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Thread: The Deer and The Cauldron

  1. #3061
    Senior Member Ace High's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by pannonian View Post
    Is this the character who was in the TVB series "The Grand Canal"? IIRC he was played by the same actor who played the Old Urchin in LOCH and ROCH, and Mao Shiba in this novel.
    I'm not sure. Never watch that series. Through out his services to Tang Tai Zong, Wei Zheng was trusted enough to be the Emperor's own censor.

    Before I took the throne, it was by Fang Xuang Ling's assistance that I was able to seize power. After I took the throne, it was by Wei Zheng's assistance that I was able to have my errors corrected.
    Using copper as a mirror allows one to keep his clothes neat. Using history as a mirror allows one to see the future trends. Using a person as a mirror allows one to see what is right and what is wrong. When Wei Zheng died, I lost a mirror.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    I was talking about Cheng Yaojin.

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    I've just been readin a book about Marco Polo, and he seemed to have had a similar relationship with Khubilai as Wei Xiaobao has with Kang Xi. Marco charmed the Mongol emperor with stories about the customs of distant parts of his empire to which he'd been sent on duty, which set him apart from the dry debriefings of other government officials. He was entrusted with exploratory missions where he was expected to report back on the nature of the areas he visited as well as discharge his official duties such as tax collection. After much pleading with the aging emperor to let them go (Khubilai was extremely fond of them), the Polos were given one last mission to escort a Mongol princess named Kokochin to the Ilkhanate.

  4. #3064
    Senior Member foxs's Avatar
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    Default Chapter 50 - Part 3

    Tweety, I found that to be true on personal level as well. As we grow older, the problems we face also seem to grow that our friendship also grow apart (not always, I admit, and not intentionally). Smurf, isn't that what politicians always do? Pannonian, Ace, I have no idea about TV series, but I do remember the guy playing Zhou Botong; a rather plump guy, while the novel described him as thin. Thanks for the bit about Marco Polo.


    Kangxi thumbed through the memorial for a while; he lifted up his head and sighed. Wei Xiaobao said, “Your Majesty, whatever it is, please send your servant to deal with it. Let your servant atone for his crimes by meritorious acts, repaying my master’s dragon kindness.”

    “In this matter,” Kangxi said, “I cannot send you. Shi Lang presented the memorial, saying that Taiwan has been hit by a hurricane, on the plain the water is four chi deep, common people’s houses are damaged, families went bankrupt and the people died, the disaster is very serious.”

    Wei Xiaobao saw that while talking, Kangxi’s eyes were glistening with tears; he thought, “We are good friends since childhood, I cannot not helping him.” He said, “Your servant has a way.”

    “What way?” Kangxi asked.

    Wei Xiaobao said, “To be honest with Your Majesty, when your servant served as an officer in Taiwan, I made a small fortune. More recently, I recovered a number of old debts from a Taiwan moneybags. By Your Majesty’s grace your servant was able to hold with both hands the golden rice bowl that was damaged and was restored. For a lifetime I will not die of starvation. Too much money is useless, I would rather present it as an offering, asking Your Majesty to comfort and give relief to the victims of disaster in Taiwan.”

    Kangxi smiled and said, “The number of people affected by the disaster is a lot, your small fortune, no matter what, cannot be used. I will issue an edict at once, the Palace will cut down on palace maids and eunuchs, reduce the clothes, reduce the meals, let the Palace Internal Affairs make a plan to save four, five hundred thousand taels to be used as emergency relief for the victims.”

    “Your servant deserves to die,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Indeed it is desperately serious.”

    “What is it?” Kangxi asked.

    Wei Xiaobao replied, “As a government official, your servant has committed corruption, in Taiwan I got one million taels, recently the debt I collected, which was from Zheng Keshuang actually, amounted to another million taels …”

    Kangxi was shocked. “That much?” he asked.

    Wei Xiaobao lightly slapped his own mouth and cursed, “Xiao Guizi deserves to die!”

    Yet Kangxi laughed and said, “Your ability in debt collection is really superior; I had no idea at all.”

    Wei Xiaobao cursed again, “Xiao Guizi deserves to die!” But his face showed that he was pleased with himself. He mused, “When a government official reaches out to take money, how can he let you as the Emperor, know? You planted a spy among my subordinates, you can only investigate whether I dare to revolt or not. Your Meifu [younger sister’s husband] collect money with his right hand, put money in the bag with his left hand, even your Da Meizi [oldest younger sister] does not know, you, this Da Jiuzi [wife’s older brother], absolutely cannot know.” In his mouth he called himself ‘your servant’, in his heart he considered himself ‘meifu’.

    Kangxi pondered for half a day. He said, “You have a heart that is loyal to your lord and loving to the people, it is indeed hard to come by. Let’s do it this way: you contribute one million five hundred taels, I will add five hundred taels. We, a ruler and his minister, collect two million taels. Taiwan victims number about ten thousand or so households, each family will receive more than a hundred taels, that will be plenty.”

    Impulsively Wei Xiaobao was feeling generous and wanted to donate, but just as quickly his heart ached and he already regretted it; when he heard that Kangxi would save five hundred taels for him, immediately he was overjoyed and hastily said, “Yes, yes. Your Majesty love common people as your own children, Laotianye bless and protect Your Majesty with favorable weather, the country prospers, the people at peace.”

    Because of serious disaster in Taiwan, this past half day Kangxi’s heart was heavy; now that without rhyme and reason he suddenly obtained a lot of money, he was truly happy. He smiled and said, “Also bless and protect you to be promoted and gain wealth, lots of good fortune and long life.”

    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “Thank you very much for Wanshui Ye’s [Lord of Ten Thousand Years] golden mouth. Your servant will be promoted and gain wealth, lots of good fortune and long life, it is entirely due to Your Majesty’s grace. Besides, your servant’s small fortune originally belonged to Taiwan people, now that we return it to the common people of Taiwan, it is no more than returning the jade annulus to … to Tai.”

    Kangxi roared in laughter and said, “It’s the saying ‘returning the jade annulus to Zhao’ [i.e. return something intact to its rightful owner]. Damn it, you change it to ‘returning the jade annulus to Tai(wan).’”

    “Yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, “It was ‘returning the jade annulus to Zhao’. Just now I could not recall this character ‘Zhao’. Zhao Qian Sun Li, Zhou Wu Chen Wang. The ‘Hundred Family Names’ lists ‘Zhao’ as the number one, no wonder they are flourishing so much, turns out the jade annulus and what have you are all returned to their Zhao family.”

    Kangxi was even more amused; he thought that this man was ‘without learning or knowledge’, and he could not be taught too much either. Kangxi laughed and said, “Very true, very true. There is another saying, ‘Wei bian san jue’ [lit. the leather binding of the bamboo scrolls has broken three times; fig. to study diligently.]. It speaks about your Wei family being industrious in studying. Their learning is very good. You, surnamed Wei, are also very remarkable.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “Your servant’s learning is very lacking, I am letting my old Wei ancestors down.”

    (Book note: In the saying ‘the leather binding of the bamboo scrolls has broken three times’, the character ‘Wei’ [which is Wei Xiaobao’s surname, ‘wei’ itself means ‘soft leather’] points to the leather strap boring through and joining the bamboo writing slips in ancient China. Kangxi deliberately distorted it to make fun of Wei Xiaobao.)

    Kangxi said, “This time going to Taiwan for disaster relief effort …” Originally, according to reason, he should have sent Wei Xiaobao to handle this matter; but then he had a second thought, “This man contributes this large amount of money, only because he holds yi qi toward me, not necessarily because he really has love toward common people. I am afraid that as soon as he is out of the Palace’s gate, he would immediately regret it. If he went to Taiwan to distribute two million taels disaster relief, most probably he would want to recover his capital to avoid suffering loss. Perhaps he would even add one percent or two as the interest.” He knew Wei Xiaobao as well as he knew himself, immediately he changed his statement, “… is a very easy mission; there is no need for you to handle it personally. Xiao Guizi, your First-class Duke of Luding need not be degraded. Let my sister’s son light the lantern, business as usual.”

    Wei Xiaobao kneeled down to express his gratitude. After kowtowing, he stood up and said, “Your servant donate a little bit of money, it is only returning the jade annulus to … to Zhao Qian Sun Li, but Your Majesty consider it as meritorious service. Your Majesty reduces the clothes, reduce the meals, that is real saving, and that is really not easy to do.”

    Kangxi shook his head and said, “Wrong. Everything in the Palace, each tael of silver comes from common people under the heaven. Common people supply my brocade garments, jade meals. I lord over all the people, I should spare no effort in working for the common people. You eat official salary from your ruler, you should be loyal to your master. I eat official salary from the people, I should be loyal to the people. The ancient book says, ‘four oceans exhausted, possession of the empire will be used up’. If common people are destitute, that means the Emperor is no good, the Heaven will be furious, then I can’t be the Emperor anymore.”

    “That must not happen,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Absolutely must never happen.”

    Kangxi said, “You became a high-ranking minister, it was due to my grace. I became the Emperor, it was due to the Heaven’s grace. If you are not being loyal, I will chop your head. If I don’t become a good Emperor, the Heaven may replace me with someone else. The ‘Book of History’ says, ‘Heaven and Earth will correct their primary son’. Primary son [yuan zi] here means the Emperor. If the Emperor is not good, the Heaven might oust him.”

    “Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said, “You are called Xiao Xuanzi; turns out ‘xuan zi’ means the Emperor.” [See also note 3 of Chapter 42: in Cantonese, ‘xuan’ and ‘yuan’ are homophone.]

    Kangxi said, “This character ‘xuan’ [玄] is not the same as that character ‘yuan’ [元].”

    “Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao said. But in his heart he thought, “In round dumpling [圆子 - yuanzi] soup, all the dumplings look the same.” In any case, he did not know the character ‘yuan’ [元] from ‘xuan’ [玄], so why bother explaining it to him?

    From his desk Kangxi picked up a book and said, “The inspector-general of Zhejiang presented a book to me, called ‘Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu’ [investigative record of Ming-barbarians dealing], written by Zhejiang man Huang Lizhou just recently. Zhejiang’s inspector-general reported that the book contains a lot of treason and heresy, asking for stricter investigation. I was just looking at the book, but I think this book makes a lot of sense. I have already written my comment on the report to Zhejiang’s inspector-general, telling him not to be meddlesome.”

    While saying that, he opened the book and said, “In his book he said that as a ruler, ‘one man receives order from the world’, and not ‘the world receives order from one man’; this idea is well said. He also said, ‘The Son of Heaven is not necessarily right, the Son of Heaven is not necessarily wrong.’ This is also very true. Which man is not? The Son of Heaven is also a man, how could as soon as he became the Emperor, ‘everything is right, he is never wrong’?”

    After speaking for a while, Kangxi noticed that although Wei Xiaobao repeatedly voiced his agreement, his face showed that he was at a loss; he could not help feeling amused inwardly. Kangxi thought, “I am talking about big principles with this little ruffian, how can he understand? If I continued on, I am afraid he would yawn repeatedly.” Thereupon he waved his left hand and said, “You may go.” But his right hand was still holding the book, his mouth was still reading aloud, “To think that the authority over the land under the heavens, good or bad, is in my hand, I must not use the world’s goodness entirely for myself, and use the world’s badness entirely for the people. I must not dare being selfish in employing the people under the heavens, must not dare to use it for my own benefit. If I use my private life to be fair to the world, only then will the shame gone, and long-term peace come, regarding the world as the most important estate, to be passed on to my offspring, for endless enjoyment.”

    To Wei Xiaobao, all these were unfathomable mystery; but the Emperor was reading a book, so he had no choice but to repeatedly praised him, how could he not sing Kangxi’s praise from the side? Seeing Kangxi putting down the book, he asked, “Your Majesty, what is the book talking about? What is so good about it?”

    Kangxi replied, “He said that the person who became the Emperor was calling the people under the heavens not to be selfish, must not seek their own benefit, only he, the Emperor, may have no regard for others, as well as have everything for self and selfish profit; he could go as far as saying that he was the great ruler of the world. At first the person who became the emperor did not feel right, he felt rather ashamed instead, but later on the habit became nature, unexpectedly he thought he was absolutely right, other people were wrong.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “This man must be talking about bad emperor. Applied to a raw bird fish soup emperor like Your Majesty, what he said is wrong.”

    “Hey, hey!” Kangxi said, “Everybody who became the emperor thought that he was a raw bird fish soup; who has ever resigned himself to be called a cruel, tyrannical ruler? To say nothing of by each muddleheaded ruler’s side, there must be a lot of shameless high-ranking ministers to sing him praises, elevating the muddleheaded ruler to be a raw bird fish soup.”

    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “Fortunately Your Majesty is genuine goods at fair prices, an unalterable raw bird fish soup. Otherwise, your servant would become one of those shameless high-ranking ministers.”

    Kangxi’s left foot stomped the ground and he said with a laugh, “You have a lot of shame; get your egg out of here!”

    “Your Majesty,” Wei Xiaobao said, “Your servant wants to ask for your grace, would Your Majesty grant your servant a leave, so that I can go to Yangzhou to see my mother.”

    Kangxi smiled and said, “You have this filial piety; that is how it should be. Besides, ‘riches and honor do not return to the homeland, it is like wearing brocade clothes on a night walk’. You ought to go back in grandiose. The sooner you leave, the sooner you will return. Bring your mother back to Beijing. I will have an imperial decree to confer your mother the title of one-pin rank grand madame. Your deceased old man’s name, submit a report to the Ministry of Appointments, let him be conferred an official position posthumously. We should have had this matter dealt with the last time you went to Yangzhou, it’s just that Wu Sangui happened to rebel at the same time that it is delayed until now.”

    He thought that most likely Wei Xiaobao did not know how to write his father’s name, and thus he did not inquire. Although Kangxi was brilliant, in this matter he only ‘knew one but did not know two’. While it was true that Wei Xiaobao did not know how to write his father’s name, the actual fact was: he did not even know who his father was.

    Wei Xiaobao thanked Kangxi for his grace, and left the Palace. He returned to his mansion to fetch the million and a half taels banknotes, and handed it over to the Ministry of Revenue’s ‘silver warehouse’. And then he went to the Ministry of War to return the official seal of authority of the ‘Great General Fuyuan’. Lastly, he asked Su Quan to pick a name of his father on his behalf, as well as names of his ancestors up to the third generation, along with their wives and concubines. He had everything copied clearly, and then he submitted it to the Ministry of Appointments to be conferred posthumous, inherited, government-appointed hereditary official title of ‘Yan Feng Si’ [lit. officer in charge of examining titles bestowed by the imperial court].

    Everything was settled, travel preparation was completed. Wei Xiaobao was quite popular in the imperial court, plus he was a grand relative of the holy family; princes, dukes and high-ranking ministers held a send-off banquet for him, it was very lively. At the point of departure Wei Xiaobao remembered the million and a half taels he donated, and his heart ached; thereupon he sent his personal guards to extort more than ten thousand taels from Zheng Keshuang as the ‘old debt’. Only then did they leave the Capital.

  5. #3065
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    Thanks foxs

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    I love this meeting between WXB and KX. So reminiscent of the old days. Too bad it won't last long.

    Zheng Keshuang sure has a lot of money. I thought after 1 million taels, ZKS would be bankrupt already. To come up with another 10,000 taels, that punk is really good at hiding money.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tweety365 View Post
    I love this meeting between WXB and KX. So reminiscent of the old days. Too bad it won't last long.

    Zheng Keshuang sure has a lot of money. I thought after 1 million taels, ZKS would be bankrupt already. To come up with another 10,000 taels, that punk is really good at hiding money.

    Maybe WXB was right all along, the money was the Zheng families ill-gotten gains exhorted from the people of Taiwan over the last 20+ years. Karmic justice that it would all come back as hurricane damage funds.

    I really love the KX/WXB exchange too - they are really JY's best couple. All the other couples just have to do with staring at each other lovingly.

    Thank you Foxs!

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    Senior Member Ace High's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foxs View Post
    From his desk Kangxi picked up a book and said, “The inspector-general of Zhejiang presented a book to me, called ‘Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu’ [investigative record of Ming-barbarians dealing], written by Zhejiang man Huang Lizhou just recently.”
    Waiting for the Dawn (明夷待訪錄; Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu) was a summary of ideas about political reform that had been advanced by various scholars since the reign of Wan Li (1573–1619). The political tract begins with a condemnation of selfish autocratic rule, and declares that the world should belong to the people.

    The third and fifth section of the work, "On Laws" and "Schools", respectively, are particularly famous. In the former, Huang declares that all laws and regulatory bodies should be an outgrowth of local needs, not imposed by leaders with a political agenda. In the latter, he advocates using the education system as a semiofficial forum for educated opinion on public affairs.

    In the sixth and seventh sections of the work, entitled "Selecting Good Men", Huang also lays out his ideas for reform of the Imperial examination system. In later sections, he discusses equitable distribution of landholdings, the division between men of civil and military background, fiscal reform, and the problem of eunuch power during the Ming dynasty.
    Last edited by Ace High; 03-11-13 at 03:32 AM.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    I like the part where he "willingly" donated the 1.5 million to the people of Taiwan. I suppose it was a strategic move to try and cover his corrupt practice but then, I'm sure KX knows that his ministers and officers are corrup. only he did not know the quantum of it.

    I suppose a compensation of ten over thousand is better than nothing...heh heh heh.

    Thanks Foxs. It's good to be reading about the 2 main characters again.
    cheerio..

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    Default Chapter 50 - Part 4

    Anh, you are welcome. Tweety, LOL, I always wonder, where did they get their money from? If it was from tax, the money ought to belong to the government, right? Smurf said it was extorted from the people, but I think it's more like 'bribe' from the rich people just like WXB kept getting money from everywhere. Ace, thanks for the info, I'll include it in my source document.

    I can see light at the end of the tunnel already ...

    EDIT: Crazee, you sneaked in while I was writing the above ...


    From Han Lu [Han Street] they reached Tongzhou [district, east of Beijing], where they boarded boats, and sailed along the canal southward, passing Tianjin, Linqing, crossing the Yellow River, passing Ji Ning, and one day arrived at Huaiyin [district, Jiangsu]. The official boat anchored at Siyangji [county, Jiangsu] to spend the night there.

    Wei Xiaobao and his seven wives sat on the boat, chatting while having dinner. Su Quan said, “Xiaobao, tomorrow we will arrive at Huaiyin. In the old days, there was one man whose nobility title was Marquis of Huaiyin …”

    “Um,” Wei Xiaobao said, “His rank was not as high as mine.”

    Su Quan smiled and said, “That is not so. His original title was King, he was conferred the nobility title King. Afterwards the Emperor was afraid he might revolt, he removed his King title and changed it into Marquis of Huaiyin. This man was surnamed Han, given name Xin[2]. He was very famous.”

    Wei Xiaobao slapped his thigh and said, “I know him. ‘Chasing after Han Xin under the dreary moon’, ‘Ambush from ten sides’, ‘Overlord need not worry about concubine’. All those plays have Han Xin in them.”

    “Exactly,” Su Quan said, “This man was very capable, his meritorious service was very big, even a hero like the Overlord of Chu was defeated under his hands. It’s a pity that his end was not good, he was killed by the Emperor and Empress.”

    Wei Xiaobao sighed and said, “What a pity, what a pity! Why did the Emperor kill him? Did he want to rebel?”

    Su Quan shook her head and said, “No, he did not. The Emperor was jealous of his ability, he was afraid he might rebel.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “Fortunately my ability is very low, in everything His Majesty is better than I am, and thus he can’t possibly be jealous of me. I have only one thing better than His Majesty, apart from this, in everything else I absolutely fall short of him.”

    Ah Ke asked, “In which aspect you are better than the Emperor?”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “I have seven wives as flower as jade, in all the world, you won’t find the eighth of such beautiful women. His Majesty’s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, I, Wei Xiaobao has romantic good fortune that fills the heaven. We, the ruler and his minister, two people each has his own strength, hence we are somewhat even.” He had thick skin and loved to toot his horn; the seven wives roared in laughter.

    Fang Yi said with a laugh, “The Emperor’s flood of good fortune fills the heavens, you are the Great Sage the Equal of Heaven[3].”

    “Right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I am the Beautiful Monkey King of Shuilian [water curtain] Cave, leading a bunch of female monkeys and little monkeys, passing the days freely and leisurely.”

    While they were chatting and laughing, outside the cabin a servant said in a loud and clear voice, “Reporting to Gongye: there are guests requesting an audience.”

    The maid entered to present four visiting cards. Su Quan received the cards and said in low voice, “The visitors are Gu Yanwu, Zha Jizuo, Huang Lizhou, and Lu Liuliang, four gentlemen.”

    “It’s Mr. Gu and his friends,” Wei Xiaobao said, “I must see them.” Instructing his servant to receive the guests in the large boat’s cabin and serve them tea, he immediately changed his clothes and came out to meet them.

    In the past, Gu, Zha and Huang, three men were arrested by Wu Zhirong in Yangzhou and nearly lost their lives; fortunately Wei Xiaobao saved them. As for Lu Liuliang, it was the very first time that they met. Behind him there were two young men in their twenties; they were Lu Liuliang’s sons, Lu Baozhong and Lu Yizhong. After greeting each other, they sat down as host and guests. Lu Baozhong and Lu Yizhong stood behind their father.

    Gu Yanwu spoke in low voice, “Wei Xiangzhu, this time we came to pay you a visit, there is one very important thing we’d like to discuss with you. There are numerous eyes and ears in Siyangji, it’s inconvenient for us to talk. Is it possible to ask you to instruct the boat to sail out several li and anchor in some secluded, uninhabited place where we can talk?”

    In the Turtle-slaying Assembly in Hejianfu that year, Gu Yanwu was elected the Chief Military Counselor by the heroes of various paths; in Jianghu, his reputation was very resounding, Wei Xiaobao had always been admiring him. He immediately went back to tell Su Quan and the others about their plan. Su Quan said, “We can’t be overly cautious. Our boat will follow. Anything happen, we can provide good support.”

    Thinking about he was going with Gu Yanwu and the others to ‘some secluded, uninhabited place’, in his heart Wei Xiaobao was actually rather scared. With the seven wives escorting him, he felt he had something to depend on; thereupon he repeatedly agreed and ordered the boatmen to sail southward, telling them that they wanted to drink wine and admire the full moon amidst the elegant scenery along the canal. When Duke Wei was in a refined and elegant frame of mind, he might come up with some good poems. The remaining boats stayed in Siyangji, waiting for their return.

    Wei Xiaobao returned to the big boat to accompany the guests. The two boats sailed south for about seven, eight li; they saw flat and empty land on both sides of the river, illuminated by the bright moon in the sky, no other human beings everywhere they looked. Wei Xiaobao ordered the boatmen to drop the anchor and told the boatmen and the attendants to go to the stern, so that they would not spoil Duke Wei and the six gifted scholars’ mood in creating poetry.

    When there were no other people around, Gu Yanwu and the others expressed their gratitude once again for Wei Xiaobao’s great kindness in saving their lives in the past. Wei Xiaobao modestly responded, and then he told them about how Wu Liuqi and Chen Jinnan met their ends one after another. Everybody sighed endlessly. Gu Yanwu said, “The rumors floating around in Jianghu all said that Wei Xiangzhu coveted riches and honor and murdered your master to gain glory. But Huang Xiong, Zha Xiong and Xiongdi knew that it was not true. The three of us were total strangers to Wei Xiangzhu, yet unexpectedly Wei Xiangzhu was willing to brave great danger by killing that servant Wu Zhirong and saved our lives. How can someone whose righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky murder his benevolent master?”

    Zha Jizuo said, “When we heard Jianghu friends mentioning this matter, we always do our best to defend Wei Xiangzhu against the accusation. But they said that Tatar Emperor’s imperial edict said so, how could it be false? Yet we know that Wei Xiangzhu live in Cao camp but have your heart in Han camp, you cannot always explain everything to the outsiders. From the beginning all heroes and warriors must undertake a task despite criticism. In order for Duke of Zhou to be a great sage great virtuous person, he still had to manage Cai spreading rumors, much less other people? For this reason, Wei Xiangzhu need not take it to heart.” Wei Xiaobao did not understand what he was talking about, the Duke of Zhou managing Cai and so on; he could only say ‘yes, yes’.

    Lu Liuliang said, “Wei Xiangzhu made painstaking effort in planning great undertaking, actually you do not need to seek the people of the whole world’s understanding. As long as in the end you come out with a world-shaking achievement, everybody will understand that previously they have accused you wrongly.”

    Wei Xiaobao mused, “What kind of world-shaking achievement I can possibly do? Aiyo, not good, they want to persuade me to assassinate the Emperor. How can I ‘refuse three obstruct four’ [i.e. use all sorts of excuses], refuse five obstruct six toward them? My way out is already bolted.” He said, “Xiongdi does not have any ability, literary knowledge is even less, whatever I attempted to do, I always did not get the desired outcome on both sides. Xiongdi is very discouraged, this time I am ‘announcing old age and returning home’ [i.e. to retire from public life]; later on I won’t do anything.”

    “Pft,” Lu Yizhong saw that Wei Xiaobao was a few years younger than himself, yet unexpectedly he spoke about ‘announcing old age and returning home’, he stifled a laughter, but in the end could not help bursting in laughter. Gu Yanwu and the others were also amused; they looked at each other with smile on their faces.

    Huang Lizhou smiled and said, “Wei Xiangzhu is a young hero, your future prospect is immeasureable. Ignorant people’s temporary misunderstanding needs not be bothered about.”

    Wei Xiaobao said, “This one comparatively has to be regarded as important. Mr. Huang, you wrote a good book, called … called … Ming … Ming something something Huahualulu?”

    Huang Lizhou was greatly surprised, “This man’s eyes cannot recognize the letter ‘T’, how did he know about my book?” He said, “It’s ‘Ming Yi Dai Fang Lu’.”

    “That’s right, that’s right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “In your book there are a lot of words reprimanding the Emperor, is that right?”

    Huang Lizhou and the others where shocked; they all thought, “Even this man knew about it. I’m afraid there will be another big literary inquisition.”

    Gu Yanwu said, “It’s not reprimanding the Emperor. In his book Huang Xiong wrote his clear and penetrating opinion, he explained which road the ruler ought to take.”

    “That’s right,” Wei Xiaobao said, “These days His Majesty read Mr. Huang’s book every day, he did not stop praising you of writing the book so well, maybe he is going to invite you to become a Zhuangyuan, become the prime minister.”

    “Wei Xiangzhu is making fun of me,” Huang Lizhou said, “How can there be such thing?”

    Thereupon Wei Xiaobao explained how Kangxi greatly praised the ‘investigative record of Ming-barbarians dealing’; only then did everybody feel relieved. Huang Lizhou said, “Turns out the Tatar Emperor is able to distinguish right from wrong.”

    Wei Xiaobao seized the opportunity by saying, “That’s right. The Young Emperor said, although he is not a raw bird fish soup, compared to those Ming Dynasty Emperors, he is not necessarily inferior; perhaps he is even a bit better. With him being the Emperor, common people throughout the world pass their days better than during the Ming Dynasty. Xiongdi is unlearned, I have no knowledge and experience, I don’t know if what he was saying is right.”

    Gu, Zha, Huang, and Lu, four people ‘you look at me, I look at you’, recalling each emperor of the Ming Dynasty; from the founder of the Dynasty, Ming Taizu all the way to the last emperor of the dynasty, Emperor Chongzhen. If not a cruel tyrant, then it must be a muddleheaded emperor; which one was as good as Kangxi? These four people were the great scholars of the present age, they were well acquainted with history. Unwilling to rule out conscience, they could not help but nodding their head silently.

    “Therefore,” Wei Xiaobao continued, “The Emperor is good, Tian Di Hui is also good. The Emperor wanted me to exterminate Tian Di Hui, I determined not to do it. Tian Di Hui brothers wanted me to assassinate the Emperor, I also made up my mind not to do it. The outcome is that both sides are blaming me. Xiongdi has thought it through from different angles, hence I want to ‘announce old age and return home’.”

    “Wei Xiangzhu,” Gu Yanwu said, “We came this time, not to ask you to assassinate the Emperor.”

    “That’s very good,” Wei Xiaobao happily said, “As long as it is not assassinating the Emperor, Xiongdi will not shirk without dishonor in everything else. I wonder what four senior gentlemen, two young gentlemen want me to do?”

    Gu Yanwu pushed the cabin’s window open, looked out, and saw that all around them was peace and quiet. He looked back and said, “We came to persuade Wei Xiangzhu to be the Emperor!”

    ‘Bing, bang!’ the teacup in Wei Xiaobao’s hand fell down to the floor and shattered. He was shocked. “This … this is not a joke?” he asked.

    “Definitely not a joke,” Zha Jizuo replied, “A few of us have been deliberating over this matter for several months, we all feel that the Great Ming’s fortune is gone, common people throughout the world will not go back to the previous Ming. In all honesty all the emperors of the former Ming had caused too much suffering to the common people, everybody remembers them with hate. But the Tatars are occupying our Han family’s rivers and mountains, they want the Han people all over the world to have our heads shaved and tie a braid, changing our clothes to barbarians’ attire; this is always hard to swallow. Wei Xiangzhu holds the power over the military, plus you are the Tatar Emperor’s trusted aide. As long as you are willing to raise the righteous banner and stand on your own feet as the Emperor, the people throughout the world will certainly look at you for direction.”

    Wei Xiaobao was still in panic mode; he repeatedly shook his hand and said, “I … I don’t have that kind of good fortune, I cannot be the emperor.”

    Gu Yanwu said, “Wei Xiangzhu always uphold justice, your good fortune is even more profound. Look around the world, if not you becoming the emperor, among the Han people there is nobody that has this kind of good fortune.”

    Lu Liuliang said, “We, Han people, are a hundred times more numerous than the Manchus. One hundred people against their one person, how can we not achieve victory? That day Wu Sangui rose in rebellion, it was only because he forfeited the Great Ming’s rivers and mountains and became a big traitor that the Han people all over the world gnashed our teeth in bitter hatred and thus he could not succeed. Wei Xiangzhu has the heaven and the people on your side, recently you pacified Luocha, setting up an amazing merit to China, your prestige is rising, like the sun in the middle of the day. As soon as Wei Xiangzhu nod your head, we will immediately contact the heroes and warriors of Jianghu, together we draw a plan for this great undertaking.”

    Wei Xiaobao’s heart was thumping madly, not even in his wildest dream would he expect that anybody would exhort him to be the Emperor. After staring blankly for half a day, he finally said, “I came from a small hoodlum background, my expertise is in cursing people and gambling. I became a general and a high-ranking officer, already other people are not happy about it; how can I be the Emperor? The Son of Heaven is ordained by the Heaven, he has to have gargantuan good fortune. My birthdate characters [used in fortune-telling] are not right, the fortune-teller has already calculated that if I became the Emperor, I will not live pass three days.”

    Hearing him talking nonsense, Lu Yizhong stifled another laughter. Zha Jizuo said, “What are Wei Xiangzhu’s birthdate characters? Let us find a brilliant fortune-teller and have him make calculation.” He knew that Wei Xiaobao did not have any profound knowledge, hence reasoning with him, they could only speak about little righteousness, not big righteousness. Describing virtuous cause to him, he would only understand little potential, and would not understand big potential. But if they bribed a fortune-teller to say that he was indeed the Son of Heaven ordained by the Heaven, that he received the mandate of Heaven to sit on the Dragon Throne, he might believe instead.

    Who would have thought that Wei Xiaobao said, “The time of my birth and my birth characters are known only to my mother. When we get to Yangzhou, I am going to ask her.”

    [2] Han Xin (-196BC), famous general of first Han emperor Liu Bang.

    [3] Great Sage the Equal of Heaven was the self-proclaimed title of the Monkey King Sun Wukong (Journey to the West).

  11. #3071
    Senior Member Ace High's Avatar
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    Xiao chases Han under the Moonlight originated from the event where Xiao He trailed Han Xin for a few days, even at night, in order to catch up with the latter and bring him back to Liu Bang. Meanwhile, Liu Bang thought that Xiao He had also deserted him and was shocked, but was relieved when he saw Xiao returning with Han Xin days later. Liu Bang asked Xiao He, “Of all those who deserted, why did you choose to bring back Han Xin only?” Xiao He then strongly recommended Han Xin to Liu Bang, saying that Han’s talent was unmatched. Liu Bang heeded Xiao He’s suggestion and appointed Han Xin as a general. It is used to describe an urgent situation in which action has to be taken immediately without notification.


    The Duke of Zhou played a major role in consolidating the newly-founded Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC). He was the brother of King Wu of Zhou, the first king of the ancient Zhou Dynasty. Because his fiefdom was based around the Zhou capital of Chengzhou (later Luoyang), the Duke of Zhou was also known as Zhou Gong, Zhou Gong Dan, Shu Dan or Zhou Dan. According to Chinese legend, he annotated the 64 hexagrams and completed the classic of I Ching and established the Rites of Zhou.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    Thanks foxs

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    Just imagine WXB as Emperor......It would either the most corrupted state or the most uncorrupted state....but either way, he was right that he wouldn't last 3 days.

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    It is a strange world when WXB is the only voice of reason -these scholars are out of their minds.

    Thanks Foxs!

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    Wow....LOL, XB as the emperor ? China will be come a wore house and eighteen touches will be the national anthem
    Thanks Foxs....
    cheerio..

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    Quote Originally Posted by pannonian View Post
    I was talking about Cheng Yaojin.
    Cheng Yaojin (593-665), born in Dong'e of Jizhou (in the southwest part of the present Dong'e of Shandong Province), was a great general in the Tang Dynasty awarded Lord of Lu Land (Lu Guogong) and one of the 24 great statesmen of Lingyan'ge Pavilion.

    Cheng Yaojin was a descent of an old and well-known family. His great-grandfather Cheng Xing was the Governor of Yanzhou in the North Qi Dynasty, his grandfather Cheng Zhe was the Governor of Jinzhou in the Northern Qi Dynasty, and his father Cheng Lou was also a high official in the northern Qi Dynasty who took charge of Yingzhou.

    According to historical records, Cheng Yaojin was "valiant in his youth and adept at wielding his horse and long lance". In the late Sui Dynasty, Cheng Yaojin joined in the Wagang Rebel Army and later surrendered to another rebellion leader Wang Shichong. At last he surrendered to the Tang court and was awarded Lord of Lu Land, being one of the backbone members of King Li Shimin, Prince Qin of Tang.
    You plant a garden and the flowers do not bloom, you poke a stick in the mud and it grows into a tree

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    Quote Originally Posted by foxs View Post


    EDIT: Crazee, you sneaked in while I was writing the above ...


    "Gollum, Gollum" ( quote : smeagol LOTR )
    cheerio..

  18. #3078
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    Default Chapter 50 - Part 5

    Ace, thanks for the story. You seem to know a lot. Are you sure you don't want to translate? Anh, you are welcome. Chowbeng, Smurf, I think I like Crazee's idea: make 'Eighteen Touches' the national anthem ... I had a chuckle, that was a good one.


    Everybody knew he did not mean it; he was merely making excuses. Lu Liuliang said, “Among the heroes and warriors, most do not confine themselves to particulars. Han Gaozu [first Han emperor Liu Bang] was open-minded and generous; compared to Wei Xiangzhu he was a lot more easygoing.” In his heart he said, “You came from a small hoodlum background, it is nothing. Han Gaozu came from big hoodlum background; he cursed people and gambled, compared to you he was a lot more troublesome, yet in the end he became the King who founded the Han Dynasty.”

    Wei Xiaobao shook his hand and said, “We all are good friends, let me tell you the truth.” While saying that, he stroked his own head. “This guy here has a mouth,” he continued, “This mouth still want to eat damned several dozen of years of rice. This guy also has a pair of eyes, they like to watch a play and look at beautiful women. On it grew a pair of ears, they want to listen to stories, listen to songs. If I became the Emperor, this guy most likely cannot be protected, once it is chopped down, everything will collapse silly. Besides, becoming an emperor is not much fun. Taiwan suffers a hurricane, he was anxious; someone in Yunnan rose up in rebellion, he had to mind him. The job as an emperor is exhausting but not fun. I absolutely don’t want to do it.”

    Gu Yanwu and the others looked at each other in dismay; they felt what he said made a lot of sense. Since Wei Xiaobao did not have any ambition in his heart, and he was unwilling to step forward bravely for the sake of the country and the people, to move his heart was indeed a very difficult matter.

    After half a day, Gu Yanwu said, “This is a big matter, it is not easy to make decision in such a short time …” Speaking to this point, suddenly they heard faint hoof beats, several dozen of riders approached from the north along the western bank; in the dead of the night, the sound was twice as clear.

    Huang Lizhou said, “Very late at night, how can there be a large group of riders?”

    Lu Liuliang said, “Could it be the night patrol?”

    Zha Jizuo shook his head and said, “Can’t be. Night patrol will ride their horses very slow, not galloping like this. Could it be Jianghu visitor?”

    While they were still talking, they heard several dozen more riders on the eastern bank. The canal was not too wide, when there were horses galloping on both sides of the river, the people on the boat could hear it clearly. The boatmen of the boat on the rear received order to use the punting pole to get two boats close to each other. Su Quan and Shuang’er leaped onto the bow.

    Xianggong,” Su Quan said, “I am afraid the incoming people harbor malicious intentions, let’s gather everybody together.”

    “Alright!” Wei Xiaobao said, “Mr. Gu and the others are old gentlemen, they don’t look like lechers. Everybody come in, even if they see them it won’t be a big deal.”

    In their hearts Gu Yanwu and the others said, “Rubbish!” They felt it was inappropriate for them to meet the females in Wei Xiaobao’s family; therefore, they moved to the stern. The Princess, Ah Ke and the others, seven women, carried their children into the bow cabin.

    They heard over the dike of the eastern and western banks the whistling boise of bamboo whistle calling and answering each other. Wei Xiaobao happily said, “It’s Tian Di Hui whistle.”

    Several dozen of riders on both sides galloped toward the official boats. From the western bank someone called out, “Wei Xiaobao, come out!”

    “Damn it,” Wei Xiaobao cursed in low voice, “No respect for seniors at all, they don’t even call ‘Wei Xiangzhu’ once.”

    He was about to walk toward the bow, Su Quan pulled him back and said, “Let me question them clearly.” Walking toward the door of the cabin she asked, “Which heroes are here to see Wei Xianggong?” Looking toward both banks, she saw all riders were wearing dark green cloth headband, while holding weapons in their hands.

    The leader of the people on the western bank said, “We are from Tian Di Hui.”

    Su Quan lowered her voice, “What is the secret code when you meet Tian Di Hui people?”

    Wei Xiaobao went to the cabin’s door and said in a loud and clear voice, “Five men separately compose a poem, nobody knows the Hong Ying [lit. great courage. See also Chapter 8 for more info on Tian Di Hui.] on their body.”

    The man on the horse replied, “That is Tian Di Hui’s old secret code. Ever since Wei Xiaobao betrayed the Society and surrendered to the enemy, murdered his master to seek honor, all the secret code of the Society have been changed.”

    Wei Xiaobao was startled. “Who are you?” he asked, “How can you say such thing?”

    The man said, “Are you Wei Xiaobao?”

    Wei Xiaobao thought there was no use in denying; he said, “I am Wei Xiaobao.”

    The man said, “Then I can tell you this: I am from Great Transformation Hall of Tian Di Hui, my surname is Shu.”

    “Turns out it’s Shu Dage,” Wei Xiaobao said, “There is a lot of misunderstanding here. Is your honorable Hall’s Li Xiangzhu around?”

    The man surnamed Shu hatefully said, “Your evil crimes fill the heavens. Li Xiangzhu died of anger because of you.”

    The people on the western bank shouted loudly, “Wei Xiaobao betrayed the Society and surrendered to the enemy, murdered his master to seek honor; Shu Dage does not need to talk to him too much. Today we are going to chop his body into ten thousand pieces, to avenge Chen Zongduozhu and Li Xiangzhu.”

    When the people on the eastern bank heard this, they also shouted in loud voices. Suddenly ‘whoosh!’ someone threw a piece of flying locust rock. Wei Xiaobao hastily withdrew into the cabin, while groaning inwardly, “Turns out Great Transformation Hall’s Li Xiangzhu has passed away; without distinguishing red-blue or black-white these brothers are acting recklessly, what should I do?”

    He heard a series of ‘pi pi pai pai’ on the sail of their boat, secret projectiles from both sides continuously arrived. Finally the official boat stopped in the middle of the canal, the distance from either side was equally far, some secret projectiles fell into the water, even if they reached the sail, the momentum was very weak. Wei Xiaobao said, “This is ‘straw boat to borrow arrows’, I … I am Lu Su, I can only trembling with fear. Which one of you is Zhuge … Zhuge Liang? Quickly … quickly think of a plan.”

    Seeing the secret projectiles were shot one after another, Gu Yanwu and the others, along with the boatmen, were hiding in the hold of the boat. Suddenly a flame flickered, several flaming arrows were shot toward the sail. Immediately the sail caught fire. “Aiyo!” Wei Xiaobao cried out, “It’s desperately serious, Wei Xiaobao is on fire!”

    Su Quan shouted loudly, “Mr. Gu Yanwu is in here, you must not be rude.” She thought that Gu Yanwu’s prestige in Jianghu was quite resounding, presumably Tian Di Hui people would not dare to offend him. But amid the noise over the over, her voice was drowned.

    Wei Xiaobao said, “Wives, let us shout together, ‘Mr. Gu Yanwu is here!’ One, two, three!”

    Seven madams followed after Wei Xiaobao, “Mr. Gu Yanwu is here!”

    After they had shouted three times, the noise of the people ashore gradually died down, the secret projectiles attack also stopped at once. The man surnamed Shu asked in loud voice, “Is Mr. Gu Yanwu on the boat?”

    Gu Yanwu stood on the bow, cupped his fist and said, “Xiongdi Gu Yanwu is here.”

    “Aiyo!” the man surnamed Shu cried out, and hastily issued his order, “Brothers with water skill, quickly jump into the river and tow the boat to the shore.”

    They heard continuous splashing noise as dozens of Society members jumped into the canal and pushed and pulled the official boat toward the western bank. By this time the fire on the boat was burning high. Shuang’er pulled Wei Xiaobao and took him jumping to the shore, the remaining people also went ashore one after another. With unsheathed weapons in their hands, Tian Di Hui people surrounded them all around.

    The man surnamed Shu cupped his fist and bowed to Gu Yanwu; he said, “Zaixia Tian Di Hui Great Transformation Hall’s Shu Hualong paying his respect to Mr. Gu Yanwu.”

    Gu Yanwu cupped his fist to return the salute. An old man from Tian Di Hui bowed and said, “That year in the Turtle-Slaying Assembly of Hejianfu, the heroes all over the world elected Mr. Gu as Zong Junshi [Chief Military Counselor], Zaixia has seen Mr. Gu’s face once. We brothers are being reckless, please pardon our offense.”

    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “You are indeed too reckless.”

    The old man said in stern voice, “I am talking to Mr. Gu; who spoke to you, this little traitor?” Stretching out his hand, he wanted to grab Wei Xiaobao’s chest. Su Quan blocked with her left hand, followed by a hand-flip, she caught and twisted the man’s wrist; borrowing the momentum, she pushed forward. The old man was unable to hold his stand; he was thrown down outward. Two Tian Di Hui members hastily rushed forward to hold him up.

    Gu Yanwu called out, “If you have something to talk, let’s talk. Don’t use force, don’t use force!”

    By this time the inside of the cabin had already caught fire. Under the blazing fire the faces of the people on the shore could be seen clearly. Su Quan felt that she and Shuang’er had superior martial art skill, to protect their husband and break the siege was not a difficult matter. Tian Di Hui people only wanted to deal with Wei Xiaobao, one person; all they need to do was to ensure he could escape, these Jianghu warriors would certainly not give trouble to women and children. Thereupon she and Shuang’er stood on Wei Xiaobao’s left and right. They already had their eyes on three horses, as soon as the talk reached a deadlock, they would immediately make their move to snatch the horses.

    Gu Yanwu pulled Shu Hualong’s hand and said, “Shu Dage, please step aside to talk.” The two of them walked off several zhang. Shu Hualong listened to Gu Yanwu’s explanation, and then with a loud voice he called six or seven names to come forward. Looking at their appearance, these men were the leaders of this group. The old man who was thrown down by Su Quan was one of them, the remaining forty or so men were still surrounding Wei Xiaobao all around.

    Wei Xiaobao said, “My valuables in the boat are indeed not a few, you burned it down. Hey, hey, if the Great Transformation Hall wants to compensate for my loss, it will break your money coffer big time.” Some of the people raised their sabers to threaten; some opened their mouths in cursing. Wei Xiaobao did not pay them any attention; he expected Gu Yanwu would explain the truth to Shu Hualong.

    As expected, when Shu Hualong and the other Great Transformation Hall leaders heard Gu Yanwu’s explanation, they found out that there were many twists and turns in this story, Wei Xiaobao worked as a high-ranking officer in the imperial court, although they did not understand everything, but the murder of Zongduozhu Chen Jinnan was not done by him, hence the bitter hatred in their hearts disappeared.

    They came together to him. Shu Hualong cupped his fist and said, “Wei Xiangzhu, just now we misunderstood you. If not for Mr. Gu’s enlightenment, we all nearly commit an offense.”

    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “To really offend me is not that easy.” While saying that, he leaned sideways, unleashing the ‘Shen Xing Bai Bian’ [divine line hundred changes] he charged to the left, passed through to the right, went up and down twice or three times, and already he was about five, six zhang away from the Great Transformation Hall’s encirclement, and then with one leap he landed on a horseback.

    Shu Hualong and the others were shocked; nobody expected that his lightness skill was surprisingly marvelous beyond measure. This man had such an outstanding martial art, no wonder although he was young, he had become Tian Di Hui Green Wood Hall’s Xiangzhu. Admittedly famous master would produce brilliant student, Zongduozhu’s direct disciple indeed was not a small matter. That old man from Great Transformation Hall’s martial art was also very strong, the brothers had always admired him, but with one twist and one push by Su Quan, he had no room to parry, and was narrowly thrown down to the ground. It appeared that each and every one of the other six ladies was also martial art expert. If they really had to fight, although their sides had more people, perhaps they would be beaten and had their heads and faces filthy with grime.

    Wei Xiaobao laughed and said, “Excuse me, I must leave now!” Raising the reins, he galloped the horse away. But after rushing to the west about a dozen zhang, he swiftly leaped down from the horse and charged northwest; slipping to the left ducking to the right, somehow he returned to the encirclement and stood at his original spot with a grin on his face. Nobody could see clearly when did he come in.

    Tian Di Hui members looked at each other, overwhelmed with amazement. Shu Hualong cupped his fist and said, “Wei Xiangzhu’s martial art is superb. My utmost admiration, my utmost admiration.”

    Wei Xiaobao also cupped his fist and said with a laugh, “It was just a shameful display.”

    Shu Hualong said, “Mr. Gu has explained to us that Wei Xiangzhu live in Cao camp but have the heart in Han camp, and is about to attempt a world-shaking great undertaking, to raise aspiration of the Han people throughout the world. When Wei Xiangzhu is ready to stage an uprising, although we, the Great Transformation Hall’s brothers, do not have much skill, as long as Wei Xiangzhu has anything for us to do, we will go through water and tread on fire, under no circumstances will we decline to do it.”

    “Yes, yes,” Wei Xiaobao replied.

    Shu Hualong noticed Wei Xiaobao’s unenthusiastic expression. Suddenly he raised his right index finger, ‘pop!’ he poked his own left eye. Immediately blood flowed out. Everybody screamed in fright. Wei Xiaobao, Gu Yanwu, and the others asked in alarm, “Shu Dage, what … what are you doing?”

    Upright and unafraid Shu Hualong replied, “Xiongdi has offended Wei Xiangzhu, violating our Society’s commandment against disrespecting superior. I should have poked both of my eyeballs as a reprimand that I have eyes but failed to see. But Xiongdi wants to leave the other eye, I want to see how will Wei Xiangzhu accomplish the world-shaking great undertaking in the end.”

    The old man said awe-inspiringly, “Supposing Mr. Gu and the others were deceived, Wei Xiangzhu only talked without actually doing it, all along he covets riches and honor, and only wanted to be a high-ranking officer; then what?”

    Shu Hualong said, “Then Wei Xiangzhu also has to dig his own eyeball to compensate for mine.” Finished speaking he turned to Gu Yanwu and Wei Xiaobao, bowed and saluted, and said, “We are waiting for good news from Wei Xiangzhu.” Waving his left hand, everybody withdrew, mounted their horses and galloped away.

    The old man turned his head around and called out, “Wei Xiangzhu, when you are home, ask your Niang [mother], is your Laozi [old man] a Han, or a Manchu? As a human being you must not forget your own ancestor.”

    The bamboo whistle was blown, the crowd of warriors on the eastern bank also galloped away southward. In a short period of time, the riders on both banks had completely gone. The boat on the water was still burning.

    Gu Yanwu sighed and said, “These brothers are still suspicious toward Wei Xiongdi. They are warriors of the wilderness, inevitably their speech is boorish, but they have loyal and righteous hearts, other people cannot help but feeling respect. Wei Xiangzhu, we have not finished what we wanted to talk to you about. We only hope that you will not forget the Great Han’s descendants. We are taking our leave now, I am sure we’ll meet again some day.” Finished speaking he cupped his fist, and then with Huang, Zha and the Lu’s they bade farewell.

  19. #3079
    Senior Member smurf120's Avatar
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    The Tian Di Hui people are frightening! But very easy to convince to back off and still have not caught on to the fact that the emperor has undercover agents all over the place. For a second there I thought WXB was going to take off without his wives and kids.

    I hope WXB gets to go into retirement peacefully. Thanks Foxs!

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    Thanks foxs

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