Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 267 A National Treasure: Talking War on Paper, Killing on Paper!
The howling wind and rain still dominated the sky, and the giant face outlined by the clouds had not dissipated, but the hearts of the people of Minzhou had brightened.

Every year in July, August and September, twenty to thirty typhoons are born in the vast ocean, and about one-third of them will make landfall in China.

Everyone living along the southeastern coast grows up alongside typhoons that occur every year, and is very familiar with their habits.

Typhoons typically have diameters ranging from several hundred to one or two thousand kilometers. Although the main body of a typhoon is beginning to move towards Yingzhou, the wind and rain will continue for another one to two days.

The rain will gradually weaken and will no longer be a problem.

With the support of the Heavenly Consort and Madam Yan, Yu Zhifu felt much less pressure and no longer cared about the giant face of Amakusa Shiro in the sky.

He even had the leisure to think of Wang Fugui, the "half-successor" to whom he had gifted the "Sword Manual" and who had made great contributions in this incident, and felt somewhat emotional:
"I don't know what kind of luck Fu Gui had, but he's made it big now."

He spends all his time with Lady Yan, who lived for almost as long as the Great Zhao Dynasty. I guess good news is probably on the way.

Previously, the water spirits and deities obeyed orders but not decrees, and their relationship with the imperial court was not good. This time, we might take the opportunity to give them more responsibilities.

I heard from the rumors that His Majesty's plans have changed, and Lu's eldest grandson may not be able to stay in Minzhou for long.

We need to make plans for the position of commander of Zhenhaiwei as soon as possible.

Even if she lacks experience, with the influence of Lady Yan from the Tianfei lineage, adding the word "trial" shouldn't be a problem.

While thinking about personnel deployment, his hands kept moving.

Insert the magic sword into the altar, cup your hands into a trumpet shape, take a deep breath of [Water, Fire, Dragon, and Tiger Qi], causing your chest to bulge high, and then exhale sharply:
"call--!"

A blazing white fire dragon soared into the sky.

The splashing sparks transformed into golden seals and knives, fire-breathing generals, fire forks and spears, fire dragons and fire tigers, all swirling towards the giant face in the sky.

The thick, dark clouds in the sky, composed of water vapor, burst into flames like kerosene upon encountering this fire-based divine power.

Yu Long and Yu Zhifu were both Heavenly-ranked Tiger-like Generals, while Qi Hu and Qi Yuanjing were both Heavenly-ranked Dragon-like Generals.

The "dragon" usually symbolizes the "Kan" trigram, which represents the yin and water elements externally, and the kidney essence related to reproduction and the kidneys internally.

The dragon is often associated with the power of sinking, storing, and condensing. In the human body, it corresponds to the lower dantian and resides in the sea of ​​qi.

The "tiger" symbolizes the "Li" trigram, representing the masculine and fire elements externally, and the heart fire related to the mind and consciousness internally.

The tiger is usually associated with rising, active, and radiating power. In the human body, it corresponds to the upper dantian, which is located in the chest near the heart.

The reversed titles of Yu Long and Qi Hu essentially represent the harmonious coexistence of dragon and tiger, water and fire.

Fire-based supernatural powers are not countered by water.

Amakusa Shiro, having suffered a loss, roared and inhaled, drawing in the sudden rain clouds and gale-force winds into his mouth. He then exhaled them violently, transforming them into countless weasels with scythe-shaped forelimbs, known as "Kamaitachi".

The wind and fire energies swept and swept repeatedly above Zhenhai Tower, tearing large holes in the thick clouds and even forming a huge waterspout.

However, all the Shinto officials could see that Amakusa Shiro's supernatural powers were a level lower than Yu Shifu's without his true form appearing, and his defeat was inevitable.

After a brief struggle, Amakusa Shiro realized he couldn't gain any advantage in the city. He left with a sinister laugh and suddenly vanished into thin air.

Only one sentence remained in the air:
"You think you've won?"
The big gift I arranged is on its way. I hope you like it, hehehe!

Yu Zhifu, however, did not feel relieved by this anticlimactic ending.

At this time, the battle reports from the other two prefectures had not yet arrived, and he had a vague sense of foreboding.

For some reason, I had a feeling that the Japanese pirate leader's understanding of the defenses in Minzhou was deeper than they had imagined!

Since the battle began yesterday evening, beacon fires have been lit in many places along the coast of Minzhou.

Numerous small squads of Japanese pirates launched attacks in all directions, their frenzied shouts echoing endlessly:
“The cowardly navy never dares to confront our warriors head-on. I’ve been to Southern Zhili, where a dozen or so men can chase and kill a thousand men!”
"Kill! Follow me and charge in!"

"Women, treasure, food, and even the iron pots are all ours!"

"Don't worry about the retribution that Buddha talked about. We have already converted to the Holy Cross and no longer believe in the Han Chinese Buddhism."

After looting, as long as we pray and spend money to build more churches, the Lord will bear our sins and forgive our transgressions!

"Third Division, follow me and slaughter them!"

The Japanese pirates' goal was never to engage in a decisive battle at sea with the Zhao navy, but rather to land and plunder, seizing wealth, people, and food.

Therefore, their modus operandi was often as follows: they would cross the sea by boat; land at weak points in the coastal defenses; loot coastal towns; and finally retreat by boat with their spoils.

The Chichidan pirates were far stronger than those scattered soldiers, and they also had the added benefit of their faith, having converted from Buddhism to the Holy Cross.

With their fierce fighting style and their fearless desire to die for heaven, they mobilized a large number of coastal garrison troops to surround and intercept them with only a small force.

Some elite troops even turned the tables and utterly annihilated the naval forces in certain smaller places.

One of the teams, a sizable group, reached the shore of Quanzhou Port, one of the three candidate state capitals.

They were just unlucky.

Having contacted the ninjas and fake Japanese pirates who had infiltrated the city beforehand, they had just tricked their way through the city gates when they ran right into the Qi Family Army, whose [Secret Battle Seven: Mandarin Duck Formation] struck fear into the hearts of countless Japanese pirates!
"prick--!"

Dozens of wolf-tooth spears, each over three meters long, suddenly thrust out, easily suppressing the samurai swords and slaughtering the howling, charging Japanese pirates.

The spearmen behind them followed, and in an instant, they stabbed countless bloody holes in them.

The scattered soldiers, relying solely on sheer grit, collapsed on the spot in the face of such a formidable force and hastily retreated to their small boats.

At the same time, a fleet decorated with crosses and composed of sailing warships and hulled sailing ships suddenly appeared on the sea just a few miles from Quanzhou Port, like a dream.

Despite the typhoon's aftershocks, the still turbulent sea did not push the fleet to the bottom of the ocean; instead, it strangely formed a circle of calm, waveless water.

Originally preparing to land, they now turned around and retreated like frightened birds.

Someone shouted:

"It's the Qi family army of Qi Yuanjing, the living ghost god! He must be hiding in this city too, let's go!"

However, this fleet, which was clearly the main force, had just turned around, abandoning its vanguard.

But they found a silver-armored general holding a large spear, standing alone in front of them.

Standing atop the crest of a wave, as imposing as a mountain, I roared:
"This road is blocked!" Soldiers from the five garrison commanderies of Fuquan, Chongwu, Zhongzuo, Jinmen, and Gaopu under the jurisdiction of Yongning Guard also caught up by boat from the depths of the bay.

Even with severe manpower shortages, they still managed to send dozens of warships of varying sizes into battle.

The Da Zhao coastal defense has always prioritized land defense over sea defense. This is already an exhausting effort, a determination to keep any invading enemy here.

"Amakusa Shiro, you're out of luck, I've caught you."

"You'd better leave your lives behind today."

Qi Yuanjing stared directly at a young Yin-Yang Master on the opposite flagship and pronounced his judgment upon him.

Amakusa Shiro wore a pure white hunting robe without patterns, paired with white unpatterned finger rings, and an eboshi hat. Around his neck hung a rosary and a cross, representing his identity as a member of the Holy Cross Church.

It looks somewhat incongruous.

But even though his typhoon plans were ruined by Yu Long and he was unlucky enough to run into Qi Hu, he showed no sign of panic on his face.

Instead, he calmly gave Qi Yuanjing a strange smile:

"No, I'm the one who caught you!"

Qi Yuanjing narrowed his tiger-like eyes dangerously.

"What do you mean?"

Amakusa Shiro laughed heartily, betraying his collaborator without any remorse:
"Actually, I made a deal with a certain important figure in your Great Zhao."

This time, our mission in Dazhao is not only to capture a prefecture, but also to take the head of one of the Yu Long and Qi Hu!

Don't blame me, I simply couldn't refuse the price they offered. Blame your own people for fighting amongst yourselves.

With a wave of his hand, an ancient bamboo scroll appeared before him, projecting brilliant light and shadow, revealing a map of the enemy and friendly forces within a radius of forty miles.

It can pinpoint the armament of every ship and the rank of every officer.

—A talisman for warding off evil spirits [Armchair strategist (a national treasure)]!
This name is known to everyone.

The Battle of Changping was the largest and most devastating strategic battle of the Warring States period, bar none.

In this battle, the Qin state annihilated 45 elite troops of the Zhao state, depriving Zhao of its military capability to contend with Qin, marking the decline of the last of the six states that could directly compete with Qin.

After this battle, the balance of power between Qin and the six eastern states was fundamentally reversed, and the Warring States period entered a new phase in which "Qin was strong while the other six states were weak".

Why is Bai Qi called the greatest war god of the Qin Dynasty?

He dares to take responsibility!
For the Qin state, this was a meritorious deed that was both a crime of its time and a contribution for future generations.

It can be said that this battle was the eve of the birth of the first centralized unified dynasty, and its influence continued for thousands of years to come.

Moreover, surely no one would really believe that Zhao Kuo was only good at "armchair strategizing"?

He was able to command hundreds of thousands of troops and wage war against the world's strongest nation right after his debut.

Faced with dire straits, he could still use all sorts of methods to boost morale. He not only kept Zhao's army in formation, but also made the soldiers respond to his calls even when they were too weak from hunger.

During this period, they organized several charges and breakouts, and even the God of Slaughter Bai Qi suffered considerable losses.

During the 46-day stalemate between the two armies, Bai Qi lost nearly half of the Qin army in the face of Zhao Kuo's breakout attack.

Zhao Kuo led his army to create the miracle of killing more than 200,000 Qin soldiers with only 100,000 men.

It was for this reason that Bai Qi said the following after the battle: "Although Qin has defeated the Changping army, more than half of Qin's soldiers have died, and the country is empty."

Even if Zhao Kuo wasn't as good as "the jealousy of gods and ghosts," he wasn't far off.

The only problem is that he encountered the final boss right after leaving the starting village.

Under the dual influence, it forms a national treasure-level talisman [armchair theorist].

Zhao Kuo had never seen paper in his life, but he had bamboo slips.

The military books he studied transformed into a three-dimensional map encompassing the battlefield.

Unlike the Yin-Yang Harmony in Wang Cheng's possession, which could only be used to observe his own territory, this was a truly strategically significant weapon of war.

With this treasure in hand, the Da Zhao garrison's so-called feints and realities became a complete joke.

Their deployment was unilaterally exposed to the other side from beginning to end.

More importantly, this national treasure's capabilities extend far beyond that.

Amakusa Shiro licked his scarlet tongue.

Suddenly, he reached out and squeezed hard on one of the 500-ton warships projected by "Paper Talk," producing a "creaking" sound just like a real object.

As the veins on the back of Amakusa Shiro's hand bulged, he exerted all his strength and crushed the warship as if it were a toy.

Boom!

The real-world warship seemed to be subjected to an invisible, immense force, and suddenly burst open.

The soldiers on board didn't even have time to scream before they were blown into a bloody mist along with their flagship.

—Armchair strategist, but deadly on paper!
An uproar erupted at sea.

The Japanese pirate leader laughed wildly and triumphantly.

"So, it wasn't you who ambushed me, but rather your men and I who ambushed you from the very beginning. The battlefield was completely under my control."

I also have some bad news for you.

By now, Meizhou City in Xinghua Prefecture should have already fallen. Hahaha!

As he spoke, he raised his hand and grabbed hard at Qi Yuanjing's name on the paper.

(End of this chapter)