Chapter 353: The Four Numinous Beasts

Because Song Hong and Ren Guang were busy with establishing the county in Shanglin and spring plowing, Diwu Lun handed the work of moving the capital back to Chang'an over to the "Minister of the Imperial Clan," Diba Jiao, to arrange.

But what Diwu Lun never expected was that Diba Jiao, usually so refined and gentle, would lock horns with him over a "minor matter."

"The Queen, the Crown Prince, and even future consorts shall reside solely in Jianzhang Palace, which will be set apart as the forbidden inner palace. Weiyang Palace shall not have chambers like the Pepper Chamber designated as rear-palace quarters; it will serve purely as the offices for the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, and as the place for holding court, conducting governance, and performing grand ceremonies. What does Jizheng think?"

The reason he had his eye on Jianzhang Palace was that its surroundings were quite pleasant — it was right beside Shanglin Park, and within its grounds were the Grand Liquid Pool and the Jian Terrace. The halls were also relatively new, not as dilapidated as Weiyang, so they wouldn't require great effort to repair.

Diwu Lun had assumed that he merely needed to inform Diba Jiao and have him carry it out. Who would have guessed that Diba Jiao would rise solemnly and say, "Great King, this is an act that violates ritual — it absolutely must not be done!"

True to his background as a former student of the Imperial Academy, specializing in the Book of Documents and the rites, Diba Jiao began explaining to Diwu Lun why this rule could not be broken.

"Those in antiquity who wished to make their bright virtue manifest to all under Heaven first ordered their own states; those who wished to order their own states first regulated their own families."

"The House of Xia transformed the family into the state, and thus directly turned the front hall and rear chamber of the home into the front court and rear bedchamber. The Yin, Zhou, Qin, Han, and now Xin dynasties have all followed this practice to this day. Therefore, upon entering Weiyang, there are first the three courts, called the 'Grand Court,' the 'Governance Court,' and the 'Daily Court.'"

"In Weiyang Palace, the Grand Court is the Front Hall, the place for receiving feudal lords and conducting important ceremonies such as enthronement, enfeoffment of marquises and appointment of chancellors, and the installation of the Crown Prince. The Governance Court is the Chengming Hall in Weiyang Palace, where ordinary palace deliberations are held. The Daily Court is the Xuanshi Hall, the place where the Son of Heaven separately summons ministers for inquiry and counsel."

"After that come the six bedchambers: the principal bedchamber is the Greenhouse Hall, along with five side bedchambers for leisure."

"Last of all are the six palaces: the Empress resides in the Pepper Chamber, with the other five palaces arrayed around it."

"The Rites of Zhou states: 'At court, one enters when colors can be distinguished. The ruler emerges at sunrise to observe it, then retires to the principal bedchamber to hear governance, sending men to observe the grandees; after the grandees withdraw, he then goes to a smaller bedchamber to rest and remove his robes.' Thus, though Weiyang is vast, there is not a single superfluous hall."

Though the explanation made his head spin, Diwu Lun still clicked his tongue in wonder. "Jizheng, oh Jizheng, in just half a year, you've become thoroughly versed in the rites and institutions of the palace and its precincts."

Diba Jiao had not spent this half year idly; he had frequently summoned elders who had served under both the Han and Xin dynasties to inquire about the palace system, and had painstakingly mastered it.

He said, "Great King, you laid the foundation from horseback, but you cannot govern the state from horseback. The rites are newly drafted and must not deviate too greatly, lest they become a laughingstock to the world. I wish to be Your Majesty's Shusun Tong!"

Diwu Lun nodded, appreciating his attitude of learning what he did not know, but felt that Diba Jiao lacked confidence and had backed himself into a dead end.

"Your desire to emulate Shusun Tong is excellent, but I recall a saying of Shusun Tong's that someone once told me."

Diwu Lun said, "The Five Emperors had different music, the Three Kings had different rites. Ritual can be adapted to the times, human sentiment, and other factors; it need not be copied wholesale. The rites that Shusun Tong devised for Emperor Gao of Han were a blend of the Xia, Shang, Zhou, and Qin dynasties. When Emperor Wu of Han added his own innovations, the result was the Han system that is now revered as the standard."

"Yet the Confucians were dissatisfied, deeming it different from antiquity and not a good system. Thus emerged men like Wang Mang and Liu Xin, who matched everything against ancient texts and imitated the rites of the former kings, exaggerating the outward form while losing the true meaning. The reforms were completed, but they threw the realm into chaos."

Now, the scholars, having suffered greatly, have suddenly awakened and decided that the Han system is the most perfect in the world — the darkness of the late Han, during the Cheng and Ai reigns, has been completely forgotten by them...

And so Diwu Lun summed up his method for dealing with this group of ancient intellectuals: don't indulge them!

Whether the realm can be well-governed does not lie in these vague and elusive ancient rites at all, but in keeping pace with the times.

Diwu Lun hardened his stance. "In chaotic times, there's no need for so many niceties. Jianzhang lies west of Weiyang, connected by a covered walkway. Though they appear to be two palaces, they are in truth one. Just consider it as me making Weiyang the front court, and Jianzhang the rear bedchamber!"

"As for the offices of the Nine Ministers, concentrate them in Gui Palace."

Gui Palace lay north of Weiyang, right beside the Northern Watchtower's great residences and the Qi Hamlet. Because of the war, a large number of empty properties had appeared among those great residences, many of which had belonged to the powerful families of Weibei and Weinan that Diwu Lun had crushed. They were now confiscated by the authorities and distributed to the ministers as dwellings. Whether going to work at Gui Palace or heading to Weiyang for an audience and court session, it was all quite convenient.

Diba Jiao, having pleaded in vain, could only assent. Diwu Lun, hands clasped behind his back, examined a simplified map of the Chang'an palaces and selected another location.

"This North Palace lies at the very center of Chang'an, with a circuit of ten li. In former days it served as a pleasure ground for the Han emperors, where one could watch cockfights and football matches, and see racing dogs and horses. Let the King's grandfather and the imperial clansmen who attend him reside here."

"Leave Changle Palace vacant for now. Find men to pull up all twelve of the Golden Men that Wang Mang toppled."

"As for Mingguang Palace..."

Mingguang Palace was the Ding'an Lodge, where the Empress Dowager Xiaoping and the Yellow Emperor's House Mistress, Wang Yan, had lived for over ten years.

After pondering, Diwu Lun said, "This palace shall be specially used to take in war orphans. As it happens, there are several hundred palace maids hiding in Weiyang Palace who are unwilling and too afraid to leave — send them all to Mingguang Palace to work."

These palace maids had entered the palace as children. While Diwu Lun was present, he could protect their safety for a time. When the Wei army withdrew, Liu Bosheng was still enough of a true man not to make things difficult for them. But after he died in battle, the palace women were first violated by the Greenwood rebel soldiers, and many were carried off. Those who remained huddled together in the palace through the winter, surviving by digging up reed roots from the ground and catching fish and shrimp in the ponds, starving until they were skin and bones. Only after the Wei army retook Chang'an did they open gruel stations to keep them alive. Upon questioning, it turned out these were women no longer young, who knew nothing of this or that, only how to serve noble personages.

And so, Diwu Lun had found suitable posts for them.

"These palace maids are rather pitiful. Many are nearly fifty or sixty, with no prospect of marriage or children, destined for a lonely, bitter life. Better to let them adopt orphans, receive a share of food, and do odd jobs in Mingguang Palace, depending on each other for survival. In the future, they'll have someone to care for them in old age and bury them when they die."

"And... the Empress Dowager Xiaoping?" Diba Jiao inquired cautiously. A difficult question now facing the Wei state regime was: what should be done with this former empress dowager of the previous dynasty, and princess of the one before that? No one could guess what Diwu Lun really intended.

What did you think he intended?

If, when Diwu Lun first entered Chang'an, Wang Yan's status had been slightly awkward for his regime and she still held some value to be exploited, then now... it no longer mattered.

Diwu Lun directly made the decision for Wang Yan. Retiring before the age of thirty — who wouldn't want that?

"The Empress Dowager Xiaoping was confined in Chang'an by Wang Mang for over ten years; she probably has no desire to return to this city. Weibei is broad of land and refreshing of air — a fine place for retirement."

"Let her continue to reside in the Wannian Palace at the tomb town of the Han Grand Emperor, and properly guard the tomb for the already perished Great Han!"

As one of several hundred weaving women who had performed excellently, worked diligently, and contributed to the war effort, Yin Lihua parted from Wang Yan and went to work at the Cocoon Observatory in Shanglin County. The feelings of that parting need not be elaborated upon.

Meanwhile, in Yueyang City, there was another person packing their bags.

With the defeat of Longyou and the victory of the King of Wei, Ban Biao had once again been slapped in the face by reality — now both his cheeks were swollen.

Learning that Diwu Lun was moving the capital back to Chang'an, Ban Biao sighed quietly to himself: "Xunzi said, 'One may steal a state, but one cannot steal all under Heaven; one may seize another's state, but one cannot seize another's all under Heaven.'"

"Wang Mang was one who stole all under Heaven, while Diwu Lun is one who seized Guanzhong and established a state."

"Yet Xunzi also said, 'A state is a small vessel; it may be possessed by a petty man, obtained by petty ways, and held by petty force.' That is why Diwu Lun can be fortunate for a time and possess it — yet it does not mean it will not perish."

"'All under Heaven, however, is a vessel of the greatest magnitude; it cannot be possessed by a petty man, cannot be obtained by petty ways, cannot be held by petty force — none but a sage can possess it!' Thus Wang Mang, wishing to become a false sage and steal the Han, ultimately met defeat and destruction."

The implication was that Diwu Lun, this "petty man," would only be arrogant for a while and carve out a corner of the land, but as for seizing all under Heaven — that was absolutely impossible!

It was fortunate that Ban Biao merely grumbled inwardly and rarely expressed his thoughts openly; otherwise, Wang Long, who was desperate for Diwu Lun to proclaim himself emperor as soon as possible, would have drawn his sword and cut down this traitor who ate from within.

While cursing in his heart, Ban Biao's hands did not stop. Following Wang Long's instructions, he sorted the vast collection of books that had only been moved to Weibei half a year ago — at last, they were going home.

But Ban Biao learned from Wang Long that these books would no longer all be sent to the Tianlu Pavilion.

"Official documents, records, and books are to be sorted by category and transported to Gui Palace, to be kept by the officials of the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers."

Wang Long relayed Diwu Lun's instructions: "The thirty thousand scrolls of the Six Arts section are to be sent to the Shiqu Pavilion."

"The ten thousand scrolls of the Poetry and Rhapsody section, the History section, and the Various Masters section are to be sent to the Tianlu Pavilion."

"The five thousand scrolls of the Numerology section and the Remedies and Techniques section are to be sent to the Qilin Pavilion."

"Only the Military Writings section — His Majesty has renamed a side hall in Weiyang Palace the Longwu Pavilion, to store the military texts of fifty-three schools from ancient and modern times, totaling seven hundred ninety scrolls and forty-three illustrated chapters, so that the officers and commanders may study them."

Ban Biao could not fathom Diwu Lun's intention in splitting the "Seven Sections" among four locations. Wang Long was also unclear, because Diwu Lun had not told him directly, only saying, "Perhaps it is merely for the convenience of management?"

In Diwu Lun's heart, however, there lay a far deeper plan.

On the eve of the capital's return, he found it hard to sleep in his home at Changling. Stroking a tile-end bearing the Four Numinous Beasts, he pondered in the dark:

"In the world there are four numinous creatures: the Tortoise, the Phoenix, the Dragon, and the Qilin. In my view, the learning and knowledge in the world today also fall into four categories."

"The Six Arts are the Confucian classics and the like. Since Emperor Wu of Han, they have reigned supreme. By the time of the Stone Canal Pavilion conference under Emperor Xuan of Han, they had formed a complete system, deeply entrenched, the sole prestigious learning recognized and embraced by the scholars — this is the Divine Tortoise."

"The River gave forth the Chart, the Luo gave forth the Writing, and the Sage took them as models. Its shell is enshrined in temples and worshipped; its four legs prop up heaven. If you hack off those legs, the heaven of the realm's culture will collapse. You cannot boldly take an axe to it. Yet though the Divine Tortoise is long-lived, even it must meet its end!"

"Poetry and rhapsody, historical writings, the various masters — these are the great culmination of our people's and our nation's culture over thousands of years, like a brilliant Phoenix soaring above the Heavenly Emolument Pavilion."

His master Yang Xiong happened to excel in precisely these three areas. To return them to the Heavenly Emolument Pavilion would also be a comfort to the former teachers who once toiled there collating texts.

Follow the public account: Book Friends Base Camp — follow and receive cash and coins!

"And the arts of numbers and techniques, and recipes and methods, are like the Qilin. Sometimes a Qilin descends into the world and no one recognizes it; instead, scholars whose minds have been invaded by the Divine Tortoise mistake it for a monster and kill it. Lamentable, deplorable — it is not your season, so why have you come? O Qilin, O Qilin, my heart is troubled."

The arts of numbers and techniques, and recipes and methods in Han times encompassed the Nine Chapters, calendrical science, the *Book of Fan Shengzhi*, and more, and had already reached a considerable height. Diwu Lun wanted to use his authority to favor them a little, to protect these tender shoots — and occasionally even to force their growth by pulling on them.

"And military texts — these are the Dragon. The art of dragon-slaying. In an age of peace, a scholar might spend three years perfecting the skill yet find no occasion to apply it, for there is no dragon to slay. But in this present age of great contention, it is well worth diligent study!"

Would it not be good for all four to stay together? Why did Diwu Lun insist on separating them?

"Because the other three numinous creatures, especially the texts of numbers and techniques and recipes and methods, ought not to be singled out merely as appendages to the Six Arts, stored away in corners to gather dust with no one ever inquiring after them!"

From the moment the capital was moved back to Chang'an, it could no longer be a makeshift troupe. Not only in economics and politics must fresh reforms be made; in culture, too, Diwu Lun was beginning to plant some seeds for the future.

The sky gradually brightened. The time to depart had come.

The great procession all turned south — ministers and officials, the imperial clan and rear palace, soldiers and craftsmen, thronging the roads, every bit as bustling as when they had first moved north.

As Diwu Lun crossed the Wei Bridge, he turned his head to look back. Half a year ago, he had left Chang'an and moved north, using the lands north of the Wei as strategic room to maneuver, smoothly turning a deadlocked game into a living one. And now, this second entry into Chang'an…

"This time entering the capital."

"We ought to pass the examination — and not retreat back here again!"