Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 371 Cassandra: I declare you guilty!

This traitor, Kameyama, never expected that his plan would unfold in this way.

"This script is completely wrong! Isn't Wang Fugui a proponent of war? Why would he suddenly agree with my suggestion?"

Just as he was about to speak again, Wang Cheng raised his hand to interrupt him.

He looked at Jiang Jichun and said righteously:

"I know that Vice Envoy Jiang, a scholar who has been accustomed to reading the classics, has the world in his heart and internationalist spirit, unlike us military men who have always been short-sighted and only know how to protect our country."

Are you trying to say that the sage said, "If distant people do not submit, then cultivate virtue and culture to attract them"? Although the Franks were unruly, they were ultimately people outside the realm of civilization.

Our Celestial Empire should use its glorious righteousness to influence the barbarians. If we were to wage war to subjugate them, how would we be any different from the barbarians? Wouldn't that be lowering our own status?

Jiang Jichun was completely baffled by Wang Cheng's actions and stammered:
"That's exactly what I meant, but..."

Wang Cheng raised her hand again, giving him a look that said, "I understand you."

"Are you also going to say that killing is stopped by the benevolent? Those Franco people who commit murder have cut themselves off from the rule of the king; if I do not punish them, it will show the benevolence of my great nation."

When all nations of the world hear of this, who would not yearn for the Great Zhao? This is the supreme strategy of subduing the enemy without fighting.

Jiang Jichun:
That makes sense, but...

Every time he was about to speak, Wang Cheng would have a long speech waiting for him.

Before long, from four perspectives—the magnanimity of the Celestial Empire in "pacifying distant peoples," the moral superiority of "the benevolent are invincible," the pragmatic consideration of "prioritizing profit over righteousness," and the political wisdom of "the strategy of restraint"—Jiang Jichun's motivation for "promoting peace" was presented in a grand and respectable manner.

Before they knew it, they had elevated the deputy envoy to a very high position.

In the end, everyone felt that if they did not take the path of peace this time, they would be letting down the country, the people, and all the soldiers in the fleet.

Jiang Jichun felt an increasingly strange sensation in his heart, thinking to himself:

"These are all my words!"

But then he thought about it again and realized that this was actually better:

"If you really choose to launch a frontal assault without saying a word, and you are protected by the military aura within the army, I will have to go through a lot more trouble to secretly eliminate you."

It is also difficult to find opportunities for the Franks to cooperate.

Now, all I need to do is tip off the enemy in advance so they can ambush you early on. When you come ashore, they can lead a group of natives to surround you from all sides and bombard you to death, thus ending the problem once and for all.

Although I came up with the idea, it was your fault that it wasn't executed well.

Once you die, wartime command will ultimately fall into my hands.

"Then I'll have a legitimate excuse—to find the elixir of immortality for the emperor—so I can leave with a large army without any problem. Afterwards, at most, I'll just have to argue with my political enemies."

[Rain Water] Jiang Jichun was even more greedy than Cassandra had guessed.

He not only wanted Wang Fugui dead and to take over the large fleet, but also wanted to act as a savior for the Francois in their most perilous time, to gain immense prestige in the world of the Holy Cross Church, and to help himself acquire the capital to become the spokesperson for the Great Zhao Diocese.

This is the main reason why he didn't issue a warning in advance, but instead chose to contact Manila Governor Miguel only when the situation was about to escalate.

Adding flowers to brocade, but what can compare to providing charcoal in the snow?
Unexpectedly, Jiang Jichun had just revised his Plan No. 2 when he heard Wang Cheng instruct the generals:

"Since no one has any objections, I hereby appoint Vice Envoy Jiang to enter Manila and represent me in the talks with the Franks."

Upon hearing this, even someone as shrewd as Jiang Jichun, a seasoned rebel, couldn't help but freeze in shock.

"Huh? You want me to go?"

"I am the deputy envoy, how can this be allowed?"

His wishful thinking failed one after another, and he was caught off guard, instinctively wanting to refuse.

At this moment, Wang Cheng's previous amiable demeanor vanished, replaced by a stern and imposing expression as he stared intently into Wang Cheng's eyes.

“Vice Envoy Jiang, if you, the vice envoy, don’t go, do you expect me, the envoy, to go instead?”

Governor-General Francis was originally a lowly, bankrupt colonist who led a group of bandits, thieves, and bankrupts to conquer this land before being appointed as governor by the false king Philip II.

If even such despicable people require me, the envoy, to intervene, where is the prestige of our Celestial Empire?

And wasn't this your suggestion? If even you yourself are unwilling to go, what about the Confucian principle of the unity of knowledge and action?
However, Vice Envoy Jiang, rest assured, although the barbarians outside the Great Wall are indeed ferocious, we are only doing this for peace talks.

All you need to do is tell them that we are here to evacuate all our citizens, and that if they hand over the people in the city, we can forgive and forget.

If they refuse even this small request, then they truly have no choice but to die.

At this moment, all the officers and generals on the ship looked at Jiang Jichun, and many of them had a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

Jiang Jichun was filled with shock and anger:
"You stinking soldiers!"

In the past, one's position determined one's perspective. Although this scholar-official did not think much of those fighting soldiers, even Yu Long and Qi Hu were just a bunch of brutes in his eyes.

Moreover, Wang Cheng is just a "white-collar worker" from the water class.
But a group of brutes, united by a common breath, unleashed a mighty military aura that collapsed like a mountain, so powerful that even a high-ranking deity would not dare to directly confront them.

He was besieged and ostracized from within, and faced with pressure from his master and the greater good from without, leaving him with no way to refuse.

Jiang Jichun's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth:

"Your Majesty, take your orders."

This third-rank scholar was no fool; by now, he could easily see that Wang Cheng had clearly spent ten days figuring out his methods and was deliberately setting a trap for him from the very beginning.

He wanted to fail his mission, be punished, and lose face, perhaps even hoping that the Francois would keep him there.

Even though Wang Cheng had managed to gain a slight advantage by virtue of his higher rank, Jiang Jichun refused to admit defeat.

"Hmph, how could a mere clown know the abilities of me, a living god of Nestorian Christianity?"

When I arrived in this colony ruled by the Church of the Holy Cross, it felt like coming home.

"Once I successfully bring those expatriates back, you'll be in a difficult position. Then I'll see whether you attack or not!"

As he swept his sleeves out of the cabin, he saw Cassandra walk around the corner ahead, disappearing in a flash.

"What is she going to do?" Although Jiang Jichun wondered why Wang Fugui had found an "idle person" to board the ship, he had not seen his master's wife make any moves or take on any duties these days.

But then the doubts in my heart vanished, replaced by an uncontrollable possessiveness that I had felt ever since we first met.

He subconsciously squeezed something inside his sleeve.

This was not a common "illness of the king," but as mentioned before, this Nestorian Christian truly had the means to get closer to the "true god" through bloodline reproduction.

The reason he was able to escape with his life from Wang Zeng, a second-rank official, was also thanks to this ancient treasure.

"Even the Prince of Jinghai couldn't stop me, so what can even the most dangerous places do to me?"
"When I return, I will slaughter Wang Fugui sooner or later and take his master's wife away! So that my descendants, the descendants of the Jiang family, may also become God's chosen people, the surplus of the people."

Urged on by Wang Cheng, Jiang Jichun did not waste a moment and led a group of temple soldiers made from ghosts to Manila.

He received an unusually warm reception from Governor Miguel.

Even the more than 300 survivors who were still alive in the city were gathered in advance and quickly arranged to board a ferry sent by Wang Cheng.

Jiang Jichun's negotiations went much more smoothly than expected. He encountered no obstacles whatsoever with the Francois. An uninformed person might really think they were great philanthropists.

Only the little boy who had just asked his mother "whether he could be a human being in the future" mustered up the courage to ask Jiang Jichun as they passed by:
"My lord, so many of our Da Zhao people have died. Are they just going to die in vain?"
Before the people from our hometown came to uphold justice, those executioners and murderers went unpunished. Now that you, sirs, have arrived, they still remain at large. Haven't you all come for nothing?

Jiang Jichun was already in a bad mood because he had missed a perfect opportunity to kill Wang Fugui. Upon hearing this, his face darkened further, and he rebuked him mercilessly:

"How dare you, a mere child, presume to comment on matters of national importance?"
If you dare utter another word, your whole family will be left here!

His mother, her face numb, quickly pulled back her son who had caused the trouble and repeatedly begged Jiang Jichun for forgiveness:

"Sir, please forgive my rudeness. This child has been frightened into having hysteria. He didn't mean to offend you. We'll leave right away."

As the child was pulled away by his mother, tears streamed down his stubborn face. He didn't understand the important matters of the nation and only knew that his father and many relatives had died tragically. He only wanted revenge.

The other survivors dared not speak, but their expressions were all the same.

Their loved ones had all perished in this catastrophe, and they would gladly exchange their lives for those of the Franks.

Unexpectedly, the imperial troops, though they arrived, were so weak.

Some people are heartbroken:

"These red-haired devils are all jackals, fearing power but not virtue, and they don't accept our Great Zhao's benevolence and morality at all."

They've gotten away with this murder, but who knows how many more of our compatriots will die at their hands in the future?

But Jiang Jichun ignored him and only found it noisy.

Fearing that these treacherous people would cause trouble again, he ordered the temple's ghost soldiers to forcibly drag them onto the boat.

Secretly, however, he secretly communicated with Governor Miguel, conspiring to say:

“Governor, I suspect they won’t really let this go. They’ll try to lure the fleet’s commander ashore so you can kill him and resolve this crisis once and for all.”

It would be even better if you had suitable bait to use.

The latter hesitated for a moment, but upon seeing the flagship's five-peak banner and countless menacing cannon muzzles, he regained his resolve:

"Your Excellency, most of our warships have gone to support the Battle of Malacca Strait, leaving our defenses weak. Indeed, only our marines are still capable of fighting."

To be honest, we do have an incredibly precious treasure here: the method to build a [Legendary Warship]!

Moreover, it is a secularized and improved version of the manuscript by the high-sequence alchemist, Lord Leon.

It can combine those near-legendary warships with extremely high legendary status, which have already become relics, with level zero relics.

There is a high probability that it will undergo a final transformation and become a living legend!
His Excellency Leon's research aims to make full use of the various powerful relics we have plundered from all over the world.

Therefore, the key to this construction method is the compatibility between the two artifacts, and it is not limited to the Church's level zero artifacts, but has a wider applicability.

Once this technology spreads, many more legendary warships will surely be born on the high seas in the future!

Perhaps their individual combat strength is not as good as the original ones, but the quantitative change is enough to lead to a qualitative change.

This was one of the key secrets of the Franco Empire, and Miguel took a great risk by using it as bait.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jichun's eyes lit up. As a Nestorian Christian and a scholar-official from Guishan, he was familiar with both legendary warships and the Heavenly Craftsmanship Treasure Ship.

Even knowing that the creation of a legendary warship or a masterpiece ship is not as simple as he makes it out to be, they immediately recognized the value of this technology.

Wang Fugui, who already possessed the "Five Peaks Flag" ship, was not unmoved.

After giving Miguel a look that said, "Very good, wait for my news," he was about to take off and fly back to the fleet to lure him into a trap.

Suddenly, they were stopped by two unremarkable-looking Holy Cross priests dressed in black robes.

Facing the two clergymen, Jiang Jichun completely lost the arrogance he had shown towards the overseas Chinese just moments before; in fact, he even displayed a hint of obsequiousness befitting a convert, bowing slightly at them.

"Is there anything I can help you with, gentlemen?"

Bang!
The leading priest slammed an ancient wooden cross, roughly the height of an adult's thigh, to the ground. Looking directly into Jiang Jichun's eyes, he said, word by word:

"The ninth commandment: You shall not bear false witness or deceive anyone.

The tenth commandment: You shall not covet your neighbor’s possessions, nor covet your neighbor’s property, riches, or spouse.

In the name of God, I declare you guilty!

Although the sound was not loud, it could be clearly heard throughout half the city and the fleet at sea.

Jiang Jichun and Governor-General Miguel's expressions became incredibly interesting.

"You're the church's [judge]?! Your Excellency, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

Before Jiang Jichun could finish speaking, the "priest" and the dazzling holy light above the cross instantly intertwined to form a solemn and majestic "courtroom".

All the Franco soldiers and converted natives within this area involuntarily raised their guns and pulled the triggers on Jiang Jichun, the "criminal" he had been labeled.

boom!boom!boom!boom!
(End of this chapter)