Chapter 51: School-Dropout Dragon

On this day, the Khitan prisoners of war were finally escorted to Chang'an by five hundred soldiers from the Youzhou border garrison. Li Longji, who had been carousing with Yang Yuhuan night after night, was greatly pleased upon learning of this and ordered rewards for the meritorious soldiers.

For each enemy captured alive, the captor would receive ten bolts of silk; for each enemy slain, five bolts of silk; as for meritorious ranks and titles, the Youzhou Military Commission could distribute them at its own discretion.

This was a very generous reward, because calculated by heads captured and killed, every last one of these soldiers had profited handsomely.

One must understand that this was no longer the era of the early Tang, when one could win glory and establish a career. The lands the Tang state could acquire had long since been acquired and consolidated. The difficulty of earning military merit far exceeded the past.

The militia system existed in name only, largely because fighting wars had become unprofitable, turning into a purely obligatory "burden."

Even when occasional great victories over enemy nations on the border yielded countless kills and captures, the common soldiers reaped no real benefit. The Tang court typically fobbed them off with honorary offices and titles.

When it came to military rewards, the court was generous with titles but stingy with wealth and goods — to sum it up with an idiom, it was a classic case of "empty promises without substance."

Just as described in the "Ballad of Mulan," Tang military merit also employed the "twelve rotations" system.

In the days of Northern Wei, if a battle earned "twelve rotations of military merit," the post-war rewards would be "hundreds of thousands and more."

What is a "rotation"?

The most outstanding general in each battle could earn "three rotations" of merit.

When both sides' forces reached a certain scale (battles too small did not count), and one annihilated (killed or captured) forty percent of the enemy's forces in a battle won by the fewer against the many, one could earn "five rotations" of merit.

Other factors, such as slaying enemy commanders and what role one played in battle, were all calculated by superiors to determine the number of rotations. Merit from multiple battles could be accumulated; reaching eleven rotations qualified one for the title of Pillar of State, and twelve rotations or more was the cap — Supreme Pillar of State.

However, by the High Tang, this entire system had completely lost its original meaning.

No one knew exactly how many "Supreme Pillars of State" the Tang state had in this period, and the proportions were hard to tally. For instance, in Jiangnan and Shu, which served as the court's purse strings, very few men served in the military, so the proportion was naturally pitifully low.

But over in Hexi, the situation was such that among local adult males — even counting those who had never served in the base figure — over twenty percent held the "Supreme Pillar of State" title, nearly a quarter!

By conservative estimate, more than one in five adult males was a Supreme Pillar of State; this kind of reward was not only nothing to boast about, but in a sense even carried a demeaning undertone.

In this great victory by the Youzhou garrison, the rewards and compensation for these five hundred men would normally have been handled by Fang Youde himself — tallying up the twelve rotations of military merit and handing out some honorary offices to be done with it. To be able to request rewards under the circumstances of "entering the capital without edict" was an extraordinary show of face.

Of course, Li Longji did not necessarily agree every time, but who could blame him when he had just gotten his hands on the wife of his son, Prince of Shou Li Chang, and was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Fang Youde's military merit became capital for him to boast to his "daughter-in-law" about his civil and martial accomplishments.

This was the fortune of the Youzhou border garrison soldiers, because they had encountered a Military Commissioner who was unlike any previous commander — one who truly kept the soldiers' lives and interests at heart.

This was also the misfortune of the Youzhou border garrison soldiers, because no matter how much military merit they achieved, they still needed a powerful figure to fight for their interests. In the Great Tang of today, how many "Fang Youde"s were there?

And when Li Longji was in a good mood, how many were there?

What if, at the very moment merits were being reported, this Sage of the Great Tang happened to be in a foul mood?

Of course, it also helped that the soldiers receiving rewards and needing compensation numbered only five hundred; had there been more, Li Longji might have clutched his purse and fobbed them off casually.

Just as the scholars in Chang'an's wine shops were singing the praises of the border garrison's great victory and the Tang state's majesty shining in all directions, not everyone was so jubilant — for instance, the only son of that Youzhou Military Commissioner who had performed a peerless feat of arms.

In the inner study of the Fang family residence behind the rear gate of Xingqing Palace, Fang Chongyong looked helplessly at the empty-handed Zheng Shuqing and asked feebly, "Did you come specifically to mock me?"

"Why would I come to mock you?"

Zheng Shuqing asked with a strange expression.

"I thought I was already quite famous."

Fang Chongyong sighed and described to him the ordeal of his "School-Dropout Dragon" experience.

"Are you saying that you first entered the Directorate of Education, but were rejected for being underage; then you entered the Hongwen Academy, but were expelled because of your father's memorial?"

Zheng Shuqing looked astonished; such an absurd sequence of events was something he had never heard in all his years — it was truly an eye-opener.

"Right, and then they made it up to me with a commission as Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard — a nine-year-old Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard. Tell me, is that ridiculous or not?"

Fang Chongyong's face might as well have had the four characters "nothing left to live for" written on it.

What did I do wrong! I'm still a child!

Fang Chongyong felt that the stars were against him; it seemed everything he did lately turned out unlucky.

"Sigh, Emperor Ruizong was enfeoffed as a prince at eleven months old, not even a year old. I feel like your experience isn't all that absurd either.

Uh, but with your appointment as Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard, shouldn't there be the characters 'Acting' in front of it?"

Zheng Shuqing said, trying to console him kindly, though the words sounded like mockery no matter how you listened.

"Is that so?"

Fang Chongyong was taken aback. Gao Lishu had come to deliver the edict, but the edict was so long that he hadn't memorized it — he only remembered "Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard." He took the silk document down from the bookshelf to look, and sure enough, the two characters "Acting" were written there plain as day.

"Originally, our dynasty renamed the previous dynasty's Bodyguard General to Central General, two for each the Left and Right Guard, Junior Fourth Rank, responsible for assisting in administrative affairs, attending the emperor in the hall, and transmitting oral decrees — a very high office. One could say it was a position of great rank and authority; many border garrison soldiers could strive their whole lives and never reach this position.

However, if the two characters 'Acting' are added in front, it becomes completely different.

An Acting Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard is equivalent to a special approval by the Sage — it did not go through review in the outer court, and is merely a nominal posting in the Thousand Bull Guard with no duties to fulfill. Basically, it amounts to being able to do nothing at all. Who knows how many Acting Central Generals of the Thousand Bull Guard there are nowadays..."

The more Zheng Shuqing spoke, the darker Fang Chongyong's face grew.

"Don't be angry — a monthly salary of eleven thousand five hundred and sixty-seven cash, that's eleven strings of coins."

Zheng Shuqing, as Vice Minister of Revenue, was "professionally adept" and could recite officials' salaries off the top of his head.

Fine then — one could do no work, lie flat, and still collect money, though admittedly it was a bit little.

An annual salary of less than two hundred strings of coins was income unworthy of the status of Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard. From this it was clear that one needed additional income for a Central General of the Thousand Bull Guard to support a family. Otherwise, even basic expenses in Chang'an would be a problem — this amount of money wasn't even enough for a decent meal of wine at a good restaurant.

"Is that all you came to me for? I'm out of Red Lotus Spring here. If you want to drink, make your own red yeast rice and brew it yourself."

Having been subjected to Zheng Shuqing's in-his-face verbal assault, Fang Chongyong could bear it no longer!

"No, no, no, I came to find you this time because there's something good."

Zheng Shuqing looked mysterious and produced an invitation from inside his sleeve.

"Three days from now, the Sage will set up a stage at the Pear Orchard to present theatrical and musical performances in celebration of the great victory at the Youzhou border garrison. With an invitation, one may enter and watch — such opportunities are rare."

Li Longji was going to put on a concert?

Fang Chongyong was startled, then took the invitation — on the back, even the seat number was written.

The ancients were no fools either; if seat numbers weren't assigned in advance, and the attendees were all high officials and nobles, and tickets had been over-issued for various reasons, wouldn't they end up fighting over seats?

The seats themselves were not the problem; the problem was that once face was dropped on the ground, it couldn't be picked back up.

Therefore, in this day and age, incidents of showing off and getting publicly humiliated over fighting for seats simply could not happen — all these petty matters had already been fully accounted for when the performance was being organized.

Zheng Shuqing came from a wealthy family; people of this sort no longer cared about so-called "minor etiquette," but rather treated face as a matter of utmost importance.

Having figured this out, Fang Chongyong pushed the invitation back and let out a long sigh, saying, "We're this familiar already, no need for such formality. Whatever it is, just say it."

"It's like this."

Zheng Shuqing didn't stand on ceremony with Fang Chongyong at all. He fished out a very brightly colored fragment of silk fabric from his sleeve and handed it to Fang Chongyong.

"Sogdian brocade? Vice Minister Zheng, your efficiency is truly…"

Fang Chongyong was downright shocked.

As for what administrative efficiency was like in the feudal era, one can only say that those who understand, understand.

Even without anyone deliberately dragging things out, just going through the procedures took a very long time; if someone deliberately made trouble, a minor matter could drag on for months—and this was quite common.

"You don't understand—this was something the Sage demanded be done, so how could it not be fast? It's just that… the imitation Sogdian brocade and the Sogdian brocade that comes over from the Western Regions are ultimately still different. Alas!"

As for exactly where the difference lay, Zheng Shuqing couldn't articulate it clearly—though that was only because of his limited ability to express himself verbally. In reality, when he placed fragments of both fabrics on the table, anyone could tell at a glance which was the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions and which was the Tang imitation.

In fact, the first time Sogdian brocade was "reverse-engineered" was during the early Tang dynasty; it's just that the focus and the goal were somewhat different. Moreover, the Sogdian brocade coming from the Western Regions was also constantly being updated and improved. This could be considered a kind of commercial competition, like a contest of palms struck across a distance.

According to Fang Chongyong's original understanding, so-called "imitation" meant copying the other party's patterns exactly. But in reality, such thinking was nothing but wishful thinking.

Copying wasn't something just anyone could do, nor could it be done casually.

Fabric patterns were, after all, not the same as text or painting. They also incorporated the ingenuity of artisans and craftsmen; some techniques were even passed down from generation to generation, becoming secret recipes transmitted to sons but not daughters.

Every fabric that came into being was, in fact, the artisans "writing" their own ideas onto the cloth. The artisans didn't understand the meaning that the Sogdian brocade from the Western Regions was meant to convey, so what they produced lacked the spirit—it was merely a crude imitation.

The nobles of Chang'an were used to seeing fine things—could they stomach this kind of blatant swindle?

When the time came, not only would Zheng Shuqing fail to earn merit, he would instead be punished by Li Longji!

Old Zheng was no fool. Knowing it wouldn't work, he let the craftsmen have free rein and imitate the Sogdian brocade according to their own ideas.

The good news was that this imitation Sogdian brocade actually looked somewhat better than the original.

This was easy to understand: in the silk weaving industry, the Great Tang crushed the Western Asian region in terms of raw materials. The silkworms were all artificially raised, well-nourished, and the silk they spun was thick, long-fibered, and luminously radiant.

The bad news was that it was slightly… a little bit not quite like Sogdian brocade.

The reason was actually quite easy to understand.

Zheng Shuqing described to Fang Chongyong the information he had gathered from the textile workers.

The silk from the Western Regions included not only that produced domestically in the Tang state, but also "wild silk" produced by various Western Regions nations. Wild silkworms were native silkworms that had not been artificially domesticated and selectively bred over generations.

The silk they spun was both thin and short.

Yet the error had its own logic: the Sogdian brocade woven in Western Asia by blending silks instead carried a distinctive charm.

To ensure high profits along the Silk Road, the various Western Regions nations imposed a strict technological blockade on the Tang state's sericulture techniques. Although this was something Fang Chongyong couldn't understand, the fact remained: the country most afraid of silk technology being mastered by Western Asia was not the Great Tang.

The countries most concerned about the technology behind the Great Tang's various best-selling goods were also not the Great Tang itself, but the other nations along the Silk Road.

These nations bore the responsibility of a "technological wall."

Moreover, painting in Western Asia was known for its angular, hard-edged style, while the Tang state's fabric patterns were known for their rounded, full forms. The two styles were different; a simple copycat approach would only produce a botched imitation—trying to paint a tiger and ending up with something that looked like a dog.

So what the craftsmen under Old Zheng's command wove couldn't be called bad, but whether it was "Sogdian brocade" or not was genuinely debatable!

This situation was like saying Li Longji wanted to play an electronic keyboard, but the Tang dynasty had no electricity, so the craftsmen could only come up with a piano. The piano was very good, but did it have that kind of tinny sound of an electronic keyboard?

What if Li Longji was just perverse and actually liked the tone of an electronic keyboard?

Hard to say.

This was also one of the reasons Zheng Shuqing had come running to Fang Chongyong for help.

"I think the imitation Sogdian brocade is better than the original."

Fang Chongyong held fragments of both fabrics in his hands, comparing them as he spoke.

"It doesn't matter what you think—your thinking doesn't count. It has to be what the Sage thinks that matters."

Zheng Shuqing retorted with a jab, gazing eagerly, hoping that this young prodigy of the Great Tang might have some idea—even a rotten one would do.

"Sage, Sage, Sage—not a single sentence leaves your mouth without the Sage. It's not like you were raised by the Sage…"

Fang Chongyong got halfway through the sentence and stopped. Those three characters were too insulting. Even though he and Old Zheng had developed a fairly deep personal relationship, he still couldn't be that unguarded with his words.

"You—you just completely don't understand the officialdom of our Great Tang."

Zheng Shuqing sighed and didn't hold Fang Chongyong's slip of the tongue against him, continuing:

"You think the Left Chancellor, the Right Chancellor, the Ministers and Vice Ministers, the Inspectors and Censors—they're so formidable, right? They wield great power and can decide the life and death of ordinary people, right?

In truth, the Great Tang operates on only one rule: whatever the Sage wants done, gets done. Everything else is hollow—window dressing for outsiders to see.

Just like how you previously weren't admitted to the Imperial Academy—it was actually because the Sage felt that would be too harsh on your family. Over two thousand students in the Imperial Academy; in any ward in Chang'an, how hard is it to find a few Imperial Academy students?

Students who come out of the Imperial Academy, even if they pass the imperial examination and are appointed to office in the future, are still nothing more than…"

Zheng Shuqing pointed at himself and said, "Nothing more than the Sage's dog."

"And many people don't even have the qualifications to be a dog—they can only be manipulated at will by others like ants.

Later you were exceptionally admitted to the Hongwen Academy. I originally thought you were going to soar to great heights, but now… I can't make sense of it anymore.

Enough idle talk—just tell me what to do now, alas."

"There is of course a way."

Fang Chongyong already had a solution.

"Good—how long until it takes effect!"

Zheng Shuqing's face was full of excitement; right now he wanted nothing more than to call Fang Chongyong "Daddy."

"Just today."

Fang Chongyong calmly uttered three words.