Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 132 A Forest of Hills, The Victorious Alliance (Please Subscribe and Vote)

Wang Cheng followed Uncle Dong Qi to a corner of the main hall, silently observing everyone along the way.

Great people have said that there are all sorts of strange and wonderful things without any particular faction.

Before the establishment of the Donghai Kingdom, the Five Peaks Banner was just a loose alliance of maritime merchants, and there were naturally many factions in the area.

There are core direct descendants of the Tanka people represented by Huang Yuanzhou, Uncle Dong Qi, and Uncle Zhang San; and the Qingfeng Banner Guardian Spirit Generals represented by Lord Longwei, who are now in a semi-disbanded state.
The Black Peak Banner, under the command of Mao Haifeng, known as the Black Kirin, has rapidly expanded its scale by recruiting outsiders and is now considered the largest mountain stronghold.
These three parties were once the core members of Wufeng Banner, but now they have parted ways, and the remaining two parties are not to be underestimated.

The fourth party consists of maritime merchants from various countries who are under the protection of the Five Peaks Flag. They have extensive connections in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and can move freely at sea with the Five Peaks Flag in hand.

If you think that merchants at sea are all sheep, you are sorely mistaken. They have another name: "armed maritime merchant groups".

The representative figure is Xu Weixue, the "Peddler Who Earns a Fortune".

The fifth party refers to the peripheral gray forces that have been continuously incorporated over the years.

There were reformed "pirates," Japanese samurai who were half merchants and half thieves, Westerners who couldn't make a living in their homeland, black gloves with complicated backgrounds, and wanted criminals who had committed crimes in Dazhao.
Many of these people nominally respect Prince Jinghai as their leader, but they do not actually have any real authority over him.

The representative figure is Peng Laosheng, the "knife-selling man".

The steward of Dazhao and his men, whom Master mentioned were being chased by Senior Sister Shen Yueye, naturally belonged to this faction.

Of course, the five major mountain strongholds are further divided into countless smaller ones, each containing elements of the others.

The twenty-four generals and thirty-six fierce generals, who were high-ranking officials, were scattered among them. Even within their own factions, most of the leaders could not have absolute authority.

To put it bluntly, although the Donghai Kingdom has been established, it has not yet formed a real kingdom management system and is still just a makeshift organization.

It needs to be re-established as a nation to be reborn from the ashes.

And this doesn't even include the East China Sea and the northern part of the South China Sea, where many more large ships and maritime powers, not subject to the Five Peaks Flag, are rushing towards Yingzhou in pursuit of the elixir of immortality and the investiture of the sovereign.

The current Donghai Kingdom is a constantly expanding vortex, and it's unknown how many lives it will take.

Wang Cheng now had a clear idea of ​​what was going on:

"My [Listening to Thunder] and [Rare Goods for Hoarding] skills clearly show that there is a power vacuum in the upper echelons of Wufeng Banner. Apart from Mao Haifeng, all factions actually want a share of the pie."

Many people even considered taking a big bite out of the Wufengqi before disbanding on the spot.

Mao Haifeng wanted to rise to power and seize the most lucrative positions in Wufeng Banner: the naval fleet, the routes under his control, the Wufeng Banner's military forces, and the other forces in Pinghu Port.

No wonder he wanted to attack the Great Zhao, using someone else to do his dirty work.

"I must also admit that without a single living deity of the third rank in the Five Peaks Banner, the collapse of the past ruling order is a foregone conclusion."

The only difference is that, as arranged by the Great Zhao court, some people joined the court while others went their separate ways.

Or perhaps it was a fierce internal and external conflict that directly ushered in the great pirate era of the East China Sea.

Now it depends on whether I can defeat that ingrate, how much strength I can preserve, and how I can continue to uphold the Five Peaks Banner.

The first step now is to prioritize securing control over the truly loyal Tanka people and to win over the monsters scattered throughout the coastal areas of Yingzhou.

"Grandpa Longwei! Uncle Zhang! Aunt Shui!"

In a small circle enclosed by a screen in a corner of the main hall.

The shrewd and resourceful "Mirage General" Huang Yuanzhou was also in charge of serving tea and water here, and even the clam maiden Shui Rou came out of her clam shell and followed him ashore.

When Wang Cheng came in, Zhang San, who had a square face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes and looked very reliable, was fiddling with a plate of fish that had just been served.

He squinted as he adjusted the position until the fish's head was perfectly facing east, then nodded in satisfaction.

Wang Cheng remembered that he was from Dengzhou, and was a fellow townsman of the famous Qi Hu.

His official rank was fifth grade, [Kitchen], and he was very skilled at making dishes like braised pork intestines and sea cucumber with scallions.

"You're here? Please have a seat."

Zhang San gestured for Wang Cheng to sit down, and without beating around the bush, went straight to the point:
"You returned too hastily today; most people are not in Pinghu Port."

The seven original vassal states in the East China Sea all need manpower to be stationed there, and they are basically all our people. Your uncles and elders have been holding onto this foundation for you.

Cheng-ge, now we want to hear what your plans are?
"Are you going to fight for this family fortune, or not?" The storyteller, Dong Piao, made a hand gesture to ensure their words wouldn't be known to anyone, and since lip reading couldn't detect it, he chimed in:
"Uncle Seven will tell you the truth."

We, the middle-ranking officials, have made great progress in our spiritual cultivation, enabling us to nourish ourselves with qi and mist, achieve harmony between heaven and man, and possess combat power far exceeding that of the lower-ranking officials.

They can also burn incense, open altars, and engage in magical battles from afar, summoning officials and soldiers to serve, and personally cultivate their own temple army of ghost soldiers by borrowing the power of ghosts and gods.

In wartime, leading troops in a charge, ten battles and ten decisive victories, few people would be foolish enough to fight alone at sea.

So, don't think that just because your Uncle Zhang and I have only reached the fifth rank after a lifetime of cultivation, when it comes to a real fight, who among those below the third rank dares to say they can definitely overpower us?
Including that one.

He gestured with his chin in the direction of Mao Haifeng, paused for a moment, and then continued:
"Why is the old ship owner the strongest? Isn't it because he has more soldiers and more guardian spirit generals? He always wins when there are more of them than others when fighting?"
Once at sea, this [Gathering Beasts and Taming Birds] technique becomes a top-tier battlefield skill.

The path to immortality emphasizes longevity and freedom;

The divine way is to protect the country and bless the people, upholding loyalty, filial piety, and chastity.

In other words, the path of immortality emphasizes the individual, while the path of the gods emphasizes the collective!

No matter how strong an individual is, they can still die if surrounded and attacked.

Although the Tanka people's direct followers did not have a fourth-rank official like Mao Haifeng, they controlled most of the temple army's ghost soldiers [the Five Peaks Selection].

That ingrate will have to be careful not to harm anyone, no matter what he wants to do.

This was a thorn in his side, the first faction he wanted to eliminate and subdue with the help of the government's navy, but it was also Wang Cheng's greatest asset in his rise to power.

The louse spirit, Dragon Tail, who was sitting cross-legged on the table beside him, continued:

"Young Master, the magic contract of the Azure Peak Flag has been broken, and all the monster brothers and sisters have now parted ways."

But having lived on these nine islands for so long, it is still their duty to protect Pinghu Port and the East Sea Kingdom.

With a second-rank sea god believer as a deterrent, and the Qingfeng Banner brothers all residing here, protecting the existing territory of the East Sea Kingdom from the chaos of the Sixty-Six Kingdoms should not be a problem.

But any more than that would be beyond our capabilities.

This old servant knows that your return is not solely for the purpose of finding a few beautiful Japanese women. Please give me your orders, and this old servant will prepare accordingly.

These people were the old father's true inner circle, qualified to burn incense and submit petitions to directly invoke divine intervention, and clearly knew much more than others.

But seizing power isn't a dinner party; it can really kill people.

They're not blind; how could they not notice the recent changes under Mao Haifeng's Black Peak Banner? Their intentions are obvious to everyone.

However, it is impossible to determine whether his desire to become the heir apparent arose before or after the Prince of Jinghai's death, and it is also impossible to find evidence.

Wang Cheng noticed that everyone's eyes were on him. Apart from Huang Yuanzhou and Shui Rou, who had already been convinced by the changes in Yuegang, everyone else's eyes held a hint of scrutiny.

They knew this was a test before they risked their lives and fortunes.

Wang Cheng's expression also became serious.

Although he had never seized power himself, he had read a guide to seizing power called "The Dictator's Handbook," as well as numerous practical examples far beyond the reach of his time:

"In an organization, to seize power, you often don't need the approval of the majority; you just need to take down the key figures."

Then, with a serious expression, he said to everyone:
"As you all know, I'm in a difficult situation. It's no longer a question of whether or not to fight, but whether or not I can survive if I don't fight."

In fact, I already had a plan.

Hold up three fingers:

"Don't be fooled by the fact that there are many factions in Wufeng Banner now. When it comes to the issue of succession, there are only three types of people in Wufeng Banner."

One type is the 'nominal choice group' that appears to have great momentum and whose support guarantees victory, but is actually completely useless;
One type is the 'actual choice group' that can truly determine who will take the throne and requires paying a price to win them over;
Finally, there's the core team of each competitor—the 'winning alliance'.

And my uncles and elders, you are my winning alliance!

Upon hearing this, Zhang San and Dong Piao became interested, and even subconsciously sat up straight:
"Appreciate further details!"

(End of this chapter)