After Li Zhaoji traveled to this era, many things were expected by him, or he would leave room for doing things, but Shen Youlong set up a Hongmen banquet for him so early, which Li Zhaoji did not expect, at least he thought that after a period of time, the development of the Oriental Trading Company would threaten the imperial court.

Because of Shen Youlong's sudden Hongmen banquet, many plans were not implemented, which was manifested in the fact that Tamsui City at this time was an extreme shortage of people in the trading company.

Lee now has three ships under his command, a little more than 500 men, but they are divided into three parts.

Part of it was Lee Siu-kei's basic plate, and he took the Chinese sailors of the Vostok, and the piglets he bought on Wailingding Island. Some of them were recruited in Macao, and some of them were English people who were rescued from the Ming court.

But now, there is an extreme shortage of manpower, Tamsui City needs to be guarded and repaired, the out-of-city trade market needs to be maintained, commercial activities need to be supported, the three ships are also being maintained, and people are also needed to prepare for war.

There is a shortage of people on all sides, and in Tamsui, the idea can only be hit on the local natives.

Therefore, during this time, the trading company hired local natives to build trading grounds, but it was also necessary to prepare for the Dutch war.

Considering that the Dutch would organize a fleet to come, Lee had to maintain sufficient combat readiness on the ships.

Now, the Kaida Gran people have given such an opportunity, and the alliance with the Kaida Gran people has completely eliminated the surrounding threat faced by the trading company, and the Dutch will inevitably turn into a rat in the face of the alliance between the trading company and the Kaida Gran.

Atta had a quarrel with the Great Wizard, which was something that rarely happened in his past life, and Lee Zhaoji couldn't understand the language of the two at all, but he could understand their body language, and it seemed that Atta was very much in favor of forming an alliance with the trading company, while the Great Wizard had a different opinion.

However, the Grand Wizard doesn't seem to be opposed to forming an alliance, but has his own insistence.

It's just that the environment in which the Kaida Gran people live can't allow the Great Wizard to have too much persistence, and after the quarrel, the Great Wizard took the initiative to ask: "Shopkeeper Li, what exactly is the alliance you are talking about, and what kind of enemy are we dealing with together?" ”

Li Zhaoji said: "Our enemies include the Atayal tribes, as well as the ghosts from overseas, including the Spaniards and the Dutch. But not counting the Dawkas and other familiar tribes, in fact, many tribes and villages have come here to trade, we are merchants, and merchants want to make few enemies and many friends. ”

"Besides that, do you have any enemies outside of Tamsui?" The Great Wizard obviously knew too little about the Eastern Trading Company, and was worried that by forming an alliance with them, he would provoke forces that should not be provoked.

Li Zhaoji smiled: "Great Wizard, please rest assured, we will not let our friends leave Tamsui to go on an expedition against other enemies, if there are other forces other than the enemy I just mentioned to attack, you can refuse to participate." ”

The Grand Wizard nodded, it seemed that as long as it was confined to the freshwater, he wouldn't have much of an objection.

Atta said, "And how many men can you send to our territory to fight the Atayal?" ”

Li Zhaoji picked up a cup of tea and handed it to Atta: "Atta, please don't worry, I understand a leader's urgency to protect his people, but war is a very serious matter." If I do my best to send my army to the wrong place, it will be detrimental to my trading company and to your tribe. ”

Atta eased his nervousness slightly, and Lee asked him to give him a briefing.

The Kaida Gran people learned to build fortifications in the course of their fight against the Shengfan tribes, and they learned from the Han Chinese to build bamboo moats to protect the village, and now it is harvest season, the Atayal will attack the villages deep inland, and the Dajilong Society, located in the upper reaches of the Tamsui River, is at the forefront of the conflict, and Atta would lead the elite forces stationed there.

Li Zhaoji said: "I can send Zhao Dahe to the Big Chicken Coop Society, and he will lead fifty musketeers and two artillery pieces to assist you in defending the Big Chicken Coop Society." As long as we cooperate, we should be able to resist the first wave of Atayal attacks, and once the Atayal attack and determine the existence of their main force, we can join forces and reinforce together to inflict heavy damage on the Atayal.

And if I send too many people to the Big Chicken Coop Society, a cunning person like Kalaw will send a small number of people to pull my people, and then plunder the village community behind it along the Tamsui River. ”

Atta nodded: "That's okay, but I know that if you send fifty people, you've lost a lot of strength and need us to replenish it, right?" ”

Li Zhaoji smiled, and said in his heart that Atta was not only smart, but also very reasonable.

He said, "Yes, I need you to send two hundred men to garrison Tamsuida. ”

Seeing that the Great Wizard and Atta looked a little angry, Li Zhaoji said, "Listen to me, two." These two hundred people, led by Haruki, can choose the smart young men among the Kedagran, and they don't need to be the bravest warriors.

When they arrive, they will help us defend the city and help us keep order in the trading grounds. And I'll arrange for people to train them, including the use of arquebuses, in a year, Atta, it only takes a year, and you can have your own firearms unit, isn't that good? ”

Atta clapped her hands happily: "No, this is good, there is no better way than this." ”

Li Zhaoji coughed lightly and continued with the next conditions: "In addition, I need to hire some Kaidagran people to work, of course I will give a considerable payment, and they will come to build this city." ”

Although Li Zhaoji said this, it was not a pure request, because it was a fact that had already happened, since the arrival of the Oriental Trading Company, there were many people from the nearby villages, and in addition to trade, they also provided various services, not only the Kaida Gran, but also other tribes including the Dawcas.

When Li Zhaoji said this, he wanted to use it in the name of the great wizard to announce that these actions were reasonable, so as to attract more people to come.

"The Grand Wizard thinks it's okay, but it requires some rituals." Atta said to Li Zhaoji, and the great wizard sat cross-legged and returned to his mysterious appearance again, and the sharp teeth and sharp mouth of the bargain just now immediately disappeared.

Li Zhaoji nodded and said to Liu Mingde: "Remember, assisting the Great Wizard in holding the sacrificial ceremony is the most important job of the trading company these days, and everyone must cooperate unconditionally. ”

After settling this matter, Li Zhaoji and Liu Mingde and the others left, and when they returned to Tamsui City, Li Zhaoji asked, "Old Liu, it seems that the great wizard doesn't live with Atta." ”

"Yes, the great wizard's feet are not allowed to touch the ground, and when he was present, four wrestlers carried him into the woods, and a mat was laid under him." Liu Mingde made preliminary representations on behalf of the trading company, so it was clear that he continued to Li Zhaoji: "And after our meeting, the Grand Wizard will return to live on the ship, which is built side by side with three canoes, decorated with white reeds, in the harbor not far from the woods.

It is said that married men are not allowed to come close, so Atta cannot live in the same place with him. ”

Li Zhaoji laughed: "Although they are all feudal superstitions, these are very important, we must respect them in order to get their support." Tomorrow morning, you go to the boat to pay a visit, remember to take more gifts, and choose the best and most expensive ones to send. ”

"That's the Great Wizard." Liu Mingde was puzzled.

Li Zhaoji smiled: "What bullshit wizard, there are two kinds of people in this world who know that religion is deceitful, one is a religious leader, and the other is a secular lord. In their eyes, religion is just a means of fooling people. ”

Seeing that Liu Mingde didn't believe it, and even Amitabha Buddha again and again, it seemed that Li Zhaoji said something rebellious.

Li Zhaoji said: "You look closely at the great wizard, others decorate their braided hair, using white bones, colored stones, feathers and the like, what about him, his little braid, is tied with precious stones, this guy knows better than anyone what is more precious." ”

Liu Mingde thought about it, and it seemed that what Li Zhaoji said was also reasonable, so he said: "Okay, then I'll go to give a gift early tomorrow morning." ”

As Li Zhaoji thought, the great wizard is also a greedy person, although he shows a solemn appearance, but when he puts away the gifts, he is not merciless, of course, those silk cloths, gems and the like are just offerings to the gods.

Perhaps it was Li Zhaoji's heavy salute that had an effect, and for the next three days, the great wizards all performed a grand religious ceremony in the area of Tamsui City, and every village community in Kaidagran sent people to participate, and at the peak of the number, more than 3,000 people gathered here.

And the only request made by the Great Wizard was that the ghosts, including the English red-haired ones, should not show up.

The Great Wizard sprinkled water blessings on the banner of the Oriental Trading Company, and even circled around Tamsui City, sprinkling the divine water given by the gods all over the perimeter of the city and the docks, so that the land owned by the Oriental Trading Company was a place blessed by the gods of the Kaida Gran.

The Great Wizard even carved a human head out of a piece of wood and pasted two obsidian stones as eyes, saying that it was the incarnation of Li Zhaoji and took it to the sacred tree of the Kaida Grand people to worship.

Because of the eager performance of the Great Wizard, the Kaida Gran formed a blood alliance with the Eastern Trading Company.

The sacrificial ceremony was only part of the story, and Li Zhaoji put the covenant between the two sides into writing, and he personally drank blood wine with Atta, which was considered a formal alliance.

After the blood alliance ceremony, Li Zhaoji found Zhao Dahe and asked him personally: "Dahe, have you chosen the people who went to the Big Chicken Coop Society?" ”

"I picked it out, and the sixth master assisted and selected two gunners. There are also two small cannons converted from swing guns, and the musketeers were personally selected by me, and they were all honest and obedient to orders. The shopkeeper can rest assured that we are stationed there and will never discredit the trading company. Zhao Dahe was careful in handling things, and he also knew Li Zhaoji's intentions, and said seriously.

Li Zhaoji nodded with satisfaction: "Tell the brothers that those who are stationed in Fandi will be paid an extra month's salary." Rotate every three months, and contact Tamsui City once every ten days. In addition, you must pay attention to Dahe, after arriving at the Big Chicken Coop Society, you must find a suitable garrison for your brother, and it must be safe and stable. ”