Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 293 An Unexpected Surprise: A Thousand Lights, A Grain of Soil!
[Dragon's Blood] On this day, the official rank and position are only one step away from the pinnacle of political power.

The reason it's not yet at its peak is simply because there's still a ruler sitting above it.

After being promoted to the fourth rank, Yan Yunxiao gradually revealed the power of the strongest Heavenly Rank official.

During this time, he also mastered the complete inheritance of the Dragon Pearl - the secret orthodox method [Kyushu Sheling Thunder Method].

"Jiuzhou" means the whole world, and "She" means the land god. Together they mean that they are responsible for carrying out thunderous orders throughout the world. In addition to restraining the officialdom in the human world, they can also confer titles on the earth gods and spirits!
Forcibly apprehending evil spirits under its jurisdiction for its own use is merely one of the most insignificant abilities of the Kyushu Sheling Thunder Magic.

The "Evil Spirit: The Rat's Wedding," born from a nursery rhyme, is a grand gift that Yunxiao prepared for the five-colored rat demons.

Use a malevolent spirit that specifically eats rats to deal with this group of rat evil spirits.

Of course, no evil spirit is benevolent. This tabby cat, besides eating mice, will also eat every living person born in the Year of the Rat, especially brides.

Meow~

The tabby cat lay on the ground, its mouth wide open like a city gate.

The entire procession of mice, their faces filled with worship for the "strongest," marched in single file, banging drums and gongs, before sliding into the cat's mouth and into its belly.

At the back of the procession, the surging Five-Colored Rat Demons seemed to have their minds bewitched after hearing the joyous sounds of gongs and drums.

They lined up, each biting another's tail, and together they crawled into the tabby cat's mouth.

This tabby cat's belly seemed to be a bottomless pit. No matter how many mice went in, its belly didn't get any bigger. Moreover, joyful sounds kept coming out of the cat's mouth, attracting even more mice.

Evil spirits, which are born from human willpower and must act according to predetermined rules, perfectly embody the principle of mutual generation and restraint.

Just when Wang Cheng and Yan Yunxiao thought that the troops they had prepared in advance might not be needed.

squeak--!
Among the rat evil spirits, which varied in size and breed but were all uniformly covered in five-colored fur, one particularly large individual suddenly broke free from the influence of the wedding celebrations.

It turned around and bit the tabby cat instead.

Meow--!
The tabby cat shrank its neck, dodging the bite aimed at its throat.

But it seemed to be frightened, meowing and scurrying around, trying to escape the big rat's pursuit and bite, and the joyous sounds of the rat's wedding came to an abrupt end.

"Is this a monster? A cat-eating rat?"

Upon closer inspection, Wang Cheng discovered that among the hundreds of five-colored rat demons, there was an anomaly mixed in.

Although many things are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, and rats are generally afraid of cats, there are exceptions that defy this principle, and the cat-eating rat is one of them.

They feed on cats, needing to eat at least one every day, which in turn makes them the natural enemies of various feline evil spirits.

As soon as it appeared, the ordinary five-colored mice around it regained their senses and spontaneously formed a swarm around it, chasing and intercepting the tabby cat. The scene was thrown into complete chaos.

"Zhang Wu, Dragon Whale Warriors, advance! Decapitate that cat-eating rat!"

"Yes, Commander!"

Zhang Wu, the "Salt Man" who had risen rapidly through the ranks following Wang Cheng to become a battalion commander, stepped forward from the crowd, wielding a copper-hooped dragon-patterned staff forged by his younger brother Zhang Wen.

Behind him followed hundreds of temple soldiers clad in fine steel armor.

He formed hand seals, bowed deeply towards the direction of the Heavenly Market Wall, and chanted, expending his accumulated karmic burdens:

"By the Heavenly Market, your disciple vows that we will not be bitten by rats today!"

The team was suddenly enveloped in a faint light, and then they started running faster and faster, charging against the tide of rats with Zhang Wu as the spearhead.

"kill--!"

A misty white fog rippled over them, outlining the shapes of enormous killer whales, forming a magnificent pod.

Wielding his gleaming sword, similar in appearance to a long-handled broadsword, he effortlessly sliced ​​through the swarm of rats as easily as a hot knife cutting through grease.

No five-colored rat demon could withstand even a single blow; even the hardest skull was cleaved in two with a smooth, effortless cut.

Whenever a rat tries to bite them, its teeth will instantly slide off their armor, leaving at most a few specks of golden-red sparks.

This is the first group of ghost soldiers—the Dragon Whale Warriors—that Commander Wang Fugui of Zhenhaiwei trained after being promoted to the fifth rank!
It's good to have a big tree to lean on. All officials who have cultivated to the fifth rank and are qualified to command military tokens and refine temple soldiers will receive training methods from the imperial court.

Every dynasty can inherit the legacy of its predecessors, constantly refining and improving its military training methods. Over the generations since the pre-Qin period, the accumulated knowledge of military training has long been enough to reach the number of 365 stars in the celestial sphere.

From the Zhao border cavalry, Qi elite warriors, Wei infantry, and Qin elite soldiers of the Warring States period, to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the Black Armor Army, and the Beiwei Army, they all have it all.

Each type of temple army ghost soldier, inheriting the military spirit of their predecessors and developing it in their own way, has its own strengths, enough to dazzle the officers and generals.

Currently, the three most elite types of temple soldiers in the Great Zhao are the three major camps guarding the capital: the Five Armies Camp, the Three Thousand Camp, and the Divine Machine Camp. Ordinary officers and generals are not qualified to be involved.

In addition, the long-term maritime ban narrowed the choices available to Wang Cheng and his naval officers, leaving them with only five main options: the Tower Shipmen, the Brocade Sail Pirates, the Long Water Camp, the Giant Whale Camp, and the Flying Dragon Camp.

Wang Cheng, as a third-rank military officer and commander of the garrison, brought back all these military training methods and borrowed them from the Azure Dragon of the Four Symbols and his father-in-law, Lord Yan, to train his troops.

By developing unique characteristics within the basic unit types, the [Dragon Whale Warriors] were forged, initially consisting of 100 soldiers.

The selection criteria were extremely stringent. Only elite soldiers who wore heavy armor, carried a 12-stone crossbow, had three days' worth of rations and water, wielded a long halberd, carried an iron sword, and had a musket and fifty rounds of fixed ammunition on their backs, and could run 100 li (3 kilometers) in half a day could be selected.

Only one out of about ten able-bodied soldiers from the Tanka people could be selected; those who were slightly weaker would not be able to withstand the strength bestowed upon them by this type of soldier.

His unique skill was jokingly referred to by Wang Cheng as the "Whale-Killing Overlord Fist".

One can extract a whale soul from a whale fall in the sea or from a whale that has just been killed. How much whale power one can obtain depends entirely on one's talent and physical condition.

When led by someone possessing dragon energy, their strength in all aspects can be increased by another ten percent.

Wang Cheng possesses rare and valuable assets; he can find whale falls with ease, and the elite troops he selects are all "street urchins" of the ocean. Therefore, it's fair to call this elite force the "Rebel Warriors." Unlike the "Five Directions Dragon Scale Soldiers," the "Dragon Whale Warriors" are not ready to use immediately and require additional investment.

They must drink eight cups of honey water a day to maintain peak combat effectiveness; otherwise, their physical strength will rapidly decline, putting considerable pressure on logistics during battles.

It is best suited for combat in water, southern China, and island environments.

Although the fact that a certain big shot couldn't forget about honey water on his deathbed gives people a strong sense of déjà vu.

But even if they venture deep inland, as long as Wang Cheng is by their side, he can transform into a green dragon and "summon clouds and rain," and they can have as much freshwater as they need.

"Javelin throwers, fire!"

They all took off the javelins from their backs.

call--!
The whale inhaled, a strong wind swept through the arena, and a powerful military aura poured into its body, causing the muscles of the hundreds of dragon whale warriors to taut like bowstrings.

They channeled their power into the tips of their spears, then suddenly released them, sending hundreds of javelins hurtling through the air with a piercing whistle.

Without needing any aim, the cat-eating rat and all the five-colored rat demons surrounding it were pinned to the ground.

Soon, joy returned. The tabby cat, having escaped with its life, opened its mouth and continued to enjoy its meal under Yunxiao's control.

"What is this?"

Wang Cheng discovered something beneath the corpses of the five-colored rat demons, which had been blasted apart by the impact of military and yang energy and were gradually dissipating.

He waved his hand and summoned a strong wind to blow away the pungent smell of blood.

The ground was littered with all sorts of odds and ends: copper coins, silver hairpins, tattered clothes, pots and pans. The items were clearly from all over the country and from all directions.

Everyday items you can think of are available here.

These five-colored rat demons are essentially the embodiment of "corrupt officials" and "giant rats" in folk legends. They are filled with greed and eat everything, and their harm extends far beyond just food.

Any gold and silver treasures, heavenly treasures, or even ordinary possessions, such as a pair of trousers or straw sandals, are on their menu.

Some of them can be digested, while others cannot.

Therefore, the belly of each of these five-colored rat demons is like a blind box, which may contain unexpected treasures.

Among these "treasures," the most abundant item is soil!
In an instant, a thick layer was spread on the ground.

On the surface, this soil may seem unremarkable, but in Wang Cheng's eyes, each handful has its own story:
"Is this the red soil of Fangshan County? The white soil of Zhuozhou? The red soil of Chaozhou? The blue soil of Meizhou? The yellow soil of Wuzhou? The black soil of Jinzhou? The black soil of Chunzhou?"

There was only a handful of soil in each place, as if it were a trace of loose soil left on the surface after these rats had eaten the food of thousands of households.

They all shone with an extremely strong aura of willpower, proclaiming their extraordinary nature.

A glint flashed in Wang Cheng's eyes, and his heart was suddenly filled with immense joy:
"Our shipbuilding progress is being held back by the Five-Colored Soil, and we don't have the resources to spend several months acquiring it, so we can only place our hopes on Lao Lu."

Old Lu is always reliable. After I wrote to him, he immediately helped me find out the origin of the five-colored soil used in the Altar of Mountains and Rivers.

Every time the emperors of the Great Zhao Dynasty offered sacrifices at the Altar of God and Grain, a new layer of five-colored soil would be laid on the altar.

The Ministry of Rites first dispatched the Imperial Academy to the Ministry of Works to prepare the offerings in Zhuozhou, Fangshan, Dong'an, and Bazhou. The offerings were then sent directly to the sacrificial site five days before the ceremony, where the Imperial Academy inspected and approved them.

In Zhuozhou, ten bags of yellow soil and nine bags each of green, red, white, and black soil are allocated in spring and autumn.

In Fangshan, five bags of yellow soil are allocated each in spring and autumn, along with five bags each of green, red, white, and black soil for the sacrificial rites. There is no stock left after the rites, and they are basically used up on the spot.

In other words, the five-colored soil used in the sacrifice came only from four places around the capital: Zhuozhou, Fangshan, Dong'an, and Bazhou. It was not dug from all over the country.

The only impressive thing is the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, not these places near the capital. So even if the stockpile isn't used up, it's no different from digging it up locally yourself.

But there is another kind of soil.

Yan Yunxiao also transformed into human form and landed beside him. She picked up a pinch of five-colored soil, sensed it, and then smiled as she continued his sentence:
"The Zheng He Treasure Map says that besides the five-colored soil that the emperor sacrificed to on the Altar of Mountains, Rivers and Soil, which is the best, there is another type of soil whose effect is no less than that of the former, and even better."

That is the fertile land that has been directly irrigated by the sweat and prayers of the people of China.

A thousand lights shine, a handful of soil is borrowed!
The main task was to travel all over China, going door to door to collect a handful of soil. No one in any dynasty had the manpower and resources to do such a thing.

But it was unintentionally accomplished by the Five-Colored Rat Demon.

They appeared simultaneously from all corners of the country, and were brought before us through the Ghost Gate, naturally bringing with them soil from all over the country.

Light burst forth from Wang Cheng's fingertips, rippling outwards in concentric circles.

Using the technique of "Gathering Beasts and Taming Birds, Enlightening All Kinds," the five-colored soil scattered on the ground all shook themselves and stood up as little mud figures.

They lined up and jumped into the coin hole of the Four Seas Tongbao.

"Sister Axiao, we really are good people who get good rewards."

Originally, it was just to help the common people, taking advantage of the corn planting and the opening of the Ghost Festival to clear out a wave of five-colored rat demons.

They actually helped us solve our most troublesome problem.

The finest [Pu Tian Wang Soil], combined with that [Dragon Pearl] that's almost complete except for the one from Han Wugui, the Crown Prince of Guangze, is at least equivalent to a near-legendary ship, right?

Seeing the "ghost gates" constantly opening at the edge of the cornfield, it seemed as if an endless swarm of rats was pouring in.

Wang Cheng, as if he had discovered a walking treasure trove, turned around and waved his hand at his own men:
"Attack together! Kill them all! Don't let a single one escape!"

The soldiers roared in agreement:
"Follow the order!"

(End of this chapter)