Chapter 747: If the Great Ming Could Live

Old White Ox: I originally planned to update yesterday and had the chapter written, but after reading it over and over I was never satisfied, so in the end I deleted it. This new chapter takes up that responsibility.

Overall I'm still satisfied with this chapter — it expresses what I wanted to express. Whenever I read the histories, I find myself pondering: it seems that no matter what political system, all have their rise, decline, and extinction.

The feudal system will perish, the capitalist system will perish, the socialist system will perish. Monarchy will perish, constitutionalism will perish, dictatorship will perish, democracy will perish, republicanism will perish, ** will perish — there is no nation or system that does not perish.

I have a hazy sense that the reason any system perishes hinges on the word "responsibility" — whether the elite class is fulfilling its responsibility. Of course, this is only a personal view; whether it is right or wrong is a matter of opinion.

……

This debate stirred deep reflections among everyone in the staff office, and many thought further and deeper. After the secretary recorded the content, much of it would also be published in the newspapers. One could foresee that a storm of debate between old and new ideas would sweep across the entire Great Ming.

Wang Dou used the approaching banquet hour as an excuse and soon declared the meeting adjourned. He had no time to ramble on with Li Banghua and the others, and he also planned to put him in cold storage for a while — once he calmed down and recognized reality, he would assign him work.

It would be a pity to waste talent. How could someone who rose to Grand Secretary not be a figure of note? The key lay in how to use him and in what position to place him.

The next morning at the hour of si, wind carried flurries of light snow that fell from time to time. Braving the snowflakes, the travel-worn Sun Chuanting led several trusted aides to the front of the Grand General's residence. He presented his visiting card to the officer guarding the gate, hoping to see the General Who Subdues the Caitiffs, Wang Dou.

Of course, he knew the principle that the King of Hell is easy to meet but the lesser demons are hard to deal with. As he handed over his visiting card, he could not help slipping a few gleaming silver coins from his sleeve.

But the moment the silver coins slipped over, they instantly slipped back. The officer did not accept his favor, only smiled and asked the guest to wait a moment in the gatehouse — he would deliver the visiting card inside.

While waiting in the gatehouse, Sun Chuanting was deeply moved. He said to his aides, "Everywhere in Xuanzhen one can see a new atmosphere. If the Great Ming could be like this, Chuanting would die content."

One aide said, "The gatehouse checkpoints here in Xuanzhen all employ people of honored status and considerable ambition. The pay is high, promotion is swift, and a fine career is in sight — naturally they scorn petty bribes."

Sun Chuanting nodded. Not long after, Zhong Diaoyang, the personal general of the Guard Battalion, came out in person and said to Sun Chuanting with a smile, "Governor Sun, the Grand General requests your presence."

……

After Sun Chuanting entered, he saw Wang Dou waiting to greet him in front of the hall, with Ye Xizhi, the director of the Secretariat Office, at his side.

Sun Chuanting hurried forward several steps and said repeatedly, "How dare I trouble the Marquis to move his jade steps — truly this humble official is overwhelmed by the honor."

Wang Dou laughed heartily and said, "Just now I read the visiting card and found it was Lord Baigu himself arriving in great state. A rare guest indeed — it has also taken this Marquis by surprise."

The two entered the great hall. Wang Dou said, "Ah, by the way, I have yet to congratulate Lord Baigu on his promotion to Viceroy of the Three Frontiers. With Your Lordship stationed in Shaanxi, the situation there will surely be different."

Sun Chuanting's eyes held a hint of pride. He smiled and said, "This humble official's trifling post — how could it compare with the Marquis's?"

Wang Dou glanced at him. Since when had Sun Chuanting become so smooth with his words?

Yet from the unruliness deep within his eyes, one could see that his aloof pride would not change — it was only hidden deeper, that was all.

The two sat down as host and guest. Wang Dou handed over a box of cigarettes, wooden, exquisitely packaged, the cigarette case about half the size of a keyboard: "Come, come, have a smoke."

Sun Chuanting said, "Oh, Yunnan cigarettes, and the Double Happiness brand at that. This humble official is truly basking in the Marquis's good fortune."

He deftly used sharp scissors to trim one end, shook a fire striker to light the other. Wang Dou exhaled a thick plume of smoke and said slowly, "May I ask what instruction Lord Baigu brings with his honored visit?"

Sun Chuanting laughed heartily and said, "Indeed, one does not visit the Temple of the Three Treasures without a reason. This humble official has come to seek the Marquis's help."

Wang Dou said, "Oh? Let's hear it."

The aide standing beside him hurriedly produced a document booklet. Ye Xizhi took it and handed it to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou leafed through it. Sun Chuanting paid close attention, trying to read Wang Dou's expression, but his face was hidden in the smoke, indistinct, and his look was hard to make out.

With an uneasy heart, Sun Chuanting also slowly began to smoke.

After a long while, Wang Dou set down the document booklet and said with a faint smile, "Aiding brother provinces is a duty one cannot shirk, but the amount of aid Lord Baigu requests is rather too large, is it not?"

Sun Chuanting cupped his hands and said, "I beseech the Marquis to help. This humble official…"

Wang Dou said, "Let's do this — allow me to study it, and I will give Your Lordship a reply afterward."

Sun Chuanting was somewhat anxious and forced a smile. "That is only natural."

The aides beside him gritted their teeth in silence, their faces all bearing expressions of humiliation.

……

Wang Dou arranged a small banquet to entertain Sun Chuanting. In a pavilion not far from the flower hall, they drank while enjoying the snow.

By now the snow had grown heavy, swirling and dancing in clusters. Wang Dou wore a casual robe with a fur-lined greatcloak draped over it. Sun Chuanting, over his cotton robe, also wore a greatcloak. The two sat facing each other, with no other attendants present.

Wine warmed on a bronze stand; on the table, charcoal burned fiercely, heating a bubbling hotpot, along with a few small dishes. The fragrance of wine and food drifted over continuously.

The two drank several cups together. Sun Chuanting said, "Fine wine, fine snow."

Wang Dou glanced at him, watching him grip his wine cup, deep worry in his eyes — and also… fervor.

Compared to when they first met in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting's face had a few more wrinkles, and strands of white now threaded through his three thick tufts of beard. Only the sharp spirit in his eyes remained unchanged, though hidden deeper than before.

His brow ridges were very high, making his eyebrows extremely thick. In physiognomy, such a person tends toward arrogance and cunning, with an exceedingly firm will, and is also a strong egocentrist.

Judging by historical fact, Sun Chuanting was indeed such a man. Despite the setbacks of these years, the pride deep in his bones remained unchanged.

To think how several years had passed — time truly slips away.

He observed Sun Chuanting, but was Sun Chuanting not also secretly observing him?

Sitting so close for the first time to this controversial and widely renowned figure, how could Sun Chuanting pass up the chance to observe?

He watched Wang Dou casually draped in his fur cloak, his manner detached, yet possessing an air of mystery and authority. Yes, mystery — unfathomable depth. That was not only Sun Chuanting's impression but also how many outsiders viewed Wang Dou.

Assessing the times and judging the situation, advancing and retreating with measure; handling matters with wit, decisiveness, prudence, and steadiness — these were only the tip of the iceberg Wang Dou showed to the outside world. But his success, his ability — there were too many things that defied explanation, beyond the scope of many people's understanding.

Even if Sun Chuanting put himself in Wang Dou's place, he reckoned he would at most have become an ordinary warlord, not a transcendent existence like Wang Dou. So he likewise could not understand; apart from heaven-bestowed talent, he could find no other explanation for Wang Dou's success.

That Wang Dou entertained him with a private banquet was somewhat beyond Sun Chuanting's expectations. He drank slowly, only pondering how to steer the conversation toward the path he needed.

Sun Chuanting picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Wang Dou, saying, "Marquis, this humble official toasts you."

Wang Dou said, "Good."

The two drained a cup. Sun Chuanting smiled and said, "The Marquis seems rather frugal. For one of your present status and position, the current display seems overly modest."

Wang Dou laughed and said, "It cannot really be called frugal. If there is good food and good drink, I will not refuse them — I am simply somewhat indifferent to them, that is all. After all, I have enjoyed what can be enjoyed, I have fame, status, and power, and I have beautiful women. Now I can do the things I want to do."

Sun Chuanting laughed heartily and said, "Heroes see things alike. It is said: cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under heaven. A true man born into this world must naturally accomplish a great enterprise and leave his name in the annals of history, only then is he worthy of his body of great potential."

His eyes flashed, and he said, "Especially in the twelfth year of Chongzhen, when this humble official first met the Marquis — at that time the Marquis had already resolutely followed Lord Lu southward. Fighting desperately at Julu, heedless of life and death, a heart of loyalty and righteousness that could move heaven and earth — knowing full well it was nine deaths and one life…"

Wang Dou said calmly, "I love this civilization. She makes my heart ache. Many deeds and people in her also earn my admiration. That is why I followed Lord Lu southward — it is also the proudest choice of my life."

Sun Chuanting stroked his beard. He did not quite understand Wang Dou's meaning, but he could hear the emotion and the pain within those words — this kind of…

Sun Chuanting found it very difficult to put this feeling into words.

He studied Wang Dou for a moment, then sighed: "It is only a pity about Lord Lu..."

Then his expression turned righteous and indignant, and he even slapped his own thigh: "The Marquis's loyalty and righteousness go without saying, but some of the various lords at court handle matters most improperly. Take Lord Li Banghua, for instance — he has truly lost his senses. How could he speak of the Marquis in such a way? This humble official truly feels indignant on the Marquis's behalf."

He held his wine cup with one hand, merely observing Wang Dou's expression.

Wang Dou smiled faintly: "He has indeed lost his senses."

Wang Dou's voice was indifferent, but to Sun Chuanting's ears, it boomed like thunder. His hand trembled, and the wine cup nearly slipped to the ground before he gripped it tightly.

He let out a dry chuckle, his complexion turning unsightly, and slowly fell silent, his expression somewhat rigid.

Wang Dou spoke slowly: "In truth, I understand Lord Banghua's thinking. But he should also understand one saying: when the man perishes, his policies perish! Throughout the dynasties, apart from Lord Shang, Fan Wenzheng, Wang Jinggong, and Zhang Wenzhong all saw their policies perish with them — all their efforts turned to ash and scattered smoke."

He cast a faint glance at Sun Chuanting and continued: "So conversely, if one wishes for policies not to perish and strategies to remain, then the man must not perish and power must not be lost! To be frank, I do not trust others, still less those vermin who have made the Great Ming realm a complete mess. What reason is there for me to believe they could govern better?"

Wang Dou's gaze slowly shifted: "This patch of land has cost me years of blood and toil — how could I hand it over with folded hands, giving it to others to wantonly ruin? I will not abandon this foundation, still less abandon those who follow me! And if one wishes this foundation to flourish and prosper further, who else but me, Wang Dou?"

Sun Chuanting listened in silence, then chuckled: "The Marquis speaks truly, most truly indeed. Come, let us drink to the Marquis's heroic words."

Wang Dou drank another cup with him. Sun Chuanting covered his face with his sleeve, and only after a long while did he lower it.

As the two conversed, Sun Chuanting did his utmost to steer the topic toward Shaanxi, implying that he still requested Wang Dou's full support for his work.

When the talk turned to the roving bandits, Wang Dou said: "Suppressing bandits is not purely a military matter. If it must be done, my lord, still shed less blood and engage more from the angle of civil governance."

Sun Chuanting said with a beaming smile: "The Marquis speaks rightly."

Yet he had been intently pondering one question all along, and at this moment could not help but ask: "Those four words the Marquis spoke earlier — 'when the man perishes, his policies perish' — struck this humble official just as deeply. Indeed, throughout the dynasties, Fan Wenzheng, Wang Jinggong, and Zhang Wenzhong all failed. Yet Lord Shang, though he suffered dismemberment by chariot, his policies did not perish with the man. Why is that?"

He looked at Wang Dou urgently: "The Marquis is most wise — pray instruct me. This humble official grasps some of it, yet still..."

Wang Dou looked at Sun Chuanting and finally said: "Four words: interest group."

He said: "What is an interest group? It is the gathering of like-minded people, ensuring that your policies and your orthodoxy have successors to carry them on. Lord Shang's reforms, though they harmed the privileges of some nobles, also won the support of many people. Those who supported him formed a considerable force and continued to carry the reforms forward, making Shang Yang's reforms immortalized through the ages. That is an interest group."

"And looking at men like Fan Wenzheng, Wang Jinggong, and Zhang Wenzhong — who was there to support them?"

Sun Chuanting nodded repeatedly, his expression animated, concentrating intently and committing it to memory. He even drew a small notebook from his sleeve and wrote rapidly in it with a pencil. When he finished, he tucked it back into his sleeve with the utmost care.

Looking at Sun Chuanting, Wang Dou sighed and said: "Lord Sun, your journey to Shaanxi will be no simple matter. If you wish to accomplish anything, I fear difficulties will beset you on every side. That I, Wang, have reached this step is also by sheer luck — and along this road, who knows how many vengeful spirits are waiting to demand my life."

Sun Chuanting burst into hearty laughter. He poured wine for Wang Dou, then raised his cup: "Does Sun not know this full well? Yet a true man knows what he must do and what he must not do! If the Great Ming can live, then even if I, Sun Chuanting, must die — what of it?"

He drained the cup in one gulp, held the empty cup toward Wang Dou, and in his eyes flashed a sharp, deep, and somber light.

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