Chapter Nine: Night Journey (Part Two)

(Page 1 of 3)

“Exchange shares?!”

Zhang Qian raised a hand and rubbed his face, his brows knotting into a lump.

He was worried that, having become entangled with the imperial clan, he might somehow be dragged into a struggle for the throne and end up dead without even a grave. Yet Guo Nu was still concerned only with whether they had come out ahead in their deal with Li Qi.

What a remarkably thick nerve! If Guo Nu had reminded him earlier that afternoon, even once, Zhang Qian would certainly have refused outright to let that relative of Li Ji invest in Six Spirits Trading House. Even if it meant embarrassing the man to his face, he would not have hesitated.

Then again, after thinking it over, Zhang Qian understood why Guo Nu was not nearly as tense as he was.

Zhang Qian came from the twenty-first century. His education had taught him that, beneath the grandeur and prosperity of even the mightiest feudal dynasty, there lay filth, blood, and ugliness. As an ordinary man of the twenty-first century, the idea of equality had sunk deep into his soul and marrow. Even in the presence of an emperor, he did not feel that he was born half a head shorter than the other man.

Guo Nu and Ren Cong, however, were natives of the Great Tang. They possessed an innate reverence for imperial authority and the emperor’s descendants. That Li Qi was willing to exchange shares with them according to the rules of commerce was already an extraordinary display of virtue. How could the two of them not feel warmly toward him—even marvel at his generosity and benevolence?

“Yes, exchange shares. It proves that he knows our Six Spirits Trading House has a brilliant future and that its shares are precious. He does not wish to use his imperial identity to take advantage of us. So, apart from offering money, he is doing his best to compensate us in other ways as well.”

Guo Nu’s voice soon filled the carriage, exactly as Zhang Qian had expected.

Afraid that Zhang Qian might worry about losing control of Six Spirits Trading House, Guo Nu considered his words, then quickly added, “Senior Brother, do not overthink this. I reminded you that he might be a member of the imperial family because I did not want us to accidentally say the wrong thing when dealing with him in the future. As for the shares Big Brother Gao wants to buy, I will take five of the ten shares I originally transferred to my grandfather and give them to him at the price of the latest expansion. That way, my grandfather will have earned roughly three times his original investment, and you and Imperial Inspector Li will both have an explanation to give. As for the original holdings of the three of us, they will not be affected. Rest easy. I have always remembered what you told me: no matter what happens, our combined share must never fall below fifty-one percent.”

The last of the alcohol was beginning to rise to Zhang Qian’s head. His skull hummed, and his thoughts moved noticeably more slowly than usual. After pondering for a long while, he finally made his decision in a low voice.

“Very well. We’ll do as you say. It is just that we will owe your grandfather a debt.”

“There is no debt to speak of. My grandfather does not care about such a small return. He only wanted to help us in the beginning. Later, when he saw how wildly popular Six Spirits Floral Dew had become in Chang’an, he kept telling me to transfer out the ten shares he had bought and use them to broaden our connections.”

Guo Nu smiled softly, clearly proud to have such a loving and powerful father.

“Mm.”

Zhang Qian nodded absently, his mind still lagging behind.

He wanted to discuss with Guo Nu whether there was any way to take back their word and overturn the partnership. Yet apart from the danger of being caught in the fallout of dealings with a member of the imperial clan, he could find no other suitable reason.

In this era, many people regarded a connection to the imperial family as an honor. A member of the imperial clan who was willing to reason with others and observe the rules was even harder to refuse.

What was more, this imperial kinsman had not the slightest trace of airs about him. That very afternoon, he had drunk himself senseless with everyone else, slapping shoulders and calling them brothers.

“Senior Brother, are you worried that if Imperial Inspector Li runs into trouble in the future, it might implicate us?” Guo Nu finally noticed the strange expression on Zhang Qian’s face and the unease in his manner. He hesitated, then asked tentatively.

“When you first stepped forward to negotiate business with him on my behalf, weren’t you worried at all? I saw your arms flapping like a bird’s wings.”

It was rare for their thoughts to align, and Zhang Qian widened his eyes as he challenged him.

“When I first took the matter from you, Senior Brother, I was afraid he meant to invest with nothing but his mouth and not spend a single coin!” Guo Nu suddenly burst out laughing. His round, fleshy head shook like a great rattle drum. “And since you were his colleague, rejecting him outright would have offended him too severely. So I rushed forward first to test his limits. Once I could no longer hold him off, I would call for you!”

“What? That was your reason?”

Zhang Qian was deeply moved. He cupped his hands toward Guo Nu.

“There is no need to thank me. Without you, I would still be brawling with people in the streets every day!”

Guo Nu smiled again, shifted sideways, and returned the salute.

“As for what you are worried about, it really is unnecessary. Imperial Inspector Li is only a fifth-rank official. How could he be qualified to provoke any great disaster? Besides, there are so many members of the imperial clan. If merely brushing against one of them meant being implicated, everyone in Chang’an would have been killed by now! And it is not you who have dealings with him directly. It is your subordinate who is conducting a legitimate business transaction with Big Brother Gao. In recent years, plenty of people have done business with Big Brother Gao, and many of them have made dealings on a much larger scale. Our transaction today probably would not even rank among his more important ones.”

“That is true. We are speaking only as merchants about a matter of commerce. Nothing else is involved.”

The tension in Zhang Qian’s heart finally eased a little. He rolled his shoulders and let out a long breath.

“That is precisely why I had to remind you that he comes from the imperial clan,” Guo Nu said with a laugh, taking up the thread again in a lowered voice. “He brought Big Brother Gao forward to conduct business on his behalf for the same reason. Between the two sides, there is only a partnership in trade and no other connection. We can pretend not to know that he is descended from the emperor and continue treating him as an equal. But in our ordinary dealings, we must never neglect the respect and courtesy due to His Majesty. Especially you, Senior Brother—you are proud of your talents and careless about trifles. If you say something that you meant innocently, yet he takes it as a veiled admonition and passes it along to the palace…”

“Wait, wait. You say I am proud and arrogant? How am I proud and arrogant?”

The combined effects of alcohol and exhaustion once again caused Zhang Qian’s thoughts to fall behind. Frowning, he searched his memory, but no matter how hard he reflected, he could not recall ever treating anyone with arrogance.

“You cannot sense it yourself, but everyone else can. They simply do not wish to remind you as I do!”

Guo Nu held his liquor well, but even he was somewhat drunk that day, and his speech was far less restrained than usual.

“When you look at people, there is always a hint of pity in your eyes before you know it. No matter how much higher the other person’s rank is than yours, I have never seen you deliberately curry favor. Even when you had not yet been entered into the household registers and met the Young Duke, you merely cupped your hands to him. If you had that attitude as a hermit, everyone would praise you for your lofty character. But now that you are an official, if you use the same manner toward the emperor and the people around him, His Majesty may not take offense—but others may not possess his generosity!”

“You are talking about me?”

A faint flush spread across Zhang Qian’s face, yet he refused to admit that Guo Nu was right.

In truth, he was not genuinely arrogant about his talents. He had merely carried the habits of interaction between ordinary people in the twenty-first century into the eighth century. Such habits could not be changed overnight.

“Of course I am talking about you!”

Guo Nu had known from the beginning that Zhang Qian would never admit it. He rolled his eyes and shrugged lightly.

“Forget it. I will not argue with you. In any case, my grandfather said that you will not be transferred from your post as Deputy Director of the Directorate of Armaments for the next three or five years. Apart from the emperor, there is no one you need fear offending.”

“Did your grandfather really say that? Did he give a reason?”

Zhang Qian immediately grew interested. He leaned forward and stared into Guo Nu’s eyes.

Guo Nu grew uneasy under his gaze and shifted farther away.

“The first part was said by my grandfather. The last two sentences were mine. As for why you will not be transferred, His Majesty promoted you not only because of your windmills and water wells, but also because you risked your life to lure away the giraffe. His Majesty was encouraging others to imitate you and Commandant Zhou and strive to become men of loyalty and courage. But you have little seniority, you are young, and you have no powerful clan behind you. Unless you establish an earth-shaking achievement, fifth rank is already your limit. Going any higher might not necessarily benefit you. His Majesty will not rashly promote you again, lest you become someone else’s target.”

“Then thank your honored father on my behalf later. Those words have opened my eyes.”

Images flashed rapidly before Zhang Qian: the ugly faces of Ji Chuna, Lu Zhengming, and the others when he had joined the pursuit of the court procession; then the sickly appearance of Li Xian, who seemed unable to make up his mind about anything.

He smiled and once again cupped his hands toward Guo Nu.

That great master of yin and yang, Li Xian, had lived beneath the shadow of death for so long that he had become suspicious and changeable, with depths of calculation impossible to fathom. There was no chance of him giving his wholehearted support to any one person.

And Zhang Qian himself…

With several drinks in him, Zhang Qian once again examined his own abilities. To his regret, he discovered that, apart from tinkering with a few mechanical devices, he possessed nothing substantial that could win Li Xian’s wholehearted support.

He certainly could not produce a strategic plan on the level of the Longzhong Strategy, nor did the Great Tang currently need one. As for reform and national revitalization, he had only just figured out how the land, labor, and grain tax system worked. The primitive industrialization of Zhang Family Village had only reached the stage of a rough sketch, and the day when he could see any results remained very far away.

As for the dragon-slaying arts he carried in his belly—perhaps it was best not to bring them out. If he kept them from Li Xian, he might live a few more days. If the other man ever heard of them, the Imperial Guards of all Chang’an would probably come knocking at his door the very next morning.

“If I remain a fifth-rank deputy director, I will lack far more than a little influence when it comes to resolving the Ruby Girl’s distant marriage. The plan to enlist Zhang Renyuan, Grand Commander of the Shuofang Army, still has to proceed…”

After drinking too much, a person’s thoughts easily drifted. As he pondered, Zhang Qian’s mind once again returned to the original reason he had invited Zhou Jianliang to drink that day.

And when he thought of the Shuofang Army and Zhou Jianliang, a sudden chill ran through him.

After drinking until the room spun and his ears rang that afternoon, everyone had actually agreed to join together and establish a trading house—one devoted to the business of stoves and peat. Once they made money, part of the profits would be used to support the Shuofang Army.

(Page 2 of 3)

If the proposal had come from Zhou Jianliang, they could say that everyone’s original intention had been wholehearted service to the state. But if the proposal had come from Imperial Inspector Li, then the man’s calculations were far too deep. What if he truly intended to use the opportunity to lay his hands on military power?

At that thought, Zhang Qian’s brows drew tightly together once more. He repeatedly recalled what had happened, yet he could not remember whose mouth the original proposal had come from.

“Senior Brother! Senior Brother!”

By the light of the candle inside the carriage, Guo Nu saw Zhang Qian’s expression suddenly become extremely grim. His heart lurched, and he quickly leaned closer.

“What is wrong, Senior Brother? Are you still worried about doing business with Imperial Inspector Li?”

“Yes! No! It is another matter!”

Zhang Qian’s words came out in a disordered rush, and his expression grew extraordinarily solemn.

“The second deal. We were all drunk and decided to join together to establish a new trading house and help the Shuofang Army raise money!”

“What is wrong with that one? We are still sending our trusted men to handle it. We do not have to put ourselves at the front, do we?”

Guo Nu stared at him in confusion before answering offhandedly.

“Who proposed it in the first place? I cannot remember. Do you?”

Zhang Qian shook his head, unable to find a way to explain himself, and asked in a hoarse voice.

“Of course I remember. I have not been drunk at all today!”

Guo Nu had finally discovered something he could do better than his senior brother. In an instant, he grinned with immense satisfaction.

“It was our third junior brother. He was carried away by hot blood. Then Zhou Jianliang fanned the flames from the side. As for Imperial Inspector Li, he was the one everyone forced into the situation. He simply could not refuse, and so he had no choice but to agree to let his relative, Big Brother Gao, join in and take a share.”

“What did I do? Second Senior Brother, do not slander me!”

Ren Cong was the youngest and had the least stamina. He had long since collapsed into a drunken heap. Hearing Guo Nu mention him vaguely, he rolled over in his seat and mumbled his protest.

“It is nothing. Go back to sleep. I will wake you when we get home.”

Guo Nu reached out and patted Ren Cong gently on the shoulder, soothing him like an elder brother.

“Then it is fine. Go to sleep.”

Zhang Qian finally let out a breath of relief, though even more questions arose in his heart.

He opened the carriage window and leaned his head outside, hoping the night wind would clear his mind. Instead, he saw a string of lanterns hanging in the distance beneath the dark sky, clear and warm like beacons on the sea.

They were almost home.

After drifting through two eras, the only home he had was just ahead.

(Page 3 of 3)