The caravan encountered a robbery upon entering Haizhou. The robbers weren’t bandits, but rampant pirates.

Haizhou was a coastal prefecture, and due to its geographical location, it bordered the Kingdom of He. After the imperial court imposed a maritime ban, the He pirates’ rebellions continued, causing great suffering to the people of Haizhou. Haizhou’s development was hindered, placing it among the bottom-ranked prefectures in the imperial court’s rankings.

The caravan’s owner, surnamed Wang, had all his goods stolen, and more than half of his guards had been killed or wounded. Master Wang had suffered a devastating loss.

He kindly advised, “You should travel south along the border between Haizhou and Jizhou, but never go near the coast. Those are infested with ruthless killers.”

Zhou Yu asked, “Knowing the danger, why did you still go?”

Master Wang’s face showed some unease. Why? For the cheap salt. Haizhou was rife with pirates, and the garrison was powerless and inactive. Some people secretly dried sea salt, and he had gone there to collect it. It was his own fault for lowering his guard; this time, he not only lost everything but also nearly lost his life.

Zhou Yu didn’t press further. He knew that for enough profit, people would risk their lives. “Is Master very familiar with Haizhou?”

Master Wang’s arm ached terribly, his expression twitching, his voice muffled. “Yes.”

He’d been smuggling sea salt for three years. The thought of salt made his heart ache more than his arm. He’d partnered with the Zhīfǔ¹ of his hometown, and this time he hadn’t brought back any salt, and he even had to compensate the prefect for his losses. He was incredibly unlucky.

Third Yang asked, “Are the pirates in Haizhou so rampant?”

Master Wang stared at Third Yang like he was an idiot, then couldn’t help but laugh. “Idiot.”

Third Yang felt awkward from the laughter but wasn’t angry. He humbly asked, “Please enlighten me, Master.”

Master Wang raised an eyebrow, his laughter ceasing. “Where would there be so many pirates? Even if they were, they’d only dare rob some coastal villages, not caravans. I have hundreds of guards here, each one a trained fighter.”

Zhou Yu, knowing more, chimed in, “Most pirates are Haizhou locals. They’re afraid of implicating their families …”

“These men were deliberately disguised as pirates.”

Master Wang wasn’t surprised; he immediately recognized the man’s unusual nature. He said to Third Yang, “It’s the world’s cruel hand; if you don’t want to starve, you have to fight. Some pirates are kind, some are ruthless. I was unlucky enough to encounter a heartless one this time. You’re still too young; listen to your older brother in the future.”

Third Yang, impressed, grinned, “This is my Jiefu.”

Master Wang chuckled, “Then listen to your Jiefu. This world is dark!”

His cooperation with the Lord Zhīfǔ was out of necessity. Disobedience? Hah—the Wang family would have been wiped out long ago.

Zhou Yu, having gathered the information, led the silent Third Yang back to the carriage.

Yang Xi was constantly worried, fearing danger ahead. Seeing the disheveled caravan made her heart clench. “Have you found out anything?”

Zhou Yu recounted Master Wang’s experience. “We’ll be safe if we continue along the route.”

Wu Shan was completely stunned. A native of the inland, he was fascinated by the sea, but a giant wave had dampened his enthusiasm. “Are we still going to settle in the coastal state?”

Yang Xi, holding a fire poker, drew a coastline on the ground, marking the location of the He Kingdom and pointing out the location of Haizhou. “We need to go further south.”

Third Yang wasn’t surprised that his sister had drawn a map; she usually listened in on his Jiefu’s lectures.

Wu Shan, however, was shocked!

Zhou Yu didn’t explain, took the fire poker and continued drawing, “We won’t walk along the coastline, so there won’t be any danger.”

Third Yang stared at the coastline, “What a vast coastline, it’s such a waste.”

Yang Xi sighed, “Yes, because of the sea ban, the coastal economy has never developed. The people on the coast can’t support themselves at all, and they have no choice but to become bandits if they don’t want to starve.”

Wu Shan didn’t understand what the sea ban economy was; he only knew that “in this world, life is hard for ordinary people.”

Yang Xi thought to herself that even in a so-called prosperous age, it was still always the common people who suffered. In ancient times, there was no family planning; every household had many children, generation after generation growing up, yet all the wealth they created was squeezed dry by the powerful and the privileged, while the common people still couldn’t get enough to eat.

After dinner, the families took turns keeping watch. Although Master Wang was very kind, they were still worried, wondering if he might rob them.

Fortunately, Master Wang wasn’t completely bad, and the night passed peacefully.

Master Wang said, “Thank you for the medicine yesterday. I’ll take my leave now. You can come find me in Huaizhou sometime; I’ll help you if I can.”

Zhou Yu replied, “You’re too kind, Master. I wish you a safe journey home.”

Master Wang was eager to get home and left after saying that.

Only after Zhou Yu and the others had gone far away did they signal the caravan to set off. They were all people who valued life and continued south along the route.

Entering Haizhou, the contrast between Huaizhou and Haizhou was stark. The people of Huaizhou still had some flesh on their faces, while the people of Haizhou, even those not near the coast, were emaciated and pale.

There were many beggars on the official road, most of them teenagers.

Yang Xi touched her belly, holding her son in her arms. She couldn’t bear to see the scene outside; the children’s begging voices were too pitiful.

They found a village to stay in for the night, though they preferred to stay in the county town. Unfortunately, Haizhou hadn’t developed well over the centuries, and there weren’t many county towns, with considerable distances between them.

The village wasn’t large, with only a dozen or so households. The village didn’t want money, but grain, so they gave some coarse grain for renting a house.

Yang Xi had been observing the village since entering, and because the group was large, they rented two adjacent houses, with the Zhou and Wu families sharing one.

Once everyone was settled, Yang Xi and her son disembarked from the carriage.

Yang Xi said, “Have you noticed? This village is quite interesting.”

Zhou Yu had already noticed, turning to look at Third Yang, seemingly testing him.

Third Yang said in a deep voice, “This village only has the elderly, women, and children; there isn’t a single adult man, not even a teenager.”

Yang Xi asked, “Anything else?”

Third Yang pointed to the houses, “The elderly, women, and children aren’t well-dressed, but the houses have been repaired. Where did the money come from? Who repaired them?”

Zhou Yu was satisfied, “Not bad.”

Third Yang looked at the village and gasped, “All the men in the village have become pirates?”

Had Haizhou really reached this point?

Yang Xi said, “You’ve seen it all along the way; the people can’t survive.”

The officials in Haizhou only cared about lining their own pockets; whether the people lived or died didn’t matter. And didn’t the officials know about the loss of labor? It was possible that some pirates had already bribed some officials; it was mutually beneficial, so turning a blind eye was more cost-effective.

Third Yang had gained a lot of experience along the way. “This world is darker than I thought.”

Zhou Yu looked at the setting sun. “That’s why someone needs to restore order to the world.”

Yang Xi said, “It’s difficult!”

Jiang Wangyi had been plotting for years, and his power was immense. The rebellious people in the Northeast were also growing in number, and various ethnic groups were eyeing the country covetously. No matter which side won, they couldn’t restore order to the world!

(End of Chapter)

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Note

1. Prefectural administrative head