A stone had struck the water, and its ripples had yet to fade.
Shen Duan finished speaking, and the entire court understood.
Qi Zhao still stood in the hall, caught between advancing and retreating.
He wanted to retreat, but he himself had brought up the words "merit assessment."
If he slunk back without anyone taking up his words, he would be admitting that his speech had been nothing but a gust of empty wind.
He wanted to press forward, but Shen Duan, with the authority of the Chief Minister and the precedent of Kou Zhun, had erected a wall before him.
As a mere Right Vice Minister of Ministry of Revenue, he had no hope of scaling it.
He glanced sideways toward the Ministry of Revenue's ranks.
Kou Yuan did not look at him.
Qi Zhao's heart sank.
At last, from the Imperial Throne, Emperor Jing of Zhou spoke, his voice mild, his meaning far-reaching.
"What Minister Shen has just said has brought the Late Emperor's teachings back to mind."
At the emperor's words, every official lowered his head and held his tablet, gathering in his breath.
Shen Duan held his tablet before his chest and bowed on behalf of them all.
"We respectfully attend Your Majesty's sacred teachings. How could we dare not obey!"
The emperor nodded silently and continued.
"The Late Emperor once said: the art of employing men is like governing water.
Dam it, and it bursts; channel it, and it rests. Obstruct it, and it overflows; guide it, and it runs true.
If the riverbed cannot contain it, the water must spill elsewhere.
As Mencius says: 'In guiding the waters, Yu followed their unimpeded course.'
The Late Emperor likened employing men to governing water not to teach me to disregard the rules, but to teach