Variables

Yu Qianlou corrected him. "He isn't like the Prince of Badong we imagined. Of course, this is only a hypothesis. In all my time as chief clerk, I've seen His Highness no more than twice. Naturally, I wouldn't claim to understand him.

"Let's suppose the Prince of Badong wants to gather a power base of his own. Who would he draw in?

"Liu Tan would be an excellent choice, wouldn't he? More importantly, if he could use Liu Tan to establish good relations with old Duke Liu..."

A meaningful expression appeared on Yu Qianlou's face.

Yu Yuling's face grew grave as he picked up where his elder brother had left off. "So, because of old Duke Liu, he's bound to support the Wang Academy. And because he wants to cultivate his own power base, he's bound to strike at the Jingzhou Gentry Clans!"

"'Strike at' is going too far. His Highness wouldn't rashly set himself against the gentry clans of Jingzhou. But he represents the interests of the Capital's gentry clans, and the officials of the Prince's Residence all came with him from the Capital. So the Capital faction is certain to carry more weight than the Jing Territory faction. That much is easy to imagine. Besides, apart from the six imperial princes, there is another figure whose standing is quite detached, yet who is crucially important. At times, his influence even exceeds that of the Crown Prince and the Prince of Jingling..."

Yu Yuling immediately realized whom he meant. "The Grand Marshal, the Prince of Yuzhang!"

"Exactly.

"The Prince of Yuzhang!

"As the emperor's cherished younger brother, the Prince of Yuzhang serves as Grand Marshal and Governor of Yangzhou, guarding the Capital Region. His position carries tremendous weight!"

"And when the Prince of Yuzhang had no son, His Majesty gave him the Prince of Badong as an adopted son. Though the Prince of Badong has now returned to his original lineage, how could any other prince compare to him in the affection born of the Prince of Yuzhang's care and upbringing?"

"So the Prince of Yuzhang and the Prince of Badong form another faction?" Yu Yuling was becoming confused. If that was the case, wasn't the Imperial Court in utter chaos?

"So now the Wang Academy, founded by the Prince of Yuzhang, wants to squeeze out your Commandery Academy and become Jingzhou's only official school. Whether he considers the Hedong Liu Clan or the Prince of Yuzhang, whether he weighs personal ties or interests, the Prince of Badong will tacitly approve, if not actively support it.

"And the other powers, hoping to win over the Prince of Badong and the Prince of Yuzhang-or at least avoid driving them away-will say nothing about this matter. That is why, however Liu Zhao and Fourth Lady Xie appeal for help, their efforts are doomed to come to nothing. It is also why Father has refused to involve himself all along. Do you understand now?"

Yu Yuling had never imagined that the Commandery Academy's survival could involve such tangled affairs. He pondered blankly for a while, then asked in bewilderment:

"But if the situation at court really is as you say, wouldn't the emperor know about it?"

"Why do you think His Majesty appointed Xie Fei Director of the Secretariat? He was a surviving minister of the previous dynasty. When the late emperor accepted the abdication, Xie Fei was Attendant to the Emperor and concurrently Director of the Palace Library. His duty was to remove the Song emperor's jade seal and present it to the late emperor. Instead, Xie Fei declared, 'Southern Qi ought to have its own Attendant to the Emperor,' then actually pulled over a pillow and lay down! After waking, he went out through the East Side Gate in his court robes and headed straight home."

Yu Yuling's mouth fell open in astonishment at this old court secret.

At this point, Yu Qianlou could not help remarking with feeling:

"Only an eminent scholar of the Chen Commandery Xie Clan could have done that. Anyone else would probably have lost all ten heads, even if he'd had that many.

"Though Xie Fei kept his life, for someone of his pedigree and reputation, spending five years without a post and three in an outlying commandery amounted to being left on the cold bench for good. Yet why has he suddenly been recalled to the Capital and given a chancellor's position?

"Precisely because Xie Fei has no ties to any faction, and his temperament ensures that he will never join one.

"So tell me, does His Majesty know about the factional struggles, or doesn't he?

"But knowing is one thing. Dealing with them is another.

"His Majesty poured his strength into Register Verification for years, yet this year it was finally declared a complete failure.

"Even the emperor cannot do whatever he pleases and have every wish fulfilled. How much less can we?"

Yu Qianlou gave his younger brother a deeply meaningful look.

"But don't Father and the emperor have a personal friendship? As long as Father is willing-"

"Foolish!" Yu Qianlou cut him off sharply. "You call that a personal friendship? The emperor is using Father to win over the Jingzhou Gentry Clans, while gaining a reputation for seeking out reclusive worthies!

"It is precisely because Father holds no office that His Majesty is willing to exchange a few casual words with him. And Father can stand apart from private interests and court politics to speak about matters that truly benefit the country and its people. But the condition is that he must never touch upon the imperial princes or relatives, much less become entangled in factional struggles!

"Believe me, if Father had actually answered the summons in the third year of Yongming and become the Crown Prince's Attendant, His Majesty would never have continued exchanging private letters with him."

Yu Yuling said bitterly, "Then, according to you, Brother, our Commandery Academy is certain to be abolished?"

Yu Qianlou looked up at the sky, his hands clasped behind his back. "Lately, I've been reading and rereading the histories-the Records of the Grand Historian and the Book of Han-and I've come to understand one thing. Nothing is certain. Variables always exist; we simply don't know where they are."

Yu Yuling's expression dimmed, and he murmured, "Where is the variable for our Commandery Academy...?"

"...When slips have been arranged incorrectly and no firm evidence exists, one infers from the sense of the text. This is what is called the 'Principle-Based Collation Method.' It is the most ingenious method, and also the most dangerous. Should a reader of today fail to grasp an ancient author's meaning and mistake what is correct for an error, the confusion will only deepen! Thus I believe errors of philology do greater harm than errors in the arrangement of slips..."

Wang Yang stretched luxuriously and said, "Done."

Liu Zhao stopped writing and looked at Wang Yang, his eyes wide. "Done?"

"Yes, the manuscript's finished," Wang Yang said with a yawn.

"How is it finished?! You haven't explained errors of philology in detail yet. How can you be done?!"

"This book is about the Book of Documents, not philology. Writing any more would be inconsistent with its structure," Wang Yang said evasively.

"What do you mean, inconsistent with its structure?" Liu Zhao grew agitated. "Having brought the discussion this far, you ought to continue with errors of philology! Who stops halfway through what they're saying?"

"Then just add another sentence: 'A detailed discussion will follow elsewhere.'"

Liu Zhao: ???

"The study of philology is vast and complex. It can't be hastily tacked onto the end of Pointing Out Flaws. It calls for a separate book."

Wang Yang knew this was the way to persuade Liu Zhao.

Sure enough, Liu Zhao nodded after hearing him. "That makes sense."

Seeing that Liu Zhao had finally been soothed, Wang Yang was about to return to his room to sleep. To his surprise, Liu Zhao took out fresh paper and said, "Then let's carry on."

Carry on with what!!!

Wang Yang immediately explained that the essence of philology was profound. To devise something new beyond the work of the Han Confucians required dedicated study and reflection; he could not put pen to paper lightly.

Only then did Liu Zhao remember that Wang Yang was merely an eighteen-year-old youth, and that he himself had been rather too impatient.

Besides, even a great scholar of immense learning could hardly produce a book off the cuff. Wang Yang spoke so fluently about the Book of Documents, but who knew how many years of toil through summer heat and winter cold lay behind that? How could he possibly go on to expound on philology as well?

Moreover, Liu Zhao thoroughly approved of Wang Yang's cautious approach to scholarship. He therefore allowed Wang Yang to browse and read his collection at will, while taking full responsibility for organizing the manuscript of Pointing Out Flaws himself.

That night, Wang Yang slept for less than two double-hours-not even four hours.

In fact, he did not have to work on the book that day, and he had arranged to pick A-Wu up at noon, so there had been no need to rise so early. But Wang Yang wanted to get up early to read.

Yes, read.

Wang Yang loved reading, but not so much that he would force himself to rise early for it after staying up late.

He did it because he felt an urgent need to read! Especially after what had happened with Third Master Du and Patrol Chief Tong the day before.

What books should someone read first after transmigrating?

Everyone might have a different answer.

But in Wang Yang's view, the first thing to read was the law code.