Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 674 The Army Approaches the Han River
"How could you...?" Liu Xifen was shocked, not expecting Li Erzhan to say such a thing in public.

“Isn’t it just a simple matter if we break it down into plain language?” Li Erzhan rolled his eyes at Liu Xifen. “If we have to put it bluntly, compared to the Xing’an brothers, Lingyang is obviously more suspicious. Although he participated in the ‘request to depose the mother’ initiated by Rencheng Jun a long time ago, his younger brother Lingchang Jun did indeed die because of Shin Gyeong-hee.”

"Moreover, there have long been rumors in the capital that Prince Dingyuan died in the deep winter of the year before last because His Highness seized his mansion in Saimon-dong to build Qingde Palace. In other words, he and His Highness have a blood feud of killing his father and brother, making him a clearer suspect. Now that I've said all this, do you, Uncle Liu, still doubt me?"

Liu Xifen lowered his head and remained silent for a while. "I'm sorry."

Li Erzhan's eyes flickered, and his cold expression softened slightly. When he spoke again, a different kind of light flashed in his eyes: "Forget it. I don't blame you for overthinking, after all, someone is stirring things up. I'm giving you a piece of advice. Don't listen to Park Seung-jong in everything. He's trampled me down now, but if you get in his way later, he'll definitely do everything in his power to crush you underfoot."

Liu Xifen was perceptive enough to immediately realize that Li Erzhan was trying to sow discord. "Say less, I know what you mean."

Li Erzhan turned around, propped his chin on his hand, and laughed, "Of course you know, and I won't deny it, but you should still remember that it was I who promoted him, which is why he is where he is today. If he treats me like this, how will he treat you?"

"Stop talking," Liu Xifen hissed.

Li Erzhan continued, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings: "You know Park Seung-jong better than I do. The day before yesterday, when we met, Lady Kim specifically asked him for advice, and he was the first one. What did he do then? Did he push you out to take the fall? Now, with the imperial army about to enter the city and the Crown Prince having returned to the West Palace, I'm definitely out of luck. Before long, it won't be long before it's just the two of you on this mountaintop. At that point, will he push you off, just like he pushed me off?"

"Stop talking!" Liu Xifen slammed his fist on the table, not too hard, not too soft.

"Hehe, alright. I won't say anything more. I wish your friendship will last forever." Li Erzhan hadn't expected to sow discord between Park Seung-jong and Yoo Hee-bun so successfully. He was quite satisfied with subtly planting a seed of suspicion.

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On the south bank of the Han River, the river wind is strong.

At a ferry crossing on the western side, Zhang Wan, the military advisor to the imperial envoy welcoming the army, Zheng Douyuan, the deputy envoy welcoming the army and the chief clerk of the delegation, Gao Yonghou, had already disembarked. However, a large number of small boats carrying attendants, gifts, and cattle and horses were still floating on the river, waiting to dock.

This ferry crossing is quite small, with only a few piers. Relying solely on these temporarily requisitioned, sailless ferries to cross the river means that loading and unloading can only proceed slowly. Of course, Hanyang cannot, or rather dares not, send any large ships, because the nearest large-scale naval fleet to Hanyang is at Ganghwa, the mouth of the Han River.

Slow loading and unloading is an unavoidable reality, but the scorching sun can easily wear down people's patience and rational judgment of reality.

"Hurry up, hurry up, what are you all doing!" After standing under the scorching sun for almost a quarter of an hour, Jung Doo-won, the deputy envoy of the welcoming army and the inspector of the government, finally couldn't hold back any longer. He was full of impatience and shouted loudly, as if the delay was not because Hanyang dared not send people to Ganghwa, but because the conscripted laborers were too slow.

The laborers at the ferry crossing looked up at Zheng Douyuan when they heard the call, but quickly lowered their heads again.

"Tch, those damn corrupt officials." A middle-aged laborer with a dark face and calloused hands muttered under his breath as he untied the ropes from the boat bollard. "Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up my ass! If you think it's too slow, do it yourself."

"Keep your voice down!" another laborer, whose hair and beard were all white but whose hands and feet were still strong, immediately whispered and scolded, "Are you trying to get us beaten?"

"Damn it, I'm afraid of him? If he dares to hit me with a board, I'm quitting!" The middle-aged laborer continued to mutter, his voice even louder: "I get paid for carrying passengers, and I get rice for carrying grain. But to pull this trip for these officials, I only get a beating. Is there no justice in this world?!"

Zheng Douyuan, who was already suppressing a barely suppressed anger, flared up instantly upon hearing this complaint. "Who's talking! Come out!"

"Yes, sir." The middle-aged laborer was about to respond when the white-haired laborer stopped him. "Stop talking, stop talking. Can you compete with the officials? Hurry up and get to work. Once these officials are gone, we can go back and haul people and goods."

The white-haired laborer's voice was very soft, and Zheng Douyuan, standing outside the crowd, couldn't hear what he was saying at all. However, Zheng Douyuan clearly saw the pulling motion and the subsequent movement of his lips.

"You troublemaker, what are you saying!" Zheng Douyuan pointed. "Come out here!"

The white-haired laborer and the middle-aged laborer worked in the same place, so they both subconsciously thought that Zheng Douyuan was referring to the middle-aged laborer who had been muttering and shouting earlier.

The white-haired laborer dared not utter another word of comfort. He released his grip, took a step back, while the middle-aged laborer, now young and strong, flung off the rope and stood stiffly upright. "What are you doing!"

When he shouted, although none of the other laborers at the ferry crossing responded in kind, they all looked at him. As a result, they slowed down their work.

"You troublemaker!" Zheng Douyuan was taken aback. He wiped the sweat from his brow, pointed at the middle-aged laborer, and shouted to the surrounding soldiers, "Go and arrest him!"

The soldiers exchanged glances, but none of them took the first step. There were only a few of them, and even if they had knives, they wouldn't necessarily have a good chance against this group of strong and sturdy laborers.

More importantly, why risk getting beaten up to arrest someone? Just because this lowly official in the government was impatient and got a temper from waiting in the sun? They are soldiers of the sergeant rank.

"What are you all standing there for!" Zheng Douyuan, unaware of the scoundrels' ulterior motives, continued to shout at the squad leader, "Go and arrest that troublemaker right now!"

The sergeant's eye twitched, but he didn't move.

Just then, Zhang Wan and Gao Yonghou, who were directing the laborers to load and unload gifts and pull carts and oxen on another pier, ran over.

"What's going on? What happened here?" Zhang Wan asked, frowning.

"A troublemaker has spoken rudely!" Zheng Douyuan turned his head to look at the two men. "This humble official was just about to order his arrest."

Zhang Wan was taken aback. "What troublemaker?"

"That's the man!" Zheng Douyuan pointed at the middle-aged laborer standing alone in the crowd, and with a few words, he turned the tables: "I only told them to hurry up, and he threw down the rope and refused to work, and even tried to incite others to strike! If such a scoundrel and lowly person is not severely punished, where is the dignity of my noble family!"

Zhang Wan frowned and gave Zheng Douyuan a furrowed glare, then turned and beckoned to the middle-aged laborer. "Come here."

After this delay, the middle-aged laborer's anger subsided. But once his anger subsided and he calmed down, fear began to rise within him.

Seeing this, the other laborers around them quickened their pace, demonstrating to the officials with concrete actions that they were not going on strike.

It's just a requisition without compensation; it's not like we're starving. If we anger the officials, they might actually take the boats away, and that would be truly fatal.

Seeing the other laborers take action to sever ties with the middle-aged man who was leading the charge, the yamen soldiers under the command of the sergeant suddenly became emboldened. The sergeant, puffing out his chest, walked up to Zhang Wan as if seeking credit. "What are you doing? Didn't you hear the magistrate call you over?" As soon as the sergeant moved, the other soldiers followed suit. They were ready to pounce and seize the man at Zhang Wan's command.

However, Zhang Wan did not order the arrest as Zheng Douyuan had expected. Instead, she smiled and continued to beckon to the middle-aged laborer: "Come here. I won't do anything to you, I'll just say a few words to clarify things."

The middle-aged laborer shakily stepped out of the crowd, left the pier, and came before Zhang Wan, kneeling down with a thud. "My lord!"

"He said you incited others to strike?" Zhang Wan pointed at Zheng Douyuan.

"Innocent, sir, I'm innocent!" The middle-aged laborer quickly shook his head and denied it. "This sir is anxious and keeps urging us on, but there are only a few piers at this ferry crossing. All the boats from the other side are crowding here at once, so we can only let one boat pass at a time, and then we have to load them onto the cart. Even if we wanted to go fast, we couldn't go fast."

"Bullshit! You clearly said you didn't want to do it anymore!" Zheng Douyuan stepped forward, intending to kick the laborer, but Zhang Wansheng stopped him.

"Alright." Zhang Wan glared at Zheng Douyuan. "That's enough. What's the use of rushing? Was he wrong in what he said?"

“But he’s just a lowly commoner! How dare he speak so rudely.” Zheng Douyuan’s face turned extremely red, whether from heat or anger, it was hard to tell.

"Enough! What kind of time is this to cause trouble?" Zhang Wan interrupted loudly. "If this really leads to a strike and delays the mission, are you going to take responsibility?"

"This..." Zheng Douyuan shrank back immediately.

"Honestly." Zhang Wan rolled her eyes at Zheng Douyuan. "It's the middle of summer, you're hot and they're hot too, you're annoying and they're even more annoyed. They're still working down there."

“It’s his job,” Zheng Douyuan muttered.

"What did you say!" Zhang Wan frowned and glared at him.

"It's nothing. It's just hot," Zheng Douyuan said, wiping away sweat.

"If you're hot, go rest in the pavilion over there. Don't cause trouble here," Zhang Wan said, pointing to a pavilion built on the west side of the ferry crossing. But in the distance, she saw a large ship with its sails raised, sailing upstream against the wind.

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Overall, the Han River is a gentle river. During the non-rainy season, most sections of the river appear very calm, even like a lake. In the relatively flat areas around Hanyang, even during the rainy season in summer, the current is not very rapid unless there is heavy rainfall or a typhoon.

However, going against the current is still going against the current. Even with the help of the wind, it is not fast. The short journey of a few miles took almost half an hour to complete.

"What kind of bullshit Mapo Ferry is this? The pier is even shorter than our boat!" On the lead warship, Yuan Jin, a former pirate who had been recruited by Shen Yourong and was promoted to the rank of captain of the navy for his mission to Korea, was leaning against the ship's side, cursing and gazing at the ferry crossing in front of him.

“We can stop on the short pier, but we need to get those small boats out of the way first,” said Lu Guozhong, the ship's commander, as he jogged to Yuan Jin’s side.

“I don’t know if we can stop?” Yuan Jin rolled his eyes at him. “I’m worried about whether we’ve gone to the right place. Logically speaking, we’ve already arrived in Hanyang, so there should be a slightly larger dock by now.”

"Then let's ask someone else," Lü Guozhong said, pointing to a spot. "Look, aren't there a few people in official robes over there?"

"That's true." Yuan Jin nodded slightly, then turned and called out, "Old Hu, come here!"

"Coming, coming!" The interpreter, known as Old Hu, who was not far away, immediately ran over upon hearing the call.

"Wait until you get closer, then you can ask."

"Are you asking how far it is from here to Seoul?" Old Hu asked with a smile.

"You think you're so smart." Yuan Jin chuckled and rolled his eyes at him, then turned and yawned.

After a while, seeing that the distance was about right, Lü Guozhong shouted, "Flatten the sails! Stop the boat! Don't drop anchor!"

Chinese rigid sails can typically adjust boat speed by raising or lowering the sail ropes to reduce or increase the sail's surface area exposed to the wind. On a river flowing against the current, if you want to stop temporarily without anchoring, the best way is to furl the sails and slow down, making the boat's speed as close to the current's speed as possible. This is clearly a technical task, and even for experienced sailors, it's not an easy feat.

The warship came to a stop about two ship lengths from the edge of the boardwalk. Zhang Wan and the others also came to the front of the ship.

"How far is it from here to Hanyang!" Old Hu shouted at the top of his lungs, gripping the gunwale of the boat.

"Ten miles north across the river is Hanyang," Zhang Wan greeted him in Chinese. "May I ask which battalion under Admiral Shen your esteemed unit belongs to?"

Old Hu paused for a moment, then turned to look at Yuan Jin: "That man speaks our language, how about..."

"Then get out of the way." Yuan Jin shoved the old man aside, grabbed the gunwale, and shouted at Zhang Wan, "We are the left detachment of the central navy under Admiral Shen Yourong. I am Yuan Jin, the captain of this detachment. Who are you!"

"I am Zhang Wan, a military officer of the Ming Dynasty's Joseon Kingdom. I have been ordered by the Crown Prince to cross the river to welcome Admiral Shen. May I ask where Admiral Shen is now?" Zhang Wan knew that the highest rank of the Heavenly Dynasty's naval commander was no more than the fifth or sixth rank, but he did not presume to be arrogant and bowed down directly.

Yuan Jin gasped. "What did you come here for?"

Zhang Wan coughed lightly, raised his head and shouted, "I am Zhang Wan, the Military Advisor of the Joseon Kingdom of the Ming Dynasty! By order of the Crown Prince, I lead my delegation to respectfully welcome Admiral Shen!"

"Welcome, is that right?" Yuan Jin confirmed.

"Yes!" Zhang Wan answered decisively.

"Raise the flag! Stop the ship!" Yuan Jin shouted as he turned around.

(End of this chapter)