The abundance of Jinling City's arsenal deeply shocked Gan Ning.
That kind of shock cannot be expressed in words.
"Brother Gan, are you willing to join our camp?" Tao Shang said to Gan Ning with a smile.
Gan Ning was also a little excited at this moment. He completely understood why the pottery merchant wanted to take him back to Jinling City to wander around.
This kid is just trying to show off to himself! He shows off his nakedness.
But he pretended so well that Gan Ning could see the potter's extraordinary strength and potential at a glance. Gan Ning's heart was full of unlimited expectations for him, and he began to have some new ideas about the future.
Conception.
People are not afraid of hardship, but they are afraid of not being able to see hope at a glance.
But what the potter showed Gan Ning was infinite possibilities and infinite hopes.
Everyone wants to find a good sponsor, and Gan Ning is the same. It is just like a girl marrying a man. What moves her most is the development potential. We are all human beings, and no one is nobler than anyone else.
Gan Ning took a deep breath and finally made up his mind.
He cupped his hands towards the pottery merchant and said sincerely: "Since Tao Taishou is so fond of me, I have no problem with it. I am willing to lead my brothers to follow Tao Taishou and fight in the south of the Yangtze River together to fulfill the great cause of the Taishou."
A small amount of effort."
The potter laughed when he heard this.
Did you see that the leader of the water thieves can actually say some beautiful words? It depends on whether he is willing to say them.
Tao Shang took out the Zhechong Captain's token from his waist and handed it to Gan Ning, gesturing for him to continue. However, Gan Ning shook his head heavily.
"Prefect Tao, I'm sorry I can't accept this token yet."
Tao Shang blinked and looked at Gan Ning doubtfully: "Brother Gan, didn't you agree to me just now?"
Gan Ning thought for a moment and then slowly said: "The governor's Danyang County is impeccable in military, political, food, financial and other aspects, but it is a pity that it does not have a decent navy."
Tao Shang nodded and sighed: "Yes, that's why I want to appoint Brother Gan as the captain of Zhechong, recruit brave soldiers for me, and train a navy capable of crossing the Yangtze River."
Gan Ning smiled, shook his head and said: "Training a naval force that is good at fighting cannot be done with money. First, we must have soldiers who are proficient in water skills. They must not only be good at ship fighting, but also have the potential to
Swimming, and secondly, they need to float on the river all year round. To be honest, if they don’t practice for five years, they won’t be able to do anything at all.”
The potter sighed angrily.
Five years... How could Yuan Shu wait for him for five years?
It is estimated that as soon as spring comes next year, this bastard will immediately lead his troops to attack.
Time waits for no one. To fight against Yuan Shu, the pottery merchants must accumulate all their strength to be able to fight him, but the naval army is the most important point.
Yuan Shu had many soldiers and generals, but some people had some wrong understanding of him.
Yuan Shu's current strength is not yet at its peak, but he has already occupied Runan County and Nanyang County. Nanyang County has a population of more than 2.4 million, ranking first in the world, and Runan County has a population of 2.1 million, also among the best!
Now is the early stage of the struggle for hegemony among the princes, and the population has not declined as much as it did when the Three Kingdoms were established. But even so, imagine that when Cao Rui ascended the throne, the registered population of the Wei Kingdom was more than four million! That is to say
The population that Yuan Shu now has is the same as that of the Great Wei during Cao Rui's time.
Now, Yuan Shu is dividing his troops into two groups, one to attack Jingzhou, and the other to attack Lujiang and Jiujiang counties.
There is a powerful figure Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and Yuan Shu may not be able to get involved, but once the Jiujiang Army and Lujiang Army are defeated by him, the two counties of Huainan, which currently have the most stable and abundant supply of grain and grass in the Yangtze River Basin, will also be occupied by Yuan Shu.
In this way, Yuan Shu has a population and food. If he wants to support an army of 200,000 to 300,000 people, he will definitely be able to do so.
But right now, I only have 45,000 people, and no navy yet...
Looking at the rather lonely expression on the pottery merchant's face, Gan Ning suddenly said: "But right now, there is a ready-made navy in front of Taishou Tao. Doesn't the Taishou not want to use it?"
Tao Shang was stunned when he heard this, then he suddenly realized and said: "What Brother Gan said, could it be those water thieves from the gathering of heroes... brothers?"
Gan Ning nodded and sighed: "Those old water thieves have been hanging out on the Yangtze River for at least three to five years, and for more than ten years. What's more, they have been floating on the river for most of their lives, with their feet basically untouched. Crossing the ground, Gan had eight hundred brothers under his command, and those Yangtze River water bandits, such as Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, had more than a thousand boys under their command, and as few as a hundred and ten boys, so these water bandit leaders The total number of our bastards must be five to six thousand at least, and they are all basically formed marine soldiers. With such combat power, how can you not care about it, sir?"
After hearing this, Tao Shang felt like a close friend and said: "Actually, I have thought about this too, but I'm afraid they are not as sensible as Brother Gan. After all, they are all bandits, so they are suddenly allowed to join the army. , I’m afraid there will be some resistance in their hearts.”
When Gan Ning heard this, the muscles on his face twitched slightly.
Why does this sound like a curse?
If you hadn't frightened me with the thirty-five years of mining, I might not have said it more sensibly.
"This matter really cannot be rushed. According to Gan's idea, Gan actually has nothing to do under the command of Fu Jun. It is better to continue to be a water thief and carefully observe the thieves of the Heroes Association on the Yangtze River for Fu Jun. Dongxiang, and Fu Jun took the opportunity to become the so-called leader of the Jiang Bandit Alliance. In the future, he will slowly win over everyone's hearts. It is a good idea for you and me to complement each other, both internally and externally."
When the pottery merchant heard what Gan Ning meant, he was about to leave, somewhat hesitant in his heart.
Should he let him go?
When Gan Ning saw that the pottery merchant didn't talk to him, he immediately laughed and said, "Isn't it possible that Mr. Tao can't trust me?"
The pottery merchant weighed the pros and cons in his mind and finally made up his mind.
"I believe you. Just as Brother Gan said, you continue to be a water thief and help me supervise those people in the group of heroes. Tao is not in a hurry to accept their surrender. He will become the leader of the river thief alliance first, and we will talk about the rest later!"
Gan Ning cupped his hands and said boldly: "I won't hide it from you, although I am a bandit, but I also know the word "faithfulness". Don't worry, since I promised you, I will never fail! I really do this." It’s done!”
…
…
Fanyang Lake, Zhou Tai’s water village.
Today is the second meeting of the Heroes Association, and it is also the day when Zhou Tai, Gan Ning, and Luffy, the three great water pirates, hand over the results of the big exam.
The leaders of the water thieves on the Yangtze River had already gathered at Zhou Tai's water village early in the morning, waiting for the three leaders to deliver the results of seizing the flag in front of the Chungu County government office.
In the minds of the water thieves, the one who can do this must be Zhou Tai.
Of course, if Zhou Tai couldn't do it, then Gan Ning, that thief, would have taken advantage of him.
However, when the man named Luffy took out the large banner in front of the Spring Valley County Government Office, all the water thieves couldn't help but fell silent.
What is the situation like this?
Gan Ning and Zhou Tai had diarrhea and missed the exam date?
It shouldn’t be. I usually enjoy eating and cooking, so I don’t see anything wrong with it.
How could he win?
Who is this young and weak little water thief leader? He is actually so awesome!
Zhou Tai stood in the hall, staring closely at the banner spread out on the ground. His face suddenly changed from red to white to purple to green. In less than a stick of incense, it had already changed seven or eight colors.
The potter was watching him from the sidelines.
Chameleon, so fancy.
When I was young...
"This is false!" Zhou Tai said sworn to the people present.
All the water bandit leaders were in an uproar when they heard this.
Makes sense!
Upon hearing this, the pottery merchant touched the straight bridge of his nose, and it seemed that he was not angry at all.
Zhou Tai's reaction had long been expected.
"Master Zhou, you say this banner is fake? But what proof do you have?"
Zhou Tai patted his chest and said proudly: "I think of me, old Zhou, who has experienced hundreds of battles and traversed the Yangtze River waterway for many years. What a hero! I can't conquer Chungu County, but you, a yellow-mouthed boy, can conquer it? Say
I don’t believe anything!”
At this moment, a sneer suddenly sounded from the side.
"Jiujiang Thief, after all that, you still don't have the slightest proof. You are just unwilling to give up your position as the leader of the alliance. You are a person who has been famous on this waterway for many years. You are too stingy!"
When Zhou Tai heard this, he became furious and turned his head to Gan Ning.
In his opinion, even if Gan Ning is not of the same mind as him, he should not still be in conflict with him at this time. Is it possible that he really intends to let this Huangkou boy take away the position of leader of the Yangtze River bandits?
"Jinfan Thief! Stop making sarcastic remarks on the sidelines! Don't forget, you never went to Chungu County!" Zhou Tai roared at Gan Ning with his eyebrows raised, but in fact, there was something different in his words.
Gan Ning should not have conflicts at this time.
The problem is, Gan Ning didn't pull any of his tricks today.
Gan Ning spread his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, I didn't hit the county town, but I am convinced! It's not like some people, tut tut, tut, tut, you can't afford to lose!"
Zhou Tai's face turned red after being squeezed by Gan Ning, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Who said I can't afford to lose!"
At this time, the leader of Liu Village who had been hanging around in the Xiangjiang River stood up and raised his voice to the potter: "Master of the Village, I dare to ask if you have anything else besides this flag.
As proof that you entered Spring Valley County?"
The pottery merchant slowly stood up and said with a smile, "Yes."
After saying that, he winked at Xu Rong behind him.
Xu Rong understood, and then raised his voice and shouted outside the hall: "Bring the things in."
Not long after, Luffy's "water thieves" were seen carrying bundles of weapons into the hall of the water village and throwing them on the ground.
Upon seeing this, the owners of each water village came over to take a look.
After a while...
"This, this is the military weapon?!"
"real or fake!"
"It's the real thing! You see, the smelting is so sophisticated. It must have been made by an official. How could an ordinary iron shop make such a thing!?"
"That's right, and there are so many...how many are there?"
"At least there must be more than a thousand handles, right?"
Seeing everyone chattering happily, Zhou Tai's face became a little uneasy.