Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 124 Talented Scholar and Famous Courtesan, Cloud-like Ghost Master (Please Subscribe and Vote)

"I'm even planning to take the Silver Good Servant and the Gold Evil Master back to that Yingzhou Island where they're living a pretty good life and use them again to bring them good fortune."

Now that this sudden attack has come out of nowhere, isn't it forcing me to make a mistake?
If I use the "Thunderbolt Strike," which is said to be a bolt from the blue, does that mean my opening line when I appear in the future will only be: "Fellow Daoist, who is undergoing tribulation here?"

Even after carefully putting away the Five Emperors' Golden Coin Sword, the strongest sword in history that could either propel him to great heights or shatter him to pieces, Wang Cheng still felt a tightness in his neck.

I've decided to play it safe for now. The promotion speed is already quite fast, so I'll try the "gratitude loan" when the speed slows down.

"Even if we want to try something in the future, we should start by experimenting with knowledge and skills."

If you have an apple and I have an apple, and we exchange them, we each still have one apple; if you have an idea and I have an idea, and we exchange them, we each have two ideas.

The approach with the fewest side effects is to lend out knowledge and skills that require a lot of time to learn and practice, and then continuously learn from the experience of others' feedback.

This way, the other party suffers almost no loss, while I gain access to the hard-earned experience of countless people, and my learning speed is practically off the charts!

Then Wang Cheng went to check the ledger on the small boat that could communicate between the "Four Seas Coins" and the "Five Mountains Coins" as usual.

As expected, just like dozens of times before, the other party never replied with their address or identity.

Wang Cheng had gotten used to it and felt no ripples in his heart.

He sat quietly at the small table, took out paper and pen, and began to write.

A month earlier, he had obtained various nautical charts and nautical data accumulated by the Pu family over many years, and later he also obtained some supplementary materials through the Shanhai Association.

Wang Cheng has already begun writing his envisioned book on the ocean and naval warfare.

The title is already decided: "On the Sea Power of Great Powers." Once it's written, it will be attributed to Wang Cheng, the heir apparent of the Prince of Jinghai.

Besides trying to obtain a copy of the "Secret Scroll of Military Strategy," he also wanted to add another layer of prestige to himself and gain countless loyal followers of the Kaihai School.

The core argument is that to become a maritime power, four things must be done:
"First, as a commodity-exporting country, you must produce enough products for export and exchange. You can't become a strong country if you go across the ocean to do import trade."

Second, it is necessary to possess transport vessels as a means of maritime transportation;

Third, it is essential to possess colonies and maritime bases that can protect overseas trade and generate huge profits, thus building one's own maritime Great Wall.
Fourth, it is essential to possess a strong navy to protect overseas territories and their shipping lanes connecting them to domestic bases.

It was precisely based on this guiding theory that Wang Cheng never considered joining the political struggles of the Great Zhao court.

They decided to start with the surrounding island nations and major shipping routes, aiming to capture the maritime trade revenue that accounted for more than 20% of fiscal revenue during the Song and Yunmeng periods.

If one can profit from both the buyer's and the seller's sides, there's probably more to it than that.

Build high walls, store up plenty of grain, and delay declaring yourself king!
In his previous life, Wang Cheng worked in ocean freight forwarding. He was a graduate of a maritime college with a related major and had read a series of existing books.

With improved sexual function, memory gets better and better, and writing becomes effortless.

It is expected that the first draft can be completed in one or two months at most, and then translated into multiple languages ​​through the Shan Hai Hui channel, and published and distributed.

This is similar to the idea that "the whole family should be together."

If a groundbreaking invention has just appeared and has not yet had a chance to impact the world or receive positive feedback from the public, it is immediately sealed away.

Then it's very likely that it won't even be able to become the lowest-level talisman.

If no one reads the military treatise and there's no feedback, Wang Cheng can forget about obtaining the "Secret Scroll of Military Strategy".

Conversely, the wider the dissemination and the higher the level of recognition, the greater the benefits he will receive.

I had just finished writing an article and stretched when a piercing alarm bell suddenly rang in my ears.

clang!clang!clang!
Wang Cheng quickly snapped out of his reverie and rushed out of his cabin, creating a gust of wind.

At the same time, the cabin of Luo Wenlong, who was not far away, also opened.

A dashing and talented man dressed in silk robes emerged from the cabin, accompanied by four stunningly beautiful women, each dressed differently but with identical appearances.

Each of the women held several scrolls in her hands.

Luo Wenlong waved a beautiful folding fan, his demeanor calm and composed, displaying the bearing of a great general.

These people were just members of the delegation, not the captains or guards. Even if they encountered danger, they would naturally be protected by soldiers sent by General Yu, the commander-in-chief of Minzhou who was in charge of defending against Japanese pirates.

"Lord Luo."

Wang Cheng clasped his hands in greeting.

"Commander Wang, it's better to meet by chance than to invite someone. Why don't you come up to the ship with me and see what dangers may be lurking at sea?"

Luo Wenlong returned the greeting, his smile much more sincere than that of the previous deputy envoy, Jiang Zimin.

Wang Fugui had a grudge against Wang Bengu of the Qingliu faction, so he was naturally on the same side as Wang Fugui and Governor Hu Ruzhen, and their words were naturally close.

"I would be honored to accept your invitation, Lord Luo, please!"

Wang Cheng had no objection and followed the other person toward the top deck of the ship.

His gaze unconsciously lingered on him and the four beauties. To be honest, although Wang Cheng had never met this envoy before, the Wang family had some connection with him.

Luo Wenlong's life story is quite legendary. He was born in Huizhou, in the north.

There's a local saying: "If you didn't do good deeds in your past life, you'll be born in Huizhou. At thirteen or fourteen, you're thrown out into the world. Three years of hard work, then you'll rise to the top. If you're successful, you're a king; if you're down on your luck, you're a dog."

The Luo family not only passed down their skills in poetry, calligraphy, and painting, but were also renowned ink makers in Huizhou.

He was skilled at using tung oil soot to make superior ink, which was praised as: "As hard as stone, as textured as rhinoceros horn, as black as lacquer, and worth ten thousand coins per piece." People at the time were willing to pay a high price to buy Luo ink, and the Luo family made a fortune.

Later, he entered the capital and became a staff member of the young Grand Secretary, the son of Grand Secretary Yan, and served as a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat.

I am also a fifth-rank official [painter], and the talismans and protective charms I have inherited come from the mythical "Ma Liang with his magic brush," making me far more skilled than ordinary painters.

It is said that: "The wealthy need not buy fertile fields, for there are plenty of grains in paintings; the peaceful need not build grand mansions, for there are houses of gold in paintings; when going out, there is no need to lament the lack of attendants, for there are horses in abundance in paintings; when seeking a wife, there is no need to lament the lack of a good matchmaker, for there are beauties like jade in paintings."

What is just a description to others is real to him!

At this moment, the four identical beauties accompanying the other party are not real people, but a group of beauties from a painting.

The four women, some charming, some cute, some aloof, and some gentle, all had a line of small words written on the hem of their skirts: "My beloved wife, Wang Cuiqiao."

The connection between the Wang family and him stemmed from his beloved wife, Wang Cuiqiao.

Recalling the rumors he had heard, Wang Cheng looked at Luo Wenlong with a hint of pity in his eyes:
This is yet another sad story.

In short, Wang Cuiqiao was originally a famous courtesan in Qinhuai. She was first married off by the madam to an old and ugly wealthy merchant. Unable to bear the humiliation, she ran away midway and met Luo Wenlong, who was from a wealthy family, and then she married him.

The couple lived in harmony, but unexpectedly, their temporary residence in Wuzhou was attacked by Xu Hai, the "Great General Who Pacifies the Seas," and a large number of Japanese pirates.

Luo Wenlong escaped unscathed, but his stunningly beautiful wife, Wang Cuiqiao, was captured by Xu Hai.

She was forced to marry for the third time, becoming the wife of the leader of the pirate faction, a high-ranking "living ghost god," and became well-known to many maritime forces.

Then, as everyone knows, happened. Last year, Wufengqi, together with General Yu's navy, launched a joint attack, and Prince Jinghai personally killed Xu Hai on the East China Sea.

Strictly speaking, the Wang family who collected water were actually benefactors who avenged Luo Wenlong for the theft of his wife.

"However, after the great battle, the famous courtesan Wang Cuiqiao disappeared without a trace. Even I don't know where she went."

Wang Cheng easily saw through Luo Wenlong's obsession.

This man took a huge risk and volunteered to recruit the big ship captains of Wufengqi and the Maritime Merchant Alliance.

Besides achieving great deeds, a significant part of the reason was to personally search for his wife who had gone missing during the war.

That's quite devoted.

In fact, Wang Cheng really wanted to ask him a question: When his patron, the Junior Grand Secretary, saw him in such a lovestruck state, did he say anything to him?
"You've brought home a courtesan that a businessman has already discarded, treating her like a treasure. You've disgraced your Luo family ancestors for eighteen generations!"

But after thinking about it, I felt it was impolite, so I didn't ask.

Soon the two reached the top deck of the ship and saw the scene several miles ahead of the fleet.

The usually composed Luo Wenlong could no longer maintain his composure:

"Hiss! What are all these things?"

A thick fog blanketed the Tsushima Strait ahead, with blood-stained, wrecked warships speeding through it, and a biting chill permeated the entire sea.

How many are there exactly?
When Xiahou Dun looked at Louis XVI, it seemed as far as the eye could see!
at the same time.

The evil spirit, the Crown Prince on behalf of Heaven, and Huang Yuanzhou, who already knew his identity and had passed the test, set off ahead aboard the sailing warship, the Conch.

In another direction, dozens of miles away from the mission, they encountered the same massive ghost ship fleet.

Luo Wenlong, who had lived on land for a long time, did not recognize what it was, but Wang Cheng and Huang Yuanzhou knew it very well.

"Yunmeng Ghost Master: When the Yunmeng Empire was first established, it once sent a fleet to conquer the Japanese in Yingzhou, but unfortunately encountered a storm and all of them perished at sea. Of the 100,000 people who went on the expedition, only three returned in the end."

From then on, the Tsushima Strait between Buyeo and Yeongju was shrouded in darkness day and night, filled with the wailing of ghosts and the occasional sight of massive ghost ships patrolling the sea.

Any ship that mistakenly enters that area and encounters them will be dragged to the bottom of the sea, dead and with its crew, forcibly pulled away.

Back when his father had just established the Donghai Kingdom in the southern part of Yingzhou, he had seen Wang Cheng from afar once when he took him to visit the new kingdom.

Under normal circumstances, as long as you don't accidentally stumble into their old battlefield, there shouldn't be any major problems. After a while, those ghost ships will disappear on their own like a mirage.

However, the situation is clearly different today.

They discovered that someone was engaged in a fierce battle with the ghost ship fleet of the Yunmeng Empire. The sound of cannons, completely different from that in Shenzhou, kept booming, and the battle cries in Yunmeng language tore through the sky.

Whoosh-!
Wang Cheng leaped towards the top of the mast and gazed into the distance.

Surrounded by the fleet, the ship was none other than the flagship of the global fleet – the Trinidad!
(End of this chapter)