Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 839 Tears
Guo Xiong ordered his men to throw out the ropes with hooks attached. A row of hooks were thrown out, and several of them hooked the other boat. The boatmen worked together to pull the boat closer.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Guo Xiong led his men onto the ship and began hacking and slashing with his sharp weapons.

As more and more people died, some began to kneel and beg for mercy from Guo Xiong and his men, but Guo Xiong ignored them and killed them with a single blow.

During his time in Fujian, he heard people talk about the evil deeds of his employers. Once you encountered these beasts at sea, it was almost certain death. The cargo on the ship would fall into their hands, and the people on board would either be kidnapped or killed and their bodies thrown into the sea. In one village, more than a dozen men died at the hands of his employers.

The remaining elderly, children, women, and kids were left destitute and helpless.

Guo Xiong and Guo Chuan had similar experiences and understood the pain of these people best. Therefore, when they killed, it was as if they were taking revenge for themselves.

"When you killed them, didn't they beg for mercy? Did you let them go?"

There is only one way to stop these beasts from doing evil: kill them.

Guo Xiong's face was covered in blood, like a demon crawling out of hell, which frightened the people on the ship into retreating step by step. They quickly cleaned up the people on the deck.

The sailors on board were either killed or jumped overboard, rendering the ship useless.

Guo Xiong's original boat was badly damaged, so he simply switched to another boat and continued his journey.

Guo Xiong wasn't the only one doing this; Guo Chuan and the others, along with their ships, were also doing the same thing. The Fifth Manager's fleet immediately fell into a disadvantageous position. If this entanglement continued, even though the Fifth Manager had more ships, they were no match for him.

"Fifth Manager, what should we do? Should we retreat? We have more ships, but we don't have firearms, and we are far outnumbered by them."

Given the circumstances, the Fifth Manager was clearly unwilling to accept it.

His eyes gleamed as he said, "Send someone to deliver a message first. Go to the naval camp and see what's going on. Whatever the situation on our side, we must send back accurate information to our boss."

The Seventh Manager had been patrolling the sea with his ship to gather information as soon as possible. Now the patrol ship had been burned, and the Seventh Manager, who was tied to the mast, had perished in the flames. Now, this heavy responsibility had fallen on his shoulders.

Furthermore, even with his lips pursed, the fifth manager wasn't necessarily going to lose.

The fifth manager looked into the distance, where his men had just lit arrows and fired them into the ships that were besieging them. Most of the merchant ships were prepared and had not allowed the fire to spread, but the firearms on one ship were set on fire. He watched as the firearms exploded on the deck, and the ship was in chaos.

Any flesh and blood will feel fear. Carrying so many firearms can burn others, but it can also burn them themselves.

The fifth shopkeeper shouted, "Keep shooting arrows, quick!" If they had a few more chances like this, they might be able to turn the tide.

Guo Chuan's boat was on fire. His men were trying to put out the fire, but when they threw their firearms, some black oil leaked out, and the rockets landed on the oil, igniting it. The boatman who threw the firearm panicked and tried to put out the fire, forgetting that he was still holding the firearm. And so... the firearm fell at the boatman's feet.

With a deafening roar, the boatman lost his life, and the fire and disaster ensued on the ship.

"Don't panic."

Hearing the screams, Guo Chuan tried his best to stabilize the situation.

But at that moment, the ship shook violently, and more firearms exploded on board.

Guo Chuan lost his footing and fell onto the boat. Arrows were fired again from the opposite side, clearly intending to press their advantage and use this opportunity to completely turn the tide of the battle.

Guo Chuan took a deep breath and slowly looked around. The closest ship to them was their own. They couldn't let the fire continue to burn, or the firearms on the ship would explode, endangering them.

"Make way."

"Step aside."

Guo Chuan shouted that since the fire was already burning, they should just ram it, just like the two boats owned by Manager Qi.

The ship's catapults were destroyed, and their firearms could no longer be launched. All they could do was try to throw the firearms into the sea before they caught fire.

The ship slowly turned to chase the enemy ship. Guo Chuan wished he could find the Fifth Manager and rush over, but with dozens of ships fighting in a chaotic mess, it was difficult to even catch up with any enemy ship, let alone find the Fifth Manager.

As the fire grew larger, some people began to feel afraid.

"forward."

"forward."

Guo Chuan stood on the boat and shouted, the thick smoke making him cough, but he continued to shout.

"Row."

"Paddle, quick!"

Gradually, people on the ship echoed the sound.

They were different from the two ships of Manager Qi. Since Manager Qi's two ships were used as attack boats, they were only equipped with assassins to coerce the original boatmen to row. Therefore, there were not many people of their own on board.

Now, everyone on this boat is one of our own, and they are old buddies we brought from the Bian River.

That's why, even though some people were afraid, no one ran away at that moment.

As the ship drew closer and closer, the fifth shopkeeper heard deafening shouts.

"rush!"

"rush!"

"Come on!"

However, in the midst of the fire, the sails were burned, the masts were set on fire, the ship had lost power, and thick smoke filled the oarsroom, choking the crew so they could not exert any force. It was already remarkable that the ship did not spin in place, so how could it accurately attack the enemy ship?

It seemed like they were about to lose this opportunity.

Guo Chuan felt the boat shake again, and saw that his other boat was braced against the sternpost, helping them move forward.

Guo Chuan's eyes were bloodshot, and he shouted hoarsely, "Charge! Charge one more time!"

"rush!"

With a deafening roar, all the boatmen worked together, using their last bit of strength, and the burning ship moved forward once more. The fifth manager watched this scene in astonishment, seeing the boatmen rolling around on the burning ship, and then getting up again to throw firearms.

To this day, not a single person has managed to escape from the slurry tank. Are these people truly unafraid of death? If they don't jump into the sea now, they might be burned alive.

The fifth manager was completely stunned. His eyes were fixed on the swaying boat as it rushed towards them and finally crashed into their fleet.

Guo Chuan personally threw out the grappling hook. The people on the opposite boat clearly knew what they were going to do and rushed forward to stop them. Several ropes on the grappling hook were cut, but the grappling hook was swung over again.

Perhaps frightened by the "fire ship," the pirates also lost their strength and were helpless in the face of the situation.

"Boom."

The sound of ships colliding rang out, and the pirates raised by the landlord felt a chill in their hearts. Then, their hair stood on end. They saw figures appear in the billowing smoke. Several people leaped from the burning ship. Their bodies were on fire, emitting smoke and flames, but they seemed to feel no pain. They were holding several pottery jars in their arms, and their faces were full of ferocious smiles, like Yama, the devil who had come to take their lives.

"Run."

Someone shouted, but there was more silent fear.

"Boom!" The fire pot exploded on the enemy ship.

……

Xie Yuyan stood on the boat and saw this scene. She clenched her hands tightly, and her vision blurred.

She knew someone would die.

When war breaks out, human life is as worthless as grass.

This is normal. She should have remained calm, not caring about the details, and focusing on the big picture. As long as she could win, everything would be worthwhile.

She had seen far worse, and was no longer the kind of person who could be easily moved.

But now she feels tormented.

Xie Yuyan didn't consider himself a good person. Anyone who could grow up smoothly in a place like the Xie family and receive benefits must not be a kind soul.

At the age of four, she could trick Wang Yan into going into the mountains to scout ahead with a smile. At the age of ten, she let her wet nurse be beaten to death and took the opportunity to replace her with a nanny who was loyal to her. At the age of twelve, she watched her cousin drown in the lake. If her cousin had not been seen by a servant, she would have drowned on the spot.

She never lets those who harm her get away with it.

She knew how to survive, and she hated those who made her realize how difficult it was to live.

Gradually, she saw through everything. She was able to leave the Xie family, successfully climb to the position of Empress, be deposed twice, and still make a comeback to become Empress Dowager again. This was all because she grew up in the shadows, knew how to weigh the pros and cons, and could find the path to the top even with her eyes closed.

Even though the actions she took in her previous life that were beneficial to the Liang Dynasty and its people were simply because the emperor was incompetent, she had to oppose him in order to gain more support from the court and the public.

This support was the key to her survival.

Her saintly virtues, her facade, are all fake.

Because to her, this world was full of lies.

After her rebirth, she came to the Yang family and witnessed the true love between Yang Qin and Zhang Shi, which moved her. However, she was more rational in repaying their kindness, and her actions against Xie Yizhi and others were driven by hatred.

Sincerity is something she shouldn't have.

Anyone who acts on emotion and impulse after witnessing so much filth and scheming is a fool.

You will be ridiculed, exploited, and trampled underfoot; you will despise and loathe yourself.

Therefore, she does not depend on Wang Yan, is unwilling to get too close to him, and will not give him her whole heart.

until……

She knew the whole truth.

She then realized that she was wrong.

In her past life, she survived not because of means or hatred, but because of someone's genuine kindness.

The path she walked was not full of darkness, but a bright road paved by one person with their heart.

In her past life, she didn't understand Wang Yan, but Wang Yan understood her.

If he hadn't gone to find the way, she might not have been able to walk back from the time rift at the age of four.

When she met him again, she had forgotten the past, but he, who remembered everything clearly, couldn't help but want to understand what kind of person she really was.

How could someone in such a high position, who had served as prime minister for so many years, not see through the fake smile of a teenage girl?
Her nature was hard to change, and he didn't have time to teach or instruct her, so he could only use her pursuit of profit and survival instincts to orchestrate everything.

As long as she needs the Wang family, she must follow the path he has prepared for her.

As long as she wants to profit from the Wang family, she has to act out the script he wrote.

What he wanted was for her to be able to be guided onto the right path even with her eyes closed.

Discuss the deeds but not the heart.

Her heart was riddled with holes and rotten to the core, but the many great things she had done could be examined in the sunlight.

This is Wang Yan.

Even after his death, he continued to protect her for the rest of his life.

She has truly let go.

She no longer felt ashamed of expressing her true feelings, no longer felt that being moved was a sign of weakness, and no longer felt that being driven by emotions was a disaster. She was already living and breathing in love, so why should she be afraid of these things?
Therefore, she can now clearly feel the pain in her heart and shed sorrowful tears.

(End of this chapter)