Chapter 1343

This information is extremely valuable for the current state of Yao State, especially for the Yao King of Qingyang who is worrying about how to respond—Fan Shuang has no doubts about the truth of this news; first, it makes sense, otherwise how could He Lingchuan, as an outsider arriving in a foreign land, quickly establish himself and develop so rapidly in just two years without strong external support? Second, the news is easy to verify—just send someone to inquire at Dao Feng Port. Unlike other small states on the Jin Gold Plains, Yao State also has merchant caravans traveling worldwide.

He Lingchuan, seeing that the topic was about to wrap up, shifted again: "By the way, my merchant caravan will be returning in seven days, and this time there are many empty wagons, so I can conveniently transport some bamboo cloth back."

Bamboo cloth isn't valuable, so it's just an add-on.

Fan Shuang readily agreed to this small matter, promising to deliver it within four days.

He Lingchuan rubbed his hands again: "Speaking of which, last time you gave me a sample of bamboo cloth, it bore the mark of the Yao royal family. I thought it looked familiar at the time, but couldn't recall where I'd seen it. Until I returned to the Yangshan Archipelago—"

"Oh?" Fan Shuang picked up a piece of braised lamb and asked casually, "Where did you see it?"

"More than two years ago, when I first purchased the Yangshan Archipelago and began exploring the surrounding waters, my men salvaged some shipwreck remains in the bay. Among them was a set of exquisite armor, seemingly ceremonial or worn only for important occasions, and this very mark was engraved on the armor."

Armor bearing the Yao royal family's mark? Fan Shuang now took it seriously: "Did you bring the armor with you?"

"I did." He Lingchuan took out a full set of armor from his storage ring, placed it on a chair nearby, and pointed to the mark on the plates: "I didn't misremember, did I?"

Fan Shuang examined it carefully for a while before nodding: "Indeed, it is the royal mark. Strange—how did it end up in the Yangshan Sea?"

"The waters outside the Yangshan Archipelago are frequently hit by typhoons and sea monsters, and there used to be lingering killing intent for years on end, resulting in countless shipwrecks." He Lingchuan explained, "The remains we've uncovered even include ancient ships from five or six hundred years ago."

The underwater conditions in the Yangshan Sea are exceptionally complex; even with the aid of the Yin Viper, the salvage operations on the island's shipwrecks have continued up to the present without completion.

Fan Shuang said solemnly: "May I take this set of armor back to present to the royal family?"

"Of course." Otherwise, why would He Lingchuan have specially brought this armor across the ocean? He gestured sideways, and a beautiful box appeared on the floor, startling Fan Shuang: "When my men discovered the armor, it was already inside this box."

Later, they found that the box lid also bore the royal mark.

Fan Shuang hurriedly summoned his attendants to come in and carry away the armor and the box, then offered a toast of thanks to He Lingchuan before moving on to discuss bilateral trade, occasionally interjecting with amusing anecdotes from Lingxu City.

He Lingchuan casually asked: "I recall that when I was in Lingxu City, you often had a Huang—Huang something—by your side. Was he also a Yao person?"

"Good memory—Huang Shen."

"Oh right, how has he been lately? Has he also returned to Yao State?"

"He's still in Lingxu City."

He Lingchuan let out a long "eh": "How could he possibly stay in Lingxu?"

During the Heavenly Palace upheaval, Lingxu City expelled large numbers of foreigners within just four months. He Lingchuan heard that Lingxu Academy suddenly lost twenty percent of its people—not only students, but also foreign teachers who taught there were driven out of Lingxu City.

"First, he is a Yao person. Lingxu City expels outsiders, but does not include us Yao people." Fan Shuang smiled, "Most Yao people in Lingxu City live normal lives, largely unaffected."

He Lingchuan suddenly understood, and Between Between Between Beijia still showed some care for his junior.

"Second, Huang Shen studied palace construction in Lingxu City, had previously participated in many building projects, so Lingxu City kept him to build the city walls."

"City walls?" He Lingchuan let out a long sigh, "Back then, I wondered—where would Lingxu City even need walls?"

At least not before he left.

He still remembered his first glance at Lingxu City, when Bai Ziqi beside him had said, Lingxu City doesn't need walls.

Because enemies could never reach that place.

Over these two years, He Lingchuan has done considerable business with Between Between Between Beijia and has continuously sent personnel to Lingxu City to gather information, of course knowing that Lingxu City officially launched its wall construction project half a year after the Heavenly Palace shock.

The reason it took so long to begin construction is that the Lingxu royal court has been arguing endlessly—one faction believes building walls shows weakness to the enemy, making people think Between Between Between Beijia is no longer strong and confident; the other faction believes the war situation is growing increasingly dire, and to intercept such attacks and increase the sense of security among Lingxu people, they must pragmatically build walls.

This matter sparked a huge, heated debate in Lingxu City, so intense that it even surpassed attention on the Mu War.

How could a localized war ten thousand miles away be more important than the safety of Lingxu City's own people?

Now that Lingxu City has built its walls, it shows the pragmatic faction ultimately won the argument.

"Yes, Lingxu City used to have no walls." Fan Shuang laughed, "I heard that Lingxu City either doesn't build at all, or if it does, it must build the greatest wall in the world."

"The greatest in the world?" Just putting on a fig leaf and making it look beautiful, even drawing a map on it—would it still be a fig leaf? "Then how long will this wall take to build?"

"A month or so ago, Huang Shen complained in a letter, saying the wall's foundation was nearly complete, when suddenly the higher-ups changed their minds, wanting to simultaneously solve the internal flooding issue, so everything had to be redone!"

"Does Lingxu City have internal flooding?"

"For the past three hundred years, the east and south sides have flooded several times. This time, they supposedly plan to address it all together."

He Lingchuan laughed: "Then wouldn't this project just keep getting bigger and bigger?"

"Moreover, this wall will have at least dozens of embedded formations to ensure cannon fire doesn't break it and internal enemies can't damage it. Besides being sturdy, it must also be beautiful—master craftsmen will carve 108 divine statues on the inner side of the wall, each over five zhang tall. The wall will include inner layers, sentry posts, and breakwaters, and must accommodate five carriages side by side for transporting troops and grain, etc."

Too much wine leads to leaks, too many words lead to mistakes. Fan Shuang had drunk quite a bit, and his tongue was loosened: "He uses too many technical terms—I can't remember them all. Anyway, from what I gather, this wall will still take a very long time to finish."

He Lingchuan poured another cup for him: "Has Lingxu City not undertaken such a large-scale project in a long time?"

"Haha, no wonder!" Lingxu City has relied on the old foundation left by the Xian Sect, with expansion stopping two hundred years ago. In other words, Lingxu City two hundred years ago was already roughly this outline, and since then it's only been renovations and maintenance on the original base—no such massive new project has been undertaken.

"Just moving a little is like throwing away silver." Fan Shuang rubbed his fingertips, "But Between Between Between Beijia isn't short of money—let's all make money together."

(End of Chapter)