Chapter 2417 2133: The Allure of the Giant Warship

On the other side, Gan Ning led his men towards the Lul Family, unlike Taishi Ci, Gan Ning and Lul Jun had a very good relationship. To be precise, after that highway robbery incident, Gan Ning and Lul Jun became sworn brothers. Lul Xun had to call Gan Ning uncle.

"Ah, Old Lul, brother, I've come to see you. Give me ten big ships first, let me arm myself." Gan Ning arrived at the Lul Family, and without looking, he walked inside while the Lul Family's steward and servants, knowing Gan Ning's identity, explained to him while directing him to the Lul Family Shipyard.

"Oh, oh, oh, Uncle Lul, long time no see." Gan Ning heard that Lul Jun was not present, and as he was about to turn and leave, he was caught by Lul Kang, feeling slightly awkward, scratched his head and bowed in respect.

"Xingba, you're back. Jir Cai is at the shipyard, once you go there you'll probably understand. Try to persuade him a bit if you can, your brother seems to have become obsessed." Lul Kang sighed as he spoke. No matter what, Lul Jun was still Lul Kang's son. A father knows his son best, and moreover, although Lul Kang was old, his mind was still agile, and he had already seen signs of Lul Jun's problem before others.

But how should we put it? On one hand, the Lul Family is just a few people now. Lul Jun had spent a lifetime being cautious, never undertaking anything big, but now as he reached middle age, he dared to cheat and swindle for warships. Even Lul Kang found it unbelievable.

Though the method is wrong, no matter what, striving for one's ideals, Lul Kang didn't think it was wrong. The approach may be a bit aggressive, but it doesn't matter. One can only say that the old Lul Family couldn't provide this much support for their son. It's not easy for a person to find something worth pursuing wholeheartedly.

Therefore, although Lul Kang felt his son was somewhat obsessed, he didn't stop him. Money is important, but if used to achieve one's dreams, to practice one's ideals, Lul Kang didn't find it inappropriate. The whole family was just a few people, it didn't matter. Let the eldest son do what makes him happy, life needs some excitement after all.

"Uh, what's happening?" Gan Ning respectfully inquired to Lul Kang, as his relationship with Lul Jun was excellent, Gan Ning showed rare respect to the old master of the Lul Family.

"Hmm, he's researching shipbuilding, and he's got a bit obsessed. You will understand once you see it. Take this, with it you can access the largest dock without obstruction, after you see it there you'll understand it all." Lul Kang pulled out a Gold Medal from his sleeve and gave it to Gan Ning.

This item represents the authority of the Lul Family Head, just like Chen Xi's Gold Medal. The difference is that in Chen Family, Chen Xi doesn't know how many people there are, so internally there's not enough to go around. But in Lul Family, there are just a few big and small fish, and the Gold Medal is basically meant for others.

"Uh, okay, pardon me, I will go see what happened to Jir Cai?" Gan Ning smoothly accepted the Lul Family's Family Head Gold Medal into his sleeve as he responded.

After all, the Gan Family had some influence in Yizhou, and Gan Ning knew what such an item was used for. But if Lul Kang dared to offer it, Gan Ning dared to accept it. If treated as one of their own, Gan Ning was willing to take this gift.

"There's nothing more, you'll understand when you see it." Lul Kang sighed as he said, "That guy Jir Cai, alas, I used to think he was merely mediocre, but now, even I must admit that 'one must go mad to live!'"

"Uh?" Gan Ning was puzzled, but as he led his trusted aide out, he heard this and thought it over, deciding not to pursue further questioning. As advised to go look, he decided to see for himself, meeting Lul Jun would reveal everything.

[Jir Cai, your father can only help you this much. Gan Ning is a loyal person, he may appear like a mindless guy, but he does not lack wisdom, plus he is extremely capable and highly regarded by Chen Zichuan. Now, while your involvement isn't deep, let Gan Ning lend you a hand, you still have a chance!] Lul Kang sighed in thought, watching Gan Ning lead his troops away.

Gan Ning wore the string of the Lul Family's Gold Medal around his finger, swinging it as he headed towards the Lul Family Shipyard. Compared to when Gan Ning left two years ago, the Lul Family Shipyard had expanded greatly, and there were significantly more ships docked in the shipyard.

Even though Gan Ning hadn't been there in two years, he was after all a regular visitor. Moreover, when this shipyard was completed back then, he was a cornerstone. Coupled with his relationship with Lul Jun, the old timers still recognized Gan Ning, so they didn't hinder him, letting him freely explore the shipyard.

"Where's the largest dock?" Gan Ning grabbed someone and asked.

"Uh, General Gan, you're back. It's in that direction, just walk inside, the Family Head is also there." The shipworker turned and realizing it was the elusive Gan Ning, hastily saluted, pointing towards the big dock.

Gan Ning patted the fellow's shoulder with satisfaction, then proceeded forward. With his years of combat experience, he could clearly feel that the further he went, the more complex and chaotic the layout became, with the explicit intention to deter intruders. Gan Ning chuckled, pondering if there could be any secrets here, Lul Jun, oh what a fellow indeed!

However, Lul Jun was doing something big but didn't dare do it openly, only using his family's internal members. To be precise, Lul Jun was using only the old members, the ones who could guarantee loyalty.

More importantly, whether it's the working craftsmen, the designing craftsmen, or the private soldiers providing security here, they are basically all household born of the Lul Family. Lul Jun, in order to ensure this group's loyalty, directly promised them that upon completing this wave of construction, besides their rewards, their contracts of servitude would be returned to them by the Lul Family, and they would be hired as free people by the Lul Family.

This assurance is incredibly intimidating. After all, even now, although Li Youu took measures to incorporate aristocratic private soldiers and servants into the household registry, in essence, these people's contracts of servitude are still in the hands of various families. After all, Chen Xi couldn't just abolish the slave system directly. Getting away with it isn't impossible, but consistently doing so would indeed be shameful.

In reality, incorporating them into the registry has greater significance for both taxation and population control.

Hence, Lul Jun's promise is highly attractive to the household born and private servants of the Lul Family.

Of course, conversely, all those stationed here are Lul Family members themselves, and they are the kind who have been with the Lul Family for more than ten years and whose loyalty can be assured. Speaking of which, even after experiencing the Lujiang Rebellion by Sunx Ce, the Lul Family ultimately managed to rescue all these people, as using them is far more reassuring than acquiring a new batch of slaves.

Naturally, all these people know Gan Ning and are aware of the relationship between Lul Jun and Gan Ning, especially as Gan Ning was twirling the Lul Clan's Gold Medal in his hand. Hence, none of the private soldiers who should have come out to stop Gan Ning turned out to obstruct him. Instead, they turned back to report this news to Lul Jun.

However, by the time they reported the news to Lul Jun, Gan Ning was already standing outside this gigantic shipyard, slowly reaching out to push open the door.

Watching the bustling work scene before him, observing the busy crowd, and looking at the gigantic metal dragon bone, Gan Ning expressed his dumbfoundedness. What on earth is happening here, who can tell me? Don't tell me this is a warship; this is no joke.

"Xingba, you're here!" Upon being notified by the servants of Gan Ning's arrival, Lul Jun knew there was no way to stop Gan Ning's steps, so he directly let it go. Gan Ning was a brother on the same ship and could be trusted.

"Jir Cai, what are you doing?" Gan Ning asked shakily. He had a suspicion but dared not voice it aloud. However, this suspicion made his whole body tremble. If this suspicion was true, then what were the warships of Kushan compared to this colossal entity, which left no room for resistance? The gap between the two was like a chasm.

"Of course, I'm building a warship." Lul Jun tidied up his design diagrams for the power system, then placed a thick stack in the middle of the table, crossed his hands, and spoke in a proud tone, "This is the warship I've designed. The word 'ship' no longer fits this level of a giant. Just one is sufficient to defeat an entire fleet!"

Gan Ning swallowed hard. He had no doubt about Lul Jun's words. The metallic-colored dragon bone evidenced what kind of material this was made of, and with a length exceeding one hundred meters, almost approaching one hundred and fifty meters to the upper estimate, Gan Ning felt that this was no joke. This ship fighting a fleet was truly not a laughing matter.

This level of ship, instead of calling it a ship, in this era, was enough to be called a maritime fortress, completely ignoring various attacks.

"Steel-made?" Gan Ning asked as he swallowed.

"Of course, according to my design, this ship is made entirely of steel." Lul Jun said proudly, "This is the highest-level treasure I designed and created. Once it successfully sets sail, all previous warships are basically toys compared to this one!"

"How much does this one roughly cost?" Gan Ning's eyelid twitched violently. Upon hearing Lul Jun say the entire structure was steel, Gan Ning felt his wallet was struggling. Although he looted the harbor city of Kabe Bay, amassing a large amount of supplies before leaving, it still seemed far from enough to build such a warship. But it didn't matter; having such a ship would make sea battles no longer a problem.

[With just the scale of this warship, no words needed; I must have it.] Gan Ning's eyes were similarly fervent. A giant ship truly was an indispensable part for the marines, so although Gan Ning was asking about the price, he had already made up his mind to purchase it.

"Fifty billion." Lul Jun said somewhat awkwardly.

"How much?" Gan Ning clutched his chest, somewhat breathless.

"Cough, cough, cough, that's just the basic material cost. We can forgo the armor and turrets if necessary." Lul Jun lightly coughed twice, Gan Ning's legs went weak, almost collapsing, and he reached to grab Lul Jun, nearly pulling him down. Fifty billion, and that's just material costs, you dare to say that!