Chapter 228: Sweeping Clean the Ruler

"I still remember — it was the autumn of the fifth year of Tianfeng, the eighth month. Huan Junshan and I were ordered to inspect the village schools of the six commanderies and select students for the Imperial Academy. That was when we first met the Duke Weixin."

At this moment, the Emperor Wang Mang was in the inner chamber talking in hushed tones with Liu Xin about who knows what. Liu Xin's nephew Liu Gong invited Diwu Lun to take a seat, and as they spoke of the past, they were both deeply moved.

Back then, Diwu Lun was just a callow youth of seventeen or eighteen, who first made a name for himself in the county by resigning his post and yielding his place at school. Who could have foreseen that in a mere six years, he would rise to the highest ducal rank and join the imperial affines?

A man's fate — it's not only… it also… Diwu Lun had no wish to repeat that saying again. Still, he had to credit Wang Mang's policy of "trusting the men he employed." If a spirit medium or a pancake-seller guarding a gate could leap from commoner to one of the Four Supports or Four Generals overnight, why not him?

Diwu Lun merely smiled and said, "I too can hardly forget that day. Erudite and Junshan's discourse on the human form and the candle flame — I profited greatly from it."

The human body is like a candle, the spirit like its flame. The flame is produced by the burning of the candle; once the candle is consumed, how can the flame exist on its own? By the same reasoning, the human spirit arises in dependence on the body; after the body dies, how can the spirit exist independently? That was Huan Tan's view. Liu Gong, however, felt that just as one candle can light the next before it burns out, could not the human spirit likewise "pass on the flame"?

This is also what the Zhuangzi says: "The fingers exhaust themselves feeding the fire, yet the fire is passed on — none knows when it will end."

Though Diwu Lun was reluctant to admit it, his own condition was actually quite similar to what Liu Gong described. This was also what drove him to strive so fiercely — because you never know when your own candle will gutter out, so you must burn as brightly as you can before that moment comes.

Diwu Lun was curious: had Huan Tan and Liu Gong ever reached a conclusion in their debate over this question?

Liu Gong only shook his head with a bitter smile. "The realm is in turmoil, and no one knows where it will end. Where is the leisure or the peace of mind to discuss abstractions?"

In this age, there was no longer room even for a quiet writing desk. Huan Tan had the leisure, but witnessing the world's decay, he had grown somewhat reckless, spending his days at home pouring wine, strumming his zither, and singing. Because his songs were always mournful laments, Wang Mang took a dislike to it and even forbade him from striking the bell, demoting him from Grand Master of Music to Remonstrance Grand Master — idle at home.

Liu Gong, too, began to worry about Huan Tan. "Last year, Junshan's mother passed away from illness. He escorted her coffin back to his hometown in Wufu Commandery. Now that region is overrun with bandits, and all communication has been cut off. We have had no letters for several months."

Huan Tan came from a humble background, and it was uncertain whether his clan could protect itself in these chaotic times. Diwu Lun could only hope that his old friend would come through safe and sound.

At this point, Liu Gong seemed to recall something. "Huan Junshan has compiled several scrolls, among them the chapter 'On Form and Spirit.' I shall fetch them at once for the Duke Weixin to see."

With that, he left for a short while and returned carrying several sealed bamboo scrolls. Seeing that Diwu Lun was about to open them, he smiled and said, "The Duke Weixin may peruse them at leisure once he has returned home."

Diwu Lun sensed a hidden meaning in Liu Gong's words. His heart stirred, but he merely had his attendants stow the bamboo slips away. Just then, Wang Mang emerged from Liu Xin's chamber, hands clasped behind his back, saying nothing, while Liu Xin, supported by a serving boy, followed behind to see him off.

Diwu Lun could not linger any longer. The haggard Liu Xin, after kneeling in obeisance to Wang Mang, turned and cupped his hands toward Diwu Lun. "I only hope the Duke Weixin will soon subdue the rebels. This old and useless one has spent five years trying to bisect the circle, yet still has not achieved the precision of the ratio Boyu recorded back then. If by that time this old frame still remains, I hope to seek your instruction once more."

In Wang Mang's presence, Liu Xin maintained the pose of a man who, even on the brink of death, never forgot his scholarship, utterly indifferent to the political situation. Only after the Emperor and Diwu Lun had departed and he had dismissed the servants did his hands begin to tremble uncontrollably with excitement.

Liu Gong asked with concern, "Uncle, His Majesty…"

"He had a dream." Recalling Wang Mang's dream, Liu Xin was quite elated, laughing until he coughed.

Jia Yi once wrote: "The First Emperor of Qin gathered up all the weapons of the realm, brought them to Xianyang, melted down the blades and arrowheads, and cast them into twelve metal giants, thereby weakening the people of the realm."

The metal giants Wang Mang dreamed of were in fact the bronze statues of the Qin era, three zhang tall. Even the smallest of them, by rough estimate, weighed a thousand shi. On their backs was an inscription that read: "In the twenty-sixth year of the Emperor, he first united the realm, changed the feudal lords into commanderies and counties, unified the laws, and standardized the measures."

When Xiang Yu entered Xianyang, his great blaze failed to destroy the bronze statues. In the Han dynasty, they were moved to Changle and Weiyang Palaces. But as the court's denunciation of Qin grew more vehement day by day, these relics of the former dynasty became an eyesore. They were eventually toppled, face down and back up, and left in a corner of Changle Palace.

Because Wang Mang disliked the characters "gong" and "chang," Changle Palace was renamed Changle Hall. Now that he had dreamed of five bronze giants rising to their feet there — what could this portend?

Liu Xin had just been reassuring Wang Mang: "Metal corresponds to the west — where the myriad things reach completion and the killing qi begins. Thus at the Start of Autumn, the hawk strikes; at the Autumn Equinox, the light frost descends. In the affairs of the king, it means sending forth armies, grasping the banner and the battle-axe, swearing in the officers and men, and displaying martial might — all for the purpose of punishing rebellion and quelling violence."

"And Your Majesty's courtesy name is Jujun. To dream of five great metal giants of Qin rising up corresponds exactly to our dynasty's auspicious number 'five.' It is an omen that the blades of war shall issue from Chang'an, and that the armies of the Duke Longxin and the Duke Weixin shall sweep through the lands as Qin swept the six kingdoms, a portent of the pacification of the bandits east of the passes."

Yet his true thoughts were the exact opposite!

"For it to be as I said, metal must attain its proper nature. But the Emperor is greedy and willful, bent on establishing his might through force, heedless of the people's lives. Thus metal has lost its nature — the omen is not auspicious at all, but rather a great ill portent. The Xin shall repeat the ruin of fallen Qin! This means that the clash of arms shall arise from within the very walls of Chang'an — and their number is five…"

Liu Xin murmured, "Does that not correspond remarkably well to Diwu Lun, whom we intend to draw in as our ally?!"

…

After all, the tongue belongs to the man, and the vocabulary of the Han language is so vast and profound that you can twist it any which way and still sound reasonable.

Wang Mang did not consult Liu Xin alone. He also summoned the Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Zhang Han, to inquire about the dream, and Zhang Han likewise interpreted it as an auspicious sign.

But this did not set Wang Mang's heart at ease. "The victory of the Sacred Xin — why should it need a relic of the tyrannical Qin to herald it?"

Moreover, he had a shadow over his heart when it came to Changle Palace.

In Han times, there were Changle and Weiyang — and Changle was even ranked above Weiyang, where the Emperor conducted his affairs, because Changle was where the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager resided.

From Empress Lü onward, all the way to Wang Mang's own aunt, Wang Zhengjun, that place had housed many a formidable Empress Dowager. Invoking the principle that "the house of Han ruled the realm by filial piety," they could even issue decrees and govern in the Emperor's stead. Wang Mang's own rise to power had relied heavily on Wang Zhengjun's support.

But as the wife of Emperor Yuan of Han, Wang Zhengjun deeply resented Wang Mang's betrayal of his promise and his usurpation of the Han. When he demanded the Imperial Heirloom Seal, the old lady's temper flared, and she hurled it straight to the ground, chipping off a corner — forcing Wang Mang to have it repaired with gold.

After that, Wang Mang constantly tried to curry favor with the old Empress Dowager, but Wang Zhengjun grew ever more displeased. Wang Mang replaced the Han black sable robes with yellow sable, and changed the Han calendar and the La festival day. Wang Zhengjun, however, did the opposite, ordering that her palace staff continue to wear Han court dress, and on the La day of the first month, she would eat and drink alone with her immediate attendants.

Wang Mang treated Wang Zhengjun as his own mother, and after she passed away, he even observed the full three years of mourning, delaying the Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai and the relocation of the capital to Luoyang. And Wang Zhengjun? Even in death, she still considered herself a widow of the unvanquished Han, and cursed Wang Mang, saying he would bring about the extermination of the Wang clan.

Now, just as the wave of Han restoration was surging across the realm, he dreamed of metal giants rising within the very halls of Changle, where the old Empress Dowager had lived for decades. How could Wang Mang be at ease? Though everyone around him called it "greatly auspicious," his heart was hollow with dread, and he still loathed the matter. He promptly dispatched the imperial craftsmen to grind away every last character of the inscription "The Emperor first united the realm" from the backs of the twelve bronze giants in Changle Palace!

Then someone reminded him: "Changle is the residence of the female sovereign. For such a strange dream to appear there — could it be connected to the long vacancy of the Empress's position in the palace? Perhaps it would be best to install a mistress in the Pepper Chamber to suppress it!"

Wang Meng saw the light and decided to reestablish an Empress by the fifth month. The candidate was already chosen: a daughter of the Shi clan of Duling best met his criteria — the divinations declared her the most auspicious.

Yet even after doing all this, he still could not dispel the palpitations in his heart. Wang Mang then transferred a man — originally slated to accompany Diwu Lun on the campaign — into the palace.

"Order the Assistant General Jumu Ba to enter the palace and command the night guard!"

Wang Mang reasoned thus: "My courtesy name is Jujun, and Jumu Ba is likewise a giant of a man — a symbol of the hegemon's might. With me dwelling within and Jumu Ba standing guard without, it will suffice to suppress the ill omen."

The logic was crystal clear and utterly breathtaking. Only a giant could contend against giants!

…

Diwu Lun, for his part, had no time to linger in Chang'an. Once he received the military tally from Wang Mang, he immediately set out for Hongmen in Xinfeng. The "great army" the Emperor had promised had, over the past month or so, more or less assembled — it was only waiting for him, its General.

Riding in his easy carriage, Diwu Lun recalled the meaningful glance Liu Gong had given him when handing over the scrolls Huan Tan had left. He carefully unrolled them and began to read.

Inside were indeed all essays by Huan Tan. Though the old fellow loved to disparage the vulgar Confucians, he was in fact widely learned, thoroughly versed in the Five Classics, and his purpose in writing and establishing his theories — unlike Yang Xiong, who secretly aspired to produce "the works of a sage" — was driven purely by personal interest.

Thus the contents were quite eclectic, and many of them genuinely revealed a "materialist" bent.

But when he reached the final scroll and slowly unrolled the withered yellow bamboo slips, it was as though a dagger was revealed at the map's end — inside was a piece of silk writing!

Diwu Lun narrowed his eyes. The silk was covered in tiny, fly-head script, but he could still recognize it as Liu Xin's own handwriting. It seemed the man was not nearly as gravely ill as he had appeared, barely clinging to life on that couch.

The silk document did not directly propose any course of action to Diwu Lun. In fact, it contained almost no substantive content — even if someone searched and found it, there would be no real problem. It merely quoted a passage from the Gongyang Commentary, Duke Ding, Year Thirteen.

"Zhao Yang of Jin took up the armor of Jinyang to expel Xun Yin and Shi Jishe. Who were Xun Yin and Shi Jishe? Evil men at the ruler's side. This was the expulsion of evil men at the ruler's side!"

Had this been Diwu Lun of a few years ago, he would have been utterly baffled. Fortunately, he had not spent two years as Yang Xiong's student in vain. In dealing with the literati, one had to be thoroughly versed in at least the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Zuo Commentary, so he recognized the allusion. It referred to the civil war among the six ministerial clans of Jin in the Spring and Autumn period, when Zhao Yang launched a war and expelled the other two ministers from the Marquis of Jin's side.

Then, on the silk, there was writing that closely resembled an annotation: "The decline and fall of Jin was the work of evil men at the ruler's side. Zhao Yang struck them down, avenging a private grudge while also achieving public righteousness. Afterwards, Zhao Yang became the chief minister of Jin, and the Spring and Autumn Annals recorded it."

This was the original source of the phrase "sweeping clean the ruler's side." Liu Xin had not dared to directly propose that Diwu Lun rebel and restore the Han. Instead, he put himself in Diwu Lun's place, guessed at his likes and dislikes, and used the ancient past to allude to the present. The implied meaning was…

"There are treacherous ministers at His Majesty's side!"

And who were the evil men at the ruler's side now? Need one even ask? Naturally, it was Chen Chong, Kong Ren, Zhang Han, and their ilk! That the realm had fallen into such a state — the blame lay entirely with them!

What, does your Excellency the Duke of Jiaxin, Liu Xin, bear no responsibility at all?

"We who are loyal and upright must make purging the sovereign's entourage our own duty! Once the deed is done, my lord may follow the example of Zhao Yang and hold the reins of court." This was what Liu Xin concealed within those two brief passages, though he had yet to reveal his side's full hand — only if Diwu Lun showed interest would they discuss what came next.

Though he could have foreseen that, as the tide of Han restoration surged across the realm, the enmity and conflict between Liu Xin and the Emperor would only deepen, he still had not expected this old pedant to actually want to stage a coup!

Still, it was true to form — a scholar plotting revolt, full of such twists and turns. Diwu Lun did not let himself grow overly elated, but merely sank into thought.

He was calculating: were these people a fine assist, or deadweight teammates? Would cooperating with them truly help, or only make a mess? And though both sides shared a common enemy, the final outcome each desired was bound to differ — Diwu Lun, for his part, wanted far more than merely "purging the sovereign's entourage."

A short while later, Zhang Yu, who was driving the carriage for him outside, caught the soft chanting coming from Diwu Lun within.

It was a passage from Laozi's five thousand words.

"When the great Dao is abandoned, there is benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom emerges, there is great hypocrisy; when the six kinships are discordant, there is filial piety and parental kindness…"

The final line came with a laugh: "When the state is benighted and in chaos, there are loyal ministers!"

……

PS: Got up a bit late. Chapter 2 at 13:00, chapter 3 at 18:00.