Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 314 Public Opinion Can Melt Metal, Dark Clouds Loom Over the City (Seeking Votes)

Jade City.

The gates of the Marquis of Wuding's mansion, located in Jinchengfang, were tightly locked, sealed by the White Scale Guards with a talismanic seal that had the effect of sealing off the area.

Several passersby quickened their pace and lowered their heads as they passed through Wudinghou Hutong, in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

At a restaurant across the street corner, a group of elderly patrons witnessed this scene and couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

"Thinking back to the first Marquis of Wuding, Guo Ying, he was a peerless hero who killed Chen Jiu Si with his divine arrow, the Nine Arrows of Sunset, in the Battle of Poyang Lake."

Listed in the "Biographies of Heroes and Marquises of the Great Zhao Dynasty," who wouldn't give a thumbs up upon seeing a descendant of the Marquis of Wuding's family? And look at them now... alas!

"Guo Xun, the Marquis of Wuding in the previous generation, sided with the current emperor during the Great Rites Controversy and was granted the title of Duke of Yi and Grand Tutor. He was extremely powerful for a time, even earlier than Grand Secretary Yan."

However, he became arrogant because of the emperor's favor, and he looked down on all the officials in the court.

The Guo family owns more than 1000 shops in the capital alone, and several entire streets are theirs.

When his family's caravan went out to do business, they would proudly display the golden signboard of "Duke Yiguo," parading through the streets, bullying men and women, and no one dared to interfere.

Guo Xian, a distant relative, also took control of the Eastern Depot, where he ruthlessly oppressed the innocent, turning the entire Guo family into a scourge on the capital.

Some of the other patrons at the table clapped and cheered:

"We watched him build a tall building, and we watched it collapse. The Marquis of Wuding's mansion deserved this fate!"
Back then, my family owned a cloth shop. We weren't rich, but we lived a decent life. However, that scoundrel Guo Xun forcibly seized our property. When my parents resisted, they were arrested and imprisoned in the Eastern Depot prison, where they were all beaten to death.

There are countless kind-hearted people in the capital who hate the Marquis of Wuding's mansion.

Guo Xun offended the entire court and died in prison twenty years ago.

Now that his son, Guo Shouqian, the current Marquis of Wuding, has participated in a major treason case to avenge his father, his entire family should be executed!

Why should we, who have suffered under the tyranny of the Marquis's household for years, endure hardship and destitution, while his descendants can live in luxury with the money Guo Xun embezzled? Only today do I believe that justice prevails and retribution is swift and certain.

It's a pity that I heard that a son born out of wedlock ended up running away from the Marquis's mansion.

Rumors circulated that the纨绔子弟 (a spoiled, dissolute young man) had suddenly gained the power of a fourth-rank official, and had violently attacked and fled to the southern overseas regions.

At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice and said mysteriously:
"Are you aware of the news that came from Grand Secretary Yan's residence three days ago? It has spread throughout the entire capital in the past few days."

It is said that the young Grand Secretary Yan Donglou was hosting a banquet for his guests one night, and during the meal he suddenly became very interested and began to comment on the world's richest people.

He counted on his fingers and listed a total of seventeen 'top-tier wealthy people' in the entire Dazhao Kingdom.

Even more strangely, the families of the Prince Yi (a member of the imperial clan), the Marquis of Wuding (a noble family), and the Zhang family (a wealthy salt merchant family from Shanxi)—all of whom died suddenly one after the other—were listed among them.

When this topic came up, everyone else perked up.

"Yes, yes, I heard about it too."

There are so many rich people in the world.

These are seventeen of the world's wealthiest people, already a perfect topic of conversation. The fact that three of them were traitors who attempted to assassinate the emperor not long ago adds an extra layer of mystery.

The news spread throughout the capital in just three days.

These seventeen people include:

"Grand Secretary Xu, Prince of Shu, Duke of Qian, Tusi An Xuanwei, Eunuch Huang Jin, Duke of Cheng, Duke of Wei, Prince of Yi, Marquis of Wuding, and the Lu family of Bailin Guard."

Besides these people, there were also three Shanxi merchants, two Anhui merchants, and two wealthy merchants from Suzhou.

Ten of them were genuine officials, including Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet, members of the imperial family, warlords, eunuchs, and chieftains.

The Shanxi merchants, Anhui merchants, and Jiangnan merchants shared the remaining seven seats, highlighting the prominent position of the three major merchant groups among private merchants.

The three Shanxi merchants among them were the Wang, Zhang, and Ma families, all of whom were exemplary figures who integrated officialdom and commerce.

It's obvious to anyone with eyes to see that the wealthy tend to distribute their wealth in three directions: official power, privileges, and land.

In Dazhao, wealth and power must be combined.

Even those wealthy merchants who seem to have simple backgrounds, if you just look around, you'll find that their families definitely have several "upright officials" or "renowned scholars".

Otherwise, the Shen family, the God of Wealth, who would have been ruined long ago, serves as a cautionary tale!
Of the four people from Guishan Bookstore involved in the assassination, aside from [Lichun] whose identity is currently unknown, there are others.

The other three living spirits are a member of the imperial family, a nobleman, and a wealthy merchant; not a single one is a true scholar of integrity. It's unclear whether this arrangement is a coincidence or intentional, as the leader, [Lichun], can see through everyone's identity.

Outsiders have no way of knowing what purpose Yan Donglou, the second smartest man in the world known as a "genius," had in compiling such a list of the rich.

But his intelligence was known to everyone in the capital.

He's 48 years old this year, and he's no longer the reckless young man who blurted things out when drunk.

In addition, there was the recent uproar caused by the mysterious assassin.

This list of wealthy individuals who happened to include three of the rebels from the Kameyama Bookstore may seem like a casual joke, but others cannot take it seriously.

This has already stirred up a thousand waves, causing another undercurrent beneath the already turbulent surface of the capital.

Anyone whose name was on the list, whether or not they had something to hide, was in a state of constant fear, afraid that the ruler would cause them trouble and that their whole family might end up like the three "predecessors".

The official and business worlds are in chaos.

These wealthy individuals were all incredibly powerful, and with their minds in turmoil, even the divine aura of the First Emperor of Han above their heads showed signs of dissipation, almost indicating a tendency towards disloyalty and alienation.

It may be just a temporary fluctuation, but it should not be ignored.

Meanwhile, a servant suddenly came to report from the Yan residence:

"Young Master, someone from the palace just delivered an imperial edict to the Master: the opening of the elixir in two days should be a cause for universal celebration, and trusted ministers should also join in the grand occasion."

The esteemed gentleman is cordially invited to attend the ceremony with his children and grandchildren.

"understood."

The short, stout, one-eyed man gently stroked a talisman in his hand—the Zhou Jingwang Bronze Bell—and smiled inexplicably.

The folk legend anchored on this bell is: "Many voices can melt metal, and accumulated slander can destroy bones."

Meanwhile, before the elixir of immortality was produced in Renshou Palace, the East Sea welcomed the expeditionary force of the Frankish Empire.

Outside a pirate port far from normal shipping routes.

Two groups of people, one from the Japanese pirates in Chechidan and the other from the Luzon colony, had been waiting here for a long time.

They were respectively led by the Onmyoji Amakusa Shiro and Miguel Lopez, the Governor-General of East Frankish Luzon.

Suddenly, Amakusa Shiro looked up at the empty sea and reminded him:

"coming."

clang!clang!clang!
A majestic bell tolled from the void, seemingly emanating from heaven.

Then a dazzling divine light appeared, suddenly expanding into a magnificent circular gate, seemingly cast entirely in gold and inlaid with various precious gems.

Many people, upon seeing it, mistake it for the Gates of Heaven.

Then the gate, which was 100 meters in diameter, slowly opened, and in the brilliant holy light, a golden angel-shaped ship's bow appeared first.

Also cast in gold, it has a million faces, each with a tongue engraved with different symbols, representing the million dialects it speaks.

Its back was covered with countless wings of all sizes, and a golden portal was clustered in the center of the wings.

In sacred texts, He is the Archangel Michael, the angel with many wings, the guardian of the gates of heaven, and the archangel.

A certain aspect of His divine power manifested, and a miracle was performed upon this golden statue amidst the devout prayers of countless believers.

It embodies a trace of the power of that one God and is one of the most top-tier level zero relics in the hands of the Holy Cross Church!

The sea voyage from the mainland of the Eastern Franco Empire to here is approximately 22100 kilometers, or 12000 nautical miles.

If a normal ship wanted to travel this distance in seven days, it would need to reach a speed of 71 knots, or 132 kilometers per hour.

However, with the help of the legendary warship that had become highly integrated with the relics, this expedition team accomplished this incredible feat.

Behind the bow is a pale gold oak hull. Each sail of the "Angel of a Thousand Wings" is not a normal square or fore and aft sail, but dozens of large and small golden wings.

The sea breeze transforms into wind spirits, swirling around.

Behind it, fourth- and fifth-class ships emerged one after another, quickly filling the harbor. White sails stretched into white clouds, as if they were about to crush the East China Sea!
(End of this chapter)