Yun Ye looked at Zhangsun with a puzzled expression and said, “Your Majesty, when Zou Yan presented the ‘Theory of the Five Virtues’ Cycles’ to the First Emperor of Qin, how delighted the Qin Emperor was! When Dong Zhongshu offered Confucianism—that peerless beauty—to Emperor Wu of Han, how ecstatic Emperor Wu was! How is it that when it comes to His Majesty, our献书 献book presentations have become an insult to His Majesty?”
“The ‘Essentials of the Zhenguan Era’ is absolutely an encyclopedia of governance. Whenever His Majesty wishes to understand the key points of any aspect, he can find them in this book. Wei Zheng’s ‘Supplement to the Zhenguan Era’ is the crystallization of his life’s painstaking efforts. Even if it represents only one school of thought, it will surely provide His Majesty with tremendous inspiration. The reputation of ‘Fang’s strategy and Du’s decision’ has long spread throughout the realm. This humble subject refuses to believe that their jointly authored ‘Reflections on the Zhenguan Era’ would be of no benefit to His Majesty. As for the Yan family’s ‘Family Instructions of Master Yan,’ this humble subject has heard the venerable Master Yan Zhitui say that calling it a miraculous book for educating children is not an exaggeration in the slightest. Li Jing and Li Ji collected military weapons from throughout the army and compiled a book on the role of new weapons in large-scale military operations and their proper usage methods. This humble subject has not even seen this book, which shows how seriously these two veteran generals regard it.”
“The reason we presented these books to His Majesty is precisely because we respect His Majesty and love His Majesty. Upon hearing that His Majesty wished to correct his gains and losses, we unanimously offered what we each considered the most suitable books, fulfilling a subject’s loyal and reverent heart. How could there be any talk of insult? Using one’s life’s work to insult a great emperor is not something these wise men would do.”
Zhangsun’s anger gradually subsided, and she asked Yun Ye again, “Why now? Why choose this particular time to present them? This palace dares to say that if you missed this timing, when His Majesty received these books, he would surely be as delighted as the Qin Emperor or Emperor Wu of Han.”
“Your Majesty, books are meant to be read, not left on shelves to be eaten by insects. Do you think writing these books was easy for us? If His Majesty doesn’t read them, our painstaking efforts will have been in vain. Right now happens to be when His Majesty is confused. His Majesty needs to form his own governance philosophy, so naturally he will study these books thoroughly.”
“In earlier years, the principle of ‘the people are water, the ruler is the boat’ opened the myth of a golden age for the Great Tang. The Great Tang today is walking a path that predecessors have never walked. Everyone is feeling their way across the river by touching the stones, and His Majesty is no exception. The road ahead is dark—no one has walked it before. So we offer our thoughts and gains to His Majesty, allowing His Majesty to refine his own thinking from these philosophies and find a path most suitable for the ruler, subjects, and common people of the Great Tang to walk. What is loyal reverence? This is the greatest loyal reverence.”
Zhangsun also became confused. Political affairs that used to be handled with ease had now become very unfamiliar. A single Yuezhou left her lost in fog and clouds, unable to see clearly, let alone the entire territory of the Great Tang.
“Empress, have Qing Que prepare the full ceremonial regalia and pay respects to those subjects preparing to present books on behalf of me as a disciple would to his teachers. Yun Ye is right—their loyal and reverent hearts cannot be dismissed.” Li Er’s voice carried out from far within the great hall. Yun Ye had just spoken loudly precisely for the Emperor to hear.
Once the Emperor had spoken, this storm was successfully weathered. The nobles of Yuezhou resumed their former carefree ways. Li Tai was very busy. Each time he replaced his father to thank people was a kind of torment for him. In the scorching heat of Yuezhou in the eighth month, Li Tai wore the ceremonial robes for winter heaven-worship ceremonies—the jacket, robe, lined garment, deep robe, sash, pendant, tally, crown, and boots—not a single item could be omitted. A complete ceremony took an entire day. After barely finishing this work, Li Tai’s entire body was covered in heat rash.
With his body covered in fragrant powder, he and Yun Ye squatted shirtless by the pond in shorts, eating liangfen fish. After two bowls of ice-cold, refreshingly sour liangfen fish went down, Li Tai breathed a sigh of relief, patted the fragrant powder on his body, and said to Yun Ye, “Why won’t those old immortals die yet? If they don’t die, I’m going to die soon. When will we be able to reach the level of old immortals?”
“By the time we become old immortals, the current old immortals will all be dead. Such tremendous glory, yet you keep complaining about my big mouth. Wei Zheng’s expression was the most detestable—clearly he had the impulse to remove the gauze to see whether the imperial ceremony was sufficient or not, yet he told me that his ‘Supplement to the Zhenguan Era’ still had gaps that hadn’t been filled in. It’s already been bound into volumes, what’s there to revise? He’s just putting on airs!”
Li Tai viciously pulled open his waistband to let air into his crotch, and said cheerfully, “My father had bloodletting done three times, and now his head doesn’t hurt anymore. Master Sun also says the illness is no longer a problem. Master Sun won’t allow my father to drink his own blood anymore, saying that once blood flows out of the body it becomes useless. Drinking two cups of blood isn’t as worthwhile as drinking two bowls of chicken soup. Drinking too much blood can become addictive—my father was completely intimidated by this.”
“Ye Zi, why make my father study to death? These past days my father has reached the point of forgetting food and sleep. After handling court affairs, he just keeps reading books constantly. Sometimes he reads with joy, sometimes with sorrow, sometimes with some embarrassment, and sometimes with anger. Several times he’s thrown the books away, then picked them back up to continue reading. Will continuing like this be harmful to his elderly body?”
Yun Ye ate a banana and said to Li Tai, “There’s no helping it. The Great Tang changes three times daily. Just look at Yuezhou and you’ll understand. His Majesty’s arrival in Yuezhou has been only ten days, yet it’s already become a festival for Yuezhou merchants. The transaction records at the Revenue Office have become frighteningly large. These ten days have created half a year’s worth of Yuezhou’s transaction volume. Could you have imagined such a thing before?”
Li Tai thought for a moment and said, “Actually, I don’t like Yuezhou. Everything can be given a price. I can understand pricing pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep, but what’s the logic in pricing men? Some people are even graduates of Yushan Academy. When they choose employers, they only look at who offers the highest price, without considering character or learning. Whoever gives the most money is who they follow—it insults refined culture! Yet they call it by the fine name of ‘talent fair.'”
“It will change. Slowly it will still return to orthodoxy. Right now it’s a new phenomenon, so it’s radical. After three to five years, when people are no longer eager for quick success and instant profit, the tradition in their bones will still prevail.”
“I still prefer Yushan Academy—the rich scholarly atmosphere, the air filled with the breath of wisdom. With every breath I take, I can feel infinite power. There I always have a feeling of wanting to soar. How I envy those students who jump off cliffs with parachutes on their backs. When they fly in the high sky overlooking the earth, how free they must be.”
Li Tai spread his arms wide, closed his eyes, and let himself bathe in the evening breeze, fantasizing about the scene of himself soaring under the blue sky. He greatly enjoyed this feeling. Yun Ye could sense the happiness emanating from his heart.
In the brightly lit temporary palace, Li Er held a scroll and slowly paced, with writing materials scattered messily on the table. Large blots of ink slowly pooled together on the sandalwood desk to form a pool of ink. His heart was troubled! So this was what Li Shimin looked like in others’ eyes. These essays were all written by his closest people. Li Er did not doubt their sincerity, nor did he believe they would show any bias. But surely one of them must be wrong—could the one who is wrong be me?
It cannot be. How could I be wrong when I have hewn the empire’s path with bare hands through a forest of thorns? All past history has proven my brilliance. Fang Xuanling strategizes but cannot decide; Du Ruhui decides but cannot be complete; Wei Zheng is rigidly bound to antiquated ways; Yun Ye leans toward opportunism, never speaking things to the full; Zhangsun Wuji has exceptional vision but lacks the ability to persist. They are all people with flaws, and I can see their shortcomings at a glance.
Subjects with flaws are good subjects—the Imperial Studies have made this judgment more than once.
Li Er wanted to untangle this tangled mess in his hands. When did these cords begin to scatter? Was it from the great victory on the grasslands? Or from the appearance of potatoes? Li Er paced the entire night in the great hall. Not until the sun rose from the east and Zhangsun brought him food did he suddenly penetrate to the source of the confusion.
So it all began to become chaotic only after people ate their fill! The people under heaven had been hungry for thousands of years. It was not until reaching my hands that they began to experience eating their fill. Eating one’s fill did not produce the scene of “knowing propriety”—what nonsense is “when granaries are full, people know propriety and honor”! This is a lying ghost story. After eating their fill, another byproduct was spawned, and that is desire. After eating their fill, people want warm clothing; having clothing, they want a comfortable house. Desire has no limit.
Potatoes, corn, double-cropping rice—they solved humanity’s most basic survival problems. When people no longer worried about their bellies, their thoughts naturally became active. Once thoughts became active, the torrential flood under heaven immediately transformed a clear and bright world into a tangled mess.
Li Er bit into a golden-brown chive pocket, closed his eyes, and savored the pleasure that food brought. The fresh fragrance of chives, the mellow richness of eggs, the crispness of the dough—when mixed together, they became an intoxicating satisfaction.
Zhangsun kept watching her husband. She discovered that today her husband ate with incomparable voracity. A plate of chive pockets and a large bowl of fragrant, thick millet porridge were eaten completely clean by him. The several kinds of preserved vegetables he usually loved to eat remained untouched.
Li Er, who hadn’t slept all night, was in high spirits. After changing clothes, he took Duan Hong and his guards to get to know this city of Yuezhou anew. Looking at the essence and looking at the surface are two completely different concepts.
The vegetable vendor focused intently on sizing up every passerby. As long as there was the slightest possibility, he would try to sell his vegetables to this passerby. At the moment of obtaining copper coins, Li Er discovered that the vendor’s eyebrows seemed to dance, but this happiness quickly disappeared with the arrival of the next passerby, turning back into that deep longing, repeating in cycles without ever stopping. That longing seemed far from something that a few copper coins could fill.
The beggars of Yuezhou were all river bandits—Li Er knew this, so he did not particularly pity this miserable group. They seemed completely out of place with this city, their eyes full of numbness and dullness. Even a dog would whimper when kicked, but they, when kicked, would only crawl away. Long ago, Li Er had seen this kind of gaze in many people’s eyes, including his own father.
At that time, fearing he too would become like this, he resolutely raised an army. There are always some people in this world unwilling to drift with the current. Li Er had almost forgotten why he raised an army in rebellion all those years ago. Now he understood.
“I rebelled because I refused to become like a fallen leaf, silently and soundlessly turning into mud!”