British hegemon

Chapter 34 Dividing the Spoils

A small mountain, about half a person's height, was piled up on the long wooden table in the mill.

Scottish wool, Flemish cloth, Italian silk, the leader's outer garments and belts, the bandits' inner leather boots, the henchmen's worn-out shoes and blankets, as well as earthenware pots, wine bags, iron pots, plates, wooden spoons, cheese, oil lamps, candles...

Everything Roger permitted was searched and looted by the "bandit-suppressing warriors".

At the very top of the hill was a cloth bag filled with various gold and silver coins, totaling nearly two thousand pieces after a rough count, worth more than three pounds.

These were mainly obtained from the iron chests in the sterncastle where the pirate captain lived, and some were scraped off the bodies of the two captains, as well as the bandits and henchmen.

Of course, Roger didn't intend to distribute all the captured gold and silver. So, the most valuable items, such as large gold coins, silver plates, cutlery, wine glasses, and several exquisite ceramic items, silver brooches, enamel swan pendants, and crosses, were taken out in front of a few trusted men and put back into the iron box. These items were estimated to be worth around five pounds.

Roger took possession of all the gold and silver items, along with the pirate ship. No one objected or dared to make any wrong moves, as it was rightfully Roger's due.

In addition, all the captured weapons and armor, including a crude cloth-covered iron armor, two sets of half-body chainmail, four cotton armors, five disc-shaped iron helmets, six shields, ten long and short iron spears, five longswords of various colors with armor belts, five single bows and short crossbows with dozens of arrows, as well as machetes, axes, and iron hammers, were all loaded onto the pirate ship by Roger. He had no intention of distributing these items.

Roger didn't even intend to return the weapons and armor he took from Brodick Castle's armory, so naturally he wouldn't hand them over to Whiteface John.

He planned to exchange these weapons and armor for a large sum of gold and silver after his cheap baron uncle returned, so as to accumulate enough funds for his planned southward and eastward return.

Roger had already sent Gray Rat with an islander back to Brodick Castle to deliver the message. He had to divide up all the spoils seized from the pirates before Whiteface John and his men arrived, lest they become the envy of others.

At this moment, a unique commendation meeting was being held in front of a small hill with a long table.

The dozen or so warriors who followed Roger into the mill last night are now gathered around the long table, while the cowards who waited until all the pirates were killed before rushing down were driven out of the mill and put in charge of preventing outsiders from getting close.

Roger promised to leave them some "leftovers" afterward, but only after these true warriors had finished picking the "fat pieces".

The distribution of the spoils will be determined based on the extent of their contribution to last night's raid, so the warriors are in high spirits.

The girl with the ponytail was the most crucial character in last night's raid, bearing the greatest risks and suffering the most, and naturally, she deserves the most credit.

Black Dog, Fat Widow, Old Joey, and Black Charcoal followed Roger closely in the charge and did indeed kill two ruthless bandits. As members of the commando team, they made a great contribution.

Baldy charged slightly behind, but when Black Dog was stabbed, he also fired a crossbow and killed one of them. Since he was Roger's confidant, his merits were naturally on par with the others.

The current dispute concerns the relative merits of the gambling addict, the missing tooth, and the two hunters.

"...I followed closely behind Young Master Roger and rushed in first, stabbing the thug in front of Young Master Roger to death with one blow." The gambling addict waved his hands incessantly, making assassination gestures.

Black Charcoal immediately interrupted the gambler's boasting, "Gambler, you bastard, how dare you say you rushed in first? When you came in, Fat Widow had already beaten one to death, and Old Joey and I stabbed another to death."

Missing Tooth also expressed his dissatisfaction with the gambling addict, squeezing out a mouthful of phlegm from between his rotten teeth and spitting, "Gambling addict, you call that murder? That thug is long dead. You just closed your eyes and stabbed him randomly."

"Yes, that gambler is shameless. That year when we went to fight the English, he was clearly afraid of dying and hid in the bushes, but when we were dividing the spoils afterwards, he boasted that he was covering the flanks." Old Joey also chimed in loudly, condemning the gambler who had taken credit for the job.

"I should get a bigger share. Although I didn't rush in, I chased and killed several pirates. Baldy and the hunters can testify to that." Toothless said, winking at the two hunters beside him.

"You chased a few people, but they were all shot down by the hunters. What does that have to do with you?" The bald man pursed his lips and swallowed his boastful words.

"Hey, you bald green toad, you bastard..."

Only two hunters in the mill did not boast about their achievements. They made a living by hunting and rarely interacted with others, so their eloquence was naturally not as sharp as that of the scoundrel with missing teeth.

Moreover, they had hesitated last night and didn't dare to kill easily after charging down. They only shot and wounded two fleeing henchmen, and it was later discovered that the two henchmen had died of poisoning, which had little to do with them.

Roger ignored the heated debate among the crowd, picked up a slightly cracked wooden cone-shaped wine glass, smelled it, and casually tossed it back onto the long table.

He originally wanted to burn all the iron pots, buckets, wooden ladles, and plates that might be contaminated with the poison, but the kind-hearted warriors stopped him, saying that these contaminated cooking utensils could be taken home and rinsed with seawater for a few days and then used normally.

Roger couldn't argue with these simple yet greedy islanders, so he instructed them to rinse the food for several days, then boil it in water and use it to feed the chickens, ducks, pigs, and dogs to make sure it was non-toxic before using it on humans.

Hopefully, these warriors will listen to this.

With time running out and estimating that Brodick's men would arrive in about an hour, Roger didn't want to waste any more time with these warriors.

He grabbed a plate and banged it on the long table, the loud noise attracting the attention of the warriors, and the mill gradually quieted down.

"I have heard all your contributions clearly. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with you and know the details of each of your actions."

After Roger said this, no one dared to say anything more. The fact that so much gold and silver had been seized was all thanks to Roger's mastermind and main attack. At this moment, no one dared to disobey his words.

In just two days, they witnessed Young Master Roger kill five people. Before, they were afraid and disgusted by Young Master Roger, but now they were only afraid.

But this young master Roger is now bringing them surprises and huge gains one after another, and in addition to fear, everyone has a feeling that is hard to explain.

"Time is tight, I'm very busy. I'll tell you a way to divide the spoils. If you think it's okay, divide it up immediately and take it home." Roger looked around at everyone in the room.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Young Master Roger, you are the son of a nobleman, you must have a good idea." The fat widow with a face full of fat flattery said, and the other thugs quickly echoed her.

Roger took the cloth bag off the small hill on the long table, and carried it, the bag making a tinkling sound.

"This amount of money is not small, and everyone would definitely be unhappy if it were divided equally, so I divided everyone's contributions into three levels, with each level receiving a different amount of money."