Blue Silver Grass Strategy

"What's the price?" Ling Yi asked again.

Zhang Lei understood what Ling Yi was asking. He was silent for a few seconds before replying, "Mr. Jin has stepped down from the position of president and has become honorary president. The other vice presidents, Master Li Qiang and Master Fu Shan, will continue to serve as vice presidents, while Mr. Qingqiu Li, the father of Ah Xin, and Mr. Long Ang, the father of Ah Yin, will only retain the status of honorary presidents and withdraw from the daily management of the [Blacksmith Association·Shuimu Kingdom Branch]..."

"Because you have been away for the past few years, your position as vice president has been retained. This is also what Mr. Jin did his best to promote before he retired. Mr. Qingqiu Li and Mr. Long Ang also made a lot of efforts. Master Li Qiang and Master Fu Shan did not object..."

"The current president of the [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Duchy Branch] is Earl Muli, the younger brother of Grand Duke Mufeng."

"There are still five vice presidents. In addition to you, Master Li Qiang, and Master Fu Shan, they are named Bai Zhong and Sun Bing. These two new vice presidents are both Soul Sect members."

"Bai... Sun..." Ling Yi heard these two surnames and quickly retrieved the corresponding information in his mind, "Are they from the two marquis families, the [White Hedgehog·Bai Family] and the [Fire Ape·Sun Family]?"

"That's right." Zhang Lei nodded and replied, "In the current [Blacksmith Association·Shuimu Principality Branch], the president is the Grand Duke's man. Although Master Li Qiang was a blacksmith in the palace before, he is now very close to the 'Marquis of Storm' Lu Sheng. Master Fu Shan has always had a good relationship with the 'Marquis of Cedar' Song Yao. And Bai Zhong and Sun Bing are the young lords of the [White Hedgehog·Bai Family] and the [Fire Ape·Sun Family] respectively..."

"Wow!" Ling Yi heard this and shook his head with a dumb laugh, saying: "They are all very powerful people. I am just a peasant, and all this pressure is placed on me all of a sudden-"

Seeing Ling Yi still smiling calmly, Li Zhishu pursed his lips and whispered, "The Grand Duke and the Marquises, your eating habits are a bit ugly..."

At this moment, Long Yin and others who had just run to get new skewers and drinks had returned. They put down the wine and meat in their hands and went over there to get more food.

"It's okay, it's within my expectation." Ling Yi smiled and glanced at the perceptive Long Yin and others, then said to Li Zhishu, "I had foreseen this day when I brought the old man and others together to establish the [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch]."

"As long as this [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] is established, as long as we don't have a Soul Saint-level figure in charge, unless it develops mediocrely, once it grows up, it will definitely be targeted by powerful people in the principality."

"I had already thought of this when I brought Marquis Song Yao into the game and gave part of the association's profits to the Cold Wind Camp."

"Ayi~" Seeing Ling Yi's calm demeanor and Zhang Lei's similar calmness, Li Zhishu frowned and asked in confusion, "Although you haven't been here for the past few years, this [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] is your hard work. Its development is entirely due to your early control and the policies and goals you set for subsequent development. Aren't you angry at all that it was taken over by those insects?"

"Old Li~" Ling Yi casually took a pot of wine from the table beside him, refilled the glasses for himself, Li Zhishu, and Zhang Lei, and said slowly: "You have to know that my ability is actually limited."

“Although I built the framework for the association and formulated so many development plans in the early stage, the development and growth of the association is not just my credit.”

Chapter 241: Backed by the General Assembly

"But," Li Zhishu gulped down the wine in his glass and said in a deep voice, "If it weren't for you, there would be no [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] at all!"

"That's right!" / "You're right!" / "What Lao Li said is exactly what I thought!"...

At this moment, Long Yin, Qingqiu Xin and other friends who had just pretended to go back and forth to get food, could no longer hold back and spoke out.

"You guys——"

Ling Yi rolled his eyes at everyone in annoyance. Just now he was mentally praising them for their tact.

"Brother Yi, now that you're back, should I inform my father to come to Shanhaiyuan first to discuss things?" Long Yin said with a grin, baring his teeth.

Hearing this, Qingqiu Xin nodded quickly and said, "Yes! And my father..."

"Wait." Ling Yi stretched out his hand and pressed down, and asked: "I'm back this time, so of course I'm going to visit them. What would it look like for them to come to my place——"

"Besides~" Ling Yi paused, glanced at Long Yin and Qing Qiu Xin, and said unhappily: "Don't think I don't know what you two are planning. I tell you, the affairs of the [Blacksmith Association] are not as simple as you think. Don't help me recklessly, understand?"

"What do you mean by 'discuss'? How much do you despise those people in 'Wood City'?"

"Believe it or not, those people should know the news of my return today before dark—"

Having said that, Ling Yi looked around at the people around him, his eyes met everyone's, and he mobilized all his mental strength to sense their mood swings:

"Indeed, the [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] was founded under my leadership, together with my master (Mr. Jin), the two masters Li Qiang and Fu Shan, and the two brothers Long Ang and Qing Qiuli."

"But you should also know that this association has its own limitations after all. That is, the status and strength of the blacksmith himself limit the upper limit of its development."

"It's just like when I was buying raw materials in the [Tiandou Empire] before, I encountered a situation where the sellers there raised the prices wantonly."

"Besides that, even within the principality, in some places, such as the territories of those marquises, the development of the association is actually quite limited."

"But with the arrival of the Grand Duke and several marquises, you should be able to see that the development of the association is truly moving forward in accordance with the goals I set at the beginning, and my plans and ideas can be truly implemented."

"Now, although our voice in the association's top management is almost zero, the association has truly developed. All blacksmiths have been promoted to a certain extent, and our trade team has also been effectively trained and can all stand on their own—"

"It can be said that the current [Blacksmith Association Shuimu Principality Branch] is the mature power organization I expected..."

"Brother Lei," Ling Yi turned to look at Zhang Lei standing beside him, "How many more blacksmiths are there in the association than four years ago?"

Zhang Lei thought for a few seconds and replied, "Probably more than 1,800."

"What about the level?" Ling Yi asked again.

Zhang Lei: "Among these people who started from scratch, after four years, there are 11 senior blacksmiths, 195 intermediate blacksmiths, around 1,000 junior blacksmiths, and the remaining 600 or so are still blacksmith apprentices..."

Ling Yi nodded, and then asked: "Among these people, how many are from the Grand Duke's Mansion and the various marquises?"

"According to what I learned from Mr. Jin, apart from the two senior blacksmiths and twenty-seven intermediate blacksmiths who are the men of the Grand Duke and several marquises, the others should be ordinary people, soul warriors, and first-ring soul masters who joined in on their own..." Zhang Lei answered quickly.

Nodding, Ling Yi did not continue to ask. He winked at Li Zhishu, pointed at the wine jugs of different styles on the table, and said with a smile:

"Old Li, I haven't seen you for four years. You have developed so many types of good wine. It seems that wine lovers on Douluo Continent will have a good time in the future——"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhishu cooperated with a proud smile, but he said modestly: "Hey! I was just thinking about it. I haven't researched some of the other grains you told me about back then. I just replaced the main ingredient with "Blue Silver Rice" based on some of the original winemaking recipes, and then researched new proportions and fermentation times..."

Four years ago, when they were still at the border of the [Tiandou Empire], Ling Yi told Li Zhishu to take some time to study the winemaking process after he returned to the [Shuimu Principality].

Because in Ling Yi's foresight, with the large-scale planting of "Blue Silver Rice", in addition to meeting the daily consumption of the people of the "Blue Silver Territory", there should be a lot of food left.

Ling Yi, who did not want "Blue Silver Collar" to be involved in the grain trade in the short term, hoped to use Li Zhishu to transform the extra "Blue Silver Rice" into another high-value commodity that would not easily touch the nerves of certain people.

Alcohol becomes the best choice.

At the same time, as Ling Yi, who was familiar with the profits of alcoholic beverages, he also used the huge profits of alcoholic beverages to lure the rulers of the [Shuimu Principality] into the game and expand the planting area of ​​​​"Blue Silver Rice".

This was a business that was once a government monopoly in ancient times, just like salt and iron.

"There are many types of grains used for making liquor, and each type of grain contributes differently to the flavor of liquor. For example, sorghum makes it fragrant, corn makes it sweet, rice makes it clean, wheat makes it dry, glutinous rice makes it soft, and barley makes it strong..."

She was a young lady from Shudu, whose family ran a folk tavern. If it weren't for the young lady from the martial arts school in Mount Emei and her classmates who happened to pass by one day, Ling Yi would have been able to learn the entire winemaking process from her.

But even so, Ling Yi, who has learned some theoretical knowledge, should have no problem providing Li Zhishu with some ideas on winemaking.

"Don't be so modest~" Ling Yi raised the wine glass in his hand, clinked it with Li Zhishu's, and said with a smile: "When I was in the [Tian Dou Empire] and the [Xing Luo Empire] before, I drank those so-called good wines that cost 200 gold soul coins a bottle, but they were not much better than yours..."

"Get me some aged wine later. I'll send it to my senior brother and uncle so they can have a taste too—"

“No problem!” Li Zhishu drank the wine in the glass and agreed immediately. Then he tilted his head and said, “That’s not right. We often send wine to Mr. Jin, Afeng’s father and more than a dozen other brothers—”

"I'm talking about my senior brother Lou Gao, and his master, my uncle Tie Futu." Ling Yi shook his head, his cheeks flushed with a drunken blush, and said with a smile.

"Oh——" Li Zhishu reacted immediately, "It's that short and fat guy... cough! That tall soul king! I remember, he was from the [Blacksmith Association]——"

"Hehe~" Ling Yi patted Li Zhishu's shoulder and said with a smile: "Old Li, let me tell you some new news. Senior Brother Lou Gao is now a Soul Emperor."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhishu's face lit up with joy. He ignored the teasing in Ling Yi's words and said with shining eyes, "So, with Mr. Dugu Bo, our Blue Silver Territory now has two Soul Emperor-level strongmen as foreign aid!"

“If San Jin’s (Dugu Xin) father breaks through to Soul Saint, then…”

Before Li Zhishu could finish, Ling Yi said lightly:

"Uncle Tiefutu, more than two months ago, he broke through to the Soul Douluo level—"

Li Zhishu: “…”

Zhang Lei: “…”

Long Yin, Qingqiu Xin, Zhang Mufeng, Dugu Xin, who were originally wondering why Ling Yi and Li Zhishu had gone off topic,... everyone: ()!!!

Are you surprised? Are you surprised? (*^▽^*)

Chapter 242 Return Storm

"What did you say?! The master craftsman Tiefutu has broken through to Soul Douluo——??!!!"

In the magnificent palace of "Muzhi Castle", under the three-hundred-year-old "Hibiscus Tree", the king, Grand Duke Mufeng, stood up somewhat inappropriately, staring straight at the eunuch in front of him.

"My Lord," the eunuch bowed deeply and said respectfully, "The news was sent back an hour ago by our secret guards stationed in the Blue Silver Territory Shanhai Garden."

"According to the secret guards, it was Blue Silver Baron Ling Yi who said it himself."

"Ling Yi?" Upon hearing this name, Grand Duke Mu Feng couldn't help but frown slightly: "He, is back?"

Eunuch: "Three hours ago, at noon, he showed up in Beikouhe Town of 'Blue Silver Territory', and brought with him a little girl who looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old."

"call--"

Grand Duke Mu Feng heaved a long sigh, trying to calm himself down. He cast his gaze towards the eunuch and said in a deep voice, "Tell Mu Li to be careful recently. If Ling Yi comes to Muzhi City, notify me immediately!"

"in addition,"

He took a deep breath, but still couldn't suppress his surging emotions. "Send someone to the Gengxin City of the Xingluo Empire as quickly as possible. I want to know whether the master craftsman Tiefutu has really become a Soul Douluo!!!"

"Yes!" the eunuch responded loudly, took a few steps back, then turned around and left quickly.

"boom--!"

Watching the eunuch's receding back until he disappeared, Duke Mufeng, who had been controlling his emotions, slapped the table in front of him, breaking the heavy white jade table into dozens of pieces, and the tea and snacks on it also scattered everywhere.

Outside the garden, the maids who had been sent out early all lowered their heads and eyes, not daring to make any movement.

……

[Blacksmith Association·Mizuki Principality Branch]

"What?! That kid is back?!"

Mu Li sat in the seat that originally belonged to Mr. Jin, stopped practicing his soul power meditation, and looked at the eunuch who had just come from the palace with some surprise.

"My Lord Earl, the Grand Duke asked me to tell you something in case Baron Ling Yi suddenly visits you later and you are unprepared..." the eunuch said respectfully.

"Prepare?" Mu Li frowned and said unhappily, "What should I prepare?"

"In terms of status, I am an earl, and he is just a small baron. In this association, I am now the president, and he is only a vice president."

"Not to mention, he is just a great soul master, and I am a soul master. Do I need to prepare carefully because of his return?"

Facing Mu Li's anger, the eunuch was not in a hurry. He still lowered his head and said softly: "My Lord Earl, first of all, according to investigation, Baron Ling Yi has now broken through to the Soul Master, a healing Soul Master."

"In addition, not to mention his strength, the connections that Baron Ling Yi left behind in the Principality in the past few years are also very formidable."

"Behind him stands the Soul Emperor of the 'Green Phosphorus Snake' Martial Spirit, and the Soul King, Earl Jiang Yuan..."

"That's enough!" Mu Li waved his hand, interrupting the eunuch's narration, and said impatiently: "I know, I will pay attention to it next time, no need to say more!"

Nonsense! Do you really think that Mu Li is a playboy who only wants to eat and wait for death?

Isn't this just for the sake of face?

This eunuch really has no tact at all!

Mu Li, who had experienced that period of time, was deeply touched by Ling Yi's "horror".

As for that network of personal connections, it can be said that it is because Ling Yi is too weak, otherwise it is hard to say whether the Grand Duke of the [Shuimu Principality] would still have the surname "Mu".

His excellent communication skills and strong affinity, combined with the connections and personal connections he had accumulated through treating the wounded, almost made the lower and middle class people in the entire principality only know the 'great doctor' Ling Yi, but not Grand Duke Mu Feng.

During the period when Ling Yi's name was at its peak, the five marquises who were in charge of the five major military departments of the principality would always mention the name "Ling Yi" when speaking to their soldiers. The military orders from the generals and commanders above them were not as effective in execution as Ling Yi's words.

How could Grand Duke Mufeng and the five marquises tolerate such a situation?

However, it is not so easy to touch Ling Yi.

We need to consider the power of the [Blacksmith Association·Shuimu Duchy Branch], which had already taken shape at that time, the fact that the Cold Wind Camp, the 'Marquis of Cedar' Song Yao and the [Blacksmith Association·Shuimu Duchy Branch] were a community of interests, and the feelings of those who were on good terms with Ling Yi in the three major cities and five major military departments of the entire [Shuimu Duchy] at that time...

The most important thing is that Ling Yi, who was in a prosperous and thriving environment at that time, knew when to advance and retreat. He went straight back to the "Blue Silver Territory" and never asked about the outside world again.

Even Grand Duke Mu Feng felt relieved by this retreat, and at the same time felt a little guilty towards Ling Yi.

In order to resolve this slight guilt, Grand Duke Mufeng discussed with the five marquises and decided to send Ling Yi to the border battlefield between the two empires.

Life or death is all determined by heaven!

I thought that with Ling Yi's wisdom, he should understand the intentions of the senior officials of the Principality. Even if he didn't die on the battlefield, he would stay outside and never come back.

The position of Lord of the Blue Silver Territory was reserved for him, and the position of Vice President of the [Blacksmith Association, Shuimu Principality Branch] was also retained, leaving a bit of dignity for both parties, as well as other people in the principality.

But now, he is back?

Thinking of this, Mu Li suddenly had an idea in his mind. He stared at the eunuch and asked word by word:

"Is it that Dugu Bo who has achieved a breakthrough to Soul Saint?"

In his opinion, only in this way will Ling Yi have the confidence to return and not be afraid of the previous strife in the principality.

Faced with Mu Li's question, the eunuch shook his head.