Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 251 Spying on Secrets! An inside-outside operation to assassinate the governor!

"No, Your Excellency, you mustn't!"

"The governor was only in a moment of urgency and did not mean it. How can we military officers be so disrespectful to civil officials? Stop it immediately."

"Even if the White Scale Guard Commander himself arrives, he cannot execute a governor of a prefecture on the spot. Lord Wang, quickly subdue that unruly ship spirit."

Governor You Zhende was a powerful regional official, a stark contrast to his nephew You Shuangxiong, who was already unpopular.

The officials and generals who had been watching the commotion from the sidelines rushed forward to stop the situation and prevent it from escalating.

For the moment, there was no time to ponder why a fifth-rank "White Water Gentleman" could shatter the seal of authority formed by the fourth-rank "Confucian Scholar" with a single strike.

The authority of a high-ranking governor had no effect on a mere military officer like him.
Or rather, most people don't dare to even think about it, and only a few secretly cast envious glances at it:

'This astonishing talent truly resonates with the Emperor; his fortune is boundless. Even the treatment of the Emperor's closest advisors couldn't be better than this.'

As for You Zhende, who was being pointed at by dozens of cannons, he hadn't expected Wang Cheng's resistance to be so fierce and so fearless, and he was filled with doubt and uncertainty.
"Could it be that Wang Fugui knew that our Guishan Bookstore wanted to harm him, so he deliberately took the opportunity to cause trouble and really wanted to accuse us of colluding with the Japanese?"
"The recent spate of incidents, and Wang Bengu's apparent promotion that was actually a demotion, shows that the emperor is wary of our Guishan Academy. Could it be that he really gave the White Scale Guard an imperial edict to investigate the clues?"

Although Wang Fugui's rise to prominence was short-lived, his own Guishan Bookstore had dealt with him quite a bit.

Even when he was still a commoner, he sided with the merchants of the border trade faction, completely driving out the upright gentry from Yuegang, the world's trade center, and becoming one of the three ship captains who managed Yuegang.

Then he joined the Lu family of the White Scale Guard, who were loyal to the emperor, and became one of the emperor's key figures in extending his influence into the Zhenhai Guard, naturally placing him on the opposite side of the scholar-officials.
Afterwards, he went to Yingzhou and flirted with Luo Wenlong, a key member of the Yan Party and a sworn enemy of the Qingliu faction, and the second-generation Prince Jinghai of the Donghai Kingdom. He killed Mao Haifeng and forced Xu Gelao's disciple Jiang Wenyuan to retreat.

The key was that Luo Wenlong used his connections with the second-generation Prince Jinghai to present the emperor with two elixirs of immortality, gaining the emperor's favor and becoming increasingly powerful and difficult to control.
Although Wang Fugui never actively opposed the Qingliu faction, but was always forced into it, they didn't care about that. Anyone who dared to oppose us had to die!

You Zhen narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the majestic azure dragon above his head. They hadn't been paying attention; this [Ghostly God Shock] had actually become even stronger.

"I had originally devised a plan with Wang Ben to use the position of a fifth-rank water official to kill Wang Fugui."

We, the local gentry, control the upstream sources of goods and ports in the maritime trade, and thus have the upper hand. As long as we make things difficult for those merchants and pirates who have been recruited by the government at the ports, and treat their cargo ships differently.

This would inevitably escalate the conflict in secret, forcing them to attack the government troops.

Not only could they cleverly use the Qi Family Army and the Yu Family Army to deal with those people, but the water official would also be the first to be executed, killing two birds with one stone and solving two problems.

Once we rebuild the [Heavenly Treasure Ship - Taixu Kunpeng Ship], we can firmly control the maritime trade in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and seize one-third of the world's silver without leaving our homes, without paying a single penny of commercial tax to the imperial court.

Unexpectedly, this series of unexpected events disrupted all plans, allowing Wang Fugui to hop around like a disgusting toad until now.

When You Zhen thought about all the bad luck he had recently had, he felt a dull ache in his head.

"First, the Fengzhou Mountain Man and the Liu Daxia family lost more than two-thirds of Zheng He's treasure map, and each family also suffered heavy losses in the number of skilled people who could interpret the treasure map."

Wang Bengu died that same night, and Xing Baichuan also died!
Wang Bengu was distrusted by the emperor and became useless, so be it.

Having lost Xing Baichuan, the commander of Zhenhai Guard, a capable henchman, the emperor even decided to appoint Lu Yunchen, the "Ghost God Jealousy," to the position of commander of Zhenhai Guard.

They wanted to cause trouble for the pirates who had been granted amnesty, making it seem like a distant prospect to incite them to rebel.

After a long investigation, our Guishan Publishing House finally determined that the culprit behind the deaths of Wang Bengu and Xing Baichuan was none other than the visitor from outside the wall, the Rejuvenating Immortal!

The aura it left behind was exactly the same as that of the immortal scum who stole the Zheng He treasure map from us.

As if things weren't bad enough, upon hearing the news, the hermit of Fengzhou vomited blood three times, vowing to personally kill this scoundrel, retrieve the treasure map, and avenge Wang and Xing.

"The book club had already dispatched many temple soldiers and ghost soldiers [scribes] to search for the child-returning immortal, but before they could find him, Prince Jinghai's 'On Sea Power' suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

Subsequently, the Donghai Kingdom completely occupied the Nine Provinces Island, igniting the ambitions of many.
Nowadays, those Zhenhai Generals and Daohai Generals, who hold legitimate trade permits, all import goods from Yuegang, which is controlled by Zhenhaiwei and Wang Fugui.

The close relationship between the military and the people has led to thriving trade, which has significantly increased the trade volume of Yuegang and encroached on the interests of the gentry and powerful families of Jiangnan.

This unhealthy trend must be eradicated and crushed.

Fortunately

You Zhen sneered inwardly:
"These accidents will soon disappear, and the East China Sea will be restored to normal."

Little did he know that while his emotions were fluctuating wildly because of the serious accusation of "colluding with the Japanese," his thoughts were also churning.

This situation was exactly what Wang Cheng wanted.

[Sihai Tongbao] flickered briefly, following the other party's obsession.

Wang Cheng was overjoyed:

"Got you! There's definitely something going on with Qingliu!"

When he first heard that the Church of the Holy Cross, composed of diverse elements, was invading Dazhao, he had a knee-jerk reaction to their dual identity as both the church and the Japanese pirates.

She couldn't help but wonder if the other party might be targeting her and her senior sister.
Unfortunately, they had no way to get close to the members of Kiritan and obtain information about them, so they could only turn their attention to Kiyoryu.

In short, as long as it's something bad related to the Japanese pirates, it's right to target these stakeholders. So, relying on the fact that he actually had the emperor's "sword of authority" instead of just bluffing, he kept accusing the uncle and nephew of "colluding with the Japanese pirates," repeatedly stirring up their obsessions and all sorts of thoughts.

Then, by combining the unique spiritual abilities of "Divine Communication" and "Rare Goods for Sale," they were able to read the constantly changing transaction information and obsessions within them, and finally, they made a breakthrough.

You Shuangxiong's mind was blank. Although he was a fifth-rank Taoist priest, he was clearly not qualified to get involved in higher-level confidential matters.

His long-held ambition was to become the commander-in-chief of the Minzhou Anti-Japanese Pirate Campaign and to command the military affairs of the entire prefecture.

His short-term obsession was to capture the [Five Peaks Flag], a ship demon that was right under the Heavenly Craft Treasure Ship, and transform it into a powerful Heavenly Craft Treasure to break through to the fourth rank.

None of this has anything to do with the Japanese pirates of Chishidan.

It wasn't until they fought back in self-defense, severely injuring him and successfully luring out his uncle You Zhen, that they finally obtained a crucial piece of intelligence.

Short-term obsession:

"Complete the mission entrusted to you by the Guishan Scholar, and in collusion with the Japanese pirates from within and without, massacre Hu Ruzhen, the governor of seven prefectures, and completely disrupt the southeast!"

Wang Cheng was taken aback when he saw this message:
"The Japanese pirates and the Kameyama Publishing House are not targeting us, but Hu Ruzhen?"

He breathed a sigh of relief at first, but then immediately picked himself up again.

Even if that governor of seven prefectures falls, it won't work. Without his suppression of the Qingliu faction, Wang Fugui, this small fry, will really have no way to move an inch in Minzhou.

Even Lu Yunchen, a second-generation rich kid with an extremely powerful background, had to pack his bags and get out on the spot.

Wang Cheng's mind raced as he recalled the intelligence about the governor of the seven prefectures.

About six or seven years ago, Hu Ruzhen was recommended by Zhao Wenhua, a core member of the Yan Party, and was promoted to the position of Governor-General for the Resistance against Japanese Pirates.

He then successively promoted two generals, Yu Long and Qi Hu, and used a conscription system to build a fighting force, thus creating an iron wall in Jiangnan.

However, in addition to suppressing the Japanese pirates, he also strengthened coastal defenses, reorganized the garrisons, and cut off the collusion between officials and soldiers and smugglers, which directly harmed the interests of the gentry.

Over the years, countless Japanese soldiers under the Guishan Publishing House have died at the hands of Hu Ruzhen, and the resulting economic losses are incalculable.

The memorial impeaching him, submitted by the Qingliu faction, stated: 'While in Jiangnan, Ruzhen indulged in prostitution, boasting of his own talents, even to the point of having numerous courtesans and engaging in debauchery with his male retainers at the governor's office.'

Rumors circulated that Hu Ruzhen also possessed a talisman, the "Paulownia Wood Wheel of Lao Ai," and that his mansion contained a silver mountain.

The Qingliu faction, which controlled the mouthpiece of the literati, was one who both killed and smeared people. Comparing him to Lao Ai was even more tragic than comparing him to Yan Jiexi, who was compared to Sima Yi.

They're much harsher than they were when they dealt with me.

It is easy to imagine how deeply the upright gentry hated Hu Ruzhen.

The upright official You Zhende in front of us only rose to power and took charge of Minzhou after Hu Ruzhen suffered a severe blow to his political capital following his impeachment by Wang Bengu.

Naturally, he was among the vanguard in the movement to overthrow Hu.

Wang Cheng received a crucial hint and instantly understood the cause and effect:
“In the past, Hu Ruzhen, the governor of seven prefectures, would have been a priority after the Grand Secretary. If the central government’s backer had fallen, Hu Ruzhen would have been doomed.”

But now that my "On Sea Power" has been published, the political climate in the Great Zhao court and among the people has suddenly changed.

Countless people have witnessed the astonishing profits overseas and no longer want the gentry and powerful families to monopolize them, causing the policy of maritime prohibition to begin to waver.

Guishan Publishing House clearly couldn't wait three to five years to slowly lay the groundwork; they had to cut off this pillar of strength immediately and completely destroy the East China Sea defenses.

There's no need to use external enemies to kill this high-ranking official; instead, we can give him a perfect deification ceremony to celebrate his heroic sacrifice.

"As long as we inflict one of his previous crushing defeats on him in Minzhou, we can find someone of our own to replace him. Without military power, wouldn't it be easy to control him again?"

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel a chill run down my spine:
"Last year, Wang Bengu, for the sake of his reputation and the interests of Guishan Bookstore, massacred my entire Wang family and impeached Hu Ruzhen for colluding with Japanese pirates. The pirates who were plundering were no longer restrained, which started the Japanese pirate riots in the East China Sea."

The situation had just begun to improve this year, and now they're planning another, even larger-scale demolition.

If any major coastal city is captured, such as Rongcheng, the capital of a prefecture, Yuegang, the economic center, Citonggang, a historical city, or any other place in Southern Zhili, and if any of these places is looted, another massacre will occur.

With the central government's combined efforts to impeach him, Hu Ruzhen will surely be imprisoned.

In order to achieve the political goal of the Kameyama Publishing House, tens of thousands of coastal people were destined to become victims of the Japanese pirates.

The scholar-officials didn't care whether the dead were human or not; after all, no matter how many died, they would just become a string of numbers on memorials, turning into sharp blades piercing the hearts of their political enemies!

Wang Cheng had seen his share of big events, and had once annihilated tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers with a single water attack.

But at this moment, he was still burning with rage, finding it even more unacceptable than the Japanese pirates attacking their Eastern Sea Kingdom:

"In your eyes, the lives of us ordinary people and the boat people along the coast are really less valuable than weeds!"
"I am a citizen of the Great Zhao, so killing Japanese is perfectly justified. But you are also citizens of the Great Zhao, yet you stain your official robes with the blood of your own people—can you still be considered human?"

(End of this chapter)