Qi Ning put the night pearl into the brocade box, put it back in its original place, closed the lid, and said with a smile: "The emperor has prepared for the Northern Expedition, but the most worrying thing right now is that the treasury is empty. Preparing for the Northern Expedition will cost countless dollars. The money deposited by me will naturally be put into the national treasury, so as to relieve the emperor's worries."
Wu Dalin also smiled and said: "The Marquis is wise. This time, the Marquis not only found out the real culprit who murdered the Governor of Tantai, but also exposed the Donghai family's conspiracy to rebel. Now he can turn over such a huge amount of money to the court. This time, the Marquis I don’t know how the imperial court will reward you for your contribution.” He lowered his voice and said, “I think it’s easy to reward a duke.”
"Reward?" Qi Ning said with a half-smile, "Do you think the court will reward me as a Duke?"
Wu Dalin said sternly: "The imperial court knows very well how much contribution the Marquis has made this time. If even the Duke cannot reward him, then...!" He felt that some words were still inconvenient to say, but the meaning was already very clear.
Qi Ning lowered his voice and said, "Even if the imperial court conferes a title on me as a duke, what will happen?"
"This...?" Wu Dalin was startled.
"It's just that my salary is a little more, and it sounds nicer to say it out loud." Qi Ning sighed: "I still have to do what I should do, and no one will let me interfere with things that I can't control. There are not many advantages, but there are disadvantages. But there are quite a few. Calling me a duke right now will do me more harm than good."
"Why did the Marquis say that?"
Qi Ning whispered: "You said if the court made me a Duke, would anyone be dissatisfied?"
"This...!" Wu Dalin hesitated for a moment. He was originally cautious about his words and deeds. Even though he was transferred to the Black Scale Battalion and became Qi Ning's subordinate, he still had reservations when speaking in front of Qi Ning. But today Qi Ning saved He was extremely grateful for his life, so he did not hide it at this time, and said in a low voice: "The Duke of Zhenguo will definitely be dissatisfied, and he will even interfere with it and prevent the emperor from conferring a reward on the marquis."
"If I were made a Duke, like the Duke of Zhen, the Duke of Zhen would naturally be dissatisfied." Qi Ning said with a smile: "It's just that the Duke of Zhen is not dissatisfied with me for a day or two. I really don't care whether he Not happy with me."
"Then the Marquis is...?"
"Leader Wu, the old Marquis Jin Dao is a hero who founded the country." Qi Ning said softly: "He has outstanding achievements. He has conquered the south and the north and made countless contributions to Chu. Whether it is qualifications or prestige, he is a general. I left him far away, now he is still just a marquis, and if nothing else happens, he will only have the title of hereditary marquis in this life. What do you think he would think if I was made a duke before him?"
Wu Dalin suddenly realized, nodded and said: "What the Marquis said is absolutely true. Even if the old Marquis Jindao has no ideas, the people around him will definitely be dissatisfied. And...!" After hesitating, he said: "And once the Marquis becomes a duke, , I am afraid that people in the world will still laugh at the old Marquis Jin Dao in their hearts."
Qi Ning patted Wu Dalin on the shoulder and said with a smile: "As long as you understand, maybe in order to sow discord, the Duke of Zhen will take the initiative to ask the emperor to make me a duke. When the decree comes down, should I accept it or not?"
"But... will the court just forget about the Marquis's contribution?" Wu Dalin said softly: "The Marquis relieved the crisis in the East China Sea and found the real culprit who murdered the governor. If the court does not award him a reward, I'm afraid he will be criticized even more."
Qi Ning smiled and said: "I have my own opinion." He glanced at the densely packed boxes in the warehouse and frowned: "Leader Wu, do you think Jiang Mantian's purpose of storing weapons here is to prepare for rebellion?"
Wu Dalin was startled and didn't understand why Qi Ning asked this question. He nodded and said: "Master Marquis, the general thought that it was naturally used for rebellion. Otherwise, why did he secretly forge so many weapons?"
Qining thought for a moment, then smiled and said: "You are right." He ordered: "According to the prior arrangements, move all the things in the warehouse onto the ship, and transport the people on the island back. Here Ambush and wait for Jiang Yishui to fall into the trap."
"Master Marquis, Jiang Yishui lacks supplies and cannot reach Nanyang directly, so he will definitely return." Wu Dalin whispered: "It's just unclear whether they are going to Tiedao or Haifeng Island. And... will Jiang Yishui... Will you realize something is wrong and not land on the island?"
"Jiang Yishui's fleet now only wants to avoid the fleet pursued by General Xin. He thinks that everything is under Jiang Mantian's calculation." Qining smiled lightly: "And at sea, the fleet is always moving. , there is no fixed location. Even if the Jiang family has carrier pigeons to contact them, carrier pigeons cannot transmit information to such a moving target. Therefore, Jiang Yishui will never know that both islands have fallen. As long as we conceal it well, he will naturally I won’t see any flaws, and I’ll just wait for him to fall into the trap.”
The two came out of the warehouse. Wu Dalin ordered all the people captured on the island to be brought onto the warship, and then ordered the goods in the warehouse to be loaded onto the ship. Although hundreds of officers and soldiers were dispatched for this trip, the goods in the warehouse were really Quite a few, it was only at dusk that all the materials in the warehouse were moved.
Wu Dalin also arranged for the ambush to stay on the island according to his prior arrangements. After sunset, the fleet set off from Iron Island and headed towards Haifeng Island.
In the middle of the night, we finally arrived at Haifeng Island. At this time, Haifeng Island was completely controlled by the officers and soldiers. Most of the people who were controlled by the Ghost King to guard the supplies on the island had surrendered obediently when the officers and soldiers attacked the island. Everyone They were all driven to the beach and guarded.
The warehouses on Haifeng Island were also found by the officers and soldiers according to the map. In addition to the warehouse that Qining and Qin Yuege had seen when they landed on the island, there are two other warehouses on Haifeng Island. Like an iron island, they not only store a large amount of Weapons, and a huge amount of gold and silver treasures are stored on the island.
This time, Mo Yanbai's pirates and officers and soldiers worked together. The pirates were led by the second master Gu Haiqing, and the officers and soldiers were led by Tang Hui and Zhu Shuo.
Gu Haiqing is not only the second-in-command of Black Tiger Shark Mo Yanbai, but also Mo Yanbai's confidant brother. Mo Yanbai has long been willing to surrender. Naturally, Gu Haiqing has known about this for a long time. This time, he also led his pirates to do their best. , and Tang Hui and Zhu Shuo, under Qi Ning's kindness and power, knew that this battle was about their future, so they tried their best. These two people were not idle people, and they acted according to Qi Ning's deployment. Captured Haifeng Island.
After Qi Ning returned from Iron Island in the middle of the night, Zhu Shuo and others were waiting. When they saw Qi Ning, they hurriedly approached him and explained the situation on the island. Qi Ning saw hundreds of people on the beach covered in darkness and guarded by officers and soldiers. , walked around in a circle, but found no trace of Lu Shanghe, let alone Qi Yu. He frowned and asked: "Have you searched carefully on the island?"
"Reporting to the Marquis, all the passages have been carefully searched, and nothing has been missed." Tang Hui cupped his hands and said: "All the people hiding inside were searched out. In a stone room, an old blind man who was imprisoned was also found. , asked him who he was, but he didn’t give an explanation. I don’t know if he was mute. He had injuries on his body. The humble general asked someone to treat his wounds, and he is currently being guarded alone. "
Qi Ning knew that the old blind man he was talking about must be King Muye.
King Muye was once a first-rate master, but now he has fallen to this level, which is really disappointing.
Lu Shanghe and Qi Yu were not among the prisoners. Qi Ning knew that these two people had probably escaped. Qi Ning had prepared for the worst when he attacked Haifeng Island.
Although he has a map in his hand, the terrain of Haifeng Island is complicated, and Lu Shanghe is very familiar with the underground passages. During the attack, it is impossible to be silent. Lu Shanghe is a cunning person. Once he finds that the situation is not right, he will take advantage of the chaos to escape. It's a matter of course.
As for the Ghost King, Qin Ning has never seen it. Although he does not know the Ghost King's true appearance, the Ghost King is short and dwarf-like, so he can easily identify him. However, there is not a dwarf among the prisoners. So, The Ghost King is naturally not among them.
In addition to the prisoners, there were many corpses placed neatly not far away.
Taking Haifeng Island was different from Iron Island. Iron Island could be said to have been fought without bloodshed, but Haifeng Island still went through a lot of fighting. Although the battle was not fierce, many people still lost their lives.
Qi Ning went over to check the corpses, but did not find Lu Shanghe and others. He did not have high hopes. Lu Shanghe and others were so good at martial arts that they could not die easily at the hands of a group of officers, soldiers and pirates. He raised his head and looked into the distance. Under the night, the sea is vast and vast. If Lu Shanghe and others escape from Haifeng Island, it will be difficult to find their whereabouts.
It's just that Lu Shanghe is like a bereaved dog. He finally found a place in the East China Sea. Now that his nest has been destroyed, it will not be easy to make trouble again.
Qi Ning ordered Tang Hui to lead people to carry all the supplies onto the ship, ask where King Mu Ye was, and then go straight over.
King Muye was behind a rock at this time, and two soldiers were guarding him. When they saw Qining coming, the two soldiers saluted hurriedly. Qining waved for them to step aside first, and then walked to King Muye. The king was sitting on the ground with his back against the rock. He looked extremely slovenly and unkempt. Although he had lost all his internal energy, his reaction was not slow. He felt movement and his body immediately moved. Qining squatted down in front of King Mu Ye. Looking into King Muye's eyes, he saw that his eyes were cloudy and dull. He knew that he was indeed blind and sighed softly.
King Mu Ye immediately faced Qi Ning, and Qi Ning said softly: "Senior Mu, do you still remember me?"
King Mu Ye's body was shaken, and he lost his voice: "It's... it's you? Little brother, you...!" Realizing something, his voice became cold and stern: "You... who are you?"
He had already heard that Qi Ning's voice was that of the man who was imprisoned underground that day. Today, officers and soldiers attacked Haifeng Island. Although he couldn't see it, he could hear it. He already understood what was going on. At first glance, Qi Ning's voice still sounded strange. A little surprised, but immediately realized something was wrong.
"I promised Senior Mu that I would help you escape if I had the chance. Now it seems that I have not broken my promise." Qi Ning said: "It's just that the young master Jade has disappeared. He must have seen him when the officers and soldiers came to kill him." The situation is not right, and even Senior Mu cannot care about his hasty escape."
"That beast...!" King Mu Ye's tone was filled with hatred, and he clenched his fist and said, "Who are you? How are you... going to deal with me?"