Chapter 44: The Boss Has Changed

"Achoo!" Chen Xin sneezed heavily at the bow. "Could Liu Minyou be nagging about me again?!"

"Brother Chen, we're finally almost home." Lu Lvzi stood beside Chen Xin, gazing at the dark coastline of Shandong in the distance, his voice brimming with delight. He had already naturally come to regard that courtyard in Tianjin as his home.

"Mm." Chen Xin looked at the Fujian junk sailing ahead, his face once again wearing a professional smile. The day after unloading the cargo, Han Bin heard that the goods on Zhu Yin's ship had sold for sixty thousand taels. A bit suspicious, he raised a couple of questions. Chen Xin pulled out Song Wenxian as his banner, along with Ba Zi, who had been dead drunk at the time, and the sailors from Han Bin's crew. Those two were muddled, yet seemed to vaguely recall the matter. Coupled with a few bluffs from Song Wenxian, Han Bin dared not press further. He made a round on Zhu Yin's ship, saw only the sixty thousand taels of silver on the second deck, and looked everywhere else without finding any place silver could still be hidden. With no other choice, he had to accept that figure.

In the end, Song Wenxian convened an expanded meeting to discuss the distribution. Originally, Proprietor Zhao had promised before departure to give each man one hundred taels from his own profit, but now that he was gone and there was a large income, everyone decided to forgo that base wage. They took fifteen thousand taels from the sixty thousand to give to the Grand Proprietor's family, and five thousand taels to Han Yong's family.

The remaining forty thousand taels, plus the three thousand seven hundred taels of ready silver left on Zhu Yin's ship, came to over forty-three thousand taels. The five standing committee members — Song Wenxian, Han Bin, Hei Pao, Ba Zi, and Chen Xin — each received three thousand taels. The two most severely wounded men had died that night, and their families could not be found, so only thirty-seven men remained. Excluding the committee members, that left thirty-two men, each receiving nine hundred taels, with sixteen hundred taels left over. Chen Xin proposed giving an extra three hundred taels to each of the two seriously wounded, and the remaining one thousand taels all to the family of the fallen man from Wang Zugui's village. Everyone agreed to this plan, except Han Bin, who was not too pleased — he had only been allotted just over three thousand taels in total from this entire trip.

When boarding the ships, Song Wenxian arranged for Lu Lvzi, Zhu Guobin, Wang Zugui, and a man called Wang Yong to board Zhu Yin's ship together. That Wang Yong knew how to read the star-measuring board and could help with navigation to avoid losing the Fujian junk. Chen Xin noticed two exchanges of glances between him and Song Wenxian — he was likely one of Song Wenxian's men. But since Chen Xin had no other schemes, he need not worry about him. Finally, to win hearts, Chen Xin also brought the other two seriously wounded men — one with a severed hand, the other a severed leg — onto his own Zhu Yin ship. On the deck, he used lightly salted water to clean around their wounds and changed the cotton cloth bandaging them. The men on the Fujian junk watched, and their admiration for this Accountant had reached its peak — not only could he keep accounts and write, he could also kill, and he treated his brothers exceedingly well.

After the ships left port, Chen Xin set his mind at ease. As long as Song Wenxian harbored no ill intentions and did not pull any tricks near Dengzhou, the fifteen thousand taels in the bottom hold were as good as his. He figured Song Wenxian would not be so short-sighted; he himself had cooperated so well and had also earned Li Guozhu's appreciation — there would be plenty of opportunities to make money together in the future.

Thinking of this, he could not help glancing at that Wang Yong, who was at the stern manning the helm. He could now confirm that this man was Song Wenxian's undercover agent. Whenever Wang Yong was not on deck, he was sure to stay on the second deck, and in the compartment closest to the bottom hold hatch. In truth, Song Wenxian was only worried that Chen Xin might ditch him — after all, thirty thousand taels of silver were all on Zhu Yin's ship.

Of the two men with severed limbs, one was called Qin Lufang, just over twenty years old. His left hand had been cleanly cut off at the wrist — the wound was very neat, a testament to the ferocity of Japanese swords in this kind of close-quarters sea combat. The other was called Ning Cheng, nearly thirty, who had a section of his left leg chopped off, also a Japanese sword wound. The two had been treated for several days at the Li family's private port, and Chen Xin had consistently used boiled water to disinfect the cotton cloth, personally changing their dressings each time. Their wounds had already scabbed over, and their lives were saved. But having lost so much blood that day, their spirits were still poor, and they could only help with simple tasks. Worried they might develop scurvy, Chen Xin constantly demanded they chew tea leaves every day. These two knew that Chen Xin had helped secure an extra three hundred taels of silver for them and had looked after them the entire journey, and they were already overwhelmed with gratitude toward him...

"Brother Chen, will you go out to sea again?" Qin Lufang had also spotted the mainland coastline. His heart gladdened, and his speech gained some strength.

Chen Xin smiled. "I don't know yet. Brother Qin, would you still be willing to go?"

Qin Lufang said, "I'd like to, but I've lost a hand — I can't be of much help."

Ning Cheng sat atop a pile of silver. He had originally been allotted eleven hundred taels, and later Chen Xin helped him secure another three hundred, making fourteen hundred taels in total. After receiving the money, he kept it by his side at all times, never letting it leave his sight, even sleeping with it pressed beneath him as a pillow. The others were much the same. Chen Xin only worried about how he would transport these forty to fifty kilograms of silver back to his hometown. At this moment, Ning Cheng said lazily, "You should be content just to have kept your life. Going out to sea again? You don't even have that hand anymore — wouldn't you just be causing trouble for Brother Chen? This cripple here knows that much, so I won't go out and make a fool of myself. This trip back, I'll buy some land, buy a few servant girls and household slaves to wait on me every day, and I'm not coming out again."

Qin Lufang was a bit embarrassed and stammered, "Then, then I'll also..."

"Brother Qin, don't worry about it. This matter depends on your own wishes. If you're willing to follow me, you can do other things even without going to sea. If you are willing to go to sea, I also have use for a brave man like Brother Qin. Brother Ning, it's also good for you to return home, but if you ever face difficulties in the future and come find me, Chen Xin, I will absolutely not refuse. We are brothers who have faced life and death together — don't stand on ceremony."

"Old Ning here, aside from respecting the Grand Proprietor, only respects you, Accountant Chen. The Grand Proprietor was a hero — I respected him. Accountant Chen, you are skilled in both pen and sword, you handle matters fairly, and you don't look down on people — I respect you. If Old Ning's leg weren't broken, I'd definitely follow you and work for you. As it is, I won't be a burden to you. My hometown is in Linqing. When we disembark, I'll give you my address. If you come to Linqing, come find Old Ning."

"Good, I certainly will. And Brother Qin, where is your hometown?" Chen Xin turned and asked Qin Lufang.

Ning Cheng didn't wait for Qin Lufang and answered for him, "What hometown does he still have? His hometown is Fenghuang City in Liaodong — it's long been a nest of Tatars."

Chen Xin said curiously, "So Brother Qin is also from Liaodong. I have a few young brothers who are too, all in Tianjin. You could get to know each other."

Qin Lufang glanced northward with a trace of grievance, then looked at Zhu Guobin, who was adjusting the sails, and said to the two of them, "It's not like I gave it away to the Tatars. Brother Zhu also fled from Liaodong. He and I both built our own wooden rafts and drifted out to sea, and were rescued by Proprietor Zhao. We used to always think about fighting our way back home. Later, when Guangning fell, and then even Liaoxi was nearly lost, everyone lost heart. This year I heard Korea was also taken. I'm afraid we truly can't go back to our homeland."

Ning Cheng said disdainfully, "I don't believe those Tatars are so formidable. If Old Ning's leg weren't broken, I'd have to go chop off a Tatar's head and bring it back to see for myself. You damned several million Han people in Liaodong couldn't beat a few tens of thousands of Tatars — how the hell did you fight?"

"I, I..." Qin Lufang could not get the words out for a long time. Those several million people weren't under his command — why was Ning Cheng always taking his anger out on him?

Seeing Qin Lufang's aggrieved expression, Chen Xin patted his shoulder and consoled him, "Brother Qin, don't overthink it. Brother Ning is just blunt-spoken. We will fight our way back one day. If you have nowhere else to go, come with me to Tianjin. You have silver on you — buy a courtyard near my home and settle down, or you can stay at my place. I have a few young fellow-townsmen of yours there, so you can be looked after in daily life."

Qin Lufang listened, quickly forgot his earlier displeasure, and said happily, "Then I'll follow Brother Chen. I trust you — you're a good man. I still have one hand; I can work. I don't need anyone to look after me."

"A good man. Yes, I am a good man." Chen Xin wore a smile of genial warmth.

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Two days later, the two ships reached the vicinity of Dengzhou (present-day Yantai). They had not stopped when passing by last time, but this time they had to deliver the silver back and must halt.

Dengzhou was located at the northern tip of Shandong. Since the early Ming, it had been a vital port for transporting military supplies to Liaodong. Because of its strategic importance, it was elevated from a department to a prefecture. The city walls of Dengzhou were nine li in circumference, three zhang and five chi high, and two zhang thick, with four city gates and three water gates. All four city gates had barbicans. The greatest difference was that a water city had been built north of the city — the Daoyu Fort of the Song dynasty. After the Dengzhou Guard was established in the ninth year of the Hongwu reign, to facilitate sea transport of Liaodong military supplies, earth was excavated north of the city to build fortifications. During the Japanese pirate incursions, it was renamed the Anti-Japanese Fort. In the first year of the Tianqi reign, in response to the rise of the Later Jin, the post of Deng-Lai Provincial Governor was created in the sixth month, with overall command of the Eastern Expedition military affairs, headquartered at Dengzhou. The first governor was Tao Langxian. After Dongjiang was established as a garrison, the governor was additionally given authority over Dongjiang. It was a critical hub for the Ming court to control the Liao Sea and sustain the Dongjiang Garrison.

There were many naval vessels near Dengzhou, and before long they encountered a Ming army bird boat. The Fujian junk flew the official banner of the Dengzhou Coastal Defense Circuit. The bird boat merely approached slowly, without any hostile actions.

Chen Xin saw the Fujian junk drop anchor and then lower a firewood-and-water boat heading toward the bird boat. The person aboard seemed to be Song Wenxian. After a while, the firewood-and-water boat returned, but headed toward Zhu Yin's ship. From a distance, Chen Xin saw Song Wenxian's gloomy expression, and his heart could not help but tighten.

"Brother Chen, Lord Li has been relieved of his post and transferred to serve as Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue. The current Provincial Governor is Sun Guozhen. (Note 1)"

As soon as Song Wenxian boarded, he pulled Chen Xin aside and quietly told him this news. Seeing Song Wenxian's mournful face, Chen Xin guessed that he was that Lord Li's private secretary. Now that the boss had changed, this high-level white-collar worker was naturally in some danger. They had set sail on the fifteenth of the fifth month; presumably Lord Li had not had time to notify Song Wenxian, otherwise he would certainly have sold off the goods immediately and not dragged things out for over a month.

Chen Xin knew nothing about either of these two lords, but since he himself did not know them, they would certainly not be big shots in the future. He probed, "Then... how about we just take the silver from the Fujian junk and run?"

"How could that possibly work? That bird boat is right beside us — they're all under Lord Zhong's command. Besides, my entire family, old and young, is in Dengzhou. How could I possibly run?"

Chen Xin rubbed his nose, suppressing his own greed, and asked, "Has Lord Li already left?"

"He's gone. He left a few household servants behind, still waiting to collect the silver. He's got it good — gone but still collecting silver. But I'm not willing to follow him to Nanzhili. I don't know Lord Sun either. So be it — with what I've earned this time, I'll just become a wealthy gentleman."

Chen Xin observed his expression; in truth, Song Wenxian was still keen on power and influence. Otherwise, with nearly twenty thousand taels in income from this trip, he would be more than well-off as a rich squire. He looked at the bird boat and asked, "Whose men are on that bird boat?"

"Lord Zhong's."

"Whose orders does Lord Zhong follow now?"

"The new Provincial Governor, Lord Sun, of course."

"How much payment for goods does Lord Li have?"

Song Wenxian replied weakly, "Lord Li is Mr. Jia in the account books. You know what his goods were."

"Then it's thirty-five thousand taels now. Mr. Song, what do you think of this — return the principal of seventeen thousand taels to Lord Li, and the eighteen thousand taels of profit..."

Song Wenxian's eyes lit up. "Give the profit to Lord Sun. That way, we won't offend Lord Li too badly, and we'll have a stepping stone to advance ourselves with Lord Sun."

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Note 1: Li Song served as Deng-Lai Provincial Governor from the twelfth month of the fifth year of the Tianqi reign, and transferred to serve as Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue in the fifth month of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign. His successor was Sun Guozhen.