Chapter 1067: Finally Rich

**Chapter 1056: I’m Finally Rich!**

He Lingchuan couldn’t help but sigh with regret at the demise of such a figure, one even He Chunhua deeply admired.

“The fate of Yun Nation is truly at an end,” he thought. Just over half a year ago, he had secured a substantial loan from Rongshan for Yun Nation and its desperate army. With provisions in hand and stability, they shouldn’t have lost so quickly and miserably.

“How exactly was that last battle fought?”

The Li brothers shook their heads. “We weren’t on the front lines, so we’re not entirely sure, but we heard the northern front had actually won a few battles. Then, while pursuing their advantage, they somehow suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Grand Marshal, with countless casualties.”

He Lingchuan was puzzled. “I’ve seen General Zhao Pan’s attacks and deployments; they’re quite cautious. How could he have so easily fallen into an enemy trap?” Zhao Pan was always known for his defensive prowess. Not to mention an experienced veteran like Ke Jihai, who had fought the Grand Marshal countless times over the past year. How could they suddenly suffer such a devastating defeat?

The Songyang Manor disciples exchanged glances, having no answer.

“What happened next?”

“The Grand Marshal capitalized on his victory, advancing south all the way to Shihuan and the capital,” Li Mingrong said. “Then we received orders to go to sea, so we don’t know what happened afterward.”

He Lingchuan hesitated before asking, “So, what about General He Chunhua in the south?”

“Ah…” The Li brothers thought for a long time. “We haven’t heard of any activity from him.”

“Right, he seems to have stayed in the south, not moving from his position.”

At this point, the Li brothers suddenly remembered that the island master also shared the surname “He.” Could he be related to General Changning? Of course, He Lingchuan didn't say, and they didn't ask, merely muttering to themselves.

In fact, over the past few months, He Lingchuan had occasionally thought about He Chunhua and his family.

He Chunhua had returned empty-handed from the Dragon Coiling Desert a second time and should have been punished by Naraka. However, his life shouldn’t have been in danger. After all, no deity would arbitrarily kill an agent who commanded troops and power like him. So, what did it mean for He Chunhua to remain inactive, watching the northern front collapse?

Was he trying to accumulate strength? After all, the fate of Generals Ke and Zhao proved that the northern front was like the maw of a gluttonous beast, insatiable no matter how much gold, silver, provisions, or lives were thrown into it. The He Chunhua he knew wouldn’t throw his hard-earned power into such a bottomless pit.

Now the northern national gate was breached, and the Grand Marshal was sweeping in, his sword pointed directly at the Yun capital.

What would an ambitious person like He Chunhua do now?

He Lingchuan sighed deeply. The drama unfolding in Yun Nation’s future would surely be like a horror story. Perhaps, it was already happening.

After all, during the two and a half months the Songyang Manor disciples were traveling, the war in Yun Nation hadn’t ceased.

He Lingchuan had a premonition that the next news from Yun Nation would deeply shock him!

Only then did He Lingchuan, feeling a little awkward, remember that he hadn’t yet inquired about the current situation of Songyang Manor.

“The entire Yun Nation is in turmoil, and the casting business is declining, making it impossible to operate. The Marquis had no choice but to move the headquarters to the White Elephant Kingdom in Beijia,” Li Mingrong said. “In fact, Songyang Manor has been scaling back its operations within Yun Nation over the past few years, gradually shifting its focus to Beijia.”

“The Marquis wasn’t optimistic about Yun Nation for a long time, was she?” Even He Lingchuan found it hard to see a way out for this nation. How could a shrewd merchant like Li Qingge not know to prepare for a rainy day and relocate her industries? The current situation in Yun Nation only proved that her foresight and planning were correct.

Li Mingrong remained silent for a moment, then said, “Over four years, the Marquis made several donations of supplies to the royal court, exceeding two million in value.” Unfortunately, the nation was so deeply mired that no individual effort could pull it out.

Li Mingyang also said, “Fortunately, Songyang Manor is also an official merchant in Beijia, and its funds and connections are abroad. Otherwise, the Yun royal court would have long since seized and confiscated everything.” He Lingchuan recalled his time as a Rongshan envoy to the Yun capital, having witnessed the corrupt practices of officials at all levels within the Yun court. He had to admit that Li Mingyang’s concerns were not unfounded; a desperate Yun court could indeed resort to such actions.

“Enough of that, those are old troubles, and they no longer concern us!” he sighed inwardly, raising his cup for a toast. “Come, let’s wish Songyang Manor to flourish and expand on this new land!”

Everyone raised their cups in unison and drained them.

After the drinks, the Songyang Manor members returned to their guest rooms to rest. They had traveled a long distance, tired from the sea journey, and needed to wash off the dust and recuperate their energy.

Li Mingrong, however, privately came to He Lingchuan and whispered, “The Manor Mistress has a few things she entrusted me to secretly transfer to Island Master He.” “Secretly” meant avoiding others, so much so that even other Songyang Manor members shouldn’t know.

Then, he slipped off a ring from his left hand and solemnly presented it to He Lingchuan. It was just a silver ring, somewhat dull in color, and very simple in design—just a small silver band with no engravings. But as He Lingchuan took it and extended his divine sense into it, he was immediately moved:

“This… this is too valuable!”

Inside the storage ring was a stack of banknotes, neatly folded, with the top one valued at 100,000 taels! In addition, the storage ring contained over ten magical artifacts. He Lingchuan didn’t take them out for a closer look, only catching a glimpse of a small pile of ore. He didn’t recognize most of the ores, except for tungsten gold. When Grand Craftsman Li Fubo repaired Fusheng, tungsten gold was one of the essential materials. Just one piece had cost 120,000 taels! Now, a large piece of tungsten gold also lay within this storage ring.

“What is the Manor Mistress’s intention?” Li Qingge was also quite generous; if Li Mingrong and his brother’s ship had capsized at sea, all the treasures in the ring would have been lost.

“The Manor Mistress said that establishing oneself requires capital. The beginning of everything is difficult, and she hopes this money can be of help to you.”

“This is truly a timely help!” He Lingchuan sighed. “How can I accept this for free?” He was desperately short of money, his pockets practically empty. The Yangshan Archipelago couldn’t yet sustain itself, only half of Yu Zecheng’s ransom had been paid, and almost all expenses were coming directly from his own pocket. At this very moment, what Li Qingge sent was like rain in a drought!

Three million—even for Songyang Manor, it was a substantial fortune. The fact that Li Qingge didn’t send all banknotes indicated that this money had been hastily gathered.

“This money isn’t a gift,” Li Mingrong chuckled. “It’s to be considered Songyang Manor’s investment in the Yangshan Archipelago, converted into shares. You’ll need to pay dividends on time!”

“That’s only right.” Even if Li Qingge hadn’t mentioned it, He Lingchuan had intended to do so.

“Furthermore, Songyang Manor will have priority and discounted rates for mining and purchasing properties and shops on your territory in the future.” Ultimately, Songyang Manor was establishing a branch in a foreign land with the goal of expanding its influence and making money, not just doing charity.

“A small matter,” He Lingchuan readily agreed, painting a grand and appealing picture for them.

The Songyang Manor Mistress was truly an extraordinary person. While other women repaid kindness by offering themselves, she preferred to make large-scale investments in her savior. Truly an angel investor.

He Lingchuan’s mind was clear; he knew this was the good karma he had sown in Lingxu City, which had now finally borne fruit. If he had refused to help Li Qingge back then because he was plagued by troubles, where would this timely help come from today?

Passing by the sparsely populated seashore, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter facing the sea, startling a flock of gulls and egrets.

“I’m rich! I’m finally rich!”

The next day, He Lingchuan gathered his subordinates, including Ding Zuodong, and directly announced, “The comprehensive development of the Yangshan Archipelago will commence immediately!” Previously limited by funds and manpower, the Yangshan Archipelago had only developed fourteen islands, and even Dragon Ridge Island was only one-fifth developed. “Ah?” Everyone was stunned, until He Lingchuan slapped banknotes onto the table. Banknotes worth a million taels, crisp and white!

“Ah—! Yes!” Everyone’s eyes lit up.

With the money secured, everything became much simpler. Ding Zuodong and Guan Ke were secretly astonished, wondering where the island master had conjured hundreds of thousands, even millions, of taels from, aside from extorting Yu Zecheng of Beijia. Although Yu Zecheng had long-term leased a villa on Suoding Island, raising money also took time, and he had only produced less than 300,000 so far. Their patron had clearly been frowning and struggling financially just a short while ago. Whether stolen, plundered, or borrowed, money was money, and spending it would yield results.

“How much effort did it take to recruit so many laborers before? It would be a real pity to let them go now that the palm harvest season is over,” Ding Zuodong said, unable to suppress his wide smile. “Since we have ample funds now, we can just transition them to the comprehensive development of the archipelago.” During the palm harvest season, the Yangshan Archipelago had nearly 13,000 laborers at its peak. As the bulk commodity purchasing ships left Daofeng Port and the Yangshan Archipelago, the population on the islands naturally decreased. Most laborers were temporary workers; once their tasks were done, their employers would stop paying, and they would naturally leave. If the Yangshan Archipelago started new projects, they would stay if they had wages and food, and the island’s construction progress could be significantly accelerated. Winter was the off-season for farming, so wages were inherently lower than in spring and summer.

Qiu Hu activated the formation, bringing up sand tables of the various islands.

“The overall design for Suoding Island is complete, and construction will proceed according to the plans,” he said. Fang Canran had already finalized the plans for Suoding Island before leaving; how to implement them was He Lingchuan’s responsibility. “Shops and inns in the central area, and residences and villas by the sea, all need to be built to prepare for attracting businesses. The landscape around Ding Lake is too bleak and unappealing; it all needs to be redone!” “The planned residential area on Black Page Island is too small; it needs to be expanded at least twofold, and sufficient open space must be reserved nearby for a market. The spontaneous market on Black Page Island is already taking shape; on the first and fifteenth of each month, residents from surrounding islands come to the market, so the docks need to be rebuilt, and the roads widened and leveled.” “Roads need to be built on all habitable islands, especially agricultural islands, where roads should be wide and straight to facilitate transportation.”