Chapter 243: Heavy Reward, Collusion
Li Dingguo only walked for about a quarter of an hour and arrived at his destination.
In order to facilitate work or timely evacuation, the military intelligence personnel established this military intelligence station not far from the South City Gate.
This is a small to medium-sized shop that sells some groceries and is an inconspicuous grocery store.
In the Ming Dynasty, opening a store and doing business was not that easy.
As a small and medium-sized business owner from outside, not only can you not run the same business as the local wealthy families, you also have to face multiple oppressions from gangs and government officials, and if you are not careful you will face a catastrophic disaster.
Most of the lucrative businesses are monopolized by officials, gentry, and wealthy families.
Only if they do business openly, they will not be oppressed by the government and various gangs, but will prosper instead.
Even an ordinary grocery store needs to pay most of its profits every month to keep you in business.
The military intelligence personnel here are not making money from business, they are just using it as a cover.
When Li Dingguo entered the grocery store, he saw that it was deserted with only a few customers picking out some daily necessities.
"My dear guest, I have finally waited for you to come!"
When the shopkeeper, who was dressed as an intelligence officer of the Fuxing Army, saw Li Dingguo coming, a hint of joy flashed in his eyes and he greeted him hastily.
He called a hired clerk to take over his job, and then said to Li Dingguo, "Dear guest, the goods you ordered are ready. Please follow me."
After saying this, he led Li Dingguo to the back door.
When he arrived at the living room of the house in the backyard, he quickly saluted Li Dingguo and said, "Mo Xiaoyong, number one of the Military Intelligence Department, greets the commander-in-chief!"
Mo Xiaoyong is not an ordinary intelligence officer, but the person in charge of all intelligence work in Qilu in the military intelligence department of the Fuxing Army.
He is already 26 years old this year. He only started formally practicing after joining the Renaissance Army in the autumn of the previous year. It was too late to start.
He is also a talented warrior who was hindered by his family circumstances.
After practicing for nearly two years, Mo Xiaoyong used the large amount of military merit he had gained to exchange for several precious elixirs to assist in his practice. Now he has reached the peak of the Body Refining Realm.
Mo Xiaoyong is also a high-ranking general in the entire Fuxing Army.
In view of the fact that the intelligence work here is too important, Wei Jinfan sent this capable man, who came to the southeast coast after many twists and turns, to be responsible for various intelligence collection work.
"Mo Xiaoyong."
Li Dingguo looked at the key general of the Military Intelligence Department, nodded and said, "The intelligence you sent back in time was too important. It enabled our army to win a great victory that will surely go down in history in the future, and made this operation a huge success."
"In view of the outstanding performance of your intelligence team, I have decided to commend you individually."
"These rewards are not counted as military merits, but are my personal rewards."
Li Dingguo took out a wooden box that he had brought with him, handed it to Mo Xiaoyong and said, "There are six third-grade top-grade pills in it."
"In addition to the five third-grade top-grade nourishing spirit pills, there is another special third-grade top-grade pill. It is a marrow cleansing pill that I recently refined after spending a lot of time and effort researching a magical treasure I obtained from heaven and earth."
"This is the most advanced elixir in our Renaissance Army so far. It can allow any warrior in the Body Refining Realm to break through the limits of their Qi and blood, remove hair and cleanse their marrow, and improve the practitioner's own qualifications."
"I see that your current cultivation has been stuck at the peak of the Body Refining Realm for a long time. After you use this Marrow Cleansing Pill and then take a Level 3 Supreme Spirit Nourishing Pill, you should be able to successfully break through to the initial stage of the fourth level of the martial arts realm."
"As for the remaining four level three top-grade nourishing spirit pills, you can distribute them to the four subordinates with the highest military merit points."
Li Dingguo did not exaggerate the facts at all, but told the truth.
This marrow cleansing pill was a super elixir that he had painstakingly figured out the recipe for, and then he took great pains to collect enough spiritual herbs to refine a whole furnace of it, using the Human Emperor Cauldron to refine it.
The main ingredient is the leaves of the Five-Colored Divine Tree, his natal spiritual root. The other auxiliary spiritual medicines in the formula are rare spiritual medicines that are at least three hundred years old.
For any practitioner in the Body Refining Realm, the value of this marrow cleansing pill is immeasurable.
Although there is no shortage of the main ingredient, the leaves of the five-colored sacred tree, the various auxiliary spiritual medicines in the recipe are too rare. Li Dingguo has only refined one furnace so far and obtained a total of nine marrow cleansing pills.
This newly developed third-grade top-grade marrow cleansing pill is only effective for practitioners in the Body Refining Realm. Li Dingguo himself cannot use it, so he has kept it in his hands as a treasure.
The one now given to Mo Xiaoyong is the first marrow cleansing pill given as a reward.
Mo Xiaoyong will also become the first lucky person in the world to take this rare elixir.
"what……"
Mo Xiaoyong was stunned when he heard that there was such a magical and precious elixir in the wooden box he had just taken.
His aptitude was originally good. During his cultivation in the Body Refining Realm, he had experienced six times of breaking the limits of Qi and blood, and removing hair and cleansing marrow.
If he could use this magical elixir to break through the limits of his Qi and blood and remove his hair and cleanse his marrow, he would break through the limitations of his own qualifications and become a monstrous genius in one fell swoop.
This divine artifact's top-grade third-grade elixir will be of great help to my future martial arts path, and I will benefit from it endlessly.
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!"
Mo Xiaoyong's hands trembled slightly, he bowed to Li Dingguo and said with tears of gratitude.
He knew that with Li Dingguo's level of cultivation, he could tell the condition of his qi and blood at a glance.
Since the commander-in-chief said that he could successfully break through to the Qi Refining Realm with the help of the third-grade top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill and the Spirit Nourishing Pill, then he has at least a 90% chance of success.
With this marrow cleansing pill to take, Mo Xiaoyong is full of confidence in his future path.
A warrior in the Qi Refining Realm!
So far, there are only 20 to 30 members of the Restoration Army.
I could become one of them very soon, and the thought of it makes me excited.
Improving one's own cultivation aptitude has more than just current benefits, but will have lifelong benefits.
One step faster, every step faster. As a backbone of the Military Intelligence Department, Mo Xiaoyong must be aware of this.
"Well, this is the reward you deserve."
"You probably don't know how great the contribution you made this time is..."
Li Dingguo then gave Mo Xiaoyong a brief account of how he and the golden eagle had launched a surprise attack on Lingshan Island when the enemy was unprepared, and how they had achieved great results.
"All the treasure ships of those three forces have been seized by you, the commander-in-chief, including two top-grade treasure ships, eight high-grade treasure ships, and more than forty mid-grade treasure ships, as well as all the wealth and supplies on board!"
"Now Lingshan Island is occupied by you, the Great Commander. You have 180,000 to 190,000 men under your command, and you are building a large navy!"
"This...this is incredible!"
Mo Xiaoyong usually doesn't show his emotions, and this time he was really frightened.
He finally figured out the real reason why he had made such a great contribution.
No wonder the commander-in-chief even took out this priceless marrow cleansing pill and rewarded himself with one.
Although he guessed that Li Dingguo and the golden eagle would definitely gain a lot from this attack, he really didn't expect that his side would actually achieve a complete victory!
"Mo Xiaoyong, you must report the battle report of Jiaozhou Lingshan Bay and the current situation to Wei Jinfan as soon as possible!"
"In order to prevent Wan'er and Hongmei from worrying, it will also help some core commanders know that my current situation is much better than they imagined." "This time, the harvest is too great. I can't just leave. I can only withdraw and send someone else to manage this huge navy after the newly built large fleet here is completely on the right track."
"Let Wan'er and Hongmei lead the soldiers outside the Great Wall without worry and continue to rapidly develop and expand the Fuxing Army."
"Here are the letters I wrote to Wan'er and Hongmei. Take them and send them back to the military headquarters using a spirit pigeon, along with the intelligence this time. Have Wei Jinfan pass them to them."
After Li Dingguo told Mo Xiaoyong what he wanted to say, he handed him the two letters in his hand.
He then said to Mo Xiaoyong, "In a month, you will go to Lingshan Island to prepare to expand the intelligence department here in the coastal area."
"At least we need to increase the number of intelligence personnel here to more than 300 people to meet the needs of future intelligence collection."
"By then, there will be at least 20,000 new warriors on Lingshan Island, and you can choose whatever you want. You must quickly form a qualified military intelligence branch and fully expand our intelligence work in this southeastern coastal area."
"When the time comes, I will send a treasure ship to pick you up."
"Give me a pair of your spirit pigeons. I will take them to Lingshan Island and breed them as quickly as possible so that we can meet the needs of intelligence work in coastal areas in the future."
After asking about some recent events in Qi and Lu, he left the grocery store carrying a bird bag containing two spiritual pigeons.
Walking on the way out of the city, Li Dingguo looked at the large number of refugees everywhere, his eyes flickered, and some ideas came to his mind.
Mo Xiaoyong had just reported that their intelligence team had not found any trace of the remnants of the Tartars, white Hu people, Liaodong Navy and other defeated troops who had escaped from Lingshan Island, nor had they heard any news about their whereabouts.
It must be that the three enemies who escaped and swam across Lingshan Bay did not come towards Lingshan City.
Perhaps they were worried that the golden eagle would launch a relentless pursuit, so they were frightened and hurriedly left the area after landing.
There were so many enemy remnants on Lingshan Island that night that had not been completely eliminated. He and the golden eagle were too busy to pursue them.
Under the circumstances at that time, the most urgent task for us was to hold on to the massive amount of spoils we had obtained and eliminate all the enemies in the entire Lingshan Island.
After successfully leaving the city, Li Dingguo returned to the golden eagle's hiding place and reunited with it, then flew to and sat on the seat on its back.
A moment later, a golden light shot up into the sky and flew towards Lingshan Island, the outermost island of Lingshan Bay.
……
"Geng Jingzhong!"
"You guys are here too?"
Geng Jingzhong and his son Geng Zhongming, who had hurriedly swam across the bay, had just caught their breath when two figures flashed over. One of them shouted to him, "We sisters are homeless now. Can we come with you?"
"We sisters are also masters of the Qi Refining Realm. We will not be a burden to you and your son in the future."
The visitors were none other than the two daughters of Jia Shuisheng, the pirate leader entrenched on Lingshan Island: sisters Jia Huiqin and Jia Huizhi.
These sisters are not simple people. Although they are not married, they have kept more than a dozen lovers. They act arrogantly and enjoy themselves to their heart's content. They are not good people.
A few years ago, the two sisters accidentally inherited an ancient dual cultivation technique, which allowed them to continuously improve their cultivation by practicing dual cultivation with warriors.
The two sisters of the Jia family, who are now less than 20 years old, have successfully broken through to the fourth level of martial arts even though their talents are not extraordinary.
Now the two sisters have lost their family and are in urgent need of finding a place to live.
Unexpectedly, the two of them had just swam across Lingshan Bay and happened to meet Geng Zhongming and Geng Jingzhong, father and son.
Jia Huiqin thought about it for a while, discussed it with her sister hurriedly, and decided to join forces with the traitorous father and son.
"What a coincidence?"
Geng Jingzhong also had some affection for the two beautiful women, and said with a smile, "Follow us father and son? You better think about it before making a decision."
"Don't be afraid of being laughed at by you sisters. After losing this large fleet, my father and I can't return to Liaodong and continue to follow Huang Taiji's Later Jin clan."
"We plan to form a pirate fleet. We can plunder casually and live well."
Geng Jingzhong is not bragging, but speaking the truth.
Not to mention his father Geng Zhongming, who was already a master in the early fifth level of martial arts, he himself was also in the late fourth level of martial arts.
Both father and son have extremely rich experience in leading troops in battle, so they know how to easily form a pirate force.
Today, the land of Qi and Lu is filled with refugees, and it is easy to form a team.
It would be so easy to just spend a few years to develop and expand this team, find an island suitable for survival, and live a life like a local emperor.
Geng Jingzhong is a more flexible and cunning guy than his father Geng Zhongming.
Last year, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Li Jiuchen decided to rebel, which was vigorously advocated and facilitated by Geng Jingzhong.
In terms of ruthlessness and treachery, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming are far inferior to Geng Jingzhong.
"We sisters have made up our minds. From now on, we will live with you and your son."
Jia Huiqin answered without hesitation, "I know that to the north of Laoshan Bay where Aoshanwei is located, there is a very nice medium-sized island called Tianheng Island."
"Although Tianheng Island is not as good as Lingshan Island, it is surrounded by a group of small islands, forming a very good harbor. It is much more hidden than Lingshan Island."
"As long as the forces we will form in the future are hidden inside, we don't have to worry about being attacked by foreign enemies."
"There are hundreds of islands of various sizes surrounding Tianheng Island, which is the perfect hiding place for a fleet."
"With the strength of the four of us Qi Refining Realm masters, as long as we don't provoke those invincible forces, it won't be difficult for us to develop and grow with Tianheng Island as our base in the future."
"If we develop smoothly, it is not impossible for us to come to Lingshan Island to seek revenge on our enemies."
Jia Huiqin felt extremely resentful and unwilling to accept the sudden disaster that had happened to her family, which had led to the destruction of her family and the death of her loved ones, and towards the mysterious level 5 master and the giant golden eagle.
The sisters chose to join forces with Geng Jingzhong and Geng Zhongming, father and son, and also planned to rely on their strength in the future to return to Lingshan Island for revenge.
As for the enemy who captured Lingshan Island, will they leave early?
There is basically no such possibility.
There are dozens of treasure ships of various levels moored at the Lingshan Island wharf, as well as the vast amount of wealth and supplies on board. No one would give up after getting them.
Jia Huiqin guessed that the other party would definitely occupy Lingshan Island and use the large number of treasure ships and massive amounts of wealth and resources there for their own use.
"Okay, you sisters will follow us father and son from now on."
"This way, our strength will undoubtedly increase greatly, and we can all enjoy life together in a lively manner. It couldn't be better."
The four of them then discussed it again, and for the sake of safety, decided to leave the Lingshan Bay area as soon as possible and head towards Laoshan Bay to the north of Jiaozhou Bay.
Until now, the four people who escaped death are still in fear, fearing that the big golden eagle will chase and kill them.
A moment later, the four people who were traveling together used their own skills to fly and move towards the north along the coastline...
(End of this chapter)
