Human habits are terrifying. When you’ve become accustomed to life aboard ship, life on land becomes strange instead. When Yun Ye first descended from the ship, he couldn’t even walk steadily, constantly feeling the earth sway beneath him. Yet aboard the unstable, rocking vessel, he had no such sensation. Those who travel long distances by ship always need rest. After Yun Ye gave the order, the navy soldiers disembarked from the warships in orderly lines, while the marine troops queued on shore boarded the ships. Now, they must master as quickly as possible the skills of shipboard life and combat ability aboard vessels.
Dongyu saw Yun Ye smiling like a blooming flower, rubbing his hands together, not knowing how to start a conversation. This appearance clearly required a scolding to return to normal.
“Though your rank is currently low—merely a Colonel of Accompanying Soldiers—can you at least look somewhat like a colonel? You clearly have shoes, so why are you always barefoot? Roll back and put on your shoes before coming over.”
Sure enough, this tactic was quite effective. Dongyu removed the shoes from his waist and, without even putting on foot wrappings, sat right there on the dock to put his shoes on, grinning foolishly at Yun Ye with his wide mouth.
“Your wife and child have already been moved to the estate. Since you hold official status, you cannot be a tenant farmer. The lady specially exchanged land for your family near the estate—I hear it’s quite good. With the money you sent back last time, your wife bought two oxen and is reportedly exchanging ox labor for work hands to cultivate your family’s fields. You needn’t worry about household matters. After this battle is finished, you’ll return with me to Chang’an. Having separated you husband and wife for two years, even I cannot bear it.”
Dongyu’s two hands waved like fans, patting his own chest to indicate he could endure it. Yun Ye smiled and punched this fellow’s chest, saying nothing more, then stepped onto the gangplank and boarded the ship. Liu Fang, Lai Chuanfeng, Gou Feng, Yang Yueming, and Yang Yueli also followed aboard.
Yun Ye’s destination was that largest mulan boat—only aboard that ship could he suffer a bit less. Dan Ying was currently as happy as a monkey, and together with Gou Zi, the two grasped ropes and swung from one ship to another, playing with great delight.
Ever since experiencing Ding Yanping’s affair, Yun Ye had discovered great changes in Dan Ying. He was no longer that sinister youth who would call anyone “elder brother-in-law” while holding a string of pig intestines. Now he finally looked somewhat like a nineteen-year-old youth should. Gou Zi was older than him—this twenty-year-old man was only one year younger than Yun Ye, yet this fellow had been spoiled by Wu She into complete shapelessness, without any self-awareness of being an adult.
Wu She, as usual, found himself a comfortable cabin and began brewing tea. He was utterly fascinated with Zhao Yanling’s tea ceremony methods, constantly stirring the tea soup with a small brush. The green tea leaves ground to fine powder were too bitter to drink, so he slowly added nutmeg, cloves, and some seasonings of unknown names. He always carried fresh onions, ginger, and garlic with him—all tender and fresh, obtained from who knows where. His grip strength was considerable—holding a chunk of ginger in his hand and squeezing once would drip ginger juice into the small pot for brewing tea. He cut the onions and garlic as fine as hair, all uniform in size, and finally added fine salt and small pieces of lard to complete the masterpiece. Every time watching Wu She drink this oil soup, Yun Ye felt like vomiting.
Never mind that. Yun Ye covered his mouth as he passed Wu She’s cabin, deciding to keep his own cabin far, far away from Wu She’s. As long as he neither smelled nor saw that peculiar odor, it would count as saving his life.
“Marquis Yun has already established the regulations. This battle will rely on these provisions. Lai Chuanfeng, Gou Feng, Yang Yueming, Yang Yueli, and Ren Xiong already know what they should do. Now only the navy commanders need to familiarize themselves with the plans in your hands. Today you must quickly familiarize yourselves with these objectives and plans. Tomorrow there will be a pre-battle conference, and everyone needs to be clear about their position and role. If by tomorrow you’re still unfamiliar and don’t know what you should do, the Commander will deal with you according to regulations without any leniency. Do you hear?”
Hearing the orderly responses from inside the cabin, Yun Ye was quite satisfied with the staff advisor he had invited. Liu Fang was also someone accustomed to commanding large armies. When wearing armor, his imposing manner absolutely matched Cheng Yaojin and the others—one sweep of his eyes made Yun Ye’s scalp tingle.
What a profit! Who would need an old man who only knew how to quote Confucius and poetry? The academy had as many as needed, but this half-baked scholar was actually a formidable military general—this was truly rare. Cheng Yaojin and his ilk could count themselves doing well if they wrote documents neatly. Just thinking about it made him proud—from now on, who would he fear in battle? With a general of Cheng Yaojin’s caliber serving as his own staff advisor—no, perhaps chief of staff—even if he suffered defeat, it would be unavoidable circumstances.
Yun Ye hummed a little tune with both hands clasped behind his head, swaying and staggering toward his cabin. His ears could still hear Liu Fang’s roaring voice assigning tasks to the various commanders.
“Elder brother-in-law, you seem quite pleased with yourself.” Dan Ying emerged from some nook or cranny, suddenly appearing before Yun Ye, still clutching an oil-yellow roasted chicken in his hand.
Yun Ye tore off a leg from the chicken, bit into the drumstick while patting Dan Ying’s shoulder, and continued walking toward his cabin. After finishing the drumstick, he would need to write a letter to Xinyue. When a person had leisure, he would miss those closest to him.
In fact, there were many letters to write—to Old Niu, Old Cheng, Li Xiaogong, the Crown Prince, the Empress, Qin Qiong, Yuchi, even Sun Simiao and Li Tai. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.
As for those women, Yun Ye immediately pushed them all away cleanly, dumping everything onto Yuan Dake’s head. He was the local official—taking good care of these women was his duty.
Yuan Dake was in great pain. These women were not Great Tang people. Moreover, in this Hebei region, there were already far more women than men. A man who married one wife was looked down upon; marrying two was considered adequate; marrying three would earn gratitude from other women; if a man married four, the authorities would come to congratulate him. Like Xi Tong who married them in groups—that was absolutely exemplary. He just didn’t know if this fellow had settled matters with his principal wife. On the return journey, he would go take a look.
With constant warfare back and forth for over a hundred years, this Hebei region had never known peace. During the peaceful years of the former Sui, this was again where the Turks and Sui Dynasty clashed. In any case, there had never been peaceful years. Not going hungry had only been a matter of these past two years. The method Yun Ye provided of obtaining grain from the great sea was gradually changing this place’s reputation as an impoverished and benighted land. The sea vegetables that Lanling alone now required sustained a full three hundred people—Yun Ye had only learned this when he discovered Lanling’s branch residence in Dengzhou.
Humans and pigs actually had similar tastes. As long as pigs could eat it, generally speaking humans could eat it too. Yun Ye remembered this saying very clearly—it was spoken by the teacher who taught him wilderness survival skills. Very incisive.
After writing four or five letters in succession, he finally stopped. In the letter to the Empress, he particularly emphasized Lanling’s achievements and the matter of those Goguryeo women. The Empress was currently worried about manpower—worried enough that her hair must be turning white. Come spring, countless amounts of wool would be transported over. Great Tang’s women were unwilling to become tenant farmers, so they could only focus their attention on women from these foreign tribes. Handing them to Yuan Dake was merely going through procedure to transform these women into legal servants.
Previously, Yun Ye had been very averse to forcibly enslaving others. Over these years, he gradually came to understand that Great Tang might appear not very prosperous, but compared with these surrounding nations, one would discover they lived like immortals. Tubo’s women were no different from livestock; the Turks were the same. As for the women of Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje, they were even more wretched. These three nations constantly warred, and war meant men died. When fighting intensified, women too would go to the battlefield. How miserable it was when women went to the battlefield required no thought to imagine.
Thinking of this, Yun Ye gave two bitter laughs. Turning people into slaves was actually helping them? When had his own mentality undergone this change? How useless he was. Legend had it that others given such opportunities as his would think of ways to enlighten the ancients. Only he, this useless one, ran to Great Tang to be enlightened by the ancients.
The lamplight in Yun Ye’s cabin remained lit until the third watch. For him, this was a soul-like conversation with himself and with those close to him.
Spreading open the final sheet of plain writing paper, he took up his brush and wrote the salutation: “My younger brother Gao Ming, as if meeting face to face: Your elder brother now resides aboard a mulan boat. Before taking up my brush, my heart held ten thousand words, yet when brush met paper, I knew not where to begin.”
“The parting was hurried, my heart filled with towering ambition. Arriving in Hebei, I discovered reality differs from fantasy as heaven from earth. The Liaodong situation changes moment by moment. Your elder brother can only rely on the sharp weapons in hand to make a gambler’s throw. When the time comes, all of Liaodong will surely surge with wind and clouds. Though the danger is extreme, it also fills your elder brother with inexplicable joy. The winds and clouds of this world emerge from our generation…”
Folding the letter, Yun Ye placed it in an envelope, burned sealing wax and pressed it on the envelope opening. Looking at the tall stack of letters on the desk, Yun Ye yawned. His ears could still hear Liu Fang’s forceful, resonant voice. Using a seventy-year-old man to this extent, Yun Ye still felt somewhat guilty. The tide of drowsiness instantly scattered this guilt to pieces. Without even removing his outer garments, he pulled over a blanket, blew out the candle, and before long, light snoring sounds could be heard.
Still enjoying sweet dreams in the morning, he was dragged from sleep by the muffled ox-horn trumpet. Just about to prepare to rage, he saw the cabin furnishings and only then remembered he was currently aboard the mulan boat. The military was like this—nothing to complain about. Straightening his clothing, he knocked on the window. Liu Jinbao immediately brought a basin of clear water. The military provided no hot water for washing faces. The ice-cold clear water instantly chased away Yun Ye’s remaining drowsiness. Stepping out of the cabin door and stretching lazily, he saw Dongyu grinning as he delivered a clay jar. Yun Ye liked this thing. Though this fellow Dongyu looked coarse, the fish congee he made was truly authentic. For this, Yun Ye never tired of eating it.
“Has Mister Liu gotten up yet?” Opening the jar and sniffing the fish congee’s fragrance, he turned to ask Liu Jinbao.
“He rose long ago. Mister Liu is currently at the ship’s bow watching the soldiers train. He says he wants to make an assessment and evaluate the soldiers’ elite status.”
“Very good. Liu Jinbao, deliver this jar of congee to Mister Liu. He’s advanced in years and needs nourishment.”