Chapter 747: Responsibility

Wang Dou's eyes narrowed habitually. Li Banghua's remark was deeply insidious — a single sentence riddled with traps.

That he could toss out something so deviously cutting on a whim showed that those who sat in high places, even those who entered the Cabinet, were all supreme intellects — it was only a pity that so much of it was wasted on pointless strife.

When such men fought viciously among themselves, the damage to state affairs was immense, which also explained the chaotic spectacle of the late Ming court.

He slowly rose to his feet, looking at Li Banghua with a gaze full of anger at his failure to live up to expectations, and shook his head. "Banghua Gong, ah, Banghua Gong, you have disappointed me greatly. Do you know that?"

He stepped down from his seat, clasped his hands behind his back and stared at Li Banghua, rebuking him: "In terms of age, you could be my grandfather. How can you still be so immature? You don't even know what should be said and what shouldn't? You just open your mouth and dare to say anything, without ever considering the consequences?"

He raged at Li Banghua: "Speaking so thoughtlessly, seeking only the pleasure of your own tongue — your banishment to Xuanfu Garrison was entirely deserved! Truly, every pitiful wretch has his own detestable flaws!"

Li Banghua, berated relentlessly by Wang Dou, turned green and then white by turns. Worse, Wang Dou's tone was that of an ancestor addressing his descendants, as if Li Banghua were his junior by generations. Standing there, he could only tremble. His face flushed crimson, and only after a long while did he rasp out: "Is the Marquis of Yongning insulting this humble official? This humble official's heart brims with loyal blood..."

"Who knows whether it's loyal blood or not?"

Wang Dou cut him off without the slightest courtesy, shouting: "Heaven punishes deeds, not hearts. To judge a man in all his aspects, you look not at what he says, but at what he does. You say it's loyal blood, so it's loyal blood? How am I to know what is in your heart?"

He continued: "And besides, is mere loyal blood enough? As a grand minister, have you ever considered what your responsibility truly is? Is it the state and the altars of the nation, or your personal reputation for integrity? Or is it that in your heart, personal fame and rank matter more than the state and the altars of the nation?"

He said: "There is a saying: a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Was what you just asked a question you ought to have asked? Back in the court, you forced His Majesty and the various lords into a corner from which they could not retreat, until they had no choice but to banish you here. Now you come pulling the same trick again. What are you trying to do? And what can you even accomplish?"

He said: "If my answer does not suit you, are you going to run over to that wall and dash your head against the pillar? And then earn a few words of praise from others — 'Lord Li was truly a loyal minister, dying while denouncing the traitor, and moreover dealing a heavy blow to the arrogance of the villain Wang Dou!' And then? Then there is nothing. The situation remains exactly as it was before, and will be exactly the same afterward! This is your way of serving as a minister — single-mindedly seeking only to win a name for outspokenness, without the slightest thought for what will become of the state and the altars of the nation? Li Banghua, do not make me look down on you!"

Wang Dou unleashed another storm of furious rebuke, scolding Li Banghua until his mind was a tangled, numb blank. He gaped, speechless, for a moment utterly at a loss as to how to respond.

Zhu Zhifeng and Wei Jingyuan were also struck dumb as wooden chickens. Wang Dou's deafening, soul-stirring voice echoed in their ears, interrogating their hearts, lashing their souls.

Ji Shiwei had witnessed Wang Dou's sharp tongue before, so he was all right. Wang Pu and Du Xun, however, stared at Wang Dou in astonishment, their expressions bizarre.

Zhong Susu pursed her lips in a smile. Gao Shiyin looked at Wang Dou and thought, "Damn, when it comes to the gift of gab, the Grand General is even more formidable than Mr. Qin and Mr. Ye. Is this the legendary mastery of both pen and sword?"

Watching Li Banghua stand there trembling, Wang Dou continued his tirade: "As the saying goes, solid work prospers the nation, empty talk ruins it! What does 'empty talk ruins the nation' mean? It means people like you! Speaking without engaging the brain, just opening your mouth and letting words fly, never once considering what the consequences will be! You get your moment of satisfaction — who is left to clean up the mess you leave behind? To put it bluntly, this kind of behavior is called gross irresponsibility, and it's also called fishing for fame and reputation!"

He said: "You speak of keeping worthy ministers close and distancing oneself from petty men, and you say that I employ only worthless nobodies while ignoring great worthies. If all great worthies are the likes of you, I would rather have none! I would rather have a few minor functionaries who can do real work than a whole heap of pure-stream grand ministers like you. Incapable of accomplishing anything, yet more than capable of ruining things — even Eunuch Du Xun is more competent at getting things done than people like you!"

Du Xun had never imagined that Wang Dou's wrath could be so terrifying — his words torrential and unceasing, sharp as a blade. Sitting in his seat, he looked somewhat paralyzed with fear.

Then he heard Wang Dou mention him, and a sense of pride welled up unbidden. He could not help rubbing his head and breaking into a grin, saying to Zhu Zhifeng, the Provincial Governor of Xuanfu, who was beside him: "The Marquis truly flatters me beyond measure, praising this servant so."

Zhu Zhifeng had originally risen from his seat; somehow, without realizing it, he had returned to his place.

Only upon hearing Du Xun's words did he snap back to awareness of where he was. His expression sour, he gave a cold snort, too lazy to pay any mind to the smug eunuch Du. Yet as he watched Wang Dou in the hall, it was not without deep reflection and stirring in his heart.

Wang Dou finally raged: "A single spot reveals the whole leopard. The court today is filled either with men who hold office and eat idle, corrupt bribe-takers, or with blockheads like you whose brains cannot turn a corner, utterly single-track. This Wang can well imagine that the situation of the Great Ming will only worsen from here. His Majesty's suffering is great!"

Li Banghua's heart-fire seethed; his internal organs convulsed as if being deep-fried in oil. His body had been trembling and shuddering without cease. In decades as an official, he had never been so sharply rebuked — and with such utter ruthlessness, without leaving him the slightest shred of face or room to retreat.

Even if such a thing had happened, it was always he who rebuked others. Only now that it was his turn did he realize how unbearable it was.

And what was more, in Wang Dou's mouth, he was even inferior to the eunuchs he had always despised?

Trembling, he forced out with difficulty: "The Marquis of Yongning says this humble official is... is irresponsible... and a man who fishes for fame and reputation?"

Wang Dou looked at him and drawled: "What do you think? What do you yourself believe?"

Decades of self-cultivation finally allowed Li Banghua's emotions to settle slightly. Stiffening his neck, he finally rasped out: "This humble official believes he has a heart of pure loyalty, has not betrayed the imperial grace, has not failed the Great Ming's Jiangshan and the altars of the nation, has not failed..."

Wang Dou said coldly: "I have already said, Heaven punishes deeds, not hearts. What you believe is unimportant; the key is to look at your actions! Tell me yourself — were your actions, in the Cabinet and just now in this hall, beneficial to the state, or harmful?"

He shouted sternly: "You have fished up your fame, but who is left to clean up the mess? Is it you? No! It is His Majesty, the Emperor in the Forbidden City! And you still say you have not betrayed the imperial grace? Or is it that your own pure name comes first — 'After I die, let the floodwaters rage'? The Emperor is merely a stepping-stone and tool for you to seize fame!"

Li Banghua's mind was again a tangled, numb blank. The opponent before him was so intractable, his words so piercingly, chillingly sharp they inspired terror. He strained to organize his thoughts, and at last seized upon one point: "The Marquis of Yongning has still not replied to this humble official's earlier question."

Wang Dou laughed: "Don't try that trick of changing the subject on me. It's far too low-level, far too childish. All tricks this Wang has long since tired of playing."

He slowly put away his smile and looked at Li Banghua: "However, Banghua Gong, I can regretfully inform you that if you want me to answer that question, your qualifications are still far from sufficient. You and I are not familiar. I have not seen your talent, nor seen your worth, and you have yet to earn my respect. Therefore, this kind of high-level, heart-baring, core-strategic topic..."

He shot Li Banghua a glance: "What virtue or ability do you possess that would make me give you an answer?"

Li Banghua's head buzzed with a roaring din; the veins on his face bulged. Echoing in his ears were those words: "insufficient qualifications," "what virtue or ability."

He heard Wang Dou continue: "There was once a man who, had he asked me this question, I would have answered him. It is a pity he is already dead."

A look of remembrance and sorrow flickered through his eyes. Then he turned to Li Banghua and said icily: "Also, you have asked me a heap of questions. Now I will ask you. Of course, you may choose not to answer. I will not force you."

He said: "You keep talking about how the Exalted Emperor treated the gentry generously and valued the scholars, which was later fixed as an ancestral institution. Tell me, why did the Taizu Emperor do this?"

Li Banghua finally regained his clarity, and the importance he placed on Wang Dou reached its peak.

Listening to Wang Dou's words, he very much wanted to say, as Wang Dou had: "You are not yet qualified for me to answer that question."

But in the end, his face dark and sullen, he said slowly, deliberately, one word at a time: "The gentry are the pillars of the state, the foundation of the court. It was precisely because of the support of the scholars that the Taizu Emperor was ultimately able to expel the barbarians, restore the Chinese heartland, and once again bring glory to our Han Jiangshan. In light of this, the Exalted Emperor established the ancestral institution."

Wang Dou said: "Correct. It was precisely because of the support of the gentry and scholars that the Taizu Emperor was able to swiftly defeat the Mongol Yuan, and that the Great Ming has been able to endure thus far, with nearly three hundred years of national fortune. Though the Mongol Yuan had fierce cavalry, they could not last a hundred years — also because they disregarded the role of the scholars!"

He said: "Indeed, at that time, the gentry were truly the foundation of the state..."

He sneered: "But what about now? What are they doing?"

He shouted: "The pillars of the state, the foundation of the court, as you call them — they are taking the lead in digging out the very footings of this nation! They are like insatiably greedy rats; over these centuries, they have nearly hollowed out the foundations of the entire country!"

He said: "In the early years of the dynasty, tax revenue was nearly forty million shi. How much is it now? By all logic, with the population multiplying, all types of taxes and levies should have increased fivefold or tenfold as a matter of course. Yet now, tax revenue has been cut by half, lower year after year. What a joke!"

He sneered: "Why is this so? It is because the very 'pillars' you speak of are leading the charge in tax evasion! They use every kind of method — shifting the burden, concealment, commendation — to transfer the land taxes that should be their own onto the heads of others. This is what the 'pillars' do. What of their character and conduct? Where has their gentlemanly bearing gone? Usually, their mouths are full of moralistic essays, all for the state and the people, but the moment their interests are involved, they haggle over every penny like the greediest of merchants. What is this called? Playing the whore while erecting a chastity arch!"

The recording clerk in the hall was scribbling furiously. He could barely resist the urge to clap and cheer — the Grand General's words were truly a cathartic delight.

Li Banghua, Zhu Zhifeng, Wei Jingyuan, and the others were speechless, their faces flushing red. After all, what Wang Dou said was the truth.

Even Wang Pu and Ji Shiwei looked somewhat embarrassed. Wang Dou's words had, without the slightest courtesy, scolded them as well.

Only the various staff members of the headquarters in the hall were exultant, their brows lifted in triumph. Many cheered loudly, feeling that the Grand General's words had struck straight into their hearts. Every one of them paid taxes, so they naturally felt righteous and emboldened, and moreover thought that Wang Dou's scolding was good, brilliant, and absolutely superb.

Wang Dou continued: "There is a strange phenomenon: those who flaunt their lofty morality are often no good themselves. Take Yan Song and Xu Jie in the Jiajing era. Yan Song got his just deserts and was eventually stripped of his property — that was a good thing. But his landholdings amounted to just over twenty thousand mu. And what of the universally praised Xu Jie, Grand Secretary Xu? His fertile lands exceeded two hundred thousand mu, along with countless shops and properties of every kind. As a Junior Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, where did so much land come from? Truly a rat! He and Yan Song were birds of a feather — neither had any cause to laugh at the other. And yet this strange phenomenon is the prevailing ethos among the 'pillars'!"

Wang Dou sneered. His words struck like a thunderbolt, stunning many present. Grand Secretary Xu was praised by all — who would have thought his skill at amassing wealth was so formidable?

Li Banghua felt as though he could neither sit nor stand in comfort. Wang Dou's dissection, layer by layer, made him feel utterly naked before the crowd. But Wang Dou would not let him off. He looked at him and said: "Even you, Banghua Gong, as a Cabinet minister, surely possess no small amount of land under your name. On all these family properties, have you paid taxes according to the regulations? You pride yourself on serving the state and the people, and you are a pure-stream grand minister. Why, then, do you not take the lead and step forward, set an example by paying the land taxes you owe, and truly contribute to His Majesty's efforts? Or is your service to the state and the people merely lip service?"

Li Banghua's expression was utterly ghastly, but Wang Dou pressed him step by step, giving him no quarter: "You say the gentry are the pillars of the state and the foundation of the court — that is not wrong. But they have betrayed the Exalted Emperor's expectations! And you, Li Banghua, have likewise betrayed the Exalted Emperor's expectations!"

He shouted sternly: "Answer me! Put your hand on your conscience and answer me — have you, too, become one of those rats?"

Li Banghua was speechless, merely hanging his head in silence. Seeing that Li Banghua could not extricate himself, Wei Jingyuan, the Provincial Governor of Datong, could not help but defend him: "My Marquis, please do not be excessively harsh in your demands. To this humble official's knowledge, Lord Li is upright, honest, and clean, and he governs his household strictly. It is just that..."

He sighed: "This is an accumulated malady of successive reigns. How can a single individual reverse it? How many heroes through the ages have beaten their heads bloody over this, only to perish and see their clans destroyed."

He sighed again: "Dynasties rise and fall because of this. It is a matter of fate and fortune."

Wang Dou said calmly, "It is not a matter of fate, but of human action."

He continued, "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility! Throughout the dynasties, the gentry and powerful clans have held ninety percent of the nation's wealth, yet they refuse to bear even a sliver of responsibility. They are selfish, greedy, and foolish. In other words, they have been spoiled — the result of excessive preferential treatment. There is a saying: the rod produces filial sons, indulgence produces wastrels. Any good and decent person, if given preferential treatment, will in the end become a hateful wretch. This is the outcome of human nature; reading the sages' books to the full is useless against it!"

Wang Dou said, "These powerful clans and gentry ceaselessly dig at the nation's foundation. Every two or three hundred years, they dig it until it collapses — this is the reason each dynasty rises and falls. If these pillars of the state were willing to shoulder their own responsibilities, there would be no need to speak of ten thousand years; a national destiny of a thousand years for each dynasty would be a mere trifle!"

Li Banghua finally raised his head. He slowly looked toward Wang Dou and said in a deep voice, "The Marquis of Eternal Peace holds the gentry in such contempt. It seems you will have no use for scholars and learned men from now on?"

For some reason, he felt a faint sense of relief deep inside.

Wang Dou burst out laughing. He looked at Li Banghua and said with a slight smile, "I am sorry to disappoint you, Sir Banghua. Not only will I use them — I will use them greatly!"

He pointed to his own subordinates in the hall. "How could I, Dou, not understand the importance of scholars? That is why, when I was at Jingbian Fort, I had my subordinates study and learn to read. Now, in my army, every man can write and calculate. Even my subordinate Gao Shiyin..."

He pointed at Gao Shiyin and laughed. "Do not be fooled by his burly frame — his level of learning is quite comparable to that of a Licentiate. In my Jingbian Army, there are at least tens of thousands of scholars!"

Gao Shiyin stood up with great pride and greeted Li Banghua, "Sir Banghua, when you have the time, let us compose poetry and match couplets together."

Li Banghua's face turned ashen. Wang Dou continued, "And my generals, my soldiers, my staff officers — they are scholars, and at the same time they are gentry. Every one of them owns vast tracts of land. Under my command is a new type of armed force, composed of landlords, gentry, and students."

Looking at Li Banghua, Wang Dou said with a smile, "The difference is, they all shoulder their own responsibilities. They are the true pillars of the nation. They are the hope of this country, and they are the hope of this land. They will sweep away all before them like dried branches and rotten wood. Nothing can block the march of their advance!"

Cheers rang out. Wang Dou continued, "The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility. I do not mind granting corresponding status to those who possess wealth, but what is required is that they shoulder the responsibilities they ought to bear!"

Wang Dou bowed deeply to those in the hall. "Gentlemen, to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in this endeavor is my honor, Wang's honor!"

The cheers in the hall surged into a roar once more. Li Banghua and his companions were utterly crestfallen, unable to utter another word.