Chapter 8: Canal Tow Workers

"Gazing out from Jinmen, the mist stretches boundless, the sea's vastness swelling eastward. So this is the Tianjin of old."

Four thousand years ago, Tianjin was battered by silt and sand, only then turning from ocean into land — it can be called the youngest land. The Yongding River, Ziya River, and Great Qing River converge northwest of Tianjin into the triangular Dian depression; after flowing out, they merge with the northern and southern sections of the Grand Canal to form the Wei River (now named the Haihe), which runs to the sea. In the early Ming, when Zhu Di rose in arms, he crossed the Grand Canal here to march south and capture Cangzhou, after which the place was renamed Tianjin. Thereafter the Grand Canal was fully dredged, and because it sits at the junction of the northern and southern canal, Tianjin gradually grew prosperous.

At first Tianjin had no city wall. In the eleventh month of the second Yongle year, three guard battalions were established and a wall was built. In the fourth Hongzhi year it was faced with brick. Like Jizhou, the wall perimeter was nine li and thirteen paces, the wall height three zhang and five chi. The city had four gates — east, south, west, and north — plus a water gate on the southeast side. It was wide east–west and narrow north–south, commonly called the Abacus City.

Chen Xin, Liu Minyou, and their party of six traveled for five or six days. They left Jizhou, passed through Xianghe to Hexiwu, and followed the Grand Canal slowly south. Fortunately this was not the early Ming; travel permits had long existed in name only, so the two unregistered persons could pass all the way. Along the road they carried out two more "Hope Projects." Relying on Chen Xin's bluffing and swindling, their assets not only did not shrink but actually reached one hundred and twenty taels, and they also had a top-grade eastern pearl in hand — for the time being, no worries about food or clothing. When they reached Tianjin, Liu Minyou gazed at the city wall from a distance and uttered the exclamation above. And the author Kong Shangren, not yet born, had his work pirated.

The six crossed the river by ferry at the North Wharf crossing. Chen Xin, however, was in no hurry to enter the city. Seeing the outskirts were quite bustling — the western wall stood two hundred and twenty paces from the canal, and in between, shops stood thick as trees, crowds streamed back and forth, and the canal bank was lined with rows of moored grain barges — Chen Xin wanted to see what kinds of business were done along the canal, so he led everyone strolling along the market street on the south canal bank.

Both men were from Tianjin. Revisiting old haunts, Liu Minyou looked for a long time but still could not figure out where his former three-room apartment should have been. He shook his head helplessly.

Seeing this, Chen Xin grinned at Liu Minyou. "We could have boarded a southbound boat at Hexiwu, but you insisted on coming to see. Now you can give up."

Liu Minyou said unhappily, "Do you really mean to drift along in Jiangnan? Then why are you making Hai Gouzi and the others drill formations and train their stamina? What exactly is your plan going forward?"

"Heh, complicated things need plans. In my heart I'd like to rise in rank, get rich, and contend for the realm, but right now we're just two grown-ups with four tagalongs scrounging for meals — no plan for the moment. As for training stamina, it's just so we can run faster when someone's chasing us."

Liu Minyou got nothing out of him and was about to argue further with Chen Xin when Zhang Dahui suddenly asked from the side, "Brother Chen, how about we go cheat some money again in Tianjin?" Hai Gouzi and Zhang Erhui chimed in agreement.

Liu Minyou smacked Zhang Dahui on the head and scolded, "All day you think about cheating money — are you going to live your whole life on swindling?" Zhang Dahui ducked his head and hid behind Wang Daixi.

After scolding Zhang Dahui, Liu Minyou turned to Chen Xin and complained, "Look what these school-dropout kids have been turned into. Are we supposed to keep doing Hope Projects forever? Honestly, in my last life I never cheated anyone. Constantly cheating others out of money — even if they're bad people, my heart can't bear it."

"What kids? In this era, at their age they could be fathers already. When we took them along, you agreed to help."

"Then just going on swindling isn't a solution. In the short term, shouldn't we at least have a plan?"

"The short-term plan is... to scrounge lunch." Chen Xin casually snapped his fingers.

The four youths immediately cheered in approval. The days following the two men were the happiest time of their lives: food and drink by day, and at night Liu Minyou taught them to read. Whatever they did, someone made the decisions — they felt they had someone to lean on. And the two men never mistreated or enslaved them; they all ate and lodged the same. In their hearts, they had long regarded the two as family.

Hai Gouzi and the other two youths ate well, and every day on the road Chen Xin made them march in formation. Their bodies had grown much sturdier, their eyes no longer held that earlier dullness, and they had a bit of a youth's spirited vigor. The only thing was that Chen Xin had ordered Hai Gouzi not to grin foolishly, but Hai Gouzi still could not break the habit...

Watching the youthful vitality of the four was the one thing that gave Liu Minyou a sense of accomplishment in this era. Taking Wang Daixi by the hand, the group once again walked cheerfully along the riverbank, looking for an eatery to fill their bellies.

They walked a stretch without finding an eatery, but ahead they saw a crowd gathered on the bank. A grain barge, bow facing north, was moored at the shore, six tow ropes thrown on the ground. Chen Xin and the others had nothing to do anyway, so they went forward to watch the excitement. As they drew near, they heard a rough, bold voice say, "I don't care what canal agent you are — I only recognize the rules set by the Canal Guild. You queue for lots to pull the tow. This boat is my lot today, and I don't care which canal agent says otherwise. Whoever dares snatch this tow line, I'll bleed him."

A voice neither male nor female answered, "Lu Lvzi, don't play the bully. The boatman found his own tow workers — that reasoning has always existed. If you want to use force, we may not fear you. If you want to talk reason, let's go together to the guild hall and argue it out, or even to the Qingjun Office — suit yourself."

Chen Xin parted the crowd and squeezed in. He saw a tow worker, stripped to the waist and bronzed, glaring face-to-face with a private secretary who wore a goatee. Behind each stood a gang of men, all dressed as tow workers and porters. The private secretary, a dried-up figure a full size smaller than the tow worker, was not the least bit afraid — it turned out his side outnumbered the other by nearly double.

Liu Minyou and the others also squeezed in. The Chinese passion for watching excitement runs in an unbroken line, and the two modern men were no exception.

Lu Lvzi said contemptuously, "Bah, the boatman finds his own tow workers — then what's the Canal Guild for? You rely on being a canal agent to force the boatman to hire your Luo Sect people..."

The canal agent cut him off in a shrill voice. "Don't spout reckless nonsense — what Luo Sect? I also act by canal agent rules. I collect the grain tax dues no less than anyone else — how is that coercing the boatman? Go ask the boat owner yourself if there's such a thing." The crowd behind the canal agent all chimed in agreement.

Lu Lvzi sneered. "The boat owner wouldn't dare offend you. I don't need to ask him — I saw it with my own eyes. What reckless nonsense? Even if you talk the sky apart, I'm pulling this tow for sure."

Hearing this, the canal agent's side erupted in fury, all shouting curses. The canal agent said loudly, "Since you won't talk reason, don't blame me. You rely on Dai Tiezi's influence and have ruined my business several times. I've long found you Yanggu lot an eyesore. Today we settle it all. No more talk — everyone, at them."

The canal agent's gang shouted as one, pulling out clubs and iron rulers from behind them, and swarmed toward the other side. Lu Lvzi's side showed no weakness, also producing clubs from behind — clearly both sides had come prepared.

The onlookers, seeing real blows about to fly and fearing stray injuries, scattered like birds and beasts with a whoosh, retreating several dozen paces before stopping to watch again. Hai Gouzi and the others felt out the single-edged short knives they had bought and hid them in their sleeves, clustering around Chen Xin and the other man, afraid someone might hurt them. Chen Xin had bought five short knives at Hexiwu. Liu Minyou at first refused, but later, when Hai Gouzi and the others all said the road was not very safe, he reluctantly took one. Chen Xin and Liu Minyou strapped their knives to their legs; Hai Gouzi and the other two kept theirs tucked in their clothes.

In the clearing, blows rang out clamorously — a lively fight. Both sides were tow workers who hauled ropes, men who toiled and suffered every day. Though they looked lean and wiry, they were all strong and sturdy, fond of brawling and ruthless in a fight. Once it started, it was ferocious. The canal agent's side had superior numbers. Lu Lvzi's side, though fewer, seemed to have somewhat better order — they stayed in small clusters without scattering. It could not exactly be called coordination, but it was still better than the other side. For a time they fought evenly, and several men on each side went down.

The canal agent himself did not join in, staying at the rear and continuously shouting orders to his men. Beside him stood a fierce-looking man in short sleeves and tight clothes. Lu Lvzi, on the other hand, was quite tough and clearly had fighting experience. Leading a few men and wielding two short wooden clubs, he parried left and struck right, already felling several opponents and forcing the seven or eight foes before him to retreat repeatedly. Seeing several of his own side also down, and hearing the canal agent still clamoring from the rear, fury rose in his heart. He suddenly charged forward several steps, took two blows from the sides, and knocked the man directly in front of him to the ground with a club thrust. Then, ignoring everyone else, he whirled his two short clubs like windmill vanes and struck only at the man on the ground. Earlier he had avoided the head, but now he did not care, raining down a wild flurry of blows. The man on the ground clutched his head with both hands, screaming continuously, and soon his head was split and bleeding...

Several men behind Lu Lvzi came up to hold off the flanks. The seven or eight opponents, seeing the wretched state of the man on the ground, lost heart and hurriedly dodged away from Lu Lvzi's front. Lu Lvzi had been waiting for just this chance. He immediately abandoned the man on the ground, dashed through the gap straight at the canal agent, and brought a club down toward the canal agent's shoulder.

Liu Minyou thought the canal agent was done for, but instead saw the canal agent wear a cold sneer, seemingly not afraid at all. There was a "shing" sound — the club in Lu Lvzi's hand was left with only half its length. A gleaming blade flashed, slashing toward his left hand. Lu Lvzi retreated several big steps before he could clearly see it was the short-clothed man beside the canal agent, holding a five-chi narrow-bladed knife with a slight curve.

Chen Xin said with a look of surprise, "They even have Japanese swords?"

Zhang Dahui said from the side, "Brother Chen, that's called a Japanese sword. Daoba says it's better than the standard saber. There are quite a few in the frontier army — I saw them at Shanhai Pass."

Chen Xin nodded. After the coastal Japanese pirate troubles, the Japanese sword had flowed into China. Qi Jiguang had improved the Qi-family saber based on the Japanese sword style, and also studied Japanese sword techniques in depth, creating Japanese sword methods. After he was transferred to be Regional Commander of Jizhen, he introduced them into the northern frontier army. In some Ming military treatises (such as the *Records of the Four Garrisons and Three Passes*), they are explicitly listed as frontier army equipment, and in the late Ming they were one of the main Japanese exports to China.

Lu Lvzi, now clearly seeing the man's attire, said mockingly to the canal agent, "So Canal Guild matters now need hired Street Fighter thugs to boost prestige. Canal Agent Tang truly lives up to his origins as a brothel pimp — knows the trade well."

Canal Agent Tang gave a dark chuckle. "So what if I come from a pimp's background? Still better than an illiterate like you. This is my newly inducted disciple, all properly registered. Who says he's a Street Fighter?"

Lu Lvzi could not help being taken aback. Canal Guild members were almost all porters and tow workers — since when did they have thugs like this?

Canal Agent Tang, seeing Lu Lvzi had no retort, looked smug and said to the thug, "Sever this brute's hand and foot tendons."

The thug moved at those words, and the difference from those tow workers was immediately apparent. His steps were short, his body unsteady. After swaying left and right several times, he suddenly leaped — moving like a startled hare, he covered nearly a zhang in an instant and was right in front of Lu Lvzi. Raising the Japanese sword high, he added the speed of his leap, the blade moving extremely fast, and chopped straight down at Lu Lvzi's head.

Lu Lvzi hurriedly raised his other short club to block. Again a "shing" — the short club was chopped in two. The blade's momentum slightly diminished, it was already at his face. He barely had time to tilt his head and lean his body backward. The Japanese sword drew a streak of blood, opening a gash across his chest. Lu Lvzi cried out in pain, hurled the broken club at the thug's face to buy a moment, and retreated. The thug showed no mercy, leaping again and slashing straight at Lu Lvzi's right hand — it looked less like severing foot tendons and more like chopping off hands and feet.

The others were still in a melee. Lu Lvzi's earlier helpers, seeing the danger, abandoned their other opponents and rushed to help. They blocked a few blows, but their clubs were again chopped apart by the thug, and every one of them was cut. The thug was, after all, a professional, and wielding a keen weapon, he was like a tiger among sheep — no one on the other side could stop him. He scattered Lu Lvzi's side into disarray. The canal agent's side already had the numbers advantage; now with a top fighter added, they immediately gained the upper hand, surrounding the other side and beating them wildly. It looked as though the canal agent's side would win a total victory.

Liu Minyou and Chen Xin watched, clicking their tongues. So cold weapons had such power — far more intense than K-1 or the like. Fortunately, the thug still did not seem intent on killing, or someone would likely already be dead.

Liu Minyou said to Chen Xin, "If we ran into someone like that, the six of us wouldn't be enough for him alone to beat."

Chen Xin nodded, then shook his head. "If we all took weapons and charged him together, fighting to the death, he'd have a hard time too. Besides, no matter how good an individual's martial skill, once on the battlefield — a thousand blades, ten thousand spears, arrows falling like rain — how much use can it really be?"

Liu Minyou was greatly surprised. "You know how to fight battles?"

Chen Xin gave a sly grin. "Never fought one. But I've read a bit on military strategy and battle examples — you know I'm something of a military buff."

Liu Minyou made a dismissive sound. "Just a dabbler." He turned back to watch the scene.

The thug was still chasing Lu Lvzi. Others tried to intercept, but Lu Lvzi's space grew smaller and smaller, and the helpers beside him had all been cut off to one side. Finally, a club struck Lu Lvzi, slowing him. The thug took two big leaping strides and caught up, raising the Japanese sword high. Lu Lvzi had no choice but to shield his head with both hands, offering his hands to the blade. A wave of shrieks rose from the onlookers. Wang Daixi turned her head away, not daring to look, her hands unconsciously clutching Liu Minyou's clothes tightly.