Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 171 Do Not Deeply Hate the Loyal Prince
Wang Han was just joking when he said that. Wang Changling's main purpose in visiting Zhang Shuo today was to pay his respects before the provincial examination.

Although Zhang Yue is no longer the prime minister in power, he still wields considerable influence among scholars, especially since he retains the official positions of Right Chancellor and Academician of the Jixian Academy. His personal preferences can still determine the fate of a significant number of scholars.

Zhang Shuo's political enemies in the court might target him, along with his relatives and confidants. But if they attacked anyone Zhang Shuo admired, they would be acting like mad dogs, no longer attacking opponents but making enemies for themselves.

Zhang Dai himself couldn't remember whether he had ever praised Wang Changling's poems at home, but Wang Changling was indeed already quite famous for his talent.

In particular, during his travels in the Hexi Corridor in the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era, he created a series of frontier poems, such as the famous works "Leaving the Frontier" and "Song of Joining the Army" that have been passed down to later generations. Famous lines such as "Having fought a hundred battles in the yellow sand, I will not return until Loulan is conquered" and "If only the Flying General of Longcheng were here, the barbarian horses would not be allowed to cross the Yinshan Mountains" also made his talent and fame very popular.

Upon hearing from Wang Han that Wang Changling would also be taking the imperial examination at the same time as him, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a bit of pressure. This was a true master, and it was inevitable that he, a mere imposter, would be nervous competing against such a figure.

However, he still had some doubts in his heart, and couldn't help but look at Wang Changling and ask, "Brother Shaobo, since you have passed the imperial examination in the capital, how come you did not pass with such talent and ambition? I think Magistrate Pei of the capital is also a person of clear judgment and fair judgment."

Although Zhang Dai ultimately became the top candidate in the imperial examination for the capital, the original top candidate, Du Mengyin, did not achieve any notable talent. Recently, Zhang Dai even went to look at Du Mengyin's essays from this year's examination and found them to be mediocre at best.

Since Wang Changling is competing against him, defeating him shouldn't be difficult. If Wang Changling is the top scholar in the capital this year, and I also use my special ability to steal the top spot from him, wouldn't that be even more satisfying?
In the end, all the effort I put in was to obtain the title of Du Mengyin, a name that no one even knew, and all those famous works I used were wasted!

Honestly, given the amount of time Zhang Dai spent cramming over those few months, even without copying famous ancient works, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to surpass Du Mengyin's level of skill today.

Upon hearing this question, Wang Changling couldn't help but show some embarrassment and disappointment. Wang Han, standing beside him, sighed and said, "Jingzhao Prefecture is the most important prefecture in the country. Scholars all consider it an honor to study here. It can be said that people's desires are mixed and that good and bad are not equal."

Without the backing of powerful figures, expecting a fair judgment is a pipe dream. Moreover, while Shao Bo's talent is exceptional, he is not easily swayed by convention. That he has been able to get a resolution this time is already a stroke of luck; how could he dare to hope for the top spot again? For example, Zu San was deprived of his will by the Prince of Ning years ago…”

"What's happening here?"

Zhang Dai was taken aback when he heard this. He was wondering why he had offended Prince Ning, and when he heard about something related to him, he couldn't help but ask.

"Scholarly words are a joke; I am unworthy of such praise. My examination proposal was indeed biased, and there were reasons why I did not become the top candidate. How can you say that a superior has usurped my will?"

Upon hearing this, Zu Yong waved his hand and sighed, while Wang Han sneered: "Even if Zu San fails to take the head, Du Wan is not worthy of the title. He only gained fame because of the name of the king. Now his kind are punished by Liu Lang. Isn't that great? You will perish with your bodies and names, but the rivers will flow on forever. Even if there are powerful people causing trouble in this world, justice will be served by future generations!"

At this point, he pointed to the examination paper he had given to Zhang Dai and said with a smile, "For example, this anthology directly rejected Du Wan's essays on examinations, which is not a good example!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai vaguely understood. When he was selecting essays earlier, he found that the essay written by the top scholar in the twelfth year of the Kaiyuan era was indeed mediocre and close to inferior, so he did not include it in his collection.

However, at the time, it was just a matter of selecting the best candidates, and he wasn't very clear about the hidden reasons behind it. His grandfather was accompanying the emperor to a hot spring in Ruzhou at the time, so naturally no one told him about it. In fact, not only was Du Wan's poem not selected, but Zu Yong's was also not selected because it did not conform to the prescribed style.

After learning about these things, he finally understood. It turned out that Prince Ning's dissatisfaction with him stemmed from this. He probably thought that they were endlessly entangled in this story, and even wrote a poem to mock them years later.

Whether Prince Ning misunderstood or not is beside the point; in any case, he has absolutely no goodwill towards Zhang Dai now. After all, Zhang Dai openly sowed discord between the emperor and his son, causing the emperor to give them another subtle warning. This grudge won't be forgotten anytime soon.

When Wang Changling came to visit, he naturally brought his own travel documents. Zhang Dai took a look and found that they included Wang Changling's famous poems and essays, as well as some miscellaneous essays written for examinations.

Well, just as Wang Han commented, Wang Changling was indeed exceptionally talented, but once confined by rules, his brilliance was lost.

His frontier poems are brilliant and majestic when recited, but his poems written for official occasions are merely neat and well-crafted, lacking the wow factor of his usual works.

This is actually a common problem for most poets, which is why there are very few excellent poems written in response to imperial commands that have been passed down through history. Even first-rate poets such as Wang Wei and Wang Changling did not produce many amazing poems written in response to imperial commands, and their mastery of style and tone was not as skillful as that of court poets.

However, when Zhang Dai browsed to the end of the scroll and saw the recent essays written by Wang Changling for official occasions, he noticed a significant improvement in their quality. He could even see the influence of some famous essays from previous years, which was clearly due to the influence of that anthology.

To put it bluntly, the key to writing an article is to avoid self-indulgence, to correct your attitude, and to understand the purpose of writing it. People's tastes are diverse, and the judgment of the quality of literary works is highly subjective. Only by striving to improve and achieve the best within the relatively accepted standards can you increase the article's popularity. While the act of showing off and then contradicting oneself is clichéd, it's a formula that everyone enjoys.

The New Year was just around the corner, and these guests did not stay for long. They all took their leave before the evening curfew. Zhang Dai saw them off and made an appointment to meet again for drinks after the provincial examination next year.

When he returned home, the sound of galloping horses echoed outside the door. Soon after, his uncle Zhang Ji, reeking of alcohol, walked in from the outer room. He first glared at Zhang Dai with annoyance, then said to his father, "Father, this A-Liu, spoiled by his elders, has become increasingly arrogant. I went to the banquet at Shangyang Palace today and heard from others that he had been arrogant and disrespectful during the banquet, offending Prince Ning and other elders!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shuo frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Dai, asking in a deep voice, "What's going on?"

Zhang Dai glanced at Zhang Ji, who was glaring at him and complaining, and then recounted what had happened at the banquet that day. After listening, Zhang Ji stamped his foot and said angrily, "Father, did you hear that? Such a big thing happened, and he didn't mention a word about it when he got home! When the Prince of Zhong questioned me that day, I had no answer."

"The matter isn't as serious as Uncle makes it out to be. I myself don't even know what Prince Ning has done to offend me, so I can't even offer an apology. It's even more ridiculous that Prince Zhong resents me; how much do I know about the intricacies of his court and family affairs?"

Zhang Dai didn't care about his father, so he wasn't afraid of Zhang Ji either. Seeing that this guy had taken his anger out on him after being wronged outside, he immediately said without any politeness, "Uncle, if you feel that I have been wronged, I will go to Shangyang Palace with you tomorrow and hear what grievances these princes have to accuse me to my face!"

"You cause trouble outside, and you think you're in the right?"

Hearing this, Zhang Ji became even more furious and glared at him, scolding him again.

"Go home and let the effects of the alcohol dissipate. Don't stay at home and speak ill of others!"

Zhang Shuo was still frowning and pondering when he saw the uncle and nephew glaring at each other and arguing. He pointed at Zhang Ji and said in a deep voice.

After seeing his son off, he said to Zhang Dai, "I don't blame you for what happened to Prince Ning. When I was in charge of the Southern Province, there were many things to deal with, and I didn't pay enough attention to these trivial matters. At that time, there were many followers and they were all talking at once. It's possible that they made enemies. Prince Ning bullied the weak and was really narrow-minded, but he was in an awkward position and it was hard for him to cause any real harm."

People who have a clear understanding of the current situation generally don't take Prince Ning too seriously, because Prince Ning's interference in politics is very limited; at most, he has some influence in certain circles of public opinion.

"However, we should try to ease tensions with the Prince of Zhong if there is an opportunity, and not let the enmity deepen."

After a pause, Zhang spoke again, his expression becoming quite serious.

Seeing his grandfather's expression, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel curious and quickly asked, "Why do you say that, Grandfather?"

"When the Emperor chose his successor, the matter was shrouded in mystery and could not be openly discussed. The reason he abandoned Prince Qing and chose the Crown Prince was also because the Emperor was not the eldest son to succeed him, and it would be inappropriate to establish the eldest son as heir. However, the Crown Prince's mother is not of high status, so his position as heir apparent is probably not long-lasting. Prince Zhong... In short, you should know this matter, but do not divulge it to anyone!"

Zhang gestured for him to come closer, and whispered something to him, adding a few more words of advice.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai nodded quickly, secretly admiring the old fox's ability to keep things to himself.

Prince Qing was the son of the sage, but he was not made crown prince. Later generations mostly adopted the explanation in the "Biography of Li Linfu" that Prince Qing was injured in the face while hunting. But in reality, when the sage was establishing his successor, all his sons were young, and Prince Qing's injury happened later.

The Crown Prince's mother was Consort Zhao, who was originally a prostitute from Luzhou but gained favor due to her beauty and talent; her origins were extremely lowly. In the middle of this year, the Prefect of Taiyuan reported that a man named Li Ziqiao claimed to be the illegitimate son of the Emperor and Consort Zhao from Luzhou, and the Emperor directly ordered him to be beaten to death.

Just over a month after this incident, Consort Zhao died in the palace. Previously, Zhang Dai had attended a court banquet, but the Crown Prince was not present because he was in mourning. Whether the two events were connected, no one dared to speculate.

One thing is certain: in the Tang Dynasty, there was never the concept of "pure courtesans" who sold their art but not their bodies. If a customer requested it, serving wine would inevitably lead to serving the emperor in bed. When Consort Zhao Li was brought to serve the emperor in Luzhou, she was already seventeen or eighteen years old, and it is unclear whether she had given birth before.

In short, in the eyes of Zhang Yue, a cunning old fox in politics, the crown prince's position was not secure. As the eldest son of the princes, Prince Zhong had a good chance of advancing further in the future, so he instructed his grandson to try not to antagonize Prince Zhong.

(End of this chapter)