Taiheiki

Chapter 32 Jiang Shang
"That's not what I meant!" Cao Cao said with a wry smile. "Fighting is no joke here. Those oarsmen down there probably don't know what you're bringing them to do yet, right? I'm afraid when they see General Zhang Bolu on the other side, they'll become weak and drag you and me down!"

"Don't worry, it won't happen!" Wei Cong laughed. "Ah Man, you've probably never been down to where the rowers are, have you? To prevent being injured by arrows, it's sealed off on all sides, with only an opening for the long oars to extend out. The rowers can't see a thing inside, and can only row based on the commands of the helmsman and drummer. They can't see anything, so how can they be afraid?"

"Is this true?" Cao Cao was surprised. "I didn't like the smell down there, so I never went down to check it out. I don't know anything about this!"

"Ah Man, you'd better go down and take a look! After all, military matters are not to be taken lightly!"

"Hmm!" Cao Cao replied, his face flushing slightly. He knew he was in the wrong in this matter, and he stumbled to the ladder leading down to the cabin below. As soon as he stepped inside, a strong, pungent smell of sweat, urine, and various other strange odors hit him. He quickly suppressed the urge to vomit, held his breath, and covered his nose with his sleeve as he descended the ladder. Everywhere he looked were neatly arranged benches, each occupied by two rowers, rowing to the rhythmic beat of drums. Despite being the dead of winter, many of them wore only short shirts. Their muscular arms, unkempt heads, heavy breathing, and the muffled thrum of gongs and drums, in the dim light, made one feel as if they were in another world.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" Cao Cao heard a hurried voice behind him. He quickly turned sideways. A man dressed as a servant was carrying a large bucket on his back and walking through the narrow passage next to the bench. He stopped from time to time, as if to pour something, and then continued to walk forward. Cao Cao wanted to look forward again, but he couldn't stand the smell below, so he turned around and climbed up again.

Back on deck, Cao Cao let out a long breath, then took a deep breath. Only then did he feel like he was back on earth. He walked over to Wei Cong and said with a wry smile, "It's dark and noisy down there, and the smell is disgusting, just like a mine. I really don't know what's going on outside. Oh, by the way, I just saw a man walking through here carrying a wooden barrel. What was he doing?"

"Oh! That's for adding water!" Wei Cong laughed and said, "Aman, you just saw it down there. It's much hotter inside the cabin than outside, and rowing is strenuous work. If you don't replenish water in time, the rowers will soon become exhausted. That's why we have to send someone to add water for the rowers!" He paused for a moment and said, "Unfortunately, sugar is too expensive here, so we can only add a little salt and wine to the water. It only replenishes salt, not physical strength!"

"Sugar? What is sugar?" Cao Cao asked in confusion.

“Oh, it’s rock honey!”

"Meng De, are you planning to feed them rock honey?" Cao Cao was shocked. "That's really expensive!"

"It's just not made correctly!" Wei Cong laughed and said, "This rock honey is made from sugarcane. If it were made the right way, and there was more produced, it would naturally be cheaper!"

As they were talking, it was already noon. Wei Cong ordered the boats to dock so the rowers could rest and eat. As Cao Cao stepped off the plank, his feet gave way. If someone hadn't held him up, he would have fallen flat on his butt.

"How about you just watch from the shore this afternoon and not get on the boat?" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"No!" Seeing Wei Cong's smiling face, Cao Cao gritted his teeth and said, "I want to stay on the boat this afternoon!"

Seeing the stubborn look of the young Cao Cao in front of him, Wei Cong laughed out loud. The impression of a "sinister" historical figure that he had since their first meeting disappeared. No matter how smart and precocious he was, he was just a child of fifteen or sixteen years old. He was still a long way from the "capable minister in peaceful times and treacherous hero in troubled times" in history.

"My dear, my dear!" an urgent cry came. Wei Cong turned his head and saw Diwu Deng dismounting anxiously. His mount was foaming at the mouth, obviously at its limit. He knelt on one knee before Wei Cong: "Zhang the thief has left his lair!"

"Are you sure?" Wei Cong asked.

"That's absolutely right! I saw with my own eyes over two hundred thieves dressed in brocade robes, boarding five boats, all secured with brocade ropes. They were coming upstream, right this way!"

"So when did they set out?"

"About noon!"

"That's definitely right!" Wei Cong let out a long sigh, thinking to himself, "Zhang Bolu's home is thirty miles away from here by water, and it's upstream. An hour would take at most four or five miles. Chenshi is around seven in the morning, so the fastest we can get here is three or four in the afternoon. And it's only noon now, so we can let the rowers finish lunch and then rest for half an hour, waiting for the hard work!"

He had made up his mind and said in a deep voice, "Pass the order down, have the rowers eat as soon as possible, rest for half an hour after eating, and then board the boat at 4:45 pm!"

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The river breeze blew towards him, bringing with it the familiar fishy smell of water, which made Zhang Bolu feel refreshed. He came to his younger brother Zhang Bozhi who was standing at the bow of the boat. In front of him, he could vaguely see dark green mountains covered with Chinese larch and bluegrass. These sturdy trees had witnessed the earliest Chu people laying the first cornerstone of Yingdu here, and had also heard the desperate cries of the Chu people when Bai Qi broke through Yingdu. Compared with these trees, human life is so short!

"Burge! Do you still remember the first time you went out on the boat with me?"

"I remember!" Zhang Bozhi laughed a little embarrassedly. "I was so clumsy back then that I didn't even notice I had tied my belt the wrong way, and my attendant still found out. It was even more ridiculous during my first battle. I couldn't even draw the bow properly in a hurry, and my hands were completely clueless. If you hadn't helped me from behind, I would have probably died at the hands of that guard!"

"It's the first time after all!" Zhang Bolu's stern face showed a hint of a smile: "The second time is much better. After all, everyone has a first time!"

"That's not right!" Zhang Bozhi looked at his brother respectfully. "I heard that you were only fifteen when you went out on your first trip, but you weren't panicked at all!"

"Me? That's right!" Zhang Bolu laughed. "Maybe I was born to be a thief!" "How can you say that!" Zhang Bozhi hurriedly said, "How can you say that, brother, you are a thief? You are clearly--"

"Okay, Fourth Brother, you don't have to say anymore!" Zhang Bolu interrupted his brother and defended himself. "People call me General Jiangyi because they're afraid of me. If I took it seriously, I'd be a fool. It's important for people to know themselves. It doesn't matter if you're a thief for a while, as long as you don't become a thief for your whole life, it would be fine if you could just stop being a thief for generations!"

"Brother is right!"

"Fourth Brother, I'm telling you all this today because I want to tell you that if you can make even a small contribution in this campaign against the Wuling Barbarians with Feng Cheqi, I will abandon my family business and go to Donglai to study under Zheng Kangcheng. I'll leave the chores of the family to you!"

"Brother, you are not kidding, are you?" Zhang Bozhi was shocked. "You are already over 40, and you still want to go to such a far place to study?"

"That's right!" Zhang Bolu nodded. "After Ma Jichang (Ma Rong, a famous Confucian scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty who combined the ancient and modern texts into one), the world's greatest scholar of Confucian classics is Zheng Kangcheng of Donglai. If the Zhang family wants to make further progress, someone must take this step. The second son passed away long ago, and the third son can only take care of the family. This step is only for me. If there are any bright and studious young people in the family, you must also pay attention to them and cultivate them well!"

Seeing his brother's expression didn't seem like he was being hypocritical, Zhang Bozhi could only nod in agreement. Classical studies, or Confucian classics, are the study of Confucian classics. Due to the Qin Dynasty's prohibition and burning of classics from various schools of thought, and the brutal wars between the late Qin and early Han dynasties, many Confucian classics were lost. Therefore, in the early Han Dynasty, senior Confucian scholars who had lived through the late Warring States period were gathered together and asked to recite the Confucian classics from memory. Others copied them using the then-popular script (official script), hence the name "Modern Text Confucianism." Furthermore, the excavation of previously hidden Confucian classics revealed two locations with the largest collections: Confucius' former residence in Qufu, and Wang Xian's residence in Hejian. These gradually discovered Warring States-era Confucian classics were all written in the seal script used before the Qin Dynasty's unification, hence the name "Old Text Confucianism."

The debate and conflict between these two schools of thought raged for thousands of years, with their most intense period occurring during the Han Dynasty. Generally speaking, the New Text School viewed Confucius as a "Su Wang"—a person possessing the virtues of an emperor without ever occupying the throne—and the Confucian classics as the source of truth. New Text scholars favored applying the classics to practical purposes, drawing deductions from chapters and sentences, incorporating theories of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and criminal law from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to expound upon profound meanings. They advocated the divine right of kings, the principle of great unity, and the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues. They could be considered the ancient Chinese equivalent of the Grand Ayatollahs of Iran, the only difference being that the Grand Ayatollahs held the authority to interpret the Quran, while Han Dynasty New Text scholars held the authority to interpret the Confucian classics. Meanwhile, the Old Text School viewed Confucius as merely the forefather of Confucianism and viewed the Confucian classics as ancient historical data, not as sacred and inviolable. They also disliked the incorporation of theories of Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and criminal law into the Confucian classics to create profound meanings.

Clearly, the New Text School of Confucianism was more to the liking of the Han rulers. Indeed, from the time Emperor Wu of Han established Confucianism as the sole official ideology, the New Text School dominated imperial ideology. It wasn't until the end of the Western Han Dynasty, as social contradictions intensified and the New Text Shangshu's formulas proved incapable of explaining social realities, that the Old Text School of Confucianism gradually gained ground. Furthermore, in order to usurp the Han dynasty, Wang Mang vigorously elevated the status of the Old Text School of Confucianism and implemented policies based on its teachings (abolishing slavery, debt, and redistributing land, among other things).

After the establishment of the Eastern Han Empire, the doctoral positions in the Classical Text School established by Wang Mang were abolished, and the Modern Text School was reinstated, re-establishing the dominance of Modern Text Confucianism. However, the Classical Text School continued to be widely circulated among the people and had considerable influence. This posed a significant threat to the Eastern Han Empire, as rebels could easily use the Classical Text School as an ideological weapon to mobilize forces for rebellion. Ma Rong and Zheng Xuan, the master and apprentice, successfully integrated the Classical Text and Modern Text Schools, significantly resolving the conflict between the two schools. This was a significant achievement!

By then, Ma Rong had already passed away, and Zheng Xuan was the foremost Confucian scholar of the time. Zhang Bolu, in his forties, traveled to Zheng Xuan's hometown to study, not out of a desire to learn and attain enlightenment, but to demonstrate the transformation of the Jiangling Zhang family from a local bandit tyrant to a family of Confucian scholars.

"There's a boat!"

The sailors' cries brought Zhang Bolu and his brother back to their thoughts. It was normal to see ships sailing on the river at this time of year, but the problem was that given the local reputation of "General Jiangyi," few people hadn't already fled upon seeing his ship. Zhang Bolu glanced at the eager faces on the deck and shook his head in annoyance. "I'm getting tired. Keep an eye on this. Don't make things complicated! If more people get killed, it'll get out of control."

"Brother, please go to the cabin and rest. I'll take care of everything here!" Zhang Bosi replied respectfully.

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On the river, five or six long oars were placed on each side of the Yuhuang, and the boat was moving slowly downstream. From a distance, it looked like a slender water snake.

"Aman, there is a small sampan at the stern. It should still be time for you to get off the boat!" Wei Cong glanced at Cao Cao, whose face was pale, and said in a low voice.

"Then you might as well not have boarded the ship in the first place!" Cao Cao retorted unhappily. After a moment, he lowered his voice and asked, "Are you sure there's no problem?"

"Didn't you see it all during the drill?" Wei Cong laughed. "The thieves are riding on these single-board boats. If we just ram them in the waist with the corner, they'll be crushed like dry wood and rotten wood!"

"We'll have to hit them first!" Cao Cao said with a wry smile. "What if the bandits disperse from the start and fire rockets from a distance? After all, they have five boats, and we only have one?"

"Come on, the thieves don't know we're coming for them. They want the treasure on the ship. If we just set it on fire from a distance, wouldn't that mean we'll gain nothing? Besides, you've seen the speed of this ship. If we're chasing each other, who do you think will win?"

"That's right!" Cao Cao nodded. He didn't dare to say anything else. After the two rows of oars were launched into the water, the boat was moving like the wind. Regardless of the outcome in a fight, it would definitely not lose in a race. He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then why don't you give the order to beat the drums now?"

"What's the rush?" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Who doesn't know the name of Jiang Shang Jiang Yi General? If we just rush over like this, won't it make the thieves wary? It's better to pretend that we know nothing and let the thieves approach us on their own. Then we will hit them head-on and catch them off guard!"

"That's right!" Cao Cao's eyes lit up. He looked at the pirate ship chasing them from a distance and was overjoyed: "Great, the pirates are coming!"

Cao Cao wasn't the only one on board who noticed the pirate ship coming their way. The helmsman, Yang Zheng, also saw it. He immediately recognized it as the ship of the infamous "Red Robe General" and hurriedly said to Zhao Yannian beside him, "Captain Zhao, the Red Robe bandits are coming! Shall we get to shore quickly?"

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(End of this chapter)