The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 211: Accepted the title of Jiaodong, attempted 2 complete

Three years passed in a flash. Three years later, Yang Kang had become a man of seven feet tall. With the help of a large amount of medicinal herbs, he had made some progress in the "Vajra Indestructible Divine Art" and had cultivated the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Sutra" to the fourth level. With the force of his shoulders, he could throw a stone block weighing seven or eight hundred kilograms twenty or thirty meters away. His internal strength in the "Quanzhen Dao Song" was no less than that of Qiu Chuji. His swordsmanship gradually felt like it was returning to its original simplicity. When he used the Quanzhen swordsmanship, even Qiu Chuji found it a little difficult to deal with it.

Yang Kang considered it all, ultimately deciding to forgo the unnecessary practice of martial arts and focus solely on a few. He had already mastered the "Turning Heaven Palm" to perfection, and would focus solely on Quanzhen swordsmanship. His spearmanship remained the Yang Family Spear, albeit with a complete version gleaned from the Southern Song Dynasty. The corrupt scholars didn't take it seriously at all. When they heard it was worth 30,000 taels of silver, they immediately offered it to him, and it was the complete Yang Family Spear.

The officials even shamelessly asked if they wanted martial arts from other generals. A set of martial arts from a high-ranking general cost thirty thousand taels, and from an ordinary general ten thousand. Finally, after some haggling, they bought six sets for a hundred thousand taels, including swords, spears, hammers, and axes. Finally, all of them fell into Yang Kang's hands. His eighteen followers were already making good progress in their swordsmanship, so he selected six Han children with good aptitude to train with all his might.

He quietly invited Mei Chaofeng out and built a new house not far from the military camp for her to practice in seclusion. However, most of the time, she still liked to live in the cave. Yang Kang learned all the martial arts in the "Nine Yin Scriptures". Except for the light work, he stopped studying the others after learning them. They were of little use on the battlefield and were just pure routines of the people in the martial arts world.

Qiu Chuji would come here every year, and every time he saw Yang Kang's realm, he would sigh that he was getting old. The Quanzhen Sect had many martial arts, the most famous of which was the "Xiantian Gong", but no one except Wang Chongyang could master it. Although Yang Kang was an entry-level disciple, he was not a core disciple of the Quanzhen Taoist priests. In addition, his status was relatively sensitive, so Qiu Chuji did not dare to pass on this martial art casually. Every time he passed on some of the Quanzhen Sect's martial arts to him, Yang Kang was quite self-disciplined and refused to learn new martial arts before he had mastered the existing ones, which made Qiu Chuji very happy.

Yang Kang sent out one hundred boy scouts every year, and then recruited another one hundred young men to supplement them. All the sent out boy scouts went to Jiaodong with their families. Under the protection of King Zhao Wanyan Honglie, they were sent in batches, which did not attract much attention. Or those who noticed it knew it well, and had already compromised and agreed on Yang Kang's arrangements.

The little prince born to a Han concubine was demoted in title, and this decision was made because of the favor of Prince Zhao. Otherwise, he would have been thrown aside and ignored. After all, even his mother was dead, so who would care about him?

A year after Bao Xiruo's death, the Zhao Palace welcomed a new Princess Zhao, a typical Jin Dynasty noblewoman, whose influence within the court soared. Yang Kang did not attend the Zhao Prince's wedding, but instead sent a generous gift to the new Princess. Within a month, the stewards and maids who had come with the new Princess Zhao were all expelled from the Zhao Palace, leaving only a few maids and guards. This was because they had attempted to erase any trace of Bao Xiruo's presence in the palace, which had crossed Wanyan Honglie's bottom line.

Princess Zhao's family wanted to control Yang Kang and make him bow his head appropriately. They also wanted to remind him that the head of the Zhao Palace's backyard had changed. As a result, Yang Kang led the Boy Scouts to block the door, arrested the military supply and logistics officer of the new princess's family, and threw him into the court, asking only one question: "Is military law being treated as a joke?" and then left.

A furious Wanyan Honglie sentenced his distant brother-in-law to immediate execution and nearly divorced the newly appointed Princess Zhao. This sudden turn of events frightened many. How could the princess, newly wed a month after joining the throne, live in disgrace? Her family would likely be ridiculed. But their actions were certainly unkind, and Wanyan Kang was no pushover. He led a hundred cavalrymen into the battle, nearly destroying the residence of a third-rank official.

After this incident, not only did no one blame Yang Kang, but they valued him even more. He knew when to advance and retreat but would not allow himself to be bullied. He was strong and tyrannical. At the age of thirteen, his pistol skills were superb. He knocked the guards to the ground and could not get up. Moreover, he had reasons and evidence, and knew how to make this matter clear and not give his opponents any chance to discredit him.

A young boy, so filial and devoted, willing to wear plain clothes and observe mourning in the wilderness for three years, refraining from music and feasting, spending his days practicing martial arts, studying literature, and training soldiers—who wouldn't want such a good child? No wonder the King of Zhao doted on him; this boy was bound to become a great man, truly resembling the King. However, his mother's status limited his development. The more capable he was, the more feared he was by the Jin high-ranking officials, leading to the agreement to exile him to Jiaodong.

However, at this time, there was a disagreement on his title. The King of Zhao was a one-character king, and his son could theoretically be made a two-character king, but he needed to be a legitimate son. Although Yang Kang's mother was the former Princess Zhao, she was Han and had passed away. The current Princess Zhao was a Jin person.

Most of the Jin Dynasty's high-ranking officials, especially those of Jurchen descent, were more inclined to confer a title of nobility, while those Han literati quoted scriptures and hoped that Yang Kang could be made a king.

Finally, Wanyan Honglie intervened and both sides compromised. He was first granted the title of Marquis of Jiaodong, commanding the military and political affairs of an area within a radius of 500 li. He was then required to pay a tribute of 300,000 taels of silver within three years, and the title would be upgraded to King of Jiaodong, a hereditary title. If he failed to do so, he would remain Marquis of Jiaodong, with a territory of 200 li, which would last for three generations.

At the same time, the Jin emperor strictly ordered King Zhao not to help him with money privately. Everything depended on his own ability. Since he had the ability to lead troops to break into Zhongdu, a mere 300,000 taels of silver would not be a problem for him.

Many people thought that a tax of 100,000 taels of silver a year for a remote and desolate coastal territory was too much. Even they could only afford it for three consecutive years by plundering the land. However, if they did so, the people would lose their morale and his territory would be ruined. Being a self-proclaimed king was far less relaxing and enjoyable than being a rich kid in Zhongdu.

Moreover, judging from King Zhao's attitude, he does not dislike this son. On the contrary, he values ​​him very much. Why would he make such a choice for him?

King Zhao pretended to be sad and agreed, then turned around to tell Yang Kang the good news. The father and son wrote and drew on the map and discussed what to do. Wanyan Honglie knew that the Jiaodong Peninsula was close to Goryeo and Japan. As long as the navy was strong enough, it would be no problem to loot tens or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver a year. If they were well prepared, it wouldn't even take three years, and they could collect 300,000 taels a year.

Yang Kang naturally supported the development of the navy and was not opposed to the idea of ​​plundering the islands of Goryeo and Wo. However, he was more inclined to develop trade and expand his territory. Therefore, he asked Wanyan Honglie for 500 artisans, 3,000 naval personnel, and a wealth of information on shipbuilding. He also collected information on marine treasures. Luxury goods were rare, but their value was high and their profits were huge. Pearls, corals, giant clams, and other giant conches and shells, with minimal processing, had a strong market in the mainland, and most importantly, they were beautiful.

Wanyan Honglie, hearing Yang Kang's idea, thought it was a good one. These precious sea treasures would surely fetch a high price in Zhongdu, but there weren't many of them. Yang Kang smiled mysteriously. "Should I tell you that I have to take Jeju Island myself? There's no shortage of pearls or corals there."

The reason why Yang Kang is so confident is very simple: sea salt!

Yang Kang mastered the method of salt drying. With this powerful weapon of the state, plus the sea trade, how difficult would it be to make money? The only concern was how to develop military strength and protect his own foundation.

Yang Kang secretly told Qiu Chuji the news that he would be appointed as the Marquis of Jiaodong, and would become the hereditary King of Jiaodong after he came of age. Qiu Chuji's eyes lit up. Is this area within a radius of 500 miles considered the Han territory?

Qiu Chuji hurriedly asked Yang Kang for his idea. Yang Kang planned to build this place into a paradise for the Han people. On the one hand, he would develop commerce, sea salt, and seafood, and on the other hand, he would keep an eye on Goryeo and Japan, transfer the Han people who were having difficulties living in the country, and expand the territory. However, this newly opened territory no longer belonged to the Great Jin Kingdom, but to the Han people.

Qiu Chuji thought for a long time, wavering between the difficulty of leaving his hometown and the beautiful new life, and finally decided to help Yang Kang, and then decide the intensity of investment depending on the situation. In the early stage, he would definitely send people to keep an eye on him and collect intelligence. It seems that his "painstaking teaching" for many years was not without results, and he is still running around looking for Yang Tiexin.

Qiu Chuji had always believed that as long as Yang Tiexin could replace Wanyan Honglie in Yang Kang's heart, the boy would completely turn to the Han people. However, given the benefits of the Jiaodong Peninsula, he would not force Yang Kang to sever his relationship with Wanyan Honglie. Otherwise, many Han people would be harmed. Unknowingly, Yang Kang resolved some of the embarrassment of his identity and the unnecessary choices he had to make.