荔枝影院

Edited by: Michyrr

“The Crown of Confucius?”

Wang Chong frowned at these words, his body sitting up straight in attention.

Zhang Que bowed and sternly said, “Yes! The records indicate that this is a paramount treasure that the Confucian Sect has specifically to deal with the militarists. And the man who used that crown is someone Your Highness might have heard of. His name is Master Dong!”

Buzz!

The mention of Master Dong caused Wang Chong’s eyes to twitch. The mention of this name alone would not mean much to many people, but Wang Chong immediately knew of this man’s actual name: Dong Zhongshu!

‘Dismiss the one hundred schools and revere only Confucianism!’

Wang Chong took in a deep breath. Everyone in the Central Plains knew about that major event during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. When the one hundred schools of the Central Plains had been vying for supremacy, it was this incident that had established the Confucian school’s revered status in the Central Plains.

But not even Wang Chong had imagined that the illustrious architect behind this incident, Master Dong, had been a member of the Confucian Sect.

“I was also shocked when I first saw the report, but Academic Lu Ting also mentioned that the militarists had been in a dominant position from the Spring and Autumn Era all the way to the Great Han. Moreover, as the Great Han was engaged in numerous wars and needed to deploy soldiers in the north, the militarists had an even greater status, far above that of the other schools of thought. At the time, Master Dong relied on that Crown of Confucius to persuade Emperor Wu of Han into placing the Confucian school above all the other schools.

“In addition, Academic Lu mentioned that he paid a special visit to the Yan Clan and looked through all their records from the reign of Emperor Jing of Han. From what Academic Lu said, there were apparently many famous and powerful Great Generals during Emperor Jing’s reign, as well as in the early years of Emperor Wu’s reign. All of them possessed influential status. But after Master Dong appeared, all of them faded into the background, and even Emperor Wu did not use them as much any longer. The primary reason for this was that they had lost to the Confucian Sect.

(TN: Emperor Jing was the sixth emperor of the Han Dynasty and was Emperor Wu’s father.)

“Academic Lu also said that Master Dong was an incredibly talented genius, probably one of the best leaders the Confucian Sect has ever had. Alas, despite his outstanding talent, he lacked the luck of the Secretariat Advisor, so he was never able to realize the dream of the Confucian Sect. He could not make Emperor Wu accept the concept of the Harmonious World!” Zhang Que said, bowing.

Wang Chong said nothing, but his head was slightly raised as his mind turned.

Lu Ting had been studying Bird Seal Script ever since the Confucian Sect had first appeared on the stage, and he had already made significant progress. He could now proficiently read texts written in Bird Seal Script and understand more than eighty percent of the meaning therein.

But it was truly astonishing that an illustrious Confucian like Master Dong was actually a leader of the Confucian Sect.

Wang Chong also understood what Lu Ting meant when he said that Master Dong lacked the Secretariat Advisor’s luck. In the early years of Emperor Wu of Han’s reign, the empire was still in a state where the foreigners were strong and the Central Plains was weak. Moreover, even after several generations, the humiliation of Baideng still burned in the minds of all the Han sovereigns.

(TN: As a reminder, the Battle of Baideng was when the Xiongnu forces surrounded the first emperor of the Han Dynasty and his army, forcing the Imperial Court to bribe the Xiongnu leader’s wife so that he would let the emperor go.)

All of the sovereigns wanted to actively expand their borders to wash away this humiliation. If Master Dong were to bring up the Harmonious World in this situation, he would clearly find very few people who agreed. After all, a single raid from the north would be enough to infuriate the people. Not even Master Dong could do much in the face of this momentum.

But in this dynasty, the Great Tang Empire had become the strongest faction on the continent, and whether it was Goguryeo, the Eastern and Western Turkic Khaganates, Mengshe Zhao, or Ü-Tsang, they had all suffered major defeats at the hands of the Great Tang and quailed in fear of its strength.

This became even more so after Wang Chong led his army to the west and pushed Arabia back from Talas all the way to Khorasan, causing the greatest empire of the west to lose one million soldiers and even have its capital of Baghdad threatened. After that, no one on the continent could defeat the Great Tang. This was the complete opposite of the situation in Master Dong’s time, with the Central Plains ascendant while the foreigners were weak.

Only now did the Confucian Sect have the foundation on which to implement their Harmonious World.

“Is there any other information on the Crown of Confucius?” Wang Chong suddenly said.

“No!”

Zhang Que shook his head.

“There weren’t many records about the Crown of Confucius in the first place, and those besides the one regarding Master Dong are all damaged. But Academic Lu mentioned that if Li Junxian is relying on the Crown of Confucius, then this is no trifling matter, and Your Highness must be extremely careful.”

After saying this, Zhang Que couldn’t help but look up at Wang Chong, his eyes tinged with concern. This was a match with the fate of the empire on the line. If Li Junxian really had the Crown of Confucius, the battle was very unfavorable toward his liege.

“I understand. You’re dismissed.”

Wang Chong waved his hand, and once Zhang Que had left, he began to think.

It doesn’t matter whether you’ve obtained the Crown of Confucius or any inheritance of the Confucian path. I’m not yielding a single step this time.

......

Time quickly passed, and it was now the day of the match. The entire capital was in a state of excitement—the major officials, the great clans, and even the common people were paying close attention to this grand occasion. Tens of thousands of people were converging on the capital, and some common people were even visiting the capital specifically to see this match.

The militarist-Confucian conflict would decide the future course of the entire empire, and was inextricably linked to every person. Everyone who had heard the news immediately began to make their way over, no matter how great the distance was.

For the sake of safety, only a small audience was allowed into the training ground, with the total spectators not exceeding five thousand. But it was not forbidden for commoners to watch from the outer edge. The distance was rather far, and the view wasn’t as clear. But even so, for the commoners, it was more than enough for them to personally witness this match.

“I wonder who will win between the King of Foreign Lands and the Secretariat Advisor?”

Several hundred meters away from the training ground, a young man in azure robes stood on his tiptoes, leaning on the metal railing recently set up by the Golden Guards, and observed the training ground from the distance.

There were still more than two hours until the match began, but a sea of people already surrounded the training ground. Behind that young man was a packed crowd consisting of peddlers, women, elders, martial artists, warriors, soldiers, and even many Hu. All of them had expectant expressions as they tried to predict the final result.

“Is that something you even need to think about? It has to be the King of Foreign Lands! The King of Foreign Lands possesses transcendent martial arts, having pacified the southwest, conquered Talas, and stopped that coup. He’s a hero of our Great Tang. How could Li Junxian possibly be a match for him?!”

“Nonsense! And what does it matter if he wins? It’s still just brute strength! Moreover, the Secretariat Advisor is different from your average Confucian scholar. If he didn’t possess formidable martial arts, how could he have possibly traveled deep into foreign lands to persuade those barbarians? I think that the one who will win in the end is the Secretariat Advisor. If he wasn’t completely sure of his victory, how could he have possibly agreed?!”

“That’s right! Don’t forget that the six arts of the gentleman include archery and martial arts, and the Sage Confucius himself used a sword. Moreover, among his seventy-two disciples, several of them were incredible martial artists. The King of Foreign Lands is by no means guaranteed a win!”

“Hmph, this bunch of rotten Confucians are all the same. Just like those fools from the Confucian Sect, you’re still dreaming about the Harmonious World. But do you see any Harmonious World around you? Can you be reasonable with those barbarians? If those barbarians attack the capital, you think that your eloquent tongue will be enough to deal with them?”

“That’s right! The strong eat the weak and might makes right! The King of Foreign Lands said it loud and clear! No matter what you say, I’ll always support him!”

“I support the Secretariat Advisor! The Secretariat Advisor must win!”

The crowd had originally been talking about just the event, but as time went on, the conversation began to circle around the ideals of Wang Chong and Li Junxian. The crowd soon divided into two fiercely quarreling sides, and there were even a few brawls.

......

Meanwhile, in the plum forest in the northwestern part of the Imperial Palace...

“Teacher, the match will begin soon. Is Teacher going over to watch?”

In the classroom, a white-bearded Confucian bowed in front of Master Zhu.

“There’s no need!”

After a few moments of thought, Master Zhu shook his head.

“He’s already gained the Crown of Confucius that he desired, the fourth person in the history of the Confucian Sect to obtain its approval. With this crown, he no longer needs my help.”

“Yes, Teacher!”

The others in the classroom lowered their heads upon hearing Master Zhu’s words.

......

Within the Imperial Palace’s Inner Court, Jade Dragon Palace...

Although there was still time until the match, the Fifth Prince had already washed up and changed into his ceremonial robes.

In the Rebellion of the Three Princes, Li Heng had gone to the emperor’s defense, and though he had not received any obvious rewards or titles, everyone could now sense the Sage Emperor’s favor toward the Fifth Prince. His ceremonial dragon robe was now that of a silver-and-gold four-footed dragon.

This was still not the highest level of imperial robe, but everyone knew that since there was no Crown Prince or First Prince, Li Heng now wore the highest level of imperial robe amongst the remaining Princes of the Imperial Palace.

A man would feel refreshed and pleased during a joyous occasion, and when he was being dressed by the maids and eunuchs, Li Heng had been all smiles, his complexion glowing.

“Your Highness, do you think the King of Foreign Lands will win?” Li Jingzhong asked from behind him, smoothing out the wrinkles on Li Heng’s shoulders.

Li Heng suddenly stopped adjusting his robe as he asked, “What? You think the King of Foreign Lands might lose?”

“How could that be? This slave wouldn’t dare.”

Li Jingzhong dryly laughed.

“Heh, regardless of what others might say, and no matter who the opponent might be, this prince will always stand at the side of the King of Foreign Lands. Moreover, while the Secretariat Advisor’s arguments might be somewhat reasonable, and this prince can understand the desire for the Harmonious World, the borders have yet to be pacified, and the Great Tang has not united the world. How is disbanding the prefectural armies at this time any different from crippling oneself? This prince finds it difficult to agree,” Li Heng said.

Buzz!

Li Heng was merely speaking casually, but Li Jingzhong shivered, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Li Heng had been slowly changing all this time, and ever since he had become able to cultivate, he had lost his timidity and become much more responsible. But this was the first time since he had begun serving Li Heng that he had ever heard him give such an insightful opinion.

These words alone made Li Heng stand out from the other clueless Princes. He was gradually gaining the ability to handle governmental affairs.

Li Heng had completely transformed.

Li Jingzhong was pleasantly surprised. Wasn’t this exactly the sort of Li Heng he had always wanted?