As the morning light first appeared, Yun Ye rose from Li Anlan’s entangled arms and legs. News had come from the military that the sea waves were already foaming white—the seasonal winds were about to arrive. He dared not linger too long in the pleasures of the bedchamber. Opening his eyes, he needed to prepare to inspect the fleet’s readiness.
“Sleep a bit more. You reviewed official documents until very late last night. If you continue like this, your body won’t be able to withstand it. With the rocking waves all along the journey, you’ll be even more exhausted.” Li Anlan also sat up rubbing her eyes, holding the blanket as she spoke to Yun Ye.
“This concerns the greater good—I cannot be lax. Your father is butting heads with the court ministers. What he needs most at this time are these supplies. Only when they’re safely delivered to Chang’an will I breathe easy.”
“You’re not a diligent person. Is the reason you’re so attentive this time because he’s my father, rather than because he’s the Emperor?”
Yun Ye knew what she wanted to ask. He smiled without speaking, kissed her forehead, tucked her back into the blanket, patted it, and pushed through the door to leave. He faintly heard Li Anlan say she hoped the seasonal winds would never come.
Two people stood at the main gate, one man and one woman. The woman smiled radiantly like spring, while the man wore a bitter melon face—one fat, one thin, creating an amusing contrast.
“Xiao Cangsheng, come with me to the seaside. Hua Niang, go find Zhang Zhuhuan and have her arrange food and lodging for you.” Before the two could bow, Yun Ye gave his orders. Liu Jinbao gave Xiao Cangsheng a horse, then led out another from the mansion himself. The group rode swiftly toward the harbor.
Hong Cheng had been distributing wealth these past days. Under bloody suppression, those aristocratic families who didn’t want to surrender their wealth had obediently coughed up the goods that should be turned over to the state. Now he stood on the coast, supervising those military soldiers as they loaded the wealth onto that largest Mulan boat.
The harbor was a scene of bustling activity. Military soldiers carrying wooden crates bustled back and forth on the gangplanks like moving ants. Fifty-six battleships and ten Mulan boats were moored in the deep water, along with some fast assault vessels, mainly to guard against pirate attacks.
“Old Hong, are the ships fully loaded?” Yun Ye came up behind the somewhat melancholy Hong Cheng and asked in a low voice.
“Marquis Yun, less than ten percent remains to be loaded. It will be complete in two hours.” Hong Cheng’s emotions were very downcast.
“Marquis Yun, bringing the blade down on the necks of friends with whom one shared life and death—that’s truly not work for a human.”
He shook his head vigorously, wanting to shake those unpleasant matters out of his mind. These past days, Hong Cheng had been killing people, killing every day, and all former comrades-in-arms. The bonds forged through iron and fire on the battlefield had been shattered by money. The Emperor’s sixty percent share was an immovable standard. Those family generals, to争 for maximum benefit for their own households—some pleaded, some cried and made scenes, some threatened, some bribed.
When these methods were exhausted, conflict erupted. In one night, all comradely feelings vanished. Hong Cheng was a decisive man of action. He struck first before they could act, capturing all sixty-seven people dissatisfied with the distribution plan. After repeated warnings, those people remained unmoved. Under Wu She’s suppression, all their heads fell.
“Old Hong, just consider them to have died in battle in Lingnan—it’s better to handle it that way. After all, it was my proposal that sent them to the Yellow Springs. This time, allocate a portion from the Yun family’s proceeds to provide compensation to their families. I think His Majesty will also agree. Let’s do it this way—I’ll bear any trouble.”
In the entire fleet, only Yun Ye had the authority to allocate funds, but he didn’t plan to touch the imperial portion. At this critical moment when the Emperor was confronting the nobles, the Emperor’s authority must be strengthened without the slightest weakening.
“Marquis Yun’s compassionate heart has flared up again. For those who have no regard for their sovereign, they should all be killed, their wives and daughters exiled as slaves, so they clearly know what happens when they oppose the imperial family.”
Wu She, this fellow, was always appearing and disappearing mysteriously. His sinister voice came from right behind Yun Ye’s ear, scaring him into breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Wu She, next time you walk, can you make some sound? Always appearing suddenly like this—one day I’ll be scared to death by you. I was just frightened by Dou Yanshan—I can’t take more scares.”
“Is Marquis Yun dissatisfied with this old servant’s killing?”
“Nonsense! They’re all Tang people—every one you kill pains my heart. If they were Japanese or Koreans and you killed them for fun every day, I’d be delighted. Wu She, I’m telling you one last time—in this fleet, I am the highest commander. Without my order, you are not permitted to kill another person. Stay properly on the Mulan boat, guard the wealth well, and deliver it smoothly to His Majesty—that’s what you should be doing.”
After receiving Yun Ye’s rebuke, Wu She surprisingly didn’t get angry. He laughed and said: “This bodhisattva temperament isn’t suited for being an official. Heart not black, hands not ruthless—I don’t know how you’ve been able to securely hold a marquis title. Even when you went missing, your family’s imperial favor didn’t diminish by a fraction. When you weren’t there and your family suffered some grievances, your wife dared to wear her official robes and ascend to the court to face the sovereign. Strangely, His Majesty wasn’t the least bit surprised. Zhang Liang, a dignified duke, had no choice but to bow to your wife. I dare not imagine whether that Duke Zhang will have any way to survive after you return.”
“I’ll break the legs of all five hundred of Zhang Liang’s sons, and break their fifth legs too, to serve as a warning to others.”
Wu She laughed until he couldn’t catch his breath. Supporting the bewildered Hong Cheng, he said: “Even the most vicious person hopes for a benevolent superior. This old servant is no exception. I estimate that in about another year, this old servant will come out from the palace. At that time, I’ll move to the academy to live, find a few disciples with good aptitude to properly train and teach, and satisfy my craving to be a teacher. This is what you promised me long ago—don’t go back on your word.”
Only then did Hong Cheng wake as if from a dream. Wu She was telling him what the best way to preserve one’s life was. This time, too many nobles had been offended. No matter where he went, he would face retaliation. Only by staying at the academy could he preserve both wealth and life.
Looking at Wu She gratefully, he bowed to Yun Ye and said: “Marquis Yun, save me!”
“After I return, the academy’s Director of Education Liu Xian should take up a military position. If you have the ability to make His Majesty agree to let you come to the academy, I have no objection.”
Hong Cheng and Wu She looked at each other and smiled. After chuckling twice, they rushed to the seaside full of confidence, loudly rebuking those somewhat sluggish soldiers.
Liu Renyuan held a diagram in his hand, a preserved egg in his mouth—he had stolen it from Yun Ye’s room. He didn’t know how the Yun family turned chicken eggs into such a crystal-clear appearance. In any case, they tasted good, though there was a hint of quicklime flavor. He had just dipped it in vinegar to eat—the taste was indeed delicious.
He had already looked at the loading diagram in his hand several times, admiring it with complete prostration. What kind of crates to load in what positions—front, back, left, and right all had planned areas. It maximized the use of space. Compared to their haphazard piling, it saved a great deal of space and time. This thing must be learned.
Some fool had given Yun Ye a brilliant suggestion—to nail all the ships together with iron nails, lay wooden planks on top, and then they wouldn’t fear wind and waves. Liu Renyuan knocked out a mouthful of teeth with one punch.
After that clever person was beaten, no one even explained to him why he’d been beaten. Finally, he asked the military clerks, and they told him that Cao Cao had done this before, resulting in being burned clean by a great fire. Now this method was a major taboo in the navy.
Low clouds pressed in from the horizon. Waves happily rushed toward the beach. No matter how Yun Ye looked, he couldn’t see any difference between these waves and those from previous days, much less discover any foam.
Dongyu kept explaining to Yun Ye, even scooping up seawater to show him, but unfortunately, the more he explained, the more confused Yun Ye became. Forget it—these matters were better left to professionals. He would just handle logistics well.
Only Wang Cai happily chased the waves on the beach. Although the indecent thing beneath his belly hung down, his enthusiasm remained undiminished. Poor Wang Cai—he could only vent his excess energy this way.
“Marquis, there are some foreigners who wish to meet with you.” Xiao Cangsheng, who had been nowhere to be seen just moments ago, emerged from the crowd and said obsequiously to Yun Ye.
“What do they want? If they want passage, that’s impossible. These are military vessels—we’re not taking any outsiders.” Yun Ye was annoyed. Wang Cai had a crab hanging from his mouth, causing him to cry out incessantly in pain. He was busy helping remove the crab—who had time to meet any foreigners?
Xiao Cangsheng very skillfully poured a handful of seawater on the crab’s shell. The crab released its pincers and fell to the ground. Wang Cai immediately fled far away, vigilantly watching the crab.
“Marquis, those foreigners come from a place called Baghdad in the Arab lands. They wish to do a business deal with you.”
“Tell them to get lost. This Marquis currently doesn’t lack ivory, rhinoceros horn, pearls, gems, coral, glass, frankincense, or ambergris. If it’s dates, I’ll beat him—trying to deceive me! Xiao Cangsheng, you better not have taken benefits from them to conspire to deceive me. If so, you’ll die a very ugly death.”
Xiao Cangsheng immediately knelt down, saying loudly: “Marquis, even if I had a thousand times the courage, I wouldn’t dare! I know you don’t care for those things, but what about fine horses? The finest desert warhorses—I’ve seen them, twelve in total, each one tall and strong, all first-rate fine horses.”
“What use are fine horses? Desert horses already have adaptation issues when they reach the grasslands. Even if you brought the tallest Don horses, if they can’t adapt, they’re useless.”
However, seeing poor Wang Cai, he suddenly felt that finding him a few Arabian wives wasn’t a bad idea after all.
“Tell them I only want mares—not a single stallion.” Having said this, he unfastened a glass pixiu from his belt and tossed it to Xiao Cangsheng.
Xiao Cangsheng carefully cradled the pixiu and went to the distant Arab ship. Liu Jinbao curiously followed along. Before long, he returned leading five horses, overjoyed. Xiao Cangsheng also ran over holding his hat.
“Marquis, these are truly magnificent horses! Look at these heads, these forelimbs, these hind legs—absolutely magnificent! Xiao Cangsheng did well—he took your ornament and exchanged it for five magnificent horses, and also got three jin of frankincense for the second lady at home. It’s very beneficial for the lady’s postpartum recovery.”