"People from nearby inds are fleeing towards us; we''ve already taken in over 400 refugees who''ve smuggled themselves overtely," Tagg said as he entered the room, first pouring himself a hot cup of water before drinking and discussing the recent happenings.


    When people can no longer survive, the mere whisper of a lifeline nearby is enough to tempt some to take a chance and venture out.


    Recently, with more and more ships passing by Dongwan Ind, many inhabitants of surrounding inds started to harbor thoughts of smuggling themselves over to Dongwan Ind. Some, in a bid to survive, had already done so.


    "That many?" Dino put down the document he was holding and looked at Tagg.


    The busiest territory of the Great Tang Group was now Dongwan Ind, bustling with construction sites and endless tasks every day.


    In just over two months'' time, you could even see chimneys puffing thick smoke near Dongwan City.


    Near these factories, one could faintly hear the roar of machinery; those assembled devices,rger than houses, were an entirely novel sight for everyone in Dongwan City.


    They were curious about everything because the supplies from the Great Tang Group seemed endless! Luxuries like sugar and salt, once unthinkable to indulge in, were now provided without limit and could be freely traded in stores.


    Working for the Great Tang Group meant ess to various subsidies, provisions like firewood, rice, oil, and salt; themoners of Dongwan City were experiencing unprecedented happiness.


    Everywhere was a scene of bustling activity; everyone was working as if their lives depended on it, some overseeing goblins carrying stones, others employed in Dongwan City''s newly established administration.


    After spending many days together, they had grown to like and be ustomed to the Tang People''s way of doing things, and they had alsoe to understand what true power meant.


    This was no longer a simple matter of crushing with guns and artillery; it was a multi-dimensional, all-epassing blow that prated every detail.


    In the administrative offices of the Great Tang Group, even a casual form exuded an air of icy efficiency and precision. By simply referring to it, those in charge could easily assess the situation, controlling the most core and critical data.


    Complex data corroborated each other; no chance for falsification as any single department trying to fabricate data would be quickly exposed during the cross-referencing process, inevitably attracting the scrutiny of the supervisory departments.


    All the methods employed by the Great Tang Group were far more advanced and refined than anything in Zheng Country. Thisprehensive leap into modernization made the original inhabitants of Dongwan Ind realize that the Tang People''s victory was no ident, and not merely due to advanced weaponry.


    Baus worked tirelessly, bustling between Fengshun City and Dongwan City, busy and seemingly content. So busy he''d be that he had even lost a considerable amount of weight, appearing more spirited.


    Dino had been upied with the Dongwan Ind port situationtely, his primary concern being the docks and shipyards.


    Seeing the busy Dino raise his head, Tagg nodded and continued, "Yes, they brought a lot of intelligence from the surrounding inds."


    "..." Dino didn''t open his mouth but looked at Tagg, waiting for the General to continue sharing the intelligence he''d gathered.


    Without making Dino wait, Tagg proceeded, "Firstly, since the troops from the Sheng Country upied Dongwan Ind, many local officials of Zheng Country have fled from the neighboring inds, causing the administrative order to copse into chaos."


    In other words, most of the surrounding inds were now in a state of anarchy and disorganization. Dino just pinched his chin in thought without offering an opinion.


    "What''s left of the regr army has mostly fled too, only scattered soldiers remain, banding together, living day to day," Tagg continued, "They''re essentially no different from bandits now, with weakbat capabilities and disordered organization."


    At this point, Dino could hear the eagerness in Tagg''s voice, but he wasn''t in a hurry and kept listening to Tagg''s ongoing report. Experience tales at empire


    Tagg, straightforward as always and without waiting for Dino''s opinion, went on, "It''s precisely because of the total absence of order that those who wield power often escte their exploitation of the local poption, making life unbearable for civilians on these inds."


    Dino nodded, still remaining silent.


    "Later, when Sheng Country dyed its attack on these surrounding inds, those escaped Zheng Country local officials came back," Tagg recalled the old fisherman who had been brought before him the day before to report, as well as the timid granddaughter.


    The grandfather and granddaughter had never seen fake ham stuffed with starch and grains orrge cuts of pork, nor the exotic spices from various ces.


    As they ate, they talked about their ind, one-third the size of Dongwan Ind, where they lived.@@novelbin@@


    They spoke of the bandits there, of the corrupt official who shirked his duties, and of the hundred thousand civilians living in misery on the ind.


    Poverty and hunger constantly loomed over these pitiful people, who struggled to survive like walking corpses, their clothes unable to cover their emaciated bodies.


    The old fisherman even knelt down to Tagg right there, crying and begging him to rescue those who could only afford half a meal a day.


    His son had been tortured to death by hunger, and his daughter-inw had been defiled and killed by the bandits of Zheng Country who had turned to piracy on the ind.


    In order to seek revenge, the old man was even willing to follow the punitive forces back to lead the way for the security troops of the Great Tang Group.


    "They are already powerless to control these officials turned bandits, so in the end, they could only strike deals with these people, allowing them to continue plundering the civilians, as long as they could provide some tax revenue." Thinking of this, Tagg sighed and continued, "Thus, the officials of Zheng Country became protectors of the bandits, and the bandits'' looting became legalized… The local civilians suffered terribly, and the fishermen couldn''t even support themselves."


    "The fishermen can''t catch fish?" Dino was taken aback, asking in disbelief.


    "Yes, ording to the intelligence provided by the fleeing fishermen, the enemy has taken over the better fishing vessels, leaving only the rest to fish near the coast, which means the catch has be increasingly scarce, and they still have to pay taxes…" Tagg exined.


    "They''re really hitting them hard." Dino was shocked, then there was a trace of anger towards thewless robbers on the ind, he remarked with a wry smile.


    Tagg nodded again, "Yes, so I asked for instructions from the master, providing this intelligence. Since they only need to provide some tax revenue, why shouldn''t we upy these inds?"


    "The master? The master approved your n?" Hearing that Tagg consulted Tang Mo, Dino''s expression became even more serious, "This could provoke a war, a war between us and Zheng Country."


    "Yes. The master approved my n." Tagg smiled, "There are no regr troops of Zheng Country on the inds anymore, our actions won''t be exposed."


    It was actually easy to understand, the bandits on the inds were in no position to contact officialdom, as they didn''t exist on the records in the first ce.


    Now, ording to the official records of Zheng Country, there were no regr garrisons on these inds, only so-called "civilian forces maintaining order". As for howbat ready these forces were, how many people theyprised, or what equipment they had, Zheng Country''s side was clueless.


    Therefore, eliminating these bandit troops was something no one would question. The risk of doing so was virtually the same as directly ughtering the officials of Zheng Country on these inds.


    "Are you confident?" Dino asked knowingly.


    Of course, he knew that the officials on these inds would have tomunicate with coastal towns of Zheng Country if they wished to report anything.


    The officials in these towns were already being bribed by the Great Tang Group, busy embezzling funds for their retirements while deceiving their superiors and subordinates; they hardly had time to care about a few isted inds out at sea.


    They wouldn''t even need additional bribes, a mere word from Dino, and officials of Zheng Country in these coastal cities would keep their mouths shut, turning a blind eye to Great Tang Group''s operations at sea.


    Tagg had obviously thought of this too, even seizing on the key point of taxation: "I personally feel very confident. We only need to pay a small amount of tax to secure these inds."


    Indeed, as long as the tax was paid on time, with a few extra Gold Coins passed along, no one in Zheng Country would know that these inds were lost.


    As for whether those local officials who coborated with the thieves to bully their own people were dead or alive, it was a small matter that concerned no one.


    In the remote seas, isted in the far reaches, shrouded in filth,cking doctors and medicine, who would care if a few insignificant officials perished from illness?


    "Is there any benefit?" Dino asked almost rhetorically, sure that his workload on Dongwan Ind was about to increase: "It isn''t a trap of some sort, is it, false intelligence?"


    "The confessions have beenpared and verified, and these bandits and officials on the indsck the wit for such deceit," Tagg replied, visibly ted, "During the process of upying these inds, we can practice amphibious warfare. By taking the inds, we can gain some poption. Moreover, the operation will ensure the security of Dongwan Ind."


    "I think… it''s feasible. When do you n to move?" Dino resigned himself to the fact that soon he would be managing several inds, neither too big nor too small.


    "Today," Tagg answered earnestly, "Before I came here, the fleet had already set out. The first campaign of the newly established Navy Marine Corps First Regiment is highly anticipated."


    "Indeed, but more than that… I''m looking forward to a full-scale war with Zheng Country," Dino lowered his head again, returning to the documents before him.


    He didn''t mind that Tagg had mobilized the military without consulting him because Tagg was directly responsible to Tang Mo on military matters, and he had no authority to interfere. That Tagg hade to brief him on the situation was already showing respect to him, the Governor of Dongwan Ind.