The pirates weren't as tight-lipped as expected. Instead, they were much more relaxed. They confessed after a few rounds of torture.
Li Yun asked, "What do you plan to do? Take down the pirates one by one? "
Yang Si replied, "What else? Yang Tao's troops don't care about this area at all. We can take the opportunity to catch more pirates. First, we can familiarize ourselves with water battles. Second, we can familiarize ourselves with the environment. Third, we can make a name for ourselves. A while ago, we found out that many people still remember Yang Jian's kindness. With Yang Jian's death, Yang Tao's good reputation fell to him. Our army's reason for sending troops is a bit far-fetched. Even if we spread rumors that our lord is the 'Son of Destiny', the local people are still against us. Why don't we take the opportunity to do some good deeds and build up our connections? "
Yang Si was a man of action. He would put his ideas into action if he had them.
He planned to use the 'mountain ghost' to build up Jiang Pengji's reputation. Naturally, he wouldn't drag things out. Instead, he chose to carry it out swiftly and decisively.
Yang Si had people make up a nursery rhyme about the 'mountain ghost' and let the street urchins and beggars spread it. In less than three days, the news had reached Yang Tao and the others. The ignorant people believed it, but Yang Tao and the others could tell that it was intentional.
"A psychological attack?"
Yan Lin laughed mockingly as he tossed the book aside. He didn't believe in the 'Son of Destiny' at all.
Since ancient times, how many emperors had pretended to be immortals to make themselves look good?
Strange signs at birth and strange dreams of the mother were nothing more than lies used by the common people to deceive the ignorant.
If he was really the Son of Heaven, why were there so many people who lived less than a hundred years old?
What 'live as long as the heavens' and 'live ten thousand years'?
They were just bullsh * t.
Jiang Pengji agreed with Yan Lin's idea.
In ancient times, this would be a myth. In the future, it would be a 'marketing,' and a shameless brainwashing marketing at that.
Qian Su laughed. "With such momentum, if Liu Xi loses, it will be interesting."
Yan Lin looked down and sneered. He said, "Liu Xi's subordinates are just like their lord. They are proud and strong-willed. They probably realized that our lord's reputation in Zhangzhou is unshakable. They are afraid that the people will interfere at a critical moment. That's why they came up with this plan. "
They didn't know that this plan had also pushed their lord into the teeth of the storm.
The will of the heavens?
As long as Jiang Pengji was not the one who sat on the throne in the end, she would become the joke of the ages.
There are pros and cons to this. If she succeeds, she will have a mysterious halo around her. The ignorant people in the world do not have the courage to fight against the "immortals". If he failed, it would just be another joke in the annals of history.
Qian Su asked, "Is Liu Xi declaring her ambition to the world?"
Yan Lin said, "Even if she doesn't say it, who in the world doesn't know of her ambition?"
Qian Su smiled and said, "There's still a difference between what everyone knows and what she admits herself."
Yan Lin and the others didn't pay much attention to the fact that the Mountain Ghost had taught them how to build ships.
Shipbuilding was a secret skill that could not be taught to outsiders. All the famous craftsmen in the south had been recruited by Yang Tao.
Those who weren't taken in were mostly raised by others.
How high could the standard of Jiang Pengji's warships be?
No matter how powerful he was, could he be more powerful than them?
The waters south of Zhangzhou were more developed. Shipbuilding technology had been accumulated and improved over the generations. It was considered the best in the world. Most of Jiang Pengji's troops were from the north. Even if she had planned for the navy years in advance, shipbuilding technology was not something that could be improved by Qi Kuang alone, let alone secretly learn it in a short period of time. According to the estimation of Yan Lin and the others, Jiang Pengji's warships should be slightly inferior to theirs.
Naval warfare was not only demanding on the navy, but also on the quality of the warships.
Even if the navy was strong, they couldn't defeat the enemy without strong warships.
Yang Si killed the pirates while fishing. He used interrogation and other techniques to perfect the Great Universal Geographical Map of the nearby waters.
Such a big movement couldn't escape the eyes of Yan Lin and the others.
Yang Tao said, "Why don't we send someone to test the strength of their navy?"
Yan Lin said, "Yes, that's what I was thinking."
Thus, one group of people disguised themselves as merchants, while the other group disguised themselves as pirates. The two groups of people coincidentally met in a certain region of water.
After a short fight, Yang Si had a bad feeling and ordered a retreat.
Yan Lin and the others didn't chase after them.
"What's the situation?"
For the sake of safety, Yang Tao, Yan Lin, and the others didn't go personally. They only sent a general who was experienced in naval warfare.
There were only about a thousand people on both sides. The battle didn't last long because it was just a test, so it wasn't a fierce battle.
As an experienced general, the general had some information about the enemy.
He said, "I'm afraid the enemy is harder to deal with than we expected."
Yan Lin raised his eyebrows. He didn't expect this answer.
"What about the boats they used?"
The deputy general said, "According to this general's judgment, they should all be the boats of the nearby fishermen."
The civilian boats couldn't compare to the warships in terms of size and sturdiness. However, to avoid alerting the enemy, they didn't use warships either. Instead, they used civilian boats that the pirates often used. In terms of boats, the two groups were about the same. The only difference was the combat ability of the soldiers.
Yan Lin asked the general about their combat ability, and the general answered truthfully.
In short, if he hadn't known that the enemy was a northerner, he wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between them and the navy from the south.
They were good swimmers and coordinated well. They didn't panic at all.
This was clearly a well-trained elite of the navy.
If the general hadn't retreated in time, he would have been caught by the enemy and exposed.
Even so, he felt that the enemy had realized what was going on.
Yang Si guessed it. The pirates they encountered this time were very cooperative. They were a regular army, not a motley crew.
Yang Tao frowned and looked at Yan Lin, questioning him with his eyes.
Yan Lin said, "My lord, please give the order to send more people to investigate. We must find out how strong they are."
No one knew if the navy of a thousand people was the same as Jiang Pengji's elite navy or the average navy. There was a big difference between the two.
Yang Tao knew that he couldn't be impatient, so he agreed to Yan Lin's suggestion.
The two groups began to test each other. The smell of gunpowder was getting stronger. Jiang Pengji's side wasn't going to give in.
"Since we're sure that Nie Liang doesn't have many days to live, let's add fuel to the fire and send him on his way."
Qiguan Rang asked her, "My lord … do you mean to send the troops now?"
Isn't this too radical and arbitrary?
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