The streets of Sofala are bustling with people of all colours, most of whom are dark-skinned sailors, who are their home, their home turf, and everyone else, including us, is actually an outsider

Now, however, it is clear that outsiders have taken the lead, with the seemingly domineering men all light-skinned and the native natives more engaged in manual labor.

Although it is said that there is no distinction between high and low labor, but the division of labor is different, but in the case of choice, normal people are still willing to choose the kind of position with high power, light responsibility, more money and less things close to home.

Who wouldn't want to live a decent life? Right?

Seeing Rodriguez again, this happy man who continues to be a whole circle of weight, while Cristina has a big belly!

It's so fast! We teased Rodriguez one after another, this guy blushed, and said that he actually had a secret recipe, which made married people, including the Nine Ghosts Masataka, ask for advice one after another, causing the women present to laugh.

Sitting in the large conference room, I needed some advice from them - on board, I had already explained my thoughts, and my staff had two very different opinions.

A few people led by Adicon believed that they should return to Daming by streamlining the team and going out into battle. If the Spaniards do take an offensive stance, we can quickly attack their rear, like Armageddon in the English Channel, dragging them down with mobility.

However, several people led by Hua Mei believed that this time a large army should be adopted. Whether it is Hua Mei or Nine Ghost Masaki, they all know more about the thinking of Oriental people.

In their opinion, if we take the approach of elite soldiers and use skills to defeat the enemy, in the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, we will only think that we are cheating, or the enemy is already vulnerable.

In this way, the purpose of admonishing the little emperor of Mingshenzong will not be achieved at all.

And, while the cost will go up, more ships mean more cargo can be carried. In particular, the local rubies, sapphires, frankincense, coral and other specialties are also quite valuable after being transported to the East, and they will definitely not lose money.

The meeting was hotly discussed, but in the end there was a consensus - to double the number of ships on the basis of quality as much as possible!

This involves the problem of a cycle, if the time is too long, I am worried that Qi Dudu's body will not be able to support it! So, I set my sights on Rodriguez, the local snake, and hoped that he would give me an explanation.

With a glint of happiness on Rodriguez's entire face, the man in his forties rejuvenated his second spring. After all, not everyone can get the best in the world like Christina, and I understand his state.

"Captain, I think that if there are no more requirements for improvement, just doubling the number of ships, the cycle can be shortened to less than a month if it is guaranteed to be at least a ship of the fourth level or above."

Rodriguez's voice was firm and serious: "Before Halleha and Charlie sent me models of new shipbuilding tools, I immediately copied many sets - my idea is also very simple, we were at odds with the Spaniards before, once we really fight, we need a large number of combat ships, and the speed is not good!" ”

As soon as Rodriguez's words fell, Cristina smiled: "Moreover, Rod has done a lot of other preparations. For example, he had a large number of ship blanks prepared and trained many skilled shipbuilders. ”

Seeing his beloved wife talking about his actions, Rodriguez glanced at Christina with affection, and then smiled: "That's true, these people are usually our sailors and fellows, and when they have construction tasks, they become craftsmen. ”

Adicon continued: "What a great idea! Sailors often have no skills when they get old, and if they can learn to become shipbuilders now, it will also be a guarantee for them in the future, so sailors will be more loyal! ”

"But." Adicon frowned slightly: "If you blindly pursue quantity and cause the fleet to be bloated, will it reduce the combat capability?" I used to be at the beginning of the extermination of pirates. I used to take the way of a large force, but the effect was not good, knowing that I changed to a small fleet, and the results gradually picked up. ”

As soon as the words fell, Hua Mei pouted: "The husband and wife sing two people, what are you interfering here?" ”

The people next to him, Haleha, Lakshin, Nine Ghosts, Masataka, and others immediately laughed with me, but Adikan didn't understand: "What is a two-person turn?" ”

A bunch of unscrupulous guys laughed even harder.

Laughing back, I greatly appreciated Rodriguez's work. His preparation will greatly shorten our construction period and provide more capital and strength for my return.

I also answered Adicon's question - it is not required that all fleets can be the strength level of the main fleet, but on the one hand they can provide fire cover, and on the other hand, they can also transport more troops and supplies.

Even if we have to go to white-knuckle combat, do we have more sailors?

Adicon understood what I meant, and there was no longer any objection. In the end, it was unanimously approved to expand the armament war.

So I made a division of labor, and Rodriguez arranged for the manpower, quickly made the blanks he had prepared, and selected sailors to fill the newly formed fleet.

Adicon took his fleet around to sweep the goods, and the recent silver pandemic has caused the prices of gems, corals, and furs to fall accordingly - because there is little business and it is difficult to do business, and the price of gold will rise accordingly, and it is not worth starting.

The billets prepared by Rodriguez were all North Sea three-masted galleons, which were definitely the best choice for construction at this time due to their medium speed, medium defense, medium firepower, large carrying capacity, and good seakeeping, especially suitable for long-distance voyages.

I can't help but sigh that choosing the right person can really make a lot of things easier.

The construction plan is progressing faster than expected, and in just ten days, five new ships have already begun to launch sea trials! These ships were actually semi-finished products before, and after they were equipped with artillery, modified internal layout, and loaded with baggage, they could immediately become instant combat power.

Other ships are also taking shape at a rapid pace, so we have to advance our sailor recruitment plans.

When recruiting sailors, I made two requests:

First, the proportion of blacks cannot exceed 10 percent.

Second, every sailor who entered the ranks was subject to a political trial.

The first one is easy to understand, and Rodriguez agrees with it, for the simple reason that these blacks are so lazy! It's not too apt to describe these guys as lazy and stupid.

These guys who exude a strong body smell also have a hobby of causing trouble, both today and in the future.

As for the second article, no one knows what a "political trial" is, and of course I can't interpret it according to its original meaning, so I can only say vaguely: "Actually, it means that the Spaniards don't want it, those who have a criminal record, those who have doubtful behavior, those who are sick, and those who have other unsuitable employment conditions." ”

As soon as I said this, it dawned on everyone that the war had just ended, and even with the tip of their toes they could imagine how many spies and spies from all walks of life were in this port.

If we absorb them into our fleet, then we will undoubtedly prepare ourselves with a timed bomb.

However, this situation cannot be absolutely eliminated, so it can only be added to the threshold of political review in the early stage of recruitment.

Although it is impossible to completely exclude people with dissenting intentions at this threshold, at least there is one more threshold. Moreover, they also have deep experience in counter-espionage, and after these guys are recruited, they will be scattered and assigned to various positions, and naturally someone will screen their good and bad and then deal with them.

How to deal with it? Needless to say, I don't need to say much about that. Above the sea, the disappearance of a handful of people is actually not a big deal.

Hearing that the American Chamber of Commerce, which is in the limelight, is going to recruit people on a large scale, these unemployed sailors who have been huddled in the port bar all day long have heard the news, and even the sailors from several surrounding ports have heard the news and made a special trip to Sofala to apply for interviews.

Our treatment is very good, and there are various technical training "career planning", which is a pie in the sky for these illiterate and semi-literate people who can't know a few buckets of big words!

As a result, there was a long queue at the recruitment site, and the entire application site was surrounded by water!

I've been drinking tea on the roof of the building opposite the recruitment point for the past few days, in fact, to observe the quality of these sailors.

Judging by the results of my observations, the overall quality of these sailors is simply amazing!

Not because it's too bad, but because it's too good! So good that I can even put together an elite detachment from the people I recruited!

After learning about it, I learned that because of the war, a large number of chambers of commerce in various countries were run out and bankrupt, and the former hired workers and sailors could only be dismissed and dismissed, and could only live in other places, gathering in bars to kill time while waiting for opportunities.

However, due to the large number of black applicants being rejected, these guys who saw that there was no way out for good things began to gather in front of the door and shout non-stop. As a result, after a row of gunshots rang out with his younger brothers, all opinions were like the water of the ebbing tide, how it came and how it disappeared.

Of course, I don't want all black people, and I am willing to stay if I have special skills and unique skills.

For example, there was one person I interviewed in person who was more special.

The black man's name was Coco, and he could also be written as a pick, but I don't know what sound he pronounced, but it was a pronunciation between coco and keke.

Looking at this guy with a smile on his face, I gave him a name - coca - card picking, I even thought with bad taste, find another one called cola, isn't this a world famous brand?

This guy was chosen entirely because he was not as lazy as other black people, and he was very strong in slashing cards, and at the same time, he also had very strong jungle fighting skills.

When I asked him where he came from, he pointed to the sea and said, "I, from, over there, the sea, the other side!" My homeland, huge, island! ”

He spoke Italian, who was not fluent and, according to him, was given to him by an Italian doctor who had saved his life.

Madagascar? I couldn't help but laugh: "You have dense forests there, and you really need jungle combat skills. But no, this bow is too big! Is there any prey in the jungle that requires such a large bow to shoot down? ”

Picking Ka gently pulled the big bow that was almost as tall as him, and grinned: "We are there, big, everything, big, leopard, stand up, one person high!" Also, birds, taller than people, big birds, small ones, can't shoot down! ”

I laughed again, asked Mo to take out an animal illustrated book, pointed to the ostrich and asked, "That's what you're talking about!" ”

Who knew that after taking a look at the card, his head shook like a rattle: "Purple Cloud Bird, don't need it, big bow!" The big bird, much bigger than the purple cloud bird, is much bigger! ”

I couldn't help but smile, a much bigger bird than an ostrich? Madagascar?

Could it be that the dodo has been resurrected? Thinking of this, I asked people to bring a banknote and hastily put a pattern on it from a quill pen.

In modern times, people would be able to see that I am drawing a reconstruction of the dodo, but in this day and age, no one knows about it.

After seeing the picture I had drawn, he immediately showed a look of surprise on his face: "Divine Bird, Captain, have you seen it?" ”

I didn't answer, but asked, "Does the divine bird you said really look like this?" Have you seen it? ”

Picker nodded, and said in awe: "Captain, prophet! Divine birds, less, mountains, depths, others, don't know! ”

I slowly sat back in my seat. If what the key says is true, it means that the dodo is not actually completely extinct! They are still alive somewhere in Madagascar!

And in modern times, the dodo has been confirmed extinct, that is, something must have happened in the hundreds of years in between!

Suddenly, I made up my mind! Take advantage of this time in shipbuilding to take a trip to his hometown with Keyka, and bring back at least a pair of live dodos!

Think of it as my small contribution to the species of the earth!