Breakthrough
Beneath the surface of the sea, Jingwan clung tightly to Lu Chang like an octopus, afraid of being separated from him.
Lu Chang floated in the water for a long time, and most of his strength was exhausted. Due to lack of oxygen, he even felt a white fog rising in his head.
Seeing that her cousin was a little dizzy, Jingwan quickly leaned in and breathed air into his mouth. Lu Chang finally became much more awake. Holding Jingwan in his arms, he thought, "I owe her another life, but this time I'm going to drag her down with me."
Even in the face of life and death, he still wanted to kiss her a little longer.
They spun along with the whirlpool, yet they never separated.
Jingwan's survival instinct is different from that of ordinary people. Standing upright and treading water like this is not an option, but she has never encountered this situation before and is inexperienced at this moment.
Fortunately, a sailor in the water gave her a hint. The sailor waved his hand, signaling her to do as he did. So, she changed her posture and lay as flat as possible in the seawater with Lu Chang.
The force of the whirlpool weakened, and they were slowly thrown out of the center. At that moment, Jingwan, holding Lu Chang, slowly surfaced. She took a deep breath and hurriedly looked at Lu Chang, only to find that he had already fainted.
A small boat came along, and with the help of the sailors, Lu Chang was pulled aboard. He coughed violently and vomited a lot of seawater, but he finally woke up.
A large hand reached out, and Jingwan looked up to find that it was Cui Dongchi.
The usually cheerful man now had a cold expression. He carried Lu Chang onto the ship, and Jing Wan then noticed that besides the large ship she was on, there were several military ships surrounding them, with soldiers binding pirates and escorting them onto the military ships.
During the time the pirates were in the water, Cui Dongchi's merchant ships and soldiers from Yongle Island arrived and drove them away, thus averting a crisis.
Several pirates who boarded the ship died, and the sailors carried their bodies into the sea. Jingwan was so frightened by just one glance that she closed her eyes.
Both of them were soaking wet, and Cui Dongchi joked, "After you change your clothes, come out and tell me how you fell into the water!"
Lu Chang didn't look at him, and took Jingwan's hand as they went into the house.
Fangjuan followed behind, intending to help Jingwan change her clothes, but at Lu Chang's signal, she left the room and carefully closed the door behind her.
Jingwan stood in the room, biting her lip as she looked at Lu Chang.
Lu Chang slowly approached her, bent down slightly, and hugged Jing Wan.
He was already good-looking, and despite traveling all over Lingnan by sea and land for so long, he hadn't gotten tanned. Now that he had fallen into the water, his hair was plastered to his cheeks, and his long, curved eyelashes were wet with tiny water droplets. Looking at him like this, he had a kind of androgynous beauty, and even a soft beauty that I had never seen before.
Jingwan was also captivated by his good looks and couldn't help but glance at her cousin a few more times.
Lu Chang had never shown any weakness in front of her, always disciplining her like an older brother. It was rare to see him like this, so Jingwan deliberately imitated how he used to comfort her, patting her cousin's back gently: "It's alright...it's alright..."
It was like comforting a child.
The tender atmosphere was instantly shattered by her. Lu Chang was so angry that he could only kiss her again until Jing Wan couldn't help but sneeze.
After the two changed their clothes, Fangjuan brought them ginger soup to drink.
Cui Dongchi sat beside them, fanning himself with a folding fan and watching the two with a smile. He had returned to his usual dashing demeanor. He didn't ask Lu Chang how he fell into the water. He could guess the reason. It couldn't be that he lost his footing on the deck and fell into the water.
"After all, they are greedy and spineless. With a little trick, they spilled everything they knew. The Feng family is really ruthless. Even when the family is about to be destroyed, they still have time to bribe pirates to assassinate you."
Lu Chang drank the ginger soup and said, "They're so arrogant as to try to assassinate government officials. For the safety of everyone at sea and to completely eliminate these pirates, the number of soldiers in the naval camp can only be increased, not decreased. Dongchi, don't you agree?"
Cui Dongchi laughed and toasted him with tea instead of wine, saying, "Lord Lu is right."
In the exchange of glances, another deal was struck.
The Feng family fell quickly. The pirates who had always cooperated with them suddenly turned against them and repeatedly plundered ships bearing the Feng family's flag.
Evidence of the Feng family's crimes of bullying men and women, colluding with pirates to wreak havoc on ships, and bribing officials was presented to the government. Many merchants and fishermen who had suffered as a result came forward to testify. Regardless of whether they were direct or collateral relatives, all members of the Feng family involved were imprisoned. Old Madam Feng died of grief, and this century-old family was finally uprooted.
After leaving the Feng family home, Feng Ji couldn't help but turn back to look at the plaque hanging high above the door, recalling the decades of humiliation and hardship he had endured, which had finally come to a satisfactory conclusion.
He was surnamed Feng, but because he was from a collateral branch, he was not valued. In the eyes of the direct descendants of the Feng family, he was no different from a servant. Therefore, Feng Sinian treated him as a dog, summoning him at will and dismissing him at will.
Their parents died in a shipwreck, and there was a glimmer of hope for their survival. However, the Feng family abandoned the rescue in order to save their merchant ship, and watched helplessly as the two were swept away by the waves.
The grand gate that once commanded respect when people entered has now finally collapsed.
Under Lu Chang's painstaking management, the vast Lingnan region finally became his domain, and only he knew the hardships he endured.
Standing atop a giant ship at sea, gazing upon the magnificent navy on the ocean, Lu Chang sighed at the unpredictability of life.
He left the Northwest at the age of ten, never imagining that he would turn his life around by relying on the vast sea. But he also knew that his current success was more due to good fortune, and he understood that accumulating such a deep family fortune did not mean he could rest easy from now on.
Looking northwest, all I see are rippling sea waves; I wonder what the situation is like there.
Yang Fujin's spearhead was aimed directly at the Northwest. Li Muyun refused to reduce troops and relocate people, so he ordered the two prefectures of Bing and Yan to send troops north, vowing to intimidate this princess who did not heed the emperor's instructions.
The generals of the two prefectures were both Yang Fujin's men, and they had long coveted the lucrative Northwest. Unfortunately, as soon as the soldiers of the two prefectures arrived in the Northwest, the Qiang people, together with other nomadic tribes, crossed the Hulao Mountains and attacked Hulao Pass.
Hulao Pass is a hundred miles away from Pengcheng. If Hulao Pass is breached, the foreign tribes can invade the northwestern capital within ten days.
Li Muyun immediately ordered the generals of the two prefectures to lead troops on a western expedition, since Yang Fujin had sent so many soldiers to him.
Because the northwest served as a natural barrier, the two prefectures of Yan and Bing had never fought against foreign tribes. Their soldiers were all new recruits who had never been on the battlefield. They were lazy and their discipline was poor. As soon as they arrived at the front, they were fed to the wolves. The two generals retreated and refused to send troops. Li Muyun immediately beheaded the two to boost morale. Only after the soldiers of the two prefectures were almost exhausted did she lead her troops out of the pass to fight the enemy.
Battlefield campaigns were commonplace for Li Muyun. She and her several deputy generals worked together seamlessly, some ambushing and others leading the charge, and they were always victorious.
Unfortunately, this time, the Qiang people's strategist was someone familiar with her troop deployment. Fan Shuang, who was charging ahead, was too careless and fell into the enemy's trap without realizing it. When Li Muyun surrounded and attacked from behind, he had no choice but to face the enemy head-on.
During the fierce battle, Li Muyun dared not underestimate his enemy. These cavalrymen were not like the Rong people; they were exceptionally brave and had greater endurance. They showed no signs of fatigue after days of fighting and instead became more and more ferocious.
The Qiang people had always been subservient to the Rong people and were not a threat. When did they become so strong?
In a moment of carelessness, these sheep have grown into man-eating wolves. Li Muyun only wants to completely wipe out these Qiang people.
Her body and face were covered in blood, some of it hers, but mostly from her enemies.
She was struck in the shoulder by an arrow, broke the arrow shaft, and slashed at the enemy's head with her sword. The snow-covered figure beneath her also fought bravely alongside its master, trampling over the surviving Qiang people.
While she was fighting hard, when she realized that a hidden arrow was coming, she could only try to turn her body to the side to avoid being hit in a vital spot. Just then, a person flew out from her side, cut the arrow in half, and then, without stopping, the person pulled out the arrow with the arrowhead and shot the Qiang man who was attacking Li Muyun.
Mu Yun squinted and saw that it was Qin Ziyou!
The situation on the battlefield was urgent, and there was no time to say anything. Qin Ziyou raised his longsword and slashed his throat with it.
He drew his sword decisively, each strike aimed at a fatal spot. Young and vigorous, he showed no signs of fatigue, and in the end, he even became bloodthirsty.
Even though Fan Shuang was ambushed, the soldiers fought bravely and still managed to repel the Qiang people.
Mu Yun withdrew her troops and returned to camp. Fan Shuang, with his upper body exposed, was already kneeling in front of her tent, pleading guilty with a bundle of thorns on his back!
She tossed the spear to her lieutenant, strode forward, and the first thing she did was kick Fan Shuang hard in the back, knocking him to the ground.
Fan Shuang quickly knelt back down and begged for forgiveness.
Several deputy generals who were on good terms with Fan Shuang knelt before her and begged for forgiveness on his behalf. Mu Yun glanced at his injuries and said, "Go and heal your wounds!"
The soldiers knew that she meant she was giving in, so they quickly dragged Fan Shuang away.
Li Muyun hadn't finished venting his anger and had just dealt with Fan Shuang when he saw a Yanzhou soldier huddled beside a tent in the soldiers' camp, muttering something to himself, seemingly acting strangely.
As she approached, she heard him muttering, "I killed someone, I killed someone, I killed someone..."
He kept repeating the same sentence over and over again.
Mu Yun glanced at him; he looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, with a youthful face. He was curled up in a ball, oblivious to his surroundings, still immersed in the killing on the battlefield.
Such soldiers are not unheard of; they are all young men who have just entered the battlefield. Before they went to fight the enemy, they all harbored the expectation of making meritorious achievements and gaining fame. Their hands are clean and honest; at most, they have slaughtered a pig or a chicken.
When he actually got to the battlefield and saw familiar and unfamiliar people falling one by one around him, with blood flowing down to his feet, he could only raise his weapon and fight to the death.
Those who are not mentally strong enough will end up like this if they survive by chance: once their tense nerves relax, they will collapse to the other extreme.
But this was a battlefield, and the Qiang people would immediately return. Li Muyun knew she wasn't a gentle woman, so she slapped him hard, grabbed his collar, and yelled, "Are you a spy for the Qiang people? Are you afraid to kill someone on the battlefield?"
He slapped her again: "Wake up, you bastard! If they break through Hulao Pass, your whole family will become victims of the Qiang people's swords!"
The northwestern border troops she led were already familiar with the princess's fierce nature, so they were not surprised. Some treated her wounds, while others sharpened their knives. Only the soldiers from Yan and Bing prefectures were too frightened to utter a sound, looking at her as if she were looking at the Qiang people.
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