Understanding Prince Huaiyang’s meaning, Li Guang realized the previous incident – where the Princess Consort was kidnapped while the Prince was held up by the imperial envoys – was the result of collusion between the Japanese and Minister Shi.
Shi Yikuan had dared to strike at the Prince’s weak point. Now, there was much criticism at the court about the Prince’s extensive shipbuilding efforts, which were seen as wasteful and burdensome to the people.
If these two envoys, who had been harshly interrogated by the Prince in the Northern Sea, were to return, they would likely exaggerate the situation. So Cui Xingzhou had already reported to the court that the envoys had contracted an epidemic and needed to rest. He might as well detain them until the end of the war.
In recent days, the Japanese were clearly at the end of their rope. They had risked sending people ashore several times to secretly purchase food. The food shortage and the fact that Japanese soldiers were secretly leaving the pirate island in small boats indicated their morale was crumbling.
It was the perfect time to attack. Cui Xingzhou had been leading his officers in formulating a naval battle plan. They were just waiting for favorable winds to launch an all-out assault on the pirate island and eliminate this long-standing threat to the Northern Sea.
However, before the battle, he needed to return home. Once the war began, who knew how long it would be before he could see his beloved wife and child again?
Liu Mian Tang hadn’t given much thought to Cui Xingzhou. These past few days, under Mama Li’s guidance, she had been getting to know the household servants and taking stock of her properties and shops.
To her surprise, she discovered just how wealthy she had become. Although Mama Li and Lu Yi said that all this wealth came from her hard work day and night, Mian Tang, having lost her memory, felt as if a meat pie had fallen from the sky and landed right on her. The feeling of suddenly discovering immense wealth after losing one’s memory… was truly wonderful!
On this day, Cui Xingzhou and Li Guang returned home early, planning to have a family meal. However, Fang Xie reported that the lady was tired and had been sleeping since the afternoon.
Cui Xingzhou entered the inner chamber. As soon as he stepped inside, he felt something was off about the floor beneath his feet. Looking down carefully, he noticed signs that the floor tiles had been disturbed.
When Cui Xingzhou entered the room, Liu Mian Tang woke up in bed. Sensing someone’s presence, she quickly sat up, alertly peering at Cui Xingzhou.
Seeing him looking at the floor, she immediately tried to appear calm and asked, “What is Your Highness looking at?”
Cui Xingzhou sat down on the bed beside her, seemingly unconcerned, and asked, “What’s this? Have you buried silver again?”
Mian Tang’s eyes widened slightly, surprised at his accurate guess. She had even sent Lu Yi to guard the door and dismissed all the maids and servants before burying the silver!
With the Northern Sea about to go to war, who knew if the Prince of Huaiyang could win? She had instructed Lu Yi to exchange banknotes for silver at out-of-town banks and had buried three chests of cash in the inner chamber.
In case of war and chaos, she could at least quickly dig up the silver and escape with her son.
She hadn’t expected the Prince, who wasn’t even home, to guess what she’d done on the very morning she’d buried it. There must be a traitor among them. When she found out who it was, she’d skin them alive!
Seeing her eyes darting about, Cui Xingzhou couldn’t help but smile. He embraced her and said, “Don’t think too much. There’s no spy. You also buried money in the old house on North Street. When we go back, you’ll have plenty of time to dig it up.”
Mian Tang hadn’t expected that she had done this before, and hadn’t even hidden it from Cui Xingzhou. She felt even more guilty, realizing that compared to him, her plan to just take the money and run seemed less honorable and righteous.
So she thought for a moment and said sheepishly, “… I’m just preparing for the worst! If something happens to you, I can help you out…”
Unfortunately, Cui Xingzhou saw right through her little scheme. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “You’re not planning to run away with the child?”
Mian Tang considered for a moment before stating firmly, “As long as you don’t die in battle, I’ll take you with us when we run.”
This heartless, almost curse-like statement made Cui Xingzhou narrow his eyes slightly. “Are you saying I can’t defeat that bastard Yingsi? He doesn’t have that ability!”
Liu Mian Tang replied honestly, “I’m just worried about hidden threats. The Japanese have been wreaking havoc in the Northern Sea for so long, surely they must have some real skills?”
In the past, Cui Xingzhou would never have discussed military matters with Liu Mian Tang. But now, she was too infuriating, seeming to have no faith in him at all. She had even buried a widow’s pension money as if she was certain he would lose.
So he said, “The pirate island is now surrounded, their morale is low, and they’ve failed to break out several times. How can Yingsi possibly escape?”
Liu Mian Tang thought for a moment, then got up and took a few small porcelain cups from the table to represent warships, with a large porcelain pot standing in for the pirate island. She began to simulate battle tactics.
She played the role of the Japanese, while Cui Xingzhou was attacked.
Cui Xingzhou found her serious arrangement somewhat amusing, but seeing how earnest she was, he decided to play along.
He had practiced similar drills countless times with his generals in the military camp, so he naturally had his strategies and attacked in an orderly manner.
However, unlike the drills in the military camp, this “Lady Lu” was defended with some unexpected tricks.
For instance, when the Northern Sea navy circled to the north shore of the pirate island, planning to climb the cliffs from the water for a surprise attack, Liu Mian Tang scattered some of her snack rice crackers on that side.
Cui Xingzhou asked in confusion, “What’s this?”
Mian Tang replied seriously, “Sharks. During my days on the pirate island, I saw them carrying the bodies of dead prisoners to the northern cliffs to throw them off. When I asked Yingsi about it, perhaps fearing I might try to escape by jumping into the sea there, he told me that many sharks gather in that area. They can tear apart a corpse in no time. If you dare to send troops to climb up from the water, I’ll pour a few buckets of dog blood into the sea to summon these sharp-toothed soldiers. Then your navy will end up as shark food, every last one of them.”
Cui Xingzhou truly didn’t know about this aspect of the deep waters below the northern cliffs of the pirate island. After a moment of silence, he abandoned the northern approach and attacked from the southern shallows instead.
Mian Tang placed five small twisted snacks on the shallows.
Cui Xingzhou asked expressionlessly, “Are these cannons?”
Mian Tang looked at the Prince of Huaiyang with a “the student shows promise” expression and said, “When I escaped that day, I walked through nearly half the island. I accidentally saw five such cannons on the south shore. Each had a heavy base and a large muzzle. Because they’re too heavy, they probably can’t be mounted on ships, but on land, these cannons are very powerful and have a long range. The five cannons can fire continuously by rotating reloads. When that happens, the Northern Sea ships will go… boom, boom, boom!”
Mian Tang then took some five-spice broad beans to represent cannonballs and threw them at the Northern Sea warships, knocking the teacups over…
Cui Xingzhou fell silent, both shocked and angry. Although he had sent out many spies, almost none had been able to get close to the pirate island, so naturally, they didn’t know about the fortifications on the island.
How could the Japanese have such powerful cannons? That would require countless amounts of fine iron and skilled craftsmen to forge. If everything Mian Tang said was true, where did the Japanese get such weapons? This certainly couldn’t have been acquired overnight.
Suddenly, Cui Xingzhou realized that perhaps Minister Shi’s collusion with Yingsi wasn’t simply to set a trap for him; there might be a deeper level of mutual interest between them.
Cannons, fine iron… iron mines? If he remembered correctly, the iron mines in the Northwest that were once controlled by the Prince of Sui had fallen into Shi Yikuan’s hands.
Thinking of this, Cui Xingzhou suddenly stood up, too urgent to even eat dinner, and hurried out.
Mian Tang stared at the bed full of teacups, twisted snacks, and rice crackers, suddenly feeling anxious. She thought she should find Lu Yi tomorrow and have him exchange more silver, prepare a larger shovel, and bury more silver to feel secure…
While Mian Tang’s inner chamber floor was about to suffer again, on the other side, Cui Xingzhou sent urgent pigeon messages overnight, ordering his spies in the Northwest and the capital to investigate the movements of the Northwestern iron mines.
The war in the Northern Sea was no longer just about one battlefront. Since Shi Yikuan had started harboring ill intentions behind his back and stirring up waves of impeachment against him at court, Cui Xingzhou would spare no effort in thoroughly investigating his father-in-law!
However, the prince’s bedchamber simulation with rice crackers and teacups had completely disrupted the battle plans that the Northern Sea soldiers had been formulating for days and nights.
When Li Guang watched the Prince of Huaiyang’s demonstration on the beach sand table, he felt a cold sweat down his spine.
If the pirate island was really as the prince had demonstrated, once they launched the attack, the Northern Sea ships and cannons would undoubtedly suffer massive losses. When the results of such a costly battle were reported, the backlash against the prince at court would likely intensify.
At that point, the Prince of Huaiyang’s years of military achievements would be completely erased, leaving an indelible stain on his record.
“If… if the Japanese are so well-prepared, why did they hastily try to flee the pirate island?” Recalling the Japanese and cargo ships that had been intercepted by the Northern Sea navy in recent days, Li Guang was puzzled.
Now that Liu Mian Tang had inadvertently enlightened him, Cui Xingzhou suddenly saw everything. Yingsi’s intention to send Mian Tang back to Japan had been genuine. But whether he truly planned to escape during the approaching typhoon was questionable.
After leaving his residence that day, he inquired with many elderly residents of the Northern Sea. Before it was occupied, that pirate island had been a shelter for many local fishermen to avoid storms.
The island had many natural caves that could protect it during typhoons. Moreover, these caves were cool, allowing food to be stored for long periods without spoiling.
In the past, many old fishermen would store salted fish and vegetables on the island in advance, preparing for unexpected needs. However after the island was occupied by the Japanese, many young people were no longer familiar with the island’s conditions.
The Japanese had occupied the pirate island for so long that just the food stored in those cave shelters – salted meat, preserved vegetables, and the like – could easily last them a whole year.
After learning all this, Cui Xingzhou’s heart grew colder as he thought more deeply. Now that he considered it, the cargo ships they had intercepted only carried insignificant goods like tea and porcelain.
Why did Yingsi repeatedly send out cargo ships, creating the illusion that the island was short on food and needed regular supplies?
Those were all bait, luring the Northern Sea navy into underestimating them and attacking the island!
If it weren’t for Lady Lu’s keen sense of danger, he would have nearly fallen for Yingsi’s cunning trap.