Going upstream was as slow as a crawling turtle, but going downstream, propelled by the spring tides, could truly be called covering a thousand li in a day! The surging Liao River, laden with bones, returned to Changam Fortress amid great clamor.
Changam Fortress now presented a scene of devastation. Only a few sections of the outer city’s rammed earth walls remained. The stone walls of the inner city had been completely dismantled by Gou Feng. With the help of those Tang merchants, he had actually sold all the stones from the city walls to the Mohe people in the wilderness. The Goguryeo people in the city dared to be angry but not speak out.
The Mohe people also needed to build their own cities. They couldn’t resist the temptation of concentrated living. The large tribes very much hoped to end their bitter days of endless wandering year after year. They hoped to have sufficiently sturdy houses to withstand the cold winds during the long winters. Every year, newborn children were taken by the cold before they could grow up. They didn’t know how to quarry stone, nor did they have tools to quarry stone. Now that someone was selling large quantities of quarried stones cheaply, why shouldn’t they buy them? The Mohe people were powerful—as long as they thought something was good, they didn’t care what the Goguryeo thought.
Yun Ye scratched his head and thought for a long time but couldn’t recall the Mohe people ever establishing any cities. However, it didn’t matter. Building one now wasn’t too late. A Mohe city standing on Goguryeo territory would certainly be very interesting.
As for the Tang merchants, such mistaken actions had to be dealt with seriously. The only thing pirates did was kill people. Under the gloating gazes of those Goguryeo people, the Tang merchants were all buried alive. The only regrettable thing was that the Tang people still had that stinking attitude of not fearing death. Each one straightened his clothing and tidied himself up, looking not like they were going to their deaths but rather embarking on a distant journey. Most detestable was how they were very polite and courteous when entering the pit—the eldest walked in front, the younger followed behind. From beginning to end, not one plea for mercy.
When a person dies, it’s like a lamp going out—all hatreds disappear. The Tang merchants had paid a heavy price for their discourtesy. Then the remaining hatred could only be settled by those Mohe people who were living quite happily.
The pirates left on wooden rafts, taking away money, taking away supplies, and also taking away fine horses bought from the Mohe people. The Liao River was almost covered by wooden rafts. Gou Feng had never stopped manufacturing rafts, and the timber he selected was all the largest, best, and most valuable good lumber.
Those merchants who should have been slowly rotting underground were now circling around Yun Ye, chattering away as they recounted to Marquis Yun what great costs their families had paid in this war, what kinds of torment they themselves had suffered, and how much money they had lost.
“Speak then—how much money do you want? Give me a number. As long as it’s not outrageous, I’ll agree to it.”
“Marquis Yun goes too far!” The leading old man flew into a rage. He was an elder of the Zhangsun Family. Even Zhangsun Chong had to call him clan uncle. He was the Zhangsun Family’s chief steward in Goguryeo, a person whose word carried great weight.
Seeing Yun Ye’s eyebrows about to stand on end, he quickly said: “Marquis Yun, how can you view us merchants this way? A bit of lost goods and cargo—my Zhangsun Family doesn’t care about that. As subjects of the Great Tang, this is what we should do. I believe everyone here wouldn’t care either. We only want to ask Marquis Yun whether the merit of opening the city gates and coordinating from within has been recorded in the merit register?”
The old fellow had just looked full of rage, but in the blink of an eye, that old face became fawning and obsequious. Yun Ye really had no way to get angry with such an old fox. All the surrounding merchants were staring at him with eager eyes, waiting for him to speak.
That they didn’t care about goods and cargo was true. Having done business in Liaodong for so many years, every family had made enough. A bit of money really meant nothing to them. But military merit was different. The Great Tang’s rewards put military merit first. As long as something was even tangentially related to military merit, one would receive the nation’s rewards. Such rewards were generally honorary, but with just that bit of honor, when they returned they could proudly say they had campaigned for the Great Tang, and for this had abandoned home and business. They could boast before their fathers and fellow villagers, bringing glory to their hometown. Tang people didn’t value money highly, but they placed extreme importance on face and status. Passing on money to descendants was not as good as passing on a good reputation—this was already common consensus in the eight-hundred-li Qinchuan region.
Yun Ye nodded and said to them: “You indeed exerted effort in opening the city gates, and you gambled your own lives and family wealth. This has not the slightest falsehood. As for me, I only争功 for my subordinates—I never bury their achievements. In a moment, I’ll have the army’s marshal bring out the merit register to show you. What should be yours will be yours. The army never speaks in jest.” Hearing Yun Ye say this, the merchants all beamed with joy. After bowing respectfully, they were about to return to calculate how to transform this military merit into actual glory through their main families.
“Actually, there’s business we can do together. Why not sit down and discuss it properly?” Seeing their beaming faces, Yun Ye said to them thoughtfully.
“If the Marquis hadn’t mentioned it, this old one was also going to bring it up to the Marquis. The army has captured much booty—your Yun Family can’t swallow such a big deal alone. Among these things, there’s refined iron that my Zhangsun Family urgently needs. Even if you transport this refined iron to Chang’an, won’t you end up selling it to my Zhangsun Family in the end? How about selling it to this old one on the spot? You’ll have less trouble, and my family will have more income. What does the Marquis think?”
“Marquis, this humble one wants to buy up all the hemp fabric produced by Goguryeo. What do you say?”
“Once the rafts reach Dengzhou, they’ll be useless. Marquis, this humble one wants them all.”
“Marquis, the medicinal materials—my Huijing Hall wants them all.”
Yun Ye smiled and stopped them from continuing to speak, having them all sit around him. Only then did he slowly say: “The things you want are all easy to discuss, but there’s one most precious cargo—why hasn’t anyone asked for it?”
“Oh? Please enlighten us, Marquis. We’re all ears.”
“This time I led troops eastward, and it can be said we achieved complete merit and virtue. You see, we brought back all the bones of the former Sui soldiers. It can be said we’ve completed the task His Majesty assigned. You also know that the great army attacked cities and pulled out strongholds all along the way, invincible wherever we went. We conquered fortified cities, annihilated stubborn enemies, killed countless foes. It can be said that without ten years’ work, the Goguryeo along the Liao River banks won’t be able to restore things to their original state. However, military merit calculations go up to a maximum of nine promotions. This time, fortunately relying on the soldiers’ dedication to duty, everyone will have merit and will receive promotions. His Majesty issuing an edict of commendation is also proper. This is already the best possible result.”
“Is Marquis Yun saying that the soldiers still have much merit that will be wasted?” A plump merchant’s eyes widened. His whole body shook like a sieve, so excited he could barely contain himself.
Seeing Yun Ye nod, he unhesitatingly pulled out several bank drafts from his bosom and placed them before Yun Ye. Prostrating himself on the ground, he pleaded: “Marquis Yun, this humble one only has these goods this time, plus the merchandise I’ve kept from this trip. I beg Marquis Yun to allocate some of the soldiers’ excess merit to my Qiu Family. If it’s not enough, when I return to Chang’an, I’ll certainly raise more funds.”
While the other merchants gaped in astonishment, Yun Ye sent someone to fetch Lai Chuanfeng and immediately asked: “Old Lai, how many heads did you take this time? How many promotions will you be granted?”
“Reporting to the General, your old Lai took one hundred thirty-three heads this time. If calculated by military merit, thirty heads are enough for me to receive nine promotions. Damn it, over a hundred extra—what a loss.”
The merchant surnamed Qiu rolled and crawled to push the drafts from before Yun Ye to before Lai Chuanfeng. He could see now—Lai Chuanfeng was the seller.
“Take fifty enemy kills from your military merit to distribute to your fallen brothers, then take out another thirty to sell to this person. What do you think?” Yun Ye took a sip of tea and asked Lai Chuanfeng.
Lai Chuanfeng’s legs went weak, and he plopped down on his knees. He could see it—the drafts that merchant surnamed Qiu had pushed to his feet numbered a full ten, all with gold borders. Each one was worth one hundred strings of cash, which meant that not counting those goods, he was already a wealthy man worth a thousand strings.
Swallowing his saliva, he touched those drafts, then turned back to Yun Ye and said: “Marquis, this is a wonderful thing. Those heads are of no use to me. Distributing them to my fallen brothers is of course no problem, but will selling them implicate the Marquis?”
“You’re thinking too much. The reason we went to war this time, you also know. Everyone in the military department owes us. I’m just reallocating the merit we ourselves earned. Not falsely claiming or appropriating merit—that’s already out of respect for His Majesty. Who dares say half a word more, just wait for our impeachment. Every piece of merit is recorded and documented, and can withstand scrutiny. Take your money and go to the army marshal to make the changes.”
With Yun Ye’s words, Lai Chuanfeng smiled so broadly his mouth wouldn’t close. He snatched up those drafts and stuffed them in his bosom, then dragged Old Qiu off to find the army marshal. As long as there was no false appropriation of merit, the army marshal generally wouldn’t obstruct—at most he’d report it to the Bai Qi Si afterward for filing. The Bai Qi Si wouldn’t offend a commanding general over such a small matter either. After filing, everything would vanish into thin air.
“Go call Yang Yueming, Yang Yueli, Gou Feng, and those brothers who killed enemies with merit exceeding nine promotions. Don’t make too much commotion.” Hearing Yun Ye’s instructions, Liu Jinbao quickly went down.
The old clan uncle of the Zhangsun Family said mysteriously: “Marquis Yun, this old one just calculated—thirty-three strings per enemy head, and counting Old Qiu’s goods, that’s about forty strings per head, correct?”
Yun Ye nodded, indicating his acknowledgment. The old fellow lightning-fast pulled out a stack of drafts from his bosom and slapped them before Yun Ye, saying heroically: “This old one wants one hundred enemy kills!”
After selling the heads, Yang Yueming was fine with it, but Yang Yueli beat his chest in regret there. He had ordered quite a few Goguryeo soldiers thrown back into Daewang Fortress with the catapults—he didn’t know if those counted as his merit. What a huge loss! Forty strings per head! That was equivalent to two full years of his previous salary!