Taiheiki

Chapter 34 It’s done
After capturing the pirate ship, the Yuhuang returned to the river where the battle had just taken place. While forcing the enemy ship with half of its oars cut off to surrender, it began to salvage the pirates still floating on the river. However, to Wei Cong's disappointment, he did not find Zhang Bolu among the pirates he salvaged.

According to the confessions obtained from the captives, General Zhang Bolu was in the cabin when the ram hit the main ship, and no one saw him after that. He was most likely seriously injured or died at the moment the ram broke through the side, and his body fell into the river; as for Zhang Bozhi, some people said that they saw him being shot by a crossbow arrow and falling into the river, and he was probably dead.

"That's great! We haven't caught either of the two bandit leaders!" Wei Cong shook his head in disappointment. "That's the trouble with the river. If someone dies and falls into the river, you can't find their body!"

"As long as these two men are not wearing armor, their bodies will eventually float to the surface of the water! Otherwise, we can move the boat downstream and search as we go!" Zhao Yannian said.

"Forget it, it's almost dark, what are you looking for!" Wei Cong said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, these are enough. The night is long and dreams are many, let's go back to Jiangling City first!"

So Wei Cong tied up the captured pirates with ropes and dragged the two captured pirate ships all the way to Jiangling City.

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Caiguan in Jiangling.

The soft sound of a zither came through the door, mixed with the vibrato of a flute. Although the singer's voice could not be heard clearly through the thick door, the lyrics were very familiar to Cao Cao: "The black hair is used to tie the cage, and the cinnamon twigs are used as the cage hook. There is a Japanese bun on the head, and moon-shaped pearls in the ears. The lower skirt is made of yellow silk, and the upper jacket is made of purple silk." (Han Yuefu "Mulberry on the Road").

Waiting at the door was Cai Mao's personal servant. He looked at Cao Cao in surprise. Cao Cao knew why, so he raised his middle finger to his lips, silencing him. The servant obediently stepped aside. Cao Cao pushed open the door and strode in. The singing stopped abruptly.

The singing girl's feet were bare, her thighs were round and white, and her thick hair shone in the light. She raised her head and looked at Cao Cao with some panic. "My dear, your legs are really charming!" Cao Cao turned his eyes to Cai Mao and said, "Ah Mao, you too, I didn't expect you to play the flute so well!"

"Aman, you are injured! Come, call a doctor!" Cai Mao stood up in panic and shouted loudly. No wonder he was like this. Cao Cao's coat was stained with blood, and his face was black and red. He looked like he had crawled back from a pile of dead bodies.

"Alright, alright, stop yelling!" Cao Cao plopped down next to the singing girl. "This is all someone else's blood. Young lady, pour me a glass of wine! I'm so thirsty!"

Cai Mao gestured for the singing girl to pour the wine, and stared at Cao Cao from head to toe. "What the hell, how did you end up like this? Did you run into a thief? And you even fought and killed him yourself?"

"Meeting a bandit? Haha!" Cao Cao laughed twice, his eyes filled with a defiant glint. "Do you know? There is no General Jiangyi in this world anymore!"

"What do you mean?" Cai Mao was shocked: "Killed by you?"

"Not really, but almost!" Cao Cao said with a smug smile, "Just over two hours ago, Zhang Bolu's boat was rammed and sunk by my men. He has already sunk into the river!"

"Is this true?" Cai Mao looked at Cao Cao doubtfully. "Zhang Bolu has been rampant in Jiangbei for over a decade, and no one dared to stand in his way. How could he die in your hands?"

"Amao, you don't believe it?" Cao Cao laughed. "That's no wonder, but seeing is believing, hearing is not. You can go and see for yourself!"

"Look, you said the boat was sunk, where should I go to see it? It's up to you!" Cai Mao picked up the wine glass and asked the singer to pour a glass for him as well.

"We captured two pirate ships, and over a hundred crimson-robed thieves are right here at the dock. You can come and see them anytime. This can't be fake, right?"

"Really?" Cai Mao looked at Cao Cao in surprise. "You also captured the pirates on the ship?"

"Go and see at daybreak, and you'll know whether it's true or not," Cao Cao said with a smile.

"Why are you waiting for dawn? Let's go now, with the Cai family's lantern. I don't think the gatekeeper will dare to stop me!" Cai Mao jumped up and hung his sword on his waist: "Aman, if you really kill Zhang Bolu, you will make a lot of money. Do you know? Huang Ziyan has already told me that if you really catch the crimson-clothed thief, he will write a letter of recommendation to Chen Zhongju on your behalf. That's Chen Zhongju. Although he is no longer the Grand Marshal, his reputation is even greater. As long as he is willing to mention you, no one will dare to say that you are--" At this point, Cai Mao realized that he had said the wrong thing and hurriedly stopped.

"Remnant of eunuchs!" Cao Cao said what his friend hadn't said. "Forget it, we don't care about these empty words between us. But if Huang Ziyan is willing to speak up, then Chen Zhongju will definitely not refuse this honor. After all, they were both demoted in Luoyang!"

"Yes!" Cai Mao smiled. "When I heard him say that, I didn't take it seriously. After all, I didn't expect you to actually be able to capture the crimson-robed thief!"

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The next morning, the young hero from Luoyang killed General Jiangyi, sank two pirate ships, and captured over a hundred pirates. News of the two ships' disappearance spread throughout Jiangling City. Meanwhile, Wei Cong, the true mastermind behind the entire incident, was at a shallow beach, inspecting the Yuhuang's main structure for damage after the previous day's fierce battle.

"Looks like we're lucky this time!" Wei Cong personally checked the keel and ribs, and after confirming that there was no damage, he breathed a sigh of relief: "After two collisions, the main body of the ship is not damaged at all!"

Zhao Yannian, who was holding a lantern beside him, hesitated for a moment and whispered, "My dear, I have something to ask you!"

"What's the matter? Ask!"

"It's obvious that you planned and prepared the whole thing, and Master Cao just happened to show up at the right time. Why do you give all the credit to him?"

"Credit?"

"That's right!" Zhao Yannian whispered, "Zhang Bolu has been rampant in Jiangbei for over ten years, and the prefectures and counties are powerless to deal with him. If we can capture him in one fell swoop, even if we can't say he's a filial and honest official, we can definitely find a county official!"

"Yannian!" Wei Cong smiled and said, "The water in Luoyang is very deep!"

Zhao Yannian was stunned when he heard this, wondering why his master suddenly brought up Luoyang. Isn't this completely unrelated? Suddenly, he remembered some of the rumors he had heard about Wei Cong's background. He thought to himself that it seemed that his master was probably a member of the Mingli Party, which was why he was so willing to give the credit to Master Cao.

"I understand, villain!"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong didn't bother asking what Zhao Yannian understood. He stomped hard on the keel beneath his feet twice and said, "Compared to Xiaolian and other matters, there are two more important things right now. One is that the Zhang family's Wubao has not been taken yet. As long as the Zhang family is not uprooted, I won't even be able to enjoy my meal, let alone any achievements!"

"Rest assured, sir!" Zhao Yannian nodded. "I've made arrangements. No one from the Zhang family will be spared!" Wei Cong nodded. It wasn't that he was ruthless; rather, the Gongyang Commentary of the Spring and Autumn Annals was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people during the Han Dynasty, and the people were extremely fierce and sturdy. The idea was that revenge for one's ancestors would be exacted even after nine generations. To the world, Zhang Bolu was a thief, but to the Zhang family's retainers and clansmen, he was their lord. Avenging their lord was their unshirkable duty. Han Dynasty history is filled with examples of those who willingly sacrificed their lives to avenge their lords. For example, Sun Ce, with his numerous blood debts and his reluctance to travel with guards, was shot and killed by his enemy's retainers. Besides his own shady background, Wei Cong gave the credit to Cao Cao because he didn't want to invite trouble.

"There's another thing: the rowers!" Wei Cong pointed around and said, "Yannian, others only know that the Yuhuang is invincible on the water, but they don't know that without these rowers, it would be useless."

"Sir, do you want to keep all those rowers?" Zhao Yannian asked.

"Well, even if we can't keep everyone here, at least we have to keep the core members. Especially the helmsman. Otherwise, recruiting new people and training them from scratch is too troublesome!"

"this--"

"What's wrong? Are you in trouble?" Wei Cong turned around.

"My dear, these oarsmen are all strong young men, the pillars of their families. It's winter now, and there's no work in the fields. They're just sitting there doing nothing. As long as you're willing to pay, we can recruit as many as you want. But it would be difficult to keep them long-term, after all, farming is the foundation!"

"I understand!" Wei Cong nodded. "Then let's leave this matter to Wang Shou! He's good at dealing with people!"

"Yes!"

The two of them disembarked, and Wei Cong boarded a carriage, surrounded by guards, heading for Jiangling City. Wei Cong closed his eyes, wanting to rest for a while on the way, when he felt a pair of soft hands reaching out from behind, massaging him, and a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Is the force appropriate?”

"Hmm!" Wei Cong responded vaguely. Soft fingertips massaged his temples, and a familiar fragrance came to his nose. He felt soft lips touching his cheek. He suddenly stretched out his right hand, pulled the girl into his arms, and began to kiss her hard.

After a few minutes, Wei Cong let go of the girl and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"This is a reward!" A Jing looked into Wei Cong's eyes, her cheeks flushed and her eyes like water.

"award?"

"Do you know how I became the dancer of the Deng family?" A Jing asked.

"You seemed to have mentioned it!" Wei Cong tried hard to recall: "Bought it at the Human Market?"

"That's right, but I never said it before!" Ah Jing's eyes flashed, as if she was recalling something: "My father was a merchant. He often bought utensils and ironware from Jiangbei and transported them to Jiangnan to exchange for some mountain products, lotus seeds, dried goods and so on. Although we couldn't be called rich, our family lived a prosperous life. But when I was eight years old, my father went out and never came back. I heard from my companions who escaped that he encountered the crimson-clothed thieves-" At this point, she stopped talking, her teeth sank deeply into her lips, revealing a hint of crimson. Wei Cong didn't know what to say for a moment, so he could only hug the girl into his arms and hold her tightly.

After an unknown amount of time, Wei Cong felt the carriage stopped. He loosened his arms and whispered to A Jing who lowered his head, "Everything is over. The only thing we can do is live well!" After that, he patted the other's shoulder and got off the car.

"My dear!" Wang Shou stood by the car door, looking a little nervous.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Wei Cong asked.

"Young Master Deng is here, he's inside!"

"Deng Shimao is here?" Wei Cong was surprised.

"Yeah! They just arrived!" Wang Shou whispered, "They brought a lot of people with them. What a grand ceremony!"

"Take me to see him!" Wei Cong became serious. He straightened his clothes and followed Wang Shou inside. As expected, upon entering, he saw many Deng family servants in black clothes carrying various cages and household items, as if they were moving. Just after walking down a corridor, Deng Zhong's steward came to greet him: "Ah, Master Wei, you are finally back. Come with me quickly, the master is waiting for you!"

"Oh!" Wei Cong responded. He followed the steward into the hall. Deng Zhong rushed forward, stretched out his arms and grabbed Wei Cong's shoulders. He looked him up and down and sighed, "God bless you, Meng De, you are safe and sound. Alas! You are too impatient. Why don't you wait for a few days for me to make arrangements in Wancheng, and then come to Jiangling to deal with this matter together!"

"Now that the opportunity has come, I don't want to miss it, so as to avoid any further trouble!" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"They're just a few river thieves. You and I are the sons of wealthy families. We shouldn't sit still and wait for the consequences. Why should we take the risk ourselves? If something goes wrong, wouldn't we regret it?" Deng Zhong shook his head and sighed. "Forget it. Change into some decent clothes and come with me to meet someone!"

"Meet someone?" Wei Cong was stunned. "Who do you want to meet? Why do you need to change clothes?"

"Hurry up and change your clothes!" Deng Zhong said with a smile, "We've known each other for quite some time. Would I harm you?"

Wei Cong had no choice but to go to the door. A maid had already helped him change into a long-sleeved robe and put on a Jinxian crown. He went out again. Deng Zhong's eyes lit up and he said with a smile: "Brother Meng De is indeed a handsome man. Come with me to the carriage and don't delay!"

"Brother Shimao, who are you going to see?" Wei Cong followed Deng Zhong into the carriage. "Can you tell me now?"

"Of course it's the state's 2,000 stone official. Who else could it be?"

"The prefect of Nanjun?" Wei Cong took a breath of cold air.

"That's right!" Deng Zhong snorted coldly, "You solved such a big problem for Han Chun. If you don't even meet him and let him get away with it, wouldn't that be giving him a break?"

Hearing Deng Zhong's boastful words, Wei Cong could only inwardly exclaim, "Awesome!" In the political discourse of the Han Dynasty, the term "two thousand stone" simply referred to a single official position: the prefect of a prefecture or state. This prefect was arguably the most powerful local official in the history of the unified Chinese empire: he held military power—the prefecture and state troops; he had financial authority; he had independent personnel authority—he could recruit officials and establish his own small team. Recruited officials were considered former officials and obligated to serve the emperor; and he even had the right to select talented individuals—for example, selecting filial and honest officials.

(End of this chapter)