Chapter 636: Which Worm Dares Make a Sound

"Master Lu, you've finally come. The young lord has been waiting for you most of the day. Please, come in with me at once."

No sooner had Lu Yan reached the gate of Sun Guangxian's residence than the old family servant of the Sun household impatiently led him inside.

And this residence of Sun Guangxian, Secretary of the Military Governor's office of Jingnan, struck one with tremendous force the moment one entered.

The Military Governor's office of Nanping could be seen as the Secretariat of the Shaoming Son of Heaven, Zhang Zhao, and the Secretary of the Military Governor's office was the Vice Director of the Secretariat in Zhang Zhou's Secretariat — a post of great authority and weight, one might say.

But Sun Guangxian's residence could truthfully be called bare walls and an empty house. It was large, to be sure, yet the furnishings within were extremely sparse, and the few pieces of furniture it did have were old and worn. Combined with several servants in their dotage, it gave one an exceptionally bleak and desolate feeling.

Seeing Lu Yan looking around in astonishment, the old Sun family servant gave a self-deprecating smile.

"Master Lu, you may not know this, but for the sake of his book collection, our eldest young lord has time and again been willing to ruin the family fortune to make a purchase.

Last month the Great King bestowed some furniture to keep up appearances, and no sooner had it arrived than the eldest young lord traded it away for a set of a dozen or so finely collated copies of the eleven chapters of the Model Sayings, annotated by Confucius and Yang Xiong of Western Shu."

Lu Yan could not help but be stunned. Though he too loved books, he absolutely could not bring himself to ruin his family fortune to buy them.

At his momentary daze, the old Sun family servant beside him thought he had been moved, and hurriedly said to Lu Yan,

"Master Lu, seeing these circumstances, you must know that the Sun family has no surplus wealth left. I beg you not to set your price too high, for then the eldest young lord could not afford it, yet his heart would itch unbearably, and I fear he would be unable to eat or sleep in peace."

Lu Yan laughed in spite of himself, but then felt a touch of emotion that Sun Guangxian could have such a loyal servant.

"What would an old fellow like you understand? Mengwen and I are friends of virtue, meeting through letters. Do not sully this old man's ears with talk of filthy lucre."

Who would have thought that upon hearing Lu Yan speak thus, the old Sun family servant's face instantly went pale, and he let out wail after wail.

"It's over! It's over! I've seen no small number of people come here saying such things — their mouths full of friendship between gentlemen, yet when they leave, they all wish they could carry off even the horse-hitching stone at the gate."

With that, the old Sun family servant plopped down in the courtyard and wept and wailed.

He could tell that the several dozen fragmentary scrolls brought by this Master Lu from the Central Plains were extremely precious, and that what he sought must be no small thing — who knew how much gold, silver, and brocade he wanted to wring from the Sun family.

But the Sun family had little wealth left as it was. If another batch were "rolled away," how were they to live!

He was not trying to slight Lu Yan, but rather using this method to express his displeasure, and at the same time to warn Sun Guangxian.

Sure enough, Sun Guangxian inside the house heard the crying and came out at once. He first offered Lu Yan an apology, then jabbed his finger at the old servant weeping and rolling on the ground.

"You old wretch, how dare you make a scene here? Go at once and prepare wine and meat to entertain our honored guest!"

But the old servant was not afraid of Sun Guangxian, for he was an old retainer who had fled with Sun Guangxian all the way from Shu. Without him, Sun Guangxian, a mere scholar, would long since have died on some desolate mountain. So he sat half on the ground, craned his neck, and shouted,

"This old wretch knows nothing else, only that to live one must eat well and dress warmly. If the eldest young lord buys this Master Lu's fragmentary scrolls, this old wretch will go hungry tomorrow."

Sun Guangxian was choked with anger, and for a moment did not know how to answer. Lu Yan had no choice but to say loudly,

"Enough! Enough! Stop your clamor. I truly did not come to sell books. Since Brother Mengwen likes it, I shall simply give this book as a gift."

It would have been better if Lu Yan had not said this. The moment he did, Sun Guangxian's face flushed red. He feared Lu Yan would think he and the old servant were singing in chorus to get those several dozen chapters of the Sequel to the Records of the Grand Historian for free.

He wanted to say he did not want the several dozen fragmentary chapters, yet in his heart he could not bear to part with them. So Sun Guangxian steeled himself and took from his waist a belt of rhinoceros hide, studded with agate, with gold and jade plaques on a silver strap — a diexie belt.

"This diexie belt was bestowed by the late king, Prince Wuxin. I felt an instant bond with Wenbing, and today I present it as a token of our friendship between gentlemen."

A diexie belt was the belt worn at the waist in ancient times, with many hooks and small holes on it, used for hanging a goldfish pouch, a hand towel, a tally pouch, a small knife, a flint, and the like. It was a very popular accessory at this time.

Before the early Tang, diexie belts had strict sumptuary requirements. For example, a diexie belt made of gold and jade could only be worn by officials of at least the third rank.

But by this time, the diexie belt had become an accessory loved and worn by all classes of society, and the strict class restrictions were gone.

Yet it was obvious that a diexie belt with gold and jade plaques was not something ordinary people could afford, and its price was certain to be extremely high.

Lu Yan was deeply moved. Originally he had approached Sun Guangxian with the mindset of completing a task, but after truly making contact, the shining qualities in Sun Guangxian gave Lu Yan the stirring sense of having found a kindred spirit.

Now, for instance, in order to keep Lu Yan from misunderstanding, Sun Guangxian had actually taken out the extremely precious gold-and-jade-plaqued silver-strapped diexie belt he carried with him and offered it as a gift.

Even the old Sun family servant was shocked at this. He of course knew how precious this diexie belt was and what it meant to Sun Guangxian. He hastily scrambled up from the ground, not daring to weep or make a fuss any longer.

"Eldest young lord, this was bestowed by the Great King after Prince Wuxin's mountain-collapse. You must not give it away lightly! Your servant deserves ten thousand deaths. I will go now to buy meat and wine."

But Lu Yan knew that since Sun Guangxian had done this, he could not refuse the diexie belt. To refuse would not merely be looking down on the man, but also suspecting that Sun Guangxian and the old servant were scheming to get his Sequel to the Records of the Grand Historian.

So Lu Yan also took from his waist a jade pendant. This jade pendant could almost be described in terms of a lump, for it was nearly the size of a palm.

The jade was as white and fine as mutton fat, without a single flaw, and all around it there seemed to flow a shimmering light, giving the pendant a hazy quality found only in the rarest of treasures.

Lu Yan recalled a very strange thing the Shaoming Son of Heaven had said to him when he bestowed this Khotan precious jade.

The Shaoming Son of Heaven had said to him: "To preserve what is perishing and continue what is broken off — that was the charge of Han Xianzi and Cheng Ying. This jade is named Flawless; it is worthy of Wenbing."

Cheng Ying was the loyal minister in The Orphan of Zhao who protected Zhao Wu. He preserved Zhao Wu, the sole remaining direct bloodline of the Zhao family. Though later generations have often doubted the truth of the story, Zhang Zhao still believed it.

And Han Xianzi was the key figure in history who truly stopped Duke Jing of Jin from exterminating the entire Zhao clan. He also played a crucial role in Zhao Wu's upbringing, and was the Zhao family's true great benefactor.

Only, Lu Yan was somewhat baffled at the time. He of course did not know that in history he had performed the immense service of preserving what was perishing and continuing what was broken off for Guo Wei.

But since he could not figure it out, he stopped thinking about it and simply took it as Zhang Zhao's encouragement to him.

Lu Yan accepted the gold-and-jade-plaqued silver-strapped diexie belt, and Sun Guangxian accepted the peerless fine jade named Flawless.

The bond between the two men was instantly elevated. The old servant in the courtyard walked up to Lu Yan and performed a full prostration before him.

"Master Lu is a noble and refined gentleman. This servant measured a gentleman's heart with a petty man's mind and offended you. I beg Master Lu to punish me."

Lu Yan, he did not know why, suddenly recalled the scene of Zhang Zhao pardoning and giving important posts to Guo Wei, Pan Mei, Shi Yanchao, and the others.

Unconsciously imitating Zhang Zhao's bearing, he said in a clear voice: "You were rude, but your loyalty in protecting your master is commendable. Go cut plenty of fatty mutton and buy five jiao of the finest Jiangling Spring Breeze wine, and I shall forgive you."

"Master Lu is magnanimous. This petty man goes at once." The old Sun family servant was overjoyed, and went out weeping with gratitude.

Sun Guangxian looked at the jade pendant in his hand, a faint, barely perceptible strange look flashing through his eyes, and only then said to Lu Yan,

"Only after meeting Wenbing did I understand what friendship between gentlemen is — like Boya and Ziqi meeting as kindred spirits.

Yesterday, when I was reading the twelfth chapter, I found several places that differ greatly from the Book of Han. They must be points where Ban Shupi and his son Ban Mengjian each held their own views. Wenbing, come and examine them with me."

Tanzhou. Facing the city of Tanzhou, reduced to rubble amid fire and plunder, Ma Xi'e now felt deep regret.

But he did not regret letting his soldiers plunder. Rather, he had not expected these Xidong barbarian troops and Langzhou soldiers to be so ruthless as to directly lay waste to a great city of seventy or eighty thousand inhabitants, turning it into its present state.

Now, Ma Xi'e, wracked with remorse, found everyone an eyesore. On one hand he sent several thousand trusted troops of the Wuping Army to restore order, while on the other he detained the Xidong barbarian troops and the Langzhou Jingjiang Army who had not yet had time to leave, then ordered Commander Wang Jinkui of the Jingjiang Army and other officers to supervise the soldiers in repairing the ruined city of Tanzhou.

Now it was the turn of the Langzhou barbarian troops and Jingjiang Army soldiers to be dumbfounded. Such is the way of the world: destruction is easy, but repair is hard.

Tanzhou had been ruined to the point of near-total destruction; how could repairing it be an easy matter?

Besides, they were soldiers. They had seized goods and wealth and were preparing to go home and enjoy them with their families. Now they had suddenly become corvée laborers, toiling day after day, and none of them were willing.

The soldiers of the Jingjiang Army in particular had, under Ma Chu, always ranked a grade below the yabing guards of the Wu'an and Wuping armies of the Military Governor.

When Tanzhou was sacked, they had not been allowed into the city; the looting had all been done by the Langzhou barbarian troops and the yabing guards of the Wuping Army.

Now that Tanzhou had to be rebuilt, most of the Langzhou creek-cave barbarian troops had long since run off, and the Wuping Army were Ma Xi'e's trusted men, who would certainly never come do coolie labor.

So these wretched Jingjiang Army men had instead become the main labor force, and for a time complaints filled the air.

At the same time, Ma Xi'e faced an even larger problem: Ma Xiguang was still in the Central Plains.

The Zhou Son of Heaven in the Central Plains was said to still be fighting Liu Zhiyuan and the Khitan in Hebei, but who knew whether he might send troops south to intervene?

Ah! Ma Chu was simply too far from the Central Plains, and since Ma Xi'e had not been in Tanzhou all along, nor was he the lord of Ma Chu, he did not really understand the situation in the Central Plains.

He still thought Zhang Zhao was locked in a decisive battle with Liu Zhiyuan, and inwardly believed he had seized a fine opportunity in taking Tanzhou.

Now he need only send someone to petition the Zhou Son of Heaven for enfeoffment, and offer up great quantities of gold, jewels, and jade as tribute, and the matter would fall into place as naturally as water finding its channel.

Seeing this, Peng Shigao, the Deputy Attack Commissioner of the Wu'an Army standing nearby, immediately volunteered to go to the Central Plains as tribute envoy and seek investiture for Ma Xi'e.

He was also very tactful, offering on his own initiative to leave both his sons in Tanzhou to serve Ma Xi'e as claws and teeth — in reality, throwing his two sons into Tanzhou as hostages.

Ma Xi'e was overjoyed and completely set his mind at ease. He at once appointed Peng Shigao as Tribute Envoy, had treasures gathered from every quarter as tribute gifts, and ordered him to go to the Central Plains to seek the posts of King of Chu and Military Governor of the Wu'an and Wuping armies.

What Ma Xi'e did not see was that once Peng Shigao received his order, his efficiency went to its absolute limit. In just two days he got everything in order, and then fled Tanzhou as though escaping a den of demons.

Peng Shigao was fleeing for his life, while in Jiangling, Sun Guangxian and Lu Yan were tapping bowls with their chopsticks, singing together in harmony, growing happier the more they sang — yet just as their spirits reached the highest pitch, the mood began to turn a little melancholy.

Sun Guangxian sang aloud Liu Yuxi's verse: "In vain I have read thirty cartloads of books; year after year, serving as prefect, I grow old at the edge of the world. In all my life I have gained no strength from letters; a hundred mouths in vain make a well-fed, well-warmed house."

Lu Yan took up the song: "Qi Ji's robes and cap adorned his graying temples; Wu Gong's governance matched his flowery prose. Still I think of pleading illness and singing of return, to share the peach and plum blossoms east of the city in drunkenness."

When the song was done, Lu Yan sighed deeply. "Minister Liu's official career went poorly, yet he could still sleep drunk among the peach and plum blossoms east of the city.

We who are born into this age of chaos have warlord lords above and highway robbers below. The slightest misstep brings disaster of blood. How could we ever sleep?"

Sun Guangxian nodded. "I have been reading the Records of the Grand Historian's sequel and the Book of Han. Though the father Ban Biao and the son Ban Gu each judged men differently, the soaring ambition between the lines, the pride of being subjects of the great Han — those are the same.

Of Ban Biao's two sons, the elder Ban Gu followed Dou Xian north to strike the Xiongnu and carved stone at Yanran. The younger Ban Dingyuan needs no mention — his might awed dozens of states across the Western Regions. Such are the deeds of a true man. Truly enviable!"

With that, Sun Guangxian drained the bowl of Jiangling Spring Breeze wine in one gulp. The clear white liquor ran down his beard without stopping. He suddenly tossed aside the chopsticks in his hand and gave a long sigh.

"Who would have known that the brush that captured the unicorn would instead be put to use leaning against a horse!"

The unicorn brush comes from Confucius composing the Spring and Autumn Annals, laying down his brush upon the capture of the unicorn. Later ages often used "unicorn brush" to refer to the historian's brush, and when writing a national history, they often cited the phrase as well.

In calling himself one who had obtained the unicorn brush, Sun Guangxian was in effect saying that he possessed the ability, like Ban Gu, to compile a dynastic history for a great dynasty such as the Former Han.

"Leaning against a horse" refers to the talent of the horse-side writer. It tells of Huan Wen of the Eastern Jin on his northern campaign, when Yuan Hong accompanied the army. Huan Wen ordered Yuan Hong to compose a proclamation, and Yuan Hong wrote before his horse without his brush ever stopping, finishing seven full pages in an instant. Later generations often used "horse-side talent" to describe a person of quick and agile wit.

But in Sun Guangxian's case, that was not the meaning, for Sun Guangxian's true emphasis was that the Eastern Jin was but a rump regime, and Huan Wen only a treacherous and overbearing minister.

This had something in common with the Nanping in which Sun Guangxian found himself: Nanping had held out as a rump state for decades, and was in fact an independent country.

Hearing Sun Guangxian's long sigh, Lu Yan understood at once. Sun Guangxian was lamenting that he had the ability to compile a history for a great unified and powerful dynasty, yet was helplessly reduced to serving as a Secretary drafting documents at a horse's side in a tiny separatist regime like Nanping.

But with matters developing so quickly, Lu Yan found it a little hard to respond. His original plan had been to come to Nanping, move Sun Guangxian with emotion, persuade him with reason, and then entice him with profit to win him over.

But after these past few days together, Sun Guangxian had shown himself quick-witted and eloquent in argument, and Lu Yan worried that when it came to moving him with emotion and persuading him with reason, he might not be able to out-argue him.

Enticing him with profit would not work either, because it was clear that Sun Guangxian was a man of great ambition who, apart from his love of books, did not much care for wealth.

What he lamented was that his great aspirations could not be fulfilled, not that he lacked high office. Rashly luring him with high rank and rich salary might instead provoke his aversion.

Lu Yan hesitated for just a moment, and Sun Guangxian saw through it.

For if Lu Yan truly were, as he claimed, a man who had once served Guo Wei and was therefore not tolerated by the Zhou Son of Heaven, and could only flee south to save his life,

then upon encountering such a sigh from Sun Guangxian, he ought to have felt the same pain and at once sighed along with him — not stood there as he did now, looking somewhat cautious and at a loss for words.

Shaking his head lightly, Sun Guangxian took out the jade pendant named Flawless that Lu Yan had recently given him, looked at Lu Yan, and said,

"This jade lives up to the name Flawless. Its whole body is milky white without a single blemish, and a faint sheen of light seems to flow across its surface. It is the finest of the finest.

An ordinary man who obtained even a small piece of it could hand it down through the generations, let alone a piece this large. It can truly be called a priceless treasure!

Though I dwell in this remote corner of Jingnan, I still know that after years of war in Hedong, the people are destitute and the sources of revenue are exhausted. Liu of Hedong, in his struggle with the Zhou Son of Heaven, has long since emptied his treasuries.

And fine jade like this has been hard to come by in China ever since the great dynasty declined and the Tibetans cut off Hexi, for this mutton-fat white jade is produced almost entirely in the kingdom of Khotan in Anxi."

At this, Sun Guangxian's eyes blazed like torches as he fixed Lu Yan with a burning stare. "In all the world, the only one who could bestow such a treasure upon a subject without the slightest reluctance is surely that Great Zhou Shaoming Son of Heaven, who styles himself a descendant of loyal subjects of the Great Tang, holds high loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, counts ten thousand pieces of gold as no cause for joy, yet dances with delight at gaining a man of talent!"

Lu Yan's heart tightened. First he quickly pricked up his ears and listened. Outside the door it was as still as before, with no sound of armored soldiers moving about.

Only then did he quietly let out a breath of relief, and swiftly made up his mind.

Lu Yan rose to his feet, bowed to Sun Guangxian with a grand salute bending past his knees, then straightened his back and said softly, "Brother Mengwen is indeed a great talent of Jingnan, with eyes keen as torches.

You are right! Your younger brother did deceive you, elder brother. When I was in Beizhou, Hebei, I had already pledged myself to His Majesty the Shaoming Emperor of the Great Zhou.

The Sage did not hold it against me that I had once perversely attached myself to Liu Zhiyuan. On the contrary, after an audience and exchange, he treated me with great courtesy. This white jade named Flawless was bestowed upon me at that time.

This journey to Jingnan was one I volunteered for, because even in the north I had heard of Brother Mengwen's great talent, and I judged that you, elder brother, understood better than most the irresistible trend toward the unification of all under heaven. So I ventured to come and persuade you."

Hearing Lu Yan admit it, Sun Guangxian sprang to his feet with a start and paced back and forth a couple of steps.

"You, Lu Wenbing, truly have nerve. Do you not know that with a single command from me, your head and body could be parted?"

Lu Yan looked calmly at Sun Guangxian, then knelt upright on the folding bed and bowed his head to the ground in salute.

"Though I have known you, elder brother, for only a little more than ten days, I know the kind of man you are. This is not something you could bring yourself to do.

In venturing south uninvited, I have indeed placed you, elder brother, in danger. But it was out of necessity; there was truly no other way.

Consider the great trend of the world today. Our Sage and Son of Heaven has slain two successive Khitan emperors in battle, and has destroyed Liu Zhiyuan.

For the first time since the great dynasty declined, there is a real possibility of uniting all within the four seas. The present upheaval in Ma Chu is a heaven-sent opportunity, and the Great Zhou, from the Son of Heaven down to the common soldier, will not let it pass.

Once a great war begins, the land of Jingnan can by no means escape. The King of Jing will either offer up his territory in submission, or perish in the flames of war together with the six hundred thousand souls of Nanping.

You, elder brother, are a great talent of the age, with ability to manage heaven and earth. Sustained by the people of Jingnan for thirty years, how can you sit by and watch these people all die in the wilderness?"

Sun Guangxian looked at Lu Yan with an unreadable expression and gave a soft snort. "What do you mean, the first time? This world has seen such a chance at least twice. The Former Liang Taizu Zhu Quanzhong was one, and the Former Tang's Li Yazi was another.

Li Yazi in particular inherited the three dying injunctions of Prince Li of Jin, and under him the heroes of Hedong and Daibei were beyond counting; he held three parts of the world in four. But what was his fate?

In the end it was a single fire at the Xingjiao Gate, and instead he brought repeated calamities upon the Central Plains. If that is what a chance to unite the world looks like, I would rather not have it."

Lu Yan had been kneeling, but when he heard Sun Guangxian lump Zhang Zhao together with Zhu Wen and Li Cunxu, he could no longer contain himself. He too sprang up from the folding bed.

"Our Great Zhou's Shaoming Son of Heaven, carrying on the will of his ancestors, returned in loyalty and righteousness from amid the dust of ten thousand li of barbarian lands.

He first reclaimed the vast territory of Anxi, rescuing the surviving people of the Four Garrisons from beneath the hooves of barbarian hordes, then drove out the northern invaders and restored the Central Kingdom.

Now he further promotes culture and education, honors loyalty and righteousness, governs the realm with loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and duty, encourages farming and sericulture, abolishes harsh governance, and undertakes great public works without spending a single coin of public funds.

In three years on the throne, he has not selected a single palace maiden, nor raised taxes by half a measure. Such benevolence bestowed upon the common people, such a heaven-gifted and brilliant sovereign who knows men and employs them well—he deserves comparison with Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Wen of Tang."

"Zhu Wen was a fickle petty man, cruel and unrighteous. Li Yazi favored sycophants and traitors, clung to his wealth, and could not even control the person beside his own pillow. What virtue or ability do they have to stand beside my lord?"

Sun Guangxian was somewhat bewildered to see Lu Yan praise Zhang Zhao so highly.

For although they had only spent a little over ten days together, just as Lu Yan had said, the two had already come to know each other's character deeply.

In Sun Guangxian's eyes, Lu Yan was a man of noble conduct, who valued righteousness over wealth, and was moreover brimming with learning and possessed of the talent to govern a state. That he praised Zhang Zhao so highly clearly could not be bought with high office or rich rewards.

At this moment, Lu Yan was in the heat of having his idol questioned by Sun Guangxian. He stared at Sun Guangxian and shouted.

"My lord struck north against the barbarian invaders, and after recovering Yan-Yun, composed a great work at the foot of Jieshi Mountain to declare his aspirations through the ancients. Do you dare to hear it?"

Sun Guangxian had another identity—he was in fact the foremost poet of the Five Dynasties, one of the very few figures of that era to have left behind a large body of surviving verse.

His poetry possessed both the lush romance of the later Huajian school and the outcry reflecting the people's suffering found in the works of Du Gongbu. The founding father of the Red Dynasty was very fond of his poems such as "Upward Cup."

So the moment he heard there was a poem, he immediately showed an expression of interest. Beneath the folding bed, he cupped his hands.

"Please, try reciting it!"

Lu Yan stood upon the folding bed, looking down at Sun Guangxian from above, and recited in a clear voice: "Great rain falls on dark Yan,

White waves surge to the heavens,

Fishing boats beyond the isle of Qinhuang.

A vast expanse of ocean—nothing to be seen,

Who knows toward which shore they lean?

Past events cross a thousand years,

Wei Wu cracked his whip,

Eastward at Jieshi he left behind a poem.

The bleak autumn wind is here again today,

But the world of men has changed!"

Sun Guangxian stood below, stunned. Lu Yan recited it twice, and by the third time Sun Guangxian could follow along.

After a long while, this poet of the Five Dynasties drew a long breath like a great whale drawing in water, his mouth still murmuring over and over the line, "The bleak autumn wind is here again today, but the world of men has changed!"

"Fine verse! Grand and sweeping in spirit, it mourns Wei Wu and uses poetry to declare ambition. Driving the northern invaders out of Yan-Yun is like Emperor Wu of Wei defeating the Xianbei—even the strategy for pacifying Liaodong is the same.

Although there is no great island beyond Jieshi Mountain, and only a little over seven hundred years have passed since Wei Wu, these are trifling flaws that cannot obscure the heroic vigor and the great spirit that dares to change the world of men."

Sun Guangxian was entranced. Looking up at Lu Yan on the folding bed, he cried out: "Are there more fine works by the Sage? More! More!"

This could not stump Lu Yan—ah! Or rather, it could not stump Zhang Zhao.

Ever since he had failed to recall the great work of the Red Dynasty's founding father at the foot of Jieshi Mountain and felt he had lost face, after returning to Youzhou he had racked his brains until he finally remembered it—but by then he had already lost the perfect chance to show off. So he had secretly made up his mind.

He would take every poem he could still recite, and as long as the time and place were suitable, he would "create" them all without exception.

Because the timeline was already in chaos—who knew whether these famous works would still appear later?

So Lu Yan did not need to rack his brains at all. He immediately thought of a poem that fit the occasion perfectly.

"When our Sage Son of Heaven summoned the Khitan Empress Dowager to Chengde Prefecture, and ordered her to send back the ruler of Shi Jin along with the captured officers and commoners, he rebuked the barbarian horde to their faces—and there was also a remarkable work!"

"Please!" Sun Guangxian again cupped his hands from the ground.

"Sitting alone by the pond like a crouching tiger, beneath the green shade nurturing his spirit. When spring comes, I do not speak first—"

When Lu Yan recited up to this point, Sun Guangxian was greatly disappointed, because it sounded utterly ordinary. Compared to the previous poem, the difference was like that between clouds and mud.

Lu Yan chuckled. The first three lines of this seven-character quatrain seemed to have nothing remarkable, but add this final line, and instantly the swagger would soar to the ninth heaven.

After laughing three times, he looked at Sun Guangxian and slowly recited the final line: "What insect dares to make a sound?"

Sun Guangxian did not react for a moment. He mechanically repeated it once.

"Sitting alone by the pond like a crouching tiger, beneath the green shade nurturing his spirit. When spring comes, I do not speak first—what insect dares to make a sound?"

"Ah!" Sun Guangxian suddenly cried out, and staggered back four steps—thud, thud, thud, thud. Drenched in sweat, he stared at Lu Yan and said in a trembling voice.

"How heroic! How domineering! Is this the overbearing spirit of an emperor for the ages? Could this be the First Emperor reborn?"

The Sun family's old servant hurried over, looking at Sun Guangxian in puzzlement, fearing something was wrong with him.

But Sun Guangxian did not even glance at the old servant. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, steadied himself, and sighed.

"Reading only the first three lines of this seven-character poem, one finds them rather ordinary. But add the final line, and in an instant, it is like entering a mountain forest and hearing a tiger's roar, or hearing a dragon's cry by the Eastern Sea. Its fierce, overbearing spirit strikes the face like wind and frost, like sword and blade.

People say poetry expresses one's aspirations, and through verse one may observe the man.

The Shaoming Son of Heaven is truly a heaven-gifted and brilliant sovereign—indeed not of the same ilk as Zhu Quanzhong or Li Yazi.

Wenbing, come down. Let us brothers find a quiet place—I still wish to ask you in detail about the Shaoming Son of Heaven himself."

Well! That is, if one were to place this greatest of proletarian revolutionaries into the ranks of emperors—a list he himself would not wish to be included in.

Then over five thousand years, he would absolutely be the only emperor who could also be called a great poet.

And so when I, Sage Zhang, plagiarize verses, I always find myself inadvertently recalling his poems.

And at this moment, Sun Guangxian's psychological defenses had been utterly shattered by this poem.

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