Wan Nian Calendar

Mission accomplished?

Who did I give a mission to?

Looking at the official below him, Zi Shou seemed to recall something.

Judging by his thinning hair and receding hairline, this fellow had to be the seasonal official from before, the one who kept talking about the Laji Festival and somehow made it sound like he was swearing.

Zi Shou figured that the official responsible for calculating the seasons must have been displeased that he had summoned the Feudal Lords to court early and disrupted the common people's Laji Festival, and now wanted to remonstrate with him or give him a good scolding.

As for "mission accomplished," he had probably misspoken in a fit of indignation.

With that in mind, Zi Shou said, "What do you have to report?"

Wan Nian raised his head. Seeing his dark circles and the fervor in his eyes, Zi Shou suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

"Your servant, the seasonal official Wan Nian, has fulfilled Your Majesty's charge. Through precise calculations of the seasons and deductions of celestial movements, I have at last determined the patterns of the sun and moon and accurately calculated the times of dawn and dusk. Sunrise and sunset repeat their cycle after three hundred and sixty rounds; plants wither and flourish through four seasons; within one year, the moon waxes full twelve times. This is the calendar."

With that, Wan Nian presented a volume.

His Majesty truly is His Majesty. This month's research, combined with my previous observations-the timing was perfect. I completed the calendar just last night.

Zi Shou took the calendar and looked it over, and his heart sank halfway into an icy pit. Although people already distinguished years and months, there was no reliable method of calculating them. Most estimates were vague, based on changes in the weather or the stars, but this Wan Nian Calendar...

Not only did it clearly define twelve months, it also precisely divided the seasonal periods.

This was the fucking Wan Nian Calendar!

Zi Shou studied Wan Nian for a long while. With that hairline, he really is a technical geek. What a talent!

But our vast Great Shang really doesn't need talented people.

Wan Nian added, "Today marks the completion of twelve months. The old year has ended, and spring begins anew. As the Feudal Lords have also gathered to offer their congratulations, I beseech Your Majesty to name this seasonal festival."

Zi Shou was already half-slumped on his throne. "Spring marks the beginning of the year. Call it the Spring Festival."

Zi Shou had thought that, without a Spring Festival, disrupting the timing of the local Laji Festivals would surely breed resentment among the Feudal Lords, but...

Who could have imagined that this Wan Nian would conjure a Spring Festival out of thin air? And today just happened to mark the completion of twelve months?

What Laji Festival? Your Laji Festivals weren't even accurate!

Besides, the end of a year mattered far more than any Laji Festival. The Wan Nian Calendar even contained precise seasonal divisions that could identify suitable times for planting. Who would still spare a thought for the Laji Festival?

It was only right for the Feudal Lords to pay homage to Shang during the Spring Festival. With the Wan Nian Calendar in hand, nothing would be delayed; they could put it to use as soon as they returned to their fiefs. Spring Plowing and autumn harvest—with the seasons precisely determined, yields would surely improve over previous years. They had absolutely no grounds for complaint.

Overjoyed, Shang Rong hurriedly ordered people to fetch past records of seasonal periods, weather, and harvests.

After a round of analysis, the method used to derive the Wan Nian Calendar proved entirely accurate.

Now Shang Rong felt certain. King Zhou had already seen through the Marquis of the West's intentions and was beginning to clear his own name. This Wan Nian Calendar was the first step.

With the seasonal periods established, harvests would improve. To the common people, nothing mattered more than what their fields yielded!

As long as their ruler increased their harvests, would they care whether he had a virtuous reputation or indulged in debauchery?

Not to mention that all those stains on his reputation were mere appearances, all part of his strategy!

Ji Chang, too, was left speechless.

As things stood, King Zhou had no blemishes on his record other than nearly driving Su Hu's daughter to her death.

The release of this Wan Nian Calendar was even enough to overshadow that blemish. Seasonal timing affected grain yields-this was simply too important!

Ji Chang was certain that once the Feudal Lords returned to their fiefs and planted according to the seasonal periods in the Wan Nian Calendar, the common people would be deeply grateful to King Zhou as soon as they saw grain production rise.

Only now did it dawn on him: had he been too aggressive just now?

Why hadn't he investigated thoroughly enough to discover that King Zhou had another move like this up his sleeve?

Sweat began to bead on Ji Chang's palms.

Zi Shou, however, had no time to pay attention to Ji Chang. He was busy considering how to deal with Wan Nian.

This was a talented man. He needed either to be exiled to the frontier or transferred to an idle post.

The problem was that there was no good reason to exile him. Make him another marquis? Where would he find that much vacant land?

The seasonal official's post was already idle enough, yet Wan Nian could still shine and radiate heat. Was there an even idler position?

Zi Shou thought it over. There actually was.

The Astronomical Bureau.

Ordinarily, the Astronomical Bureau merely watched the stars and moon and calculated when particular seasonal periods might fall. Its duties overlapped heavily with those of the seasonal official.

Now that the Wan Nian Calendar had appeared, the Astronomical Bureau was essentially useless. All that remained of its daily work was simply watching the stars and moon.

Zi Shou decided to transfer Wan Nian to the Astronomical Bureau as an Assistant Director. Surely watching the stars and moon won't let him come up with heliocentrism, geocentrism, or Kepler's three laws on me?

Even setting aside the lack of suitable practical conditions, whether such things existed at all in the world of Investiture of the Gods was an open question.

After he sent Wan Nian off, Zi Shou's standing in Shang Rong's eyes rose even higher.

Who currently headed the Astronomical Bureau? Grand Historian Du Yuanxian.

Like Shang Rong himself, Du Yuanxian was a veteran official who had served three reigns, and he had likewise participated in the senior officials' previous stranglehold on court affairs.

Wan Nian, meanwhile, had received King Zhou's secret order to derive the calendar, so he was clearly a trusted confidant. By placing his confidant in the Astronomical Bureau as Du Yuanxian's deputy, King Zhou was dividing Du Yuanxian's authority and further reducing the senior officials' influence at court. In the eyes of the ancients, the ability to read the stars was still quite formidable.

The officials discussed for a while longer how to publicize the Wan Nian Calendar and establish uniform seasonal periods across the land.

Zi Shou had no opportunity to speak. He did not even know precisely how much territory Great Shang covered, and could not connect any of that heap of place names.

He did not really dare interject, either. Last time, he had merely asked Wan Nian a casual question, and the man had actually derived the Wan Nian Calendar and created the Spring Festival.

What if he now pointed out some impoverished backwater, only for it to turn straight into a land of fish and rice after the calendar was promulgated?

Or what if he pointed out somewhere beyond Great Shang's borders, and the Feudal Lords saw that it was not part of their territory and led their armies to conquer it, expanding the realm?

Agitated, Zi Shou resolved to dismiss court early. "Do any of you have further matters to report?"

Good. Nothing else. Back to the palace.

Now I'll just wait quietly for Su Hu to inscribe his Rebel Poem and return to Jizhou to rebel. Nothing is more certain than a rebellion.

That evening, after visiting Chong Houhu's residence to express his thanks, Su Hu took his family and prepared to return to Jizhou. He only needed to wait for King Zhou to purge the disloyal traitors, and he could reap the rewards without lifting a finger, earn merit, demonstrate his loyalty, and even offer his daughter to the king and become one of the Maternal Relatives of the Emperor.

Su Hu left Chaoge that night. As his carriage reached the area outside the city gate, he suddenly thought of something.

It seemed that this still was not enough.

With the appearance of the Wan Nian Calendar, King Zhou had gained considerable prestige, while Su Hu himself had shown no strong inclination to resist. What if the rebels became afraid of their own shadows and dared not act?

Su Hu recalled Chong Houhu's earlier advice: inscribe a Rebel Poem. He needed to give them a clearer signal.

He was a little worried. This was a Rebel Poem, after all-rebellion! But when he thought of the present King Zhou's wisdom and martial brilliance, he was no longer so afraid.

His Majesty will surely perceive my loyal heart.

And so, outside the city gate, he declared loudly, "The ruler has broken the bond with his ministers and brought ruin upon the Five Constants. Su Hu of Jizhou shall never again pay homage to Shang!"

Huang Feihu was on night patrol. Hearing someone reciting poetry, he initially marveled at who could possess such poetic sensibilities, forgoing sleep to recite verses at the city gate in the dead of night.

Then he listened closely. This was a Rebel Poem!

How could this be tolerated? A traitor!

Could King Zhou have foreseen that a rebel would leave through the southern gate? As long as I willingly accepted demotion, diligently guarded the gate, and showed my loyalty, I would capture the rebel-and that would be grounds for another promotion?

At this thought, Huang Feihu's heart burned with eagerness. Sure enough, once he had shown his loyalty, King Zhou had arranged everything for him. He immediately swung himself onto the Five-Colored Divine Ox, gripped the Golden-Gripped Reed-Lifting Spear, and shouted, "You treacherous rebel ahead! Do you dare dismount and fight?"

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