Chapter 20

PS: Second update is here! Please follow and give recommendations!

After the entire village of Wu Family Village joined the Flying Fish Company, the number of people in the company increased by a large margin. However, most of them were elderly, women, and children, with very few young and strong adults. Due to the harsh living conditions, most of the young and strong men had to be conscripted into the army for military training to defend their homes. The labor shortage could only be largely compensated by slaves!

On September 2, 1835, the second day after the Flying Fish Company, mainly composed of pirates from Flying Fish Island, landed on Mindanao Island, Luo Sanggu, the governor of the Flying Fish Company, convened a high-level meeting. Those attending included Deputy Governor Long Yufei, Civil Affairs Officer Li Decheng, Logistics Officer Zhao Yi, and Military Affairs Officer Niu Meng. Additionally, Wu Yongxing, the old village chief of Wu Family Village, who served as Li Decheng's deputy, also attended this meeting!

Although Luo Sanggu was the governor of the Flying Fish Company, during the entire meeting, it was basically Long Yufei who gave opinions and orders, and the others seemed to have already acknowledged this. Seeing this, Wu Yongxing was even more convinced that the true leader of the Flying Fish Company was Long Yufei, and Luo Sanggu was merely a nominal leader!

"Everyone, although we defeated the native attack yesterday, our losses were also significant. Our main tasks ahead are as follows: First, restore production and strengthen the defense here! Second, enhance our military strength and further develop our military capabilities to deal with the threat from the natives. Third, develop industry. To achieve greater development, we must make achievements in industry!" Long Yufei said. These plans had already been formulated, and now they just needed to be implemented step by step!

Everyone agreed with this. It's hard to start, but once we get through this period, things will get better!

"Deputy Governor, Wu and I have organized the data. We have a total of 100,000 pounds of grain from our own supplies and the reserves of Wu Family Village. Additionally, there are 2,000 acres of good farmland near Wu Family Village, which can produce three crops of rice per year, yielding over a million pounds of grain annually, which is sufficient to support our food supply!" Civil Affairs Officer Li Decheng said.

"Deputy Governor, we are located in the lower Agusan River region, with fertile soil and convenient irrigation, and the climate is suitable for rice cultivation. We have never lacked food, but we are often harassed by the natives. In the past, as long as we gave the natives some food, everyone would live in peace. But now, these natives are becoming increasingly aggressive!" Wu Yongxing said angrily. The fertile land provided them with ample food, allowing them to thrive, but it also attracted the covetous eyes of the lazy natives, making life for the Chinese people full of hardship!

"Old Wu, rest assured, those natives will never bully us again!" Long Yufei said confidently. Although their current strength was not enough to provoke the truly powerful forces on Mindanao Island, with some development time, they would undergo a complete transformation! At that time, the lives of the Chinese people on the entire Mindanao Island would undergo a tremendous change!

"Old Wu! Are you familiar with other Chinese people? You can send people to inform them that if they are having survival difficulties, they can come here! As long as they are Chinese, our compatriots, and have no criminal behavior, they can join the Flying Fish Company!" Long Yufei said. He was very clear that the Flying Fish Company was most in need of people. The saying goes, "Those who are not of our race have different hearts," and for the Flying Fish Company to grow and develop, it had to rely on these compatriots.

"Ah! Deputy Governor, can we still accept other Chinese compatriots?" Wu Yongxing was somewhat shocked. It was only then that he realized that the people of the Flying Fish Company had grand ambitions!

"Of course, Old Wu! As long as they are willing to accept our leadership, we can provide them with protection! Our ultimate goal is that Chinese people on Mindanao Island and even throughout the South Seas will no longer be bullied by others, whether they are local natives or foreigners!" Long Yufei said firmly!

"Alright, Deputy Governor, I will send people to inform the other villages! Some large villages may not join us, but the medium and small villages will definitely be willing!" Wu Yongxing said, patting his chest. The easy victory over the Buena tribe yesterday would make other Chinese villages believe in their fighting power, making it easier to attract them! Once more people gathered here, the strength of the Flying Fish Company would grow stronger, and perhaps they could really unite the Chinese people. The ability to live without being bullied by the natives was a dream of the Chinese people for over a hundred years!

"Deputy Governor, in that case, we need to expand the scale of the village! Additionally, the land outside the village needs to be further expanded!" Civil Affairs Officer Li Decheng said.

"Uncle Li, there are plenty of wastelands, and we can cultivate more land. As for the scale of the village, I suggest we directly build a city that can accommodate about 20,000 people! This will facilitate our future development!" Long Yufei said.

"Build our own city? We probably don't have enough manpower!" Li Decheng was shocked. Wu Yongxing also widened his eyes, looking at Long Yufei in disbelief!

"We can find ways to solve the manpower issue! After the army's training is complete, we will launch active attacks against the native tribes on Mindanao Island. At that time, we will capture many slaves! Whether it's farming or mining, it will all be done by slaves! This will greatly save our manpower. There are tens of thousands of Chinese people on Mindanao Island, and I think attracting two or three thousand Chinese to join us should not be too difficult!" Long Yufei said.

"Deputy Governor! There are quite a few Chinese people on Mindanao Island. In the northeastern part alone, there are two or three thousand, and the total number of Chinese on the entire Mindanao Island is at least 80,000, if not 100,000!" Wu Yongxing said.

"Oh? In that case, we are even more likely to succeed!" Long Yufei said. He originally thought there were only a few thousand Chinese on Mindanao Island, but now it seemed his estimate was too conservative!

Since the labor shortage could be compensated by slaves, Li Decheng and others had no objections. It was foreseeable that from now on, the Flying Fish Company would enter a stage of rapid development. As more and more Chinese people joined the Flying Fish Company, their strength would grow like a snowball! After the meeting, Wu Yongxing sent people to nearby villages to attract the Chinese people in those villages to join the Flying Fish Company. These villages were mostly small villages with only a few hundred people. They were already suffering greatly from the harassment of the natives! Although they were somewhat skeptical of the sudden appearance of the Flying Fish Company, it also gave them hope. Especially after they confirmed that the Buena tribe had been severely weakened by the Flying Fish Company, it made these villages even more determined to join the Flying Fish Company. This led to a rapid increase in the number of people in the Flying Fish Company. With a sufficient population, both the military and industry could develop significantly!

Of course, this is all future talk! What the Flying Fish Company needs to do now is still to develop its own strength, especially its military strength, which is the foundation for the company to establish itself and grow on Mindanao Island!

"Deputy Governor, we have already absorbed over 200 strong men from Wu Family Village to join the army for training! Including our own people, we can form two more companies. In terms of weapons, we are not lacking! However, the ammunition is being consumed quite quickly!" Military Affairs Officer Niu Meng said. Training ordinary people, especially farmers, to become musketeers is very difficult. Good marksmanship is achieved through the use of ammunition, and once training begins, the consumption of ammunition will definitely increase.

"I will find a way to solve the ammunition issue! These new recruits can undergo a half-month training period. After that, we can disband the previous two companies, and all the people can be reorganized into four companies!" Long Yufei said. This would ensure a balanced military force, avoiding the situation where one company is strong while the newly formed companies are weak. Although this would temporarily reduce the combat effectiveness of each company, it would only be for a short time! Once they complete their training and gain combat experience, their combat effectiveness will naturally improve! The natives' combat strength is not strong; they often rely on their numbers. In the face of well-trained musketeers, they are no match. After fighting the natives, the new recruits will also quickly grow!

"Yes, Deputy Governor, I will definitely train those brats well!" Niu Meng said with a smile. He was a tough man and was most eager to see the military strength of the Flying Fish Company grow!

"Uncle Zhao, now that we have a foothold, we can start implementing our industrial development plan! Industrial development is very important, as it will determine how far we can go in the future!" Long Yufei said solemnly. With the development of technology, the key to determining the outcome of wars has become a country's comprehensive national strength, and among the components of national strength, industrial strength is the most important! Long Yufei wanted to dominate Mindanao Island and even the entire South Seas, and he needed to first establish a powerful industry!

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