Chapter 169: Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

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 Jiao Cang "Delicate Concealment" / Are You the One

 

 Chapter 169: 

 

Li Guangcai finally understood the intention behind Prince Huaiyang's words.

Last time, it was clear that the Japanese and Shi Guozhang had colluded, leading to the abduction of the Princess Consort while the Prince was ensnared by the imperial envoys.

Shi Yikuan was truly audacious, directly striking at the Prince's vulnerabilities. Now, in the court, there was much criticism regarding the Prince’s extravagant shipbuilding, which had strained the populace.

If the two envoys, subjected to harsh interrogation by the Prince in the North Sea, returned to court, they would likely embellish their accounts.

Thus, Cui Xingzhou had already reported to the court that the two envoys had contracted a contagious illness and needed to rest for a while. He decided to keep them detained until the war was over.

In recent days, it was evident that the Japanese were at their wits' end. They had risked several attempts to sneak ashore and buy food. The appearance of grain shortages among the Japanese and their attempts to escape on small boats indicated a disintegrating morale within their ranks.

This presented the best opportunity to launch an attack. Consequently, Cui Xingzhou and his troops formulated a combat plan for naval warfare. They only awaited the right wind direction to strike the stronghold and eradicate the long-standing threat to the North Sea.

However, before the battle commenced, he felt the need to return home for a visit. Once the fighting began, he wouldn’t know how long it would be before he could see his beloved wife and child again.

As for Liu Mian Tang, she was surprisingly preoccupied with other matters and hadn’t given much thought to Cui Xingzhou.

In recent days, under the guidance of Li Mama, she had been getting acquainted with the servants in the residence and taking stock of her personal belongings and shops.

To her surprise, she found that she was quite wealthy now.

Although Li Mama and Lu Yi both said that all these possessions were earned through hard work day and night, Mian Tang, having lost her memory, felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky and landed right in her lap. 

The sensation of discovering her immense wealth after amnesia was simply delightful!

On this particular day, Cui Xingzhou and Li Guangcai returned home early, preparing to have a meal together as a family.

However, Fangxie mentioned that the Princess was tired and had taken a nap in the afternoon, still not awake.

Cui Xingzhou then stepped into the inner room. As soon as he entered, he felt something was off beneath his feet. Looking down, he noticed signs that the floor tiles had been disturbed.

At that moment, Liu Mian Tang was also waking up in bed. Sensing someone’s presence, she quickly rolled over and cautiously peered out to look at Cui Xingzhou.

Seeing him staring at the floor, she quickly composed herself and asked, "What are you looking at, Your Highness?"

Cui Xingzhou, seemingly unconcerned, moved closer and sat on the edge of the bed. He asked casually, "What’s going on? Have you buried more silver again?"

Mian Tang widened her eyes slightly, surprised at how accurately he guessed her intentions! She had even sent Lu Yi to close the door and dismissed all the maids and attendants before burying the silver.

Now that war was about to break out in the North Sea, who knew whether Prince Huaiyang could win? She had instructed Lu Yi to exchange banknotes for silver at a silver shop in a nearby county and prepared three boxes of silver to be buried in the inner chamber.

In the event of chaos, at least she could grab the silver and escape with her son.

Unexpectedly, she had just buried the silver this morning, and Prince Huaiyang had already figured it out while he was away.

There must be a traitor among them; she would find out who it was and skin that person alive!

Cui Xingzhou watched her darting eyes and couldn't help but chuckle. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "Stop worrying; there's no spy. You buried money at the old house on North Street too. By the time we go back, you'll have plenty of time to dig it up."

Mian Tang hadn’t realized that she had done this before, and now that she was in front of Cui Xingzhou, she felt increasingly guilty. Compared to him, her actions seemed less noble and righteous.

After a moment's hesitation, she responded sheepishly, “Well, I was just being cautious! Just in case you faced some misfortune, I could help you out…”

Unfortunately for her, Cui Xingzhou could see right through her little scheme. Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "You don’t have thoughts of sneaking away with my child, do you?"

Mian Tang thought for a moment and replied firmly, “As long as you’re not dead in battle, I’ll definitely take you with me.”

Hearing such an ungrateful and almost cursed remark made Cui Xingzhou narrow his eyes slightly. "Are you saying that I wouldn't be able to defeat that bastard from the Eagle stronghold? He better have the ability!"

Liu Mian Tang said earnestly, “I’m just worried about the turtle in the jar having hidden tricks up its sleeve. The pirates have been rampaging in the North Sea for so long; they must have some real skills.”

In the past, Cui Xingzhou would never have discussed military matters with Liu Mian Tang. However, seeing her distrustful attitude—going so far as to bury a widow’s pension—made him wonder if she was convinced he would lose.

So he replied, “Now that Ko Island is surrounded, the morale of their troops is low. They've tried to break out several times without success. Just ask them how they plan to escape!”

After considering this, Liu Mian Tang got off the bed, picked up a few small porcelain cups as stand-ins for warships, and used a large porcelain pot as Ko Island to start strategizing the attack.

Then she pretended to be the enemy, allowing Cui Xingzhou to lead the assault.

Watching her earnestly arrange the pieces, Cui Xingzhou couldn't help but find it amusing. But seeing her so serious, he decided to play along.

He had already practiced similar tactics countless times with the generals in the army, so he had his strategies firmly in mind and could carry out the attack without losing composure.

However, the defense set up by Liu Mian Tang, the bandit leader, introduced a different flair.

For example, when the North Sea Navy surrounded the northern shore of Ko Island, preparing to scale the cliffs and launch an unexpected attack, Liu Mian Tang tossed some of her snacks—fried rice sticks—over the edge.

Cui Xingzhou asked in confusion, “What’s this?”

Mian Tang replied with a straight face, “Sharks. During my days on Ko Island, I saw them throwing the bodies of dead captives over the northern cliffs, so I asked the general about it. He likely wanted to scare me from jumping into the sea. He told me that a lot of sharks gather there, and they can tear apart a body in no time. If you dare to send soldiers down to climb, I’ll dump a few buckets of dog’s blood into the sea to summon the sharp-toothed soldiers, and your navy will end up feeding the sharks!”

Cui Xingzhou was genuinely unaware that there was such a method involving the deep sea beneath the northern cliffs of Ko Island. After a moment of silence, he abandoned the northern approach and decided to attack from the southern shallow beach.

Liu Mian Tang picked up five small twisted snacks and set them up on the shallow beach.

Cui Xingzhou, expressionless, asked, “Is this artillery?”

Liu Mian Tang looked at him with an expression that suggested he could be taught. “When I escaped that day, I explored a good part of the island. I happened to see five such cannons on the southern shore. Each one has a heavy base and a wide barrel. Because of their weight, they likely can’t be mounted on a ship, but when positioned on land, their power is tremendous, and they have a long range. With five cannons reloading, they can fire continuously. By then, the North Sea ships will go… boom, boom, boom…”

She then grabbed some five-spice crispy beans to act as cannonballs, hurling them at the North Sea warships, which sent the large tea cups on the table crashing over.

Cui Xingzhou fell silent, feeling both shocked and angry. Although he had sent out many scouts, very few had managed to approach Ko Island, so he had no idea about the island's fortifications.

Yet the pirates actually had such powerful cannons? Those required countless high-quality iron and skilled craftsmen to forge.

If what Liu Mian Tang said was true, then how had the pirates obtained such weapons? They certainly could not have acquired them overnight.

Suddenly, Cui Xingzhou realized that perhaps that Lord Shi, was not simply trying to sabotage him. There might be a deeper layer of mutual interests between him and the pirates.

Cannons, refined iron... iron ore? If he remembered correctly, the iron mine in the northwest that was controlled by Prince Sui eventually fell into the hands of Shi Yikuan.

Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou abruptly stood up, forgetting about his meal, and hurriedly walked out.

Liu Mian Tang stared at the overturned tea cups, twisted doughnuts, and fried rice sticks, feeling a bit flustered. She suddenly thought she should find Lu Yi tomorrow, have him exchange for more silver, and prepare a larger pickaxe and shovel to bury more silver to feel secure...

Not to mention the floor tiles in Mian Tang's inner room would suffer again, but on the other side, Cui Xingzhou sent a message by carrier pigeon that night, ordering the spies in the northwest and the capital to investigate the movements of the iron mine.

Now, the war in Beihai was no longer a simple front line. Since Shi Yikuan had ulterior motives behind him and had stirred up a tide of impeachment against him in the court, he would not hesitate to investigate Shi Guozhang thoroughly!

However, the scattered scene of fried rice sticks and tea cups on the bed in the prince's residence had completely disrupted the battle plan that the soldiers of Beihai had formulated over several days and nights.

When Li Guangcai watched the demonstration of the strategy on the beach sand table by Prince Huaiyang, he broke into a cold sweat.

If Ko Island was indeed as Prince Huaiyang had demonstrated, then once the battle for the island truly began, the cannons and ships of Beihai would undoubtedly suffer significant damage. At that time, when the casualties were reported, the backlash against the prince in the court would only intensify.

If that happened, the military achievements Prince Huaiyang had accumulated over the years would be completely erased, and he would carry an indelible stain.

"Then... if the Japanese have made such complete preparations, why did they have to hastily flee from Ko Island?"

Thinking of the Japanese and cargo ships that had been intercepted by the Beihai navy in recent days, Li Guangcai felt somewhat puzzled.

Cui Xingzhou, now inadvertently reminded by Liu Mian Tang, suddenly cleared his mind. It was true that Eikushi-ji wanted to send Mian Tang back to the East Japan. However, whether they intended to escape during the approaching typhoon was another matter.

That day, when he left his residence, he had asked many of the older fishermen in Beihai. Before Ko Island was occupied, it had served as a safe haven for many local fishermen.

The island had many natural caves that could provide shelter during typhoons. Moreover, those caves remained cool, allowing vegetables and meats to be stored without spoiling for a long time.

In the past, many old fishermen would often leave some preserved fish and vegetables on the island for emergencies. However, after the island was taken over by the Japanese, many young people were unaware of the island's situation.

The Japanese had occupied Ko Island for such a long time that with just a few caves stocked with food and preserved meats, they could easily last an entire year.

After learning all this, Cui Xingzhou felt increasingly grim—now that he thought about it, the cargo ships they had intercepted contained only trivial items like tea leaves and porcelain.

Why did Eikushi-ji frequently send out cargo ships while creating the illusion that the island was out of food and needed to be resupplied regularly?

Those were all bait, tempting the Beihai navy into underestimating their strength for an attack on the island!

If it weren’t for Big Boss Lu’s keen sense of impending danger, he might have fallen into the intricate trap set by Eikushi-ji.

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