Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

April 8th, early morning.

Fang Guozhen was awakened from his sleep. Of all the brothers, he was the most alert. As soon as he heard voices and footsteps outside, he threw off the covers and sat up.

"What is it?"

"Someone from Linhai has returned; it's urgent." Fang Guozhang's voice was low, unlike his usual gruff tone.

Fang Guozhen put on his coat, got up, and strode through the passageway.

This is a courtyard house located on Yangyu Island. The floor is paved with blue bricks, and a lantern hangs under the eaves, swaying in the night wind, its light and shadow flickering on the ground.

The main room was already brightly lit.

The fourth brother, Fang Guoying, and the fifth brother, Fang Guomin, were already there, and they were both somewhat apprehensive. After the death of their eldest brother, Fang Guoxin, the Fang family was led by Guozhen. The fact that the four brothers were gathered together so completely tonight must mean something big was about to happen.

"Speak," Fang Guozhen said, sitting down in the main seat.

The man who came was a dark-skinned fellow named Zhu Wen. He was an old brother of Fang Guozhen. They had farmed together in their early years, then sold salt, and had even fought with Cai Luantou together.

His face was covered in dust, his lips were chapped, and his voice was hoarse when he spoke: "Brother, something has happened. News has come from the General Manager's Mansion that Jiao Ding has accepted Cai Luantou's gold and silver jewelry and intends to harm you."

The main room fell silent for a moment.

Fang Guozhen remained silent. His face was hidden in the shadows of the candlelight, making his expression unreadable.

"Anything else?" Fang Guozhang glanced at his third brother, then turned back to ask.

"Li Daweng from Huangyan acted as the middleman. Some people say that he reported my elder brother for being an inside man for Cai Luantou, which enraged the chief steward," Zhu Wen said. "I privately asked several people, and they said that the report was filed a while ago, but the news only came out today."

Fang Guozhang stopped asking questions and turned to look at his younger brother.

Fang Guozhen stood up and paced around the room.

"Jiao Ding..." he sneered, "In this campaign to suppress Cai Luantou, I contributed a thousand ingots of paper money, a thousand shi of grain, and even provided fifty oxcarts, solving countless problems for him. It's one thing for him not to be grateful, but now he dares to throw dirty water on me."

His words seemed to convey considerable annoyance, and even a sense of humiliation that someone so petty dared to bully him.

"Third brother," Fang Guozhang said in a low voice, "Jiao Ding has only been here for about half a year, but he is greedy and has solicited countless bribes. He has taken money from Cai Luantou, and he might really be a threat to you."

"Does he have the guts?"

"Normally he wouldn't dare, but with such a large army gathered now, it's hard to say," Fang Guozhang said. "Moreover, he feels that with Li Daweng and Cai Luantou's assistance, dealing with us won't be difficult, so he might take the risk."

Fang Guozhen walked to the window and looked outside.

There were seven or eight men standing in the courtyard, all of whom were his old brothers who had followed him for many years. They were dressed neatly, with knives at their waists. No one spoke; they just stood quietly, their eyes all fixed on him.

Fang Guozhen didn't look at them, but instead looked up at the sky. There was no moon, and the clouds were thick and low, giving a gloomy and suffocating feeling.

"Second Brother."

"exist."

"What about the matter of framing Shao Shuyi? Why is there still no result?" Fang Guozhen asked.

"Every two days, I send a small boat to Hangzhou to gather information. The people at the Inquiry Bureau revealed that the newly arrived Left Chancellor, a barbarian, is still fixated on the old case in Jinling, claiming that a thief caused the Empress to collect far less tax, and he insists on finding him," Fang Guozhang said. "I heard there's been some progress recently, but they won't tell us; they want to bribe me."

"Then slip him some money," Fang Guozhen said, glancing at her second brother with displeasure.

"Each page of the document requires ten ingots of paper money, totaling over three hundred ingots. The amount is too large, and Cui Sanlang dared not make the decision on his own. He wrote back to ask me, and I agreed. The news hasn't come back yet; I estimate we'll have to wait another two days," Fang Guozhang said.

Fang Guozhen's brows relaxed slightly.

"How many ships do we have available immediately?" he asked.

"There are more than twenty of them, large and small, on Yangyu Island. Adding those hidden in various places, the total can reach seventy."

Where are they?

"More than five hundred."

Fang Guozhen remained silent for a moment.

Five hundred people and seventy boats are a little insufficient; we need to find a way to gather more.

"Third Brother." Fang Guoying seemed a little anxious. She stood up and came behind Fang Guozhen, whispering, "Jiao Ding took money from Cai Luantou. To avoid being exposed, he'll probably try to pin the blame on us first. Those people in the province, who cares if you're innocent or not? They'll arrest people, confiscate their property, and then they'll divide the money."

Fang Guozhen didn't turn around, but simply replied, "I know."

"Then what are you still hesitating about?"

Fang Guozhen turned around without answering, only looking at Fang Guozhang and saying, "Second Brother, from now on, we need to gather our men. You'll have to go to Wenzhou and find Chen, Huang, and Zhang to ask how many men and boats they can haul. Once we've gathered them, find a secluded place to hide for a while. Don't rush to the prefecture to join us; wait for my orders."

Fang Guozhang nodded silently.

"Zhu Wen," Fang Guozhen continued, "Go to Ninghai and gather men. He Datou has been resting at home for three months; ask him if he can still lift a knife. Gather all your men and go to Haimen first. Hide in the Hu family's orchard and await orders."

After saying that, he called out again, summoning his two old brothers in and instructing them to gather manpower and boats.

After giving these instructions, he looked at his younger brother Guoying and said, "Fourth brother, the family is in danger, you should do your part."

Fang Guoying was a little nervous. After swallowing hard, she said, "Third Brother, please give your orders."

Fang Guozhen walked to the wall, took down a waist knife hanging on a wooden wedge, and personally tied it around her younger brother's waist, saying, "Now take men and take all the servants, women, and children in this courtyard to the dock. After that, go to the old house and invite Father and our old brothers' families to the dock as well. Each family should board the boat first, then pack their belongings. Take the valuables, and discard the worthless ones. Do it now."

Fang Guoying gritted her teeth, turned around and left.

The room fell silent, as if a solemn atmosphere filled the air, giving Fang Guozhang goosebumps.

Footsteps soon echoed in the courtyard, followed by shouts, hurried conversations, the sound of wooden buckets tumbling, women's exclamations, and children's cries—a chaotic scene.

Fang Guozhen arrived at the entrance of the main room and saw that the courtyard was in complete chaos.

Someone carried a bundle of cloth out of the house, someone carried a sack of rice, someone led an ox, and someone carried a chicken that was still struggling.

A woman was holding a child in her arms, and with her other hand she was dragging a heavy wooden box, which made a screeching sound as it dragged on the ground. The child was awakened and started crying loudly.

He neither stopped him nor urged him. Everyone has their difficulties, there's still time, no rush.

An old man jumped out from the corner, his clothes disheveled and shoesless, and asked in surprise, "Sanlang, what happened? Why did you leave all of a sudden?"

Fang Guozhen immediately stepped forward and helped him up, saying, "Uncle Liu, the government may be coming to arrest me. I need to prepare in advance." This man had been selling salt with his grandfather for decades. He never married and in his old age did odd jobs in the household, holding a very high position.

"Why are the authorities arresting you?" the old man asked, puzzled. "Is it because you didn't give enough money?"

Fang Guozhen did not answer.

He knew that he hadn't done some things well enough, which led to his current passive situation.

I had a vague feeling that things were not going well, so I arranged for Shao Shuyi from western Zhejiang to help divert attention. But I never expected that Li Daweng would suddenly jump out and make the situation dangerous.

Seeing that Fang Guozhen didn't answer, the old man asked again, "If you leave like this, will you come back?"

Fang Guozhen nodded and said, "You all go out and lay low for a while. I'll stay here and think of a way to resolve this crisis." The old man seemed to understand.

Sanlang didn't dare to start a rebellion, or rather, he didn't want to. If possible, he would prefer someone else to step forward and confront the authorities first, so that the Fang family's crisis would be resolved on its own.

Indeed, with such a large estate and such a favorable situation, once they flee to the sea, they'll be handing it all over to someone else. Cai Luantou is the best example; after his rebellion, the salt fields he had contracted gradually fell into Sanlang's hands, and he probably regrets it now.

Fang Guozhen returned to the main room and sat down. He ordered some food to be prepared and called in the remaining old brothers to discuss countermeasures. The only issue was how to prevent the government from taking action against him and instead have them deal with Shao Shuyi.

As dawn broke, boats were being pushed into the water one after another at a secluded dock.

The sea breeze was strong, making the sails flap and the ropes on the mast whimper in the wind, like someone was crying.

The crowd surged toward the narrow pier like a tide, pushing and shoving. Some people were pushed and fell into the sea, thrashed about for a moment, and were pulled up by those around them. They were soaking wet, their lips were purple, and they were still pushing forward.

Once everyone was aboard, the first batch of ships set sail for Dongzhenshan Island in the Dachen Ocean. The Fang family had built a stronghold there, storing salt and grain, which would provide temporary shelter. When the sun was high in the sky, the first ship left the pier, followed by the second, the third…

The sun was shining brightly, making the sea surface sparkle.

More than ten ships lined up in a long queue, their sails billowing, like a group of silent whales, slowly swimming into the depths of the sea.

That evening, another ship returned from Hangzhou, bringing Fang Guozhen newly discovered information about the Nanjing case.

On the morning of the ninth day, an inspector, accompanied by several archers and minor officials, arrived at the Fang residence and invited Fang Guozhen to the governor's mansion for questioning.

Everyone urged him to be killed, but Guozhen escaped by scaling the wall through the back door, preserving strategic strength.