Chapter 7: Waiting for an Opportunity to Act (Part 2)

  The old man shook his head and said, "Fletcher is indeed a genius, a sea genius. I have to admit that there is no better fleet commander in the entire Nice Sea than him. Even if others call him a pirate behind his back, he is still the best pirate. But, as the saying goes, 'a clever woman cannot cook without rice', even if he is the best commander, what use is it if there are not enough ships? Can he come ashore to duel?"

  Yang Shuang's disappointed eyes unreservedly revealed a painful expression, wanting to speak but hesitating. After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Then how many ships do we have left? Don't tell me we don't have any ships now."

  The old man's expression was also quite painful, and he groaned in his throat for a while before saying sorrowfully: "I know you must be thinking of asking this question but didn't dare to ask. But now, everything is no longer important, it has all become the past. Our ships... we used to have so many ships, we used to have such a brilliant fleet... but now we only have three ships left... our household expenses are huge, and we can only rely on selling ships to make ends meet... fortunately, the merchants of our neighboring Ronisia Federation still have some interest in our ships..."

  Yang Shuang's face was almost twisted, he suddenly stood up, even if his head hit the top of the carriage hard, there was no reaction at all. He was almost out of control and let out a mournful cry: "What? Our entire fleet has been sold off? How can this be? How can this be? Those were our ships! Those were our ships!"

  The old man seemed to be used to other people's scolding, and was unmoved by Yang Su's scolding. He said woodenly: "Apart from our ship, what else do we have that is worth money? We can't think of anything else that can support the lives of tens of thousands of people. This matter is not even opposed by Fletcher. You should know that the ship is his life, he was born at sea, grew up at sea, and spent his whole life struggling in the waves. To sell the ship would be to take his life, but he actually nodded in agreement..."

  Yang Shuangfeng completely fell into a hysterical state, his eyes were bloodshot, like a gambler who had lost big in the casino, he danced with his hands and feet and loudly shouted: "How many ships do we have left now? Tell me! How many ships do we still have?"

  The old man said expressionlessly: "We now have the last three battleships left! They are Prairie Dawn, Sunset Angel and Adriano."

  Yang Shuang's eyes suddenly widened, then dimmed. He slammed his fist onto the carriage's dashboard, almost crushing it. He buried his face in his chest, his ten fingers grasping his hair as he sobbed like a child who had lost its favorite toy: "We only have three ships left now... Fengyun is gone, Yingxiong is gone, Baofeng is gone, Ziran Nüshen is also gone... our battleships are all gone, all gone..."

  In the fourteen lordly families of Minas, the Yang family from Nanhai is the only one that has its own domain and private navy. At its peak, it had eleven large battleships and more than twenty dragon-toothed warships. On the surface of the sea of Nis, even facing the navies of surrounding countries, they were not at a disadvantage. But now, everything is gone. How can Yang Suofeng, who is full of passion, not feel heart-wrenching pain?

  The old man looked at the young man in the neat and tidy Imperial Navy lieutenant general's uniform, who was curled up in the corner of the car, shrinking tighter and tighter, finally huddled into a ball, as if trying to squeeze himself into that dark corner. The sorrowful sobbing sound spread out softly in the quiet night sky, occasionally accompanied by one or two mournful meows, making this desolate night even more desolate.

  "Maple." The old man said in a hoarse voice, wanting to say something, but didn't get it out, and just let out a long sigh.

  However, what surprised him was that Yang Suofeng quickly wiped away his tears and regained his composure. Although there were still tear stains on his face, his eyes had become extremely calm and tranquil. He grasped the hilt of his sword tightly and said in a firm, irresistible voice: "You immediately convey the information to Fletcher, no matter what, the last three ships must not be sold again, everything will wait until I return home. No one is allowed to sell the ship again, whoever disobeys me, I will use this sword to pull out his intestines and hang them on the seawall!"

  The old man nodded in surprise and said slowly: "The remaining three ships are all Fletcher's, he must be very happy to see such an order."

  Yang Shuangfeng clenched his fists, thought for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Not only that, but you also need to convey the information to the hometown side. All workers and technical personnel are retained and not allowed to disperse. Whether it's rice or buckwheat, as long as we have food to eat, they will have food to eat too. In any case, wait until I get back. Also, pass on the order to Old Fuerde, let him immediately organize the surplus personnel, select at least three thousand physically strong ones, and start combat training according to the requirements of the soldiers. As soon as I arrive there, immediately form the Blue Feather Army!"

  The old man's expression was originally very dispirited, but as soon as he heard the three words "Blue Feather Army", his expression suddenly perked up, and his whole body radiated an unprecedented vitality. However, it slowly dimmed down again, and he said bitterly: "Feng, do you really want to rebuild the Blue Feather Army?"

  Yang Shuangfeng's face was resolute and calm, he swung his hands forcefully, saying in an unquestionable tone: "The Blue Feather Army must be rebuilt! Whether it is to quell the rebellion in the Minis region or resist Tang Ming's order to kill us, we must rely on the Blue Feather Army. Anything else is just a dream! Only by sharpening our own daggers can we protect ourselves! The era when Tang Ming could take our lives with just an imperial edict is gone forever!"

  The old man pulled out another bottle of wine, unscrewed the cap, and took a few big gulps. His voice also became increasingly loud: "Feng, are you prepared to take drastic action? Have you carefully considered the consequences of doing so? Once our Blue Feather Army's lion flag flies above Menis, our family will be fully embroiled in this chaotic war, and may even get entangled in the imperial court's internal power struggle. At that time, the imperial court may declare us rebels and treat us the same as the rebel army in Menis! The outcome will be unpredictable to anyone. Even our family history may come to an end because of this!"

  Yang Shuang looked at him with a deep gaze: "Are we still going to continue serving the Tang Ming? Continue serving this court that thinks of ways to take our lives every day?"

  The old man stared blankly, then hugged the wine bottle and thought bitterly.

  Yang Shuangfeng took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and said in as calm a voice as possible: "The Blue Feather Army must be rebuilt! The Yang family has never retreated from the battlefield since we followed Tang Chuan! In the past, it was like this, and today is no exception! Our reputation is not blown out of our mouths, but won back from the enemy! Only the enemy's blood can make our blue lion flag shine again! The long sword that our Yang family has slept for over 200 years should be unsheathed now, and no matter where it will point to in the future, we must start sharpening it!"

  The old man looked at him with a complex expression, seemingly excited, seemingly worried, but more bewildered. He said slowly: "Feng, have you made up your mind? Won't you regret it?"

  Yang Shuang Feng said without hesitation: "My mind is made up! I will never regret it!"

  The old man sighed silently, and said with a sorrowful expression: "I think it's no problem to organize one or two thousand people in Old Ford, but if there are more, maybe we need to spend some effort."

  Yang Shuang said firmly: "Even if there are only 500 people, the Blue Feather Army must be rebuilt!"