Chapter 327

·

·

·

Protagonist:

Chen Yi

November in Jiangning rarely sees morning fog, but today a thick fog had risen.

The fog was so dense that standing in the courtyard, one could not make out the branches and leaves atop the big tree overhead. The morning breeze was like a lustful little boy, lifting the fog that covered the knees, lifting, lifting, then blowing it away.

The skirt kept falling down, and the little boy never gave up, until Old Man Sun could not bear to watch and began to dispel the morning breeze and morning fog with ten thousand zhang of radiance.

Chen Zhongguo's old housekeeper was like an old ape, tapping his front paw as he came before the bedroom, asking the night-duty nurse in a low voice: "Has the old master woken?"

"Not yet, sleeping soundly." The nurse skillfully pulled out a small stool and helped the old housekeeper sit down, saying: "Since I came, I've never seen the old master sleep so well; perhaps it's because the weather is colder and more comfortable."

The nurse was a formal staff member of the Health Bureau under the Ministry of Health, with the salary of a public institution, the salary of a civil servant, double benefits from both the state and the Chen family—just like the eunuchs sent to serve in the palaces of kings and nobles in ancient times, whether attending to the master or seeing him off, there was a future for them. He was a young man who was nimble and quick-witted.

The old housekeeper "oh"ed as he sat down, gently thumping his leg. He was also 65 years old; by rights it should be time to enjoy his twilight years, but whenever Chen Zhongguo mentioned it, he said he could still persist. In fact, he did very well; the aging Chen Zhongguo could hardly do without him, and sometimes when Chen Zhongguo did not want to speak, a single glance was enough to understand.

He looked at the sky outside, then took out the pocket watch from his outer pocket, saying: "Xiao Wang, go check by the door again; the old master loves the morning fog most, and it looks like it's about to disappear."

"Aye." The nurse answered and went; a moment later he returned, saying: "Rest assured, the old master is sleeping well, snoring very loudly."

"Is Doctor Li watching?"

"Watching, Doctor Li sleeps only three hours a day, guarding all night long; I just asked him too, he said it's fine, the old man's sleep is hard to come by, don't disturb him."

"Oh, oh, that's good." The old housekeeper grinned, showing two old yellow teeth.

The nurse happened to look up, then quickly looked down, thinking: No wonder the old housekeeper never showed his teeth when smiling; this occasional flash of teeth was too frightening—how many years of old smoking pipes must that be?

Just as he was thinking, the old housekeeper picked up the small stool, went under the corridor, and said: "I'll sniff some smoke."

He had quit smoking for several years; usually he carried a "Daqianmen" cigarette in his pocket, not knowing what year's stock it was; when anxious or uneasy he would sniff it, as if smelling his own good thing.

The nurse said with a smile: "Then you rest a while; you're up quite early, aren't you?"

"Aye, I've been up two or three hours already; I've long been unable to sleep. The old master being like this is just great."

After saying this, the old housekeeper leaned against the wooden pillar of the corridor and closed his eyes to rest his spirit.

The morning fog finally dispersed.

Doctor Li left the inner courtyard on tiptoe, and the small gate made squeaking sounds.

The old housekeeper heard it, raised his head and smiled, first saying: "It's winter; the oil has all dried up."

"Indeed." Doctor Li replied, smiling and greeting: "Everyone up? The old master just woke up, his body is healthy, no problem, he's washing up now."

"Good, good." The old housekeeper put away the Daqianmen cigarette, then asked: "Then I'll go in now."

"Mm-hmm." Li Zhun walked away laughing heartily. Normally, the health doctor's work for this morning would be considered finished; after breakfast he would take a few more readings, and that would be the evening's work. Even so, when the leader's health was poor, if the health doctor did not stay up all night, he would not have fulfilled his responsibility. Now that there was no problem, Li Zhun could go get a good sleep.

The old housekeeper went in eagerly, and just happened to see Old Master Chen practicing boxing in the small backyard. It was neither Taijiquan nor military boxing, but a nameless boxing technique whose name could not be said; it was said to be passed down from the older generation of the Chen family. In those years, farmers in Jiangnan struggled for survival, landlords seized tenants, and fights often broke out, so the children of the family often learned it.

Old Master Chen boxed very slowly; rather than saying he was exercising his body, it was more like enjoying the long-missed boxing. Since a serious illness at age 72, he had not boxed a complete set once.

After four or five minutes, Chen Zhongguo slowly stopped, crossing his hands before his lower abdomen, tilting his face to look at the sun. After a long while, he took a towel from the trellis in front, wiped the tear stains from his face, and smiled: "You're up?"

"I've been up for a while." The old housekeeper did not need to take out his pocket watch to know it was already nine o'clock in the morning, two or three hours later than usual.

Chen Zhongguo let out a hearty laugh for no reason, saying: "I remember that summer it rained heavily; my whole body ached so I couldn't sleep, and I went to the door to watch the thunder, while you snored like thunder, snored like thunder, ha."

"You still remember this." The old housekeeper scratched his head and smiled embarrassedly.

"A Yi's Dan Shen is good; he remembers things clearly now."

"Speaking of this, it's also funny." The old housekeeper came over; he also had to report. While handing tea to Chen Zhongguo, he said: "These past few days, Your Old Master's health has been excellent. Some people heard about it and came to the residence to inquire, wanting to know if you are truly well or falsely well. The remaining few slices of Dan Shen, it seems there are two slices, have been spread outside. I was anxious at the time, so I first asked Chen Yi; he said it was nothing, told the demons and monsters to crawl away, and I was just concerned."

Chen Zhongguo drank his tea quietly. He knew his health was poor; with dozens of people in the old residence, wanting to manage it as tightly as an iron barrel was not easy.

The old housekeeper caught his breath and continued: "Later, it was said those two slices of Dan Shen were passed to several laboratories or something, but nothing was found. Someone even tried eating them, and it was said to be just the efficacy of Dan Shen."

Chen Zhongguo laughed heartily. He was actually curious too; he knew his own body—let alone Dan Shen, even Ginseng King would not have such efficacy. But Chen Yi said nothing, so he did not dig into it. Whether for himself or for the Chen family, better health was the greatest wealth; as for other people's bodies, let them be.

If he could really live another 20 years, Chen Guoliang could surely sit firmly in the position of Upper General; Chen Rongjie serving one term as a high official or high official could also be expected; even the eldest grandson Chen Ye could reach Chen Rongjie's current position. As for Chen Yi... Chen Zhongguo could not predict how far Chen Yi could go. He used to hope Chen Yi would become a down-to-earth scholar, ideally surpassing Harvard or Oxford. But now it seemed Chen Yi, although he had won some major awards, had little willingness to pursue academia. Yet if he started politics from the grassroots, it would both waste his talent and be truly stifling.

Chen Zhongguo then thought of those officials of the Chen Clan. To be precise, the Chen family was merely a representative, like a banner. Those former superiors and subordinates, those disciples who had once received his favors, those military men who had left his service either changing careers or not, and their relatives, nephews, classmates, fellow townspeople, in-laws, and maternal relatives—these were the flagpoles that made up the Chen Clan. With this basic strength, the Chen Clan's banner could fly...

If they wanted to return to the peak, they had to regroup; they had to first let the Chen Clan's basic strength radiate the brilliance of battle and make good battle preparations.

Chen Zhongguo was suddenly startled. This time, returning from Xijing to Jiangning, he had actually already prepared to make compromises, with the main aim of preserving the Chen Clan and the Chen family—spectacular battles are easy, but a happy conclusion is not easy.

But now, his heart was full of fighting spirit, far from the leisure of idling at home.

Isn't this better? Chen Zhongguo straightened his back and said: "A Sheng, go invite Fo Lao, Ou Lao, and Zhou Lao."

Fo, Ou, and Zhou were all his advisors; outsiders jokingly called them the three horse grooms of the Chen Clan. During the previous upheaval in the Jiangning officialdom, the first two had stepped forward to suppress the troublemakers, stabilize the situation, and help reap the fruits of victory.

Chen Zhongguo had not formally asked them to take the stage for some time.

The old housekeeper was startled in his heart and went as told.

When Chen Zhongguo, having received a "Divine Grant" replenishment of divine art, regained his confidence, Chen Yi's confidence surged.

Due to the advantages brought by the divine art, when he entered the subway, it was exactly the opposite of the last time with the Samothrace Column: Gene Completion had no change, but the range of the Light Curtain had doubled. This meant that Yin Senyong, the Yun-5 and Yun-8, and others on Earth could move freely within a radius of 40 kilometers, while Earthlings on the West Continent could move within a range of 50 or even 60 kilometers.

As for the former, let's not say; for the latter, it meant that the students in the West River Water Fortress could break through to Ma La, and even carry out an occupation.

This thought kept eroding Chen Yi's mind, but he did not explain it to anyone; instead, he bought vast quantities of various supplies and transported them to the West Continent as much as possible.

Kang Qiushi of the Equipment Procurement Department, Fang Zhong who was in charge of asset investment, Luo Xiaoshan who actively requested to demolish factories, and Mo Shaoqiu who owned offshore shell companies were all summoned by Chen Yi to buy supplies and send them to Jiangning as much as possible.

Thanks to the Jiangbei Port under construction, various supplies suitable or unsuitable for concealment could, with the help of cargo ships and the railway system, smoothly enter the Jiangjing Storage Area, and then through above-ground and underground transport roads, be sent to the Binjiang Center Warehouse, and under the command or personal operation of the West Continent natives, be loaded into Water Land God Boxes that could actually carry 80,000 tons...

Heaven pity us—if truly loaded with 80,000 tons of supplies, it could support the Chinese battlefield of World War II.

Of course, this amount of supplies, even if used solely for military purposes, was not enough to support the British or Russian battlefields of that time. And the natives of the West Continent, apart from being less knowledgeable, were in no way inferior to the Japanese devils of that year. Their bows and arrows had greater penetration than the Type 38 rifle; their Combat Skill Level knights' attacks were far more accurate than grenade launchers; their Dragon Beast Knights could single-handedly defeat Japan's thin-skinned tanks without any problem. If you sent Eighth Route Army soldiers with millet and rifles to fight a bayonet battle... Chiang's bandit suppression would have succeeded.

Simply put, in Chen Yi's understanding, although the natives of the West Continent seemed inferior, that was a result produced under conditions of information asymmetry. If it had not been 3,000 heavy infantry but 3,000 light cavalry, whether untrained troops could rely on 24 heavy machine guns to win was really hard to say. On the other hand, if the temples did not care and were willing to spend lives to take the West River Water Fortress, charging with the belief of sacrificing over a hundred Combat Skill Level knights, the destruction of the West River Water Fortress would almost be certain.

Precisely for this reason, Chen Yi would think of every way to provide Milan Anti-Tank Missiles to the West River Water Fortress—but to be honest, it could definitely inflict huge casualties on the West River Water Fortress, perhaps making them suffer for a hundred years without recovering. But in a life-and-death great war... the small water fortress would still only have the fate of destruction, let alone when Divine Art Knights who mastered divine art took the field.

Of course, such an absolute situation would not occur if both sides were rational and thinking normally. The Temple's troops have wars they need to participate in, not something the nobles of Ma La can control. The nobles of Ma La have lives they need to enjoy, and they are not pedants who refuse to yield an inch of land. As for whether the Temple soldiers of Ma La, combat-level knights, are willing to risk their lives to fight over an exclave, that is truly worth considering. As for divine art knights... even if Ma La truly faced life or death, the Temple would probably be reluctant to send them out.

War is always a game among participants; there can be no foolproof defense system, and a defense system that makes the opponent feel the cost outweighs the gain is the most stable defense system. If every small island in the Pacific could be built into Iwo Jima, Japan **** would still have its way.

As long as Chen Yi was given enough information—which he already had—he knew that whether with equipment at the level of World War I or II, it was impossible to fully resist the natives of the West Continent, and even just sweeping Ma La would be difficult to achieve. For this reason, on one hand he continued to purchase Milan anti-tank missiles from Mordor, the East German arms dealer—this is currently the best weapon against Dragon Beasts, Elephant Beasts, and combat-level knights. On the other hand, he was also seeking to purchase better defensive weapons, such as real tanks.

This was extremely difficult, but not impossible. Mordor was very interested in Chen Yi's proposal, but just as he habitually lied before, unless Chen Yi's purchase intent was confirmed and risks assessed, he would not suddenly sell a large amount of new weapons and equipment. Mo Shaoqiu surely had connections too; if he could get light weapons and wheeled armored vehicles from Northern Industry for the Third World market, he could certainly get modern tanks for the Third World market. Similarly, the problem lay in cost and safety.

The true purpose of global arms control is not to control arms trading, but to increase the profits of arms trading and raise transaction costs for non-"member states."

For example, now, Chen Yi clearly knew Mo Shaoqiu had shady arms intermediary dealings, but he ultimately did not ask, and he clearly knew Mordor had goods, but was unwilling to satisfy his price-gouging behavior—otherwise there would be endless trouble.

Although they had continuously provided over 100,000 tons of supplies, plus 100 new recruits of various stages and an additional 30 Mexicans, making Yu Weichao overjoyed. But according to Chen Yi's requirements, these were obviously insufficient. The newly obtained faith not only made his confidence soar, but also made him start to keep plans deep in his chest rather than speak them out.

Until November 20, when the highway of West River City Fortress was 5 kilometers from Ma La, Chen Yi ordered: "Help" Ma La build a ring highway, and try to obtain the nobles' understanding.

Yu Weichao then understood why the "Lord" had expanded the Inspection Team's numbers three times in a row and continuously trained their mobile combat capabilities.

Ma La, Yu Weichao did not know how many times he had sent people to inspect it, and he knew the Ma La army very well. But the more he knew, the more he feared those combat-level experts.

He indeed had once been a member of a secret organization, but ultimately, he was a scholar with aspirations for social reform who opposed elites. Although there were tens of thousands of tons of supplies, Yu Weichao still asked: "Lord, if we provoke a backlash from the Temple's armed forces, what should we do?"

"Didn't the policy research office you built issue a report saying that as long as we don't directly attack Ma La, the Temple's armed forces won't directly attack us?" Chen Yi instead questioned Yu Weichao.

Ma La's military force is divided into two parts: one part is the armed forces of Ma La's nobles, very few in number, only responsible for public order. The other part is armed forces established by Ma La's noble armed forces but led by the Temple; their powerful strength is mainly prepared for Temple wars, and Ma La's nobles can requisition them with the High Priest's tacit approval, but any losses must be replenished, and they absolutely cannot affect Temple wars.

That was a war concerning the life and property of the Temple's priests.

The Third Heavy Infantry Battalion that attacked last time was actually the Temple's armed forces. A full 3,000 casualties have not been replenished to this day, angering the Temple High Priest, who declared that unless all the nobles of Ma La die, the Temple's armed forces are not allowed to go into battle.

Yu Weichao also knew this point, but he was indeed afraid.

This is war after all; war is the most unruly thing.

Faced with Chen Yi's questioning, he could only answer in a humble posture: "The Policy Research Office is after all a new department, and Cui Ying and Zhang Zhonghe are not genuine policy researchers."

The Policy Research Office is actually the law promulgation institution of the current West River Water Fortress, equivalent to its legislative body. Although it sounds impressive, just like China's legislative body, in any non-democratic country, legislative power and final interpretation power ultimately rest with the supermarket... wrong, with those in power.

Yu Weichao used his scholarly style to bring this institution into being, but could only treat it as a lawyer's office. And few people paid attention to it.

Chen Yi stared at Yu Weichao with sharp eyes.

The latter shrank his neck tightly.

"Order the Inspection Team to mobilize; you, and I, go to the very front of the highway and take a look."

"Yes." Yu Weichao answered quickly. Compared to the natives, Chen Yi now seemed to make him even more nervous.

The Inspection Team was soon assembled, totaling 150 people, all students from the Martial Arts Hall, and then a native army of 100 people, whose numbers were strictly limited.

On Earth, Inspection Team members using armor and bows and arrows have now become an armored force, with wheeled armored vehicles, riot vehicles, Humvees, and armored trucks composed of machine cannons and heavy machine guns forming a new fleet.

Chen Yi lifted his neck and sat in the command-type Saxon Wheeled Armored Vehicle; Qin Dajiang, the group leader of the Vehicle Group, also gave up his Humvee Cannon Vehicle and came to the Saxon.

Yin Senyong hesitantly crawled into the belly of the armored vehicle.

Having stayed on Earth for two months, he didn't have many opportunities to ride in automobiles, though he had seen quite a few; but ones like armored vehicles were still too strange.

"If I became a divine art knight, I'd ask the Temple for a fief; why work so hard to fight for it myself?" He stood beside Chen Yi, tightly gripping the steel stabilizer bar, and added: "You are too wasteful; one such vehicle could forge a fine knight long spear, 30 meters long, for an Earth Dragon Knight to use."

Yin Senyong spoke in his native language; only Chen Yi could understand inside the vehicle.

Chen Yi just shrugged and said: "After seeing Jiangning, do you still have feelings for knight spears?"

"Of course, knights are the strongest warriors in the world..."

"Oh... have you never seen television?"

"Television?" The pitiful Yin Senyong was locked in the backyard of the Martial Arts Hall; apart from brick walls and cement, he had hardly touched anything good.

"Have you never read books?"

"I don't have the talent for understanding languages." Yin Senyong was restricted to using 3 konjac, and they weren't even good quality; his envy was like an oil-filled fire pool, burning fiercely.

Chen Yi smiled faintly and said to Qin Dajiang: "Let's depart."

"Engine start." Qin Dajiang commanded over the intercom.

The rumbling of diesel and gasoline engines began.

Yu Weichao stood behind Chen Yi, craning his neck to look around; he had actually only entered an armored vehicle once.

The soldier on the turret gripped the gun handle tightly; the area around the highway was never peaceful. Besides small groups of enemies, there were all sorts of passing wild beasts. When they came last year, they didn't know the forest by the roadside was off-limits; many beasts were shot dead by soldiers in tree forts, so gunfire "bang bang bang" could be heard along the convoy all the way. About an hour later, the convoy finally arrived safely at 35 kilometers on the Xima Highway.

Chen Yi got out directly, startling Qin Dajiang, who grabbed his pistol and followed him out.

"Has the Basic Construction Group encountered attacks?" He asked the current group leader, Liao Fou.

"We've encountered individual knights, poison arrows, and rockets." Liao Fou, still fearful, led Chen Yi to the first floor forward, to the construction site where paving was underway.

When at combat level, Chen Yi had never been to the front end of the highway; now he asked: "Is there danger to life, can the engineering team still persist in construction?"

Liao Fou thought this was praise for him, and said smilingly: "Mainly injuries; direct deaths are few."

Those who died were all natives; the medicine and medical treatment they received were completely different from what Earth people got.

Chen Yi neither agreed nor denied and asked: "How many injured, who?"

"7 people, only one is a student." Yu Weichao answered first.

"The remaining 6 are natives?"

"21 natives were injured." Liao Fou hesitated for a moment and replied: "The 6 injured people just mentioned are all Latins; they are comparatively... skilled at using machinery."

Chen Yi said nothing. He naturally knew what was going on; nothing more than letting foreigners go first in dangerous places. If he believed in "justice," he might intervene. But now, as long as he didn't speak, it was fine.

Yu Weichao, worried about being blamed, hurriedly said: "Our current construction progress is fast; as long as we move forward another three kilometers, we can see the city wall of Ma La. The only problem is that we've encountered a river."

"Hmm?"

"If we want to build a bridge, the Ma La army on the opposite bank probably won't let us easily get our way." Crossing a pile of stones used to build toilets, Yu Weichao pointed forward.

It was a rushing great river, fifty or sixty meters wide, and on the opposite side were 300 cavalrymen lined up in neat ranks, perhaps with more behind them.

"They don't even allow us to cross the river." Liao Fou gritted his teeth when mentioning this and said: "A Mexican went to the riverbank to catch fish and was also shot by an arrow; his thigh was pierced through, and he is still lying in the Water Fortress."

"What about them? Are they coming over?" Chen Yi asked this for a reason; the highway was basically widened and reinforced on the basis of the original dirt road, and the residents of Ma La could not possibly cut off contact with the outside world.

Liao Fou shook his head and nodded again, saying: "They have opened a new ferry crossing over there, and then bypassed us, taking a small road to a place 5 kilometers behind us."

"Shall we use our highway?"

"Yes, but they won't allow us to keep building."

Chen Yi fell into thought. The ring highway around Ma La had to be built; only then could they control Ma La and its surrounding resources without occupying Ma La. At the very least, they had to find the existence of the platinum mine and find more natural rubber trees.

To achieve this goal, it was best to build a new bridge without intense conflict.

"Do we have bridge-building technology?" Chen Yi slowly asked the contractor Liao Fou.

"That Grand Knight, the one we captured, Silva, knows how. Using West Continent earth methods. It's a stone suspension bridge; we'll replace it with reinforced concrete, and we've already made a small one—no problem." Liao Fou paused, then continued: "Grand Knight Silva says he has a way to deal with these knights."

"Oh? What is it?"

Liao Fou blinked twice, thinking Chen Yi would want to meet Silva.

Given the circumstances, he couldn't hesitate, so he immediately replied: "It's a market. He says the nobles of Ma La like markets. If there's a market, a clean one like our West River Water Fortress market, selling things like those sold at our West River Water Fortress, attracting the nobles in the city to come play, then they'll surely grow impatient with the constant ferrying back and forth and the knights' searches. If we don't have excessive warlike behavior, at least those lower-ranking small nobles and citizens, manor lords, will take the initiative to ask us to build the bridge."

"Hmm?"

Yu Weichao, who controlled the finances, immediately realized and said: "Doesn't that mean the market is built wherever the bridge is? The road would have to change location too?"

The market certainly couldn't be built under their feet, so the original highway plan would inevitably have to change. Change meant money, and a huge amount of funds.

Chen Yi was quite interested in this and smiled: "We can certainly try it, but as for what specifically to sell, let Grand Knight Silva produce a list. Liao Fou, you're responsible for building this market……"

"Yes." Liao Fou excitedly snapped his legs together. In the West Continent, work meant power; a market selling Earth goods sounded very powerful.

……(Unfinished, if you want to know what happens next, please log in to www. qidian. com, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)