Li Shengjie was not a fool, and he finally understood the whole story. He nodded and said, "Everything is ready. We are just waiting for you to come over and announce the decree."
"Okay, young captain, I want to hold the imperial edict. Please help the old captain to the deck!" As he said that, Qiu Yizi took the imperial edict from Lin Shuhan's hand and strode out the door.
The deck, which was originally very clean, had been wiped clean and gleamed. All the sailors on the ship had gathered on the deck and knelt on the ground without saying a word. The flags that were originally flying high on the mast had been lowered and hidden somewhere unknown. A table had been placed on the emptiest part of the deck, on which was placed a rather large copper incense burner. Three tall incense sticks were inserted into the copper incense burner, and the smoke was rising.
With the help of Li Shengjie, Li Zhi slowly walked onto the deck. He finally managed to stand steady with the help of his son's strength, but he was already sweating profusely.
Upon seeing this, Qiu Yizi took out the bright yellow imperial edict from the cover, held it in her hand, and nodded slightly to Li Zhi.
Seeing this, Li Zhi hurriedly shook off Li Shengjie's hand, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times. Li Shengjie also hurriedly imitated his father and knelt down and kowtowed three times. The sailors behind him were already kneeling and did not dare to stand up, so they could only kowtow on the spot.
Hundreds of people's heads collided with the wooden deck, making a neat and clear "dong dong" sound, which startled a group of seagulls foraging beside the ship's side.
This was repeated three times, and everyone was dizzy. Li Zhi, who was already injured, was even more seriously injured. He was sweating all over, and his two arms, which were trying to support his upper body, were shaking constantly.
The princes and ministers who knew the rules would say some words of praise such as "Long live the emperor", "The emperor's grace is boundless", "Thank you for the grace of heaven" when performing the "three kowtows and nine bows" ceremony. However, Qiu Yizhi saw that Li Zhi was very weak, so he stopped arguing and unfolded the imperial edict to read: "The emperor, by the will of heaven, proclaims..."
This imperial edict was drafted by Zhongli Kuang.
Zhongli Kuang's talent was far beyond the reach of those pedantic scholars who specialized in drafting imperial edicts in the Hanlin Academy. However, if we only consider his writing skills, Zhongli Kuang's writing skills were no less than those nerds. The imperial edict he drafted was not only fair in wording and powerful, but also concise and simple in words, so that even someone like Li Zhi, who was only slightly literate, could understand it clearly.
I only heard the words written inside: "I have heard that sheep kneel to thank their mothers for feeding them, and crows repay their parents with loyalty, let alone the people of the Han Dynasty. Li Zhi is just a commoner, wandering in a foreign vassal state. Although he violated the law, it is understandable. I also heard that he made a name for himself in Japan, and never did anything to damage the national prestige. This will let the Japanese know that there are no people in the Han Dynasty. I have been blessed by the emperor since I was young, and I am well versed in classics and history. I have always known that the saints have the doctrine of the mean and the ancient sages talked about the law of following the right and wrong. Therefore, I will follow the etiquette and the law to forgive all the previous crimes of Li Zhi and forgive his past!"
When Li Zhi heard Qiu Yizi's words, he quickly straightened his body, but he was sobbing and unable to speak, and he just kowtowed like pounding garlic.
Qiu Yizhi continued reading, "I also heard that the Japanese are far away across the ocean and have always been rebellious. However, I am concerned about the hardship faced by the people and do not want to mobilize the army lightly, so I have appointed Li Zhi as the Lieutenant General of the Sea and given him the salary of a viscount. I hope he will appreciate the grace of heaven and not disappoint me."
Qiu Yizi paused, then quietly looked up at Li Zhi. Seeing that he was so shocked by the great news that he forgot to kowtow and thank him, she found it funny, but still had to remain solemn, so she cleared her throat and continued reading:
"I also heard that Li Zhi's son, Li Shengjie, is skilled in archery and horse riding, highly skilled in martial arts, brave and courageous, and has both benevolence and righteousness. If he is given more experience, he can be regarded as a pillar of society. Therefore, I have granted Li Shengjie the title of Viscount after Li Zhi's death. As for his descendants, I have another decree."
After that, Qiu Yizhi read a long string of encouraging words, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he read the words "秦此" (imperial decree). He smiled and said, "Old Captain, Young Captain, the Emperor's decree has been read out. You two should thank him and accept the decree!"
Li Shengjie was inexperienced and only knew that the emperor had conferred official titles and ranks on him and his son. However, he did not know that these few short words were the goals that ordinary people would strive for throughout their lives or even for generations, and that many people had been ruined and destroyed because of them.
Li Zhi beside him, however, understood clearly what was going on. He imitated the actors on stage and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!"
Qiu Yizi saw it, smiled, folded the imperial edict as it was, handed it to Li Zhi who had been kneeling on the ground, and helped him up, saying: "Old captain, you will be a lord from now on. To put it bluntly, 'one person's success will bring prosperity to the whole family'. From now on, the prestige of the Li family will be very different!"
Li Zhi was already in tears. He held the imperial edict as if he were holding hundreds of thousands of taels of gold. His hands were shaking as he said, "This is all due to the emperor's great grace and the recommendation of the Lord! The Lord is the benefactor of my Li family. No matter how arrogant my Li family is, we dare not be rude to Lord Qiu!"
Qiu Yizhi was very pleased to hear this. He also thought that Li Zhi had only managed to get the title of Viscount in his lifetime. He was even more proud of himself for being an Earl at such a young age. However, he had to be humble and said, "I am just a young boy. If I dare to be rude in front of the old ship owner, I would be arrogant!"
Although greetings and flattery are meaningless, they are necessary and are the indispensable lubricant between people.
Li Zhi and Qiu Yizi applied layer after layer of lubricant, and finally said: "How should I preserve this imperial decree issued by the emperor? I am just an ordinary citizen, who has suddenly received the grace of heaven. I don't know the rules. Please tell me clearly, Lord Qiu."
Qiu Yi said: "According to the rules, the imperial edict should be enshrined in the ancestral hall of the clan. The old ship owner is now living overseas, and he is afraid that there is no Li family ancestral hall in Japan. We can temporarily set up a special house on the ship to store it. When the ship owner returns home and builds an ancestral hall, it will not be too late to enshrine it in it."
Li Zhi nodded after listening and thought to himself: The most proud thing in life is to return home in fine clothes and on a vigorous horse, and enjoy the envious looks of fellow villagers, relatives and friends. Now that I have been promoted to a higher position, I must return home to show off. It is said that several heads of yamen and constables who had chased me in the past are still alive, so I must go back and humiliate them.
However, Li Zhi was now poisoned, and after delaying for another five or six days, his condition worsened. He had to return to Japan immediately to seek an antidote, otherwise he would not be able to enjoy these worldly possessions. So he called Lao Cai, who was beside him, and said, "Lao Cai, today is a big day. Take five thousand taels of silver from my personal silver vault and give ten taels to each of my brothers. Use the rest to buy a banquet. I want to drink with Lord Qiu, and then we will set sail to the east."
However, Qiu Yizi waved his hand and said, "Old Captain, this is not necessary. Others may not know, but I know very well that the poison in the old captain's body is getting worse day by day. Let alone a day, even an hour cannot be delayed. In my humble opinion, it is better to wait until the old captain recovers and returns to Dahan, and then you, me and Mr. Lin can have a feast together!"
Qiu Yizi's words hit the mark of Li Zhi's heart, and he immediately took over the conversation and said, "In that case, I will not force you any more. I will set sail now and leave as soon as possible. I hope to return to the Han Dynasty soon and listen to your instructions again."
So they greeted each other and said goodbye. Qiu Yizi then called Lin Shuhan, Wen Lingjiao, Yuchi Jiming, He'er and eight other personal soldiers under his command to get off the boat.
As soon as Qiu Yizhi and others got off the ship, Li Zhi's huge ship pulled up the anchor, hoisted the huge sail, turned around calmly in the harbor, and sailed to the northeast. A dozen other large ships also flying the white whale flag followed closely behind and headed towards Japan.
Seeing Li Zhi's fleet so majestic and impressive, Qiu Yizhi couldn't help but sigh, "The world is so big, and there are so many talented people. Li Zhi was just a fugitive smuggler, but he has accumulated such a large fortune. It's really rare!"
Lin Shuhan smiled and said, "However, after such a turmoil, the two generations of the Li family will follow your lead. Isn't this precious?"
After hearing this, Qiu Yizi raised a barely perceptible smile, then returned to normal and said, "Well, that's all for later. The Japanese rebellion has not yet subsided, and the emperor has ordered me to organize militia in Shanyin County. We can't delay here any longer, so let's go back quickly."
He suddenly saw Wen Lingjiao standing aside without saying a word, and hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Miss Wen, the fake leader Yu Mei is dead, and the backbone of Tianzun Sect in Jiangnan Road has also been captured. In this way, our goals have been achieved. I wonder what plans Miss Wen has for the future?"
Wen Lingjiao has been in an extremely complicated mood these days.
She had been following the orders of her brother, the leader of the Tianzun Sect, to take over the Tianzun Sect's influence in Jiangnan Road after eliminating the fake leader, and personally organize the missionary work, trying to develop Jiangnan Road into a new base for the Tianzun Sect when the Tianzun Sect was severely cracked down by the imperial court north of the Yangtze River.
Although Yu Mei, the fake leader, was dead, the backbones of the Tianzun Sect in Jiangnan were also buried in the sea of fire. In this way, the new and old forces of the Tianzun Sect in Jiangnan have been exhausted. How easy is it to make a comeback
The deep conversation between Qiu Yizhi, Lin Shuhan and Wen Lingjiao by the river had shaken her faith, and she saw with her own eyes that although the Tianzun Sect seemed to have a large number of people, they were vulnerable in front of the court, the Japanese pirates, and even a down-and-out playboy like Yin Tai. Not only were the believers' bodies unable to withstand the sharp steel knives, but under the threat of their lives, these devout believers surrendered without hesitation, without any integrity at all.
Wen Lingjiao was already in a state of confusion after the experiences of just a few days. After hearing Qiu Yizi's question, she was at a loss. If she returned to the north, she would have to hide again and live a miserable life under the pursuit of the imperial court. If she stayed in Mingzhou, she would have no foundation and might not be able to survive under the Japanese invasion. And her "powerful" leader brother was even more elusive and could not be relied on...
"Miss Wen, if you have nowhere to go, why don't you come back to Shanyin County with me? Although the county is remote and narrow, it is relatively peaceful. If you don't mind, you can stay in the county temporarily. It won't be too late to make plans after you have rested and recuperated." Qiu Yizi said.
Wen Lingjiao was at her wit's end, and when she heard Qiu Yizi's suggestion, she could only nod slightly and said, "Then I'm sorry to bother you, sir..." Although her choice to go to Shanyin County was not helpless, it was the only reliable place for her at the moment.
Qiu Yizi was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurriedly said, "Don't disturb us, don't disturb us. It will be more lively with more people!" As he said that, he urged everyone to set off.
After the Japanese pirates looted, Mingzhou City had become lifeless. Although the houses and bridges were still there, no sound of chickens or dogs could be heard.
Qiu Yizhi deliberately passed by the "Huamao Building" where she had stayed before, and saw that the door of the building was closed. She knocked hard for a long time before a waiter who was left behind to guard the door came out tremblingly. (To be continued)