Chapter 39: The Huitong Canal, Heading Toward Jinling

Gu Zhengchen and Liang Jiajun bid farewell to Teng County and set off toward Jinling.

The party consisted of seven people, accompanied by two coachmen. The coachmen were not traveling to Jinling; their duty was merely to transport the group to the ferry at Xia Village. Xia Village was located over sixty *li* to the southwest of Teng County, bordering the Huitong Canal.

Seeing Gu Zhengchen pick up a copy of *The Great Learning* to read, Liang Jiajun could not help but ask, "Is *The Great Learning* your area of expertise, Brother Gu?"

Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly and smiled. "I know a little."

Liang Jiajun became interested. "Then, in your opinion, what are the most brilliant arguments in *The Great Learning*?"

Gu Zhengchen replied solemnly, "Naturally, the Three Guidelines and the Eight Items."

Liang Jiajun was taken aback and looked at him in confusion. "What are the Three Guidelines and the Eight Items?"

Gu Zhengchen realized he had forgotten that the classification of the "Three Guidelines and Eight Items" was a summary coined by later generations. He took a hard-boiled egg from his basket, cracked it, and said, "The way of *The Great Learning* lies in manifesting illustrious virtue, in loving the people, and in abiding by the highest good. Manifesting illustrious virtue, loving the people, and abiding by the highest good—these three points are the Three Guidelines. As for the Eight Items, they are naturally the investigation of things, the extension of knowledge, the sincerity of thoughts, the rectification of the heart, the cultivation of the person, the regulation of the family, the ordering of the state, and the bringing of peace to the world."

Liang Jiajun savored these words. "The Three Guidelines and the Eight Items... such a framing is truly refreshing. Brother Gu is indeed talented."

Gu Zhengchen handed the peeled egg to Liang Jiajun. "Brother Liang, you are too kind; I am merely repeating the wisdom of others. Speaking of the investigation of things and the extension of knowledge, how do you interpret them?"

Liang Jiajun spoke at length...

The carriage moved slowly, arriving at Xia Village before dusk. Xia Village was not large, but as a ferry town, it had many inns. Unlike the south, ships in the north did not travel at night. Gu Zhengchen and Liang Jiajun had no choice but to settle into an inn for the time being, while the two coachmen returned to Teng County.

After dinner, they left Sun Shibai at the inn to guard their luggage, while Gu Zhengchen and Liang Jiajun took Xue Cheng and Liang Wujin to the ferry.

A bald, middle-aged man approached, rubbing his head. He looked over Gu Zhengchen and his companions and smiled. "Gentlemen, I am Wu Zhong, and I make my living here at this ferry. Are you heading north or south? Do you need me to recommend a good boatman?"

Liang Jiajun stood with his hands behind his back, remaining silent.

Liang Wujin stepped forward and handed over ten coins. "Our master wants to go south to Jinling; tell us what you know."

Seeing the money, Wu Zhong became even more enthusiastic. "Traveling south to Jinling is a long journey. The boats here in Xia Village don't go that far."

"How far can they go at the furthest?" Gu Zhengchen asked.

Wu Zhong pointed south. "There are a few routes. One is to head south to Xuzhou, then change boats to Suqian. The other is to head east toward Hanzhuang and Taizhuang, then proceed south to Suqian. If you don't want to change boats, you can take the eastern waterway, though the channel there is somewhat winding and will take a day longer than changing boats in Xuzhou."

Gu Zhengchen looked at Liang Jiajun. "What do you think, Brother Liang?"

Liang Jiajun pondered for a moment. "Changing boats back and forth is a hassle. We might as well go straight to Suqian."

Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly toward Wu Zhong.

Wu Zhong quickly added, "Taking the eastern route to Suqian will take five days, and the fare is eighty coins per person."

With that, Wu Zhong summoned a boatman to show Liang Jiajun and Gu Zhengchen the vessel. The boat was five and a half *zhang* long and one *zhang* wide in the center, with twelve cabins. An inscription reading "Built in the Fifth Year of Hongwu" was carved into the anchor, along with some smaller, less legible characters.

Gu Zhengchen nodded. "Let's settle on this. Can we set sail early tomorrow morning?"

"We sail as soon as the sun rises," the boatman replied.

Standing by the Huitong Canal, looking at the calm, eight- or nine-*zhang*-wide waterway, Gu Zhengchen felt a sense of trance. He said softly, "According to historical records, the grain transport in the early Yuan Dynasty relied entirely on this Grand Canal."

Liang Jiajun smiled slightly. "That is correct. However, in the late Yuan Dynasty, the world fell into chaos. The Yuan river transport was severed, and they could only rely on maritime transport."

Gu Zhengchen nodded. "Some say that the originator of the Yuan's downfall was Fang Guozhen. What does Brother Liang think?"

"Fang Guozhen? Heh, that is an interesting theory." Liang Jiajun did not refute it.

When people spoke of the late Yuan, most focused on Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, and Zhu Yuanzhang, but these were the second wave of anti-Yuan forces. The first wave consisted of Han Shantong, Liu Futong, Xu Shouhui, and others. Yet, the very first to rise in rebellion against the Yuan was not Han Shantong, but Fang Guozhen.

Fang Guozhen’s presence seemed low, yet he influenced nearly two dynasties—the Yuan and the Ming. The Yuan court could not suppress the Red Turban Army in the Huai River basin, and the capital needed rice, so they had to transport it by sea from the south. Fang Guozhen’s greatest strength was his navy...

Liang Jiajun knew the trouble Fang Guozhen caused for the Yuan, but he could never have known that the true disaster left behind by this man was that after his navy was scattered, some fled to the sea and became pirates, threatening the coast of the Great Ming. One of the reasons for Zhu Yuanzhang’s maritime ban was the headache these pirates caused!

Discussing the past and present and commenting on the state of the world was common among literati. Gu Zhengchen looked at the Huitong Canal and sighed inwardly. According to historical records, in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the Yellow River would breach its banks at Yuanwu, and the floodwaters, laden with silt, would roll north, destroying over a third of the Huitong Canal and affecting almost the entire Shandong region. From that point on, the Grand Canal of the Hongwu era would be unable to connect the north and south until the fourth son of Zhu took power and rectified it.

Now it was the sixth year of Hongwu; there was still time and possibility.

Gu Zhengchen clenched his fists. He did not want to see Shandong suffer, nor did he want to see the Grand Canal interrupted for over twenty years.

The next day, while the sky was still dim, Gu Zhengchen, Liang Jiajun, and their party boarded the boat. The boatman, Wang, brought eight assistants. By the time it was fully light, twenty-five or twenty-six passengers were in the cabins. With a loud, rhythmic chant, long bamboo poles pushed the boat away from the ferry, and it drifted slowly into the center of the Huitong Canal.

Gu Zhengchen stood at the bow, facing the wind, his eyes filled with determination.

Liang Jiajun had taken out his book once again, reading with tireless devotion. Gu Zhengchen admired such focused and pure-hearted people.

Sun Shibai walked to Gu Zhengchen’s side and whispered, "Master, there are highwaymen on this boat."

Gu Zhengchen was startled. He frowned and asked, "Are you sure?"

Sun Shibai shook his head. "Not entirely, but we must be on guard."

"How many are there?"

"Three, and there may be one or two more in the shadows."

"Could they be in league with the boatman?"

"Unlikely. Highwaymen are hard to guard against; once they strike, they usually take everything."

Gu Zhengchen looked at the sky, where the sun hung high, and said calmly, "Even if they want to move, they will have to wait until nightfall."

Sun Shibai nodded, his expression grave.

Gu Zhengchen watched the river water and sighed inwardly. This journey would not be peaceful. Highwaymen in the north and salt smugglers in the south were both known for raiding on the rivers. These people were most rampant in the summer and quietest in the winter. The reason was simple: highwaymen preferred the summer because it was easier to escape by water, making it harder for the authorities to catch them; salt smugglers found the summer labor of harvesting salt too miserable, so robbing was much faster...

The Great Ming Dynasty was not as peaceful and beautiful as it appeared on the surface.