Emperor Tiansheng’s questioning voice echoed through the vast hall for a long while.
Great Qian had no navy.
Those words had torn away the court’s last shred of decency. They had also struck a nerve among the officials from the Jiangnan aristocratic clans.
The Zhao family’s leader lowered his head slightly, his calculations clacking away in his mind.
The navy was powerless. That meant the regulations governing overseas trade were nothing more than a dead letter.
As long as they returned home, made the necessary preparations, and built oceangoing vessels, they could bypass the Maritime Trade Office, sail out to sea in secret, and pocket every ounce of silver they brought back.
The other Jiangnan-born officials had naturally spotted the same opportunity.
Their panic from moments ago vanished at once, replaced by barely concealed delight.
They were simply waiting to see how Xu Qinghuan would handle this impossible predicament.
Xu Qinghuan’s expression did not change. She raised her hand and pointed toward the Illustrated Gazetteer of the Four Seas and Ten Thousand Nations.
“Your Majesty,” Xu Qinghuan replied calmly, “what the world calls navigation is merely hugging the coastline and using distant mountains or nearby islands to determine one’s position.”
“It is enough for the shallow-water trade routes between Jiangsu and Zhejiang and southern Fujian.”
“But if one relies on this crude method of feeling one’s way along the coast to cross the ocean in search of mountains of silver…”
“Then one may as well offer oneself up as food for the monsters of the sea.”
Her words had barely fallen when the Jiangnan-born Vice Minister of Works frowned. He felt that this woman was simply spreading alarm.
He himself hailed from the waterways of Wuyue and had grown up intimately familiar with currents and storms. He knew the ways of the sea better than most.
Zhao Zhuo stepped forward and hurriedly cupped his hands.
“Magistrate Xu, that is not correct!”
“This subordinate grew up along the shores of the Eastern Sea. According to the sea chart you have shown us, the Silver Mountain of Iwami is separated from Great Qian’s eastern coast by no more than a stretch of water!”
“As long as we calculate the wind correctly and wait for a favorable tide, we can raise our sails and reach the opposite shore in only a few days!”
“Which old fisherman who makes his living in coastal waters does not know how to follow the wind and current?”
“All we need is a large ship sturdy enough to withstand the waves and a few experienced helmsmen. Why make such a mystery of it?”
His words expressed the true thoughts of the Jiangnan clans perfectly.
That destination was so close. A few dozen old fishermen would be enough to sail a ship there.
There was no need for the imperial court to interfere at all.
A chorus of agreement immediately rang through the hall.
Xu Qinghuan turned her head toward Zhao Zhuo’s self-assured face, and her words instantly sharpened.
“Separated by no more than a stretch of water? A few days with a favorable wind?” Xu Qinghuan demanded. “Are you planning to send every citizen of Great Qian straight into the underworld, Vice Minister?”
Casting etiquette aside, she answered in a ringing voice:
“If you put to sea from Dengzhou, pass Shamen Island, and sail toward the Silver Mountain of Iwami, you must cross a forbidden region known as the Blackwater Sea!”
“Beneath that stretch of ocean, powerful undercurrents surge. The water is black and unfathomably deep, without the slightest glimmer of light.”
“Once a ship enters, it will not see land for ten days!”
“Black water surrounds you in every direction. There are no mountains, islands, or other landmarks by which you can determine your position!”
Xu Qinghuan pressed on.
“When you reach that place, the currents run swift and violent.”
“When the wind and water run against you, the undercurrents can even drive a ship dozens of miles backward!”
“With no land to rely on and no islands or reefs to identify, those old sailors whom Vice Minister Zhao places such faith in…”
“Once inside, they will find nothing but endless blackness. They will not even be able to tell east from west or north from south. Every person aboard will die without a doubt!”
Zhao Zhuo’s face turned deathly pale under Xu Qinghuan’s barrage. He was just about to raise his hand and argue back when Xu Qinghuan gave him no chance.
She continued unveiling her solution.
“This fragmentary chart is not filled with useless notes about recognizing mountains and islands!”
Xu Qinghuan said, “Your Majesty may look at the densely packed annotations along the edges.”
“What is written there consists entirely of celestial and stellar-position symbols: ‘When such-and-such star is so many finger-widths low, turn the sail southeast.’”
At the Emperor’s earlier command, the chart had already been erected in the middle of the hall.
The entire court first stared in stunned silence. Then every gaze turned toward the chart.
Xu Qinghuan faced Emperor Tiansheng.
“Your Majesty! True ocean navigation does not depend on watching the water. It depends on watching the sky!”
“One must rely on the royal astronomical cross-staff.”
“At night, navigators use the cross-staff to measure the altitude of the North Star.”
At this point, Xu Qinghuan gave a quiet laugh.
“Hahaha, Your Majesty, and after that…”
“They must consult the Star-Altitude Calculation Manual I personally compiled in order to convert those readings into accurate positions at sea.”
“Only by measuring the stars can they determine where they are in the middle of the ocean and which way to turn the rudder!”
She delivered her verdict:
“Without a cross-staff, without the calculation manual, and without the star charts personally compiled by me…”
“Even if the clans of the realm made ten thousand copies of this chart, even if they built enormous ships ten zhang high and secretly put to sea…”
“Once they entered the Blackwater Sea, it would be no different from walking blindfolded along a cliff’s edge. Every ship that entered would sink!”
“In that case… why not simply show your loyalty to the imperial court?”
Sweat beaded on Zhao Zhuo’s forehead.
Unwilling to admit defeat, he gritted his teeth and retorted:
“Magistrate Xu, do not try to intimidate everyone with such obscure techniques.”
“What are we to do when the sky is overcast and there are no stars at night?”
“Merchant ships have always carried compasses passed down through the generations!”
“A compass points south and north. It has never been wrong throughout the ages. Hmph! As long as we carry several compasses aboard the ship and follow the magnetic needle, it will be absolutely impossible to lose our way!”
At the mention of compasses, Xu Qinghuan let out a cold snort.
“A compass?” Xu Qinghuan cut off his last hope without mercy.
“Ancient texts established this long ago: the magnetic needle often deviates slightly eastward. It does not point due south.”
“On land, a compass is already subject to error.”
“Far out in the ocean, the pull of subterranean veins rich in mysterious iron beneath the seabed can easily throw it completely out of alignment!”
Xu Qinghuan pressed forward relentlessly.
“At the center of the Blackwater Sea, the south indicated by a compass is not true south at all.”
“If ordinary people take such an inaccurate compass into the deep sea to navigate, an error as slight as a hair’s breadth will eventually send their course hundreds of miles off target.”
“They may set out for the Eastern Ocean, only to be swept by the currents into a dead sea!”
She drew her words together into a final conclusion.
“Only the Magnetic-Deviation Calibration Manual under my exclusive control marks the variation in each individual stretch of sea.”
“Only by possessing this manual can one manually correct the course when the compass loses its accuracy.”
“Without this book, every compass in the world would be nothing but a pile of scrap metal in the deep sea!”
At that moment, every civil official in the Hall of Supreme Harmony fell completely silent.
They stared at Xu Qinghuan in the center of the hall, their hearts filled with astonishment.
Factional intrigue? Political maneuvering?
No. Xu Qinghuan had no interest in such things at all!
The ministers could only feel that Xu Qinghuan’s learning had reached an utterly astonishing level.
Those officials who had believed they could exploit loopholes and operate independently of the imperial court now came to a sudden realization.
They had never imagined that the lifeline leading to the silver mountains had already been clenched tightly in Xu Qinghuan’s hands.
Seated upon the Dragon Throne, Emperor Tiansheng was listening with mounting excitement.
The worry that had arisen in his eyes over the weakness of the navy had once again burst into an intensely fervent flame.
The Emperor finally understood.
It was knowledge and technology that formed the layers of locks barring the merchants of the realm.
Without the calculation manuals and astronomical cross-staffs issued by the royal court, every merchant ship in the world could do nothing but remain in port and gather dust.
Hahahahaha! Xu Qinghuan, Xu Qinghuan!
Yet Emperor Tiansheng was the ruler of the realm. Even after his exultation, an emperor’s suspicion remained.
He tightened his grip on the armrest of the Dragon Throne and fixed his eyes upon Xu Qinghuan.
“What an astronomical cross-staff. What a calibration manual!” the old Emperor demanded sharply.
“But you’re not the only clever man under Heaven.”
“The great merchant families of Great Qian possess no shortage of real gold and silver.”
Emperor Tiansheng said coldly, “What if, after they build their ships, they offer astronomical sums—”
“—to bribe or win over those navigators you personally trained, men versed in astrology and the compass?”
“What if they take both the men and these closely guarded secrets away?”
“And once those private ships put to sea, take the silver, and refuse to return to port, how are they to be dealt with?”
The emperor’s questions struck directly at the heart of the matter.
There would always be brave men willing to risk anything for a great reward. Human nature was the most unreliable thing of all.
The hearts of the civil and military officials rose into their throats once more.
Below, Xie Miheng gave a slight nod.
Exactly so. As long as enough money was thrown at them, who could not be bought?
They could hide the navigators in the holds of their own ships and still sail overseas to make their fortunes.
Facing the emperor’s stern questions, Xu Qinghuan’s expression did not waver in the slightest. Her voice remained utterly calm.
“Then cut off their water and provisions along the way.”
Xu Qinghuan turned around and pointed at the map once again.
“Your Majesty can see here.”
“Whether they sail to the Iwami Silver Mine or the islands of the Southern Seas—”
“Along the key sea routes that every ship must pass through, there are several scattered islands, such as Ma Island and the Goto Islands marked on this map.”
Xu Qinghuan revealed the final step in this physical chokehold:
“It is true that the imperial navy is weak and cannot pursue and intercept fleeing private ships across the vast ocean.”
“But Great Qian need only concentrate its existing elite troops and weapons, establish camps, and station heavy forces on these islands at the strategic points along the routes.”
“Set up official naval stockades to serve as relay supply stations!”
She paused for a moment, allowing everyone to digest her words.
“When a sea vessel sails overseas, fresh water and provisions are the lifeblood of everyone aboard!”
“No matter how enormous the ship, its people must drink water and eat.”
“After sailing for dozens of days on the open sea, they cannot survive without fresh-water supplies.”
“The court shall issue an ironclad decree: Every passing vessel traveling through these islands must present a special permit issued by the Maritime Trade Office.”
Xu Qinghuan swept her gaze across the hall and spoke in a ringing voice:
“Without a permit, the official naval stockades will sell them not a drop of water!”
“Nor will they hand over a single grain of rice!”
“No matter how large those private ships are, no matter how fast they sail, and no matter how many navigators they bribe—”
“Without fresh water, everyone aboard will die of thirst. Without provisions, they will starve to death halfway through the voyage.”
“Cut off every bit of their supplies, and you will have a deadly trap clamped around their throats!”
“With the charts to guide them, the star board to determine their position, the calculation manuals to correct their course, the navigators to recognize the way, and the islands to cut off their water—”
Xu Qinghuan had woven, through nothing but words, a vast and inescapable net throughout the grand hall.
Every wealthy merchant who intended to build ships in secret or bypass the court had been forced into a single choice: obediently go to the Maritime Trade Office and pay for a permit.
The entire Hall of Heavenly Proclamation fell utterly silent.
Those aristocratic officials who had been harboring ulterior motives and planning to begin work the moment they returned home now looked ashen.
The net had been woven far too tightly.
Far too ruthlessly!
Without the court’s approval, they would not even be able to drink a mouthful of fresh water or find their bearings.
If the merchants of the realm wanted that heaven-defying fortune, they had no choice but to walk properly to the Maritime Trade Office and willingly hand over thirty percent of their silver.
The old emperor sat quietly upon the dragon throne.
He looked down at the assembled officials, at those ministers who had been so smug before but were now utterly dejected.
A feeling of absolute power over all under Heaven surged from the depths of his heart, rushing straight to his head.
And all of it had been made possible by Xu Qinghuan!
Emperor Tiansheng burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
“Xu Qinghuan!”
The old emperor was overjoyed.
“Your Xu family truly is the backbone of this emperor’s court!”
