Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 861 Side Story: Main Plot (Wang Ze)

May of the twelfth year of Qisheng.

Quanzhou.

As soon as it was light, the villagers of the coastal fishing village gathered on the beach, waiting for the boats to dock.

"It's here, it's here, it looks like a cargo ship."

As soon as they could see the situation on the sea, several burly men in the lead surrounded them.

Do you need any goods moved?

“We also have mule carts here.”

“Manager Huang, it’s me… You used our vehicle last month, and we’ve just bought a few new mules. We’ll charge you the same price again, what do you think…”

Upon hearing this, Manager Huang glanced at the man's clothes and then said, "Bring your men and come with me on the ship to unload the cargo in a moment."

"okay."

The man who was chosen beamed with smiles, adjusting the blue sash tied around his collar, which signified their membership in Madam Xie's village association. He knew the steward had selected them because he trusted the association.

Since the prosperity of the Daliang maritime trade, the coastal people have had many more ways to make a living and their lives have become better and better. Most of these leaders have joined the village associations and earned money, which they were able to distribute to their hired workers.

Of course, some of them weren't entirely clean, but if they were discovered or a victim complained to the village association, someone would step in to handle the situation. The village association's involvement was like adding an extra layer of protection for merchants and their employees, so under the same circumstances, people from the village association were usually hired first.

"A few more fishing boats have arrived."

Those who had not found work ran towards other ships.

Fishing boats may hire more people because, in addition to unloading seafood, they may also need to kill and dry fish, which women are good at doing, and they will bring their children along to help with the work.

A six- or seven-year-old child's hand was grabbed, and the boatman glared at him fiercely: "Where did this thief come from, daring to eat our fish and shrimp?"

"Open your mouth, I'm going to teach you a lesson today..."

As he spoke, the man reached out and pried open the child's mouth, intending to pluck out the small shrimp he had swallowed.

The child was dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, and stared stubbornly at the boatman with his eyes. No matter how hard the boatman tried, the child just gritted his teeth and kept staring.

The boatman, his anger rising, released the child's chin and clenched his fist to strike, but was suddenly grabbed by two hands.

The boatman looked down and saw another boy, about seven or eight years old, smiling at him: "Manager, this is a newcomer who doesn't know the rules. I apologize on his behalf."

The boy then stuffed a bag of silver coins into the boatman's hand.

The boatman gently rocked the boat; there were about a few dozen coins. Although it was only enough for one meal, for someone of his status, receiving this much was quite a sum. Besides, maintaining a good relationship with the leader here would also bring them benefits.

The boatman stared at the boy: "Why are you alone today? Where's your uncle?"

“Uncle took a job and went out with a group of people,” the boy said, his clear eyes filled with a maturity beyond his years, and his expression exuding a strong sense of street smarts. “We’ll take odd jobs here.”

"If the manager needs someone, how about... we?"

As the boy spoke, he looked to the side. The boatman followed his gaze and saw a dozen or so children of varying heights standing not far away. The oldest was only eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest was five or six.

"We sort fish and shrimp just as quickly as the adults at home, but we earn 30% less."

The boatman pondered for a moment and said, "Come with me to see the master."

The boy was about to follow, but before leaving, he looked at the child who was stealing shrimp and said, "Follow me if you don't want to go hungry."

The child's eyes lit up, he swallowed the food in his mouth, and immediately followed the boy quickly.

The boy led a group of teenagers and began weaving through the fishing boats.

The boy did nothing but look around at the goods. Sometimes he would successfully take on some work, and sometimes he would be driven away, but he always remained calm and did not have any conflicts with anyone.

After inspecting the fish and shrimp on one boat, the boatman frowned and scolded, "Get off! Who let you on? We don't need any manpower. Leave immediately."

The boy smiled slightly and apologized, then nimbly jumped off the large ship. After the boy left, a group of people suddenly rushed out from the crowd and surrounded the four ships, including the one in question.

The people on the boat, startled, stepped forward to explain with forced smiles, but the men clearly gave them no chance to argue and immediately began to seize them. Seeing the situation was turning against them, the people on the boat tried to escape and immediately began to fight with the soldiers.

The dock was immediately thrown into commotion, and it was at this moment that the boy left the crowd and stepped onto a carriage.

Inside the carriage, a woman sat there. She looked to be in her fifties, with her hair simply tied in a bun. Her expression was serene, and her gaze was quiet yet subtly compassionate, somewhat like a nun in a temple or monastery. She unconsciously twirled her fingers, but there were no prayer beads between them anymore.

"Mr. Yuan." The boy bowed to the woman.

Jingyuan nodded. After following the young master, she simply returned to secular life and adopted the pseudonym Yuan Jing to make it easier to travel around.

"Have you caught them?" Jingyuan handed a handkerchief to Wang Ze.

Wang Ze took it and wiped the dirt off his face and hands, nodding and saying, "We caught them. Those people were spies who had infiltrated Daliang. We can find out their intentions by interrogating them."

Jingyuan asked, "How did you discover it?"

Wang Ze sat properly opposite Abbess Jingyuan. As the carriage began to move forward, Wang Ze spoke up, saying, "The fish and shrimp they caught are not fresh, and the types of fish are also different from those of the surrounding fishing boats."

"The fish and shrimp are not fresh because when they sail at sea, their real purpose is not to catch seafood, but to conceal their identity."

"The fish on their boat are different from those caught by other fishing boats, which shows that the sea area they come from is different from that of these fishing boats."

"These two anomalies are enough to raise suspicion."

Jingyuan nodded: "That's right, I've learned some things in the past six months."

Wang Ze said, "It's still early. I'll be taking some people to the docks to work soon so I can learn more. If I have the chance to see Uncle Xiaoshan, I'll ask him for advice."

As the two talked, they arrived at a mansion. Wang Ze and Jingyuan alighted from the carriage, and the mansion gate immediately opened, with a woman in her forties coming out to greet them.

Upon seeing Wang Ze, the woman's face lit up with joy at first, but when she noticed that Wang Ze had become much thinner and darker, a hint of resentment immediately appeared in her eyes.

"Why have you been gone for so long?"

He complained, but deep down he felt sorry for her.

Once the group entered the house, the woman became even more talkative: "I don't know what they were thinking! Which young man isn't well taken care of at home? Why bother hiring tutors to teach him?"

"They're doing well."

"The two smartest people in the world, who would have thought they would just abandon their eldest son at sea for half a year?"

Not to mention that I used to take him everywhere...

In short, it seems they did everything the scions of aristocratic families did in the opposite way.

"Calm down, Granny Wei," Wang Ze said with a smile. "This time, Father and Mother are with me, so there will be no danger."

"Where are they?" Granny Wei looked outside.

Wang Ze said, "My mother was in poor health and couldn't stand the heat. So my father took her north."

Granny Wei wanted to say something, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to say it, after all, Madam Xie was now their mistress.

"Alright, hurry up and change your clothes and rest for a bit."

Another woman led people into the room and went forward to help Wang Ze wash and dress.

Wang Ze, however, was used to doing things himself, and declined with a smile, eventually carrying a basin of water into the inner room by himself.

Anyone who has visited Cining Palace will recognize the two matrons in the room as the Master of Ceremonies and the Head of Ceremonies, who served the Empress Dowager. In the second year of the current emperor's reign, the Empress Dowager passed away. The Master of Ceremonies and the Head of Ceremonies did not die for their mistress, but instead, as the Empress Dowager had instructed, went to Lady Xie's side.

Now that she's in charge of serving dishes under Granny Wei's supervision, she's busy getting people to serve the food.

When Wang Ze came out of the inner room, she placed a plate of osmanthus cake in front of him. Watching Wang Ze take a bite and show a satisfied smile, she was happy too.

When the Empress Dowager ordered them to bring people to seek refuge with Lady Xie, she was filled with astonishment. Their arrival meant that everything remaining in Cining Palace would be at Lady Xie's disposal.

She also wondered how Madam Xie would arrange things for them, until Madam Xie handed her eldest son over to them...

Zhang She didn't deny that she was stunned again for a moment.

This is the eldest son whom the family values ​​most.

Wasn't Madam Xie afraid they would betray her at a crucial moment, using her eldest son as a hostage to coerce them into doing things? Later, she discovered that Madam Xie really wasn't afraid.

The Empress Dowager and Madam Xie clearly did not know each other, yet they were both incredibly willing to entrust their trust to one another.

And so, everything in Cining Palace was successfully moved from the Imperial Palace to... no... to Wang Ze's side.

After the meal, the master of ceremonies ground ink, Jingyuan drank tea, and Zhangshe did needlework on the side. Wang Ze then began to recount what he had seen in the past six months.

"Many countries across the sea are very poor, far worse off than us."

The emperor liked to hear this: "The late emperor once said that as long as we defend against the Western Xia and Northern Qi, and stabilize the political situation internally, our country will prosper forever."

Wang Ze wanted to nod in agreement with Zhang She's words, but his expression turned solemn: "Although many countries are not as good as Great Liang, we are not without worries."

Jingyuan slightly raised her head.

Wang Ze said, "Half a year ago, I left Daliang with my father and mother and went north. I met a man who was fighting with various tribes with only a hundred soldiers, seizing cattle, sheep and land."

"Six months later, when we returned, we passed by there again... and found that the man had over a thousand men under his command, all of whom were brave and skilled in battle. They were able to assemble their troops faster than our Imperial Guards, and they also knew better how to fight and kill."

"There is more than one such person. They will be worn down by internal strife, but they can also grow stronger in it, while the army of Liang will become weaker day by day. Civil officials have a higher status than military generals. Everyone wants to enter the cabinet and become prime minister. No one is willing to risk their lives to fight on the battlefield... yet they are still considered inferior. If this continues, the country will become rich, but the army will become weak."

The emcees stopped what they were doing, seemingly lost in thought.

“Furthermore,” Wang Ze said, “the vassal states have learned a great deal from us, including gunpowder, textiles, and medicine, but we rarely learn anything from them. We should learn from everyone’s strengths and not just focus on studying the classics and commentaries. We should establish mathematics, engineering, and military science departments as soon as possible… otherwise we may fall behind in the future.”

Wang Ze talked on and on, while the other three people in the room could only listen quietly.

After he finished speaking, the master of ceremonies and the master of ceremonies also left the room, because they really dared not listen any longer. Wang Ze's approach was even more terrifying than his grandfather's new laws. If it were to be implemented in the Liang Dynasty, it would probably be necessary to destroy everything with a single blow and then rebuild it.

When only Wang Ze and Jing Yuan were left in the room, Wang Ze asked Jing Yuan for advice.

"It seems that even if the Great Liang were to implement reforms, it wouldn't solve all the problems. So why do they... just let things continue as they are?"

Jingyuan habitually started rubbing her prayer beads again, forgetting that she had long since left them in the nunnery.

“You’re still young,” Jingyuan said, looking at Wang Ze. “You don’t know many things, and it’s not the right time for you.” If they really wanted to let things take their course, they wouldn’t have let her stay by Wang Ze’s side.

Wang Ze didn't quite understand what Jingyuan meant. After a long while, he simply asked, "Then... when will it be time?"

Jingyuan smiled and said, "When you have seen everything and have no more doubts in your heart..."

Having a vision that surpasses anyone else's might allow you to try and drive a new wave of change.

Wang Ze seemed to understand. He nodded and said, "My mother said that if you can't find the answer to your questions, you should study and observe more. If you keep doing this, you will eventually get the answer."

Having said this, he opened the book beside him: "Please begin your lecture, sir!"

He wants to learn more and grow up quickly so that he can do what he wants to do.

(End of this chapter)