What's the use of knowing secrets?

  The fool Mazi has really gone stupid! After racking his brains to get the secrets, it turns out that they are of no use to himself or the Hei Yu Bang for now, and will not be of much use in the future either. Because if these secrets are leaked, they will only confirm that this "Ilema" incident was done by Chinese people! That would bring great trouble to the weak China!

  The guns were provided for the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi to train new troops. Because Yuan Shikai's new army in Tianjin was said to be very effective, local governors were eager to find ways to buy weapons and invite instructors, and they were busy with joy! In terms of infantry weapons, the best in the world is still the Mauser rifle series manufactured by the Mauser brothers at the Oberndorf factory in Germany. The latest model is the 1898-style magazine-fed rifle, which uses 7.92mm smokeless powder cartridges and is the best in terms of power, range, accuracy, and weight. This Mauser rifle is very clear, and he also knows that during World War II, the German Wehrmacht was still using a modified version of the 1898-style Mauser rifle. Now, the pirates on Devil's Island can be equipped with five such guns per person! Ha ha, let the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi continue to wait! The British have made great efforts to win over this most important official in the south. Without mentioning that these new weapons are not yet widely used by the German army, the British have managed to get 1200 rifles at once, which is an incredible ability. From the current conflicts between Britain and Germany in maritime affairs and colonial competition, it is unlikely that Germany would easily provide any weapons to Britain, let alone the Mauser 1898! There must be many stories behind this... but Clarke can't say anything about it...

  ￡7 million is a more attractive sum! Apart from the large amount that delights people, what's most important is that this money was sent to Hong Kong by Standard Chartered Bank and then prepared to be sent to Shanghai. Two important hostages - the Wellington couple are the nominal handlers of this money. This is the British government and the industrial oligarchs' loan to the Qing Empire for expanding telegraph, shipping, and railway construction. As for what conditions and secret agreements there are, who has what kind of relationship with whom, how many national interests that Empress Dowager Cixi sacrificed for this sum... these are things that Colonel Clark cannot know! Mao Si doesn't want to know either, anyway, the money is in the hands of the robbers! He absolutely won't believe that the old witch who's still relying on Xi'an will really do something good for the country and the people. There must be dirty deals behind this money, ultimately harming the more than 300 million ordinary people! So, this money must be confiscated! And at the right time, it can be revealed to countries like France, Germany, America, Japan, and Russia, letting them fight among themselves is also not bad...

  As for the bag of diamonds, the British naval colonel didn't mention it and Mao Si didn't ask. This created a mystery! Nobody knew who the owner of the bag of diamonds was, nor did anyone come forward to raise such a question... Anyway, like this, the legitimate owner of the diamonds became the current possessor - the pirate Black Shark Gang.

  After everything was made clear, Colonel Clark no longer had the heart to drag things out, and Mao Si didn't want to make things difficult for this relatively obedient "child" either. So, after dragging negotiations into the afternoon, they successfully reached an agreement! The 73 hostages were of varying value, but in short, the British government wisely represented the families of the hostages and agreed to a total ransom of ￡300,000, which would be paid in US dollars to the pirate negotiator Mr. Mao Si. In return, the pirates guaranteed that once they received the money, they would immediately release Taiko Group's board of directors couple, the Wellington couple, and nine other important hostages. The remaining 60 hostages would be released at a rate of five per month within one year after the agreement was reached.

  Mao Si didn't want to support these people for nothing, but in consideration of the safety of Devil's Island, he had to warmly persuade these noble British guests to stay. Aren't Chinese people always very hospitable? In this "international negotiation" setting, this tradition was best embodied.

  After parting with Colonel Clark, who had a majestic demeanor, Mao Si strolled leisurely around Malacca for a few rounds. After confirming that no one was following him, he slipped into a commercial firm. This was the location of the split dock.

  "Haha, the Mao brothers are indeed extraordinary! Even the people I sent to protect you have been shaken off, how about it? Was the talk going smoothly?" Old Cow smiled all over his face (but in his heart he was scolding his useless subordinates for making him lose face), and pulled Mao Si into the living room, where a banquet had already been set up.

  "Thanks to the elder's blessing, the negotiation went smoothly. The British are quite honest, and we can collect the money tomorrow at the same time and place." Mao Si appeared extremely humble, his words completely devoid of the oppressive tone he had used with the colonel (naturally, tone is created according to circumstances), replaced by the sincere and honest attitude of a subordinate reporting work to their superior.

  However, Niu Fushou would not be fooled by his superficial appearance! As an old and cunning man, after knowing that the young Mao Si had successfully negotiated, he got rid of his own brother who was sent to protect him. Grandpa Niu had already regarded Mao Si as a formidable opponent and wanted to use him to get some ransom money!

  "What are the specific conditions?" Old Cow asked casually while pouring wine after arranging for Mao Si to sit beside him.

  "￡300,000, all in US dollars, paid in one go tomorrow. Then we'll release the hostages gradually, all of them within a year. Thanks, I won't have any, just like yesterday, with tea." Ma Si pushed away the wine, he really wasn't interested in it. Besides, even if he wanted to drink, he'd have to wait until they got back to Devil's Island and had a drink with his brother and the beauty, that would be safe. In this heavily guarded British base, it was useful to keep a clear head. Although the British shouldn't make a move before all the hostages were released, other dangers couldn't be ruled out.

  "Oh! US dollars? How did you think of wanting US dollars?" Old Cow was a bit disappointed, as US dollars were not as popular as British pounds in Malacca.

  "The US dollar is good, it has appreciation potential." Suddenly, Mao Si found himself unable to respond to Niu Dajie's words, because wanting the US dollar was a sudden thought that came to him in order to avoid Niu Dajie having the idea of intercepting this sum of money, and even further, to keep some US dollars for convenience when setting up a factory in the future. Of course, this idea couldn't be directly told to Niu Dajie, and in the midst of urgency, he couldn't come up with a suitable reason, so he just blurted out a word that suddenly popped into his head!

  "What is appreciation potential?" Old Cow came with interest, put down his chopsticks and waited for Mao Four to answer.

  "Huh? I'm not quite sure about this either, it's what my brother said. Can't even fabricate or make up a story? Nobody would suspect that Máo Sì is an idiot now."

  The unappetizing food and the uninteresting conversation made the atmosphere of the banquet somewhat dull. This can't be blamed on Mao Si, after all, the host gets to choose the topics, and they were all carefully selected by Niu Dage! If Niu Dage had asked about the well-being of his family members or the training situation of the brothers who stayed behind, the atmosphere at the banquet would have been much more lively. Unfortunately, Niu Dage's conversation kept revolving around money, as if he wasn't the leader of the branch and as if the organization wouldn't allocate necessary funds to him! No wonder Mao Si reacted this way.

  Mao Si's intuition was sharp, from last night he felt that in this branch, everyone was being overly polite to him, so polite it didn't feel like they were brothers anymore! Therefore, he remained vigilant and observed the expressions of the crowd. The conclusion he drew was --- this place is not suitable for a long stay! Because after being polite without getting what they wanted, people would quickly turn their politeness into murderous intent.

  The old cow also felt the guest's unease and his own recklessness, as well as the greedy expressions that occasionally flashed on the faces of several attendants. The topic was quickly changed.

  "Brother Mao's family, I heard that last time you got a lot of German-made quick-firing guns, don't know when they will be distributed to our branch, brothers are looking forward to it! Has Big Brother Mao mentioned anything about it? The saying 'it is easy to change the mountains and rivers but hard to alter one's nature' is definitely applicable here. The topic has changed again, still wanting things! As a branch mainly responsible for collecting intelligence, what use is there for taking rifles nearly 1.6 meters long to do independent revolution in Malacca where there are heavy troops?"

  "Hmm, Brother Niu, you also know that I don't have any position in the gang, so there are many things I don't know. This time coming out isn't because I can speak a few words of foreign language, is it?!" Ma Si said this after swallowing a piece of meat with great effort, and he couldn't help but curse in his heart: You clearly know that on the island, it's hard to get anything good to eat, except for fish, it's all fish. Finally today I can have a full meal, why are you asking these questions?! Dammit, just humor me!"

  "However, I heard that these guns are for Governor-General Zhang (Zhidong) of the two Guangs. It seems like they want to train a new army or something, so I think they should be sent over to Guangzhou!"

  "Oh, really? Eat, eat the dish!" Old Man Niu didn't believe for a moment that Mao San would spit out the meat he had eaten, but since he said so himself, how could he expose him to his face?!

  "What about the gun? Alright! I've never seen such a good gun. There's a brother on the island called Ma Hou, have you guys heard of him? His marksmanship is amazing! With that new gun, he can hit a grass hat two miles away. God!" Mao Si teased these people and then went back to his room to sleep after cheating them out of food and drink.

  "Germany's guns were originally the best, and the German army was also the best." Niubufu had some insight. "There is a type of pistol in Germany that is not bad, can hold 10 rounds of ammunition, and has great power, called Mauser or something."

  "Right, right, I've also heard that there's a type that can hold 20 bullets, it can be used as a machine gun!" Ma Si, who was intentionally teasing these "brothers", simply brought out models that wouldn't appear for over 10 years. After all, if you don't shock people to death, then what's the point... Finishing speaking, another piece of meat was stuffed into his mouth, and he chewed with a "吧唧吧唧" sound, still thinking in his heart: If I wasn't afraid of getting in trouble, I'd bring some back for Ma San Gege and Ning Shuang to eat. Damn it, being the boss of this branch is even more enjoyable than being the leader! It's really damn strange!

  His eating appearance was indeed not a place that could be flattered, including those who were imagining what the Mauser pistol looked like, and they couldn't help but show a look of disdain. Mao Si pretended not to see it, the sound of his mouth getting bigger and bigger, and the corners of his mouth started to drool...

  Mao Si, who had stuffed his belly with all sorts of good things, finally couldn't bear the disgust in his heart at midnight and contributed everything he had forced into his stomach to the toilet.

  Mao Si returned to the Devil's Island with over $6 million, recounting the entire process in detail, especially his feelings about the division of spoils. Mao San and Da Jie were worried, as Mao Si's account suggested that the Malacca division might have already fallen completely under Niu Fushou's control. If so, it would be difficult to control the Golden Route of Malacca in the future. If not handled properly, there was even a possibility that Niu Fushou could lead the entire division of nearly 100 people to betray them. Alas, the whip was too short to reach, and things couldn't be settled in a day like they could in Jinlan Bay. Even with the fastest ship and favorable winds, it would take several days for help to arrive at Malacca.

  "Brother, I think it's better to collect the protection money in advance. If you're willing to continue being a pirate, we can head to the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi. With our ships and guns, we can still make some legitimate trades and smuggle goods to earn some money. Besides, we're not short of money now!"

  "I need to think carefully about this, you go rest first, after sleeping well we'll discuss this matter again, I want to make another fortune before retiring!" Mao San has now received the news that a Japanese ship will pass through the waters of Devil's Island to Malacca and then head to London. What would be on a ship going to London? Money! British machinery is very popular in Japan, is this a ship going to buy machinery?

  The hostages were blindfolded and taken onto the ship, then sent to Palawan Island. There were people waiting for them there, and the pirates' task was completed at that point.

  Before the arrival of Japanese ships, something went wrong. A ship that had just sent back the hostages encountered another pirate group active in the South China Sea - the Red Hair Gang. The Red Hair Gang's ship opened fire on the Black Shark Gang's ship with only one muzzle-loading cannon, killing two brothers. The others hid among the reefs for two days before repairing the holes in their ship and returning.

  This news immediately made Mao San abandon his plan to attack the Japanese ship. He wanted revenge on the Red Hair Gang's scum! These white pirates, composed of British, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish people, had not bothered the Black Shark Gang again after being beaten by He Daxinzi, and from then on, they did their own business and didn't interfere with each other. Why did they suddenly take action against the Black Shark Gang's ship this time?

  Before the Black Shark Fleet set sail, about 20 pirate ships of various sizes approached Devil's Island. On the largest 700-ton sailing ship "Contilo", the leader of the Red Hair Pirates, Rogris, put down his monocular and gave a cold laugh as he issued orders: "Speed up and charge forward, Devil's Island is right in front of us! They just made a big deal and have a lot of money on them! Prepare for cannon fire." The Red Hair ships immediately split into two routes, passing through the reef area and surrounding Devil's Island.

  The Red Hair Gang arrived at the waters of Devil's Island under the cover of night, hiding their ships behind large reefs. They waited for the Black Shark Gang's patrol boats to come out one by one and take care of them. With the southeast wind blowing on the surface of the sea in recent days, not a single sound could be heard from the direction of Devil's Island. It wasn't until the people on watch at several reefs surrounding Devil's Island saw the large number of Red Hair ships that the message was sent to Mao San's hands! Rogris' sneak attack plan was successful, so the situation was very favorable for the well-prepared sneaky attackers! And the reaction time left for the Black Shark Gang was only one minute! From the moment the lookout post fired a warning shot to the completion of defensive preparations, there were only 15 minutes.

  "Xiao Si, take the young lady to defend Bei Ya, Er Liu, Guo Liang, call on the brothers to follow me to the mountain gate. See if we can get the Qing Long number started first, if not, retreat to the mountain gate and leave!" Mao San quickly assigned tasks and led the way to rush to the mountain gate.

  He assigned his younger brother Mao Si an impossible task - guarding the North Cliff! It's a cliff over 30 meters high, and below it is where sharks roam! In any case, the enemy would never attack from there, even if they were replaced by modern special forces with strong combat effectiveness. In short, Mao San was just letting his younger brother and future sister-in-law get away from danger.

  "Brother!" Mao Si's sudden understanding didn't stir up any excitement, but his call was sincere and heartfelt, making Mao San's heart skip a beat with pleasure. Mao San didn't stop; he had to complete the first plan, getting the powerful Qing Long Hao started up - an unmoving ship could only be a living target!

  "Ningfeng, take this gun and pay attention to the movements of the other sides, I'll go help Ge." Ma Si handed the Colt 1998 to Da Xiaojie and took the Type 81 rifle and all the magazines and ran out. Although He Ningfeng, who used to be a tomboy, had been transformed into a gentle little sheep, she wouldn't hold back the man at this critical moment! She watched as the man's agile figure gradually disappeared in the distance, then took the heavy Colt (a 15-shot military pistol that was not suitable for women) in one hand and the White Langning in the other, following the man's orders to patrol the situation on the other sides. Except for the North Cliff and the Mountain Gate, there was still a possibility of being ambushed by the enemy elsewhere.

  After a period of basic training, the sturdy ones showed their results. They quickly divided into three parts. One part, with more than 50 people, followed Mao San to the Qinglong ship at the big dock. Another part, with about 100 people, rushed to their own boats that they usually used. The last part, less than 100 people, prepared on the wall of the mountain gate. Everyone had a uniform Mauser 1898 rifle, and each person had 75 bullets, which was excellent equipment and sufficient ammunition. However, if the Qinglong ship and other big ships were not started, the number of artillery would be severely insufficient. There were only six old-fashioned cannons available in the entire mountain gate area, with low firing speed, small power, and short range, making it absolutely impossible to confront the nearly 200 cannons on the 20 red-haired ships! The red-haired ships were getting closer and closer, and Mao San was also getting closer to the Qinglong ship. Mao Si desperately chased after his brother...

  Rogers spotted the Qing Long from his telescope, moored at the large dock.

  "Hard right rudder 90, guns bear, target dead ahead, dock, broadside!"

  Far away, the "Konti Luo" fired its 15th port-side cannon, spewing out sparks as the shell whizzed towards the direction of the large dock. In an instant, the entire dock was shrouded in a sea of smoke and fire, with intense explosions startling the entire island reef of the South China Sea! The surrounding waters of the Qing Long also erupted with massive water columns...

  Several brothers were blown up by cannon fire, more people instinctively lay on the ground, but Mao San and Zeng Erliu, Li Guoliang three people are still running! 10 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters, 2 meters, the three men ran onto the long jumping board! The brothers who were lying down also got up and chased after Lao Da.

  The second wave of cannonballs came whizzing in! This time, it was about 7 red-haired ships that were firing!