Realm of Power

At noon when the sky was bright, the heavy bows of the Imperial fleet began to stir up the seawater, like a cold white line pushing the waves, approaching the island ahead, which was Long Island, the lair of the Aden pirate Yola.

Longdao is located outside Longchang, which is already regarded as the central sea area of ​​China and Libya. In addition, China and Libya do not have a navy, so there is a lack of exploration of the outer sea.

Many islands are not on the naval charts. Even the charts obtained by the Imperial Navy from Central Asia do not include the Long Island in front of them. There are only legends among some coastal fishermen about an overseas fairy mountain. According to the legend, that Overseas fairy mountains can wander in the sea, and only those who are truly destined can have the opportunity to climb them.

The legend of this fairy mountain becomes more real with the occasional fishermen returning from the sea. Every year, some people go out to look for it, but most of them return with no success, and some are missing. They are all considered to be missing at sea. In fact, these people may really be They found Long Island, but this so-called fairy mountain did not have any immortals, but was a stronghold of pirates.

The location of Long Island has always been there, just because it is located in a huge red coral reef group, and the water vapor evaporates all year round, and the fog formed obscures the island.

At first, the pirate king Yola encouraged slaves to rob the Aden naval warships, and then boldly attacked the Aden naval port. The navy of the Kingdom of Aden issued the highest bounty in history. Any Aden navy who discovers Yola can kill him. He will be executed on the spot. If anyone can report Yola's lair, he will receive a heavy reward from the Navy of the Kingdom of Aden.

However, the effects achieved are very few. Yola's ships are like shadows. They can always appear and disappear mysteriously, leaving behind the angry eyes of the Aden navy. Even if they send the fastest sailing warships to follow, They often lose their target when the opponent turns into a thick fog. The Aden Navy would never think of Yola's lair. It is not in the South China Sea at all, but in the huge coral focus group outside Longchang in the middle. The reason why Yola was able to encourage the slaves to rob the Aden naval warship was because the warship was swept by the monsoon and floated to Longchang Island. , this secret ocean route from the outer sea of ​​Longchang to the southern coast was invisibly discovered by Yola,

As long as he follows the trajectory of the monsoon, Yola is 80% confident that his fleet can travel back and forth between the central sea area and the southern sea area without being discovered.

Every time the Yola pirates appear, it always causes a headache for the Aden Navy and the Imperial Navy, because the Yola not only robs Aden merchants, but also harasses the coastline of the southern mountainous areas of Central and South Africa. Fortunately, the people of the southern mountainous areas are tough and the villagers live in groups. The custom of gathering together did not allow the Yola Pirates to take much advantage. Therefore, the Yola Pirates generally did not go near the southern coast, and the losses they suffered were not large. However, it was different in Aden. Although the Empire and The Aden Navy went to war, but there were no restrictions on the Aden merchant ships. As long as the other party paid the toll, it would be fine. However, the Yola pirates did not care about so many people. Wherever they passed, they often killed all the people on the ship. In the end, in order to avoid encounters Due to the attack by the elusive Yola pirates, Aden merchants could only surrender to Yola and send people directly to contact Yola and submit protection fees to them. This is how the Yola pirates' contact point at the port appeared.

And this time, he also received news from the contact point. After learning that he was the special envoy of the Great Elder, Yola deliberately put out all six of his most powerful Aden sailing battleships.

On the one hand, it is to show one's strength to the other party, on the other hand, it is also with some speculation,

If he is really noticed by the great elder Yalenger this time, then he will really become rich. Thinking of this, even a murderous pirate king like Ruyola can't hold back the smile on his lips. After all, if There are only five elders with this status in the entire Kingdom of Aden. The elders are not the ones who control the power. They represent It represents the Palace of the Red Dragon. Just like the agreement made hundreds of years ago, the Palace of the Red Dragon will not interfere with the royal authority of Aden, but the royal authority will also give due respect to the Palace of the Red Dragon. This is the result of the compromise between the royal authority and the divine authority. As the great elder of the Red Dragon Palace in Eastern affairs, Yagren has been in Central Asia for more than ten years.

For all the Aden people in the east, Great Elder Yagren is their spiritual sustenance.

He, Jola, could regard the Aden Navy as nothing, but he would never dare to ignore the Great Elder Yagren, because no matter how many more than a thousand people under his command were all obedient to him, if the Great Elder Yagren said a word, I am afraid there would be someone. More than half of the people would pick up weapons to chop themselves. Fortunately, Elder Yaglen doesn't care about the affairs of the kingdom. Otherwise, he, the pirate king of the Central Asian Sea, would have run as far as he could.

Because Great Elder Yagren holds a power that is enough to make all pirates excited, that is, the right to recommend regions.

The great elder of the Red Dragon Palace has the power to recommend to the kingdom once every three years. This is the respect of the secular royal power to the Red Dragon Palace. Those who are recommended by the great elder of the Red Dragon Palace, no matter what their identity or status, They will all be ennobled by the royal family of Aden, but they can only be hereditary for two generations, and will be revoked by the royal family later.

Just like this, for other classes in Aden who are not nobles, it is already like a miracle. Even two generations, it takes decades, enough to change a lot of things, and the one who is most moved by this is , are undoubtedly the wealthy businessmen of Aden. This is a group of people who have enough wealth but are still as humble as dogs in front of the nobles.

In the highly hierarchical Kingdom of Aden, even the most wealthy businessmen have a very humble status. They are just higher than domestic slaves. In other words, they are high-class domestic slaves themselves. No matter how much money they have, they will not be able to stand in front of the nobles who really hold real power. , they can only lie on the ground and kiss each other’s insteps. The wealth and beauty they possess, and even themselves The daughters and wives of the Aden nobles can be taken away with just one finger. According to the code of the Kingdom of Aden, the wealth of merchants is a product of the noble land, so the nobles have the right to take it away, just like those lowly people. Just like peasant farming, since it is harvested from the land of the nobles, it is natural that it should be turned over to the nobles.

The reason why the Aden merchants in Central Asia obey the advice of the great elder Yagren is because as long as they can get the recommendation of the great elder Yagren, they can get rid of their humble business status in one fell swoop and truly become a noble of the Kingdom of Aden. , overcoming the chasm-like hurdle that countless generations of people have worked hard for and dreamed of crossing,

Jola still remembers that the last time Great Elder Yagren recommended a businessman from the Duke Braque family, one of the three major families in Aden, this businessman won a lot of wealth for the Braque family and was regarded by the Braque family. As a cash cow, breaking away from the Brak family now will cause the Brak family to suffer heavy losses.

Losing a businessman may not be a big deal, but losing all the business income in the Central and South-Bia region is another matter. Gaining wealth by recommending businessmen is itself a well-known secret in the Red Dragon Palace. Some In order to obtain the recommendation of the Great Elder, the amount of money they secretly sent to the Red Dragon Palace has reached a rather terrifying figure, one and a half million gold. The amount of money provided by the businessman to the Red Dragon Palace also allowed the businessman to stand out from a group of competitors and eventually become a real Aden noble. The Duke of Brak's family was in misery because in the Central Asian region The development of business routes was entirely accomplished by this businessman. Now that the merchants have been recommended as nobles by the Red Dragon Palace, those business routes that have been stabilized have immediately become the property of the Red Dragon Palace.

But tradition is tradition. Even those with the status of the Dukes of Braque could only hold their noses and endure it. They also sent people to attend the ceremony where the businessman was conferred, which can be said to have given the Red Dragon Palace enough face. ,

And now, what Elder Yalenger mentioned in the secret letter had to make Iola's heart move.

"The Red Dragon Palace wants to build a naval force in Central Asia. Although this is certainly impossible in Aden, the royal family will not allow the Red Dragon Palace to have a strong military force. A thousand-man Red Dragon Palace The Dragon Cavalry has reached the limit of tolerance, and in the hundreds of years of history of the Kingdom of Aden, there have been four proposals to abolish this idle Red Dragon Cavalry. In the end, it was because of the fierce competition in the Red Dragon Palace. terminated by opposition,

The so-called Red Dragon Cavalry is actually the converted nobles recommended by the Red Dragon Temple. Although they have the status of nobles, they do not have the traditional fiefs of the nobles to give them, and in order to avoid being subjected to the royal noble system Therefore, it was organized into the so-called Red Dragon Flag Regiment, but this is not Aden, this is Central Bia, even the area where the navy of Aden has given up, and the Kingdom is powerless to stop the actions of the Red Dragon Palace.

The great elder Yagren, who was like a master in Central and South Asia, was interested in his own fleet. Yola felt that his own fleet must be smoke coming out of his ancestral graves.

After the meeting, Yola took his six sail warships and approached his hometown in a majestic manner. The sea was very calm, with almost no wind. Such weather is not a good omen in the sea. Calm, often It was a sign before the storm came. Yola was still immersed in his unextricable imagination. Just to the southwest of the sea, an imperial fleet was approaching.

In later generations' records about this unexpected naval battle, it was written

"It's just a chance of a blind cat hitting a dead mouse. Most of the ships will choose to avoid the sea area where there is fog all year round. However, the Imperial fleet coming from the southern sea area does not know this. The entire fleet is thinking of taking a vacation. The Imperial South China Sea Squadron was like an uninvited guest, following the rules of the monsoon, but ended up bumping into it, and the battle broke out without either side expecting it..."

"Aden naval fleet spotted ahead"

The watchmen of the imperial fleet undoubtedly first spotted the Yola pirate warships moving ahead. The bows of these ships were shaped like sailing warships with huge rams like prefixes. The wide and square square sails were equipped with triangular side sails that could adapt to any wind direction. , are undoubtedly explaining the identity of the other party, the Aden fast sailing battleship is undoubtedly, the Empire Wangshou immediately positioned it as the regular navy of the Kingdom of Aden, six well-equipped sailing battleships, what else can it be if it is not the navy of the Kingdom of Aden!

"Dang! Dang! Dang!" The alarm bells sounded throughout the fleet. "What are you dawdling about? Get to your position quickly."

"Cheer up your energy and start fighting soon."

The imperial sailor captains on the deck screamed loudly, and the baffles on the side of the Dragon Tooth battleship were quickly opened. The sailors ran back and forth in a mess. The slowly rising full sail was blown by the fierce sea wind and turned into a Even on the imperial transport battleship behind, the ship-borne infantry wearing heavy armor began to line up on the deck. , bundles of crossbows were brought out, and the imperial heavy crossbows fixed at the front and rear ends of the transport ship began to stir the winches. The sailors' faces turned pale with nervousness. As a transport ship, these are the only attack weapons that can be used. If it really When it comes time for transport ships to engage in hand-to-hand combat, it will really be the last minute.

"Push the Thor out quickly, get ready!" Various orders resounded across the battleship deck, and countless black Thor muzzles protruded from the opened baffles.

"What the hell, how did the Aden people run in front of us?" The Thor Cannon cabin was also in chaos. The appearance of the Aden people was so weird. Could it be that they were ambushed! This is not China and the South China Sea. You can be ambushed even if you go on vacation. This is unbearable.

"How do I know, never mind, just break it, break it, you understand!" The furious Imperial Navy, the white sails of the fleet as dense as a forest, emerged from the mirror-like sea. , the bow of the ship violently tore the waves into pieces and plowed the sea surface. What hit us was the faint salty and bitter sea air permeating the air. The huge semi-elliptical ship The front end emerged from the rolling waves like a half-arc, one ship, two ships... densely packed, the ferocious bows of the imperial warships headed forward, like wolves swooping out from the pale sky of the sea. , because the explosion was too sudden, coupled with various imaginations and speculations, the Imperial Navy rushed forward in a desperate state.

"You bastards of Aden, come here and fight to the death!"

In the exciting sea breeze, Commander Casti of the Empire's Southern Squadron stood on the bridge, his eyes red with fear. He looked at the six Aden sailing warships that suddenly turned around the island and shouted excitedly.

"If we die, please let the commander live." Not only him, but the deputy Yamilak came up from behind and gave him a military salute. He had already made preparations for the possibility of sacrifice.

From top to bottom, the Imperial Navy believed that it had been ambushed by the Aden people. The Aden Navy was still very powerful. After all, it had been the overlord of the Central Asian Sea for many years. Although under the Imperial Navy's Thor, the Aden Navy was out of date. The warships and outdated tactics have suffered a lot, but the ones here now, This is not the entire strength of the Empire's South China Sea Squadron, but less than half. There are eight transport ships behind it that can barely fight. If the Aden Navy gathers all its strength to launch a siege here, I am afraid that the Empire will be able to leave this sea area today. There will be no more than half of the warships, and at this moment, in front of the Imperial Navy,

On the deck of the Aden sailing battleship, Yola screamed as if he had seen a ghost, "We were sold, the bastard Elder Aarong sold us to the empire!" r