The Scholar Who Resisted the Japanese Pirates
According to the History of Ming, the tenth emperor of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Wuzong, spent his life indulging in pleasure, drink, and women, obsessed with military affairs and notorious for his unruly behavior. His actions were often absurd and criticized by the world; yet Wuzong was also resolute and decisive, executing Liu Jin with a snap of his fingers, quelling the rebellions of Anhua and Ning Princes, and defeating the Little Prince at Yingzhou. He honored the Eight Tigers, built the Leopard House, refused the throne, and declared himself Grand General of Might. He avoided living in the imperial palace, preferring the National Guard Mansion he built himself. Later generations condemned Wuzong as debauched, tyrannical, bizarre, and shameless—a rare tyrant. After his death, he was buried in Kang Mausoleum, with his temple name Wuzong. As the saying goes, the judgment of history is left to those who come after. With Wuzong’s passing, Zhu Houcong, known as Emperor Shizong, ascended as the eleventh ruler of the Ming dynasty, adopting the reign title Jiajing. With the change of era, the newly enthroned Emperor Jiajing broke away from Wuzong’s ways, instituting new policies and revitalizing the government. Officials bowed in reverence, and the people rejoiced. Across the divine land, it was as if a spring wind swept the banks of the great river; a thousand-mile canal stretching north to south formed a waterborne Silk Road. The vast canal, like a giant dragon, wandered through the rising sun of the east, bearing the heavy responsibility of centuries-old grain transport. Flowing from north to south, it arrived at the crossroads of Huai’an Prefecture, Shanyang County. At this time, the island nation of Japan cast greedy eyes upon Ming’s maritime Silk Road. Japanese pirates repeatedly invaded via the waterways, committing arson, murder, and plunder without restraint. For a time, public anger boiled over, and the pirates became a dire threat at the heart of the imperial court…
The Scholar Who Resisted the Japanese Pirates
Chapter 1: A Millennium of Canal Transport Nourishes Jianghuai, an Astounding Omen Foretells the Rise of Twin Stars
To speak of the Grand Canal, the millennia-old Silk Road on water, one must trace its origins to the city of Luoyang at its heart, connecting the North and South of the empire. It is a vast network formed by the Yongji Canal, the Tongji Canal, the Shanyang Ditch flowing downstream, the Yangzi entering the river, and the rivers of the Jiangnan region. With the Grand Canal project entering a new era, the waterway transport reached its peak. At the same time, the ancient Han Ditch underwent comprehensive dredging and renovation, widened and deepened to over three hundred li in length, with a water surface forty paces wide.
The Han Ditch became the vital hub linking the waterways of the Jianghuai region and the North and South, enabling the rich resources and grain from the prosperous Jianghuai and the golden triangle of the lower Yangtze to be transported unceasingly by water to the capital, Luoyang.
In the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di appointed his trusted minister, the Earl of Pingjiang, Chen Xuan, as the chief commander overseeing canal transport, stationed at Huai’an to manage the grain tribute. Huai’an became the central node of North-South water transport, one of the four major prefectures on the water route, securing Shanyang County’s irreplaceable status and earning it renown in the capital.
It was the dawn of the sixteenth century, in the year 1506, as a new chapter in human history was turning. One evening, strange clouds gathered in the west of Shanyang County. With a sudden, inexplicable crash of th
