The Shahada

Hwang Gwan made a full report to An Hyeon on the outcome of the embassy to Fuzhou.

"Lord Buka Temur bids us wait, for the present. From what I could glean on the surface, he seems to be watching Sa'if al-Din and that army of his."

"He asked for more time, you mean?"

"Yes, my lord."

Liu Ji, who had been listening to the report at An Hyeon's side, spoke with a keen light in his eye.

"Your Grace, it would be unwise to grant them any leisure. If they bring a fleet and reinforcements up from Quanzhou, the base of their power, we shall be in difficulty."

"A fleet from Quanzhou?"

"Yes, Your Grace."

Liu Ji set a finger to Quanzhou on the map and went on.

"Fujian has long been famed for the size of its ships and the number of its sailors. They range the far seas more than most, and their Fuchuan — the great Fujian ships — are renowned for being both vast and stout."

"Hm..."

"I know well, of course, how formidable the navy of the Duke of Yue is. But if they should win at sea while we are taking Fuzhou, and cut our water route, we would be stranded in enemy country in all but name."

He pressed the counsel earnestly upon the young Duke of Yue, who had sunk into thought.

"Give them no time. Move at once. Seize the region swiftly, before they can bring their fleet up from Quanzhou, and if we can induce a rising from within..."

"For now..."

An Hyeon lifted a hand and stopped him, then turned his head.

"The report on the navy's gunnery drills at sea?"

At the question, the page Gaeddongi, waiting off to the side, began his report as smoothly as running water.

"By the Great General's report, the refitting of the ships is finished and training has begun. Basic drill ashore is done, so he says the live maneuvers and gunnery at sea, with the doujian and the Black Dragon Ships, will take about seven days."

"Seven days, then."

An Hyeon looked at Liu Ji and smiled faintly.

"When the drills are finished, we give them three days' rest, and then we sail."

"But in ten days they will..."

An Hyeon shrugged at the worry on Liu Ji's face.

"All the better, really. If we mean to pacify Fujian, their navy would only be in the way."

"Surely you do not intend a decisive battle with the fleet of Quanzhou?"

"I do. It will be our chance to sweep their naval strength clean away."

Liu Ji could not make sense of the young Duke of Yue, smiling with such confidence.

Were these cannon truly so extraordinary?

"Na'ib! There — look there, the ships!"

"Yes! They've come! The reinforcements are here!"

Word had come that the fleet had arrived from Quanzhou. Sa'if al-Din, who had left Fuzhou by boat and followed the Min River down to Changle County, let out a cry of admiration.

Fuchuan vast as castles lay moored along the bank, sleek dhows with lateen sails spread, and swift craft great and small. On the decks and along the shore stood Persian soldiers of the Ispah army in chain mail, and dusky Muslim mercenaries out of the southern barbarian lands, rank on rank.

"Fuller strength than I expected. With this..."

Sa'if al-Din looked over the arriving reinforcements, his face bright.

Fuzhou stood on the river, and boats came and went, but the great ships that roamed the open sea drew too much water; one mistake and they would ground on a shoal. So the Ispah fleet, fresh from Quanzhou, had moored along the bank at Changle County, southeast of the city — Fuzhou's outer port.

Sa'if al-Din pushed through the Ispah soldiers packing the shore and came face to face with a welcome sight.

Sa'if al-Din drew his comrade Husayn into an embrace and kissed him upon the brow.

"Qa'id Husayn! To think you would come yourself — and with so much strength at your back. I never expected it!"

A qa'id was a field commander of the Ispah army. Amirdin in Quanzhou was the amir, commander-in-chief of the Ispah forces, and Sa'if al-Din in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Fuzhou stood second, the na'ib — deputy and lieutenant in his stead. Husayn ranked among the foremost of the Ispah qa'ids, the general who led the fleet.

"The Amir takes this matter gravely. We have already ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lost Xinghua to the unbelievers' rebellion. If we lose Fuzhou as well, Quanzhou itself will not be safe."

"Yes. I think the same. Give ground here, and all the world will take us for weakened."

Sa'if al-Din nodded, his face grave.

"Then the Sunni lot inside the walls of Quanzhou will stir. They will join hands with the unbelievers and strike us from behind. Is that not plain as day?"

"May Allah punish those hypocrites!"

Husayn spat hard upon the ground, as if the very thought disgusted him.

The core of the Ispah army of Quanzhou, under Amirdin and Sa'if al-Din, was largely Persian Shi'at Ali — men who followed Imam Ali, of the Prophet's own blood. The mainstream of the Muslims rooted in Zaiton, that is, Quanzhou, were the Ahl al-Sunnah, folk who prattled of keeping to the custom of the Prophet Muhammad. Better than unbelievers, one might say, yet they walked a false path all the same, and they had been corrupted besides by the ways of this Khitai; they could not be trusted.

For now they acknowledged us as guardians of the faith and bent the knee in outward show. But let the slightest opening appear, let them grow certain our strength had failed, and they would drive a knife into our backs. The true leaders of the believers — Imam Ali and Imam Husayn, heirs of the Prophet's blood. Was it not the doing of those hypocrites that they were betrayed in wretchedness and put to death?

"How many warships, and how many men?"

"Ten Fuchuan, and some fifty dhows and craft great and small. We brought four thousand in all, and none but men chosen for their skill at sea."

"So many? Then Quanzhou's strength will be left far too thin..."

When Sa'if al-Din asked it in worry, Husayn nodded with a set face.

"When the Amir heard the report that the Duke of Yue's army numbered thirty thousand, he made his decision. Better, he said, to settle the matter at sea, where we hold the advantage, than to hold a city by half measures."

"Indeed. The Amir is wise."

Sa'if al-Din nodded at Husayn's words.

From distant Persia in the west, past Hindustan, through stifling humid islands and the narrow straits where savage pirates ran wild, all the way to Quanzhou — they were men who had crossed those harsh and perilous seas all their lives. No clumsy navy of unbelievers could be their match upon this water. And Husayn was the most skilled in sea battle even among them.

"The Amir's order is to watch them with swift ships, and the moment they put to sea, to intercept. Fight them on the open ocean before they can land at Fuzhou, and slaughter them to a man."

"At sea, certainly, numbers will only carry them so far. And if we fight with those castle-like Fuchuan at the center..."

Sa'if al-Din looked upon the ten great sailing ships.

They had the bulk of fortresses. Bow and stern rose high as pavilions. Along the gunwales, shield-planks were set in rows and braced with bamboo until the side was like a city wall, so that soldiers on deck could open and shut thick loophole-shutters and pour out arrows. Qaws al-aqqar — great crossbows that had to be spanned with a windlass — stood mounted on the high towers, taking aim at the enemy. From tower and deck they could rain arrows down upon ships lying lower, and the height and the defenses, fortress-like, made it no easy thing for enemy troops to climb aboard. Ships built by unbelievers, true enough, but great ships a man could trust.

"Only, to fight in these Fuchuan we must have wide, deep water. If we are forced to fight inside this river, or along the coast, they will catch on shoals, or grow too clumsy to handle..."

"Yes. That would be so."

Sa'if al-Din was no stranger to the sea himself, and he agreed.

The Fuchuan, used chiefly on the far-ocean run, drew deep; ground one on a shallow shoal and it would not budge an inch. They used no oars, moving by sail and wind alone, so changing course or coming about was no simple matter. Ships, in the end, that could show their strength only on the open sea. He had brought so many dhows and swift craft great and small for just that reason — to make good the weakness.

"I have already sent several fast scouts north. The moment they sail against this Fuzhou, the scouts will come back and tell us. Do not worry."

"To be safe, once water and provisions are aboard I mean to wait on the outer island, Langqi. We wait there, and the moment word comes that they are on their way, we put out and meet them in the middle of the sea. Will that not serve?"

Sa'if al-Din nodded at the thoroughness of the proposal.

"Very well. I'll trust it to you, then."

"Hahaha! Do not worry! I will teach the unbelievers what it is to fear those who follow Imam Ali."

Husayn beat a fist against the chain mail over his chest, confidence written on his face, and Sa'if al-Din smiled and nodded.

Sa'if al-Din and Husayn laid their right hands upon their chests and recited the Shahada.

Whoosh — and the slap of water.

Under a clear blue sky, the bow sheared through waves breaking white.

I pointed to the long cape running away on the starboard side and asked, "What is that place called?"

"Huangqi Cape, my lord. Hold this course another thirty miles and we reach the mouth of the Min!"

Won Cheon-rok had come to me in person to offer his submission, then volunteered to pilot this expedition. I nodded at his words.

Ten doujian warships ran on with sails spread full, and around them sixty swift Black Dragon Ships kept their station, ringing the formation like an escort.

"So the Ispah fleet is lying at Langqi?"

"Yes. Sailors of Lianjiang County saw them with their own eyes. The word comes from the righteous troops of Lianjiang who once belonged to Taeansa, so there can be no mistake."

Whether one had the locals' cooperation mattered. It truly did. The Ispah army of Quanzhou might fancy it had scout ships up watching our movements, and its own security well in hand — and what good was that? The fishermen who lived here had become my eyes, and they were telling me where the enemy lay, how many they were, even what they sailed.

"Your Grace, turn the ships about even now. They are waiting for us. What reason is there to run the risk?"

Liu Ji came up to me where I stood at the bow, squinting for the first sign of the bastards and muttering that I really ought to have a telescope made. He set to persuading me all over again, earnest as ever.

"There is no need for Your Grace to command the navy in person. Entrust the fleet to Great General Makdong, let him break them, and then bring up the main body..."

"Master Bowen, have I not already told you? This fight is not so dangerous as you imagine."

He had tried more than once to keep me from leading the navy myself, and I had meant to leave him behind in Funing, but he clung on for dear life and there was nothing to be done.

"If it can be won as easily as you say, then there is all the less need for Your Grace to lead in person, is there not?"

"Master Bowen, I am the one who first raised this navy and trained it. The doujian and the Black Dragon Ships it sails, the armament, the tactics — those are mine as well."

Liu Ji looked at me with open displeasure.

"Your Grace is no longer a man alone. Even if you could do the thing better yourself, taking the field in person is reckless."

Well, his nagging was not wrong. Had Uncle Lim Pyeong heard that I had gone to a battlefield myself, he would have been hopping mad and raising the roof.

But I had not come out for the sake of this battle's outcome.

"What matters is putting the cannon we have just brought in to use, and gaining experience with them. Seeing their effect, and their strengths and faults, with my own eyes may matter more than whether we win or lose this fight."

"More than winning or losing..."

Liu Ji stared at me as if the words made no sense.

"In the end, who holds the tide of Jiangnan depends on who commands the Yangtze. Looking at the way Zhu Yuanzhang and Chen Youliang are contending, that decision will fall within two or three years."

"That is so, and yet..."

"Then there will be a single decisive battle on the water. That fight will settle the course of Jiangnan, so we must be ready for it."

"And what has that to do with Your Grace taking the field in person for this fight now?"

At ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Liu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ji's question I let out a short laugh.

"However powerful a weapon you make, in the end a man has to use it. How to mount it on a ship, how to handle it, how great its power really is — seeing the thing and working it yourself is entirely different from hearing another man's report."

"Hm..."

I thought of the two 9-pounder field guns set below the deck at the flagship's bow.

Barely two guns apiece on the ten doujian, and a single gun on just ten of the Black Dragon Ships — thirty guns in all. It might be called the greatest firepower in the world at present, but how great that power would prove...

I would have to use them before I could truly take their measure. We had burned powder like water and finished live gunnery drills while maneuvering at sea, but whether they would work as I wanted was still unknown. They were not the same as a personal weapon like the matchlock.

"From what the fishermen saw, their ships are among the largest of the Fuchuan. Far bigger than these doujian, they say. Will it truly be all right?"

"Call it a rehearsal for facing Chen Youliang's tower ships."

"Your Grace! But..."

Liu Ji was drawing breath to raise his voice in sheer frustration when the cry came down from the masthead.

"Ahead! Ships ahead! One — no, two, three... more than several dozen!"

I set a hand to my brow and looked to the horizon.

Far off, white sails began to crawl into view, and their number kept growing. As they drew nearer, a dozen great ships took shape, and with them several dozen small, swift craft.

"Your Grace, there is no doubt they were waiting for us!"

"Yes. So it seems."

I smiled at the tension in Liu Ji's voice, turned my back, and shouted until my throat might split.

"Raise the command standard and send the signal! All ships into battle formation! Sails to half!"

"All ships into battle formation! Sails to half!"

The order was repeated back, and the signalmen began to swing their flags with all their strength.

Doom... doom... doom... doom... doom...

The war drums beat a slow measure, but hard, and the sailors, the Tiger Hunting Army, and the Jurchen elite checked armor and arms.

"My lord, I've brought it."

"Thank you, Garshakan."

With Garshakan's help I put on the black helmet and armor, and said to Liu Ji, "Master Bowen, you ought to go inside. A stray shaft could wound you. It could kill you."

"And Your Grace..."

"Should a commander not stand where every man can see him?"

I grinned and looked ahead.

The Muslims' fleet was drawing nearer.

Time to offer them a greeting.

A scorching one.