The railway connecting Xi'an to Hanzhong Prefecture was officially named the West Han Railway.
This project had been initiated by Zhu Cunji, the Prince of Qin's heir. He had gathered several imperial relatives to pool their money together and fund its construction.
Only after the West Yan Railway was completed did work finally begin on this one. Even now, construction had only been underway for a few short days.
It was the peak of summer.
The sun burned mercilessly overhead, and the heat pressed down like a heavy lid.
The workers labored beneath it, their clothes soaked through with sweat from dawn to dusk.
But for a daily wage of three catties of flour, no one dared to complain. They endured the blazing heat and worked without pause, afraid to stop even for a moment.
The people of the Celestial Empire were famously hardworking. As long as the pay was fair, they were willing to grind themselves down to the bone. Holidays were unheard of. Rest days did not exist. The idea of balancing work and leisure was completely alien to them.
As long as they were paid properly, they would work until their employer went bankrupt.
In the midst of this feverish activity, a white-hatted overseer appeared along the railway line.
He had a pale, beardless face and a shrill, high-pitched voice. Anyone with a bit of experience could tell at a glance that he was a eunuch.
He shouted until his throat was hoarse. "No slacking off! Hey, you lot, your hands are slowing down! Damn it, all of you know nothing but how to slack off! Looks like I'll have to dock your wages."
The workers immediately exploded in protest.
"Eunuch Zhang, we're clearly working hard. How is that slacking off?"
"You're just looking for excuses to deduct our pay!"
Eunuch Zhang snorted coldly. "Excuses? Could what I saw with my own eyes be wrong? You, you, you, and you. All of you stopped working just now to slack off."
"We only took a sip of water and went straight back to work. That counts as slacking off now?"
"If I say it's slacking off, then it's slacking off," Eunuch Zhang snapped.
The worksite fell silent.
Every face was filled with indignation, but no one dared to speak further.
This Eunuch Zhang was the trusted attendant of Prince Rui, Zhu Changhao.
Prince Rui Zhu Changhao was the fifth son of Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun and the half-brother of Emperor Guangzong Zhu Changluo. His status was lofty, and his fiefdom lay in Hanzhong Prefecture of Shaanxi.
The two largest investors behind the West Han Railway were Prince of Qin Zhu Cunji and Prince Rui Zhu Changhao.
Zhu Changhao was not particularly fond of women, but he loved money with obsessive passion. He had spent his entire life scheming ways to make more of it. When he heard Zhu Cunji claim that building railways could be profitable, he immediately bought himself a share.
Not only that, he even sent his most trusted eunuch, Eunuch Zhang, to oversee the construction personally.
From a shareholder's perspective, this was perfectly reasonable. Zhu Cunji had no grounds to refuse.
And so Eunuch Zhang prowled along the railway day after day, behaving like a tyrant.
One of the workers finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Eunuch Zhang, at least be reasonable. We're working ourselves to death here, not daring to slack off for even a breath. We're working harder than if we were building our own homes, yet you deduct our wages at the slightest excuse. Are you planning to pocket the money yourself?"
Eunuch Zhang flew into a rage.
"How dare you say such things!" he screeched. "Nonsense! Fired! You're fired!"
The worker was so frightened his face turned pale, and the others fell silent, too scared to speak.
Just then, a cold snort came from the tall grass beside the construction site.
"Oh my, such imposing official authority. An insignificant eunuch with a little power, already acting so unbearable."
Eunuch Zhang roared, "Who said that? Who's being sarcastic? I'll fire you!"
A figure flickered in the grass, and a strange person stepped out.
He wore martial attire, a massive conical hat on his head, and a black veil draped down from it, completely hiding his face.
Standing at the edge of the grass, he spoke lazily, "I'm not a worker here, so you can't fire me. Since that's the case, why should I be afraid of you?"
Eunuch Zhang snorted. "So it's just some wandering pugilist. You'd better find somewhere cool to rest and stop meddling in other people's business. Don't provoke someone you can't afford to offend."
The hat-wearing figure giggled. "Oh, I'm so scared. Someone I can't afford to offend? Heheheh. How many people under heaven are there that I can't afford to offend? Heheheh."
Eunuch Zhang sneered. "Listen to you. Can't even laugh properly. Wandering martial artists really are contemptible and utterly classless."
The hat-clad figure bristled. "You dare say that about me, I…"
He coughed sharply and forced himself to stop.
Remembering that he absolutely could not reveal his true identity, he swallowed the urge to shout his name to the heavens.
Instead, he snorted. "Even if I'm classless, I'm still better than someone who skims a few miserable coins from hardworking laborers. If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes, fine. But since I have, I won't ignore it."
Eunuch Zhang laughed coldly. "And who do you think you are? What right do you have to interfere?"
The hat-clad figure struck a dramatic pose. "In the martial world, I am known as the Wandering Hero of the Four Seas, Zhu Piaoling."
Eunuch Zhang barked, "Idiot! Guards! Beat this lunatic with sticks and drive him far away!"
At his shout, a group of men leaped out from nearby.
These were local ruffians and idlers hired by Prince Rui's mansion in Hanzhong Prefecture. Their job was to "maintain order" at the construction site.
Naturally, thugs had to look the part. Cracking their knuckles and swinging their arms, they gripped their clubs and advanced menacingly.
The hat-clad figure snorted. "So you plan to bully people with power, is that it?"
Eunuch Zhang sneered. "Yes, we're bullying you. What are you going to do about it?"
The hat-clad figure shouted just like Eunuch Zhang had earlier. "Guards! Beat this bullying lackey senseless with sticks!"
Eunuch Zhang laughed. "You think you can summon people just by shouting…"
Before he could finish, a large group of figures burst out from the tall grass behind the hat-clad figure.
These were no common ruffians.
They were the Prince of Qin's elite retainers.
The Prince of Qin's heir loved to play pranks, but his retainers were anything but amusing. They had been raised by the Prince of Qin's mansion since childhood, prepared to give their lives for him at any moment. They were his most trusted enforcers.
The instant they appeared, their presence completely crushed the ruffians from Prince Rui's side. Each step they took radiated a murderous pressure that made the thugs tremble uncontrollably.
The ruffians immediately realized that something was very wrong.
Eunuch Zhang felt it too.
"What are you waiting for? Attack!" the hat-clad figure commanded.
The retainers surged forward in an instant.
What followed was the dull thud of fists hitting flesh, miserable cries of pain and terror, frantic begging for mercy, and loud cheers from the nearby workers.
In just a short while, every one of Prince Rui's men lay sprawled on the ground, Eunuch Zhang included.
The hat-clad figure clapped his hands and laughed heartily, raising his head toward the sky. "How delightful. The outside world really is delightful."
Eunuch Zhang lay there, his whole body aching, yet his mouth remained defiant.
"Just you wait… just you wait… Prince Rui's mansion won't let this go. The Prince is not someone you can afford to provoke."
The hat-clad figure burst into laughter. "Oh, I'm so scared. I'm absolutely terrified, hahahaha!"
With that, he turned and walked away, his elite retainers silently following behind him.
After they had gone some distance, the hat-clad figure extended his hand. "The Four Treasures of the Study."
One of the retainers immediately presented them.
The hat-clad figure swiftly wrote a letter addressed to Prince Rui.
"Deliver this to Prince Rui's mansion," he said.
The retainer bowed and departed at once.
Several days later, Eunuch Zhang was summoned back to Prince Rui Zhu Changhao's residence, where he received fifty lashes. Every copper he had skimmed from the workers was returned at double the amount.