As the sun sets, Jiang Mantian is already on Haifeng Island.
Facing Jieshi to the west, standing on the edge of the cliff and looking to the west, Jiang Mantian's expression was still calm and calm, but deep in his eyes, there was an unconcealable chill.
There were slight footsteps behind him. Jiang Mantian did not look back. Soon a voice came from behind him: "Sir, I just got the news that Shen Liangqiu is dead, and his head is at the Donghai Navy Camp."
The corners of Jiang Mantian's eyes twitched slightly, but his voice was still unusually calm, and he said calmly: "The embankment of a thousand miles was destroyed by the ant nest, and our many years of hard work were destroyed by Shen Liangqiu." He shook his head and sighed softly: "It's so stupid. Totally stupid."
"He's not too stupid, it's just that his opponent is too smart." The man behind him said in a high-pitched voice, sarcastically: "Sir, you didn't expect such a result."
Jiang Mantian turned around, and it was the Ghost King standing behind him.
The Ghost King is short in stature and wears a snow-white baby-faced mask on his face, which makes him look very charming. The light of the setting sun shines on the white mask, making it even more eerie and eerie.
Behind the Ghost King, there was another person following him. He was tall and tall, but his face was wearing a mask like a laughing Buddha. He took two steps forward and looked towards the coast. He said softly: "Mr. Jiang, Qin Yuege escaped with injuries. The Donghai Navy will definitely be notified. When they get the news, they should launch a pursuit immediately, but it is almost dark, and the water ghosts sent out have not sent any news yet, which is a bit strange."
"Master Lu, it's not strange to say that it's strange." The Ghost King let out a strange laugh: "Shen Liangqiu is dead, and the East China Sea Navy has no leader. Xin Ci has been away from the East China Sea for more than ten years. Even if he takes over the military power of the Navy, he must mobilize the war effort. The boat, I’m afraid it will take some time.”
Lu Shanghe looked at Jiang Mantian and asked, "Mr. Jiang, do you think the Navy will really pursue Nanyang?"
Jiang Mantian did not answer easily. He pondered for a while before nodding and said: "The Jiang family has always traded with Nanyang and is very familiar with the routes to Nanyang. Naturally, the navy also knows this, and they will definitely think that Jiang can only go to Nanyang." A path.”
"It will take several months to go to Nanyang." The Ghost King said: "Master Jiang has been heading south with the fleet, but can the supplies on the ship support them to reach Nanyang?"
"Things happened in a hurry. Although the fleet has made preparations, the supplies have not been fully replenished." Jiang Mantian frowned slightly and said: "The supplies on the ship can only last for more than 20 days at most."
Lu Shanghe said: "The navy's warships are not much faster than the merchant ships, and they are not familiar with the routes of Nanyang. The sea is vast. As long as they avoid the offshore sea, the navy will not really pursue them all the way to Nanyang."
"The navy has its target on that fleet, and I just happened to use that fleet as a cover." Jiang Mantian sneered: "As long as the navy can't find the fleet, it will definitely think that we have gone to Nanyang. We won’t really keep chasing. When the navy retreats, the fleet will naturally go to the warehouse to replenish supplies.”
Lu Shanghe sighed: "Mr. Jiang prepared for a rainy day and hoarded a large amount of supplies in the warehouse. Now it seems that he is really smart." He shook his head and sighed: "It's a pity that Mr. Jiang still underestimated Qining too much after all."
Jiang Mantian said: "I overestimated Shen Liangqiu and underestimated Qi Ning, and I didn't expect Qi Ning to find out the truth so quickly. As long as Tantai Zhilin's body can be buried at sea smoothly today, all problems will be solved. But I didn’t expect that just this last step was missing and the success would fall short.”
Lu Shanghe sneered and said: "Mr. Jiang, although Qining is young, he is very cunning. If it weren't for him, Lu would have controlled the Beggar Gang. Just because of his interference, Lu fell short...!"
The Ghost King put his hands behind his back and said in a high-pitched voice: "As far as I know, when this Jin Yihou was still the prince, he was mentally slow, rarely went out, and had very little experience. Why is the current Jin Yihou completely different from what I know? ?”
"This news is not false." Jiang Mantian said: "When Qi Ning was the prince of Jinyi, he was really slow-minded and like an idiot. Many people in the capital knew about this. This person's change happened in an accident. Later, when they heard that this man had been kidnapped out of the capital, many people thought that he would definitely die. However, he was unexpectedly found by people from the Jinyi Hou Mansion. After returning, the Jinyi Crown Prince became completely different from before, completely different from the previous one. "
The Ghost King thought thoughtfully and said softly: "It would make sense to say that after being frightened, the mind suddenly becomes clear. But a young man who looks like an idiot and has no experience becomes cunning after an accident. , even Master Lu and Mr. Jiang fell into his hands one after another, this is not a simple matter."
"What does the Ghost King mean?"
"You just said that after the accident, the Jinyi Crown Prince has become a completely different person...!" The Ghost King pondered for a moment, then said: "It is impossible that the Jinyi Crown Prince is really another person, right?"
Jiang Mantian was startled, then shook his head and said: "That's not possible. The Ghost King wants to say that someone, Li Daitao, is pretending to be Jinyihou? The people in Jinyihou Mansion are not stupid. If there is really someone pretending to be, he would have been discovered long ago, and this person would be alive. Not today. The Jinyi Qi family is an aristocratic family of the Chu State. If this person is not the Jinyi Crown Prince, how can the Jinyi Qi family allow him to inherit the title?"
Lu Shanghe also said: "King of Ghosts, what Mr. Jiang said is absolutely true. There is almost no possibility that someone is impersonating Li Daitao." He thought for a moment and then said, "I just don't know if there is someone else who has some guidance behind this person."
"Advice from an expert?"
"King of Ghosts, please don't forget that the Jinyi Qi family is not an ordinary family." Lu Shanghe sneered: "Beigong Liancheng, one of the five great masters in the world, comes from the Jinyi Qi family."
The Ghost King's voice was slightly surprised: "Is Beigong Liancheng always by his side?"
Jiang Mantian also showed a look of shock. He thought for a moment and then said: "Ghost King, Master Lu's guess may not be unreasonable. If Beigong Liancheng has been hiding behind Qi Ning, then all this can really be explained. Beigong Liancheng's martial arts has entered the realm of transformation and is unpredictable. Qining was slow-minded at first. If Beigong Liancheng takes action, he may not be able to enlighten Qi Ning. Qining has no experience, but these few times he has repeatedly ruined important things such as ours. If Beigong Liancheng is giving instructions from behind, Qining will naturally know how to deal with it."
"Do you think Beigong Liancheng has been pointing Qining behind his back?" The Ghost King chuckled and said lightly: "Beigong Liancheng has an indifferent temperament. For him, the biggest advantage is the way of the sword. Apart from the sword in his hand, he doesn't care. No one cares about anything, so how can they hide behind Qi Ning and point fingers." He shook his head and said: "Maybe there is someone really expert behind Qi Ning, but it is definitely not Beigong Liancheng."
Lu Shanghe and Jiang Mantian looked at each other before asking, "Mr. Jiang, once your plans over the years are ruined, what should you do next?"
"Destroyed in one day?" Jiang Mantian said with a faint smile: "Zhuang Master Lu made a strong statement. It's just that things are not as convenient as before, and the foundation has not been shaken. We have enough strength to launch a counterattack."
"Oh?" Lu Shanghe chuckled and said, "I'd like to hear the details!"
"Jiang knows what Master Lu means." Jiang Mantian looked at Lu Shanghe's eyes under the mask: "Master Lu feels that if the East China Sea is lost, trade on the sea will be cut off from now on. Without a steady supply of silver, it will be difficult to achieve success. event."
Lu Shanghe sighed: "Mr. Jiang, with all due respect, if maritime trade is cut off, our biggest source of money will also be cut off, and the hermit master's important affairs will be affected by this."
"Mr. Lu's words would have made sense a few years ago," Jiang Mantian said, "but now, they are a bit inappropriate. The Chu State's Northern Expedition has an arrow on the string and must be launched, and the time cannot be delayed for long. As long as Chu If the army marches north, all the problems we face will be solved."
The Ghost King gave a strange laugh and said: "Master Lu, what Mr. Jiang said is true. As long as the Chu army goes north as we want, the East China Sea will still be in our hands."
"oh?"
"You have been in Donghai for a short time, but you should know that Mr. Jiang has been operating maritime trade for many years." The Ghost King said with a smile: "Many people know that the Jiang family of Donghai earns money every day and is the richest man in Donghai, but they You may not know, but if you really want to talk about it, the wealth in Mr. Jiang's hands is probably more than the silver in the Chu State's treasury. Money can make people go around. Over the years, Mr. Jiang has been worrying about how to spend some money, so every year There will be a large sum of money used to win people's hearts."
Lu Shanghe sighed: "Silver is indeed a good thing."
"Mr. Jiang is not only rich and powerful, but also has a wise mind that understands human nature." The Ghost King said with a smile: "It was Mr. Shen's mouth that made Shen Liangqiu turn to us and become one of our pawns. . Shen Liangqiu’s death is nothing more than a chess piece captured by his opponent. The chess game is still there, and it is not yet known who will win.”
Jiang Mantian smiled indifferently and said: "Money can make ghosts go around. The Ghost King said it well. The death of Villa Master Lu, Tantai Zhilin, although it did lead to the current predicament we are facing, it is not nothing." Bad thing. Tantai Huang is very old, and Tantai Zhilin is dead. The Tantai family’s control over the navy is definitely no longer what it used to be. Although Xin Ci is temporarily in charge of the navy, Jiang can guarantee that the current water The officers and soldiers of the division are already in panic."
"That's true." Lu Shanghe chuckled: "For decades, the Donghai Navy has been in the hands of the Tantai family. Now the commander of the navy does not have the surname Tantai. This will naturally make people who are used to the Tantai family being the commander-in-chief The navy officers and soldiers were panicked. Although Xin Ci is a famous general from the navy, he has been away from the navy for more than ten years. It is simply a fantasy to convince the navy officers and soldiers in a short period of time. "
"So once the imperial court of Chu State orders Xin Ci to command the navy, then Xin Ci will definitely take drastic measures to rectify the navy." Jiang Mantian said slowly: "There are many direct descendants of Shen Liangqiu among the navy, and these people must have I guessed that once the imperial court officially ordered Xin Ci to become the governor, Xin Ci would definitely attack them. With the sword hanging above his head, these people would certainly not wait for death. If Xin Ci was given enough time, he might really be able to slow down. In the picture, we are cutting meat with knives and rectifying the naval army bit by bit, but... the Chu army's northern expedition does not give Xin Ci much time, and this is exactly where we can take advantage." At this point, a hint of calmness appeared on the corners of his lips. Smile: "Silver is sometimes a good thing. It can make many people obey orders and become pawns in our chess game!"