Chapter 149: The Young Lord Who Smooths Things Over
At the end of July, the thin, weak moon was obscured by layers of dark clouds. The sea breeze blew in, carrying the salty, fishy scent of the ocean.
Not far from the wharf, in a low-lying area, stood several rows of low, dilapidated houses.
This place was originally used by the garrison to temporarily store fodder. Due to the heavy dampness, it had been abandoned for many years. Recently, porters who had arrived in the past few months rented it for a few large coins. Now, these rows of houses were filled with people.
In the pitch-black night, teams of men in black clothes and black pants converged from several directions. The four or five leaders gathered together, standing at a high point and looking down at the low-lying area.
“Is there enough oil?” the leader in the middle asked in a low voice.
“Yes, we brought four or five extra barrels. We’ll burn them until not even ashes are left!” one leader gritted his teeth.
“According to our plan, your three groups will each take a position, charge in together for the first wave, and then quickly retreat. We and the other two groups will go through them again. After that, you will pour the oil and set the fire. Is that clear?” the leader in the middle instructed in a low voice.
“Yes!” the leaders nodded in unison.
“Heaven bless us today! Kill!” the leader in the middle said with murderous intent.
The leaders dispersed, each leading their teams, running to their positions. They drew out their specially made cleavers and axes and surrounded the rows of houses in the low-lying area from three sides.
Still seven or eight zhang away from the rows of houses, the men at the forefront raised their cleavers and axes. With a shout of “Kill!”, just as they were about to charge, the surroundings suddenly erupted in flames. Countless torches were raised, and amidst the piercing sound of bowstrings, a loud voice cursed, “Damn it, all of you, stop right there!”
A dozen sharp arrows whistled and embedded themselves in front of about ten men who couldn’t stop. A few, unlucky enough, were pierced through the instep by the arrows, screaming in pain.
“Shut up!” the young general under the torchlight roared, and the screaming men quickly fell silent.
The porters from the rows of houses rushed out in a flurry. Many were naked and stood together, staring dumbfounded at the black-clothed men surrounding them, as if immobilized by a spell. Outside the black-clothed men, under the countless torches, archers drew their bows and arrows, aiming at the black-clothed men and them.
Gu Yan, dressed in a narrow-sleeved riding outfit with a black background embroidered with golden python patterns, stood beside the young general, smiling as he observed the black-clothed men frozen in place by the arrows.
A shout of “Hu he!” was heard. The archers cleared a path. The other groups of black-clothed men were herded together, pointed at by spears, and driven into the archers’ circle. Finally, a group of black-clothed men, each carrying a barrel of oil, piled the oil in the designated spot and knelt in a line.
The immobilized cleaver and axe wielders were also prodded by spears. They threw their cleavers into a pile, their axes into another, and knelt in rows.
Several black-clothed leaders were dragged out by soldiers and made to kneel in a row at the front.
The porters in the low-lying area wisely knelt down on the spot.
“I, this Young Master, am acting under orders to assist the Maritime Tax Bureau. The first day I arrived at the wharf, I told you all that I have only one prohibition. Tell me, what is this one prohibition?” Gu Yan kicked the black-clothed leader kneeling in front.
“No fighting.” The black-clothed leader dared not look up.
“Is what he said correct?” Gu Yan kicked another black-clothed leader.
“Correct.” This leader was slightly bolder and looked up at Gu Yan, his eyes pained by the flashing golden python patterns under the torchlight.
“Then what are you doing? Speak!” Gu Yan lifted his foot and propped up the chin of the leading black-clothed leader.
“Young Lord, spare us.” The black-clothed leader had no choice but to look at Gu Yan.
“I’m asking you a question, Young Master.” Gu Yan lowered his foot. “What are you doing? Speak!”
“They were bullying us too much.” The black-clothed leader kowtowed.
“Are you deaf, or are you trying to bully me because you think I won’t do anything to you?” Gu Yan took a step back. “I’ll ask you one more time, the last time, what are you doing?”
“Killing… no, fighting, fighting.” Cold sweat covered the black-clothed leader’s forehead.
“See, they’re ignoring my words.” Gu Yan turned back and looked at Yang Qifan, sighing.
“Killing too much will result in too much blood, and the smell won’t be good. Let’s tie them up and throw them into the sea,” Yang Qifan suggested.
“The Crown Prince is arriving soon. Too many deaths are inauspicious,” Gu Yan sighed again. “Besides, our swords are meant for killing enemies outside the nation’s gates. Within the nation’s gates, everyone is a subject of the Empire. We should avoid killing if possible, at least not punish without instruction.”
“We can’t just let it go either. Look at their cleavers and axes, they’re very sharp,” Yang Qifan clicked his tongue. “How about we chop off their hands and feet?”
“Alas, forget it. If their hands and feet are chopped off, how will they support their families? Do you all have families?” Gu Yan asked loudly.
“Yes, yes, yes!” the black-clothed men responded, kowtowing.
“However, we can’t just let them go either.” Gu Yan frowned, thinking for a moment. “I have an idea! Tomorrow morning, you will go to the wharf and offer a sincere apology to them, carrying branches as a sign of repentance.”
“I’m telling you, you all work at the wharf. We are all brothers here. You can’t be bullying each other and fighting all the time. Look, neither I nor your Master Yang’s swords are aimed at you. Can you wield your swords against your own brothers?
“This time, it’s over. Consider it my teaching you a lesson. If there’s a next time, I’ll banish you all to the northern frontier, put you at the very front, and let you wield your swords to your heart’s content.
“Go back and tell your respective bosses, as long as I am assisting the Maritime Tax Bureau, fighting is forbidden on this wharf, at any time, in any place.”
“Young Lord, it was they who falsely claimed bamboo tokens, they who broke the rules,” the leading leader said bravely.
“How did they falsely claim them?” Gu Yan asked.
“They claimed one token per trip, needing two trips to claim one token,” another leader quickly replied.
“Why do you need two trips to claim one token? I’ve never heard of such a thing on the wharves I’ve been to; it’s always one token per trip. Have you heard of this?” Gu Yan asked Yang Qifan.
“No! Never!” Yang Qifan answered decisively.
“Why do you need two trips to claim one token? Don’t tell me this is the rule,” Gu Yan asked loudly.
The leaders exchanged glances. This was the rule. They couldn’t say it was the rule, so what else could they say?
“Two trips for one token means two trips count as one. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Go back and ask properly why it’s like this. Figure out the reasons, and then come report to me,” Gu Yan said loudly, word by word.
“Even if you can explain the reasons, it shouldn’t be like this,” Yang Qifan added.
“Your Master Yang is right. First, find out clearly why two trips count as one. Has it always been this way since the establishment of the Maritime Tax Bureau, or has something changed midway? Second, discuss it among yourselves and change the rule of two trips counting as one. The whole world counts one trip as one; why are you different?” Gu Yan instructed casually.
“Yes.” The few minor leaders could only say “yes” and dared not say anything else.
