For such a figure—one whom even He Chunhua deeply admired—to fall like this, how could He Lingchuan not be filled with melancholy?
"The Yuan Kingdom's fortunes really have run out." Just over half a year ago, on behalf of the Yuan Kingdom and its starving, beleaguered armies, he had secured a massive loan from Mount Rong, and the grain and pay had all been distributed. By all rights, with food in their bellies and steady hands on their weapons, they shouldn't have lost so quickly, nor so disastrously!
"How on earth was that final battle fought?"
The Li brothers shook their heads. "We weren't on the front lines, so we don't know the full details. But word has it that our forces actually won a few victories on the northern front at first. Afterward, when they pursued the retreating enemy, somehow the Grand Marshal turned the tables and inflicted a crushing defeat on them. Countless men died."
He Lingchuan was baffled. "I've seen General Zhao Pan launch sorties and maneuver his troops. He is exceptionally prudent. How could he have walked straight into the enemy's trap?"
Zhao Pan was renowned for his defense.
Not to mention a seasoned veteran like Ke Jihai, who had clashed back and forth with the Grand Marshal for the past year. How could it all end in sudden, catastrophic defeat?
The disciples of Songyang Mansion exchanged glances, having no answer.
"And what happened next?"
"Capitalizing on his triumph, the Grand Marshal swept southward, closing in on Shihuan City and the capital," Li Mingrong said. "Then we received our orders to put out to sea, so we don't know what followed."
He Lingchuan hesitated for a moment before asking, "Then what about General Changning, He Chunhua, in the south?"
"Ah..." The Li brothers pondered for a good while. "We haven't heard of him making any moves."
"Right, it seems he stayed in the south the whole time without shifting position."
At that point, it suddenly dawned on the Li brothers that this Island Master He also shared the surname "He." Could he have some connection to General Changning?
Of course, since He Lingchuan did not bring it up, they did not dare ask, merely wondering to themselves.
In truth, over the past few months, He Lingchuan had occasionally thought of He Chunhua's family.
After returning empty-handed from the Panlong Desert a second time, He Chunhua must have faced punishment from Nailuotian, but it likely wasn't fatal. After all, deities would not recklessly slaughter an agent who held real military power and troops in his grasp.
So what did it mean that He Chunhua had held his ground, sitting idly by while the northern front was broken?
Was he gathering his strength? After all, the fates of Generals Ke and Zhao had already proven that the northern front was like the maw of a Taotie—no matter how much gold, silver, grain, and human life was poured in, it could never be satisfied.
The He Chunhua he knew would never throw the forces he had painstakingly accumulated into that bottomless pit.
Now the northern gateway of the realm had fallen, and the Grand Marshal was driving straight in, sword pointed at the Yuan capital.
What did an ambitious man like He Chunhua intend to do?
He Lingchuan let out a long sigh. Whatever drama unfolded in the Yuan Kingdom next was bound to read like a horror story.
Or perhaps it was already happening right now.
After all, during the two and a half months the Songyang Mansion disciples had spent at sea, the war in the Yuan Kingdom had raged on without pause.
He Lingchuan had a premonition that the next news to reach him from the Yuan Kingdom would shake him to his core!
Only then did He Lingchuan sheepishly realize that he had not yet asked about Songyang Mansion's recent situation.
"Panic grips the entire Yuan Kingdom. The weapon-forging business has gone from bad to worse; we simply couldn't operate anymore. The Marquis had no choice but to relocate our headquarters to the White Elephant Kingdom in Beijia," Li Mingrong said. "In truth, Songyang Mansion has been scaling back its affairs within the Yuan Kingdom over the past few years, gradually shifting its core operations to Beijia."
"The Marquis must have written off the Yuan Kingdom long ago, hasn't she?" If even He Lingchuan felt the realm had no way out, how could a shrewd businesswoman like Li Qingge fail to plan ahead and move her assets?
The Yuan Kingdom's present state only proved that her foresight and strategic deployment had been correct.
Li Mingrong fell silent for a moment before saying, "Over the course of four years, the Marquis donated supplies to the royal court several times, with a total value exceeding two million taels."
Yet the country was trapped in a quagmire that no single person could pull it out of.
Li Mingyang chimed in, "Fortunately, Songyang Mansion is also an officially recognized merchant in Beijia, and our funds and connections are abroad. Otherwise, the Yuan court would have seized and confiscated everything long ago."
Recalling his own time traveling to the Yuan capital as the Mount Rong special envoy, and witnessing the shameless greed of officials at every level of the Yuan court, He Lingchuan had to admit that Li Mingyang's concerns were entirely grounded in reality. The ravenous Yuan court was truly capable of doing such a thing.
"Enough. Those troubles belong to the past and have nothing to do with us anymore!" He sighed inwardly, raising his cup in a toast. "Come, here's to Songyang Mansion taking root, branching out, and prospering in this new land!"
The company raised their cups together and drained them in one gulp.
After the feast, the disciples of Songyang Mansion returned to their guest quarters to rest. They had traveled a great distance, exhausted by the voyage, and needed to wash away the dust of the road and recover their strength.
Li Mingrong, however, sought out He Lingchuan in private and said in a low voice, "The Mansion Master entrusted me with a few items to deliver to you in secret, Island Master He."
"In secret" meant behind the backs of everyone else, without even the other Songyang Mansion disciples knowing.
With that, he slipped a ring from his left hand and solemnly presented it to He Lingchuan.
It was merely a silver ring, its color slightly dull and its design exceedingly plain—just a modest silver band without any carvings or ornamentation. But when He Lingchuan took it into his palm and probed it with his divine sense, his expression changed instantly.
"Th-this is far too valuable!"
Inside the storage ring lay a thick stack of banknotes, neatly arranged. The topmost banknote bore a face value of one hundred thousand taels!
In addition, more than a dozen magic artifacts rested within the storage ring. Before He Lingchuan could examine them closely, his eyes caught sight of another small heap of ores.
He did not recognize most of the ores, with the exception of wujin.
Back when Master Craftsman Li Fubo repaired Fusheng, one of the essential materials had been wujin.
Just that single piece had cost a baseline price of one hundred and twenty thousand taels!
And now, resting inside this storage ring was a massive chunk of wujin.
Li Mingrong lowered his voice. "Inside are banknotes worth one million taels, twelve superior-grade magic artifacts crafted and collected by Songyang Mansion over the years—each capable of fetching at least a hundred thousand taels—and various rare ores and materials. The rough estimated value exceeds three million taels."
"What is the Mansion Master's intention here?" Li Qingge was certainly bold. If the Li brothers' ship had capsized at sea, all the treasures in this ring would have sunk to the bottom.
"The Mansion Master said that establishing oneself requires capital. The first step is always the hardest, and she hopes this money will be of help to you."
"This is truly sending charcoal in the snow!" He Lingchuan let out a long sigh. "How could I accept this for nothing?"
He was in desperate need of money—so broke his pockets practically jingled. The Yangshan Archipelago was not yet self-sufficient, Yu Zecheng's ransom had only been half paid, and nearly every expense was being propped up out of his own pocket.
At this very moment, what Li Qingge had delivered was rain during a drought!
Three million taels was a massive fortune even for Songyang Mansion.
The fact that Li Qingge hadn't sent it all in banknotes showed that this sum had been scraped together in great haste.
"This money isn't a gift," Li Mingrong chuckled. "It's to be counted as Songyang Mansion's investment in the Yangshan Archipelago, converted into shares. This is debt-for-equity, and you must pay out dividends on time!"
"Naturally." Even if Li Qingge hadn't mentioned it, He Lingchuan had intended to do so.
"Furthermore, Songyang Mansion must have preferential and discounted rights when opening mines and purchasing land or storefronts in your territory in the future." When it came down to it, Songyang Mansion was here to establish an overseas branch with the goals of expanding its influence and making a profit, not merely performing charity.
"A minor matter." He Lingchuan agreed on the spot, painting a grand and alluring vision for them first.
The Master of Songyang Mansion truly was an extraordinary woman. Where other women repaid life-saving favors by offering themselves in marriage, she preferred to make massive investments in her savior.
A true angel investor.
He Lingchuan saw it clearly: this was the good karma he had sown in Lingxu City finally bearing sweet fruit.
Had he refused to help Li Qingge back then because of his own embroilment in trouble, how could anyone be sending charcoal in the snow today?
Passing by a deserted stretch of shoreline, he could not resist facing the ocean and roaring with laughter, startling a flock of gulls into flight.
He had money! By god, he was finally rich!
***
The following day, He Lingchuan assembled Ding Zuodong and the rest of his subordinates, announcing bluntly, "The comprehensive development of the entire Yangshan Archipelago begins now—all of it!"
Hampered by funds and manpower, the Yangshan Archipelago had initially developed only fourteen islands, with Longji Island being only one-fifth developed.
"What?" Everyone froze in shock—until He Lingchuan slammed a stack of banknotes onto the table.
Crisp, gleaming banknotes worth a million taels!
"Ah—! Yes, My Lord!" Everyone's eyes lit up.
Once the money was in place, everything became easy. Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke were both secretly amazed, wondering where on earth the island master had conjured hundreds of thousands—no, a million taels of silver from, aside from extorting the Beijia noble Yu Zecheng.
Although Yu Zecheng had taken a long-term lease on an estate on Suoding Island, raising funds took time, and he had paid less than three hundred thousand so far.
Just a short while ago, their master had been frowning with worry, stretched thin on every front.
Whether stolen, robbed, or borrowed, money was money, and throwing money at a problem yielded results.
"Think of how much effort went into recruiting all those laborers before. It would be a terrible waste to let them go just because the palm harvest is over." Ding Zuodong didn't want to grin from ear to ear, but he couldn't help himself. "Since our coffers are overflowing now, we can shift them straight into the comprehensive development of the archipelago."
During the palm harvest peak, nearly thirteen thousand laborers had worked in the Yangshan Archipelago. As the bulk-commodity purchasing vessels departed Blade Harbor and the Yangshan Archipelago, the population on the islands had plummeted accordingly.
Most laborers were short-term workers. Once the work was done and the master stopped paying, they naturally moved on. But if the Yangshan Archipelago launched new projects, they would stay as long as there was food to eat and wages to earn, which would dramatically accelerate the pace of construction across the islands.
Winter was the agricultural off-season, so labor costs were naturally lower than in spring or summer.
Qiu Hu activated a formation, conjuring a sand-table projection of the islands.
"The overall design for Suoding Island is complete; next, we build according to the plans." Before leaving, Fang Canran had drawn up the blueprint for Suoding Island; executing it was He Lingchuan's business. "The shops and inns in the central area, along with the coastal residences and refined courtyards, must all be erected in preparation for attracting businesses. The landscaping around Ding Lake is far too shabby—an absolute eyesore. Redo all of it!"
"The planned residential sector on Heiye Island is too small; expand it by at least double, and leave plenty of open ground beside it for a marketplace. The spontaneous market on Heiye Island has already begun to take shape. On the first and fifteenth of every month, residents from neighboring islands flock there for market day, so the docks must be rebuilt and the roads widened and leveled."
"Every island where people can live must have roads built, especially the farming islands. Those roads must be wide and straight to facilitate transport."
Chapter 1050