Early the next morning, Xie Hong's five steamers returned to Port Arthur again. 【】

In fact, Xu Chenjiang was too worried, Xie Hong did not pursue the remaining pirates, and after eliminating the coalition's fleet of flywheel warships, the five steamers returned.

The guards were unusable, and even dozens of pirates could chase thousands of people and cut them indiscriminately, which really happened in the later generations of the Japanese Rebellion. And most of the so-called Japanese are the descendants of these current maritime merchants and pirates, and the proportion of real Japanese is much smaller.

For them, crossing the East China Sea is an extreme sport, and there is no one in ten who can reach it smoothly. Most of the real Japanese who were mixed in with the pirates came on pirate ships, and they were mercenaries in the strict sense of the word.

Therefore, if the escaped pirates land in Shandong, it is possible to cause some damage, but unfortunately, Xie Hong is keenly aware that they are heading for Weihaiwei.

Weihaiwei is not an ordinary guardhouse, even if there is no strange couple, the military families will not let hundreds of pirates slaughter, because it is their homeland, unlike those slave-like military tenant farmers, each family here has its own property, so they will not let the robbers run rampant.

By the time we returned to Port Arthur, the sea had completely returned to calm, the people who had fallen into the water had been rescued and guarded, the wrecked ships had been recovered, and there were no traces of war left in the sea, except for the faintly visible broken sails.

However, after entering the bay, it is different, and it is densely packed with boats. In fact, the scene in Port Arthur is similar, except that the boats there are relatively intact, and the ships here are somewhat damaged.

With the advent of steamships, flywheel battleships are obsolete ships, and these lucky ships are of course to be eliminated. However, it will take a long time for the large-scale promotion of steamships, and these trophies can be used as transitional merchant ships or transport ships, and can also be used as fishing boats at worst.

Moreover, with the style of Xie Houye, these ships can be used as arms after they are eliminated and sold to Koreans or Japanese people, which is also a lot of money. It doesn't matter if you don't have money, you can change people, with the construction of the Bohai Rim Economic Zone, there will always be a shortage of labor.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, let me see the boat!" As soon as the pedals were put down, an unkempt old man rushed onto the deck with a roar, followed by a group of people dressed as craftsmen, and greeted Xie Hong awkwardly: "See Lord Hou." ”

"So what's the polite way to do? By the way, Master Dai, what's wrong? Didn't the other five battleships already enter port? Xie Hong asked a little strangely.

Of course, there is a difference between actual combat and exercise, and as a shipbuilder, making up for the shortcomings in practical application and drawing inspiration from them is also a way to improve technology.

"Master said that your ship has always been at the front, and has received the most attacks, and has also collided with other ships...... And most importantly, after the battle, the ship also went on a long voyage, which could not be more suitable for the purpose of checking the quality. Wang Yun honestly retold the old man's original words.

"Well, please." Xie Hong waved his hand very chicly, "When the results come out, send me a copy of the technical report, it's best to hurry, I want to make sure if this ship can go to the ocean ......."

"Master Hou, didn't we just chase the remnants of the enemy yesterday? Now you are ......" Every time the clan brother appears, Dai Ziyu feels a little frightened, although the Hou Ye is easy-going, but after all, he is the superior, Ziyan, why don't you know what to do? You know, many superiors like to make a fuss in their stomachs, and they don't care about it now, and it will be too late when they care about it later.

"Ben Hou is going to go to the Wa Kingdom next, and he has been knocked on the door, how can he just forget it? Benhou is not so easy to bully. Xie Hong said hatefully.

"......" Dai Ziyu was speechless.

Master Hou, you are so modest, who dares to bully you? Obviously, you set up a trap for others to drill into it, and then you set it up like an iron bucket here, making people go from full of hope, to full of disappointment, and finally to despair...... With today's example, no one will ever bother you again, unless his head is not open. Besides, it's the Jiangnan people who come to make trouble, what does it have to do with the Japanese people? Hou Ye won't be confused, right?

"Master Hou, the results of the battle have been counted, including the maritime merchants who voluntarily surrendered, a total of more than 600 large and small ships were captured in this battle, more than 500 were intact and could be repaired, and a total of more than 22,000 people were captured......"

Lu Xiaosi was doing the job of capturing prisoners, and when he saw Xie Hong coming back, he came up as soon as possible, and this time the harvest was even more than double that of the last time, but he couldn't complain that he was so excited.

Xie Hong nodded with satisfaction and ordered: "Well, Fourth Brother Lu, you work hard and separate the captives according to the standards of pirates, maritime merchants, and sailors, and hold them separately." ”

"Then send it to Tianjin, or Maoshan?"

"It's okay to lock it up for now, they're not suitable for coolies, and they'll be used for other purposes later." Unlike the ruffians who did hard labor in Tianjin, these people are all unruly guys, most of them have blood on their hands, and if they are really sent to work as coolies, they may cause trouble, and they will also waste the ability of these guys.

"That's right...... By the way, Master Hou," Lu Xiaosi said with a smile: "Among the people who surrendered, there is a big guy, that person is the commander of the Guangdong Naval Division, this battle is commanded by him, he has already admitted it, and there are other people who testify that the gang in Jiangnan mobilized the imperial court sailors without authorization, and also attacked the royal port, this time the human and material evidence are there, see that they are not dead?" ”

"Oh?" Xie Hong raised his eyebrows, and became a little interested, the enemy general's attainments in water warfare were extremely high, far from being comparable to Dai Ziyu, who was a half-man or almost fell into the sea as a thief. This battle is won by itself, not in the water war, if the two sides fight in array, it will be themselves who will be defeated.

"Take him to the Hou Mansion to see me...... No, it's better to bring him to the ship, Ben Hou will meet him on the ship. With that, Xie Hong turned around and got on the boat again.

"Oh, huh?" Lu Xiaosi was stunned for a moment, in the past, when he encountered this situation, wouldn't he have sent Jingshi to him? Why did you change the rules today.

"Don't go yet." Lu Renjia glared at his younger brother, who woke up like a dream and went to give the order.

…… After being a prisoner for a day, Liang Cheng's mental state did not deteriorate, or his emotions were a little higher, the fact of the defeat made him depressed, but this way of failure was relatively acceptable, at least Admiral Liang wanted to open it very much.

After all, the opponent he faced was too strong, and Lushun was like another world here, since he got on the dock, he, like the other prisoners, never left those workshops and those gunboats.

The workshops were as neat as tofu cubes cut by a knife, and they were connected by railroad tracks that they had never heard of, and a few small carts were parked on the tracks, illustrating the function of the rails themselves.

And next to the workshop, the mountains of raw materials and finished products and semi-finished products are piled up, which also illustrates the function of the workshop and its terrible efficiency.

On the way from the dock to Fort Kinzhou, he passed through a puddle of green mud, and he once again saw the gunboats that impressed him. After feeling that power from a close distance, his heart was also calm, and it was indeed not a crime of war.

Or his own situation is more worrying, he didn't think about hiding his identity, and he couldn't hide it at all, so his views were similar to Lu Xiaosi, and he felt that he would be used as a handle to attack Jiangnan people. Using a small handle to bring out the big backstage is the usual mode of political disputes, not to mention that this time he was still caught?

The Scholar Party was already at an absolute disadvantage in the court, so taking this opportunity, the plague god should be able to achieve greater results, right?

However, Liang Cheng doesn't care much, even if it is the Liang family, except for the old mother, wife and children at home, no one will worry about him, and what he cares about most is whether he can keep his family small. He has done his best in this naval battle, and there is no way to lose it, so why use his whole family to bury others? In the past, I had never received favors from others.

Therefore, when he was taken to the dock to see Xie Hong, he already planned to cooperate fully, even if he couldn't save his own life, he had to keep his family from being implicated.

"You, the commander of the coalition forces?" Xie Hong looked up and down at the visitors, like many sailors, he often experienced the wind and sun, and Liang Cheng's face was also red, but unlike ordinary sailors, he had a long hair fluttering on his chest, which was somewhat similar to Guan Yu in the romance.

"It's the guilty officer." Liang Cheng was also amazed in his heart, he had heard of Xie Hong's reputation, and then most of the people who saw him would give the same exclamation, he was too young! Only the man of God can explain the miracles he performed.

"Without the permission of the imperial court, you are guilty of transferring troops to attack Huanggang?"

"The guilty officer is guilty." Xie Hong's voice was not high, and his tone was also very gentle, but Liang Cheng chuckled in his heart, immediately raised his throat, and waited with bated breath for the next storm.

"Well, it's good, knowing your mistakes can improve a lot." Xie Hong nodded, looking very satisfied, "So, Commander Liang, are you willing to serve the emperor?" ”

"Criminal...... Yes? Liang Cheng kowtowed directly, and was about to confess leniency, but before his head touched the deck, he heard such a sentence, he raised his head suddenly, and because the movement was too fast, there was a crisp sound around his neck, which was the sound of the cervical vertebrae being squeezed.

"Master Hou, what do you mean?" He couldn't believe it at all, wasn't this person on the other side a plague god? Such a big thing, he would actually gently reveal it, he must be dreaming, right?

"If you are willing to change your way and serve the emperor, then Benhou will give you a chance, if you are obsessed, it will be a pity, Commander Liang, how are you doing?" Xie Hong said lightly.

appeared, Lu Xiaosi rolled his eyes beside him, very different from the ever-changing methods when he was the enemy, Hou Ye seemed to have only one trick to recruit talents, and every time it was such a routine, how could he not get bored?

However, it is not bad to eat all over the world in one trick, just look at the reaction of the people who are recruited.

"Willing to be lowly, willing to be lowly!" Liang Cheng kowtowed again and again in ecstaty, he had no other thoughts in his heart, he escaped death, what else was there to want? What's more, this is for the emperor.

Liang Cheng left in surprise, but Dai Ziyu frowned.

"Master Hou, do you want to use him as a general? This person is from the Liang family in Lingnan......"

He sees Liang Cheng's ability, but this person's loyalty is difficult to guarantee, not only the Liang family, but also the family is in Lingnan. Although with Lushun's military system, it is very difficult for a general to raise troops to rebel, and there are no longer decent enemies on the sea today, he still feels a little unreliable.

What's more, looking at Hou Ye's posture, it seems that there is a meaning that those sailors are included together, most of these people are fellow villagers, and they are very united, even if they break up, it is very dangerous.

"It's okay, don't let him lead the troops first, just follow their examples, there are just no suitable instructors for the military subjects of the Ocean Academy."

Xie Hong said with a smile: "There may be a problem with leading soldiers, but there is no problem with teaching students, even if he has different aspirations, can he still deliberately teach wrong?" Those sailors are also old sailors, and it is a pity to be dismissed, so it is good to train for a period of time, and after two years, when the navy is expanded, it will be just right to be used. ”

In addition to the water surname, the experience of sailors is also very important, the understanding of hydrology, the judgment of ocean currents and wind directions, and the response to bad weather, these are not just training can be obtained, so Xie Hong attaches great importance to these sailors, and only by using these people well can he successfully complete the next big strategy.

"Hou Ye is really lenient and ......" Dai Ziyu said with emotion, it is rumored that the plague god is ruthless, but now it seems that it is not the case at all, even the enemy led by him has been let go so gently, who else can be more merciful?

"Wide?" Xie Hongjian frowned, and sneered: "Mr. Dai is wrong, these people are just driven by people or greedy for money, so they blatantly come to the door to disturb them, the real culprits are those main messengers behind them, hmph, the liquidation has not started yet." ”

"Master Hou, the ship has been accepted, can the technical report be sent to you tomorrow?" Dai Ziyan is the number one technician in the shipyard, but he doesn't care about anything, so the actual person in charge is still Wang Yun.

"Don't be so troublesome, I've seen it all, no problem, don't talk about going to the Wa Kingdom, even if you go to the new continent in the east of the Wa Kingdom, it's no problem, Lord Xie, you just have to rest assured on the road." Xie Hong couldn't cry or laugh, just crossing the Pacific Ocean with such a primitive steamer? Are you kidding? If you do, you'll be on the road with peace of mind.

Fortunately, he knew that although Old Man Dai was not very reliable, he would never talk nonsense about technical problems, and since the ship was fine, then his counterattack plan could begin.

(To be continued)