Which empress would grab someone’s ear like a shrew and not let go? Confirmed—only Zhangsun. Previously when he saw her abuse Li Chengqian, he’d felt quite sympathetic. Now his own ear was being pulled until it looked like a donkey’s ear. Yun Ye began cursing Sima Guang in his heart. In the *Zizhi Tongjian*, Zhangsun was practically the spokesperson for the perfect empress. That bastard, hiding in his cellar fantasizing about Zhangsun’s beauty and gentleness, drooling as he wrote the chronicle of a virtuous empress, causing Yun Ye to feel eight parts respect and two parts admiration the moment he met Zhangsun. Being kneaded and pinched in her hands without daring to resist—now it had gotten worse, Zhangsun had escalated her behavior.
Didn’t history say she could only live two more years? Hurry up! Didn’t it say she’d be bedridden for over a year? Hurry up! Didn’t it say she’d give birth to Princess Jincheng while still ill? Hurry up!
Perhaps heaven heard Yun Ye’s fervent wishes. As Zhangsun twisted Yun Ye’s ear, she suddenly let go, covered her mouth with a handkerchief, and dry-heaved into the spittoon.
Yun Ye picked at his ear—it was quite clean, no earwax or other filth. Why was Zhangsun’s reaction so strong? The frightened Xinyue came over and poured the Empress a cup of hot tea. Zhangsun took it and drank it all in one gulp, then sat in a chair and took her own pulse. This was possible? Yun Ye stared wide-eyed at Zhangsun with her eyes closed.
After a while, Zhangsun opened her eyes. She seemed very happy and pulled Xinyue aside for some women’s talk, shooing Yun Ye far away. Hiding behind a pillar gnawing on a steamed bun, Yun Ye watched Zhangsun leave delightedly. He asked Xinyue in confusion: “What happened? After twisting my ear, is the Empress greatly pleased? Looks like from now on, whenever you encounter something unhappy, just twist my ear. Let me tell you, that’s where this custom comes from.”
Xinyue slapped Yun Ye irritably and took his arm, saying: “Her Majesty is with child. She just asked if I was too. Husband, we’ve been at it for over a year now—why don’t we have a child yet?” Xinyue anxiously scratched her belly as she asked.
“What’s the big deal? As long as we work harder, we’ll eventually have one. Right now the two we have are nearly killing their old man—if we have more? Will I have any life left?”
“I don’t care! Our household is still too thin. Just Bao’er as the only male heir—that’s not good. Our family should have five or six to inherit your estate. Bao’er can inherit the title, the rest can inherit your learning—we won’t let anything go to waste.” Xinyue spoke with soaring ambition, as if she could already see the Yun family courtyard full of running children.
This woman was unbearable. Jealous that others were dukes while their family was only marquis-level, jealous that others had eight children while their family only had two. Now she was even jealous of the Empress’s pregnant belly. Looking at that finger of hers pointing about as if commanding troops, Yun Ye felt like ten thousand flies were buzzing around him.
“Fine, if you want children, let’s go inside right now and make them. No more nonsense—let’s go, no delay.”
Hearing her husband getting angry, Xinyue sheepishly slapped Yun Ye again and lightly flicked his reddened left ear with her finger. Amid Yun Ye’s roar, she giggled and ran into the room, closing the door to laugh foolishly by herself.
With his ear sticking out, Yun Ye sat in the great hall receiving Old Lai and a few others. They were all his subordinate officers—no need for courtesy. Being too polite would actually break protocol. The four of them stood ramrod straight in the hall, each wearing military dress. Though their armor was somewhat worn, it was very practical. At each man’s feet lay a set of specially-made Yun family armor—dark and blackened, thoroughly oiled with tung oil. Ever since sulfuric acid had been accidentally produced by Sun Simiao, Yun family armor had gained an additional passivation process. Though somewhat uglier, compared to previous armor it was more corrosion-resistant and no longer feared rain.
“Lai Chuanfeng, Yang Yueming, Yang Yueli, Gou Feng—have the military commissions from the Ministry of War been delivered to your camp?” Yun Ye sat in the tiger-skin chair in the center and asked his four subordinates in a deep voice.
“Reporting to the Grand Commander, the four of us have all received our commissions. My position has been raised half a grade. The two Yang Captains and Captain Gou’s positions have likewise been raised half a grade. We thank the Grand Commander for the grace of promotion.”
After Old Lai finished speaking, he led the three others in lifting their war robes and kneeling on one knee. Yun Ye waved his hand for them to rise. At this time, only the pot-bellied Liu Jinbao in full military attire stood at Yun Ye’s lower right in the hall. Eight fully armed household guards stood outside the door. Maids and servants dared not pass by the hall—even Xinyue dared not. Madam Cheng had long ago taught Xinyue about such matters—women could not interfere in military affairs, couldn’t even look. On this point, Xinyue was very obedient. She also knew military protocol was strict.
“This is also because you four have the foundation. Otherwise, even if I wanted to promote you, I’d have no excuse. Fortunately, this commander still has some face at the Ministry of War, and they handled things quickly enough. Following me, you won’t suffer losses—especially you four who are trusted veterans. Our navy doesn’t lack money, only lacks merit. Damn it, my official position has reached its limit. Even if I get merit, it’s useless. With a hat saying ‘sharing in the nation’s fortunes’ clamped down, His Majesty has no intention of giving me further rewards.”
“So it benefits you. As long as you achieve merit, our Lingnan Navy has no practice of concealing and not reporting. Under this commander’s command are thirteen thousand soldiers and over eight hundred warships. Now we bear the responsibility of transporting grain from south to north. The task is extremely heavy. Chang’an’s grain supply is never enough—too many people.”
“Since we’ve taken on this duty, we must do it well. These past days you’ve learned something of the camp’s rules—that is, no improper reaching out. Whoever reaches out will have it chopped off, along with their head. Drinking soldiers’ blood—such disgraceful behavior is not permitted in our navy. If you commit an error, you get beaten with boards, confined, or beheaded—but there’s no such thing as embezzling military provisions. You must also follow this strictly. All are militia soldiers who come to serve without pay. But our navy has pay. When ships are empty, I allow carrying some cargo—but that’s our navy’s own cargo. Not a single grain of outsiders’ cargo may be transported. Have you remembered?”
“Yes sir!” The four answered loudly together. Yun Ye nodded and continued: “You also know that I, the Commander, am completely ignorant of military strategy. So finding paths for the brothers, promotions, wealth—these are my responsibilities. If someone bullies you, you can also find me to stand up for you. If brothers lack food and drink, lack silver, or achieve merit without promotion, you can all find me. Even taking the blame—you can find this commander. I’ll definitely give you an accounting. But charging into battle, fighting the enemy bravely, attacking cities and seizing strongholds—these are your responsibilities. Understand? If you think it’s unfair, speak up. I’ll send you back where you came from.”
“Grand Commander! Only a damn fool would think it’s unfair! Entering battle to kill enemies is originally our duty as officers. We don’t fear bloodshed and sacrifice—we only fear having no future. We’ve just entered the navy camp and our pay has doubled for no reason. Our wives and children all have lodging, not to mention the best teachers instructing our children. Such gracious treatment—we couldn’t repay it even with a hundred deaths. If anyone dares question the Grand Commander’s decisions, they must first ask if my saber agrees!”
Yun Ye nodded with satisfaction. He knew too well what he was—when two armies faced each other, one mistake could lead to total annihilation. Rather than blindly commanding, better to leave it to these experienced fierce generals. It was just that the person he needed had never appeared, which gave him a headache. The Great Tang never valued the navy, which was why Yun Ye had the opportunity to independently command a force. Rather than saying Li Er valued his military talent, it was more accurate to say he valued Yun Ye’s money-making ability. Not only did this fleet not require court investment, it could actually return considerable benefits each year. Not to mention the fleet transported hundreds of thousands of bushels of rice from Lingnan annually. This alone made Li Er very satisfied.
Now naval soldiers from other regions were all desperately trying to enter the Lingnan Navy. Yun Ye took the opportunity to recruit several fierce naval commanders, causing commanders of other regional navies to submit memorials impeaching Yun Ye. Regarding such matters, Yun Ye completely ignored them. Neither the Ministry of War nor the Imperial Secretariat would report such trivial matters to the Emperor.
With formalities complete and official business concluded, the atmosphere immediately relaxed. Yun Ye had the four men sit down. Tea and refreshments were served as they smiled and discussed amusing incidents from their military days, strengthening their emotional bonds.
“Marquis, earlier I seemed to see Her Majesty’s carriage leaving the residence. Did Her Majesty come to the residence today?” Lai Chuanfeng, relying on his familiarity with Yun Ye, quietly inquired.
Yun Ye gave a bitter laugh and pointed to his reddened ear: “Last night at the Wanmin Hall banquet, I accidentally offended Her Majesty. She came to settle accounts with me—my ear nearly got torn off.”
“Her Majesty came to your door today just to twist your ear?” All four stared wide-eyed at Yun Ye.
“What else could it be for? Her Majesty counts as my teacher. Whenever I make a mistake, she won’t let it go. The past is unbearable to recall—back then, to teach the Crown Prince and me aristocratic deportment, Her Majesty ordered us tied to chairs to practice sitting posture. That experience was not pleasant.”
Yun Ye deliberately brought up his connection with the Empress to leave these fierce generals with an impression—that their commander had connections reaching to heaven. Serving here would definitely be right. People all seek benefit and avoid harm, especially in the military. Hugging a thick thigh was important. If you didn’t follow the right person, at best your whole life would be unsuccessful, at worst you’d lose your life.
The four exchanged glances and appeared even more respectful toward Yun Ye. After drinking a cup of tea and eating two bites of refreshments, the four rose to take their leave, preparing to rush to the navy camp to continue drilling the thousand-man marine corps.
“Throw away all that garbage you’re wearing. Here are four sets of armor. Among the navy, only you four look shabby. This is new armor crafted by Yun family artisans. Last time I asked for your body measurements, it was for this. Take them. These things look light but their defensive capability is no less than Guangming armor—perhaps even exceeds it. Damn it, being a soldier and I still have to pay out of my own pocket to equip my subordinates.”
The four were overjoyed. The Great Tang’s best armor had always come from the Yun family, but the Yun family controlled it strictly—very little armor made it out. On the market it was priced but unavailable. Hearing they were each receiving a gift, how could they not be wildly delighted?