Chapter 15 Past Events (Part 2)

  From then on, the chaos in Menis erupted, and Manichaeism also took advantage of the situation to rise. Under the leadership of the captor, Simon's cavalry won battle after battle, quickly capturing areas such as Xiangchuan Road and Suichuan Road. During this period, Simon and Vala people had several clashes, and the captor repeatedly declared that he would eliminate the Vala people. However, Edmund, the leader of the Simon people, secretly reached a secret agreement with Mosadi, the leader of the Vala people, to cease hostilities and coexist peacefully. Under the initiative of the captor, the Empire of Light was soon established, and the captor was elected as the Chief Executive Officer of the Empire of Light.

  "It's strange to say, but since the establishment of the Empire of Light, the cavalry of both the Ximon and Wala peoples have never been able to head south again. Instead, they have been constantly at war within their own borders. The Emperor has been obsessed with expanding his power, accepting anyone who is willing to surrender to him without exception, and granting them extremely beautiful and prestigious positions such as Grand General, Grand Governor, and Grand Protector. There are nearly thirty of these positions within the Empire, each with enormous power.

  The status of many weak minority groups on the Blood-colored Plateau has also been greatly elevated, allowing them to sit on an equal footing with the Ximon and Wala peoples. Although they lack strength, they are extremely greedy and rely on the Emperor's protection to constantly quarrel with the Wala and Ximon people, causing chaos.

  In short, the internal situation of the Empire of Light is currently very chaotic, with various major powers vying for control and smaller forces also refusing to back down, creating a murky atmosphere."

  Yang Shuangfeng listened more and more intently.

  Under the leadership of the catcher, both the Empire of Light and Manichaeism had deep grievances. When Manichaeism rose to power, the catcher personally led the elite of the Vara people and the Simon people in a surprise attack on the Red Scarf Army of Manichaeism, almost capturing the leader of Manichaeism, Quan Xiuhong. This incident has always been a source of shame for Manichaeism, which has sought revenge by any means possible.

  The Holy Maiden Fang Fei Qingfeng of Manichaeism repeatedly attempted to assassinate the catcher, but was thwarted each time. Instead, many high-ranking generals of the Simon people and Vara people were killed, leading to even greater hatred towards Manichaeism from these groups. Edmond and Mosadi both spread rumors on multiple occasions that whoever could capture Fang Fei Qingfeng alive would be rewarded with 8 million gold coins, while whoever could kill her would receive a reward of 5 million gold coins.

  Yang Shuang's tongue slipped out uncontrollably: "They really have a lot of money!"

  Yang Ji Rui sighed and said, "Is Fang Fei Qing Feng easy to deal with? Her martial arts skills are really immeasurable. The Jianghu people say that except for Hai Tian Fo Guo's female disciple Yu Shui Lan Ruo and Xing He Dian's female disciple E Huai Xue Liu, no other young female generation can be Fang Fei Qing Feng's opponent. Even the successor of Yi Hua Gong, Gong Zi Yan, is probably at most on par with Fang Fei Qing Feng. Among the younger generation in Jianghu, except for the Four Great Young Masters, there are probably no one who can be her opponent."

  Yang Shuangfen couldn't help but click her tongue and say: "Damn, this is so awesome!"

  Yang Ji Rui smiled unnaturally: "The victories that the Manichaeans have achieved in recent years are inseparable from Fang Fei Qing Feng. Fang Fei Qing Feng not only has high martial arts skills, but is also extremely proficient in the way of assassination. Except for the capture hand, there has been no other assassination target that can survive. Even if it's an assassination attempt on the capture hand, although it hasn't succeeded, it has repeatedly misfired and mistakenly killed one or two high-ranking generals from Ximon or Wala. It must be admitted that the capture hand is indeed a special case, especially in terms of escaping."

  Yang Shuangfen frowned and said: "One day, the catcher will also die unjustly."

  Yang Ji sighed and said, "This is what I'm most worried about. The Radiant Empire, currently under the control of the catcher, has various major forces that are keen on internal strife and have no intention of expanding outward. If one day the catcher is killed and replaced by someone else, the Radiant Empire may strive to expand outward, and at that time, no one in the entire Menis region will be able to stop their advance because their power is too strong. Once the Vala people and the Ximon people's cavalry unite, there will be no one in the Menis region who can match them. Therefore, our only opportunity lies in the period when the catcher is still in control of the Radiant Empire. If we cannot rise during this period, then there will be no more opportunities later."

  Yang Shuang saw the calm and wise eyes of his uncle, thinking that his name Yang Jirui was indeed well-chosen. Compared to his own father Yang Jilong, he was undoubtedly more intelligent and composed, with better vision. After a moment of admiration, he began to smile wryly, realizing that he had misjudged his uncle as an incompetent old fool. Although the old man's visit to the brothel was absurd, it also proved that he was still sharp. If he were truly foolish, how could the family have sent him to Niluo Divine Capital to welcome Yang Shuang back?

  Yang Shuang Feng lightly bit her lip and nodded, saying: "Please continue speaking."

  Yang Jirui sighed and said: "If we had enough strong military power, maybe your goal could be achieved. As long as we seize the opportunity, at least we can achieve independence and self-defense. Unfortunately, we also have a surplus of heart but insufficient strength. I have already given orders to Old Friuo to recruit soldiers, it should be said that recruiting three thousand people is not a problem, the problem is the combat effectiveness of the troops, we cannot improve the combat effectiveness of the troops in such a short period of time, whether it is physical training or weapon training, at least half a year's time is needed. But we don't have so much time."

  Looking up at the gloomy sky, Yang Ji Rui said heavily: "In fact, even if we can enhance the combat effectiveness of these three thousand people, we are still too weak. Not to mention Peng Yue's 100,000 rebel army, even the Muni Sect's 30,000 Red Scarf Army can easily sweep us away. Feng, before I came to Niluo Divine Capital, we all thought about it painfully. You know, your big brother Yang Shuang Xiang, he is also absolutely unwilling to give up on Menis. He would rather die there, but he couldn't think of a reason to win either. Even Fletcher, who is determined, doesn't know what to do. Feng, it's not that we didn't try hard enough, we have tried, but the enemy is too strong, and we don't have any chance at all."

  Yang Shuang's heart felt a sense of desperation, but his face didn't show any signs of it. He said firmly: "When we come to the mountain, there will be a road ahead. As long as everyone works together with one mind, there will definitely be hope."

  Yang Jirui looked at him deeply, and Yang Songfeng looked back at him with unwavering confidence.

  Yang Jirui slowly looked away, speaking slowly and calmly: "Since you are so determined, I have nothing to say. The Yang family has been a nation since its founding, every man is a hot-blooded hero, there is no retreat. Bi Xue Qing Tian Yang Jia Jiang, this is the middle hall golden plaque given to our family by Tang Chuan's own handwriting. Moreover, we are not serving the imperial court now, but for our own survival, we will definitely do better! I will convey your orders and confidence to my family, let them work with all their might, make good war preparations. Even if we can't win, we must die gloriously!"

  Yang Shuangfeng suppressed his excitement and said as calmly as possible: "We just want to convey this determination to the people in our family, everyone must be prepared. Those who do not have this determination and courage are not worthy of being our family members, they will only humiliate our ancestors. However, we don't need to make too much noise, so as not to provoke the rebels, we just need to make sufficient preparations. The Imperial Border Army still has some time to withdraw from the Menis area, we still have a little bit of time to prepare, although not much."

  Yang Ji Rui nodded and said: "Since that's the case, we don't need to hide it anymore. We still have 500,000 gold coins left as a reserve for the family's escape. Since you've already made up your mind, this money is no longer needed. We can put it all into military equipment and prepare for war."

  Yang Shuangfeng was overjoyed and almost shouted out: "We still have 500,000 gold coins?"

  Yang Ji Rui smiled wryly and said, "This is our last family property, except for the lord, no one else can use it. Therefore, to use this money, your personal signature is required, I also have no power to dispose of it. However, I have a responsibility to remind you that under no circumstances should this fund be used until the very end, it has existed for 147 years."

  Yang Shuangfen calmed down after her initial excitement, thought carefully and said slowly: "Don't rush for now. I'll sign and seal a document to withdraw 200,000 gold coins in advance, and have the shipyard at Piao Zhou Port resume operation immediately. Use the best wood and steel to build five standard dragon-tooth warships with the fastest speed possible, but don't install cannons on them for now."

  Yang Ji's eyes lightly jumped, his cold and wise gaze flashed, full of expectation, saying: "Feng, do you have any ideas?"

  Yang Shuangfeng shook his head and said: "I thought of something, but I don't know if it can be used for the time being."

  Yang Ji Rui said: "Five dragon tooth warships do not need 200,000 gold coins, about 50,000 is enough. Even the best dragon tooth warship, if it's not equipped with cannons, only needs around 20,000 gold coins. If we build them ourselves, the raw materials and everything are convenient, so about 10,000 gold coins per ship is fine, but equipping them with cannons would cost over 30,000 gold coins."

  Yang Shuangfeng said quickly: "The remaining funds are all used to build merchant ships, and as many as we can build. Who is in charge of our fleet now?"

  Yang Ji Rui said: "Originally, I was in charge, but before I came to Niluo Shenjing, I handed over the merchant fleet to Ah Qiao. He likes this job very much and does it well. We all think he has a good talent for being a merchant. Except for naval battles, which are not as good as Fletcher's, he is not inferior to Fletcher in terms of shipping. Especially in terms of navigating through cloudy waters, even Fletcher is willing to learn from him."

  Yang Shuangfeng paced back and forth, taking a few heavy steps before finally making up his mind with difficulty. Clenching his fists, he said: "Let Fletcher choose a good price and sell all three ships including the Sunset Angel, but..."

  Yang Ji Rui's face turned pale as he cut in: "Feng, have you gone mad? Those are our last three warships! Didn't you say before that these three ships absolutely cannot be sold again?"

  Yang Shuang's eyes gleamed as he stared at him: "I know, but I've reconsidered carefully, we must sell them! For us, the role of these three ships is no longer significant. Most importantly, these three ships are no longer suitable for our needs. All our hopes are pinned on the newly built five Dragon Tooth warships..."

  Yang Ji cut him off urgently: "Maple, the firepower of the Dragon Tooth warship can't be compared to that of the Sunset Angel. Those three ships are small battleships! The Sunset Angel has sixty guns on it, but the Dragon Tooth warship only has thirty-six at most. Their power is fundamentally incomparable."

  Yang Shuang shook his head firmly and said in an unquestionable tone, "I completely understand, I also fully comprehend. However, the strength of firepower does not solely depend on the number of cannons. Moreover, the maintenance and upkeep costs for these three battleships are too high; our current financial situation cannot support it unless we let them become pirates. But even if they were to become pirates, these ships would be unsuitable - they're too slow, have too many crew members, and are too complicated to operate. They're not as good as the fast Dragon Tooth warships. Second Uncle, trust me, just...just..."

  Yang Shuangfeng paused for a moment, seemingly searching for the right words, before saying decisively: "As long as conditions permit, I can manufacture warship cannons with much greater firepower than current ones. Their range will be at least twice that of current cannons, no, at least four to five times! With just a few shells, we can blast an enemy battleship to smithereens..."

  Yang Ji Rui stared at Yang Shuang Feng in shock, as if he was looking at a madman.

  Yang Shuangfeng didn't notice the other person's expression, pacing back and forth somewhat anxiously, waving his hands excitedly as he said: "As long as, as long as... I just don't know if this thing can be produced now..."

  Yang Ji Rui muttered to himself: "What is that thing? The lamp in front of Buddha?"

  Yang Shuangfeng didn't say a word, but was deeply lost in thought. Suddenly, he blurted out a sentence that left Yang Jirui bewildered: "Can this thing really be made?"