"Right now is the prime season for harvesting and pressing palm oil. Don't the pirates do that too? Where would they find the manpower to come out and raid?" Lu Qing'an shoveled rice into his mouth. "In past years around this time, they never came out to cause trouble either."
His eldest son spoke with sound reasoning, yet Lu Zhensheng couldn't shake the bitter taste in his mouth.
"He bought the Yangshan Archipelago from our hands. If he truly has the ability to dispel the fiend energy, then that really..." Lu Zhensheng glanced at his eldest son, "...makes us the laughingstock of the whole world!"
Back then, it was his eldest son who had vigorously urged him, convinced that the deal was an absolute bargain, which led them to sell the Yangshan Archipelago.
"How could we have known in advance?" Lu Qing'an had no desire to take the blame. "The Yangshan Archipelago was in the Lu family's hands—in your hands—for so many years, and nothing of the sort ever materialized."
The words were too blunt. Lu Zhensheng gave a cold snort, feeling a twinge of displeasure.
"If not to raise grain for Mou Kingdom, if not for Mou Kingdom pressing so hard for provisions, why would we have gone so far as to sell off ancestral property?" Lu Qing'an added. "Bailie is rich in resources, originally more than enough for our own use. But when used to aid Mou Kingdom's war effort—war is a bottomless pit!"
"Do you think I'm eager to subsidize Mou Kingdom out of pocket?" Lu Zhensheng slammed his chopsticks down with a sharp clatter. "This is called preparing for danger in times of safety! You know perfectly well how precarious Bailie's surrounding environment is; I don't need to spell it out. If we want to safeguard the territory our ancestors left us, if we want a revival of our family fortunes, it all hinges on your second brother, and on Mou Kingdom's favor!"
Lu Qing'an's expression shifted, and he fell silent.
Every time they argued over this subject, it always ended this way.
Father and son both fell into silence.
In truth, both of their perspectives had merit. Lu Qing'an understood as well that since Bailie took Mou Kingdom as its protective umbrella, this protection fee had to be paid.
Only after quite a while did Lu Zhensheng pick up his chopsticks again. "Qing'an, you have your difficulties, I know. But right now is a time when we must share one mind and pull our strength together. Besides, I just received a victory dispatch sent back by Qinglin."
Lu Qing'an looked up. "He won another battle?"
"Yes. At Liu'aikou, he completely annihilated over two thousand enemies, took the opportunity to cut off the enemy main army's retreat, and launched a pincer attack in coordination with General Du to encircle them. Beijia suffered massive losses in this battle, and before long they began sending envoys over to sue for peace!"
Lu Qing'an's face brightened. "That's wonderful news!"
The Lu family's full financial and material support for his second brother was, in truth, an investment.
And since it was an investment, they naturally hoped the return would be as high as possible.
His second brother truly lived up to expectations, as always.
The more distinguished his military exploits and the higher his standing in Mou Kingdom, the stiffer Bailie's spine would be, and the safer its surrounding environment would become.
"The royal court of Mou evaluated his merits and conferred rewards, appointing him General of the Left Guard and Earl of Ding'an." Lu Zhensheng clapped his hands. "That's a jump of two ranks at once!"
Lu Qing'an said joyfully, "Second Brother has finally made his breakthrough! Congratulations, Father."
"This is a blessing for the whole family, and the ancestors' fortune watching over us." Lu Zhensheng beamed from ear to ear. "Qinglin said the warfare in the west may soon draw to a close, and he'll be coming home."
"When the time comes, we must give him a proper welcoming feast!" Lu Qing'an looked delighted.
It seemed the fortune of this generation of the Lu family had fallen upon Lu Qinglin.
"Ah, right. Qinglin also specifically noted in his letter that within half a month at the earliest, or forty days at the latest, there will be two showers of Emperor's Flowing Dew. He told us to prepare early."
Lu Qing'an was startled. "Two back-to-back? How does he know?"
During the previous two descents of the Emperor's Flowing Dew, the Lu family hadn't caught the slightest whisper in advance.
"The higher one's position and the greater one's power, the more well-informed one is. What's more, Qinglin has achieved major merits twice in a row, so Mou Kingdom naturally rewarded him." Lu Zhensheng said with a smile, "Go make preparations first. It will be enough to inform the officials three days in advance."
Under an established system like Mou Kingdom's, rising in status naturally unlocked corresponding benefits and privileges, granting access to closely guarded secrets beyond commoners' reach.
The descent of Emperor's Flowing Dew was of supreme importance to living beings. Even knowing just half a day early to prepare a step ahead would be an immense fortune!
"Yes."
Just as Lu Qing'an answered, Lu Zhensheng spoke again: "As for the Yangshan Archipelago, aren't they aggressively recruiting artisans and commoners?"
"Indeed, they've drawn away many of our people," Lu Qing'an said. "I heard they even recruited Bailong tribesmen from Ya Kingdom."
Lu Zhensheng let out a surprised sound. "Bailong people? Which branch? Moqi Zhao's or Moqi Tong's?"
"That... I'll have someone look into it." Such detailed intelligence required special arrangements.
"The Bailong tribe was close to Mou Kingdom, which resulted in their chieftain being killed, and the remaining members who refused to submit were driven out. Mou Kingdom originally intended to relocate them into its own borders, but unfortunately the Bailong tribe was unwilling to leave their homeland far behind. This tribe is quite bellicose; send someone to make contact and see if they can be put to our use."
Lu Qing'an furrowed his brows and, after a moment's hesitation, said, "Father, I think we should leave the Yangshan Archipelago alone for now. Ya Kingdom to our east is stirring up trouble again, harassing our borders several times. This morning, Qingbang already led troops out. I heard the ruler of Ya Kingdom is marrying off another daughter and needs a hefty dowry."
Sixth Lu's son, Lu Qingbang, ranked fourth in this generation of the clan and was also adept at warfare. With Lu Qinglin away from Bailie, he was the one who had to ride out and meet the enemy.
Whenever Ya Kingdom was short on money, it went around raiding in all directions. Last year Bailie had taken a few blows, and in the end had to pay up to buy peace.
This year—sigh.
Compared to the military threat from the east, what did the Yangshan Archipelago amount to? A fart? This old man of his never could sort out priorities.
Lu Zhensheng was still brooding over it. "Still, the Yangshan Archipelago..."
Lu Qing'an had no choice but to try and talk him down. "Never mind that that fellow He can't pull off any miracles—even if he had the ability to uproot the Yangshan Archipelago, it wouldn't do us any harm. If we find an opportunity to take it back later, it will be as if he plowed the fields, built the docks, gathered the laborers, and carried out the development for us. When that time comes, we get everything ready-made; what's bad about that?"
Lu Zhensheng thought about it. That did seem to make sense.
As for whether they could take the Yangshan Archipelago back? Heh, under that fellow He's command, how many men could actually fight? Those recruited right now were all farmhands and laborers meant for farming and harvesting palm oil.
A pure outsider—just how fast could he develop military strength on desolate islands? This question was something the father and son didn't even need to ponder.
Lu Zhensheng exhaled. "Even so, you must keep a close eye on that fellow He and see what he plans to do next. I always feel he won't quiet down easily."
"I've already set things in motion." Lu Qing'an felt exasperated, but he couldn't appear too dismissive. "He's still buying goods on a massive scale. His demands are huge, which ordinary merchants certainly can't supply, so I've also instructed the merchant guild to collude and raise prices."
When the merchant guild raised prices, the Lu family profited more as well.
Next, although the Lu family couldn't spare the hands to deal with the Yangshan Archipelago, as the local lords it was effortless to create a few headaches for them, without even having to do so out in the open. It would be best to shove a mouthful of bitter coptis down that fellow He's throat, leaving him unable to voice his suffering.
"The islands that can be developed in the Yangshan Archipelago surely don't stop at just those few. That fellow He has also exposed his own shortcoming: he's likely running short on funds."
Chapter 936