Chapter 823: Chapter 823
Ding Fan's army not only uniformed their attire, but their equipment had all been standardized as well. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥
Through connections, Ding Fan had his forces directly outfitted with the standard equipment of the Huaxia Military. It wasn't long before the core members of the army brought by Mu Zi all arrived.
They then began training Ding Fan's army.
On Mali Island, Ding Fan had undoubtedly become the strongest armed force.
About a week after Hauge's troops from Myanmar withdrew, Vietnam sent liaisons to proactively contact Ding Fan.
Their intention was simple: to draw Ding Fan in by claiming that the Vietnamese army would protect his interests on Mali Island. After beating around the bush, they directly brought up the gold mine.
The Vietnamese side was quite domineering, believing that without their protection, others would inevitably swallow up Ding Fan and his forces.
In return for protecting Ding Fan, Vietnam decided they would claim the gold mine.
In the eyes of Mu Zi and Huang Can, it was certain that Ding Fan would not agree to Vietnam's demands, but to their surprise, Ding Fan readily accepted.
The Vietnamese representative happily returned home to prepare the exploration team.
Mu Zi and Huang Can both wanted to know what Ding Fan was up to but all Ding Fan did was smile, without saying a word.
The gold mine was now a hot commodity, with everyone's eyes on it. Ding Fan knew that if he didn't resolve this issue quickly, it wouldn't end there, so he might as well find a scapegoat to solve the problem.
After the Vietnamese left, the next day they sent over an exploration team. Judging from their speed, they had been coveting the gold mine for some time.
Upon arriving at Mali Island, the exploration team quickly located the position of the gold mine.
To ensure the safety around the gold mine, Vietnam even directly deployed a large destroyer from their national fleet nearby for escort.
Additionally, they dispatched a company of troops to watch over the gold mine.
Vietnam was making grand preparations for mining, but Ding Fan didn't bother with it at all, seemingly indifferent.
What Ding Fan was most concerned with now was how to plan and construct his domain.
After all, this was where Ding Fan was settling down. Mali Island had always appeared as a rural setting, and Ding Fan hoped that his territory would also have highways, schools, hospitals, police stations, and so on...
As soon as Ding Fan proposed this idea, Mu Zi immediately contacted Elder Mu back home.
Elder Mu agreed, and it wasn't long before a group of construction professionals was sent over to assist with planning and building. At this point, Ding Fan realized the importance of human resources.
Having a large amount of money didn't count for much; talents were the most important.
During the days Mu Zi spent there, she began helping to build a police station and also drafted some laws and regulations. The area under Ding Fan's jurisdiction changed day by day, thriving more and more.
After busying themselves in the gold mine for about a week, the Vietnamese happily withdrew.
This left Mu Zi and Huang Can completely puzzled.
The conclusion they arrived at was that the gold vein was small, and they had extracted only a minimal amount of gold...
From the departing Vietnamese exploration team's murmurs, they learned that despite mobilizing a significant amount of manpower and financial resources and even employing warships, they had mined less than a pound of gold in the end.
One could say they had suffered a massive loss.
And these Vietnamese workers kept complaining about something odd as they left: According to prior machine surveys, there had been plenty of gold down there, so why could they not extract anything once they started mining?
At this time, everyone found it strange that what Haji previously treasured as a gold mine had only yielded so little gold.
But the astute Mu Zi spotted the problem. She guessed that the gold mine was a trap Ding Fan had set for the Vietnamese, and although she didn't know how he did it, one thing might be certain: by now, the gold could have already made its way into Ding Fan's pocket.
However, this was also a good outcome; word of the gold had spread.
Everyone knew that there was hardly any gold in Ding Fan's territory, and the Vietnamese had lost both manpower and resources, ending up with nothing...
Without the allure of the gold mine, Ding Fan now could peacefully develop his own land.
The villa where Haji used to reside had now become Ding Fan's place of residence. During this time, Ding Fan had been engaging in Alchemy and Artifact Refining.
Day after day went by, uneventful.
Then one day, Huang Can hurriedly sought out Ding Fan.
"General, it looks like trouble is brewing again," Huang Can said.
Ding Fan had just finished his internal training and seeing Huang Can's anxious demeanor, he roughly guessed that it must be a serious issue.
For minor matters, Huang Can would be able to handle them on his own.
"What happened?" Ding Fan asked.
"General, on Mali Island, twelve local Tusi leaders have banded together to denounce you, claiming you have disrupted the balance of Mali. These people are preparing to invite you to Wali's territory for a talk," Huang Can explained.
Ding Fan pondered for a moment and roughly guessed the situation.
On his side, with the implementation of military salaries and the construction of roads, schools, and hospitals, this would surely impact the old Tusi's interests.
Previously, nobody paid salaries to soldiers, and no one complained. But now, if one family starts to pay, the rest of the soldiers will naturally react.
Usually, anyone who challenges the old system will face a joint attack... otherwise, why would it be said that the truth is often in the hands of the few?
"Not interested," Ding Fan said bluntly, with no interest in engaging in any verbal battles with them.
"But if we just refuse them , I'm worried they might take even bigger actions later. The armies of all twelve Tusi have gathered together. It seems like they're planning a joint attack on us," said Huang Can.
Ding Fan pondered for a moment. "Who's leading this affair?"
"This time, the leader is Tekari. He is now the Alliance Hierarch of the twelve Tusi families," someone replied.
After thinking for a while, Ding Fan said, "Tekari? I remember he seems to have a stretch of territory bordering ours."
Ding Fan had previously looked over the map of Mali, so he still remembered it.
After pondering, Ding Fan said, "Since the enemy's army has already assembled, if they come to me again, it certainly means no good. Get our troops ready, and attack their camp before tomorrow night."
Huang Can was stunned. "General, are you saying we should take the offensive?"
Ding Fan nodded. "What's the matter? Don't you have confidence in yourself?"
"No, no, no... I just feel that, these people all come from backgrounds, and some even have the support of European countries. If we rashly move our troops..."
Ding Fan smiled indifferently. "The enemy is already preparing to take action against us. At this time, don't think about who is backing them up, just give them a good beating first," he said.
Seeing Ding Fan speak this way, Huang Can then nodded. "I will get started on the preparations right now."
Right away, Huang Can went to prepare for the mobilization of the troops.
The main reason why Ding Fan let Huang Can directly engage in combat was that the army was meant for warfare, and not everything could be dealt with by Ding Fan alone.
This was a good opportunity to train the troops.
Moreover, Ding Fan also wanted to see Huang Can and the others' commanding skills. Having good soldiers but lacking good command would be in vain...
All of these could only be clearly understood in the midst of combat.
At this time, Ding Fan slowly stood up.
"Brother Fan, are we going to war?" asked Mu Zi, her eyes shining with excitement as she walked in from outside.
This little Fairy was excited at the mention of war, her face lit up with enthusiasm.
"Great, training the troops these past few days has been rather dull..." Mu Zi clapped her hands and said.
Ding Fan shook his head and chuckled wryly. "You help Huang Can out on this," he said.
Mu Zi was startled. "Brother Fan, you won't be here? Where are you going?" she asked.
"I have some things to take care of. I'll leave this side to you," said Ding Fan nonchalantly.
After speaking, Ding Fan no longer paid attention to Mu Zi who was at the side and walked away.
Only Mu Zi was left standing there, dazed.
What's this? We're about to go to war, and Ding Fan, who's supposed to be the chief commander, is just leaving. This is unheard of...
Looks like I'll have to lead the show myself from now on......
After leaving his own territory, Ding Fan headed out beyond his jurisdiction, and soon arrived at Tekari's territory.
The region where Tekari was located happened to be the most prosperous part of Mali Island. There was a small town there, featuring several bars and a brothel.
At this moment, there was no sense of impending war. People were busy with their own affairs; an old woman squatting at the street corner selling opium, young girls standing on the streets constantly soliciting clients...
Ding Fan walked down the street, appearing like an ordinary person, attracting no attention.
"Excuse me, do you know a person named Huang Can?"
As Ding Fan was walking, he heard a woman's voice.
Since she mentioned Huang Can, Ding Fan paid some attention.
He immediately looked towards the source of the voice.
It was a woman, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Although her features were not delicate, her fair skin and tall figure made her quite attractive.
By the woman's side, there were three men. One of them looked like a rich young master, and behind him followed two men who seemed like bodyguards.
"Huang Yingying, Mali Island is so vast, I think it won't be that easy to find your brother," said the woman named Huang Yingying. Her expression instantly turned solemn.
"Yingying, don't worry, even if we can't find your brother, I will still take good care of you. I really do like you, and it's not like you can't see that," the man said, leaning in with a smile on his face.
"Lv Chenglu, I appreciate that you accompanied me to Mali Island to find my brother, but we are not suitable for each other. Please show some respect," she said.
At this, Lv Chenglu seemed to become annoyed and embarrassed. "Are you looking down on me? Do you know who I, Lv Chenglu, am? My father's company is considered big in Huaxia Country. If it were any other woman who caught my eye, she would be dying to jump into my bed tonight... How can you be so foolish..."
"I'm sorry, I'm not the type you like. You are free to go find them now..." Huang Yingying appeared very resolute and turned to leave.
"Yingying, don't be mad, I was just saying some angry words," Lv Chenglu immediately blocked Huang Yingying's path.
"I would brave the mountains of knives and seas of flames for you; I just want you to understand my feelings..." he said.
"You, get lost!" Just as Lv Chenglu hadn't finished his sentence, a black bodyguard came over and shoved Lv Chenglu to the side with a slap.
"Little girl, come play with me..."The black bodyguard looked at Huang Yingying with a lecherous gaze...