White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Chapter 82: A messenger kneels before the palace gates to lodge a petition with the emperor.

February of the second year of the Qingtai era.

The imperial examination hall of the Ministry of Rites held the grand ceremony for selecting talented individuals as scheduled.

From day to night, more than a thousand candidates would sometimes ponder deeply, and sometimes write furiously, striving to put their life's talents into words.

The saying goes, "Sent by the prefectures and kingdoms, tens of millions of people gathered in the capital in the first month of winter, their hempen clothes as white as snow, filling the nine streets in a flurry." Students from all over the country came from all directions, spending the winter and the New Year, all for this moment.

The sun was setting in the west, and the sky was darkening.

According to regulations, the examination hall must be closed for the evening session. Candidates who have not yet submitted their papers will be given three candles by the authorities and will be allowed to extend their answering time.

There was a saying at the time: "When the three candles burn out, the hearts of the candidates are consumed by their burning desire."

"Lock it up."

Lu Dao, a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, instructed that he would preside over this year's spring examination for the imperial examinations.

Lu Dao was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the early years of the Tianyou era of the Tang Dynasty. His ancestors were from Fanyang, one of the five prominent families and seven prestigious clans.

When Li Congke entered Luoyang, Feng Dao asked Lu Dao to draft a memorial urging him to ascend the throne, but Lu Dao refused, saying that both the Prince of Lu and the Emperor were sons of the Empress Dowager, and that whether he was deposed or enthroned should be done according to the Empress Dowager's decree. Therefore, he gained a reputation among scholars for upholding justice and not yielding to advice.

Just as the gates of the examination hall were about to close, a man in a red official robe squeezed through the crack in the door and bowed to Director Lu.

"Liu Shiyi, what urgent matter brings you here?"

Liu Tao was appointed Right Remonstrator, a rank of only eighth grade, but he wore a scarlet robe, the uniform of a fourth or fifth grade official. This was because he had been appointed Secretary of Fengxiang County and had previously served in His Majesty's Princely Office, hence the scarlet robe.

The Imperial Secretary was a seventh-rank official, clearly of higher rank than Liu Tao, yet his official robe was still green, which secretly displeased Director Lu.

He actually had a guess in his mind about Liu Tao's purpose in coming.

The Left Remonstrance Official was under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat, while the Right Remonstrance Official was under the jurisdiction of the Chancellery. They were in charge of offering advice and suggestions and recommending talented individuals. If they came at this time, it was probably to recommend some candidate.

"Xue Juzheng?"

Director Lu asked casually, "What makes this person worthy of recommendation?"

Liu Tao didn't say much, and took out two pieces of paper from his sleeve: "Here, read them."

Director Lu lazily took it, read only the beginning, and his spirits lifted immediately.

"Does sorrow have substance? It is like accumulated mist filling the vast sky, which even a long wind cannot dispel. Does it leave a trace? It is like the chirping of crickets hidden behind a crumbling wall, which becomes more noticeable the quieter the night."

"In the past, when compiling history on scattered scraps of paper, we witnessed Zhu Wen's usurpation and assassination, and Jing Xiang's suicide; we heard of Yan Zhang's martyrdom and Chong Tao's unjust death. Are there no hidden secrets in the key positions of the government today? When the historical records are worn and faded in the future, who will wield the pen?"

"What a fine piece of writing! Was it written by the scholar surnamed Xue you mentioned?"

"Indeed, after failing the imperial examination last year, he wrote 'A Poem to Express His Sorrow.' With this ambition to compile history and this literary talent, he will surely become a high-ranking official in the future." (Note 1)

"No need to say anything more."

Director Lu stopped him, saying, "I will take care of it; you can rest assured."

In the examination hall, the twenty-three-year-old Xue Juzheng was unaware that he had won the favor of the examiners and was still pondering and refining his words.

It was almost forty years before he joined the cabinet and became the prime minister of the country.

……

In Yanzhou, the Imperial Academy quickly sent back a message.

Just as Gao Xingzhou had predicted, there was more to Bai Wenshen's pardon and release than met the eye.

February 16th, Xin Si day.

Lu Sun, the Right Grand Counselor, was appointed Vice Censor-in-Chief, and Zhang Peng, the Vice Censor-in-Chief, was appointed Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice.

The position of Grand Censor was vacant for many years, and the Vice Censor-in-Chief was the actual person in charge. Soon after, the incident of releasing Bai Wenshen occurred.

"Are these the two people?"

Gao Xingzhou shook his head inwardly. Li Congke had once complained that there was no one he could use in his purse, and sure enough, that was the case.

Like Lu Dao, Lu Sun came from the Lu clan of Fanyang, but his branch of the clan had recently been active in Lingnan.

Lu Sun was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the early years of the Liang Dynasty after the fall of the Tang Dynasty. He was a man of strong character and considered himself to have lofty ideals and far-reaching aspirations. He passed the imperial examinations in the same year as Ren Zan, Liu Changsu, Xue Jun, and Gao Zong. The five of them had a bad relationship and criticized each other, which was called the "List of Mutual Insults" by their contemporaries.

At that time, Li Qi, the Left Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, disliked Liu Changsu's character and therefore often treated Lu Sun well.

Li Qi had a younger sister who was blind and had been unable to find a husband for many years. Lu Sun admired her reputation and took her in regardless of her appearance. When Li Qi became prime minister, she was able to advance in her career.

During the Changxing era, Li Congke was stationed in Hezhong. Lu Sun served as his deputy envoy and, through this brief interaction, gained the new emperor's favor.

On the day of his appointment, Lu Sun, having failed to uphold the established principles of the previous Censorate, submitted a memorial containing the phrase, "The gates are opened at dawn, and the guards are maintained at sunrise."

To put it bluntly, this means locking the gate at night and leaving it unattended, then deliberately unlocking it during the day to find a reason to guard the gate, thus mocking the Censorate for being incompetent and only doing superficial work.

This practice of stepping on one's predecessor to gain power was ridiculed and despised by scholars.

Gao Huaide thought to himself, "If even a villain like Bai Wenshen can be released, what right does Lu Sun have to mock his predecessor when he can't even keep an eye on the Censorate's prison?"

"I know Zhang Peng."

Gao Xingzhou recognized this person when he was with Li Siyuan in Zhenzhou.

"He was from Gucheng, Zhenzhou. He was a monk in his early years. He was literate, eloquent, and fond of boasting. Later, he returned to secular life."

Li Congke became the Prince of Lu, and Zhang Peng became his retainer, thus becoming a minister who followed the emperor.

"Although there is no concrete evidence, it is true that Bai Wenke, the governor of Daizhou, had a retainer who visited Lu Sun."

"No confirmation required."

Gao Xingzhou said calmly, "Dealing with this matter is neither easy nor difficult."

"The Censorate has wrongly released the murderer. As long as the matter is brought to light, there is no need to do anything. Given Lu Sun's reputation, it will naturally attract the attention of the literati."

"Isn't Zhao Siwan quite bold, wanting to avenge her brother's family? Ask her, since she dares to beat the drum at the Yanzhou government office, does she dare to go to the capital to petition the emperor and beat the court's petition drum?"

Gao Xingzhou instructed, "If he is willing, give him some travel expenses and send someone to secretly escort him on the trip." (Note 2)

When his subordinates went to handle the matter, the hall was empty.

"If a criminal is mistakenly released, he or she may be let off lightly."

Gao Xingzhou muttered to himself, as if explaining something to someone.

"Bai Wenke is under the command of Shi Jingtang. Lu Sun accepted his benefits without understanding his own position. Your Majesty must investigate this thoroughly."

Hearing this, Gao Huaide, who was eavesdropping, felt both relieved that Bai Wenshen could not escape punishment and somewhat disheartened.

The father implied that, unless it involved taking sides, thugs with connections and influence would not be punished.

Finally, he heard Gao Xingzhou let out a long sigh: "The emperor is complacent and indolent; there is no one capable to serve him!"

……

This view coincides with Gao Xingzhou's, and other officials also share this opinion.

However, Gao Xingzhou's private sighs alarmed the entire court.

The Court of Imperial Sacrifices was a government office that managed ancestral temple rituals and did not deal with other affairs. However, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Shi Zaide, was an arrogant and unconventional man who was concerned about the affairs of the court. He submitted a memorial directly addressing the issues.

He submitted a memorial to the throne, stating: "The court appoints people indiscriminately. Those who are called warriors are not skilled in strategy. Although they are armed and well-equipped, they will abandon their armor in battle and turn their backs on the army when things get tough. Those who are called scholars rarely have any skills and are mostly lacking in integrity. They will keep silent when asked for advice and will hire others to write their documents. These are just empty positions that waste the country's resources."

His words condemned the entire court as incompetent and lazy officials who held their positions without doing any work.

Shi Zaide not only criticized the status quo, but also proposed a solution—examination.

"All soldiers under the command of the army, both inside and outside the army, who are clad in armor, shall be ordered to undergo a comprehensive examination by the generals of their respective units to assess their martial skills and strategic acumen. Those in lower ranks who possess the talent of a general shall be promoted to general; those in higher ranks who lack the strategic ability of a general shall be transferred to lower ranks."

"The officials of the Eastern Rank shall submit a policy proposal to the Secretariat for the chief minister to conduct an interview. Those who are in lower ranks but possess great talent shall be promoted to higher positions, while those in higher positions but lacking great talent shall be reassigned to lower ranks."

This single stone stirred up a huge uproar.

The prime minister was displeased upon reading the memorial, and many officials were also angry.

The remonstrating officials Liu Tao and Yang Zhaojian added fuel to the fire by submitting a memorial requesting that Shi Zaide's memorial be made public to clarify whether it could be promulgated.

The Secretariat replied, pointing out the errors in the memorial. The officials were in an uproar over this matter.

As expected, Shi Zaide's memorial was rejected. Not only that, the Secretariat found fault with the text and wanted to punish and demote him.

To resolve this matter, Li Congke summoned Hanlin Academician Ma Yisun and specifically instructed him: "Shi Zaide is too fierce and cannot be tolerated. However, I have just ascended the throne and must open up channels for public opinion. If officials are punished for speaking out, who will dare to speak out? You shall draft an edict on my behalf and not punish Zaide."

Duke Wenzhen, Wei Zheng, once advised Emperor Taizong: "If you want to hear about gains and losses, you can only let others speak freely. Even if what they say is incorrect, it will not harm the country."

Ma Yisun, acting on the emperor's orders, drafted an edict to his ministers, in which he cited this historical anecdote.

"Shi Zaide's recent presentation was truly without any reservations. The Secretariat, however, found the text to be flawed, the analogies to be inappropriate, and the names of people to be altered, thus violating the taboos of the ancestral temple. They requested that the matter be returned to the Constitution as a warning and punishment... Upon reading Wenzhen's words, the Secretariat pardoned Zaide's crime and ordered the matter to be shelved, not to be promulgated."

"The court is well-governed, and all the talented and virtuous officials have been appointed. It is not too much to keep one person of virtue, nor too little to remove one. If they can be punished and encouraged, what do I have to worry about? However, because of the emotional attachment to the matter, it is difficult to dismiss them. Tao and others have submitted their memorials, and I am lenient with them. They should be magnanimous and strive to improve. All those below should heed my words."

"Your Majesty is illiterate, yet your magnanimity far surpasses that of many well-read ministers."

Upon hearing this, Gao Huaide felt a greater sense of goodwill towards the emperor, whom he had never met: "What's the use of silencing people and only singing praises?"

"The move to reform is too naive."

Gao Xingzhou commented: "Even if the situation is indeed as he says, it can only be changed gradually. Radical reforms would infringe on the interests of the majority, so how could they be successfully implemented? Besides, Shi Zaide has no power or influence; he is just a sinecure official."

Gao Huaide, however, thought Shi Zaide's words made sense. As a young man, he had a strong aversion to the bureaucratic system.

"Fortunately, the emperor is enlightened and clear-headed. If it were someone who only likes to hear good things and would suppress any unfavorable news, the country would be finished."

Gao Huaide was also curious about what would become of Shi Zaide, who had offended almost everyone in the court.

Life is full of strange coincidences, and the answer to this question will only be revealed to him by chance fifteen years later.