236: Chapter 234 Idealist 236: Chapter 234 Idealist Maide’s idea was simple, but undeniably effective.
History had proven time and again that gaining the people’s hearts often meant success, a fact corroborated by many historical instances.
Of course, just talking about it wouldn’t suffice; it all depended on how Maide would act.
If one had a beautiful vision but poor execution, it would all be empty talk, and idealists usually lacked the means to fulfill their ideals.
Gao Yang was just a passerby in Somalia; he had no concerns whether it would get better or worse.
He also believed that the Skull Gang wouldn’t end up well, for Maide’s alliance would certainly face backlash from the pirates, possibly even getting strangled in its cradle by a collusion of pirates and maritime security companies.
As for foreign national powers intervening, the Skull Gang wasn’t quite significant enough yet.
But if they grew strong enough, foreign interference was almost inevitable.
Still, it had to be said that if Maide’s ideals were as noble as he claimed, he would be a great man, or at the very least, a great Pioneer.
Unfortunately, pioneers often had short lives.
Gao Yang and Li Jinfang fell silent, uncertain of what to say, especially Gao Yang.
He now felt that he might be speaking with a person who would one day be mentioned in world history textbooks, giving him a sense of witnessing history.
After a long silence, Gao Yang spoke in a deep voice, “Why tell us this?
We’re not enemies, but we can hardly call ourselves friends.
Why would you share all this with us?”
Maide spread his hands and looked puzzled, “Why not?
My friend, I have no intention of hiding my aspirations from anyone.
I want to clearly express my ideas and dreams to everyone.
I hope more people will join me in this cause, and I hope for more understanding and support.
When we collect tolls, I wish people understood why we do it.
You two are the first foreigners I’ve met since returning to Somalia, and I wanted to share my vision with the whole world.
That is why I discuss these matters with you, in hopes that you’ll pass my words on to any ship owners you know.”
Gao Yang shook his head, “As I’ve said before, aspirations are beautiful, but your path will undoubtedly be tough.
In the end, it’s all about interests.
You’ve harmed the interests of many, and they will not let the Skull Gang expand without opposition.”
Maide nodded, “I know.
But I still need to voice my thoughts to the world.
The road to victory is fraught with thorns; it’s impossible to win without bleeding.
If someone is fated to fall on this path, I don’t mind being the first.
As long as I’ve given them an ideal, regardless of whether I fall, we will eventually win.”
After speaking, Maide pursed his lips and swung his fist, saying solemnly, “Somalia is not India, so we can’t produce a Gandhi.
Somalia is not South Africa, so we can’t produce a Mandela.
But I hope to be Somalia’s Maide.
Even if I die, Somalia will surely produce its own heroes.”
Gao Yang nodded and said solemnly, “It’s a pity we can’t help you much, but if you’d like, I can tell others what you’ve said to me.”
Maide smiled, “I’m a doctor.
When it comes to combat, I’ve only started halfway through and I’m almost useless.
Luckily, I have areas where I can be effective.
Gentlemen, I must go and placate the captives now, hoping they will join the Alliance of Fairness and Justice.
If you want to leave now, I can have Abu escort you out.
But if you’re not in a hurry, please wait for me.
I’d like to talk more with you both.”
After Maide left, Gao Yang didn’t want to leave just yet.
He contacted Glolov and the others with the walkie-talkie, explained his situation, and told them to wait calmly for his news without worrying.
From what he could see, the Skull Gang posed no real threat to them.
Maide climbed atop a car in front of the captured pirates, had the crouching captives stand up, and began his speech in Somali.
Although Gao Yang couldn’t understand what Maide was saying, it seemed quite powerful.
The captives quickly shifted from cowering fear to confusion and then to joy.
In the end, they began clapping and cheering wildly.
Gao Yang and Li Jinfang stood on the beach, unattended and watched as Maide successfully turned the pirates into his supporters.
As the atmosphere grew increasingly fervent, Li Jinfang suddenly said, “Brother Yang, I think he might just make it.”
Gao Yang nodded, “Who knows?
But whether or not he succeeds, at least Maide has the conviction of victory.
That’s enough for me.
I was thinking we could let Rabbit and the others come ashore too, and have Fernando bring his crew as well.
The speedboat can’t go far, it’s impossible to reach the main shipping lanes.
Plus, Maide might help us get the Cloldylin back.”
Li Jinfang nodded as well, “I doubt it.
He has no reason to help us.
But we can still ask.
Even if it costs us, getting the Cloldylin back would be good.
If we lost it, we need to get it back.
As long as Maide is willing to use his ship to take us there, that would be enough.”
The so-called Pirate Village was actually just a fishing village, where the villagers fished for a living and sometimes moonlighted as pirates, or rather, were pirates who moonlighted as fishermen.
Maide’s speech lasted for about an hour, and by the time it ended, those captives could no longer be called captives.
The energetic young men seemed to have already defected to the Skull Gang, and some of the women and children started sobbing as they began to collect the bodies of those Gao Yang and the Skull Gang had killed.
Watching the captives move freely, albeit without their weapons, Gao Yang couldn’t help but frown.
He knew that a good portion of the bodies laid out on the beach had been killed by their own hands.
After Maide walked back in front of Gao Yang, Gao Yang pointed at the pirates and frowned, saying, “You’re just letting them go like this?
The battle has just ended, they’ve lost so many people, aren’t you afraid they’ll cause trouble for your men?”
Maide chuckled and said, “Actually, they’re all fishermen.
Becoming pirates isn’t necessarily by choice.
And even if they hijack a ship, the money they get is very little.
So once I ensured that following me would mean they wouldn’t go hungry, they became my people.
As for the many that died, don’t you know the Somalis’ attitude towards death?
It’s poverty and hunger they fear, not death.
They can’t afford to worry about dying, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
After speaking, Maide let out a long sigh and continued, “For the people in this village, what’s death when they can’t even fill their bellies?
They risk being pirates, and the money they rob is taken away by those who control them, so they know whom to hate.”
Gao Yang didn’t know what to say, so he kept silent.
Maide gave a bitter smile and said solemnly, “In Somalia, life is cheap.
In the fight just now, we killed eighteen of them, and we lost eleven.
Fortunately, we killed the pirate leader who was controlling them; otherwise, the death toll would have been higher.
With that said, I have to admire you guys.
You had few men, but you were formidable.”
After a moment of silence, Gao Yang said gravely, “Good soldiers aren’t afraid of dying, but not fearing death doesn’t make one a good soldier.
We’re mercenaries; fighting is our profession.
But those pirates, they only know how to shoot.”
“Exactly, you’re professionals.
You’ve received proper training, whereas we’re just civilians who picked up guns.
With that said, I just had an idea.
Could you help us train soldiers?
They don’t need to be as formidable as you are, but they should at least possess the basic qualities of soldiers,” Maide responded.
Upon hearing Maide’s words, Gao Yang was taken aback, but he then shook his head and said, “That’s not possible.”
Maide looked puzzled and asked, “Why not?
Aren’t you mercenaries?
And mercenaries can do anything, right?
Of course, the premise is that you need to be paid, and we can pay you.
We have money and you can name your price, as long as we can afford it.”
“Why us?
If you have money, you could hire anyone to train your people,” Gao Yang questioned.
Maide looked dejected as he responded to Gao Yang’s question with a bitter smile, “Please, the Skull Gang was only formed less than a month ago.
We have no connections to find someone to train us.
In fact, even though we have money, we have nowhere to spend it.
We can’t find sellers for arms, nor food, not to mention professional military instructors.
So I’m asking you to seriously consider our offer.
We can pay, we have money, and we’re just asking for a quote.
If you really don’t want to train our people, you could recommend others to us.”
Gao Yang and his colleagues were not philanthropists and wouldn’t help Maide just because he had a noble and grand ideal.
Gao Yang thought that Maide might actually have some money, but whether it was enough to meet his requirements was highly questionable.
After shrugging his shoulders, Gao Yang said with regret, “Sorry, we really can’t help you right now.
The ship we’re protecting is still in the pirates’ hands.
Whether we can retake the ship or not, at least we have to ensure the safety of the rescued crew members before considering any other tasks.”
Maide immediately said with absolute certainty, “This area is now our territory.
We’ll help you retake the ship, and that’s on the house.
I’ve seen your strength, and I hope you can help the Skull Gang train soldiers.
You can come after finishing your current mission.
As for your commission, I’m not sure about your rates, so I will just make a guess…
So, how about one million US dollars?
Cash, paid upfront!” (To be continued.
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