Zhao Qinghu came to Shanghai to attend the meeting with this mentality.
Of course, there is also a feeling of being flattered. He didn't expect that he, who was just a reckless bandit a few months ago, would be qualified to participate in such a high-level meeting personally chaired by the chief secretary.
So when Zhou Wen called his name, although more than two months of training had allowed him to stand up like a conditioned reflex, without any psychological preparation, he was speechless for a moment and stood upright. He was standing straight, but his face was flushed.
However, there was no blame or sarcasm in the scholar's eyes, but an encouraging look.
Some of the officers around him also smiled, but it was also a kind and understanding smile, and no one looked down on him.
After calming his mind, Zhao Qinghu stammered: "Humble... humble position... I don't know which group of bandits we have to deal with, whether they are on the water or in the mountains. We need further instructions from the commander."
Zhao Qinghu clarified his thoughts in a few words, and his speech became smoother.
Zhou Wen was very satisfied with Zhao Qinghu's answer. This is what a qualified commander looks like. He must first figure out who the enemy is before he can make a correct assessment. It's not like a reckless man who has not yet figured out the situation, but slaps his chest and swears when the officer asks, as if he has everything under control. If this is the case, Zhou Wen will consider changing his commander.
But Zhou Wen was approving in his heart, but looked a little impatient on the outside: "Didn't I make it clear to you before? The water bandits and bandits within a few hundred miles around Hukou are all the targets of your Jiang Defense Brigade. You are Hukou Among the famous heroes in the world, you know better than any of us here who should be destroyed first and who should be suppressed later. I only want one result."
Zhao Qinghu was quickly calculating in his mind at this time, ranking the big and small bandits in Hukou, Jiujiang and even the Yimeng Mountain area, and then said loudly: "Sir, please give me another half a year, and we will definitely put all the bandits within 200 kilometers around Hukou into order." The water bandits and bandits have all been eliminated."
"This is not enough. After your second squadron is equipped with gunboats, I want you to go up the Yangtze River and defeat all the water bandits in the section from Hukou to Wuhan. You must formulate a plan to suppress the bandits as soon as possible after you return. Report the plan directly to Commander Chen for approval. At the same time, don’t try to make a fool of yourself. Make any demands or support. If you want guns, I’ll give you guns, if you want cannons, I’ll give you cannons. But there’s only one thing. In six months’ time, all merchant ships flying the Tiger flag on the Yangtze River will not be harassed by any water bandits. Can this be achieved?”
But Liu Ruolan, who had been lowering his head to take notes, heard something was wrong. Zhou Wen is talking about merchant ships flying the tiger flag. What will happen to the merchant ships that don’t fly the tiger flag? This is somewhat intriguing.
What a smart woman she was, she immediately understood Zhou Wen's intention.
She wondered, could it be that her own men would encourage water bandits to rob merchant ships that did not fly the tiger flag?
But when she thought of Zhou Wen's previous actions, she knew that this situation was very possible. She knew exactly what her lover was like.
And she also knew that with the frequent traffic of Yangtze River Company's cargo ships, it would be impossible to monopolize the shipping business for a long time. There must be jealous businesses and forces who will take advantage of the situation created by Zhou Wen to take a share of the pie.
And Zhou Wen is not a master who is willing to suffer losses, so he must have a series of back-ups. And this Tiger Flag is one of the back-up players.
As for how Zhou Wen hooked up with the water bandits and how to make those cargo ships that did not fly the tiger flag suffer, Liu Ruolan's intelligence immediately thought that wasn't Zhao Qinghu's Jiang Defense Brigade a bandit a few months ago? With Zhou Wen's methods, it is not easy to subdue several water bandit forces.
Even... Liu Ruolan looked at Zhao Qinghu and then at her lover, and thought in her heart that it would not be impossible for Zhao Qinghu and the others to take off their military uniforms and instantly transform from an army protecting the country and the people into water bandits.
She immediately rolled her eyes at Zhou Wen and gave him a good or bad look.
Zhou Wen felt Liu Ruolan's pair of wonderful eyes scanning his body, and knew that his plan could not be hidden from this smart woman. But he had always been very shameless in front of Liu Ruolan. After being stared at by Liu Ruolan, he still didn't blush and looked at Liu Ruolan with a puzzled look, which attracted the attention of Zhao Ying who was sitting next to Liu Ruolan.
Zhao Ying looked at the two of them with a half-smile, thinking that they had not forgotten to flirt with each other during the meeting. This made Liu Ruolan blush on her pretty face. She could only spit at Zhou Wen in her heart and quickly lowered her head to record it.
Of course, Zhou Wen is a person who cannot afford to suffer. He is not a hero or good person who is eager for justice and loves charity.
Besides, it would be fine if the people who came to take advantage were ordinary poor people. Even if Zhou Wen had to suffer a lot, he would not argue with the people, and would even help those who could help him.
But how could it be possible that the people who could operate shipping on the Yangtze River were poor people? They were definitely either profiteers or powerful people.
I have worked so hard to achieve this situation, so why should I let you have sex for nothing?
Therefore, for any ship that does not fly the tiger flag, not only will I not protect you, but I will also come to mess with you.
But how to do it, Zhou Wen is very particular about people, and naturally he will not do it himself. He has now subdued several groups of water bandits, including the Dragon King Gang who suffered a big loss on the Yangtze River No. 1 and almost helped to destroy people. .
With Bi Shunchang's relationship, it would be easy to conquer Bi Shunyi's Dragon King Gang. Besides, the Dragon King Gang had no choice. It was either to be driven out or become Zhou Wen's lackeys. There was no third option.
So Zhou Wen's plan is to let you pass smoothly if the ship flies the tiger flag. Of course, if the ship of the Yangtze River Company does not fly the tiger flag, the flag fee is not a small amount, it is at least one-third of your freight. This has to be guaranteed by relevant acquaintances. Most people will not do it even if you pay half of the shipping fee. This is equivalent to helping others steal your own business.
Even when necessary, the Jiangfang Brigade can of course turn into the Pingbo Gang Yihutang. Anyway, the few three-sailed clippers left by Pingbotang are faster than ordinary steamers, and everyone does water work. Business without capital is just a skill of eating in the old days. You don't need to train it, others can catch it easily.
However, under normal circumstances, Zhou Wen's order is that it is best not to harm human lives. But if you still have a few protective forces hidden and want to resist stubbornly, don't blame me for being incapable of seeing anything.
Of course, these are all things for later and will not be mentioned for now.
