Niu Jianhu, now thirty years old, was already the Governor of Quanzhou. When brothers met, they should have been filled with mixed emotions of sorrow and joy, drinking wine together in celebration. Now, however, they could only exchange glances as their two ships passed each other, loudly assuring each other of their safety. Those Tang poems that Yun Ye had once found overly sentimental now seemed remarkably apt when read at this moment.
Eight or nine out of ten things in this world go against one’s wishes—it’s impossible for everything to be satisfactory. As long as one has a clear conscience, that’s enough. On Niu Jianhu’s boat was an additional woman holding an infant—this was his sister-in-law. Yun Ye ran a few steps toward the stern, wanting to see them more clearly, but the great ship carried him farther away.
Meeting his little nephew without a greeting gift wouldn’t do. Yun Ye rummaged through his clothing and found a silver coin—this was a peace coin specially minted when the bank opened, with the silver coin wrapped in red silk netting, very festive indeed.
Yun Ye stuffed the coin into Dan Ying’s hands—Dan Ying who was carrying a large pack—pointed at Niu Jianhu who was growing more distant, then turned away, already too choked up to speak.
Dan Ying took flight like a great bird, leaping from one ship to another, finally landing on Niu Jianhu’s boat. Through Yun Ye’s telescope, Dan Ying hung that silver coin around the child’s neck on Yun Ye’s behalf and waved to signal.
Looking longer would serve no purpose. At his ear came Liu Renyuan’s voice counting the supply ships behind them. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion. Between the great ship and the supply ships hung two thick cables, with hemp sacks and bamboo baskets continuously being brought aboard the great ship by rope from the supply ships. This was a naval combat drill. Since they were conducting a long-distance raid, everything should follow wartime regulations.
Xi Tong came looking for Yun Ye with two jars of wine tucked under his arms. Without many words, they drank. Xi Tong pulled out a large handful of roasted salted soybeans from his clothing, piled them on the deck, and the two men drank wine while picking up soybeans.
Liu Jinbao, as if performing a magic trick, produced a large handful of dark plums from his clothing, fetched a jar of wine for himself, and sat down to drink with them. He could see that his lord’s mood had reached rock bottom. Being clumsy with words, he didn’t know how to console him, so keeping him company while drinking wasn’t bad either.
“How long do you plan to stay in Hebei? Let me tell you, it won’t be long before Shandong and Hebei become lands of strife again. Your martial skills are excellent, and these past few years you’ve also accumulated a good reputation. Sooner or later, trouble will come knocking at your door. You should still move your whole family to Guanzhong. If you like peace and quiet, find an estate in the Qinling Mountains. Spend some money to buy the estate—Bailuyuan would be quite good.”
Xi Tong took a sip of wine, thumped the wine jar on the deck, and said: “Running isn’t a solution. If Hebei and Shandong become nests of trouble and I, Xi Tong, run away—what if eventually even the Qinling Mountains become a nest of trouble? Should I run again then? Damn it, being born into this world is just to suffer. Heaven inflicts punishment, Earth grants mercy—we’re just the grass and trees between heaven and earth, flourishing in spring and withering in winter, that’s all. Run where?”
“You and I are different. I like to run, and I’m always running. This time I ran away with my whole family—I’ve probably become a famous joke in Chang’an City by now. When I return to Chang’an, a reputation as timid as a mouse won’t escape me. But that’s fine. A cowardly wastrel—that should set everyone’s minds at ease. Grand ambitions aren’t suited to me. Don’t look down on this kind of behavior. Great trees have their way of living, small grasses have theirs. I just can’t understand why, when clearly everyone is small grass, they all harbor the aspirations of great trees. Rein in your ambitions. If you don’t like Chang’an, then go to Yuezhou. Sooner or later, that place will become an earthly paradise.”
“Let me tell you, my family bought an island in Lake Dongting. It can produce the finest tea. If you like being a fisherman, going there wouldn’t be bad either. Growing tea, catching fish—that’s also a good way to make a living.”
Liu Jinbao looked at his lord with admiration. Following such a family head was the right choice. They say even rabbits need three burrows—by now, the family already had four burrows. If the Central Plains fell into chaos, the family could go to the grasslands, or to the great lake, or even more so to Lingnan. Even if worst came to worst, his lord would lead everyone to settle on Spice Island. No matter how you looked at it, it was a foolproof method. This way, the family’s descendants could have peace. What did those stupid pigs in Chang’an City know? Timid as a mouse? If they had the ability, they should try boarding a ship and battling the wind and waves.
After draining his wine in one gulp, Xi Tong asked: “Have you never felt at peace? Do you constantly need to surround yourself with high walls to feel comfortable? Have you never believed this world will exist forever? That the sky will fall?”
Seeing Xi Tong’s completely unconcerned appearance, Yun Ye shrugged his shoulders and tossed Xi Tong another jar of wine. The two clinked jars and continued drinking. Neither could convince the other. Even with Liu Jinbao spiritually supporting his lord from the side, it wouldn’t work. Xi Tong was a stone—a smelly, hard stone.
The azure sea was calm, with seagulls soaring and gathering. However, the wind was insufficient, and the ships’ speed involuntarily slowed. It had been ten days since leaving Quanzhou. Ahead lay Zhoushan—as long as they passed this archipelago, they would basically be sailing with favorable winds. They had resupplied at Taizhou and again at Hangzhou Bay. Now the entire fleet was sailing with supplies and personnel all fully equipped.
Liu Renyuan had done his work well—morale had been stirred up, at least it appeared so now. The cook hung a large chunk of pig offal on a big hook and threw it into the sea. Seven or eight sailors gathered around, gripping the rope. In just moments, a big fish bit the iron hook. The cook waved his hand imposingly, and the sailors pulled the rope back. A big fish with a black head appeared on the sea surface, its enormous tail slapping the water as it tried to dive back into the sea.
Four or five big men couldn’t even out-pull a single fish—it dragged them tumbling all over the place. The enraged sailors hung the rope on the capstan and continuously turned it. No matter how great this fish’s strength was, it ultimately couldn’t match mechanical force. It was dragged out of the sea by the thick rope and hung on the gunwale.
When fishing, people would slowly play the fish, only pulling it up after it was exhausted. At sea, this was completely unnecessary. Everything in the water was an extremely fierce killer. Even after being hauled to the gunwale, its tail still pounded the gunwale with earth-shaking noise. After getting it on deck, its great mouth still opened and closed incessantly around the iron hook, with backward-pointing teeth a finger-length long—getting hit by one would definitely spell disaster.
People and wolves are actually the same—they become excited at the sight of blood. Thick wooden clubs, long knives, fish spears—all came down together. Amid flying blood and flesh, that fish finally obediently stopped moving.
The chubby cook stripped off his clothes, wearing only short pants, gripped a sharp fish-gutting knife, and made a cut on the fish’s belly. With a splash, the innards flowed out. Most surprising was that in the belly was also a very large sea clam, tightly closed. This creature that looked very much like a shark had actually eaten even this thing.
The cook curiously picked out that large sea clam. His knife cut around the gap, and prying open the shell, he found seven or eight pearls inside. Though not quite round, they were pearls nonetheless—each person could have one as a plaything.
The evening meal on the ship was fish meat—a large piece of fish meat half a foot square on each plate, richly fragrant. The ship naturally didn’t lack spices. Yun Ye had added ingredients—chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, spices—whether they could be added or not, he threw them all in. Unexpectedly, the effect was excellent. Even Liu Renyuan, who had been standing on the bridge observing the sea wind, sniffed and came down. After taking one bite, he was unwilling to let go.
Yun Ye understood clearly—the fish meat might not be particularly delicious, but because many spices had been added, this dish immediately became precious. What everyone was actually eating was the value of the spices, not the deliciousness of the fish meat.
Not knowing what awaited him in Liaodong, Yun Ye tried his best to let everyone enjoy the pleasures of food and drink. The helmsman of Great Tang, Li Er, was unwilling to rest, so he could only spin aimlessly following his baton. They say traveling a hundred li in a day will exhaust a top general—making such a ten-thousand-li raid like this, who knew what the result would be?
The closer to battle, the more one must open one’s heart. When things came to a head, there would always be a solution. Rashly charging into a war zone was something Yun Ye would never do even if beaten to death. Only after understanding the entire situation in Dengzhou and Laizhou would he formulate new combat strategies. As for now, he would open his heart and indulge in pleasure.
The great wind finally arrived. The officers and men of the Lingnan naval forces had traveled this route countless times and were naturally well-practiced. The Princess raised full sail and raced wildly across the sea, with the Qing Que and Chengqian following closely behind. The three ships traveled in a triangular formation, wandering across the great sea like three proud monarchs inspecting their domain.
Reaching the waters where they had last encountered the waterspout, Yun Ye involuntarily looked over. He wondered if those two eagles he’d seen last time were still there. Sea eagles were already rare—seeing two had already been a spectacle.
Searching all around without seeing them, it seemed the tornado that appeared last time had destroyed their plan to settle here. Even eagles knew to seek good fortune and avoid calamity—how much more so humans.
Human habitation gradually grew denser, and fishing boats on the sea also became more numerous. The fishermen stopped their boats one after another, gaping at the great ships passing by them. Their fishing boats looked like grasshoppers beside the great ships.
Those with more courage even called out. The sailors lying on the gunwales also smiled and greeted them, balling up their already worn clothes and tossing them down, provoking a scramble among the fishermen for some amusement. Sailors had four sets of clothes per year—these fellows basically counted as wealthy households and wouldn’t feel reluctant about such things at all.
Liu Renyuan frowned slightly and ordered the bugler to blow the horn. These fishing boats were obstructing the great ships’ direction of advance and needed to be dispersed. Moreover, six warships had appeared on the sea surface without flying any flags—friend or foe unclear. It was better to make early preparations.
As the horn sounded, the fishing boats opened up the waterway one after another. The Qing Que and Chengqian also discovered those six warships and blew their horns in response. The Princess took the lead, heading toward those six ships. Since they weren’t civilian vessels, why weren’t they flying flags? After three signals, if there was no answer, what awaited them would be the most terrifying strike.