A Misjudgment: A Transmigrator's Self-Reflection

The sun had not yet set when the boat docked at Tuoligou.

Boats did not sail at night, so passengers could only go ashore to rest or spend the night aboard. This caused travelers considerable inconvenience, but benefited the small towns along the Grand Canal.

Many towns had prospered because of the Grand Canal, but Tuoligou had little local produce, no large city nearby to support it, and no strategic importance. It had never really developed; only the street along the river showed any signs of life.

"I'm a little tired. I'll rest for a while."

Liang Family Jiajun was slightly seasick. Once the boat stopped, he went into the cabin to rest. Gu Zhengchen told Sun Shiba to stay behind and went ashore with Gu Cheng.

"Master, shall we buy something hot to eat?"

Gu Cheng pointed to a wonton stall ahead.

Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly and walked over with a smile. He raised a hand to order two bowls of wontons, then asked as the attendant brought them over, "Why are there so few grain transport boats here?"

The attendant bent at the waist and explained, "Sir, the channel between Tuoligou and Taizhuang hasn't been dredged for years. It's silted up in places, so only passenger boats can get through, not deep-draft grain boats. There wasn't much autumn rain the year before last, and a grain boat ran aground along this route. It nearly missed its deadline and caused a disaster. These days, the court's grain boats would rather expend a little extra effort than come this way."

"All right. Thank you."

"Enjoy your meal, sir."

Gu Zhengchen sighed inwardly.

Most grain transport boats at this time carried military provisions and supplies north, and often had soldiers guarding them. He had intended to use those men to deal with the Horse Thieves, but that now seemed impossible.

Seeing Gu Zhengchen's worried expression, Gu Cheng asked, "Master, you look a little unwell. Are you seasick?"

Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly. He ate a wonton, then looked up at the quietly flowing river and asked softly, "Where did you put the saber Sun Shiba brought with him?"

"In the trunk. Why do you ask, Master?"

Gu Cheng was somewhat puzzled.

Gu Zhengchen lifted his bowl. "Go see whether you can buy a few short swords. Your master wants to play Li Bai."

Half a quarter-hour later.

Gu Zhengchen picked up the kitchen cleaver before him and looked glumly at Gu Cheng. "Are you sure Li Bai wore a kitchen cleaver when he walked through Chang'an?"

Gu Cheng said helplessly, "Master, I don't know whether Li Bai wore a kitchen cleaver, but this is the sharpest thing in town..."

Looking at his reflection in the cleaver, Gu Zhengchen gave a dry chuckle. "Let's hope this is a good pig-slaughtering blade."

Gu Cheng glanced at the boat. There were no pigs there.

They returned to the boat and entered the cabin.

Gu Zhengchen took out two kitchen cleavers and handed them to Liang Family Jiajun, lowering his voice. "I know you're a scholar, and you may not be able to wield a cleaver. But the situation is dangerous. We have to take precautions."

Liang Family Jiajun accepted the cleavers, examined them, and set them aside. "You mean the Horse Thieves aboard?"

"You-you knew?"

Gu Zhengchen was astonished.

Liang Family Jiajun smiled faintly. "Liang Wujin said there were a few troublesome men aboard. I was still thinking about how to tell you. I didn't expect you to be making preparations already."

Gu Zhengchen shook his head bitterly. He had underestimated the steward of a wealthy household. How could someone sent to accompany Liang Family Jiajun possibly be a man who had never seen the world?

There were so many capable people in this world.

Gu Zhengchen said gravely, "We can't be sure whether the Horse Thieves only want money or intend to rob and murder us. If they really drive us into a corner, then even if I die, I'll take one of their fingers with me!"

Liang Family Jiajun waved a hand. "Things probably haven't reached that point yet. They are thieves, after all, and we are officials. If they harmed us, how could the court let them go? The wars against outside enemies have ended for now, and life is getting harder for the Horse Thieves. They won't provoke the court lightly. In my view, they won't dare do anything to us."

Gu Zhengchen fixed his gaze on the somewhat idealistic Liang Family Jiajun. "Brother Liang, they're Horse Thieves. They've already provoked the court."

"That's different."

"How is it different?"

"You've heard of merchants being robbed, wealthy households being robbed, commoners being robbed-but have you ever heard of officials being robbed? As long as they don't rob court officials, the court can make its plans at leisure and deal with them slowly. But once they rob an appointed official, armies will sweep in to preserve the court's dignity. They may be thieves, but they aren't fools."

Having said this, Liang Family Jiajun lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest.

Gu Zhengchen's Adam's apple shifted slightly. He lay down with his arms beneath his head. "Have you never worried about the other people aboard? If they lose their belongings, they may have no way to survive."

The corner of Liang Family Jiajun's mouth moved slightly. "We can't handle such matters, nor is it our place to do so. If anyone is to handle them, it should be the Transport Commissioner’s Office, the Patrol Office, or the Dadu Commander’s Office. Rest. Don't let fresh branches grow out of an already tangled affair."

Gu Zhengchen closed his eyes, an unpleasant feeling stirring in his heart.

He had leaned on his pride as a transmigrator, imagining that he could see through everything and always stay a step ahead. Yet the reality was that he had misjudged even the bookworm right before him!

The bookworm was merely his outward appearance, his cover. Inside, he was calm-even somewhat cold. He kept all his emotions tucked away and seemed indifferent to everything except reading, yet he was always watching his surroundings!

A transmigrator's advantages lay only in experience and knowledge ahead of the times, and an understanding of history-not in reading human hearts, political maneuvering, or the depths of one's cunning!

Had he stayed in Teng County, he might have been able to contend with a few people. But beyond Teng County, his meager abilities fell far short. He could not even compare to Liang Family Jiajun before him!

The notion that transmigrators were all-powerful, that they could enter the world of the ancients and grind them into the dirt, winning every encounter with one scheme or another-it was all false!

Among these people who had weathered so many storms, especially those who had lived through two dynasties, which one was easy to deal with?

It seems I was wrong.

Gu Zhengchen drew a deep breath.

Even Liang Family Jiajun could readily see through the situation, while he had been thinking like a fool about fighting to the death as a last resort.

Still, Liang Family Jiajun's approach was merely a way to protect himself. In other words, his philosophy was: As long as I'm all right, I see nothing else, and I concern myself with nothing else.

This way of thinking probably had something to do with his experiences during the chaos at the end of the Yuan.

But if he truly let these Horse Thieves rob the other passengers, Gu Zhengchen would always feel it was a disgrace—like watching Japanese invaders enter a village and kill people while he merely stared, doing nothing.

In a muddled haze, he slept until dawn.

Gu Zhengchen rubbed his aching shoulders. Seeing that Liang Family Jiajun was already up and reading, he smiled. "You're reading the Doctrine of the Mean today, Brother Liang."

Liang Family Jiajun calmly turned a page and said, "Before joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure arise, it is called equilibrium; when they arise and all attain their proper measure, it is called harmony. Equilibrium is the great foundation of the world, and harmony is the universal way of the world. In other words, only by keeping the heart free from the influence of any emotion and maintaining equilibrium and harmony can one reach the highest way. Brother Gu, you understand what I mean, don't you?"

Gu Zhengchen rose, clenched his fists, then relaxed them. He said evenly, "The Doctrine of the Mean says: 'To attain sincerity is to choose what is good and hold fast to it.' In other words, true sincerity means choosing the highest good and putting it into practice without wavering. Brother Liang, my interpretation isn't wrong, is it?"