Replacements

That evening, several hundred bondservants arrived in the Imperial City. They came from various households, having dared to make a break for it. Their masters had not dared stop them, but with nowhere else to go, the bondservants could only flee to the Imperial City to seek refuge with Li Qi. Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian thought nothing of these bondservants. "A dozen or so bondservants ran off from my household last night. I didn't stop them," said Yu Yunqiu. "I told the rest, 'Leave if you want,' and none of them dared!" "I did the exact same thing as Brother Yu," Ao Shuangqian replied. "Let them leave. I'd like to see what they eat once they're out!" Yu Yunqiu took a sip of wine. "Brother Ao, not to boast, but in Xiaodu, anyone who comes out of my household—nobody dares buy them, nobody dares hire them, and nobody dares give them a single bite to eat!" Ao Shuangqian said, "Brother Yu, I have that same confidence. Any bondservants who walk out of my doors can only wait to starve. If they want to run to Li Qi, let them. I want to see what Li Qi plans to feed them with." Yu Yunqiu sneered. "He claims there will be no bondservants within three days? Then we just won't call them bondservants. We'll change their name and call them thralls—sounds pleasing enough to the ear." Ao Shuangqian nodded. "Whatever we call them makes no difference. We'll just humor him like a child." Yu Yunqiu said, "The urgent matter now is getting the Fire Cage Steed back." Ao Shuangqian sighed. "That truly won't be easy. The trouble is that Li Qi knows full well what happened and could strike back at any moment. I was the one who presented the Fire Cage Steed, so he'll probably come after me first." Yu Yunqiu was not optimistic either. "The Fire Cage Steed is an heirloom of my family. If Li Qi investigates, it won't take long for him to trace it to me. We must prepare early. If push comes to shove, we'll tear off all pretenses of civility!" Ao Shuangqian shared that thought. "While Li Qi is tied up with resettling those bondservants and unable to attend to everything at once, we should indeed seize the initiative." Yu Yunqiu raised his cup, Ao Shuangqian gave a slight nod, and the two drained their drinks. *** Li Banfeng looked at the several hundred people before him, his expression rather grave. He was not worried about being unable to resettle them; he was frustrated that so few had come. "I gave them courage to this extent, and yet only a few hundred showed up." Zhao Xiaowan, dressed in men's clothing, kept her voice low as she said to Li Banfeng, "Thank goodness only a few hundred came. There's no grain in the Imperial City. The little surplus grain we have—how many days could that keep them fed?" "Grain is not an issue." "Even so, we can't keep supporting them forever. We have to find them a livelihood!" "A livelihood isn't an issue either," Li Banfeng said solemnly. "The only issue is the small numbers." That afternoon, Li Banfeng went to the First Ring. The First Ring was filled with factories. On the surface, no one seemed to be working, but down beneath the factories, vast hordes of bondservants were hard at work. Li Banfeng entered a shipyard. In the first workshop, palm-sized ship models were soaking in water vats, into which various colored tubes were inserted, pumping liquids of different hues into the water. Walking deeper past two more workshops, Li Banfeng saw a continuous stretch of pools, each soaking a small boat over a meter long. It was hard to say whether such a craft had any practical utility; its structure was so intricate that it couldn't even seat a single person. Yet these small boats closely resembled the ship models outside. Could they have transformed from those very models? Li Banfeng walked further. Along the way through the workshops, he saw numerous pieces of machinery, some churning liquids, others grinding powders. Reaching the far end of the workshops, he looked out upon an open expanse of sea, upon which floated seven or eight vessels of varying sizes. Thinking back to the ship models in the vats, the small boats in the pools, and now looking at these vessels on the water, Li Banfeng roughly understood the shipbuilding process of the Inner States. To be precise, these ships were not built; they were grown. First, they crafted palm-sized ship models, then nurtured them into meter-long skiffs, and finally grew them into massive vessels dozens or even hundreds of meters long. This shipyard was run by Banchiling. On one of the ships, there was an issue with the piping connections, and Banchiling was aboard reprimanding the bondservants around her: "How did you inspect this? With so many errors, did none of you notice earlier?" A bondservant explained, "I had them check several times. Truly, we didn't notice these pipe clusters were connected wrong before." Tie Baisheng was also there, holding shares in the shipyard. Holding the blueprints, he cross-checked carefully. "These pipes were wrong at the very foundation; there's no way to modify them. This ship is ruined—over ten days of effort completely down the drain." Banchiling roared at the bondservants, "A perfectly good ship, ruined just like that! I should throw you all into the boiler and boil you alive!" Tie Baisheng inspected it once more; his technical expertise was superior to Banchiling's. "If I'm not mistaken, this was probably done deliberately. It was wrong all the way back during casting. There might be quite a few problematic ships." Banchiling grabbed the bondservant. "Do you think I truly can't control you lot? How are we going to account for these ten-plus days of lost time? Redo the work right now! If there's the slightest flaw again, I'll take your life!" The bondservant made no sound. He offered no defense, much less any plea. He simply walked away in silence. The bondservant's attitude made Banchiling deeply uneasy. It was not just this single bondservant. Ever since the day Li Qi appeared, the attitudes of many bondservants had shifted, and the change was growing more pronounced day by day. Banchiling raised her whip, intending to call the bondservant back, when suddenly someone asked, "Building a ship this big only takes a dozen days?" Startled, Banchiling whipped around and saw Li Qi. Truth be told, Li Qi was also startled—not by Banchiling, but by the ship. In the Dark Star Bureau, he had carried out missions at sea and seen many warships, yet the vessel beneath his feet was larger than most of the warships he had ever encountered. Not only was it huge, but even an amateur like him could tell that its craftsmanship was far superior to the warships of the Outer States. With Li Qi's sudden appearance, Banchiling was struck dumb. Tie Baisheng hastily offered a salute. "We did not know Your Highness was gracing us with your presence. Please forgive our failure to welcome you." Banchiling hurriedly followed suit with a salute. Li Banfeng glanced at Tie Baisheng, noticing that among the crowd of dignitaries, this man was somewhat unique. He reacted faster than the others, acted more cleverly than the others, and always managed to make the right responses in front of Li Banfeng. Li Banfeng asked once more, "Was this ship truly built in just a dozen days?" Banchiling glanced at Li Banfeng, her nervous tension gradually easing. Rumors outside claimed Li Qi was inscrutable as ghosts and gods. Now it seemed his ability to appear and disappear like a phantom was true, but when it came to worldly knowledge, he was just an ordinary man who could show his ignorance. That single question just now proved he knew next to nothing about industrial craft. Tie Baisheng explained, "Your Highness, this is merely an ordinary cargo ship. A construction period of thirteen days is ample." "What about a warship?" Li Banfeng asked. Tie Baisheng said, "There are many classes of warships. It depends on the size and intended purpose." Li Banfeng touched the railing beside him. "A warship the size of this cargo vessel." Tie Baisheng pondered carefully. "For warships of this size, there are also many types. The construction period generally ranges from twenty to thirty-five days." Li Banfeng fell silent for a long moment, looking exceedingly grave. He had once entertained the notion that in any conflict with the Inner States, inflicting losses upon them would make them wary and keep them from recklessly acting against Puluo Province. The antiquated flavor of life in the Shang State sometimes gave people the illusion that their level of technology was rather backward. Take the military encampment that invaded White Falcon Commandery: an installation with such intricate construction, capable of moving all the way to Puluo Province. Li Banfeng had assumed building such a fortress must have consumed vast amounts of time, and destroying one of their encampments would cost the Shang State dearly. Li Banfeng had also believed that the floating base destroyed by the navy would exact a heavy toll on the Tufang State. Yet thinking carefully about it now, the truth of the matter was likely vastly different. What Li Banfeng viewed as tremendously formidable aerial encampments and floating fortresses might be trivial to the Inner States. The Outer States' policy of avoiding direct confrontation with the Inner States was the right decision. In terms of technology, there was a generational divide. Li Banfeng walked a circle around the cabin. "Such a fine ship, damaged in only a few pipes. Wouldn't repairing them suffice?" Banchiling said rather proudly, "Broken skin leaves a scar. If a ship is damaged, even if repaired, it leaves behind an old injury. The ships our yard produces have an impeccable reputation; we can't ruin our name over something like this." What an imperious woman. Li Banfeng said, "So long as the repairs are done conscientiously, it shouldn't ruin your reputation, should it?" Banchiling shook her head. "Flawed ships are melted down and rebuilt from scratch. Repairing a ship also consumes a great deal of manpower, and my workforce is already stretched thin. There's no point in undertaking such thankless drudgery." Li Banfeng turned back to her. "You say your manpower is stretched thin?" Banchiling lowered her head and said, "City Master, I was just about to speak to you regarding this matter. You might not understand industrial craft very well, but while my shipyard looks like it doesn't need hands on the surface, there's actually a massive workforce laboring down below. My household has over twenty-three hundred bondservants in total, and even that's barely enough. Anyone capable of working has been sent into the factories; I don't even have a maid left at my side. If you make me release all the bondservants, my factory will be ruined. And if all the factories in Xiaodu collapse, that would count as poor management on your part, and people outside would laugh at you. Wouldn't you agree?" Li Banfeng actually chuckled; Banchiling was certainly outspoken. Seeing Li Banfeng smile, Banchiling grew bolder. "We of the Banchi family are practical folks; we don't speak in circles. I'll lay it out plainly for you: I cannot do without bondservants. I can change their title—just as Tie Baisheng suggested, change them to 'workers' for now, and allow them freedom to stay or leave without stopping them. Once I have enough hands to juggle things later on, I'll phase it out completely. What do you think?" Li Banfeng looked at her. "That's how everyone in Xiaodu is doing it right now, isn't it? Change their name, while the bondservants remain bondservants?" Banchiling fell silent for a moment, then nodded. "Your Highness, to tell you the honest truth, everyone in Xiaodu really is doing just that! One more or less makes no difference. Please don't force my hand!" Li Banfeng shook his head. "I didn't come to force your hand; I came to help you. Aren't you short on workers? I'll send some over." Startled, Banchiling realized the gravity of the situation. "Your Highness, which people do you intend to send?" Li Banfeng smiled. "Commoners. Commoners who have just gained their freedom." At those words, Banchiling's face drained of color. She understood what Li Banfeng meant; she had also heard that over a hundred commoners had arrived at the Imperial City last night. "Your Highness, I can't take those commoners here!" "Why can't you take them? Aren't you short on workers? I'll have them come work for you. But remember this: they are commoners. They must be paid wages for their labor, and whether they stay or leave is entirely up to them. I'll send them over shortly." With that, Li Banfeng departed the shipyard. Banchiling was dumbfounded. Glaring at Tie Baisheng, she snapped, "Old Tie, what are you standing there daydreaming for? Say something!" Tie Baisheng seemed to snap out of a daze. "Ah? What do you want me to say?" Furious, Banchiling cried, "Who told you to talk to me? Go talk to the City Master! He cannot send those hundred-odd people to our factory!" Tie Baisheng asked, "Why can't he? You complain every day about being short-handed. Isn't sending us extra hands just what we need?" "Are you truly stupid or just playing dumb?" Banchiling pointed at several bondservants working on the vessel and lowered her voice. "Do you know who the City Master wants to send? Bondservants just like them! Except those bondservants are now commoners. They have to be paid wages for their work, and they can come and go as they please. What will the bondservants under my command think?" Tie Baisheng wore a blank look. "What would they think?" Banchiling's eyes went wide. "The bondservants in the yard are already restless. If a crowd like that comes in doing the same work while living the good life, won't my bondservants rebel?" Tie Baisheng nodded. "Right! They definitely would rebel!" Banchiling urged, "That's why you have to tell the City Master! He can't send those bondservants to my place!" Tie Baisheng had an epiphany. "Oh, so that's what you meant. Why didn't you say so yourself?" Banchiling said, "I just told him, didn't you hear? He wouldn't listen to me. You have a silver tongue—go speak to him again. There are so many factories in the city, tell him to send them somewhere else first." Tie Baisheng nodded repeatedly. "All right, I'll go see the City Master right now." *** Upon reaching the Imperial City, Tie Baisheng met with Li Banfeng. After exchanging a few polite pleasantries, Tie Baisheng got straight to the point: "Your Highness, I came to discuss a matter with you. Could you refrain from sending those bondservants to Banchiling's factory?" Li Banfeng looked down slightly. "Why can't I?" "She says it's inconvenient on her end." Li Banfeng sneered. "Then tell me, whose end would be convenient?" Tie Baisheng raised his head. "My Prince, mine is." Li Banfeng suspected his ears were playing tricks on him. Standing in the corner of the room, the gramophone also thought she had misheard. Li Banfeng's move was intended to show the bondservants how normal human beings ought to live. The bondservants didn't dare leave because they had forgotten how to live! Banchiling was right—this was tantamount to goading the bondservants into rebellion. How did Tie Baisheng dare to take in these hundred-odd bondservants of his own accord? Tie Baisheng repeated, "My Prince, Banchiling's place is inconvenient, but mine is." Li Banfeng frowned. "Are you playing the hero saving the damsel in distress?" Tie Baisheng shook his head. "I'm no hero, nor do I consider Banchiling a beauty. I genuinely want these hundred-plus people." Li Banfeng said with a darkened face, "Let me remind you: they are workers, not bondservants." "I've spent time in the Outer States. I know what workers look like, and I know how they differ from bondservants. I am willing to set my bondservants free. I will sign deeds with them—not deeds of indenture, but contracts like in the Outer States. I'll pay them wages and guarantee they decide for themselves whether to stay or leave." To prove he had spent time in the Outer States, Tie Baisheng even changed his accent. Li Banfeng asked further, "Aren't you afraid the bondservants under your command will rebel?" Tie Baisheng shook his head. "Not at all! I'll treat my own bondservants the same way. As long as you agree to back me, I'll go back and burn all their deeds of indenture right away. From then on, they'll all be workers." Li Banfeng remained somewhat skeptical. "Doing this, don't you feel you're getting the short end of the stick?" "Not at all," Tie Baisheng shook his head. "Workers labor differently than bondservants. Earning money to work and being whipped to work are entirely different things. Workers labor faster. A cargo ship that takes thirteen days—if built by workers, I reckon it could be done in ten. Among bondservants, three out of ten ships will have errors. With workers, there might not even be a flaw in one out of ten. I made money in the Outer States; I know this is how to earn more. But in Xiaodu, I never dared do it." Li Banfeng said, "And what if I lend you some courage?" Tie Baisheng drew a deep breath. "Forgive my boldness, but one ounce of courage isn't enough. You'll have to lend me several." Li Banfeng asked, "How many do you want?" "Three!" "Which three? Tell me." Tie Baisheng said, "I have always wanted more hands to run my factories, but according to social status, the number of bondservants under me cannot exceed those of the Ao and Yu families. Now I don't want bondservants; I'm hiring workers. I believe they should no longer be able to restrict the number of hands I hire." Li Banfeng nodded. "They cannot restrict you. I said so." Tie Baisheng gained a measure of courage. Raising his head, he continued, "I want to acquire more land to expand my factories, but there are parcels I'm forbidden to use; I have to obey the allocations of the Ao and Yu families." Li Banfeng shook his head. "No need to heed their allocation. So long as I allocate it, you can use the land. I said so." Tie Baisheng gained another measure of courage, straightening his back as he continued, "There are certain raw materials that my yard cannot purchase unless the Ao and Yu families give their nod." Li Banfeng said, "Whether they nod or not doesn't matter. So long as I nod, you can buy them. I said so." Tie Baisheng got up and kowtowed to Li Banfeng. "Thank you, My Prince!" Li Banfeng pulled Tie Baisheng up. "Stand up straight when you speak. I said so." Tie Baisheng was true to his word and played no tricks; he soon brought over the deeds of indenture for all of his bondservants. Li Banfeng called over a man to verify them on the spot. This man was named Ba Suan. Ba Suan spent less than ten minutes cross-checking. The names of over twenty-three hundred bondservants were verified without error, matching exactly the register Tie Baisheng had previously provided. Tie Baisheng brought these twenty-three hundred bondservants before the gates of the Imperial City. Under Li Qi's watchful gaze, he and the bondservants set fire to the deeds of indenture together. When the bondservants lit the fire, their torches trembled incessantly because their hands couldn't hold them steady. Standing behind Li Banfeng, Shun trembled along with them. As the deeds of indenture caught fire, the bondservants shed tears, and Shun wept alongside them. "City Master, our deeds of indenture haven't been burned yet..." Li Banfeng said, "You are no longer bondservants. As for the deeds of indenture, I will burn them for you." A crowd of dignitaries watched Tie Baisheng coldly, their gazes laced with chill. Tie Baisheng felt a twinge of fear, but before long, all the dignitaries glaring at him bowed their heads. These dignitaries realized that someone was watching them too. Beneath the firelight, Li Banfeng swept his gaze across every single dignitary, and his look sent a shiver through them all. Ba Suan observed the blaze, gauged the position precisely, and fanned the fire. The flames leaped high, carrying paper ashes into the air. The bondservants cried out at the top of their lungs. Li Banfeng could not make out what they were yelling, nor did they know what they were shouting themselves; they simply cried out with every ounce of their strength. His wife deployed a Sound Cultivator technique to amplify their shouts, making them heard across the entire city. *** Returning inside the Imperial City, his wife sighed softly. "Husband was right. Yu Yunqiu and Ao Shuangqian truly aren't the crux." Li Banfeng said, "Because there are far too many people who can replace them." "Isn't Husband going to check on Tie Baisheng's factory?" "I certainly have to. At this stage, we can't let ourselves be duped," Li Banfeng held his wife's hand. "We'll go together, and while we're at it, take a look at their industrial craft." At the shipyard, Tie Baisheng first paid the workers their daily wages. A day's wages weren't much: thirty coins for master craftsmen and ten for general laborers. Many bondservants were seeing wages for the very first time in their lives; holding the money, they had no idea what to do with it. It was also Tie Baisheng's first time distributing wages in Xiaodu. His subordinates lacked experience, so counting money and keeping accounts had to be done by Tie Baisheng himself. Once the money had been handed out, Tie Baisheng checked his pocket watch; it was already quitting time. According to past custom, when bondservants finished work, they simply ate a bit of peat and went to sleep. Now it was still early, and they had no idea what to do. If Tie Baisheng ordered the bondservants to keep working, they wouldn't object either. Yet Tie Baisheng was a smart man. Since he had reached an agreement with Li Qi, everything had to be carried out properly according to the rules of the Outer States: when work was done, the shift was over, and no more labor would be done today. He had prepared new covenant deeds. For those willing to work for him for a full year, master craftsmen would receive fifteen hundred coins a month, and general laborers five hundred coins. This was considerably more than daily pay. Quite a few workers signed the covenant deeds, and Shun was one of them. Yet many did not want to sign, fearing the document would turn back into a deed of indenture. Whether they signed or not did not delay their clocking off. Having gained their freedom, the bondservants walked out of the shipyard, looking all around without knowing where to go. Zhao Yeqing, a commoner, came over carrying a lantern accompanied by a dozen or so attendants. He shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, looking for a meal? My eatery just opened for business! Three coins to fill your belly, five coins to eat well, and ten coins will have you floating on air! Anyone care for a taste?" Eat at an eatery? The crowd looked at one another, wondering if they even had the right. In the Great Shang, bondservants were forbidden from entering eateries. Zhao Yeqing understood their reservations and smiled at the crowd. "I've come in person to invite you all; it just depends on whether you'll grace me with your presence." Shun felt the copper coins in his hand. He had originally made porcelain, so at the shipyard he could only work as a general laborer, earning ten coins today. He couldn't bear to spend it all, so floating on air was out of the question, but having a good meal was well within reach. A woman named Huan, who was also originally from the porcelain trade and acquainted with Shun, walked over to his side and asked in a low voice, "Shall we go eat out?" "All right!" Having made up his mind, Shun accompanied Huan and followed Zhao Yeqing to the eatery. Many other bondservants followed along as well. Watching Zhao Yeqing, Li Banfeng murmured, "This shopkeeper is a clever man. He's capable of making great wealth, and he looks like someone who can achieve great things." His wife chuckled. "Zhao Yeqing—the night-clearing firefly, bright of eye and clear of mind, doing business with keen insight. Yet there are also those who lack clarity. That ox-headed girl is falling quite short." A heated argument broke out inside the factory, and Li Banfeng brought his wife along to watch the spectacle. Banchiling pointed right at Tie Baisheng's nose and cursed, "What in the world do you think you're doing, you birdbrain? I told you to go plead with the City Master for a few days' grace, so what do you mean by freeing all the bondservants in your factory?" Tie Baisheng chuckled. "I didn't mean anything by it. Doing as the City Master commands can't be wrong, after all." Banchiling spat. "You sure know how to flatter yourself! Is that doing as commanded? You're clearly fishing in troubled waters, trying to turn a profit out of this!" Tie Baisheng's smile didn't waver. "You're not wrong either. Isn't doing business all about making money?" Banchiling ground her teeth. "You mark my words: don't even dream of setting your sights on the bondservants of my household! If any dare run to you, I'll kill every single one I see!" Tie Baisheng stopped smiling. "Lingzi, for the sake of our past acquaintance, let me give you a word of warning. There are no longer any bondservants in Xiaodu. This matter is already set in stone, and no one can stop it. People cannot be killed at will. What happens to those who treat human life like grass is laid out plain for all to see right before the Imperial City gates. You'd better think this through for yourself." Li Banfeng held his wife in his arms and murmured, "We look after those who catch on early, make allowances for those who catch on late, and as for the rest who refuse to see reason, it'll be time to send them on their way."