The enormous whale thrashed about for an hour before finally dying. Governor Feng Tai didn’t dare touch the large fish and kept advising Yun Ye to return it to the sea. He would just pretend not to know about this matter; otherwise, there would be tremendous calamity.
Yun Ye blinked his eyes for a long time, unable to understand what law he had violated by killing a fish. Could it be that this fish was someone’s domesticated animal? He walked around the large fish in a circle and found no markings. Feng Tai grew so anxious he pulled Yun Ye aside to a secluded spot before lowering his voice: “My lord, you’re also a well-read person in poetry and books. Surely you’ve heard the saying: ‘When a giant fish dies, princes and marquises should be vigilant’?”
Yun Ye scratched his forehead and said: “There are so many princes and marquises in the entire court. If one or two happen to die, what does it matter? Feeding the people properly is the right principle. If we don’t feed them full, who knows how many princes and marquises will die. I caught this fish planning to bring some gifts for those princely elders when I return to the capital. Everyone can eat together and see who’s unlucky enough to choke to death.”
Feng Tai opened his mouth but couldn’t speak. He had never seen such a stubborn fellow. You killed a whale—according to the history books, ‘when a giant fish dies, princes and marquises should be vigilant.’ This already offends the Li family princes, yet you dare send the meat as gifts to them? Isn’t this seeking death? Why doesn’t this person know to act carefully? When attacked by everyone together, no one can withstand it.
Seeing the timid old man frightened like this, Yun Ye helped the old man calm down and said: “What’s the big deal about eating a large fish? The method for catching large fish was taught to me by Prince Li Xiaogong of Hejiang. The old man recounts his past exploits of devouring whale meat in his early years. Having killed so many whales, the old fellow is still lively and jumping around. I heard he just took two new concubines, vigorous as a dragon and tiger without a single sign of dying. Rest assured, when I invited His Majesty to eat carp, His Majesty praised it endlessly, believing the meat was delicate and a good food source that should be eaten more often. If carp is fine, what’s the problem with whale? Mobilize your navy subordinates, use eight-ox crossbows to kill more whales. I estimate that when the time comes, there won’t be just one or two people asking you for whale meat.”
Feng Tai gulped twice and lay limply on the beach. Yun Ye’s excessively unbridled language far exceeded the old man’s psychological limits, and he fainted.
He could faint all he wanted. Lying on the beach, he should get a good sleep anyway. These past days, the old man had rushed about day and night without rest. Yun Ye called over two servants to set up a cloth awning for the old man while he went to find a saw, preparing to butcher the whale into eight pieces.
The efficiency of mass mobilization was terrifying. The rich Bohai Sea provided disaster victims with inexhaustible food. When Yun Ye took the lead in eating a greenish seaweed from the sea, old Feng Tai was once again moved to tears. This stuff was sometimes used by fishermen to feed pigs—people didn’t eat it. Now, a dignified marquis personally mixed a plateful cold in front of everyone and finished it in a few bites. He seemed not to have had enough and was preparing another plate.
As a venerable scholar, Feng Tai naturally had to lead by example. Now, anything that could fill the stomach was good. He also mixed a plate for himself. He wouldn’t dare eat whale meat even if beaten to death, but he dared eat kelp. As he ate, he discovered with surprise that the taste was actually quite good.
“Tell the folks that I’m planning to purchase this stuff in large quantities. From now on, the Yun family’s merchant caravans will collect it every year. Have them wash it clean and dry it—ten jin for one wen of cash. Consider it finding them a way to earn money.”
Feng Tai looked at the kelp growing densely in the shallow sea and asked doubtfully: “My lord, eating a bit of this when there’s no grain is no problem, but Guanzhong doesn’t lack grain. What do you want it for? Will Guanzhong people eat this stuff?”
“You don’t know—Guanzhong delicacies come from the Yun family. As long as the Yun family starts eating this stuff, you’ll find that before long, this thing will be in short supply in Chang’an City. You don’t know yet—this is good stuff. Eating it prevents that disease where the neck swells up thick. Good stuff! Just get it for me. However much you can get, get it for me. At the beginning of the eighth month, the fleet will meet me at the Zhuojun canal, and I’ll take it all away. I also want to take all the whale meat. Be careful not to damage the whale skull for me—I want to take it back too. If you want to send things home, I can help transport them back for you.”
“The Marquis need not trouble himself with these small matters. This humble official will naturally handle everything properly. It’s just that Youzhou is poor and destitute with nothing good to offer the Marquis in respect. Having you take back these worthless cheap goods is truly embarrassing.”
“Old Feng, you’re overthinking. If I wanted to get rich, I would have made a fortune in Lingnan. Only the heartless profit from national disasters in disaster areas. You think whale meat and kelp aren’t valuable? Hahaha, I won’t tell you—this is the Yun family’s secret recipe. When you come to Chang’an to report on your duties, you’ll discover this stuff sells very expensively, very expensively. Only wealthy people can afford to eat it.” Having said this, he laughed heartily and went out, still in shorts and short shirt with bare feet, exposing his sun-darkened limbs, happy as a strapping young fellow from the seaside.
Before Yun Ye arrived, Feng Tai and Yuan Dake had exhausted their wits figuring out how to receive him. The Yun family’s luxurious reputation had long been renowned throughout the Great Tang. As the head of the Yun family, he must be an extremely difficult noble personage to serve. Moreover, he was deeply in the Emperor’s favor. If he said a few bad words about them before the Emperor, their official careers would likely end there.
Yuan Dake prepared to receive him with full effort. Feng Tai would rather risk losing his official position than curry favor with the powerful, prepared to be dismissed. Who would have thought that Yun Ye was carried off the ship, covered in wounds, unable to enjoy anything? Even the beautiful maidservants sent by Yuan Dake were sent back by Yun Ye.
After his injuries healed, he rushed about everywhere finding grain for the disaster victims. His entourage resolved their own food issues and never disturbed the locality. On the third day after the fleet arrived at the harbor, having unloaded the grain and dried fish, he gave leave to some local soldiers, keeping only five warships. The rest all went upstream from the Yellow River mouth, preparing to enter the canal and rush back to Chang’an. Li Er’s edict was very clear—he wanted to see this fleet with his own eyes and consider whether it could shoulder the arduous task of transporting southern grain north in the future. Ever since learning that Lingnan had abundant grain, he had begun making these calculations.
Hong Cheng, stimulated by something, gave Yun Ye five guan of cash, saying this was his entire current wealth. He wanted to partner with Yun Ye in business—very simple, just the kelp business. The Yun family would take seventy percent, he would take thirty percent. Refusing was not an option. He chased after Yun Ye complaining that he had been swindled into his current state, and Yun Ye couldn’t escape responsibility. His family couldn’t even make ends meet. If he wasn’t given a way to live, he was prepared to bring his whole family to the Yun household for meals.
Yun Ye agreed, agreed immediately, without haggling or negotiating. This left Hong Cheng, who originally held no hope, dumbfounded. After thinking for a long time, he decided to voluntarily withdraw his investment. The painful lessons from before taught him that there was never a free lunch in this world. It was better not to take advantage of Yun Ye’s generosity.
A month passed quickly. The fleet brought news that it had already reached the canal. Yun Ye also needed to return to the capital. Na Rimu would give birth in just over a month—something he hadn’t anticipated before. For the sake of the child, he must return early.
According to Li Er’s arrangements, the five thousand soldiers had to parade once through Hebei’s five provinces to demonstrate military might. According to Wu She’s logic, not killing a few people wouldn’t do. When armies march, not seeing blood is inauspicious.
The army saw its first blood in Hebei from a soldier who returned late. His old mother was seriously ill, so he stayed some extra time. He was half a day late returning to camp. According to military law, he should be executed. The judge advocate ignored the Marquis’s persuasion, sharpening his blade there saying he must cut off that fellow’s head. The Great Tang’s military law was strict. Never mind the Marquis—even if His Majesty came, he couldn’t stop the execution. Of course, if the Marquis could produce a prior order permitting his late return, his death could be spared, but the whip would be inescapable no matter what.
This bastard clearly wanted to let the soldier off but deliberately made Yun Ye take the fall. His own upright, iron-faced, impartial image had to be maintained. Didn’t they say grace comes from above? This was military tradition.
In front of the judge advocate, he wrote an order. Only then did this fellow’s death-mask face relax. Two sturdy soldiers dragged out the tearful offending soldier to carry out the punishment. He was still quite a man—not making a sound, just tears flowing freely. Only after the punishment was he allowed to wail and say sorry to the Marquis.
The army set out, displaying military might. Yun Ye was suited up in full armor, suffering on horseback under the scorching sun. An extremely beautiful hollow horse lance hung from his victory hook. If he stuck two chicken feathers on his head and some flags on his back, he wouldn’t differ much from Zhao Zilong on the opera stage.
Everything was awkward. Yet Feng Tai gave a thumbs up saying Marquis Yun had the bearing of famous generals of antiquity. Along this route, those petty troublemakers would surely flee at the sight. Finally, he promised to definitely send people to deliver Yun Ye’s whale meat and dried kelp to Zhuojun. As for the remaining half of the treasures, Wu She would not allow them out of his sight.
The army roamed everywhere. Wherever they went, it was indeed as Feng Tai said—some revolutionaries who had just pulled together forces all threw down their broken swords and spears, returning to their fields to tend their family crops. Wherever they went, informants were countless. Seeing those disheveled informants made Yun Ye nauseous. If it weren’t for matters of principle, he really wanted to eliminate these informants first. Whether from the perspective of human feeling or morality, these people were pure scum—too disgusting. Better to hand them over to Hong Cheng to handle.
Hebei was full of outlaws in the greenwood. Looking at those five large carts of treasures, he worried that someone with red eyebrows and green eyes would jump out from the forest shouting, “Cheng Da and You Jin are here—leave behind the toll!” That would be terrible. He kept consoling himself—those fellows named Cheng Da and You Jin, one was now a duke, the other a marquis. His own son would call them grandfather when meeting them. They weren’t likely to jump out and rob him.
But things were just that strange. Beside the provincial capital, on the main road, a man with muscles like iron stood in the middle of the road, calling out by name to fight three hundred rounds with Marquis Yun of the Yun family, renowned as the bravest of the three armies.
The giant stood a full nine chi tall, wearing short clothes and shirt, wielding a large cleaver in his palm. When he swung it, water couldn’t penetrate,密不透风. He split a bowl-thick elm tree in half with one strike. The remaining half stump also became firewood under a flurry of blade flourishes.
Finally, he pointed the cleaver at Yun Ye. A thunderous voice rang out: “Yun Ye! I heard you’re also a famously unrestrained man in Chang’an City. Today you and I will fight three hundred rounds right here, to let you know Hebei also has heroes. Don’t be so arrogant, carrying treasures around everywhere. Today, leaving behind the toll won’t do!”
This made him angry. He drove back all the soldiers, spat out the grass stem in his mouth, and Marquis Yun took the lead, brandishing his hollow horse lance and valiantly charged forward…