Chapter 48: Ge Shu Daito (Part 2)

  Yang Shuang said calmly, "I will arrange a ship to take them from the waterway to the Sea of Nice and land at Piao Zhou Port. Although there are few ships on this route now, if I am willing to pay two thousand gold coins, I think someone will still be willing to go. If the empire does not have any ships willing to go, we can also hire ships from the Ronisia Federation. Of course, I cannot guarantee that there will be no accidents along the way, and everything on the sea route must be handled by themselves."

  "Alright, I'll give each of you 200 gold coins as a settlement allowance to temporarily take care of your families. You can entrust Geshu to deliver the money to your families and tell them that you've already set off for Menis. You can explain this to your subordinates, and if anyone is unwilling to go, don't force them - I'll understand. What I need are people who genuinely want to venture to Menis with me. I'm giving each of you two days to seriously consider this matter. Two days later, those willing to follow me, please gather here, and I'll arrange for you to board a ship to Menis."

  Mondieu, Dugour and Yan Xicheng nodded heavily.

  "Yang Shuangfeng, can you let me have a word with them alone?" Ge Shuhan said.

  Yang Shuang smiled and said, "Of course." As he spoke, he walked into the courtyard, looked up at the gloomy sky, and finally couldn't help but let tears flow down. He didn't know whether he was happy or excited, but in any case, he had finally found a group of followers, and the Blue Feather Army had taken shape.

  Kosho Hana hugged the body of Monty Yu and said excitedly: "You have suffered too much hardship, shed too much blood and tears. Don't you want to live a peaceful life for the rest of your lives?"

  Monty didn't speak, Dugol sighed and said: "Geshu, that's what you think we should live like, but in our hearts, we don't want to be slaves driven by others. Our profession and dignity are on the battlefield, nothing else. Menis, even if it's a place where nine out of ten people die, it's still our stage. The more dangerous the place is, the more it can reflect human value. Geshu, everyone in the Firebird Legion is willing to accept challenges, this time is no exception."

  Geshu Han choked back tears and said: "So you're saying that you are all truly willing to go to Menis?"

  Dugor said bitterly: "Wherever we go, as long as you give us a chance to atone for our crimes, we will gladly accept."

  "Currently, there's only Menis, and only Yang Shuangfeng has the authority to revoke your slave status."

  " 'So we decided to go to Memphis,' said Monty in a low voice."

  Dugor patted Geshu Han's shoulder, smiled slightly and said: "Geshu, maybe we really can't come back, but we will never regret it. When the time comes, please inform our family that we died on the battlefield of Loona, and never mention that we were once demoted to slaves, this is an insult that we cannot bear."

  Keshu Han was in tears and nodded desperately.

  "At least you guys still have family, but my brothers and I have lost everything."

  Monty said heavily: "Yan She brothers, from now on we are partners. My subordinates have all lost their right hands, please take care of them."

  "Alas, who isn't the same? My brothers and I may have our limbs intact, but we're all scattered, separated from our wives and children. White is determined to wipe us out, and if it weren't for his underlings' greed, I'd already be a vengeful spirit. We soldiers of the Imperial City aren't afraid of death, but it's just too humiliating. Our 400 men could have fought to the death against the enemy, but instead we were ordered to lay down our arms and surrender - the greatest shame for a soldier. Alas, past events are unbearable to recall. If one day I capture White, I'll hang him from the city tower of Xiangxiang City."

  Yang Shuang said curiously: "Who ordered you not to resist?"

  "Is our Empress Feng Lianwu..."

  Yang Shuangfeng exclaimed, a look of surprise on his face.

  Yan Xiang said with a strange expression: "Feng Ling, what's wrong?"

  Yang Shuangfen thought for a moment and said slowly: "If I'm not mistaken, Feng Xuanwu wants you to swallow your pride and survive, and then rise again. If you resist, with your 400 troops, you will definitely die in the end. But once you put down your weapons, she will secretly manipulate things, and you can continue to survive..."

  Yan shot a glance at Feng Ling and shook his head, "Feng Ling, I don't agree with what you said. However, maybe you're right. But for us, we'd rather die fighting on the spot than be driven away and slaughtered like slaves. We'd rather die than be enslaved."

  Yang Shuangfen sighed and said faintly: "Maybe you will understand later."

  Mondieu and Duguer exchanged a glance, Mondieu's expression turned serious as he said: "Yang Shuangfeng, can the four of us have a private talk? Before we officially address you as Leader Feng, Duguer, Yan She, and I have a few questions that need your confirmation."

  Yang Shuang noticed something from their resolute expressions and nodded slowly: "Please come to my room."

  Four people quietly came to Yang Shuofeng's room, Yang Shuofeng gestured for them to sit down, but the three of them did not take a seat. Monty spoke in a low voice: "Yang Shuofeng, we are very grateful for your kindness, you gave us an opportunity to restore our honor. However, this does not mean that we will understand and fully support you, we need your honest answers to several questions, so as to facilitate our future cooperation."

  Yang Shuang said solemnly: "May I ask, is there anything you don't want me to know?"

  Monty said slowly: "The first question is, what do you think is the fundamental way to solve the problem of the Menis region?"

  Yang Shuang said without hesitation: "War."

  Duguerre asked solemnly: "Why?"

  Yang Shuang said faintly, "War is the continuation of politics. When contradictions cannot be reconciled, they can only be resolved through war. The rebellion in the Menis region, after all, was caused by the fundamental mistake of the empire's policy. However, the imperial central government has not changed its intention to change this policy, which also means that the contradictions between the two sides are irreconcilable. Since the contradictions cannot be reconciled, war becomes the fundamental means of resolving the contradictions."

  Meng Diyu gazed deeply at him: "Do you agree with Xue Lin's statement?"

  Yang Shuang said in surprise: "What did Xue Feng say?"

  Dugol said: "We heard Xue Fu's impassioned speech at the Grand Hall of Jialan, he said that he would strive to coordinate the various rebel organizations in Minis, find a balance point that everyone can accept among them, and use this as the basis for promoting peaceful coexistence between the rebel organizations in the Minis region. He insisted that on the basis of freedom, universal love, and equality, the various strata of Minis can coexist peacefully."

  Yang Shuangfeng smiled slightly and said, "Sorry, I think that apart from force, there is no other way to bring Menis back under the Golden Dragon's banner. I don't think the rebel organizations can sit down together for negotiations because they involve too many conflicting interests and have different backers and instigators behind them. Between countries, there are no eternal friends or enemies, only eternal interests; this saying also applies to the various forces of the rebels. This means that once interests conflict, there is fundamentally no possibility of reconciliation. Therefore, I think Xue Feng's suggestion sounds good and creative, but in reality, it cannot be implemented."

  "Very well, you have answered the first question. Now I shall ask a second one: when family interests and imperial interests come into conflict, which will you choose?"

  Yang Shuang said thoughtfully: "Sorry, I don't know. Maybe you can tell me more about it."

  Montieu and Yan She exchanged a glance, Dugor said: "We actually already know that the Emperor Tang Ming sent you back to Menis, in fact, he wanted your family to die there. But if his purpose is not achieved, that is to say, your family successfully survived and even pacified Menis, but the empire still wants to deal with your family, what kind of reaction will you make?"

  Yang Shuangfen concentrated her mind and thought for a moment before saying slowly: "I will argue with reason, but I will never give up without a fight."

  Montieu's gaze flickered slightly as he ventured to ask: "Does 'not being taken captive' mean that you will resist the Empire?"

  Yang Shuangfeng also stared at him deeply, but Montieu's gaze remained unwavering. Yang Shuangfeng said slowly: "If necessary, I will. But I must make it clear that what I am fighting for is only life and freedom. Even if I have to rebel, the object of my rebellion is only the corrupt court, not the overthrow of the Tangchuan Empire. I am willing to sacrifice everything for the Tangchuan Empire, including my life and blood. The court and the country are two different concepts, and I hope everyone can understand."

  He nodded heavily and said: "The second question has been answered. I'll ask the third one. Do you like hunting?"

  Yang Shuangfen stared at him in shock, dazed and speechless.

  Yan Sheng said in a low voice: "You didn't hear wrong, this is indeed our third question."

  Yang Shuang Feng remained silent for a long time, his eyes drifting aimlessly as he gazed outside. After a while, he slowly spoke up: "There was once a period of time when I really enjoyed hunting. I spent two or three months in the mountains, practicing my marksmanship on small animals like squirrels and field mice every day. Countless squirrels and field mice lost their lives to my gun, no matter how fast they ran. In the end, they still fell under my bullets. I used to feel very satisfied, especially when I saw the end of another life. But later on, I gradually grew tired of it, tired of taking away others' lives. Sometimes I would wonder, do I have the right to do this? Do I need to do this? To be honest, I don't know the answer either. It's just that later on, I slowly stopped hunting. Only when my own life was ended by someone else did I realize that being killed is actually the most painful thing in the world, especially when it happens for no reason at all. However, I won't refuse to go hunting if you guys want to go. You can call me along."

  "What does it mean when someone else ends their own life?"

  Yang Shuang didn't realize he had misspoken and subconsciously said: "I've already been killed once..."

  "Monty and Dugger both cried out in surprise, saying in unison: "This is impossible! If you were killed, how can you still be here? You must mean you almost got killed, right?"

  Yang Shuang suddenly realized that he had misspoken and hastily said, "Ah, ah, sorry about that. I was almost killed to death, almost killed to death, but it's almost the same as actually dying. Actually, I know that death is a very frightening thing, especially after experiencing it personally."

  "May I suggest that we three confer privately for a moment? Would it be convenient?"

  Yang Shuang's heart suddenly became uneasy, not knowing what they were planning. He pretended to be calm and said: "Okay, I'll go out first." As soon as he walked out of the room, Monty closed the door without any disguise, making Yang Shuang feel like he was being isolated, feeling very uncomfortable in his heart.

  Suddenly, the sound of quarreling came from outside, and it was Tang Zhi and Ge Shu Han's voices. Yang Su Feng walked forward to take a look and found that Tang Zhi had arrived. It wasn't until then that he remembered Tang Zhi was there to pick him up for the banquet. He hastily tidied up his clothes and prepared to greet him, casting a sideways glance to see that Su Qing and others had been waiting for some time, quietly awaiting their departure.

  Yang Shuangfeng was about to leave the courtyard when he heard the door behind him open, and Montyue, Duguoer, and Yan She walked out solemnly. His blood suddenly boiled over. The three stood in front of Yang Shuangfeng, and Montyue said in a low voice: "Yang Shuangfeng, we think that you are not an outstanding leader. You don't have enough ambition or bloodlust, and there's no big difference between you and ordinary people. However, we're all willing to follow you, this life and the next, forever listening to your commands, using our passion and talent to fight for honor in your name. Please accept our first salute, Lord Feng."

  Mengdiyou, Duguoer and Yan Sheqiqi stepped forward in unison, solemnly paying their respects to Yang Shuangfeng.

  Yang Shuangfen's eyes welled up with tears, she hastily returned the gift and stuttered: "Thank you! I really thank you!"

  Monty said sincerely: "From now on, we are your subordinates. You can give us orders to execute. We will brave the flames and boiling water without hesitation. To show our respect for you, please give us your first order."

  Yang Shuangfen scratched the back of her head, thought for a moment with difficulty, and said hesitantly: "That... Yan She, can you change your name to She Yan? I... don't like the name Yan She very much..."

  The three of them were taken aback, their faces a mixture of shock and amusement, unable to laugh or cry. Was this really Yang Shuangfeng's first order?

  Yan She herself was bewildered, but still subconsciously replied: "Yes, Feng Ling Lord, from now on, I'll be called She Yan."

  Yang Xun let out a sigh of relief and hastily went out to welcome Tang Zixuan.