Chapter Fifty-Three: Wanting a Vacation

  Not long after, James emerged from the woods with his mercenaries, one of whom was being supported by a comrade, with fresh blood flowing down his left leg and staining his entire camouflage pants red. Another mercenary was carried out, and judging from the location of the bleeding, it seemed that he had been shot through the lungs. It looked like they had already received some basic treatment. James's face was ashen with rage at his team members being injured.

  "Go back first, it's more important to treat their injuries. Each injured person will receive $3 million in medical expenses." Gao Yang's words made the mercenaries' eyes light up, and even the groans of the wounded men became softer.

  The convoy arrived at the intersection, and James cautiously brought all the mercenaries stationed at the crossing to escort Gaoyang back to the town villa.

  After returning to the villa, the wounded were sent for treatment. Gao Yang walked into the living room, took out a bottle of whiskey from the wine cabinet, poured a glass and handed it to James behind him, then poured another glass for himself. He walked slowly to the window and said, "You guys have had a hard day today."

  "This is our job, boss." James said with a somewhat depressed tone as he picked up several ice cubes from the ice bucket and put them into his glass.

  "What's wrong? What's going on? Speak up." Gao Yang sensed that James' emotions were not high and asked aloud.

  James hesitated for a moment and said "I checked those killers, two of them are women."

  "Oh." Gao Yang nodded noncommittally, James was indeed a gentleman. Gao Yang leaned against the window, gazing at the sun hanging in the sky, lavishly splashing its passion, the sky had no clouds or wind, and the heat waves on the ground were so intense that even the air seemed to be solidified.

  "Damn this weather," Gao Yang muttered, taking a sip of his whiskey. James stood behind him, silently sipping his own drink. Gao Yang finished his glass and turned to the study, pulling out an A4 sheet of paper and placing it on the desk. After a moment's thought, he picked up a pen and began writing down the names of the company executives who had initiated this assassination mission.

  After finishing writing, Gao Yang let out a soft sigh, picked up the list and looked at the names on it, saying in a low voice "If you don't seek death, you won't die. You guys just don't understand."

  Put on a cold face, pick up the list and come to the living room to hand it over to James: "Go find these people and tell them to get out of the mine area within 1 hour! Never appear in front of me again! If you don't want to leave, then don't leave."

  "Yes, boss." James saluted Gao Yang with a serious face. Just now, Chirkov had already reported to him that Gao Yang had taken out the sniper, and when he was inspecting the battlefield earlier, he found it strange that the sniper was killed in such an unusual way! It turned out that it was actually the boss who did it! For these mercenaries, you can make them work for you and die for you with money, but when you have the strength they need to look up to, you will win their respect!

  After James left, Gao Yang rubbed his stomach and ordered the chef who was hired from France at a high salary to prepare dinner. The working lunch eaten in the mining area at noon really made Gao Yang feel uncomfortable.

  After getting rich, Gao Yang decided that he would never compromise himself again. He took out a bottle of whiskey from the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass. After taking a sip of the whiskey, Gao Yang murmured to himself in a voice that only he could hear, "Making money is important, but you have to be alive to spend it! I hope you guys make the right choice!"

  An hour later, Gao Yang sat at the dinner table enjoying a delicious Rossini foie gras steak, served in a ceramic plate that was brought up, just looking at it made one's appetite open.

  The first layer is a delicate and rich foie gras, smooth and thick, with a fluffy texture that melts in your mouth as soon as you take a bite. In the middle is roasted apple, soft and silky, with a subtle fruit aroma, sweet and refreshing. The bottom layer is pan-seared beef, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, juicy and flavorful, paired with a rich mushroom sauce that's truly delicious.

  Gao Yang was very satisfied with the chef's culinary skills, and it was worth hiring him at a high salary to cook. After finishing the steak and drinking a small bowl of delicious vegetable soup, Gao Yang felt that his depressed mood had improved a lot.

  After dinner, Gao Yang returned to the living room, lit a cigarette and leaned quietly on the sofa, gently rubbing his eyebrows and muttering to himself "I should give myself a holiday, what's the point of being so busy? This isn't the life I want." During this period, he had been constantly shuttling back and forth between two time and space, dealing with all sorts of things, Gao Yang felt very tired.

  "Not long after, James walked in. 'Boss, I've looked for everyone on the list. However, they all refused your request.' James said in a low voice."

  Gao Yang took a deep breath and exhaled a ring of smoke, his face expressionless as he said in a low voice, "Since you've chosen this path, I have no other choice either." He slightly raised his head to look at James and said softly, "Take your people to the villa and guard it well. No matter what happens outside, don't be curious, got it?"

  "Yes, boss." James replied with a tense face.

  When the sky outside had completely darkened, Gao Yang stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with a glass of wine in hand. The moonlight passed through the glass and shone into the room, casting a faint color on the floor. Gao Yang was completely immersed in the moonlight, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, lost in thought.

  A moment later, Gao Yang tilted his head and drank the whiskey in the cup, saying in a low voice, "Go." The governor, dressed in black, standing behind him, flashed red light in his eyes, turned around expressionlessly and left. Yuan Dian had already instilled the target task into the governor's mind.

  Looking at the governor in black, still wearing sunglasses at night, he walked into the town with big strides. Gao Yang let out a faint sigh. "What are you hesitating about?" Yuandian's voice sounded.

  Before I met you, I was just a simple person living a simple life. Every day after work, I would accompany my girlfriend and spend some time with my parents during holidays. Life was very plain but also very simple. At most, I would just engage in online arguments with people. But now, haha, it's either kill or be killed! I feel a bit lost, unsure of what I'm pursuing.

  "I don't understand human emotions, all I know is that if you don't kill them, they will kill you! If you die, your family, your loved ones, your story, everything will end. Your fate has already been sealed and can no longer be calm!" The original point's voice was laced with a hint of coldness.

  "Hehe, I've been feeling a bit sentimental lately. Alright, let's not talk about that now. Let's go back to 1925 instead. I need a break and I want to wrap up everything before the holiday." Gaoyang heard Yuandian's words and was slightly taken aback, then smiled lightly and said.

  In the Nanjing Xunyue Shi official residence, Gao Yang sat in his study quickly flipping through the recent reports that had been sent over. Gao Yang wanted to reduce as much work as possible before the holiday so he could rest well during his vacation and just show up occasionally. There were also some matters that required his signature and seal.

  Gaoyang quickly browsed through various matters and made comments in the study. This month's military salary payment report, the teaching progress of the Army Officer Academy, this month's production report of Jinling Arsenal, the acceptance report of Nanjing Waterworks, etc.

  "Alas." Gao Yang sighed lightly and shook his head in dismay after reading a report sent by the Navy's Yangtze River Fleet.

  Since the end of the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War, the Nationalist Navy's Yangtze River Fleet has been relying on Gao Yang. In the Yangtze River Fleet, Gao Yang's orders are more effective than those from the Ministry of the Navy in Beijing, for no other reason than that Gao Yang has money!

  At this time, the Chinese Navy was divided into three major parts. The Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Cheng Bianguang, and the commander of the 1st Fleet, Lin Baoyi, led nearly 20 ships to defect to the Guangzhou Revolutionary Government in the south. In the north, Zhang Da appointed Shen Honglie as the commander of the Northeastern Coastal Defense Fleet after beginning to annex the Beiyang government's Bohai Fleet left behind by the Zhili clique. The third was the Yangtze River Fleet led by Du Xigui, which had been stationed in Nanjing since the Jiangsu-Zhejiang War.

  For the poor and destitute navy, in the whole of China, only the wealthy Gaoyang can afford to maintain a navy, and only Gaoyang has the money to buy warships! Heaven have mercy, since the Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese Navy has not purchased any large ships for decades!

  Especially after the SC trade's great success, Du Xigui would often visit Gao Yang. At first, Gao Yang received him a few times, but this naval big shot would start crying as soon as he saw Gao Yang, hoping that Gao Yang could take pity on the navy and let some oil and water leak from his fingers to help the navy acquire a few more large vessels! The entire naval force would be eternally grateful.

  Gao Yang had no good impression of the extremely xenophobic Min school navy, and throughout the history of the Republic of China, the Min school navy was a wall grass that followed whoever gave them benefits. Zhang Da Commander himself established the Northeast Coastal Defense Fleet, and later Chiang Kai-shek also built his own Thunderbolt System with the intention of replacing the Min school navy.

  Not to mention that Gaoyang currently doesn't even have a complete port, let alone buying warships. Even if Gaoyang occupies the Magic Capital in the future, it will still need to rebuild its navy. The Jiangnan Waterborne School in Nanjing is the cradle of the future Chinese Navy in Gaoyang's mind.

  The navy must be the national navy, not the Minnanese navy! Before that, Gao Yang's attitude towards the Yangtze River Fleet was to raise them. Anyway, Gao Yang had money to provide full military pay and daily training maintenance costs for the Yangtze River Fleet, let alone buying ships.

  When Du Xigui came again, Gao Yang was nowhere to be found. Unexpectedly, he directly submitted a purchase application report this time, with over 10,000 words of detailed descriptions. First, it lamented the consequences of having no naval defense for centuries. Then, it described how dire the current state of the navy is, saying that all the ships are small, old and outdated, and that other countries' navies have developed rapidly while China has fallen behind by many years. It was so pitiful that one could cry upon hearing it. Finally, it asked Gao Yang to generously provide funds for national naval defense, adding bricks and tiles to the cause. In short, the entire article can be summarized in two words: "Buy ships."

  This application report is so well-written that it's definitely not something Du Xigui could have written himself. It seems like he spent a lot of money to hire someone to write it for him. Gao Yang shook his head in dismay, not because he didn't want to buy it or lacked the money, but because he hadn't even bought a port yet, so where would he put it?