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On the night of October 20, 1666

Temporary Headquarters of the Free Army of the Intre Republic (formerly the Legation of St. Sen)

Before being awakened by the sudden cheers, Zhang Shiyi dreamed of Hengqu.

At that time, she was sitting in the corner of the guest of honor lounge at the wing of the banquet hall, waiting for the celebration to begin.

The banquet hall is located in the ancient elven empire-style mansion on Westport Third Avenue. Standing at the top of the white marble staircase and looking down, you will have the illusion that you are the ruler of the city.

The owners of this two-hundred-year-old mansion were the long-established Elven merchant Cannyaar family. They later decided to donate the building to the Senate of St. Sen in exchange for the privilege of running the Elven Oriental Company.

But just three hours earlier, the gendarmerie had annihilated all the private soldiers of the Elven Guard and the Cannyars, and seized the mansion in the middle of Westport, on the same street as the Civic Hall, as well as the headquarters of the Elven Oriental Company next to it.

The legation was as large as a palace, consisting of a six-storey main building and seven or eight outbuildings, which even included a weapons workshop, a guard fortress, a magician's tower, and a chapel of the sun god. Next to it, the Elf Oriental Company is connected to it, where there are warehouses, office buildings and other buildings, and there is even a huge shopping mall open to the public.

Of course, all of this became history after the elves decided to sneak up on the Seventh Fleet.

The victors decided to turn the old building of the Eastern Company into the headquarters of the Independent Gendarmerie Regiment, and to convert the Legation into a dormitory for the officers and staff officers of the Independent Gendarmerie Regiment, with the Overseers taking up an entire floor of all the rooms.

The staff officers brought in the assets and confiscated property from the port area, the engineering team began to repair the damaged buildings, the guards company was responsible for guarding the vicinity of the headquarters, and Zhang Shiyi and several loyal wealthy families brought new attendants and maids for the banquet, and everyone was busy.

The elven captives were sent to the port area, where the commander of the fleet Leonard Kekawi would impress them with the enthusiasm of his compatriots, and calculate in passing how much ransom these important hostages could extract from the Senate and the various families.

Good news from outside the port has also arrived. The messenger ship of the Seventh Fleet was entering port, and the guests were waiting in boredom for the captain to arrive with good news so that the staff officers of the gendarmerie could announce the feast.

After all this was over, the young female Qu Shuai breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall in the corner of the lounge, waiting for the banquet to officially open.

Since she hadn't slept for two days, she fell asleep almost with her eyes open.

In her dream, she saw Hengqu.

The Hengqu she dreamed of was naturally not the holy land Hengqu located in the hinterland of the Eastern Empire, but Hengzhou and Quzhou, which were located in the northeast of the Qianlong Islands, belonging to Fuxi Province and facing Qingniu Mansion across the sea.

That was the center of the Taiping Road Hengqu Sect. Since Zhang Zai's westward crossing, the Hengqu Sect has been in charge of the Yellow Turban Kingdoms of Taiping Province for hundreds of years as a minority sect, with Heng and Qu Prefectures and Fuxi Province as the center.

Zhang Shiyi was born in Hengzhou and studied in Quzhou. It was also one of the few schools in the Taiping provinces that allowed women and men to practice martial arts and literature together.

She dreamed that many years ago, when she was about to finish her studies and was preparing for the exam at Hengqu Academy.

Although she was not yet ten years old at that time, Zhang Shiyi had already learned a lot of miscellaneous studies, from martial arts and Daozang to Danding and Fu Zheng.

As the only daughter of one of the top two generals in the Zhang family, Zhang Shiyi showed outstanding talent in civil and military affairs in Mengxue, and was regarded as a thousand-mile horse of the Zhang family in Hengzhou.

Every teacher is full of praise for Miss Zhang, and the entire Fuxi Province has a legend that Miss Zhang will be a beauty with both civil and military skills in the future. The Chinese who wanted to come to propose marriage lined up in front of Zhang's house, and the potential fiancés were all over the Taiping Prefecture, the Three Forts, the Seven Provinces, and the Thirty-three Military Prefectures.

While she was working hard in her studies, a young mercenary general crossed the sea from Interre and was hired by the commander of Boyang Fort to train a new army for the madman who was bent on conquering his homeland.

He came to the Taiping Kingdoms with light and heavy firearms, field artillery, and firing range meters...... Various techniques that were completed in the Fourth Freedom War not long ago.

Zhang Shiyi still remembers that day the news came that Qingniu Mansion, which had not fallen for about two hundred years, had fallen.

The seizure of the throne by force had not happened for decades, and the capture of the Qingniu Mansion by the usurper was as far away as a legend.

She dreamed that she had dropped her book, lifted her steel snake and wooden spear, and practiced her family's gun and spear martial arts with her father, known as "Saiyid", for the last time......

Cheers came from outside, waking Zhang Shiyi from his sleep. A short nap was not enough to replenish the physical exertion, but made her feel more sleepy.

This is the end of the dream.

Zhang Shiyi knew that nothing in the dream had really happened.

The former heir who fled from Qingniu Mansion appointed his father as the generalissimo of the rebellion, commanding 57,000 elite soldiers in the six military states west of the mansion.

He wants to lead his troops across the Fulong Sea, the soldiers are in the four rivers, crusade against the ministers, and recover the Qingniu Mansion, and he has no time to learn martial arts from his only daughter.

Her father never returned. Only three months later, Heng and Qu were broken by the new army trained by the new heirs.

Under the assault of the new army trained by that mercenary general, the towering walls of the old era were meaningless. What has been proven on the battlefields of the West is just as valid in the Taiping Sect as it is in the Eastern Empire.

Of course, what has been proven in Eastern drama is just as valid in the Taiping countries as it is in the West.

Due to the relationship between "high merit and shocking the master", the employer arranged to take the life of the mercenary general.

In order to escape the killing of the new heir, the mercenary general contacted the naval divisions of Fuchu and Fudong provinces, and led a small number of descendants to flee to the Eastern Empire.

On the eastern coast of the empire, the Taiping and Western merchants had a small, desolate settlement that had been leased a few years earlier......

That was more than a decade ago – I don't remember exactly when.

That small settlement later became the most prosperous commercial port in the Eastern Empire, Lingyangmen.

The Admiral of that Naval Division became the commander of one of the most powerful fleets of the Free Nations.

And that mercenary general became the Luo Taiwei of the Eastern Empire, became the Luo Du protector of the Western Tang Dynasty, and finally returned to his homeland, and became the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses under the command of the Hongyi people...... Zhang Shiyi has even seen operas with him as the protagonist.

And she took over as Qu Shuai, and with her tribesmen who had lost their homeland and property and were sentenced to exile, she left her homeland and came to Hongyi, that is, the land of the Interre.

The former eldest lady has become an exile who has settled in a foreign land.

The petite female Qu Shuai stretched her waist, found a mirror to correct her appearance, and quietly walked out of the lounge.

Compared to the previous banquet on the ship, the number of attendees at this banquet was much smaller, but the level was much higher: as long as the family had not been razed by the military police, the figures of the patriarchs of the families or the presidents of the merchant houses appeared here. More than one person noticed Zhang Shiyi's figure, like her, casting a gaze mixed with envy and jealousy.

Everyone in the banquet hall was cheering the name of the Admiral.

"Long live Marshal Wei!"

"Long live the Seventh Fleet!"

In the middle of the crowd was the commander of the detachment sent back by Wei Taiping to deliver the good news. The marshal specially sent a blond-haired, blue-eyed commander of a detachment who looked like a Westerner back to report the news.

The man was talking about the Seventh Fleet's victory—in fact, everyone already knew it was going to be a big victory. If it weren't for a big victory, how could a detachment commander and an entire detachment be sent back to report the good news?

“...... We seized the gap between the Elven Grand Fleet and the Imperial Fleet, with the main fleet inserted in between, and Admiral Chen of the Fourth Squadron in charge of entanglement at the tail end of the Elven fleet. By the time they reacted, the Imperial fleet had been cut to the downwind by our army, and scattered with the upwind elven fleet. Mandriel Interreus's face must have turned blue! The bombardment lasted from dawn to dusk, and the ships of the Empire were relatively large in tonnage, but their sailors and gunners were not as good as ours......"

Zhang Shiyi yawned, too lazy to listen to those lengthy feats to show off. The people around them seemed very interested: after all, this was the best proof that they had placed their bets correctly.

“...... By the afternoon, the Admiral of the Left Wing of the Imperial Fleet could not hold it and hoisted the general assault flag, and Baron Novia Papio was full of courage. He led the last ships of his fleet that could still be sailed, hoisted the banner of 'Long live the Emperor', and charged at us with full sails, trying to enter the broadside. This act of his also divided the front and rear of the Imperial fleet, and I commanded the fleet to plunge diagonally into it, and cut the Imperial Guard Detachment as well. Three ships were sunk, five surrendered. The commander of the enemy rearguard detachment surrendered, the flagship of the left flank detachment sank, and both the captain and the fleet commander sank with the ship......"

Her gaze focused on the young man standing opposite the commander of the detachment.

Of course, Zhang Shiyi has heard those rumors. It is rumored that the person who is smiling and greeting the commander of the detachment is the closed disciple of the mercenary general.

"Commander of the Intertray, Major Naymen Soleton. ”

She whispered the somewhat unreadable Western name again.

"This may be the last chance. No one is going to propose marriage to a girl who can't even go back to Quzhou and is not married in her early twenties. ”

Zhang Shiyi picked up the wine glass from the table next to him, took a sip, and said to himself in a low voice, "Aren't you already determined to be a bad woman, Xiao Yi." ”

She frowned, didn't drink the rest of the wine, put the glass back, and began to move towards her goal. It is also a wine with a sour taste, or the rice wine from my hometown is a little better.

It's just that it's not easy to squeeze into Naymen Soleton's side.

The crowd of people made her a little reluctant to walk in.

After the Independent Gendarmes routed the rebel families' private armies, and the Seventh Fleet routed the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet and pushed back the Elven Fleet, everyone knew that the Free Army was about to regain control of the entire route.

Whoever wants to survive in Phase Port will have to deal with this fleet and the gendarmerie responsible for providing logistics for this fleet and capturing enemy ports. What's more, there is also the market share that Elf Oriental Company is about to give up.

The young major was crowded with people, and the wealthy merchants who were twice as old as him and twice as old were flattering him, and all the families with young ladies in the family brought out their daughters, nieces, and adopted daughters dressed up in fancy ways.

Zhang Shiyi lowered his head and looked at his evening clothes.

The Oriental high-leg knee-length skirt was cut to the side for ease of movement during battle, and was not designed to seduce men - plus the fact that she wore pants under her skirt made it even less glamorous to seduce men.

"If you start fighting here right away, you can be confident that you won't lose to any of them, but you have to be a bad woman...... It's still not enough. ”

I can't call myself ugly, but I can't call it gorgeous at all.

It's impossible to compare with the real ladies who are dressed in red makeup and luxurious dresses with intricate decorations and lace embellishments.

"Moreover, among those peacocks, there is actually a phoenix hidden......"

Zhang Shiyi's gaze was attracted by the most conspicuous one of the women.

The man was taller than the girls around him, and his flowing black hair seemed to glow in the light of the magic light. Like her, this man did not wear those heavy, complicated, extravagant fashions.

A priestess from the Empire has always stood by Namen's side. She was just dressed in a simple and high-ranking female priest's dress, but she didn't fall behind at all. Whether it is the demeanor, the graceful posture or the cold and glamorous expression like a stone carving, it forced back one lady after another who tried to get on the front of the close.

"It seems that the preamble is going to be withdrawn. Even if you start fighting, you may not be able to beat her. ”

Zhang Shiyi remembered the battle last night. At least in terms of hand-to-hand combat, the female priestess and her combat effectiveness should be between the best, and apart from Taoism, it is even more difficult to say that it is purely competitive martial arts.

Judging from her appearance and skin, even if the other party is older than her, I'm afraid it's not much older.

Since leaving his hometown, Zhang Shiyi has practiced martial arts and Taoism for more than six hours every day to have today's combat skills. If the other party is indeed in his early twenties, that kind of strength must mean extraordinary talent or blood.

"Even if you can't beat that woman, at least you can't become one of those flower butterflies. The female Qu Shuai smiled and slipped through the crowd, continuing to encourage herself, "That man, it shouldn't be a good thing to catch a hook by showing his thighs and breasts." ”

The closer he walked, the more Zhang Shiyi could feel the unusual determination that the young man was hiding under his smile.

For example, the young man gave her the impression that she was like a fortress of a new army building, with murderous intent hidden under the ordinary exterior.

The appearance of the fortress seems to be quiet and harmless, but when it is actually attacked, it is a hundred times more terrifying than a high wall.

His emotions weren't so obvious on the ship last night, but after a day of fighting today, the "cold" side of his body has noticeably strengthened.

As a martial artist, Zhang Shiyi is used to paying attention to the eyes of others. She noticed that while Nammon was here, his mind was clearly not on the girls in front of him—not even on the Orthodox priest. Behind the warm gaze, there is a coldness that is difficult to see through.

His gaze often flew high or out of the door, as if he were looking at something that only he could see. No matter how provocative the gestures and hints of those celebrities were, they were all resolved one by one by the young man's pretended ignorance.

"Maybe something happened on the battlefield?"

The change in Namen Soleton aroused Zhang Shiyi's curiosity. She judged that Naimon might be two or three years younger than herself, but she had a wealth of experience that did not match her age.

How did this man become a disciple of the legendary general, and how did he get to this point?

When Zhang Shiyi approached Naimon's side, he was overheard discussing the establishment of a new bank and taxation with several wealthy businessmen and members of the Hong Kong Parliament.

“...... We hope that you will also settle all settlements and deeds with us, and we will use the captured enemy assets to support your further expansion. Of course, an appropriate business tax is also necessary, but you can slowly negotiate an amount of tax that you can afford. I believe that Marshal Wei does not want to waste his forces on the pursuit of the enemy and smuggling......"

The Overseer fluently depicts the new organizational structure of the future Phase Harbor and "invites" the remaining magnates to join it.

His audience didn't seem as enthusiastic as they did when they pitched their daughter.

Perhaps the vast majority of families are reluctant to fully expose their business to the military, but the hint in Namen's words makes them think twice.

Providing new loans and dividing up the interests of the fallen families are bait, and the threat of tax evasion and smuggling is a big stick. Naimon and Wei Taiping have already swept away all the forces related to elves, so naturally they don't mind sweeping away one or two more.

Seeing that everyone was noncommittal for a while, Zhang Shiyi quietly clenched his fists, rejoicing in his good luck.

"What a chance!"

What Nemen was talking about might be a big threat to most of the families that relied on trade and money-lending, but not to her people.

The refugees from Hengqu, who had been displaced from the west and south of the province, did not have much financial resources, and were wanted by the Qingniu Province and were unable to engage in large-scale trade, so Naimon's request to establish a bank could be said to be in her arms.

"We, the Xiangzhou Hengqu Sect and the Zhang Clan, are willing to serve again at any time. Even if we can't provide much help with our limited financial resources, we can provide enough manpower, and half of the people of Donggang can be your help. ”

The young Overseer looked at Zhang Shiyi, who was the first to express his allegiance, nodded slightly, looked at her with approving eyes, and replied, "This is the second time you have helped me, Zhang Qushuai." When it comes to financial resources, you don't have to worry too much. I know that you are not short of sailors, and soon your Hengqu Sect will have its own ocean-going merchant fleet. ”

The meaning of this sentence made everyone around stunned.

After a while, they reacted, which meant that Naimon planned to hand over the captured elven merchant fleet to the Hengqu Zhang clan!

More than one person felt a pang of remorse. There were more than a dozen merchant ships of the Elven Oriental Company that had been captured in the harbor alone, and considering that those that were still on the road and had not yet had time to escape, as well as the ships that would be captured by the Seventh Fleet, it was not surprising that twenty or thirty were captured. That's a fortune that surpasses the net worth of most people in the room!

But Zhang Shiyi was not happy. She noticed that the young man's gaze on the other side had not changed.

If this is satisfying, it means losing. She needed more than just a merchant fleet.

She's going back to Hengqu. The resources in the hands of this young man in front of him may be able to do this.

"Pluck up your courage, Wingas. You've got to break that guy's defenses!"

Zhang Shiyi took a deep breath, took two quick steps forward, and directly invaded Naimen's side. Her movements were so fast and so precise that the tip of her nose could almost touch Naimon's lips.

At the distance where the two could feel each other's breathing, Zhang Shiyi keenly felt the crack on the other side's mask. Out of the corner of her eye, she also caught the shock on the face of the imperial priestess.

"I didn't think you'd be a man who would forget what you said, Your Excellency Namen Soleton?"

She saw Naimon's head tilted back and his body took a half-step back. Eastern martial arts are based on disrupting the opponent's posture and bringing the fight into its own rhythm.

"You promised to call me 'Tsubasa' last time, right? In that case, I'm worried about the terms I agreed upon. Your Excellency won't forget, will you?"

A trace of astonishment flashed across Naimon's face, and Zhang Shiyi immediately caught the stunt.

"As for me, I am very grateful to Your Excellency for providing us with a merchant fleet of people across the channel. But that's not the same thing as what you promised me. My own request is not so ambitious, it is just a very simple condition. ”

She paused here, waiting for Namen's response.

"I remember our agreement was to promise you a condition that I could do. ”

Hearing this completely expected reply, Zhang Shiyi knew that he had caught his flaws.

"My conditions are very simple, they must be within your ability, and they will not violate the interests of the free nations. I just wanted to ask for a room in your mansion. ”

Naimon was stunned: "One ...... Rooms?"

"Well, a guest room. It doesn't need to be too big or too good, it's enough for me to live on my own. In this way, I can convince my people that their cooperation with the Free Army is reliable. ”

It's almost, Zhang Shiyi thought, just accept it when you see it.

"Your Excellency wouldn't say that you can't do anything, do you? I know the Overseer has an entire floor of empty rooms. ”

"If it's just one room, it's okay—"

"Thank you, Your Excellency. Then I'll have someone move the luggage, and I'll move in tonight. ”

Zhang Shiyi chuckled, turned around, and left at almost as fast as he came. The single ponytail on the back of her head brushed Namen's cheeks, leaving a fresh scent of grass.

Naimon took a few deep breaths before regaining his composure.

Olia Hugh Kirman, who had been patient, suddenly leaned into his ear and whispered, "I remember, you owe me a condition, Soleton." ”

"Well, that's the case—"

"Then I ask the same as her. Give me a room on your floor, plus the Elven Sun God church outside. Then I'm going to pack my bags. ”

The princess of the empire didn't even give him a chance to confirm, so she chased Zhang Shiyi's back and walked out of the banquet hall quickly.

"Looks like it's going to be a long night......"

Naimon sighed and looked around. Almost everyone was glancing at him out of the corner of their eyes, whispering.

“...... It's going to be a night of rumors. ”

On the night of October 20, 1666

An ordinary house in the depths of the East Port Street of the Phaseport of the Republic of Intre

She was awakened from her sleep.

As always, all surveillance magic is on. She quickly skimmed through the key points in her hideaway and made sure that the few key points in her hiding place were not under control, before putting on her coat and opening the door.

Before opening the door, monitor the magic to see who is coming. Two of her friends and assistants, "Silver Plate" and "Ermine". Now, among the female members of the Thieves' Guild, the two of them are quite high.

She yawned and opened the door.

"Is the situation serious? The speculative business of that big man in Westport has been punished so quickly......

Her joke was directly interrupted by the visitor.

"Sister 'White Silk'. 'Emerald Ring' she's dead. ”

"Trouble, dismantle the barrier, let's get inside. ”

A smile froze across her face.

"How so! Didn't I tell you that we shouldn't be involved in the adventures of those guys in Westport!

Instead of mourning, he blurted out complaints.

"Cui Jie" is dead. The hearty girl who was the best at bargaining, renting so many houses for her, and finding someone to help her establish raw materials and sales channels, died.

"Last night, when the fleet entered the port, Emerald Ring was in an inn under the Westport Guild to discuss business with a group of merchants. When a naval battle broke out in the port, she wanted to return to the East Port, but it was too late. ”

"Those guys from the Westport Guild knew that she was now a magician, and forced her to take the goods to the Westport Guild headquarters to strengthen her defenses. But the chairman of the West Harbor died in the port, and they didn't expect the landing gendarmes to be so powerful and murderous......"

"Silver Plate" and "Mink" you and I say the news I heard one by one.

"The small building at the headquarters of the Westport Guild was directly destroyed by several ship-borne heavy guns dragged by the military police, and heavy fire oil and poison cloud bombs were thrown into it. ”

Of the more than 300 guild members and mercenaries, only a few dozen rushed out alive, and more than half were killed by a bayonet charge from the gendarmes. I hid in a nearby attic and watched through my binoculars as they dragged out the body of Emerald Ring and put it in a body bag...... Woohoo......"

"Mink" couldn't say any more and began to cry. In the past few months, the relationship between several of them has become very good. The business started by the four young girls together is already quite small, accounting for thirty percent of the underground magic items and magic private students in the entire Phase Harbor, and some people even come from the famous countries of Phartes and Taiping Dao to purchase them.

"Taking advantage of the opportunity for them to declare victory and relax the vigilance in Donggang, the two of us can rush back to bring the news to the eldest sister. I have heard that the Daomin people have taken the lead in announcing their surrender, and their men have taken the orders of the occupying forces to occupy the Donggang Guild and arrest most of the guild cadres and hand them over to the occupying forces. ”

The eyebrows of the "white silk" were twisted together and a judgment was made.

"The Thieves' Guild can't go. Remember the alternate identities I prepared for you earlier, and get rid of all the identities of the underground society. ”

"The eldest sister is really ...... What do you mean by that? ”

"But, 'Cui Ring' she ......"

"I'm afraid we won't be able to visit her grave just yet. If I were a high-ranking member of the occupation forces, I would certainly keep a close watch on all those who come to claim the dead and go to the cemetery to mourn. "White Silk" held back no tears, "We can't take revenge either." At least, not now. ”

"But we're going to avenge her for the Emerald Ring someday, right?"

"Hmm. All we can do now is keep the name of the enemy in mind and wait for the opportunity. That army can't be stationed in Phase Port forever. Now that they have come here, they will definitely recover the surrounding ports occupied by the elves and the Empire. We'll have a chance. ”

"Keeping in mind the name of the enemy...... 'silver plate', what is the name of the commander of the occupying army?"

"Namen Soleton. I heard that it is the elite of the mainland free army. ”

"Hmm, that's a strange name. "White Silk" casually commented, "But no matter how strong he is, we will always have a chance." ”

"There really will be that day, big sister, right?"

"As long as we continue to expand our sphere of influence...... There will be a day when it will be. Maybe we'll need to rebuild the Thieves' Guild, or even find a way to turn our little business into a beacon, but I'm sure there will come a day. ”

She sent the two away, closed the door, and wanted to go back to sleep, but she couldn't sleep, and worries about the future came back to her mind.

"Who the hell am I?"

She casually picked up the bedside mirror and looked at her new look.

His own face is reflected in the mirror. With short black ear-length hair, light yellow skin, and neutral and beautiful facial features, if you wear men's clothes, you can be regarded as an oriental beautiful son.

No matter who looks at it, it is impossible to associate her with the blonde and blue-eyed "white silk" that I see so pitiful.

This is the most basic means of security. From hair, skin color, to facial features, there is no magic technique that needs to be maintained, and the effect is achieved by relying on hair dyes and cosmetics.

Looking at this unfamiliar face, she finally burst into tears.

Yes, I won't see the smile of "Emerald Ring" anymore.

Even his original face doesn't know how many years and months it will take to see it again.

But she had to.

Pursuers from the past can come at any moment. "White Silk" has a magical talent that even she herself would be surprised - it can only be a proof of identity or bloodline.

That means that if there is an enemy chasing after it, it must be a very terrible enemy.

Although she doesn't have any memories, she doesn't want to die. At least I don't want to die at all until I get my memories back.

Let's move tomorrow.

Thinking so, the girl with the pseudonym "White Silk" fell asleep.

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