Chapter 888

"This is extortion." He He Lingchuan stroked his chin and thought. With such a vicious neighbor, Does Bailie's life is really not good. "If there is a first and a second, there will be a third; if the Ya Nation tastes the sweetness, Does Bailie will have no peace."

"The current leader of the Does Bailie clan is Lu Lu Zhensheng. The direct line of the Lu family has long since died out, and Lu Lu Zhensheng, who came from a collateral line, was elected as the clan leader."

"Lu Lu Zhensheng seems to have negotiated with the Qing Nation, wanting to take back Blade Harbor, but failed."

"But the Does Bailie territory itself seems to have developed quite well in the past ten years or so."

Lu Lu Zhensheng? He He Lingchuan raised his eyebrows; this was the cousin of his original body's mother, Lu Lu Xiaoyun, and the person who forced her to give up her inheritance and flee to the Yuan Nation, later successfully sitting on the position of clan leader as he wished.

He was also the highest leader of the Does Bailie territory.

Six hundred years ago, after the Does Bailie Nation was defeated by Between Beijia and its territory was occupied, the Lu family led the Does Bailie people to move here to continue living, but they did not establish a nation again.

This was just the territory of the Lu family.

Against the background of the gradually weakening spiritual energy, few great families could span six hundred years of time; usually, they would become ordinary people in one or two hundred years. The Lu family was the same; they had revived several times and been brilliant several times, but finally fell into the long river of time; it was not easy to maintain until now.

In today's world, the Lu family is already an ancient family.

It's a pity that "old" doesn't mean being respected.

Ding Ding Zuodong also spoke: "Lu Lu Zhensheng has two sons; the eldest son, Lu Qing'an, is thirty-one years old and has always stayed in the clan; the second son, Lu Lu Qinglin, is twenty-seven years old and has been apprenticed to Ganyuan Valley since childhood, which is one of the largest and oldest Taoist sects in the Mou Nation, its predecessor being an ancient immortal sect; later, Lu Lu Qinglin was recommended by Ganyuan Valley to enter the Mou Nation's army, and soon rose to the rank of Captain; it seems that he recently made contributions in the western front battle and was awarded the title of General Xu. The Mou Nation has many talented people and fierce competition, so this speed of promotion is already extraordinary."

"Xu?" He He Lingchuan stroked his chin. "This title is not bad; it seems that the contribution is not small, and the Mou Nation also intends to promote him."

Some miscellaneous titles of generals are like playing games, such as Building Ship General, Timber Official General, all related to the troops they lead.

The message of the word "Xu" is very good; this Lu Lu Qinglin seems to be a talent too. He He Lingchuan had heard of Ganyuan Valley; this long-standing Taoist sect had very strict standards for selecting talent and had an unusually close connection with the Mou Nation's royal court; wealthy families couldn't get in just by spending money.

Qiu Hu also asked: "Western front? Is that fighting against Between Beijia?"

"I heard it is. There is no lack of merchants from the west in Blade Harbor, and they all say that Between Beijia frequently launches fierce attacks, and the Mou Nation rises to fight."

He He Lingchuan swept his peripheral vision over Dong Rui, seeing him wink at him, the meaning of which was obvious:

The culprit is here.

If it weren't for He He Lingchuan releasing Qu Ju, almost blowing the Zhaixing Tower into the sky, and igniting the fuse of the turmoil in Lingxu City, Between Beijia wouldn't be so furious.

When the Son of Heaven is angry, blood flows and oars drift. The dignity of a powerful country cannot be offended.

But heroes emerge in troubled times; this era of war is the easiest to produce owls and geniuses.

Lu Lu Qinglin also took the opportunity to accumulate military merit.

"But his greatest ability is not winning battles, but marrying Xia Xia Lishang, the daughter of General General Yutian and Crown Prince's Grand Tutor Xia Pei. Legend has it that as soon as Lu Lu Qinglin entered the capital, he was spotted by Xia Xia Lishang at a glance." Ding Ding Zuodong laughed. "What is most widely circulated outside is the romance between Lu Lu Qinglin and the Xia family's daughter."

"Xia Pei is leading the army to fight on the western front; he can be said to be a pivotal figure in the royal court."

"The Lu family has found a good marriage for itself." As soon as He He Lingchuan heard it, he knew that this would likely be the difficulty for him to take back the Does Bailie territory in the future.

He was investigating the immortality medicine case in Between Beijia, following the vine to find Cen Boqing, and then the clue was broken. Cen Boqing couldn't be counted as top-level power in Lingxu City, where nobles gathered, but he married the daughter of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, so no one dared to touch him—including Fu Fu Shanyue, the Crown Prince of Chi Yan who arrived in person.

He He Lingchuan used all his means to trick Cen Boqing into falling for it and confessing.

The Lu family is the same. Lu Lu Zhensheng found a current general of the Mou Nation to be an in-law, which increased the difficulty of He He Lingchuan's plan.

Royal relatives are the hardest to deal with and the hardest to handle. With Xia Pei's prestige in the Mou Nation, it's about the same.

Sure enough, Ding Ding Zuodong nodded and said: "That's right, ever since Lu Lu Qinglin married the Xia family's daughter, the prestige of the Lu family has risen all the way. Except for the Ya Nation, which doesn't buy this set and still raises troops to threaten them, the surrounding forces have become much more polite to them. I heard outside that if Lu Lu Qinglin can earn a few more military merits, he will be a rising star in the officialdom of the Mou Nation."

He He Lingchuan gave an "en" sound.

This certainly has the component of exaggerated rendering released by the Lu family itself, but war is indeed the best way for military generals to leap, especially since Lu Lu Qinglin also found a big backer for himself; General General Yutian should be very happy to promote his son-in-law.

Promoting the worthy without avoiding relatives, both Between Beijia and the Mou Nation are like this.

Tao Ran interjected: "Oh, by the way, the Niushan mine of the Does Bailie people had an accident a year ago; the tunnel collapsed and buried more than two hundred people, but fewer were injured, only more than eighty. I don't know if this casualty figure has been exaggerated, but I heard that the aftermath and compensation for this mining disaster have not been completed to this day."

Everyone said "oh": "This is a serious accident."

"The mine owner has to pay a lot of money."

Tao Ran said again: "The mine owner is the Lu family. The compensation they took out was eighty taels for the dead, fifty taels for those seriously injured and disabled, and only five or ten taels for minor injuries. The family members were not convinced and gathered to make trouble several times, and the village jail couldn't hold them anymore."

"The dead only received eighty thousand coins in compensation?"

Those seriously injured and disabled are the troublesome ones, and they still have the rest of their lives to live. Those who go to the mine to dig are mostly the strong labor force in the family; now they can't support the family, and they have to burn money to treat their injuries and take medicine, becoming a burden instead.

No wonder the family members are dissatisfied.

Everyone said one after another: "The Lu family is stingy; they sit on fertile land, have their own mountains, forests, mines, and fields, and are reluctant to pay even these twenty or thirty thousand taels."

Ding Ding Zuodong laughed: "You don't know, the money of these great families is circulating in the industry; if there is an emergency that requires gold and silver, they usually have to tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and it is not as well-off as it appears on the surface."

He had been a steward for more than ten years in a wealthy family, grabbing both inside and outside, and knew the ins and outs best.

Tao Ran didn't believe it: "No matter how not well-off, no matter how much turnover is needed, can't they pour it out in a year?"

"That's right, so the Lu family's accounts should have some problems." Ding Ding Zuodong pondered. "The Does Bailie people's gathering place is the Lu family's fief; they also want to manage it well and win a good reputation."

No feudal lord wants their fief to be miserable and full of complaints.

What unspeakable bitterness does the Lu family have? "Perhaps it's the battle with the Ya Nation, the consumption is too great? Didn't they lose a lot of money when they were defeated at the end of last year?"

If you lose the war, you have to pay compensation; international practice.

The Ya Nation also relies on Does Bailie; if they have no money, they come to knock, treating the originally wealthy Does Bailie as a cash cow.

When He He Lingchuan heard this, he said: "Time is abundant, don't be busy for a moment. I will give you a long vacation, pay you another half month's salary, and let you play in Blade Harbor and the Does Bailie people's territory for about ten days."

"The Lord is generous!" When everyone heard that the boss actually gave paid leave, they all cheered. They had been on the ship for two months and tossed by the wind and waves for two months; although no one was delicate, who wouldn't be happy to have a long vacation and good food and play? "Don't be busy being happy; do you know what you should do?"

"Know, know, that is to go to the wind and moon places to inquire about some news!" Tao Ran said solemnly. "If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub!"

Everyone clapped and laughed.

He He Lingchuan paid the salary readily and waved his hand: "Get out!"

After the Other Rongshan people left with their arms around each other's shoulders, He He Lingchuan called Ding Ding Zuodong over.

"It's not easy for you to follow me here; unlike these bachelors who are carefree." He He Lingchuan took out fifty taels of silver and stuffed them into his hand. "Take your wife to buy some clothes, and go to a few good restaurants to make her happy."

Ding Ding Zuodong's eastward journey had a lot of disagreement in his family. His children and grandchildren refused to follow, so Ding Ding Zuodong had to take his wife south to White Sand Bay.

The ship cabin boards were thin, and He He Lingchuan could even hear Ding Ding Zuodong and his wife arguing, his wife crying in a mess, scolding him for abandoning his family and children.

People are nostalgic for their homeland, mostly because they are nostalgic for their relatives and human feelings. He He Lingchuan understood his state of mind.

"That old woman..." Ding Ding Zuodong remembered that his own wife still had a straight face when she got off the ship, probably because it was seen by the master.

Sigh, it's embarrassing. The master is really meticulous.

He was about to decline, but when the words reached his lips, he shrank back. "Sigh, it's me who added trouble to the master."

"It's nothing more than human feelings." He He Lingchuan didn't take it seriously and patted him on the shoulder. "Go."

Tao Ran waited on the side, and only after Ding Ding Zuodong left did he come forward: "Young Master, what task do you want to give me?"

He had just seen He He Lingchuan wink at him, so he stayed behind on purpose.

He He Lingchuan nodded secretly. This kid really has a good eye.

Qiu Hu is fierce and tough, while Tao Ran is smart and cunning, and he grasps the measure well.

"You go to the Does Bailie people's territory and try to see if you can mix into the Lu mansion." He He Lingchuan ordered him. "It's not appropriate to just inquire about news outside."

News spread outside the mansion is often exaggerated and distorted; the real contradictions of a family are usually hidden in the core.

In the past, outsiders looked at their He family father and son, and they also looked harmonious. Only He He Chunhua and He He Lingchuan themselves knew that this was called being together in body but apart in spirit.

"Yes." Tao Ran was about to move, but suddenly turned around again. "Can I ask your pharmacist to prepare a medicine for me?"

Ling Guang was eating melon on the side, and upon hearing this, he raised his head: "Where are you uncomfortable?"

He He Lingchuan laughed: "He wants to prepare a harmful medicine, just not to hurt life; you just need to refine it."

Tao Ran admired: "Young Master is amazing!" He saw through his trick at a glance.

After everything was explained, He He Lingchuan himself left the inn and went to the seaside to blow the wind.

(End of chapter)