The sea was covered in thick fog. Within ten steps, one could only see a blurry shadow. Amidst the fog, one could smell the unique salty smell of the sea.
Hong Yi stood on the deck of the ship, watching Chi Zhuiyang sitting at the bow of the ship, practicing his Qi.
Every time Chi Zhuiyang swallowed a breath, his abdomen would bulge and rumble. After brewing for three breaths, he would exhale. The air current was like a sharp sword, instantly piercing through the thick fog, leaving a long, transparent mark.
"His martial arts have improved greatly recently. I wonder when will he be able to unite his spirit and body? Enter the pinnacle of the Innate Realm? Finally, he will step into the Grandmaster Realm. It's a pity that I have only been practicing martial arts for a year. I wonder if I can reach the Innate Realm in another year? "
Hong Yi thought to himself as he watched Chi Zhuiyang practicing his Qi.
At this moment, Mu The Younger came out with a bowl of fish soup. The fragrance assailed his nostrils. Arachnida Gigantea followed behind her. Her golden skin was wrinkled as she yawned lazily.
"Brother Yi, have some fish soup. This is the Silver Flower Fish I caught in the sea this morning. The meat is so delicate and fragrant. The sea is so fun. I wonder what it will be like after the fog dissipates. I have never seen the sea before. "
Mu The Younger passed the fish soup to Hong Yi. Then, she touched the thick fog with her hands excitedly, as if she wanted to grasp the fog in her hands.
"Mu The Younger, why are you still making soup? Don't you have the Eight Silver Moon Guards to serve you? " Hong Yi took the fish soup and drank a mouthful. Indeed, it was refreshing and soft. His stomach felt warm, and there was a fishy fragrance in his mouth.
"I'm not used to being served." Mu The Younger waved her hands to catch the fog. Then, she took a few breaths with her nose to feel the coolness of the sea fog.
"What's there to not be used to? In the Rouran Palace, I have hundreds of servants serving me every day. He could do whatever he wanted. If you're not used to being served, then serve me. Hurry up and make some milk tea, I'm going to take a bath, "Arachnida Gigantea said in a high-pitched voice.
"Hmph." Mu The Younger looked at Arachnida Gigantea and snorted coldly.
"Mu The Younger," said Hong Yi, "these eight Silvermoon Guards will be your handmaidens from now on. They will also be your trusted aides. You must often take them to practice martial arts, and according to the rules, give them silver every month. You must also win their hearts."
Thud thud thud …
The voice came from the cabin below the deck. The person who had come was Silvermoon of the Eight Silvermoon Guards. As soon as she came up, she glanced at Hong Yi and lowered her head, "Young Master, the Pacification Navy's navy main camp is estimated to be thirty li ahead. There are patrolling ships standing guard all around. The fog will probably only dissipate two hours after sunrise. If we barge into the Pacification Navy now, we won't be able to see anyone and will easily cause misunderstandings. Are we still advancing?"
"There's no need to advance. Find a good place to dock." Hong Yi's eyes flashed as he saw Chi Zhuiyang slowly exhale. He had finished practicing qi and stood up. He then ordered, "Sunchaser, take the three Black Goose brothers and the five White Cloud elders to guard the ships. Mu The Younger, Tie Zhu, the two of you take the eight Silvermoon Guards and go to the town of Waterfront City. Spend some money to buy a courtyard to stay in. Put away your gold and silver luggage. Once everything is arranged, I will take five of my personal guards and report directly to the Pacification Sea Main Camp."
"I know all of this." Chi Zhuiyang nodded, knowing that Hong Yi didn't want others to see his strength.
Hong Yi's current strength was no small matter.
With five ironclad airships, he could roam the seas unhindered! Among them, there was also a Xiantian Martial Master, Chi Zhuiyang, Shen Tiezhu, and Mu The Younger. They were also Martial Master experts. The five White Cloud elders were even more top-notch Martial Masters. There was also the Golden Spider, the eight Silver Moon Guards, the three Black Hawk Stockade brothers, the two Mastiff Kings, and the five retired personal guards. None of them were weaklings.
There were also over a hundred thousand taels of silver, elixirs, precious horses, fine bows and arrows, treasured sabers, weapons, and armor.
This strength and resources were not inferior to those nobles and aristocratic family disciples who had brought experts to join the army.
"Dock the ship!"
At the command, the ship slowly turned around. Unexpectedly, it was able to accurately determine the direction in the fog and sailed towards the shore.
"What a pity, these sailors are all experts in steering the ship. If I had known earlier, I would have asked Hua Nongying and Hua Nongyue for them to come down." Hong Yi could feel the stability of the ship as it rotated, showing the exquisite skills of the sailors. In his heart, he felt that he had slightly miscalculated.
Five ironclad airships, each of them required twenty strong and strong men to step on and move as if they were flying. At the same time, they also needed experienced helmsmen.
Now that this batch of people had reached the shore, they would have to return. In the future, they would have to find new people to sail the ship.
"However, there are pros and cons to this. If I keep this batch of people, I will have to arrange for their food and lodging. It will be inconvenient and the expenses will be high."
More than a hundred strong sailors had to eat, drink, and poop every day. The wages and salaries were also a huge expense. If Hong Yi were to take care of them now, it would be difficult for him to take care of them for a year or so.
The wages of these sailors were not low. Hong Yi knew that the Yaochi school paid them at least twenty taels of silver per month. The helmsman was paid fifty taels of silver per month.
For a hundred people, it would be two to three thousand taels of silver per month. He also had to arrange for their houses, cooks, and washers. The expenses were too high.
The ship was about to reach the shore. Hong Yi rode on the Lightning Chasing Horse with the Shark Cutter Sword, White Bull Armor on the outside, and Silver Shark Armor on the inside. He hid the Ironwood Black Bone Bow, Carved Arrows, and the Evil Punishing Peach Sword on the back of the horse. Fully armed, he brought along five bodyguards and headed straight for the Pacification Navy's main camp.
The five bodyguards also wore the White Bull Armor, equipped with Flying Locust Crossbows, and rebar blades. They rode on the "Treasure Yellow Colts". They were also well-armed and powerful.
…
The six horses galloped for about an hour. The sun came out and the fog dispersed. In the distance, there was a stretch of mountains that stretched for tens to hundreds of miles! The magnificent barracks and water stockade appeared in front of Hong Yi's eyes.
This was the main camp of the Pacification Navy that the imperial court had stationed at the Southern Sea Region.
"How mighty and majestic!"
Looking at the barracks and water stockade that stretched for tens to hundreds of miles, within the military camp, countless flags fluttered in the sea breeze. On the surface of the sea, countless ships shuttled back and forth. The sound of war chants shook the heavens, and the sounds of countless soldiers drilling and shouting could even shake the clouds in the sky.
Although he had yet to reach the camp, looking from afar, Hong Yi could feel an overwhelming, masculine, and austere aura assaulting his face, causing him to feel a sense of suffocation.
"This is an important place for the military. In comparison, Wu Yuansheng's eight battalions are nothing."
"Young Master is right. The Pacification Navy has a hundred thousand soldiers, horses, and ships. Their might can shake the seas of the Southern Prefecture. In the entire Da Qian, they are ranked among the top ten military camps. Look at those wagons carrying meat, dried vegetables, rice, wheat flour, and other goods on the grain road. They come in an endless stream all day long. They don't stop at all. "The five personal guards all talked at once.
All kinds of roads were built around the Pacification Navy's camp. There were special roads for transporting rations, roads for dispatching troops, roads for delivering imperial edicts, and roads for officials to enter and exit. Every road was guarded by soldiers. There was a sentry every hundred steps, a sentry every five hundred steps, and a checkpoint every thousand steps.
Hong Yi looked into the distance. Sure enough, on the grain road in the distance, there were carts loaded with grains, pigs, chickens, ducks, soybeans, dried vegetables, vegetables, and many other things. They were lined up for dozens of miles and were being sent to the barracks in an endless stream.
And the huge military camp was like a huge monster that could never eat its fill, constantly devouring everything that could be devoured.
"How much meat, vegetables, and rations does an army of a hundred thousand consume every day? How much is the salary? These are all squeezed out from the teeth of the common people. If only the world was at peace forever, swords and spears would be stored, horses would be free, and soldiers would go home to farm. How great would that be? Unfortunately, there will never be a day of peace … … I hope that one day, these soldiers will eat the food of the common people and not point their swords and spears at the common people. "
Hong Yi let out a long sigh. He remembered that sixty years ago, when the Zhou Dynasty was destroyed and the Da Qian rose, the war in the south was especially fierce. It lasted for a full thirty years. The Da Qian army massacred many cities, killing so many people that bones were exposed in the wilderness. There was no rooster cry for a thousand miles, and blood flowed like rivers. But most of the casualties were innocent people.
"Young Master, there are people coming."
Even without the bodyguard's reminder, Hong Yi had already seen it. A group of light cavalry suddenly galloped in front of him. They stopped about ten steps away from him and shouted, "Who are you? Why are you taking the main road of the camp? "
Hong Yi had his bodyguard deliver the document from the Ministry of War over. The leader of the cavalry took a look and nodded. He did not dismount from his horse and said, "So you are from the capital. Follow me."
The group of people crossed the long main road, passed through dozens of sentry posts, and arrived in front of a towering barracks. The leader of the cavalry brought Hong Yi to a room in the side hall of the barracks and said, "Everyone, although you are from the capital, our Grand Marshal gathered the commanders of the barracks this morning to discuss military affairs. The meeting has not ended yet. Even after it ends, the Grand Marshal needs to take an afternoon nap and patrol the barracks in the afternoon. He doesn't have time for these two to three days. You can stay here for three days."
The bodyguard beside Hong Yi, Old Zhang, smiled and said, "May I ask what is your position in the army?"
"Why? I am the commander of the Evil Shark Barracks, the bodyguard of the Grand Marshal. "The leader of the cavalry glared.
"We have a personal letter from Lord Prince Yu to Grand Marshal Yan. Find a chance to inform him. The Grand Marshal will naturally meet us." The bodyguard, Old Zhang, saw Hong Yi's expression and took out a cloth bag from his bosom. He threw it to the leader of the cavalry and handed the letter over.
The leader of the cavalry caught the bag and weighed it in his hand. He found that it was silver, but he did not take it. He only sneered and threw the money on the table. "Since Prince Yu has a letter for the Grand Marshal, I will naturally report it immediately. Left and right, serve tea to the Lords! "
After saying that, he cupped his hands and said, "Lords, please wait here." He stepped forward with his saber and walked out.
"The Pacification Navy is indeed powerful. A small Dutou can be so calm and composed. They don't accept money. "Hong Yi said," Old Zhang, keep the money. Let's have tea. "
While drinking tea, he looked at his surroundings. After about the time it takes for three incense sticks to burn, the leader of the cavalry came back and waved his hand. "The Grand Marshal invites you."
After turning around the side hall, they walked for a few miles and passed through many layers of sentries. Finally, they arrived at the commander's camp of the Pacification Naval Headquarters.
In front of the commander's camp was a huge square.
On the square, the commander's flag fluttered. There was a huge "Yan" character written on it. It was full of murderous aura.
At the edge of the square, however, there was a soldier wearing dace armor every three steps, standing on the ground like a nail, holding his saber straight. A row of such soldiers led straight to the commander's camp, and the chilling, cold, and frightening atmosphere was chilling.
"Good heavens, everyone here is at least a Martial Warrior. Those who are wearing iron armor and have red ribbons on their heads are Martial Masters! There are hundreds of Martial Warriors and dozens of Martial Masters on the sentry post in the square! Not to mention, there are even more powerful experts hidden in those houses. With strong bows and crossbows surrounding them, even a Martial Sage would find it hard to take the head of a general from a million soldiers. However, if it was a Daoist technique expert, he would be able to assassinate them with a flying sword and manifest himself. "
The leader of the cavalry saw Hong Yi walking through the square with a calm expression. He was slightly impressed.
But he did not know that Hong Yi was now estimating the strength of the guards and the possibility of a Taoist master assassinating the commander.
After passing through the long square and entering the commander's camp, Hong Yi saw that in the huge meeting hall, both sides of the two sides were full of officers wearing shiny Xuangang armor and helmets. They were motionless and looked like iron men.
In front of the meeting hall, there was a big iron table. On the table were gold medals, arrows, commander's seal, tiger seal, and cinnabar pens.
On the wall behind the iron table, there was also a huge "Wei" character.
The awe-inspiring aura in the entire hall was even stronger than the outside of the square.
"Greetings, Grand Marshal!"
Hong Yi entered the hall, cupped his hands, bowed, and shouted loudly. His voice reverberated like a clap of thunder, causing the surrounding armored officers to be slightly shocked. They did not expect that Hong Yi would actually not have stage fright and would have such guts.
Their bodies moved on the chairs, and the metal armor clanked.
Sitting in the middle of the iron table was a man dressed in tight black silk. His hair was curled up and held in place by a jade hairpin. His face looked like it had been carved by a knife, and his shoulders were as broad as a mountain. Just sitting there gave people the feeling that he was as deep as the sea. But there was no doubt that if this man moved, he would be like a storm on the sea, crushing all resistance into powder.
Hong Yi knew that this person was the Grand Marshal of the Pacification Navy Navy Yan Zhen, who commanded a hundred thousand troops and ships. With a wave of his flag, countless heads fell to the ground. He was the son of the Junior Guardian of the Imperial Court, Yan You Zhi.
Yan You Zhi, a minister of the Imperial Court, was an old minister who had followed the First Ancestor. He was now seventy or eighty years old, and had served for four dynasties. No one could compare to him in terms of seniority. Even when the Big Dry Emperor met him, he had to give him a seat and call him Yan Shaobao.
"Hong Yi, although you were recommended by Lord Prince Yu, and the Ministry of War has sent a document, there are many sons of nobles who have come to our army to gain experience. If you are randomly given a high position, you will not be able to convince the masses. If you want to lead troops, you will need to pass the military's martial hall test. "
Yan Zhen's voice rang out in Hong Yi's ears. Hong Yi knew that this Grand Marshal of the Pacification Navy was an unfathomable expert.
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