Chapter 199: with translation of chapter title

Wang Meng's coffin, after sailing at sea for ten days, finally arrived at Yangzhou.

On the dock, the Wang Family's new Head of Family, Wang Che, led all Wang clansmen in Yangzhou, a hundred core members of the Science Academy, and several thousand Wang Family guards, dressed in plain attire and standing silently, awaiting here.

When the massive nanmu coffin was slowly lowered from the treasure ship, Wang Che stepped forward personally and, together with seven of the Wang Family's most valiant youths, personally lifted the coffin onto his own shoulders.

The new Head of Family personally supported the spirit of the Duke of Pioneering.

This action silently proclaimed to everyone Wang Meng's irreplaceable status within the family.

The ten-li long street from the dock to the Wang Family's fort had already been cleared. The shops on both sides, whether or not they were Wang Family properties, spontaneously hung white banners. Countless Yangzhou residents stood in the distance, facing the coffin's direction, and silently bowed in salute.

They might not know who Wang Meng was, but they knew this was a hero of the Wang Family.

The hero of the Wang Family is the hero of Yangzhou.

The scale of Wang Meng's funeral was immensely grand, far beyond anyone's imagination.

The spirit hall was set up in the largest hall of the Wang Family's fort, and for a full seven days, the mourners coming to pay their respects flowed in an endless stream.

Scholars and wealthy clans from all over Jiangnan, rich merchants and big businesses, and even Arab and Persian merchants who had come from afar from Quanzhou and Guangzhou, all sent representatives bearing generous offerings.

What they revered was Wang Meng himself, and even more so the unfathomably deep Wang Family behind him.

On the fourth day of the funeral, an unexpected yet not surprising guest arrived in Yangzhou.

Envoy of the Great Song Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Li Mu.

Li Mu was an old retainer of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin from his princely days, known for his sharp words and meticulous thinking, and one of the emperor's most trusted civil officials. Sending him shows how much Zhao Kuangyin values the Wang Family.

Wang Che personally welcomed Li Mu at the gate of the fort.

At the spirit hall, Li Mu, representing the Great Song Court, read aloud the memorial text personally written by the emperor.

The memorial text's language lavished praise, acclaiming Wang Meng for "pioneering Dongying, raising our nation's prestige, his merit to the state," and posthumously ennobling him as "Marquis of Pacifying the Sea."

However, at the end of the memorial text, Li Mu's tone rose slightly, and his voice became especially clear.

"... Yet, as a subject who holds regional command, one should constantly reflect on the emperor's vast grace and contemplate the boundless imperial authority. Now that you have passed, my heart aches deeply. May your spirit in heaven bless my Great Song, that its reign may endure forever..."

These words caused every guest present to change color.

This is a warning.

A naked warning!

The emperor was reminding the Wang Family that no matter how great their achievements or power overseas, they must not forget that they are ultimately subjects of the Great Song!

Everyone's gaze unconsciously turned to Wang Che, who stood before the coffin as the head of the family.

How will this newly appointed Head of the Wang Family, who is barely of adult age, respond?

Wang Che's countenance was calm as water.

After listening to the memorial text, he faced the direction of the northern imperial city and led all Wang clansmen in performing the great rite of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

"Your subject, Wang Che, on behalf of the entire Wang Family and on behalf of the spirit of the Marquis of Pacifying the Sea in heaven, thank Your Majesty for your heavenly grace!"

His voice was clear and steady, revealing no emotion.

"Your Majesty is sage and wise; we, your servants, keep your favor in our hearts. The Wang Family, in life, are the people of Great Song; in death, we are its ghosts. All the lands the Wang Family possesses belong to Great Song; all its wealth belongs to Great Song. Yet, at Your Majesty's single word, the Wang Family dares not disobey."

Li Mu looked at the young man before him and felt a sudden chill in his heart.

Before coming, he had expected to see a youth either grief-stricken over the death of an elder or, having taken great power, full of vigor.

But what he saw was that this young man was not as vigorous as he had imagined.

He probed, saying: "Head of the Wang Family, you are young and accomplished; His Majesty also places great hopes in you. However, I have heard that the Marquis of Pacifying the Sea in Dongying has won great popular affection. Upon his passing, the myriad people of Dongying wept bitterly, lining the streets to kneel and see him off—a scene... profoundly moving."

His tone carried admiration, but his eyes were like a blade, seeking to pierce Wang Che's inner heart.

This was asking: Has your Wang Family overseas already become a state unto itself?

Wang Che smiled faintly, that smile pure as that of a scholar unacquainted with worldly affairs.

"Sir Li, you overpraise. It is not that our Wang Family has bestowed kindness upon the Dongying people; it is solely due to Your Majesty's vast heavenly grace, whose virtue spreads far and wide, so that even the barbarians overseas know to bathe in imperial favor and turn toward the kingly transformation."

With a light sentence, he attributed all of the Wang Family's achievements in Dongying entirely to Zhao Kuangyin.

"Those Dongying commoners are not weeping for my great-uncle Wang Meng; they weep because from now on they will no longer feel the direct protection of the Celestial Dynasty, of the Great Song emperor. They are crying for themselves."

Li Mu's countenance changed.

What an eloquent and sharp-tongued youth!

He actually turned a potential political crisis into a light-hearted interpretation of admiration and longing for the Great Song's imperial authority.

These words left him no opening to continue pressing his objections.

He could only force a laugh and say: "Head of the Wang Family... truly a youthful talent, with unique insight; I, old man, am impressed."

Wang Hao beside him remained silent throughout, only refilling Li Mu's tea cup when it was empty. But seeing Wang Che's performance, his eyes were full of satisfaction.

On the final day of the funeral, Wang Meng's coffin was interred in the Wang Family's ancestral burial mountain.

Wang Heng, dressed in mourning attire, knelt before the grave and personally filled the last scoop of earth onto his uncle's tombstone.

His movements were slow and solemn, his face filled with grief.

Moreover, he did not forget, while tears streamed down his face, to recount to the mourning Li Mu his uncle's lifelong devotion to loyalty and patriotism, causing Li Mu to sigh repeatedly and praise him as a "filial son of pure devotion."

No one saw that, when he turned around, a flash of extreme contempt flickered in his eyes.

He felt that this funeral, lasting over a month and a half, was the longest and most boring performance he had ever acted in his life.

Although his uncle's death naturally grieved him, he had to put on a show of his uncle's loyalty and patriotism at the funeral.

In his eyes, these Zhongyuan scholar-officials and these comfortable Jiangnan wealthy clans were nothing but a bunch of pitiful parasites about to be crushed by the tide of the times.

He only wanted to return to Dongying as soon as possible.

Return to that stage where he could freely wield iron and blood.

At night, the Wang Family's central council chamber.

Wang Che, Wang Hao, Wang Heng, and several core elders gathered together.

"Brother Heng," Wang Che looked at the dust-and-travel-worn Wang Heng, "Is Dongying still peaceful over there?"

Wang Heng's face, once wearing the mask of loyalty to the ruler and devotion to the state, had long since disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression.

"Reporting to the Head of Family. Uncle's foundation is solid; everything is stable." His reply was concise and clear: "But those Japanese are all cowardly scum who fear force but not virtue. Uncle's methods are too soft."

"Oh?" Wang Che raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?"

"If you want a horse to run fast, you can't just give it fodder; you also need to use the whip." Wang Heng's voice was calm: "Dongying's resources must be extracted and shipped back to the family in the shortest time possible, maximizing output. For this, sacrificing some Japanese lives is a necessary cost."

Upon hearing this, the several elders present all furrowed their brows slightly.

Wang Hao, however, spoke up, his voice calm: "What is your plan?"

Wang Heng took out a detailed plan from his bosom.

"I plan to conscript all males aged fourteen to forty in Dongying into the 'Public Service Corps', placing them under military management, abolishing the then-existing rank system for the Japanese people, with daily labor of eight hours, and to have seventy percent of the grain produced handed over to the family."

"At the same time, we will establish 'Purification Facilities' in various places to subject those who refuse discipline, or are weak and sickly and unable to create value, among the Japanese, to 'Unified Processing'."

He uttered the two words "Unified Processing" lightly.

But everyone understood the meaning behind those words.