United We Stand
Mao Si didn't have much time to wait, as the information stored in the computer showed that: The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 would take place in Northeast China and the ocean to its east, and at that time, the Chinese people would face new hardships! In 1904, the world's first turbine-powered warship - the British "Violet" cruiser would be launched into service, representing a new stage in the innovation and application of naval technology; In 1906, the British Royal Navy would also put the "Invincible" battleship into service, intensifying the naval arms race among the powers. Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean in the United States, the newly appointed President Theodore Roosevelt had passed a naval equipment plan for 1901-1909 through Congress, and 18 battleships would make the United States an emerging naval power. And what about China? The incompetence of the imperial court led to a complete blank in heavy industry, economic weakness, and poverty! He himself would build a strong army and navy in such a country, establish a new type of democratic government, and let the Chinese nation prosper as soon as possible...
The Ma Si on the stage was lost in thought, while below the stage, after a brief period of chaos and noise, gradually returned to calmness. Moreover, several footsteps were coming up from below... Apparently, these Black Shark Gang pirate brothers had already made their choice, had their thoughts, and had made their decision! Ma Si slowly turned around with a heavy heart, accepting the verdict of reality.
Under the stage, more than 170 people stood on their right side! No one was on the left side, nor in the middle. The whole crowd seemed to have moved as a whole to where they wanted to stand!
Li Guoliang, Zhang Qiu, Huang Tuobei, Jin Laoyao and six or seven others walked onto the stage, bowed to Mao Sidalao, then Huang Tuobei walked to the front of the stage and bowed again to his brothers below.
"Brothers, I'm grateful that you all think highly of me, Yellow Camel's Back. Let me say a few words from the heart. These are things that I've been keeping inside for a long time with a few old brothers. Just the other day, I was whispering about this to Second Brother Liu. I don't have much to say, but I know that we're Chinese and when the country is in danger, every ordinary person has a responsibility! I never believed that those guys living in the Forbidden City would do good for the country. Does everyone remember Old Man Fang's son, Guoquan? He was martyred while fighting the French with Liu's Black Flag Army in Annan. How many years ago was that?! When the old man died, he didn't leave any words behind, but we all know what he wanted to say. The tradition of our Chinese people is that leaves fall and return to their roots. It's impossible for a pirate to spend his whole life at sea and never return to the mainland! So I support Old Four's ideas, no matter what! As long as the old man still trusts me and uses me, I won't complain about doing anything! That's all I have to say!" Yellow Camel's Back finished speaking and hobbled back onto the stage.
Jin Lao Xiao is now a renowned figure on Devil's Island, having earned great merit in the recent battle against the Red Hair Gang that has won the admiration of all brothers on the island. He has become the second idol of young pirates (the first being Mao Si, of course), so he was also pushed onto the stage to represent the young pirates and say a few words.
"Older brother, brothers, and a few older predecessors, I, Jin Lao Xiao, am standing here speaking for the first time. If I say something wrong, please don't laugh, okay?" Jin Lao Xiao unconsciously placed his hand on the holster of his white Langning revolver at his waist, with a flattering and proud smile: "Just now, I said a few words to several brothers who are about the same age as me. The brothers asked me to come up here in front of everyone, including Older Brother and Big Sister, to say loudly that we want to be a dignified navy! That way, when we fight against the foreign devils, it will be more powerful and more satisfying! Being pirates is not impossible, but Older Brother has put this path before us. What do we choose? Pirates or Navy?"
"Navy! Navy! Navy!"
More than 170 men were united as one, expressing the wishes hidden in their hearts. After all, who would not want to be an official or a soldier instead of a bandit? No, absolutely no! Moreover, their leader Mao Four was painting a beautiful picture of the future!
……
"Pirates and navies are two different concepts, we need to transform from pirates to navies, there are many things to do in between. Can the current government and court allow us pirates to become navies? Definitely not! So we will build our own government and navy, the most basic thing is to have factories, technology, and talent, the most basic thing is that we first need to become talented people! I plan to take everyone away from Devil's Island as soon as possible and go to San Francisco in the United States. There are mature industrial technologies there, there are large numbers of skilled Chinese laborers and technical personnel, it is one of the fastest-growing industrial regions in the world. We can use the accumulated wealth of several generations of gang leaders to build a complete industrial system there, train a batch of technical talents. At the right time, we will return to China and use these mature technologies to build our own country, only when the country becomes rich and strong can we build a powerful navy! In short, we are going to the United States to learn and establish a foundation. If everyone has no objection, please ask Zeng Erlou, Huang Tuo Bei, Li Guoliang, Zhang Qiu and others, as well as Jin Lao Ye and several others, to come to my place tonight to discuss in detail. Strive to implement today's matters as soon as possible..."
Mao Si saw his position in the hearts of his brothers from today's success, and also knew that he was trusted and supported by everyone. This feeling has never been as clear as it is today. This made Mao Si feel even more deeply the weight of the heavy burden on his shoulders after the excitement.
In his heart, he already had a concept of the future, and this concept was constantly being perfected and enriched, and the source was the brothers on Devil's Island.
He Jingfeng also escaped from the worry when Mao Si first came on stage to speak, replaced by inexplicable pride and excitement. Every word that Mao Si said to his brothers deeply struck this big sister's heart, making her always think of Mao Si's heroic appearance and gestures on stage whenever she accidentally touched that area in her mind! A man should be like this, otherwise, how can he win the favor of a big sister?
"Frost, I plan to send some of my brothers back to the mainland before our wedding to prepare, so we can save time when the whole group moves and goes abroad. The preparations are complicated, I think it will take at least half a month to complete. You won't be unhappy about this, will you?" Ma Si Bian said, wrapping He Cong Frost's scattered long hair around his fingers. "In just a few days, we'll be husband and wife, I think we should discuss everything as much as possible and handle it together, just like today, isn't that great?"
"Are you afraid I won't agree with your opinion?" He Congshuang tilted her head, letting her hair fall more naturally into Mao Si's hands. This strange man, she might never be able to figure him out. Just the other day he was still acting foolishly, and today he announced such a big thing, and got the support of everyone in the gang! This is too contradictory, which one is the real him, the foolish Mao Si or the wise and charming Mao Si? What is he thinking in his heart? Establishing a government, building an army, these are such big things! And what's with this industrial technology stuff, where did he get these ideas from? Ah, mysterious man! He always makes her guess correctly about his thoughts, while she seems to understand him very well, yet at the same time knows nothing about him...
"I know you'll definitely support me! Because, the people of Hei Shark Gang have been branded with a patriotic complex by Lao Ban Zhang, Cai Ban Zhang and your father in their hearts. If I didn't know this, how could I dare to announce such a thing in front of all my brothers?" Mao Si's feelings were genuine and deep, so his voice was filled with rich emotions.
He Ningfeng wrinkled her pretty nose, and the man staring at her was momentarily stunned! It's not wrong to say that a lover's eyes are out of this world, let alone the beauty in front of him is absolutely stunning!
"To be honest, have you been thinking about today's events for a long time? Is that the reason why you've been spacing out these past few days?" The woman asked the question while also revealing the answer to it, of course, without realizing it herself.
"Yes, there are many things you may not understand now, but if you have the patience to listen to a story from me later, you will know! Know everything about me!" Mao Si thought that tonight was the best opportunity to confess to He Ning Shuang. Using storytelling method would also avoid any side effects - making the beautiful woman beside him think he's crazy.
"You? You can tell stories too? Then, then why didn't you tell me before?" The woman's thinking was indeed different from the man's, and even at this moment, it showed a huge difference.
"If you like the stories I tell, I'll tell them to you every day from now on. For example, things that happened when I was a kid, and in military school, and many, many more - I'm just afraid you won't want to listen." Máo Sì secretly felt delighted. "Then, then I'll tell you later."
The pirates of the Black Shark Gang on Devil Island are taking collective action, for their naval dream and strong national dream. People seem to have suddenly woken up from a half-asleep state! They finally knew today what their future holds, what they should live for, and who they should fight for...
Thus, the long-abandoned training was quickly restored under the organization of young leaders such as Jin Lao and Ma Hou, and it was just like before. The pirates' enthusiasm for participating in the training was very high, and the difficulties that they were not willing to overcome before were no longer a problem now, and their progress was extremely rapid!
The older pirates continued to arrange the marriage between Mao Si and his sister...
Tonight, the important heads of the Hei Yu Bang are all gathered at the original Xiao Jie's residence, which will soon become the new home of Lao Da. The meeting that will decide the fate of the Hei Yu Bang will finalize the details and put them into action tonight.
“…Whether it's a country, an organization or a gang, the key is funding, that is, economic support. We can't expect the old bosses to leave us with inexhaustible gold mountains, and future development funds still need to be solved by ourselves. The basic industrial system we are going to build is the focus of the whole plan, and its role can be understood from two aspects: First, our means of livelihood. We have to produce machines and various products to sell out and exchange for continued development funds; Second, it will be a model for us to build industry at home in the future, which will reserve sufficient talents and practical technologies for us, and talents and technologies will also be constantly developing. For this matter, we absolutely cannot take it lightly! Everyone must find their own position in the future industrial system... If you don't understand, you can start learning from scratch. When we get there, I'll find some good teachers to teach everyone, and make arrangements according to everyone's actual situation. This computer here contains many secrets, and there are things that I still haven't figured out yet, but they will be figured out in the future. The knowledge about industrial technology that I just mentioned to everyone comes from this iron box. Look at this picture, it is a most advanced warship, more advanced than the British cruiser you saw last time. With a displacement of 28,000 tons, equipped with a diesel engine power device, and 12 14-inch (381mm) large guns. Such a warship can almost sail in any condition, whether windward or leeward, and can sail at a maximum speed of 28 knots. To use such a warship to deal with British cruisers, as long as one shell hits the opponent's key position, you can send the British warship to the bottom of the sea! However, such a warship requires a lot of technical support, and if our plan goes smoothly, maybe in less than 10 years, our navy will be equipped with many such powerful warships. Think about it, at that time, can you command or drive such a warship? This is a big guy over 180 meters long! ”Mao Si said after making everyone's eyes shine, and then raised a depressing question. His purpose was simple, just to quickly stimulate the learning interest of these illiterate pirates, and gradually transform them from sailing sailboats into naval officers who dominate the ocean. For this reason, Mao Si even planned to send these people to night school, military school...
The meeting lasted for a long time, as it involved the future direction of action for over 1,300 people from the main camp and branch camps. There were too many things to be resolved and arranged. However, Mao Si had already carefully considered these issues and provided clear and concise answers to the leaders' questions.
