Chapter 26: The Wang Family of Cai Shui Is Nothing More Than a Dog Raised by the Xie Family!

This member of the Xie clan, who harbors a deep-seated hatred for the Wang family, appearing in Moon Harbor is hardly surprising.

Moon Harbor has neither officials nor a governor; instead, it is governed collectively by the ship captains. Various factions select the eight most powerful captains to jointly guard the five-story octagonal tower at the port’s center. From this core, they sustain the grand geomantic scheme known as the “Eight Regions Ascending Wind Pavilion Bureau.”

Thus, Moon Harbor hosts both the Intermarket faction—including the direct line of the Five Peaks Banner, as well as the water gatherers, boatmen, and maritime merchants constrained by the Sea Pacifier King—and a smaller portion of raider factions, who dare not wreak havoc along the Dazhao coasts and only plunder the Southern Seas, Fuyu, and Yingzhou. Naturally, the sprawling families, powerful clans, gangs, and even merchants from the Southern Seas, exotic traders, and red-haired foreigners from Western nations flock here to claim their share.

Even the mighty Five Peaks Banner sometimes cannot discern which noble family, or even which foreign dignitary or king, stands behind their rivals. The Sea Pacifier King, who champions “sharing profit with the people, defending the borders for the nation,” has always been merely the grand alliance leader of the major armed maritime merchant groups. He relied entirely on personal prestige and force to tenuously unite countless factions.

Now that his restraint is gone, the Five Peaks Banner maritime group remains formidable and retains its seat of power, but its absolute dominance over the Eastern Sea has vanished. The Xie clan dares to openly defect, drawing a chorus of support from scholars and local magnates who now publicly choose sides.

The purpose of the “Bladebearers” making their move is largely achieved. Yet, thanks to the Sea Pacifier King’s revered reputation, even after his departure, many still rally behind Huang Yuanzhou. As Xie He’s accusations fell, several maritime leaders erupted in anger:

“You are a pack of ingrates. If it weren’t for the Sea Pacifier King suppressing pirates and Franks abroad and bribing officials at home, where would we merchants have enjoyed these three glorious years?”

With a leader, others echoed indignantly:

“Exactly! Our entire Xiangzhou Prefecture has exported tea, sugar, fruit, silk, cotton, and ceramics overseas. The city bustles with craftsmen, looms, furnaces, and hammers, agriculture, handicrafts, weaving, sugar-making, and shipbuilding—every industry thrives. These enterprises sustain countless people. If we all turned to crime and abandoned production, where would Minzhou’s wealth come from?”

“Indeed! If it weren’t for the Five Peaks Banner standing in front and taking the blows for us, we would have long perished at the hands of sea ghosts or been locked away by greedy officials, drained of our wealth, and sent off as slaves.”

There were even soul-searching questions:

“No secret can remain hidden forever. Everyone knows about the Imperial Horse Supervisor sent to collect mining taxes, who was beaten to death by miners in Jiangnan this year. Don’t think we’re unaware—it was you, under the pretense of ‘pleading for the people, the court must not compete with the people for profit,’ who orchestrated this. You are the very ‘people’ you claim to speak for—absurd! With your vast fortunes, you remain insatiably greedy. Dazhao will sooner or later be sucked dry by you!”

Wang Cheng nodded repeatedly. The nascent capital accumulation in Jiangnan has been ongoing for years. The conditions for maritime colonization are already ripe. Yet, under the national ban on sea voyages, even sailing is forbidden—let alone establishing colonies overseas.

The mainstream attitude of the Dazhao court is to wish all overseas subjects beyond its control dead and gone, effectively handing the vast territories of the Eastern Sea and Southern Seas to the Frankish colonizers. It is infuriating.

Three years ago, the Franks occupied the southern port of Haijing, and war may soon reach the mainland. Many in his past life thought Haijing was leased to foreign powers for only a century, but from the first Frankish colonization to the restoration of sovereignty, nearly five centuries passed!

At such a critical moment, if resources are not invested in navigation, firearms, and outward expansion, is the treasury to be reserved for paying war indemnities? Alas, from the gentry and noble families to central officials and state guardians, none act; many even advocate inviting the Franks to jointly eliminate “sea bandits” and overseas subjects.

Wang Cheng’s teeth ached with hate; now it was merely a family feud, but soon it would be national enmity.

“How can the country be governed alongside these parasites?!”

Xie He glanced at the Bladebearer leader and the maritime merchants and boatmen with noble backgrounds, both openly and in secret. He straightened his back, and the resentment suppressed by the Wang and Xu families for years surged anew:

“You dare speak to me about the Sea Pacifier King? Ha! The water-collecting Wang family is nothing but a dog raised by our Xie clan! A bunch of lowly mud-legged boat dwellers, daring to challenge us gentry who pass down poetry and books—such audacity. Pity these treacherous slaves haven’t all died; one survivor remains, a fish slipping through the net.

Now, the officials of the prefecture intend to purge Moon Harbor and restore order to the people. In the future, those who die here will not be limited to the Sea Pacifier King's family. If you wish to be buried alongside them, suit yourselves. When the time comes, don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

Wang Cheng stared at Xie He, silently pronouncing a death sentence for his entire family:

“This villain has chosen his path to destruction!”

He quietly dismissed the Xie clan as the mastermind. This man lacks any divine official rank, is purely mortal, and has little cunning—his loose tongue and front-line bravado make him a likely scapegoat, not the true puppet master.

His erratic behavior is easy to fathom. The gentry are skilled in political maneuvering; their first step in any grand scheme is never to rush out a slogan or concept, but to distinguish friend from foe.

The more complex the plan, the more gaps it has, the harder it is to execute. Now they are leveraging momentum to force everyone to take sides. The core factions are tightly bound by interest and won’t be swayed, but after today, Moon Harbor will have no room for neutrality.

As expected.

The Bladebearers, representing the officials, had made an aggressive appearance, while the Xie clan, representing the gentry, stepped forward. In an instant, the already unsettled Moon Harbor, agitated by the arrival of the Water Control Bureau, erupted.

Some, seeking only to preserve themselves, dared not get involved in the struggle between major powers. They slipped away into the crowd and vanished, preparing to temporarily withdraw from Moon Harbor, a place rife with trouble.

Others instinctively shifted their stance behind the Bladebearers and Xie He.

Xie He spoke of the prefecture officials, not the court or emperor, suggesting that even if one pledges allegiance, smuggling can continue—only the distribution of profits needs a new master.

Though the Xie clan’s reputation for cheating both black and white intermediaries is notorious, savvy maritime merchants recognize that the Xie clan are not the true bosses and thus may be worth betting on.

The key is, to the victor go the spoils: the dead are the Sea Pacifier King’s side, the winners are the officials.

Moon Harbor, ruled for years by the Five Peaks Banner, is now truly reversed—gentry, bolstered by outside aid, have gained the upper hand.

Several of the eight major captains guarding the octagonal tower have openly sided with the gentry.

The loosely organized “Intermarket faction,” having just passed the Sea Pacifier King’s funeral week, now splinters dramatically.