Chapter 264: On Desire

"Boom...!!!"

One day in late February, the day after Mr. Guishan, Yang Shi, brought the other two direct disciples of the Cheng school into the capital, at noon, in front of Xuan De Tower, a dull, thunderous roar rolled like spring thunder, which then triggered a storm of startled cries and shouts.

The twenty suddenly unbridled strong horses, startled by the noise, galloped without stopping. Two teams of ten horses each dragged a hollow bronze bowl, clanging and banging endlessly on the Imperial Street, running several hundred paces before being stopped by the preset obstacles of the Imperial Guard.

At the same time, on Xuan De Tower, the two Imperial Consorts seated with His Majesty, several dozen high ministers and great scholars, plus over a hundred attendant low-ranking civil and military officials, including the armored and armed Imperial Guard, almost all lost their composure, startled as they leaned on the railing to look.

That's right, the repeatedly delayed "air pressure experiment" had finally been completed, and in a way so intuitive that it shocked everyone... the classic hemisphere experiment. Two hemispherical bronze bowls, the air inside pumped out to create a vacuum, and the power of atmospheric pressure was demonstrated without doubt by the strength of the horses.

To be honest, this experiment did have some twists and turns in its preparation.

For example, His Majesty initially thought the biggest technical difficulty he would face was the sealing problem at the contact surface of the two hemispheres, and he even specially prepared fish bladders. But later he found that as long as the casting was careful enough to make the surfaces flat, there was actually no problem there...

The real trouble was how to extract the air from the hemispheres.

This problem took a lot of thought and effort from Zhao Jiu and Chen Gui, but you know what? His Majesty actually rediscovered the pride of an engineering student and finally solved it.

After encountering this problem, His Majesty's first reaction was the hand-pumped wells he used as a child, so he thought of directly making a hole in the sphere and fitting a simple piston pump like the one in a hand-pumped well. But making a piston pump wasn't that easy... First, he found that the airtightness of the leather and iron castings he remembered wasn't good enough, so he went back to basics, changed to first filling the sphere with water, using the natural airtightness of water to pump the water out and create a vacuum. But just filling it with water wasn't enough either, because no one had the strength to pump all the water out, so he added a lever. Later, he found that at the most critical moment near the end, the connection between the pump body and the copper sphere kept coming apart, so he had no choice but to go back to the casting process, casting the pump directly onto the sphere from the start. Finally, he found that after the water was pumped dry, the airtightness was insufficient again, so he had no choice but to add an iron ball under the cowhide to act as a piston.

Back and forth, His Majesty essentially reviewed high school physics all over again, and also essentially "invented" the hand-pumped well from scratch... and it really was just a hand-pumped well... but regardless, with this engineering expert's excellent physical design and Chen Gui's excellent technical execution, this thing was finally completed.

The time spent inventing the hand-pumped well and preparing the experiment was about ten days, and the finished product experiment at the Yue Tai camp outside the city took another ten days or so... But the timeline for this plan was originally before the New Year!

In other words, His Majesty had already started preparations before the bet was made, and had full confidence shortly after the bet was made.

However, in order to build up momentum, he actively delayed the time, and kept delaying it, forcibly dragging it out until now. Fortunately, the effect was significant.

Now, any scholar or Confucian student who understood a bit of Original Learning or Dao Learning actually knew that this loud noise merely verified Minister Lu's description of "Qi is like water" in Original Learning, but it could not prove that Original Learning had grasped the truth on the fundamental issue of "Qi." From another perspective, it also could not prove that the Dao Learning theories of other schools were wrong. It could only prove that Hu Anguo, the main opponent of Original Learning in the capital, had made a slight error on the issue of "Qi."

As for the other schools, such as the orthodox Cheng school of Dao Learning, Yang Shi and the two direct disciples of the Cheng school had only just arrived in the capital and exchanged a few words before the experiment was hastily upon them.

However, thanks to His Majesty's constant hype and delays, this loud noise created an illusion among all those who did not engage in scholarship, and even among many who did—that Original Learning had defeated Dao Learning!

Back to the present, Lu Benzhong, who had seen the demonstration at the Yue Tai camp before, disregarded his status and stood directly on the Imperial Street below Xuan De Tower. He showed the reconnected copper sphere to the commoners on the roadside, casually pulling it apart for demonstration, and tirelessly explained the principle... When there was air inside the sphere, there was no air pressure outside. Now that the air inside was gone, creating a vacuum, the air outside pressed the copper sphere from the outside. Those twenty horses were competing in strength with the invisible, intangible, yet real air pressing on the copper sphere.

Watching this scene, Zhao Ding, equally astonished, stood up from his seat on the tower, turned, and bowed to the Minister Lu Haowen beside him, congratulating the Minister on his great progress in scholarship, and also congratulating Minister Lu on being able to, in his old age when he was almost fading from the political scene, make an iron tree bloom and water flow backward, creating such a big stir.

And it was a big stir with unlimited potential.

After all, establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words... Minister Lu had already achieved merit, and now he was about to establish words. Then, with a little boasting about virtue, who knows, he might achieve all three establishments while still alive, truly becoming a contemporary sage.

Therefore, to put it bluntly, anyone on Xuan De Tower today had reason to envy Minister Lu's luck and achievements.

However, whether it was an illusion or not, Zhao Ding always felt that Minister Lu, who was about to become a sage, seemed a bit dazed, as if he too was shocked by the result of this "experiment."

Not only that, when Zhao Yuanzhen bypassed Minister Lu, ignored Consort Pan, who was leaning on the railing staring blankly at the Imperial Street below, and faced His Majesty, he found that His Majesty was, on the contrary, a bit too calm... His Majesty, in his bright red robe, was coaxing the crying Princess Yiyou in his arms, seemingly not paying any attention to the scene below.

"Your Majesty..." Zhao Yuanzhen bowed. "The Princess is still young and should not be exposed to too much wind, let alone such a fright."

"It's fine. Being frightened a few times when young helps you live longer." Zhao Jiu said nonchalantly. "What does Minister Zhao think of today's events?"

Zhao Ding turned his head to look at Yang Shi, Hu Anguo, and the others on the tower, who were still stunned and speechless, then glanced downstairs and replied cautiously: "Your servant believes that Minister Lu's scholarship is profound, his preparations were proper, and his calculations were clear. With this resounding success, Original Learning can now shock the world, both academically and among the people. But from now on, how Your Majesty arranges things politically is the key."

"I arrange things?" Zhao Jiu handed his daughter, who was gradually stopping her crying, to Consort Wu beside him, then gave a faint smile. "Does the Secretariat and the Central Secretariat have no arrangements?"

Zhao Ding was silent for a moment, then replied seriously: "Your servant has been trying to get the Secretariat to make arrangements these past few days, but if Your Majesty does not make arrangements, your servant does not know what Your Majesty wants to arrange, so it is difficult to arrange anything..."

"That's a roundabout way of saying it." Zhao Jiu glanced at Zhang Jun and Liu Ji, who had come over early, and laughed briefly. "But, Minister Zhao, haven't you been wanting to say this roundabout thing to me for a long time?"

Zhao Ding started to speak but stopped.

"Alright." Zhao Jiu sighed softly, then nodded: "It's my fault for being too slow. Since you all want me to make some arrangements, I'll settle things today... Minister Zhao."

"Your servant is here."

"Starting tomorrow, arrange this horse-drawn hemisphere demonstration on the Imperial Street in front of Xuan De Tower every noon for a whole month. Lu Benzhong should have the spare hemispheres ready. The Secretariat should cooperate."

"Your servant understands."

"I... Minister Lu, based on the principle of air pressure, applied his knowledge to make a hand-pumped well. It works very well. You should prepare and try to arrange for its promotion."

"Yes."

"As for the other arrangements, there's no need to prepare a banquet. Just go to the fish pond in the rear palace for some tea. I'll explain everything to you clearly on the spot." Zhao Jiu continued. "Several ministers, several gentlemen, the Six Ministries and Nine Chief Ministers, plus the Censorate... all come along."

Zhao Ding immediately bowed. Zhang Jun and the others below also bowed one after another. Just as the several great scholars were reacting and preparing to bow, His Majesty had already turned and gone downstairs.

And so, two quarters of an hour later, except for the two Imperial Consorts and the several young princesses who had avoided this place, all the high ministers who had been on Xuan De Tower came to the former site of the rear palace gardens.

To be honest, some of the great scholars who were visiting for the first time could not help but lose their composure when they saw the scene of the imperial rear gardens. Mr. Guishan, Yang Shi, who was returning to this place after several years, was even more silent, stroking his beard... It turned out that the once splendid imperial rear gardens, covering over a dozen acres, were now neatly divided into eight fish ponds and eight mulberry mounds.

The fish ponds had newly stocked fry, and the earthen ridges formed by the soil between the ponds were planted with newly transplanted mulberry trees. Only a flock of chicks showed any scale, and they were startled into the distance by the commotion here.

And Zhao Jiu, His Majesty, who had fully contracted the eight fish ponds, directly set up rush mats and low tables on the grass by one of the fish ponds, inviting today's guests to tea.

"Your Majesty..."

Everyone sat down. Before any words were spoken, Mr. Guishan, Yang Shi, stood up tremblingly and bowed.

Now, although this old gentleman was advanced in age, his mind was extremely clear. Before even arriving in the capital, he had learned that His Majesty was secretly supporting Lu Haowen through the official gazette. Yesterday, His Majesty appeared with Lu Benzhong at the Wuyue Temple, forcefully debated utility, and left in a huff midway. Today, there was this loud noise in front of Xuan De Tower. How could he not know that His Majesty had long had a bias in his heart?

He dared not show any further negligence and prepared to say what he could while he could.

"What does Minister Yang have to say?" Zhao Jiu picked up the spring tea, first smelling its fragrance, unhurried, as if he truly knew the man.

"Your servant has been away for years and has not yet had the chance to congratulate Your Majesty..." Yang Shi said unhurriedly.

"What is there to congratulate?" Zhao Jiu took a light sip of the spring tea, then casually placed the cup on the table in front of him. "For the Battle of Yaoshan, I accepted condolences, not congratulations. Adding a child is a natural thing. As for suppressing the rebellion at Dongting Lake, I am somewhat comforted in my heart, but Minister Yang should not have known about it so quickly... What are you congratulating me for?"

"Your servant congratulates Your Majesty on obtaining the Three Treasures of a Sage!" Yang Shi, nearly eighty years old, replied unhurriedly and boldly.

Zhao Jiu smiled but said nothing.

"First, I congratulate Your Majesty on obtaining the Way of the Mean. After four years of hardship, you achieved victory in one go, but you held back instead of pressing on, and were able to accept remonstrance and appoint good people. Second, I congratulate Your Majesty on obtaining the true meaning of scholarship. Investigating things to acquire knowledge, seeking learning through practice, and even putting it into action yourself, to verify the Way of the Sage. Third, I congratulate Your Majesty on your simple and frugal conduct, eliminating desires and preserving righteousness, sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall, never forgetting the shame of the Jingkang Incident." Seeing that His Majesty did not respond, Yang Shi continued directly. "It is said that simplicity cultivates the self, practice seeks knowledge, and the Mean conceals sharpness... Your Majesty is only a little over twenty years old, yet you already have such an aura of a sage. Seeing this, I feel greatly encouraged, and it shows that the revival of the nation is also in sight."

Zhao Jiu smiled again: "This is only something Minister Yang can say. If anyone else said it, Commissioner Li would probably lose his temper on the spot and denounce them as a petty person."

Everyone turned to look at Li Guang, the Censor-in-Chief, who, having been caught in the crossfire, could only smile awkwardly and say nothing.

"However, since Commissioner Li has nothing to say, I feel that Minister Yang's evaluation of me is actually a bit exaggerated..." Zhao Jiu sighed softly. "I am not simple and frugal, nor am I diligent and studious, and I certainly do not deserve to be called the Way of the Mean or holding back instead of pressing on."

From Zhao Ding on down, all the ministers looked over.

"For example, regarding simplicity and frugality. To be fair, regarding the 'human desires' you Dao Learning people talk about, I have been quite indulgent and have always pursued them." Zhao Jiu sat cross-legged on the couch, shaking his head. "Take the desire for food and drink. If we're talking about drinking, I drink the best Lanqiao Fengyue wine of this era, as much as I want. If we're talking about eating, what new delicacies could I possibly come up with? Chicken, duck, fish, and meat are never lacking; seasonal vegetables are never in short supply. As for fruit, I have eaten more than you have seen. Do I need to build another post road just for some lychees? Do you really think I don't know what they taste like? As for women... I have two Imperial Consorts, each with a different charm. What more could I want? As for clothing, the best cotton cloth and Shu brocade—have I not worn them? As for palaces and residences, that's even more ridiculous. Not to mention that a person can only sleep on one bed, but even speaking vulgarly, is there anyone in this world with more territory than me? More property than me? Haven't we just been to the most magnificent Xuan De Tower in the world? Isn't that also my property? If we're talking about indulging human desires and enjoying life, who in this world can compare to me?"

The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. The several Dao Learning scholars also stroked their beards, all at a loss for what to say. Even Yang Shi lowered his head, lost in thought.

"As for scholarship... to be honest, I am not very diligent either." Zhao Jiu continued with a sigh. "I am just a man in his twenties, physically strong, with a natural disposition. I can't just lie around here drinking tea and sunbathing every day, can I? So in my spare time, I go to the Yue Tai camp to ride a horse, shoot arrows in the barren land of Gen Yue, practice calligraphy and write essays at night, and when I'm especially idle, I dig fish ponds here and do some afforestation... Isn't that only natural?"

Yang Shi finally wanted to speak, apparently intending to seize the opportunity to insert today's main topic, but the Imperial Lord continued to chatter on, forcing the old gentleman to simply stand by with his hands clasped:

"Of course, I also have some vanity beyond limits, and also seek an indescribable lust for power... there's no hiding that. But after all, I am a Marshal who led troops into battle at Yanying, a Son of Heaven who raised his bow and shot eagles at Yaoshan, and have personally tasted the most wonderful and thrilling flavors in the world—how could I care about those base vanities and lusts for power? If a true man wants to be majestic and strengthen himself, what I can think of next is nothing more than learning from Wei Wu, who after pacifying Liaodong cracked his whip by the Eastern Sea, or after unifying the Nine Provinces, carving the names of meritorious ministers and loyal scholars on a tall stele, or in my lifetime seeing the realm reach modest prosperity, burning a memorial text at the Mingdao Palace."

Below Zhao Ding, the assembled ministers had long been awestruck; if Zhao Jiu had not been clearly in the middle of a lengthy discourse, Zhang Jun and the others would have almost leaped out to swear oaths and vows to fulfill this wish together with the Imperial Lord.

And having spoken to this point, Zhao Jiu finally circled back: "Minister Yang, do you say this counts as frugality, fondness for learning, and the Golden Mean? It's nothing more than that the pleasures I seek—the low-grade ones I've already enjoyed to the full, while the high-grade ones cannot be achieved overnight."

Yang Shi sighed softly and bowed his head in reply: "If so, it makes me appear hypocritical. But Imperial Lord, I believe Your Majesty could seek an even higher and more distant pleasure, rather than being confined to mere hegemonic achievements..."

"I said, I'm not that noble; seeking these hegemonic achievements in this life is enough for me." Zhao Jiu directly waved his hand to cut him off. "Yesterday's abrupt departure from the Wuyue Temple was precisely for this matter. Minister Yang's learning is considerable, but as for things like the governance of the Three Dynasties, I think they are too ethereal and unattainable..."

Yang Shi knew the matter was urgent, so he gritted his teeth and replied: "Imperial Lord, the Dao School has already become a prominent doctrine. Since Your Majesty wishes to rectify the official schools, you cannot abandon the Dao School."

At these words, Hu Anguo, Luo Congyan, Li Tong, and several other great Confucians already in the capital, such as Yin Dun and others, all stepped forward together and performed a grand bow on the grass beside the fish pond.

Hearing this, unexpectedly, Zhao Jiu actually nodded: "All ministers speak rightly... The Dao School has become a prominent doctrine and cannot be ignored. But 'How rich and elegant! I follow Zhou.' As for the vast and profound Dao School, I enter the Pass."

Yang Shi and the others raised their heads together, momentarily not reacting, but soon, as the Grand Councilor of Military Affairs Lü Haowen, who had been almost silent and motionless throughout the day, stepped forward to thank the Imperial Lord, they immediately understood the Imperial Lord's meaning.

To speak of it, the Dao School, tracing back its origins, is nothing more than two fundamental branches: one is the Luo School founded by the Cheng brothers, and the other is naturally the Guan School founded by Zhang Zai.

These two schools have always been spoken of together, and nowadays any Dao School scholar is inevitably influenced by both. However, it is worth noting that the Guan and Luo schools, once equally renowned and factually the orthodox lineage of Dao School and Neo-Confucianism, are now in a situation far different from before.

Looking at the present, Yang Shi, Hu Anguo, Luo Congyan, Li Tong, Yin Dun, and even Xu Jingheng who resigned from the chancellorship, and Ma Shen, the Grand Coordinator far away in Hubei—these people's main lineage is undoubtedly still the Luo School. From this list, it can be seen that the Luo School's momentum is unstoppable. As for the other school, Zhang Zai's Guan School, it has long been mostly absorbed by the Luo School. But without a doubt, the Lü family's school tradition passed down by Lü Princess, who had brought Zhang Zai to the capital back then, contains a clear portion of the Guan School's orthodox lineage.

In other words, the Imperial Lord intended to make Lü Haowen a stitcher-together, while recognizing the Guan School's orthodox lineage, in order to divide and weaken the not-to-be-underestimated power of the Dao School.

"Imperial Lord!" Yang Shi realized this in his heart and without hesitation hastily replied again. "The Guan and Luo schools have long been one body! And how can the Guan School's orthodox lineage be entangled with the misguided learning of a scourge like Wang Anshi? Wang Anshi's talent and virtue were outstanding, but his doctrines are heretical fallacies—they must not be entangled!"

"Why can't they be entangled?" Zhao Jiu replied boldly. "I intend to take the 'Four Sentences' of the Guan School, and then take the four sentences of Prince Shu, and combine them into the orthodox lineage..."

"May I ask the Imperial Lord, which four sentences?" Yang Shi was thoroughly agitated, clearly taking the posture of debating scriptures face-to-face with the Imperial Lord. "I wish to hear them."

"The former four sentences are: 'To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a destiny for the living, to carry on the lost learning of past sages, and to open up peace for ten thousand generations!' The latter four sentences are: 'The Mandate of Heaven is not to be feared, the ancestors are not to be followed as law, the words of others are not to be heeded! The people are not overtaxed yet the state's needs are met!'" Zhao Jiu sat upright without moving, speaking fluently. "Taking the four sentences of the Guan School, and combining them with Prince Shu's four sentences, and merging them with Minister Lü's principle of investigating things to glimpse the principles of the world—that is, the Original School that Minister Lü has realized at home these days—this is the learning I have come to admire after observing 'practice' today at the Xuan De Tower!"

These words were finally spoken, and upon hearing them, Yang Shi, who had been bursting with a bellyful of learning to debate with the Imperial Lord, looked up in shock but found himself utterly unable to speak... because only then did he understand the state of mind the Imperial Lord had when he left the Wuyue Temple yesterday—those whose paths differ cannot take counsel together!

Not to mention 'the words of others are not to be heeded' and 'the people are not overtaxed yet the state's needs are met'—these two are at least debatable technical issues.

But the first two sentences are too terrifying.

'The Mandate of Heaven is not to be feared!'

This sentence, for Hu Anguo, could be roughly swallowed with a pinched nose; for Luo Congyan and Li Tong, it could also be discussed; but for Yang Shi, it was already a deadly thing... Although later generations have consistently believed that Song Dynasty Confucianism, including the Dao School, was essentially a reaction against Han Confucianism's set of ideas—a self-rescue reconstruction of Confucianism after realizing that Han Confucianism's theories of Heaven's response and the Five Virtues cycle were utter nonsense—interestingly, Yang Shi was one of the rare ones who still adhered to the theory of Heaven's response.

And 'the ancestors are not to be followed as law'—this sentence not only threatened Yang Shi's life but was also a deadly statement intolerable to all other Dao School scholars. More importantly, it was also a significant and obvious political declaration.

This meant that the trend of revering the New Learning and advocating utilitarianism, which had continued for many generations under Prince Shu's New School, had returned.

Not only that, after Zhao Jiu's declaration, while several great Confucians were completely speechless, not a single minister actively refuted him either... Refute what? Refute a restorationist sovereign who spent his days digging fish ponds to the point that even someone like Yang Shi had to flatter him upon arrival?

The Imperial Lord had not displayed his authority much in these past few months, but not displaying it did not mean it was absent. Everyone knew that this Imperial Lord's authority had been personally won through the restoration of the old capital and the great battle at Yaoshan, and it was almost unshakable.

Zhao Ding dared not arrange things, Zhang Jun spent his days guessing the Imperial Lord's mind, Ma Shen could only impeach Yang Yizhong, Chen Gongfu thought Zhao Jiu was making a mountain out of a molehill, and Lü Haowen, a remnant of the old faction, became the head of the Original School—how did all this come about? It was because they all knew that this Imperial Lord's political authority was unshakable.

He wanted to create a stitched-together entity, or do anything at all—at this moment, politically, there was no room for resistance whatsoever. As for popular sentiment and academic discussion, the loud bang just now in front of the Xuan De Tower had already given this stitched-together entity the most basic foothold.

In other words, after that loud bang, the academic disputes that had dragged on for many days had reached a point where whatever the Imperial Lord said was essentially what went... this was called 'the word goes forth and the law follows,' and the so-called true men of the Nascent Soul stage were utterly insignificant.

"My mind is made up." Zhao Jiu, seeing no one respond, simply commanded. "From today, this Original School is the official school. My classics lectures, Imperial Academy teachings, and civil service examinations will all take the Original School as their foundation."

Lü Haowen continued to be silent for a moment before cupping his hands in reply: "I thank the Imperial Lord for this grace."

Zhao Ding and the other chancellors and high ministers also stepped forward, bowed their heads, and responded.

"The Dao School and all other schools of thought are not banned. For example, Hu Anguo, Yin Dun, and other famous Dao School scholars who already hold posts in the capital may all serve as professors and enter the Imperial Academy to teach their learning."

After a moment's hesitation, Hu Anguo and Yin Dun stepped forward, bowed their heads, and acknowledged... one thing at a time; there was no need to oppose this matter.

"In the second year of Jianyan, when I was in Nanyang, I already pardoned the Yuanyou faction members once. Today, I issue another public amnesty. Regardless of whether they are from the new or old faction, all are pardoned together, and may enter officialdom and take examinations as usual."

At this, everyone from Lü Haowen down, including Yang Shi, all bowed their heads together to thank the Imperial Lord.

"Prince Shu (Wang Anshi) is restored to the ranks of those receiving sacrifices." Having spoken to this point, Zhao Jiu paused, then softly added to the eldest person before him: "Mr. Guishan, advanced in years and virtuous, I grant you gold and send you home to retire."

Yang Shi opened his mouth to speak, but in the end said nothing... after all, between them was the relationship of sovereign and minister.

PS: Recommending books, three in one go: "My Sister Is Too Doting on Me," "The Peasant King of the Great Tang," and "Under the Mask of the Great Ming"... Wishing everyone peace and health... I finally bought twenty books today.