Chapter 322: The Imperial Enterprise

"Confucius said, 'If one hears the Dao in the morning, one may die content in the evening.' Our Master also wrote in *Exhortation to Learning* that learning must never cease. In my youth I studied the rites in Lanling, and this year I have reached thirty. As the Pillar-Below Scribe of the Stone Chamber, I oversee the charts and books of the Six States. By the convenience of my office, I can at least claim to have read widely."

Among the four scribes of the Censorate's archive, the Pillar-Below Scribe of the Stone Chamber held the least authority, because the Qin people had scant interest in the books of the Six States — they had simply been seized and stored in the archive, and ordinarily no one ever inquired after them.

Zhang Cang, junior fellow disciple to the Commandant of Justice Li Si and a scholar renowned throughout the realm, had volunteered for this post. He sought neither fame nor profit, acting purely out of a love for knowledge.

And it was precisely this top student, a man whose learning filled five carts, who now said to Heifu with utter sincerity:

"Yet the more I learn, the more I feel my inadequacy. Knowing one's inadequacy, one can then reflect upon oneself. Therefore, when I die, if it can truly be as you, Heifu, have said — with books as my inner coffin, with classics as my outer coffin, descending to the Yellow Springs and the Nine Nether Depths with a full cart of bamboo slips — this life will have been enough..."

These were originally stirring and moving words urging one to study, but watching this plump, fair-skinned fellow sitting behind his desk, munching on the brown sugar Heifu had given him as a snack while speaking, Heifu found it impossible to take the scene seriously.

From the moment four years ago, in Huyou Village of Yangwu County in the Wei lands, when he had first heard this man's name, Heifu had long wished to befriend Zhang Cang. Now that he had finally arrived in Xianyang, after reporting to the Superintendent of the Palace, he had paid Zhang Cang a visit at the earliest opportunity.

Zhang Cang was a man of lofty spirit, and he kept a very low profile in Xianyang, never involving himself in political struggles or court affairs, burying himself single-mindedly among his piles of books. Even though Heifu belonged to the same Li Si faction and there was a past connection — Heifu had served as a patrolman in Huyou and resolved the trouble of the Zhang clan sheltering Zhang Er's wife — Zhang Cang was still extremely cold at first toward this stranger who had brashly come calling.

The thing Heifu used to break through Zhang Cang's defenses was, unexpectedly, the brown sugar he had carried all the way into Xianyang...

"Master Zhang Zihu has three loves."

Heifu's old friend Zhang Han, who was on very familiar terms with Zhang Cang, had once told Heifu about Zhang Cang's indulgences: "Books, women, and fine food."

"He loves books as though they were his very life, and can go a whole month without stepping outside. Yet within that month, he cannot be without a woman by his side. According to him, if he goes a single day without lying with a woman, his skin feels as though it will split, his sinews as though they will cramp..."

"Furthermore, the reason he has grown so enormously fat is also his fondness for sweet things — honey, malt sugar, even human milk..."

Having neither books nor women to give Zhang Cang, Heifu simply presented him with fifty jin of brown sugar as a gift upon first meeting.

One must understand that in this age, sweetness was a rare flavor. There was not that much honey to be eaten, and Zhang Cang had long grown sick of malt sugar. Heifu giving him brown sugar was precisely catering to his tastes, and Zhang Cang was instantly overjoyed, crunching through half a jin that very day. Thereafter, every day when he came to work at the Censorate, he would bring some along. During his breaks he would eat until his hands were sticky all over, and only after carefully washing and drying them would he touch the books he treasured like precious jewels.

"A man who is clearly a sweets partisan, yet living in 'Xian'yang — truly, he has suffered."

Heifu found it somewhat amusing. His cousin Yan had gone to the rented market quarters north of the Wei River to open up sales channels for the brown sugar. Who knew whether, a thousand or a hundred generations later, Xianyang might be transformed into "Tianyang."

It was precisely through this opening that Heifu managed to strike up a friendship with Zhang Cang. As it happened, he was also living right next door to Zhang Cang, and the two quickly became well acquainted. Zhang Cang also discovered that this son of commoners who had made his way to Xianyang through military merit, though he deliberately put on the airs of a country bumpkin arriving in the city, was in fact quite extraordinary in his conversation. Every now and then, inadvertently, he would even make startling remarks.

For instance, the concept of the "abacus" that he proposed to Zhang Cang — Zhang Cang found it deeply convincing.

Once Zhang Cang had recovered from the fright of nearly being buried alive and crushed to death by his books, Heifu also chatted with him about the hottest topic of the past two days.

"The King has ordered the Chancellor, the Censor, the Commandant of Justice, and the various court gentlemen to deliberate on an imperial title. Zihu, you are renowned for your vast learning — have you not been summoned for consultation by the Chancellor, the Censor-in-Chief, and the Commandant of Justice?"

Zhang Cang replied, "The Chancellor of the Right is not familiar with me. As for the Chancellor of the Left, he favors the Confucians and mainly consults those erudites and Confucian scholars who have been summoned by special decree."

The Qin Chancellor was divided into Left and Right, with the Chancellor of the Right being the senior. Since Lord Changping had resigned, the post had been held by Wei Zhuang. The Chancellor of the Left was Wang Wan, who had only been promoted from Censor-in-Chief this year.

One of these two men was of the Legalist school, the other a Confucian sympathizer — neither would come seeking him, a fellow who was neither Confucian nor Legalist.

"The Commandant of Justice did send someone to ask me, however..."

Zhang Cang did not hide it, and said with a smile, "But I merely sent over the texts the Commandant of Justice required. The Commandant of Justice has clever advisors of his own under him to deliberate."

Although he was Li Si's junior fellow disciple, the friendship between the two had rather the feel of "the friendship of gentlemen is as mild as water." Perhaps it was because Li Si was extremely cautious in his conduct and unwilling to give the King of Qin any impression of "forming a faction," and so he rarely sought Zhang Cang out. Or perhaps it was because of the death of their other fellow disciple, Han Fei?

Heifu had come to see Zhang Cang with a purpose of his own.

Even if he wanted to present the correct answer, a test paper still needed to show the steps for solving the problem. Since it was such a solemn matter, he could not just pat his head and talk nonsense; he had to take into account the traditions of the Three Dynasties, and even trace back to the deeds of Fuxi, the Yellow Emperor, and Shennong in high antiquity...

Given his background and experience, if he rashly proposed an honorific title, people would certainly grow suspicious: how would this ruffian, a military man of commoner birth, know such things?

"I heard it while chatting with Scholar Zhang" ought to serve as a decent excuse.

At this moment, under Heifu's questioning, Zhang Cang had already begun to speak with great eloquence.

"In antiquity there were the Five Emperors. Some say the Five Emperors are Paoxi, Shennong, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun. Others say the Five Emperors are Taihao, the Flame Emperor, the Yellow Emperor, Shaohao, and Zhuanxu — the lists vary. But in any case, they were all sage kings of old."

"However, these are merely the appended theories of recent Confucian scholars. In perusing the ancient texts, I have discovered that the Shang people never once mentioned the Yellow Emperor or the Flame Emperor. The 'di' recorded in their bronze inscriptions refers to the lofty and supreme 'Radiant Lord Above,' who may also be called Di Jun. The line in 'The Dark Bird' — 'The Ancient Lord commanded the martial Tang to set the four quarters in order.' And in 'Long Hair' — 'The maiden of the You-Song clan was with child; the Lord established a son and gave birth to Shang.' Both are like this. However, the various rulers of Yin-Shang also called themselves 'di,' because the Shang ruler managed not only military affairs but also ritual affairs. He was both a human king and a divine shaman, regarding himself as the incarnation of the Heavenly Lord. Di Yi and Di Xin are examples of this."

Seeing that Heifu was listening with a somewhat dazed expression, Zhang Cang further explained, "Di Xin is King Zhou."

"By the time King Wu destroyed Shang, the Zhou people's view was vastly different from that of the Shang. They called themselves only the Son of Heaven, viewing themselves as shepherds of the people on Heaven's behalf. Heaven hears as our people hear; Heaven sees as our people see. Thus they dared only to call themselves human kings, not Heavenly Lords."

Zhang Cang chewed another piece of sugar. "But once the rites collapsed and music fell into ruin, and the feudal lords successively proclaimed themselves kings, the title of king was no longer sufficient to display eminence. The title of 'di' then became a designation of an even higher order. At this point, there were once again those who wished to proclaim themselves 'di'..."

"Zihu, do you mean that in the past, there were already those who proclaimed themselves 'di'?"

Heifu was somewhat surprised. He truly had not known these obscure bits of history.

Zhang Cang explained, "During the time of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, the Qin Chancellor Wei Ran was the first to advocate for the title of 'di.'"

It turned out that back when Qin and Qi stood as the two great powers side by side, the Qin Chancellor Wei Ran had adopted the strategy of having Qin and Qi jointly take the title of "Di" in order to draw Qi into a horizontal alliance. He built a traveling palace for King Zhaoxiang of Qin at Yiyang for holding court audiences, had the King of Qin proclaim himself the "Western Di," and dispatched an envoy to deliver the title of "Eastern Di" to King Min of Qi, while also arranging for the five states to attack Zhao and partition its territory...

"However, this assumption of the 'Di' title ended hastily. King Min of Qi had borne the title for barely a month before Su Qin persuaded him to discard it. Once the Eastern Di was gone, the Western Di came under universal attack from the realm and was likewise forced to abandon the title."

"But although Su Qin appeared in every way to be acting in Qi's interest, his true aim was to assist King Zhaoxiang of Yan in destroying Qi."

As he spoke, Zhang Cang personally retrieved a silk manuscript from the stone chamber. Heifu looked at it — written upon it was "Letter to the King of Yan."

"This was obtained from the Yan state treasury. Some say it is a letter written by Su Qin to King Zhaoxiang of Yan; others say it was written by his younger brother Su Dai..."

"Is this the original? Su Qin's own handwritten letter?" Heifu was somewhat astonished.

Zhang Cang said, "It cannot be known for certain, but one hopes so."

After Heifu took it, he felt only that although the Yan script upon it was somewhat difficult to decipher, he could dimly sense the breathtaking drama of those years when Su Qin served as a doomed spy for Yan, maneuvering with consummate skill among Qi, Qin, Zhao, Wei, Han, and Chu, weaving vertical and horizontal alliances.

Zhang Cang pointed to a line on it and read aloud, "Qin shall be the Western Di, Zhao the Central Di, Yan the Northern Di — established as the Three Di, and thereby command the feudal lords..."

"Su Qin wished to have Qin, Zhao, and Yan proclaim themselves 'Di' and together destroy Qi. In the end, although the five-state attack on Qi was achieved, the three states ultimately did not proclaim themselves 'Di.' It is said that King Zhaoxiang of Qin suddenly abandoned the idea."

"Why was that?"

Heifu had nearly forgotten his original purpose in coming to the stone chamber to see Zhang Cang, so immersed was he in the events that had transpired decades ago. He even began to understand, a little, why Zhang Cang was so addicted to his books.

The Qin state's texts were stored in the Bright Hall archive, but Zhang Cang was a frequent visitor there as well. After a moment's thought, he actually recited directly from memory for Heifu the original words of King Zhaoxiang of Qin, as recorded by the scribes...

"The King said: Without the reality of it, would one dare assume the name? If Qin were to have already annexed the feudal lords, then even without calling ourselves 'Di,' the various states would still submit to Qin. If that is not the case, then even if Han, Wei, and Chu pay court to Qin this morning, by evening they will again form a vertical alliance against Qin. Of what use is an empty name?"

"The King said: Only when Qin has destroyed the Six States may it proclaim itself 'Di'! This is a hundred-year aspiration — it does not begin with me alone, nor shall it end with me alone! Though I die, there are sons who survive me; sons beget grandsons, grandsons beget sons. If three generations cannot do it, then six; if six generations cannot do it, then ten. One day, all under Heaven shall surely be unified into one, united under Qin!"

PS: Chapter 3 at 12:30.

(End of Chapter)