February 7th, 15th year of Yongli reign, Penghu.

"Lord Guoxing!"

With a series of thumping sounds, a soldier in armor strode into the cabin. Taking advantage of this opening, the storm sent a torrential downpour in like arrows, making a series of thumping sounds.

The cabin door closed, and the fierce wind and rain quickly faded into silence.

"We've been tricked by He Bin! We've only found a little over a hundred bushels of grain in Penghu, not even enough for the army to eat one meal!"

Inside the cabin, all the soldiers held their breath.

Wu Hao, the head of Xuan Yi Hou Town, sneered inwardly, clasped his hands and said to the person at the head of the table, "Lord Guoxing, we are currently short of food and supplies, and Penghu has been hit by storms for days. I think... we should return to Xiamen and make further plans."

He had repeatedly opposed the plan to retake Taiwan, and now that something had happened before he even set foot on the island, he not only didn't feel embarrassed, but was actually proud, speaking in a superior tone.

"We arrived on the island on the fourth day of the lunar new year, and now it's the seventh. The island is right in front of us, but the storm shows no sign of letting up!" another soldier said.

The wind and rain lashed against the bay window, the storm howled and pierced the air, and the thirty-meter-long "Big Green Head" warship swayed slightly, much like the present-day Ming Dynasty.

The generals remained silent, awaiting the decision of the Prince of Yanping.

Zheng Chenggong seemed not to hear what the crowd was saying, and continued to look at the letter in his hand.

It is a letter from Zhang Huangyan, Vice Minister of War.

Those who share the same desires as the masses will all prosper, while those who have different desires will all fail.

Those who accomplish great things will prosper if they are of one mind with the masses, and will perish if they are of two minds with the masses.

Those who share the same desires as the masses... those who have different desires from the masses... Zheng Chenggong pondered these two words and continued reading.

The letter was sharp and sarcastic, directly calling him a traitor and accusing him of going to the island to abandon the cause of restoring the Ming Dynasty and to establish his own Zheng family's small court.

Suddenly, the soldiers heard Zheng Chenggong loudly proclaim:

"The Battle of the Yangtze River in the past, though a defeat, was still glorious and enough to be remembered for generations. If we were to make a comeback, not only would Fenyang and Linhuai be no match for us, but even Qian Liu and Dou Rong would be no match for us! If we were to seek out the whereabouts of Xu Fu and recall the past deeds of Lu Ao, even if we could live in peace for a time, we would surely be ridiculed for all eternity!"

"You bastard! Zhang Huangyan actually dares to say that Lord Koxinga imitated the likes of Xu Fu and Lu Ao!"

"Lord Guoxing, although Lord Zhang's words were harsh, he only wanted to dissuade the prince and may not have meant any harm."

"Who cares if he meant no harm! What kind of official is Zhang Huangyan? How dare he humiliate Lord Guoxing like this!"

The people below were in an uproar. The Zheng family started as pirates and had been prosperous for many years, so they had some pirates, civil officials, and Confucian scholars under their command.

Zheng Chenggong silently finished reading the letter.

He didn't take Zhang Huangyan's words to heart; what worried him more was the storm that showed no signs of abating.

After offering sacrifices to Heaven, the island is right before our eyes. Are we going to be trapped at our doorstep by a storm?

Um?

He reread that line: "If one seeks the whereabouts of Xu Fu, one should think of the past of Lu Ao."

Zheng Chenggong tapped his fingers on the table, lost in thought, recalling many legends about the sea.

"Lord Koxinga!" Another soldier rushed into the cabin and knelt on one knee. "Lord Huang An, who has been ordered to patrol the strait, has arrived!"

"What is he doing here?" Zheng Chenggong frowned, feeling dissatisfied and then somewhat uneasy.

With the Shunzhi Emperor now dead, the Qing Dynasty is busy with the power transition and has no time to attend to other matters, but it still has to be on guard!

Zheng Chenggong's biggest concern in attacking Taiwan was that the Qing army might take advantage of his eastward advance to launch a surprise attack on Kinmen and Xiamen.

If this were the case, the army's retreat would be cut off, and they would likely be wiped out at sea by the Qing army and the Dutch.

To prevent this from happening, he left a large number of people, led by his son Zheng Jing, to guard Kinmen and Xiamen. He also ordered Huang An to lead 6,000 men to patrol back and forth, prohibiting all ships from entering the Taiwan Strait.

"Let him in." Zheng Chenggong put down the letter, still damp with rain.

"winter!"

"ah!

Amidst screams, Li Changzhou opened his eyes. His body was bound. He looked around and found himself on a wooden ship, suggesting that the technology was not advanced.

Several others, like him, were tied between the two masts.

"Your Holiness! Your Holiness, save me!"

"Hahaha, Dharma King?" The soldier with the knife laughed, his fish-cutting knife trembling like waves.

The soldiers watching the spectacle all burst into laughter.

These people were dressed in military uniforms, but they had the air of bandits—no, this was at sea, so they should be called pirates.

"winter!"

Whoosh!

Seawater washed ashore on the deck, and the water flowed along the deck's texture, outlining words.

[Date: April 25, 1661, Spring]

Location: Taiwan Strait

[Background: In order to break the Qing army's encirclement and suppression, Zheng Chenggong had to consider a way out and prepared to attack Taiwan as a base for the anti-Qing restoration movement.]

[Character: King of the East Sea (Fake Immortal of Penglai)]

Main Quest: Help Zheng Chenggong reclaim Taiwan.

[Note: The player's 'Abilities' have all been converted into 'Mana']

"Winter!" "Winter!"

Since the beginning, a faint sound like drumming had been coming from the air. Li Changzhou looked up and looked toward the source of the sound.

A human head hangs from the mast, swaying in the sea breeze, and crashes against the wooden pole.

"winter!"

"Hanging one's head from the beam and pricking one's thigh with an awl, it seems this time one must strive to improve oneself," Li Changzhou sighed, then gently pulled his hands apart, breaking the hemp rope as thick as a thumb.

The Fairy Tree Romance

Clang!

All the soldiers on the ship drew their swords instantly, and some even drew their muskets.

Bang! A flash of light erupted from the muzzle of the gun!

Li Changzhou raised his hand, pinched the bullet between his fingers like a peanut, and rubbed it between his fingertips. The bullet was very weak and probably couldn't even penetrate a steel plate.

Li Changzhou looked at the soldier holding the fish-cutting knife: "Do you know where Zheng Chenggong is?"

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