Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 56: Mix incense and offer it to your father, making the whole family feel filial piety

Wang Cheng swam underwater to the stern of the Ziying in one breath, and even the lookout could not spot him.

Due to the rising winds and waves at sea, all the side gun ports were closed and bolted in order to prevent water from entering the hull. They were then sealed with a mixture of pine resin oil, hemp rope, loose cotton, and rags.

Wang Cheng had no choice but to climb in through a porthole located on the lower level of the stern deck.

The reason for choosing today to make his move is that the crew will all gather on the most spacious through-deck cannon deck for a banquet, making it easier for him to take advantage of the situation.

In addition, the "eye in the brain" allows Wang Cheng's senses to cover the entire warship, 39 meters in front and behind, so he can see clearly where there are guards and where there are gaps.

Standing in the warship's cabin, Wang Cheng couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion at the sight of the scene.

Who would have thought that his re-entry into the Five Peaks Banner headquarters would be in this manner of being both the pursuer and the pursued?

"A group of Japanese sailors in Western warships are attacking a group of Tanka people in Fujianese boats. This Age of Exploration, which is connecting the whole world, is getting more and more chaotic."

Just a century ago, the treasure ships and fleets sent by the Great Zhao to the Western Ocean were the only synonym for an invincible fleet.

If the blueprints for even the ordinary treasure ships—the seven magnificent treasure ships representing the pinnacle of Lu Ban's craftsmanship—were still available, why would we need to go to such lengths to learn Western shipbuilding techniques?

It is said that about a hundred years ago, during the Chenghua era, in order to prevent the imperial court from reorganizing the treasure ship fleet to sail to the sea, all the data accumulated during the seven voyages to the Western Ocean were burned to ashes by Liu Daxia, the Minister of War who came from a gentry family in Jiangnan.

Too much time has passed, and Wang Cheng doesn't know if the legend is true or false, or if there's a conspiracy behind it.

But the fact that the blueprints for the treasure ship, the navigation charts, the star charts for crossing the ocean, and so on have all disappeared is truly undeniable.

It just disappeared without me knowing.

The Wang family, who were also descendants of the treasure ship's naval commanders, had the deepest affection for the treasure ship and were the most knowledgeable about the situation at sea. Throughout history, people have tried to find these lost blueprints.

However, no progress was made, which forced them to seek outside help.

The Ziying was one of the prototype ships that Wufengqi specifically purchased for research.

Wang Cheng remembers clearly that the seller was the East Bharata Company, a Dutch company.

They have just arrived in the Spice Islands to establish a colony.

In order to curry favor with the King of the East Sea and, incidentally, to sow discord among the former colonial powers, the Frankish people, who also came from the West and had a first-mover advantage, the price of the warships was not outrageous.

The Water Collection lineage does not have official positions such as "Shipwright"; the shipbuilders are all "Carpenters" and "Master Craftsmen" who follow the Lu Ban method.

However, the artisans in Dazhao were of low social status, far inferior to their Western counterparts. Even if their skills were not bad, they still needed the support of the upper-class officials to succeed.

The gentry had little interest in such matters and lacked pioneering spirit.

Wufengqi, whose origins lie in arms dealing, is most enthusiastic about such matters. Long ago, they launched a plan to imitate warships and guns, and have become the representative of advanced productivity in the entire Dazhao Kingdom.

Although no domestically produced sailing warships have been launched yet, the technological reserves are just one step away from completion.

The old father also specifically told Wang Cheng about his grand shipbuilding plan.

By combining Eastern and Western technologies, we will build a fleet of treasure ships that can sweep across the world, just like the ancient crafting of famous swords and magical artifacts.

They've even come up with names: [Purple Ying Ship], [Mandarin Duck Thunderbolt Ship], [Divine Wood Ship], [Ice Soul Cold Light Ship], and so on.

Originally, it was supposed to fall into the hands of the Great Zhao along with the surrender, but now all efforts have been in vain.

It seems that a considerable portion of the family fortune has fallen into the hands of that traitor, benefiting someone else entirely.

They're willing to go to such lengths to hunt down even minor characters like him and Han Shushu.

Wang Cheng quickly composed himself, stepped out of the cabin, and prepared to start killing—and he would kill everyone in one go!

"Sailboats were indeed the most powerful weapon in naval warfare, but they also had a fatal weakness, namely, their powder magazines."

The powder magazine was located on the lower deck, below the waterline. In the era of solid shot, unless one had an extremely lucky stroke of luck, it was virtually impossible to hit it there.

Even if it hits, a solid shot would hardly ignite the powder kegs here. However, if a single spark lands inside, it will explode with a 'boom,' blasting everyone into the air.

"A simple time-delay device made from the end of an incense stick would be enough for me to escape."

Wang Cheng closed his eyes, a faint silver vertical line appearing between his brows. Relying entirely on his [Brain Eye], he made his way through the dimly lit cabin towards the lower deck.

There was a banquet on board, and most of the crew members gathered on the gun deck. It wasn't difficult to avoid the few people on night watch.

As they got closer to the gunpowder depot, Wang Cheng could faintly hear two voices chatting in Japanese.

His hand was already on the hilt of the knife, ready to use a silent assassination technique to quietly kill the guard.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that this sailing warship followed the tradition of the Da Zhao fleet, with a shrine placed on each deck.

The Da Zhao navy worshipped many sea gods, and the "fake" Zhou Sanpao listed a whole bunch of them like a menu:
The Divine Needle General, the Stone-Clamping God, the Water-Changing Boy, the Water-Cup Saint, the Guardian Deity of Positions, the Heavenly Consort, and so on, each have their own scope of authority.

But here, there is only one object of worship, which is Wang Zeng, the original owner of the Wufengqi ship, who is also known as "Lord Jing" in the current sea god belief.

In Wufengqi and even in a large part of Yingzhou, this is absolutely politically and ideologically correct.

Traitors also need to disguise themselves. The upper echelons of Wufeng Banner may have different thoughts, but the middle and lower ranks are mostly loyal.

Even though the traitors wielded considerable power and played a significant role in the downfall of the Cai Shui Wang family, no one dared to openly violate this most sensitive taboo during the infiltration phase, showing disrespect to Prince Jing.

so.
Looking at the wisps of incense burning in front of the clay sculpture of his father, Wang Cheng's eyes gradually lit up as he came up with a better new idea.

If the operation goes smoothly, we might even be able to capture this rare sailing warship!

Although it requires more technical expertise and involves more risks, it's nothing compared to the rewards of success.

After only a slight hesitation, he decided to change his plans, thinking to himself:
"Father, may I borrow your incense offering?"

Without any hesitation, he stepped forward, pulled out the incense sticks stuck in front of his old father, extinguished them, and threw them away. Then he put in three other incense sticks that looked similar.

This is certainly not an ordinary product; it is the "Rooster Crows at Dawn to Resurrect the Soul Incense" made in the shape of incense sticks!
He then took out the small bottle containing the antidote and took a big gulp.

Then, starting from the bottom, they replaced all the incense sticks in front of each shrine, bowing three times each time to show their filial piety to the old man.

"Dad, please eat and drink well."

"Eat and spend as you please within the Mountain and Sea Curse Realm; don't try to save money for me."

Throughout the entire history of China, Wang Cheng is probably the first person to offer incense to ghosts and gods at the crack of dawn.

If the Heavenly Princess's lineage, or the other spirits and deities of the Water Class, were to see this, their first words during this year's New Year's greetings would probably be:
"Old Wang's family is in great mourning, fellow Daoists."

Anyway, when Wang Cheng walked up to the open deck...

The incense, filled with filial piety and the aroma of the rooster crowing at the fifth watch to revive the soul, had already spread rapidly throughout the entire warship under the cover of the still-burning smoke and fire.

The incense burners and crew members who were patrolling back and forth were completely unaware that anything was wrong, and they couldn't even imagine that such an amazing operation existed in the world.

The first to sense something was amiss were the two Japanese sailors guarding the gunpowder depot on the lowest level.

One of them suddenly twitched its nose:
"Taro, do you smell anything that's different from usual?"

The other, less perceptive, nonchalantly replied:

"It's normal for the air in the compartments below the waterline to be stagnant; they're bound to smell foul to begin with. You might have smelled the food and drinks from the upper levels."

"I've been on the ship for too long this time, and I can't wait to finish my mission and return home. My fiancée, Sachiko, is waiting for me to come back."

Before he could finish speaking, he and his companion, who was gasping for breath in an attempt to pinpoint the source of the odor, collapsed to the ground with a "thump, thump."

Until they lost consciousness, they did not suspect the incense sticks in front of Prince Jing not far away.

(End of this chapter)