Chapter 965 - 804: Silver and Daozi

On the fourth day, the wind was calm and waves were still.

Before dawn, Chen Ji once again lowered the small boat, took Wu Yun, and paddled alone into the distance.

He didn’t head directly toward the port but instead paddled further away. The cargo ship had a deep draft and had to reach the berth pier, but his small boat didn’t have to; he could easily find a mudflat to beach it.

As soon as Chen Ji left, Chen Yu came to the boat’s edge, puzzled, and said, "That man surely has guts; Xu Chuanyin is itching to skin him alive, yet he still dares to run to Dinghai Port."

Chen Xu gently replied from beside him, "He’s always shown himself with a mask. Without the mask and the straw coat, no one can recognize him."

Chen Yu pondered at the boat’s edge, saying, "With Zhang Zhuo having him clean up the mess in Jiangnan, he hands over millions of silver taels to Your Majesty annually, more than the salt tax; how could he not become Cabinet Minister? Grandpa must be unable to compete with Zhang Zhuo this time, it’s not that Grandpa couldn’t do it, it’s that I’m not as good as him."

Chen Xu considered for a moment, then reassured, "Before heading south this time, Official Hu instructed me that if things become impossible, there’s no need to force it. The Cabinet Minister position this time should go to Official Hu."

Chen Yu was stunned, "Official Hu?"

Chen Xu slowly said, "The old master controls the Ministry of Revenue, and now the national treasury’s silver, along with the silver earned by Marquis Wu Xiang for the Inner Treasury, flows like water to Guyuan, Datong, and Jizhou. The Official mentioned that Jing Dynasty has the Central Twelve Forbidden Armies, Hu Ben Army, Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and Heavenly Strategy Army, while our dynasty only has the Imperial Three Camps relying on geography for defense. Some are unwilling and want to train three elite forces too. I heard Yangyang from the Yang family has left the Longevity Army, leading an elite group to Jizhou for training."

Chen Yu mused, "The old Emperor of Jing Dynasty is about to die, and they want to strike north during the Jing Dynasty’s succession struggle, so the Cabinet Minister position must go to Official Hu... It seems there will be war. Wang Daosheng has yet to enter the Cabinet; I thought Your Majesty didn’t want war."

Chen Xu calmly said, "The old master once said that Your Majesty doesn’t let Wang Daosheng into the Cabinet, firstly because Wang Daosheng is too clean, and secondly because he is Official Hu’s prized pupil. Vice Minister of Ministry of Revenue Hu Junye, Hu Junxian from the border towns, Hu Junyan from the Observatory, even Prince Fu has to call Official Hu his grandfather... If Wang Daosheng also enters the Cabinet, inside and outside would be all Hu family members, and the Hu family’s power is too great. Your Majesty is most wary of foreign relatives."

Chen Yu sighed, "Indeed, it seems like another Liu Family... Your Majesty has reigned for thirty-three years, mastering the art of power, just a pity about Mr. Wang. Yet this person from the Anti-Japanese Army painstakingly brought so much silver to Your Majesty, if Zhang Zhuo cannot become Cabinet Minister, it would be unreasonable."

Chen Xu softly said, "I suppose Your Majesty did not expect that there are still people in the Zhang family capable of holding the fort, while everyone thought the Hu family would surely win this time."

At this moment, the distant gray sea surface echoed with calm rowing sounds.

Chen Ji rowed the small boat back, climbed aboard along the rope, glanced at Chen Yu, then sat by the boat’s edge reading the newspaper with legs swinging outside.

Chen Yu saw his leisurely demeanor, contemplated for a moment, and said to Chen Xu, "Uncle Xu, please return to the cabin; I want to speak to him alone."

Chen Xu bowed his hand, "Young master, be careful."

Once Chen Xu left, only two were left on the deck, with the sea’s undercurrent rolling silently, accentuating the silence of the world, leaving only the sound of Chen Ji flipping through the newspaper.

Chen Yu leaned over to read the newspaper too, and after a while, suddenly tested, "Sir, you tirelessly go daily to find newspapers, indeed reminiscent of an old friend of mine."

"Oh?" Chen Ji was unperturbed.

Chen Yu smiled, reminiscing, "An old friend woke up early every day to fetch water, rain or shine. He disliked that the family’s well wasn’t old enough and opted for the more distant Gate Tower Alley simply because it had more market atmosphere. Strange, isn’t it? You are doing earth-shattering deeds, yet daily insist on going to Dinghai Port for newspapers. Strange, isn’t it?"

Chen Ji looked at the newspaper, casually saying, "It seems heroes have commonalities; I must meet your old friend someday."

Chen Yu still smiled, "Sir, you share another trait with this old friend."

Chen Ji flipped a page of the newspaper, "What is it?"

Chen Yu leaned against the mast, thoughtfully said, "No greed. For most, silver is silver, is a house, is a car, is a woman, is glory and wealth. You and that old friend see silver differently; you see it as a knife, a sword, to be used for killing, killing many people."

Chen Ji remained silent for a long time, then spoke in his original voice, "Praise a bit more."

Chen Yu grumbled, "I guessed it was you. Why not continue pretending, achieved so many great deeds, yet remain nameless, feeling a bit impatient?"

"Do you think I’m like you?" Chen Ji pulled out Wu Yun from his chest, "Keep stifling, and Heavenly Venerate will be suffocated."

With that, he pet Wu Yun’s head, "Go find Zhaolei to play."

Excitedly, Wu Yun jumped out of Chen Ji’s arms to find Zhaolei in the cabin, then a cat and a horse trotted back to the deck, bouncing like two children.

Chen Yu was speechless watching Wu Yun and Zhaolei, "Just for this?"

Chen Ji looked up at him, "Is it not enough?"

Moments later, Chen Yu smiled brightly, "Enough, treating big matters as small, small matters as big, you haven’t changed."

Chen Ji continued reading the newspaper, "What’s a big matter? What’s a small matter?"

Chen Yu did not argue, instead looked towards Dinghai Port, "The trade winds have arrived, an opportune moment to sail to Japan, yet not a single ship has left the port today."

Chen Ji calmly replied, "Just wait a bit longer."

Chen Yu continued, "I suppose the ship owners know the situation. Though they’re eager to do business, there’s no need to rush into danger. They’re thinking, maybe wait a bit, until the Xu family, Yang family, and Hu family take care of us, then they can do business as usual."

Chen Ji uttered a sound.

Chen Yu smiled and said, "However, they can’t wait too long. The ship owners who run boats and the Jianghu have always staked their lives and fortunes on these trades. Their monthly interest for the raised silver coin is quite high. If they don’t go to sea for ten days to half a month, the creditors fear their business will fail and they won’t repay the silver, so they’ll come to urge repayment early."

Chen Yu turned his head to him: "Want to control Dinghai Port and Songjiang Port, a battle with the Xu and Yang families is inevitable. Want to promote Lord Zhang as the Grand Secretary, a battle with the Hu family is unavoidable. Only by winning can one grab the pie on the table. Currently, the Anti-Japanese Army holds the moral high ground, and they dare not act openly, so they’ll have to find Wang Zhi... This Five Peaks Ship Master is no easy match, with just as many men as the Matsubara Clan, if not more."

Chen Ji flipped through a page of the newspaper.

Chen Yu took a deep breath: "Why aren’t you anxious at all?"

Chen Ji meticulously read the last page of the newspaper, which described the fresh customs of Jinling. Without looking up, he replied, "If you know who else is on the ship, you’d not be worried either."

Chen Yu leaned back, turning to look at the cabin: "Who’s on the ship?"

Chen Ji did not answer.

Chen Yu glanced at his face beneath the mask: "Even when recognized, why wear this thing? Aren’t you suffocating?"

Chen Ji folded the newspaper, tucked the page about Jinling’s customs into his chest: "There’s a use for it, it’s a favor to return."

Chen Yu grew interested and teased, "Returning a favor to Second Miss Zhang?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "Not her."

Chen Yu was puzzled: "If not Second Miss Zhang, then who?"

At that moment, Chen Yu’s peripheral vision caught twelve large ships drifting from the north, not from Dinghai Port, perhaps from somewhere else.

Chen Yu suddenly stood up: "Not merchant ships, merchant ships don’t come from the north. Also not Wang Zhi’s ships, Wang Zhi never hides in his dealings. There are no flags hanging on these ships, and the bow is reinforced with iron sheets, these are ironclad ships specially made for ramming!"

He looked back at Chen Ji: "Whether it’s the Yang family, Xu family, or Hu family coming, someone’s here."

Chen Ji stood to gaze, ordered Chen Yu: "Go call them to wake up, time to work."

...

...

At the Berth Pier, Xu Chuanyin raised a thousand-mile mirror, watching the twelve ironclad ships charging at the Anti-Japanese Army fleet, once collided, the three-masted Fuchuan of the Anti-Japanese Army would sink to the bottom of the sea.

Xu Chuanyin chuckled: "Do they really think we Southerners are soft persimmons? Kill a few pirates and expect to gobble up my Dinghai Port? Sink them all, let them drink seawater!"

After speaking, he turned to Li Wang behind him: "The Yang family acted swiftly this time, go and tell your master that his Yang family won’t be exerting effort for nothing. When I collect commissions from those ship owners at Dinghai Port, the Yang family will have a share."

Li Wang smiled and said, "Our Yang family is also a large clan in Jiangnan. If anyone rashly deducted two hundred thousand taels of silver, they would risk being looked down upon. Our Yang family’s silver is hot to the touch."

Xu Chuanyin nodded, turned back to raise the thousand-mile mirror, watching the Yang family’s ironclad ships drawing even closer to the Anti-Japanese Army.

But just at that moment, several dark iron pipes suddenly appeared on the Anti-Japanese Army ships, set upon wooden bases on the deck.

Xu Chuanyin murmured: "What’s that?"

The next moment, the Anti-Japanese Army inserted bullets into the breech of the Folangji Cannon and lit the fuse.

With a thunderous boom echoing several miles to the Berth Pier, Xu Chuanyin was startled, dropping the thousand-mile mirror and turning his back, bending to cover his ears. As the cannon fire ceased, conscious of his disgrace, Xu Chuanyin quickly straightened up to retrieve the mirror and look again.

He saw one ironclad ship’s aft deck pierced, wooden shrapnel and tattered fabric scattered in the air.

Before the crew on the ironclad ship could react, the Anti-Japanese Army fired consecutive shots, fist-sized lead bullets blasted from the barrel, some hit off-course into the water, while others directly pierced the side of the ironclad ship, creating a massive hole in the bottom deck.

Xu Chuanyin scanned with the thousand-mile mirror, the Anti-Japanese Army had ten Folangji Cannons. Even the sturdiest ironclad ship couldn’t withstand the artillery fire, six ships were pierced on the spot, another six tried to turn the helm to flee, but as soon as they veered, the hull was pierced again.

Not a single ship escaped.

Xu Chuanyin shouted furiously: "Why did no one inform me this lot had cannons? Bring me the informers, call them over one by one for questioning, who’s hiding this from me!"

Chen Zhang waved a sleeve to a servant of the Xu family, who promptly went to seek out the informers.

Xu Chuanyin slammed the thousand-mile mirror on the ground: "Where’s Wang Zhi, why hasn’t he arrived!"

Just as those words faded, Chen Zhang suddenly gazed at the sea and said: "Master, Wang Zhi has arrived."

Xu Chuanyin quickly squinted to look, seeing a dense mass of large ships heading toward the port, the hulls like mountains, the sails like forests.