Realm of Power

There was no shadow of the sun in the dark, gloomy sky, and the air was filled with the cold and dry desolation before the heavy rain.

Song Que, the head of the Song clan, stood on the rock wall, staring at the boundless sea in front of him. The wind blowing in his face was like a comb blowing through the waves of the sea, like lines rolling forward gracefully. It's like a pair of invisible big hands caressing each other gently from the sea

"Did the people from Aden really come across such a vast sea?" Song Que put his hands behind his back, his flashing eyes retracted from the sea, and turned to look at Song Lu who was behind him and saluted.

"It is indeed coming from across the sea. It is said that the kingdom of the Aden people is thousands of miles away. If you go from the mainland, it will take at least half a year. If you go by sea, it will take two months to reach southern China. "Song Lu took out a token and put it on the ground with a respectful look. This is the family leader's order. It is a symbol of identity that represents the family when negotiating with foreign countries. If an order is issued, it must be returned with an order, otherwise it will be regarded as betraying the family.

This is the painful lesson learned by the Song people back then. In order to disintegrate the power of the Song people in the southern mountains, when the Zhongbia court planned to split the Long family in the southwest, they also bribed some people in the Song people in an attempt to use the dragon to The opportunity for the Jiaxi Army to split also divided the Song people into the Song people in the mountains and the returned mountain people who were willing to move out of the mountains. If it were not for that generation The leader of the Song clan was decisive enough and almost overturned the Song clan's rule over the southern mountains. At that time, more than 600 direct descendants of the Song clan were executed in one go, and 167 of them were executed, including the head of the family. The two sons of the Song family. From then on, if the Song people without the order of the family head negotiated on behalf of the family without authorization, they would be regarded as family traitors!

"You are the third person in the family, and you are an old man who has been in charge of the Song fleet for twenty years. Although you have resigned and have become responsible for the family's internal affairs, if the Song family has some experience in fleet operations, I really can't think of anyone other than you. Who else?" Song Que hesitated for a moment,

Before he finished speaking, Song Lu's body trembled slightly and he knelt on the ground. He interrupted Song Que with a slightly embarrassed expression, "Master, I have not been in charge of the fleet for three years! And even if it's me, I have no experience in fighting at sea! This battle is extremely dangerous, and it is also related to the foundation of our Song clan's rule in the southern mountains. My subordinate boldly suggested that the family fleet should not participate in the war. "He knows that the master of the family has something to do this time!" Song Lu intended to appoint himself as the commander-in-chief of the fleet, but thinking about the current situation of the family fleet and the frailty of the imperial fleet, Song Lu's heart was beating, "You mean, let the imperial fleet deal with the Aden people?" Song Que His face was stunned for a moment. He had not expected that Song Lu was so unfavorable to the family's fleet. As the head of the family, Song Que also felt a little worried on his face. He hesitated and said, staring at Song Lu with bright eyes and asked.

"Since the Southwest Long family has gradually become estranged from the Zhongbia court, and most of the waterways close to Luzhou have been abandoned, the pressure from the two upstream lines is no longer what it used to be. Therefore, the fleet that the family built in order to compete with the central government has long been used as a Transportation is in use. The latest warship launched was built ten years ago to celebrate the birth of my little daughter. This time it is actually fighting against the maritime overlords of Aden. Tell me the truth, the Imperial Navy is really Is it so unbearable?"

"The leader of the family fleet is that boy ****. Although he is the commander of the fleet, he has only traveled one or two waterways to the southwest. After going out to sea, it is good to be able to stand on the boat without rolling over. , and the opponent is the Aden battleship that crosses thousands of seas. This is completely the difference between a newcomer and a warrior who has experienced many battles!" Song Lu said with a solemn look on his face.

"This time is really too dangerous. The Aden people have been roaming the sea for decades, and their warships are as tall as city towers. How can they be dealt with by just finding a fleet? It doesn't matter what the outcome of the imperial fleet is. These aliens are dead. If you die, you will die. There are thousands of people in the family fleet, plus There are probably more than tens of thousands of family members in the Shangtuo family. If these thousands of people die at sea, the head of the family will really become the sinner of the family! As for the imperial fleet, although it is no match for the Aden people! , but if you just delay, you can still do it!”

"It seems that you really don't care about the family fleet!"

Song Que's eyes flashed with a hint of gloom, and he sighed helplessly, "Unfortunately, the order has been issued. In one day, the family fleet will go south from Luoling Waterway, and finally meet up with the imperial fleet at Linshan Water Bay. Even if the fleet may not be able to The whole army will be destroyed, and the order cannot be changed! "

"Master of the family! Please take back the order. The family has just restored some foundation. We can't lose it like this." Song Lu wailed and knocked his head heavily on the ground. He finally knew the reason why the family master sent him to negotiate with the Imperial Navy. , because if he were here, according to his influence on the family fleet, the order of the family leader would not be implemented. As long as he thought that the lives of thousands of Song people had been placed on the altar of family sacrifices, Song Lu's eyes turned red.

"You should know that this matter is imminent and has to be done!" Song Que had a look of determination on his face.

Song Lu couldn't help but said eagerly, "Although I don't want to undermine the determination of the family leader before the war, I must tell the truth. The Imperial Navy warships are simple and insufficient in tonnage. They can travel on inland waterways. If they really go to sea to fight, I am afraid they will be attacked by Aden." If a person is eaten in one bite, then the family fleet will..." Song Lu stopped and stopped talking.

"There is no need to talk about this matter! It has been half a month since the 30,000 family army pressed on the coastline. People from Aden are landing more and more frequently, but the location is always difficult to capture. The family army is exhausted on the thousands of miles of coastline. There are already people in the family proposed to abandon the coastline and The suggestion that all the mountain people in the coastal areas move inland ""You know what this means!" Song Que waved his hands fiercely, raised his head to look at the gloomy sky, his head was fluttering in the sea wind, and he said in a condensing voice, "Nearly two people near the coastline. More than 100,000 fishermen will enter the mountains and join forces with other native Mountain people with little land are fighting for land. "Have you ever thought about the consequences of giving up more than a hundred miles in the front and another hundred miles in the future? In the past few decades, the mountains in the south have grown to 1,600 miles. How much more is left! ""In this battle, there is no way out. If I Song How can the Song people lead the mountain people if they don't take the lead! If the lives of thousands of Song people can be exchanged for these hundreds of miles of coast, even if they all die, everything will be worth it. As for sacrifice, what else is there to say, because This is their fate as sons of the Song clan!"

Song Que fluttered his sleeves and left. Song Lu knelt on the ground with a confused look on his face. The black hair on his head seemed to have turned a few white. Behind him were the increasingly violent waves under the gloomy sky. They pounced on the cliff like beasts, making a similar appearance. With the roaring crash of beasts, a white crystal clear spread out in all directions.

In the traditional thinking of the Central Asians, the sea is not for exploration and conquest, but for the awe of the gods. The sea is the limit of the continent, so there is the saying "The End of the Sky and the Corner of the Sea". For the people of Central Asia, the boundless ocean and the six roads extending in all directions have allowed Ming to avoid maritime civilization. Although foreign business and trade have never been interrupted, those foreign businessmen who came across the sea, no matter how much money they made, In the end, I boarded the ship and left under the pitiful eyes of the Central Asians.

"These poor foreigners who have left their homeland come all the way here just to make a little extra money. Forget it, just treat it like beggars. There is no need to be serious with these poor people."

The Central Asians cannot see the value of the sea, let alone establish a navy to control the sea areas. At most, they can build a few fleets for transportation, frighten the savages on nearby islands, and show the majesty of the country. , there has never been a concept of control,

So when the Aden people's navy defeated the Nansi Imperial Navy's barrier and expanded from the Aden Sea to the Central Asian Sea, what was displayed in front of the Aden people was this golden sea that could reach the rich Eastern Continent. It was like a road. The broken rope discarded on the side was casually held in the hands of the Aden people. Over the decades, the Aden navy After a few cruel blows, the merchant ships of the South Asia Empire disappeared, Bai Jili's fleet disappeared, and the fleets traveling to and from the Central and Southern Continent of South Asia ended up with only the Aden fleet flying the moon flag. When these merchant ships became When the warships arrived, the Central Asian region realized for the first time that the vast sea was also a terrifying battlefield!

"Commander, it's just a semi-transport Aden fleet. Brothers can handle it on their own. These Song fleets are a complete drag." At the port of the Imperial Navy, Admiral Katis of the Twelfth Squadron was sending a The urgent report sent from the Admiralty was opened, and his adjutant was complaining next to him that the Song fleet was completely lagging behind.

They are all battle-hardened soldiers of the Imperial Navy. They have seen the Song fleet for a long time. The battle mode of Zhongbia's fleet is obviously still stuck in the jumping ship fight hundreds of years ago. Even if it was originally captured by the Empire, The navy in the Obaro region, which was so fiercely pumped that it could not find the north, has also evolved from a simple competition of manpower to a confrontation using large equipment.

Long-range heavy catapults, flammable fireballs, metal-covered rams that directly pierce the opponent's warships, and heavy lifting and falling poles that can cut the middle of a warship. It is said that the Aden Navy There are also very terrifying fuel-injection ships, which are unparalleled weapons against close combat and can It is enough to light up a warship into a super big fire torch on the sea in one minute. One can imagine what will happen if these Chinese and Libyan ships full of combat troops get close to it. The competition in manpower, even in Europe The Barrow area will also be despised by others, but the Central Bians regard it as the only mode of combat.

God, am I going to fight with such an ally? What should I do if these guys rush forward in a swarm while Thor is still firing volleys from a distance? If these Central Asians jumped onto the other side's warship to fight, would they fire on their side or not? The opponent's ignited hull collided with the current. Should I sink it decisively or disperse the entire bombardment formation?

"Okay, stop complaining. I have no intention of letting the Song fleet go to sea. Although the Song fleet is not of much use, it has more people than it can at least be used to clean up the battlefield!" Katis smiled and agreed. Get the report in your hand. The report comes from the Imperial Admiralty. It states The reason for the sudden madness of the people of Aden recently was that the imperial cavalry caused a big chrysanthemum in Cornelia, and the food supplies of hundreds of thousands of people were burned cleanly. It is no wonder that the navy of Aden went crazy. Such a barren area along the southern coastline of Central and Bibia is a mouthful.

The people of Aden issued an order to raise food throughout the country and obtained food through all channels. Even the daily affairs of the King of Aden were said to have reduced the original sixty dishes to fifty-nine. For someone who always likes to make public announcements For the royal family of Aden, which prides itself on luxury, this is already a slap in the face.

"It's all due to the incompetence of my subordinates that I didn't let His Majesty eat sixty dishes!" Katis imagined such a scene in his mind. A royal attendant in red and gorgeous clothes shouted and stabbed his own sword. The head was lowered to the chest. For this reason, more than 300 attendants of the royal palace committed suicide to apologize for the king's humiliation. In the report of the Admiralty Department, a rare ridicule appeared,

Cartis knew that it was the admiralty guys who were mocking the Aden people.

Katis was born in the Imperial Navy, and he often dealt with Aden merchants when he was in the empire. What these gorgeously dressed Aden merchants like to brag about is that their king requires sixty dishes for a meal, such as pigs, cattle, and sheep. They only select the tenderest bits, from all kinds of rare birds and animals, even elephants and rhinos.

The tableware for eating food is made of gold inlaid with rubies, and the drinking cups are made of human skulls inlaid with countless gems and diamonds. Moreover, the king of Aden basically takes a bite of the dish and orders it to be taken away. The second bite will never be compensated. Not eating the same kind of food, Katis thought at that time, these are still human beings, and he didn’t know how the cooks could survive by changing their tricks.

The people of Aden are proud of their luxury, and they often use it to ridicule the thugs of the Falcon Empire. It is said that the emperor of the empire does not even have ten dishes for a meal. It is really shabby! The Admiralty made fun of this in its general order. It was for this reason that

"Has the combat order from the Navy been issued?" the adjutant asked anxiously. If one goes into battle without an order, the consequences will be quite troublesome.

"No, it didn't mention a combat order, but it didn't say that we must never go to war!" Katis shrugged his shoulders, handed the report to the adjutant, walked to the ship window, and looked at the increasingly dark sky outside. This is a sign of a storm. What if the people of Aden change their route?

"What does that mean?" The adjutant read the result report several times, blinking and not understanding.

"Just because you didn't say anything, it already explained everything." Katis came back to his senses from the window and looked at the confused adjutant. "Don't forget, the empire has already issued a notification to declare war on Aden, so it still needs to be issued. What battle order?"

(To be continued.) 8