Chapter 238: Fifth Day of the Fifth Month

"Commandant, Left Arms Section Clerk, in another quarter-hour we'll reach the Isle Palace!"

On this fifth day of the fifth month, Li You and Heifu were sitting in the cabin when a soldier keeping watch at the bow came back to report.

Heifu knew that Jiangling City had many civilian docks along the river, but only the largest dock was reserved for official use. Located southeast of the city, it was called "Isle Palace." This had originally been a waterside traveling palace built during the reign of King Cheng of Chu, used exclusively for mooring the Chu king's boats.

It was said that the dragon boats the Chu king loved to ride once moored here. Qu Yuan described them in the Songs of Chu: "Riding a water chariot with lotus canopy, driving two dragons with hornless dragons as outriders" — that was a depiction of the dragon boat. The Chu nobility, on the other hand, rode "Green-Feather Boats," a kind of phoenix boat — long-tailed green banners were raised on board, which enfiefed lords could ride. Drifting with the waves on the Great River and Cloud Dream Marsh was a pastime of the Chu kings, dukes, and nobles.

But now, those gaudy, impractical boats had all vanished without a trace, leaving only vessels constantly docking and departing, carrying cargo or soldiers.

Li You and Heifu had also come up on deck. As they felt the river breeze and watched the dock draw near, Li You began pointing out the various boats visible on the river and asking Heifu their names.

Heifu answered him one by one: "In the Jiang-Han region of South Commandery, large boats are called 'ge,' small boats are called 'cha,' long and thin ones are called 'dai,' short and deep ones are called 'leng,' small and deep ones are called 'yu'…"

"In Guanzhong, any boat, no matter its shape, is just called a boat."

Li You had broadened his horizons. Although he was a man of Chu, Shangcai already belonged to the Central Plains, and later he had gone to Guanzhong — where would he have seen such an elaborate classification of boats? This also showed that the people of South Commandery truly lived off the water and depended on boats for their livelihood.

Beyond that, the large ship Heifu and the others were riding was also called a "towered ship." Its deck structures were especially massive, the hull tall and the beam wide, resembling a tower from the outside. This was a warship invented three hundred years ago when Chu and Wu contended for supremacy on the Yangtze and Huai Rivers. Many banners were raised on board to project might and prestige. It was the main battleship of the Qin navy, which was why the navy was also called the "Towered Ship Troops." Qin's towered ships were still relatively small, carrying only three hundred men; it was said that Chu's towered ships could carry over a thousand!

This was also why South Commandery did not want Chu to seize Chanling, Yidao, and other places — because the Chu army held absolute superiority on the water. If they gained the ports and docks upstream from Jiangling, the commandery office would be under constant threat.

As for the various combat vessels surrounding the towered ship, they were Great Wings, Middle Wings, Small Wings, and Mengchong assault ships, each with different functions. The boat that carried soldiers was called a "fang," made by joining two small boats together; one fang could carry fifty men.

At that moment, the two Great Wings scouting ahead suddenly slowed and sounded warning drumbeats!

Li You was startled, then realized it was not an enemy attack. From his position, looking ahead, he saw several long, narrow small boats had burst into the water ahead. The boatmen on them were straining at their wooden oars, racing past, seemingly in a speed contest…

"What boats are those?" Li You asked Heifu again as the warships ahead were ordered to disperse these civilian boats.

"They're ling boats." Heifu said, "They're made specifically for racing. Today is the fifth day of the fifth month by the Xia calendar…"

Today was the Dragon Boat Festival of later ages. In this era, there was already a custom of racing boats on the water, but it was not to commemorate Qu Yuan, because long before Qu Yuan died, he had already written a fu-poem describing this custom: "Riding a ling boat up the Yuan River, we strike the waves with Wu-style oars in unison. The boat hesitates and does not advance, caught in the back-current and frozen in place. At dawn we set out from Wangzhu, at dusk we lodge at Chenyang."

It was probably a demon-expelling custom left by the Pu and Yue peoples who had lived here in ancient times. There was a tradition in Chu that infants born on the fifth day of the fifth month, whether boy or girl, could not be raised to adulthood. So on this day, many infants were drowned in the river. This only eased somewhat after Qin ruled the region and strictly prohibited infant drowning by law.

"If anyone really were mourning Qu Yuan in this fashion, they'd probably be arrested too. After all, because of the incident I stirred up during the recent Shangsi Festival, the commandery governor even banned the Songs of Chu and Qu Yuan's fu." Heifu found it rather absurd. It seemed that as long as they remained under Qin rule, he could forget about a day off for the Dragon Boat Festival.

After this small interlude, nearly a hundred ships large and small, carrying several thousand returning Qin soldiers, finally reached Isle Palace. Dozens of docks had been cleared and stood empty, waiting only for everyone to come ashore.

Heifu saw that on the shore, besides the heavily guarded soldiers, many people in official robes were already waiting. He thought to himself, "This time the commandery governor has truly given Li You plenty of face."

Ye Teng was overbearing by nature. When Li You first arrived, Ye Teng did not even consult the commandant on some military appointments, only informing Li You after the decision was made. Li You also dared not oppose him — the commandery governor's authority was immense, and he himself had no foundation in the area.

During this early-summer offensive launched by Chu, the two local grandees had actually coordinated quite well. Ye Teng immediately returned to Jiangling to mobilize troops and assign commanders, while Li You personally led the main army across the river and forced back the Chu attack. Although the head count was not large, it still counted as a minor victory.

So Ye Teng probably wanted to use this opportunity to project an image, both internally and externally, of the commandery governor and commandant working in harmony. The governor had to deal with external enemies and was already racking his brains preparing for the autumn campaign; this was no time for internal strife over power struggles.

Just as Heifu had expected, as soon as Li You disembarked, Ye Teng walked over warmly. He and Li You bowed to each other, and Ye Teng praised him as "the shield and wall of the state!" When he spotted Heifu behind, he also beckoned him forward and praised him as "accomplished while young." It was clear that Governor Ye was very satisfied with the assignment Heifu had handled in Yidao.

What Ye Teng had worried about most was that this young man Heifu would handle the Yidao rebellion too crudely and brutally, causing the area to fester and become an ulcer impossible to govern, which would have pained Ye Teng terribly. As it turned out, Heifu first repelled the Ba people at Yidao City, then sent Ba Zhong to communicate with the various tribes, devised a plan to kill Fan Qin and execute the ringleaders. Most brilliantly, he coerced the Ba people into following him on a trip to Chanling, letting them witness the Qin army's formidable strength. Presumably, at least for the duration of the campaign to destroy Chu, the Yidao Ba people would stay quiet for a while.

After the commandery governor and commandant exchanged a round of mutual modesty, they boarded the same canopied carriage hand in hand and headed into the city. As they entered Jiangling City's southeast "Dragon Gate," Heifu noticed that besides the full turnout of government officials to welcome them, there were also many law academy disciples and commoners who had come to watch.

Among those law academy disciples were many faces familiar to Heifu — namely Qi Xia, Huang Tian, and the others with whom he had clashed on the day of the Shangsi Festival. They too spotted Heifu marching in the triumphal procession, and their expressions turned somewhat sour.

But far more commoners were cheering for Heifu and the other returning officers and soldiers.

Although this campaign could not be counted as any great achievement, it had stopped the Chu army from threatening Jiangling further and disrupting the locals' lives.

Ye Teng also had the convoy halt and made an exception by allowing some local elders to come forward and offer wine to Li You. Commandant Li seemed to enjoy the scene thoroughly. Ye Teng then had heralds proclaim Li You's merits to the surrounding commoners and elders — nothing more than the commandant leading the army to repel the Chu forces and safeguard South Commandery, and so on…

Watching this scene, Heifu understood as well: "Besides showing that his relationship with Li You is amicable, Ye Teng going to such elaborate lengths to stage our triumphal return in Jiangling City is also meant to wash away the gloom after the first failed campaign against Chu, and to stir up South Commandery's people's enthusiasm for the war…"

This old fox truly never missed a chance to put on a show. But precisely because someone like him was holding down South Commandery, this place could remain as secure as a boulder.

By now, more and more people drawn by the news were crowding the roadsides, packed so densely it truly reached the point of "morning clothes fresh, evening clothes tattered." On both sides of the street, the windows of two-story buildings were thrown open one after another, and women from wealthy households leaned against doors and windows, stealing glances outside. However, because Qin law forbade throwing objects from windows onto the street under heavy penalty, the women did not toss handkerchiefs or sachets at the officers and soldiers.

At that moment, Heifu raised his head and inadvertently glimpsed a window on the street ahead and to the side quietly opening. From the pitch-black window hole, something protruded…

He was not mistaken — it was a crossbow mechanism! A crossbow mechanism strictly forbidden for private possession among the common people!

Heifu's heart was instantly ripped from the cheerful atmosphere! It leaped into his throat!

He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Assassin!" At the same time, he grabbed the crossbow from the carriage and aimed it at that window!

"Look out!"

It was not just Heifu — the cavalry guards flanking the commandery governor and commandant were all on high alert and had also spotted this scene. They cried out warnings one after another while raising the shields they carried, wanting to protect the governor and commandant.

Yet the arrow was faster than human reaction. The snap of the bowstring was drowned out by the cheering of the excited crowd. All Heifu could see in the next instant was that on the canopied carriage ahead, Commandery Governor Ye Teng and Commandant Li You both collapsed almost simultaneously!

The cheering of all Jiangling, at this moment, seemed to have its throat pierced by a sharp arrow — in an instant, utter silence!

PS: Second chapter in the evening, will be rather late.

(End of chapter)