Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 211 A Deadly Weapon! A Tier III Sailing Battleship!
Along the coast of the northwest corner of Kuha Island, there is Chikuzen Country and Hakata Port.

Inside the main hall of Tachibanayama Castle, a military fortress overlooking the entire port.

Yoshishige Ōtomo, the 21st head of the Ōtomo family, governor of both Chikuzen and Buzen provinces, and the "Nine Domains' Tandai" (a title bestowed upon him by Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the shogun of the Muromachi shogunate), sat in the main seat.

This was a burly man, easily 1.58 meters tall, dressed in a warrior's armor primarily in gold and red, standing out majestically from the crowd.

The two senior retainers seated at the bottom, first and second respectively, are the "Twin Jewels of Ōtomo"—[Raiki] Tachibana Dōsetsu and [Invincible General] Takahashi Shōun.

With a series of long, resonant conch shell sounds, the retainers of the Ōtomo family hurried in, entered the main hall, and quietly knelt down in their respective positions to pay their respects to the head of the household.

Depending on their status and the closeness of their relationship, they are addressed differently in spoken language:
"Oyakata!" or "Toyozen guard the temple!"

The former is to show closeness, while the latter is to be done in an official capacity.

The atmosphere in the main hall was solemn and heavy. For a moment, apart from the sounds of armor plates and swords rubbing and clashing, no other sounds could be heard.

However, upon closer inspection of the palace, among the retainers, the direct samurai groups, the ninjas, and the onmyoji, there were surprisingly a considerable number of yokai in addition to the humans!
Tengu, mountain children, green ghosts, thunder ghosts, ox ghosts, mole cricket spirits, and so on, are just a few examples.

For example, Tachibana Dōsetsu, the chief retainer of the Ōtomo family who ranked above the outer retainers, hatamoto, hereditary retainers, and the main retainers, was a thunder demon who was said to be very skilled in using thunder magic!

Many unique monsters on Yingzhou Island are born with human forms. In this chaotic world, apart from those who are powerful and rule the mountains, a considerable number of them have joined the ranks of various daimyo.

Just like the bookworms around Wang Cheng.

I do not know how long it has been.

"My lord, all the retainers of our family have arrived."

Tachibana Dōsetsu, the chief retainer closest to Ōtomo Yoshichū and also the lord of Tachibana Castle, gave a standard samurai samurai bow and whispered a reminder.

The former remained silent, his face expressionless, silently turning a string of rose beads that represented the identity of a member of the Holy Cross Church in Yingzhou.

As a fervent believer, he actually preferred to be called by his Christian name after conversion, "Don Frandessisco".

Even so, such persistence and piety aroused dissatisfaction among many retainers with traditional beliefs, and even caused internal discord.

The rosary beads spun around a few times, making a "clattering" sound.

The heavy pressure emanating from Ōtomo Yoshishige, a fourth-rank samurai and sixth-rank priest, frightened many of his retainers who secretly opposed his religious beliefs, causing them to break out in a cold sweat and lower their heads even further.

After a while, Yoshishige Otomo threw a copy of "The Influence of Sea Power" on the ground with a "thud," a copy that had been read countless times and whose pages were slightly curled.

Forcibly suppressing his anger, he shouted:
"You are all key ministers of the Ōtomo family, and you should all know what our southern neighbors, the Tang people, have been doing all these years."

The Wang family's famous name was that of the Prince of Jinghai, who wielded a pair of silver maces and slaughtered all the living ghosts and gods of the upper three ranks on Jiufan Island, thus seizing the land of seven kingdoms on Jiufan Island in one fell swoop.

His son, the second generation of the Wang family, had just taken power when he wrote "On Sea Power," a book that had already spread throughout all the vassal states of the Great Zhao Dynasty in the East China Sea and Southeast Asia, revealing his wolfish ambitions!

Take a look at this book. What do you think the Prince of Jinghai will do next?
He came here to act as a vanguard, to control the seas for the Tang people? To control the vital maritime routes? And who will be his next target?!

The roar made the pillars of the main hall vibrate and hum.

Clearly, everything has two sides.

While Wang Cheng was changing the hearts of the people of Dazhao, uniting countless like-minded individuals, and gaining immense prestige as he climbed towards the position of "prince," he also aroused greater hostility from his enemies.

For example, Yoshishige Ōtomo, the governor of Kufan ​​Island, automatically assumed the role of the colonized and flew into a rage as if his tail had been stepped on.

The warrior's frenzied breath blew open the palace doors, revealing behind him a gaunt, blood-red demon with two horns on its head.

Similar to the royal seal on Wang Cheng, this nine domain tandai, appointed by the shogunate, also possessed a terrifying power within his own territory that surpassed his own rank.

Everyone in the main hall knelt deeply on the ground, none daring to look up at the ferocious demon that seemed ready to devour anyone.

I'm terrified that if we make eye contact, they'll suddenly rip out my heart and liver.

At this moment, even those members of the Ōtomo clan who shared the same bloodline dared not speak. It was another senior retainer, the invincible general Takahashi Shōun, who answered his question:

"My lord, our Ōtomo clan controls the important provinces of Chikuzen and Buzen in the northern nine domains."

To the north, it faces the main island of Suo and Nagato across the sea via the only sea route, the Kanmon Strait.

Buzen Province guards the westernmost part of the Seto Inland Sea and the northeasternmost point of the Kuhan Islands, making it a crucial passage for attacks on the Kuhan Islands from the main island or vice versa.

Furthermore, in the port of Hakata in Chikuzen Province, there was the East Frankish Trading Company, which was close to you, as well as a trading yard for trade with the various domains of the main island, diverting the flow of goods and wealth from Pinghu Port in the hands of the Chinese.

According to the book "The Influence of Sea Power on the Sea," both places are natural ports and strategic locations that are hotly contested by military strategists!

Therefore, the next step for the Wang family head will definitely be to conquer the two countries, completely unify the nine islands, and use the two countries as a springboard to intervene in the chaos on the main island.

He will never allow us to share in his port profits; there is no possibility of coexistence between us and the East Sea Kingdom!

If Wang Cheng were here, he would definitely look at this "undefeated genius general" Takahashi Shōun with new respect.

To be able to apply what you've learned, even if it's just a little bit, is already quite remarkable.

After all, "The Art of War" is right there, but how many people can become generals by self-studying it?
Takahashi Shōun is absolutely right.

Many people have a misconception that being rich means having advanced systems and highly skilled managers, while being poor means having backward systems and incompetent managers.

Just think about it: why can foreign trade ports flourish under the same system, while other places lag far behind?
Why is it that this tiny island nation, located in Southeast Asia and controlling the Strait of Malacca, is so incredibly wealthy, while other places are still ruled by indigenous people?
Because in the trade system, whether you have money or not depends on one thing: the port!

So-called management and systems are merely byproducts of having money. The reason why Shanghai's port has ranked first in the world in cargo throughput for sixteen consecutive years is simply because it accounts for a full 60% of inland waterway shipping volume, and the mighty Yangtze River, which connects several inland provinces, flows into the sea from here.

A counter-example is Hong Kong, where the opening of the mainland took away its port benefits, and its economy immediately stagnated.

Goods, funds, people—everything passes through you. Even if you don't contribute anything or add any value, you can still make a fortune by skimming off the top.

You make money if you control the border crossing; you don't make money if you lose the border crossing. It's that simple.

Pinghu Port, under Wang Cheng's control, was the only port of entry to the outside world in the entire Yingzhou during this period, and its significance to a power was no less than that of a large silver mine.

But who knows what the future holds?

Wang Cheng can control merchant ships departing from Yuegang, but what about those from other places?

In particular, the fact that the Frankish people took the lead in establishing a trading post in Hakata Port, going against the grain of Pinghu Port, made the transfer of port benefits entirely foreseeable.

"That's all my money!"

The two sides could not coexist for long. Money was flowing from Pinghu Port to Boda Port every moment. It would be strange if Wang Cheng and his Wufeng Banner, who were on the verge of bloodshed, had no objections.

We must strike hard!

Even if the Otomo family reacts slowly and fails to launch a counterattack in time, Wang Cheng will still take them down before the end of this year!
"hiss--!"

Has the situation really gotten to this point?

Now that the stark reality has been laid bare by the "Invincible General" Takahashi Shōun, the main hall is in an uproar.

Then came the public outrage, with calls for battle rising one after another.

Seeing that the army's morale was high, Ōtomo Yoshishige's expression softened slightly. He grabbed the cast iron military fan lying beside him and swung it forcefully, producing a thunderous sound.

“We bear the great responsibility of the Shogunate and must not allow a group of Tang people to invade and occupy the Nine Domains.”

Gather your troops! Within a month, all families and counties must assemble their forces to join me in conquering the Eastern Sea Kingdom!

All the retainers knelt down and obeyed the order:
"Hi Yi!"

After everyone had left, Yoshishige Otomo called out to his senior retainers, Tachibana Dōsetsu and Takahashi Shōun.

They were led mysteriously to the seaside, where they saw a colossal ship as majestic as a mountain in a secluded fjord!

The two high-ranking officials looked up, speechless with astonishment:

"Such a large warship exists in the world, with a total of seventy-four cannons larger than the 'National Collapse'."

Who in the world could rival such an opponent?

"Invincible! Even a dragon might not be a match for such a massive warship!"

One of the four generals who guarded the seas, Baron Carlo, the governor of Haojing and a nobleman from the East Franco region, appeared silently behind them.

"Hahaha, you're right, this third-tier battleship is invincible at sea!"

After exchanging greetings, Carlo enthusiastically introduced this formidable naval weapon to them:
“这是我们泰西诸国海上争锋的主力战舰，看炮门就知道全舰拥有74门舰载火炮：28门32磅炮，30门24磅炮，16门9磅炮。

They are distributed on two gun decks and one open deck.

With a crew of 680 and a displacement of 1500 tons, it represents the perfect combination of firepower, speed, and cost in this era, and is one of the cornerstones of a nation's naval power.

Second-class and first-class ships above it are rare even in our invincible Franco-American fleet.

These warships are wider, longer, and larger than those of other naval powers, and possess exceptional stability.

When it's sailing at sea, it's a mobile fortress, especially in boarding maneuvers where it has a commanding position and unparalleled combat advantages.

The warships in the hands of the Eastern Sea Kingdom were merely fifth-class cruisers purchased from the Eastern Bharata Company of the Netherlands.

The main guns were at most 12-pounders, utterly powerless against such a monster.

"Of course, it also has its drawbacks."

Third-class battleships had poor endurance, were too large, and were too slow. They mostly operated in their own coastal waters and rarely sailed on ocean routes.

Normally, they only appear during the final battle on home soil.

The Navy will never easily transfer any third-tier capital warship out of its combat readiness.

As he spoke, Carlo turned to look at Yoshishige Otomo, made the sign of the cross on his chest, and said with a devout expression:
"There are only three Class III warships that have come to the East. Two were assigned to Manila, Luzon, and one was assigned to Da Zhaohaojing, which I manage."

They all came from the invincible fleet of the Franco Empire.

With its help, we are invincible on the high seas, and the Donghai Kingdom is doomed this time.

Francisco, thank God for His blessings.

"Without the glory of the Lord, this invincible warship could never have crossed thousands of miles of ocean to come here and help you win the greatest victory!"

(End of this chapter)