I'm really not doing business

Chapter 1036 Etiquette and Law, Standards of Good and Evil, Right and Wrong
Zhu Yuanzhang completely banned non-Chinese customs for a simple reason: the Yuan Dynasty had witnessed an extremely tragic incident where horses ate people.

The Yuan court required large-scale horse breeding in grain-producing areas such as Hebei, Henan, Lianghuai, Huguang, and Suzhou-Songjiang. Large areas of farmland were converted into grasslands, and it wasn't until the Yongle era that all the grasslands within the Great Wall were converted back into arable land.

In the 30th year of the Hongwu reign and the 22nd year of the Yongle reign, Han Chinese people carried out a large-scale land reclamation project within the Great Wall.

Could the Yuan court's demands really be implemented? If even the Ming emperor's edicts couldn't be followed, why would the lenient Yuan court's decrees be carried out?

Initially, the order to turn farmland into grassland was impossible to enforce. Preventing people from farming was tantamount to forcing them to die. The imperial court dared to issue such an order, but local officials dared not carry it out. The people rose up in droves, and the first to be killed were the local officials.

The key issue is that local officials don't know how to implement the rules. It's like the imperial court says no one is allowed to farm, so nobody farms anymore.

Until the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a very intelligent emperor appeared, Emperor Shun of Yuan.

Emperor Shun of Yuan, who lost the Yuan Dynasty, suddenly had a brilliant idea: farmland needs irrigation, and irrigation requires ditches. By destroying all the water conservancy projects, wouldn't these fields become grasslands?
The first volume of the Zhizheng Code, in the section on "Examples of Judgments, Prohibitions on Guarding, and Encroachment on Grassland for Cultivation and Payment," explains the matter very clearly.

In the Yuan Dynasty, "Nabo" meant temporary palace or military camp. When Emperor Shun of Yuan ascended the throne and inspected the camp, he found that the grasslands near the temporary palace had been completely encroached upon by the people.

That is: the camps for raising alms in places like Dadu and Shangdu are now being overrun and trampled by the neighboring people, so that grass can't grow on them.

Because the imperial palace's pasture was encroached upon, Emperor Yuan Shundi ordered the extensive destruction of water conservancy facilities in various places. As a result, the Yellow River breached its banks, and a large-scale construction project had to be undertaken to repair the Yellow River embankment. Then came the story of Mo Dao Shi Ren's one-eyed stone man.

Before the Yellow River was instigated to rebel, people were already struggling to survive because of such decrees, leaving them with no choice but to revolt.

The ones who actually carried out this absurd order were not local officials, but princes, princesses, sons-in-law, and various servants, girls, fire-bringers, horse lovers, etc. These people saw that the fields had been turned into pastures where grazing was plentiful, and the grass was lush and the birds were singing. It was a beautiful sight.

The good times didn't last long before the sky fell.

Although the Yuan dynasty lasted only a century, by the time of Emperor Yuan Shundi, the dynasty was nearing its end and its fate was sealed. But Emperor Yuan Shundi was so clever that he stepped on the gas and accelerated the process dramatically!
Zhu Yuanzhang abolished all the Hu customs largely because he wanted to allow people to recuperate, live a stable life, and restore farmland, population, and production.

Guiyouchi was a military and sports activity in the Yuan Dynasty court, a method for selecting the fastest runners. In fact, it was a bit taboo. It could be done even if the emperor was not present, but since the emperor was present, it would be better to have the emperor's approval.

Zhu Yijun carefully read through the rules and regulations for this expedited release.

The regulations divide all participants into four categories: gold, silver, bronze medal runners, and the rest.

The rest, making up 95%, were just there for the fun of it; if they couldn't make it any further, they could simply eat their meal on the roadside.

It is indeed a feast. Along the way, in addition to large bowls of herbal tea, there are also a lot of local specialties from Songjiang Prefecture to eat, such as pan-fried buns, rice cakes, noodles, steamed buns, pear syrup candy, crab shell pastries, and pine nut cakes. If you can't run anymore, you can eat on the spot until you are full.

Of course, if you want to achieve good results, you can't eat that much. Generally, runners at the gold, silver, and bronze levels won't eat too much along the way; they'll just have a taste.

There were only seven gold medal runners, fifty-four silver medal runners, and only two hundred and fifty bronze medal runners. These were all people who finished the 100-mile race last time.

This time, more than 6,000 people participated, compared to the previous three times.

"Huh!" Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorial in his hand and said with great surprise, "Seventeen of the sons of wealthy merchants in our Songjiang Prefecture are runners with a bronze medal or higher? And there is even one gold medal runner?"

One gold, four silver, and twelve bronze—these seventeen people were all sons of wealthy merchants. Their families' businesses must have amounted to at least 500,000 taels of silver to be worthy of the title of wealthy merchants.

“Well, we’re just idling around anyway. We have more money than we could spend in several lifetimes, so we need to find something to do.” Feng Bao explained in detail why there was such a group.

As the bridgehead for the Ming Dynasty's opening of the sea and the testing ground for the Wanli Reforms, Songjiang Prefecture was actually much stricter than one might imagine. For example, the ban on all kinds of prostitution started in Songjiang Prefecture, and even Sun Kehong's pleasure boat business was shut down.

The government was very strict and watchful. Even the brothels that the sons of powerful and wealthy families frequented were shut down by the government and turned into workshops. Forget about murder, arson, causing trouble in the village, or fighting. If these spoiled brats showed off their wealth in the streets, their elders would be summoned to the government office for a reprimand.

In the fourteenth year of the Wanli reign, Shen Shixing issued a very strict order prohibiting such displays of wealth, citing the past rivalry between Wang Kai and Shi Chong, two powerful figures from the Western Jin Dynasty. This order was strictly enforced.

Washing pots with sugar water, burning candles as firewood, paving roads with colorful silk, smashing coral, driving luxury cars and horses, competing in extravagance and wealth—these kinds of things are shameful for wealthy merchants and powerful figures, but even shameful for officials in Songjiang Prefecture.

If it were written into history books, it would probably be talked about for thousands of years.

Your Majesty is so frugal, yet you still want to compete in wealth. Aren't you telling the court that I'm a fat pig ready to be slaughtered?!

Even powerful and wealthy families are still human beings. People need to find some enjoyment and something to do in life, which is why such a group of people exists.

They had good food, plenty of time, inexhaustible energy, and a desire for entertainment. However, the imperial court forbade them from flaunting their wealth. For all these reasons, they turned their attention to the events organized by the Songjiang Prefecture government, where they could openly enjoy the adulation of thousands.

"Fame and fortune, that's really all there is to life." Feng Bao smiled and took out a memo, turned to a page, and handed it to His Majesty. It contained a recipe, the recipe of Xing Yanqiu, the young master of Mingyi Shoes.

Xing Yanqiu is 24 years old this year and is a gold medal runner. He is doing this partly to sell his own shoes and partly to pursue personal honor. Last year, he missed the mark and came in second place.

In order to win first place, more than 20 people were assigned to train with him. His food, drinks, shoes, medicine and so on were all taken care of by dedicated personnel.

There's a lot more to it than just a pair of shoes.

"I'm afraid I can't outrun Xing Yanqiu. Even the 100,000 troops of the Beijing Garrison can't outrun him." Zhu Yijun studied the recipe, which was all lean meat with no fat.

Zhu Yijun's physique was similar to that of most soldiers; he was muscular and strong, but his muscle definition was not obvious.

Accumulating a lot of fat, with muscles completely covered by fat, means accumulating calories to prepare for battle. There aren't many supplies available on the battlefield, so when it comes to fighting, especially tough battles, you rely entirely on this "beer belly" to keep going.

This is also the root cause of why Qi Jiguang had the symptoms of polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, and polyphagia, as well as diabetes.

On the 28th day of the sixth month of the 21st year of the Wanli reign, after reviewing the troops, the Ming emperor rode in his imperial carriage across the Huangpu River Bridge and arrived at Shanghai University. The emperor's entourage stretched for more than three miles. The reason for such a grand ceremony was that today was the day the Wensu Pavilion of Shanghai University was completed.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!" Songjiang Governor Li Le, Songjiang Prefect Hu Junde, officials of Songjiang Prefecture, Zhang Tingzan, Chancellor of Shanghai University, Chen Ben'an, Chancellor of Shanghai Maritime University, and others had been waiting for a long time at Wensu Pavilion. When His Majesty alighted from his carriage, the officials bowed and greeted him.

Kneeling is not required for major ceremonies; this is an ancestral rule.

"No need for formalities." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling his ministers to rise, before stepping down from his imperial carriage.

Wensu Pavilion covers an area of ​​40 acres and is divided into four gardens: east, west, south, and north. The east garden is a rock garden with nine lions and one elephant, and the scenery is quite elegant.

The South Courtyard was a stage, but it wasn't for performing plays. It was mainly for announcing names. The names of those who passed the Songjiang Prefecture Examination, the Provincial Examination, and the selection process for the two universities were announced here. Craftsmen and officials who passed the county-level examination, became provincial-level scholars, or entered the universities all had their names announced here.

The west courtyard is the Confucian Temple, a place to worship Confucius. With its towering walls and soaring eaves, it looks quite grand.

The North Courtyard is where the main building of Wensu Pavilion is located. It is five stories high with flying eaves and brackets, carved beams and painted rafters. At first glance, there are two arched eaves between the two floors, and arched firewalls on the east and west sides. These firewalls were created by Wang Chonggu. The principle is similar to that of a watertight compartment. Once a fire occurs, it will lock to prevent the fire from spreading to other rooms.

The Imperial Museum of Natural History in Beijing also has a similar arched firewall.

"Master, you valued the Zhou rites above all else throughout your life. According to the Zhou rites, the Son of Heaven had seven ancestral temples, the feudal lords had five, the high officials had three, the lower officials had one, and the commoners had no temples. After you retired from the State of Lu, you traveled to various states. In terms of status, you were always a commoner. Yet later generations built temples for you, and they are everywhere. I imagine you would have objected if you knew this." Zhu Yijun said to Li Le, standing in front of the door.

"Your Majesty, I am terrified!" Li Le was startled and hurriedly apologized. Ever since His Majesty overturned the Confucius Mansion, the court has begun to promote the free exchange of ideas among a hundred schools of thought, no longer limiting itself to Confucianism. It is very taboo for the West Courtyard Ancestral Hall to only worship Confucius.

Prefect Hu Junde of Songjiang hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to explain. The Confucian Temple is dedicated to the various schools of thought, not just Confucius. Please come and take a look."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun looked at the new prefect Hu Junde with a strange expression. He had learned before he came that there was only a statue of Confucius in the Wenci Temple in the west courtyard, at least it was like that yesterday.

"Please." Hu Junde dared not say more, and led His Majesty into the South Courtyard. He did not linger at the stage, and turned left into the West Courtyard.

After reading the ancestral hall, Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly and said, "Hmm, not bad, not bad, it truly is the Hundred Schools of Thought, the most sage and teacher."

"Did you change it last night?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

Hu Junde wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was a bit overweight, and the weather was a bit hot. Coupled with the suddenness of the incident, he was a little nervous. He quickly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please understand. Governor Li came to see the place yesterday. He took a brief look and found that there was some trouble at the Salary and Salary Office. Governor Li left in a hurry."

"Before leaving, the governor gave me detailed instructions. This matter is of great importance, so I must carefully review it again and see if there is anything that is not well thought out."

"As you can see, I noticed that the Confucian Temple was missing a few portraits of the Sage Confucius. My colleagues and I from Songjiang Prefecture worked through the night to renovate the temple, so it doesn't affect the overall appearance."

Li Le overlooked the Confucian Temple and made a mistake, but Hu Junde's words cleverly smoothed things over.

Li Le did indeed overlook something, that's a fact, but he did it for the people. The salary cuts represented the labor-capital conflict that His Majesty valued most and the poor and laborers he cared about most.

The Salary Reduction Office is a new policy recently implemented by Songjiang Prefecture, all for the livelihood of poor laborers. It was only in the midst of his busy schedule that the governor made a slight oversight!
When it came to the renovation, Hu Junde didn't take credit for it himself. Instead, he attributed the credit to all his colleagues in Songjiang Prefecture. He said that the fact that there were no mistakes was entirely due to the joint efforts of his colleagues, who worked through the night to make the changes and ensured that the project was completed on time.

That's bureaucracy for you. Being adept at navigating social situations is an official's instinct. With just a few words, they can please everyone.

"Alright, let's go," Zhu Yijun said gently. "Let's go take a look at Wensu Pavilion."

Li Lechang breathed a sigh of relief. Hu Junde had obviously noticed what he hadn't, and had even changed it overnight.

The inspection is such a big event, with countless eyes watching. If anything taboo is found, it's not a matter of ignoring it, but rather a deliberate act. Any excuse is just sophistry.

We are all people of the Ming Dynasty, no need to pretend to be foreign guests.

The appearance of something taboo, what Zhu Yiliu called a "changgui" (伥鬼), is something that deliberately does disgusting things to annoy the emperor. It's not a big deal, and if you take it seriously, it seems like you're making a mountain out of a molehill. If you don't take it seriously, it will just keep annoying you.

It's not that Li Le lacked respect; the Seven Decrees on Education and Culture, the Ten Articles on People's Livelihood, and the newly completed Salary Reduction Office had indeed kept Li Le extremely busy.

Moreover, he certainly didn't see anything wrong with it, because when he was studying, there hadn't been the Wanli Reforms yet. Back then, there really was only one Confucius, and all the Confucian temples in the Ming Dynasty only enshrined Confucius. Li Le would only think that this was the proper way.

When His Majesty mentioned it, Li Lexin was on the verge of tears. The completion of the Wensu Pavilion had turned into a disaster. Fortunately, His Majesty did not blame him. Upon entering the Wensu Pavilion, Zhu Yijun noticed two portraits, one of Yi Yin and the other of Fu Yue, both of whom were ministers of the Shang Dynasty.

Tang of Shang conquered Xia and saved the people. He was one of the ancient sages. Even Confucianists would not deny Tang of Shang. Yi Yin was Tang of Shang's most important strategist. After Tang of Shang died, Yi Yin deposed Tai Jia, made Tai Jia repent, and returned the throne to Tai Jia. He assisted in governing the country and made Shang prosperous.

Fu Yue was the most important strategist for Wu Ding's restoration. When Wu Ding's uncle and father were in power, the Shang Dynasty was already very weak and even on the verge of extinction. It was only with Fu Yue's assistance that the Shang Dynasty was restored.

"Why these two?" Zhu Yijun asked, somewhat puzzled, as he stood before the two portraits.

“Your Majesty, Yi Yin was a slave of the ruler of Youxin, and Fu Yue was a slave who built a wall at Fu Yan. At that time, Fu Yue did not have a surname. He was given a surname by King Wu Ding, and that is how the Fu family came to be.” Li Le said solemnly, “Both of you were born slaves, but you both became important ministers of the country.”

"Placing it in Wensu Pavilion is intended to make this place the Youxin Plain and Fuyan Land of the Ming Dynasty."

Yi Yin and Fu Yue were both slaves, but they were not illiterate or ignorant. Legend has it that when they were farming in the fields of Youxin and building a city in Fuyan, they studied at the academy and school and learned the principles of life.

Xue, Xiang, and Xu were schools in the Shang Dynasty. Xue was divided into Youxue and Guzong, similar to the later Guozijian (Imperial Academy). Xiang was a school for ideological education, which later became the Confucian Academy, while Xu was a school for military education, also known as Wuxue (Martial Arts Academy).

Judging from the oracle bone inscriptions, many of them are related to education. The education system had already matured by the Shang Dynasty, and even slaves could receive education.

What distressed the scholar-officials the most was that the content of the teachings in the Shang Dynasty's schools, academies, and prefectures included military affairs, rites, music, calligraphy, and mathematics. This was almost exactly the same as the Six Arts of the Gentleman mentioned in the Rites of Zhou, except that military affairs were broken down into archery and charioteering, which formed the Six Arts of the Gentleman.

This is further evidence of the shared origins of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

This further proves that the Zhou Li (Rites of Zhou) was the result of the Duke of Zhou's personal efforts, and not the so-called rites and laws of the three dynasties above Yao, Shun, and Yu. For Confucian scholars who often followed the laws of the three dynasties above Yao, Shun, and Yu, this is evidence of the erosion of its sacredness.

"Education should be provided to all without discrimination." Zhu Yijun looked up and saw the plaque of Wensu Pavilion.

The portraits of Yi Yin and Fu Yue were hung on either side of the entrance, precisely to achieve this goal: to educate all without discrimination.

The Wensu Pavilion houses over 300,000 volumes, including more than 80,000 rare and valuable books. All the books in the collection that are not rare and valuable books are open to the public.

Anyone from the Ming Dynasty could come here to study, and rare and valuable books could be purchased for copying, but one had to wait for the copying process to begin.

You can borrow books, but you must provide collateral to take them away. Reading books in Wensu Pavilion is completely free.

Intentionally damaging books will be punished, ranging from hard labor to exile. Arson will result in beheading and public shaming, and the offender's family members will also be exiled.

Wensu Pavilion is a library that combines public accessibility and openness.

This was not an innovation of Songjiang Prefecture, nor was it something new during the Wanli Reforms of the Ming Dynasty; rather, it was a system established during the Song Dynasty.

During the Song Dynasty, the imperial court established three institutions: Zhaowen Hall, Jixian Hall, and Shiguan Hall, which were open to court officials and all Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) for research.

Locally, such as the Jushulou and Boyatang in Zizhou, the Choushuge in Jiankang, the Chonglou in Qingyuan, and the Cangshulou in Yangzhou, all allowed local scholars to enter and borrow books.

The task these scholars had to undertake while studying was to go into the library on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month each year, the day of the "Book-Airing Gathering," to move the books outside to air them out, remove moisture, prevent mold, and repel insects and moths.

Some libraries have large collections of books, and it can take two or three months to air them all out.

During the drying period, the host would often provide a meal, thus forming a good relationship with these scholars. In some wealthy places, such as Jiankang Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture, accommodation would also be provided.

For scholars from impoverished families who could not afford to attend school or pay tuition, but who possessed great talent, libraries and book-exposing societies undoubtedly provided them with a public channel to acquire knowledge.

The newly built Wensu Pavilion in Songjiang Prefecture is of a similar nature, combining public and openness, providing a place for those who aspire to this pursuit, are talented, and come from impoverished families to study, learn to read and understand principles.

Of course, Wensu Pavilion will also be the largest bookstore in the entire Ming Dynasty, where you can buy any kind of book.

Even complete copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia and various complete copies of the Veritable Records from the Imperial Archives can be pre-ordered here. After paying a deposit, you can pick up the books in three to six months.

“If every prefecture, state, and county in our Great Ming Dynasty had such a bookstore, how could the Great Ming not prosper?” Zhu Yijun stayed at Wensu Pavilion for a long time, flipping through several books. After purchasing a set of the latest edition of the Yongle Encyclopedia (Concise Edition), he said with great emotion.

Zhu Yijun promoted military affairs, but he also promoted education. The annual investment in the Dinghai education system exceeded the military expenditure.

"That day will come," Li Le said with anticipation. Living in the era of the Wanli Reforms, Li Le sincerely believed that the Ming Dynasty would one day achieve that goal.

Zhu Yijun smiled, his face beaming in the sunlight.

It might happen, or it might not. Success or failure isn't always that important. What matters is taking action and getting started.

In Songjiang Prefecture alone, there were more than 400 book shops printing various books. This number is decreasing because the competition is indeed very fierce. Book shops that do not print well, produce poor-quality books, have many typos, or have incomplete books will lose out in the competition.

Gao Qiyu was a very competent Minister of Rites; he mediated the dispute involving the Santa Catarina.

After the descriptions and confrontations between the two parties, although there is no more concrete evidence, the facts are basically clear.

The Governor-General of Goa demanded more taxes, and six Dutch merchant ships fled. The Governor-General of Goa pursued and captured four of them. The Dutch began to retaliate, hijacking the Santa Catarina, killing the crew, and selling all the goods in the Netherlands.

"The Dutch must make reparations. The Portuguese did not kill any prisoners from beginning to end. If the Dutch did not kill any prisoners, then the Portuguese are at fault. However, since the Dutch killed all the crew members, they must pay the price."

Gao Qiyu laid out a detailed account book in front of the Portuguese envoy Paulino and the Dutch envoy Hotman.

The four ships seized by the Governor-General of Goa and the compensation received from the crew were worth approximately 500,000 silver dollars, while the cargo of the Santa Catarina, which was hijacked by the Dutch, was also worth approximately 500,000 silver dollars. If the matter had ended there, the losses would have been almost equal.

However, the Dutch went too far in their retaliation.

“Each sailor shall be compensated 500 taels of silver, for a total compensation of 120,000 taels of silver. Similarly, the murderer shall pay with his life. Captain Van Nac, who ordered the killing of these crew members, shall be handed over to Portugal for trial.” Gao Qiyu announced the Ming Dynasty’s preliminary ruling.

Gao Qiyu did not make all the executioners pay with their lives, but instead made the captain pay with his. The reason was simple: on the ship, the captain held absolute authority, and the crew could only obey the captain's orders.

Approximately 240 crew members were killed after surrendering; the Netherlands killed prisoners, not enemy soldiers, during the naval battle.

Killing prisoners of war is wrong.

"This is not fair." Houtman's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly. He realized that he was wrong, terribly wrong. The people of Ming were not fair, and had actually made a ruling that was so biased towards Portugal!
Gao Qiyu waved his hand, signaling Haotman to sit down, calm down, and not let anger cloud his judgment.

"This is the first mediation. If you do not accept it, you can supplement the evidence within one year and file a new lawsuit at the Shuri Prefecture. Of course, if you feel that the Ming Dynasty is deliberately biased in its judgment against Portugal and do not supplement the evidence, the final judgment may be very unfavorable to you." Gao Qiyu spoke very calmly.

Since the Ming Dynasty is unfair, why doesn't Haotman just ignore the Ming Dynasty's judgment and disregard the outcome?

It really doesn’t work.

If we do that, we're not just offending Portugal, but offending the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has been open to the sea for twenty years. Given the Ming Dynasty's current influence on global maritime trade, if we offend the Ming Dynasty, we can forget about ever making a living in maritime trade again.

Houghtman sat down with a complicated expression. He took several deep breaths to compose himself and carefully reviewed the results of the first mediation.

After calming down, Hottman fully understood that the Ming Dynasty had not shown any bias towards Portugal because it was a tributary state; in fact, the judgment was very fair.

This is why Paulino punched Hotman twice as soon as they met.

Even in the West, demanding ransom after surrender was the most common and acceptable practice. Killing prisoners of war was considered unlucky in the Ming Dynasty, and it was also wrong in the West. This was not a matter of dignity or decency.

Going to sea is a life-or-death struggle. Ships and sailors even harm each other. Is it because the wind and waves aren't big enough, or the plague isn't terrible enough?
Seeing that Houghton's expression had calmed down, Gao Qiyu continued, "In fact, before the English Parliament passed the licenses of privateering, the relationship between ships was much more amicable, and even the cargo on board could be redeemed at half price."

"When I went to the West, I heard about the custom of redeeming ships."

It was very common for looted goods to be redeemed at a discounted price because they were difficult to sell.

People yearn for the ocean, but they really just like the sea near the shore. Once they're actually on a ship, the raging waves will shatter all their fantasies about the ocean.

When Gao Qiyu was traveling by boat to the west, he encountered a storm that lasted for seven days. After the storm ended, the boat not only did not move forward, but instead went backward for more than ten days. If it weren't for the experienced pilot on board, he probably would have lost his way.

When ships meet on the vast sea, it's not out of caution, but out of joy at not having encountered people for so long. In the midst of a lonely voyage, meeting one's own kind is such a fortunate thing.

Gao Qiyu had personally experienced that sense of luck and the desire to strike up a conversation. He even wanted to say a few words to the foreigners, even if he couldn't understand them, he was willing to communicate through gestures and guesswork.

Everything changed after those damned British got involved in maritime trade!

Letters of marque completely blurred the lines between merchant ships and pirates, shattering all tacit understandings and past rules, and most importantly, destroying all the already fragile trust.

"Damn Englishmen!" Houghtman's expression changed; he finally realized something was wrong.

He was an old captain, even more experienced than King Antonio. Before the harsh ocean environment became so, there was a saying among sailors: "He who kills will surely be killed."

Most Westerners are religious and can understand the meaning of this statement. The logic is that those who commit sins will be judged.

However, after the issuance of letters of marque, the saying among sailors became: "If you don't kill others, others will kill you."

So much so that now, people on a boat are wary of each other, fearing they might be killed without their knowledge and silently thrown into the sea.

(End of this chapter)