July 12, half an hour into the Mao Hour.
On duty at the Eastern Palace that day, Wei Zi had already arrived at the Director of Palace Affairs Office.
As the first light of morning filtered in, Wei Nisheng sat behind the desk in the Duty Room. Before him lay stacks of evaluation registers for the Eastern Palace Attendants, the Crown Prince's lecture schedule, and a copy of a document forwarded by the Grand Secretariat.
Brush in hand, he reviewed them one by one, his Vermilion Brush moving neither hurriedly nor slowly.
Before long, footsteps sounded outside. Bao De entered with a bow and said, his hands lowered respectfully:
"Junior Director of Palace Affairs, His Highness asks you to come."
Wei Nisheng set down his brush and rose.
In the Hall of Literary Splendor, Crown Prince Jiang Heng was reading a volume of Guanzi at his desk. Seeing him enter, he put down the book and smiled.
"You've come at just the right time, Zi'an."
"There is something I wanted to ask you."
"Please speak, Your Highness."
"The matter of the military farmland," the Crown Prince said.
"Father has approved it, and Zhou Quan is already on his way.
"But after turning it over in my mind these past few days, I keep feeling that sorting out this land will not be so easy.
"You served in the Ministry of Revenue, Zi'an. Help me think this through...
"What should be the first step in this Land Clearance?"
Wei Nisheng considered for a moment, then said, "Does Your Highness know which classic the military farmland system originated from?"
"The well-field system?" the Crown Prince asked.
"The Zhou people's che fa, which united soldiers and farmers."
"Precisely." Wei Nisheng nodded.
"The Rites of Zhou says, 'Nine husbands form a well, four