The Villain's Counterattack

"Stop talking. If you go on, I feel that the concubine is more comfortable than the wife." Monk Bujie couldn't stand Lin Pingzhi's nagging any more. As soon as he saw the foot of Mount Heng, he took his daughter and ran away. Now he didn't say anything. He first verified whether his wife was really there based on the information and methods provided by Lin Pingzhi.

A daughter is important, but a wife is more important. No, they are equally important. It’s better not to make a distinction between them.

Lin Pingzhi handed a brand new swordsmanship secret book to Tian Boguang and asked him to keep a close eye on Young Nun Yilin and not let Hengshan fall into any conspiracy. It was really not easy for a group of women to gain a foothold in this dynasty.

Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to let a flower thief hide among a group of little nuns?

Haha, Master Tian Boguang is no longer a flower thief. He is now the chief eunuch of the Imperial Palace, Master Bujie, so it doesn’t matter.

Even Master Bujie could stroll around Hengshan Mountain openly every day, and he even hooked up with a beautiful nun and gave birth to a little nun for him. Master Tian Boguang was nothing compared to him. At the same time, he asked him to win over the Six Immortals of Taogu to form a small nun commando team. Anyone who dared to touch the little nun would be made to taste the power of the commando team.

After learning Lin Pingzhi's thirty-six idiotic tricks and other tricks such as how to fool fools, Tian Boguang said that defeating the Six Immortals of Taogu would be a piece of cake and he could deal with them in minutes. It is said that if you want to conquer a woman's heart, you must first conquer her stomach. Tian Boguang plans to open a restaurant on Hengshan Mountain, specializing in braised pork.

The Fuwei Escort Agency in Shanxi was also quite large, but it was a little dilapidated due to his own failure to deal with it in a timely manner. Lin Pingzhi acted decisively and sorted out all the relationships in a quick and decisive manner, punished those who should be punished, rewarded those who should be rewarded, and finally found the local tyrants to distribute the benefits.

At this moment, Master Dingxian from Hengshan Sect arrived. Lin Pingzhi was overjoyed and divided Hengshan Sect into two branches, reducing his own interests to 10%. He quickly divided the interests of the Shanxi Fuwei Escort Agency branch clearly. Afterwards, the two had a secret talk for an hour. Master Dingxian left with a secret book, leaving behind her own sword formation inheritance.

"I got it in the end. The Hengshan inheritance does have some tricks. This sword formation is a bit far from the Seven Star Big Dipper Formation. There are still too few Hengshan masters. If there are seven first-rate masters, even seven second-rate peak masters, the Songshan School will be in trouble. Moreover, you three are too scattered and it is easy to be defeated one by one. I hope my reminder can make you alert." Lin Pingzhi did not have time to stare at them all day. The Ryukyu Island was the development focus of the Lin family, and the sea was his place of struggle.

The main gate of Jindao Gate was wide open, and old man Wang Yuanba, along with his son and grandson, opened the gate to welcome guests with great fanfare. The guest they welcomed was Lin Pingzhi, who was pulling a cart full of gifts.

"You kid, you've made me wait so long. If you don't come, I'm going to go to Mount Huashan to find you." Wang Yuanba laughed and patted his shoulder vigorously. "You've lost a little weight, but you're stronger now."

After Lin Pingzhi had everyone present the gifts, he had them delivered to the backyard warehouse. He then said, "Since we've shared some of the benefits with Huashan, we must learn all their martial arts to avoid being at a disadvantage. I have a sword technique that requires two people to wield its full power. Grandpa can try it out later. If you can learn a thing or two, it will be of great benefit to the Golden Sword Sect. However, you can't just learn it directly, or I won't be able to explain it to the Huashan Sect."

"I knew you wouldn't suffer any loss, but what's going on in Shanxi? Master Dingxian isn't bullying the weak, right?" Wang Yuanba was still very concerned about Lin Pingzhi and the Fuwei Escort Agency.

"With the help of the seven-man sword formation at Hengshan, my father and mother have already established a country overseas. Although it is a little small, it needs sufficient strength to support it. Something that can enhance strength in a short period of time is better than anything else." Lin Pingzhi's words made Wang Yuanba nod slightly.

Wang Bofen and Wang Zhongqiang exchanged bewilderment. They knew their sister and brother-in-law had faked their own deaths and escaped, but they hadn't imagined they had such a back-up plan. They had actually established a nation overseas. Didn't that mean their brother-in-law was the ruler of a nation, and their sister was also a queen? So, were they now considered royal relatives?

"Zhennan is indeed an ambitious man, much better than your two uncles. But is it really that good overseas?" Wang Yuanba is no longer the Wang Yuanba he used to be. After obtaining Lin Pingzhi's map of the Ming Dynasty, he also knew that there were countless large islands around Daming. Over the years, he had received quite a few treasures such as corals, pearls, gems, sea cucumbers, abalone, etc., especially the carts of spices. Together, they were no less than the original wealth of the Wang family, and even more and more precious.

"A wild and precious place, huh?" Lin Pingzhi shook his head slightly. "Any undiscovered place has some good things in it, not just overseas, but also in the Ming Dynasty. It's just more dangerous overseas, with hurricanes and tsunamis. The sea is never as safe as the land. Grandpa doesn't know that the Lin Family Fort has moved. The previous Lin Family Fort was destroyed beyond recognition by the hurricane and tsunami. Now, except for the docks, warehouses, lighthouses, and simple outposts along the Ryukyu coast, everything else has been moved to the interior of the big island. The coast is too dangerous."

"The natural forces of heaven and earth are not something that so-called first-rate masters can contend with. Even the top masters are no different from ordinary people in a vast ocean with blue water everywhere and no distinction between east, west, south, and north. When a hurricane comes, the entire ship will be swept into the sky. A person weighing thousands of pounds will be no different from a piece of wood, and ballast stones weighing thousands or tens of thousands of pounds can also fly into the sky." Lin Pingzhi seemed to have lingering fears, but he is much better now. The Lin family invited many old men who specialized in meteorology to set up a special astronomical observatory to study the climate changes in Ryukyu and the Ming Dynasty.

"The so-called hurricane is the water dragon mentioned in Zhennan's letter. I have heard about it from merchants on the coast. It is indeed terrifying and beyond human power." Wang Yuanba shook his head slightly. There is not much privacy in the family. Of course, apart from Wang Yuanba, there are only Wang Bofen and Wang Zhongqiang present. Even Wang Jiajun and Wang Jiaju are not qualified to attend.

"On the islands, the fleet is paramount, the bow and crossbow are king, and firearms are especially crucial. I've secretly ordered people to quietly gather talent in this area and gradually send them to Ryukyu. Currently, there are over 500,000 Han Chinese on Ryukyu Island, including a significant number of retired soldiers, especially naval personnel. Other islands are mostly populated by refugees. In addition, there are also Tanka people, who are experts on the water." Lin Pingzhi said softly, "Although Ryukyu Island is called a large island, its actual size is limited. It can easily accommodate a million Han Chinese, but any more would be insufficient."

"One million is already a lot." Wang Yuanba pointed at the map and asked Lin Pingzhi various questions in detail. He knew that although the strait seemed small, it would take three to five days to sail to reach it. If you were not careful, you might get lost. The result of getting lost on the sea would probably be death, and the lighthouse was undoubtedly a beacon on the sea.

"There are only a few suitable seasons for sailing each year. The Lin family has accumulated nearly ten years of experience in this field, investing no less than tens of millions of silver. However, seagoing ships are different from river ships. Rivers and the sea are completely different." Lin Pingzhi pointed to a place and said, "This is the Spice Island. It takes nearly two months to go back and forth, and if you are not careful, you may not be able to return. Transiting through Ryukyu is the best way, but you must be careful not to get lost. The sea is full of waves, fog and storms, and unpredictable submarine volcanoes."

"Though that thing is rare to come across, once you do, it's a world-shaking event. There's also an island here called Jeju, close to Japan and Korea. It's beautiful and far from the Ming Dynasty, making it a rare strategic location in the sea. Now that we've captured it, we've formed a powerful barrier against Japanese pirates and also serve as a transit point for trade with Japan and Korea."

Lin Pingzhi seemed to have thought of something and couldn't help but smile slightly. "The Demon Cult leader Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng of Hengshan are now living in seclusion on Jeju Island. They have established a school specializing in teaching music with a group of disciples. They are highly respected by the Japanese nobles. Every time they visit, they receive gifts of no less than a thousand taels and also give away many slaves. They are currently training singing and dancing for the Japanese nobles. No one who comes and goes is of low status."

"There is such a thing?" Wang Yuanba couldn't help but become interested.

Lin Pingzhi nodded gently and said, "Ever since I defeated the Japanese pirates last time, they've become even more respectful to the Ming Dynasty. Even when I occupied Jeju Island, no one dared to object. Later, I allowed them to engage in trade, generating hundreds of thousands of taels of silver annually. However, sea voyages are too risky, so we can't expand rashly. The Japanese are also proud to learn the language and writing of the Ming Dynasty."

"Until Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng had nothing to do and were wandering around, they fell in love with the natural scenery there and insisted on living in seclusion there. I then wrote a letter to ask them to set up a music academy. The two were quite interested in it, but they were seen by the Japanese nobles who came to visit, and were shocked by them. When the news reached Japan, it caused quite a sensation. Those Japanese nobles ordered people to come and study, and paid a lot of money to learn." Lin Pingzhi said that educating friendly countries is a great merit and can be regarded as a waste utilization, but martial arts and the like are not included. If they dare to teach martial arts, Lin Pingzhi will kill them without mercy.

"How much profit does the Lin family's Ryukyu Kingdom make in a year?" Wang Yuanba felt that after adding up all the miscellaneous figures, it was more profitable than the Fuwei Escort Agency in more than a dozen provinces.

"We don't actually make much. Grandpa, even though we have a huge turnover, three to five million taels of silver a year, because of all the work we're doing, we need to buy a large number of goods and craftsmen from the daimyo, so our annual surplus is only about one or two hundred thousand taels. The bulk of that goes to the resettlement costs of the craftsmen, soldiers, and laborers. We also bought a large number of cattle and horses from Liaodong, which are difficult to transport and very expensive."

"You prodigal son! Your parents are living a hard life out there, and yet you're squandering the Lin family's fortune. Tell me, what are the plans for the Fuwei Escort Agency in Henan? Your two uncles are envious."