Zhù Lian’s mind gave a thunderous buzz. He could not believe his ears and looked up involuntarily at the Emperor’s face. He had been reminding himself the whole time: he was here on business; he had to be respectful toward the Emperor; protocol required him not to stare at the Emperor’s face. But now he could no longer maintain such propriety.
He suspected he had misheard. Meeting the Emperor’s gaze, he hesitated briefly, then said: “Thank you for the praise, Your Majesty. But Zhao Su’s talent surpasses mine in many ways. The Teacher’s discernment is sharp as a blade — recommending Zhao Su as Governor of Wuzhou was the most appropriate arrangement.”
The Emperor smiled: “No need to be alarmed. There is no one else here. I say you will do, and you will do. Zhao Su is talented, yes, but you also have your strengths. Do you know — there is one thing in which you are stronger than him?”
Zhù Lian was curious, but instinct told him this was a trap. He stared straight at the Emperor and gave no answer.
The Emperor said it himself: “You are younger! He is the same age as Zhù Ying — already old and decrepit! You are in your prime, with a long future ahead of you!”
What in the world does that mean?! Zhù Lian wanted nothing more than to strangle this wretched Emperor!
Zhù Lian lowered his head and made no reply. In his heart he rated Zheng Xi and Chen Meng differently — the two had slightly different characters, and their intellects were also somewhat different — but both had risen to Chancellor, and in terms of intellect he could give them his grudging approval. These two very men had coached him exhaustively on what to expect, and the Emperor had not followed the script at all!
He had to get through this one imperial audience first, then find these two men and ask them what in the world was going on.
Fortunately the Emperor did not press him, and fairly magnanimously said: “Go home and await good news. One I have declared good is good.”
Zhù Lian bowed again and withdrew. Once out of the main hall he made straight for the Grand Secretariat — he knew the road well enough.
After Zhù Lian left, a purple-robed figure stepped out from behind the screen — Xian Jing. The Emperor said to him: “He seems to me to be rather timid — is Zhù Ying’s authority truly so great?”
Xian Jing said: “Your servant knows this person. He was originally a non-Han orphan, taken in and raised by Zhù Ying as her student, advanced through her patronage year after year. It is merely a student who dares not act rashly out of respect for the teacher-student bond.”
“He has some moral character then. What is to be done?”
Xian Jing said: “He has character; Zhù Ying has no heirs by birth. She has numerous students and adopted sons and daughters — all raised and cultivated the same way. Among the younger ones, no single one dominates over all the others. Zhao Su is deep and calculating, and not young either; with no successor decided, this will be the root of unrest after Zhù Ying is gone.
Your Majesty should make arrangements early. Otherwise the distance is too great and it will be impossible to respond in time. It was Zhù Ying herself who sent Zhù Lian to the capital.”
The Emperor had some understanding of Zhù Ying’s ways and was not entirely certain how to read this, so he asked: “Will she accept it?”
“She is a woman; she requires the great legitimacy that only the court can bestow. Your servant has thought it through carefully over these past years. When she first went south to take up the post of county magistrate, she recruited the non-Han peoples without sending troops — also doing so in the name of the court and under its backing to prop up Su Mingluan. She needs this legitimacy; therefore she must observe the protocols of a subject, and be constrained by the court. Hold her off a little and she will understand on her own, and make concessions.”
This was something the two of them had discussed together. This vast stretch of territory — five prefectures of “Annan,” right on the border with the Western Tribes — how could any emperor feel at ease having it in the hands of someone as difficult to manage as Zhù Ying? Zhù Ying was unlike the non-Han and tribal peoples — though she had come up through a less prestigious civil examination track and could not be called a true scholar by the strict definition, she knew the court far too well!
Zheng Xi and Chen Meng were old acquaintances of hers and had not moved against her. The one the Emperor could rely on in this matter was Xian Jing. And what Xian Jing said suited the Emperor’s purposes exactly. The plan was: first, draw in Zhù Lian. Second, give Zhù Ying a small taste of how things were done — make her show more deference.
In the end, the court would certainly grant her the official investiture. But in terms of protocol, she would have to behave far more respectfully.
On this side, the ruler and his minister were whispering together. On the other side, Zheng Xi and Chen Meng, after hearing Zhù Lian’s account, exchanged a glance.
The Emperor’s move was far too easy to guess — he simply wanted to flex a little, to demonstrate his authority. Zheng Xi said: “Absurd.” Chen Meng said: “It is exactly the kind of thing he does.”
The two of them then reassured Zhù Lian: “He’s just putting on airs.”
Chen Meng said: “We will talk him round. This is no great matter. It will just be delayed a little. While you’re in the capital, you can visit friends and family — but don’t say too much about Annan. You can show you’re eager, but don’t actually go around making connections everywhere.”
Zheng Xi said: “Do you know what it means to decline an honor three times before accepting? It’s something like that.”
Zhù Lian said: “Thank you both, Chancellors, for the guidance.”
Zheng Xi was curious and asked: “If you had nodded your head, the Emperor could really have given you the Wuzhou governorship. You weren’t tempted? Wuzhou is the best place in all of Annan, isn’t it?”
It certainly was — thirty years of cultivation, and even as a merely nominal county, the walls had all been rebuilt, the goods were more plentiful, trade was more convenient. Not to mention the “civilizing work” — even the language was mutually intelligible, and the proportion of literate people, while not yet enough to produce a “great Confucian scholar,” was high enough that describing them generally with a word for “non-Han” no longer applied.
Zhù Lian said: “The Teacher did not say for me to be Governor of Wuzhou. So I will not be.”
Because he had a teacher who “did not pick her tasks,” Zheng Xi found it difficult to determine whether he was truly bound by loyalty to his teacher, or whether he had inherited that infuriating trait.
Chen Meng said: “Good child!”
Zhù Lian was already growing a beard, and here this man was still calling him a “child.” Zheng Xi said: “Go back to the hostel and rest.”
“Yes.”
Zhù Ying had retained property in the capital, so Zhù Lian and Lu Danqing also lodged there. The two of them still had many people to call on. For instance, the Jin Da’s wife Zhang Xiangu wanted news of, the Charitable Convent that Huajie thought about, the former colleagues Zhou Na asked them to look in on — and beyond that, General Wen Yue, General Yao Jingxia, Ruan, Ye, and other old subordinates of Zhù Ying.
The two of them were kept thoroughly busy. Meanwhile Zheng Xi and Chen Meng had first a heated quarrel with Xian Jing.
Zheng Xi and Chen Meng assumed that Zhù Lian had not taken the bait, and the Emperor would at least hesitate before acting further — but it turned out the Emperor had the Grand Secretariat sign and issue the decree making Zhù Lian Governor of Wuzhou. Facing this decree, both Chen Meng and Zheng Xi felt a flash of fury. Chen Meng confronted Xian Jing: “What is this? Since when has the court become so petty-minded?”
Xian Jing said: “This is precisely the court’s authority. We cannot simply give her whatever she asks for. For decades now, the court has been granting her every request without question. The title of Military Governor — it cannot simply be handed to her that easily…”
Zheng Xi picked up the decree and strode away. Chen Meng said: “Hey — where are you going?”
“To see the Emperor.”
Zheng Xi was full of anger. He had no particular profound affection for Zhù Ying, but Zhù Ying at least could be reasoned with. The group of fools in the capital had their own brand of reasoning — which invariably failed to read the situation.
Zheng Xi walked in front; the other two hurried after him.
The Emperor was playing with the parrot on his perch stand, trying to get it to talk. Seeing all three Chancellors arrive together, he asked: “What is it?”
Zheng Xi made a bow, then spoke of Zhù Ying’s matter: “This was long known to be coming. Now that the moment is ripe, what exactly is Your Majesty still hesitating over?”
The Emperor tossed aside the stick in his hand and said lightly: “What hesitation? It’s simply that the court shouldn’t be so impatient either. Where is the dignity in that?”
Xian Jing also chimed in: “She is a woman; she requires the great legitimacy that only the court can bestow.”
“She has already taken control of Annan!” Zheng Xi said. “Whether we agree or not, she is already Military Governor in everything but the official paper. That piece of paper is the only thing missing.”
Chen Meng said to the Emperor: “Even if you want to delay her, you should think about the Western Tribes. Back when the war with the Western Tribes was fought, setting Zhù Ying aside — even Generals Yao Jingxia, Ye, and Ruan all said that while the Tribal King did not suffer decisive losses, he was dragged down by his own clans. He has been reorganizing his internal affairs, and that cannot take more than ten years. How many years has it been since then? Cumuli A’Tu has grown ever more formidable. It is said he has been supporting the young ruler in rebuilding the military, and is now eyeing the border. At a time like this, it is inadvisable to stir up conflict on the southern front.”
Zheng Xi said: “If Kun Da Chi moves, it will be exactly the time to use her as a check. To put pressure on her now — if she then delays and drags her feet, the price the court will have to pay when the time comes will be far more than a single sheet of investiture paper.”
Chen Meng added: “She is the type who remembers people’s kindness. At present there is no need to make things hard for her. Better to simply extend her a good favor. It is not fitting to formally invest the student while leaving the teacher out entirely. That is not the court’s way.”
Xian Jing suddenly said: “What if Zhù Lian is willing?”
“Then he is a man of no integrity!” Chen Meng said.
“He is acting for the greater good!”
Chen Meng said: “You are leading others into dishonor!”
Seeing the two about to quarrel, the Emperor said: “Then let us simply ask Zhù Lian.”
Zhù Lian was brought into the palace again, with a frequency he had never experienced even when he formally served at court.
Arriving at the main hall with all three Chancellors present, his instincts screamed that something was wrong, and he became even more alert.
The Emperor spoke warmly: “The decree making you Governor of Wuzhou is already written. Are you pleased?”
“Has the decree for my Teacher come down?”
Xian Jing said: “We are speaking of you.”
Zhù Lian shook his head: “Without the investiture for the Teacher, we want nothing. The Teacher did not say for me to be Governor of Wuzhou. So I will not be.”
“A man of principle — how can he be so… so spineless?”
“I was a slave by birth. I was never going to reach the rank of governor at all.”
Xian Jing said: “This is the Emperor’s command.”
Zhù Lian said earnestly: “I am a non-Han barbarian.”
Chen Meng coughed. Zhù Lian looked at him calmly, then said: “A non-Han barbarian slave — even a local strongman of the smoky miasma lands could have tied me up and used me like a beast of burden. The Teacher treated me as a person, so I want to be a person.”
Zheng Xi said warmly: “She did not raise you for nothing.”
“It wasn’t raising. The Teacher’s home — it was my upbringing.” Zhù Lian said the words, then let out the heavy air that had been coiled in his chest.
From the time he was small, the anxiety that had accumulated in his heart dissolved in this moment! He suddenly thought of Shi Tou — he was not the kind of person Shi Tou had been, had carried unease in his heart from an early age, always afraid that once he was “no longer useful” he would be cast off like a worn shoe. Until Zhù Ying left him in Wuzhou and took Annan, and gave him an official appointment, setting him to govern a territory — only then did he feel he was no longer driftwood, but rather like a seed that had sent down roots, pressing into the soil, solid and at peace. As for who would inherit the Teacher’s legacy in the future — for him it mattered and yet did not matter. If it was given to him, he would do it well. If it was not, he would follow the Teacher’s arrangement.
The Emperor gave a dry laugh: “You certainly are stubborn. This is a matter of great gravity; distinguishing so many new appointments Zhù Ying has laid out cannot be done in a moment. You stay in the capital for now, and once they have finished deliberating, they will give you an answer.”
Zhù Lian bowed and withdrew from the main hall.
Once Zhù Lian had left, the Emperor and the Chancellors continued their discussion of the roster. It was an enormous roster, and they all readily saw it as a fairly complete configuration for a military governorship. So they all brought a measure of seriousness to it, each quietly assessing how large Zhù Ying’s power truly was.
Both the Emperor and Xian Jing had a feeling of “if we simply agree to all of this — do we have any face left?” The Emperor wanted to change the character “An” — peace — to “Zhen” — suppression — so as not to accept Zhù Ying’s memorial exactly as submitted. Chen Meng simply could not understand: given all of this, why issue a decree making Zhù Lian Governor of Wuzhou? The man had not even wanted that investiture!
On Zhù Lian’s side too — he refused to budge. If Zhù Ying’s investiture did not come down, everything else was off the table. Item by item, if the court did not agree, item by item, he would not accept. His travelling companion Lu Danqing was even more single-minded than he was. The young woman strolled about the capital every day, seemingly at leisure, but in truth she was the same: “everything the Old One arranged is best.”
On the court’s side, General Yao Jingxia also pushed his way into the proceedings. The Board of Revenue versus local regions had always been a tug-of-war. Yao Jingxia might not know the details of Wuzhou, but — where’s the grain? Where’s the cloth? And now we hear you produce salt too?
The Board of Revenue he had taken over could not be called poorly managed. But the harvests across the realm in the coming years could not be called excellent either — it was precisely a time when an additional source of tax revenue was needed.
Yao Jingxia went to the Emperor as well and made a fuss.
The Emperor said: “The Board of Personnel hasn’t said a word yet. How has the Board of Revenue come in?”
Yao Jingxia said: “But this is Zhù Ziye! Wherever she went, she always managed things brilliantly. The Grand Secretariat is truly ruinous to the state — all they talk about is empty titles, never actual benefits! Zhù Lian should be summoned and asked directly: this Annan Military Governor post — how much grain, how much silk and tribute goods can it actually deliver!”
With Yao Jingxia’s entry into the fray, Zhù Lian and Lu Danqing at last found themselves with real business to do — arguing with the Board of Revenue until faces were flushed and voices hoarse.
The back-and-forth dragged on for a full month. Before they knew it, the New Year had arrived. Zhù Lian submitted a congratulatory memorial as well. The terms had not yet been worked out, the palace banquets began. Zhù Lian received no new appointment, but Zhù Ying was still nominally Governor of Wuzhou, so the Grand Secretariat forwarded the New Year rewards that went with that posting to Zhù Lian. Zhù Lian once again glimpsed the extravagance of the capital and sighed at the sight of so many New Year’s rewards: “If only all of this could be sent home right now.”
Lu Danqing riffled through the bolts of silk: “That’s true — it has been several years, and the Old One hasn’t had new clothes made of anything this fine. I wonder if this year she’ll actually allow herself something a bit better.”
Zhù Ying herself felt she was living quite well, thank you very much. Taxes and conscription had been returned to pre-war levels; with the fighting over, expenditures plummeted!
New clothes had been cut and sewn, all fresh and new. Zhang Xiangu had a new set made too, her legs covered with a bright, vibrant felt blanket. The fat cat tried to climb up onto it and was grabbed by the scruff of its neck by Zhù Ying and stuffed into a large carrying basket beside the chair.
Zhang Xiangu said: “What are you quarreling with it for?”
“Ah… there’s something I need to tell you, Mother.”
“What is it?” Zhang Xiangu’s heart immediately started jumping with all sorts of thoughts. Could it be she was going to take in a child?
“I am thinking about moving to the Western Prefecture,” Zhù Ying said to Zhang Xiangu.
Zhang Xiangu was startled: “What? We live here perfectly well.”
They did not live perfectly well here. Zhù Ying pulled the blanket up a little for Zhang Xiangu: “Didn’t we agree on this long ago? To be Military Governor, a new city must be built. This place is too far east — the Western Prefecture’s position is more suitable.”
“When… when?” Zhang Xiangu asked in a daze.
“After the wheat harvest, before the spring planting — the timing is a bit tight.” Everything throughout the land still moved to the rhythm of farming; any arrangement involving ordinary people had to follow the agricultural calendar.
Especially land distribution — the crops in the field followed the seasons. If a field had been planted here, and people were uprooted in the middle without even waiting for the harvest, all that work was for nothing. Getting to a new place, people couldn’t immediately adapt and take over new land. That would make feeding everyone a problem.
“Oh my, this… oh, this is…”
Zhù Ying said: “Don’t rush. I’ll go first and see if the new city walls are done. Once they are, I’ll come back for you. But it should be about the right time. We can spend summer there.”
“It’s perfectly fine here,” Zhang Xiangu muttered one more time.
“I’ll make sure some of the people you know are relocated along with us — you won’t lack for anyone to talk to. Everyone will be given land; no one will be treated poorly. Once you get to the Western Prefecture, you’ll see — it’s a bit like our hometown.”
The terrain was flat. No climbing up and down all the time. Good for Zhang Xiangu’s health. She could get around in a small cart, and even riding a draft animal, there would be no risk of slipping off.
Zhù Ying rarely mentioned their hometown. Zhang Xiangu stared into the distance for a moment and said: “Our hometown… all right then. I’ll wait for you to come and bring me over.”