The black horse’s heavy head thudded back onto the grass, panting heavily, "Back then you never asked me if I submitted either..."
On the other side, Wu Eryong, witnessing how Yang Ge had tamed this rebellious and fierce divine steed, came up energetically to congratulate him with cupped hands, "Congratulations to Second Master for obtaining this dragon-like divine horse, from here on your travels in the jianghu will certainly gain you wings like a tiger, and you will establish an extraordinary legacy... Jiang once said this dragon-like divine horse is called ’Ten Thousand Miles of Smoke and Clouds’."
"You sure know how to talk... Ten Thousand Miles of Smoke and Clouds?"
After repeating it, Yang Ge shook his head, "It’s not catchy at all, from now on you’ll be called Erhei! Got it?"
He bent down to pat the black horse’s cheek, repeating the name "Erhei."
The black horse, no, Erhei, closed his eyes in despair... falling into the hands of such a beast, it was a horse with no hope!
Seeing this, Yang Ge placed one hand on Erhei’s chest, slowly infusing a stream of Qingmu True Qi... After all, a slap must be followed by a sweet date.
Qingmu True Qi, symbolizing the most pure life force from nature, had miraculous effects of soothing the meridians, activating blood circulation, and enhancing the source of life as long as it wasn’t excessive. He himself had his ribcage crushed by that old eunuch from the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and it was precisely relying on a breath of Qingmu True Qi that he hung onto life and slowly recovered.
Sure enough, as soon as the Qingmu True Qi entered his body, Erhei comfortably flared his nostrils and exhaled a hot breath, and his tight muscles also gradually relaxed...
"Feels good, right?"
Yang Ge raised his hand, gently stroking its cheek, "From now on, follow Brother honestly, and I guarantee you’ll eat bigger buns than anyone else’s."
"Hngh..."
Erhei let out a comfortable snort and lifted his face to rub against Yang Ge’s palm.
Shen Fa came up with arms crossed, feigning a disdainful tsk-tsk-tsk shake of his head, "It takes a scoundrel to grind down another... "
In fact, his resentment toward Jiang Kui was almost spilling over... I was the one hustling for you, liaising with the court, and you didn’t even acknowledge my efforts, yet you give this kind of treasure to that toad over just a few shiploads of grain?
Yang Ge gave him a glance without good humor, "Why haven’t you left yet? I’m not offering food here!"
Shen Fa: ...
Yang Ge, not bothering with him any further, stood up and walked towards Li Jincheng, "Li, we’ve got work to do!"
Li Jincheng approached, "What work?"
Yang Ge, "Remember what I mentioned before, about hitting Dongying for that big job? Do you still remember?"
Li Jincheng’s eyes lit up, rubbing his hands together, "Remember, remember, I’ve been prepared for a long time; you never brought it up again, I thought you weren’t going anymore..."
Yang Ge smiled, "When have I ever said something and not meant it..."
After a pause, he took a deep breath and spoke slowly, "You set off immediately back to Lianhuan Fort, gather men and materials, and by the way, let Yang and the owner of Five Peaks Ships, Wang Zeng, know–we aim to set sail at the beginning of September!"
"We don’t need too many men, as we’re going into unfamiliar territory without local support or reinforcements. Too many and we can’t look out for them all. We’re going there for revenge and to make a fortune, not to send our brothers to their deaths... Let’s limit the number to twenty, with a tentative Qi Sea level for martial arts prowess; other miscellaneous affairs can be left to Wang Zeng to coordinate at sea!"
At this point, he turned his head to Shen Fa, who was eavesdropping with perked ears, and asked, "I forgot to ask you, is Wang Zeng’s official appointment taken care of?"
Shen Fa, inwardly muttering ’Are you the commander or am I,’ still actively responded, "It’s settled. He’s appointed as the Commander of a Thousand Households of the Northern Pacification Commission in Zhoushan, a regular fifth-grade official, charged with overseas pursuit matters... The court also intends to summon him to the capital for an audience by the end of this year."
Hearing his words, Yang Ge instinctively wanted to ask, "Is the emperor still unwilling to open the seas?" but he stopped himself and swallowed the words back.
Instead, he said, "He was recommended by me to the court, how you arrange his duties is none of my concern. Even if you despise him and send him off to tend fish ponds, that’s your court’s business. If he doesn’t change his rotten ways and commits crimes again, do what the law dictates, it still has nothing to do with me... But if anyone dares use the pretext of pacification to coax him into the capital and then shut the doors and slaughter him, I would not agree!"
Shen Fa heard and felt his heart inexplicably irritated, his voice tinged with anger as he said, "Do you so distrust the government?"
Yang Ge: "I’m just putting the ugly words up front... I trust you, but I don’t trust those ’Excellencies’ up there in the government!"
Shen Fa had no words to counter.
Yang Ge turned back and continued to speak to Li Jincheng, "We must control the number of people well, better fewer than more!"
Li Jincheng, pondering, asked in a low voice, "Er Ge, isn’t setting the Qi Sea as the threshold a bit too high? My Lianhuan Fort and Yang’s Qingmu Hall together can’t muster up twenty experts with a Qi Sea."
"Also, won’t twenty people be too few? Dongying, big or small, is still a country. If we go there with only twenty men, even if each one is made of iron, how much can we really accomplish?"
Yang Ge replied, "It’s the quality of soldiers that counts, not the quantity. As long as the twenty are handled well, they can still turn Dongying upside down. Any more and logistics become a big problem. We’re going over this time to hit them big and come back, we don’t have the luxury of time and space to take it slow and steady."
"We can’t just let the people we take die in a foreign land..."
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Li Jincheng thought it over and felt that what he said did make sense... Who could rest in peace if buried in the land of those devils!
Therefore, he nodded and said, "Alright, I’ll convey your exact words to Yang."
Yang Ge: "Let’s set the meeting place at Nansha Bay. After you leave, I’ll head to Nansha Bay first, and you can come find me there later."
Hearing the words "Nansha Bay", Li Jincheng felt an urge to laugh for some reason, but just as the corners of his mouth began to lift, he again felt it difficult to do so.
Shen Fa and Liu Dongjun, who were listening with perked ears, were also silent.
Responsibility, in the end, always fell upon the conscience of those unblemished...
Only Wu Eryong seemed very excited, struggling between speaking out and holding back for a long time before finally saying in a choked voice, "Er Ye, take me with you. I’m a good swimmer and can hold my breath underwater for a good half a moment. I can take care of my own life!"
Yang Ge slapped his head sideways with a slap and scolded with a laugh, "Did you not listen to a word I just said to our junior boss?"
Wu Eryong shook his head excitedly, "I don’t care, I wouldn’t mind if I had not heard it, but now that I’ve heard it, you still expect me to act like I know nothing? I can’t do it, I can’t do it. I missed the battle at Nansha Bay last time; I can’t miss it this time. A hundred years from now, I want my own page in the family history..."
Li Jincheng pressed his shoulder, "What are you talking about? How can we handle such an important affair without any order? Today you’re familiar with your Er Ye, so he lets you go, and tomorrow those blockheads from Qingmu Hall, taking advantage of their familiarity with your Er Ye, will also make a fuss to go. What do you expect your Er Ye to do? Your Er Ye forbids you to go for your own good. You just stay put in Lu Ting, and wait for our men to bring you back a Dongying lass from Dongying."
Halfway through speaking, he himself started grinning and showing off.
Encountering Yang Er at Bian River was certainly the most correct thing this young master has done in his life!
Wu Eryong, red in the face, shook his head vehemently like a rattle drum, "No, no, no... If you and Er Ye refuse to let me on the ship, I’ll simply get a small boat and row over myself! How many great deeds can one do in a lifetime? If I miss this chance, I won’t be content for the rest of my life, not content!"
Yang Ge glanced at the show-off Li Jincheng, and said unhurriedly, "I think you’ve asked the wrong person. If I’m not wrong, you’re only one step away from starting to cultivate your Inner Qi out in the open seas, right? Why not take this time to ask your junior boss to give you a hand?"
Wu Eryong’s eyes suddenly brightened like light bulbs, and he turned his head with a pitiful look toward Li Jincheng.
Li Jincheng was stunned for a moment, then hit Yang Ge with a punch in annoyance, "You want to play the good guy and use me for favors, huh?"
Wu Eryong immediately became ecstatic, repeatedly bowing and saying, "Thank you, junior boss, thank you, Er Ye. I will practice diligently, striving to cultivate my Inner Qi before we set sail. Even if I die, I won’t shame you, Er Ye..."
Shen Fa, standing to the side watching Wu Eryong’s face about to burst with laughter, lightly smacked his lips.
He felt envy, jealousy, and hatred...
But he did not say it.