Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Seven Seas Beacon Fire

Author: Xiling Apostle 00

Summary:

What the Ming Dynasty lost, the Tang Dynasty must take back!

It is our duty to restore the glory of the Tang Dynasty!

I am Li Che, also known as Li Zhu, also known as wild boar, and I don’t get swine fever.

His ancestor was Li Dingguo, his grandfather was Li Zongdi, his family lineage was from the Prince of Jin, and his father was Li Renchi.

Green Luo is also Luo, and Dong Tang is also Tang.

What? My grandfather followed his ancestors' lead and rebelled against the Ming Dynasty again?

What? Grandpa's rebellion was actually because the emperor was immoral. He wanted to save the country?

What? Now there are powerful enemies outside and pests are rampant inside, and the capital has already become a mess?

Grandpa...it's not easy to take the blame, I don't want to take it, otherwise we can just go home, what can the world do to me?

Listen carefully, boy, let me teach you something——

To bear the disgrace of the country is to be the master of the country, to bear the misfortune of the country is to be the king of the world!

Volume One: The Sunset of the Empire

Chapter One: Staff Officer Li and the Princess in Distress

"Staff Officer Li? Staff Officer Li?"

His head was a little dizzy, his nose felt stuffy, and his throat was a bit sore. Under these circumstances, the voice in his ear pulled Li Che back from his daze. After suddenly waking up, Li Che seemed to have had a nightmare and was slightly frightened.

He subconsciously used both hands to check his body up and down. This somewhat unusual action left the person who woke him at a loss, just like a soldier who had fallen on the battlefield subconsciously checking himself for injuries.

Li Che, seemingly waking from a nightmare, propped himself up with his arms and sat up. Although he had slept all night, his back and waist still ached. Looking around, he saw that the streets, which seemed to be in the style of old Shanghai, were densely packed with soldiers in blue-gray military uniforms sleeping.

The soldiers were dressed in blue-gray uniforms, and their leather Y-shaped carrying gear and ammunition pouches hanging on their belts were somewhat similar to those of the French army. Moreover, the rifles beside them were quite similar to the G98 rifles used by the Leicester Army.

The strangest thing was that almost every soldier had a type of straight-brimmed iron helmet that Li Che had never seen before. Although these helmets were all painted blue, Li Che could still recognize their design...

Isn't this a modern version of the vermilion-lacquered helmet with the character "勇" (yong, meaning brave/courage) unearthed from the tomb of Prince Liangzhuang of the Ming Dynasty?

Just as a thought surfaced in his mind, a man wearing a strange straight-brimmed iron helmet approached him with concern and patted him on the shoulder. This young officer was also wearing a blue-gray officer's standard raincoat. The weather was still a bit chilly and not very warm. Only then did Li Che realize that they were not wearing traditional Chinese jackets, but rather jackets with the left collar and right lapels!

The officer's collar had three plain four-pointed stars, somewhat like the Big Dipper... probably equivalent to a captain?

"Staff Officer Li, you must have had a hard night's sleep."

As his confused mind gradually cleared, Li Che remembered his identity.

Li Che, male, is exactly 18 years old this year. He was born in the first year of Yongning. He is currently a probationary staff officer with the rank of deputy colonel (first lieutenant).

The captain, or rather, the "sergeant," took off his water bottle from his waist and handed it over: "We have just entered the city and we need to make a good impression on the people of Yingtian Prefecture. His Highness Prince Jin's military orders require us to be like Yue Fei's army: freeze to death rather than dismantle houses, starve to death rather than plunder. If we are in such a hurry to enter the city and do not disturb the people, we will have to sleep on the streets. Right now, this is all necessary. Please do not blame him."

Li Che grinned and waved his hand.

If someone else were here, they might find it strange that the person next to Li Che, who held a higher military rank than him, was so careful towards him, even showing a bit of respect. Why did a prince issue a military order telling him "not to take offense"? And why could someone who was only 18 years old, barely an adult, become a lieutenant?

The reason is simple: he, Li Che, is the heir of the Prince of Jin's family in the Ming Dynasty.

Why is the grandson of the Prince of Jin of the Ming Dynasty surnamed Li? Because his ancestor was Li Dingguo. After the Prince of Jin followed Emperor Longwu to rebuild the Ming Dynasty, his family became one of the three non-royal princes of the Ming Dynasty, with hereditary succession. They were truly born with a silver spoon in their mouths, the elite among the elite.

"Where is the... oh no, where is the Grand Commandant?" Li Che was still not used to the flood of memories coming at him all at once, and almost blurted out the words "Commander":

This army in this timeline clearly retained many characteristics of the Ming army—they called their infantry divisions "Infantry Towns," and each division was divided into the Commander's Office, the Protector's Office, and the Garrison Office, corresponding to the three departments of administration in later armies. The commander of this infantry division was called a Commander-in-Chief.

The commander's rank was Assistant General, equivalent to Major General, so Li Che respectfully addressed him as "Grand Assistant General"—a legacy of the Ming Dynasty.

As a trainee staff officer in the infantry garrison command, despite his high status and the title of trainee, Li Che had no intention of putting on airs. After waking up from a night's sleep, it was almost time to blow the reveille, and he should hurry to the command headquarters to assemble.

"No need to return to the Commandery. His Highness Prince Jin requests your immediate presence at the Forbidden City."

Li Che nodded somewhat bewildered. The officer waved his hand, and a simple, dilapidated military vehicle that looked a bit like a Ford Model T drove up. The captain got into the vehicle and waved to him: "Let's not delay, let's go to the palace now."

"Go to the palace?" Li Che curled his lip. For someone who had just arrived in this world, this was not a pleasant thing to say. But he said nothing, stomped his boots to make sure they were secure, and then got into the carriage.

After he sat down in the car, the rising sun shone on the windows of the buildings along the street, and the reflected sunlight hit his face, causing him to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes from the direct sunlight and look in the direction from which the sunlight was coming.

On the second floor, bathed in the bright sunlight, a beautiful and delicate girl was gazing at him. Their eyes met briefly. Although they were complete strangers, for some reason, Li Che felt that the girl's gaze was somewhat familiar. Even though they were some distance apart, Li Che felt that the girl's eyes were somewhat teary.

But the next moment, the curtains that the girl had opened were suddenly pulled shut, and the linen curtains covered the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar gaze.

He shook his head, withdrawing his gaze and his chaotic thoughts. At that moment, the car's engine emitted a deafening noise, and the horn's "beep beep" sounded as unpleasant as a duck with a hoarse voice.

Li Che, shaking his head at the noise of cars these days, turned his gaze away, sat firmly, and held onto the car. The driver and the captain next to him didn't notice anything and decisively started the car and drove away.

Behind them—the reveille sounded, and cavalrymen from the various military commands of the garrison, brigade, battalion, and regiment set off, galloping through the soldiers sleeping on both sides of the road, shouting the military orders issued by the Prince of Jin before entering the city:

"We'd rather freeze to death than dismantle houses, we'd rather starve to death than plunder, and no department is allowed to disturb the people!"

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"We'd rather freeze to death than dismantle houses, we'd rather starve to death than plunder, and no department is allowed to disturb the people!"

Although there were few pedestrians on the street at this moment, countless eyes in Yingtian Prefecture were watching the soldiers on the street from the houses on both sides of the street, behind the windows with the curtains slightly lifted.

Every move these soldiers made on the street was seen by the citizens. For the common people, these words were like a battering ram, making them feel as if they had been hit hard on the head.

A girl had also witnessed everything that happened outside the window. When she heard this, she was staring at a military vehicle downstairs. But soon after hearing the noise, an old woman came into the room and hurriedly drew the curtains.

The young girl had a thin, fair face, and her long, black hair was disheveled and reached her waist, making her look rather pitiful.

Her face showed a lingering, nightmare-like expression, tears streaming down her cheeks. The old woman only noticed the girl's expression after drawing the curtains, and then, without hesitation, uttered a shocking name that sent chills down the girl's spine:

"your Highness……"

Before the girl could react, she had just turned around when the old woman saw the tears still streaming down her face—overwhelmed with maternal love, she immediately embraced the young girl: "It's all that damned Jin traitor's fault, Your Highness has suffered so much... I heard from the officials in the front hall that the Naval Commander's Office will be taking us to a safe place soon..."

The girl was surprised for a moment, but didn't speak or resist—this old woman, with whom she had a rather close relationship, probably didn't know that she wasn't grieving over the fall of her kingdom as a "former princess," but rather that she was still immersed in the shadow of terror and hadn't yet recovered.

The girl had only been in this world for a short time. She had a secret from a young age that belonged only to herself and another friend. When she was only a few years old, the consciousness or soul of a little boy of similar age inexplicably appeared in her body.

The boy came from another world. Over the past ten years, the two of them would occasionally share such a time. At first, naturally, there were some frights and quarrels between the two little ones, but soon the girl and the boy became the most special childhood sweethearts to each other.

The two shared each other's worlds, marveling at the historical progress of each other's worlds, and offering each other advice on the problems they encountered in life. They laughed and cried together... until they gradually developed feelings for each other during the period of surging hormones.

However, this cross-world affection was ruthlessly contained within a container, so both of them tacitly suppressed this feeling deep in their hearts.

After that, the girl gradually began to participate in some volunteer activities, using more things to fill her emotions. This was a kind of escapism, a choice that both of them tacitly agreed upon.

Originally, it was fine for the two of them to run away from this special feeling before they figured out how to deal with it. After graduating from university, the girl chose to join various charitable organizations and public welfare agencies, traveling all over the world as a volunteer to fill her heart.

The UN Middle East Engineering Office's supply trucks wound their way across Gaza, a place already reduced to rubble. The girl in the blue helmet looked somber; the sight of the refugees, who were anxiously waiting, made her heart clench.

"Hey, hey!" Before the car had even come to a complete stop, the girl opened the door and jumped out, her long legs clad in jeans—like a lithe deer. As she stood up, people realized how tall she was, a head taller than most of the refugees.

Of course, this may also be because children in Gaza have never had the opportunity to grow to their full height.

She leaped to the back of the carriage in a few quick steps, skillfully lowering the side panel. The refugees swarmed around, jostling for the various food items covered with Chinese characters, expiration dates, and manufacturers. She was a little anxious and cleared her throat, saying, "Everyone, slow down... let the children take them first!"

The girl jumped up and down anxiously. She loved reading since she was a child and knew what might happen in a place like Gaza when order is destroyed. But she didn't expect that after she said that, people would be stunned for a moment and then form a sparse line in front of her, even pushing the children in the line to the front.

The girl was a little dazed. After a long while, she realized what was happening and sighed – today is International Children's Day!

"Yunyun!" The voice in the girl's ear became clear, as if the soul of another person inside her was about to come back to life: "Yunyun, run!"

"Run?" The girl was at a loss. "But here... the supplies..."

"Never mind that!" The consciousness that had been with him since childhood was now unusually anxious. "The fighter jets... the fighter jets are coming!"

Before she could finish speaking, a shrill scream suddenly rang out, and the refugees scattered like birds. But before the girl could turn around, she simply looked up and saw a tiny black dot hurtling towards her.

Only then did the girl hear the terrifying English word being shouted by the person next to her:

"JDAM!"

There was no time to react. The 2000-pound satellite-guided bomb exploded right in the middle of the UN truck's cargo compartment, tearing the girl apart like a rag doll from the shockwave, whirlwind, and shrapnel...

The pain brought the girl back to her senses. She breathed heavily, then coughed uncontrollably—the girl had never experienced such high temperature and pain before, and even now, thinking about it still makes her feel...excruciating! Heart-wrenching pain!

The girl came into this world with such painful feelings, and her body was attached to this girl.

The old woman, however, assumed that the pampered Princess Changning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Miaoyun, was experiencing a stress reaction due to the days of fleeing and living in fear. She went up and hugged the princess again, gently patting her back: "The Jin traitor has usurped the throne and will surely die a horrible death! Your Highness, you must protect yourself. Now you are the only bloodline of the late emperor!"

The girl was still reeling from the terror of being torn apart by a bomb weighing over a ton. She paid no attention to what the person in front of her was saying, only knowing that the official language of Yingtian Prefecture that the person spoke reassured her—no matter where she had returned to, she had finally returned to China.

The word "motherland" brought her peace of mind at that moment, even though this motherland was not the one she belonged to.

But... my current identity sounds like it's something extraordinary and quite troublesome.

The Jin bandits? The army outside seemed to be the "Jin bandits" that the old woman was talking about. However, when Zhu Miaoyun looked out the window just now, rather than being a bandit army, the army did have some of the "royal army style" in her eyes.

"Wang Ma, what kind of person is Prince Jin?" After witnessing the army sleeping on the street outside, Zhu Miaoyun suddenly became interested in the "Jin traitor" that Wang Ma had mentioned.

Having just transmigrated to this unfamiliar world, Zhu Miaoyun didn't even have the original memories of this body that many transmigration novels have. She hadn't yet adapted to the life of this girl named Zhu Miaoyun, and everything in this world was full of curiosity for her.

However, given her current status as what appears to be a princess in distress, she can probably only learn about this world from the old woman in the center for the time being.

"Why does Your Highness ask about that traitor?" The old woman looked like she wanted to pounce on the Prince of Jin and bite him. "He's nothing but a fame-seeking, hypocritical scoundrel! A modern-day Dong Zhuo! A modern-day Cao Cao! The other day the newspaper used that term perfectly, something about stealing the country..."

"A traitor who plots against the country." Zhu Miaoyun recalled the newspaper wrapped around the sesame seed cake a few days ago and thoughtfully added to the indignant Wang Ma.

"Yes, yes, yes! He's a traitor who plots against the country!" Wang Ma clapped her hands. "Your Highness, you must have seen how some of the most learned scholars of our time condemned the Jin traitor in the newspapers a few days ago, right? To be able to incite the wrath of both gods and men, if he's not a traitor, then who is? This rebel even has the audacity to raise the banner of 'Ode to Heaven's Rebellion,' isn't that blatantly a rebellion?!"

Yes, yes, Zhu Miaoyun couldn't help but nod inwardly. The Zhu family understood all too well what Fengtian Jingnan meant. However, regarding what Wang Ma said about "outrage from both gods and men," Zhu Miaoyun really couldn't tell this exceptionally loyal servant that the newspaper reports were meaningless.

The headlines of the articles published in the newspapers wrapped around the sesame seed cakes I've been eating lately have become increasingly apt and classic, reflecting the changing dates.

"An Unforgivable Traitor Openly Raises the Flag of Rebellion"

Ambitious opportunists lead their troops into Shanhaiguan Pass.

In this era, wanting to be like Dong Zhuo will not end well.

"The Living Cao Cao is Heading South Along the Railway"

The Jin King's army arrived on the north bank of the Yangtze River.

It's a pity we can't see the newspapers anymore, because the sesame cakes she ate later were wrapped in oil paper instead of oil paper. But I imagine the headlines in those newspapers were nothing more than "His Highness Prince Jin has finally arrived at his loyal Yingtian Prefecture" or "Thank God, the country is saved."

Like Soviet jokes, Gaulish newspapers are a valuable spiritual asset for all humankind.

"But I seem to have heard that the Prince of Jin is quite renowned?" Zhu Miaoyun asked tentatively.

"Your Highness, you must not be misled by the rumors spread by that villain. This Prince of Jin is just like Wang Mang, Dong Zhuo, and Cao Cao of the Han Dynasty; he has always harbored ambitions!"

"Furthermore, Your Highness, think about it. The Prince of Jin's grandson is already known throughout the land for his intelligence at the young age of ten. This publicity stunt doesn't even spare his own grandson. It's clearly a plan for when he's about to commit a coup, letting the world know that although he's a bit old, he has a good grandson who can inherit his great cause!"

Is her intelligence known throughout the world? Then it does seem a bit like a show. Before she transmigrated, that big idiot who frequently visited her consciousness initially had an arrogant attitude, but he was quickly impressed by her intelligence.

It seems that the consciousness of that idiot was still in her body when she died. She wondered how that idiot was doing now. She hoped that he wouldn't be implicated by her willful behavior back then... As for whether that guy had traveled to this world like her, Zhu Miaoyun had thought about it. But putting aside the possibility that the two of them would be lucky enough to travel together, even if he did come to this world, how would she recognize him?

You can't just ask everyone you meet about the Imperial Jade Liquor Bar, can you?

While Zhu Miaoyun was getting a little sentimental, Wang Ma's indignant outburst continued:

"...The Li Jin Prince's Mansion was a traitor to the Ming Dynasty more than 200 years ago. It was only because the Zhongzu Emperor tolerated them and for the sake of the country's cause of resisting the Qing that he conferred royal titles upon their ancestors and granted them more than 200 years of wealth and honor! In recent years, the Jin Prince's Mansion has been the only one of the three princes to hold military power. Even if the late emperor had a hundred faults, he still showed them great imperial favor. What have they done?!"

As Wang Ma spoke, she became increasingly agitated: "When the late emperor intended to eliminate the treacherous officials in the court, the Jin traitor made grand pronouncements, saying he couldn't bear to see His Majesty fighting among his own family, and remained inactive from beginning to end! He watched as the late emperor and the Left Censor-in-Chief perished together in the mutiny! This was all part of his plan!"

Was all of this planned? Zhu Miaoyun felt that what Wang Ma was saying didn't sound like a living Cao Cao. If the Prince of Jin was really so good at divination, then he would be a living Cao Cao plus a living Zhuge Liang.

"But...didn't the provisional government led by the Westernization Movement take over power afterward? The Prince of Jin didn't..."

“Princess, this is where Cao Cao’s brilliance lies. He pretends to be indifferent to power because he knows that the Westernization Movement can neither drive out foreign enemies nor govern the country well. He has always held military power firmly in his hands. Now he can be considered a ‘model for the world.’ Wasn’t Yuan Shao at the end of the Han Dynasty just like that? Does the princess think that Yuan Shao was a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty?”

Zhu Miaoyun thought to herself, no wonder Wang Ma seemed to have hardly gone to school. Sometimes she spoke in a literary style, and other times she couldn't remember the words. It seems she read a lot of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

However, what Wang Ma said was not without reason. She could feel Wang Ma's loyalty to her, or rather to the Ming Dynasty, in the past two days. Zhu Miaoyun could not judge whether this Prince Jin was a true role model or just seeking fame and fortune, but this Prince Jin clearly understood one principle.

That is the power to send troops out of the barrel of a gun.

I just don't know if this Prince Jin is Washington? Napoleon? Or just Yuan Rong'an?

But what do these things have to do with me?

She is now just a princess in distress, a lonely stranger from another world. What do national hatred and family feuds have to do with her?

After being killed in Gaza in her past life, Zhu Miaoyun only hopes to live a good life in this one, ideally until the internet is invented. Her biggest wish now is simply not to die in a basement like some Russian princess.