After dividing up the interests and negotiating the responsibilities, all that remains is the issue of handover. Strictly speaking, since the Spaniards were completely driven out of East Africa, our defense tasks have not become lighter, but heavier!

Why? The reason is very simple, the knife that comes out is not scary, and the blade hidden in the dark is the most terrifying.

Knowing that the Spaniards are here, there is nothing to fear, just find a way to deal with them. But now that the strength of the Spaniards has been cleared, and everyone knows that they definitely have the strength and intention to retaliate, it makes people more uncomfortable.

That's why I'm pulling the Portuguese and the Spaniards along. Of course, Wu Ding and I will also take responsibility for defense, but dragging more people will have the effect of saving chicken feathers and dusters, which is better than supporting our own family alone.

Coming out of Sebastian's estate, we returned to the makeshift command post, a small courtyard facing the sea. The two-story building is still a structure of adobe and wooden planks, which looks very simple. Old Tucker was already waiting for us inside, and when he saw me coming, he obviously had something to say, but when he saw that there were many people around, he insisted on it and did not speak immediately.

I know that he is talking about his granddaughter, and I have recently heard from the captured captives that the long-vanished Spanish traitor, the red-haired pirate Christina, has reappeared! It's just that her whereabouts are erratic, and no one knows her specific whereabouts. It is speculated that the son of the commander-in-chief of the Royal Portuguese Navy is preparing to go to sea for training, and Cristina wants to report this grudge at sea before she suddenly appears.

Is it really Portuguese? I have always had a question in my heart, although the Spaniards have usurped the royal power of the Portuguese crown by disgraceful means, but objectively speaking, the two countries are still relatively independent economically, and Portugal has not obviously lost any real interests other than diplomatic power. And judging from what they have shown, it is unlikely that they would be so generous to hang the flag of the Royal Navy's "Cross of Hearts" to do pirate things.

But I understood Old Tucker's mood very well, and I immediately patted Old Tucker's arm and smiled, "Don't worry." As long as you touch your granddaughter, we will definitely lend a hand. After all, she's our friend, isn't she? ”

Old Tucker nodded gratefully, after all, he was only a newcomer to the Chamber of Commerce, and he was on board the entire fleet to fight for his granddaughter alone, and he couldn't open his mouth anyway.

In his opinion, the best plan would have been for me to lend him a boat, and he wanted to take some people to do it himself. But in any case, it is not as effective and successful as our overall action. So old Tucker was very touched by my deep understanding of righteousness.

So who stays? At present, there are only a few people under my command who can be admirals of the detachment. The most suitable is none other than Chen Kui, but this old brother has recently become a mixed Westerner, and we are new to the city, and we still need a familiar hand.

The second is Arashi, but the kite is the way it is, and Arashi will not stay anyway. Huamei? When I looked at her, she threw me an impossible look.

I sighed helplessly, do you want Mavi to stay? Africa is a trade route and a retreat route, and I prefer to entrust the retreat route to a reassuring person. Moreover, Mavi is familiar with the West, and I need him to stay by my side.

Who else? Consciously or unconsciously, I glanced at my navigators and henchmen, and suddenly, my eyes were drawn to a person. He has been with me for more than a year, and he has been diligent and hardworking. I don't talk much, but I do what I say. Sometimes the occasional suggestion in private is very constructive, and more importantly - he was a captain!

This man is Rodriguez, the best ship doctor I dug up from Dongying! When he set sail from Venice and went all the way to Dongying, I almost heard him talk about the situation along the way, he was definitely a commander of the general, but because of the death of his wife and children, his sharpness was greatly damaged. Perhaps, this is a chance for him to regain his strength.

So, while everyone was laughing at each other, I slowly walked up to Rodriguez, who was sitting silently in the corner reading a book, and sat down on the straw mat by the wall.

Seeing me sitting next to him, Rodriguez put down the "Anatomy" in his hand and said softly: "Captain, are you looking for me?" ”

I glanced at the human muscle legend on the book cover, smiled and asked for the book, and turned two pages at random, before asking casually, "Dude, are you like doing medical work all the time?" Or do you have other ideas? ”

Rodriguez didn't understand what I meant, and frowned: "What does the captain need me to do?" Aside from medical, my best job on board is that of a surveyor. Are you going to make me a navigator? ”

I shook my head and said, "No! That's not what you're best at. With that, I handed him back the book and smiled, "Your best position should be the captain!" ”

As a result, Rodriguez shook violently, he thought he had heard it wrong, and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "You...... What do you say? Captain? ”

I smiled and stared into his eyes.

Rodriguez put the book down, leaned closer, and whispered, "Are you going to let me run an African business district?" ”

I didn't answer and asked, "Are you confident?" You should understand the importance of this route to me. ”

Rodriguez leaned heavily against the wall, raised his head slightly, and said, "Of course I know, this is the way of life!" ”

After saying that, he looked up at the ceiling, and I was silent, just waiting for his answer. After a long time, Rodriguez suddenly spoke: "I didn't expect it to be me!" After all, this route is so important, I didn't expect you to give me such a heavy responsibility! ”

I asked again, "Are you confident?" ”

"I have!" Rodriguez's eyes burst into astonishment, and the elegant man in his forties suddenly became excited, and he lowered his voice and said, "Of course I have confidence!" Even if the Spaniards come, I can deal with them. It's just that this responsibility is too heavy, I didn't expect you to give me so much trust! ”

I patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "I'll leave Slayer, Izumi, and some ninjas to assist you." If you don't come forward, leave it to them! ”

Rodriguez nodded, he was very grateful. Leaving some ninjas behind is like giving yourself extra eyes, ears, and siblings, and Rodriguez, who has been in the battle for a long time, knows this very well.

Without waiting for him to speak, I added, "At all times, it's important to protect yourself." When the money is gone, you can make it again. When people are gone, there is nothing. ”

With that, I patted him on the shoulder and stood up, and Rodriguez stood up with me. He seemed a little overwhelmed, and as I took two steps, he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

I walked up to the crowd, smiled and clapped my hands, and only after everyone had looked at me and quieted down did I announce my fateful decision.

When the people heard my arrangement, they were stunned at first, and then applauded together. In my camp, everyone knows who the admiral is, and he knows everyone's situation. At this time, the selection of Rodriguez as admiral was definitely the most correct choice.

As for the ships, in addition to our earliest large, two and three small ships, there are also four warships recently captured from the Spaniards, especially Nuno Santos, and the tonnage of large and small ships combined is nearly 10,000 tons, which is definitely a considerable force in the local area.

After arranging this, my mood was much lighter, and I began to drink with everyone. The taste of rum and juice is so pleasant that I will go down to three glasses without paying attention. At this time, Wooding walked up to me with a smile, pointed to the big golden ring I was wearing on my hand, and said, "I paid the fee!" ”

I immediately understood, laughed and patted Wooding's shoulder and said, "Let's go!" Let's go to the pier to see! ”

After saying that, I walked towards the dock outside, and the Nine Ghosts Masataka immediately walked out of the door with me. Woodin smacked his lips and followed us with interest.

When I got to the docks, I saw a lot of sailors cleaning the hull of the Revenge. They climbed a high ladder and brushed layers of off-white paint from the Vengeance's hull.

I pointed to the paint that melted into the seawater and smiled, "That! This is the ghost ship you've been thinking about! ”

Wooding looked left and right for a long time, shook his head, and said, "Isn't this the Venetian warship that I half-sold and half-gave you when you left the Indian Ocean?" How could it be a ghost ship? ”

I laughed and said, "You see, the sea is dark at night, and the hull of the ship is also dark, and I brushed a white wavy line three meters above the waterline, which looks like it is floating in the air at night, because the lower part is not visible." What's more, it was on that stormy night. ”

"Secondly!" I pointed to the top of the deck and said, "I have people cover all the places where there are people with canvases and extinguish all the lights, which is against the principles of navigation, and the Spaniards can't help but believe it!" ”

Wooding asked a little hurriedly, "What about the cannonballs?" How did you block the shells when the Spaniards fired at you? ”

I smiled slightly: "The Spanish fleet has always been dominated by white-knuckle warfare, supplemented by artillery warfare. I've inspected and found that their ships, especially these white-knuckle warships, are loaded with smoothbore guns of less than four inches, so I covered the hull with a layer of cooked cowhide, then wrapped it with a layer of iron sheet, and then applied another layer of cooked cowhide, so naturally there would be no problem! ”

With that, I looked at Wooding with a grin. The old boy looked up at the boat and thought for a long time, before he muttered a sentence: "How did you come up with such a shameless method?" ”

I snorted disdainfully and said, "What do you mean shameless?" It's called tactics! ”

Before Wooding could calm down, he continued to look up at it and asked, "Okay! Tactics! So aren't you afraid of being found out and the whole ship annihilated? ”

I smiled weirdly and said, "The male rabbit's feet are fluttering, the female rabbit's eyes are blurred, and the two rabbits are walking next to each other, how can you tell if they are male and female?" ”

After speaking, seeing that Wu Ding didn't understand at all, I shrugged helplessly and asked, "On a terrifying rainy night, without knowing whether it's true or not, will you take the initiative to rush up and fight with the ghosts?" ”

Then he patted Wooding's shoulder with an inexplicable expression and said, "I'm leaving, Rodriguez, please take care of me!" After saying that, I laughed and went, leaving Woodin with a strange face looking at my back, and didn't speak for a long time.