At Jiangxia, the Yangtze River made a bend due to the confluence of the Han River. The fleet finally welcomed good times – there was wind they could borrow. The entire fleet immediately recovered its fierce true colors from its dead fish state. The Great Emperor ship steadily moored at the riverside. The strong wind blowing across the plains made the five-clawed golden dragon flag of the emperor at the top of the mast flutter loudly. All the sailors on the ship stood on deck, respectfully awaiting the emperor’s fleet to emerge from the Han River. The lead messenger ships at the very front continuously transmitted news. Watching the flags they waved, Yun Ye knew the emperor had already arrived ten li away.
The first batch of ships to arrive was led by Li Xiaogong. The old fellow had come to prepare the way for the emperor and temporarily control the fleet. Because the commander-in-chief was Yun Ye, only when the emperor reached ten li away did generals accompanying the emperor arrive. If it were anyone else, at three hundred li away, the person to control the army would already have arrived.
Because they were going to see the emperor, Li Tai, Yun Ye, and Zhang Liang all had to wear full helmets and armor, taking small boats to go up the Han River to welcome the emperor. Three li was the farthest distance for commanding generals to receive the emperor – ceremony was essential.
Li Xiaogong’s face was expressionless, as if he didn’t recognize the three of them. After displaying his token, he waved his hand. The ships he brought quickly approached the fleet. Countless warriors wearing Longxiang Guard armor climbed onto the ships and rapidly took control of the fleet to prevent any incidents. At this time, Li Xiaogong was the supreme commander here. Only when the emperor ordered military authority returned to Yun Ye would Li Xiaogong willingly hand over command.
Emperors throughout the dynasties took military authority very seriously. From these tedious procedures now, one could see just the tip of the iceberg. Who knew how those fellows who exploited loopholes in the military to coerce their commanders managed to accomplish such a thing.
Forty sailors rowed to send Li Tai, Yun Ye, and Zhang Liang to the Han River. This was a river much smaller than the Yangtze, but the abundant rainfall in Hanzhong had now made this river much larger. No wonder the emperor chose this time – only at this time could the Han River carry large ships.
Warships passed swiftly across the river surface like dragon boats. On both banks of the Han River, large numbers of cavalry appeared endlessly at the riverside. Seeing the warships on the river, horn sounds continuously rang out, one after another, transmitting upstream along the Han River.
Passing through countless warships and tower ships, a five-toothed great warship with a strange beast painted on its bow appeared before their eyes. At first glance, this ship seemed even taller than the Great Emperor ship. Five giant striking poles extended from both sides – these were this great ship’s main combat weapons. They relied on the striking poles to smash enemy ships to pieces. Fortunately, the ship also had many crossbow cannons, making this ship not look quite so primitive.
“Ye Zi, you’re not allowed to calculate how long it would take to blast this ship to pieces. Even if it looks disgraceful, it’s still my father emperor’s vessel. You cannot have such disrespectful thoughts.” Li Tai suddenly turned around and said to Yun Ye.
Yun Ye nodded regretfully. He had indeed just been thinking exactly that. A flat-bottomed boat with tall buildings built on top – two or three levels would be fine, but building four levels was purely seeking death.
Back then, Sun Quan commanded Lu Meng to take tower ships to the Three Rivers Mouth. As a result, before any fighting even occurred, a great wind arose on the Yangtze River, and a fleet composed of tower ships instantly sank into the Yangtze. Not far from here – right at Jingzhou.
How strong could the wind on the Yangtze River be? If they encountered a hurricane at sea, these broken ships would likely be torn to shreds by the gale. Zhang Liang stroked his beard and said to Li Tai: “Your Highness must not look down upon these five-toothed great warships. Back then, Yang Su relied on them to pacify the chaotic times and destroy the Chen Kingdom. Traversing great rivers and seas without meeting an opponent. The reason His Majesty was able to take Shu without bloodshed back then relied on the might of these five-toothed great warships. Of course, this old minister also doesn’t now see what’s so good about these ships.”
The warship had just reached the tower ship when seven or eight strange people wearing eunuch clothing jumped down from the tower ship with thump-thump-thumps. Just as they were about to follow the usual practice of patting down the three men’s bodies and crotches, Li Tai kicked them away one by one. They were clearly all people of formidable martial skills, yet when Li Tai and Yun Ye’s big feet kicked over, they could only endure it. Even so, they still completed their work.
Yun Ye clearly felt his crotch being stroked by someone. He could only kick heavily a couple more times to express his anger. Li Tai did the same. Only Zhang Liang stood bolt upright, letting people pat him all over. He knew very clearly that those two fellows had kicked the emperor’s inner guards and nothing would happen to them. If he dared to do the same, he would immediately be chopped into mincemeat by these eunuchs. So he raised his hands high, lest these eunuchs misunderstand and vent their humiliated fury on him.
Emperor Li, also in full armor, stood atop the tower ship and, seeing Li Tai and Yun Ye, loudly called out: “Where is my Great Emperor ship?”
The Great Emperor ship had already been allocated to the Liaodong Navy, so Zhang Liang knelt on one knee on the deck and loudly answered: “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Great Emperor ship is now stopped on the Yangtze River, respectfully awaiting Your Majesty’s arrival.”
Emperor Li nodded with satisfaction and ordered the three of them to come up. Climbing up the rope ladder onto the five-toothed great warship, Li Tai cried out sadly “Father Emperor” and crawled on his knees to Emperor Li’s side, embracing his legs and weeping endlessly.
Emperor Li stroked Li Tai’s head, smiling and saying: “Foolish child, foolish child. Father Emperor also misses you. Don’t display childish behavior and make people laugh.”
“Your child hasn’t seen Father Emperor for three years – this is already unfilial. Now meeting on the river, I’m overcome with joy. Why should I care if others laugh in scorn?”
Emperor Li’s eyes also reddened. He helped Li Tai up, patted him on the shoulder, then punched him once in the chest. Delighted, he said to Fang Xuanling beside him: “Xuanling, look – this child is now the father of four children, yet still so clingy. But his physique has become increasingly robust.”
Fang Xuanling cupped his hands in reply: “Your Majesty’s fatherly kindness and Prince Wei’s filial devotion are naturally a fine tale among mortals. Who would dare laugh in scorn? This old minister has heard that wind and waves are most capable of strengthening the physique. Your Highness traveled ten thousand li on an expedition – naturally wind and waves would forge a fine body.”
Emperor Li deeply agreed upon hearing this. Suddenly remembering that Li Tai seemed to have contracted a heart ailment and didn’t dare take boats, seeing Li Tai now standing steadily on the unsteady rocking ship, he asked: “I heard from Yun Ye that you contracted a heart ailment and couldn’t ride boats anymore. Now you’ve already recovered? How was it cured? Master Sun was also in Lingnan – did he intervene?”
Li Tai’s face and ears turned red. Yun Ye really couldn’t hold it in and laughed out loud with a snort. Li Tai released his father’s hand, came before Yun Ye, grabbed his armor plates, and said in embarrassed annoyance: “If you dare speak nonsense, we’ll mark the ground and sever our friendship.”
Emperor Li laughed heartily and said to Li Tai: “Good, good – looks like someone caught a painful spot. Father Emperor won’t ask. As long as your body is healthy, that’s better than anything. No need to threaten Yun Ye anymore.”
Only then did Li Tai release Yun Ye. After reporting to Emperor Li, he hurried into the ship’s cabin to see Zhangsun. His hurried manner made Emperor Li and Fang Xuanling and the other ministers laugh again.
“Yun Ye, Zhang Liang – what do you think of my five-toothed great warship? Can it compare to the Great Emperor ship you built?” Emperor Li seemed very satisfied with this five-toothed great warship, which is why he asked Yun Ye this way.
Yun Ye and Zhang Liang exchanged glances, both finding it very difficult, not knowing what to say. Seeing the two men’s awkward expressions, Emperor Li said curiously: “I’ve ridden on the Chengqian ship. The Great Emperor ship is merely somewhat taller and more luxurious than that warship. As for combat power, it probably doesn’t match the five-toothed great warship, does it? Fengcheng, tell Yun Ye what a five-toothed great warship is.”
Chu Suiliang said from within the crowd: “Why need Brother Fengcheng to step forward? This old minister knows the five-toothed great warship in great detail.” Yan Lide had unfortunately suffered a stroke this year, with mouth and eyes askew. Just after correcting it, speaking was still not easy. So Chu Suiliang voluntarily stepped forward to explain to Yun Ye. He himself was compiling the “History of Sui,” so he knew the five-toothed great warship in great detail.
“Marquis Yun, you must not be conceited. The so-called five teeth refers to the entire warship being divided into five levels. Besides ordinary crossbow arrows, the ship has installed six wooden masts. Each mast top is tied with a massive stone, with a windlass below. In battle when closing with enemy ships, the windlass can quickly lower the giant stones to smash enemy vessels. If one strike misses, they can also quickly be raised again. If enemy ships surround on all sides, one can still ‘drop all six together’ – this is a peerless weapon in water warfare.”
“The ship is fifty chi tall. On top, it can accommodate eight hundred officers and soldiers. If on the water surface ten ships link together, they immediately form a ship-city. Can advance to attack, can retreat to defend. The ship bristles with crossbow cannons, arrows like hedgehog quills. On rivers and seas, it sweeps away all opposition – truly a peerless water weapon.”
After Emperor Li heard Chu Suiliang’s explanation, he asked Yun Ye: “Now you know the formidability of the five-toothed great warship, right? Now tell me, how does the five-toothed great warship compare to the Great Emperor ship you built?”
Yun Ye looked at Emperor Li awkwardly for a long time before saying: “Your subject believes there’s no comparability. The two warships are fundamentally not the same thing. The Great Emperor ship is used for conquest. The five-toothed great warship is only suitable for Your Majesty to use when feasting with ministers at Qujiang Pool.”
With one sentence, he infuriated Yan Lide, whose condition had just improved, making his mouth crooked and eyes askew again. Pushing people aside, he picked up a brush and wrote two characters on the deck: “Nonsense!” After writing, he looked at Yun Ye with grief and indignation, seeing how he would explain.
“Grand Master need not take offense. Everything Yun Ye stated is the truth. As for the five-toothed great warship fighting the Great Emperor ship, forget it. I see there are many five-toothed great warships in the fleet. Once we reach Yunmeng Lake, as long as these five-toothed great warships can defeat the Princess ship, I’d consider that quite good. This is still only on a large lake. If we went to the great sea, I wouldn’t even need to fight – I’d only need to lure the five-toothed great warships into the deep sea, and one gale would be able to send all these ships to the ocean floor. You should hurry and get treatment. People with strokes cannot be blown by wind. If the imperial physicians cannot cure strokes, Daoist Sun is on the Qing Que ship – just request his intervention.”
Yun Ye didn’t understand why Yan Lide was so agitated. Cheng Yaojin put his mouth to Yun Ye’s ear and whispered: “Old Yan just supervised the construction of eight five-toothed great warships at Fengjie. Now they’re all here. He even had a stroke because of these great warships. Say less, lest he dies of anger and they blame it on you.”
“Your Majesty, this old minister earnestly requests that one five-toothed great warship be dispatched to conduct exercises with the Great Emperor ship. If there are losses, this old minister will bear full responsibility.” Again it was Chu Suiliang, word by word helping Yan Lide say what he wanted to say.
Emperor Li frowned, seeing the mouth-and-eye-askew Yan Lide prostrate on the ground continuously kowtowing. He looked again at the completely unconcerned Yun Ye and asked Zhang Liang: “What does Minister Zhang think?”
Zhang Liang answered without hesitation: “The Great Emperor ship is a dragon of the seas. The five-toothed great warship is merely fish and turtles in shallow water. This old minister believes the disparity in strength is too great. Such a contest would be an insult to the Great Emperor ship.”
Yan Lide’s eyes were about to shoot fire. He knocked his head on the deck with resounding thumps, begging Emperor Li to allow him to fight freely.