Sima Rulan looked at the other people in front of the round table. Chai Lin and Gu Zhengyuan definitely advocated not opening the city gate. Judging from their expressions, Zhu Zi and Gongola also had the same view. Only Hua Bushi looked calm. , sitting at the bottom with his head lowered, but he didn’t know what he was thinking.

She could only place her hope on the young master and asked, "Mr. Hua, do you have any good ideas to save the indigenous people outside the city gate?"

Hearing Sima Rulan's inquiry, Hua Bushi raised his head, but did not answer, but asked: "How many Baba indigenous people are there in total on Dacang Island?"

Yao Yuanxiao said: "There are more than 150 Baba villages on the entire island. Each village has as few as a hundred people and as many as seven or eight hundred people. There are also several large tribes with more than a thousand people. In total, The total number of indigenous people is 70,000 to 80,000."

Hua Bushi said: "So, the more than 3,000 people who entered the city yesterday and the 5,000 people who fled outside the city gate today are only a small part of the indigenous people on the island. The destruction of the village by the 'Black Dragon Palace' must be All the indigenous people on the island must be driven to Okura Castle. If we want to save them, Okura Castle must accept 70,000 to 80,000 people."[

Gu Zhengyuan said in shock: "Seventy thousand or eighty thousand people? The population of Okura City is only fifty thousand now. It's okay if another seventy or eighty thousand natives come in. This is absolutely impossible!"

Sima Rulan's face also showed a look of frustration and sadness. If there were only a few thousand people, Okura City might be able to accommodate them, but 70,000 to 80,000 natives were too many, and it would be too difficult to save them!

Hua Bushi pondered for a while, then said: "But from my point of view, it is not completely impossible to allow these 70,000 to 80,000 natives to enter the city."

Yao Yuanxiao said: "What do you say, Master Hua? These 70,000 to 80,000 people coming to the city to settle here will definitely cause chaos. The food in the city is not enough for them. Moreover, if so many people are allowed to crowd into the city, the Dragon Palace will be destroyed." The tribesmen can also sneak into the city among them. At that time, Okura Castle will probably be attacked by pirates immediately! I think this matter does not need to be discussed anymore. Anyway, the natives must not be allowed to enter the city again! "

Hua Bushi shook his head and said: "Such a large number of natives entering the city will indeed cause a lot of trouble, but it is not impossible to solve. As long as it is handled properly, Okura City can also accommodate it."

Chai Lin on the side said: "Master Hua said this, does he have a good idea?"

Hua Bushi said: "Let's talk about resettlement first. In fact, there are many houses in Okura City. As long as the people in the city are willing to make do with it, even if it is crowded, they should be able to barely accommodate 780,000 or 80,000 indigenous people. However, most Han people look down on the indigenous people. He just dislikes their filthiness and refuses to let them live in his house."

Sima Rulan said: "Mr. Hua is right! There are many houses in the city, and our city lord's mansion has many vacant rooms. In the small building where I live, I asked Xiaohong to sleep with me upstairs. You can give it to the female dependents of the indigenous people!"

Yao Yuanxiao said: "Although the eldest lady does not think Baba is dirty, even if the entire city lord's mansion is given to the indigenous people, it can only accommodate more than a thousand people at most, which is just a drop in the bucket for the 78,000 or 80,000 indigenous people. I We cannot force the residents in the city to give up their houses. Opening the city gates and putting in the indigenous people will be opposed by the majority of the people. Now the people's sentiment in the city is unstable. It would be really inappropriate if we continue to forcefully requisition private houses. !”

Hua Bushi said: "Forced house expropriation is inappropriate, but we can let the people voluntarily give up their houses. Although the Han people in the city don't like the indigenous Babas, most of them love money. As long as we spend some silver to expropriate the houses, I believe There are many people who are willing to respond.”

Sima Rulan clapped her hands and said: "That's right! If we use the silver to rent people's houses, they will definitely be willing to rent!"

Yao Yuanxiao said: "renting a house is a solution, but these 70,000 to 80,000 natives must rent at least tens of thousands of houses. The amount of money spent during this period is by no means a small amount, but who will bear the money?" ?”

Sima Rulan said: "We, 'Wanjintang', have also made some money over the years, it's up to us to bear it!"

Hua Bushi smiled slightly and said: "Miss Lan'er is certainly generous, but in my opinion, guarding Okura City is related to the interests of everyone in the city. It is not just a matter for the 'Wanjintang' family. Everyone who does business in the city All commercial banks should fulfill certain obligations. I think everyone understands the principle of giving money if you have money and giving efforts if you have strength."

When he said this, he looked at Gu Zhengyuan, Zhu Zi and Gongola who were at the table. These three were all shrewd businessmen, so how could they not understand what the young master meant.

Gu Zhengyuan said: "Okay, boss Zhu and I will contact the merchants in the city tomorrow and ask everyone to donate money. I think it will be no problem to raise hundreds of thousands of silver taels."

Gongola also immediately spoke out and expressed his willingness to take the lead in calling on various fleet companies from Western countries in the city to donate money.

Okura City was a transit place for merchants from the East and the West for ocean trade. There were hundreds of shipping companies from various countries in the city. When it came to the level of wealth, I am afraid that no city in the Ming Dynasty could compare with this distant city. A trading city on the overseas ocean.

Therefore, there will never be a shortage of silver to defend the city, which is also the advantage of Okura Castle.[

Hua Bushi said: "When we let the natives advance into the city, in order to prevent the spies of the 'Black Dragon Palace' from taking the opportunity to sneak in, in my opinion, we can first explain it to the leaders of each tribe and ask them to count the heads of their tribes, and then we will let them go one by one. People from each village will enter the city. People who do not belong to their tribe will not be allowed in. Xinlika, the elder of Mori Village who entered the city the day before yesterday, is a trustworthy person, and he can be allowed to cooperate with those Babas. Communicating with the leaders of the tribes will definitely be of great help.”

Chai Lin said: "The matter of identifying spies can be solved as long as the indigenous Babas entering the city are interrogated. However, with so many indigenous people entering the city, the population of Okura City has more than doubled. The food reserves are insufficient, does Mr. Hua have any solution?"

Resettlement can be solved with silver coins, and pirate spies can be prevented with inventory and inventory, but there is only so much grain stored in Okura City. No matter how resourceful Hua Bushi is, it is impossible to conjure grain out of thin air. Chai Lin's When I asked, I got to the crux of the matter.

Sure enough, Hua Bushi pondered for a long time before saying: "It is indeed a good idea to store food. Now the food in the city is only enough for 50,000 people to eat for three or four months. If the indigenous people are allowed to enter the city, the population will increase by 70,000 to 80,000." People, no matter how careful they are, can only survive for a month and a half before running out of food."

Yao Yuanxiao said: "The purpose of the 'Black Dragon Palace' pirates' move is to consume the food and grass in the city. When the food is used up, Okura City will be destroyed without attack. Therefore, we still cannot let those indigenous people go." Enter the city!”

Hua Bushi said: "This is not necessarily the case. If we manage to repel the pirates of the Black Dragon Palace within a month and a half and lift the blockade of Okura City, we can still save tens of thousands of indigenous people."

Yao Yuanxiao said: "Now the strength of the ships and manpower in the city is far behind the pirates of the Dragon Palace tribe. It is already very difficult to defend the city, so how can we repel them within a month and a half?"

Hua Bushi said: "With the existing ship manpower of Okura City, there is no chance of winning this battle. To repel the pirates, we must think of other ways."

Upon hearing this, Chai Lin's expression changed and he asked, "Master Hua said this, does he already have a plan to defeat the enemy?"

Hua Bushi said: "We don't have enough combat power. If we want to retreat from the enemy, we can only borrow external forces. Now in the South China Sea, there is only one force that can compete with the 'Black Dragon Palace' pirates, and only they can come within a month and a half." Support Okura Island.”

The "Black Dragon Palace" is the king of pirates in the South China Sea. The so-called "Seven Bandits" who plundered along the coast are nothing like ants compared to the "Black Dragon Palace". Chai Lin and Yao are not the same. For a moment, Yuan Xiao didn't think about which company Hua Bushi said could compete with the "Black Dragon Palace".

But it was the Spanish nobleman Gongola who reacted faster and said: "Is what Mr. Hua said about the navy of the Ming Dynasty court?"

As soon as Gongola said this, Chai Lin waved his hands and said: "Master Hua wants to borrow the navy of the Ming Dynasty, but he can't! The ocean trade on Okura Island is illegal smuggling in the eyes of the government, and the navy of the imperial court will not come. The conquest is a blessing, but if you want them to deal with the pirates, it will be like luring the tiger away and driving the wolf away, and it will be difficult to save Okura City!"

Hua Bushi said: "Of course I can't wait to attract the imperial officers and soldiers, but there is one person who may be able to accomplish this, but only if Miss Lan'er is willing to spare his life."

Sima Rulan's face darkened and she said, "What are you talking about, is my father's murderer Cao Muyun again?"

Hua Bushi said: "Mr. Muyun is the adopted son of Emperor Chongzhen. The Cao family is extremely powerful in the current imperial court, and Mr. Cao also has secret decrees. He can mobilize important officials from various provinces to listen to him. If he is allowed to go to Guangdong We can mobilize the Ming Navy fleet to help Okura Island, and we will most likely succeed."

Yao Yuanxiao said: "This matter is absolutely unacceptable! That boy named Cao assassinated Sima City Lord. He should have been cut into pieces long ago to pay tribute to the city Lord's heroic spirit in heaven. How could he be let go so easily!"
Chapter completed!