Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 358 Immortal Medicine Pursues Human Life, A Community of Interest

The prisoners who came to see the Japanese lord were all bound with cursed ropes, and were like cattle and sheep to be slaughtered. Whether they wanted to or not, they had no choice but to accept this task.

After hearing the nobleman's promise, there was only a slight commotion before things quieted down again.

Then, Queen Puguang, holding an eight-foot-long jade ornament, came before these prisoners and branded black jade marks on their foreheads one by one.

"what--!"

Besides the skin and flesh on their foreheads, they felt a sharp burning pain even deep in their souls, and all the prisoners couldn't help but let out a series of shrill screams.

In the Shinto tradition of Yingzhou, the soul is divided into "one spirit and four souls," namely: the direct spirit, the wild soul, the harmonious soul, the lucky soul, and the strange soul.

In Japanese, the word "jade" is pronounced the same as the word for "spirit," so the Yasakani no Magatama is widely believed by Shinto believers to have the power to control the soul.

Thus, through a thousand years of prayers, this magatama truly acquired similar abilities.

Finally, Queen Puguang branded the back of the magatama onto the palm of a middle-aged samurai of the third rank at the front of the group, whose face was as cold and hard as iron.

He was given the power to control the souls of these condemned prisoners.

Then, the talisman bearing the Imperial Seal of the State, the "Edict of the First Emperor Requesting Medicine," was delivered to him.

After everything was ready, the voice of the Japanese lord, Masamachi, finally drifted over:

"Lord Yamada, this mission to find the medicine, as well as the important task of ensuring the continuation of the royal family, is entrusted to you."

This is the first time that the edict of the First Emperor of China has left the imperial palace. After completing the mission, it can safely guide you through the Cursed Great Wall.

Remember, do not disappoint me.

The middle-aged samurai, Yoshiaki Yamada, knelt on one knee and solemnly promised:
"Your Majesty, I will stake the honor of the tenth head of the Yamada family on this elixir!"

Then he got up and led the way out of the Imperial Palace.

The death row inmates were all intimidated by the man's terrifying aura, and no one, regardless of their strength, dared to act recklessly in front of him.

Simply because he is the Yamada Asaemon of this generation!
The Yamada family has inherited the name "Yamada Asaemon" and openly engages in the appraisal and sale of swords.

Behind the scenes, there was a very special and cruel job – “testing the blade”, also known as “douchi”, which involved using human bodies, including the corpses of condemned prisoners and living people, to test the sharpness of swords.

And the swords are rated according to their cutting effect.

The process generally involved placing the corpses on a special testing stone, or even stacking several corpses together, to test how many layers a single cut could cleave through.

A sword that can be cut through one layer is called "one-layer sword," and one that can be cut through two layers is called "two-layer sword." Generally speaking, a sword that can reach "three-layer sword" is considered a treasured sword. Each of the "Five Great Swords of the World" can reach more than ten layers simply by virtue of its sharpness.

Therefore, this family also had the terrifying title of "Head-Cutting Asaemon" or "Man-Cutting Asaemon," as they also served as executioners.

As the current generation's "Yamada Asaemon", Yamada Yoshisuke holds the official title of "Yoshimono Magistrate", which grants him the privilege of freely wielding his treasured sword and killing civilians on the roadside to test his skills without having to "pay compensation".

Note that it's not about paying for a life for a life, but rather that even the samurai's "slaying and pardoning" punishment doesn't require any compensation.

He definitely has a license to kill.

The family has been passed down to this day, and the entire family has killed more than 50,000 people. Almost every generation of Yamada Asaemon has been promoted to the third rank.

When Yamada Yoshisuke led his team out of the gate, a large number of his personal guards, the demon soldiers [sword-drawing squad], had already gathered outside the Imperial Palace.

These main force of the temple army ghost soldiers escorted Yamada Yoshisuke and a group of powerful death row inmates onto several large ships, weighed anchor, and set sail.

If you look down on the entire Yingzhou Island from high above, you will find that in addition to the royal family's entourage, more than one Japanese daimyo also sent ships into the South Seas.

In fact, the royal family sold more than one copy of the "Star-Traveling Map of Penglai Island".

Not only Wang Cheng had one, but almost every powerful daimyo had one as well.

Clearly, they discovered the Southeast Asian crevice earlier than Wang Cheng and Frankish.

This is the benefit of Japan's so-called "unbroken imperial lineage".

The Japanese rulers all came from the same family, and their lineage had never been broken. They knew that every time a new dynasty was established in China, cracks would appear in the Mountain and Sea Curse, only the specific locations of these cracks would differ.

The Japanese royal family would send death row inmates to explore Penglai Island each time, and would also leave specific talismans and protective objects on the island, which would send out signals whenever the island appeared.

The intelligence they had accumulated was far more than just the "Star Chart for Crossing the Ocean" left by Xu Fu.

Lord Masamachi of Japan gazed at the scene of departure reflected in the Yata no Kagami (a mirror used to envision a ship setting sail) and murmured to himself:
"Based on the experience of our ancestors, Penglai Island is fraught with danger. Without enough cannon fodder to share the burden, it would be impossible to penetrate deep into the island."

It's not good to eat alone; it's a bargain for these treacherous officials.

I have carefully studied the intelligence collected throughout history and discovered a pattern: the further back in time, the closer Penglai Immortal Island gets to the Great Wall of Curses.

Many of the cracks appeared because they were caused by that moving fairy island.

Moreover, the quantity of elixirs seems to be increasing, as evidenced by the information that explorers transmit before their deaths.

Most of the magical medicines have shown the characteristic of actively pursuing humans, and some even possess a certain degree of intelligence, turning around and hunting humans.

This makes it even more necessary to use numerous death row inmates and cannon fodder as bait to lure us into hunting for the elixir.

I have a premonition that this may be the closest we've ever come to the elixir of immortality.

It's not like obtaining a completely unusable type of flower like the [Five Temples Divine Treasure Flower], but rather a top-grade item that's effective simply by being eaten raw.

By the end, his eyes were brimming with excitement.

Queen Puguang, standing beside her, frowned slightly.
"Your Majesty, almost everyone else has set off, but the Donghai Kingdom has not made any move."

I always felt that Prince Jinghai, who rejected our offer of recruitment, seemed a bit stubborn and unyielding.

We have already offered the highest price, granting him the destiny to legally rule Japan and expand his power without limit. But he not only rejected the Japanese system and the opportunity to seize power, become the Shogun, and the new King of Japan, but now he is not even interested in the elixir of immortality.

This is truly baffling!

What good are the vassal kings appointed by the Great Zhao? Which of the kings of the various vassal states didn't submit to the Great Zhao and declare themselves emperors in their own countries? Which one could the Great Zhao possibly control?
Could this person really be a die-hard loyalist of the Great Zhao?

They were clearly unaware that Wang Cheng had already broken the rules of the game they had set, and had quietly picked up a chessboard called "Da Zhao" from behind his back, intending to make the East and West Oceans recall the fear of being dominated by the treasure ship fleet!
Masamachi didn't seem to care much about the East Sea Kingdom's reaction.

This Japanese ruler, who had been poor for too long, did not have the same ambition as Wang Cheng, nor did he have the backing of the world's strongest nation, the Great Zhao.

In fact, no daimyo had the power to go to Southeast Asia and divide up territory before unifying the entire country of Japan and becoming the ruler of the land.

They all just wanted a dose of the elixir.

The Habsburg family, which practiced consanguineous marriage, had various genetic diseases. Does that mean that Japan, which claims to have an unbroken imperial lineage, doesn't have any?
The former at most produces a group of mentally ill children, while the latter is just extremely lucky, with the main genetic disease being weak constitution and reproductive dysfunction!

Often, the throne is passed down through a single line of succession, with the imperial line being inherited by a collateral branch, and now the line is almost extinct.

For example, the siblings had fourteen children, eleven of whom died young.

Masamachi grasped Fukō's hand:
"Sister, it's alright. Once we become the true immortal race, all the lords of Yingzhou will respect us as they would a true god!"

The Minzhou Water Management Office was located in Funing Prefecture.

Wang Cheng was escorted out of his home by Yu Zigao, the fifth-rank "Tiger General" and son of Yu Long and Yu Zhifu, who was half a master.

The latter looked at the spirited Wang Cheng and sighed for the umpteenth time:

"Junior Brother Wang, I never expected that you would not only be promoted to the fourth rank in the blink of an eye, but also become my superior. You must take good care of your senior brother this time when you go to Southeast Asia."

Wang Cheng laughed and patted him on the shoulder:

"Senior Brother Yu, we're brothers, why be so polite with me?"
As long as you don't blame me for choosing you to join the fleet and go on adventures in that dangerous and treacherous land of the South Seas, that's fine.

Oh, and take this.

"The weather's getting cooler. Buy some tonics for the old lady and make her a few new clothes. Just remember not to tell General Yu."

Then he waved and left gracefully.

After watching Wang Cheng walk away, Yu Zigao looked down at the thing in his hand.

He discovered it was a share transfer document from a joint-venture fruit company, granting him two percent of the shares free of charge.

When he saw the monthly dividends and the financial reports for the past few months, his heart skipped a beat.

His face flushed instantly, and his hands, clutching the few thin sheets of paper, began to tremble slightly.
"What kind of business is this Junior Brother Wang doing?"
One person's monthly bonus was comparable to his father's salary for more than half a year, which was a second-rank military officer, and it was not even reduced by half.

The financial report also stated that this is just the beginning, and with a positive outlook for future operations, dividends will increase year by year.

Yu Zigao stood blankly at the door for a long time, his face showing a struggle.

Based on the education he received from a young age, his true intention was to use all his perseverance to catch up with Wang Cheng and return the documents to him.

But looking back at the elderly, disabled, and destitute veterans of the Yu family army in the courtyard; and the old mother with her white hair who rarely sees meat throughout the year.
His wife, whose clothes were washed until they were faded, couldn't bear to buy him a new set of clothes; the hairpins she wore were just ordinary silver three-pronged hairpins; there was also the cramped and narrow house; and the families of fallen soldiers waiting for aid in many places.
But no matter how hard I try, I can't take that step.

Finally, he tucked the heavy pages of documents, which seemed heavier than a mountain, into his clothes, pressing them firmly against his body, his face a mixture of joy and worry.
"No matter what kind of business my junior brother is in, whether his ship is an official ship or a pirate ship, I'm afraid my family will be unable to disembark."

He gave so much.

Then he turned and walked toward the Sihai Money Shop branch, which had just opened in Fuzhou.

It is said that the main branch of this money exchange is in Yuegang, and the head manager is Mr. Shen, a water-class official. He is extremely wealthy and his money exchange is a large money exchange with the names Yuan, Heng, Li, and Zhen.

All of the profits from United Fruit Products went through this money exchange.

Instead of returning home, Wang Cheng went to Qi Hu's residence, which was also in Fuzhou.

"This is a token of my brother's appreciation; please accept it, brother-in-law."

My sister is pregnant now, so I'm giving her this money to help with household expenses.

He knew that Yu Long and Qi Hu had different ways of doing things. This time, instead of hiding anything, he directly sent his godbrother-in-law, Qi Yuanjing, a shareholding document with the same share.

Yu Long and Qi Hu were both generous to their subordinates, yet they had no surplus wealth at home.

Both were high-ranking military officers, and their salaries were not low, exceeding five hundred taels of silver per year, in addition to some customary gray income.

However, Yu Long was upright and honest, and he distributed most of his money to his subordinates who were struggling financially. Although Qi Hu was both firm and gentle, he still had to spend a lot of money in the officialdom in order to gain the support of the civil service group.

In short, they were all desperately short of money.

In fact, they are not the only two who have already received shares in United Fruit Products.

Starting with Hu Ruzhen, the governor of the seven prefectures, and continuing with Yu Zhifu, Qi Yuanjing, and the coastal prefecture commanders whom Wang Cheng had met at the anti-Japanese victory celebration banquet as Qi Hu's brother-in-law, almost everyone was included.

The only difference is the size of the shares allocated to each individual.

As for what the main revenue-generating business of United Fruits is, which can feed the coastal officials and generals, as well as the living gods and spirits of the third rank?
That was, of course, the massive military procurement order for the eighth voyage to the West!
Wang Cheng first approved funds using his identity as "Imperial Envoy General," then collected money using his identity as "Prince Jinghai," and then used the shell of United Fruits as a money-spreading agent, quietly weaving a huge military-industrial interest group.

The navy needs elite sailors, junior officers, and elite soldiers; certain prestigious positions that can add a brilliant touch to one's resume.
The estimated future profits of the naval fleet in Southeast Asia; the officers' turning a blind eye at crucial moments, and so on.

In the hands of these high-ranking military officers who wielded great power, the revolving door of money, power, and people spun rapidly!

In the process of forming the new naval force, Wang Cheng, the imperial commissioner and general, not only did not suffer any hardship, but also received the full cooperation and support of all parties.

Using public funds to do one's own thing, the power that is ultimately leveraged is far more than just the mere 500,000 taels in the imperial treasury.

(End of this chapter)