Chapter 63: The Reality of Ideals

  Thanks for Su's reward!

  In the captain's cabin of the Nanhai, with the door closed tightly, six people sat around a square table. Zhao Yao immediately made a pot of tea for Yang Yue and others in a flattering manner.

  Yue Yun said to herself, "This person is a turncoat, good at currying favor and pretending to be clever. No wonder he's so timid and afraid of trouble, yet Zhou Lun promoted him to be the leader and even entrusted him with such a crucial mission."

  Yang Yue cleared her throat, swept a glance over the people at the table, and said in a gentle voice: "The current situation is clear to everyone. Now I plan to return to Four Seas Island, if anyone has any opinions or suggestions, please feel free to speak up!"

  Lü Hao and Song Zhong had originally wanted to be fence-sitters, waiting for the various leaders to fight it out among themselves before pledging their loyalty to the winner. Previously on the boat, they had been intimidated by Yang Yue's authority and coercion, and had no choice but to follow orders. Moreover, the people they were supposed to deal with were just small-time bosses like Wang Lao San and Zhao Yao, so they weren't afraid. But now that they were going to attack Four Seas Island, it was a completely different story. They knew all too well how many men were on the island and what kind of defenses they had. At this point, everyone fell silent.

  Zhao Yao, although also with similar intentions as Lü Hao and Song Zhong, knew that he couldn't afford to offend Yang Yue at the moment. He immediately patted his chest and loudly declared: "With Fourth Master's order, Zhao Yao will surely charge forward, fight bravely, and shed blood! If Fourth Master orders us to attack the west, Zhao Yao will definitely not attack the east!" This made Yue Yun and Li Yu'er listen with a smile.

  Lü Hao and Song Zhong were not surprised after hearing this, but they were extremely disgusted with Zhao Yao's behavior. They thought that if a real fight broke out, Zhao Yao would either hide in a secluded place or pretend to be dead on the ground. He had done such things many times in battles over the past few years. Once, he was almost executed by his own gang for being a coward, but fortunately, Zhou Lun intervened and saved him, otherwise, Zhao Yao would have become a floating corpse at sea by now.

  Yang Yue also knew that Zhao Yao's words were unlikely to be reliable, so she turned her expectant gaze to Yue Yun, wanting to hear the idea he had boasted about earlier.

  Yue Yun saw Yang Yue's beautiful eyes looking over, knowing it was also her turn to speak. So she sat up straight and said to Yang Yue: "Miss Yang, I don't know how you plan to deal with Miss Li?"

  Li Yurou was already bewildered by being dragged to this pirate internal war meeting, but when Yue Yun said that, she felt both shocked and delighted. She was shocked because she feared Yang Yue wouldn't let her go, and delighted because Master Yue indeed still cared about her, mentioning her in his first sentence.

  Yang Yue hesitated for a moment before saying, "We originally planned to kidnap Miss Li and demand a large ransom from the Li family to get through our current difficulties. But now that Yang Yue has been rescued by Young Master Yue, I will repay his kindness by letting her go!"

  Li Yurou's heart finally felt a huge stone fall to the ground. She also knew that although the Four Seas Gang was evil and had killed countless people, the members of the gang were extremely trustworthy. Since Yang Yue had promised in front of several subordinates to let her go, she would likely be able to return smoothly.

  Yue Yun heard this and smiled slightly, saying: "Is that all? I'm afraid it's still not enough!"

  Yang Yue's eyes flashed with anger, and she raised her voice: "Young Master Yue, I let her go because you saved my face. Are you asking me to compensate her now?"

  Li Yurong also used her pale and delicate fingers to gently pull at Yue Yun's collar, whispering: "Young Master Yue, since she is willing to let me go, then it's settled. My Li family has had many small battles with the Four Seas Gang before, and there is no small amount of resentment between us. Let's not stir up more trouble!"

  Yue Yun gently grasped Li Yu Rong's wrist with his own hand, feeling the soft and smooth skin, and couldn't help but have a flutter in his heart. He said in a low voice: "Miss Li, I know my limits! You can rest assured! However, some places may still require your cooperation!"

  Yang Yue saw the two of them being affectionate and intimate in front of her, their behavior was flirtatious. A surge of unnamed anger rose up in her heart. She slapped the table coldly and hummed: "Are you two done yet? We're discussing important matters right now!"

  Lü Hao, Song Zhong and Zhao Yao hastily coughed a few times to cover up the uncontrollable smiles on their faces. They were all thinking in their hearts, could it be that Fourth Master has taken a liking to this young master of the Yue family?

  Yang Yue saw that her three subordinates all had strange expressions, and she immediately realized that she had been a bit out of line just now. But she didn't know how to explain herself, so she could only hum a sound and lower her head in silence.

  Yue Yun smiled and said, "Miss Yang, you misunderstood my intention. I'm not asking you to pay any compensation to Miss Li, but rather hoping that you can reach a compromise with Miss Li, resolve the conflict between you two, and get out of the predicament you're currently facing."

  Yang Yue and Li Yurou both felt a bit bewildered. Yang Yue asked first, "Young Master Yue, you're being a bit evasive, just speak directly, what do you want me to do?"

  Yue Yun took a sip of tea and said, "Miss Yang, the reason why the Four Seas Gang is having this internal strife is because they can't be like other sea-faring gangs that both trade and plunder. Instead, they only engage in robbery, which means they must have offended many people. Furthermore, the predecessor of the Four Seas Gang was the Dongting Lake pirates..."

  "General Yue, we are not river pirates, but righteous troops! Righteous troops who uphold justice!" Yang Yue interrupted discontentedly at this point.

  Yue Yun's face was slightly awkward, and Fang changed his tone: "Alright, let's just say it's the Righteous Army... Due to your previous relationship with the Song Dynasty officials being extremely bad, other factions and merchants are all afraid of having any dealings with you. As a result, the Four Seas Gang has become an outcast among the various forces at sea, and it can be said that you have almost no friends, but a large number of enemies. Do you gentlemen think what I'm saying is wrong?"

  Yang Yue, Lü Hao, Song Zhong and Zhao Yao nodded in agreement with Yue Yun's words. The Four Seas Gang had reached this predicament for the reasons Yue Yun mentioned. Originally, they still had another option, which was to go to countries like Japan or Korea to make a living. However, people of that era had a strong sense of localism, and they considered even going to the Jin State as going to a foreign country, so how could they be willing to go to countries with even greater differences from the Song Dynasty, such as Japan or Korea?

  "What solution does Mr. Yue have to solve the predicament we are currently facing?" Lü Hao asked, unable to remain calm.

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said seriously, "Actually, the root of the problem lies in your pursuit goals. If you always hold on to the idea of overthrowing the Song Dynasty, it is absolutely impossible for other factions to turn to business like this."

  Song Zhong shouted loudly: "The emperor of the Song Dynasty is muddle-headed, and there are treacherous officials like Qin Hui in power. The people are living a life that is not worth living. Our righteous army rose up to save the people from fire and water, how can we give up this ideal?"

  Yue Yun listened and couldn't help but think that these people's minds were really stubborn.

  He patiently explained: "Everyone has an ideal in their heart, but it also depends on whether the realization of this ideal is practical. For example, my father's ideal is to recover the rivers and mountains, directly attack the Yellow Dragon, and welcome back the two emperors. But now, although I dare not say that there is no hope at all, at least I think the possibility of him achieving it is extremely small. You are the same, when your great saint king Yang was still alive, the righteous army had tens of thousands of people, but they were unable to overthrow the court, and now only a thousand or so people are left, can you still have more hope? If we pay the price of endless sacrifice, poverty, and hardship, and difficult circumstances, and still cannot achieve this ideal, I think it's better to bury this grand ideal deep in our hearts and do something that is more practical for ourselves, our families, and our brothers and friends."

  Yue Yun's words made everyone present fall into deep thought, and even Li Yu Rong gained some insight.

  After a long time, Yang Yuefang sighed and said in a low voice: "What you said is also right. For that goal, we have sacrificed too much already. Our generation doesn't matter anymore, but there are still many children on the island. Now they eat rotten rice bran every day, wear tattered clothes, and live a worse life than when we were in Dongting... For my brother's ideal, their parents' generation has been sacrificed, and we can't sacrifice their future!"

  Lü Hao, Song Zhong and Zhao Yao also immediately thought of their own children, and suddenly they all fell silent, no longer refuting Yue Yun.

  Yang Yue asked in a gentle tone at this time: "Young Master Yue, are you asking us to accept the amnesty of the Great Song Dynasty?"

  Yue Yun heard this and knew that things had succeeded halfway, the other half depended on Li Yu Rong.

  He took another sip of tea and continued: "Surrendering to the government may not be the best option, as you may still be dispersed by the government and scattered to various military camps. Moreover, due to your previous actions, it will also be difficult for you to get promoted and reused by the imperial court."

  Yang Yue raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yue Yun, saying: "Mr. Yue, do you have another way?"

  "Hmm, I actually have a better way to keep your independence while greatly improving your current situation, and it's also beneficial for the Li family!" Yuchen said with a mysterious smile.