Li Tai walked all over the beach, researching why crabs would have such strange behavior. Yun Ye prepared a very large pot to boil crabs. It was just the habit of animals laying eggs—even later generations had no way to completely solve this mystery. What tricks could Li Tai possibly figure out?
The melancholic Li Tai ultimately classified the crabs’ behavior as fate. The crabs’ life-or-death migration was just like how he had no choice but to distance himself from Chang’an—all were arrangements of destiny.
He felt he was like the Wu Kingdom prince Yi Mei from the Spring and Autumn period, unwilling to inherit the throne and thus fleeing far from his homeland, never returning until death. Such tragic yet brotherly-affectionate emotions continuously touched his heartstrings. Before he knew it, his own image grew tall and noble in his mind. Once it grew tall, he easily became sentimental. Once sentimental, eating became slow. When he reached his hand into the pot to fish out another large crab to be sentimental over for a while, he discovered it was already completely empty…
The crab army marched for three consecutive days. The bay was filled with countless crab corpses. Yun Ye and Li Tai no longer had any desire to eat crabs. There were too many—just looking at them was nauseating.
Heroes determined to become pirates gathered from all directions. All were retired soldiers from the Lingnan Navy who habitually organized themselves into teams as they had in the military. They traveled thousands of miles to Lingnan, eagerly awaiting the day the great ships would put to sea.
Although Yun Ye’s call to arms had some effect, it absolutely wasn’t so great as to make over eight hundred soldiers so enthusiastic. Though Liu Fang said that with one command from Marquis Yun, heroes gathered—this was a grand scene, and whether a family was powerful depended on its召 appeal. Through this test, Liu Fang believed the Yun family already possessed the potential of an aristocratic clan.
“Bullshit appeal! That’s money’s achievement. Not one of those bastards is any good. Previously, when I asked them to join the maritime shipping company, every one of them made excuses. After serving as soldiers for a few years, they look down on the maritime shipping company’s profits, saying they need to go home to care for their old mothers.”
“Damn it! Now hearing that there’s a huge fortune to be made in Lingnan, who knows if they buried their old mothers alive before running over here. And they talk about appeal!” Yun Ye kicked from the front of the formation to the back, not sparing a single one, cursing randomly. A bunch of killers, every one living slick and glossy—who knew if they could still fight?
“You’ve fattened up like a pig! If there are two more like you on the ship, am I transporting treasure or fat pigs? Can you still pull ropes and board enemy ships?”
“Reporting to the Commander, this humble one was originally the ship’s cook and doesn’t need to board ships. Thinking of the brothers’ stomachs, isn’t that why I came? If the brothers don’t eat well, they won’t have strength. Without strength, they can’t seize treasures. All the brothers know Old Huang’s cooking skills.”
The fat man, despite being kicked, still stood steadily. It seemed the lower body skills practiced for years on ships hadn’t been abandoned.
“Is your old mother taken care of? Once at sea, there’s no principle that only allows us to rob others without them robbing us. Once at sea, just pray to the Dragon King for protection!” Seeing the kick had no effect, Yun Ye asked how their preparations were going.
“Reporting to the Commander, my old mother has already passed away. Only my wife and four sons are left at home. Seeing the sons reach marrying age—this is taking Old Huang’s life! I had no choice but to come out and follow the Commander to earn them some money for wives. Whether I die or not doesn’t matter, as long as I make money.”
The cook’s words immediately resonated with many people. When reaching middle age, all affairs come to rest. Now wanting to find a lucrative trade was very difficult. It was still most satisfying following the Commander. Everyone considered themselves Yun Ye’s old subordinates. Fighting to the death didn’t matter—after all, they’d already fought for many years. Following the Commander, at least they wouldn’t come to a bad end.
“Well, well, Liu Renyuan! You’ve come out too? Not doing your fifth-rank official position anymore? I, Lord Marquis, can request three years’ leave, but you probably don’t have that privilege. How can you do things so recklessly?”
When seeing Liu Renyuan, Yun Ye’s brow furrowed. This wasn’t appropriate. No matter how much wealth being a pirate could bring, it wasn’t worth trading a fifth-rank official position for it.
“Commander, this subordinate was transferred by Her Majesty to guard a warehouse—that oil depot. The Five Li司 Commandant told me to get lost, to get lost wherever I could. If I dared go to the oil depot, he’d make this subordinate go to the ferry to paddle boats for fun.”
“This subordinate thought the Commander needed a second-in-command for piracy, so I deliberately started a conflict with the Five Li Commandant. Sure enough, I was transferred to guard the ferry. This subordinate took the opportunity to request leave from the Commandant. Without even thinking, he approved three years, so I came. Before this subordinate came, Lai Chuanfeng and Yang Yueming somehow also had disputes with the Five Li Commandant. I estimate they’ll also arrive in Lingnan soon.”
Hearing Liu Renyuan’s words, Yun Ye’s heart felt blocked. The Five Li Commandant was a publicly recognized figure in the military who must not be offended. Offending him, hoping to advance in one’s career would be difficult. They could now be considered accomplished and renowned. As long as they slowly endured, they would eventually endure to a position of army command. After all, the Lingnan Navy was still the Great Tang’s strongest fleet. Who knew how many people coveted their positions? Doing things so thoughtlessly without using one’s brain really lacked consideration.
“Forget it. Since you’ve come, then continue stirring the ladle in the same pot. Before they arrive, you must bear responsibility for training these people before they board ships. Not having been on ships for a year or two, they’ll somewhat be rusty. Don’t think of yourselves as pirates—just treat it as military drills and you’ll be fine. Whether cooks or accountants, don’t leave anyone out. Count them one by one. Except for Master Wu She, everyone else must undergo training. The sea is different from land.”
When Yun Ye said these last few sentences, he turned around. These two sentences were directed at Dan Ying, Xi Tong, and Han Zhe.
Han Zhe originally wanted to raise an objection, but seeing Dan Ying didn’t make a sound, he also closed his mouth. Unable to find an opportunity to fight with Dan Ying, comparing during training was also appropriate.
Xi Tong believed participating in training was perfectly natural. No one minded having more life-saving skills. Grabbing Xiao Tie and Gou Zi by their necks, he went to the other side to wait for Liu Renyuan to assign squads.
Liu Fang also stayed behind to prepare his own strategies. After Yun Ye arranged the schedule, Di Renjie remained to supervise warship construction. Wu She followed Yun Ye and Li Tai back to Yongzhou. Though the seaside was nice, conditions were too crude. Li Tai was still very unaccustomed to it.
Li Anlan took Old Grandmother, Xinyue, and Na Rimu to Guilin Commandery. Originally only Li Anlan was going herself to negotiate with the Guilin Defense Commissioner about borrowing the Ling Canal for grain transport. This had been decided long ago. The land of Guilin had seven parts mountains, two parts water, and one part fields—grain was scarce. Yet a large army was stationed there to guard the Ling Canal and prevent Nanzhao invasion. Transporting grain from the Xiang River was a long journey—it was more convenient to transport grain from Yongzhou to supply the army. This way, Yongzhou wouldn’t need to send its annual taxes to Chang’an—they could be handed over in Guilin Commandery.
She had long heard her husband say that place was as beautiful as a painting. How could Xinyue let the opportunity pass? She was very certain that her husband had never been to Guilin Commandery—from where did he learn about that place’s scenery?
Yet he spoke with such detail and certainty—something about Elephant Trunk Hill, something about strange peaks lining both banks, scenic mountains and clear waters all the way, river water as clear and green as jade, water and mountain colors forming pictures naturally, called the Hundred Li Gallery. Finally, he even squinted and composed poetry: “The world’s old master painters, upon reaching here, break their hearts.” As if he’d really been there. For this trip, Xinyue was filled with curiosity. In her heart, she wanted even more to see her husband’s unknown past. A single Baiyujing—how could that fill Xinyue’s ambition to explore her husband’s secrets?
Only a few children and the pregnant Lingdang remained in the Princess’s mansion. Not seeing his sister, Li Tai was a bit disappointed. However, after hearing Yun Ye’s description of Guilin Commandery, his heart was also moved. After resting one night, he rode a horse to chase after Li Anlan’s party. Li Rong rode a docile mare herself, very excited. She was especially delighted to be able to tour together with her father and舅 uncle. This was something Yun Ye had deliberately arranged—boys always needed to suffer some hardship.
Yun Ye and his party didn’t travel fast, and Li Anlan’s group traveled even slower because they took the water route, going upstream from the Xi River and finally to the Ling Canal. So Yun Ye only needed to reach Liuzhou to intercept them.
Li Tai was very satisfied with Yun Ye’s arrangement. As long as he kept moving about in Lingnan, Father Emperor’s edict couldn’t be delivered into his hands. Once the warships’ weapons were completed and the army was fully prepared, he would board the ships. When he returned, it would surely be a very long time later. Li Tai, who had never indulged himself before, was filled with curiosity about everything.
Holding his own bow and arrows, he walked and shot arrows the whole way. On both sides of the road, grass grew and orioles flew—game was abundant. Every time he saw brightly colored large birds fly up from the grass, Li Rong would cry out and yell for a while.
Seeing Li Rong’s delight, how could Li Tai let the opportunity pass? He had been skilled with bow and horse since childhood—a mere hunting bow was naturally no challenge. Of course, many times he missed his shots. Though skilled with bow and horse in youth, now it was hard to say. Seeing the Prince humiliated, the guards naturally had to recover face for their master. The Great Tang had far too many people skilled with bow and horse. When Li Tai couldn’t hit his target, immediately over a dozen arrows whistled through the air.
The large bird bristling with arrows like a hedgehog—where was there even half a bit of beauty to speak of? Li Rong threw down the porcupine bird and began to lose his temper. Fortunately though, the targets of his temper were Yun Ye and Li Tai. He also knew that losing one’s temper with servants was unacceptable—only losing one’s temper with one’s closest people wouldn’t make one hated.
Li Tai swore vows and oaths to shoot down a complete one for his nephew, but his wishes always came to nothing. Li Rong had already turned his head and ignored that uncle who liked to boast, saying that Big Uncle would have no problem shooting birds.
One sentence激 provoked Li Tai’s anger to soar. Why could Big Uncle do it while he couldn’t? For a time, bowstrings twanged chaotically, but by the end he still hadn’t brought down a complete one. If it weren’t for Old Master Wu She helping Li Tai with a pebble, today he would have thoroughly disgraced himself in front of the child.
The road they were now traveling was the post road built when the Qin Dynasty entered Lingnan. The road was already half buried by grass. When originally building the road, the earth used to pad the road had to be steamed to ensure grass seeds in the soil wouldn’t take root and sprout. But now, even the most solid road surface couldn’t withstand the washing of Lingnan’s endless rainy season. It had become overgrown with wild草. Many times they could see venomous snakes startled by horse hooves slithering away.