Chapter 312: Forty-One: Winds Rise, Waves Stir

Forty-One: Winds Rise, Waves Stir

"To erect Buddhas in the Sizhou: Yangzhou, Jiangzhou, Guizhou, and Taiyuan.

"Building Buddhas in Yangzhou and Taiyuan I can somewhat understand,

"'Yangzhou First, Yi Prefecture Second'—Yangzhou is the most prosperous region in the southern circuits, and Taiyuan is the capital of Hedong Circuit, known as the Northern Capital.

"But why include our Jiangzhou and Guizhou in Lingnan? Our people in these two circuits aren't so wealthy.

"Why not build the Buddhas in the Two Capitals within Guannei? Everyone knows Guannei is the wealthiest region—how can this be so unjust?"

On the second floor of Yunshui Pavilion, a thin-faced scholar slammed his fist on the table.

Another middle-aged scholar at the same table spoke up:

"Brother Qi, calm down. I was initially puzzled too, but later heard that these Four Buddha Statues are tied to the Great Zhou's Central Monument for Praising Virtue.

"And the four continents chosen for the Buddha sites appear to be recommendations from the Fengshui Masters of Shangyang Palace—now it seems there's deeper meaning behind them.

"Jiangzhou is the very eyes and face of the realm, possessing great mountains, great rivers, and great lakes; and Guizhou in the southwest is equally famed for its stunning landscapes.

"Those Yin-Yang Masters, hah—they know how to bewitch the Emperor's heart."

The middle-aged scholar who had tried to calm him sneered. The previously furious Qi scholar grew quieter and glanced at the speaker with new interest:

"I didn't know Brother Chen understood Yin-Yang and the Five Phases."

"Only a little," the Chen scholar paused, then added with deep implication:

"Moreover, building the Buddha statue in Taiyuan is subtle—there's meaning here too. Tell me, Brother Qi, do you still recall where the Dragon's Rise of Liang began?"

"Wasn't the Taizong Emperor's origin in Taiyuan…" The Qi scholar fell silent, then flung his sleeve aside and spat:

"It must be the advice of the Wei clan and their Yin-Yang Masters—always scheming in shadows, whispering heresies to cloud the Emperor's mind!"

At midday, on the second floor of Yunshui Pavilion, only one table in the corner—where Magistrate Ouyang Rong, Li Su Dalang, and Yan Beside Yan Liulang sat in plain attire, quietly eating—remained silent.

The other guests at their tables were largely discussing court affairs.

More than a month had passed since the court issued the edict to raise funds for the Great Zhou Central Monument for Praising Virtue and the Four Buddha Statues.

Yet public discourse among scholars remained heated, even intensifying.

"Master, shall we switch to a private room?" Li Su Dalang withdrew his gaze and voiced his concern.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong looked up, scanning the second-floor hall.

Many of those debating were scholars and literati, passionate and loud; most merchants and diners showed little interest.

He had only recently learned, while preparing for the state academy's Sacrifice to the Sage, that the Temple of the Supreme Sage lay just one street away, around the corner.

No wonder scholars often came here for meals—he now understood why he'd encountered the radical Yue Ziaang here before.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong returned his gaze, shook his head at Li Su Dalang, and bent to eat, calm and composed.

Li Su Dalang and Yan Beside Yan Liulang exchanged glances and followed his lead, eating in peace.

At that moment, the table where the thin-faced scholar and the middle-aged scholar sat was the loudest, their voices clearly audible even to Magistrate Ouyang Rong's corner table.

"Hah, this may be more than just bewitching the Emperor's ear."

Suddenly, a young scholar with a clean, handsome face set down his chopsticks and snorted in agreement with the previous speakers:

"The Twin Wei Princes are clearly using this as an opportunity to suppress Prince Xiang, the Master, and the loyal ministers of the court—this is another round of persecution.

"The Twin Wei Princes are a plague upon the state—a true cancer."

The scholars on the second floor echoed in agreement.

One scholar lowered his voice, cautiously asking:

"I heard the Master has petitioned seven times to retire, all rejected, and now publicly claims a minor illness, staying indoors for half a month without attending court?"

The young scholar nodded: "For this monument and Buddha project, the Emperor, under the Wei clan's influence, deliberately bypassed the Master and the Council of State, using so-called 'powder money' from the Inner Treasury.

"The Master may be sulking. Though the Emperor calls him 'National Elder,' sometimes his actions are truly tyrannical…"

"Shh, watch your tongue."

"Hmph, what's there to hide?"

The young scholar fell silent. The hall grew quiet, then a collective sigh rose. One man faced north, speaking with reverence:

"Minister Ji, Jiangzhou Cishi Li, Censor Wei, Director Du, Secretary Wang… they gave their lives for righteousness—true men of principle, a blessing to the realm.

"They are our models. Though temporarily persecuted and exiled by the Wei clan… as long as the Master, Prince Xiang, and they remain, the realm still has hope—it will never fall into the hands of the Wei clan alone."

"When the state is at stake, the Master and the ministers naturally cannot stand idly by…" The young scholar nodded, speaking calmly:

"I heard Minister Ji's great-grandfather once served as Minister of the Sui court. When the Great Li Qian was founded, Taizong forgave the Ji clan for their past allegiance and even granted them favors—a celebrated tale of the time.

"Jiangzhou Cishi Li is a direct descendant of a founding Duke of Great Li Qian, a true Guanlong nobleman who entered service through hereditary privilege… and Censor Wei is the same…"

He couldn't help sighing: "The grace of the fallen Li Qian still lingers…"

The scholars who had been praising him exchanged glances, now eyeing this bold speaker with surprise.

The second-floor hall fell into an awkward silence… Few scholars dared to echo such thoughts about the previous dynasty—some things are better left unweighed; once weighed, they become unbearable burdens.

Of course, anyone who reported such remarks to the authorities would be universally shunned by the scholar class.

In the nearby corner, Yan Beside Yan Liulang glanced at the unresponsive Master, then turned to look at the other "Li" man, Su Dalang.

As the state's Judicial Assistant, he blinked, made a motion to rest his hand on his saber. Li Su Dalang immediately winced, raised a cup in salute, and bowed in surrender.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang laughed and released his grip, dropping the jest.

Meanwhile, the scholars on the second floor quickly moved past this dangerous topic.

"Regardless, today's righteous spirit makes for fine wine—come, all of you, raise your cups! My treat for today's expenses."

A scholar in brocade robes rose, raised his cup with passion, and tossed down a thousand taels.

Half the guests on the second floor stood, laughing as they drank heartily.

Yan Beside Yan Liulang and Li Su Dalang exchanged glances, rose in unison, and joined the toast.

The two friends shamelessly piggybacked on the drink. Magistrate Ouyang Rong shook his head, remained seated, and calmly picked at his food, while the scholars' drunken chatter continued at his ears:

"I heard among the persecuted righteous officials, Secretary Wang was exiled to our Jiangzhou as State Academy Doctor, and Director Du was demoted to serve as Assistant Magistrate of Longcheng County.

"But it's a pity—Jiangzhou Cishi Li and Censor Wei were sent farther: one to Raozhou, the other to Yixian."

"No matter. When those masters arrive, I'll surely go out to meet them…"

"I will too."

"Count me in…"

The scholars eagerly joined in.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong, diligently eating, paused slightly, lips tightening.

The State Academy indeed lacked a Jiangzhou Doctor. This year's Sacrifice Ceremony was now being led by him as Chancellor, a duty that rightfully belonged to the Academy Doctor.

I wonder if the former Chang'an Secretary, Wang Jun, will arrive in time…

As for recent court affairs, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, as Chancellor of Jiangzhou and with access to intelligence from Prince Xunyang Prince's and Prince Xiang's circles,

naturally knew more than these scholars.

Aside from Minister Ji Qianyi, who held the post of Minister of Personnel, Jiangzhou Cishi Li, Censor Wei, Director Du, and Secretary Wang were among the most fervent members of the pro-Li faction within the court,

even outright called the Restoration-Li Qian faction.

This group had previously criticized Master Di for being too passive, accusing him of emphasizing only "Protect Li" and refusing to push for "Restore Li Qian"…

Of course, these were merely private disputes within the pro-Li faction; publicly, they remained unified.

But this monument-and-Buddha affair had split them open—clearly a Yangmou by the Wei clan to fracture the pro-Li faction… Magistrate Ouyang Rong saw it as clearly as fire in daylight.

The meal was nearly finished. Magistrate Ouyang Rong seemed to hear something, frowned, and turned his head. The scholars were loudly plotting to protest the Buddha construction at the Jiangzhou Government Office.

One scholar's voice, puzzled, rose from the group:

"Jiangzhou Cishi Wang's inaction, aiding the tyrant, is no surprise—we've long heard he was promoted by the Wei clan, a nest of snakes and rats…

"But what about Magistrate Ouyang Magistrate Ouyang Lianghan? This Chancellor is famed across the realm as a righteous gentleman—why hasn't he submitted a memorial to dissuade the Emperor from this wasteful, labor-draining project?"

"The Chancellor must have submitted one."

"Then why hasn't this storm touched him at all?" someone asked coldly.

The hall fell silent.

After all, he was their own Chancellor—no one dared speak disrespectfully, especially not about a man long revered as a true gentleman.

Yet in this strangely quiet atmosphere, a few scholars' eyes grew suspicious, resentful…

Li Su Dalang and Yan Beside Yan Liulang turned to look at Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

"Why are you all staring at me?"

Magistrate Ouyang Rong smiled, picked up a piece of greens, chewed slowly, then looked up as if seriously considering:

"Given all this, let's just finish our meal."

Seeing his indifference, Li Su Dalang and Yan Beside Yan Liulang couldn't help smiling.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong chuckled and shook his head.

His memorial did oppose it.

But his objections differed slightly from most others'.

Hmm—he had carefully calculated the costs for the Emperor…

And this calm, blunt, "straight-man" reasoning was far less dramatic or visible than the fiery outbursts of Jiangzhou Cishi Li, Censor Wei, and other upright ministers.

I wonder if the Empress even read his memorial.

In the end, the storm passed him by entirely.

About half an hour later, lunch on the second floor ended, the scholars' chatter faded, and they dispersed.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong's group also left Yunshui Pavilion.

In truth, such scholarly debates had occurred at least ten times a day recently at places like Yunshui Pavilion, frequented by literati.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong stepped out of Yunshui Pavilion, frowning slightly.

The sentiment among common scholars was even more intense than he'd imagined; even scholars from Jiangzhou in Jiang Nan Dao were buzzing about it, and he could only guess how loud things had become elsewhere…

In the following days, some scholars gradually gathered at the entrance of Jiangzhou Hall, protesting the construction of the Buddha statue.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong ignored them entirely, daily visiting Prince Xunyang Wang Fu to "discuss" strategies for building the Donglin Great Buddha with Li Su Xian, the Regional Construction Commissioner.

Along the way, he presided over an ancestral rite at Prince Xunyang Ferry to bless boats with favorable winds and rains.

Watching the humble merchants and laborers going about their lives, Magistrate Ouyang Rong suddenly realized that the matters officials and scholars cared about and argued over had little to do with the majority of common folk below.

Unless, of course, Jiangzhou Hall was greedily seizing taxes and requisitioning grain and funds to build the Buddha statue.

Yet with him, Jiangzhou's Chief Secretary, stationed at Jiangzhou Hall, such things would never happen.

For now, within Prince Xunyang City, aside from the noisy protests of scholars who loved "keyboard politics" gathering in teahouses and taverns, all civilian life remained undisturbed.

Yet the quietly operating Jiangzhou Hall and the utterly unmoving Jiangzhou officials clearly failed to satisfy the passionate scholars.

When Magistrate Ouyang Rong rode Dongmei to and from duty, he was often stopped on the street by young scholars.

They demanded to know how the Chief Secretary viewed the Great Zhou's Virtue-Praising Central Authority.

Why did Jiangzhou Hall remain silent? Were they truly going to obediently accept the court's mistaken actions?

Each time, Magistrate Ouyang Rong calmly rode past.

Eventually, to reduce trouble, Yan Beside Yan Liulang arranged a carriage for him, enabling discreet travel.

One day, flustered and overwhelmed, Yan Beside Yan Liulang came to ask how to handle the scholars gathered outside Jiangzhou Hall protesting.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong stepped out calmly, as planned, to inspect Shuangfengjian, and before leaving, dropped a single line:

"As long as it doesn't disrupt the daily lives of ordinary citizens, let them be."

The next half-ten days passed.

News arrived from various regions in turn.

Of the empire's ten circuits, some prefectures saw fierce public outcry, with local scholars directly storming government offices to protest the Buddha statues and Virtue-Praising Bronze.

Great Zhou had over a hundred prefectures; it was unsurprising that some places, with more defiant folkways, reacted strongly.

Especially in Guizhou, Yangzhou, and Taiyuan Prefecture—where Buddha statues were being built—the protests were numerous.

A few prefectures chose to confront head-on, deploying troops to suppress the scholars, resulting in several bloody arrests and imprisonments.

The court was shaken; scholarly debate grew even more heated.

The capital issued imperial edicts to all prefectures, using stern language, demanding proper and serious handling to avoid disrupting the Great Zhou's Virtue-Praising Central Authority and the construction of the regional Buddha statues.

Sitting in the main hall, Magistrate Ouyang Rong finished reading these official reports, his expression sinking into thought.

That evening, after finishing duty, as his carriage passed the entrance, he lifted the curtain and glanced at the scattered groups of protesting scholars outside Jiangzhou Hall—few in number, even thinner by mealtime.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong couldn't help but find them endearing; he decided Jiangzhou's scholars had rather good tempers, showing restraint, hmm, very Jiangzhou-style slackers…

He just wondered whether news of this wave of scholar bloodshed, once it reached Jiangzhou, would reignite these naive, passionate youths.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong sighed softly and lowered the curtain.

He sincerely hoped they'd keep their original spirit and maintain their slack-off ways.

In the days that followed, Magistrate Ouyang Rong, in his capacity as Jiangzhou Chief Secretary, frequently visited Prince Xunyang Wang Fu to discuss Buddha-building matters with the Regional Construction Commissioner.

Though Li Su Xian had been appointed Regional Construction Commissioner, it was merely a nominal title.

Practical affairs were, as usual, delegated to subordinates: Magistrate Ouyang Rong and Wang Wang Lengran.

But Wang Wang Lengran still did nothing, leaving all responsibility to Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

Of course, this also stemmed from Li Su Xian's complete favoritism toward Magistrate Ouyang Rong.

While the Wei clan's main focus was strengthening the Great Zhou's Virtue-Praising Central Authority.

Magistrate Ouyang Rong seized this rare window of opportunity.

He and Jiangzhou Hall did not wait for the so-called twenty thousand taels of cosmetic funds, but directly reached out to Xiao Huoban, such as Wang Cao and Ma Zhanggu.

One by one, they arrived; funds were secured.

Finally, the previously agreed-upon plan to excavate and construct the Prince Xunyang Grottoes at Shuangfengjian was launched, slowly rolling forward…

(End of Chapter)