Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 339 Abundant Spoils of War, The Luzon Massacre
The first stop on our round-the-world trip was the Tsushima Strait, where a major battle had just ended.

"One pull and it's gold, hey! Two pulls and it's silver, hey! Three pulls and it's glittering jewels! The sea will not let down the fishermen!"

In the light mist, a salvage team composed of sea fishermen and corpse retrievers was working while chanting the Tanka people's net-pulling chant.

Wang Cheng outsourced the shipwreck salvage operation for this major battle to the family of sea salvage experts, Han Shushu's uncles and aunts.

The Han family has now acquired properties in the East Sea Kingdom and is betting on Wang Cheng.

Han Zelin, the youngest of the five Han brothers, is known as the "White Jade Rat" and is a regular resident of Pinghu Port.

Although he is the youngest of the five brothers, he is the most talented and holds a higher official rank than the eldest brother, Han Zechang, also known as the "River Rat." He was promoted to the fifth rank at the beginning of this year.

He then served as the on-site commander.

"Brothers, let's put in more effort and take advantage of the fact that the nearby dead ships have all been swept away by the Ghost King tide. Let's try to salvage all the valuable items from the sunken ship within seven days."

The prince said that exceeding the target would result in an additional 10% bonus.

"Roar! Long live the Prince!"

"Just you wait and see, bowman."

A group of fishermen were working enthusiastically.

The tide of ghost kings unleashed by the Water Official's Dharma Realm was so powerful that many of the squadrons, consisting of more than thirty fourth- and fifth-class ships, were dragged into the water.

The most valuable items in the shipwreck were the figureheads, which were equivalent to the four main symbols of the Fujian shipyard.

Among them, the Lady of Fortune is the most powerful.

The specific effect is that when it serves as the fleet flagship, it can freely allocate the "luck" and "misfortune" of its own ship and its fleet over a certain timeline.

At the cost of sacrificing the entire crew's luck for the next month, a single "Wanlong Chushui" missile was rendered a dud, saving the lives of everyone on board.

However, it is far less convenient than Wang Cheng's risk hedging, which only consumes money.

However, if it is installed on the [Danyang], combined with the [Auspicious Protection] ability of this warship which can absorb the luck of all warships in the fleet, it will be beneficial.

It can act like a "luck bank," collecting and redistributing good fortune to achieve a strategic value where one plus one is far greater than two.

It would be even more powerful if combined with risk hedging.

Wang Cheng watched as the fourth-tier ship, adorned with the figurehead of the Goddess of Fortune, was towed away by a tugboat, and silently nodded.
"When the 'lucky' ability of the Danyang becomes widely known, or when it creates one new achievement after another, it will become a well-known symbol of luck."

It is possible to transform into a near-legendary figure, second only to those masterpiece ships and legendary warships.

It doesn't even need national treasures or figureheads to become national treasures; it can become a national treasure on its own and rival true legendary warships.

At a critical moment, even the slightest mistake by an enemy ship could lead to a tragedy similar to the "nail that destroys a nation," where a single nail can cause the downfall of a country.

By the way, this nail seems to be in Elizabeth's house, and it was made during the crucial battle in which Lancaster defeated York.

According to the statistics of the secretary bookworm.

There were about fifteen warships that did not sink in this battle: one fourth-tier ship and fourteen fifth-tier ships. With a little repair, they could be put back into the battlefield soon.

It has been incorporated into the East China Sea Fourth Fleet.

Captain Magellan of the Trinidad, who was also affected by the Demon King Tide, did not die.

Completely disillusioned with the East Frankish Empire, which was not his motherland and was merely a place of employment, he turned to Wang Cheng and swore allegiance.

Ultimately, it chose to coexist with the "Liver Flower," preserving its half-human, half-plant body. Now, it has regained its freedom and can move around at will.

He was appointed by Wang Cheng as the fleet commander of the Fourth Fleet.

As the first captain and Tide Knight to complete a circumnavigation of the globe, once he completes the fourth-rank essence, his promotion to a higher rank is a certainty.

It can be said that we have gained a great general.

In addition to the previously acquired Duke of Medinaceli, the fragments of the 10,000-winged angel statue that helped his senior sister complete her promotion, and the globally distributed fleet that was unintentionally pieced together.
The spoils Wang Cheng obtained in this great battle against the Frankish expeditionary force were far more valuable than any he had ever acquired before.

After another month or two of digestion, the comprehensive national strength of the East China Sea Nation will surely leap forward again, truly becoming a regional power, or even the strongest naval power in the East China Sea!

Wang Cheng's gaze continued to follow the trajectory of the Trinidad forward.

Heading south along the East China Sea route.

He found that the situation was slightly better in the East China Sea, where the East China Sea State was in control, and merchant ships were relatively safe as long as they were sailing within the main shipping lanes.

But once they crossed the border from the East China Sea to the South China Sea, the sounds of cannons and shouts of battle immediately filled the air. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
"Our informant said there are eight thousand taels of silver on this ship. If we take it, all the money is ours! Kill them!"

This allowed Wang Cheng to truly witness what Southeast Asia was like—a dog-eat-dog world, a chaotic scene of rampant evil.

All of this was within his expectations.

Even in "The Influence of Sea Power on the Sea," he himself devoted a large portion to explaining the underlying principles.

"The underlying logic of this world is 'violence,' and only on the basis of violence can there be 'politics,' and only within the rules, order, and power boundaries provided by politics can there be 'economics.'"

Economic and political power are essentially extensions of military power, and are the driving force behind our continuous improvement of strength.

During this Age of Exploration, transoceanic trading companies opened up trade routes to the East.

They bought silk, porcelain, and tea from Dazhao and sold them to the Western Continent, and then loaded their cargo with spices, clocks, mirrors, and various local specialties to sell to the East.

In the East, whether in Dazhao or Yingzhou, they were all law-abiding merchants.

However, once they reach the open sea or the territory of Southeast Asian aborigines, such as Luzon and Manila, they immediately transform into vicious pirates.

Instead of market transactions involving bargaining, they resort to direct force to seize other people's goods. If the other party is stronger, they immediately flee, fearing being robbed themselves.

Many people have noticed this phenomenon and asked the same question:
"Why is it that the same group of people are law-abiding merchants on the land of Daisho and Eizou, but become vicious pirates on the high seas?"

Wang Cheng gave his answer:

"In Daizhao or Yingzhou, the government and daimyo monopolized violence, which enabled normal market and economic activities."

However, on the vast ocean, no single force can monopolize exorbitant profits.

Therefore, the ocean is in a state of anarchy. In anarchy, there is no market, no economic activity, only the law of the jungle where the strong prey on the weak!

Looking at the current Age of Exploration, who provides the violence that underpins the global trade and economic activities of that era?

nobody!
Therefore, the ocean today is a typical lawless land.

Limited by its level of technological development and the difficulty of projecting power, the British Empire was only strong, far from being able to control everything.

They can't even have absolute authority in the Caribbean, where they have the most power, let alone in the Far East, the East China Sea, or the South China Sea.

Therefore, the East China Sea, which was dominated by the Donghai Kingdom, gradually became peaceful, but the South China Sea, which was a mixed bag of people, became more and more chaotic.

"A violent monopolist is needed here too!"

Wang Cheng's gaze gradually shifted to Luzon Island, occupied by the Franks, and Manila.

As early as when he learned from the Duke that they had another operation in Southeast Asia, he had Sun Tianba, who was studying at Pinghu Maritime University under his command, inform the elder of the association, Diaoye, to be on guard.

He also wanted to know how the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia were doing and what had happened.

Then he saw the well-dressed governor and his wife taking a stroll in the governor's mansion.

Behind him was a woman with black hair, dressed in Da Zhao clothing, who was breastfeeding a baby in her arms as she walked.

Wang Cheng couldn't help but frown.

"The status of the Zhao immigrants is really low; they're treated like servants by these Franks?"

However, he soon realized that he had guessed wrong.

Reality was a million times crueler than he had imagined.

As his field of vision gradually narrowed, allowing him to see the contents of the swaddling clothes clearly, he finally saw them.

boom!
He felt a surge of blood rushing to his head, veins throbbing on his forehead, and he almost ground his teeth to powder on the spot.

"Red-haired devils! You're asking for death!"

He discovered that the baby in the swaddling clothes was not the Franco infant he had imagined, but a pet dog with a collar!
Making women from Da Zhao nurse their pet dogs?!

A surge of malice nearly caused his blood vessels to burst.

At the same time, the view extends beyond the heart of Manila, revealing the landscape outside the city.

Wang Cheng's eyes were instantly filled with blood.

Outside the city was a massacre targeting expatriates that had already ended!

(End of this chapter)