Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 12 The Deal, Moon Harbor

After the group hid for three or four days, the East China Sea had become lively again.

Just as Wang Cheng predicted, a group with ulterior motives could not possibly completely blockade the mouth of the Jiulong River.

They sailed the "Zhang Fushun," a vessel that had been completely revamped and whose details were drastically different from the past, and quietly blended into the other returning fishing boats and smuggling vessels.

It was as if a drop of water had merged into a river, and I never encountered another sea monster again.

They didn't just rush on their way back; they continued fishing as usual, constantly experimenting with the lucrative business that Wang Cheng had instructed them on.

"One pull and it's gold, hey! Two pulls and it's silver, hey! Three pulls and it's glittering jewels! The sea will not let down the fishermen!"

Led by Zhang Wu, a group of boatmen chanted the net-pulling chant and worked together to haul the large fishing nets that had been cast out of the sea.

In the past, they all followed the experience passed down from their elders, casting a net regardless of whether there were fish or not, believing that luck was more important than skill.

The scenario that inland people imagine—that the Tanka people eat big fish, shrimp, and crabs every day—does not exist at all.

However, after Wang Cheng's guidance, and by setting the nets at the places and times he suggested, they caught fish every time and had a very good harvest!
There are even occasional unexpected surprises.

"That's impressive, it seems like they've loaded another big truck this time."

As a fishing net woven from ramie was pulled onto the deck by the combined efforts, Zhang Wen, who had been waiting in ambush, immediately pounced and grabbed a silver fish whose tail was swinging violently like a windmill.

After excitedly showing it to everyone, it was quickly put into the bucket.

The moment the fish entered the water, it transformed into a streak of silver light, swimming at incredible speed, almost too fast for the human eye to follow.

[Rare Goods: Swallowtail Yellowtail Amberjack, one of the 100,000 Sea Delicacies, weighing one pound and eight ounces]

Similar to the parrotfish, it has a similar basic effect. Its flesh is delicious and can greatly replenish qi and blood, making it a nourishing delicacy for any practitioner, especially helpful in nourishing the physical body.

Value of goods: 230 incense money (value fluctuates, and there is room for increase if a suitable buyer is found).
Taboo: Everything will be done quickly within a day after eating, especially sexual intercourse. Take a shower and bath in just one minute and thirty seconds. Solution: Recharge your energy and try again tomorrow.

Consuming ten swallowtail-shaped shark fins will grant you the permanent special ability: light as a swallow.

This 100,000 Sea Treasure was much smaller than the Parrot-beaked Blue Cobra, but it was already considered extremely precious by everyone on the Zhang Fushun.

Zhang Wenxian carried the bucket to Wang Cheng like a treasure, giving him a thumbs up:

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant!"
Scholar, your divination skills are truly amazing.

Sister Ah Xiao, this "pearl diver," had gone out to sea with fishing boats before, but she could only catch one or two out of ten pearls by the grace of the Heavenly Princess.

I think even those famous treasure hunters wouldn't be as good as you.

With your exceptional skills, we'll be able to acquire a second and third fishing boat sooner or later, and eventually become a renowned fishing force on these seas!

Wang Cheng put the three copper coins he had used to pretend to perform divination into his sleeve.

This is an essential skill for Confucian scholars to practice the Book of Changes. He, a fake scholar who aspired to be an official since childhood, had also learned it, and combined with Wang Fugui's memory, he used it flawlessly.

Whether it's accurate or not is another matter, but it's perfect for fooling these newly recruited young guys.

His greatest reliance has always been the "Four Seas Coin".

Wang Cheng devised a grand plan to make a fortune: to establish a fishing gang, gather manpower, and fully utilize the potential of rare and valuable goods.

He never considered relying solely on himself to fish in the sea, after all, he only had one head and two hands, and even if he worked himself to death, how many treasures could he possibly catch?

The Wang family motto for water collection is: "Those who wish to make a profit must invite others to share in the gains; those who wish to accumulate wealth must gather the strength of the masses to generate riches."

Simply put, if someone wants to make a lot of money, they must get many other people to help them make money.

Those who truly make a fortune must have made it through unconventional means!

Why is it so hard to make a living through honest labor? Because honest income is the result of a person's hard work and honest wealth earned through sweat and toil, and the returns are often less than the effort put in.

To become a wealthy tycoon, one's destiny must be characterized by indirect wealth, output (eating god/injury officer), and seven killings.

Always remember that wealth is a reward for one's understanding, not a compensation for one's hard work!
The Wang family's ability to eventually become the renowned Kings of the East Sea owes much to this family motto.

"However, my ability to tell fishermen when and where to cast their nets and catch fish every time sounds a bit familiar, doesn't it?" Wang Cheng looked at the Jiulong River estuary slowly appearing before him, raised his hand to touch his neck, and inexplicably felt a chill on the back of his neck.

"Hey, this is Jiulong River, and outside is the vast East China Sea and the boundless ocean, not the Jing River."

I'm not using deep-sea trawling for devastating fishing. Even if this primitive primary industry were expanded ten thousand times in scale, it would still be just a drop in the ocean.

Even the Dragon King couldn't find me.

Even if they come knocking on my door, it'll be Wang Fugui who did it. What does it have to do with me, Wang Cheng?

At that moment, the lookout on the mainmast shouted to the deck:
"Scholar, we'll be at Yuegang soon."

The Zhang Fushun and other nearby ships gradually converged at the mouth of the Jiulong River, and then headed towards the same destination along the intricate waterways.

This Moon Harbor is clearly not a deep-water port, much less a golden waterway; large ships even need several small boats to tow them out to sea.

But if you think about how this is a shady smuggling port, you can understand why it was located this way.

The first thing that caught Wang Cheng's eye was a tall white tower—the Baoshan Beacon Tower, known to everyone in the surrounding seas.

One of their functions was to serve as a beacon for warnings, and another was to act as a landmark during the day and a lighthouse for navigation at night.

After navigating the winding waterways, the sailboat suddenly found itself in a bright and prosperous port city on the wide expanse of water ahead.

The entire port seemed to be shrouded in a mirage, appearing somewhat ethereal and unreal.

Zhang Wen leaned closer to Wang Cheng and pointed to the distant harbor, saying:

“Scholar, you have been away from your hometown to study these past few years, so you may not know about the changes in Yuegang.”

I've heard from the elders in my clan that many coastal cities and garrisons have an ancient origin.

Back then, the First Emperor of Qin sent alchemists to Yingzhou to search for the elixir of immortality. Most of them never returned, and only a few came back alive to report the news.

It is unknown what they discovered in the depths of the ocean, but the First Emperor soon ordered the construction of a city along the East China Sea coast, modeled after the Great Wall in the north, and also issued the earliest sea ban of the unified dynasty.

This incantation from the mountains and seas was inherited by successive dynasties.

Wang Cheng had heard many legends about the sea, but he rarely had the opportunity to experience them firsthand. He was quite interested in hearing slightly different versions of the stories from the local Tanka people.

"Although many rulers throughout history have sent people to sea to search for the elixir of immortality, and the maritime ban has been sometimes loose and sometimes tight, this decree has never been completely ineffective."

During the early years of this dynasty, Emperor Taizu Zhaoming ordered another major overhaul, which eventually resulted in a formidable coastal defense line.

Starting from Penglai County, the seat of Qingzhou in the north, and ending at Yahai County, the seat of Qiongzhou in the south, there were more than sixty coastal garrison cities and fortresses, as well as three major sea-guarding towers along the way.

Combined with the 'Mountain and Sea Curse' deep in the vast ocean, one on land and one at sea, a wide buffer zone is left in between, which is also the maritime homeland where all of us Tanka people live.

The imperial court has forbidden mountains and seas from being visited, and also forbids us from settling on land. It seems they still harbor the intention of using us as canaries in the mines or even as sacrifices to evil spirits.

If anything changes at sea, we and the water officers of our tribe will serve as human alarm bells.

Unfortunately, the Tanka people had no choice.

With eight parts mountains, one part water, and one part farmland, Minzhou was too poor to support so many people. "Using the sea as farmland, farming, herding, and fishing" was their inevitable choice.

Just how poor is this place?
To put it simply, throughout China's five-thousand-year history, it has been a famous "land where military strategists do not contend," and not even a decent major battle can be found.

When Zhang Wen got to this point, a hint of schadenfreude crept into his voice:
"Hey, the Great Zhao has been established for two hundred years. Those powerful and wealthy families have not only annexed the farmland of the common people, but also the farmland of the military garrisons. The garrison system is on the verge of collapse."

Coastal defenses were completely in disarray, and it was common for three naval units to be outnumbered by six.

Yuegang was originally a naval stronghold, but the government lost control of it and it gradually became a smuggling hotspot for various maritime merchants.

After the four Xu brothers, known as the "Shuangyu Shipping Kings," controlled 'Shuangyu Port', and Prince Jing controlled 'Lie Port,' were successively destroyed by the imperial court, Yue Port had become the largest smuggling port along the coast of Dazhao.

It can also be said that it is now a world trade center connecting Champa, Siam, India, Pahang, Malacca, Luzon, Borneo, Buyeo, Yingzhou, and even the Western countries!

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(End of this chapter)