Chapter 1559: Farewell

"However, besides praising you, he also raised some issues. He said that over the years, members of the mission have been using their status and positions to shield relatives—and some have even personally engaged in commerce in Goryeo, seizing the properties of many Goryeo people and amassing huge fortunes. Are these things true?" the Crown Prince asked in a low voice.

"This… Although I have always enforced strict discipline, it is true that some people have indeed taken part. I am guilty of oversight." Shi Gaoyi felt deeply troubled, but he no longer dared to deceive the Crown Prince and had no choice but to admit it.

"Among these people, were there any officers from the garrison? Also, were any officers from the Liaodong Army involved as well?" the Crown Prince pressed on.

Shi Gaoyi felt even more distressed. Such things had certainly occurred, but those men had just spoken well of him—how could he now speak ill of them?

"In Great Han, civil and military affairs are strictly separated. Although the embassy garrison is nominally under my command, in truth I cannot issue them orders. Moreover, Great Han has always respected military officers, and I truly dare not interfere in military matters. As for the Liaodong Army, I have never been to Liaodong, so I have even less contact with them… Therefore, regarding the garrison and the Liaodong Army, I truly do not know much. It is possible… perhaps there were some cases." Unwilling to offend the military, Shi Gaoyi chose to feign ignorance—oversight was far better than making enemies of them.

"You spend every day in close quarters with the garrison officers, yet you claim to know nothing? Very well, let me tell you then. The Duke of Ji has already admitted to me that the garrison was indeed involved. And it was not just the garrison—even the Liaodong Army took part. Many within their ranks privately shielded others in running businesses, and some even handled the operations themselves."

The Duke of Ji had actually admitted it so candidly? Shi Gaoyi was somewhat astonished. He had assumed that with the Duke's towering reputation and exalted status, the Crown Prince would be unable to press him too hard. He had never expected that the Marshal would voluntarily confess the situation to the Crown Prince.

The Duke's move had caught him off guard and put him in a passive position, yet it also inadvertently shifted the bulk of the responsibility away from him. After all, if the Liaodong Army was implicated, then his own culpability as head of the mission was greatly diminished.

"So… so it really is true. How unexpected!" Shi Gaoyi exclaimed with a sigh. "Your Highness, the court has always issued strict orders forbidding military personnel from engaging in commerce. That there are black sheep within the Liaodong Army defying the ban is utterly unacceptable and demands a thorough purge!"

"The Liaodong Army's problems will naturally be handled by the Duke of Ji; you need not trouble yourself, Mission Chief Shi. Since the Duke reported this matter to me, he surely knows how to deal with it." The Crown Prince was unmoved by his performance. "Mission Chief Shi, I ask you only this: were you personally involved in any of these affairs?"

"Absolutely not!" Shi Gaoyi immediately cried out. "Your Highness, I have spent many years in Goryeo, always taking the defense of Great Han's interests as my own duty. If at times I was overly overbearing and failed to heed the sensibilities of the Goryeo monarch and court, that indeed happened, and I will strive to correct it in the future. But as for violating the laws and statutes of Great Han, I have absolutely never done so. I dare to swear an oath—if I have deceived the Crown Prince, I will submit to any punishment!"

He spoke with great confidence, and it was indeed the truth. Appointed as ambassador to Goryeo, he had always set his sights on climbing higher. He was therefore extremely careful to keep his own hands clean. Although he had accepted considerable tribute from subordinate merchants and officials to supplement his income, he had truly never committed any blatantly unlawful acts.

Many of his subordinates, sensing no hope of promotion, had turned their thoughts to securing a nest egg for their retirement. Though he knew of it, he pretended ignorance, ensuring he never participated himself. That was why he dared to swear that oath before the Crown Prince.

"It is good that you were not involved…" The Crown Prince nodded slightly. "Mission Chief Shi, after all, understands the greater principles."

Receiving this acknowledgment from the Crown Prince, Shi Gaoyi suddenly felt strength return to his limbs.

Having served in officialdom for so long, he understood the rules of the court well—when you serve in an external post, you will inevitably not be entirely without fault; you will always make some mistakes. But so long as your greater principles remain intact and you have accomplished the objectives set by your superiors, your deeds will still be counted as meritorious, with no real transgression.

The new dynasty, having risen from humble beginnings, was characterized by a pragmatic and unadorned style among both sovereign and ministers. The officials at court were all well-versed in their respective affairs, not mere literary ministers who only knew rhetoric and were ignorant of practical matters. Thus, they disliked empty high-minded talk and even more so disliked appealing to morality and popular sentiment for every issue.

By setting such a tone, the Crown Prince was effectively signaling the court's recognition of his many years of service, deeming his faults to be minor ones and him an official still worth salvaging and trusting.

Though he felt a great weight lift from his heart, his expression grew even more solemn.

"Your Highness's lesson is well taken. In the future, I will certainly take this as a warning. I will ensure that the mission's officials pay greater heed to their methods. Furthermore… I will discipline my subordinates and absolutely forbid them from continuing their reckless misdeeds!"

What he did not know was that the Crown Prince had no intention of letting him off so easily.

"You are the mission chief. If your subordinates act recklessly, you cannot escape responsibility. To claim you are only now learning of their misdeeds is even more indicative of muddled incompetence." The Crown Prince raised his head and looked directly at Shi Gaoyi, who guiltily lowered his own. "Oversight and muddled incompetence—at the very least, you cannot escape these two charges. Mission Chief Shi, although as an official of the Foreign Affairs Department you are not directly under my jurisdiction, since I am charged with inspecting Liaodong, I have the duty to investigate officials. I will write a letter to the capital explaining the situation. The Foreign Affairs Department will presumably take it into consideration and handle the matter as they see fit. You will await their reply."

Although the Crown Prince was not his direct superior, given his exalted status, which official denounced by a personal letter from him would not be dealt with? Kong Zhang, the head of the Foreign Affairs Department, was his powerful patron and would not dismiss him, but a disciplinary measure this time was surely unavoidable. At the very least, his prior scheme to be promoted to Deputy Minister of the future Foreign Ministry would likely come to naught—his colleagues in the capital would not let this opportunity slip by.

He had kept his post as ambassador, but now faced future disciplinary action from the capital. This outcome instantly turned the once-ambitious Shi Gaoyi's heart to ashes. Yet despite the grievance and anguish filling his chest, he could only silently bow his head to the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness's lesson is well taken."

"Very well. Return for now. Stay in Jinzhou for the time being. When I set out for Goryeo, you will accompany me. Once the war begins, I will need to trouble you then." The Crown Prince suddenly smiled faintly. "Mission Chief Shi, let us take each matter on its own. You have committed some errors in the past, but that is past. So long as you assist me capably when the time comes, I can write another letter to the capital praising you. Atone for past faults with new merits—please remember those words."

Shi Gaoyi's eyes widened. In his astonishment, he finally grasped the Crown Prince's meaning.

"I thank Your Highness!" He rose to his feet and bowed deeply to the Crown Prince once more.

Then, he turned and left the post station with heavy steps.

……………………

The evening sea was a blaze of gold and emerald.

The setting sun, a crimson disk wrapped in red-tinted clouds, set the sky ablaze with sheets of orange light. The sea, too, was dyed golden by this radiance; the rippling waves reflected the golden rays like countless scales of gold.

Beneath this very glow, the Commander of the Liaodong Army, Marshal and Duke of Ji, Chen Sheng, stood with several of his trusted senior Liaodong Army officers at the harbor pier, quietly watching the Crown Prince before him.

The Crown Prince of Great Han would, on this very evening, conclude his inspection tour of Liaodong and then set sail for Goryeo, ready to throw himself into the first great undertaking of his career.

Chen Sheng's heart was filled with both deep emotion and boundless expectation. This youth before him, over the brief span of half a month together, had left an extremely profound impression on him and given him even greater confidence in the dynasty's future.

With a Crown Prince of innate intelligence, rich learning, and a nature both benevolent yet resolute and unadorned, Great Han—this dynasty he had helped the Emperor piece together bit by bit—would surely continue its upward trajectory, leading its people onto a path of ever greater prosperity and strength.

And he himself, having rendered enough meritorious service over these many years and fought enough battles, truly ought to return to the capital for a good rest.

The sea wind whipped up tall waves on the ocean's surface, then swept onto land, fiercely buffeting everyone present. The enormous transport ships, along with the warships escorting them, had all unfurled their sails. The great sails billowed full beneath the clear sky, making everything on the shore seem so very small.

According to the prior arrangements of the harbor officials, all the piers at Jinzhou Harbor would be sealed today under the pretext of bidding farewell to the Crown Prince as he departed Liaodong. All cargo and passenger traffic was forcibly halted to facilitate the Liaodong Army's troop embarkation. Moreover, the Crown Prince's departure had been deliberately scheduled for the evening to conceal the scale of the transport operation.

One regiment—a full regiment of Great Han soldiers—along with a handpicked cavalry battalion, totaling several thousand men and horses, would be shipped out of Liaodong this very night to join Great Han's expedition against Japan.

These soldiers were now arrayed in neat formations beside the various piers, ready to board at any moment.

Most of them still did not know that Great Han was preparing to launch an attack on Japan; they believed they were being shipped to some other battlefield. But this did not dampen their morale. These officers and soldiers stood with heads high and chests out, their fighting spirit soaring, each one eager to win glory for the nation and earn honors for themselves in the coming battles.

The time to leave had come.

The Crown Prince looked at Chen Sheng with some reluctance, and finally bowed his head slightly toward him.

"Duke of Ji, I must take my leave. Please take good care of yourself from now on."

"Your Highness, take care as well!" Duke of Ji Chen Sheng suddenly reached out and wrapped his arm around the waist of the youth, who was a head shorter than him, giving him a firm shake. "I will await news of Your Highness's victories in the capital!"

From that shake, the Crown Prince felt the surging emotion of this usually reserved middle-aged man.

"Mm." He nodded firmly. "I will never disappoint the expectations of my Imperial Father and my uncle!"

Then, he pulled free of the Duke's grasp, turned, and strode forward resolutely. He stepped onto the gangplank and boarded the Songshan, the flagship of Great Han's Northern Fleet, which he had sailed on before.

"Embark!" At that very moment, the officers issued the command in unison. The soldiers, in orderly columns, stepped onto the wooden ramps lowered by the transport ships and boarded the vessels.

Though an army of thousands, they moved as one, their motions uniform and eerily silent. Only the rhythmic sound of boots on the boarding planks echoed along the seashore.

After boarding the Songshan, the Crown Prince immediately went to the deck and looked toward the distant shore. Chen Sheng, the man he regarded as an uncle, stood unwavering on the bank. Their eyes quickly met, and they gazed at each other for a long while.

As the soldiers boarded one by one, the columns on the shore grew shorter and shorter, until finally every transport ship was fully loaded with troops. Next, the cavalry began boarding via specially constructed wooden ramps. These flamboyantly and ostentatiously attired cavalrymen, each one imposing and dignified, led their treasured warhorses onto the transport ships. The riders were silent, but the horses, of course, lacked human wisdom. Even though they had all been fitted with bits, their whinnying rose and fell in waves, like the music of reed pipes.

Though reed pipe music usually carries a note of desolation, today's scene was instead filled with high-spirited ardor, as if it were a fanfare sounding for the expedition.

Soon, the cavalry battalion had also entered their respective transport ships.

"Your Highness, all the troops have boarded. We can set sail now." Cai De approached the Crown Prince from behind and reported in a low voice.

The moment to depart had indeed arrived.

The Crown Prince did not turn his head; he merely nodded silently.

"Set sail!" Having received permission, Northern Fleet Commander Cai De immediately turned and shouted to the sailors behind him.

"Set sail!" The order was relayed down level by level, until at last the sailor on the mast-top lookout platform also ran up the signal flags.

The anchor was drawn up by the chain winch; the faintly chilly spring wind violently swelled the great sails, lending the sailors a mighty hand from nature to set this ship moving out of the harbor together.

The ship swayed gently once, barely perceptible, as if an illusion, but very soon the motion became unmistakable — the shore was receding from them at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the distance where his gaze reached, the sun had already gradually sunk below the sea's surface, leaving only a last sliver of lingering light; night was about to fall.

As the ship was gradually leaving the port, Duke of Ji, Chen Sheng, still stood on the pier, watching the Crown Prince without moving a muscle. Just as the ship was about to depart the harbor, he slowly extended his hand and, facing the Crown Prince, waved it heavily several times. Thus one generation watched the new generation take up their banner, embarking on a glorious campaign to seize new victories.

After that, Chen Sheng made no further gesture. He turned around and looked at the Adjutant Counselor Ning Zeguang beside him.

"Let's go. We'll travel through the night. It's time to return to Shenyang."

"We leave tonight?" Ning Zeguang was somewhat surprised. "The day is already dark. Why not simply set out tomorrow morning?"

"No, we leave tonight!" Chen Sheng did not waver in the slightest. "We've been away from Shenyang for so long, there's a mountain of backlogged matters waiting. If we don't seize the time to deal with them, are we supposed to keep the capital waiting for us?"

"Yes, sir!" Seeing that his superior had already made his decision, Ning Zeguang said no more. He brought his heels together and answered at once, "I will go make preparations for the Marshal immediately!"

Then, without looking back, Chen Sheng walked toward the city, a large retinue of attendants and military officers following behind him.

The Crown Prince remained standing at the ship's stern. All he could see was Chen Sheng's gradually receding back, until at last everything vanished into the dimness, and even the harbor's shoreline became blurred and indistinct.

The ship was sailing eastward. Standing at the stern, he happened to face the sunset. Within his line of sight, the final thread of lingering light vanished behind the mountains, and all of heaven and earth sank into the night, awaiting the next sunrise.

Nothing could be seen clearly anymore. All that remained in his ears was the sound of the sea wind striking the sails, and the lapping of the waves as the ship cut through the sea's surface.

These sounds beat against his chest like drumbeats, leaving his heart unsettled for a long, long time.

Because he knew that from this moment on, he was no longer a child who had to defer to every elder. He had become an adult — an adult who needed to make his own decisions and bear the consequences himself. Moreover, because of his status as Crown Prince, the responsibility he had to shoulder was far greater than that of the vast majority of people. At the age of fourteen, he had become the overall Garrison Commander of the army campaigning against Japan, with the power to decide the fate of several nations.

This country, this fleet, these soldiers — how many people's hopes had already been pressed onto his shoulders... and such hopes would only grow more numerous from now on.

But I will absolutely never shrink back, because I am the Eldest Son of the Emperor, the Crown Prince of the Great Han.

Facing the howling sea wind, the Crown Prince drew a long breath, carefully scenting the faint saltiness within it.

"What is Your Highness the Crown Prince thinking about?" A youthful boy's voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Zheng Sen asked as he stepped up behind the Crown Prince, studying him with curiosity.

"We are about to leave the Great Han. I fear it will be a very long time before we return." The Crown Prince reached out and grasped the railing on the deck, then said in a low voice, "Do you miss home?"

"I've thought about it now and then, but not often." Zheng Sen's answer was perfectly honest. "I left home many years ago; I've long gotten used to it. Besides, the capital isn't my home."

"That is true..." The Crown Prince nodded. "By the way... I've always wanted to ask you — your mother is Japanese, and this time we are going to attack Japan. Does it make you uncomfortable at heart?"

"It's true my mother is Japanese, but she married my father, didn't she? There's a saying: a married woman follows her husband. Since she married my father, she is a person of the Great Han now, and has no relation to Japan anymore." Zheng Sen answered with an uncharacteristically solemn expression. "Besides, I'm following the Crown Prince. Whoever the Crown Prince says to strike, I strike. I've never thought that much about it!"

"You really... you really are simple-hearted." The Crown Prince couldn't help but laugh. "Still, simplicity is a good thing. Thinking too much is pointless anyway."

Then he raised his head once more, gazing at the already pitch-black sky in the distance.