.
You also need to be very elite!
In the past, Hutong felt that he had four silver men under his command, so he could be considered a strong soldier.
Now, Huantong has a new realization: the quality of silver-level subordinates is far more important than quantity!
When a crisis comes, having too many silver grades is of no use. Sometimes poor quality can lead to negative effects.
Just like his previous city guard commander.
This guy took advantage of Lord Hutong's break in guarding the auction house and was away from the barracks, so he ran outside to be cool.
As a result, he was killed by Dao Hen, a silver-level strongman on the fishman side, in a one-on-one battle.
Once he died, the city guards had no commander, and their combat effectiveness declined severely. During the entire melee, the city guards spent much more time being beaten than attacking.
In addition, there are alchemists and pharmacists. These two teamed up two against one, but they couldn't defeat a fish-man caster. This is really embarrassing to the human race.
Hearing that Huantong came mainly for him, Zong Ge just raised his eyebrows slightly, did not speak, and waited for the next sentence.
Hutong then praised: "Lion Banner, you have a life level of peak silver level, and your fighting spirit has a golden luster. It is only a matter of time before you become gold level."
"You are a human, and your bloodline is excellent. It can at least support you to reach the gold level. Are you willing to surrender to a silver-level dragon?"
"Your fighting ability, after the battle with the flesh and blood, I have a clear view of the melee just now."
"You still have the talent for training soldiers."
Having said this, Huantong paused and said with a smile: "You formed that Kuai Dao team and you were responsible for training it."
“It’s really great!”
"They once fought against a silver-level fishman on the dock."
"When I found out when this team was formed, I almost couldn't believe it."
"In such a short period of time, you were able to train them to this level. Your talent really amazes me."
"Lion flag, lion flag."
"You have such ability, but you just became a smuggler. Don't you think it's a pity?"
"Even an outsider like me feels deeply sorry for you."
Huntong's expression and tone of voice were very sincere.
But Zong Ge remained calm, just like before.
Huntong smiled slightly and directly threw out the real bargaining chip: "Are you really comfortable in the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group? You searched hard for healing potions, and it was not until the auction that you bought a gold-level healing potion."
"Look, that's all the support the Dragon and Lion Mercenary Group brings you."
"But if you join my territory and another situation arises where gold-level healing potions are necessary, I will supply them to you immediately!"
"Your annual salary will be 500,000 gold coins!"
500,000 gold is much more than normal salary.
"As long as you serve as the commander of the city guards on Double Eye Island for three years, and it only takes three years, I will operate it for you and let the empire grant you the status of a baron!" Huntong continued.
Zong Ge couldn't help but feel moved.
Title!
Huantong actually threw out such a huge solicitation bargaining chip, which is really sincere.
The titles of the Shengming Empire will not be awarded easily. Many knights have worked hard for their entire lives but have not been able to obtain a title.
The title of the Shengming Empire is cherished very much.
But Zong Ge shook his head, spoke calmly, and said directly: "To be honest, I am not optimistic about the prospects of Double Eye Island."
"First, the murlocs have not been completely wiped out. Give them some time, and the murloc tribe will definitely thrive again. I think they are determined and will not give up their former homeland. In other words, today's war will happen again in the future.
.”
"Second, Lord Hutong, you suddenly rebelled during this war and controlled the magic ship to fire on friendly forces, causing huge casualties and losses. The other forces can be dealt with easily, but what will you do with the five major chambers of commerce?"
"Third, a necromancer also appeared in the melee. Combined with the sudden necromancer incident on the island, it may trigger a follow-up investigation by the empire. It would be great if you could kill this necromancer beforehand."
If it was Cangxu or Zidi, the words must be reserved or tactful when speaking.
But Zong Ge was straight forward, and when he encountered a lord with a bad temper, he would probably get angry at first.
Huantong laughed loudly: "These worries of yours are not enough to cause me trouble."
"First point, the fishman tribe is nothing to worry about. Because Double Eye Island has been requisitioned by the empire, it will serve as a transportation center in the future. It will be an important point in a maritime transportation line. By then, there must be an imperial navy guarding the fishmen.
Even if the human tribe grows stronger and starts a war, it will never endanger this territory of mine."
"Second point, my performance on the battlefield... Well, I have to say that the fishmen are really cunning. They actually used the devil's gold coins. Unfortunately, I fell into the trap."
Hutong learned the truth about the Devil's Gold Coin from the old fish-man patriarch.
At that time, he gave me a thumbs up and praised him sincerely.
Talking about it now, Huantong felt itchy with hatred.
Zong Ge's eyes flashed with a sharp light: "What gold coin?"
Huantong explained the information about the gold coins in detail.
Only then did Zong Ge suddenly realize.
At this moment, he finally understood the reason why Zong Ge, Zidi, and Cang Xu rebelled.
"It turned out to be a problem with the fifty thousand gold coins."
"This gold coin passed through our hands, and eventually most of it fell into Hutong's hands, and he was tricked."
"If he knew the truth, I wonder how he would feel?"
Huntong continued: "Although it was indeed me who caused casualties to the friendly side, this was not out of my original intention. I was influenced by external forces. This is known to all."
"Of course, the five major chambers of commerce are indeed difficult to deal with."
"They are trouble."
"So, I have made full preparations. I will give these businessmen satisfactory compensation."
"Don't worry about money." Hutong smiled, with a calmness and a touch of pride, "Now the seabed near the new island is full of treasures left by pirates."
"My underground patrol puppet has already dived into the seabed and searched everywhere."
"Of course other people want to make money, but my Golden Shine monitors all coastlines."
"This money is all spoils of war. According to the laws of the empire, it belongs to me!"
"Only a small part is needed to satisfy the five major chambers of commerce."
Zong Ge:......
He knew that the treasure at the bottom of the sea had long been taken away by Zidi.
In terms of searching for seabed resources alone, deep-sea salvagers are far better than underground patrollers!
The sweet dream of dim pupils is about to be broken.
Zong Ge looked at the two-eyed island lord who was talking eloquently in front of him, and he couldn't help but feel a trace of pity in his heart.
Huntong didn't notice, and continued: "As for the third point, the Necromancer... Obviously, he is a hidden force of the fish people. These damn scum of the sea actually got in touch with the Necromancer. So, before
The necromancer who appeared on the island must be one of theirs and wants to destroy the Eye Island in advance."
"I am innocent and have no fear of any investigation."
"It's not a big deal."
Hutong had another important reason why he didn't tell Zong Ge.
That is the fish Cang Xu, the target of the imperial secret agents. They want to take a long-term approach to catch the big fish.
Therefore, in the previous melee, Hutong did not deal harshly with Cang Xu.
After all, he had a lot of cooperation with Imperial secret agents.
When faced with possible investigations by the empire in the future, he still has imperial spies to help him explain.