Chapter 998: The Fourth Faction Appears

On this point, Yu Zecheng made no attempt to hide it, and He Lingchuan was also well aware of it.

The mirror in his bosom, however, sneered, "These Beijia people aren't very bright either. Knowing full well that we've heightened our defenses, they still insist on choosing tonight to make their move."

A sneak attack is only a sneak attack if the other party is unaware.

Now that even the time and place of the attack are clear, it’s equivalent to playing with cards face up; the opponent's chance of victory is halved from the start.

He Lingchuan shook his head. "You see how Yu Zecheng has driven Zhu Erniang into a corner, and how he struts about our island, looking completely calm and collected, but in reality, he has no choice either."

"Huh?" He didn't understand.

"Yu Zecheng is a military officer, an imperial bureaucrat. Once assigned a task, his greatest fear is failing to produce results." In his hometown, high-ranking officials and executives had a curse hanging over their heads called KPI. "If you wander outside for too long and your superiors see that your performance is lackluster and you aren't doing your job, won't they replace you without a second thought? Because the superiors have their own superiors to answer to, and they have their own performance targets to meet. Besides, Beijia is full of talent; there are probably many people eyeing Yu Zecheng's position. If he can't do the job well, someone else will be brought in to do it."

"Yu Zecheng has been chasing Zhu Erniang for over half a year; it’s time to close the net. If he misses these two days, misses the chance to coordinate with the Bailong people, there’s no telling when he’ll find another good opportunity. If his superiors ask him what his plan is and when he intends to act, do you think he can answer?" He Lingchuan added, "The operation to capture Zhu Erniang was a hard mandate from the Heavenly Palace; how could he be allowed to delay it indefinitely? He has the State Preceptor Frostleaf above him, and State Preceptor Frostleaf has the Heavenly Palace above him. They all have to answer to someone."

So it has to be tonight; these Beijia people have no choice.

Since Yu Zecheng wants to wait for an opportunity to act, he will just have to lure the snake out of its hole.

As for the first wave of the Beijia offensive, he could test its quality tonight.

Fortunately, He Lingchuan had more than just Zhu Erniang as his face-up card.

He chuckled. "Old-fashioned empires like Beijia are particularly interesting. Their internal hierarchy, reward and punishment, and promotion systems—if you call them flexible, they are exceptionally flexible; if you call them strict, they are also exceptionally strict."

Lingxu City is a holy land for study that young talents from all over the world yearn for.

Some are dazzled by its prosperity;

Some are conquered by its power;

Some hold its system as the gold standard, worshipping it while studying it.

But He Lingchuan had ventured into Lingxu City carrying intense contradictions and conflicts. What he saw was a giant elephant walking through a swamp.

A giant elephant can ignore the challenges of other creatures, but its own weight is too great; the swamp looks flat and vast, but it is full of pits and mud. Once the elephant steps into it, it is very difficult to pull itself out.

The giant elephant is Beijia.

And the swamp? The swamp is also Beijia itself.

Others look at Beijia and see majesty and inviolability; He Lingchuan looks at Beijia and sees nothing but opportunities.

The mud in front of the elephant is his opportunity; as long as he uses it effectively, he won't fear the long-distance strikes from the northern demon kingdom.

Having traveled through Beijia just once, he had gained profound insights.

He sometimes wondered, what about Zhong Shengguang?

What did Zhong Shengguang see when he studied in Lingxu City over one hundred and seventy years ago that made him so unswerving for the decades to come?

"Proprietor, Proprietor!" At this moment, Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke also rushed over to quickly report on the situation of the various islands.

As the island master, He Lingchuan still had a mountain of matters to coordinate. The pressure Yu Zecheng wanted to exert on him had long been tossed into the sea.

Currently, the fourteen island estates, docks, farmland, and collection gardens had all been mobilized; they were now preparing food and water, and the residents near the mountains and lakes had been temporarily relocated.

Facing the sudden hurricane, the preparations of the Yangshan Archipelago were busy and chaotic, with quite a few mishaps along the way.

He Lingchuan was not surprised at all, and even said to his confidants, "A sudden hurricane—this is a good thing."

After vomiting, Dong Rui remained on Suoding Island. The wind and waves were too strong for him to return to his own island, and upon hearing He Lingchuan's words, he said indignantly, "A good thing? You can enjoy this kind of 'good thing' all by yourself!"

"Dealing with a natural disaster is just like fighting a war," He Lingchuan laughed. "Heaven has gifted me a chance to drill my troops for nothing; how is that not a good thing?"

Disaster relief is the same as marching to war; it is a great test of large-scale mobilization and organizational ability.

He Lingchuan's large group of subordinates were all cobbled together, and this was the perfect opportunity to properly break them in.

Before the confidants could react, someone behind them clapped twice: "Well said, and well reasoned!"

Guan Ke couldn't help but roll his eyes. Who is this now! Flattering even faster than he does.

He Lingchuan turned his head to look and saw the old captain leading a massive crowd of people toward them.

A glance over, and there were at least a hundred people.

And walking in the very front with long strides was none other than Fang Canran! Seeing this familiar face, He Lingchuan cursed inwardly.

Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, any day would do, so why show up on this night, at this very moment? Is his good brother trying to say he isn't busy or chaotic enough? But on the surface, he had to appear both surprised and delighted, immediately stepping forward to greet him: "Brother Songyuan! Why have you come?"

Fang Canran had changed his name and hidden his identity, so He Lingchuan called him Shao Songyuan in front of others.

"I came to deliver things to you, but I didn't expect to run into a storm." Fang Canran didn't live by the sea before and didn't know much about maritime weather. He turned to introduce the person to He Lingchuan, "Brother He, this is my martial uncle, Wang Xingyi. The old gentleman is the State Preceptor of the Mou Kingdom."

The person beside him looked to be in his early thirties, with neat eyebrows and a dignified air; he was the one who had just clapped for He Lingchuan.

The listeners were moved; even the passing porters looked astonished. The title "State Preceptor of the Mou Kingdom" was quite intimidating.

He Lingchuan immediately cupped his hands in salute: "Greetings, Senior Wang!"

No wonder there were so many elite guards coming off the ship; the entourage of a State Preceptor of the Mou Kingdom was indeed grand.

He Lingchuan observed their ceremonial guard; they were either wearing bright armor or had sharp, piercing gazes, clearly possessing cultivation.

State Preceptor Wang's guard unit was obviously hand-picked and possessed formidable combat power.

He Lingchuan sighed bitterly to himself.

The armed forces he had left on Suoding Island had been calculated; on the surface, the numbers were neither too many nor too few, and the strength was neither too strong nor too weak, just enough to make potential enemies willing to try their luck—ahem, of course, there really were no extra men to spare, as the archipelago was too vast and there were too many areas to protect—but now that State Preceptor Wang had brought so many elite guards and walked so brazenly onto the dock, what if he scared the enemy into retreating? Wang Xingyi stroked his beard and accepted the salute with ease: "You said it well, disaster relief is like drilling troops. The children nowadays are all afraid of hardship; there aren't many left with this kind of character."

He Lingchuan smiled: "Senior, you are too kind. You have all traveled a long way; please go to the guesthouse to rest."

It was still an hour or so before sunset, but the clouds were already burning red across half the sky. The sea breeze grew increasingly biting, and the crashing waves against the shore were over a zhang high.

Experienced fishermen knew at a glance that the storm was coming, and it wouldn't be later than tonight.

All of He Lingchuan's subordinates were busy, but with distinguished guests arriving, he, as the island master, naturally had to lead the way himself.

However, before leading the way, he whispered to the eyeball spider on his collar: "The plan has changed; I cannot be the bait anymore."

The State Preceptor had arrived, and he had to play the host.

He had originally intended to use himself as bait to lure the enemy into acting, but that seemed impossible now.

Plans never keep up with changes.

The Spider Queen immediately asked: "What do you intend to do?"

"We have to change the bait," He Lingchuan said urgently. "Which one of you will do it?"

A voice replied without hesitation: "Me!"

"Fine, it's you then." He Lingchuan finished his instructions in a few words and turned back to greet his guests.

Last time on Platinum Island, Fang Canran had promised to introduce him to a big shot from the Mou Kingdom.

Sure enough, he had come to fulfill his promise.

Truly a man of his word.

The State Preceptor of the Mou Kingdom also came from the Taihang Sect, which showed the status of the Taihang Sect in that country.

Fang Canran also said to He Lingchuan: "The 1,500 sets of weapons and armor arrived on two ships; find someone to move them. Also, I brought the spiritual ore you wanted."

These were all things He Lingchuan had ordered from him on Platinum Island, but he hadn't expected Fang Canran to get them all together in just a few days.

He Lingchuan clapped his hands, full of praise: "Brother Songyuan is truly a timely rain!"

These were all things he urgently needed right now.

The armor for the Yangshan guard unit was easy to handle and could be custom-made, but over a thousand sets of weapons? They weren't sold anywhere.

Both the Qing Kingdom and Bailie strictly prohibited the export of weapons, let alone wholesale quantities.

You couldn't buy them even with money.

Otherwise, why would Min Tianxi and the others have smuggled weapons in the past? It was all because of the huge profits.

Only Platinum Island, which claimed to buy and sell everything, could have gotten so many contraband items for He Lingchuan in such a short time.

Fang Canran also laughed: "You're just lucky. Right after you left, someone came to Platinum Island to sell several batches of weapons. They gave me face and sold them directly. But the price is a bit high; you'll need to make up the difference."

"That's only fair, that's only fair." He Lingchuan had prepaid ten thousand silver taels to Fang Canran; based on the actual purchase price, he would have to pay at least a few thousand more.

Military expenditures were never a small sum.

Wang Xingyi asked He Lingchuan as they walked: "How long have you been managing this island?"

"From the time I bought it until now, not even forty days."

Passing by rows of buildings, Wang Xingyi pointed: "These were all newly built by you, right?"

"Exactly."

Fang Canran was also curious: "How did you know, Martial Uncle?"

"Two years ago, I was also returning to the Mou Kingdom from the Ya Kingdom and took a merchant ship by sea. The ship stopped at the Yangshan Archipelago midway to replenish water. The island was a mess... it's not worth mentioning."

He Lingchuan coughed lightly: "That was the Black Page Island supply station; it had already been dismantled before I took over."

"To be this orderly after taking over for only a month, not bad."

There were repair warehouses by the dock, and on the shore were warehouses, taverns, restaurants, and inns; the basic needs of travelers and merchants could be met upon landing.

The vegetation around the guesthouse had been trimmed, and several places were landscaped with white sand, soft moss, maple, or fruit trees picked up from the beach; although done in a hurry, the cost was low and the visual effect was quite good.

Fang Canran laughed: "My martial uncle rarely praises people, but he has praised you twice tonight. Brother He, you can go brag about this."

(End of chapter)