Family Rise: Beginning with Grandfather

Xingyue Island is located in the east of Fuhai Province, about 1,300 miles away from Zhaowuwei. It is one of the islands closest to the land in the southeastern sea.

The islands occupied by Xingyuemen are not just Xingyue Island, but also include 64 islands of various sizes, most of which are uninhabited reef islands, and only a dozen islands have fresh water resources for human habitation.

Among these dozen islands, four slightly larger islands are the garrisons of the Four Flags Army, and each island has about 4,000 to 6,000 sailors.

Xingyue Island, where the Xingyuemen headquarters is located, is a large island, more than 30 miles long from east to west and more than 20 miles wide from north to south. The overall shape is long from east to west, with high terrain in the east and low terrain in the west. There are three hills in the east, and the highest peak is about 100 feet.

Its coast is tortuous, with many reefs near the coast. The eastern coast is mostly cliffs, and it is difficult to land even by boat. The western coast is mainly sandy beaches. Although you can land, you can only use small boats, and even medium-sized ships cannot dock.

The only pier on the island that is suitable for large ships is in the south, which can accommodate more than 300 large and small ships. It is the most important entry and exit pier of Xingyue Island.

The western part of Xingyue Island is flat, and there are three small rivers flowing down from the mountains and forests in the east, so it is extremely suitable for farming.

Most of the residents on the island live in the western part of Xingyue Island. There is a county-sized city near the pier, and there are more than 50 villages of various sizes in other places.

There are about 40,000 people living on the entire Xingyue Island. If the other islands are included, Xingyuemen probably governs 100,000 people.

It is obviously not sustainable to support 20,000 four-flag soldiers and many warriors with 100,000 people. Therefore, although Xingyuemen has good land to cultivate, it does not make a living by farming.

Going out to sea for trade, robbing merchant ships, and collecting protection fees from other pirates are their main business.

In the past, they set up the Seven Star Hall in Darong, and their purpose was also to make money to support the warriors in the sect.

In the past two years, Qixingtang was hit by Shangwu Temple and has been completely destroyed. Xingyuemen's maritime trade has also made less and less profit because of the Royal Merchants' wanton snatching of orders.

So now Xingyuemen is not having a good time. Although they are far away from Darong, they actually have to rely on Darong's supplies to survive.

However, compared with the destruction of Qixingtang, the biggest trouble for Xingyuemen is that Darong is about to send a large army to attack.

In the lobby of Xingyuemen, ten senior officials gathered together to discuss how to deal with Darong's army.

It is no secret that Darong has mobilized many navies and formed the Four Seas Navy. As long as the forces that pay attention to Darong basically know about it.

Xingyuemen naturally knows about it, and they even know the composition of the Four Seas Navy and some officials of the Four Seas Navy, such as Yang Zhengshan, they know it clearly.

At this time, the ten high-ranking people in the hall included the sect master Yue Hongyi, the master of the accompanying hall Nanhaiyan, the master of the management hall Qu Fusheng, the master of the punishment hall Si Yulou, the master of the ceremony hall Deng Yuehe, the sword-wielding guardian Sun Chunhe, the seal-guarding guardian Yan Wushang, and the leaders of the four-flag army Li Chengzhang, Wang Mingjian, Han Changshun, and Cheng Wuji.

The ten people gathered in the hall, and the atmosphere seemed a little solemn.

Yue Hongyi wore a black gown, his gray hair was combed meticulously, his thin cheeks were slightly sunken, and his expressionless face gave people a sinister and cold feeling.

He sat upright in the main seat, his eyes sweeping across the crowd like a sharp sword.

"Tell me, how should we deal with Darong's army next!"

The voice was like a night owl, with a bit of shrillness.

The faces of the people below were solemn, some frowned, some were expressionless, and some closed their eyes to rest.

"Master, maybe we can take the initiative!" Nanhaiyan, with a kind face, said softly.

Nan Haiyan is probably in his fifties, with a slightly fat body and soft cheeks. He looks like a kind old man, but those who know him know that he is a ruthless man.

If you are not ruthless, you can't get ahead in Xingyuemen, nor can you hold a high position in Xingyuemen.

In Xingyuemen, there is no morality, only the strong are respected and the fittest survive.

"No, although taking the initiative to attack can gain the upper hand, it may also lead to greater revenge from the Darong Dynasty!" said Si Yulou, the head of the Punishment Hall.

He glanced at Yan Wushang and continued, "If Yan Wushang hadn't attacked Yuzhou City this time, how could Darong be so angry?"

"If we take the initiative to attack the Sihai Navy again, Darong will probably fight us to the death!"

The attack of the Star Moon Gate on Yuzhou was not the result of a discussion among the top leaders of the Star Moon Gate, but an unintentional mistake.

Initially, Xingyuemen did not intend to start a massacre in Yuzhou City. They had only two goals before entering Yuzhou City. The first was to burn down the four weaving workshops in Yuzhou City, and the second was to take advantage of the opportunity to rob a wave of money and food.

But when the pirates entered Yuzhou City tonight, they lost control. The weaving workshops were burned, the money and food were robbed, but the pirates were still not satisfied. They began to collect money and slaughter innocent people in the city, causing tens of thousands of innocent people to suffer.

"What if we fight to the death? Are we still afraid of them?" Yan Wushang frowned and looked at Si Yulou with dissatisfaction.

"Afraid!" Si Yulou said coldly: "If you are not afraid, you go to deal with the navy of Darong!"

"It's easy to say. With the national strength of Darong, it is easy to form an army of 100,000. What about us? The Four Flags Army is our foundation. Do we have to fight with the Four Flags Army?"

The four military leaders of the Four Flags Army nodded in agreement when they heard this.

Xingyuemen only has the 20,000 navy of the Four Flags Army. If the Four Flags Army is defeated, Xingyuemen will have no soldiers to use.

As for the pirates they control, they are just a mob and cannot be relied on at all.

Yan Wushang's face was gloomy, "If we don't fight hard, are we going to wait for death? Since Darong has gathered troops, there is no room for easing. Now we can only fight with them. As long as we can defeat them, our Xingyuemen will have no rivals in the southeastern sea area!"

"But what if we lose?" Si Yulou said in a deep voice: "Once we lose, there will be no place for our Xingyuemen in the Wanli Sea!"

The two of them quarreled with each other.

Others in the hall also interrupted, and the atmosphere suddenly became noisy.

Some people wanted to fight, some wanted to avoid fighting, some thought it was a good opportunity to fight Darong and increase the power of Xingyuemen, and some thought they should avoid the sharp edge, shrink and waste with Darong.

After a while, everyone in the hall quarreled.

Yue Hongyi was a little impatient, "Okay, is it useful to quarrel now? Shut up!"

The atmosphere was quiet, and Yue Hongyi spoke again: "Now whether to fight or not is not decided by us, but by Darong."

"Now that things have come to this, we can't avoid the war, Darong will never stop."

"What we need to consider is whether to take the initiative or wait for the opportunity!"

Yue Hongyi's eyes swept across everyone and finally fell on Qu Fusheng, "Fusheng, what do you think?"

Qu Fusheng said lightly: "The master is right, what we need to consider now is whether to take the initiative or wait for the opportunity!"

"If we take the initiative, time is short, it is difficult for us to take advantage, as for waiting for the opportunity?"

He pondered for a while, "Darong's navy is still dispatching troops, and they will probably need to train after they finish gathering troops, so they will not attack in a short time!"

"And we can also gather more strength during this time!"

Taking the initiative is easy to say, but it is difficult to do.

It's not that they can't take the initiative, but they can't gamble.

They can't afford to lose.

"Gather more forces?" Yue Hongyi looked at Qu Fusheng thoughtfully.

Qu Fusheng had a faint smile on his pale face, "Master, why don't we drag Shenmu Island and Dihuo Island into the water, not just them, we can also gather more pirates!"

"According to the information we got, this time Dayong only gathered 50,000 navy. If we can drag many forces into the water, then it will be no problem for us to gather 100,000 troops!"

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard this.

Many forces in the southeastern sea area are afraid of Dayong, but at the same time they are also coveting Dayong's wealth.

They dare not offend Dayong easily, but if there is a chance for them to enter Dayong to plunder, there will definitely be many forces willing to participate.

"Darong wants to wipe us out, so we will muddy the waters and drag all the forces in the southeastern sea area into the water!"

Qu Fusheng sneered: "We can harass merchant ships, invade Darong, and even attack Darong's Jiangnan! Enter Darong's hinterland along the rivers!"

"As long as we can do this, we can turn Darong upside down!"

"By then, Darong will probably have no intention of encircling and suppressing us!"

Yue Hongyi seemed to be thinking, "What do you mean?"

Qu Fusheng said: "We will take the initiative to attack, but not against the four sea navies, but against Songhe Prefecture in Jiangnan, plundering Songhe Prefecture, taking this as an example, attracting other forces to join us, and at the same time, we can also take the opportunity to lure other forces to actively harass Darong's coast."

His idea is not difficult to understand, that is, to set an example for the pirates in the southeastern sea area, first attack Songhe Prefecture, plunder a large amount of wealth from Songhe Prefecture, and then use this to lure those forces who covet Darong's wealth.

If someone takes the lead, there will naturally be bold and fierce people following. Once there is the first one, there will be the second one. Once there is the second one, there will be a large group of forces that cannot resist the temptation.

It will be beneficial to drive many pirates in the southeastern sea area. When the matter gets bigger and bigger, it is estimated that even Shenmu Island and Dihuo Island will not be able to resist.

And once Shenmu Island and Dihuo Island participate, it will not be the matter of their Xingyuemen alone, but the confrontation between all forces in the entire southeastern sea area and Darong.

"It's not easy to get them involved!" Yue Hong said.

Darong's power is still very strong. Under normal circumstances, the forces in the southeastern sea area dare not take the initiative to provoke Darong.

Qu Fusheng said: "This is not difficult. We can't mobilize other forces, but if it's just a few pirates, we can still drive them!"

"We are only responsible for being a trigger. As for the rest! Maybe we don't need to do too much!"

Yue Hongyi nodded slightly, and the others also thought that this plan was very good, and they all agreed: "This plan is feasible!"

"And even if it fails, it doesn't matter. It won't be worse than the current situation!" Qu Fusheng said again.

Yue Hongyi agreed with his plan and no longer hesitated. He directly ordered: "Then follow your plan, and you will be responsible for this matter!"

...

Just when Xingyuemen planned to attack Songhe Mansion, Yang Zhengshan was also planning how to cause some trouble to Xingyuemen.

In the study room in Sihai Yamen, Yang Zhengshan summoned Luo Jinsong and asked: "Can you sneak into Xingyue Island?"

Luo Jinsong said without hesitation: "Yes!"

"Will it be dangerous?" Yang Zhengshan asked.

"There is definitely danger, but I am confident that I will not be discovered!" Luo Jinsong said.

There are tens of thousands of people living on Xingyue Island, so even if a stranger appears, he will not be discovered. However, if you want to sneak into Xingyue Island safely, you need someone who is familiar with Xingyue Island, and Luo Jinsong is undoubtedly the most suitable person under Yang Zhengshan.

Yang Zhengshan nodded, "Two tasks, the first is to find a way to deliver these letters to them!"

He took out a large stack of letters and handed them to Luo Jinsong. Luo Jinsong looked at the large stack of letters and showed a look of astonishment.

"So many?"

Yang Zhengshan's mouth curled up slightly, "Yes, that's it!"

"Including Yue Hongyi, every high-level person in Xingyuemen has one. It not only has the official seal of the Four Seas Master, but also my private seal!"

"But there are two different letters. One is for Si Yulou. The conditions given by others are only the title of Earl, but the condition for Si Yulou is Marquis!"

"The other one is for Cheng Wuji, also the Marquis!"

"This letter is for Cheng Wuji, but this letter cannot be given to Si Yulou, and it must be leaked to others very carefully."

The letter is used to appease, but it is not really appease.

Dissociation plan!

How to alienate?

Yang Zhengshan didn't have a good plan in mind, so he thought of a random punch.

Everyone has a letter of appeasement, but two of them are different. The letters of others seem to be the first contact, while the letters of Si Yulou and Cheng Wuji are like the result of many exchanges, with better conditions and higher treatment.

After listening to this, Luo Jinsong pondered for a while and understood what Yang Zhengshan meant. He said, "I understand. I'll do it right away!"

"Wait, there's one more thing!" Yang Zhengshan quickly grabbed him.

Luo Jinsong was a little anxious.

Yang Zhengshan took out another letter, "This letter is for Deng Yuehe. You said she is most likely to be won over. If possible, try to see her!"

The other letters were just a trick. Deng Yuehe was Yang Zhengshan's real target.

"It may be dangerous to meet Deng Yuehe. You should find out the details first before taking action. If you think Deng Yuehe is worth winning over, then you can ask her to meet. If you think it's not possible, then give up."

"Anyway, after you go to Xingyue Island, you will act according to the actual situation. However, whether things can be done or not, you must prioritize your own safety!"

Yang Zhengshan didn't want to involve Luo Jinsong, so he said with many instructions.

Luo Jinsong felt Yang Zhengshan's concern and felt warm in his heart, "Don't worry, Lord, I will be careful!"

"Well, go ahead, be careful!"

Yang Zhengshan gave another reminder, and Luo Jinsong left.