After extorting Gui Xingfu's thirty thousand gold coins and adding the twenty thousand gold coins from Duke Fang Ting, Søren now had fifty thousand gold coins. This amount of money was enough to hire twenty thousand mercenaries.
Next, he had to wait for the storm at King City.
No matter what, there would be an end to this storm.
Duke Fang Ting was still leisurely in the waters of Messy Rock Island, but he knew clearly that his good days were coming to an end.
His army had to give an explanation for annihilating Gui Xingfu's navy.
If Sauron and Stony Island could not be implicated, then the Gui Clan navy's attack on Stony Island would no longer exist. It would become a one-sided annihilation of the Gui Clan navy by Xi Ting's army. This was a huge crime.
Fang Ting and Søren took advantage of the few days before the storm to make the final preparations to protect Messy Rock Island.
Countless ships traveled between Messy Rock Island and Chuyun County. They transported millions of jin of salt out and brought in thousands of salt slaves from the other two salt works.
Along with them were countless grains, vegetables, fruits and armaments. The most important thing was the army guarding the other two salt works.
The defense of Messy Rock Island was too weak. It was far from enough to rely on the one hundred warriors of the Suo family.
The guards of Duke Fang Ting's other two salt works added up to nearly a thousand people, just enough to fill the gap on Messy Rock Island.
Not only that, among the three thousand navy soldiers brought by Fang Ting, more than a thousand had their names crossed off from the military register. They were considered to have died in the naval battle with the Gui navy. And these thousand people who disappeared into thin air naturally stayed on Messy Rock Island to guard the salt works.
In this way, Søren's Messy Rock Island had nearly ten thousand salt men and more than two thousand soldiers. His power had expanded by nearly ten times.
Next, digging a new salt pan was not the most urgent matter. The construction of a pier and a castle were the most important.
With these troops and the newly built castle, although Messy Rock Island was not impregnable, it would be extremely difficult to break through without five thousand navy soldiers.
The Gui navy had been completely annihilated. There should not be a single feudal lord in the entire Raging Wave Kingdom that could gather five thousand navy soldiers. Therefore, the Messy Rock Island Salt Pans should be safe for the time being.
Not only that, ten of the eighteen ships that Xi Ting had brought were also written off by him as having been sunk in the naval battle that night.
Afterwards, these ten fortress ships were repainted black and became the escort fleet of the rocky peninsula.
The Duke of Linting had given up almost everything, including his own thick skin and black heart, for the sake of the astonishing wealth on the Stony Island.
…
After a full eleven days, the storm in King City officially broke out.
The eunuchs sent by the royal palace and Jianning led two thousand cavalrymen into the Yun County City, bringing the King's decree.
Duchess Yanting left the rocky island and headed for Chuyun County City to receive the decree. Søren disguised himself and went with them.
In the Yun County Governor Manor, Duke Yanting knelt down to receive the imperial edict.
In the imperial edict, the King reprimanded Yanting for being absurd, wasteful, and audacious. Not only did he barge into the territorial waters of a feudal lord, but he also attacked the feudal lord's army without knowing what was going on. This was an unforgivable crime.
However, considering that Yanting had immediately submitted a letter of apology to King City and sincerely apologized to Earl Gui Xingfu, he could be spared the death penalty, but he could not escape punishment.
His title was demoted by two ranks, and he became an earl. The Dragon Guards of the royal palace were also ordered to escort Duke Yanting back to the capital, lock up his mansion, and place him under house arrest indefinitely.
Not only that, the Yun County Governor Zuo Daojin was also implicated. He was stripped of his official position and sent back to King City to be interrogated. This was because he was the one who had provided the ships and navy to Yanting.
All the officers and officers of the navy that Yanting had brought to the rocky island to participate in the attack on Gui Xingfu would be expelled from the army, stripped of their titles, and demoted to commoners. They would be sent back to King City to be interrogated.
All the soldiers would be disbanded, driven out of the army, and exiled thousands of miles away to do hard labor.
After receiving this imperial edict, Duke Yanting's heart trembled, and his entire body turned cold!
This punishment was unprecedentedly severe. Was the combined power of the feudal vassals and nobles actually this powerful? They had forced the King to issue this incomparably harsh imperial edict.
Even though Yanting's fleet should not have intruded into Gui Xingfu's territorial waters, nor should they have annihilated the Gui family's navy, they had to give an explanation to the feudal vassals, Gui Xingfu.
However, this punishment was a little too harsh and cruel.
However, after feeling cold all over, Duke Yanting heaved a long sigh of relief.
At least, the rocky island was saved, and the industry that was worth a hundred to two hundred thousand gold coins a year was saved.
In the imperial edict, there was not a single mention of Søren, nor was there a single mention of the rocky peninsula. It was as if this storm had nothing to do with Søren. It was just that Ma Yiting was being unreasonable and bullying others.
…
Yanting was about to be escorted back to King City. In the courier house outside the city gates, he bade farewell to Søren.
"Søren, did you see it? Did you feel it?" Duke Yanting said, "They are so powerful that even His Majesty has no choice but to give in. Ten years ago, no one would have dared to be so disrespectful to His Majesty, and now they dare to bully him. "
Sighing in pain, Duke Yanting said in a trembling voice, "It's because of one reason … His Majesty has no son. Zhi Li's wings have grown, and those nobles and feudal vassals now have a backbone. They actually took the opportunity to jump out. "
Once Zhi Li, the nobles, and the feudal vassals joined forces, they were unprecedentedly powerful, and even the King had to give in.
During the battle for the throne, almost all the nobles and feudal vassals supported Bu Lan. However, they did not expect Bi Bian to emerge and have the last laugh. From then on, the conflict between the King and the nobles had been deeply rooted.
After Bi Bian ascended to the throne, he immediately carried out a great purge among the nobles, causing them to be jittery and restless day and night.
Then, he supported a large number of elites among the common people, divided the nobles and feudal vassals, and easily defeated the nobles.
If this continued, no matter how much the nobles hated him, they could only kneel before Bi Bian and bow down to him, not daring to have any second thoughts.
But …
Time passed, and soon, the King was 50 years old, but he still had no son, only a daughter.
Soon, the news was confirmed that Bi Bian had a hidden illness, and could not have any more sons or descendants.
Suddenly, everything changed!
At this time, Prince Zhi Li, who was protected by the Dragon Temple, appeared in front of everyone. He had grown up.
Therefore, in the shortest time possible, all the nobles and feudal vassals rallied around Zhi Li.
Then, everyone waited for the day when the king would change and die. From that day onwards, Bi Bian changed from being on the offensive to being on the defensive.
Even though everyone still feared him, and still knelt before him. But everyone knew that the situation was different.
A king without an heir almost lost everything.
"I was demoted from a duke to an earl. That's not a big deal. The key is that the officers in my army will not be able to survive," Duke Yanting said. "I will try my best to save them, but they will die for sure. And the one or two thousand soldiers will become slaves, working day and night. I don't think they will live for long. "
Then, Duke Yanting clutched her heart and said, "If I knew it would be so tragic, I should have crossed out all their names and left them on the rocky island."
Søren was so depressed that he could hardly breathe. He really did not expect the situation to be so tragic.
Zhi Li, who had always been patient, and the cabinet that had always been patient, unexpectedly exploded without any warning.
"All these sacrifices, do you know what they are for?" Duke Yanting asked.
Søren said, "To protect the salt works on the rocky peninsula, for the annual income of a hundred or two hundred thousand gold coins, and also … for me."
"Yes, all these sacrifices are for our cause, our common cause," Duke Yanting said. "But this is as far as I can help you. This is as far as we can help you. You will have to do the rest yourself. "
Then, Duke Yanting handed over a thick stack of gold notes. "Here are fifty thousand gold coins. I have sold off more than a dozen properties to get this much. Take it all."
Søren suddenly trembled. He had only asked Duke Yanting for an advance of twenty thousand gold coins. Who would have thought that the duke would sell off his properties to get fifty thousand gold coins?
Duke Yanting continued, "I did not intend to enter the battlefield so soon, but … your amazing performance disrupted everything, so I had no choice but to enter the battlefield early. You should know who I am representing, right? "
"I know," Søren said.
Of course he knew. Of course, Yanting did not represent himself, but the supreme ruler behind him.
If one were to compare this battle to a chess game.
On this chessboard, Zhi Li's army was strong, with two horses, two cannons, two chariots, two warriors, and two statues. There were also countless soldiers.
And on Søren's side, there were only three chess pieces. Søren was the pawn, Yanting was the horse, and Hua Bian was the veteran general.
Now, in order to protect Søren, the pawn, to cross the river successfully, Yanting, the horse, was completely trapped.
This battle was the most terrifying and largest one since the establishment of the Raging Wave Kingdom. It was a storm that shook the heavens.
Duke Yanting said, "Our enemies are far stronger than us. They are the majority of the nobles, the majority of the dukes, and the majority of the foolish commoners. We are outnumbered, fighting against the strong. What we are about to accomplish is an almost impossible battle. "
Søren nodded. Of course he knew how difficult it was. It was almost like they were going against the entire world.
The king had no sons. He wanted to completely overthrow the traditions of the kingdom, and even the traditions of the Middle-earth. He wanted a woman to ascend to the throne.
This was going against the traditions of the world, and against all the nobles in the world.
And inadvertently, Søren was involved in this storm, and became the pawn at the forefront.
"In the battle of Tianshui City in three months, their army will not participate, and neither will our army. Everything depends on you." Yanting continued, "You will face Suo Hanyi's army, Nurdan's rebel army, and the army that Zhi Ning brought to Tianshui City early in the morning, a total of thirty-five thousand soldiers."
Søren nodded, remembering every word of Duke Yanting.
"The battle of Tianshui City is not only your battle, but also our first battle against the entire world." Duke Yanting said, "We can only win, we cannot lose. Do you know what will happen if we lose the battle of Tianshui City? "
Søren said, "I know, you will give up the battle and admit defeat. Prince Zhi Li will smoothly inherit the throne, and you will completely kneel down and submit to him. "
Søren was the only pawn on this side of the chessboard who could cross the river. Once this pawn was destroyed, the game would be lost without a need to continue.
"Yes!" Duke Yanting said, "At that time, you will die, your sister will die, and everyone in the Suo family, including everyone on Stony Island, will die. And the huge foundation on Stony Island will completely fall into the hands of others. "
At that time, Søren could even guess the proportion of the spoils. Gui Xingfu would get thirty percent, Prince Zhi Li would get forty percent, and the nobles and feudal lords would get the remaining thirty percent.
In order to survive, in order to protect the foundation, Søren had to win the battle of Tianshui City. He could not lose.
Once he lost, he would be doomed eternally.
"Then, all the burden falls on you." Duke Yanting said, "Then, I will go back to Royal City to receive my punishment."
Then, Duke Yanting walked out of the post house and raised his hands.
Several eunuchs came forward, cut paper shackles, and put them on his body. Because he was a member of the royal family, he could not use real shackles, so he used paper shackles instead. But this was already a great shame.
Then, four Dragon Guards carried his fat body onto a sealed carriage.
"Let's go," Cavalry Captain Jian Ning ordered.
Immediately, thousands of elite cavalrymen escorted the endless prison carts toward Royal City.
Among this group of prisoners, Duke Yanting was the first, followed by Zuo Daojin, the County Chief of Yun County. Behind him were all the officers of Yanting's army and the civil and military officials of Yun County. There were hundreds of them, all wearing shackles and locked in prison carriages.
The mighty group of prisoners, under the curses of thousands of people, headed toward Royal City.
Søren looked at this group of prisoners, feeling so sad that he could not breathe.
And all these sacrifices were for one thing: to protect him, a pawn, to successfully cross the river.
…
Night fell.
Søren had completely changed his appearance and was in disguise. His face was covered with ginger liquid, revealing a sickly yellow color. His chin was covered with a thick beard, and his hair had turned half gray and half white.
At this time, no one could recognize him. Ye Jingyu was no longer by his side.
He rode alone in the southwest direction. Søren, the pawn, had begun to cross the river!
Once he, the pawn, crossed the river, there would be no room for retreat. Of course, he would also become a carriage.
From now on, he could only win at every step. He could not lose.
The first step was to conquer Yan Nair in the shortest time possible, from the heart to the body.
The second step was to obtain her father's Silver Wolf Mercenary Team and make it his core army.
Now, he was going to find Yan Nair and her father's invincible mercenary team.
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