A Step into the Past

Book 15 Chapter 09 - Setting Sail On The River Huai

All their original plans have turned out to be based on wishful thinking and have been messed up.

The wolves never came that night. After some discussion, Ji Yanran also figured that Madam Zhuang should not be lying. This was because Tian Dan's performance during the hunt really was abnormal. Besides, with Tian Dan's farsighted thinking, he would not have surrendered the initiative so passively that he required Lu Buwei's protection.

In the grand scheme of things, Tian Dan would not have believed that Lu Buwei could kill Xiang Shaolong, although Lu Buwei was almost successful.

That is why Dan Chu's returning troops would have made the necessary arrangements to support him, even counter-attacking by laying traps for any tailing enemies. It was nonetheless unlikely that they knew of the existence of Xu Yiluan's troops in waiting in ambush.

Finally, Xiang Shaolong decided to dispatch two guardians, the recently recovered Wu Da and Dan Quan (from Pu Bu and Liu Chao's unit), to use fast horses to intercept Teng Yi. They were to advise Teng Yi to change his whole battle plan into delaying Tian Dan's troops but not attacking.

This will delay Tian Dan's return to Qi, giving them more opportunities to kill him.

As the Liu Shi brothers and Dan Chu are not at Tian Dan's side, Tian Dan's defensive web is now at its weakest.

Early the next morning, before they de-camped, Madam Zhuang led her two sisters over to discuss the details of Shouchun City.

They had all removed their veils. You Cui and You Ning turned out to be outstandingly beautiful sisters, but they were still half a step below the uniquely charming Madam Zhuang.

Madam Zhuang smiled and said: "They are indeed my younger sisters, just that they are not my blood sisters but belong to the Zhuang family."

She then warmly greeted Ji Yanran the two women and expressed her admiration before turning back to the main topic, mentioning: "Li Yuan has no lack of underlings who recognize Mister Xiang. The Talented Lady Ji is an even more reknown personality in Shouchun. Therefore we need to rely on some disguises to fool the Chu people."

Xiang Shaolong caressed his cheek and jaw, saying: "I can grow a full beard and restrict my movements to the night. That way I can avoid the eyes and ears of people."

Madam Zhuang said: "Avoiding people is not difficult. The problem is that if we cannot move about freely, it will be even harder to find an opportunity to kill Tian Dan. Fortunately these two sisters of mine are most familiar with the techniques to change appearances. They can play some tricks with Mister Xiang's face. Unless you come face to face with familiar people, you should be able to deceive anyone."

Ji Yanran said: "What identity should he use when meeting people?"

Madam Zhuang said: "You can act as my brother Wan Ruiguang. Because he was seriously injured during the mutiny, he escaped out of Chu's borders, but never recovered and passed away three months ago. There should not be anyone in Shouchun who recognizes him."

While she spoke normally, everyone could detect an unappeasable hatred and enmity in her voice.

Zhao Zhi sorrowfully pointed out: "As Madam returns to Yunnan to deal with the enemy, how confident is she?"

Madam Zhuang replied nonchalantly: "Originally I did not have half a hope. But since I had my back to the wall, I had no choice but to take advantage of Chu's period of weakness and return with my son to fight a life and death battle with the thief; but now that I have Xiang Shaolong, I have every confidence of success."

Xiang Shaolong forced a smile and said: "Madam thinks too highly of me."

Madam Zhuang smiled and said: "You'd better start addressing me as your elder sister from now on and I will address you as Ruiguang. It is still another month's journey from here to Shouchun. I will describe Ruiguang's bitter life story to you in detail. Thankfully Ruiguang is famous in the Northwest as a heroic general. He's always had a formidable reputation. It is most appropriate for you to pass off as him. Because we are originally from Yunnan, we do not speak with the Chu accent. As long as you study diligently, we should be able to fool the Chu people."

Xiang Shaolong mused that the last time he disguised himself as Dong Horse Fanatic, while this time he is playing the heroic general Wan Ruiguang. It would be so thrilling if he could fool Tian Dan again.

Ji Yanran, being the most attentive to detail, asked: "What identity is Madam Zhuang using to enter the Chu capital this time?"

Madam Zhuang said: "I have a good friend in Lord Chunshen's house by the name of Weng. In those days, as King Xiaolie feared our Yunnan's growth to become the hegemon of the Southest, he forced Li Ling to conspire with the Ye Lang people to overthrow the Zhuang family. In one night, close to ten thousands of the Zhuang clan was murdered. Lord Chunshen tried to prevent this, but could not prevail over King Xiaolie. If he had not sent people to assist us, we could have forgotten about escaping from Chu's borders. That is why on this trip we should first visit Lord Chunshen's home."

Xiang Shaolong and Yanran exchanged a glance and let go of their worries.

Now that King Xiaolie is dead, Chu is going to become a battleground between Lord Chunshen and Li Yuan. To someone like Madam Zhuang who is close to Lord Chunshen, killing Li Yuan's associate Tian Dan is naturally no big deal.

Xiang Shaolong's spirit rose, saying: "Good! Let us leave!"

Zhao Zhi was displeased, saying: "Madam has yet to say how Sister Yanran and I should disguise ourselves!"

Xiang Shaolong laughed: "Of course it is to be me, Wan Ruiguang's lovely wives. Covering your faces with thicker veils will solve all the problems."

All along, before a strong Qin arose, amongst all the states, Chu was in the South with no enemies nearby. That is why regardless of the physical security or the economy, they have had safety and stability where the other states hadn't.

In addition, the soil in the South was fertile. Surrounding Lake Dongting were endless tracts of fertile land waiting to be developed by the Chu people. This caused the Chu people to be rich and worry free.

At their peak, Chu possessed all the territories from Yuan and Xiang rivers in the South to Ying and Si in the North, and from Ba and Shu in the West to the Tan city and the river Huai in the East. Treating Ying and Ru as ditches and Jiang and Han as ponds; as flat as Zhenglin, as continuous as Fangcheng. By the time the Warring States Period began, they had almost unified the entire South, becoming the largest and most powerful state.

Besides swallowing numerous smaller countries, they had also expanded into large tracts of land belonging to the non-Han barbarians in the East, South and Southwest, subjecting these lands and peoples to Chu's culture and civilization.

Just as Ji Yanran had analyzed nonetheless, to govern so many ethnic groups and such a vast expanse of land required a powerful and competent government.

It was a pity that after King Zidao and King Xuan, Chu had never had a competent ruler again. In addition, with King Huai dying destitute in Qin, the central authorities lost their power while the regional powers rose up.

King Xiaolie's subsequent instigation of the mutiny in Yunnan reduced central control even further. In the end, he did not manage to change anything, merely changing the name of the Yunnan king from Zhuang to Li, thats all.

Now that King Xiaolie has passed away, internal strife has appeared once again. And due to the freak combination of factors, Xiang Shaolong is compelled to join this "game".

While the news of Chu's chaos may be unexpected, it was actually inevitable. If not for the fact that Qin had just lost two kings in quick succession, and that Xiao Pan was still immature, and for the Qin military's free-for-all fight with Lu Buwei, and even more for Qin's need to concentrate on defending the three Eastern counties, Chu would have been forced even further South.

Chu's people have become leisurely and carefree due to their wealth, and have been at odds with the solemn and tense Northerners all along.

This was very vividly described by Ji Yanran.

After leaving the Qinling mountains and after two days march on uneven roads, they finally reached the Hanzhong plains.

While one of Madam Zhuang's household chiefs led the two men Dan Quan and Wu Guang to meet Teng Yi, everyone else set out for Shouchun.

Ji Yanran rode alongside Xiang Shaolong and started discussing Chu's culture, saying: "Even though Chu is the enemy of my lost country, I have always admired Chu's culture. Looking at their religious beliefs, they do not follow the callous god of farmers, but worship the aspiring and high flying god of fire; their river goddess is a beautiful woman that makes the soul long for her. The other gods are either colorful and bewitching girls or passionate and self-sacrificing heroes. Even more, the songs of Chu are full of euphemism and rhetoric, melancholic yet beautiful, leaving one with lingering emotions." Xiang Shaolong became a little jealous, said: "But I've never found any trace of such beautiful things on Li Yuan."

Ji Yanran laughed delicately and rolled her eyes, but could not help smiling, said: "He wasn't trying to woo you, why would he want to show you his literary talent?"

Exhaling her breath of magical air, she smugly but joyfully said: "Its good that Hubby rarely speaks with such jealousy."

At this moment, Madam Zhuang sent someone to ask them to fall back, and taking advantage of the uneventful journey, to teach them the local accent. Xiang Shaolong and his party could only bear with it and took instructions.

During that period in the Warring States era, the most fashionable language was Zhou. All the different states' royalty and anyone with any amount of status used this language to communicate.

Nonetheless, due to differences in the regions, the Zhou language was always mixed with local dialects and slangs.

That is why one could guess a person's origins just from his speech.

Of the Warring States, the most alike were Zhao, Wei and Han. This was because these three states were splintered from the former Jin state.

Because Qin's culture was shallow, and also because of its proximity to the three Jin states, the Qin accent and slang was similar to the three states'.

The most distinctive state was actually Chu.

Up to today, Chu's people have been ridiculed as the "Southern Barbarians", and their difference in choice of words is even greater. That is why it is important for Xiang Shaolong's party to swallow this little bit of pain to learn the Yunnan variant of the Chu language.

Chu's locus of influence centered on the vast regions on the Yangtze River's two banks and the vast Lake Dongting, stretching South.

Shouchun is North of the Yantze River on the West bank of the River Huai. This is more than a thousand miles East of the old capital Ying, which was originally situated on the Northwest corner of Lake Dongting. Although this allowed the capital to be safely removed from Qin, it demonstrated a lack of fighting spirit on the part of the Chu people. It was no wonder that even though Chu was big, it was the most contemptible in the eyes of the three states.

After a three day journey, having crossed the Tongbai montains, they reached Chengyang city on the Western end of the River Huai. They found a guest house to lodge in before sending Zhuang Kong out to buy a boat. The boat would reduce the ardor of their journey.

Since they had to adopt high ranking identities to enter the city, the current governor Qushen sent staff to pay an official call right after they had let down their luggage and stabled their horses

Xiang Shaolong naturally left Madam Zhuang to manage this, choosing to remain in his room and amusing himself with his two lovely wives, greatly enjoying this return to civilization.

Madam Zhuang soon came over and sat down on a mat, happily saying: "We have solved the problem of the boat. Once the governor Official Qu found out who I was, he was very helpful."

The Madam Zhuang who had put on a long robe once again exuded charm.

The robe she was wearing was the most fashionable at that time, a dark robe. It was a one piece robe stretching from top to bottom with the right lapel joined at an angle. Wrapping from the front to the back, it caused beautiful women to exude a certain charm. She had combed her hair in a 'descending horse topknot', pulling her delicate hair behind her forehead in a low-hanging knot, looking very much like she had just descended from horseback. Adding to her charming demeanor, she bent her waist in a graceful step, creating a sight not to be missed.

Xiang Shaolong cautioned himself never to fall for this beautiful woman, else he would be giving himself a lot of trouble in the future. Moreover, as a man from the 21st Century, he is already very satisfied to have his many lovely wives. He should be more devoted to Ji Yanran and all his wives. Ji Yanran was also sizing up this enchanting and elegant beauty. Apparently feeling a little threatened, she said unenthusiastically: "I once stayed in Shouchun for a short while. I wonder at present, which of the four peoples, Dou, Cheng, Yuan and Qu hold the most power?" Xiang Shaolong immediately thought of Qu Yuan (a famous Warring States statesman). So this lord is actually from one of the four main ethnic groups in Chu. No wonder he is able to become an important official.

Madam Zhuang's beautiful eyes swept over Xiang Shaolong before saying: "The four big ethnic groups are no longer as industrious as before. It is Li Yuan's ethnic group that has been rising up. Of course it is the most powerful group outside the four big groups. Moreover since Li Yuan became the crown prince, the Li clan has been rising with the tide. Now that Li Yuan has actually managed to counter the Empress Dowager who wields real power, who will not curry favor with the Li clan?"

Xiang Shaolong saw that Madam Zhuan understood Shouchun's situation thoroughly and could not help but ask: "Did Li Yuan bring back Guo Kai's daughter Guo Xiu'er as wife?" Madam Zhuang nodded and said: "Indeed. I even heard that she is expecting, earning Li Yuan's considerable affection."

Xiang Shaolong's attention couldn't help drifting to the phoenix shaped jade pendant hanging on his chest. This was the object that Guo Xiu'er gave to him before obeying her father's command to marry Li Yuan. Thinking about it, he couldn't help feeling a little torn and dejected!

Madam Zhuang gazed at him deeply, then lowered her head, as if trying to discern what secret reason he had to ask about Guo Xiu'er.

The two ladies Ji and Zhao knew about the relationship between him and Guo Xiu'er and paid no notice to it. The former asked: "Did Guo Zhong move his business over?" Madam Zhuang cracked her eyebrow, saying: "I am not too sure about this."

Xiang Shaolong felt that the atmosphere had changed, and changing the topic, he asked: "Is there one Madam Xie amongst the Wang people? Lady Huayang once asked me to deliver a gift to her, but I never reached Chu in the end."

Madam Zhuang nodded her head and said: "I can't be sure, but if she has some connection to my aunt, it must be Madam Qing Xiu. Her good looks are famous in Chu. She was married to the great general Dou Jie. Initially Dou Jie loved and pampered her, but later he was enchanted by the Minister-of-State Cheng Suning's concubine Yan Fei. In a fit of anger, Madam Qing Xiu left and moved to a house beside the Huai river in the outskirts of the city, thereafter leading a secluded life. With the threat of suicide, she forbade Dou Jie from entering the front gate by even half a step. Her resolve earned the Chu people's respect. Dou Jie lost King Xiaolie's favor after that. Now that he has attached himself to the Li clan though, his trajectory seems to have improved somewhat."

Zhao Zhi was puzzled and asked: "Since that Yan Fei was the Minister-of-State Cheng Suning's beloved concubine, how did she get involved with Dou Jie?"

Madam Zhuang contemptuously replied: "Of all people this Cheng Suning spineless. Dou Jie was an important military official. With just a hinted request from Dou Jie, he obediently offered up Yan Fei. As our Zhuang family returns, the greatest obstacle to us is the group of people led by Li Yuan. This is because Li Ling is precisely Li Yuan's older paternal cousin and fellow clan member."

Xiang Shaolong couldn't help feeling excited, but before he could open his mouth, Wu Yan knocked on the door seeking an audience. As he entered, he had a serious look on his face, saying: "Something is not right. Just now we detected a suspicious person in the vicinity investigating us. Later when official Qu Shen left, he hid in a carriage with another suspicious person on the streets outside and had a long discussion. Afterwards, all those suspicious people withdrew." Madam Zhuang's expression did not change as she listened.

Xiang Shaolong was able to smile unhurriedly and said: "Looks like they intend to deal with us while we are on the boat. As long as they bore a hole in the boat and sink us, their men can murder your son in the water. Our plan to return to your country is about to fail. We must think this through carefully."

Madam Zhuang said: "What should we do then? The boatman and helmsmen are all their people."

Ji Yanran wittily said: "As long as we can leave Cheng Yang, we can have the boat without the people. We'll see what Qu Shen is able do to us then." At dawn, the official Qu Shen came personally to send them off. Three sails were masted on the large boat. They set sail following the current.

There were thirty boatmen on the boat, all valiant and strong. On the surface they looked respectful, but one could tell that they had malicious intent. Nonetheless Xiang Shaolong did not worry about them, having scheduled twelve of the guardians to spy on them continuously for twelve hours. They spent their time alternately learning Chu with the Yunnan flavor and taking the chance to rest. All this to allow them to reach Tian Dan as quickly as possible once they reached Shouchun, and then to quickly leave after.

He was not too worried that his real identity will be revealed. This is because Tian Dan and Li Yuan and their associates were all high officials. Even if he, being a general who had lost his home, deliberately sought an appointment with them, it would be difficult to get an opportunity. That is why the odds of bumping into them accidentally are tiny.

The only difficulty is how to obtain Tian Dan's whereabouts.

The scenery of the South is not much different from that of the Northwest, picturesque and mesmerizing.

It is the time between Spring and Summer and the boat is sailing freely. The distant forests of Pingshan divided on the left and right. In the middle of the peaceful landscape, the crystal clear waters of the river flowed in a torrent.

As they followed the river down, they frequently saw fishing boats fishing in the middle of the river. it was hard to associate this scene with the endless ferocious battles of the Warring States era.

Over the meandering river, as they negotiated each bend, a different scene appeared before them, preventing them from being bored.

As there were outsiders present, the two ladies Ji and Zhao wore caps which covered their faces, adding to their yearning, mysterious beauty.

Those malicious boatmen kept eyeing their silky bosoms and curvy buttocks, evidently harboring lewd intentions on the women, in addition to murder.

It is not clear whether it was because of Chu's forced relocation, but of the cultural differences between Chu and the three Jin states plus Qin, the most obvious was that in Chu when married women left the house, they would put on all kinds of veils, being unaffected by the inconvenience and obstruction.

Besides putting on a cap and a veil, they also used a handkerchief to cover their bunned up hair. They then lengthen these once again to cover their faces. These are invariably thinly spread and made of muslin. The texture is frivolous and once it is put on the face, it gives the wearer mysterious aura with its translucence, adding to the wearer's fascination and attractiveness.

If beauties like Yanran and Zhao Zhi put these on, they would become exceedingly beautiful, causing Xiang Shaolong to wish for night to come so that he could see more.

After the last few days, Xiang Shaolong has grown an inch-long beard, not only changing his appearance, but also increasing his imposing aura. It was very common for people in that era to leave beards, with scholars and officials sporting especially long beards; but with military leaders leaving short ones, therefore bare-faced men were instead uncommon.

As Xiang Shaolong was enjoying the beautiful scenery with his two women at the front of the boat, Zhuang Kong came over to his side and said in a low voice: "Before we reach the upper reaches of Qi Si county, there is a stretch where the water is rapid and deep, with dangerous interlinking shoals and precipices. It is the best place for those thieves to make their move."

Xiang Shaolong said in a low voice: "When will we reach that point?"

Zhuang Kong replied: "We should reach there after dark."

After Zhuang Kong left, Xiang Shaolong faced the river and sighed. Zhao Zhi was instantly surprised and said: "Is Hubby worrying over these few petty thieves?" Xiang Shaolong forced a smile and said: "They may be petty thieves, but they have ruined my grand plans to carouse on the couch with my two lovely wives tonight. How can I not let out a sign of resentment?"

The two ladies laughed excitedly, looking unspeakably captivating.