Section 3
After Mo Rong sent a letter to Yue Renling, requesting Dong Yue of the Yue Renyi to come out of the mountains to help her, she began her own plan.
As the greatest craftsman in the world, the city he builds should naturally be the best in the world, and its craftsmanship must not be ridiculed by future generations. With this in mind, Mo Rong dragged Li Jun along early the next morning to explore the city and see how to design it.
“We are practically building a new city, so calling it Tonghai is not fitting. Why don’t you give the new city a name?” Yu Sheng, who had come with the two, said.
"Name?" Li Jun and Mo Rong exchanged a glance; indeed, they hadn't thought of that yet.
"Let's call him Li Juncheng," Mo Rong said half-jokingly. "Or Yu Shengcheng would be nice too."
Li Jun and Yu Sheng laughed. Yu Sheng said, "Naming the city after the commander is not bad. The commander's great achievements will surely be passed down through the ages, just like this city, and people will still remember them even a thousand years later."
Li Jun seemed thoughtful, then shook his head and said, "I don't want my name to be associated with this city. Whether people will remember what I did a thousand years from now is not important. What has become of the great achievements of the Khan of the Four Seas (Note 1)?"
"So what should we name the city?" Yu Sheng quite approved of Li Jun's decision. The business was just starting out, and naming the city after someone else would be too ostentatious.
"Let Sister Mo confirm. She is the person in charge of building the city, so she naturally has the right to name the city."
Mo Rong did not refuse. After thinking for a while, she slowly said, "I will name this new city Kuanglan City. With the help of the great god Gongshupan, I hope you can use this city to stir up a storm in Shenzhou and let the people of the world live a peaceful life."
Thus, the city, still in Mo Rong's mind, acquired a name. When Mo Rong uttered the city's name, Li Jun and Yu Sheng were both speechless. After a long while, Mo Rong said, "Before my people arrive, we cannot build the city immediately. Let's first carry out some preparatory activities for its construction."
"Approximately how many of Miss Mo's clansmen will be coming here?" Yu Sheng interjected.
“The elders in the clan certainly don’t want to move out of the mountains, but most of the younger generation are on good terms with me, so inviting them shouldn’t be a problem. I estimate there will be more than a hundred people,” Mo Rong replied after tilting her head and thinking for a moment.
"What should we prepare now?" Li Jun asked.
“Naturally, we need to recruit people and stockpile materials. The timber and stone used for building the city will all need to be sourced from elsewhere. However, I would like to suggest building a mansion for you here,” Mo Rong pointed to a flat area in front of her, “this is the center of the new city, how about we build a mansion for you here?”
"A mansion?" Li Jun laughed. "I don't need that. I'm already quite comfortable living in tents with the Peace Army. How about this: let's build a beautiful cemetery here for the soldiers who died defending Tonghai. If I die in battle, I want to be buried here too. In the afterlife, our Peace Army will fight against the King of the Underworld, Youming!"
Li Jun's idea had been swirling in his mind for a long time. Although he was not present during the Battle of Tonghai City, seeing the list of nearly half of the casualties made him feel sad. These soldiers had shed their blood in this city forever for his ideals, and he felt uneasy if he did not do something for them.
Yu Sheng's idea was slightly different from his. "Good," he said, "Even if peace really comes in the future, the people in the city will not forget how hard-won this peace was when they come and go at this time."
"If that's the case, then I'll have to put some serious thought into this cemetery." With a moment of contemplation, Mo Rong began a new design.
Thus, the decision was made to build a cemetery for the soldiers who died in the Battle of Tonghai City. When the Peace Army and other mercenary units heard the news, they felt a sense of honor amidst their grief. As mercenaries in chaotic times, they were used to dying on the road or in a ditch, but now, being able to rest peacefully with their comrades who had shared life and death gave these mercenaries a sense of peace about their future.
However, whether it's building a mausoleum for the mercenaries or rebuilding a new city, a large amount of funds is clearly necessary. The Peace Army has little savings; they only obtained a large number of rare treasures when they plundered the dragon spirit's wealth. Although these treasures are extremely valuable, they cannot be immediately converted into cash or supplies. Therefore, Li Jun still needs to negotiate with the merchants in the city.
Fortunately, Yu Sheng's act of visiting and comforting the merchants after the war greatly enhanced their goodwill. When Li Jun invited the merchants to a place and placed the treasure he had obtained from the dragon spirit in front of them, proposing to use it as collateral to borrow money from them, the merchants did not object. On the contrary, they all offered suggestions.
“To be honest, Tonghai City is a small city. We merchants are doing alright in Tonghai, but in the whole of China, we are just moderately wealthy. So many precious treasures are beyond our ability to value,” Jia Tong said first.
“Exactly, these few luminous pearls alone are worth more than all my capital,” Zhuang Heng added.
"How about this, let's cooperate on this deal?" Jiang Tang had been prepared for this for some time; in fact, he had a rough plan when he proposed occupying Tonghai. "First, we'll borrow some cash from you all. We'll provide the treasure, the barbarians will provide the ships and sailors, and you'll send your experts. We'll resell the treasure to the Su or Lan countries, and the proceeds will be distributed according to a certain ratio. What do you say?"
The merchants were taken aback. This deal was incredibly ambitious, and they hadn't expected this seemingly insignificant barbarian to come up with such a scheme. It was indeed the best option at the moment. The merchants possessed the knowledge and talent, but lacked the goods, while the Peace Army had the treasures but wasn't adept at commerce. Add to that the barbarian's seafaring skills, and the three working together would practically guarantee the success of the deal. However, the merchants also understood that the closer they got to the Peace Army, the more tightly their interests were intertwined, inevitably binding their fate to the success or failure of the war.
But merchants value profit above all else. The thought of the enormous profits that are almost easily obtained, and the idea of using those profits to expand their businesses in Tonghai City in the future, made it impossible for them to remain restrained.
"Good," Jia Tong said, pressing his advantage to encourage everyone, "We were just worried that the Peace Army's policies were too good, and that my company lacked capital to expand its industries. Now that such a good thing has come along, I'm determined to do it. What else do you all want to think about?"
With a leader in place, things became easier for the others. Soon, the elders of the barbarians were also invited. The three parties agreed on a profit-sharing standard: 50% for the Peace Army, 25% for the Merchants, and 25% for the Barbarians. It seemed that the Peace Army was giving away half of its treasures to the Barbarians and Merchants for free. However, in reality, these treasures were difficult for the Peace Army to convert into cash. If they were forced to sell, they might not even fetch one-tenth of their actual value. Therefore, the Peace Army was the biggest winner in this transaction.
"To facilitate management, let's establish a Peace Trading Company to handle the cooperative business between the Peace Army and you all. What do you all think?" Jiang Tang made another request without changing his expression.
"I wonder what this Peace Trading Company is for?" Jia Tong began to be wary. Although he actively advocated cooperation with the Peace Army, the premise was that the cooperation would benefit his interests.
“Some businesses that are difficult for you to manage on your own can be handled by the Peace Trading Company, such as the transportation of salt and wine. You do not want to be limited to operating within the Peace Army’s territory, do you?”
These merchants, seasoned veterans of the business world, immediately realized that the Peace Trading Company was actually a smuggling ring, but with the military support of the Peace Army behind it. After much deliberation, the merchants decided that it would not do them any harm and thus agreed.
Thus, Jiang Tang subtly gained control over the influential merchants of Tonghai City, making them not only willing to invest in the development of the Peace Army, but also tightly binding them economically to the Peace Army.
Li Jun had absolutely no interest in these economic matters. Although Jiang Tang had explained them to him repeatedly, he was so engrossed in listening that he couldn't understand why the value of Yujiang City's silk would increase dozens of times when it was shipped overseas. Therefore, he let Jiang Tang handle it, only half-jokingly saying after the merchant left, "If I need money and you can't come up with any, don't blame me for confiscating your private property to make up the difference."
It had been a long time since Jiang Tang had heard Li Jun call him "syrup," and he smiled, but a sense of fear lingered in his heart. He had worked tirelessly to manage the Peace Army, initially partly out of fear that Li Jun would ask him to use the treasures he had brought from Jiaolong Island as military funds. But now, just thinking about the 100,000 gold coins in cash and the treasures worth nearly a million gold coins that he controlled, he was determined to hold onto his position as treasurer and not let anyone replace him.
With the support of merchants' funds and materials, and the assistance of the barbarians at sea, Li Jun's plan progressed extremely rapidly. To his even greater delight, Sima Hui, a high-ranking official of the Zhu family in Yujiang City and a powerful figure in Yuyang, arrived ten days later with 150 households of his clan and 800 retainers (Note 2) to join him. Having just suffered heavy losses in the siege, this force of 800 men was like fresh blood to the Peace Army. Moreover, as a family with considerable influence in the Yuzhou region, Sima Hui's arrival with his entire family would be of great help in consolidating power in various manors.
"I've been longing to meet Mr. Sima for so long!" Li Jun laughed heartily, patting Sima Hui's shoulder, and welcomed him into the city.
"I wouldn't dare," Sima Hui replied with a hearty laugh. "I owe Commander Li my life, and with his help I retrieved my former master's remains. How could I not repay him with my life?" He had been hesitant when he learned of the Tong family's attack on Tonghai City, unsure if it could be held. However, upon learning that the Tong family had suffered a defeat and retreated even without Li Jun's presence, he resolved to follow Li Jun. In this chaotic world, following a lord of talent and magnanimity not only allowed one to utilize their abilities but also reduced the danger to their life. Sima Hui had come to understand this after Zhu Wenyuan's death.
Sima Hui's arrival with his entire family caused a great stir in Yuzhou, drawing in a large number of refugees from all over. These people, who had lost their homes in the war, longed for a peaceful environment. The name of the Peace Army initially appealed to them. Subsequently, Sima Hui suggested to Li Jun that Hua Xuan and Li Jun jointly recruit refugees to settle and cultivate the land. As a result, large numbers of refugees from various places poured into Tonghai City, and these refugees provided labor for Mo Rong's city-building plan.
When nearly a hundred Yue people arrived in Tonghai City, it was already a month later. Spring had arrived in Tonghai with light and nimble steps, and even the sea breeze had become gentle. As the mausoleum built by Mo Rong for the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Tonghai was completed, it was also the time when the foundation of the new city began to be laid. Li Jun ascended the altar in front of the mausoleum. Below him were tens of thousands of soldiers, ordinary residents, and Yi, Qiang, and Yue people.
"Fellow brothers and sisters, elders and fellow villagers," Li Jun began his speech, which would later be known as the Oath of the Raging Waves, with a rather inappropriate opening.
"I, Li Jun, commander of the Peace Army, here, the final resting place of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to defend Tonghai City, and the foundation stone of the new city, Kuanglan City, built to develop Tonghai City, here, I swear this oath with you all."
"From this day forward, in this city, all people of all races shall be treated equally, regardless of rank! High-ranking officials and generous salaries shall be awarded for their merits and shall not be passed down to their descendants. Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants shall be employed according to their talents and shall not be buried in obscurity. People of all races, including the Yi, Yue, Qiang, and Rong, shall regard each other as brothers and sisters and shall not utter any words that imply that those who are not of our race are necessarily different. People from all walks of life, from the southeast to the northwest to the central region, shall be relatives and friends and shall not be biased by family, clan, region, or location. Rewards and punishments shall be clearly distinguished and shall not be differentiated based on personal circumstances."
This oath, deliberately amplified by Li Jun's spiritual power, resounded throughout the ears of everyone attending the foundation-laying ceremony, stirring a storm in their hearts. Born a commoner and raised as a mercenary, Li Jun aimed the Peace Army at the orthodox ideology of the Divine Continent, proposing this slogan of equality between the noble and the lowly, shattering the hierarchical divisions that had previously bound the people of Divine Continent. This slogan, which did not emphasize that rewards were solely based on merit but that talent was sufficient for employment, fundamentally shook the hereditary system that had existed in Divine Continent for millennia. More importantly, Li Jun's slogan directly addressed the mutual discrimination among the various ethnic groups of Divine Continent, expanding the scope of equality from ordinary people to all ethnicities in the Divine Continent. This played a crucial role in Li Jun's later efforts to unite the forces of the Yi, Yue, Qiang, and Rong tribes, and to absorb the elites of each ethnic group. In particular, Li Jun recognized that the Qiang people, who had always been looked down upon by other races due to their racial characteristics, possessed equal rights and status.
However, for the people who have been influenced by traditional thought for thousands of years, Li Jun's current statement is extremely rebellious. On the one hand, the elders yearn for the world of equality between the noble and the lowly as described by Li Jun, but on the other hand, they are afraid that this violation of the ethical principles of ruler and subject, father and son will anger the gods and severely punish Li Jun and his followers.
At this point, Li Jun didn't expect to gain everyone's acceptance of his ideas through a single oath. But his next words truly moved most of those present, making them begin to consider whether those established ethical principles were in line with human nature.
"What I must especially say is that all people in the world, regardless of gender, should be equal in status! Everyone here was born and raised by a mother, who carried us for ten months, enduring hardships to give us life. But in today's world, men are superior to women, and children are more honorable than their mothers. Where is the justice of Heaven?"
Although Li Jun did not fully understand the reasons for male superiority and female inferiority, he made gender equality one of his future reform goals, and one of his most urgent goals, which garnered some support from women.