“You’re all now in the know. According to military law, you must all be confined in the military camp until the matter is concluded. Now quickly pick good locations for your families. The rest, sell it all to the government office. I need to resell this land once more.”
“Should be confined, should be confined. This is military intelligence. We old slaves really shouldn’t have been talkative or meddlesome. We’ll be confined right away. It’s proper.” The several old stewards, along with the Crown Prince’s aide and Prince Wei’s Palace eunuch, all nodded their heads like pecking chickens, contentedly preparing to go to the military camp, waiting to be confined. The water bandits were all their own people now—what was there to worry about?
Yun Ye impatiently dismissed these people, ordering Liu Jinbao to confine them all on naval warships, taking good care of them with food and drink, releasing them only after the great battle.
Han Zhe continuously listened to scouts’ reports. When he heard that the merchants had all returned their contracts to Yun Ye, a smile finally appeared on his face. The disastrous defeat last time had left him without confidence to face Yun Ye for a long time. Now he could. He could finally face Yun Ye head-on and compete to see who was the true deity.
Han Zhe despised those legendary deities. What swallowing clouds and spitting mist, what moving mountains and filling seas—they were nothing but a group of brutish strongmen. Only those who relied on their minds to make everyone dance to their will were true deities.
The ancestors simply didn’t want to civilize those crude and vulgar men, so they hid themselves away, out of sight, out of mind. As a noble race, they despised shallowness and ignorance. The old ancestors originally thought that as long as sages don’t die, great bandits won’t cease. Only by killing all these people who had entered divine and sagely realms could heaven and earth return to chaos, allowing the remaining ignorant masses to grow like grass and trees—that was the world’s true nature.
The old ancestors ultimately couldn’t be so ruthless. They could only self-imprison in secret realms, far from the mortal world, hoping to achieve their purpose through such methods. But ah, the old ancestors were wrong. When people have talent, it’s like an awl in a cloth bag—the sharp point will show itself at any time, anywhere. The best were self-imprisoned. Yet throughout the world, such people continuously appeared—Confucius, Zengzi, Zhuangzi, Han Fei, Zuo Qiuming. These people devoted their entire lives to making those foolish people understand they could reach the realm of deities through learning. How foolish that was!
Wearing hemp cloth in summer, fur clothes in winter, drinking water when thirsty, eating when hungry—though behavioral patterns varied in thousands of ways, these most primitive behaviors gave birth to wisdom. Han Zhe knew that books he’d read since childhood contained discussions on these aspects. Yun Ye’s books also had the same explanations. All waters flow from one source.
That damned Baiyujing must have inherited the ancient path of mathematics, which is why Yun Ye could compile such abstruse learning into the book “Elementary Mathematics.” These learnings were undoubtedly knowledge that had been sealed since ancient times. Yun Ye brought them to the mortal world—this was betrayal of the deities.
Yun Ye’s origins could only be traced back to the great wilderness of Longyou. Even Wang Cai’s origins could only reach that wilderness. If that wilderness had no relation to Baiyujing, Han Zhe was unwilling to believe it. Originally, one only needed to wait for Baiyujing’s people to clean up their own house. Unexpectedly, after waiting nearly ten years, Baiyujing seemed to have forgotten this person, never actively punishing Yun Ye. As one of the deity race, naturally there was a mission to help Baiyujing correct errors. Yun Ye, don’t persist in your delusion anymore. Let’s return to our place of seclusion and continue watching the world’s winds and clouds change, watching the world’s ants mutually slaughter each other. Han Zhe was very willing to gamble with Yun Ye on the rise and fall of a dynasty. Wouldn’t that be a thousand times better than personally taking action and making things bloody?
Standing at the cliff’s edge, watching ship after ship sail out from the water fortress, densely covering the lake surface, Han Zhe’s heart filled with pride. He wondered how long it would take Yun Ye to kill all these people?
He eagerly anticipated. From the innermost part of the water fortress, a magnificent large ship sailed out, draped with pure white silk. Sitting in the center was a golden figure, sitting boldly on a soft couch with an angry expression, baring white teeth as if wanting to devour someone. The long white eyebrows that grew after death had been trimmed very neatly. The entire figure looked far more imposing than the former Sanfengzi. Both hands were folded on the knees. The left hand was missing two fingers. At the stumps, white finger bones could be clearly seen. This was a gift Han Zhe specially sent to Yun Ye.
In battle between two armies, envoys are not killed. Though a water bandit’s envoy, Yun Ye still received him. Two soldiers in full heavy armor took great effort to pull this fellow down from a long blade on the soft couch. The envoy with an angry expression wasn’t afraid of Yun Ye in the slightest. Even stripped completely naked, he wasn’t embarrassed, still full of rage, fiercely staring at Yun Ye.
No matter how this fellow was positioned, his eyes still stared at Yun Ye. Finally, helplessly, they could only turn him to face away. Only this way did it feel a bit better.
Tall stature, perfect muscles—this was a perfect work of craftsmanship! It should be placed in the academy’s exhibition hall for all students to see. Tapping the envoy’s body, hard as salted fish, Yun Ye ordered the fleet to set sail and advance to battle. Dongting Lake immediately filled with clouds of war.
“Young Master, we must have some people desperately entangle the Lingnan navy to give our elite brothers some time to break through Yuezhou prefecture city. This old slave has inquired—Yun Ye’s Lingnan navy is a battle-tested lion among government troops. In the Liaodong campaign they were invincible. The South Sea and East Sea regions are their backyard territories. They are truly valiant troops and fierce generals. If we want to achieve victory and complete Young Master’s plan, necessary sacrifice is unavoidable.”
Liu Fang suggested to Han Zhe in a low voice. This was not a battle aimed at victory. Han Zhe only required destroying Yuezhou City, destroying Yun Ye’s half-year of construction achievements. Victory—in Han Zhe’s view, that could be had or not. Of course, Han Zhe never believed these clay chickens and tile dogs could gain any advantage from Yun Ye’s battle-tested army.
“Master Han’s words very much suit my intention. As long as Yuezhou prefecture city can be thoroughly and completely destroyed, your task will be complete. As for how many people die, who goes to die—Grand Master, you arrange it.”
“Thank you for Young Master’s regard. This old slave is extremely grateful. In this old slave’s view, those young brothers are sufficient to bear the heavy responsibility of entangling the government naval forces. The brothers Young Master dispatched can take the opportunity to seize Yuezhou City. One’s own people must be given some care. The government’s powerful navy naturally isn’t something we can resist. But on land, Yun Ye doesn’t have sufficient manpower. With just Yuezhou’s fourteen hundred garrison troops’ battle strength, this old slave believes they can be taken in one decisive push.”
Grand Master Han still couldn’t escape a mortal’s thinking patterns. Han Zhe was somewhat amused. What difference was there between those divine slaves and young water bandits? Young water bandits might flee when battle became unfavorable, but divine slaves wouldn’t! These people were all the best death warriors. If not used at this time, then when? Young water bandits were about right for fighting advantageous battles. Wanting to withstand strong enemies, knowing they faced death yet having no regrets—only his divine slaves could do that. Laughable that Grand Master Han thought he handled affairs properly, thinking people who followed him longer needn’t die, not knowing death warriors were meant for this very time. They and the young water bandits were merely the difference between dying a few days earlier and dying a few days later. How could there be any distinction?
“Master Han thinks too much. Since they are our own people, at this time naturally they must charge forward. The Lingnan navy are strong troops. Naturally we cannot dispatch those young people. Since several of the people I dispatched can fight, naturally they must be sent. If only fighting advantageous battles, what use do I have for them?”
Liu Fang’s body immediately shrank down. He bowed deeply to Han Zhe and didn’t rise. Han Zhe said softly: “The Angry-Faced Golden-Armored Envoy has already been sent to Yun Ye. This was originally a signal to take action. You go make preparations. Assign them the best warships. If those people can hold off the Lingnan navy for three days, I’ll permit them to retreat. Master Han needn’t command the navy either. Just lead the remaining people to attack Yuezhou. As soon as Yuezhou is taken, immediately begin destruction. I want to demolish Yuezhou until not one room remains.”
Han Zhe sat on a low couch covered with tiger skin, listening as Liu Fang allocated military forces. When those divine slaves heard they needed to battle the powerful Lingnan navy, they all turned their heads toward Han Zhe. Seeing Han Zhe smile without saying a word, they one by one lowered their pale faces, not even daring to glance at Han Zhe.
Liu Fang, having announced the battle orders, left his seat. Accidentally, a colorful wooden ball fell from his sleeve, bouncing and hopping on the bluestone floor making crisp sounds, immediately attracting everyone’s gaze. A very ordinary wooden ball, not very round, covered with knife-cut marks. The colors were also painted quite crudely—a stripe of red, a stripe of blue, a stripe of yellow, a stripe of black, one stripe after another, twisting into a strange figure 8. When rolling on the ground, that figure 8 seemed to continuously swim on the wooden ball. Very pretty.
The wooden ball finally rolled to Han Nu’s feet. After a clattering of iron chains, everyone strangely discovered that Han Nu actually squatted down, extended one fan-sized hand, grabbed the wooden ball, sniffed it near his nose, then shook his head back and forth looking at the wooden ball. Because only this way could he discover that mass of color was swimming. As for why he didn’t shake his hand but had to shake his head instead, Liu Fang also scratched his head, seemingly quite puzzled.
“Grand Master Han actually still has such elegant interests. Is this wooden ball prepared for your grandson or granddaughter?” Han Zhe turned his head to look at Liu Fang. He too was puzzled.
“Every year at this time, this old slave carves a wooden ball. Not for any other reason, just because in two more days is the anniversary of this old slave’s son and daughter-in-law’s deaths. Fourteen years now. This old slave has carved fourteen, buried fourteen. Rare that Han Nu likes it—just give it to him.”
Having said this, he bowed to Han Zhe and left the hall with lowered head. His retreating figure was desolate and forlorn. Han Zhe looked at the two Han Nu, who seemed to want to continue the story of shaking heads to play with the ball. He didn’t speak either, leaving with the two continuously head-shaking Han Nu. Everyone had their own secrets. It was too normal for Master Han to have his own secrets.