Witch Wind

Chapter 210: Huge Momentum (Part )

The circular square in front of the Town Hall of Port San Gil has a very impressive name - 'Fleet Triumph Square'.

Around the square, there are buildings with mottled exterior walls, and every brick and stone is filled with the sedimentation of time, and is filled with the nourishment of power and money. It can even be said that every building here represents the rise and fall, honor and disgrace of one or several families.

In Port San Gil, if a dandy boy from a big family wants to hook up with all kinds of beauties, the most reliable way is to wear a monotonous, low-key hand-sewn dress, gently shake a glass of aged wine, and casually say to the beauty in front of him - the food in this restaurant is not very good, my family lives in Building No. X of Fleet Triumphal Plaza, and there is a self-operated club that is not open to the public...

It's certain that this beauty will not be able to escape the clutches of this dandy young man.

However, no family's development can be smooth sailing. Even a thousand-year-old family is bound to make mistakes and have unlucky days when even drinking water gets stuck in your teeth.

Directly opposite the City Hall, at the intersection of the main road, there is a six-story building with a front width of thirty-five feet, a depth of twenty feet, and an area of ​​seven hundred square feet (7623 square meters). The family behind it, an earl family with a thousand-year heritage, has just fallen into the predicament of family bankruptcy.

The Allen family, a thousand years ago, during the three consecutive kings of the Kingdom of Ingish, established an outstanding family in the empire's external expansion. A thousand years later, the glory of the family's ancestors has been forgotten by the world, the relationship with the royal family has become increasingly alienated, and the family's power and influence have been continuously weakened.

In order to restore his family's reputation, Earl Allen of this generation resolutely applied for the "Colonial Development Order" and organized a colonial corps of 50,000 people to cross the ocean to a virgin land that had just been surveyed, a vast and mysterious new continent.

Fifty thousand elite soldiers, a full fifty thousand elite soldiers, and countless advanced weapons, under the command of the contemporary Earl Allen, had not even formally engaged in a battle with the natives of that continent before they were annihilated by a plague caused by an unknown miasma in just seven days.

The head of the family died suddenly, members of the Allen family fought for power, relatives colluded with each other to seize the family property, and the rival families who had made enemies a long time ago took advantage of the situation. The new earl who was finally elected, a young and arrogant guy, accidentally fell into the trap of a fraud group from the West Continent, and lost a huge amount of money in the speculative market within two months.

In Building No. 9 of Fleet Triumph Plaza, Xing Tianli stood in front of the main entrance decorated with two bronze mermaid reliefs, admiring with satisfaction the heavy and simple building with a gorgeous granite facade.

"I like this building. Its temperament and style are perfect for my identity." Xing Tianli smiled with satisfaction to the little Doug who was accompanying him, "But, in the city hall, it is registered as the 'Copper Tit Building'? There are three plump copper tits on the Allen family emblem?"

Xing Tianli shook his head, ignoring the pale-faced new Earl Allen who was shaking with anger, and said with emotion: "The plump copper tit is the destined prey of hawks and falcons... This name is unlucky."

"So, the new name of Building No. 9 in Fleet Triumphal Plaza in the real estate registration book of the City Hall will be - 'Black Crow Building'. Black crow, black crow, black, 'quacking', the black crow is regarded as a symbol of death and plague in the Western Continent... hehe." Xing Tianli smiled brightly: "He will bring death and plague to all enemies of the Allande family!"

Xing Tianli smiled brightly.

In the West, black crows are unlucky creatures, but in traditional Taoist culture, crows are auspicious animals. Xing Tianli is a Taoist monk, and naming his newly purchased building "Black Crow" is very appropriate.

Earl Allen looked at Xing Tianli in exasperation: "Earl Black Crow, please pay attention to one fact. The Copper Tit Building has not been officially delivered yet. Before you give enough gold coins... you are not qualified to make any comments on His name!"

Xing Tianli poked the ground heavily with his cane, snapped his fingers, and walked towards the door with his head held high.

Dai Gao smiled, bowed slightly, and personally pushed open the heavy door for Xing Tianli - the seventy-year-old Dai Gao was in a good mood. Yes, this was the momentum, this was the temperament, this was the aura!

Your Excellency, the nobles of the Kingdom of Farus should hold their heads high and completely plunder their property, their market, and ultimately their lives, bit by bit, from these stupid, closed-minded, conservative, and barbaric islanders.

No matter what means are used.

First it was this building, then the entire Fleet Triumph Plaza, and then the Port of St. Hill... Later, look at the entire Hillland Island, and even, you can hope that the noble royal flag of the Kingdom of Farus will fly high on the land of Yingjishi!
De Gao was lost in his own reverie, his face flushed, and he shouted at the top of his voice: "Mr. Count Arlande, welcome back to your Black Crow Building!"

Count Allen was so angry that his eyes turned red. He stared at Dai Gao fiercely and muttered in a low voice with gnashing teeth: "Damn those old men and young men of Farus... those damned revolutionary soldiers, I didn't even chop off all their heads."

Little Doug whistled in a relaxed manner: "Well, dear Alan, at least you got a good price. The price given by our Earl Black Crow is enough for you to stabilize the family situation. We don't want to never see that lovely bronze tit in the future noble map of Port Saint Hill."

Earl Allen clenched his fists tightly and said through gritted teeth: "Well, one day, I will take this building back."

The high-spirited Xing Tianli, the indifferent little Doug, the heavy-footed Earl Allen, and a group of idle people from the aristocratic circle of Port Saint Hill who were invited to serve as witnesses, all entered the building.

In the spacious hall, the terrazzo floor was inlaid with natural stone patterns, forming a very impressive picture of sailing. The ceiling was nearly five meters high, and there were nine huge crystal chandeliers hanging upside down, each more than three meters high.

A dozen men and women in black and white dresses stood awkwardly in the corner of the hall, like dogs abandoned by their owners, and many of them were trembling slightly.

Suddenly, Count Allen came in. An old man in a tuxedo, who looked about the same age as Old Dai Gao, hurried over to greet him. He moved his lips for a while, then bowed deeply and stiffly to Count Allen: "Respected Count, what can I do for you?"

Xing Tianli curled his lips. The decadent old nobles of the Western Continent acted like this. Ah, sooner or later, the iron broom of history will sweep you all into the garbage dump. If the historical trend of this world couldn't do it, he didn't mind doing it himself.

Heavy footsteps sounded.

A team of soldiers wearing the blue and white uniforms of the old Farus Kingdom Army, and wearing cylindrical military caps with a colorful pheasant feather inserted in the caps, pushed the metal boxes in one by one with great difficulty using a cart.

These metal boxes were obviously extremely heavy. When these strong soldiers pushed the carts, everyone heard the creaking sound from the axles of the carts.

Soon, thirty carts carrying ninety metal boxes, three feet long, two feet wide, and one foot high, were pushed into the hall by the soldiers. Xing Tianli whistled and gently lifted the lid of a box with his cane. Then, golden bricks neatly stacked and beautifully cast with a crow emblem on the front appeared in front of everyone.

Xing Tianli walked briskly past the carts and opened the lids of thirty boxes in succession.

The blazing sunlight shone in through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the hall, and the slanting sunlight just happened to shine on the gold bricks. The newly cast gold bricks were as smooth as mirrors, and the reflected golden light evenly coated the entire hall with a layer of gold.

Everyone present, even Little Douge who holds real power, and even those wealthy nobles and idlers, all took a deep breath - the banking industry in the countries of Western Continent is well developed, and the concept of investment is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Even the most powerful, wealthy and capitalized kings and dukes, they also deposit their wealth in various banks and invest through financial means.

It is very likely that there are not ninety boxes full of gold in the private treasury of Her Majesty the Queen of the Kingdom of England. On the contrary, her treasure chest is likely to be filled with passbooks and bearer checkbooks from banks in various countries!

Such a huge amount of gold!
"Merciful Virgin Mary, it's really spectacular!" A young man whose family had the title of Earl took a deep breath and said, "I suddenly have an urge to organize a colonization and development corps. I also want to conquer a virgin land and reap the wealth there without restraint!"

Xing Tianli looked at these Yingji nobles with pride, as he had obtained the ability to "mediate fate". These golds were nothing more than some ordinary pieces of iron that had been slightly "adjusted" with a wisp of primordial Qi.

Turning stone into gold is nothing more than that.

With his current level of practice, mud, weeds, river water, and flowing wind can all be easily refined by the nine small tripods and become the nourishment for his practice. He no longer has such high demands for the nourishment for smelting like he did when he first obtained the fundamental method of "A Stick of Incense in the Furnace of Heaven and Earth".

Therefore, gold and the so-called wealth in the world are just like floating clouds to him.

After appreciating the shocked and greedy looks of these "country bumpkins", Xing Tianli grabbed a heavy gold brick and handed it to Earl Allen, whose pupils contracted. "Please check it. It is pure gold, without any adulteration. The reputation of the Allande family is just like this gold, flawless."

Earl Allen's fingers spasmed as he took the gold brick. The small gold nugget was ridiculously heavy. Earl Allen took a deep breath and glanced at the full metal boxes one by one. To him, this was the hope for the family's resurgence. Seeing this gold, it seemed that selling the family's symbol, the Copper Tit Building, to the notorious "Black Crow" was not something that he could not accept.

The Allen family came over, and they quickly handed over the gold bricks to Xing Tianli. After counting them, Xing Tianli and Count Allen signed the handover document for the building in the presence of Doug and a group of wealthy idlers. From then on, this building with hundreds of years of history, which had witnessed the ups and downs of Port Saint Hill and was notorious throughout Port Saint Hill, completely became Xing Tianli's property.

"Well, distinguished gentlemen." Xing Tianli took out a handful of gold coins from his pocket and tossed them around casually. "Everyone has witnessed the financial strength of the Alrand family. I believe that everyone will no longer doubt the strength of me, the new 'Black Crow'... So, I have a big deal to discuss with you."

"Mr. Doug, I must have let you in on a little bit of the news. I will soon obtain the colonial development order issued by Her Majesty the Queen herself, and I will soon form a legion of sufficient size. I will acquire a shipyard and build new warships according to my wishes." Xing Tianli exhaled: "However, the construction of ships is a long process. When building warships that belong entirely to me, I need a large number of ships to serve my legion."

"You mean, leasing?" a middle-aged man asked solemnly, "Do you have any special requirements for the ship's style, launch year, tonnage, etc.?"

Many nobles and idle people stared at Xing Tianli with fanatical eyes.

Port St. Hill has the largest shipbuilding industry in the entire Kingdom of Ingish, with hundreds of large and small shipyards scattered throughout the entire coastline. During the most frenzied years of war, dozens of large and small ironclad ships were launched almost every day in the shipyards around Port St. Hill.

Shipbuilding, especially warships, is the economic pillar of Port San Gil.

But a few months ago, the situation changed subtly - the royal family took direct action and built several super-large-scale new shipyards on the main island directly under the royal jurisdiction. One after another, astonishingly advanced and desperate warships continued to sail out of the shipyards with outrageous and absurd efficiency.

The Navy Department directly tore up the shipbuilding contracts with all the shipyards in Port Saint Hill, which caused all the nobles present to suffer a considerable loss. What troubled them the most was that almost every shipyard now had several completed or nearly completed warships lying in the dock, and they didn't know what to do with them.

If there is a sucker willing to pay... ahem.

Xing Tianli tossed the gold coins in his hand and said, "Rent? No, I don't do that. If I buy it, I will buy it directly with cash. Rent? Only a poor boy would do that. And I, the infamous Black Crow, will never do that."

In the hall, everyone, including Earl Allen, exclaimed in joy at the same time.

Buy it?
These were truly the most beautiful words they had heard in recent months.

"So, how many warships do you need to buy?" A middle-aged man stepped forward impatiently: "The shipyard in Port Saint Hill manufactures the most advanced ironclad ships in the world today..."

Xing Tianli glanced at the middle-aged man subtly.

‘State of the art’?
How dare you say this word?

The atmosphere at the scene was tense for a moment, and then Doug Jr. broke the weird atmosphere with a big laugh: "Okay, okay, Count Alland, in addition to the warships that the Royal Navy has just commissioned, the big guys in our shipyard are all world-class configurations in all aspects."

"Speed, firepower, defense, everything, it's top-notch. If you can buy all the warships currently in our shipyard, then you can even fight the Farus home fleet head-on."

Xing Tianli's eyes spun slightly.

Are the existing warships at the Port St. Hill shipyard enough to fight against Farus's home fleet?
Aha!

It’s really, really great.

Xing Tianli smiled: "Then, I still need enough sailors. Of course, I will pay enough. Gold coins, gold bars, gold bricks... all paid in cash. I want all the warships; of course, the warships must be equipped with a sufficient number of sailors. I will only spend money to buy those warships that can be directly put into battle!"

Everyone took a deep, deep, deep breath!

They looked up and down at Xing Tianli very seriously - the damn Count Allande, the last heir to the title. They only heard that he was notorious in the country of Farus and was an absolute scum and bastard.

But I have never heard that there is such a crazy element in the blood of the Allande family!

He bought so many warships and hired so many sailors. What on earth did he want to do?
"Creaky"... the friction sound of the wheel axle of the cart came, and everyone shuddered. What the hell, who cares what he wants to do? Gold, gold, gold... Yellow, heavy gold!

As long as there is enough gold, what do you care what he wants to do?
It's nothing more than a war with the Farus!

That's it!

Then, let’s start the war!

Little Doug's face flushed with excitement - these days, some powerful nobles with strong backgrounds have been arguing with the royal family over the warships whose orders were torn up by the Admiralty, which has caused great trouble to the royal family.

If Doug could solve this problem perfectly, and clear out all the warships lying in the dock, he couldn't imagine how much political rewards he could get in the capital. Perhaps, his family title could be moved up, and he might even be summoned to the capital to hold a more important official position!
'Bang'!
The metal door of the building was violently pushed open, and a large group of men wearing dark blue uniforms, short white capes and round hats, who looked smart and strong, rushed in.

At the front, there was a man holding a cane. He was lean and skinny, and his aura was like that of a vulture. His dark grey eyes were fixed on the carts that were being moved. He shouted in a stern voice: "Everyone, this is the wealth of the people of Farus. You have no right to do anything with it."

Xing Tianli raised his left hand.

Around him, dozens of armed guards raised their guns.

The burly men who forced their way in also drew their guns and confronted the people around Xing Tianli.

In terms of numbers, Xing Tianli had less than a hundred guards around him, while the other side had more than two hundred people pouring into the hall. Looking through the gate, there were at least two or three hundred people on the street outside.

However, in terms of firepower, these intruders only had the most basic revolvers, while Xing Tianli's guards were all armed with automatic rifles with 100-round drum magazines, and their firepower completely crushed these intruders.

Both sides were eyeing each other covetously, and the atmosphere was tense.

Little Doug was so angry that his face turned red. He yelled at the skinny man in the lead: "Merciful Virgin Mary, Consul General Joe Batu, do you know what you are doing? You, the Consulate General of the Republic of Farus in Port Saint Hill, want to start a war in the homeland of the Kingdom of Ingis?"

Xing Tianli raised his eyebrows, and a faint light flashed in his eyes.

Behind Consul General Qiao Batu, the eyes of two sturdy men suddenly became distracted and their fingers suddenly pulled the trigger.

A few gunshots rang out, and two guards beside Xing Tianli were shot in the arm and fell to the ground. Two noble idlers from Port Saint Hill were shot in the abdomen and fell to the ground screaming.

Immediately, gunshots rang out.

(End of this chapter)