Chapter 37

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In the midst of the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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Amidst the wind-blown cherry blossoms, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

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In the battle, the number of people killed from the Mang Abang tribe and their affiliated tribes was actually not very high, only about two to three thousand. The rest chose to surrender to the Feiyu Army. Including men, women, and children, the number exceeded thirty thousand! This number was already ten times the size of the Feiyu Army! However, under the muzzles of the Feiyu Army, these surrendering natives were very cooperative.

After receiving the order from Long Yufei, the soldiers of the Feiyu Army immediately sprang into action. They found ropes and tied the hands of the young and strong men and women among the natives, then tied them together in groups of dozens, like livestock. The young and strong men and women from the Mang Abang tribe and its affiliated tribes numbered over twenty thousand, and it took the Feiyu Army half a day to tie them all up. Among the remaining ten thousand, half were children, and the other half were elderly. These children, when raised, could continue to serve as slaves. However, the elderly natives seemed to have no use. In the vast forest, it was already very difficult for the elderly natives to survive!

The soldiers of the Feiyu Army drove the elderly natives back into the valley. The elderly natives seemed to realize what was about to happen and desperately cried and resisted.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Several gunshots rang out, and several elderly natives were killed on the spot, which stopped the chaos. The remaining natives seemed to resign themselves to their fate and obediently returned to the valley.

Soon, gunshots echoed in the valley, and all the elderly natives were killed! During this process, the young and strong natives mostly remained silent, with only a few cursing in defiance. For these natives, they were more adapted to the jungle law. Although it was cruel, it was the reality! In the perilous jungle, the elderly natives were a burden, and to save food, many tribes would abandon these old natives. These natives were not civilized and did not know how to respect their elders. Therefore, the Feiyu Army naturally did not need to treat them as human beings!

After everything was handled, it was already afternoon. Under the protection of the guard, Long Yufei came to the outside of the valley. To avoid any accidents, the guard almost surrounded Long Yufei in the center, and the soldiers were also vigilantly observing the surroundings. If any dangerous situation occurred, they would use their bodies to shield him. This was something that the guard captain Li Hu emphasized in daily training and was regarded as the highest standard by the guard soldiers!

"Commander, everything is handled! The young and strong men and women number over twenty thousand! There are also about five thousand children, who, after a few years of raising, will be excellent slaves. This will greatly solve our labor shortage problem!" the commander of the First Brigade, Niu Meng, said excitedly. Being able to eliminate the Mang Abang tribe, which was considered a powerful force on the entire Mindanao Island, made him even more confident about future wars.

"Is twenty thousand enough? Brother Niu, there are hundreds of thousands of natives on the entire Mindanao Island! If we don't eliminate all the natives, how can we ensure the safety of the Chinese here? How can we attract other Chinese to live here! So, our task is still long and arduous!" Long Yufei said. Eliminating the Mang Abang tribe was just the beginning. The Feiyu Army would continue to take action against other native tribes!

"Commander, rest assured, within a year, we will be able to eliminate all the natives!" Niu Meng said, patting his chest to guarantee it! This time, the Feiyu Army mobilized four infantry battalions, and with the loss of over a hundred soldiers, they completely eliminated the Mang Abang tribe. Among them, over a hundred were non-combat casualties on the way. In terms of combat capability, the Feiyu Army now had the strength to confront all the native forces on Mindanao Island! Moreover, with more and more Chinese joining the Feiyu Company, the Feiyu Army would become even stronger. The expansion of the Feiyu Army had never stopped. The senior executives of the Feiyu Company knew that expanding military strength was the only way to secure their foundation!

"Um! Is there any other loot? Do these natives have any treasures?" Long Yufei asked. The continuous expansion of the Feiyu Army required a lot of resources. Although the Feiyu Company had its own steel plant, the production of weapons and ammunition required saltpeter, lead, and the purchase of machinery, all of which required a large amount of gold. After several large-scale transactions with Antonio, the Feiyu Army's gold reserves were almost depleted.

"Hehe, Commander, you wouldn't believe it, but these natives really have a lot of gold. However, it's unrefined gold. We found over a thousand kilograms of unrefined gold in the Mang Abang tribe's base. After refining, it is estimated that we can obtain over two hundred kilograms of gold. According to the natives of the Mang Abang tribe, this unrefined gold was found in a mountain ravine on the backside of the valley. I suspect there might be a gold mine there!" Niu Meng said.

"A gold mine? That's fantastic!" Long Yufei almost jumped up. Gold was hard currency and could buy the various equipment and resources that the Feiyu Company urgently needed. He knew that Mindanao Island had rich gold mines, but he didn't expect it to be here.

"Brother Niu, leave an infantry company to guard the valley where the gold was found, and leave two thousand young and strong natives to mine the gold for us. Tools and supplies, I will have them sent from Feiyu City!" Long Yufei said. Since a gold mine was discovered here, the Feiyu Company must control it. This would greatly help alleviate the current financial crisis of the Feiyu Army.

"Understood, Commander!" Niu Meng nodded and immediately made the arrangements. He also knew the importance of a gold mine to the Feiyu Company. Even if they could mine a hundred kilograms of gold per year, it would be a huge sum of money!

"Commander, should we return to Feiyu City now, or wait until tomorrow morning?" Niu Meng asked. It was already afternoon, and it would be dark in two to three hours. The night forest was full of dangers for the Feiyu Army.

"Let's set out tomorrow morning! Brother Niu, this operation has been a great success! I think we should continue to push forward! I think one infantry battalion should escort these captives back to Feiyu City, and the other three infantry battalions should stay to continue clearing out the native tribes near the Mang Abang Mountains. After the clearing is complete, they can return to Feiyu City!" Long Yufei said. The attack on the Mang Abang tribe went very smoothly, and the Feiyu Army still had a lot of supplies left, which could support the troops for a while longer.

"Commander, I think the same! We came all the way to the forest, we can't just go back like this! The brothers haven't had enough of the fighting yet!" Niu Meng said with a smile.

"Alright, it's decided then! However, try to capture as many natives as possible; we need more effort!" Long Yufei reminded. To develop Mindanao Island, transportation was a major constraint. The dense primeval forest limited the development of Mindanao Island, and many mineral resources could not be mined due to transportation issues. Just to transport the gold from the mine to Feiyu City was very difficult. Building roads in the forest was extremely dangerous, and using Chinese to build roads would be a waste. These native slaves were the most suitable for building roads.

"Understood, Commander, I know the limits!" Niu Meng nodded.

"By the way, is the chief of the Mang Abang tribe, Sando, still around?" Long Yufei asked.

"Yes! That guy also surrendered!" Niu Meng said.

"Bring him over. To control these captives, Sando cannot be left alive!" Long Yufei said. If Sando were left alive, the captives might unite, causing trouble for the Feiyu Company. Therefore, this threat must be eliminated first.

Soon, the former chief of the Mang Abang tribe, Sando, was brought out. At this moment, he no longer had the demeanor of a tribal chief, his face full of fear. From the moment he was grabbed by the Feiyu Army soldiers, he realized the situation was dire and began to shout loudly, causing a commotion among the native captives. However, the bound natives quickly calmed down under the suppression of the Feiyu Army soldiers.

"What is he saying?" Long Yufei asked.

"Commander, he is saying that we are not keeping our word. We promised to spare his life if he surrendered, so we cannot kill him!" a soldier who understood the native language translated.

"Hmph! Tell him that the other natives can live if they surrender, but he cannot!" Long Yufei said coldly.

When the Feiyu Army soldier translated this, Sando struggled even more. However, he was held tightly by several Feiyu Army soldiers, making it impossible for him to escape!

Long Yufei took a bayonet from the hands of his guards and stabbed it fiercely into Sando's heart. Sando let out a惨叫, blood spurted from his chest, splattering Long Yufei's hands. Soon, Sando fell to the ground, convulsing a few times, and then died.

Long Yufei knew that in this era, one had to be ruthless. He was originally not very brave, but by killing Sando, he had also honed his courage!

Early the next morning, Long Yufei led the 1st Infantry Battalion to escort over twenty thousand captives back to Feiyu City! The few days of travel in the forest had made Long Yufei very tired, and he was eager to return to Feiyu City. As for the rest of the Feiyu Army, they stayed behind to continue eliminating the natives!

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