The cautious Tao Kan really agreed to Liaodong to lease Zhu Ya, and when Wen Qiao, who returned to Liaodong, brought back the answer he wanted to Wei Shuo, Liaodong had already moved south to occupy the south of Zhu Ya as quickly as possible.

It's just that the two bases in Yizhou and Zhuya are under construction, and they won't be useful for a while.

Although Liaodong has reached a compromise with Funan for the time being, there are still many pirates attacking ships coming and going in the South Seas.

Although the Liaodong Navy Division is stronger than the pirates, it is quite helpless in the face of the pirates who come and go without a trace.

"Lord, Lord Lu and Commander Liu ask to see you!"

"Oh? Changzhi and Zhixuan want to see? Shouldn't the two of them be busy building Yizhou and Zhuya bases? ”

Wei Shuo groaned slightly, "Let them in." ”

After a while, I saw Lu Chang and Mr. Liu walk into the living room, and when they saw Wei Shuo, they bent down slightly and arched their hands: "See the lord!" ”

"What are the two of you doing together?"

Hearing this, Lu Chang glanced at Mr. Liu and said with a crying face: "Returning to my lordship, I came with Commander Liu today because with the rise of maritime trade, pirates in the Nanyang area gradually ran rampant, and gradually threatened the interests of Liaodong. But the lord had just reached a compromise with Funan, and the Liaodong Sailor was not allowed to step into the South Seas, so the matter was quite tricky. ”

"How to deal with the piracy crisis, the Military Division and the Navy Division have discussed for a long time and have not found a suitable solution!"

Mr. Liu also frowned and added: "The pirates are elusive, even if the entire sailor is dispatched, it may not be able to wipe it out, not to mention that the Liaodong sailor can't step into the South Seas at the moment!" The ministers really couldn't think of any way, so they had to ask the lord for advice. ”

Pirate! Wei Shuo frowned, he ignored this question. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, overseas trade was not prosperous, and piracy was not as rampant as it was in the future. However, due to Liaodong, overseas trade gradually emerged, and piracy became prosperous.

In the past, the Funan Navy Division pretended to be pirates, and there were some signs of privateering at sea by Western colonists in history. At that time, Wei Shuo intended to issue a privateer license for the Liaodong Navy, but he was worried that he would be opposed by the traditional scholars, and he happened to meet the Funan envoy going north, so he temporarily pressed his inner thoughts.

Now that the real pirates came to the door, Wei Shuo's heart moved, and he hesitated for a moment and said: "Don't hide Changzhi and Zhixuan, I do have a plan in my heart to retreat from the pirates, but this plan is harmful to the heavens, once it is known by the outside world, it will definitely make Liaodong criticized by the outside world." ”

"Oh? I don't know what kind of trick it is to make the lord so embarrassed? Lu Chang and Mr. Liu glanced at each other and said in unison.

"I intend to issue a privateer license to the Liaodong Naval Division, so that they can pretend to be pirates and go deep into the hinterland of the South Seas, so that they can avoid the eyes and ears of Funan to fight pirates and protect the safety of our shipping lanes. At the same time, it can also allow the newly recruited sailors to get practical training, and be familiar with the waters of the South Seas, so as to prepare for the future expedition of the South Seas. ”

"False...... False...... Pretending to be a pirate? ”

Lu Chang and Mr. Liu couldn't help but feel dumbfounded by Wei Shuo's proposal, no wonder even Wei Shuo, who has always been 'deviant', couldn't plan, this idea was too ransy. Don't look at the various pickled things in the past dynasties, there are many people who are sanctimonious, but everyone will maintain a good image on the surface.

Issuing privateer licenses to sailors is no less important than sending the regular army to be robbers. Once this matter is known to the outside world, the positive image that Wei Shuo and Liaodong have always maintained will collapse overnight, and not only will it be fiercely opposed by the traditional scholars, but even the people at the bottom will not be suspicious of Liaodong.

A monarch who dares to let his soldiers pretend to be vicious pirates, no matter how much he advertises, will not convince the outside world that he has a loving heart.

"I know this idea is a bit ransy, but it is the only choice in Liaodong at the moment! Liaodong has just reached a compromise with Funan, and it still needs time to develop the water division, so it is not appropriate to tear up the agreement for the time being. The Liaodong Naval Division went south in the name of pirates and would not receive the attention of Funan. Even if it is finally detected by it, Liaodong can be perfunctory. ”

Lu Chang and Mr. Liu thought for a while and found that Wei Shuo's proposal was indeed the most suitable. They secretly pondered for a while, and felt that this matter must not let Wei Shuo come out, and the black cauldron could only be carried by the two of them. For carrying the black pot for the king, there is no subordinate who is unwilling, especially if he still carries the back for a wise king, then there is no pressure.

"Lord, I think this matter should be handed over to the Military Division and the Naval Division! If you pretend not to know about this matter, if something goes wrong in the future, you can blame it on the ministers, and we will never let the reputation of the lord be damaged. ”

"Hahaha, Changzhi and Zhixuan have a good intention, but since this matter was proposed by me, I will naturally bear all the consequences. The two of you don't know that the issue of privateer warrants to the sailors this time is not a whim of my thought, but after careful consideration. ”

"The conquest of the South Seas is only the first step in the external expansion of the Liaodong Naval Division, and in the future, the West, the North Ocean, the Eastern Ocean and other major seas will be the objects of the Navy's conquest. However, compared to the vast ocean, the Liaodong Naval Division is only a drop in the ocean, and the small number of troops of the Naval Division alone cannot take care of the interests of Liaodong. ”

"On the contrary, the issuance of privateer licenses to the armed fleets under the major families as a supplement to the Liaodong Naval Division will greatly ease the pressure faced by the Liaodong Naval Division."

"Having a sailor pretend to be a pirate is just a temptation, on the one hand, to train the newly recruited sailors, and on the other hand, to gain experience and lay the foundation for future privateering."

"Privateer holders can form their own private armed fleets during wartime. Permit holders are allowed to attack, capture, and loot enemy ships at will. Of course, there are many precautions, such as the ships of our own country cannot be attacked, the ships of the allies cannot be attacked, the ships of a specific sea area cannot be attacked, the looted things must be transported back to the country to sell for money, and the stolen ports must be handed over to the Liaodong Army to be stationed. ”

In the Age of Discovery, the maritime powers of Western Europe did exactly what they did in the process of their rise to prominence! The Dutch made their fortune by plundering the West and Portugal, and were later regarded as fat sheep by the British and French.

What Wei Shuo has to do now is to take the lead in privateering and let others become fat in his mouth! On the one hand, his purpose was to train the sailors, and on the other hand, it was not necessarily without the purpose of cracking down on the business of Funan. Wei Shuo made a compromise with Funan, but he would not allow Funan to grow and develop, and he could restrict the commercial development of Funan through privateering.

"Chang Zhi and Zhi Xuan, although it is beneficial for Liaodong to issue a privateer license to the outside world, this mouth cannot be opened indiscriminately! For the time being, only the Liaodong Naval Division has the right to plunder merchant ships, and the target can only be Funan merchant ships. If other forces dare to attack the merchant ships, the sailors can see them as pirates and annihilate them! ”

"No!" At first, they were indeed a little worried about the proliferation of privateering, which would affect normal trade, but now they saw that Wei Shuo not only restricted the privateering targets, but also designated the sailor to be responsible, so that the privateering activities could be controlled within an acceptable range.

Soon, Lu Chang and Mr. Liu left with a heavy heart, although they found a solution to the problem, they still did not feel relaxed. Wei Shuo's privateering of the sailors was a blatant endorsement of banditry, and if it became known to the outside world, they would be under great pressure. Maybe it may be a stain that Liaodong will never be able to wash away!

In September of the fourth year of Jianxing, due to the interference of Wei Shuo, an alien butterfly, the situation in Nanyang, which had been very calm in history, was ready to move. The war between Liaodong and Funan was about to break out, and the situation in the entire Nanyang showed a delicate balance.

The strongest is Funan, which occupies a favorable location and dominates the South Seas for nearly 100 years. It relied on overseas trade to amass a large amount of wealth, and there were thousands of large and small warships, and tens of thousands of sailors.

After all, the Liaodong Naval Division has the shortest development time and is weak, and the newly recruited Naval Division has no experience in water warfare, so it can only temporarily reach a compromise with Funan with false words. Fortunately, Liaodong has great potential, and controls the trade routes to Sanhan and Wajima, and is actively building warships, so it has developed rapidly.

Subsequently, the Liaodong Naval Division, which was authorized by Wei Shuo, sent several small fleets to remove various Great Jin Banner symbols and replace them with skull flags in the style of pirates. For a time, the South China Sea was full of smoke and killing, and there were merchant ships attacked by pirates everywhere, among which Funan was the most. (To be continued.) )