From the moment he saw the first grain of gold in the gold pan, Yun Ye knew Dou Yanshan was doomed. Queen Tange might not believe Yun Ye, but how much rationality did humans have in the face of gold? Yun Ye was very clear about this.
Nanzhao wasn’t just Tange’s one tribe—it was a general term for hundreds and thousands of tribes. The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau was originally their home. If they learned that one tribe had already fallen into Tang people’s hands, they would certainly not let it go. If when driving out enemies they would still consider their own capacity to endure, then in the face of gold, those tribal chiefs who already knew gold’s value would certainly fight to the death.
“The Tange tribe has discovered a sea of gold.” Yun Ye casually told this to Queen Tange. Today’s entire day’s yield—five taels of gold—was packed in a small cloth bag and carelessly tossed on the floor.
Tange half-believing, half-doubting opened the bag and poured the gold into a rice bowl. The yellow gold sand just barely covered the bottom of the bowl. She looked very carefully. After a long while, she raised her head and said to Yun Ye, “That’s right, it’s all gold. How did you do it?”
“Your guest has a type of tool. Using this tool, two people can pan this much gold every day. I told you yesterday, but you didn’t believe me. I brought the gold over to show you, and also to show your guest. These next few days, he will certainly manufacture more tools. Your Nanzhao’s gold will quickly be all panned out by him.”
After Yun Ye finished speaking, he carried the snake meat and the bowl of gold to find Dou Yanshan. From the bamboo building behind him came a beast-like roar, and the small building also trembled. The corners of his mouth floated up in a trace of a smile.
Dou Yanshan’s blood had finally stopped. After sleeping a whole day, he had some energy. Half-reclining on the bed, he listened to his household servants report today’s results. When he heard that five taels of gold had been panned in one day, he immediately sat up, wanting to laugh heartily, yet worried about hurting his body. His spirits were quite vigorous. He was just about to praise the servants a couple of times when he heard Yun Ye’s and the old steward’s voices from outside the bamboo building. He lay back down again, pretending to be physically weak.
Yun Ye casually placed the bowl containing gold on the table by the window. A gentleman was ashamed to talk about money. Carrying that skinned snake, he came to Dou Yanshan’s bedside, dangled the snake before his eyes, and placed it on the low table where he read books on his bed. He stretched out his hand, felt his forehead, had Dou Yanshan stick out his tongue to look at his tongue coating, and only then sat down and said to Dou Yanshan, “The gold matter turned out as we expected—five taels panned. Let’s not talk about these worldly things—have the steward handle it. I’ll tell you good news: your fever has broken, your life is no longer in danger. Today I accidentally caught a python. Let me tell you, this is an excellent thing for replenishing vital energy and blood. I couldn’t bear to eat it myself, so I brought it to you. You need this thing. Hurry and nourish your body well. I’m preparing to see exactly how you’ll display your might in foreign lands.”
Dou Yanshan indeed had a gentleman’s bearing. He didn’t even look at the gold. He touched the snake meat on the low table with his hand, finding it crystalline and translucent, looking very delicious. Thinking that he hadn’t eaten fresh kuai for many days, his mouth couldn’t help but water.
“Marquis Yun’s kind intention—Dou Yanshan accepts it with shame. Why don’t we have the kitchen use flying knives to slice this delicacy into kuai? This younger brother still has excellent yellow mustard here. How about we seek to get drunk together?”
“You eating snake meat is no problem, but you’d better not drink wine. Your head is swollen so large—if you don’t find it an eyesore, I still find it uncomfortable. Wine promotes inflammation. You’d better not drink. Just give me more grain—my Wang Cai is always not eating his fill. So stingy. In Chang’an, Wang Cai generally goes to the marketplace himself to buy food.”
Dou Yanshan agreed with a smile. No one didn’t know Wang Cai’s treasured status in the Yun household. Things were indeed a bit miserable for him now. He then instructed the old steward to give Yun Ye one dou of rice, and also to cut off a strip of cured meat for Yun Ye to eat with his meals.
Watching Yun Ye go out the door, Dou Yanshan rose and in one swift step came to the window, picked up the black pottery bowl and carefully examined the gold. In the setting sun’s lingering glow, the gold glittered.
“Young Master, this Yun Ye really obtained this much gold in one day. This old slave underestimated this wastrel.”
“Under a great reputation, it’s actually hard to live up to—but Yun Ye is extremely intelligent. Having such a miracle occur isn’t absurd. It’s a pity that such a person, in the end, no matter what, must be killed. Too much of a pity.”
“Young Master, some days ago didn’t you still want to do everything to recruit him? Why have you developed murderous intent today? If you want to kill him, why not act in Chang’an? Taking his head with us would be more convenient.”
Dou Yanshan pointed at his own face and said, “This kind of person can see through others’ thoughts. I stood under that big tree wanting to see whether he would guard against me or not. As a result, he bathed as if nothing was wrong, paying no attention to my humiliation of him. The reason he endured this kind of humiliation was to watch me be sucked by leeches. If he hadn’t anticipated that the day I died would be his own doomsday, he absolutely wouldn’t have reminded me that I had leeches on me. Thinking about it now, I break out in cold sweat all over. I previously fantasized about making him work for me—it was truly laughable. I was merely slightly careless, and I was nearly executed by him invisibly. He also has one ability, which is making people unconsciously develop good feelings toward him. He caused the death of my entire family, yet facing him, I surprisingly can’t generate a bit of hatred. Apart from regret, there’s nothing. It can be foreseen that after I kill him, for quite a long period of time, I won’t be happy.”
“This person’s heart is vicious, Young Master. We’d better act quickly, lest we be deceived by him again. This snake certainly has poison. This old slave will throw it away right now.”
“It won’t. Yun Ye absolutely doesn’t want me to die right now. I’ve asked other people—this snake’s appearance was absolutely an accident, so the snake has no problem. Go instruct the kitchen to make it into kuai. I very much want to eat it.”
“Young Master, you mustn’t covet momentary appetite. Who knows if there will be endless future troubles.”
“Uncle Shan, I’m not a fool. This is just a kind of test of my state of mind. Yun Ye posed the question, so I must accept it. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei general Yang Hu dared to eat the medicine sent by the Wu general Lu Kang. Why can’t I eat the snake Yun Ye sent? To accomplish great things, boldness and careful thought are indispensable. There won’t be problems. Rest assured and go prepare it.”
Old Steward Uncle Shan helplessly bowed and took his leave, carrying the snake to the kitchen to have the cook prepare it. He instructed the cook repeatedly that after it was done, he should first find a tribesman’s child to test whether it was poisonous or not. If the snake meat was poisonous, he decided to first kill Yun Ye, then go beg forgiveness from the Young Master.
Yun Ye didn’t dare easily walk into the jungle. Who knew how many crises were hidden in the pitch-black forest? Standing in the bamboo building, through the door he looked at the tallest tree in the distance.
A towering great tree grew in the jungle. Its top extended upward with all its might to seek the most sunlight and rain; its thick branches occupied as much space as possible to breathe the freshest air; its root system was extremely flourishing to absorb the earth’s most abundant essence. However, without even looking, one knew that beside the great tree, several thin, weak small trees struggled on the edge of survival. Their branches were thin and brittle, their leaves already approaching withered yellow. The great tree’s tyrannical way of surviving almost left them no path forward.
Later generations called this principle the law of the jungle—the strong occupy all resources, the weak have nothing.
The law of the jungle is a sociological and political concept, referring to how in societies where rule of law is imperfect, in autocratic life, interpersonal relationships and relationships between individuals and organizations all follow the rule of the strong devouring the weak. Force becomes the decisive power determining fate, determining life and death.
Things memorized by rote when attending school now surprisingly had new understanding. Yun Ye didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry. He was just caught in the snare, wanting to escape, yet like a flying insect stuck on a spider’s web—hands and feet bound, able only to struggle in death throes.
What exactly was he pursuing? If he consciously and willingly accepted the reformation by Li’er, Zhangsun, and Li Jing, presumably his life would certainly be incomparably comfortable. Being a duke or marquis for ten thousand generations couldn’t be guaranteed, but three to five generations—Yun Ye could still ensure that.
Thinking back, all his suffering was self-inflicted, all his troubles were found by himself. Did a person from later generations coming to the Great Tang mean he had to receive feudalist education all over again to stand firm here?
Tange kept beating those men, but it had no effect. When those on the east side were driven up, those on the west would lie down again. The voice that hadn’t been damaged even in the pigpen was now somewhat hoarse. No matter what she said, those people just hung their heads.
The swelling on Dou Yanshan’s face had already dissipated. He had recovered his elegant young master appearance. Leaning on the railing watching Tange bustle about, the old steward handed up a pill. Dou Yanshan casually tossed it down.
The group of tribesmen below, whose courage had just been slightly aroused by Tange, immediately fell into chaos. The small pill kept passing through those filthy hands. Who knows who first threw a punch at someone else—these people then seemed to remember they had hands and feet and could hit people. Those who had just been so weak that even standing was a problem now turned into vicious wolves, eyes red, using hands, feet, and teeth to fight and struggle with each other for possession.
Queen Tange frantically rushed into the crowd, throwing out those thin, weak men one by one. She herself seized that pill, and under those people’s wolf-like gazes, threw that pill far into the small river.
Beating her own chest, she roared loudly at the white-robed Dou Yanshan: “Devil! Devil!”
Dou Yanshan smiled warmly, even with a trace of shyness. He took two more pills from the steward’s hand and threw them down toward where the most people were, his bright eyes still carrying a bit of curiosity.
Queen Tange still wanted to snatch the pills away but was engulfed by that beast-like crowd. The two strongest men obtained the pills. Now one couldn’t even see the pills’ color anymore—they looked more like two mud balls. As soon as they got them, they immediately swallowed the pills.
Very quickly, under those people’s envious gazes, they fell to the ground, violently convulsing. After struggling for less than the time of one incense stick, they lay there motionless without a sound…
Dou Yanshan was watching. Yun Ye was watching. Queen Tange, lying in the mud, was watching. Dou Yanshan covered his nose and retreated a step—the smell of those two men’s incontinence had offended him.
But Yun Ye was weighing whether, under such severe stimulation, Queen Tange would go mad. As for those two opium addicts who died, he really couldn’t generate any sympathy. Whether passively or actively using drugs, neither would have a good ending. He’d seen it too much in later generations. Now, perhaps it was time for him to leave. The bamboo raft Tange had promised to make for him—it was time for it to come in handy…