Yao Silian was not successful in official circles, yet he was highly respected among the literary scholars of Chang’an. One day, while feasting with friends on the Qujiang River, he suddenly threw down his chopsticks, plucked his sword, and sang: “I wish to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the stream; I would climb the Taihang Mountains, but snow fills the peaks.” With these two lines, the entire gathering fell silent, and those who understood shed tears.
Feng Tang grew old easily, Li Guang found ennoblement difficult. Yao Silian’s full head of gray hair hung loose, his gaunt frame curled within his oversized robes. The peaceful, loving look in his eyes warmed people’s hearts. His fingers tapped against the sword’s spine as he called out loudly: “When the long wind breaks the waves, there will come a time; I’ll hoist high my distant sail and cross the vast sea.” Such a tragic situation—how could it not break one’s heart?
All the old friends present voiced their indignation at Yao Silian’s difficult journey. Immediately someone cried out that Heaven was unjust, causing Teacher Yao’s abundant talent to be buried in old papers. All his old friends should lend him their support.
Before the words finished, they heard Yao Silian say lazily: “This old man is merely mediocre and unworthy of everyone’s affection. This poem ‘The Road is Hard’ was not written by me either, but came from the hand of an extraordinary genius. Now this person has become disheartened and discouraged, preparing to sail the great seas. Since he himself doesn’t care about such matters, what are we making a fuss about?”
“Who is the person who wrote such magnificent verse?” someone asked curiously.
Yao Silian tossed aside the long sword in his hand. After draining a flask of wine, he wiped the wine stains from his beard and said: “Forget the person—he cannot be mentioned. In Chang’an now, his reputation stinks for ten li downwind. This poem is indeed excellent. When you all feel unappreciated, take it out and recite it. It will surely broaden your mind, comfort your heart, and wash away your sorrows.”
“Could the person Lord Yao speaks of be Marquis Lantian, Yun Ye? I’ve long heard this fellow is exceptionally intelligent, versed in all the schools of thought, can organize armies when mounted and pacify the people when dismounted—it’s just that his moral conduct is somewhat lacking.”
“Songpo, watch your words. Confucius once said that even what the eyes see may not be real, let alone marketplace rumors. What is moral conduct? Bringing forth potatoes and corn to provide relief to the myriad people, ensuring the Great Tang no longer worries about famine—that is the greatest moral conduct. Leading ten thousand troops on giant ships deep into the tiger’s mouth to retrieve the remains of the previous Sui’s fallen soldiers, without regret even unto a hundred deaths—this can be called loyalty. On Dongting Lake, overturning clouds with one hand and rain with the other, toying with a hundred thousand water bandits as if it were child’s play—this can be called capability.”
“Not to mention establishing Yushan Academy to educate the myriad people. His grand mathematical treatises are worthy of being called the mathematical master of a generation. He spares no effort in enlightening the people’s wisdom and is never behind in saving the dying and healing the wounded. This old man simply cannot understand how such a person could have corrupt morals or become a thorn in everyone’s side. In my view, it’s nothing more than ‘the tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind.'”
“It’s also good that Yun Ye has more leisure time. This way he can devote himself to landscapes and write more wonderful articles for our banquets. Come, gentlemen, drink to victory!”
Words pass through the ears like rain through a forest—even if unable to moisten the earth, they always leave some trace. “The Road is Hard” was the spring rain Yao Silian prepared for Yun Ye. As long as the rainwater fell on the ground, whether on weeds or seedlings, something different would always break through the earth. As long as there was green, it looked better than a wasteland.
“I wish to cross the Yellow River, but ice blocks the stream; I would climb the Taihang Mountains, but snow fills the peaks. What excellent verses! This old man has always admired Yun Ye’s poetic talent. It’s just that in this poem he compares us old fellows to ice and snow. Though it doesn’t sound pleasant, it’s quite apt. But comparing himself to Jiang Ziya fishing on the emerald stream—isn’t that a bit arrogant?”
Fang Xuanling held a slip of paper in his hand, constantly chanting. He turned a deaf ear to Du Ruhui’s complaints. After chanting three times, he sighed and said: “This boy is leaving.”
“How is that possible? His ambition is to revive his Yun family. Now that there’s just been progress, how could he be retiring? We only want him to lay low—we’re not trying to do anything to his Yun family. Why would he leave? Look, doesn’t his poem also say ‘When the long wind breaks the waves, there will come a time; I’ll hoist high my clouded sail and cross the vast sea’? Isn’t he just preparing to make a comeback?”
“Brother Du, clever people think differently from others. Ordinary people always think toward the best outcome, but clever people don’t—they always think toward the worst. They only prepare responses for the worst environment. They don’t hesitate to imagine everyone in the worst light.”
“Moreover, the rumors in Chang’an have gone too far. Many merchants associated with the Yun family have been gradually leaving Chang’an. For instance, the wealthy merchant He Shao recently closed down that famous Pian Yi Fang. Her Majesty’s shares have all been liquidated by him, the finances have been settled clearly, and today he will leave Chang’an by boat for Yuezhou. Women from the Yun family are accompanying him.”
Du Ruhui looked up at Fang Xuanling and said: “Wasn’t your and Xuancheng’s purpose to drive him from the court? What’s wrong with him leaving on his own? This way it looks better both publicly and privately.”
Fang Xuanling was struck speechless by Du Ruhui’s question, not knowing how to respond. Just then, Wei Zheng pushed open the door and handed a memorial to Fang Xuanling, saying: “Yun Ye has submitted a memorial saying that the storms of Chang’an are treacherous. He asks His Majesty, in consideration of his minor past achievements, to permit him to exchange his fief to Yuezhou. If Yuezhou won’t work, then exchange it to Lingnan. If Lingnan still won’t work, then just give him any island so he can barely survive with his whole family.”
Fang Xuanling opened the memorial and quickly read through it, saying: “This memorial carries a heavy tone of impatience. He has no patience to endure with us any longer. It looks like he truly wants to leave.”
“This memorial is useless. His Majesty won’t agree. If he agreed, it would dishearten all the nobles who follow him. So Brother Xuancheng, you’d better prepare to receive His Majesty’s questioning.”
“Has His Majesty questioned me any less during this time? That’s nothing. The problem is that the Yun family is preparing for a big move. Not only will their whole family leave, but even those tenant farmers are preparing to go with them.”
Only now was Fang Xuanling alarmed. He said loudly: “This won’t do! The law doesn’t allow him to take all his retainers. Besides, the Great Tang no longer has retainers as such. Anyone living on Great Tang soil is a subject of the Great Tang. Yun Ye doesn’t have this right.”
“He does! The tenant farmers of Chang’an are only leaving the elderly and young children to guard their homes. Everyone else is leaving with Yun Ye. This conforms to the Great Tang’s policy of dispersing the population from Guanzhong. Not only can we not stop this, we should greatly praise such behavior.”
“People won’t do this unless driven to the edge. Yun Ye is not optimistic about the situation in Chang’an and is preparing to break away. His Majesty owes the Yun family favors. If Yun Ye insists on leaving, His Majesty will likely agree. This way, we’ll be the culprits who drove Yun Ye to the barren wilderness. Crown Prince and Prince Wei will certainly not let this rest. The fate of our children and grandchildren is worrying.”
“I heard that Crown Prince has already submitted memorials to His Majesty three times, but His Majesty has kept them all without issuing responses. I don’t know what His Majesty is thinking. Now it’s very difficult to guess the imperial mind.”
Wei Zheng found a chair and sat down, poured himself a bowl of tea, took a sip, and said without concern: “This old man will do his human duty and accept Heaven’s mandate. Even if Yun Ye is wronged, he can only be wronged. Emperor Wu of Han could keep a minister like Dongfang Shuo as a court jester. In comparison, his fate is much better—at least he’s already proven himself.”
Fang Xuanling pushed open the door, letting in the sunlight from outside. He pounded his leg and pointed at the young officials walking back and forth outside, saying to Wei Zheng: “No matter how much we suppress them, those youngsters out there are clearly another Yun Ye. This old man is finding it increasingly taxing to manage the Central Secretariat. Could it be that we’ve truly grown old?”
Wei Zheng’s eyelid twitched violently. He didn’t know how to answer. Yun Ye could be driven away, but these people could not be touched. Once they moved against these people, the court would inevitably stir up even greater conflicts. Now all the young people who came from the academies were intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him. The heartfelt respect of the past was gone, replaced only by fear in their eyes, or perhaps a bit of hatred.
He remembered what he had said to Yun Ye: “After this old man dies, I will surely find no peace. Having my bones ground and ashes scattered is to be expected.” It seemed that not becoming ash would be difficult. But it’s my children who will suffer…
When two sides oppose each other, it’s never just one side that suffers misfortune. More often it’s killing ten thousand enemies while losing three thousand of your own. Yun Ye wasn’t the only one with a bitter heart—Wei Zheng and Fang Xuanling were equally troubled. Yun Ye’s relationship with the Crown Prince and Prince Wei was too good, hardly different from real brothers.
For Yun Ye’s sake, Prince Wei was willing to soil his own reputation just to make Wei Zheng a laughingstock before the world. This was beyond everyone’s expectations. Now this enmity had grown deeper and deeper. The rumors Wei Zheng released had already lost control. The words of upright gentlemen seemed to be believed by more people. Linghu Defen’s health had already recovered. After hearing that Yun Ye had been stripped of all his positions, he immediately recovered. After resting for a month, he now continued vigorously promoting these rumors. It was said that he had written over thirty letters in just three days, sent to all corners of the realm by Great Tang’s postal horses.
Wei Zheng felt powerless. He had lit the fire himself, and now this fire was spreading with the wind. He and Yun Ye had set a bad precedent. In the future, to attack someone, one would only need some pamphlets.
Yun Ye’s poem also made its way to Li Er’s desk at this time. He was using his excellent feibai calligraphy to recopy this poem. He believed that Yun Ye’s poem shouldn’t be viewed for its meaning—as long as this fellow had the energy to curse the Emperor and ministers, there was absolutely no problem. Wei Zheng and the others worried that Yun Ye would corrupt social customs, but Li Er didn’t care at all, because since ancient times, customs had always shifted back and forth. There was no such thing as something unchanging for a thousand years.
After finishing copying the poem, Li Er wiped his hands and cursed: “The damn fellow actually dares to say I don’t know how high the heavens are or how thick the earth is. A dog’s stomach can’t hold pig oil, and I’m short-sighted? Because of this, you’ll have to suffer some more grievances.”
Zhangsun now completely refused to hear or ask about court matters. Even when Li Er spoke to her about them, she only listened quietly without offering any opinion. A mysterious star had made Zhangsun completely vigilant. She couldn’t fall yet. Chengqian, Qingque, Zhinu, Jinyang, and Jincheng still needed her care. They were all her children—what mother doesn’t care for her children?
So she strictly followed the daily schedule arranged by Physician Sun. Now, holding a scroll, sitting beneath the newly blooming locust tree, breathing in the locust flowers’ pure fragrance, her expression was serene and peaceful.