Chapter 220: The Magpie

"Well said, well said." Han Kuang reached up to stroke his beard, a warm smile on his face. "I wouldn't presume to call myself a great scholar, but after all these years of reading, I daresay I've gained some insight. If there's anything you don't understand, you're welcome to come ask me. And of course, not just academic questions—anything at all."

Hearing Han Kuang say this, Zhang Yu's face grew even more excited, and he hurriedly spoke up: "To receive the Grand Secretary's guidance is truly our good fortune. In the future, if there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to command us."

"Guiding the younger generation is the duty of any scholar. I have also gained considerable experience in officialdom—if there's anything you don't understand, you may come seek my advice." Han Kuang wore the look of an elder passing down wisdom to his juniors, his smile growing ever more benevolent as he declared in a clear voice: "I will share everything I know without reservation."

Hearing Han Kuang's words, Zhang Yu immediately caught the meaning beneath the melody, and said with a gentle smile: "Might we be so fortunate as to become disciples of the Grand Secretary?"

Song Yingsheng and Song Yingxing exchanged slightly surprised glances at Zhang Yu and Han Kuang.

The two of them had only just met today—and after just a few exchanges of pleasantries, they were already talking about taking a master?

The two Song brothers found this rather hard to adjust to.

"I haven't taken on students for many years now, and being in officialdom as I am, it would truly be inconvenient. However, I am not a narrow-minded person. If there is anything you don't understand, you may all come seek my advice, and I will never hold anything back. Though we may not share the bond of master and disciple, we can still be both teacher and friend." Han Kuang said this with a look of utter sincerity and humility.

Zhang Yu, however, bowed all the way to the ground and said with the utmost earnestness: "As the saying goes—Heaven, Earth, sovereign, parents, teacher. The Grand Secretary's magnanimity is admirable, but we could not presume so much. From this day forward, we shall treat you with the rites due a master, and let you see our sincerity. We hope that one day we may yet be accepted into your tutelage."

Han Kuang nodded with satisfaction, though a courteous smile still lingered on his face, and his words no longer carried the same firm refusal as before.

After a few more polite exchanges, the two sides tacitly dropped the matter of formal discipleship—clearly both understood each other's intentions, and there was no need to waste more time.

Now that the pleasantries were done and the relationship between the two parties had been established, it was time to get down to business.

"I have been studying the Guanzhong School these past days, and I must say it has left a deep impression on me!" Han Kuang's expression turned serious as he continued stroking his beard, and with a look of genuine regret he said: "With the Book of Changes as its foundation, the Doctrine of the Mean as its substance, the Rites as its application, and Confucius and Mencius as its models."

As he spoke, Han Kuang shook his head, wearing an expression of true pity.

In truth, although the Guanzhong School was a Confucian school, it was more like a shopfront hung with a Confucian sign. Because it took the Book of Changes as its foundation, much of its content was actually Daoist thought. But with the three teachings merging into one—today you copy me, tomorrow I copy you—people generally didn't pay much attention to this issue.

On the level of ideology, people had largely stopped arguing. What remained was simply choosing sides. If you stand with me, then you are my school of thought; if not, then you aren't.

This was essentially the atmosphere of the Great Ming's academic circles. Under such circumstances, factional strife was simply unavoidable.

Every faction was basically composed of those who shared the same ideology while also being able to interlink with each other on matters of interest.

A school like the Guanzhong School, based in the Guanzhong region, was essentially looked down upon in the capital. On one hand there were ideological reasons; on the other, Guanzhong was simply not Jiangnan. The Guanzhong School was excluded, and so it had never been able to develop.

Within this lay both political problems and economic problems.

Although the Shanxi merchants were very prosperous and possessed great strength, they conducted their salt business in Yangzhou. They needed to better integrate into the local scene, and so they championed the School of Principle of Yangzhou rather than giving much support to the Guanzhong School.

For big capitalists and big merchants, whichever doctrine was useful to them was the good doctrine.

Zhang Yu and the two Song brothers, Song Yingxing and Song Yingsheng, exchanged glances, but none of the three said anything on this subject.

When someone is praising your school of thought, you can hardly say something disparaging about it, can you?

Flattery would also seem too much like patting oneself on the back, so the best course at this moment was to stay silent.

"I have also pondered—why is it that such a fine school of thought has never managed to become a prominent one?" Han Kuang looked at Zhang Yu and the other two, his expression grave as he posed this question.

The expression on Han Kuang's face showed some hesitation, and even more regret—but he did not ask the three for their opinions. Because after saying this, he immediately gave the answer himself.

"After studying it several times, I believe the reason is a lack of written works. Look at the School of Principle—they have Master Zhu, and with Master Zhu's writings there, they can achieve twice the result with half the effort. But the Guanzhong School is not like that. It has never had a suitable figure, nor any truly representative writings." Han Kuang looked at Zhang Yu and the other two, speaking with some regret.

Hearing Han Kuang's words, the expressions of Zhang Yu and the other two all dimmed somewhat.

In truth, they didn't need Han Kuang to tell them this—Zhang Yu and the two Song brothers already knew. Because by this point in time, the strengths and weaknesses of every school had already been laid bare.

The weakness of a minor school like the Guanzhong School was plainly that it had no sage—that is, no figure of real standing to present to the world.

Although the Guanzhong School's thought seemed to work here and work there, it simply wasn't distinctive enough, its positions weren't firm enough, and its followers had no arguments that could make people listen and immediately think, "Yes, that makes sense."

Although Zhang Zai had once said, "To ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth, to secure life and fortune for the people, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, to establish peace for all future generations," the slogan was indeed shouted loudly enough—but when it came to practical strategies for action, there was no real technique behind it.

So the sense of it wasn't very strong. People would ordinarily just say, "Well said," praise the deeds as well done, and then that was that.

Just like Fan Zhongyan's line, "To worry before all the world worries, and to rejoice after all the world rejoices," which was extremely widely circulated—whenever anyone mentioned Fan Zhongyan, they would praise his moral character.

But what exactly did Fan Zhongyan do?

He was a reformist! He wanted to enact reform—what use was mere personal moral purity?

Zhang Zai's situation now was basically the same. Go out and ask anyone, and everyone knew the story. "I've heard of this man, and I admire him as a man of high standing." But ask what transcendent or extraordinary thing he had done?

It seemed it was just that one line, "To ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth."

The most important thing for any school of thought was to have its own ideas on governance. Zhang Zai had indeed offered his own ideas—but what were they?

To curb land annexation and restore the well-field system.

Who could stomach that?

Go tell that to the Emperor—would the Emperor listen to you?

Actually implementing that would immediately set the whole realm ablaze with the smoke of war!

Song Yingsheng and the other two naturally knew the Guanzhong School's weaknesses as well—that was precisely why they were trying to find a solution.

Han Kuang looked at the three of them, thought for a moment, and said: "In that case, why don't you gather together everything Master Zhang said, did, and recorded, and compile it into a book?"

Hearing Han Kuang's words, Song Yingsheng and the other two were all greatly startled.

Wasn't Han Kuang's idea far too mad?

They had already witnessed how mad Huang Kezuan was—they never expected that you, Han Kuang, would be just as mad.

Are you tired of living? Or are we the ones tired of living?

Recording a teacher's every word and deed, compiling them into a volume and publishing it—what was the most famous example of that?

No need to ask—it was the Analects.

Now doing the same sort of thing for Zhang Zai—to put it grandly, was this comparing Zhang Zai to Confucius? This would become a laughingstock, would make them a target for all!

To put it modestly, this was nothing but fabrication!

Zhang Zai was a man of the Song dynasty—how many years had it been since then? His bones had long since rotted away. How much of his material even remained?

Even what could be preserved was in many places out of step with the times. The matter itself was problematic.

Judging by Han Kuang's intent, it was clearly not for us to do genuine compilation. If it were genuine, he wouldn't be discussing it with us like this. Han Kuang wanted us to fabricate!

Now Song Yingsheng and the other two had seen through Han Kuang's meaning—it was far more ambitious than anything they could have imagined.

Originally, the three of them had thought Han Kuang merely wanted to use them, to use the Guanzhong School, to help him secure his footing at court and find himself a position.

But now it was clear that was not the case at all—this Han Kuang intended to create an entirely new school of thought himself.

Of course, if it were truly a matter of founding a new school, Han Kuang would be even more overreaching and would directly become a target for everyone's criticism!

So under these circumstances, Han Kuang thought of another approach—that was, seizing another's nest to lay his own eggs, borrowing a shell to hatch new life. After searching around, he set his sights on the Guanzhong School.

First, this school was not large—it was a very, very suitable school. Second, the school had few members, making it relatively easy to control.

Most crucially, this school was a School of Principle school, but what it revered was the Book of Changes, making it easier to manipulate and easier to revise.

Han Kuang already had a rough outline in his mind; all that remained was to get Song Yingsheng and the other two to agree.

After Han Kuang spoke these words, Song Yingsheng and the other two understood his meaning. While shocked by his audacity, they were also pondering the feasibility of the matter. To put it plainly, they were thinking about whether this could actually succeed.

If they truly wanted this matter to succeed, having only Han Kuang's support would certainly not be enough.

None of the three—Song Yingsheng and the others—said a word, their faces wearing extremely indifferent expressions. They truly could not muster a positive attitude.

If they were asked to stand on Han Kuang's side politically and in terms of position, that would be no problem—even if they failed, the worst outcome would be dismissal from office and returning home.

But what Han Kuang wanted to do now was simply too big. Based on what he had shown them and the promises he had made, it was not worth them paying such a heavy price for him.

Seeming to read the thoughts of Song Yingsheng and the other two, Han Kuang said slowly: "The court's new guidelines for the civil examinations have already been issued. I believe it will be proclaimed to the world within a few days. When that time truly comes, there will be no room left for turning back. Everyone who is making a fuss now will have fussed over nothing."

"Since the examination guidelines have already been changed, shouldn't the Confucian Temple also be changed? I think Zhang Zai could be made a sage and enter the Confucian Temple. What do you all think?"

Song Yingsheng and the other two exchanged glances.

This was the new condition Han Kuang had offered them—he would elevate Zhang Zai's status and have Zhang Zai enter the Confucian Temple. For them, this was a good thing.

The "entering the Confucian Temple" mentioned here certainly did not mean the same as the current arrangement; otherwise, there would be no need to bring it up.

Within the Confucian Temple, there was a treatment called "sharing in the sacrifices of the Confucian Temple." The eastern corridor of the Confucian Temple housed the spirit tablets of Confucius's outstanding disciples and wise scholars of successive generations, along with Confucian deities. All those long-recognized as worthies had their places there.

The so-called eastern corridor referred to a building on the east side of the Great Achievement Hall in the Confucian Temple, a place specifically for enshrining spirit tablets. The buildings on the east and west sides of the Great Achievement Hall were called the "Two Corridors," where later generations enshrined former worthies and former Confucians.

These worthies and Confucians sharing in the sacrifices were mostly famous figures from later Confucian schools, such as Wenzhongzi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, Shao Yong, Dong Zhongshu, Han Yu, Wang Yangming, and others.

These who shared in the sacrifices were originally depicted in paintings; in the Jin dynasty they were changed to clay statues, and during the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty they were all changed to wooden spirit tablets inscribed with names, enshrined in rows of shrines.

What Han Kuang spoke of—being made a sage—certainly did not mean merely sharing in the sacrifices as they did now.

"That would be the best outcome." Zhang Yu stood up, his expression grave as he spoke.

The meaning of his words was very simple: if you can accomplish this matter, then there's no harm in us following you; if you cannot accomplish it, then we will not follow you either.

Han Kuang was not surprised. This was a major scheme he had planned, requiring detailed arrangement and preparation.

Having remained silent in the Grand Secretariat for so long, he naturally had to strike back. He could not resign himself to being ridden over by others, only to leave in dejection after some time passed.

Since I have already reached the position of Chief Grand Secretary, why can I not truly act as a Chief Grand Secretary?

If I cannot be Zhang Juzheng, then I will be Yan Song.

"Alright, the time is about up for today. You just wait for my news." Han Kuang said with a smile, his facial expression unchanged.

"Then, Grand Secretary, we shall take our leave." Zhang Yu hurriedly cupped his hands and said.

"Very well." Han Kuang nodded and said: "I'll have someone see you out."

After the group had all left the room, a person suddenly emerged from behind the folding screen at the rear.

This was a young man; judging by his attire, he should be a scholar. His build was somewhat lean, and he wore a thin mustache.

At this moment, his expression was very grave. Gently twisting his mustache with one hand, he walked straight to Han Kuang's side, bowed, and said: "Grand Secretary."

Han Kuang nodded and asked with a smile: "What do you think?"

"Unreliable—slippery as an eel." The young man said with a smile: "But still usable. He is, after all, a clever man."

"Well said," Han Kuang nodded and said: "People in this world are all like this—there's no such thing as reliable or unreliable. They unite today and part tomorrow. Even if they are full of benevolence, righteousness, and morality, what does it amount to in the end? Are they not all thieves and whores beneath the surface?"

"Fuzhi, for one so young to have such insight is truly no easy feat."

Wang Fuzhi's expression did not change in the slightest. He knew Han Kuang's words carried a hidden meaning, so it was best not to say much on that topic.

Clearly, this Chief Grand Secretary was very dissatisfied with the previous actions of the Donglin Faction. If those people had listened to him earlier, how could they have fallen to their current state?

But even so, those people still thought he was wrong—that was what had given this Chief Grand Secretary before him such ideas. This was also a pain in his heart. It was not appropriate for him to say anything more.

"The two Song brothers are very honest, steady and usable, yet they are also clever men—clearly they will not trust us." Wang Fuzhi changed the subject, saying: "On the other hand, that Zhang Yu appears very clever and also quite slippery. But precisely because of this, he is the one more suitable for us to use."

"Then what do you think the next step should be?" Han Kuang asked.

Wang Fuzhi nodded and said: "The next step is simple. Have people spread word that the three of them intend to become disciples of the Grand Secretary. Whether this matter succeeds or not, we cannot let them wash their hands of it first."

A mocking smile carried on Wang Fuzhi's face as he said: "That is simply how things work in this world. Since they are willing to play, let them learn how the game is played. Do they truly think a Grand Secretary of high standing can be used by them, deceived at their whim?"

Hearing Wang Fuzhi's words, Han Kuang smiled first, then stood up and said: "Fine, let's teach them a lesson first."

Zhang Yu and the Song brothers left Han Kuang's residence, their expressions none too pleasant.

Song Yingsheng, always a rigorous man, had a particularly grim expression, and his whole person exuded an aura of "stay away."

Zhang Yu walked over to Song Yingsheng's side and said with a smile: "Do you think I was being too sycophantic?"

Turning to glance at Zhang Yu, Song Yingsheng shook his head and said: "I am not a foolish man. I can guess something of what you were doing today, so naturally I would not think that of you. Besides, we brothers know full well what kind of man you, Zhang Yu, courtesy name Tui Zhi, truly are."

"It's just that matters have reached this point, and things may be difficult to manage. You understand as well that this Han Kuang has too many demands—I fear we will find them hard to satisfy. Even if we were willing to do as he asks, it would likely be very difficult to accomplish. Should the matter fail, I fear none of us will come to a good end."

"The officialdom of the capital is full of turbulence. If anyone takes a disliking to us, they could toss a brick and crush us to death. By then we would have nowhere even to hide—we have no way to negotiate terms with a Chief Grand Secretary."

"So this is exactly the time we need to find outside support." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

Song Yingxing, who had been on the side, also spoke up at this moment, his face full of bitter smiles as he said: "Who can help us? You know our situation. If we had connections in the capital, we would not have fallen to our current state."

"Not having had them before does not mean we do not have them now." Zhang Yu said with an inscrutable smile.

"Do you know of Feng Congwu?" Zhang Yu looked at the two men with a smile and uttered a name.

Song Yingsheng thought for a moment, then turned to look at Zhang Yu and said with some hesitation: "Are you talking about that Feng Congwu?"

"Who else could it be?" Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"But he is not of the same camp as us." Song Yingxing said with a furrowed brow.

All three of them knew of this Feng Congwu, because he was extremely famous in Guanzhong—they had all heard of his great reputation.

Formerly just a Censor, after Feng Congwu submitted a memorial offending Emperor Shenzong and was dismissed from office to return home, he lectured for many years with friends Xiao Huizhi and Zhou Shuyuan at the Baoqing Temple to the west of this place. His disciples grew more numerous day by day, yet the temple grounds were cramped.

In the tenth month of the thirty-seventh year of Wanli, Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commissioner Wang Keshou, Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Li Tianlin, Administration Vice Commissioner Xiong Yingzhan and Min Hongxue, and Vice Surveillance Commissioner Chen Ning and Duan Youxian, among others, selected the Small the Western Park Garden east of Baoqing Temple for Feng Congwu to establish the Guanzhong Academy.

Feng Congwu had lectured in Guanzhong for over twenty years; it could be said that his disciples and students were spread throughout the entire region.

Beyond that, after he founded the Guanzhong Academy, even more scholars emerged from within its walls. All of these people were his disciples, and whether in officialdom or among the literati, his prestige was unmatched at the time.

If he were to make a move, the standing of the three of them would certainly be different. But there was one problem here: although Feng Congwu was a great scholar who had made considerable achievements in both the School of Mind and the School of Principle — indeed, he was even hailed as one who synthesized both schools —

politically, however, this man belonged to the Donglin Faction. He was the leader of the Donglin Faction throughout Guanzhong, commanding the Donglin disciples of the entire northwest. Though their numbers were not great, they still held standing at court and were known as the Jin Faction.

Although the three of them were also from Guanzhong and studied the Guanzhong School, they were men of a different stripe from those people. The most critical point was that what the two sides studied was fundamentally different.

In particular, the Guanzhong School had been squeezed very hard in recent years. While they could not be said to be irreconcilable enemies with the Jin Faction, neither were they two groups that could ever walk the same path.

Now that Zhang Yu had brought this man up, it gave the two Song brothers some pause.

"Do you think Feng Congwu's days are easy right now?" Zhang Yu asked with a smile.

The two Song brothers shook their heads directly. "Feng Congwu has a good relationship with Wang Keshou, and an even better one with the Donglin Faction. A while back when the Donglin Faction was being purged on a large scale, Feng Congwu also submitted a routine memorial. Though he wasn't implicated, he was still put on the bench."

"And most importantly, Feng Congwu himself runs the Guanzhong Academy. The court is now universally opposed to private lecturing and to opening private academies, so his position is naturally very awkward. Under such circumstances, it would be a miracle if his days were easy."

"So his days aren't easy either — which means he needs us all the more." Zhang Yu said with a smile.

"They might not necessarily think much of us." Song Yingxing said with a note of sarcasm in his tone.

"He will definitely think highly of us. Right now we may not look very important, but very soon we will be extremely important, and when that time comes, he will certainly accept us." Zhang Yu said with great confidence: "If you don't believe me, just wait and see."

"Even if he does value us highly, what could we possibly do for him?" Song Yingsheng looked at Zhang Yu with burning eyes and asked: "And besides, to vacillate like this, playing both sides — I fear we would be despised by all. When it truly comes to that point, neither side will let us off, and we might not even be able to return to Guanzhong."

Seeing the worried expressions on the two Song brothers' faces, Zhang Yu smiled and said: "Why must we throw in our lot with one of them? We are representatives of the Guanzhong School — of course we represent ourselves. What we seek is cooperation between equals, not submission to them."

"If it were only Han Kuang, he could manipulate us with ease; but with Feng Congwu in the picture, things won't be so simple. If Han Kuang wants to manipulate us, he'll have to think twice."

"And the reverse holds true as well — if Feng Congwu and his people try to pressure us, we still have Han Kuang. Then, positioned between the two of them, that will be our opportunity."

"You are courting danger." Song Yingsheng said grimly, each word deliberate: "The skilled rider falls from the horse, the skilled swimmer drowns in water, the skilled drinker is felled by wine, and the skilled warrior dies by the blade."