Chapter 41: A Misjudgment, Introspection of a Transmigrator

Before the sun had even set, the boat docked at the Tuoligou Pier.

Navigation ceased at night, leaving passengers with no choice but to go ashore to rest or spend the night on the vessel. While this brought considerable inconvenience to travelers, it provided a boon to the small towns and villages along the canal.

Many towns had prospered thanks to the canal, but Tuoligou lacked abundant local products, had no major cities nearby to rely on, and held no strategic importance, failing entirely to develop. Only a single street hugging the river retained any semblance of life.

"I am somewhat fatigued and shall rest for a while."

Liang Jiajun was slightly seasick. Seeing that the boat had docked, he retreated into the cabin to rest. Gu Zhengchen arranged for Sun Shibiao to stay behind and took Gu Cheng ashore.

"Master, shall we buy some hot food?"

Gu Cheng pointed toward a wonton stall ahead.

Gu Zhengchen nodded slightly, walked over with a smile, and ordered two bowls of wontons. As the attendant served them, he asked, "Why are grain-tribute transport boats so rarely seen around here?"

The attendant bent forward and explained, "My lord, the waterway from Tuoligou to Taizhuang has not been dredged for years and is somewhat silted up. Only passenger boats can pass; grain barges with deep drafts cannot. The autumn rains were scarce the year before last, and a tribute ship grounded on this route, nearly missing its deadline and causing a catastrophe. Nowadays, the imperial court's grain transport vessels would rather expend extra effort than take this path."

"I see, thank you."

"Enjoy your meal, sir."

Gu Zhengchen sighed inwardly.

At this time, tribute ships were mostly used to supply military grain and provisions to the north, and they were typically guarded by soldiers. He had originally thought of using these guards to deal with the mounted bandits, but that option now seemed unviable.

Gu Cheng looked at Gu Zhengchen, who appeared somewhat troubled, and asked, "Your expression seems poor, Master. Are you seasick?"

Gu Zhengchen shook his head slightly, took a bite of a wonton, looked up at the quietly flowing river, and softly asked, "Where did you put the saber Sun Shibiao carries with him?"

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

Gu Cheng looked puzzled.

Gu Zhengchen picked up his bowl. "Go and see if you can buy a few short swords. Your master wishes to channel Li Bai."

A quarter of an hour later.

Gu Zhengchen picked up the kitchen cleaver before him and looked gloomily at Gu Cheng. "Are you certain Li Bai carried a kitchen cleaver when strolling through Chang'an City?"

Gu Cheng said helplessly, "Master, whether Li Bai carried a cleaver is beyond my knowledge, but this was the sharpest implement in the entire town..."

Gu Zhengchen looked at his own reflection in the blade of the cleaver and gave a bitter, helpless laugh. "Let us hope this makes for a fine pig-slaughtering knife."

Gu Cheng glanced back toward the boat; there were no pigs there.

Returning to the vessel and entering the cabin, Gu Zhengchen produced the two kitchen cleavers, handed them to Liang Jiajun, and lowered his voice. "I know you are a scholar and may not be accustomed to wielding a cleaver. However, the situation is perilous, and we must take precautions."

Liang Jiajun took a cleaver, inspected it briefly, and set it aside. "Are you referring to the mounted bandits on this boat?"

"Y-You know about them?"

Gu Zhengchen was immensely surprised.

Liang Jiajun smiled faintly. "Li Wujin mentioned there were a few troublesome characters aboard. I was pondering how best to apprise you of this, never imagining you had already begun making preparations."

Gu Zhengchen shook his head bitterly. He had still underestimated the steward of a great and influential household; anyone sent out to accompany Liang Jiajun could hardly be entirely ignorant of the ways of the world.

There were many capable individuals in this world.

Gu Zhengchen said solemnly, "Whether these mounted bandits are merely after wealth or mean to take lives as well remains uncertain. If we are truly driven to the desperate edge, I would rather die than let them off without a fight!"

Liang Jiajun waved a hand. "Matters should not yet have reached such a dire extreme. Ultimately, they are mere outlaws, and we are officials. If they harm us, how could the imperial court let them go unpunished? With external military campaigns presently halted, times are hard for mounted bandits, and they will not lightly provoke the court. In my view, they dare not do us any harm."

Gu Zhengchen narrowed his gaze and said to the somewhat idealistic Liang Jiajun, "Brother Liang, they are mounted bandits—they have already provoked the court."

"It is different."

"How so?"

"Have you ever heard of merchants being robbed, wealthy households being robbed, commoners being robbed, but have you ever heard of officials being robbed? So long as they do not rob imperial officials, the court can afford to deal with them slowly and deliberately. But once they rob a high-ranking imperial official, for the sake of the court's dignity, armies will sweep down upon them. Outlaws they may be, but they are not fools."

With that, Liang Jiajun lay down on the bed and closed his eyes to rest his mind.

Gu Zhengchen’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he lay down, pillowing his head on his arms. "Have you given no thought to the other passengers on this boat? If they are stripped of their possessions, they may very well lose their lives."

The corners of Liang Jiajun’s mouth twitched slightly. "Such matters are beyond our control, nor are we permitted to manage them. If they are to be managed, it falls to the Transport Commissioner's Office, the Patrol Inspectorate, or the Grand Military Governor's Office. Rest now, and let us not invite unnecessary complications."

Gu Zhengchen closed his eyes, a sour taste lingering in his heart.

Relying on the arrogance of a time-traveler, he had fancied himself capable of seeing through everything and holding the upper hand in all situations. Yet reality showed that he had misjudged even the bookish scholar right before him!

The persona of a bookworm was merely Liang Jiajun’s facade, his camouflage. Beneath it lay a mind remarkably calm, bordering on indifference. He kept his emotions strictly reined in, appearing nonchalant about everything save for his books, yet he constantly monitored his surroundings!

The advantage of a time-traveler lay solely in advanced experience, broader exposure, and historical foresight—it did not lie in human nature, political scheming, or depth of worldliness!

Remaining in Teng County, he might still have managed to contend with a few people. But stepping outside of Teng County, with his meager abilities, he fell far too short—he was not even a match for Liang Jiajun sitting right beside him!

The notion that all time-travelers are omnipotent, that stepping into the ancient world allows one to trample ancients underfoot with political maneuvers and stratagems succeeding at every turn—all of that was a lie!

Facing figures seasoned in the storms of the world, particularly those who had survived two successive dynasties, which of them was an easy adversary?

It seemed I was wrong.

Gu Zhengchen drew a deep breath.

Even someone like Liang Jiajun could effortlessly perceive the situation, while he himself had acted like a fool, plotting a desperate struggle as a last resort.

Yet, Liang Jiajun's conduct was merely a method of self-preservation. In other words, his philosophy was: so long as I am unharmed, whatever else happens is beyond my sight and outside my concern.

This mindset was likely forged from experiences during the chaotic turbulence of the late Yuan dynasty.

Yet, if those mounted bandits were truly permitted to plunder the other passengers on the boat, Gu Zhengchen felt it would be an indelible shame—akin to watching foreign invaders slaughter villagers while standing idly by, doing nothing.

In a haze of restless thoughts, he slept until dawn.

Gu Zhengchen rubbed his aching shoulders, looked at Liang Jiajun—who had already risen and was reading—and smiled. "Brother Liang is reading the *Doctrine of the Mean* today."

Liang Jiajun calmly turned a page and said, "Before the stirrings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, or joy, it is called equilibrium; when those feelings are stirred and each achieves due measure, it is called harmony. Equilibrium is the great foundation of all under heaven, and harmony is the universal path. In essence, allowing the inner self to remain untouched by any emotion and maintaining a state of equilibrium—that is the ultimate truth. Brother Gu, you understand my meaning, do you not?"

Gu Zhengchen stood up, clenched his fists, then relaxed them, and replied calmly, "The *Doctrine of the Mean* states: 'He who is sincere is one who chooses what is good and holds fast to it.' That is to say, true sincerity lies in choosing the supreme good and unwaveringly putting it into practice. Brother Liang, is my interpretation incorrect?"