British hegemon

Chapter 35 Taking Everything and Making Nothing

Before anyone could express their opinion, Roger had already begun dividing the class into categories.

"The first class consists of three people: Ponytail, Baldy, and Black Dog. Ponytail needs no introduction; he killed most of the pirates here. Baldy contributed to the killing of the pirate kingpin yesterday, and he's the one who gathered you all. Black Dog is still unconscious from the fight against the pirates; he's risked half his life for some credit, so I'm sure you all have no objections."

"The second group consists of Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Blackie. You three were the first to rush down with me. Fat Widow smashed the bandit's longsword in half with a hammer, which was very brave. Old Joey and Blackie were fearless in the face of danger and cooperated with Fat Widow to kill the bandit, which was also a great contribution."

"Gambler, the two hunters, and Toothless, although you were a bit late to the party, you were still quite brave, especially the gambler who was at the very front, and the two hunters both wounded the pirates. Toothless, although you didn't kill a single pirate, you participated in the raid and the capture of the ship, which was commendable. You guys are in the third tier."

Roger finished speaking and shook the bag. "Anyone objecting?"

No one dared to object to Young Master Roger, and besides, the division of merits was indeed fair, so they all expressed their agreement.

"Young Master Roger, how exactly will the money and goods be divided for this third-class merit?" the gambling addict asked, scratching his head sheepishly.

Roger went to the long table, made room for it, and poured out all the gleaming gold and silver coins from his bag.

He picked out a dozen or so gold coins, split them into four pieces with a hunting knife, and then threw them into the pile of silver coins and stirred them a few times, mixing the thin layer of gold coins with a large number of silver coins of different purities and shapes.

The styles and forms of those currencies were so varied that Roger didn't bother to distinguish them.

After mixing them thoroughly, Roger drew his hunting knife from his waist, pushed half of the gold and silver aside, and then roughly divided the remaining half into three piles.

Then, from the remaining half of the pile of money, two-thirds were removed, roughly dividing it into three piles.

Finally, what was left was divided into four piles.

"I've said it before, if you follow me and are willing to risk your life, you can make a lot of money."

"The first pile goes to Ponytail, Baldy, and Blackie. Blackie is still asleep, so you two can choose one in turn. The rest is Blackie's. You can pick whatever you like from the goods over there. But since you've taken the most money, don't be too greedy, or you might overeat."

"The second pile goes to Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Blackie. You three take turns choosing. Each of you can choose three items from the remaining items on the table."

"The third pile belongs to the gambler, the two hunters, and the one with the missing tooth; you can choose in turn. After the first few people have chosen, each of you can pick three items."

"After you've chosen what's left, let the guys outside come in and get it. They did their part too; you get the meat, they deserve a sip of soup."

Roger lightly weighed the hunting knife in his hand. "If you agree to my method, you can begin."

The people in the room hesitated for a moment, but the woman with the ponytail immediately responded. She picked up the coins from the first pile of money on the table and put them in her pocket. Then she took the roll of Italian silk and the coat and breeches of the second leader of the sea monster from the long table.

The bald man also stepped forward and took the money, but he only took the second leader's remaining leather boots, belt, and wine flask from the wooden table. Then he picked out the third leader's clean outer garment and said, "Ponytail and I already have clothes. This one is for Black Dog. We'll give it to him when he wakes up."

Roger couldn't help but look up at the bald man with a serious expression.

The remaining people took turns to collect their share of gold and silver, and each also took a dozen or so slightly valuable items such as wool, linen, iron pots, and oil lamps.

Although those who received less money wanted to take more, the ponytail and bald man had set a good example, so they were naturally too embarrassed to make a big fuss.

The coins on the table had been taken away, leaving only tattered clothes, earthenware pots, wine bags, plates, wooden spoons, cheese, candles, and other odds and ends.

At this moment, the fat widow opened the mill door, beckoning the "bandit-suppression army" henchmen who had been peeking through the crack in the door for a while to rush in and share the leftovers...

Cheers and jubilation erupted both inside and outside the mill.

After the goods were distributed, Roger had Baldy, Ponytail, Toothless, Gambler, two hunters, and a few other somewhat reliable men, along with two honest fishermen who knew how to operate sails, carry Black Dog onto the pirate ship. They then escorted the three prisoners and the weapons and armor retrieved from the "warriors" to the pirate ship.

Roger and the rest of the men sat quietly in the drying yard outside the mill, waiting for Brodick's men to arrive. During this time, several villagers from Locklanza came up, crying and begging to get back the bodies of their pirate friends and relatives.

After Roger learned that the two pirates were just henchmen who had been coerced, he agreed to let them take the body.

The sun was rising higher and higher, and Roger estimated that it was already 11 a.m. Just as he was getting impatient, two figures came from the direction of Locklanza Village in the south. Upon closer inspection, they were Bitter Gourd Face and the young horseman riding a mixed horse and a donkey.

Before they even got close, the two hurriedly jumped off their horses. When they saw the long row of naked, bloody, or purplish-black corpses on the open ground beside Roger, both the old and the young were filled with terror, their faces turned ashen, and their lips twitched.

"Roger...Young...Young Master, did you kill all of these?" The man with the bitter face was so frightened that his lips turned black, and the young horse groom stood behind him with his head down, not daring to open his eyes.

Roger didn't have time to explain last night's raid. He asked in a low voice, "White-faced John and the others didn't come?"

"They're behind us. That thug led us down the main road. We'll be there soon. We were worried about you, so we went ahead..." The man with the bitter face couldn't help but glance at the row of corpses again before turning his head away.

Roger glanced indifferently at the corpse-drying area and whispered to the old man and the young man, "Take the path behind you to Shelter Cape. There's a ship there, and it's mine now. Hurry up and board the ship to wait for me. Baldy and the others have already gone aboard."

With a bitter expression, he glanced to the north and saw a wooden boat with its sails already raised on a promontory not far away.

The man with the bitter face didn't really want to go, but nowadays young master Roger was becoming increasingly unpredictable, so he had to keep a close eye on him to avoid causing trouble again.

"Young Master Roger, what about our horses and mules? These animals have never been on a ship before, and I'm afraid we can't pull them up." The man with the bitter face pointed to a horse and a mule behind him, as well as the blue mule that was tied up in the hay shed outside the mill along with the horses from Brodick Castle. These animals all belonged to Milk House Estate.

"I'll handle it, you two go up first." Roger's words left no room for negotiation. The old man and the young man were also shocked by the rows of corpses in front of them and dared not disobey. They quickly tied up their horses and donkeys and headed towards the land.

"Fat Widow, Old Joey, Blackie, come here." Roger beckoned the three men over.