On the azure sea, a massive fleet advanced across the water’s surface. Strong seasonal winds billowed the sails, swift and smooth. Sailing along familiar sections of the coastline was manageable, but when the vessels reached sea domains they had never traversed before, they needed to proceed with extreme caution.
Liu Renwuan’s flagship sailed at the forefront. Xiao Cangsheng had people bind him to the bow, holding a numbered soft rope in his hands. He continuously threw the lead weight into the sea, then pulled it back up, calling out number after number. An accountant on the ship marked these numbers one by one on a massive sea chart.
Several bare-chested fellows with various hair colors crawled across the deck scrubbing it clean, working diligently. If the deck wasn’t carefully cleaned, it would severely affect the ship’s service life. A shrill bamboo whistle sounded, and those slaves rose from the deck, dumped the dirty water from their buckets into the ocean, then hauled up seawater from the sea. They hastily washed their hands and sat together on the deck. The cook carried over a large barrel and filled each person’s plate with rice, ladled a spoonful of fish soup over it, and distributed an orange to each person. Though the oranges were incredibly sour, they ate with great relish. The old cook sighed and muttered, “What a sin,” before carrying the food barrel down to the ship’s cabin.
Yun Ye sat on the deck scratching the belly of Wang Cai, who lay beside him. This fellow was finally satisfied. Of the five mares, three had gone into heat, and Wang Cai had busied himself on the aft deck for four or five days straight before finally having time to think of Yun Ye. Seeing Yun Ye sitting on the deck, he flopped down shamelessly as well.
“Marquis Yun, I don’t understand why you killed all those pirates but insist on bringing these slaves back to Chang’an without losing a single one. They’ve lost their tongues, and in a place like Chang’an, they probably won’t be able to survive,” Wu She said.
Yun Ye yawned deeply and replied to Wu She, “There are no useless people in this world, they’ve just been put in the wrong places. If these people were in the Arab lands, they probably wouldn’t survive even a year. But in the Great Tang, there’s a place extremely suitable for them to survive. Or rather, that place needs people like them, and only people like them can keep secrets. Although they’ll never leave that place alive in this lifetime, I guarantee they’ll live a thousand times better than they did on the Arab ships.”
Wu She also squatted down, scratching Wang Cai’s neck. Ever since Wang Cai had brought him a piece of mung bean cake, his favorable impression of the horse had greatly increased. Although he wouldn’t eat things Wang Cai had bitten, the fellow’s kind intentions were still worthy of praise.
“Aren’t you going to ask me where I’m planning to arrange these slaves?” Yun Ye asked Wu She with interest.
Wu She didn’t even bother lifting his head, saying in a low voice, “I’ve lived this long without illness or disaster and served three emperors precisely by minding my own business and staying uninvolved. The less one knows about secrets, the better. Only this way can one live long. I’m sure Minister Li Gang has told you these things too.”
“Master Wu She, I’ve always respected people who’ve lived long years. I always believe that with growing experience, wisdom naturally develops. So I always take the advice of elders to heart. Whenever I have a chance, I carefully contemplate it. I call this contemplation self-reflection.”
“Sometimes I receive too many teachings to savor all at once, so I accumulate them and choose a quiet moment in the deep of night to dialogue with myself. Each time I feel I benefit enormously. People nowadays are too utilitarian and too hurried. They don’t know how to extract good experiences from lessons. They only feel life is short with too many things to pursue, so they constantly gain and constantly discard, only to finally discover that what they obtained isn’t what they wanted. Unfortunately, when they look back, a hundred years have already passed.”
“I’ll never miss any moment in life that moves me. I’ll cherish them and treat them as my greatest wealth. So I’ve never lost anything. I’ve already gained too much and am very content. Just now, I plucked a small flower from you. I plan to tuck it behind my ear so I can smell its delicate fragrance at all times.”
It was the first time he’d noticed that Wu She’s smile was quite pleasant. First his eyes would narrow into slits, then the muscles on his cheeks would bunch up, all the wrinkles gathering at his eyes, before finally spreading out like a blooming multi-layered peony.
Sometimes words are superfluous. Wu She patted Wang Cai’s belly, making thumping sounds, and couldn’t help but yearn intensely for his retirement life.
An old man in hemp clothing with two or three young disciples, under ancient pines, beside clear springs, discussing heaven and earth, explaining the essence of martial arts, sometimes kindly, sometimes sternly. Those disciples, well-behaved and clever, grasping his rough hands, calling him Master, making various reasonable or unreasonable requests of him.
Seeing Wu She sink into his reverie, Yun Ye smiled faintly. Not wanting to disturb him, he rose and returned to the bottom level of the ship’s cabin. The bearded nobleman was chained to a pillar, unable to straighten his back or sit down. After just two hours, his entire body was drenched as if soaked in sweat, emanating a strong rancid smell. This was the most disgusting thing about foreigners—they had body odor yet didn’t know to block their apocrine glands, making people nauseous.
Dongyu sat cross-legged on the floor, completely ignoring the body odor, enjoying his meat and wine with gusto. Seeing Yun Ye come down covering his nose, he quickly helped steady Yun Ye—it would be terrible if His Lordship stumbled in the darkness below.
The bearded man saw Yun Ye and screamed weakly, “Spare me, spare me. Otherwise just kill me.”
Dongyu loosened the chain in his hand, and the bearded man collapsed on the floor like mud.
“Tell me, how did you think of coming to my Great Tang? During ninety days of sailing, how did you overcome the ordeal of scurvy?”
“My ancestor, the great Mullah, came to this land a hundred years ago and lived in a place called Mingzhou for over twenty years. He was a learned man. In the Sui Kingdom, he consulted learned people, studied Sui culture, married, had children, and was buried in Mingzhou after his death. My father later made his way back to Baghdad and told the great Prophet about everything that happened in that miraculous land. After hearing those stories, the Prophet sighed and said, ‘Seek knowledge even if it be in China.’ Just based on this statement, my father also became a Mullah. I’ve studied this knowledge since childhood. The reason I can speak your language is that I learned it under the instruction of the whip from a young age.”
“When our ancestor returned home from the Sui Kingdom, he recorded the customs and practices of various places, so I know where we can obtain supplies and find fresh food. Allah be praised, our group safely reached the land my father yearned for even on his deathbed. Father said much, but the one thing he didn’t mention was that you people here not only have elegant, weak individuals, but also people like you who are more terrifying than barbarians.”
“I only wanted to capture a few women from here to present to the great, wise, and invincible Caliph, and incidentally spread Allah’s will to you. As a result, you bound all my companions to rocks and killed them, and after death they had to endure the pecking of wild birds. Their souls cannot peacefully reach paradise. They came to spread the faith, yet after death cannot enjoy those virgins in the gardens. You will surely receive Allah’s punishment.”
“Muhammad has been dead for less than two years, yet his teachings have already spread to Baghdad. Such speed is truly astonishing. Blood stained the desert red, giving rise to the legend of the Blood Angel. One hand holding a sword, the other holding the Quran—the gentle teachings cannot hide your greedy nature. Gardens flowing with milk and honey—nonsense! And seventy-two virgins, immortal serving youths, wives who remain forever virgin—how do you manage that?”
“The Quran is based on kindness and good deeds. Why then do you have that group of pitiful people in the bottom of your ship’s cabin? How many corpses have you thrown into the ocean? Is the Quran you believe in different from the one I know?”
The bearded foreigner jumped up in agitation. Hearing Yun Ye dare question the doctrine he firmly believed in, even though he’d lost one hand, he still wanted to die together with Yun Ye, cursing continuously, “You’ll be killed by stones falling from the sky, you’ll be devoured by swarms of locusts, you’ll be buried under the deepest quicksand, neither rotting nor dying.”
Yun Ye stepped back and said to him, “To any soldiers who want to set foot on our land by force, the Great Tang gives only death and endless suffering. As for that garden, you won’t be returning to it. In the Great Tang, your only choice is to go to hell.”
Having learned what he needed to know, Yun Ye prepared to leave. Who knew the bearded man would go mad, ramming his head into the corner edge of the pillar, nearly splitting his skull in two. Even before dying, he continued praying, hoping that the almighty Allah would forgive him for hearing blasphemous words yet being unable to defend the dignity of God…
Looking at his corpse, Yun Ye stood stunned for a long while. The power of faith could transcend a person’s fear of death—he knew this was possible, but witnessing it happen before his eyes gave him unprecedented shock. These people lived very fulfilled lives. At least in this moment, they had obtained tremendous satisfaction.
Death didn’t greatly affect Yun Ye, but this behavior filled him with worry about future battles in the Western Regions. If he remembered correctly, Gao Xianzhi’s Western Regions campaign ended in failure. Although there were various reasons, after this defeat, the mighty Tang Dynasty completely lost control of the Western Regions. He had to think of a solution. The spiritual wealth Muhammad left them was too terrifying.
Another storeroom was filled with spoils of war collected after this battle—a dazzling array: exquisite silver plates, magnificent carpets, pure white ivory, multicolored agate, countless amounts of frankincense. The quality far exceeded what Aladdin had presented to Yun Ye. It was just a pity that fellow refused to reveal his name even unto death.
When the ship reached Mingzhou, these spoils would be disposed of and distributed to the soldiers who participated in battle. The soldiers who stayed behind would also receive a share, though the quantity would be much less.