December 13, the Grand Secretariat's Duty Room.
The urgent dispatch from Ningxia, rushed over eight hundred li, reached the Chief Minister's desk first.
Shen Duan unfolded it and read.
Unlike a private report, the urgent dispatch said only:
[Zhou Quan's Land Clearance obstructed; veteran soldiers raised an uproar at night; unrest imminent]
After reading it, Shen Duan set the dispatch aside and sat rigidly upright in his chair, motionless for a long time.
He did not oppose Land Clearance.
His position as chancellor, his balancing of power, his hopes of a place in the histories-all hinged on Gansu.
Zhou Quan's appointment had been drafted by his hand; Zhang Zai's position, too, had been secured with his tacit support.
If this policy succeeded, he, Shen Duan, would also be counted among the ministers who had achieved "Strategic Settlement."
If it failed, he could not escape responsibility either.
Thus, in essence, Shen Duan did not oppose the Land Clearance policy.
For a while, Shen Duan sat alone in the Duty Room, listening to the north wind sweep snow beyond the eaves.
Yet the calculations in his mind were already like threads drawn from a tangled skein, threatening to snap but remaining entwined.
"A matter like this must be discussed by the Grand Secretariat," Shen Duan murmured to himself. "I must have a draft in hand."
Then Shen Duan raised his voice. "Someone! Go to the Ministry of Works and invite Grand Secretary Fang over for a discussion."
Outside the door, a junior clerk answered and went.
Shen Duan returned to his desk and began weighing what he would say during the deliberations.
Which ministry would speak first, which must be checked, which would question the revenue officials over military pay, and which might mock the Privy Council over military administration.
The