Petro listened to Li Zhaoji's words, fell into thought, and after a while, he said: "It seems that what you said has some truth, but you need to prove your sincerity." ”

"You can all leave, go to the chicken coop, everything here, what belongs to you, you can take it with you, and if you can, you can even take this city with you." Lee shrugged and said to Petero.

Pietro suddenly sneered: "It seems that you really need our strength to contain the Dutch? ”

Li Zhaoji nodded, not denying this, he said: "I also have a fancy to this island, for me, the best situation is that the Spaniards and the Dutch fight, and I can develop with peace of mind." ”

Pietro spread his hands: "Okay, I agree to cooperate with you, we will return to Fort San Salvador, everyone will go back, now please release me." ”

Li Zhaoji looked at Yang Yandi beside him and said, "I dare to guarantee that if I untie him, this guy will burst out and hurt people." ”

"Why?" Yang Yandi asked.

"If I were him, I would do the same." Lee Siu Kee said.

Liu Shun stepped forward and untied the cowhide rope that bound Pietro, Pietro loosened his stiff body, and suddenly rushed towards Li Zhaoji, about to beat him violently, but was held down by Yang Yandi on the spot. A group of people stepped forward and pressed Pietro to the ground and beat him fat for a while, until Li Zhaoji beckoned everyone to stop, and everyone ended.

Li Zhaoji grabbed Pietro's hair and pulled his face up, this guy had a blue nose and swollen face, blood was dripping from the corners of his mouth, and he was still smiling coldly, Li Zhaoji said: "You are a bold one, this is good, and now you are still useful, so you will not die for offending me, but next time, you will not be so lucky." ”

Petro has the sense of honor of a soldier and the fanaticism of religious believers, how could he calmly accept Li Zhaoji's capture and humiliation of himself, after determining the inevitability of cooperation between the two sides, Pietro thought of teaching Li Zhaoji a lesson, anyway, a small lesson will not change the inevitable cooperative relationship between the two sides, but he was expected by Li Zhaoji in advance.

"Hey, Chinese monkey, I'll kill you next time." Petro said viciously.

Li Zhaoji stood up, trampled Pietro's head into the mud with his leather boots, and ran it several times before he could be tied up.

"Shichiro Yoshida, do you know how to write Spanish? I need to write a letter to Commander Leo of Bol guarding the chicken coop that he can read. Lee said to Shichiro Yoshida, who has been working as an interpreter.

Shichiro Yoshida shook his head, but another man said, "I will." ”

It was Yoshito Nakata who spoke, the leader of this Kiritan squad, he was in his thirties, strong and low, with a hairstyle of Tsukiyo head, and he also carried a katana, and he looked like a ronin.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "Okay, you can write." ”

Nakata said, "Your Excellency, may we make a request?" ”

"Say." Lee Siu Kee said.

"Can we leave at our own discretion, we don't want to go to San Salvador." Nakata said respectfully.

Li Zhaoji looked at him with interest: "Give me a reason to convince me." ”

"We are not Spaniards, we are not even Mestizos, in the eyes of the Spaniards, we are the same as the natives of the South Seas, we are all beings who can be killed at will, and when we get there, there is a war, we are all cannon fodder.

And the Spaniards are already in arrears for four months, and I don't want to die with my commune in a war that has nothing to do with us. The Zhongtian Liangren gave a reason.

Li Zhaoji nodded: "Yes, but you don't have a ship, so you can only join my team, I can only give you half a salary first, and if you want to get more, you have to prove your ability." ”

"Yes, we're here to help." Nakata said.

"Now, I say, you write." Lee Siu-gi took Nakata to Pietro's room, handed him the pen and paper, and then commanded.

Sitting behind his chair, Mr. Nakata said, "Honorable Commander Leo of Pol, the garrison of San Salvador, I am Lee Siu-ki, the head of a trading company with three warships and thousands of powerful soldiers, and the new owner of Tamsui.

I need to tell you an irrefutable fact, the Dutch governor in Formosa is ready to attack your castle, just like last year. The difference is that last year they did not have heavy artillery to siege the city, and this year they specially prepared.

You and your men are in danger, and I hope you can prepare in advance. As far as I know, the Dutch have made a new plan to conquer the city of San Salvador, and they have surveyed the castle and believe that the round fort on the top of the hill is a weak point in the defenses, and I suggest that you send elite guards there.

Second Lieutenant Pietro was brave and fearless, and perhaps a suitable candidate.

In the event of war, I will keep an eye on the development of the battlefield, and in order to fight together against the Dutch East Indians, and to prevent the island from becoming a complete colony, I will assist at a critical time.

A friend you've never met. ”

"You're hoping that the Spaniards will be able to hold off the Dutch, right?" After Nakata finished writing, he asked solemnly.

"Yes." Lee Siu Kee said.

"But I personally don't think it's very likely, even if you inform the Dutch of their plans in advance," said Nakata. Because the garrison officer Leo of Bol was a man of little courage, the only thing he did after the Dutch attack last year was to constantly ask the Philippine governor to evacuate the castle. ”

Li Zhaoji frowned, and he paced back and forth in the room, obviously a little caught off guard by this sudden situation.

It would be the courage of the army, if even the commander did not dare to fight, then the Spanish defenders in the chicken coop might really not be able to resist, and if the Spanish commander was someone like Pietro, then the Dutch would definitely not succeed.

"I have a suggestion, my lord." Nakata said.

"Oh, you say." Li Zhaoji looked at the Chezhi Dan warrior in front of him, hesitated slightly, and said.

Li Zhaoji didn't know the man in front of him, so he couldn't trust him, but Nakata Yoshitsu and other Kishitan samurai had been serving the Spaniards for a year, so they should know far more about the local situation than he did.

"I suggest that you add to this letter that the leader of the native tribe, Kalau, has cooperated with the Dutch and will take part in the attack on Fort San Salvador," said Nakata. ”

"Who is Kalaw?" Lee had never heard of the name.

"Kalaw was the most vicious native of the mountains and forests, and had numerous bloody conflicts with the Spaniards. In general, in the event of a war between the Spaniards and the Dutch, the victorious side would give the captives a certain treatment, and at least the officers would survive.

But the natives would not have this rule, and Kalaw would kill all the Spaniards and stick their heads on wooden poles. Nakata said.

"It's just a deception, maybe that Leo of Pol will see through it, or Pietro will see through it." Lee Siu Kee said.

Nakata Yoshito shook his head: "Probably not, because the Dutch came to attack last year, so they brought a lot of natives, and even cooperated with the natives here." These red-haired men are relatively few, so they need the help of the natives, and Kalaw is not only fierce, but also very cunning, and the more he does not see his presence, the more Leo of Pol will suspect that he is in the enemy's camp. ”

Li Zhaoji thought for a moment and nodded slightly, no matter what, this is just a matter of adding a sum to the letter, and there is no damage to his side.

At this time, there was a chaotic sound outside, and Li Zhaoji was still thinking that he must go out to punish him later, but suddenly there was a gunshot, and Li Zhaoji immediately ran out with a saber, and asked loudly: "What happened?" ”

"The big treasurer, the big treasurer, there are a lot of local people coming, a lot of them, holding weapons." Liu Shun hurriedly ran over, and the air was already full of tension.

The three ships at the dock were hoisting their sails and leaving the port, while Yang Yandi's men were also wearing armor and preparing for battle.

Li Zhaoji ran to the Oxhorn Fort and looked at the city from a distance, outside the moat, there was indeed a chaotic group of people, and near the mouth of the river, there were also natives in canoes, these people did have weapons, but before they had a conflict with their own side, Li Zhaoji immediately ordered: "Liu Shun, tell the fleet and the battle team, don't clash with the natives, we need to contact them." ”

"My lord, let Shichiro Yoshida try." At this time, Nakata Liangren walked up to Li Zhaoji and said in a low voice.

"Yoshida? Does he speak the local language? ”

Nakata nodded: "Those should be the people of Kaidagran, Yoshida Shichiro knows some of their language, and he has had some contact before." ”

Li Zhaoji remembered the angry look of Pietro when he was packing up his things just now, and he turned angry at the Chezhitan people when they took out some deer skins and sulfur, and he understood something.

The Chezhi had not been paid for four months, so they traded with the natives, with deerskin being a favorite commodity for the merchants and sulphur being the military supplies, apparently with which the natives traded.

"Okay, let Shichiro Yoshida go out and talk." Li Zhaoji found Yoshida Shichiro and said to him: "You tell the people of Kaida Gran not to let them get too close, and also tell them that I am a merchant and I am here to do business, and my ship is full of goods they need.

There are farm tools made of fine iron, cloth, needlework, salt and sugar, and by the way, you can take two barrels of wine and some cloth as gifts. ”

The close relationship between Shichiro Yoshida and the people of Kaida Gran was obviously something that Li Zhaoji did not expect, and he was very timid and happily picked up a pick, brandished a wooden pole, and walked towards the other party, on which hung a mask made of animal skin, everything seemed to be very familiar.

After only half an hour, Shichiro Yoshida returned, pointed to a grass hut outside the moat, and said, "My lord, the chief of the Kedagran people, Atta, has asked you to go there, and he wants to talk to you. ”

Li Zhaoji asked, "Qilang, why are so many of them besieging them?" ”

Shichiro Yoshida said: "This is the Kaidagran, they have been close to the left, they have a grudge against the Spaniards, they saw your ship sailing into the Tamsui River, and thought that the Dutch were attacking again, and last year, they sent five hundred men to besiege this city, and now they want to participate." ”

Li Zhaoji nodded: "Qilang, you go and tell them again, I will set up a banquet under the grass hut, prepare a sumptuous dinner, invite twenty of them to come to the banquet, and also tell them that this place has been taken over by me, if they ask about Pietro and others, you can say that Pietro and they have fled to the chicken coop." ”

"Yes, sir." Shichiro Yoshida happily went to handle it.

Li Zhaoji arranged for Liu Mingde to go to a banquet with him and asked him to prepare first, and he called Nakata Liangren and asked: "Nakata, you know more about this place, please analyze it for me, what kind of requirements will the Kaida Grand people make?" ”

"I think the most unacceptable thing is that they want this city. ”

"It can't be." Li Zhaoji said.

The city of Santo Domingo was a ready-made defense system, and the trading company was now facing pressure from both the north and the south, and with this fortress, Lee Zhaoji could only achieve a certain goal.

"But I couldn't think of a better plan." Nakata said.

Li Zhaoji said to him: "This city must belong to a trading company, I can buy it, I can rob it, but I will never give it to others." Nakata, tell me about the situation in the neighborhood, how many people are there in Kaidagran, and are there any other natives? ”