Chapter 1027

Zhu Yuanzhang completely banned Hu rites for a simple reason: because during the Yuan dynasty, an extremely tragic incident of horses eating people occurred.

The Yuan court demanded that in the grain-producing regions of Hebei, Henan, Lianghuai, Huguang, and Songjiang, large numbers of horses be raised, turning vast tracts of farmland into pastures, and it was not until the Yongle era that the pastures within the passes were fully restored to farmland.

In the thirtieth year of Hongwu and the twenty-second year of Yongle, Han civilians carried out a large-scale reclamation of wasteland within the passes.

Could the Yuan court's order actually be carried out? If even the Ming emperor's imperial edicts could not be enforced, what basis did the lax Yuan court decrees have to be implemented?

Initially, the order to turn farmland into pasture could not be executed at all—forbidding the people from farming was tantamount to forcing them to death; the court dared issue such an order, but local officials dared not enforce it, and the people rose up in revolt, first killing those very officials.

The key issue was that local officials also did not know how to carry it out—was it really that if the court said no one could farm, then no one would farm?

It was not until the end of the Yuan dynasty that a remarkably clever emperor appeared—Emperor Shun of Yuan.

It was this very Emperor Shun of Yuan who lost the Yuan realm, who slapped his forehead and came up with a brilliant idea: since farmland needs irrigation, and irrigation requires canals, if all water conservancy projects were destroyed, would not these fields naturally become pastures?

Article One of the《Zhengtige》—《Rules on Prohibitions and Encroached Farmland and Grassland》—explains the matter very clearly.

"Nabo" in the Yuan dynasty referred to imperial mobile palaces and camps; when Emperor Shun ascended the throne and toured the camps, he discovered that the grasslands near the mobile palaces had all been seized by the people.

That is: the nabo encampments located between Dadu and Shangdu and elsewhere were now being recklessly plowed and trampled by the neighboring populace, and because of this, grass could not grow—such was the situation.

It was precisely because the nabo grasslands had been seized that Emperor Shun ordered large-scale destruction of water conservancy facilities everywhere, resulting in breaches of the Yellow River, forcing massive repairs to its dikes, and then came the blind stone figure with one eye.

Even before the Yellow River was provoked to flow backward, people could no longer survive under such decrees and could only rebel.

The ones actually carrying out this absurd order were not local bureaucrats, but princes, princesses, consorts, and various groups including the Qiboxietai, maidens, fire-worshippers, and horse lovers, who watched as farmland turned into pasture, allowing vast herds to graze, with lush grass growing abundantly—what a splendid sight.

The beauty lasted only a few days before heaven collapsed.

Although the barbarian states' mandates rarely lasted a hundred years, by the time of Emperor Shun of Yuan, the mandate was nearing its end and fortune had nearly run out, yet Emperor Shun, this great sage, floored the accelerator and slammed it into the fuel tank, delivering a furious burst of speed!

Zhu Yuanzhang's abolition of Hu rites was largely motivated by the need to rest and recuperate, to let people live a period of peace, to restore farmland, restore population, and restore production and livelihood.

The red-checkered Yuan court military sports activity for selecting swift runners actually borders on taboo—when the emperor is absent, it proceeds anyway, but since the emperor is present, it is still better to have his approval.

Zhu Yijun carefully examined the regulations for this swift runner event.

The regulations divided all participants into four grades: gold, silver, bronze plaque runners, and the remainder.

The remainder made up over ninety-five percent—just a crowd of onlookers; if they could not keep running, they could simply sit by the roadside and feast.

Indeed, they feasted: besides providing large bowls of cooling tea along the route, there were also abundant local specialties from Songjiang Prefecture available for consumption—pan-fried buns, rice cakes, noodles, xiaolongbao, pear syrup sugar, crab-shell yellow pastries, sesame cakes, and so on; if one could not run, they could simply eat on the spot until full.

Of course, if one wished to achieve a good result, one could not eat so much; generally, gold, silver, and bronze plaque runners would not eat much along the way, at most tasting the flavors.

There were seven gold plaque runners in total, fifty-four silver plaque runners, and bronze plaque runners numbered no more than two hundred fifty—all of them were those who had completed the hundred-li race in the previous event.

This time's participants exceeded those of the first three events, surpassing six thousand people.

"Eh!" Zhu Yijun flipped through the memorial in his hand, quite surprised, and said: "Our Songjiang Prefecture's sons of wealthy merchants and great magnates—there are actually seventeen who are bronze plaque runners or above? And even one gold plaque runner?"

One gold, four silver, twelve bronze—these seventeen people are all sons of wealthy merchants and great magnates; if their family business does not amount to five hundred thousand taels of silver, they do not deserve the title of wealthy merchant and great magnate.

"Being idle is still being idle—silver that cannot be spent in several lifetimes still needs something to do." Feng Bao explained in detail why such a group had come into being.

Because Songjiang Prefecture is the foothold of the Ming maritime opening and the experimental field of the Wanli Reforms, it actually exercises far stricter control than imagined—for example, banning various kinds of prostitutes, which began in Songjiang Prefecture, and even Sun Kehong's pleasure-boat business was shut down.

This strict control, this tight surveillance, aims to make the sons of powerful clans and wealthy merchant magnates—even their most beloved study lodges—be demolished by the magistrates and turned into workshops; let alone murder, arson, harming the countryside, brawling and fighting—these pampered scions who strut their wealth on the street will have their elders summoned to the magistrate's office for reprimand.

In the fourteenth year of Wanli, Shen Shixing, citing the old tale of the Wei-Jin aristocrats Wang Kai and Shi Chong competing in wealth, issued a very strict ban on ostentatious display, which was strictly enforced.

Boiling pots with sugar water, burning candles as firewood, laying roads with forged steel, smashing coral, fragrant carriages and precious horses, comparing displays, comparing extravagance—these acts, though wealthy merchants and powerful clans do not consider them shameful, are still considered disgraceful by Songjiang Prefecture officials.

To record such things in history would likely invite condemnation for thousands of years.

Your Majesty is so frugal, yet still engages in ostentatious display—are you not telling the court, I am a great fat pig, already ready for the pen, come quickly and slaughter me?!

Powerful clans and wealthy merchant magnates are also people; people living must seek pleasure and find things to do, which is how this group came into being.

Eating well, having leisure, possessing inexhaustible energy, yet still seeking amusement—while the court forbids ostentatious display—due to all these reasons, they turned their gaze toward the event hosted by the Songjiang Prefecture magistrate's office, where they could openly enjoy the adulation of ten thousand people.

"Name and profit—people living, in fact, merely concern themselves with this." Feng Bao smiled, took out his notebook, flipped to a page, and handed it to His Majesty to glance at; written on it was a recipe, the dietary regimen of Xing Qianqiu, the young master of Mingyi Shoe Shop.

Xing Qianqiu is twenty-four years old this year, a gold plaque runner; he came first to sell his family's shoes, second to pursue personal honor—last year he missed first place by a single move and came in second.

To seize first place, he had over twenty people assigned exclusively to train with him, attending to his food, drink, shoes, medicine, and so on—each aspect personally managed by dedicated personnel.

Just a pair of shoes, and the intricacies within are manifold.

"I fear I cannot outrun this Xing Qianqiu—even the hundred thousand troops of the Capital Garrison cannot outrun him." Zhu Yijun studied this recipe, which consisted entirely of lean meat, with no fat.

Zhu Yijun's physique resembles that of most soldiers—flesh-covered muscle, sturdy, but with indistinct muscle lines.

Accumulating large amounts of fat, muscles completely enveloped by fat—accumulating fat is accumulating heat, to cope with warfare, for on the battlefield there are not so many supplies available; when fighting begins, especially in hard battles, everything relies on this general's belly to sustain him.

This is also the fundamental reason why Qi Jiguang exhibits the symptoms of three excesses and one deficiency, along with sugar-induced thirst.

On the twenty-eighth day of the sixth month of the twenty-first year of Wanli, the Ming emperor, after inspecting the troops, mounted the imperial jade carriage and crossed the Huangpu River Bridge, arriving at Shanghai Academy; the emperor's procession stretched over three li in length, so grand because today is the completion day of the Wenshu Ge at Shanghai Academy.

"Your subjects pay homage to Your Majesty—may Your Majesty live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand ten thousand years!" The Songjiang Circuit Intendant Le Le, Songjiang Prefecture Prefect Hu Jun-de, all officials of Songjiang Prefecture, the Libationer of Shanghai Academy Zhang Tingzan, the Libationer of Maritime Academy Chen Ben'an, and others had long been waiting at Wenshu Ge; when His Majesty alighted, the officials bowed with clasped hands in salute.

Except for major ceremonies, kneeling is waived—this is the ancestral law.

"No ceremony." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling the beloved ministers to rise, before descending from the imperial jade carriage.

Wenshu Ge covers forty mu, divided into four gardens—east, west, south, and north; the east garden is the Nine Lions One Elephant Layered Mountain Garden, with scenery quite elegant.

The south garden, however, is the stage for proclamations—not for singing opera, but for announcing names; the Songjiang Prefecture academy examinations, provincial examinations, and the two academies' selections—where scholars, recommended candidates, and entrants to the academy, artisans and clerks alike—proclaim their names here.

The west garden is the Wen Temple, that is, the place where Confucius is enshrined, with encircling walls and towering clouds, flying eaves and outstretched wings, appearing most magnificent.

The north garden is where the main structure of Wenshu Ge stands—five stories high, with flying eaves and dougong brackets, carved beams and painted pillars; glancing at it, one sees upper and lower eaves projecting between the two levels, east and west sides featuring arched fire-sealing walls—this is the fire-sealing wall devised by Wang Chonggu, similar in principle to a watertight bulkhead; once a fire breaks out, it will drop and lock, preventing the flames from spreading to other rooms.

The Ge Wu Institute in the capital is similarly constructed with such arched fire-sealing walls.

"Throughout his life, Master Kong most emphasized the rites of Zhou; according to Zhou rites, the Son of Heaven has seven ancestral temples, feudal lords five, high officials three, scholars one, and commoners none; after Master Kong retired from Lu and wandered among the states, judging by status, he remained a commoner in plain clothes; later generations, however, built temples for Master Kong, and wherever they are, one imagines Master Kong knowing of this, would also oppose it." Zhu Yijun stood before the door and said to Le Le.

"I am terrified!" Le Le was startled, hurriedly pleaded guilty, and said: since Your Majesty overturned the Kong Fu, the court has begun advocating the contention of a hundred schools, no longer limited to Confucianism alone; this western temple enshrining only Confucius is thus highly taboo.

Songjiang Prefecture Prefect Hu Jun-de hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, please permit me to report—the western temple enshrines the hundred schools, not Master Kong alone; I further request Your Majesty to step forward and observe."

"Oh?" Zhu Yijun looked toward the newly appointed Prefect Hu Jun-de, his face showing surprise; he had learned beforehand that the western temple contained only a statue of Confucius, at least as of yesterday.

"Please." Hu Jun-de dared not say more, led His Majesty into the south garden, did not linger long at the proclamation stage, and turned left into the west garden.

Zhu Yijun, after viewing the Wen Temple, nodded repeatedly and said: "Hmm, not bad, not bad—indeed, it enshrines the hundred schools, the Sage Ancestor."

"Was it changed last night?" Zhu Yijun asked with a smile.

Hu Jun'de wiped the sweat from his forehead; he was a bit plump, the weather was a bit hot, and on top of that, the incident happened suddenly, so he was a little nervous. He hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, clear discernment, Li Provincial Governor came yesterday to have a look, just a brief look, the Bureau of Salary Regulation had a bit of a mess, and Li Provincial Governor hurried away in a fluster."

"Before departing, the Provincial Governor gave careful instructions, saying this matter is of great importance and that I should examine it thoroughly, to see if there is anything incomplete."

"Well then, I discovered that the Confucial Temple was missing a few portraits of the Sage Ancestral Teacher, and together with my colleagues in Songjiang Prefecture, we worked through the night to refurbish the Confucial Temple, without affecting the appearance."

Li Le overlooked the Confucial Temple, made a mistake, but Hu Jun'de's words skillfully smoothed it over.

Li Le indeed had an oversight, that is a fact, but he did it for the sake of the common people; the Bureau of Salary Regulation represents what Your Majesty values most—labor-capital contradictions—and what he cares most about—the suffering of the poor laborers.

The Bureau of Salary Regulation is precisely the new policy recently implemented by Songjiang Prefecture, all for the livelihood of the poor laborers; the Provincial Governor, amidst his busyness, merely overlooked a tiny detail!

In the refurbishment, Hu Jun'de did not claim credit for himself, but gave the merit to all his colleagues in Songjiang Prefecture; without error, it was entirely due to their joint efforts that they worked through the night to revise it, without delaying today's completion.

This is what bureaucrats are like—being smooth and adaptable on all sides is an official's instinct; a few words can take care of everyone.

"Alright, let's go." Zhu Yijun said rather gently: "Let's go to the Wen Su Ge to have a look."

Li Le let out a long sigh of relief; he had not noticed this matter, but Hu Jun'de obviously had, and moreover had revised it overnight.

For such a major inspection, so many eyes are watching; if anything taboo appears, it is absolutely not an oversight, but deliberate; any excuse for evasion is nothing but sophistry.

We are all people of the Great Ming; there is no need to pretend to be outsiders.

To let taboo things appear is what Zhu Yijun called in his mouth a "wugui"—deliberately doing disgusting things to disgust the sovereign; the matter is not great, but if one quibbles, it seems like making a mountain out of a molehill; if one does not quibble, it will just keep disgusting you.

Actually, it is not Li Le's fault for lacking a reverent heart; the Seven Orders of Culture and Ten Articles of People's Livelihood, plus the newly established Bureau of Salary Regulation, have indeed kept Li Le so busy he is dazed.

Moreover, he naturally would not think there is a problem, because when he was studying, the Wanli Reforms had not yet begun; back then, the Sage Ancestral Teacher was truly just one Confucius, and in all the Confucial Temples of the Great Ming, only Confucius was enshrined; Li Le would only think it natural to be so.

When His Majesty mentioned it, Li Le's heart rose to his throat; a perfectly fine Wen Su Ge completion had turned into a bad thing, but fortunately, His Majesty did not blame him.

Upon entering the Wen Su Ge, Zhu Yijun noticed two portraits: one of Yi Yin, one of Fu Shuo; these two were both ministers of the Shang dynasty.

King Tang of Shang overthrew the Xia to save the people, and is one of the ancient sages; even the Confucians do not deny King Tang, while Yi Yin was the most important strategist of King Tang; after King Tang's death, Yi Yin deposed Tai Jia, let Tai Jia repent, and then restored the throne to Tai Jia, assisting in governance to bring prosperity to Shang.

As for Fu Shuo, he was the most important strategist in the restoration of King Wu Ding; during the reigns of Wu Ding's uncle and father, Yin Shang had already become extremely weak, even facing the possibility of extinction; it was only under Fu Shuo's assistance that the restoration was accomplished.

"Why these two?" Zhu Yijun stood before the two portraits, somewhat strangely asking.

"In reply to Your Majesty, Yi Yin was a slave of the lord of You Xin; Fu Shuo was then a slave who built walls at Fu Yan, and at that time Fu Shuo had no surname; it was only after Wu Ding bestowed a surname upon him that he became of the Fu clan." Li Le said with a solemn expression: "Both were born slaves, yet both became great ministers of the state."

"Placing them in the Wen Su Ge is to hope that this place may become the Great Ming's You Xin wilderness and Fu Yan land."

Yi Yin and Fu Shuo were slaves, but they were not illiterate or ignorant of reason; tradition holds that when the two were farming in the You Xin wilderness and building walls at Fu Yan, they studied in the xiao and xu, understood the principles.

Xiao, xu, and xu were schools of the Shang dynasty; xue was divided into right xue and gu zong, just like the later Guozijian; while xu was the school of ideological education, that is, the later Confucian hall; and xu was the school of military education, that is, martial arts.

From the divination inscriptions on oracle bones, we see that many are related to education; the educational system in Shang times had already matured, and even slaves could possibly receive education.

What most distresses the scholar-officials is that the content taught in the Shang schools, xu, and xu—military, ritual, music, writing, and mathematics—is almost exactly the same as the Six Arts of the gentleman as described in the Zhou Rituals, except that military is split into archery and charioteering, thus forming the Six Arts of the gentleman.

This is further evidence of one of the Shang-Zhou common origins.

It further proves that the Zhou Rituals are the result of the Duke of Zhou's personal struggle, and not the so-called ritual law of Yao, Shun, and Yu above the three dynasties; for Confucian scholars who mechanically uphold the three dynasties and above, this is evidence of the dissolution of sanctity.

"Education without distinction." Zhu Yijun looked up and saw the plaque of the Wen Su Ge.

The portraits of Yi Yin and Fu Shuo hang on either side of the entrance; in fact, it is precisely to realize this goal: education without distinction.

The Wen Su Ge holds over three hundred thousand volumes, among them more than eighty thousand fine and rare editions; in this collection, all non-fine and rare editions are fully open to the public.

As long as one is a person of the Great Ming, one may enter here to read; while the fine and rare editions may be purchased as copies, but one must wait for the time of transcription.

Books may be borrowed out, but one must have collateral to take them away; reading in the Wen Su Ge is completely free.

Intentional damage to books will result in punishment: light, forced labor; heavy, exile; arson will be punished by decapitation and public display, with the offender's relatives also exiled.

The Wen Su Ge is a library possessing both publicness and openness.

This is not something first created by Songjiang Prefecture, nor is it a novelty of the Wanli Reforms of the Great Ming; rather, it is the Song system.

During the Song dynasty, the court established the Wen Xian Guan, Jixian Guan, and Shi Guan—three halls—open to court officials and all jinshi, allowing them to enter and consult.

In the localities, such as the Ju Shu Lou and Bo Ya Tang of Zi Prefecture, the Chou Shu Ge of Jiangning Prefecture, the Chong Lou of Yingzhou Prefecture, the Cang Shu Lou of Yangzhou Prefecture, and so on, all are permitted for local scholars to enter and borrow.

And when these scholars read, their task is: on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the "Book Drying Festival," they enter the book towers, move the books outdoors to air and dry, to dispel dampness and prevent mold, to drive away insects and prevent bookworms.

Some book towers hold such vast collections that even two or three months may be needed to finish drying.

During this drying period, the hosts often provide a meal, forming good karma with these scholars; even some affluent localities, such as Jiangning Prefecture and Yangzhou Prefecture, will also provide lodging.

For scholars of poor family circumstances, unable to enter school, unable to pay tuition, yet possessing great talent, the book towers and the Book Drying Festival undoubtedly give them a public channel to acquire knowledge.

The newly built Wen Su Ge of Songjiang Prefecture is of similar nature, possessing both publicness and openness, providing a place for those aspiring here, endowed with talent, and of poor family circumstances, to read, recognize characters, and understand principles.

Of course, the Wen Su Ge will also become the largest bookshop in the entire Great Ming; whatever kind of book, it can be purchased here.

Even the complete Yongle Dadian and the various complete Veritable Records in the Imperial History Bureau can be reserved here; after paying a deposit, one can obtain the books in three to six months.

"In our Great Ming's prefectures, prefectural cities, and counties—no, no, no, every prefecture should have such a bookshop; why is the Great Ming not flourishing?" Zhu Yijun lingered long in the Wen Su Ge, flipped through several books, purchased a set of the latest edition of the Yongle Dadian Concise Edition, and then spoke with deep emotion.

Zhu Yijun promotes martial prowess, but he also promotes culture; the annual investment in the Dinghai educational system has already exceeded military expenditure.

"There will be such a day." Li Le said full of hope; as Li Le living in the era of great change of the Wanli Reforms, he sincerely believes that the Great Ming will have such a day.

Zhu Yijun smiled; the sunshine was brilliant.

Perhaps it will be realized, perhaps not; success or failure, sometimes it is not so important; what matters is to act, what matters is to set out.

In Songjiang Prefecture alone, there are over four hundred bookshops engaged in printing various books; this number is decreasing, because competition is indeed very fierce; bookshops with insufficiently fine printing, poor book quality, many typos, incomplete books, will all lose in competition.

Gao Qiyu, as Minister of Rites, is highly qualified; he mediated the dispute of the Santa Catarina.

After the descriptions and confrontations from both sides, although there is no clearer evidence, the facts are already basically clear.

The Goa Governor-General's office demanded more taxes; the six Dutch merchant ships fled; the Goa Governor-General's office pursued and captured four of them; the Dutch began retaliation, seized the Santa Catarina, killed the crew, and sold all the cargo on Dutch soil.

"The Dutch must make compensation; the Portuguese from beginning to end did not kill captives; if the Dutch had not killed captives, this matter would be the fault of the Portuguese; but since the Dutch killed all the crew, they must pay the price."

Gao Qiyu spread a detailed account book before the Portuguese envoy Polono and the Dutch envoy Hautman.

The four ships captured and the crew compensation obtained by the Goa Governor-General's office are worth about five hundred thousand silver; the cargo of the Santa Catarina seized by the Dutch is also worth about five hundred thousand silver; if the matter ended here, the losses would be nearly equal.

But the Dutch retaliation went too far.

"Each sailor compensated at 500 silver per person, total compensation one hundred and twenty thousand silver; likewise, a life for a life, ordering the death of these sailors' captain Van Nak, to be handed over to the Portuguese for trial." Gao Qiyu announced the Ming's preliminary ruling.

Gao Qiyu did not let all the executioners pay with their lives, but only the captain to pay with his life; the reason is also very simple: on board, the captain's status is absolute authority; the captain's order, the crew can only obey.

Approximately 240 crew members were killed after surrendering; the Dutch killed prisoners, not in naval battle, they killed the enemy.

Killing prisoners is simply wrong.

"This is not fair." Houtman's face changed drastically, and he abruptly stood up; he felt he was wrong, wrong to an outrageous degree — the Great Ming people were not just, they actually rendered such a judgment biased toward Portugal!

Gao Qiyu waved his hand, signaling Houtman to sit down: calm down, calm down, don't let anger rush to your head, don't let rage disturb your judgment.

"This is the first mediation; if you do not accept it, you may supplement evidence within one year and file suit again at the Shuri Dai Fuya. Of course, if you feel the Great Ming deliberately rendered a judgment biased toward Portugal and do not supplement evidence, the final judgment may be extremely unfavorable to you." Gao Qiyu's words were very calm.

Since the Great Ming is unfair, why doesn't Houtman simply ignore the Great Ming's judgment and pay no heed to the result?

That truly won't do.

Doing so would offend not Portugal but the Great Ming; the Great Ming has been open to the seas for twenty years, and with the Great Ming's current influence over world maritime trade, offending the Great Ming means never eating from the maritime trade bowl again.

Houtman sat down with a complex expression; he took several deep breaths before composing himself and carefully reading through the first mediation result.

After calming down, Houtman also fully understood — the Great Ming had not tilted the judgment because Portugal was a vassal state; on the contrary, this judgment was very fair.

This is also why Paulino gave Houtman two punches the moment they met.

Even in Taixi, after surrender, demanding ransom is the most common and most accepted practice; killing prisoners is inauspicious in the Great Ming, and in Taixi it is also wrong — this is not a matter of face or not.

Going to sea is itself a gamble with one's life; between ships, between sailors, they still have to harm each other — is it that the wind and waves aren't big enough, or that the plague isn't terrifying enough?

Gao Qiyu watched Houtman's expression turn peaceful, then continued: "In fact, before the English Parliament passed the privateering license, relations between ships were more gentle; even cargo on ships could be ransomed back at half price."

"When I went to Taixi, I once heard of the ransom-ship rules."

Plundered goods were hard to sell, so accepting discounted ransom was very common.

People yearn for the ocean, but they actually only like the sea by the shore; once truly aboard a ship, violent wind and waves will tear apart all romantic imaginings of the ocean.

When Gao Qiyu sailed to Taixi, he encountered a continuous seven-day storm; when the storm ended, the ship had not advanced but instead retreated a full ten-odd days' journey; had the pilot not been richly experienced, they would likely have been lost.

When ships meet on the vast sea, it is not wariness but a joy at not having encountered people for a long time; on a lonely voyage, meeting one's own kind is such a fortunate thing.

Gao Qiyu personally felt that fortune and the desire to converse — even with barbarians, Gao Qiyu wanted to exchange a few words; even if he couldn't understand, he was willing to communicate by gestures and guesswork.

After those damn Englishmen intervened in maritime trade, everything changed!

The privateering license blurred the line between merchant ships and pirates completely, utterly shattering all tacit understandings and past rules; most importantly, it shattered all trust that was already fragile.

"Those damn Englishmen!" Houtman's expression changed; he finally realized where the wrongness lay.

He was an old captain, even more experienced than King Antonio; before the maritime environment deteriorated, a saying circulated among sailors: he who kills will surely be killed.

Most Taixi people are believers, all can understand the meaning of this saying — its logic roughly being that those who commit sins will surely be judged.

But after the privateering license was issued, the saying among sailors became: if you don't kill others, others will kill you.

To the point that now, everyone on a ship guards against each other, fearing being killed unawares and silently thrown into the sea.