Chapter 297

To sink the Kingdom of Kou and to colonize it after its conquest were two entirely different matters. The Son of Heaven had long taken a dislike to Kou, even to the point of finding its islands offensive to the eye. Yet he also understood full well how important Kou’s geographical position was to Great Liang. Since he had abandoned the former idea, the emperor’s displeasure had nowhere to go, so he ordered the general most skilled in naval warfare to, after taking Kou, drive the entire royal clan and all the great families, together with all nine branches of their kin, straight into the sea. No one dared object to the emperor’s demand.

Wang Xiujin stood behind his father, secretly rolling his eyes in his heart. Kou was hardly a country of any size, and its population could not be much either; if all of them were driven into the sea, there would probably be no one left at all. Since Li Lishan was not commanding this expedition, neither the Li family nor the Wang family stepped forward to protest, and Li Lishan himself was not disappointed. He was still young, after all, and the Li family was not skilled in naval combat. To take on the main assault would have been absurd. Wang Xiujin would have been pleased never to have any connection with Li Lishan at all, but in war there was never a battle without death. Even with formidable weapons, casualties were inevitable.

Wang Xiujin had always thought he had made ample preparations for being the family of a soldier, yet at the bottom of his heart there still lingered a trace of concern. He could fully support every decision Li Lishan made, and yet he still harbored a faint, selfish hope. If they could live and remain together, who would choose life and death apart? No matter how strong he was, no matter how manly, no matter how brave, no matter what else he might be, once the person who had kept him company was gone, even the mere thought of it would ache. Wang Xiujin had never felt that the bond between him and Li Lishan was one of grand vows or blazing passion; rather, it had passed beyond romance into a kinship of shared hardship, into a quiet devotion of mutual dependence.

The matter of returning to Wang Village was delayed by the war in Kou. He sent a letter ahead, then went once more to the shipyard. Though Li Lishan was not the chief assault commander, he was still busy handing over the newly trained water troops to the general in charge of this expedition, and he also had to remain ready to provide reinforcements at any time. The commander for this campaign was the same man who had earlier suggested leaving Kou intact. Feeling somewhat indebted to Li Lishan, he believed that the swift success of the attack and the taking of Kou in a single stroke had robbed Li Lishan of credit. In his view, the strategy Li Lishan had written was already excellent, and Li Lishan understood warships more thoroughly than he did. If nothing unforeseen occurred, even if Li Lishan had led the army himself, he would still have been able to seize this place.

After receiving the command seal, the general went straight to the Li residence to offer his apologies to Li Lishan. Old General Li received him with great affability and spoke with him at length. After the general left, Old General Li stood in his study with his hands behind his back, a smile lingering at the corners of his mouth. Then he shook his head. Once this man had taken Kou, he would probably be sent to garrison the Kou Islands for years on end. With the emperor’s petty temperament, how could he possibly allow someone who had once risen to oppose him to continue wandering under his nose?

On the fifth day after Wang Xiujin arrived at the shipyard, the commander came in a hurry with his men. Wang Xiujin introduced the foreman of the shipyard and led them onto the great vessel for a tour. The larger ships under construction could not be boarded for inspection for various reasons, but the commander did not grow angry. Instead, he felt that Merchant Wang possessed remarkable generosity. Before coming, he had already prepared himself to be made things difficult. Who would have thought that Merchant Wang would not only hold nothing against him, but be especially meticulous, leaving no detail overlooked? The commander was thoroughly ashamed.

Wang Xiujin did not know what the commander was thinking. If he had, he would likely not have known how to react either. After explaining everything concerning the ships to the commander, he handed the remaining matters over to the overseer and hurried back to the capital. Just after arriving, before he could even settle in, he was summoned by Xiao, the emperor’s personal attendant, for a discussion about the mobile artillery platforms. How tall the great ships were, how long they were, and how many artillery platforms they could carry all required consultation with Wang Xiujin.

Before he had even had time to greet his little father, he saw him being invited away. Yachang pouted, his mood sour. Then he went to the martial hall and practiced two sets of punches before he finally felt better.

That evening, Wang Xiujin had only just returned home when Li Yachang stood outside his father’s and little father’s room, hugging a pillow. He wanted to sleep with his little father. Li Lishan lifted an eyebrow, and Wang Xiujin did not know whether to laugh or cry. He repeatedly promised that he would not leave the capital again anytime soon before finally coaxing their stubborn son back to his own room. No one knew whom the boy took after. Li Lishan watched his son’s retreating figure and felt that he urgently needed to have a proper talk with him.

Busy days followed one after another, and before long it was the year’s end. Good news came from the shipyard: two great ships could soon be launched for trials at sea, and Xiao was sent to escort the first batch of artillery platforms there. On the other side, Prince Feng’an, Wang Xiubai, received an imperial decree. The great ships were to conduct simulated landing drills, and the common people’s cooperation would be required. Before that, the people of Feng’an had to be thoroughly investigated to determine whether any Kou spies had infiltrated among them.

While everyone else was busy, Wang Xiujin was not idle either. Together with Manager Wang, he tallied the year’s income, and once again box after box of silver was carried into the residence. Wang Xiujin felt it necessary to discuss with the emperor the issue of issuing a unified paper currency. Year after year, box after box of money came and went, and it was enough to keep him from sleeping soundly. The money was divided into two portions, one for household use and one sent into the palace. If not for the war, he had originally not planned to donate silver this year. The investment in the rail vehicles alone had not been small. Although the wooden bicycles were still selling well, the money poured into the rail vehicles was no trivial sum. If the court would not provide funds, then no matter how well he could earn, he could not make ends meet.

Once the money had been delivered to the palace, Wang Xiujin felt that one matter from his heart had finally been settled. Yet he did not know that because of his donation, the officials of the court were grinding their teeth in resentment. The treasury was clearly full; why did he still have to donate money just to show his presence? In truth, if they were to blame anyone, they could not blame Wang Xiujin. They should blame the officials who had merely followed the crowd and made a show of loyalty with their own silver.

At morning court, the emperor announced the imperial merchant’s donation and praised Wang Xiujin lavishly. Afterward, a number of officials stepped forward in succession, saying they wished to offer their own modest contributions. Among them were civil officials and military officers alike, all of high rank. Those of lower status, officials who had not originally intended to donate, saw their colleagues stepping forward one after another to display loyalty with silver. If they themselves did not follow suit, they would stand out as different, so they gritted their teeth and knelt along with the rest. The emperor was greatly pleased and ordered the Minister of Revenue to record everything personally. He also commanded that a merit-and-virtue wall be erected, with the names of the donating officials and the amounts they gave carved upon it.

After the court session ended, some officials began gnashing their teeth. They had knelt to follow the tide, but had never intended to donate any particular sum. Now that the amounts were to be engraved on the merit-and-virtue wall, if they gave too much, would they not be suspected of having lined their own pockets? If they gave too little, they feared the emperor would be displeased. They were caught between two impossible choices.

When Wang Xiujin heard the words merit-and-virtue wall, he nearly laughed himself to tears. The emperor’s move was ruthless enough. Even though many corrupt officials had already been executed, there were still those bold enough to test the limit. The emperor was not unaware of it; it was merely that Kou had drawn all his attention. He would set these matters aside for the moment and wait until they were fat enough before butchering them. Wang Xiujin suspected that the emperor’s establishment of the merit-and-virtue wall had been deliberate from the beginning, meant to force those with ugly habits and even uglier appetites to spit back out what they had swallowed. Otherwise, once the Kou matter was resolved, he would surely move to clean up these rats.

The commander, conducting the ship trials at sea, led the water troops in a modern-style amphibious landing drill. After a fierce contest with the soldiers on the rocks, he was overjoyed and promptly reported everything to the court. The great ships, the mobility of the soldiers, the speed at which the artillery could be moved, and so on—all were praised in every conceivable way. During his stay in Feng’an, when the commander heard that the imperial merchant had donated half his fortune for the campaign against Kou, he was deeply moved. He wrote home and ordered his family to donate half their assets as well.

When Wang Xiujin heard of this, he was overwhelmed with emotion. Even the emperor was left helpless by the commander’s conduct and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to accept only one-tenth, no more. Another imperial edict was sent to the commander.

The Fourth Prince had recently been making frequent visits to the general’s residence. He too would accompany the campaign against Kou. Though not the chief commander, he was still named deputy commander. He ran to the Li household to learn strategies, unwilling to be looked down upon, and wanted to cram in some basics before it was too late. Wang Xiujin could only roll his eyes secretly in his heart. The Fourth Prince usually went often into the imperial study in the palace to help with memorials and government affairs, and making money was no trouble for him. Yet when it came to military matters, no matter how much was pointed out to him, it never quite sank in. Still, every now and then he would say something right on the mark, leaving the emperor both vexed and helpless.

Naval warfare was not the Li family’s strong suit. The strategy had been written by Li Lishan, so he was the one who gave the Fourth Prince his instruction. In truth, the strategy was not especially brilliant; it had chiefly benefited from his understanding of the great ships. After boarding them, the commander revised Li Lishan’s plan again and again, maximizing the ships’ role. As for the strategy itself, apart from its main objective remaining unchanged, everything from the departure at sea to the launch of the attack had been transformed.

The only thing Li Lishan could explain to the Fourth Prince in detail was the great ships themselves. The Fourth Prince’s eyes brightened again and again as he listened. He was poor at military affairs, but he could still imagine how formidable the ships’ attack power would be. With such things in existence, if dozens were built and stationed along the coast, they would be enough to frighten off even those with evil designs. Hearing Li Lishan’s concern about the sky, the Fourth Prince grew worried as well, and when he returned to the palace he even spoke of his anxiety to his father the emperor.

The emperor knew his son well. He felt that the prince’s worry had absolutely not been his own idea. After a few questions, he extracted the truth. Tapping the desk, the emperor did not mock Li Lishan’s fanciful thought. He understood the power of artillery. If someone truly hurled cannon fire down from the sky, then escape would indeed be impossible. How to add a layer of defense in the air would require a serious discussion with civil and military ministers.

After the seaside waters froze in succession, people began preparing for the New Year. In recent years the festive atmosphere in the capital had grown especially rich. With silver in hand, the common people did not hesitate when shopping. As the year drew to a close, it seemed as though everyone were throwing money away as they bought and bought—buying cloth to make new clothes, cutting meat for dumplings, choosing fine jewelry to add some joy to the household’s beloved, and picking out various snacks and pastries so the children could taste something new. Before the table where festive couplets were being written, there was a long line of people. Not far from the entrance of the Wang grain shop stood a stall selling couplets, much longer than the others. More and more people kept heading this way. Some townsfolk, after asking around and learning the reason, slapped their thighs in regret. “Yesterday I spent five taels buying a pair of couplets. If I had known the little masters from the new building were handing them out today, I would never have paid for them.”

“You call them little masters yourself—how do you know what they write isn’t better than what you bought?” Wang Xiujin, standing at the entrance of the shop, heard this and replied with a smiling chuckle.