Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 13 Mirage General, Director of Waterways

Wang Cheng nodded in agreement.
"That's right. My ancestors were military households who guarded Yuegang for over a hundred years. They had been in decline for a long time, and it was only in my generation that I was fortunate enough to pass the imperial examination and become a scholar."

In Dazhao, there were three classes above the lowest social class: civilian household registration, military household registration, and artisan household registration.

The scholar Wang Fugui was one of the military households. His ancestors were lowly archers in Yuegang Garrison, not much different from the tenant farmers, or rather, serfs, kept by the centurions and chiliarchs.

The only advantage they had over the Tanka people was that each family had a quota for students to take the imperial examinations, while ordinary families could support as many scholars as they wanted.

In theory, once this scholar, who embodies the hopes of his entire family, rises to the position of Minister of War, he will be eligible to remove his family from the military household register.

Hearing their conversation, Zhang Wu couldn't help but feel indignant at the treacherous court:

"The imperial court's military preparedness has become so lax. If it weren't for Prince Jing's efforts in sharing the benefits with the people and defending the borders for the past three years, this sea would have been in chaos long ago."

Without a powerful naval force to quell the seas, I think the Great Zhao Dynasty is doomed sooner or later!

Wang Cheng wholeheartedly agreed with these words, but inwardly shook his head at the Han family emperor in the capital:
"History records say that at the end of the previous dynasty, there was a divine connection between heaven and man. The Han family relied on the celestial phenomenon of 'Don't say that the stone man has only one eye, it will stir up the turbid river and the world will rebel' to inherit the mandate of heaven and take the lead in rebellion."

Han Lin, the young Ming King, turned the tables and killed the Wu King Zhu family, who had rebelled against their superiors. He then drove the remnants of the Chen, Zhang, and Fang families, who had also rebelled against the kings, into the sea to become pirates, and finally established the Great Zhao Dynasty.

The official explanation was that the strictest sea ban was issued to guard against these coastal pirates, and the ban on mountains and seas was initiated.

By the way, I once met with my father Zhu Yaozhai, the current King of Wu, who ruled the island of Nanyang Old Port and had been in power for eight generations.

How should I put it? He was an old man who looked quite otherworldly and a bit eccentric.

He held my hand and said that it was Emperor Taizu Han Lin of the Great Zhao Dynasty who seized the country that was almost ready to be built, and also took away most of the destiny of the Zhu family.

He invited my father and me to help him reclaim our ancestral property, and even offered to give each of us a get-out-of-jail-free card or something.

At that time, I had not yet awakened my innate wisdom and did not believe his crazy talk at all.

It now seems that although the Han family somehow seized the Zhu family's destiny and resurrected them, they failed to do better, and signs of the dynasty's demise were already evident.

The nation began to crumble after only two hundred years of existence.

One can see the whole leopard from a single spot. The boat people and naval households that Wang Cheng personally experienced all suffered greatly under the Great Zhao Dynasty, and there were countless people who harbored resentment within the dynasty.

Not to mention the endless stream of evil spirits and ghosts outside, as well as the lurking Francois from elsewhere.

Of course, he also knew that even if Da Zhao was terminally ill, crushing him would be easier than crushing an ant.

After the two major upheavals of sending the king ship to fill the sea eye and the sea monster blocking the coast, he had no doubt that the mastermind behind the scenes was determined to kill him.

Both the legitimate and criminal worlds must be searching for him using various methods.

If one hides away and ekes out a living, even with the protection of the "Four Seas Coins," it's nothing more than a slow death.

If we want to break the deadlock, there is no better place than Yuegang, a world trade center connecting the East, West, and Southeast Asia. Taking a little risk is totally worth it.

The Zhang Fushun continued forward, and the group saw the source of the illusory mirage on the outer edge.

Those were hundreds of large clams densely packed together at the bottom of the harbor.

They are covered in moss, each one is at least as big as an eight-immortal table, and the largest is not much smaller than a house. When they open their shells to swallow and spit out water to filter food, they unconsciously release a faint mist.

Zhang Wen explained to him:
"Scholar, don't worry."

You may not have seen them these past few years since you left home to study.

Back then, when Prince Jing was guarding the East Sea, he sent his twenty-four generals and thirty-six fierce warriors to be stationed at Yuegang. These were mirage clams that Huang Yuanzhou, the "Mirage General," had raised using supernatural techniques.

Moon Harbor is ultimately a smuggling port. In the event of foreign invasion, the mirage clams, combined with the complex waterways, form the port's most important protective barrier; under normal circumstances, they never harm anyone.

However, no one noticed the barely perceptible hint of nostalgia that flashed in Wang Cheng's eyes when he heard the name Huang Yuanzhou.

Soon the fishing boat completely broke through the illusory mirage, allowing Wang Cheng to see the true appearance of Moon Harbor with his own eyes, and he couldn't help but sincerely admire it:
"How bustling it is!"

The harbor is traversed by a narrow strait, resembling a crescent moon, making the name "Moon Harbour" truly fitting.

There were hundreds of huge ships anchored in the anchorage, coming and going, sails billowing in the wind, blocking out the sun.

Among them were the hard-sailed boats common along the coast of Dazhao, as well as the soft-sailed kraks and galleons unique to the Semu and Franco people. People of all races, including those with yellow, white, brown, and black skin, were represented.

The sounds of vendors calling out in different languages ​​rose and fell in my ears:

"Set sail and anchor!"

“Hacerse a la mar!”

"."

Its prosperity surpasses that of any port city in the countries of Da Zhao, Donghai, and Nanyang, making it truly deserving of the title "World Trade Center".

This place is remote and the people are fierce. After it was abandoned as a military garrison, the government, which did not extend its imperial power to the countryside, was never able to reach this place again.

It is more than 40 li away from the nearest prefectural city, Xiangzhou, and there are no other county seats in the vicinity.

Driven by enormous profits, people spontaneously gathered, and Yuegang became home to tens of thousands of households, merchants flocked there, shops lined the streets, and commerce flourished.

The actual managers were always the "sea pirates" who committed all sorts of atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting, as described by the imperial court.

The local chronicles of Xiangzhou City clearly record the embarrassing situation that the Great Zhao Dynasty had to face:
"The pirates were highly respected among the people, and everyone flocked to them. They would offer them fresh produce, wine, rice, or even their children."

"The inns in Zhucheng, knowing full well that the pirates were there, were greedy for their huge profits and allowed them to pile up their goods, and even bribed them to escort them."

"When pirates enter a city, they are spared the calamity of having their beds removed; when they sail out to sea, they are helped on the same boat. Even a three-foot-tall child regards pirates as their parents who provide food and clothing, and military commanders as their ancestral enemies."

The reason for this was that it was the merchants who took the lead in going to sea, rather than the military, who provided food and clothing for the coastal people who were struggling to make ends meet.

A group of Tanka people stood beside Wang Cheng, looking at the bustling port, their expressions all complex:

“We used to have a hard time, but in the last three years, Prince Jing has treated everyone equally and provided a lot of support, so our lives have gradually improved.”

Now that Prince Jing is gone, I wonder if the Five Peaks Banner can still hold onto Yuegang? And how long can these good days last?

Just then, as if in response to their question, a loud shout suddenly rang out from the dock:
"All the newly arrived fishing boats have come to pay their fishing fees."

"The Imperial Water Conservancy Bureau has now moved into Yuegang, thus restoring order to the past. Commercial and fishing taxes must be paid in full for the next three years."

The Zhang Fushun and several other fishing boats that had entered the port earlier were suddenly struck dumb, their faces turning pale as they looked at the dock.

Two tax collectors were leading a large group of tax officers in uniforms to search each boat, tally the catch, and collect fishing taxes.

Upon seeing them enter the port, tax collectors immediately rowed up in small boats, silently raising their menacing crossbows, and none of the ships dared to move.

In the end, we had no choice but to follow the instructions and park in the designated berths one by one, constantly wondering to ourselves:
"What's going on? Where did this tax collector from the Water Conservancy Bureau come from in Yuegang?"

"Aren't they all along the Kowloon River? The port of Yuegang, which was managed by the maritime merchants of the border trade, has already been taken over by the imperial court?"

"Where is that Mirage General from Wufeng Banner? Is he just going to stand by and watch?"

Fishermen from the East China Sea and the Jiulong River felt their legs were trembling as they stepped off their fishing boats.

Although news of Prince Jinghai's ambush and assassination had already spread throughout the East China Sea, they never expected that the subsequent impact would reach them so quickly.

The three years of good times were as beautiful and fleeting as a spring dream.

Boom!
Among the tax collectors in their uniforms, a giant nearly two meters tall slammed a heavy, dark club onto the wooden walkway with a loud thud.

"Hurry up, all of you!"

I, Xue Da, can tell how much fish your boat is loaded with just a sniff.

If you dare to dawdle any longer, it will be considered violent resistance to taxes, and don't blame me for showing no mercy with my demon-wielding staff.

Wang Cheng also frowned deeply.

"If the imperial court really takes over Yuegang, things will get complicated."

(End of this chapter)