Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 176 Wang Cheng: The Donghai Kingdom may perish, but the world must not perish!

In an instant, nearly two thousand eyes from the three fleets all fell on "Wang Fugui," who was on par with the second-generation Prince Jinghai.

Especially among Lin Daoqian's men, they were all whispering among themselves:
"I've heard that this ghost's signature skills are the 'Overseas Star-Traversing Technique' and the 'Thirty-Six Paths of the Thunder God's Cloak and Mace.' Who do you think would be stronger against this clay bodhisattva?"

"Hey, if you ask me, our Captain and Miss Lin are quite shrewd."

Knowing that both of these skills were known for their domineering nature, he chose the wooden boat and the clay Buddha. If he didn't use his skills, all would be well; but once he did, the entire boat would either be reduced to wood chips or yellow mud.

In the end, the East Sea Dragon Palace gave us face, and we managed to keep our territory.

The others found this very reasonable:

"That's right. If something goes wrong with this, I, Li Dazui, will be completely convinced."

Even if the captain of the large ship leads us out of Yizhou and makes the Donghai Kingdom their suzerain, that would still be considered a feat for them.

When Lin Daoqian's men looked at Wang Cheng, their faces were full of schadenfreude.

With both boldness and cunning, this is the way of life for those who collect water at sea.

Boom!
When Wang Cheng stepped onto the wooden boat, almost a third of it had turned into yellow mud, with only half a finger's width of mud remaining between the waterline and the boat.

The clay bodhisattva opposite suddenly opened its empty, murky eyes, looked at Wang Cheng, and a strange smile appeared on its lips.

Then extend your finger to touch the bottom of the boat with a "geograph".

The bottom of the wooden boat, barely an inch deep, quickly turned into yellow mud, and in an instant, yellow muddy water gushed out from the bottom of the boat.

On the surface, this battle of magic was about seizing the wooden boat, but in reality, Miss Lin and the Mud Bodhisattva worked together to transform the wooden boat into their own temporary Taoist temple.

Ordinary officials can't even touch this level. No matter how strong you are, can you beat thin air?

If Wang Cheng dared to casually swing his mace or strike with his claw at this moment, it's hard to say what would happen to the clay Buddha, but this wooden boat would probably fall apart on the spot.

He remained completely unhurried, and looking at the clay Buddha, he gave a low shout:
"Two streams vie for one gate? Let's see how the Dragon Palace sets the gate! The East Sea draws its boundary, retreat!"

(Territorial disputes on rivers, lakes, and seas are all decided by the Dragon Palace. My rules are the rules!)

As he spoke, he planted the Five Peaks Flag on the bow of the boat.

Om-!
With his other hand, he gripped the "Treasure of the Prince of Jinghai" tightly in his sleeve, and the "Heavenly Rules and Earthly Laws," which no one could see, suddenly descended.

The rules of heaven and earth of the Eastern Sea Kingdom stipulate:

"Ships are considered fictitious territories. As long as they fly a flag, the flag state has exclusive jurisdiction over them!"

The Five Peaks Flag granted Wang Cheng legal jurisdiction over the ship, while the Treasure of the King of Jinghai temporarily descended upon this maritime border with the Dharma realm of the Daoist temple.

If the newly established Donghai Kingdom's Daoist temples and Dharma realms were to reach the Great Zhao Kingdom, they might not be able to contend with the "Twenty-Four Seasonal Laws" and the "Great Zhao Laws," and might not even be able to deal with those owned ships that maintained their full combat capability.

But in this vast, deserted boat on the East China Sea, it possesses absolute dominance.

Without Wang Cheng having to do anything, the evil spirits began to push the wood from the bow of the ship, turning it into yellow mud. The wood instantly returned to its original state and sped towards the stern.

Before the evil spirit could react, the wooden boat, which had been mostly turned into mud and leaking everywhere, was forcibly restored to its original state.

Bang!
The dignified face of the clay bodhisattva suddenly twisted, raising its hands as if to resist some invisible force crushing it, but it was as if it had been hit by a battering ram, and was suddenly thrown backward.

Unable to even resist, it fell into the sea with a "plop".

Obviously, no matter how strong a temporary dojo created by one person and one evil spirit is, it can't possibly be stronger than the laws and regulations of the East Sea Kingdom.

If his opponent wanted to compete with Wang Cheng in terms of raw strength, he might really be helpless and would definitely have to obediently let his senior brother take the lead.

But when it comes to cheating? Master Wang has plenty of ways to do it.

"hiss--!"

There was a constant hissing sound everywhere; there were so many people that the air wasn't enough to keep cool, and the sea was getting quite hot.

Not only Lin Daoqian's crew, but also the crew members of the other two sides couldn't help but gape.

All anyone saw was that when Wang Cheng paused on the flag in his hand, the wooden boat immediately returned to its original state, and the powerful evil spirit that made all the boatmen tremble with fear was defeated on the spot.

"Which of the thirty-six classes of the Water Class has this signature move?"

"I don't know, did you guys understand?"

"I don't understand it at all! But I know that to win a game so easily, the opponent must be a master. I must never make an enemy of him."

"This child is terrifyingly young!"
The second-generation Prince Jinghai, who was his equal, was probably an even tougher opponent. To defeat Miss Lin's strongest technique before even reaching adulthood—I'm completely convinced.

There are many officials among the three factions, but none of them can understand what just happened. It is precisely the unknown that is particularly frightening.

【Fairy Woman】Lin Jinlian then hurriedly commanded the other ghosts to retrieve the mud bodhisattva that was likely to drown.

Brother, it's me.

Lin Daoqian stopped his sister from blaming herself:
“I saw everything. It wasn’t your fault, it’s not your fault.”

He stopped spouting coded language and solemnly clasped his hands in a salute to Wang Cheng and the envoy Shen Yueye:
"What a fine saying, 'Two streams contend for one gate at the forefront of the tide, let's see how the Dragon Palace sets the gate.' The East Sea Kingdom certainly has the qualifications to set the gate on the East Sea."

I, Lin Daoqian, am willing to accept defeat. From today onwards, I will lead my troops to withdraw from Yizhou and cease all confrontation with the Red Flag Gang.

"If we meet again on the roadside, we will follow the lead of the Eastern Sea Kingdom." In the span of a cup of tea, the three families had already decided on the future ownership of the precious island of Yizhou.

He then gave instructions to his men and, together with Lin Jinlian, went to the Qingyi ship, with Zheng Shiniang and Zhang Quan following closely behind.

Wang Cheng gracefully landed back on the deck, finally seeing the obsession in Lin Daoqian:
The King of Brunei is looking for a husband for his daughter.

Lin Daoqian had known the princess for a long time and vowed to marry her, which is why he was determined to obtain the position of the fifth-rank Zhenhai General.

Only by holding an official position in the suzerain state and then marrying a princess from a smaller country could one be considered a suitable match, ensuring that other competitors could be suppressed.

He suddenly realized that since Lin Daoqian dared to gamble, he must have already prepared a plan to abandon his base in the East China Sea and shift his focus to the South China Sea.

According to the nautical charts drawn by Da Zhao, Borneo's Brunei Kingdom was the boundary, with the area to the east called the Eastern Ocean and the area to the west called the Western Ocean. Although Brunei was a small country, its geographical location was very important.

With his official position and status as the son-in-law of the King of Brunei in Siam, Lin Daoqian only needs to accumulate enough resources to "embrace all rivers," and he should be able to be promoted to the fourth rank of "White Water Gentleman" in no time.

Compared to the arduous task of pioneering Yizhou Island, it's hard to say which is better; this trip of mine can be considered as making up his mind for him.

Now that the biggest conflict had been resolved, the three parties took their seats in the captain's cabin, and Wang Cheng finally spoke, revealing the main purpose of this alliance:
"Actually, I already know why my third senior brother and the two captains' men disappeared. It was thanks to the clues found by Prince Jinghai."

"Fourth brother, do you know who did it? Tell me now!"

Even Zhang Quan hadn't received the news beforehand, and his eyes lit up when he heard it.

Then, when Wang Cheng recounted the intelligence he had gathered, the other two sides were immediately in an uproar.

"Zheng He's treasure map?!"

Which water collector didn't know the value of this batch of treasure maps? My emotions were so stirred that I couldn't calm down for a long time.

Even Zheng Shiniang couldn't remain calm:

"Commander Wang, if I may be so blunt, why are you and Prince Jinghai telling us such a shocking secret? Even Zhang Quan's influence is far from enough, isn't it?"

Lin Daoqian and Lin Jinlian shared the same doubts.

Wang Cheng straightened up and solemnly said to them:

"Everyone here has a home and business in Southeast Asia, and you should have all witnessed firsthand how brutal the Franks were to those natives."

Did the Franks not wage war against the Great Zhao because they were kind-hearted? Or was it because they couldn't defeat them at the moment?

However, seeing that the Great Zhao is becoming increasingly chaotic, do you think they can continue to refrain from taking action when our strength weakens?

Taiwan, which the two sides previously fought over, is a typical example. Being isolated overseas without a vast inland area as a strategic buffer, it would probably be targeted by them immediately.

In addition, many people saw Wang Cuiqiao being parasitized by the elixir of immortality, and they also saw the strange child who was born less than half a day after she became pregnant.

To be honest, a major change is coming to the East China Sea, and it's far more than just pirate incursions.

In contrast, in the Great Zhao Dynasty, corrupt officials held high office, and beasts feasted on their salaries in the palace. The high-ranking officials and gentry still dreamed of being the Celestial Empire, believing that because their ancestors were the center of the world, they would always be the center.

But they didn't realize that times had changed.

These people are always thinking about factional infighting and petty scheming. Once they decipher the treasure map, build a new Heavenly Treasure Ship, and secretly rule the East Sea, our lives as pearl divers will surely be even more miserable than those pearl divers in the South Sea.

In the end, they became mere dogs used by the gentry and powerful families to seize overseas wealth, with no chance of ever rising again.

With crises raging in the West, outside the Great Wall, and within the country, the Tanka people and the people of China have reached a critical juncture of unprecedented change!

How can we still cling to our own worthless possessions?

Both Zheng Shiniang and Lin Daoqian were well aware of the situation at sea.

I know that what Wang Cheng said is absolutely correct.

When he laid bare his true intentions, all the sliver of hope he had been harboring vanished, replaced by a somber expression and deep concern for the future of the water collectors.

Then Wang Cheng continued:
“I share the same ideals as Prince Jinghai and have the heart to pacify the seas and calm the waves. However, I do not want any more trouble to arise among us water collectors, so that we will be isolated and helpless when a great change comes, with only a bunch of loose sand around us.”

The contemporary Prince Jinghai once said something to me:

'The hidden dangers and crises that we can see have already been seen by my father.'

Everyone knows that his ambition was never to establish himself as king and tyrannize the country, but to share the benefits with the people and defend the country's borders.

They wanted to do their utmost for the Tanka people, who were at the forefront of the nation's crisis, and for the people of China.

The idea of ​​"the world belongs to all" sounds simple, but it's far from easy to put into practice.

"Then let's start with this first transaction."

Wang Cheng slowly stood up, looked at the two carefully selected allies before him, and said, word by word:

"The current Prince Jinghai has another statement that should answer your questions:"

Among the water collectors, the Eastern Sea Kingdom was undoubtedly the most powerful military force.

But in this millennium of change, the Kingdom of Donghai may perish, but the world must not! Whoever can safeguard the peace of Donghai and protect its people will surely claim the throne of the King of Donghai!

(End of this chapter)