Having gained the reputation of a vicious dog, Ma Zhou simply cast aside his remaining bit of reserve and positioned himself in the role of protector of the common people. He freed his hands to drastically reorganize Chang’an City. Having lived long on the grasslands, Ma Zhou understood very clearly the importance of Western Region Hu merchants to Chang’an. He specially designated a Hu merchant trading area in the West Market, giving the Hu people a zone in Chang’an where they could trade freely, no longer subject to oppression by those meritorious nobles.
He actually went to Yushan three times, requesting that Yushan Academy’s research workshops be relocated to Chang’an’s inner city. Twice he was sternly refused by Yuanzhang. When Ma Zhou came for the third time, he was expelled by the furious Yuanzhang, who cursed him loudly as a beast with the heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog. Furthermore, he completely burned the student registration that Yun Ye had reissued for him and declared Ma Zhou a traitor to Yushan Academy, forever forbidden from stepping foot in Yushan Academy again.
Ma Zhou stood outside the academy gate for one night. The next day, he returned to Chang’an. Though it wasn’t the autumn execution period, he issued beheading orders. The Court of Judicial Review was very dissatisfied, but the Emperor tacitly approved Ma Zhou’s actions. Nineteen death row prisoners lost their heads, including a steward from the Zhangsun family, Princess Danyang’s personal maid, and the head guard of Chai Shao’s household. These people had all taken the lead in obstructing the investigation when Ma Zhou was surveying land and population. Ma Zhou didn’t spare a single one.
Although memorials impeaching Ma Zhou piled up like mountains, Li’er kept them all without issuing responses. Only at this point did the meritorious nobles realize that all of this was the Emperor’s idea.
Zhangsun expanded her workshops threefold, and the Chang’an industrial zone expanded again. The entire Southern Mountain Plain billowed with thick smoke like a human hell. After Zhangsun made a trip to Yushan Academy, Yushan Academy opened the Great Tang’s largest book printing workshop in Chang’an and undertook the production of the court gazette. They also began publishing the first newspaper-like thing, though it was densely packed with merchant news and some overseas observations.
The people of Chang’an City finally had a new livelihood. Apart from the billowing smoke in the south, the entire city finally recovered its former elegance and magnanimity. Every dawn and dusk, one hundred and eight bell and drum sounds still urged people’s footsteps, as if this magnificent city had never experienced any changes at all.
Yun Ye didn’t plan to concern himself with how Ma Zhou fared. One walks one’s own path. Since he believed he could live his entire life under the Emperor’s wing, then so be it. But Yun Ye couldn’t ignore Xue Wanche—they were all good brothers in eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling. Watching him fall into the abyss without caring—that wouldn’t be the duty of a brother.
He should find time to talk with him. A man oppressed by his wife, where even the princess’s personal maid dared to rebuke him, who always spent nights in the study, who was also looked down upon by his brother-in-law, where his wife’s mistakes were all blamed on him, beaten with boards and scolded without mercy—when his wife was having an affair, the dignified Duke of Wu’an personally went to catch them in the act. After catching them, he went to complain to his brother-in-law, but was instead rebuked by his brother-in-law. In the end, they just found a pit to bury the adulterer and that was that. How could Xue Wanche, who came from the Dunhuang aristocratic military family, swallow such an insult?
This time coming to Yuezhou, the Emperor summoned him to guard the imperial procession. But Old Xue hid in the ship cabin, too ashamed to see anyone, drinking sullen wine in his cabin room all day. This fellow’s only thought was probably to go see his personal maidservant and two sons, then find a like-minded rebel to rebel with him, and finally be captured by Li’er and beheaded at the vegetable market.
He couldn’t be unaware of this outcome. The Great Tang army’s weapons were becoming increasingly sharp. The era of charging into battle relying on personal martial prowess was gradually passing. For Xue Wanche, who apart from his excellent martial skills had nothing else to recommend him, fading from Li’er’s sight was a matter of sooner or later. Old methods of killing would always be replaced by new, more effective methods of killing. Rebelling now—being beheaded at the vegetable market was absolutely his only outcome. He just wanted to vent his anger properly.
Another night passed, and the Great Emperor finally started moving. Today’s wind was very strong, and the Great Emperor raised full sails. Only the Princess and Qing Que could barely keep up. The remaining ships, including the warships famous for their speed, were all left far behind. Yun Ye saw Zhangsun Chong standing on a high slope looking at the ships through a telescope. This fellow always had to dress himself very conspicuously—riding on horseback with a bright red cloak fluttering in the wind, a lance hanging on the bird-wing ring. Whoever saw him would know this was a fierce general.
Yun Ye saw through the telescope that this fellow was looking at him, so he freed his right hand and raised his middle finger to gesture at him. Soon, Yun Ye also saw through the telescope the middle finger he extended. Good—this fellow hadn’t become stupid yet. However, his father was also looking at him with a telescope.
Li’er’s ship darted across the river surface. The black-armored cavalry on both banks formed two winding black dragons, following the Great Emperor galloping toward the upper reaches of the great river. By noon, Li’er still had no intention of stopping the ship. It seemed he planned to enter Dongting Lake today. The increasingly narrow waterway didn’t seem suitable for the Great Emperor to gallop through.
Buying a sports car only to go the same speed as a tractor naturally couldn’t satisfy anyone. Li’er was intent on reaching Dongting Lake to properly experience the Great Emperor’s true capabilities. This was already one of this emperor’s few remaining hobbies.
In Yun Ye’s view, the emperor’s travels were an act of massive spending. Wherever they went, various local specialties were presented. The Emperor took a bite, praised it saying it was good, and thus the item would immediately become tribute. He rewarded very large amounts of money and wealth. By the time beautiful women were also presented as local specialties to the Great Emperor, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng began memorializing the Emperor not to accept any more tribute from local officials. If this continued, the Emperor’s southern tour would be no different from Emperor Yang of Sui going to Yangzhou.
As long as Yun Ye had nothing to do, he absolutely would not step foot on the Great Emperor. Li’er and the Zhangsun couple always wanted to find fault with him—better to see them rarely. But the tree wished to remain still while the wind would not cease. Yun Ye’s failure to perform morning and evening visits to the imperial couple also became an offense. They specially dispatched Duan Hong to jump onto the Princess to give him a thorough scolding, and demanded that Yun Ye report for duty from now on and must move to the Great Emperor.
Carrying his pillow, he boarded the Great Emperor, and was again rebuked by Zhangsun. What kind of thing was it for the dignified Grand General Yunhui to be unable to do without his pillow? Nearly thirty years old and full of strange quirks.
Fortunately, he still had a cabin room, though it could barely fit sleeping space. The bedding was piled on the floor just like the Japanese. A sliding paper door served as a partition. If someone next door farted, he could experience it personally.
A dignified marquis sleeping in a lieutenant’s cabin was very shameful, but seeing that Zhang Liang could only sleep on the bridge, Yun Ye was much more satisfied. There were many noble people on the ship—as a marquis here, he truly wasn’t much bigger than a turtle. Who knew where the Li family had so many relatives? Many old men Yun Ye had never seen before. After paying respects to a circle of Lords Li, he still couldn’t tell who was who.
These country bumpkins looked very miserable on the ship. Each had a waxy yellow complexion, probably all caused by seasickness. Many people had vomit on their beards. The ship cabin was full of the sour stench of vomit. How could people sleep in such a place?
Once on the ship, Yun Ye would naturally find himself a quiet, well-ventilated good place. The gun position under the tarpaulin on the rear deck was a very good sleeping place. This was a stern cannon. As long as the eight-ox crossbow wasn’t raised and the wooden house covering the gun position was folded and dismantled, it could instantly transform into the finest lakeside suite, complete with a bathroom.
Carrying his bedding to the deck, he called over a sailor. “Marquis, I want to see your training results. Right now, immediately remove the tarpaulin and construct the eight-ox crossbow’s protective wooden house. Ten counts.”
Worthy of being trained by him—when Yun Ye counted to eight, a wooden house appeared before him. Seeing the sailor eager to try raising the eight-ox crossbow up from below the deck—having such an unperceptive subordinate was truly the marquis’s shame. He kicked him away with two feet, then surveyed his room. Not bad, not bad. It was just that Liu Jinbao hadn’t followed up, otherwise having someone to run errands would be even more comfortable.
Yun Ye skillfully opened a panel of the wooden house and pulled out a hammock, hanging the other end on a hook on the opposite wall. The hammock was large enough—this was originally for combat sailors to sleep in during battle watch. Generally, such a hammock could sleep two people. He hung the mosquito net he had just pulled down from the cabin room over the firing port. Without this thing, the mosquitoes on Dongting Lake could bite a person to death.
The bedding was laid, the pillow made comfortable. He took off his shoes and jumped onto the hammock. His body twisted around, finding the most comfortable position, preparing to make up for these two days’ lost sleep. His body was too tired. Xinyue always believed her husband had been possessed by evil spirits and needed to expel the yin energy. This resulted in Yun Ye having spring nights every night. After Na Rimu got involved, it became even more tiring. He didn’t know what this so-called yin energy was—just that his body was very weak. Probably quite a bit of yang energy had also escaped.
He woke up greatly invigorated. Looking outside, the narrow waterway had already transformed into a misty, vast lake surface. The Great Emperor had already entered Dongting Lake. He didn’t see the shadows of the Princess or Qing Que. Probably the Great Emperor was currently advancing at full speed.
His stomach was terribly hungry. He very much wanted to go to the forward cabin to eat, but thinking of those dirty country bumpkin relatives of the Li family made him want to vomit. So he opened the cabin door for the eight-ox crossbow to rise through beneath his feet, crouched down and drilled through. The Great Emperor’s kitchen was on the third level. Climbing down the ladder, he reached the third level.
The cook never dreamed he would see the Grand Marshal here. Just as he was about to speak, Yun Ye said impatiently: “Hurry up, I’m starving.献上the good things you’ve embezzled and I’ll spare you.”
The cook smiled ingratiatingly and took out a basin from a hidden compartment. Inside were large chunks of beef, greasy fat chicken, and two pig knuckles. Yun Ye had the cook cut a plate of beef, tear off two chicken legs—the pig knuckles naturally should be taken pot and all. Add two steamed buns and the meal was settled. He searched out the cook’s treasured wine flask—this son of a bitch was drinking grape wine better than what Yun Ye himself drank. This must be embezzled from the Emperor’s good wine. Each and every one had eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard.
“Grand Marshal, please bear with me. This one is just used to it. His Majesty’s wine flask can’t hold so much—throwing away the remainder would be wasteful, so this one stored it in this wine flask.”
“Don’t make excuses. You’re just used to stealing, aren’t you? I’ll let you off this time. Remember to stew a fish for me tomorrow.”
The cook let the Grand Marshal climb up to the upper deck by stepping on his shoulders, loaded the wine and food into a basket and handed it up. Seeing the Grand Marshal leave, only then did he say viciously to several kitchen-hand sailors: “Whichever son of a bitch dares to reveal the Grand Marshal’s whereabouts—my cleaver won’t recognize anyone.” Having said this, with a clang he chopped the huge cleaver into the cutting board.