Chapter 89

Thoroughly clearing the Kikugatsu, Du Fei, Li Kaishan, and Iron Luohan still couldn't believe that with less than twenty of them, they had managed to seize a well-armed warship with minimal casualties.

"Brother Du, return to the ship to take charge. Have the captain and the engine crew board the warship; this ship is ours now. As for those who sacrificed themselves, they will be recorded in history. If they have families, I will support them for life!" Dong Ku said resolutely, but he couldn't hide his excitement.

"Good! I'll thank the brothers on your behalf!" Du Fei, brimming with enthusiasm, agreed and followed a few uninjured men off the warship, rowing hard to return to the merchant ship in the darkness before dawn.

About two hundred meters away, the cargo ship had already heard the gunfire. Though they were terrified, they knew there was no way to escape. Even if they ran faster, they couldn't outrun the shells, right?

When Captain Tong Hai learned that the warship had been seized and was now theirs, he was so shocked that he could hardly walk. This was a warship, and just a few people had managed to capture it. Who would believe such a story? He certainly didn't.

In a daze, he left enough engineers on the cargo ship and took the rest to the small boat. The first mate, watching the captain leave, had a dazed look, indicating he hadn't woken up from his dream. The other two cargo ships were anxiously waiting for their fate, completely unaware that the warship had changed hands.

As the eastern sky turned pale, the warship escorted the three cargo ships, breaking through the waves and heading full speed toward their destination.

The other two ships didn't understand why the Japanese warship was now escorting them, but they knew they were no longer in danger. Their hearts, which had been in their throats, finally settled. They followed the lead ship, advancing at full speed.

As the sun rose, the people in the cargo hold came out one by one to breathe and take care of personal matters.

"Look! That's a warship!!"

A student pointed at the massive ship in the sunlight.

"Where? Where?"

The students rushed to the port side, looking at the warship a few hundred meters away. No one could believe their eyes.

"It's a Japanese warship!!"

A student, terrified, pointed at the Kikugatsu.

"Ah! It really is a Japanese warship!!!"

"What is it doing following us!!"

Everyone who saw the warship was panicked, unsure of what the warship was doing by their side.

Du Fei, standing by the railing, watched the surprised students and couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. If they had seen the warship before dawn, who knows how they would have reacted. This was a warship he had personally helped to capture. Feeling proud, he also had a deeper respect for Dong Ku. Even his followers were not comparable to the people of the Dark Hall, and the crossbow that resembled the legendary Zhuge Crossbow, capable of continuous firing, was as good as a gun.

His mind racing with thoughts, he couldn't help but be impressed by the helmsman's foresight. For the rise they had been waiting for two generations, he felt the goal was not far off.

After a long while, he gathered his thoughts and shouted, "Alright, those who have finished their personal matters, return to the hold for breakfast. We still have a few days of travel ahead."

The students watched the Japanese warship for a long time, seeing no one on deck, and the gun barrels all pointed forward, giving the impression of an escort. After much discussion, no one could provide an explanation. In response to Du Fei's shout, they returned to the cargo hold, still discussing.

As the deck of the merchant ship cleared, Shanzi reported to Dong Ku that they had received a message, requesting their position.

Dong Ku knew this would happen, so he had Shanzi send a message saying the Kikugatsu was on patrol, everything was normal, and their position was one thousand kilometers east of Okinawa.

After the message was sent, Dong Ku ordered Shanzi to maintain radio silence, and the four ships continued their silent journey. The cargo ships were slow, with a speed of only about eight knots, making the voyage extremely slow. Fortunately, they were not on a shipping route, so they encountered no trouble.

The journey was relatively safe, and three days later, as the Japanese frequently called the Kikugatsu, they reached their designated position.

By this time, the people on board were almost at their limit. If it weren't for the twice-daily trips to the deck for fresh air, there would have been real trouble. The ship was small, and the hold was as crowded as a sardine can, with stale air and stifling heat. If it weren't for the good weather, and the students being allowed to go to the warship's deck in groups of two thousand over the last two days, they wouldn't have been able to hold on.

Upon reaching the designated location, deep in the Pacific and far from shipping routes, safety was no longer an issue, as long as there were no major storms.

Based on the speed and time of the voyage, Dong Ku estimated their position and first transferred the people from the cargo ships to the warship. Then, he led the cargo ship commanded by the first mate through the waves.

Meanwhile, Shao Pang's fleet had already rounded Luzon and entered the Pacific.

Two days later, the cargo ship returned alone, concentrating the crew of the remaining two cargo ships on this ship. The first mate and Tong Hai each took a cargo ship and left again.

By this time, Dong Ku had already started construction on the island. To avoid aerial reconnaissance, he divided the living areas, placing the farmers and students in the dense forest near the plains and building a simple dock by the river. Near the volcanic lake, there was a large depression, over five hundred meters deep and more than three thousand meters wide, forming a semicircle. It was a volcanic rock formation left by cooled lava. The area suitable for construction, excluding the part covered by seawater, was over two hundred thousand square meters. It was a great place to build without needing a roof.

After finalizing the plans, Dong Ku assigned Liu Zhong to lead three hunters into the island to arrange for the construction of simple living quarters and to organize the farmers to clear the land.

The farmers were overjoyed. Despite the six or seven days of rough sailing, when they learned that the fertile land would be tax-free for three years, and all the produce would be theirs, with the island only reclaiming the land in the fourth year without compensation, and that they could rent the land for a nominal fee of forty pounds of grain per acre, they went wild. This place could support two or three crops a year, and with five years to make a fortune, they were ecstatic.

Moreover, the recruiter had promised to buy the grain at a price twenty percent higher than in Shandong, with the price only going up, not down, but strictly prohibiting private sales, requiring all grain to be delivered to the granary and signed contracts. If the contract was valid, they would indeed be rich.

Leaving the farmers to clear the land with their picks and shovels, Dong Ku, after the second batch of cargo ships arrived, had already surveyed the depth of the depression and moored the warship inside, closing all the hatches.

The unexpected acquisition of the warship gave Dong Ku more ideas. If everything went well here, he could train a navy.

After arranging the construction and surveying the depth of the depression, Dong Ku spent most of his time in the warship's command tower, writing.

While he was writing, the other two cargo ships circled Taiwan and returned via the Taiwan Strait, having contact with the Dark Hall. Dong Ku wasn't too worried, as the people on these ships didn't know where the goods and people had been taken. In the vast Pacific, without a specific location, it would be impossible to find them in a short time.

After sending off the two ships, Tong Hai's cargo ship waited for two days, and Shao Pang's fleet arrived.

The method was the same. All three ships were purchased, so there was no issue with handing them over. Tong Hai紧张地分配了所有船员，将两艘五百吨和一艘一百五十吨的货船开进了月牙湖。当然，最后进入水路时，除了大副和他自己，另一艘船只能在暗礁不远处等待，等他们出来再换人领航。

当那些犹太人见到这堪称世外桃源的地方时，自然兴奋不已。对于让他们交出枪支和电台，这些人并没有意见，尤其是铁罗汉在场，就更没问题了。

五天时间，董库写了厚厚的几摞纸，将战舰的训练、士兵的训练、一些战术，以及这里的管理，包括他需要的武器，全部形成了文字和图纸，交给了山子。这里，他唯一能够完全信任的就是山子和刘忠，至于铁罗汉，有些东西还不能让他知晓。杜飞和李开山更不用说了，在不了解透彻的情况下，那些枪械的图纸和钢铁的参数，这些堪称绝密的东西他们还不适合接触。

当董库从战舰上下来，还没来得及跟那些犹太人见见面，刘忠却从岛的腹地赶来，跟他说了那些学生不愿意参加训练，都说是来学习技术，却没想到到了这荒岛之上。

为防止有变，董库和杜飞、李开山一起，乘坐那艘百吨的货轮直奔岛的腹地。

看着群情激愤的学生，董库站在一块岩石上大声喊道：“你们是有文化的，那你们知道什么是强国的根本吗？”

“当然是工业了！”

下面的声音虽然嘈杂，但意思却是一样。

“你们说的没错，但只说对了一部分，现在让我告诉你们什么才是强国的根本！”

董库接过李开山递过来的喇叭喊道：“强国，按你们的意思首先是工业，有了工业才可以高速发展，造船，造飞机，造枪，造炮！造火箭！可你们知道吗，这一切的前提要有自保的能力，要有抵御列强欺辱的能力！要有人会使用这些！否则，你们有时间造吗？！”

现场一片安静，在学生的脑海里，这个观点他们是理解的。不说别的，军阀割据就要有军队，否则，连地盘都看不住，何谈发展？

董库顿了下，让学生们消化下这些信息，他接着喊道：“一个国家的强盛首先要拥有一支敢打敢拼，敢于对任何列强说不，为国家利益，为老百姓甘撒热血的军队！只有拥有了一支百战百胜的雄师，才可以让国家安定不受欺辱，才可以让国家强盛！”

董库的话音落下，周围那些学生的眼睛亮了。他们理解董库说的意思，没有足够的武力，又何谈工业、经济、民生？东三省就是个例子，没有一支敢打敢拼的军队，如何保卫家园？

董库虽然不善演讲，且这套说辞有很大成分是忽悠，但他却看到了效果，他停顿了几秒，接着喊道：“那艘日本人的军舰你们看到了，那是有名的菊月号驱逐舰，是在冲绳附近海域我们仅凭二十余人杀死了一百五十多个日军抢来的，没有过硬的军事素养，我们这三艘船，近万人就是日本人菜板上的鱼肉！”

“真是抢来的啊！”一名学生吃惊地说道。

“他们太厉害了，那可是炮舰啊！”

“就是，要是东北的军队有他们三分之一的能力，也不至于让日本人占去！”

嗡嗡的议论声短短几秒的时间，就让周围再也听不到别的动静了。

董库停顿了数秒之后接着喊道：“这是个太平洋中的小岛，一旦有敌人登岛，你们怎么办？”

“把他们打下海！”

“打下海！！！”

随着第一个声音响起，现场六七千的学生振臂高呼。

“学生真好忽悠……”董库暗自暴汗了下，大声喊道，“静一静！现在我宣布，所有人参加完训练合格的才可以学习技术，这期间一切都是免费，食宿全部由岛上负责，你们只要做到简单，听话，照着做就可以了！”顿了下，他接着喊道，“训练过程中将挑选优秀的跟着他们保卫小岛，成为像他们一样的钢铁战士！”