Chapter 13

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"Mr. Long, please tell everyone about your detailed plan!" Luo Sangu said. After Zhao Yi and the others expressed their agreement, she felt much more at ease. She had originally been thinking about how to convince them! Once Zhao Yi and the others agreed, it was almost equivalent to the pirates of Feiyu Island recognizing this plan!

"Alright, Chief!" Long Yufei suppressed his excitement and began to introduce the plan to everyone.

"Everyone, this is a detailed map of the South Seas region obtained from the British warship. This is Feiyu Island, and 400 miles to the south is a place called Mindanao. Mindanao is very large, about the size of Zhejiang Province! The people on the island are mainly indigenous people and Muslims. Among them, the Sultanates of Maguindanao and Buayan are the most powerful! The rest of the indigenous people exist in tribal form. These tribes range from tens of thousands to just a few dozen! Mindanao has fertile land and rich mineral resources, including iron, gold, and coal, which are more than enough to support our development! Therefore, I believe we can use Mindanao as our base for development!" Long Yufei said.

"There are two countries? Can we really fight against a country?" Zhao Yi frowned. After all, they were just pirates, and fighting against a country seemed a bit too exaggerated.

"Uncle Zhao, the Sultanates of Maguindanao and Buayan are not very powerful, each with only about ten thousand people! They are located in the western and southern parts of the island. The place we are going to is in the north, separated by dense primeval forests, so they won't pose an immediate threat to us!" Long Yufei explained.

"Ten thousand people is still a lot! The entire Feiyu Island only has a few thousand people, and the number of people who can fight is at most three hundred. The strength gap is too large!" Li Decheng also shook his head, still thinking that Long Yufei's plan was too risky!

"Uncle Li, in the short term, we won't have conflicts with these two countries. Our main opponents will be the local indigenous people! Additionally, there are quite a few Chinese people on Mindanao, at least two to three thousand. If we can incorporate these Chinese people, we can establish a foothold on Mindanao! Also, whether it's the Sultanates of Maguindanao and Buayan or the indigenous people, they all use primitive weapons like bows and arrows and spears. Our people will be equipped with advanced firearms, so defending against these indigenous people will be very easy!" Long Yufei continued.

"I believe that! As long as we have enough materials and machinery, the rifles designed by Mr. Long can be produced, and our combat strength will increase significantly! Even if we can't occupy the entire Mindanao, we can at least defend ourselves!" Zhao Yi said with a smile. The design drawings of the new rifles provided by Long Yufei had greatly impressed him and his sons. They had been studying this new rifle for some time and had already fully understood it. However, due to the lack of machinery and materials, they couldn't produce it! Once this rifle is produced, Zhao Yi believed that the strength of the entire Feiyu Island would be greatly enhanced. Achieving Long Yufei's vision would not be impossible!

"If we can really occupy Mindanao, that would be great. We might even be able to establish our own country. At that time, the Chief can be the emperor, the strategist can be the prime minister, and we can all be great generals!" Niu Meng was excited. If they could transform from pirates to great generals, it would be a splendid transformation.

Luo Sangu, Long Yufei, Zhao Yi, and Li Decheng all laughed. Luo Sangu had never hoped to be an emperor. If Long Yufei's plan really succeeded, she hoped to live a normal life, no longer fighting and killing. She just wanted to be a normal woman, taking care of her husband and children. However, when she thought about taking care of her husband and children, she couldn't help but look at Long Yufei.

"Chief, if we stop being pirates, we should also change the current system!" Zhao Yi said.

Luo Sangu nodded and then asked, "Mr. Long, do you have any suggestions?"

"Why don't we follow the example of the Lanfang Kingdom in Borneo! The Chief can serve as the Grand Governor, and the rest of us can handle other affairs!" Long Yufei said.

After discussion, Luo Sangu was appointed as the Grand Governor, Long Yufei as the Deputy Governor, assisting Luo Sangu in managing the group's affairs. Zhao Yi was responsible for military and logistics, Li Decheng for daily affairs within the group, and Niu Meng for military affairs. Of course, although Niu Meng was brave in battle, he had no experience in training and commanding a modern army. He was only the nominal commander, and the actual command was still handled by Long Yufei. Although Long Yufei was not a military man, the knowledge he had from the future was enough to build a strong army for this era!

"Then, from now on, we can start preparing! It's already August, and we need to head to Mindanao as soon as possible! We also need to prepare all the necessary supplies as soon as possible!" Long Yufei said.

"Deputy Governor, we have over a thousand people to relocate, and we need to prepare a lot of things, such as food, seeds, and equipment. Especially the equipment for smelting iron and other non-ferrous metals, as well as steam engines and machine tools, which need to be purchased in advance!" Zhao Yi reminded.

"Alright, Uncle Zhao, we can buy them from the Spaniards! Didn't we bring back a Spanish bearded captain? We can use him!" Long Yufei said with a smile. The reason he spared the bearded captain's life was not only to lure the British Navy but also to have an agent. To build his own strength, Long Yufei needed an industrial foundation, and the equipment required would be difficult to purchase if he did it himself. But if a Spaniard did it, it would be much easier!

"Mr. Long, I'll leave this matter to you! We will start preparing, and once everything is ready, we will set out immediately, leaving Feiyu Island for Mindanao!" Luo Sangu said.

Next, Long Yufei, led by Li Hu, came to a secluded beach on Feiyu Island. There were a few simple huts where the bearded captain and his surviving sailors were kept. However, their faces were all grim, as they didn't know how the pirates who killed without hesitation would handle them!

"Damn yellow monkeys, they tricked us! They don't even believe in God! Swearing to God has no binding power at all!" the bearded captain cursed in his heart! After being brought to Feiyu Island, he was worried that Long Yufei would turn on him, and now it seemed very likely.

"God help me, I must find a way to escape this hellish place!" the bearded captain thought, but the pirates' surveillance was very strict, and they were tied up, making it almost impossible to escape!

Suddenly, the old wooden door was pushed open, and Long Yufei and Li Hu appeared at the door!

"You despicable scoundrel, you promised to let me go, but now you're going back on your word? God will not forgive you, and you will go to hell!" the bearded captain immediately cursed upon seeing Long Yufei!

"Captain, please calm down. I'm here to fulfill my promise. If you keep cursing me, I might change my mind!" Long Yufei said with a smile.

"Oh! God! Sir, please forgive my rudeness. I was just confused. I have never doubted you! I know you are an honest man and will not break your promise!" the bearded captain immediately jumped up, afraid that Long Yufei would change his mind!

"Alright. Hu, untie his feet and let him follow us!" Long Yufei said.

Li Hu cut the ropes on the bearded captain's feet with a knife, watching him vigilantly. If the bearded captain made any sudden moves, he would definitely cut him in half!

The bearded captain seemed to understand his current situation and was very humble in front of Long Yufei.

The group left the cell and came to the beach.

"Sir, what do you need me to do?" the bearded captain asked. As a merchant, he naturally knew that Long Yufei spared his life because he was still useful. To survive, he had to show his value.

"Captain, I need to buy a batch of supplies, and I need your help!" Long Yufei said.

"Sir, please call me Antonio. I am very willing to serve you!" the bearded captain said.

"Alright." Long Yufei nodded and gave a list to Captain Antonio.

The list was written in English, and Captain Antonio carefully read it. However, his mouth opened wide enough to swallow his fist!

"Sir, food and medicine are no problem. But you need steam engines, blast furnaces for steel smelting, and machine tools! Are you planning to develop industry?" Captain Antonio asked in surprise. Pirates didn't need such things; they mostly bought food and weapons.

"Captain, you can consider me a special pirate! I need to know if these things can be bought?" Long Yufei asked with a smile.

Captain Antonio hesitated for a moment and then said, "In Manila, there are steam engines, small blast furnaces for steel smelting, and some machine tools. They can be bought, but the prices will be very high!"

"No problem! As long as the price is reasonable, we will buy them! Don't worry, you won't have to pay for it!" Long Yufei said.

Captain Antonio breathed a sigh of relief!