Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 247 Lady Wang prays for a son, and the Japanese pirates...
"Where is it? Where is it?"

Upon hearing this shout, Wang Cheng, Zhang Wu, and their group, who had arrived aboard the sailing warship "Qingyi," immediately perked up and looked up.

Two afterimages were seen chasing and fleeing through the city of Fuzhou. Both were extremely skilled and could leap over rooftops, trees, and canals.

The former was a man, his clothes disheveled, who only knew to cover his face and flee in panic, while the latter was a woman, who held a long and narrow Qi family knife and chased after him relentlessly.

Who else could that person in front be but Qi Yuanjing, the famous Qi Hu of the Southeast Army?

Upon seeing this, Zhang Wu couldn't help but shrink back.

"Madam Wang is truly amazing! It turns out that the rumors about the peerless hero Qi Hu being afraid of his wife are true."

For a dignified, high-ranking, living deity to be hunted down by a lady is truly a legendary tale, worthy of being recorded in history and discussed by future generations.

Wang Cheng was well-traveled and had seen all sorts of things, from tyrannical dragons to sweet girls, so he was used to this kind of situation where the heavens and earth were reversed in the eyes of ordinary people.

He even earnestly shared the unofficial histories he had heard with Zhang Wu and the others:

"You guys don't understand, do you?"
Madam Wang was the daughter of a military family. She learned martial arts from a young age, was skilled with swords, and worked as a swordswoman. She was an absolute heroine among women.

According to unofficial historical records, there was a ranking of combat strength among the various garrisons in Jiangnan.

Yu Zhifu, a third-rank "Tiger General," is the best in martial arts; Tang Shunzhi, a third-rank "Confucian Scholar of the Mind," is second; and the third place goes to Madam Wang, a fourth-rank "Swordswoman."

However, Qi Yuanjing, a third-rank general of the Dragon Cavalry, was not on the list.

Upon hearing this, the crew members all questioned:
"Hey, isn't this a bit odd? Could it be that Madam Wang, a fourth-rank official, is hiding her true strength and is actually even more powerful than General Qi?"
Who is Tang Shunzhi? That name sounds familiar.

Wang Cheng glared at this group of ignorant fools, wishing he could throw them into a maritime academy for a thorough education:

"Who is Tang Shunzhi? You don't even know General Qi's master?"
Tang Gongke was a disciple of Wang Yangming, the sage of the School of Mind, and studied under Ouyang De. He was also the founder of the famous Mandarin Duck Formation.

However, he was not on the same path as Xu Shaohu, who was also a disciple of Wang Yangming. He was not a member of the Xu faction of the pure stream, but rather a member of the Yan faction of the turbid stream.

He only wanted to do practical things, never compromising his principles; his lifelong ambition was: "To wipe out the enemy across ten thousand miles, daring not to fear even the danger to my life!"

It is said that he contracted tuberculosis due to overwork and died last year while pursuing Japanese pirates. After his death, he was honored with sacrifices and successfully transformed into a third-rank celestial deity.

General Qi's most useful military strategy manual, "Secret War Seven: The Mandarin Duck Formation," and the core of his military strategy inheritance came from this Lord Tang.

Furthermore, the reason why Wang Shizhen's father was executed was because Tang Gong impeached him for delaying military operations during his inspection of the nine border regions; he was a sworn enemy of the Qingliu faction.

Of course, Wang Cheng didn't mention an even wilder part of history.

According to unofficial historical accounts, Wang Shizhen, a hermit from Fengzhou, wrote "Jin Ping Mei" under the pseudonym Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng because Tang Shunzhi was fond of the emperor's uncle. Wang Shizhen, catering to this preference, poisoned the pages of the book, leading to Wang's death.

This unofficial history is so unreliable that only the writings of Zhu Shiliu, the ancestor of the Zhu family, can be considered slightly better, and none of it can be relied upon.

"In short, the first two are truly formidable figures, and the third one, Madam Wang, also has a proven track record."

Because Qi Hu, who should have been ranked third, always lost to his wife in every fight, it was obvious who was stronger and who was weaker.

Therefore, Qi Hu's wife, Wang Yuejiao, naturally pushed him out of the top three.

When the topic turned to Qi Hu, whom everyone was familiar with, they all became quite talkative, sharing all sorts of interesting anecdotes they knew:
"I heard that once General Qi was provoked by his subordinates and ordered his personal guards to bring Lady Wang into the military camp, wanting to give this shrew a hard time."

When Lady Wang arrived at the camp and saw this impressive scene, she showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, her gaze was stern as she shouted at General Qi, "What do you want with me?"

Upon hearing this, General Qi was terrified and knelt down with a thud, saying, "I hereby request that Your Excellency review the troops."

"Did he really kneel down and beg for the lady to review the troops?"

"How could it be fake? My second uncle's aunt's brother's neighbor's son's nephew was in the tent at the time. He saw it with his own eyes. How could he lie to me?"

However, some crew members found it strange:
"Since General Qi is so afraid of his wife, how did he manage to make her angry again?"

No sooner had she finished speaking than Madam Wang, who had caught up nearby, personally answered their questions:

"You, Qi Yuanjing, you dare to secretly have an affair with me, my third concubine, while I was just going to the temple to offer incense.

It’s really a bear’s heart and a leopard’s courage!
Tell me! Do you think I, Wang Yuejiao, can't have children?

You could just say it outright: I'll pack my dowry and go back to my parents' home right now, and you can go live with your concubines."

"Madam, dear Madam! I was wrong. Let's go back and talk about it, okay?"

Qi Yuanjing didn't dare to argue or fight back; he just kept begging for mercy.

Upon hearing this, Wang Cheng and his group exchanged bewildered glances.

"Lady Wang has no children? General Qi has taken a concubine?"

All they knew was that Qi Hu and his wife were childhood sweethearts, betrothed at 13 and married at 18, a truly perfect couple. They were unaware that Qi Yuanjing, now 33, was still childless and had secretly taken three concubines behind his wife's back.

Today, Madam Wang caught me red-handed, which has really caused a huge uproar.

Lady Wang appears dignified and virtuous on the outside, but is fierce and shrewish on the inside. How could she possibly tolerate this? General Qi is probably in big trouble this time.

Wang Cheng watched the couple chase each other until they disappeared from sight before turning his attention back to them.

"At most you'll suffer a little, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

I heard that the Swordsman has a special move called "Sword Comes".

They can borrow swords from the heavens; with just a shout, someone else's sword will suddenly fly away and become part of their "Ten Thousand Swords Return to One" tradition.

If one has a powerful backer, they are considered a formidable "minor friend" level expert in the martial arts world, and can even use the "borrowing sword" technique to borrow cultivation and a natal flying sword from a senior.

Judging from this, when Lady Wang borrowed the sword, even a living ghost or god wouldn't dare refuse, let alone use it to cut himself.

This isn't a matter of fear, but rather a mixture of respect and affection. Perhaps General Qi himself is even enjoying it; we outsiders can just watch the show.

only."

Madam Wang said she had just visited the Temple of Fertility.
Wang Cheng had just heard the name from his father, and today he heard it from his wife, which made him quite interested in the temple.

"Is this temple that grants children really that effective? Even the wives of living ghosts and gods are willing to go there to worship devoutly and ask the gods to grant them children."

I wonder if she'll still go to the Dharma assembly on the first day of the seventh lunar month?

Just then, Zhang Wu suddenly asked a serious question:
"By the way, Captain, our Minzhou Naval Command has suddenly transferred two living ghosts and gods of the third rank, 'Yu Long' and 'Qi Hu,' to serve as the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief."

Could something big be about to happen?

The Qingyi ship had just docked when Zhang Wen, the silversmith in charge of guarding the naval headquarters in Fuzhou, arrived at the shore early to greet them.

Hearing his brother's question, his expression also became somewhat serious. After bowing to Wang Cheng, he lowered his voice and explained to them:
"Hey, big ship, the Japanese pirates from Chichidan are coming!"
Just last night, the General's Office received an urgent report that an advance force of the Japanese pirates had secretly marched north from Southeast Asia and suddenly attacked Nan'ao County, Chaozhou, before continuing their northward rampage of burning, killing, and looting.

Governor-General Hu Ruzhen of the Seven Prefectures issued a strict order, commanding the Twenty-Four Guards to intercept and kill the Japanese pirates in Minzhou and prevent them from invading Wuzhou and Southern Zhili.

The coastal garrisons will likely receive orders from the General's Office this afternoon.

Wang Cheng's expression changed slightly upon hearing this name:

"The Japanese pirates? They're the men of that high-ranking, living demon god Amakusa Shiro?!"

Zhang Wen nodded solemnly, confirming his guess.

"Qiezhidan" is actually a Japanese transliteration of the Holy Cross, and the so-called "Qiezhidan Wokou" are Japanese pirates who believe in the Holy Cross.

More than a decade ago, St. Francis Xavier came to Japan to preach. Influenced by him, many daimyo converted to the Church of the Holy Cross and supported the spread of the Church in their territories.

These daimyo of Chechidan issued decrees on freedom of religion within their territories, demolished Buddhist temples and rebuilt them into churches; dispatched missions of young envoys to the Papacy to meet the Pope; forced their retainers to convert; and even demanded that their senior officials be baptized collectively.
Otomo Yoshichi on Kuban Island is just one of the more famous ones.

In the following decade or so, the number of Holy Cross believers on Yingzhou exceeded 25.

Because of their conflict with the beliefs of the traditional daimyo, a considerable number of them eventually left their hometowns and became pirates.

The strongest among them is Amakusa Shirou, also known as the "Heavenly Child"!
His base of operations was in Southeast Asia. Not only was he himself a living deity of the highest rank, but he also commanded more than 30,000 extremely vicious young and strong Japanese pirates.

The Shinto officials are well-versed in both Eastern and Western learning, including a large number of Japanese officials and many Western theological professions. They are supported by the Holy Cross Church, the most powerful force in the Western Continent, and are well-equipped.

It is a nightmare that terrifies all the countries in the East China Sea and Southeast Asia.

It can be said that the Japanese pirates of Chichidan were dogs raised remotely by the Holy Cross Church, and they were even more vicious than their master, the Frankish.

"This group of Japanese pirates dared to operate in the waters of Dazhao."

Even if it's still unclear whether they're simply looting or have some other motive, it's enough to put all the coastal guards on high alert and warrants deploying a formidable lineup of Yu Long and Qi Hu.

I wonder if Qiezhidan's unusual movements are related to me? And will Yuegang be attacked?

Wang Cheng, clad in a qilin robe, led his army of guards across the wooden pier.

Bang!
Before he could figure it out, a dark shadow fell from the sky with a dull thud and crashed into the seawater next to him, creating a huge splash.

Looking in the direction from which the dark figures flew, a tiny boat suddenly expanded into a five-masted behemoth, waving thick ropes to toss the dark figures into the sea.

One of the figures that looked very familiar appeared to be You Shuangxiong, the nephew of You Zhende, the governor of Qingliu. He was once again thrown into the air and crashed heavily onto the pier beneath their feet.

The man, disheveled, scrambled to his feet and staggered back to the five-masted warship, roaring in fury:
"How dare this little warship act so arrogantly? Let's teach it a lesson with the T-class coastal defense guns! If it sinks, my uncle will take full responsibility!"

(End of this chapter)