As a lord, I was forced to farm

Chapter 862 Quhe Island

The group hurriedly stepped forward, "This humble official, Qi Wenxiu, greets Your Highness the Prince! Greetings to Deputy Commander Sheyu."

"Get up."

Qi Wenxiu cautiously raised her eyes slightly, then quickly lowered them again.

The morning mist hadn't dissipated, and a damp chill lingered over the island. Qi Wenxiu could only see the luxurious black robes before her like pale ink spreading on rice paper. The image of those dark, inky eyes she had glimpsed earlier still lingered in her mind—calm and serene, even more serene than the waning moon on the eaves, like a star sunk to the bottom of a deep pool.

As an official in the main city, Qi Wenxiu was naturally very familiar with this face, but he would still be momentarily stunned every time he saw it.

Skipping over the unnecessary pleasantries between ruler and subject, Jiang Ran focused her gaze on the distant ocean.

As the tide receded, the Henghai II, resembling a giant beast, revealed its sharply defined outline under the rising sun. At this time, many Xuanjia soldiers went out to sea to patrol and train in the Suyuan waters as usual, clearing out ferocious sea monsters and escorting the fishing boats behind them.

Thanks to advancements in shipbuilding technology and increased incomes for the people, their thinking has become much more flexible.

The boat shop sells boats. A small ironwood boat costs about three thousand spirit crystals. Looking around, there are quite a few fishing boats sailing on the sea. There are more than twenty small fishing boats, seven or eight medium-sized fishing boats, and even a large private fishing boat.

"That's the Qiu family's fishing boat."

Seeing Jiang Ran's gaze fixed on the large fishing boat, Qi Wenxiu said, "The Qiu family is quite powerful. They have hired some experienced fishermen and cultivators with considerable strength, and they often return from their voyages with a full catch."

Jiang Ran was no stranger to the Qiu family; they were the Qiu family, the Qiu family.

As a high-ranking official, Qiu Baishui was not allowed to engage in business in principle, so the operator of this fishing boat was Qiu Baishui's elder brother.

The Qiu family members are all capable and basically all have talent for cultivation.

Qiu Baishui was a rebellious person. Although he had the talent for cultivation, he did not follow the path of cultivation. Before becoming an official, he ran a ceramics shop. After becoming an official, he even gave up the ceramics shop and spent all his time in the Ministry of Justice.

The Qiu family consists of three brothers and two sisters. One is a businessman, one is a soldier, one is an official, one is an apprentice weapon refiner at the Feng family, and one is a student at the Demon Spirit Branch of Suhong Academy.

The Qiu family is thriving and is showing signs of becoming a large clan.

Right now, there are not only many ships on the sea, but sometimes several huge purple-blue sea monsters suddenly appear. They have very beautiful and smooth lines and leap nimbly on the sea, stirring up waves.

Strangely, the fishermen of Dasu were not afraid of these large whales. Instead, they looked at them with admiration, stretched out their hands, and applauded the leaping blue whales, saying, "This big fish is really beautiful, it jumps so high."

The blue whale, praising the fish, became even more excited, like a child, and its leaping motion in the sea became even more frequent...

……

"Tell me about the situation here?" Jiang Ran looked away, gazing at the island fortress that was beginning to take shape, and spoke to Qi Wenxiu behind her.

"Yes." Qi Wenxiu bowed and replied, "We built it exactly according to the blueprints provided by the Ministry of Works. The residences and training grounds for the Xuanjia soldiers have now been completed. Those two buildings on the east side are the ones."

Qi Wenxiu pointed to two tall, black new buildings. The obsidian towers, shaped like the Big Dipper, guarded the training fortress, with the giant beasts Baichuan Blue Whale and Xuan Turtle, cast in Xuanhan Iron, perched atop them. The Blue Whale statue symbolized the friendship between Da Su and Baichuan Blue Whale, while the Xuan Turtle corresponded to the name of the Xuanjia Navy, signifying indestructibility.

The statues of the Xuanjia Turtle and the Hundred Rivers Blue Whale are in different poses. If someone looks closely, they can see that one of the Xuanjia Turtles has a glittering cat's eye embedded in its mouth, breathing in and out the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Jiang Ran has imbued it with her own power, which she can activate whenever she wants. Even if she is hundreds of kilometers away, she can take in everything on Quhe Island.

Of course, not many people know about this gilded cat's eye gemstone, and even if someone did see it, they would probably think it was just a delicate gem.

Quhe Island is very important to the Lingze Islands.

If Dongtuo Island is the highest point of the floating islands, serving as a lighthouse and lookout for navigation, then Quhe Island, as the lowest point of the floating islands, is the base point of the floating islands.

If invaders were to land on the island in the future, they would most likely choose Quhe Island as their target. Therefore, Jiang Ran attaches great importance to the defense of Quhe Island.

The defense system of Quhe Island is divided into three parts, from the outside to the inside: the coastal early warning zone, the outer defense zone, and the core fortress zone.

The construction of such a military fortress is naturally not something that can be done overnight; it may take several years or even more than a decade of construction and maintenance.

According to the design, the coastal early warning zone will mainly rely on natural terrain and organisms for defense. The coastline has unique reefs that are parasitized by ironclad vines, which can be used to create a large maze in the future.

The outer defense zone drew on the experience of Yajin Town to build the Netherworld Lighthouse, with the top of the tower inlaid with the Thousand-Eyed Silver Cup, which uses Eagle Eye Stone as the main material for refining weapons.

Eagle Eye Stone is extremely sensitive to spiritual energy. The Thousand-Eyed Silver Lamp was crafted by a weapon refiner in Yajin Town and improved by Bai Lifeng. It can now monitor spiritual energy fluctuations with the power of Earth-level profound arts within a radius of ten miles.

The Thousand-Eyed Silver Lamp will not only be used on Quhe Island, but also in various cities of Dasu. For example, if dangerous elements use explosive talismans in the city, the Thousand-Eyed Silver Lamp will be able to react quickly.

Meanwhile, defensive walls were also built in the outer defense zone. These walls were to be equipped with attack turrets and ballistae.

As for the core fortified area, that was where the soldiers lived and trained. The construction of Quhe Island extended outwards from the core fortified area.

……

"How many Xuanjia soldiers are stationed here?" Jiang Ran tilted her head slightly and asked the taciturn Sheyu beside her.

"Your Highness, half of the soldiers are stationed on Quhe Island," Snake Taro's voice was somewhat hoarse.

Perhaps due to inheriting the bloodline of another half of the magical beast, Snake Taro, despite having a face that leans towards the delicate and beautiful type, always reveals a hint of the feminine and charming nature unique to snakes.

Her snake tail swayed slightly behind her. Because she had been soaking in the water before Jiang Ran arrived, her long, seaweed-like black hair was damp and clung to her body, giving her an eerie, water ghost-like appearance.

Of course, no one present showed any fear or strange looks because of the snake taro's appearance.

Qi Wenxiu and others worked here for a year and had many dealings with Sheyu. They knew very well that Sheyu was actually a very gentle person who made people feel very safe.

Nowadays, the group has a very good relationship. When Qi Wenxiu has free time, she even visits Sheyu's home and holds her five-year-old son.

As for Jiang Ran, there's no need to say more; she's the one others fear.