Wen Na gave Reggie a special farewell gift. At dawn the next day, a refreshed Re Ji left Zhilin City in a carriage. He didn't want to look back. If he saw Wen Na crying in the wind, he would
You may be reluctant to leave.
But he had to leave. He had been calculating the itinerary these days. It was time for his fleet to return.
So far, he does not know the outcome of the decisive battle with the Golden Eagle Country. All his previous thoughts came from his speculation. This war is related to the survival of the navy, the future trade channels, and his dignity. There is one
He has been bragging for a long time. He has always claimed that he owns seven territories, but if this decisive battle fails, Spike Island and Blackstone Island are just territories in his imagination.
When he received the news that the fleet was returning, Reggie rode the fastest horse and rushed to the dock. Seeing countless masts and sails on the sea, the excited Reggie almost rode his horse into the sea.
Natalie was the first to dock. The longing for her made her forget her reserve. She threw herself into Reggie's arms and acted coquettishly to Reggie in a childish way.
"My lord, I did it. We did everything you asked us to do. I miss you so much, my lord..."
Reggie picked up Natalie with both arms and spun her around on the ground several times, still unwilling to put her down.
"My good girl, I'm proud of you!"
"Aren't you proud of me, Master!" It's really rare that Doranor would come to compete for favor.
Reggie shouted excitedly: "Of course I'm proud, I'm proud of each and every one of you."
"Thirty battleships and fifty merchant ships," Yinge said with a smile, "all belong to you, my lord."
"Spiked Island, Black Rock Island, they all belong to you now!" Flash laughed loudly.
"It's just a little regretful," Old Hill sighed, "Why don't you bring Evergreen Island together? Then the entire route will be ours. You haven't seen the appearance of Emperor Horno. No matter what we propose,
He will not refuse us any request."
"Don't be too greedy, old man," Reggie's face convulsed with laughter. Everyone returned safely, with plenty of loot. They also got the documents for ceding the territory. They no longer had to worry about the awesomeness they boasted about in the past.
He said, "Take the brothers to my place for a drink and discuss how to distribute these ships."
It's not that Reggie doesn't want Evergreen Island, it's just that he knows he can't break through the bottom line of an empire.
Spiked Island can only be regarded as a good naval supply station, and Black Rock Island itself does not have much value. The cession of these two islands is within the acceptable range of the Golden Eagle Nation.
But Changqing Island is quite different. The area of this island is similar to that of Camel Island, and more than twice the area of Suixue City and its surrounding territories. The island is rich in products and has a relatively developed economy. More importantly, this island
This island is at the junction of multiple routes and is equivalent to a natural transit hub. During the war, the value of this island was not inferior to that of later aircraft carriers.
Naturally, the Golden Eagle Kingdom will not give up such an important island to others. If Reggie forces the Golden Eagle Kingdom to cede Changqing Island, this is tantamount to forcing the Golden Eagle Kingdom to fight to the end. Four warships and hundreds of artillery shells can make the Golden Eagle Kingdom
A little blood was shed, but if you want this powerful empire to surrender completely, it would be a bit overestimating your capabilities.
Everyone drank happily, and Reggie called Nipoli and Calaf to discuss the allocation of ships and make plans for ship modifications.
Both warships and merchant ships must be equipped with artillery, because merchant ships do not have wide decks, and the method of installing artillery requires careful study.
Warships need to be divided more carefully. Each territory of Reji has a port. There are eight ports in total (two on Camel Island). Will each port be guarded by warships? Do we still need to retain a patrol fleet?
These issues require careful consideration.
Reggie wanted to send thirty merchant ships to Shazhou City first. He wanted to buy some rare things, such as books and handicrafts, as well as the best ink and quills from the White Tower Kingdom. However, the merchants in Shazhou City refused to sell these.
When goods are delivered to Suixue City, the profits of these goods are not huge and they are easily damaged during transportation.
In addition, Reggie also wants to buy another batch of slaves. Shazhou City has the largest slave market, but the slave traders also do not provide delivery services. They are not as generous as Nipoli, and no one wants to pay for escape and death on the way.
Dead slaves paid.
There are also livestock. Reggie needs a lot of livestock, but livestock is not within the scope of delivery.
Now these problems can be solved easily. If you have your own fleet, there is no need to look at other people's faces.
Nipoli was also very excited. He also wanted to go to Shazhou City to visit his family, but after drinking two glasses of wine, he calmed down.
"Sir, before going to Shazhou City, I hope you can make more preparations."
"Am I not prepared enough?" Reggie asked in surprise, "Didn't you already make a shopping list?"
"I'm not talking about the list, but our routes. We have to confirm that the routes are open."
"Of course our route is open," Reggie took a sip of ale, burped, and pursed his lips. "Are you worried about Evergreen Island? Don't worry, the lord there is a reasonable guy. As long as I don't
Even if I invade his territory, he won't cause any trouble to me."
Nipoli shook his head and said: "I'm not only worried about Evergreen Island, in fact, I'm even more worried about Spike Island. There are more than twenty lords on this island, large and small. I have done business with them. These people are capricious and have no problem."
There is no credibility at all.”
"Are you kidding?" Reggie licked his lips, "Spiked Island is not much bigger than the territory of Shattered Snow City, and you actually said there are more than twenty lords on it?"
"Yes, sir, there are more than twenty, and each lord has hundreds to a thousand soldiers. The total strength of the entire island exceeds ten thousand."
Reggie took a breath and asked, "What is the population of Spiked Island?"
"Nearly 40,000 people."
"That means there are almost 20,000 men on the island," Reggie shook his head and said, "This doesn't make sense. Is one out of every two men a soldier?"
"To be precise, all men over sixteen and under sixty on Spiked Island are soldiers," Nipoli said. "These men are usually farmers, craftsmen, and hunters, but as long as the war starts, they will be ready at any time.
You can pick up weapons and become soldiers."
Serve the people in leisure time and serve as soldiers in wartime. This is a typical strategy of all people becoming soldiers, and Spike Island has a good population base. Judging from this situation, the combat effectiveness of this small island is quite good, but the Golden Eagle Country's
When the fleet fled in panic, why didn't they see them coming to rescue?
The answer made Reggie dumbfounded. According to Nipoli, they had no time to fight externally because they spent all their time fighting within themselves.
The more than twenty lords on Spiked Island are divided into three groups, namely the Golden Eagles, Dongsang people and Pallas people.
These three groups have been fighting for years without stopping. The Dongsang and Pallas people will not rescue the fleet of the Golden Eagle Kingdom. In their view, the Golden Eagle people are the invaders.
Even if the Golden Eagle wanted to rescue the fleet of their mother country, they did not dare to send troops easily, because once the soldiers left, the other two forces would annex their territory.
This sounds a bit like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I didn't expect that a palm-sized island could have such a complicated situation.
"No matter how many forces they have, they must obey my orders from now on," Reggie said, a little too drunk, and no longer considered discretion when speaking, "I am their lord. Those who follow me will prosper, and those who go against me will perish.
Muhahaha!”
Nipoli didn't understand the last two idioms, but he could roughly guess what he meant from Reggie's aura.
"I firmly believe that you can control your territory and people, but it depends on what scope," Nipoli said. "As far as I know, in the past twenty years, Spike Island has not made any contribution to the Golden Eagle Kingdom.
If you have paid any tribute, if you can be as tolerant as the Golden Eagle Kingdom, I believe that Spike Island will also be willing to accept your rule."
"Nonsense, it's not a rule if you can't even collect taxes." Reggie burped again. "I want to see how arrogant these lords are. Tell the navy to rest for a day and set off the day after tomorrow. Let me see.