After a night of revelry, Yang Ge and others had to face the copious bloodshed.
The Ming Sect, with five thousand followers, lost one thousand three hundred twenty-six and had over two thousand four hundred injured.
The recruiting camp with two thousand soldiers had seven hundred ninety-eight fatalities, with the rest nearly all wounded.
The nine hundred embroidered guards from the top-right division had seventy-nine dead and one hundred seven injured.
Lianhuan Fort, with over one thousand four hundred experts, lost two hundred fifty-seven and had three hundred thirty-six wounded.
The Xiang Family’s three hundred kin-soldiers lost thirty-four, with thirty-three injured...
With less than ten thousand troops, facing over twenty thousand pirates, they annihilated the enemy at the cost of two thousand four hundred ninety-four of their own—an outcome that, detailed in any time or place, could be regarded as a great victory.
But human life isn’t just a number.
It seemed as if it was only at this moment that Yang Ge suddenly realized that human life wasn’t a number.
In the faint light of dawn, they lay side by side, silently sleeping on the soft sand, peacefully resting in the salty sea breeze.
It was as if, when the sun would rise as usual, they would rise comfortably as they had on any other unremarkable morning, stretching leisurely and with a smile, excitedly telling their companions about the wonderful dream they had had the night before...
Yang Ge walked back and forth among them without saying a word.
No one knew what he was thinking, but they could feel the pressure around him growing heavier, see his steps becoming more labored, see his spine slowly collapsing...
Everyone wanted to persuade him to take it easy.
They wanted to tell him that life and death were predestined.
They wanted to tell him that they had died honourably.
But no one could bring themselves to speak...
The morning sun finally rose above the sea, bathing their still faces in a ruddy glow.
Dawn had broken.
But they would never wake again...
Yang Ge stood in the morning sun for a long time, gazing at them, and finally, with a heavy heart, knelt down and kowtowed three times, mustering his True Qi to shout with all his might, "Brothers, may your journey be peaceful!"
In an instant, everyone on the beach, whether sitting or standing, knelt down together, frantically shouting, "Brothers, may your journey be peaceful!"
The cries echoed back and forth across the strait, as if joined by the voices of two thousand four hundred ninety-four additional souls.
...
After cleaning up the battlefield, the leaders of the six contingents met for the last time.
Yang Ge, "How much silver is there from the battle spoils?"
Wei Xin, who coordinated everything, glanced towards Wang Zeng with a meaningful look and replied, "Second Master, the pirates’ leftover weapons and firearms can all be purchased by the Ming Sect at market price, but these fifty-eight ships ashore..."
Understanding the hint, Wang Zeng quickly responded, "The ships are easy to discuss. As long as the ships are on the sea, I, Wang, will buy them all at the price of new ships, including the cannons on board!"
The ambush had been launched following two rounds of pirate landings, and the ships used by these pirates remained moored by the shore. Even if bombarded and unable to sail far, they were merely stranded and fully capable of being repaired. The actual number of pirate ships sunk at sea was less than one-third...
These pirates engaged in maritime plundering, operating medium-sized vessels that accommodated one hundred to three hundred people.
By current prices at the Fujian Shipyard—the key factory for significant ships in Wei—a medium-sized ten-zhang ship costs four hundred Silver Taels, with basic equipment costing an additional two hundred Taels, totaling six hundred Taels. Including the cannons... it would not be less than one thousand Taels!
That was just the production cost. Considering the markup when selling to pirates... for Wang Zeng to acquire a fully equipped medium-sized ship under the officials’ noses, it would not be less than two thousand Taels.
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Yang Ge looked at Wang Zeng and said indifferently, "Double it... you know yourself that at this price, you’re guaranteed a profit."
He wasn’t referring to the markup Wang Zeng would pay for the ships.
But rather to the price befitting the true king of East Sea pirates.
Upon hearing this, everyone present turned their gaze towards Wang Zeng.
Wang Zeng hastily clasped his fists all around, "The price is entirely up to Second Master to decide... but I, Wang, can only scrape together sixty thousand taels of silver right now, the rest will need a three to five months’ delay."
Yang Ge nodded and stated straightforward, "Three months, put it in writing, if overdue I’ll come to collect personally!"
Wang Zeng hesitated for a moment, then firmly committed, "Agreed, let’s do as Second Master says!"
As soon as his words fell, Wei Xin immediately approached with a ledger, discussing the prices of the various ships ashore with Wang Zeng.
Soon, he had tallied up the entire account and reported to Yang Ge, bowing, "Reporting to Second Master, a rough tally puts all the spoils at around one hundred fifty thousand Silver Taels, with a margin of error not exceeding three thousand Taels, of which fifty-five thousand Taels will be paid within three months by Wang Cheng."
One hundred fifty thousand taels?
Upon hearing this number, even though those present were leaders of their respective contingents and not lacking in means, they all held their breath momentarily.
Yang Ge looked around and whispered, "Blood is thicker than water, but even brothers settle accounts; each family should send one person to participate in the auditing."
"Once the five families have completed the audit, half of the silver obtained should be distributed as a consolation to the widows of all our fallen brothers."
"Regardless of which contingent you are from, and whether you have other forms of consolation or not, everyone shall be treated equally!"
"The other half will then be divided into five parts: two parts to those who have suffered disabilities, one part to those who were injured, and the remaining two parts equally among all brothers who participated in the battle."
"That means, all brothers who are disabled or injured will receive two shares of money: one for being injured or disabled, and another for participation in the battle."