“Then we shall restore the naval might we once possessed under the reign of my ancestor the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di. The naval shipyards at Nanjing shall be reawakened. I pray Heaven grant us the time to gather our forces,” said the emperor.
Word of the emperor’s declaration spread quickly through the government’s communication network connecting from town to town all the way to Nanjing’s shipyards. Along with the emperor’s declaration were the blueprints and manuals containing advanced shipbuilding techniques long forgotten since the glory days of the Treasure Fleet. The once great Treasure Fleet would be awakened as the Ming Imperial Armada. Thousands of carpenters, shipwrights, sail wrights, smiths, and laborers from various districts immediately gathered at Nanjing to begin the rapid construction of the Emperor’s new navy. The appearance of this new fleet would be largely unexpected by the Foreigners who have mistakenly deemed the Ming Navy as largely unmaintained in size and effectivity. The emperor ordered the current fleet of veteran warships to sail as soon as possible from Nanjing and head directly north towards the Gulf of Beizhili while a smaller fleet would sail from the shipyard near Beijing to meet the few anchored Terukk ships simultaneously, in an attempt to pin them from two sides. Such was the strategy of the emperor –one that would only work if the Foreigners continue to delay any aggressive action towards the Ming for the next several weeks. Such a premise was highly unlikely. Until then, their surest defense would be on land where Imperial troops would make a stand should the traitorous Jinyiwei initiate an attack or if the Terukk were to storm the shores. Over the next several days troops from various garrisons began setting up camp outside the capital awaiting orders for deployment from the emperor. Smithies and factories from the districts then began the mass manufacturing of new weapons such as swords, spears, cannons, bows, and hand guns. Smoke rose from rooftops all over the mega metropolis.
The Commander of the Imperial Army was the highest ranking officer of the Ming Military who answered only to the emperor himself. Coming from the outlying provinces and frontier areas of the empire, he arrived in Beijing with a force of 16,800 soldiers he had personally trained from garrisons of the inner central and northern districts adjacent to Beijing. His name was He Feishen, the elder brother of General He Jin, and he was a highly decorated and accomplished soldier known for his mercilessness in battle, effective leadership, and fighting prowess. He was best known for his astonishing record and despite his age, was at the prime of his life. He conducted himself with precision and was well known for his strictness and harsh disciplinary methods… and he hated the Terukk much more than he did the other foreigners who esteemed themselves equal or superior to the Ming Empire. His majestic armor was worthy of his rank and he wore it proudly as he rode his steed through the gates of the Forbidden City to personally report to the Hongzhi Emperor. Upon questioning the sudden change in security throughout the palace, he had been completely informed of the situation he had largely missed during his campaigns in the West and the training of troops in the outlying provinces. After hearing the news he grew red with anger and swore to destroy the traitors and eradicate the barbarous insolent foreigners, as he had said in his own words. The pieces were set and the time for war was nigh. Imperial Commander Feishen had fully come aboard in the war against the Terukk.
****
Near the southern tip of the Grand Canal, the group led by Famin Jie and Master Lo arrived at the small bustling port city of Hangzhou in search of a ferry that would take them near the capital posthaste via the Grand Canal. Towards the east near the sea, large structures of foreign architectural styles were being burned and demolished.
“It appears that the Foreigners have attempted to complete the first stage of their colonization of our land,” commented Master Lo.
“Their agenda goes far beyond mere colonization for what they seek is in direct opposition and defiance to Heaven,” added Famin Jie. They made their way through the narrow streets until they came upon a large tavern that sailors and boat captains of the canal frequented. If they were to find a captain that would be willing to take them up the Grand Canal, it was at a tavern.
“I will go inside to find a boatman for us,” said Master Lo.
“You must be careful, sailors are an unrefined and shifty lot,” said Buff Baby.
“I have dealt with their kind without incident many times before.” Upon entering the tavern, Master Lo found himself audience to a drunken brawl. One young man in particular was effectively fending off several others with his bare hands and fists. Tables, chairs, and furniture were the sorriest victims of the brawl as the beaten men crashed upon them by the unconventional carefree style fighting displayed by the young man. After the fight was over, he stood alone over his defeated opponents rather unscathed as he chuckled with a smug smile on his face. He took a drink from his canteen like nothing had happened. Master Lo approached him with hands relaxed behind his back.
“That was quite an entertaining display of fisticuffs,” he commented to the young man.
“What is it, Pops? Do you want a piece of this too?” he said holding up his fists.
“I am not much of a pugilist, I’m afraid. I am looking for a boat driver willing to ferry my companions and me to Beijing. We have ample coin,” replied Master Lo with a raised eyebrow evidently unamused.
“Ah, well why didn’t you say so?” he said. “I have the fastest boat in the Grand Canal!” He tossed a small bag of coins to the owner of the tavern and walked out with Master Lo. “That ought to cover the damages, mate,” he told the tavern keeper. Right outside the tavern, he greeted the group with a hand gesture. “My name is Fang Jiang and I will be ferrying you towards Beijing… I am headed to a town in that direction anyway,” he said. He guaranteed he had the fastest boat around and claimed to be well known (or most probably infamous) in almost every town or city along the Grand Canal.
The group struck a deal with him and pledged full payment upon arrival. Jiang was barely in his mid-twenties and was dashing, rugged, and charming. He was the kind of man who did not live by many rules or principles. He did whatever he needed to survive and live for the moment and he loved the life he lived.
“I’ve heard of this guy before,” whispered Buff Baby to Master Lo and Famin Jie. “He’s a smuggler, no better than a pirate.”
“Smuggler??” said Jiang clearly offended if not annoyed by the comment. “I take offense to that label, you bear man. I am no crook. I do whatever I must to get by. Whatever it is that people pay me to deliver is none of my business. I just deliver and I get paid.”
“I hear you there, comrade!” said Jirgal. “Although, I almost blew myself up when I was hired to deliver a shipment of explosive powder to a wealthy noble. Then I started to care about what I delivered.” The group laughed as they finally approached Jiang’s boat. It looked rather old and had several hastily-applied patches along the length of its hull.
“I mean no offense, sir but you said your boat was fast. This barge does not look fast at all,” commented Zuo Shilong scratching his bald head.
“The thing’s a piece of junk,” commented Jirgal.
“Do not be so hasty to judge for there is more to this barge than meets the eye!” Jiang assured them. He removed the tarp that covered the barge’s mid-section revealing two paddle-wheels directly linked to a set of gears and a pair of treadmills propelled by a crew of four. It served to supplement the boat’s two battened sails. Jirgal tried his best to hold back his laughter and instead released a loud snort that he quickly covered up with “coughs”.
“We have fresh clients, mates! We head to Beijing immediately,” said Jiang. The crew departed from Hangzhou and began the three and a half thousand li journey through the length of the Grand Canal passing several ancient towns and cities making only short stops for supplies and for Jiang’s personal matters. Buff Baby had remained rather silent throughout the lengthy journey, unable to rest properly, and ever more troubled. Trauma of his recent experiences in the wildern
ess and the loss of his men had been haunting him and although he had tried to hide it, his countenance all the more revealed his troubled and angry soul.
“The ones who attacked us–they were not men. I witnessed one of them become pierced by three arrows but still managed to kill two more before he fell to the weight of my blade. After I had dispatched two others, more descended from the mountain like a plague of death. I cannot live with the fact that I alone survived while none who were under my command had lived. I feel like I had betrayed them. For all my strength, I could not save them,” said Buff Baby to Famin Jie as he trembled in anger and grief.
“Dark times have descended upon us. Do not feel guilty for the loss of your men. The evil that had taken their lives was not of your doing. It was also not fate that had allowed you to live so that we may find you on the road,” he said. “Fret no more, for now you are in the company of friends.” Upon passing into the border of the province of Shandong, the company bore witness to the passing of a city in smoldering ruins. Its smoke could be seen from afar. People fled the town from both sides of the shore many crying and injured. As the barge sailed closer, the wreckage of many other boats littered the canal with some still burning as others managed to paddle and row past.
“That is Jining city, or may have been,” said Jiang as he observed the rising smoke.
“Turn back! Flee! Devils have come to end the world!” cried the men of the boats and barges that paddled past them. When Jiang’s barge entered the waters of Jining, the company beheld many hosts of men in dark robes and strange armors occupying the city’s smoldering ruins. They marched about and glanced at Jiang’s passing barge silently if not but communicating with whispers carried into the wind. Without warning, a flurry of arrows stormed over and onto the barge some tearing holes into the sails and piercing the deck. Jiang shouted to the crew to turn the crankshafts and run the treadmills to power the water wheels. To the rest, he distributed crossbows. A second volley of fiery arrows rained down upon the barge’s deck and into the hull in which Jiang immediately doused with blankets and buckets of water. Other arrows were parried and deflected by Zuo Shilong and his new metallic staff. Jirgal readied his own bow and began to return fire on the black clad archers on the shore. He sneered when his bolt directly hit the chest of one archer but did not fall.
“You like how that tastes? Well, have some more!” he shouted. He aimed but a hair higher and launched a bolt right into the archer’s helmeted head. He laughed with satisfaction as the shooter fell into the water.
From beneath deck, Jiang produced an antiquated mortar along with a crate of iron balls. He fired the mortar and decimated the line of archers on the shore. They scattered and repositioned themselves.
On top a broad pavilion, a tall figure stood upright and motionless as it glared at the passing barge. It wore a ghastly mask and a head covering adorned with what looked like large nails. The figure’s robes of black and red swayed gently in the breeze as he eerily observed the curious company of men passing by in the water. Famin Jie stood erectly on the barge’s bow seemingly unaffected by the fighting going on around him. He glared right back at the dark mysterious figure declaring an opposition and defiance to his presence -which did not go unnoticed by others. Jiang ordered all fire be directed upon the mysterious figure. It became apparent to them however, that none of the arrows, bolts, and mortars was able to land their mark. Every shot went unexplainably wayward, many times missing their target by mere finger lengths. The figure remained standing completely indifferent to the attacks being directed upon him. Even a small ballast stone that Jirgal hurled in frustration landed harmlessly at the foot of the figure.
“Oh, come on, you cheating filth!” he shouted angrily slamming his fist onto the deck. When the barge had finally passed the waters of the ruined city, Jiang stood in bewilderment unable to reconcile what he had just witnessed. Though the crew and company were left virtually unharmed and minimal damage had been inflicted on his vessel, he was in disbelief of not only the fate of the ancient city of Jining, but the dark figure’s ability to avoid harm. These disturbances did not go unaired to the rest of the company whom he felt knew more than he about the present situation.
“It’s obvious to me that these foreigners who haven’t even been here long shan’t be willing to be ousted so easily. But what is happening has to be of another source, a different cause!” Jiang exclaimed.
“The destruction of the city and the creature dressed in the dark robes are one in purpose with that of the Pale Foreigners. The rise of the darkness within the Ming Empire and the presence of the invaders along our shores are intrinsically linked.” said Famin Jie and Master Lo. “What we have witnessed is merely the beginning of a larger uprising. It was but a taste of what should befall the entire Middle Kingdom.”
“What of the tall man we saw standing there? How did he avoid harm without moving? Such a feat is impossible and unheard of even amongst the greatest warriors and masters!” Zuo Shilong exclaimed.
“Whether he was a man, I have doubts. I discern that he is one of the many Foreigners rallying evil in secret across the empire. He is a conjurer of a foreign and powerful magic. It is accursed and altogether a potent evil,” said Master Lo, his eyes narrowing in thought. “He is more than flesh and blood that we can destroy. Darkness sustains him.”
Jirgal moved about on the deck collecting the arrows that had stuck to the wooden planks. He secured them into his quiver.
Beneath the deck of Jiang’s barge Master Lo laid down on the mats restlessly. He had grown worrisome and greatly anxious.
“What is troubling you, brother?” asked Famin Jie.
“Evil is rising across the provinces. I fear for my daughter and all who take refuge in my home. Who shall defend them when the soldiers of darkness would descend upon my home?”
“It is by your obedience to Heaven that you sit in the bowels of this boat and it is also through obedience that you place the safety of your home through faith and trust in Heaven,” said Famin assuring him. “You are right. I am wrong to fear.”
The final stop of the Grand Canal ended at the district of Tongzhou on the south east edge of the capital. Many days of sailing have finally brought the company to Beijing and Buff Baby’s sigh of relief could be heard by everyone as they departed the barge. Fearful of leaving the security inside the city limits, Jiang and his crew of four agreed to keep their barge harbored in Tongzhou’s port where a heavy military presence patrolled the streets. Alas, weeks of journeying have brought them to their destination and Famin Jie and Master Lo gave thanks to Heaven in the streets as onlookers scratched their heads. The immensity of the capital lay before them and was as it seemed a sea of streets and large buildings.
“The endless sky can only be seen in glimpses from the streets. It does not feel natural,” said Jirgal who was most accustomed to the countryside where the full expanse of land and sky had become most familiar to him. A large and thick gate of solid wood stood between the company and the city proper. It was guarded by lightly armored Academicians and by soldiers loyal to the emperor. Famin Jie’s company looked most peculiar and with some effort they bypassed the hassle of being stopped and questioned by blending with the crowds that squeezed through the busy gates.
Within the bowels of the city, the curious company meandered through the busy streets careful to avoid the attention of prefects and soldiers patrolling the blocks. “We are famished. Let us station at one of the inns for food to regain our strength,” they said. It was after they have had their fill that Famin Jie alone decided to approach the heavily guarded gates of the Forbidden City palace on his own and would call for them should he be successful in speaking with the emperor. He himself was not sure how he, a lowly man advanced in years would ever gain such access to the emperor. His only concern at this moment was obeying the command that was given to him and trusted the rest would fall in sequence according to Heaven’s Will. It had been less than half a day that the gates that op
ened up to the avenue leading to the palace was finally in view. Famin Jie marched carefully towards the first main gate of the majestic and awe-inspiring palace grounds.
“Never before have I seen such a tremendous display of wealth and power. Oh how great is the favor of Heaven upon the fathers of the Ming,” he whispered to himself. As he approached the gate a troop of soldiers led by an Academician stopped him mid-stride.
“Do not approach the palace any more, sire,” said the Academician. “Are you lost?”
“I mean no harm, young man. It is very important that I speak with the Emperor for I have a message from Heaven that he must hear during these extraordinary times,” Famin Jie replied. The soldiers looked to each other puzzled and laughed.
“You are confused, Uncle,” the soldier said without intentions of mockery. “No one but the Scholars and royal officials are to see the emperor. Come we will take you home to your children.”
“My mind is clear and what I bring holds the fate of the empire. You must listen!” said Famin. The soldiers just shook their heads. He continued to plead to no avail. They proceeded to escort Famin Jie away from the palace premises. Just as he began to lose hope, the rhythm of hooves pounding the road quickly approached the guards and the rider presented forth to them a badge as proof of his comradery with the League of Scholars.
Sun Xin dismounted from his horse and approached the guards. “The teacher is my friend and ally. I am to meet with the Scholars immediately and he shall accompany me there as well,” Sun Xin declared to the guards. They looked to each other and shrugged. With approval from the supervising Martial Academicians, some of whom recognized Sun Xin immediately granted them access and escorted them through the Forbidden City’s grand entrance. It opened up to a long, awe-inspiring ceremonial avenue which led directly through the palace’s three monumental gates –the largest of which was the majestic Meridian Gate which served as the main entrance to the palace. It was not long until the ‘Hall for Venerating Heaven’ stood before them and it was there they would find the emperor. The Academician guard greeted Xin as he passed.
The Sage, the Swordsman and the Scholars Page 19