It was a small island in the East China Sea. The map was not very clear, like a string of ink dots that were randomly thrown on.
The entire territory of Daliang was in Gu Yun's mind, but he could not remember where there was such a place. There was not even a decent gas lamp on the merchant ship. The oil lamp in the room was dim. Even with the colored glass, it was very difficult to see. He frowned slightly and tried to brighten the oil lamp.
Ge Pangxiao said, "This is the map that Master Liao Ran gave me. I looked at it. The map produced by the Ministry of War doesn't have this place. It's probably an uninhabitable island surrounded by either turbulent currents or submerged reefs. There are also many rumors of ghosts among the people. The locals don't know that there is an island here."
This place was far from land. It was impossible to swim there. If they did not take a ship, they could only rely on flying.
The "kites" moved slowly and relied heavily on the compass. If there was a Celestial Pole chaos near the island, they would not come over. Moreover, this place was basically the territory of the Japanese. If the "kites" or "flood dragons" of Daliang went over for a stroll for no reason, it would more or less be a provocation. The maintenance of the "eagle" had high requirements for the armorists. It was not easy to maintain. The front line of the East China Sea was used to peace and was not equipped with this kind of army.
Chang Geng could not help but ask, "If the map produced by the Ministry of War doesn't even exist, then where did Master Liao Ran get this map from?"
Ge Pangxiao replied seriously, "He said that the previous dynasty's incapable ruler loved the pearls of the East China Sea. The fishermen were forced to pay tribute and formed a pearl hunting team. They accidentally stumbled upon this place and drew it."
Chang Geng was speechless.
The foolish Liao Ran monk's lie was really perfunctory.
Ge Pangxiao turned to Gu Yun and gestured, "Marquis, what should we do?"
Before Gu Yun could answer, the entire boat suddenly trembled violently. Gu Yun held onto the oil lamp that almost toppled over and gave Ge Pangxiao a look to put away the things on the table.
Ge Pangxiao immediately took a deep breath, puffed out his chest, sucked in his stomach, and quickly stuffed this pile of chicken and dog bits into his bosom.
Changgeng grabbed the sword on the table. "I'll go out and take a look."
Ge Pangxiao: "Wait, I want to go too!"
The two of them left the mountain one after the other. Gu Yun took off the glass mirror and put it aside. She rubbed her sore eyes.
The small island's location was very subtle. It crossed the Dongying Islands and did not connect with Daliang. It went straight to Jinan Prefecture. If it was well designed, it would be easy to get close to the capital.
However, no matter how weak Daliang's navy was, it was not something that the small Dongyi people could shake. So far, no violet gold ore had been found in the East China Sea. Daliang was very strict with the export of violet gold. In this regard, it was like a miser. If the Dongying people wanted to use violet gold in large quantities, they would either buy it from the Westerners at a high price or find ways to get it from Daliang's black market.
As for the black market …
If the bandits did not collude with the officials, it would not last long.
The Violet Gold Black Market, which had been hated by three generations of emperors in Daliang, was like a centipede that was still alive even after death. As long as the wind was slightly relaxed, it would immediately revive. Even if one were to think with one's toes, one would know that it was definitely not a business of desperadoes. There must be the shadow of various forces behind it.
Not to mention others, Gu Yun's hands were definitely not clean. Otherwise, with the amount of violet gold that the imperial court gave him every year, he would not even be able to raise the family sparrow, black dog, and black horse, let alone the Black Eagle.
To smuggle violet gold on such a large scale, the background of the people behind it was definitely not small.
At this moment, the wooden door of the cabin was suddenly pushed open. The ethereal monk Liao Ran walked in. He bowed to Gu Yun very familiarly and closed the door behind him.
Gu Yun: "…"
He could only put on the glass mirror that he had taken off and receive the guest.
Gu Yun still could not understand. Why did Liao Ran think that he would not be beaten?
Was it because he felt that he was good-looking?
Liao Ran bathed in Gu Yun's cold gaze. He lowered his head indifferently and found a chair to sit down. He leaned in front of Gu Yun and gestured, "Tonight, we will almost reach Haoli. At that time, this monk will be at the marshal's disposal."
Gu Yun: "You're welcome. What can you do? I don't lack illumination. "
Liao Ran: "…"
Gu Yun sat up a little straighter, and the blade in his eyes that couldn't see anything clearly was still there. "I really didn't expect that the hand of 'Lin Yuan' had already reached Huguo Temple. Master, why don't we get to the point? What do you want to do by getting involved in this matter?"
Liao Ran's smile that was specially used for begging gradually disappeared. It was replaced by a face of compassion like that of a senior monk, "'Linyuan Pavilion' has no ill intentions."
Gu Yun said with a faint smile, "Otherwise, why do you think you are still alive?"
It was said that the previous dynasty was tyrannical and the monarch was muddle-headed and incompetent. When the dynasty was on the decline, heroes rose from all over the country.
The reason why Emperor Taizu stood out among them was largely because the mysterious Linyuan Pavilion chose him. Linyuan Pavilion included all kinds of people, from officials and nobles to peddlers and servants. At the beginning of Daliang's founding, Emperor Taizu wanted to confer the title of Linyuan Pavilion because of its great merit. At that time, the Pavilion Master refused and hid in Jianghu, causing this colossus to be silent again until today.
Gu Yun: "Linyuan Pavilion hides in prosperous times and emerges in troubled times. Everyone says that the Black Iron Battalion is a crow. I think Your Excellency is the real crow."
Liao Ran lowered his eyes like a benevolent and handsome Buddha, "Marquis knew of my origin, but he did not stop me from getting close to the Fourth Prince."
Gu Yun looked at him silently.
Liao Ran: "This monk boldly guesses that Marshal's worries and thoughts are the same as ours."
The boat steadied and the oil lamp on the table flickered. Gu Yun restrained his hostility and sat by the table with his long hair scattered. There was a faintly discernible wrinkle between his eyebrows, as if he had put all the serious matters under his feet on his face at once.
The two of them were speechless. They communicated with each other by rapidly gesturing without any obstacles.
Liao Ran: "The Violet Gold is burning too vigorously. This fire cannot be extinguished. No one can stop it. Has Marshal thought of a way out?"
Then, without waiting for Gu Yun to answer, he continued, "People say that the Marquis of Stability is a martial artist who only knows how to fight. He is just a knife in the Emperor's hand. I don't think so. Otherwise, why hasn't Marshal married yet? Could it be that it was really my senior who cursed him? "
Gu Yun seemed to laugh. He put away the glass mirror and covered his eyes again. He didn't want to communicate with Liao Ran anymore.
After he was done, he gestured, "The Gu family has no way out. If such a day really comes, I can only become fuel and be buried with my maternal family's country. Oh right, the next time you see the divine doctor who cured my eyes, please send my regards to him."
From the moment the first bowl of Violet Gold was dug out, the world was destined to never be peaceful again.
There would be a day when even the most diligent farmers would be defeated by the iron puppets that came and went in the fields. Even the most peerless experts would find it difficult to withstand a cannon that could wipe out a thousand soldiers. Everyone would face an unprecedented turmoil before they could regain their position. They would either be extremely rich or extremely noble, or extremely humble.
And those who were defeated in the arena lit by Violet Gold would never have the chance to make a comeback.
This matter was the same whether it was between families or countries, or whether it was as small as the three religions and nine sects.
When everyone began to realize this, the inevitable chaos would come. It was just a matter of whether that day would come sooner or later. This was the context of the era. Even if you were an invincible hero, a noble, a general, or a minister, you couldn't stop it.
After Gu Yun finished his last sentence, he stood up calmly and ignored Liao Ran. He walked out of the cabin with his hands behind his back, intending to see what was going on outside that could make Liao Ran rush over as if he was facing a great enemy to show his loyalty.
As soon as he stood on the deck, he smelled a strange smell coming from the sea breeze. It seemed like something was burning. Gu Yun stood at the door and carefully distinguished the smell coming from the wind. He immediately realized that it was the strange smell of burning Violet Gold mixed with impurities.
The "merchant ship" slowly passed through the shallow sea beside the island. There were two rows of neat "long dragons" on both sides. The shiny warships were lined up in a row with ample ammunition. The merchant ships that privately transported Violet Gold moved forward in a line. They were like inconspicuous grain carts shuttling through thousands of soldiers and horses.
Although Gu Yun couldn't see, he had already guessed what was going on around him from the sudden tension in the air.
Even the Jiangnan Navy might not be able to withstand this kind of battle array, let alone the small Black Eagle he brought with him.
At this moment, a familiar person leaned over and silently reached out to touch him.
Other than Changgeng, most people wouldn't do this. If they wanted to support him, they would. If they didn't want to, they wouldn't. There weren't as many steps as Changgeng.
Gu Yun felt that Changgeng seemed to be inexplicably nervous in front of him. He always had to first express his existence in a very low-key manner. Then, unless Gu Yun reached out to let him support him, he would blindly follow him step by step and never reach out his hand.
"Unreasonable," Gu Yun held Changgeng's outstretched arm and wondered in his heart, "Why are you so nervous with me? Is there a more benevolent father in the world than me?"
Changgeng quickly wrote on his hand, "There are at least hundreds of warships here. I'm not sure if they're Sea Serpents …"
"Yes," Gu Yun replied, "I can smell it. It smells like Violet Gold."
Changgeng, "…"
Didn't the monk Liao Ran say that people couldn't smell Violet Gold and only dog inspectors could?
Little Godfather's ability … was actually unnecessary.
Gu Yun secretly sighed and muttered resentfully in his heart, "It's all because of your stingy and prodigal brother. He insisted on sending me far away to the northwest before he could be at ease. Now, the old turtle in the back garden's lotus pond has turned into a spirit and is going to stir up trouble! Serves him right! "
In the evening, the monk Liao Ran changed into his "night clothes" and ran to look for Gu Yun. Gu Yun was wearing a glass mirror and her ears could only hear large movements within two feet. She could barely see who was in the room through the glasses with one eye. The "soldiers" beside him were a mute monk, a fake girl, a little fatty, and a son who was very good at acting coquettishly.
Outside was a fleet of heavily armed Navy Jiao warships, as well as countless Japanese warriors and private soldiers.
However, no one was nervous because Gu Yun was here. In any case, he alone could represent thousands of soldiers and horses.
"Don't pretend," Gu Yun said to Liao Ran, "There must be someone in this' Hao Li '. Otherwise, why would you be so scheming? Hurry up and confess. We are now grasshoppers on the same rope. "
Liao Ran silently chanted a Buddhist prayer. He took out his "red sandalwood" prayer beads and handed them over. When Gu Yun reached out to take them, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose. His unusually sensitive nose caught a whiff of a rancid smell.
Gu Yun leaned back. He was never polite to the monk. He bluntly said, "Oh my god, Master, how long has it been since you bathed? You're almost covered in milk. "
The three youths immediately retreated three steps away at the same time.
Chang Geng simply didn't have the strength to recall the first time he met Liao Ran in the palace. Master Liao Ran was sincere enough to meet the Emperor. He actually washed himself like a little white lotus.
Gu Yun's face was cold. It was simply terrible. His eyes and ears were inconvenient. The monk was mute. His nose was very sensitive. The monk didn't like to bathe. Sure enough, there was no bald donkey in the world who didn't oppose him.
There were 108 prayer beads. Except for the partition beads, the middle of every two prayer beads could be twisted open. There was a steel seal inside. There were a total of three Shi Liu seals. Each seal represented a person in Linyuan Pavilion.
Gu Yun was silent for a while, "Is Linyuan Pavilion going all out?"
Liao Ran smiled but didn't say anything.
Chang Geng frowned and asked, "What is Linyuan Pavilion?"
He suddenly spoke. Gu Yun was caught off guard and didn't hear clearly. It wasn't until he saw Liao Ran and chong Changgeng gesturing that he guessed their conversation. He immediately interrupted, "It's a group of people who are very good at putting on airs. Okay, don't explain. How do we contact these people?
Liao Ran said, "I don't know about the others, but I know that one of them is a musician who is the commander of the fleet. We just need to contact her first. The monk can be of service."
Gu Yun thought to himself, "Our Northwest decent army doesn't even have a cricket that can sing. How can there be a musician in this private army? Where's the justice in this?"
Chang Geng said, "You must be careful. The Dongying people are suspicious of us. I can feel that the noodle man is nearby several times."
With Chang Geng taking the lead, Ge Pangxiao also began to speak, "Marquis, when will our people arrive?"
Gu Yun sat calmly in place. He had the face of a Daliang military god. In reality, he didn't hear. He was trying hard to guess the shape of Ge Pangxiao's mouth, but there was no sign language. He couldn't read the shape of his mouth clearly.
Liao Ran quickly came out to save the situation. He gestured, "You must wait patiently. Once the Jiangnan navy moves, it will be easy to alert the enemy …"
Through him, Gu Yun immediately realized that Ge Pangxiao was talking about reinforcements. He thought, "I can count the number of Black Eagle I've brought with me on one hand. I don't even know if that good-for-nothing Yao Zhen who sleeps for ten hours a day will be of any use. They're more like cleaning up the battlefield."
As he thought this, he once again interrupted Master Liao Ran. He boasted shamelessly, "A navy of this scale can't be gathered in a day or two. I suspect that someone in the court is plotting a rebellion. Cleaning up this scrap metal is not the goal. Finding that person is the most important."
Master Liao Ran, who had good intentions to save the situation but had been interrupted twice, sat across from Gu Yun in a good temper. He smiled like an unwashed uballah.
Cao Niangzi suddenly coughed dryly. He didn't say anything. Ever since he saw Gu Yun's disheveled appearance, he couldn't speak in front of Gu Yun. By a freak combination of factors, he had benefited the deaf man.
Cao Niangzi carefully gestured, "I can also help run errands."
Gu Yun probably knew that this child only knew how to be infatuated all day long. His kung fu was very sloppy. He immediately rejected, "No, continue to pretend to be your little maid."
Cao Niangzi carefully said, "I will dress up as a Japanese."
Gu Yun raised his eyebrows.
Cao Niangzi hurriedly explained, "I will. I've even dressed as a man before."
Gu Yun, "…"
He leaned forward slightly and sincerely asked, "Young man, do you know that you're originally a man?"
Cao Niangzi's face instantly turned red. His three souls and seven spirits swayed back and forth on the rope. He simply couldn't be bothered to listen to what he was saying.
Gu Yun's shoulder was suddenly forcefully pulled back. Changgeng was no longer afraid of touching him. He stood behind him with a serious face. His expression was as calm as water, just like the old pedant Shen Yi.
Gu Yun coughed dryly and leaned back along with his hand. He solemnly said, "That won't do. You can't speak Japanese."
Cao Niangzi opened his mouth and said something. Other than Gu Yun, everyone present was very surprised. He said something very complicated, mixed with a few Dongying words that they didn't know the meaning of. The rest of the words were in Daliang's official language. The Dongying people on the merchant ships often traveled around the coast of Daliang all year round, so they all knew how to speak Daliang's official language. It was just that their accent was strange and occasionally mixed in their native language. Cao Niangzi actually learned it perfectly.
After Cao Niangzi finished speaking, he saw that everyone was looking at him. He suddenly couldn't stay calm and lowered his head to cover his face.
Changgeng asked in surprise, "Where did you learn it?"
Cao Niangzi replied in a sobbing voice, "I heard it from the two Japanese who send us food every day."
With Changgeng's understanding of him, he didn't need to ask about the latter part. There must be one who was good-looking.
Thus, when night fell, a slender "Japanese boy" sneaked onto the island without anyone noticing.
There were too many Japanese here and it was late, so no one noticed him. He shivered at the Hai Jiao fleet that was lined up horizontally and vertically, then ran away.
At the same time, an uninvited guest came to Gu Yun and the others.
Changgeng opened the door slightly and saw Di Song outside with a smile. He said, "The general heard that a Mr. Xiang came to our merchant ship and specially asked me to invite you to a banquet."
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