Chapter 01: Nurturing
Yun Ye could never have imagined that the person who would come to receive the Great Emperor ship would be Zhang Liang. When this fellow stood on the deck of the Princess ship with his face glowing red, carefully observing the sailing Great Emperor ship through a telescope, his sounds of admiration were endless. He was no longer that guy who had cowered in a tent wailing and begging for mercy. Yun Ye once again recognized the accuracy of the insights of Old Cheng and Xu Jingzong.
Initially, Yun Ye had thought that the remaining days of Zhang Liang would either be spent in prison or that he should end his days alone in his own estate. After not seeing him for just over a year, this fellow had become the Grand Commander of the Liaodong Navy, holding the same position as himself. Emperor Li was determined to firmly grasp the navy in the imperial family’s hands, with no intention of handing power over to the Ministry of War.
Throughout the journey, Zhang Liang’s laughter was endless. Patting Yun Ye on the shoulder, he called him “younger brother” repeatedly. Looking at his gray-haired head, Yun Ye didn’t think he could properly address Zhang Liang as a brother.
“Younger brother, from now on, this older brother and you will be stirring the same pot with our ladles. As you know, Liaodong is a godforsaken bitter place. Why don’t we speak to His Majesty – you go to Liaodong to suffer hardship, and let this older brother come to Lingnan to make a fortune. I won’t hide it from you, younger brother – I’ve already prepared the chests for storing treasures.”
When Zhang Liang said these words, his tone was very earnest. Yun Ye knew he was speaking the plain truth. The war with Goguryeo was about to reach its concluding stage, and everyone wanted the merit of destroying a nation. Zhang Liang felt he owed the Yun family a great debt of gratitude and wanted to use this achievement to compensate the Yun family. As for making a fortune and such matters, that was just a joke.
“Lord Zhang, you have a deep blood feud with Goguryeo. Your honored mother and many of your children lost their lives at the hands of the Goguryeo people. How could such hatred and enmity not be avenged? If you don’t avenge this grudge, I’m afraid you won’t even be able to enter your ancestral grave in the future. How could I compete with you for this merit? As for making a fortune, just leave that to your younger brother. We’re all navy brothers-in-arms – how could there be any reason for me to make a fortune while you just drink the soup?”
Zhang Liang’s eyes instantly turned blood-red – a transformation even Yun Ye hadn’t anticipated. It seemed that the hatred of having one’s family wiped out had always been Zhang Liang’s vulnerable point, one that couldn’t be touched lightly.
Seeing that only Yun Ye and himself were in the study, Zhang Liang suddenly knelt down and slapped himself hard across the face. Stopping Yun Ye from helping him up, he said: “This old man back then had his heart and mind clouded by lard, which is why I had designs on your younger sister-in-law. The Zhang family escaped great disaster and came back from the dead – Zhang Liang has noted the Yun family’s kindness and will surely repay it generously in the future.”
After saying these words, he immediately stood up. Although his eyes were still red, his mood seemed to have lightened considerably. Holding Yun Ye’s hand, he said: “During my time in Liaodong, this old man suffered cold in a torn tent and cried out from hunger in the snow with no one to care. Yuhou and Longxiang treated me like a pig or dog, scolding and beating me at every turn. Before my wounds from the beatings had healed, this old man gritted his teeth and walked a thousand li on foot, carried firewood to fill swamps, and pulled ropes between oxen and horses. The hardships involved are not worth mentioning to outsiders.”
“Even in my utter exhaustion, I still fondly remembered that basin of hot noodles with floating fat from your family’s kitchen tent in Liaodong. If it weren’t for always being able to find a basin of noodles there when hungry, this old man’s bones would have long grown cold. How could there be a day for dead ashes to reignite? From this day forward, Zhang Liang will follow only Marquis Yun’s lead. If there’s half a false word, let me, Zhang Liang, die pierced by ten thousand arrows.”
Yun Ye pressed Zhang Liang into a chair and said: “Naturally we share interests, but loyalty must be given to His Majesty – this applies to both you and me. Your Zhang family now needs to recuperate and restore itself, and the Yun family is the same. We should watch the clouds rise and fall in Chang’an with smiling faces, that’s all – there’s no need to band together like this. Once we’ve entered the navy, our interests are tied together with His Majesty’s. You’ll see – before long, we’ll very likely become the Imperial Navy just like the Imperial Yushan Academy. The affairs of the Ministry of War have nothing to do with us. You garrison the Eastern Sea, I control the Southern Sea. While serving the imperial family, we’ll just bury our heads and make our own families prosperous, then talk about other things.”
Zhang Liang laughed until tears came out, slapping the table and saying: “This is the right principle! How is it that this old man never comprehended such a simple truth before? Our current positions are neither too high nor too low, neither prominent nor conspicuous – just the right position to escape from the sights of the court and the provinces. As long as we destroy Goguryeo, this old man will definitely shrink his head and become a turtle, not concerning himself with anything. Haha!”
Zhang Liang’s son Zhang Juren and Liu Jinbao stood outside, only hearing occasional laughter from the two men, clearly indicating their conversation was very pleasant. Although they didn’t know what the two commanders were discussing, they knew it must be good news.
“Brother Liu, do you know why only those eunuchs are allowed onto the Great Emperor ship? This giant vessel is the flagship of the Liaodong Navy – why doesn’t my father commander board the ship? Your younger brother has long wanted to go aboard to take a look.”
“That won’t do. I heard my marquis say that before His Majesty goes aboard this ship, craftsmen can board, soldiers can board, sailors can board – but nobles like our two families cannot board. Only after His Majesty has completed the inspection at Yunmeng Lake can it be handed over to the Liaodong Navy. When that time comes, you can look however much you want.”
Zhang Juren was about to ask more when he saw Zhang Liang laughing heartily as he bid farewell to Yun Ye, preparing to return to his own ship. Since the Yun family’s dependents were all on the Princess ship, it wasn’t convenient for him to stay long on the ship. Truly worthy of someone who had spent years earning his living on the water – a rope was thrown between the two ships, and father and son slid quickly down the rope to their own command ship, paying no attention to the rolling waves of the great sea.
Li Tai felt he had already died. His head hurt as he rolled continuously on the large bed. The concubines he had taken in Lingnan surrounded the bedside, continuously calling out to him in soft voices, deeply afraid something might happen to the prince.
“Your Highness, your pulse is steady and stable – it doesn’t seem like you’re ill. Although your pulse beats somewhat rapidly, that’s also because you just thrashed about yourself, causing excessive physical exertion. You still need to calm your mind and cleanse your thoughts to settle yourself.”
“You old Daoist speaks unreasonably! The prince’s head hurts so badly, yet you still speak cold words. Someone come, drag him out and give him twenty heavy strokes!” The younger sister of the pearl-diving girl, relying on being favored, wanted to punish this slovenly old Daoist.
Li Tai slapped her hard across the face, gritting his teeth as he said to Sun Simiao: “Please don’t mind this ignorant foolish woman’s rudeness. I also know I’m not sick – this is a heart ailment. Why do I suffer so?”
Sun Simiao acted as if he hadn’t heard the woman’s nonsense, smiling as he said to Li Tai: “This is an illness of the mind. This old Daoist once conducted an experiment – covering a person’s eyes and telling him that a flame was burning his finger. In reality, it was just a piece of red-hot charcoal roasting his finger, which would only feel hot but not cause injury. After roasting for just a while, it was removed, and he was told how the flame had burned his finger. As a result, his perfectly fine finger actually developed symptoms of a burn. This old Daoist was utterly perplexed by this. Illnesses of the mind have countless threads and are difficult to fathom. This old Daoist’s cultivation is insufficient and cannot resolve it – you can only rely on yourself to control it.”
“I can’t take it anymore. Once the ship enters the Yangtze River, I must disembark and ride a horse to Yuezhou. I’d rather not suffer this torment.” After Sun Simiao left, Li Tai had the concubine who had been beaten find him a strap, which he tightly bound around his forehead. This at least provided some comfort.
After his mother was beaten, his one-year-old son Li Xin somehow crawled to Li Tai’s side, using his chubby little hand to touch his father’s face. Li Tai opened his mouth and bit his son’s hand, and father and son played together happily.
After the child fell asleep, Li Tai stared at the pearl-diving girl Yingxia and, suppressing his discomfort, said in a low voice: “When I’m unwell, don’t bring the child over. If I go mad from pain, I’ll hurt the child. Even my imperial father treats Mister Sun with courtesy and respect. Your mistake today – I’ll let it pass for Xin’er’s sake and won’t punish you. But in the future, never let such a thing happen again. Even if it’s my subordinates, they’re not for you to punish at will. Go now!”
The pearl-diving girl Yingxia quickly knelt in salute and hurriedly returned to the back.
The headache grew even fiercer. Li Tai just wanted to smash everything in the cabin to smithereens. Just as he picked up something convenient, he heard the sound of children crying from the adjacent cabin – one cry loud, one small like a cat’s meow. How could this be?
Stumbling and staggering into the adjacent cabin, he lowered his voice and asked Hypatia: “Why are Hui’er and little Que’er crying together? Is something wrong somewhere? I’ll go get Mister Sun.”
Hypatia stopped Li Tai, helping him to the bed, placing a piece of sandalwood under his neck so his head hung suspended, rubbing his temples as she asked: “Is this more comfortable?”
“Don’t worry about me – this is a heart ailment that can’t be cured. At worst, I just won’t board ships anymore. I’m asking you – what’s wrong with Hui’er and little Que’er? Hui’er has a robust body, but little Que’er was thin and tiny from birth and can’t be careless with. I always felt that what Yun Ye said was nonsense – something about children not competing for nutrients from the mother’s womb after birth, about being two independent individuals.”
“You see Hui’er growing more and more robust, while little Que’er becomes smaller and smaller. It worries me to death.”
Hypatia covered her mouth and smiled, saying: “That’s because Hui’er is growing too fast. Little Que’er is also growing, just not as fast as her brother. Mister Sun has examined her and says little Que’er has congenital deficiencies, but she’s still a full-term child and will grow up safely.”
“But they’re wailing!”
“That’s because little Que’er wet herself and cried out, which woke her brother, so both ancestors started crying together. Turn your head away – I need to feed the child.” Hypatia had Li Tai face inward while she picked up little Que’er to nurse.
Li Tai turned his head inward for a moment, but for some reason quickly turned back around. Seeing little Que’er vigorously sucking at the nipple, he clenched his fist to cheer on his daughter.
“Eat more, eat even more. Your mother’s breasts are large enough – there’s enough milk inside for you siblings to drink.” As he spoke, he himself swallowed a large mouthful of saliva.
Hypatia turned Li Tai’s head away in embarrassed annoyance, but Li Tai involuntarily turned back around, staring intently at little Que’er sucking milk. Hypatia no longer concealed it, letting him look his fill.
“I must have certainly been this greedy when I was small. Hypatia, my mother empress raised all seven of us brothers and sisters in her life, all personally nursed by her until we grew up. In this regard, my mother empress never entrusted this to others. This time I’ve been away for three years, unable to attend to her morning and evening – truly the height of filial impiety.”
“We came to Lingnan to avoid the disputes between Father Emperor and Elder Brother, yet we forgot about Mother Empress alone, leaving her to suffer torment in Chang’an. I should have been braver.”