Chapter 640: Three Great Matters

This lad Zhang Xiancun has an extraordinary gift for painting; before he was even fifteen, he already showed signs of true mastery.

His calligraphy is also deeply accomplished, and his Yan-style hand can be called perfect in both form and spirit.

But none of that has anything to do with Zhang Zhao. I, Sage Zhang, might manage to plagiarize a poem or two, but when it comes to calligraphy and painting, I am completely lost.

Zhang Xiancun's present achievements come first from the relentless, almost obsessive urging of his mother Li Ruoliu, and second, perhaps, from the activation of the Yuchi family's artistic genes in him.

This had always left Zhang Zhao with a faint feeling that the boy took after someone else, not him. Only now, when another side of Zhang Xiancun suddenly revealed itself, did Zhang Zhao abruptly feel: this really is my son.

After obtaining Zhang Zhao's permission to visit Sun Guangxian, Zhang Xiancun also asked Zhang Zhao for authority over the palace attendants and servants of the Prince of Jing's palace.

The Gao family's Prince of Jing palace sounded like a royal palace, but in truth it was no more than the former office-residence of the Military Governor of Jingnan, so it was not very large, and the palace attendants and servants together numbered only a little over a hundred.

Moreover, because the Southern Ping state was tiny, with only three prefectures, and because Guizhou and Xiazhou among them were sparsely populated, the bulk of its people lived in the single prefecture of Jiangling.

And because the Gao clan had never proclaimed themselves emperors, and their state was weak, there were no eunuchs in the Prince of Jing's palace; even these palace attendants and servants had basically all been selected from within Jiangling city.

Usually they had been bought with money while still young, and then spent their whole lives as bondservants of the Gao family.

Zhang Xiancun asked for authority over these people, of course, not to make them his own servants, but to set them free.

From the moment they set out from the Prince of Jing's palace, Zhang Xiancun had his sworn elder brother Yang Jiye accompany him, and from among the hundred armored soldiers he also picked some of the better-looking ones to change into plain clothes along with him.

Zhang Xiancun wore a round-collared purple robe and a Jinde cap. Beside him were attendants likewise in round-collared robes and military caps. This attire immediately drew the eyes of many of Jiangling's commoners.

There had not been many people on the streets at first, but Zhang Xiancun's appearance was simply too fine. A young lord with red lips and white teeth, white jade at his waist, dressed in purple robes, passing through the city in auspicious colors — there were always the curious who came out to watch the spectacle.

Zhang Xiancun also gave full play to the talent for performance he had inherited from Zhang Zhao. Whenever he saw an old person by the roadside, he would be sure to stop and exchange a few words, and he had them lead several dozen palace attendants and servants along the streets to search for their families.

Every time a family member was found, he would grant money and set the person free in public, and watching the families weep in each other's arms, he could even shed a few warm tears himself.

Such an elegant young gentleman, and so kind-hearted besides, immediately caused a sensation.

From somewhere, a number of young women and young wives appeared, chattering and laughing in Jiangling dialect that Zhang Xiancun could not quite understand, pointing and gesturing at him.

At this moment, after the city had fallen, what did the common people fear most?

Rape and violation!

As for loss of property, the commoners were surely all prepared for that. Even though the Zhou army did not plunder, by custom the people of Jiangling would still certainly have to pay a sum of money to avert disaster.

But once an army began raping, that meant discipline had completely collapsed, and officers could no longer restrain their men. Moreover, killing and burning usually began precisely with rape.

Now a great many young women and young wives had come out, yet neither that young lord nor the iron-armored guards behind him showed any aggressiveness, and at once the hearts of Jiangling's people grew much steadier.

People in the crowd began whispering to one another, asking who this young lord was. Those in the know pointed at the silver-bordered Three Stars banners and explained.

Only then did the commoners learn that this young lord with a face like polished jade was actually the eldest son of the Shaoming Son of Heaven!

At this, everyone grew even more at ease. At least with the imperial eldest son here, surely no soldiers would dare come shouting and killing. As for those young women and young wives, they grew even more excited.

At first only a few dozen people followed along, but after a great circuit, with more than forty palace attendants and inner servants set free, by the time they reached the gate of Sun Guangxian's residence, the crowd had swelled to at least a thousand.

Inside the gate, Sun Guangxian was in fact extremely uneasy, because this was far too grand a display.

This was not the Song or Ming period of history, when an emperor staging a grand spectacle to summon some recluse was a great honor, and the man might even say a few words like, "I am but an idle cloud and wild crane, with no mind for fame and office," and so on.

But this was the Five Dynasties! If Sun Guangxian dared put on such airs, if the furious soldiers did not cut him down on the spot, someone would climb into his house in the middle of the night and cut him in two.

Sun Guangxian had assumed Zhang Zhao would send Lu Yan to invite him, or would come in person after the urgent matters were settled.

That way, he, Sun Guangxian, could both show his loyal heart in not forgetting the Gao family's kindness, and also ease some of the guilt he truly felt.

But instead it was Zhang Xiancun who came, and with such a grand spectacle. If he now refused to come out, the guards at Zhang Xiancun's side would not spare him; if he did come out, all the reputation he had built up would be gone.

But beyond everyone's expectations, Zhang Xiancun took a long scroll of calligraphy from a guard beside him, then stood outside the gate and said in a clear voice.

"I have heard that Military Governor Sun of Nanping excels in the bone of Yan and sinew of Liu. I, unworthy Zhang Xiancun, have studied the Yan style for ten years. Today I have copied the Poem of General Pei by Yan, Duke Wenzhong of Lu, and have come especially to ask Military Governor Sun for his corrections."

Yan, Duke Wenzhong of Lu, was Yan Zhenqing, and the Poem of General Pei was a representative work of the Yan style. Zhang Xiancun had long practiced the Yan style, and using it as a door-knocker gave Sun Guangxian every possible face.

Truly unconventional, yet exactly to his heart's desire! Sun Guangxian praised it inwardly, and so ordered his household to throw open the main gate, with the whole family bowing on both sides, and invited Zhang Xiancun in.

Although Sun Guangxian's residence had little in the way of furnishings, it was spacious enough, and many of the commoners even came inside.

Sun Guangxian unrolled the scroll and looked at it, astonishment flickering again and again in his eyes. He even suspected that this calligraphy was not written by Zhang Xiancun.

Because Zhang Xiancun's copy already had real spirit. At his age, without natural talent, one absolutely could not have trained to this level.

He gave a long sigh. "The Yan style is famed for its plainness, solidity, and vigor, its strength and grandeur. For a young man of lively, quick temperament, it is very hard to capture the spirit of this piece.

Judging the man by his characters: the eldest young lord has not yet reached his capping, yet has already shed all childishness. His future is boundless."

Zhang Xiancun smiled bashfully. "Master Sun is an elder. Such excessive praise I truly dare not accept.

When I came from the Prince of Jing's palace, I saw the Sage summoning the civil and military officials of Jingnan to discuss affairs. Master is a great talent of Jingnan — why do you still avoid appearing before him?"

Sun Guangxian covered his face and sighed. "I was a minister of the Gao clan, yet I urged my lord to abandon his patrimony. I ate his salary but could not plan for him. What face have I left to serve a new lord?"

Zhang Xiancun swept his hand toward the commoners outside, then looked at Sun Guangxian and said solemnly.

"From what did the Gao clan's salary come? It came from the several hundred thousand commoners of Jingnan.

The Gao clan was supported by them, and in return sheltered the people of Jingnan through forty years of peace in this chaotic age.

Now that a sage Son of Heaven has arisen in the Central Plains, the Gao clan, to spare these hundreds of thousands of lives from the flames of war, offered up their land.

Master, too, is supported by the people of Jingnan. At this moment when all are uneasy, should you not come forward of your own accord to help the sage Son of Heaven bring peace to this place?"

As soon as Zhang Xiancun said this, the commoners outside also began shouting for Sun Guangxian to come out.

This man, who cared nothing for wealth and loved only books, the chief administrator of Nanping, still enjoyed great prestige among the people of Jiangling.

With matters at this point, Sun Guangxian could of course no longer refuse. With a small thrill of excitement in his heart, under the gaze of more than a thousand commoners, he followed Zhang Xiancun toward the Prince of Jing's palace.

The commoners rejoiced, and everyone felt that this Great Zhou Son of Heaven truly was different from all others.

And as they eagerly spread the news everywhere that Sun Guangxian was to be given important office by the court, people's hearts at last settled.

By the time Sun Guangxian reached the Prince of Jing's palace, Zhang Zhao had already completely grasped the army and navy of Jiangling city in his hands.

At the same time, he had merged the Hanshan Capital naval force with Nanping's Flying Tiger Army, basically taking control of Jiangling's three water fortresses, and making preparations against any Southern Tang fleet coming upriver from Ezhou.

"Your subject, Sun Guangxian of Nanping, pays his respects to the Sage." Sun Guangxian bowed low the moment he entered.

Zhang Zhao laughed heartily and walked toward Sun Guangxian, reaching out to take him by the arm. "I have already had the Treatise on Cold Damage presented by Gao Sanlang organized and completed by more than ten renowned physicians gathered by the Imperial Medical Office, newly compiled as the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases, and it will soon be published throughout the realm. You, Sun Mengwen, have done a great service by preserving this sole surviving edition!"

Sun Guangxian had not expected that the first thing Zhang Zhao would say upon meeting him would be this, and even less that Zhang Zhao would have finished organizing the Treatise on Cold Damage so quickly. His heart was deeply moved.

It must be remembered that back then, when Gao Jixing, Prince Wuxin of Nanping, obtained this book, he regarded it for a time as a divine manual that could bring the dead back to life and put flesh on white bones, and was reluctant to show it to anyone. Yet Zhang Zhao, with such boldness of vision, directly published it to the world for the people's benefit.

"The Sage's benevolence far surpasses the common run of men in the world." Sun Guangxian could not help but sigh in admiration.

"Since you know the world is full of common men, why then do you still shut your door and refuse to come out? Am I truly so unworthy of your counsel?"

Zhang Zhao was somewhat displeased, because he sensed that Sun Guangxian did not actually object to holding office, but rather knew that Zhang Zhao had always placed great weight on loyalty and righteousness, and was perhaps trying to hold back a little in order to leave Zhang Zhao with a better impression.

And in fact, Zhang Zhao's guess was not without reason, because Sun Guangxian did indeed have that thought.

It must be remembered that historically, he had also urged Gao Jichong to surrender to the Northern Song, but when Zhao Kuangyin wanted to grant him office, Sun Guangxian had not shown the slightest hesitation.

Such posturing could be done before Zhang Zhao, but the historical Zhao the First would not have had this kind of magnanimity and patience.

The moment Sun Guangxian heard Zhang Zhao's tone, he knew he had slightly overacted, but by now there was no turning back. He thought it over briefly, and then simply decided to stop acting altogether, and say exactly what he thought.

"In my younger years I traveled through many states, and nowhere was I given important employment. Only Prince Wuxin treated me as a scholar of the realm, and after King Jing succeeded to the throne, he too entrusted me with affairs of state.

Now that the Gao house is no more, it was I who strongly urged it. Truly I have no face to use this as a stepping-stone to office at court."

When Sun Guangxian spoke thus, Zhang Zhao also felt that his own tone just now had been somewhat inappropriate.

Since he himself wished to raise the banner of loyalty and righteousness, then naturally he had to allow those below him to put on a bit of a show, and besides, Sun Guangxian was not entirely performing.

So Zhang Zhao pondered for a moment, then said to Sun Guangxian: "The Gao house were originally inner subjects of the court, not usurpers and separatist lords like Meng Shu or Southern Han.

Now that they have offered up their land, the Gao house has not ceased to exist; on the contrary, this is of greater benefit to them. You need not take it so much to heart."

Having said this, Zhang Zhao took Sun Guangxian by the hand and led him to the map that had been spread out. "Can the garrison commander of Guizhou still be trusted? How is the fighting strength of the Meng Shu Ningjiang Army Military Governor's naval forces? Can Xiazhou be brought to order by a single letter?"

As the top administrative official of Jingnan, these were matters that could only be answered with certainty by Sun Guangxian, and Sun Guangxian answered each one for Zhang Zhao.

He even explained clearly whom to send to take over Guizhou and Xiazhou, as well as all of Nanping's mountain forts and river forts defending the Yangtze line against Meng Shu, and Zhang Zhao was all the more satisfied.

Only, Sun Guangxian understood very clearly in his heart that since Zhang Zhao had asked as he did just now, he could even less accept office from Zhang Zhao.

Because the moment he accepted an office from Zhang Zhao, especially a relatively high one, it would prove that he had indeed been posturing. So no matter how Zhang Zhao urged him, Sun Guangxian simply would not accept.

Just when things were at an impasse again, it was finally Lu Yan who came out to break the deadlock. He said to Zhang Zhao:

"Sun Mengwen once said that he would rather the brush that captured the unicorn be put to use drafting dispatches.

Now that the sacred dynasty stands established, the time has come to prepare the compilation of the histories of the Great Tang, as well as of Zhu Liang and the Later Tang.

Sun Mengwen has read ten thousand scrolls and deeply loves such work. Better to appoint him first to compile the national history of the Great Tang."

Zhang Zhao's eyes lit up. For a new dynasty to compile the national history of the preceding dynasty was an established convention in Chinese history.

But during these forty years from the late Tang through the Five Dynasties, the realm had been in ceaseless war, far less stable than the mid-Tang period, and with military men wholly in power, few had ever put this matter on the agenda.

Only when the Later Tang was established, in order to emphasize its legitimacy, did it prepare to compile the national history of the Great Tang, but the preparatory work was still unfinished by the time the Later Tang fell.

It was not until the sixth year of Tianfu of the Shi Jin (941) that compilation began, and the book was completed in the second year of Kaiyun (945). This is the Old Book of Tang of history.

But at the present moment, it had simply not been finished, because with one flap of Zhang Zhao's butterfly wings, the Khitan entered the Central Plains just over a year earlier.

Under the threat of the Khitan invasion, and the impact of floods, droughts, and locust plagues that swept through Henan, Hebei, Hedong, and Guanzhong, the compilation work encountered enormous difficulties.

The book was not yet complete when the Khitan entered the Eastern Capital at Kaifeng. Zhao Ying, the supervising compiler in charge of the Tang history, had offended Shi Chonggui and been demoted to Huazhou, and soon surrendered to Zhang Zhao.

The deputy supervising compiler Liu Xu died when the Khitan entered the Eastern Capital, and the compilers Zhang Yuan and Jia Wei scattered and went into hiding.

Zhao Xi and others went over to the Khitan and helped them extort money and goods everywhere, and in the end were beaten to death by the rebelling common people.

So the Tang history at present was roughly seventy percent complete, but the work had come to a halt.

Now that Zhang Zhao had pacified the north and gained Nanping as well, and with a succession of benevolent policies, national strength was beginning to recover. This was exactly the time to compile the national history of the preceding dynasty.

Moreover, historically, because the Old Book of Tang was compiled too hastily, and because the Later Jin's national strength was limited, the four quarters were unsubmissive, and the Khitan watched hungrily, there was no energy to seek out more historical materials to make the Old Book of Tang more complete.

Add to that the fact that Shi Chonggui was a fool who attached no importance to such things, and the Old Book of Tang was despised by many literati through the ages.

That alone would have been tolerable, but the greatest problem was that it led to the appearance of the New Book of Tang.

It turned out that by the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, Emperor Renzong considered the Old Book of Tang crude and shallow, and decided to recompile the national history of the Tang, appointing Ouyang Xiu as chief editor of the New Book of Tang.

This was nothing short of a disaster. Ouyang Xiu was a man of some talent, but his moral fastidiousness was too severe, and he made extensive deletions and alterations to Tang history based purely on personal likes and dislikes.

He not only heavily revised and cut the records of Zhu Wen and the entire Zhu Liang dynasty, but also launched fierce attacks on the peasant uprising leaders of the late Sui and late Tang, such as Dou Jiande, Liu Heita, and Huang Chao, with many inaccuracies.

Even Wu Zetian did not escape his venerable clutches, being called by him a regicide, usurper, and traitorous ruler.

It is normal for people to have likes and dislikes, but when applied to the writing of history, it will not do.

Zhang Zhao thought this arrangement was excellent, and Sun Guangxian was also extremely satisfied.

Compiling the national history — this was an office of the purest prestige, one that could make one's name endure through the ages alongside the national history itself. Literati of every generation cared deeply about this.

Sun Guangxian at this moment did not hesitate in the slightest. He made a grand bow to Zhang Zhao.

"Your subject has been devoted to poetry and books for forty years, and has dreamed even in sleep of grasping the unicorn brush to compile the history of the former dynasty. If I may now obtain a post as compiler, I could die without regret!"

When others say they wish to be a compiler, they surely mean they wish to be a supervising compiler, because compiling is hard labor.

From the Great Tang to Zhu Liang and the Later Tang, the historical materials are vast as smoke, and must be sorted through bit by bit, with authenticity distinguished and everything organized. The work is both complex and trivial.

But to serve as a supervising compiler, one need only drop by now and then and offer a pointer or two. It is not tiring, and one still gets to be first author. How fine that is.

But when Sun Guangxian said he wished to be a compiler, he truly meant it, because he was mad for books, and what he loved most was work with words. What others saw as bitter toil was, in his eyes, a fine assignment.

One man's arsenic is another man's honey. Truly so!

Zhang Zhao immediately issued an order establishing the Office of the President of Compilation of the National Histories of the Three Dynasties, with Chief Minister and Joint Manager of Affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery Zhang Xichong as President.

Hexi Province Governor, Defender of the Western Capital Chengtian Prefecture, Prefect of Liangzhou Pei Yuan, and Vice Director of the Chancellery He Ning were made Vice Presidents, and Minister of Rites and Participant in Determining Government Matters Feng Dao was made Supervising Compiler.

Sun Guangxian was appointed Hanlin Academician, Editorial Director of the Secretariat, Supervising Compiler of the National History and Chief Compiler, with Lu Yan as Compiler. The remaining compiler candidates were to be selected from Zhang Zhou's Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Academy.

Sun Guangxian was moved to tears, and Zhang Zhao helped him up, then gave him strict instructions:

"The first essential in compiling the national history is to seek truth from facts. Do not conceal things out of respect for the eminent, and do not fear that others will say you are making veiled criticisms of the present dynasty.

Where there are inaccuracies, they must be discussed by multiple people before being discarded, and they must be written into the unofficial national history with annotations."

Sun Guangxian accepted the order and withdrew, and Zhang Zhao's work on stabilizing Nanping was essentially complete.

This time, Nanping was brought back under the court almost entirely peacefully.

The Gao house's voluntary offer of their land played a very great role. Otherwise, had they fought desperately in resistance, given the strength and strategic position of Jiangling's walls, it would still have been very troublesome.

And so Zhang Zhao left Gao Conghui in Jiangling, still serving as his King of Jing and Military Governor of Jingnan.

But of the Gao clan, apart from Gao Baoshen and a few others who were allowed to remain in Jiangling to look after Gao Conghui, the remaining one hundred seventy-odd members of the Gao royal family were all relocated by Zhang Zhao.

In taking Nanping this time, Zhang Zhao gained the treasures the Nanping Gao clan had accumulated over forty years, valued at one million one hundred thousand strings of cash — and the Gao treasury in particular held many rare and wondrous objects.

This was because Gao Jixing and his son Gao Conghui, the two "Gao Scoundrels," loved raiding in every direction, and so had hoarded many treasures that by rights should have been buried in the yellow earth and lost forever.

Among them, the treasures of the Wang Shu (Former Shu) treasury alone — which after that state's fall twenty years earlier were supposed to have been transported to Luoyang — were worth around four hundred fifty thousand strings.

This Later Tang treasure, which Gao Jixing had swallowed up in a thieves' bargain during the Xingjiao Gate Incident, had now all fallen into Zhang Zhao's hands.

After careful accounting by the Ministry of Revenue and the Revenue Drafting Secretaries of the Secretariat, Zhang Zhao returned a portion of the gold, silver, and silks that carried no presumption of usurpation and held no historical value to the Gao family — roughly one hundred fifty thousand strings' worth.

In this way, even if the Gao family still had a hundred or two hundred members, with one hundred fifty thousand strings of family wealth they could still live quite comfortably.

At the same time, Zhang Zhao granted additional titles to Gao Conghui's sons, letting them hold prefectural governorships in absentia — though without real power, they still received salaries and official rank.

As for the Gao family book collection that Zhang Zhao cared about most, the final count came to over two hundred thousand volumes, including a great many unique and sole-surviving editions.

Zhang Zhao ordered Zhang Zhaojie (Qiongre Duojin) to escort it personally and deliver it directly to the Purple Myrtle Palace in the divine capital Luoyang, where Zhang Zhao planned to build a royal library on an enormous scale.

Next, Zhang Zhao, on the pretext of compiling the national histories of the Great Tang, the Zhu Liang, and the Later Tang, issued an edict calling on all under heaven to submit their unique editions, sole copies, and rare texts, along with documents and illustrated volumes.

Moreover, Zhang Zhao did not want to keep them — the court would only copy them and then return them, and depending on their rarity, the owners would be rewarded with anything from honorary offices to goods and money.

Finally, Zhang Zhao prepared to leave Yin Zhengqi (Yin Yaozi) as Commissioner with Credentials, Commander of All Military and Civil Affairs in the Jingnan Prefectures, leading fifteen thousand troops to hold Jiangling.

Du Lun Chixin was made Superintendent of Jingnan Naval Affairs, merging Nanping's Flying Tiger Army with Zhang Zhou's naval forces to form a force of thirteen thousand men.

The naval force was then split in two, into the Imperial Navy's Flying Tiger Garrison and Flying Crane Garrison, with Du Lun Chixin commanding the Flying Crane Garrison and Zhao Yanjin commanding the Flying Tiger Garrison, each building warships and training sailors at Jiangling.

Liu Zaisheng hurried back to Xiangyang Prefecture and continued training the naval forces on the Han River, putting on the appearance of preparing to deal with the Southern Tang, to frighten Li Jing.

For Zhang Zhao was in fact somewhat afraid that the Southern Tang navy would come and cause trouble just as he was about to march on Ma Chu.

On the twenty-seventh of the ninth month, Zhang Zhao secretly had Yin Zhengqi order Jiangling Prefecture and the wealthy households of each county with assets above three hundred strings to contribute military supplies, raising seventy thousand strings — and Zhang Zhao used this money to reward the imperial troops and personal army that had been mobilized.

Zhang Zhou's army did indeed have excellent discipline, but they were not living bodhisattvas; basic rewards still had to be given.

Zhang Zhao first put up twenty thousand strings of his own to reward the officers, and these seventy thousand strings were all for rewarding the common soldiers.

For a time the soldiers roared with delight — gaining several strings without much fighting at all, who wouldn't be happy?

And with the soldiers happy, they began spending their money in Jiangling on meat, wine, and amusements.

The people of Jiangling were happy too. They knew that as long as the Zhou army went unrewarded, it hung over their heads like the sword of Damocles — who would believe that these blade-wielding, spear-brandishing killers didn't want money?

The wealthy felt some pain in their purses, but at least most of their family property was preserved, and their families' lives were safe.

The common folk had paid nothing at all, and instead the soldiers' spending stimulated the economy, which delighted them even more.

Seeing this, Zhang Zhao, after settling on the plan for the campaign against Ma Xi'e, prepared to return to the capital, for he still had two major matters to deal with.

The first was that Li Shengtian and Cao Yuanxing were leaving. They were about to set out for Hexi, where they would winter in Liangzhou or Shazhou, and then, when spring warmed the next year, follow the Duan River (the Shule River) through the great desert back to Khotan.

The second matter was that Cao Yijin had been dead for eleven years, yet his coffin had still not been sealed with earth — that is, he had not yet been buried.

Zhang Zhao had made a promise to Cao Yijin by Crescent Moon Spring back then: after entering the Central Plains, he would personally escort Cao Yijin's coffin back to his ancestral home of Qiao Commandery (Bozhou) for burial. Now the time had come to fulfill that promise.

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