Chapter 899 The Lu Family Father and Son

When he saw these long-armed snake monsters, he was stunned, then turned and fled:

"The Yin Viper is coming, the Yin Viper is coming!"

The sleeping pirate village was awakened by this heart-wrenching cry, and everyone rushed out in dishevel, still holding weapons in their hands.

Then, the Yin Viper came.

The pirates looked inexplicably terrified, wondering how the Yin Viper could leave the depths of the archipelago and crawl to Kongmeng Island, which was not covered by the gray fog.

This is unreasonable, this is unreasonable!

But the Yin Viper rushed towards them, anxious and ferocious.

The leader calmed down and shouted to his men: "Go back to the house and shoot the arrows!"

The so-called "arrows" here are arrows with ropes tied behind them, and the arrows will expand after hitting the target. They don't want to fight these giant monsters head-on. It should be easier to fight them by shooting arrows and then fixing them with ropes.

Under the witness of the moonlight, a bloody fight broke out in the depths of Kongmeng Island.

And under the huge power comparison, the fight quickly turned into a massacre.

The sea was still calm, and Blade Harbor was still asleep.

No one knew what had happened.

…

Three days later, in Qucheng, the capital of Bailie.

The sky was turning pale, and Lu Zhensheng got up and began to breathe in and out facing the east.

Before and after the sun came out, there was the so-called purple air from the east, which could be collected and refined by practitioners, and was very precious. When the golden aura of sunlight appeared, it was impossible to do anything.

Lu Zhensheng also stood up at the right time and practiced a set of swordsmanship.

He was over fifty years old this year, but he looked like a man in his thirties. His temples were black without a single strand of white hair, which was the result of years of practice and maintenance.

When the eldest son Lu Qingan came, he saw his father drinking barley porridge with three or four side dishes and grilled dried mackerel.

Qucheng was only sixty miles away from Blade Harbor. As the patriarch, what fresh fish did he want to eat? But Lu Zhensheng had been tired of eating fresh seafood for decades, and later he changed his way of eating.

Generally speaking, high-end ingredients only require simple cooking methods. There are many ways to cook fresh fish, such as steaming, roasting, frying, baking, and stewing. Lu Zhensheng, however, likes to roast dried fish.

This dried fish is not the kind that is dried hard by the sun at the seaside and can be used as a weapon. Instead, it is made by slicing fresh fish with rich fat and pickling it, then hanging it in a ventilated place and basically drying it overnight.

Then, whether it is roasted or fried, such soft dried fish has a special flavor. The fat is fresh but not greasy, the fish skin is thin and crispy, and the fish meat is as firm as garlic cloves.

The most amazing thing is that the fishy smell is almost gone.

Lu Zhensheng ate half a fish with relish, and then his eldest son came.

"Sit down, have some porridge?"

Lu Qingan shook his head, sat down and only asked for a bowl of mung bean soup. "Three pieces of news came, one good and one bad."

One good and one bad? "What about the other one?"

"It's hard to say whether it's good or bad, it's up to father."

Lu Zhensheng took a sip of barley porridge: "Well, let me tell you the good news first."

"In the battle of Huanlangque on the western front of Mou State, my second brother cooperated with General Fan Canghong and won another great victory! In this battle, we killed 1,000 enemies and captured 600."

"Good!" Lu Zhensheng was overjoyed and tapped the table, "Very good!"

"In another battlefield, Mou State suffered a little loss." Lu Qingan said, "Bejia's monster general is powerful. That general, the wind-drilling beast antelope, is obviously the leader. He is neither a rhinoceros nor a giant elephant, but he killed a deputy general and two lieutenants."

"The wind-drilling beast is ten feet tall, stronger than a horse, and has natural magical powers. It's not surprising that it killed people." Although Lu Zhensheng was overjoyed, he still felt regretful after thinking about it, "If Qinglin could stand on his own and win a great victory, it would be great."

The second son, Lu Qinglin, joined the army. Although he was awarded the title of "General Xu", he was still under Fan Canghong. Although he is very outstanding, unfortunately he is still young, and his current promotion speed is enviable.

The country of Mou is full of talents, and everyone is working hard to earn military merits, looking forward to those positions.

If you want to really make achievements, you must first be independent.

Lu Qingan nodded and agreed: "Yes. But at present, this achievement is already very outstanding." Especially in the context of another defeated team.

The second brother has repeatedly made military achievements, and he, as the eldest brother, is a little embarrassed at home.

"I heard that both Beijia and Mou are willing to negotiate peace, and I don't know when the war on the western front will end." Without war and rebellion, military generals will be promoted slowly.

Lu Qingan smiled and said: "I said so last year, but the Tiangong was destroyed and Lingxu City was in chaos. Beijia's anger came up and the battle was more fierce." Who knows if there will be any accidents this year?

But does my father still want the war to continue? The people of Bailie are hurt when Mou fights!

In this way, you will support your second brother with all your strength and ignore the difficulties at home?

Of course he would not show it, but said: "The second news is that Mou State wants to buy another batch of grain and grass from us, 40,000 taels of silver."

Lu Zhensheng's smile froze.

"Are you going to buy grain again?"

"Yes." Lu Qing'an coughed, "Still at 30% of the market price."

Lu Zhensheng's forehead veins jumped.

After the war started, Mou State asked the surrounding small vassal states to pay money and grain, or to send people. They usually enjoy the protection of Mou State, and they have to contribute when the latter is in danger.

Rights and obligations are equal.

Some small countries are dissatisfied, but Mou State said that once the Lingxu City on the opposite side goes to war, the various vassal demon countries will also cooperate to send troops.

Like General Ling, who went to the eastern front of Beijia, they all brought their own food and weapons.

But Mou State still has face, and did not ask for grain directly, but paid money to "purchase", but the purchase price was very low. At the beginning, there was 50% of the market price, but now it is only 30%.

It took out 40,000 taels of silver, and the Bailie people had to hand over grain and grass worth 130,000 taels of silver.

It may not sound like much, but this is the second time this year!

Three months ago, military supplies worth 260,000 taels were handed over. If they were handed over again this time, the military aid in the first half of the year would total nearly 400,000 taels!

Mou Guo only gave him 120,000 taels of silver, and the difference was a hundred dollars worth of blood.

The first half of the year has just ended, and there is still the second half of the year!

Lu Zhensheng coughed lightly: "It's only these two years. Once the war is over, everything will be fine."

Asking for money and food like this will ruin your goodwill and harm your surrounding relationships. Doesn’t Mou Guo know that? However, Mou State had been engaged in long-term battles in the past, and finally had a few years of rest and recuperation. Before its national strength was fully restored, it started fighting with Bejia again.

In this case, is it not surprising that it assigns tasks to others and transfers pressure?

"How much will Qingguo be allocated?"

"I heard it's 80,000."

Then you have to hand over food and grass worth two hundred and fifty thousand taels. Lu Zhensheng nodded: "We can reduce the number by half here, probably because Qing Lin has made many military exploits."

Is this also due to the second child? Lu Qingan was a little dissatisfied: "Then why doesn't Mou Guo give us a full exemption?"

The surrounding small countries and forces can get people without paying. Bailie was a man and a man with money, and the patriarch's son personally went into battle. Therefore, he was repeatedly awarded by the state of Mou and set an example to many countries.

As Lu Qinglin's achievements and status become higher and higher, the ethnic group he comes from will be exempted from many obligations.

"The more his merits are greater and the military rank is higher, maybe he will be exempted from it all." Lu Zhensheng glanced at him and said warmly, "Qing'an, you two brothers are both trying to win glory for your family and Bailie, no matter what. It doesn’t matter whether you are high or low, you all have contributed.”

Lu Qingan nodded: "My son understands. But suddenly he has to spend so much money to buy food and grass. Where is the treasury..."

There is also a lot of money in the treasury. Bailie's current territory is much smaller than before, and his income is naturally not as generous as before.

"Finance, make arrangements carefully." Why didn't Lu Zhensheng know how difficult this was? "It's the autumn harvest season, and there will be a bumper crop of grain this year, so the price can be a little lower."

Mou Guo bought it at a 30% discount, and they bought it at a 50% discount. He lost 20% in the middle, but he could hold on even though he gritted his teeth.

"If we continue to lower food prices..." I'm afraid the landlords and tenant farmers will be dissatisfied again. After all, they have been lowering prices since last year. But Lu Qinglin changed the topic: "I have some news here. It was too late when I received it last night. I will report it to you this morning."

"Tell me." The father and son chatted for so long that the fish and porridge were cold. Lu Zhensheng stopped eating, so he rang the little bell and asked the servants to come and collect the leftovers.

"Someone wants to buy the Yangshan Islands."

Lu Zhensheng thought he heard it wrong and asked again: "What? Rent or buy?"

"Uncle Liu said that a housekeeper named Ding came to his door and said that his master was interested in buying the six outer islands of Suoding, Heiye, and Baideng in the Yangshan Islands. When he heard from Uncle Liu that the main islands were not developed, I also asked how much it would cost to buy the entire Yangshan Islands.”

Mr. Lu Liu is the elder of the clan. If anything happens, he will report to Lu Qingan.

"Uncle Liu said that this transaction is unusual. He can't make the decision. He has to ask the clan leader for his opinion."

"Where are they from?"

"They came across the ocean from the Fu Kingdom in the west and had just disembarked not long ago. Butler Ding said that their young master came out to establish his own family and thought that the Yangshan Islands were very good. They were offshore and quiet, but they were on the shipping lanes and could be entered. Can be withdrawn.”

Lu Zhensheng pondered: "It takes a month and a half to get here from Fu country by boat, with favorable winds and ocean currents, right?"

In the rich and powerful families, the eldest son inherits the family business. Some restless concubines can only get some money and then be kicked out.

These unlucky children will go to other places to start their own business and work hard, but most of them will just spend all their money and become commoners.

"Don't they know that the Yangshan Islands are Yinsha earth veins?"

"They have only been ashore for three days, so they may not know it, and it's hard for Uncle Six to ask."

Lu Zhensheng put his hands behind his hands and took a few steps slowly.

"What do you think?"

"The Yangshan Islands are not far from the coast but are difficult to develop. Only a few peripheral islands are not affected by Yin evil spirits. Although they are on the waterway, they are disturbed by pirates. In the past few times, when thefts were rampant, we had to send troops to suppress them." Lu Qing'an said while thinking, "It's really a piece of chicken ribs."

In a nutshell, there is no output but input.

No benefits, but maintenance costs.

Lu Zhensheng pondered: "But the Yangshan Islands are our ancestral property after all, and the place is huge."

Lu Qingan sneered secretly, did we sell less of our ancestral property? The Yangshan Islands are useless and no force looks down upon them, so they are still in the hands of the Lu family.

Lu Zhensheng still hesitated: "I'll write a letter to Qinglin and ask for his opinion."