Chapter 50: The Sinful Soul (Part 2)

  Yang Shuangfen didn't think twice and said with a smile, "Alright, you can put it down now. Let's just consider it a gift from me. We also have a place in Menis that produces excellent red wine. If there's an opportunity, I'll return the favor with ten bottles of the best kind to make up for it."

  Mr. Dong smiled slyly and said: "It's settled then, that's how it is." He happily put down the red wine and tiptoed away.

  Tang Zhi said with some regret: "General Yang has made an exception for me, but never mind. Today is an extraordinary day, so let's not make it a rule."

  Yang Shuangfeng stood up with a smile, ready to pour wine. Cai Bingxiao had already taken over and elegantly poured a cup for each person. The aroma was indeed rich and fragrant, filling the air. Even Su Yunruo, who had been lacking appetite all along, felt a slight jolt of spirit.

  Tang Zī smiled and said: "It seems Miss Sū is a connoisseur of this way."

  Su Yun's face slightly flushed, and she said softly: "Tang Gong is overpraising me, I just accompanied my father because he liked to drink, so I unknowingly understood a bit more. The Yashu wine of the Irene Imperial Family is a special product of the imperial family, only available in the palaces of other countries, this old boss of Lingquan Xuan is quite capable! When mentioning her own father, she couldn't help but feel sad, thinking that he had already died under the rebel army's sword. The people around her also had red-rimmed eyes, and it was a sorrowful scene.

  Yang Shuangfeng actually had no knowledge of red wine, and no matter how sweet and fragrant the red wine was, it was a waste to him. In another world, he didn't even know what "VSOP" meant. So, he said carelessly: "No matter how good something is, if it doesn't enter the market, it's also a waste."

  She gave him a cold stare and said disdainfully, "What do you know? This Yasu Red Wine is made from the Pearl White grapes of the Tianwai Feixian Vineyard, which is located in a natural gorge thirty kilometers southeast of Yashu City, the capital of Irene. The Tianwai Feixian Vineyard harvests less than 10,000 kilograms of Pearl White grapes every year, and at most, only two or three hundred bottles of wine are produced each year. Do you think such priceless things can enter the market?"

  Yang Shuangfen was deeply infuriated, especially when she thought of her intimate relationship with Xue Fei, and a fierce fire burned in her heart. At this moment, being stimulated by her cold words, she suddenly couldn't bear the anger surging up, wanting to severely reprimand her a few times, but couldn't find suitable words. For a while, her face turned bright red, as if it was about to explode, but she managed to hold back and didn't say anything rude. Su Yunru, on the other hand, thought he couldn't refute her, so she was very pleased, smiled charmingly, and suddenly lit up the whole room with radiance.

  Cai Bing poured several cups of Yasutai red wine for everyone, and the faces of all the women who drank it were flushed with a bright red glow, their eyebrows and eyes like silk, as if they were in a spring breeze. Although they knew it wasn't very proper, the wine was fragrant and rich, with an endless aftertaste, and they couldn't help but drink cup after cup. Only Tang Zhi and Yang Xuanfeng were still sober, and at this moment, they were talking about the Blue Feather Army.

  Tang Zhi held his wine cup and said, "From historical records, I can see that the Blue Feather Army organized by your ancestors Yang Lan Yu had unparalleled combat power. In several grand battles during the founding of the Tangchuan Empire, it was always the Blue Feather Army that broke through the defensive lines of the Minghe Empire's army first, forcing them to retreat completely. The Tangchuan Empire took advantage of their victory and attacked, with the assistance of many vassal armies, especially private armies like the Blue Feather Army, Crane Army, and Wolf Army, ultimately sweeping away the Minghe Empire's army and establishing a new empire. The Blue Feather Army's attacking spirit and bravery in each battle are truly admirable, its sharp attacking power is unmatched, even the Tangchuan Empire's own Dragon Rider Battalion can't compare to it. However, in terms of defensive capabilities, the Blue Feather Army isn't particularly outstanding, it's an army that advocates for offense being the best defense."

  Yang Shuang said curiously, "I want to know if there are any legal provisions for the military regarding territorial issues. I always feel that in this regard, it seems vague and unclear, is there a clear legal provision that can be followed?"

  Tang Zhi said: "The earliest regulations regarding the armies of the lords originated from the Anrakala Alliance. This alliance was signed in 1396, and the initiator was Tang Chuan. There were sixteen participants at first, which later increased to twenty-nine. These twenty-nine people were all the lords of the Minghe Empire at that time. Due to the tyranny of the Minghe Empire, the emperor's incompetence, corruption among officials, excessive taxation, and greed, the people suffered greatly, and their lives were unbearable. Under Tang Chuan's leadership, these sixteen lords decided to unite against the rule of the Minghe Empire emperor. They signed an alliance in Anrakala, now known as the Yunchuan Daozha area, calling on all local lords to unite against the emperor's tyranny. The alliance only had one clause regarding private lord armies: to ensure people's lives, property safety, and personal freedom, lords have the right to organize their own armies within the scope of the alliance, fight together until victory is achieved."

  Yang Shuangfen frowned and said: "Is it just that simple?"

  Tang Zhi said: "At that time, it was indeed so simple, because he had clearly granted the lord's army the right and obligation. The right is that the lord can organize his own army and command and use the army, and the obligation is that the combat purpose of the army must be to guarantee the people's life, property safety and personal freedom."

  Yang Shuang said: "Is there a clear regulation on the number of private troops?"

  Tang Ziyu shook his head and said, "At that time, the more troops, the better, so there was no limit. The law treaty that clearly stipulated the number of private lord's troops was promulgated in 1434, which was after Tangchuan's founding. Emperor Tangchuan and the other twenty-eight lords negotiated peacefully in Niluo Divine Capital and signed the Niluo Divine Capital Treaty, which explicitly limited the number of private troops to fifty thousand and required them to accept the leadership and command of the central court. At that time, eleven lord families disbanded their troops on the spot, and the other seventeen lord families also greatly reduced the number of their troops, generally only around ten thousand people, to maintain local security. As for the subsequent Tangchuan emperors continuously reducing the number of private troops, it was just an oral order, without any written regulations."

  Yang Shuang said: "So, the written documents that really have an impact on the Lord's army are the Anluo Kara Alliance and the Niluo Divine Capital Alliance?"

  Tang Zhi said: "As far as I know, it is indeed so."

  Su Rongyu suddenly said coldly: "Yang Shuangfeng, even if you organize more troops, it is impossible to recover Menis, because this road cannot be taken at all. You might as well give up and not waste your time and energy!"

  Yang Shuangfen looked at her with dissatisfaction, thinking that apart from her beautiful appearance, there was nothing else to appreciate about her. Especially since she never agreed with her own opinions and often argued with her, making herself even more annoyed. Suddenly, a surge of anger rose in her chest, and she couldn't help but blurt out: "You're just a woman, your hair is long but your vision is short, what do you know?"

  Su Yun's lips curled up in a faint smile as she said disdainfully, "Then you understand more than I do?"

  Tang Zī smiled and said: "Hehe, we're all discussing it!"

  Su Yunru suddenly stood up and said excitedly: "Yang Shuangfeng, do you know what? You think that military force can solve everything? But do you have enough military strength? The Light Empire's army has over 100,000 regular troops, not to mention the tens of thousands of nomadic cavalry that can be mobilized at any time. And Peng Yue, he has also expanded his army to over 60,000 people in Qingchuan Road, controlling the entire grain production area of Minis, and he has the support of the Swan Kingdom behind him. The Mani religion is not weak either, their core armed forces, the Red Banner Army, have more than 30,000 people. I'd like to ask, what power and resources do you Yang family, especially you Yang Shuangfeng, have to organize an army? How many troops do you think are needed to eliminate the above-mentioned enemies? You shout about military force every day, but where does your military force come from? Can it grow out of your small place in Lichuan Prefecture and the small port of Puzhou?"

  Her words were clear and sharp, instantly rendering Yang Su Feng speechless, unable to respond. The atmosphere was momentarily stunned. Cai Bing Xia carefully said: "Sister-in-law, please sit down and talk!"

  Tang Zhi and Yang Shuangfeng stared at each other, Yang Shuangfeng's anger growing by the second. If Su Yunruo had been spouting nonsense, it would have been one thing, but his words were actually quite insightful and hit right at Yang's sore spot. The construction of the Blue Feather Army was indeed his biggest worry. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, he felt like a helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered. According to the information Yang Jirui had fed back, the Blue Feather Army wasn't getting many recruits either. Most people would immediately lose interest as soon as they heard they'd have to fight against the Empire's army or Peng Yue's rebel forces. Originally, they had planned to recruit 3,000 soldiers, but now it seemed unlikely they could even get 500 genuine volunteers. Unless they resorted to drafting soldiers by force, which history had proven was useless. For a moment, his face was clouded with uncertainty, and his eyes darted about restlessly.

  Su Yun sneered coldly, her voice full of sarcasm: "Without a big enough head, don't wear such a big hat. The seven great temples in the Menis region have all been radiant lately, and rumors say that an unprecedented Salgon is about to appear... You can't be naive enough to think that person is you, right?"

  Yang Shuangfen's expression was dazed and she murmured: "It's Sargon again... I hate Sargon..."

  "Ah, yes, you can hate him, but you have to face him. You can surrender at his feet, lick the tips of his toes, and maybe he'll spare your life..."

  Yang Shuangfeng didn't say a word, he just stood there in a daze.

  Tang Zhi said with a half-believing, half-doubting tone: "Recently, the Seven Great Divine Halls have indeed had spiritual lights appearing? Is it true or just rumors? Among those who can become Salgon, there are only three people: Cuo Shou, Quan Xiuhong, and Peng Yue. Among them, Cuo Shou's strength is the strongest. Miss Su, why don't you share your analysis?"

  Su Yun looked at Yang Shuang with a faint glance, as if to deliberately dampen his enthusiasm. She said calmly: "Some people don't even know the strength of the Mennis region's rebels and naively think they are just a bunch of mobs. In fact, after five years of training and fighting, the Mennis region's rebels have become an extremely powerful force. The 100,000 people under Catcher's command are not an exaggeration, but a real 100,000 people. These 100,000 people were divided into five legions, with 20,000 people in each legion. He also had the assistance of nomadic cavalry behind him, from this point of view, he was indeed the most capable of becoming Salgon. However, Catcher's personality is difficult to grasp, and no one knows what he wants to do. His behavior cannot be analyzed with common sense, so predicting his actions is the most difficult thing."

  Tang Ziyu nodded slightly and said: "Then what about Peng Yue?"

  Su Ling said: "Peng Yue himself was the commander of the imperial border defense army, and he understood the military system of the empire best. Therefore, his troops were completely set up according to the organization of the imperial army, and their training system and combat command were no different from those of the imperial army. Except for a woman named Xi Feng from the Swan Goose Kingdom standing beside him to supervise him, there was no other major change. However, that Swan Goose woman Xi Feng was the sister of the queen of the Swan Goose Kingdom, who was skilled in military command. Peng Yue's successful rebellion had a considerable part of its success due to Xi Feng's guidance. Therefore, as long as she was still by Peng Yue's side, Peng Yue's rebel army would be like adding wings to a tiger."

  Tang Zhi was deep in thought for a moment, and then Su Yun continued: "Finally, let's talk about the Mani religion. Quan Xiuhong is actually not that scary, because very few people know of his existence. On the other hand, the Holy Maiden Fang Feiqing of the Mani religion has been making waves in recent years. Her martial arts skills are unfathomable. The victories of the Red Turban Army of the Mani religion were almost all related to her assassination actions. In the past, the nomadic tribes on the Blood-colored Plateau looked down on the Mani religion, thinking that they were weak and couldn't accomplish anything big. However, after Ximon's number one expert, Mu Le, and Wala's number one expert, Fang Dan, were assassinated by Fang Feiqing, they could no longer ignore the existence of the Mani religion. However, Fang Feiqing's assassination actions had both advantages and disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage was that it caused the Light Empire's military to be at odds with the Mani religion, each wanting to destroy the other. Ximon and Wala were even more so, hating the Mani religion to the bone, wanting to uproot them and skin Fang Feiqing alive to avenge Mu Le and Fang Dan. Under the leadership of Cai, the friction between the Light Empire and the Mani religion continued, with frequent bloody conflicts. Due to being outnumbered, the Mani religion was always at a disadvantage, which was a painful thing for Quan Xiuhong. If he wanted to make amends with Cai, he would have to abandon Fang Feiqing, which was an extremely difficult choice."