Volume 1: The Imprisoned Volume Chapter 2: The Death Imperial Edict (Middle)

  However, Yang Suofeng was stunned for a moment, then put away the imperial edict and bit his finger to draw a seal with fresh blood on the document. The document had two copies, each with seven or eight pages, densely filled with words about the rights and obligations of the lord and other legal articles. Yang Suofeng flipped through it briefly without careful examination, and hastily pressed his fingerprint. The old eunuch took one copy and handed the other to him, saying nothing, just waving his hand to indicate that the formalities were complete, and he could leave.

  After he finished painting, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Tang Jing, handed him a seal and said weakly: "Take it." Yang Shuangfeng took it and looked at it. The seal was very old, with some parts already peeling off. On the dark surface of the seal, there seemed to be a clerical script, but it was carved upside down. For a moment, he couldn't see clearly what the characters were. He thought it should be the great seal of the ruler of the Nanhai region. However, in his impression, he had never seen such a seal in his family before, and he didn't know if it was real or fake.

  Yang Suofeng nodded and turned around to leave, but heard the voice of General Bai Yulou saying: "Yang Suofeng, do you know what you are going to do?"

  His voice was very gentle, with a hint of hoarseness, and it was extremely infectious. Those who knew the inside story all knew that before Li Huai's attack on the Imperial City, Bai Yulou's voice was absolutely heroic and majestic, full of masculine charm. However, Li Huai's sword not only destroyed Bai Yulou's body but also changed his voice. His current voice always sounds a bit short of breath, soft and gentle, as if he can't catch his breath, yet this voice has captivated countless young girls in the empire. They call Bai Yulou's short-of-breath voice "heavenly music", flocking to it like birds, making many with heroic voices clench their fists in despair, unable to do anything about it.

  Yang Shuangfeng stopped in his tracks and said to Bai Yulou: "Return to Meinas."

  Fen Hou Bai Yulou stood up and looked him up and down, while Yang Shuangfeng met his gaze fearlessly.

  Bai Yulou hesitated for a moment before saying coldly: "Do you know what you're going back to Meinas to do?"

  Yang Shuang said calmly: "The imperial edict has stated that we must resist the rioters, maintain peace and order, and defend our territory."

  White Jade Building nodded and slowly said: "Hmm, how did you do it?"

  Yang Shuangfeng hesitated for a moment: "This... I need to think about it."

  He really needs to think about it.

  Since that day when the gunshot rang out at dawn, he felt his soul rising up, watching with his own eyes as his body fell softly in front of him on the slope, two blood holes in his forehead and seven orifices bleeding profusely, extremely terrifying. His soul was like a feather drifting in the wind, helpless, floating alone in the dark yet bright universe, finally getting lost somewhere deep in space. When he realized he had woken up again, he found that his soul had entered another world, another person's mind, and what made him even more incredulous was that the person's name was also Yang Suofeng, which left him speechless and at a loss for how to explain it.

  What's even more terrifying is that during the space-time transformation, although he lost his original body, his memories didn't have any omissions. Everything from his past life was vividly clear, including the memory of himself bleeding from nine orifices after the gunshot. The memories of that unfortunate vessel were also completely preserved. For a time, he simultaneously possessed two sets of memories from different worlds, with nearly four centuries separating them. These two vastly different memories almost drove him mad.

  However, at the same time that he felt extremely strange, there was a kind of fresh stimulation stirring his almost dormant soul, as if something was attracting him and making it difficult for him to let go. In that small courtyard of less than 300 square meters, he struggled to adapt to a life with different memories and tried hard to merge the two completely different memories together, lest he suffer from mental fragmentation.

  At this moment, he can only face this familiar yet strange world with another identity of Yang Shuangfeng, and accept the fate of another Yang Shuangfeng. Later on, the two memories gradually merged, and even he himself felt more and more that he was originally living in this world, thinking about problems from the perspective of the actual Yang Shuangfeng who had already disappeared, and his knowledge from 21st century Earth was just a wonderful memory.

  However, he is not familiar with the world he is in now. To be precise, Yang Suo Fen, who had occupied his soul before, did not have a thorough understanding of this world. He does not know what name this world should be called, perhaps it should be called An Rakala World. The vast land he is on is called Yilan Continent, and to its north, there is another vast continent called Erofu, while to its east, there is the slightly smaller Iyun Continent. The Yilan Continent and Erofu Continent are separated by the vast North Ocean, not adjacent, with only a few island groups in between that can serve as stepping stones for naval passage. However, the Yilan Continent and Iyun Continent are connected through the Huolong Peninsula, despite being separated by the turbulent Lengqiang Ocean. If one considers the Lengqiang Ocean as the boundary, the Yilan Continent and Iyun Continent resemble a butterfly's two open wings, except that the larger wing (Yilan Continent) is much larger than the smaller wing (Iyun Continent), which is only about one-quarter of the size of the left wing. The part where they are connected, Huolong Peninsula, is like the body of the butterfly.

  There are over a dozen countries and regions on the continent of Yilan, with highly developed civilizations. The continent of Elro is inhabited by barbarians, with no confirmed nations or political divisions. The continent of Yi Yun lies between the two, with some civilized nations and nomadic tribes that roam and plunder, as well as uncivilized barbarians. Yang Shuang Feng's hometown is located on the western part of the continent of Yi Yun, in the beautiful plains of Menis, at the northeasternmost tip of the empire, overlooking the inland sea. Although Menis belongs to the territory of the empire, it is separated from the mainland by the vast ocean of Lingqiao, and can only be a remote overseas territory. His family is the lord of a certain piece of land on that plain, enjoying good reputation and authority. However, according to the imperial decree, as a guarantee of the family's power, he has been imprisoned in this magnificent hall since the age of thirteen, completely cut off from contact with the outside world.

  It has been seven years since he left the familiar plains of Menissi, and everything is different now. He doesn't know what the situation is like there now, nor does he even know if his hometown has been affected by the war or if it's already in ruins. From the vague news in the newspapers, it seems that the rebellion that broke out and spread in Menissi five years ago was very severe. Miners, slaves, and farmers who lost their land all rose up, as did various non-Tang ethnic groups such as the Semites and Akkadians, who were eager to return and reclaim their lands. The nomadic tribes of the Blood Highlands, such as the Simons and Valars, were also on horseback, eyeing the south with a fierce gaze, ready to make a big move. Every force living in Menissi had already been drawn into that brutal war, while the surrounding countries were watching with a hungry gaze, like a pack of wolves eyeing an isolated and helpless little sheep, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce.

  Despite the empire's strict news blockade, which did not allow any newspaper to report on messages from the Menis region, Yang Songfen still knew that the current Menis region had completely collapsed. The empire not only lacked the ability to control it but also had a somewhat self-abandoning feeling. Since the three central army corps were defeated in the rebellion, the empire decided to give up and no longer managed it. This undoubtedly made the rebel forces in the Menis region even more powerful and arrogant. The long-lost "Sargon" head image and slogans regained widespread support in the Menis region, with a momentum that seemed to split this land from the Tangchuan Empire's territory. "Sargon" is the oldest ruler of this region, sometimes directly translated by inland scholars as "king". This word had disappeared for nearly fifty years, but now it has returned to the mouths of local people again.

  In the face of such chaos, even if I could return to Memphis, what could I do?

  He thought of the crystal-clear diamonds in the Xiangchuan Road, the sapphires and rubies that shone brightly in the Chongqing Road, the warm and round Hetian jade in the Zhenchuan Road, the lush forests in the Huchuan Road, the endless fields of golden rice in the Qingchuan Road, the iron and copper mines in the Zichuan Road, the shiny black coal and endless cotton fields in the Yangchuan Road, and he felt his blood boiling with excitement.

  Mnemosyne, how rich and bewildering you once were.

  At that time, General Xiao Mohe was willing to go through the vast ocean and thousands of miles to conquer these rich products. The Tang River Empire's soldiers went forward one after another, and after 34 years, they finally achieved the empire's long-cherished wish and successfully incorporated the Manis region into its territory. However, as time passed, 40 years have passed, and these products that were once proud of the Manis people now have different owners.

  They no longer belonged to the empire from then on.

  Upon seeing Yang Suo's hesitant expression, the young General Bai Yulou didn't seem to feel any disappointment, as if he had expected this outcome all along. He simply beckoned with his hand, and a guard brought over a sword. It was a deep blue scabbard sword, completely different from Bai Yulou's purple scabbard sword, with chrysanthemum-shaped patterns on it, and only one small, inconspicuous star carved onto the scabbard. Bai Yulou took the sword, and with a "whoosh" sound, drew out the blade, its slender edge radiating an eerie, chilling glow under the light of the ruby.

  Yang Suofeng, this is the glory bestowed upon you by His Majesty the Emperor. This is a symbol of your power! From now on, you are the Imperial Navy's Lieutenant General, a general with great expectations from the Empire! You must not tarnish its brilliance! Every time you fight, you should draw out your sword and let it drink the enemy's blood! You must think of every way to organize your troops and kill the enemy! You must expand your own power as much as possible in order to defend the territory and maintain peace. This is the right given to you by His Majesty the Emperor, and also your duty. For this purpose, you can use all legitimate means. You must be stronger than those rioters, only then can you quell them and protect your home. In times of war, only this sword can protect you!

  For some reason, Bai Yulou's voice was slightly high-pitched, sharp and clear, and the words that fell to the ground echoed in the hall for a long time.

  Yang Shuangfen replied solemnly: "I will strictly follow your teachings!"

  Bai Yutang's expression was clearly somewhat disappointed, but he didn't say anything else. He simply handed over a stack of documents with golden stamps in silence and then silently waved his hand. A guard stood beside him, holding a deep blue naval lieutenant general uniform. Yang Songfeng took the clothes, feeling a mix of emotions in his heart. The feeling of going from hell to heaven almost made his feet float up.

  However, he managed to control his emotions and quietly changed into his uniform in the adjacent locker room. He checked himself in the mirror, wearing a crisp naval lieutenant general's uniform, with golden stars shining on his shoulder epaulets and various colorful medals on his chest that seemed to radiate an unprecedented brilliance, making him look more handsome and majestic than ever before.