Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 354 Blind Fooling, Da Zhao's Reaction

Although Philip II had not yet solidified his imperial status, he was still a powerful [Crown Knight] of the high-ranking middle rank, equivalent to a second-grade living ghost god.

He raised his left hand, revealing a gold royal seal ring on his finger, pointed it at the aluminum crown in the mother-of-pearl box, and uttered a low shout:
"Domain expands! [Supreme Royal Power, Imperial Crown]!"

hum-

A crown-shaped golden field suddenly unfolded, enveloping the entire palace where the study was located.

Behind him, illusory light and shadow intertwined, and numerous sacred and majestic auras descended.

One after another, a majestic monarch appeared, wearing a dazzling crown, with a sword at his waist, and riding a warhorse, followed by the spirits of the deceased Eastern and Western Franks:
The list includes world-renowned figures such as Prince Henry the Navigator, the pioneer of the Age of Exploration, Bartolomeu Dias, who discovered the Cape of Good Hope, and Christopher Columbus, who discovered the New World.

However, he used his authority as a high-sequence human hero [Royal Authority] to summon the guardian heroes of the Frankish Kingdom to descend here.

Although no one dares to presume to claim divine authority over the Father because of the one true God, to some extent, he has already possessed a portion of the divine power.

Within the scope of their authority, they can unleash all sorts of incredible and magical abilities.

"Good day, Your Majesty!"

After these heroic spirits paid their respects to him, they each used their own methods to carefully examine the incomparably noble and dazzling crown.

Ultimately, no known methods of harming humans were found in the data.

The conclusion: "This is a treasure!"

Philip II was relieved and dismissed the spirits. He then eagerly took out the crown and put it on his own head.

clang!clang!clang!
As the solemn chimes rang in the study, it was as if the eyes of the entire world froze on him for a moment, and all heroes and spirits had to take notice.

When Philip II rose from his throne, an overwhelming aura emanated from him, and the sky seemed to shrink before him.

Even the most arrogant ministers in his presence subconsciously lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at this "most noble monarch in the world".

Wherever Philip II looked, his ministers would kneel on one knee and bow with their hands on their chests. When he looked out the window, even birds flying by had to pay their respects to him.

This feeling was absolutely amazing; at this moment, he felt as if he had truly become the supreme ruler.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter:
Haha. Ahahaha

As is well known, the power of the kings in the Western Continent is not absolute; their direct power is limited to their own "royal territories."

Other regions were ruled by feudal lords of various ranks, and the king was merely the first among many nobles.

Even if some wealthy, powerful, and military nobles don't respect him, it's difficult for him to directly turn against them, let alone strip them of their titles.

At that moment, he experienced for the first time what true power and prestige meant.

The word "emperor" automatically popped into my mind.

Only by implementing centralized power like that ancient empire in the East, and eliminating all powerful nobles and vassal states, can the emperor hold the power of life and death over everyone.

A powerful minister could be driven to suicide by having a eunuch say, "Thunder and rain are all the emperor's grace."

That was the ultimate form of power that Philip II wielded after his ascension to the higher ranks—royal power!
In a daze, he felt as if he had discovered a way to achieve the highest rank of the first class even without seeking the orthodoxy of Rome.

'By the way, the new Duke of Medinacel who wrote The Theory of Sea Power is also an Eastern vassal king, so he should be very knowledgeable about this.'

I might actually ask him to be my advisor, and use his knowledge and strength to help me complete the imperial reforms and promotion ceremony.

I think I saw a term in Eastern intelligence: "The Greatest Open Scheme in History - The Order of Grace"?

With the authority of the throne and the golden edict in my hands, no one in the world can deceive me.

In his excitement, his severe physiological depression and anxiety, gout, arthritis, digestive system defects, and other Habsburg family ailments seemed to improve.

He took out a bottle of red potion specially provided to him by the alchemist Leon and gulped it down, feeling somewhat euphoric.

But the intense desire for power and immortality in his heart did not disappear; on the contrary, it became even more fervent.

"Not enough, more, I want more!"

Wang Cheng had already learned from Fuyao about the side effects of the thirty-six kinds of external alchemy immortality elixirs.

Not only is it highly addictive, but once the source of the external elixir is lost, prolonged cessation of medication may transform one into a mindless immortal dregs; the more one consumes, the faster the transformation.

At this point, Philip II's instinctive desire for the red elixir, coupled with the military intimidation and "offering of ceremonial robes" from the Eastern Sea Kingdom of Wang Cheng, finally overwhelmed his obsession with Princess Paleolog.

He turned to look at his admiral, but forgot his words, pausing for a couple of seconds before remembering his younger brother's name:
"Don Juan, you are in charge of contacting the new Duke Medinaceli and carrying out the plan you suggested."

He could share some basic information and benefits from the Hellgate Project.

However, he also needed to use his influence to facilitate the empire's commercial and missionary activities in the international trade centers of Moon Harbor and Lake Harbor.

If the situation is optimistic, we can consider deepening cooperation further.

"Oh, and deliver one of the 'Two-Way Mirrors' that enables instant messaging to him. Considering he's offering me such a treasure, I need to ask him something personally."

Although the latter found Philip II's hesitation a bit strange, he didn't think much of it and respectfully complied:
"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this time, no one at the scene realized that as long as the wearer of the Supreme Crown was over thirty years old and reached the level of "Old Man" of the Great Zhao Dynasty, Alzheimer's disease would develop 100% (Chapter 315).

Philip II is exactly thirty-five years old this year.

Just as high-ranking theological professionals cannot resist genetic diseases and other physical ailments, second-rank [Crown Knights] are not immune to pathological physical damage.

At most, its powerful spirituality can only slightly weaken the effects of the Supreme Crown. Furthermore, the red elixir was merely an accidental invention of an alchemist and cannot compare to the thousand-year-old external alchemy method, the "Five Organs Returning to Truth Pill." Its effect on extending lifespan is far inferior to the latter, and its effect on strengthening the body is naturally also inferior.

At the very least, it couldn't help Philip II develop Alzheimer's disease; the very first symptoms, "forgetfulness," had already begun to appear in him.

Philip II was the first to leave his study, silently devising a brilliant plan for centralized power.

While the other dignitaries behind him showed him unprecedented respect, they also couldn't help but feel a strong desire to obtain the [Supreme Crown].

"My baby~!"

This longing was something they themselves couldn't easily perceive for a while; their eyes were just so bright it was almost frightening.

At the same time, Wang Cheng, the creator of this aluminum crown, far away in the East Sea Kingdom, borrowed the power of the first cargo ship, the Trinidad, to circumnavigate the globe and left a trace of his presence on it.

The moment Philip II donned the crown on the western continent, he sensed something.

Taking a break from studying the "Star Chart of Penglai Island," he looked up towards the west, a slight smile playing on his lips, and greeted Philip II in the air:
"Hello, future Lord of Blind Folly!"

Habsburg genetic diseases include physiological depression, anxiety, paranoia, and emotional apathy; you two are practically a match made in heaven with Alzheimer's.

Even if the condition worsens, it's highly unlikely that anyone will suspect Bao Guan.

Today is just the beginning, a small interest payment for the more than 20,000 people who died in Manila. Your good days are yet to come.

Just like staying up all night to work out will result in a robust corpse.

The combination of the aluminum Supreme Crown and the immortal poison in the red potion can also accelerate the transformation of this ambitious monarch into a powerful, mindless lump of flesh.

The harder you try, the faster you'll go crazy.

The Great Zhao Dynasty, Yujing City.

In Renshou Palace, which had been the site of several high-ranking battles and renovations, a group of high-ranking officials in scarlet robes from the Cabinet and the Six Ministries stood silently.

Layers of gauze curtains, inscribed with golden cloud-like characters and thunder patterns, and jade-like characters in red ink, hung down, obscuring Emperor Shaozhi, who sat on the altar behind the throne.

Since the day the [Five Organs Return to Truth Pill] was produced, Prince Jing, Han Zaizhen, suddenly transformed into Prince Guangze, Han Qinyu, and used the [Rotating Heavenly Plate] move to stab the ruler of the state, no one has seen his current appearance since.

Everyone remembers him only as a wrinkled, white-haired, and frail old man, subconsciously convinced that his days are numbered.

Apart from a very few absolutely loyal confidants, no one knew that behind the veil was actually a middle-aged Taoist priest with jet-black hair, vigorous spirit, and a figure resembling a crane, silently watching each of them.

A cold glint appeared in his eyes:
"A strong wind reveals the strength of the grass, and turbulent times reveal the loyalty of the minister."

Taking advantage of my growing old age and my eagerness to refine the elixir of immortality, one after another, Guishan Academy, members of the imperial family, nobles, salt merchants, and Han Qinyu jumped out to court death.

I cleaned up the court, and it's much cleaner than before.

Now that I am finally nearing my 'death,' even the most cunning and treacherous ministers must be getting restless, right?

This supreme first-rank [Dan Ding Daoist] relied on the golden bronze immortal dew-collecting plate to perform the elixir-dividing method, leaving a backup plan, and initially mastered the ascension immortal technique, extending his lifespan by 60 years.

Even if the youngest of these ministers dies of old age, Emperor Shaozhi will still be in his prime.

However, he himself did not realize that when he looked down at everyone, his indifferent gaze was as if he were looking at a group of ants that live only a day and die at night.

As his physical body and lifespan both became immortal, he gradually broke free from the Zhu family's destiny, and even his mentality began to transform into something inhuman.

Ding!
He casually struck the jade chime, signaling Zhang Ao, who was holding an urgent report from Minzhou and was serving as the "Assistant in the Administration of Military Affairs in the Capital" and concurrently the Minister of War of the Second Rank, to begin the meeting.

The latter quickly saluted, stepped forward from the crowd, raised the military report in his hand, and said in a deep voice to the crowd:

"Grand Secretary Xu, gentlemen of the Six Ministries, just now, Governor-General Hu Ruzhen of the Seven Prefectures forwarded to the Ministry of War the memorial of Wang Fugui, the Commander of Zhenhai Guard of Minzhou, a third-rank official."
He said a horrific massacre had occurred in Manila, Luzon, a few days earlier.

The Francois used cannons to blast the settlement of Da Zhao merchants, known as "Jian Nei," to smithereens' graves. The civilians either fled or fled, dying in the valleys, their bodies piled up one on top of the other. A total of 25,000 people were killed, with only 300 surviving.
These overseas Chinese were mostly merchants from Fujian and Guangdong provinces and their descendants.

When the commander of Zhenhaiwei said that he received the news from the survivors who had fled to Yuegang, the massacre had already ended several days ago, and the blood was flowing like rivers, a truly horrific sight.

I immediately sent my spirit to travel to the southeast to verify this, and it is indeed true.

After speaking, he bowed deeply to Emperor Shaozhi behind the gauze curtain:
"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Xu and the ministers of the Six Ministries are all here today. I request that the Great Zhao Navy be dispatched to severely punish the Frankish red-haired devils, to repay them with a tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood!"

Buzz.
Upon hearing the news of the Manila massacre, even in front of the emperor, the courtiers could not help but erupt in uproar.

Even though overseas Chinese had been regarded as people without a ruler or father since the reign of Emperor Chengzu, and the court had never cared about their lives, the massacre of more than 20,000 descendants of the Great Zhao Dynasty was still truly shocking.

Moreover, they were targeted for massacre by Westerners. They didn't kill anyone else, but specifically killed the people of Dazhao. It was simply outrageous.

Logically speaking, even a normal person, out of the most basic sense of kinship, should not sit idly by.

However, some people raised objections on the spot:

"Minister Zhang, you flatter me."

Merchants are among the lowest of the four classes of people, and these maritime merchants are even worse. They are all despised by their fathers, brothers, and relatives for abandoning their families to sail the seas and not returning home for the winter.

These people disregarded the ban and risked their lives; their slaughter was entirely their own fault.

How could our great Celestial Empire wage war for the sake of mere commoners?

Everyone turned to look, and the person speaking was none other than Xu Shaohu, the Grand Secretary, who was standing at the very front.

(End of this chapter)