The night was like ink, and the crickets cried one after another, blending with the crackling of candles and lights in the room, sometimes it felt very clear, and sometimes it was a little blurry.

Zhou Yue half-closed his eyes, drinking the old wine in the worry-relieving gourd without a sip, and opposite him, was Claire, who was sitting calmly, she now seems to know how to follow the local customs, in the past, her maverick, very conspicuous black cloak, also put away early, replaced by a light cyan Hanfu, quite charming.

The two of them sat quietly opposite each other, as if they were completely integrated into the night.

"Claire, what is your opinion?"

After a long time, Zhou Yue opened his mouth to ask, although what he said was not beginning or end, but Claire definitely knew what he was referring to? That is about whether to be a pirate to earn a vote, after all, the gap of seven million gold is too big, this is a matter of long-term strategy, Zhou Yue has to take risks if he doesn't want to, but he is embarrassed to ask Cai Yan about this matter, so he had to ask Claire.

"My lord, I don't have any opinions and suggestions, but if you don't make a decision, then you don't need to mention anything, and if you have made a decision, then you have to make sure that there are a few things, first of all, it should be a marriage with that General Ma Chao, this matter is the foundation, if you can't reach it, you can't leave, secondly, you need to form at least two successful two major corps, so that you won't have any worries, third, you need to properly handle the delicate relationship between many people, of course, this can be left to Cai Yan to do, I'm sure she's going to do a good job, and fourth, you'll have to assemble a lean and strong team of pirates, and you'll also need a good ship, and you'll only be fully prepared before you can set off, otherwise, don't leave. ”

"Well, that makes sense, Claire, I think you can literally top half a military advisor." Zhou Yue smiled, poured a sip of wine again, and the thoughts in his heart became clearer and clearer, yes, he had to take risks, the gap of seven million gold was too important, this was the key to whether his vassal states could catch up in the future development, how could he do it without taking some risks?

And such a huge funding gap is something that Ma Chao can't come up with, I think he still relied on Zhou Yue to lend him one million gold to get through the most difficult moment!

But if he wants to go to the sea to be a pirate, he must obtain the qualification to marry Ma Chao, as soon as he thinks of this, Zhou Yue can't sit still, he can't just subconsciously resist, he has to take the initiative, because if Ma Chao's guy doesn't agree, wouldn't he be all finished, so he has to go through it himself, so that he will be sincere.

"Jocelyn, Sinho! You two come here. ”

Zhou Yue immediately beckoned the two pro-soldier leaders to come over, "Qiao Celin, you immediately rush to Huludao Haicheng with Xin Huo, Xin Huo, you go and tell your grandfather, I need a strong pirate fleet, well, the specific cost is easy to discuss, in addition, the sailors or something, it is best to equip them together, and the time is very tight, it is best to give me an answer within three days, and the two of you will leave immediately." ”

Sent away Qiao Silin and Xin Huo, Zhou Yue asked people to prepare horses, and at the same time sent someone to inform Cai Yan, as well as Li Rui, who was about to leave, that he would go to Mohe in person.

And at this time, a personal guard came to report that Old Man Deng was asking to see him outside.

Hearing the news, Zhou Yue couldn't help laughing, this old guy is really calm, he has been waiting here since dinner, but he didn't expect to wait for most of the night.

Immediately, Zhou Yue asked the old man Deng to come in, and as he expected, as soon as they met, the old man Deng burst into tears, full of misery and wailed: "Virtuous son-in-law, help!" ”

On this point alone, Zhou Yue's performance in front of Cai Yan was 108,000 miles away, you see this old guy, how sincere he is, he is so sad that he is like a dead father, and it is really a waste not to be an actor.

"Okay, put this set away, I'm very short on time, give you three minutes, what do you want to say, just say it, it's all your own family, what's polite?" Zhou Yue said angrily.

"Uh, hehe, the virtuous son-in-law said it well, it's all my own family, so you're welcome." Old man Deng's old face changed in an instant, but then it turned into a crying face and said, "Virtuous son-in-law, this time, it's really not your idea?" You know, during this time, our family did make a lot of money, but, but, old man, I don't know the general situation, almost all the profits are handed over to the treasury free of charge, and the family only sees meat once every three days, although this day is a little bitter, but this is not for the great cause of the virtuous son-in-law? Other than that, we really don't have any other ideas, so, so, the plan of the Xiao family's girl, you see, can you be accommodating? Of course, the old man can guarantee here that he will never let the baggage battalion drag the legion back. ”

"Oh, that's it! Did you just go to see Qingming? Zhou Yue touched his chin and glanced at Old Man Deng up and down, don't look at what this old guy said sincerely, how pitiful he looks, but he still doesn't know the details?

The Deng family almost monopolized the logistics supply of the entire army, from catapults to eight-ox crossbows, to all kinds of equipment and weapons, and even military rations for the march, etc., the profits in this can be imagined, otherwise how could the Deng family unite more than 20 other families and drum up a business alliance?

In addition, the Deng family also monopolized most of the maritime trade, including civilian workshops, which were the results of Jin Lixi's original efforts, but the winner is king, and the loser is a thief, but these small workshops were accepted by the Deng family, it is not an exaggeration to say that now the Deng family can directly influence the 100,000 people in Anshan Heicheng, and the indirect influence can also reach hundreds of thousands of people, which is better than Jin Lixi.

If not, how could the first military department and Liu Yue's internal affairs department jointly attack?

It is Zhou Yue who is consciously weakening the influence of the Deng family, for example, the armor workshop that was separated from the workshop before was handed over to Wang Dazhong's father and son, not the old man Deng, because the armor workshop is more profitable, especially the various standard suits that are ready to be sold to the Northeast Military Region and the Jingbei Military Region, and it is initially estimated that they will be able to earn back two million gold for them in at least the next two months.

"Ahem, I can't hide anything from the virtuous son-in-law, the old man, I'm not afraid of delaying the rest of the virtuous son-in-law, this is the end of the war, I heard that the virtuous son-in-law is also nine deaths, fortunately the ancestors appeared, so that the danger was turned into a disaster, it's just that this kind of big thing, Qingming's little doll, I'm afraid I can't be the master, right?" Old man Deng cowered and said.

As soon as Zhou Yue looked at the appearance of this old man Deng, he knew that this old guy must have been deflated by He Qingming, who is He Qingming? Her iron-fisted methods are in Zhou Yue's forces, if she is called second, no one dares to call her first, and the Tsing Yi Corps is not something that Zhou Yue came up with as soon as his head is hot, but specially created for He Qingming, in this case, how can He Qingming tolerate the slightest flaw?

However, Zhou Yue would not expose it, and after thinking about it, he smiled and said, "How about this?" I won't let Qing Ming directly transfer the core craftsmen from the baggage camp, nor will I transfer all your coolies, I will let Qing Ming re-recruit and re-form, so it's always okay, right? ”

As soon as Zhou Yue's words came out, Old Man Deng's face changed, Zhou Yue's plan sounded like it would not harm the interests of the Deng family, but this was precisely the most insidious, because the Deng family relied on the logistics of the entire army, if the Tsing Yi Corps bypassed the Deng family and set up its own door, it would be tantamount to losing a big customer, which would be a disaster!

And once this becomes a rule, the three major corps in the future, as well as more corps, will bypass the Deng family, and then the Deng family will really be finished.

"This-this-virtuous son-in-law-well, we still don't have to be so troublesome, how can the craftsmen recruited from outside compare to our baggage battalion, virtuous son-in-law, don't worry, the old man will definitely cooperate, ask for people to give people, ask for things to give things, and there is no ambiguity!" Old man Deng reacted very quickly, after all, according to Xiao Guanyin's plan, he would at most divide a piece of cake into one-third or one-half, but who would have thought that Zhou Yue would be more ruthless and directly move all the cakes away, this is not scientific!

"That's good, old man, I know the hard work and merits of your Deng family, and I also know that your greatest wish in life is to make the Deng family a big family, but old guy, do you think that if a family wants to become a big family, what points must be done to be possible?" At this time, seeing that Old Man Deng was soft, Zhou Yue relaxed his breath and said step by step, he didn't give Old Man Deng face, nor did he not read the merits, but there are some things that must have a bottom line, no rules, no square circle!

Otherwise, if Old Man Deng is allowed to do such nonsense, will his small princely forces still be mixed?

"Uh, this-" Old man Deng was also a little flattered, although Zhou Yue had never called his father-in-law or anything, but after all, it was a form, and a conversation like this kind of heart-to-heart conversation was more cordial and more important, because it represented Zhou Yue's views and the bottom line required.

"It's okay, you can boldly say it, in fact, I really hope that your Deng family can become a real family." Zhou Yue smiled slightly, but was thinking in his heart,, Lao Tzu is getting darker and darker.

And with Zhou Yue's encouragement, Old Man Deng also seems to have courage, after all, revitalizing the family is his ideal, ancient people basically think like this, "Uh, this-I know, there must be a lot of gold, of course enough gold is not enough, but also have enough power, preferably, there is a three-jinshi, or a double prime minister." ”

"A three-jinshi? A double prime minister? Zhou Yue couldn't help laughing, it was really good to repay the negative, compared with the great ideals of this old guy, he was really weak.

"Okay, old man, it's right to make money, it's not wrong to make a lot of money, it's not wrong to make a three-jinshi, if I can be qualified to help you, I will definitely help you, but these are superficial things, with the wisdom of your old guy, you shouldn't know what is the foundation of the family, right? It is not the wealth of the rich world, nor the high power, but the most basic way of doing things, as well as the bottom line of behavior, and the wisdom of judging the current situation! It's not good to be missing! What kind of family wealth can't be passed on for generations, the power of the prime minister can't be kept safe forever, low-key is the king, old guy, do you think your Deng family is low-key now? Don't set up too many enemies, don't always want to play some shady tricks, the first step to becoming a family is to make people forget you, otherwise, there are countless people talking about it all the time, what is the difference between that and roasting on the fire? That's not called a family, that's called an upstart! Okay, you go back, you don't need me to teach you what to do, instead of making more gold, you might as well train or introduce me to a few talents. ”