Chapter Twenty-Six: Dark Night

  By the fourth day, their sea vessel had passed through the Miaodao Archipelago off the coast of Dengzhou. Chen Xing knew that to the north lay Lüshun. The Later Jin had captured Lüshun in the fifth year of Tianqi but immediately withdrew; at this time, Lüshun was still under the control of the Eastern Jiang administration, and the Bohai Sea was still safe. Along the way, they occasionally saw military vessels traveling from Dengzhou to Lüshun. Their ship flew an official flag bearing the words "Dengzhou Hai Dao", and they encountered no inspections or inquiries. However, Chen Xing suspected that once they entered the Yellow Sea, all they would need to do was change one word on their flag, and "Dengzhou Hai Dao" would likely become "Dengzhou Hai Dào".

  By the fifth day's sunset, the Fu ship sailed out of the Bohai Sea along the Shandong coast and entered the Yellow Sea. Chen Xin stood at the bow, gazing out at the black coastline in the fading light of dusk. According to what the sailors said, this was the farthest point of the Shandong mainland, which meant it should be Weihaiwei. Of course, it was still far from being the famous military port of later times. Chen Xin had first heard about this place from the demise of the Beiyang Fleet. This war not only shattered China's naval dreams but also thoroughly exposed the weakness of the Qing dynasty to the world.

  Later generations summarized many reasons for the failure of the Beiyang Fleet, either fast guns, or speed, or training, but Chen Xing felt that there was only one reason. After more than 200 years of enslavement and rule by the Manchu Qing dynasty, Chinese people had become completely devoid of vitality and dignity. With such a social soil, how could a modern navy with strong honor and adventurous spirit be cultivated? Even if two Saxon ships were bought, they would only have an empty shell.

  Lu Luozizi sat on the side of the deck, fiddling with a Japanese knife in his hand, holding a borrowed bamboo pipe in his right hand, puffing away at the smoke. He was the cook on the boat, cooking two meals a day, but there wasn't much to cook anyway, just steamed buns and pancakes, and boiling some water. Thinking of the dozens of taels of silver promised by Zhao Dongjia, Lu Luozizi thought he was doing pretty well.

  After sitting on the boat for a few days, his initial excitement has passed. The activity space on the boat is limited and people are not very familiar with each other, now he feels quite annoyed. Other sailors are about the same, after a slightly longer period of time, various emotions begin to spread out, feeling depressed then drinking, and having a worse temper after drinking. Today there have already been two fights, the deck is in an uproar, all because of some trivial matters.

  The sun soon sank below the horizon, and a canopy of starlight appeared in the sky. At night, Lu Zizi took turns standing watch on deck with Hei Pao and five or six others. Chen Xin was worried that Han Bin would make some small move, so he accompanied him on deck, carrying a Japanese sword. Watching Hei Pao use a sextant to measure the angle between the sea surface and the stars, navigation at sea mainly relied on the compass and sextant at this time. The sextant was used at night to maintain direction, and there were special personnel on board responsible for stargazing at night, which is where the naval officer in charge of stargazing originated from.

  The hatch's ladder creaked softly, and Zhao Dongjia appeared on the deck to check if anyone was slacking off. He looked at several people smoking and frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. Having been at sea for many years, he understood sailors' feelings - if restrictions were too tight, it would have an adverse effect. As long as they didn't smoke inside the cabin, he wouldn't bother them.

  He whispered a few words to Hei Pao, stood with his hands behind his back for a while, and then instructed Hei Pao to be careful at night before heading down to the lower deck. As he turned his head, he found Chen Xin also on the deck, and asked Hei Pao in surprise, "Why did you arrange for Chen Cai to take the night watch?"

  "Hei Pao hastily said: 'Mr. Chen is here to accompany Lu brothers.'"

  Chen Xin clasped his fists and said: "The master says we're all in the same boat, so I should do my part. How can I let you brothers keep watch every night?"

  Zhao Dong nodded and said: "Very good."

  Hei Pao also said on one side: "Mr. Chen is quite righteous, if I, Hei Pao, were to say it, this kind of scholar is what we call a true scholar."

  Zhao Dongjia listened and looked at Hei Pao with both eyes, suddenly saying to Chen Xin: "Chen account house you come with me."

  Two men walked to the position of the bow car stick, where a sailor was sitting. Zhao Dongjia kicked him with his foot and scolded: "Get out of here." The sailor quickly rolled away and went to the middle. This lucky boat is over 10 meters long, more than 31 meters, after driving this person away, there are no other people within 10 meters, Zhao Dongjia put his hands behind his back, looking at the sea in front, Chen Xin also followed him to look, the bow's view is very open, the sea is sparkling, the vast ocean and endless starry sky make people feel even smaller.

  After waiting for half a while at the bow of the ship, Dong Jia still didn't speak. Chen Xin had no idea what he wanted to say, but it was definitely not going to be about reenacting Titanic. He was still thinking whether he should bring up the topic of goods with him.

  At last, Zhao Dong's family spoke up in a low voice: "Does Chen know where the first financial officer on this ship went?"

  "I was born too late."

  "I tied him up on this iron anchor and exposed him for five days. A man of over 100 pounds was left with less than 60 pounds."

  Zhao Dong's voice was devoid of emotion, and Chen Xin's heart suddenly tightened. The gentle and quiet night seemed to be fraught with crisis. He quickly thought back on the events of the past few days, and apart from firing that one shot, he didn't seem to have done anything wrong. While secretly being on guard, he used the corner of his eye to keep an eye on Zhao Dong's hands, which were still behind his back, and felt a slight sense of relief. He replied, "That must be because this person has done something they shouldn't have."

  Zhao Dongjia didn't even look at him and said calmly: "He accepted money from outsiders, which led to the death of my only son. You tell me, shouldn't he die?"

  Chen Xin had heard Old Cai and Miss Zhao talk about this young Dong before, saying that he had been away from home for many years and was already dead. No wonder they were so indulgent towards Miss Zhao. Chen Xin replied, "Since he didn't keep to his duties, it's not the master's fault either. It's just a pity for Young Master Dong - he must have been a heroic figure who stood tall and proud like a great pillar."

  Zhao Dongjia showed no reaction to his flattery, and continued in a calm tone: "Some fortune tellers said that I was too ruthless and would bring disaster to my descendants. Now it seems they were right. My only son died young, leaving behind only one daughter who can serve me. But when she grows up and gets married, it will be hard to keep her by my side."

  Chen Xin listened and began to understand in his heart, it must be that Miss Zhao went back and said something about inviting himself as a son-in-law, only then would Zhao Dongjia say such things to him, but the specific situation was not clear, and for the time being, he didn't know how to explain.

  Zhao Dong said lightly: "Do you want to be my son-in-law?"

  Chen Xin's mind was racing, unsure of what the master meant. He carefully replied: "I don't know if the master has heard something from someone, but since I left Tieling, I have been drifting without a fixed abode. Coming to your shop is just for three meals and a place to stay, relying on my own efforts, with no other thoughts."

  "You are from Tieling, don't you know what the four gates of Tieling are called?"

  Chen Xintuo hastily said: "After you, after you..."

  Zhao Dong stared at Chen Xin with both eyes, "Do you think that by deceiving Old Cai, you can also deceive me? Just looking at the way you keep accounts with your pen, it's not the skill of a scholar. If it weren't for the fact that you're still somewhat honest when it comes to money, I wouldn't have let you take on this financial role."

  Chen Xin's forehead slowly sweated, he rarely had such a passive moment, being exposed in front of him, and not daring to make trouble. Zhao Dongjia's voice continued: "I don't care where you come from, more than half of the people on this boat I also don't know where they come from, but if you want to be my son-in-law, it's not impossible, money and goods, given to you is yours, if I find out you have deceitful behavior, I'm not afraid to hang another person on the iron anchor."

  Zhao Dongjia had the upper hand, Chen Xin was completely unprepared. His usual careless habits would expose many differences between him and this era. Obviously, Zhao Dongjia had already suspected him, while he still didn't understand most of the common sense of this era. His background and accent were also weaknesses. If someone really asked to the bottom, he would eventually be exposed. Moreover, Dongjia was a life-and-death authority on this ship, not even daring to quibble. This was not the time to play tricks, so he had to use a delaying tactic.

  "My life experience indeed has some concealment, but it's due to some bitter helplessness. However, I have never had any ill intentions towards the master and his family. As for the matter of being a son-in-law, I haven't even dared to hope."

  Zhao Dong turned his head to look at the sea in front of him, interrupting him: "This is not up to you, it's just a matter of whether I'm willing or not. I won't treat you unfairly. The accountant has the integrity of an accountant, and the son-in-law who married into the family has the dignity of a son-in-law. If he can't keep this dignity, my methods wouldn't be like this today when speaking with you."

  Zhao Dongjia looked at Chen Xin's face and said: "Remember, your life is in my hands, as well as the lives of those two so-called cousins of yours."

  Under the starlight, Zhao Dongjia's face showed three blurry scars. Chen Xinren bowed his head under the short brim of his hat and said: "The junior will follow whatever arrangements East House makes."

  After Zhao Dongjia turned and left, Chen Xin slowly raised his head, coldly staring at Zhao Dongjia's back. For the first time, he was threatened with life and death by someone else. After a slight panic in his heart, what arose instead was an unprecedented anger. He could become a son-in-law, but he couldn't be a person without dignity, nor could he be someone whose life was decided by others. When did his parents' gift of life become something that a pirate had control over?

  It's just a pirate leader, but he is like Qin Shi Huang, Han Wu, Tang Zhong, and Song Zu, none of whom ever had the awareness to sacrifice themselves. As Zhao Dong disappeared from the cabin door, Chen Xin slowly revealed a cold glint in his eyes.