Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 196: Criticizing Sang and Huai
After sitting down on the platform, Miao Jinqing composed himself and took the text from the Imperial Academy official. He discovered that he was to lecture on a chapter from the *Book of Rites*. He was quite knowledgeable in this subject and had thus gained the appreciation of Vice Minister Cui Mian, who appointed him to replace Yan Tingzhi.

After sorting out his thoughts, he was about to begin his speech when Li Yi, who had already returned to his seat, stood up again.

Upon witnessing this scene, Miao Jinqing felt a chill run down his spine and quickly asked, "What is it, student?"

"I have been studying the Zuo Zhuan, but there is one matter that I do not understand. Now, I am honored to have been enlightened by you, so I am taking the liberty of asking you: When Duke Lu feasted Meng Wubo, he said that he became fat because he ate too much and talked too much. I wonder if you could explain this in detail?"

Li Yi straightened his expression and bowed to Miao Jinqing on the stage, asking for guidance.

Hearing that Li Yi was only asking about the meaning of the scriptures, Miao Jinqing breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't bother to look up the scriptures, but simply recited the original text: "The Duke held a banquet at the Five Wutong Trees..."

Zhang Dai listened from below and understood Li Yi's plan: first, to force Miao Jinqing to take the stage, and then to ridicule the Ministry of Personnel and Miao Jinqing by asking him about the classics.

The story Li Yi inquired about, "Breaking one's promise and getting fat," refers to a banquet hosted by Duke Ai of Lu for his ministers. Meng Wubo, one of Duke Ai's favorite ministers, mocked Guo Zhong for gaining so much weight. Duke Ai replied, "He has broken his promises many times; how could he not be fat?" In reality, he was mocking Meng Wubo for being untrustworthy and inconsistent.

"Wu Bo valued profit over integrity; his words came out of his mouth but went back on their word, and he gained the benefit. Hence the saying, 'He who breaks his word gains wealth.' Duke Lu took this as an excuse to incur resentment and lightly provoked him. This shows that he lost the instrument of a ruler and abandoned his own principles. Therefore, resentment arose from both above and below, and he was attacked by the Three Huan families..."

Miao Jinqing, whose family has a long tradition of Confucianism, naturally had no problem explaining this anecdote. He not only explained the story of "breaking one's promise and getting fat" very clearly, but also criticized Duke Ai of Lu, saying that as a ruler, he was only concerned with his sharp tongue and did not take any real action to restrain and control his ministers, resulting in him being besieged by powerful ministers and forced to flee.

The powerful ministers of the State of Lu included the Mengsun, Shusun, and Jisun clans, all descendants of Duke Huan of Lu, and were thus known as the Three Huan. Among them, Meng Wubo was the head of the Mengsun clan, and because of the power of the Three Huan, he incurred the resentment of Duke Ai of Lu.

After Duke Ai of Lu mocked the Meng family for breaking their promise and becoming fat, he "drank wine and was unhappy, and the Duke and his grandfather began to have a falling out." The conflict between the two sides gradually accumulated and intensified, leading to the Three Huan families attacking Lu and Duke Ai fleeing. Therefore, Miao Jinqing commented that he had lost the qualities of a ruler; if the Meng family was fat because they broke their promise, then Duke Ai was thin because they spoke out.

Miao Jinqing didn't think that Li Yi was using this anecdote to criticize their Ministry of Personnel officials for changing examiners on the spot for their own power, which could also be called breaking their promises and enriching themselves.

After he finished speaking, he still felt somewhat unsatisfied, thinking that the teaching at the Imperial Academy was rather mediocre, and that a top scholar from the Eastern Academy couldn't even understand such a simple allusion. But when Zhang Dai stood up again, in the same order as before, he felt something was amiss.

"I also have a question for you, Master, and I hope you will be kind enough to enlighten me."

Zhang Dai merely memorized the Spring and Autumn Annals by rote, unlike Li Yi who could use allusions to subtly criticize others. Therefore, he could only choose from the simpler Analects: "The Master said: 'Is Zang Wenzhong a usurper? He knew of Liu Xiahui's virtue but did not appoint him. Please, Master Miao, could you explain this in more depth?'"

If Li Yi's inquiry was merely an isolated incident, difficult to connect with, then with Zhang Dai rising to ask for advice as a response, even the slow-witted Miao Jinqing understood that these scoundrels were cursing him for breaking his promise and usurping the throne.

He first glanced back at Zhang Shuo, then turned back to Zhang Dai and said, “My late master has already made his judgment here. Zhang Dai, read it carefully and you will understand its meaning. If I were to force an interpretation, I would lose my master’s original intention and might mislead you. Please sit down.”

Seeing that he avoided answering, Zhang Dai did not press the matter further, bowed again, and then sat back down in his seat.

No sooner had he sat down than another student stood up and asked, "May I ask if Master Miao could explain the story of Dai's 'seizing the seat to discuss the classics'? Does Master Miao have any stories of seizing the seat here?"

If the previous questions were indirect attacks, this one is much more aggressive.

During the New Year's Day court assembly, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty ordered his ministers to discuss the classics and their meanings. Anyone who was refuted by others had to give up their seat to the one who won the debate. Minister Dai Ping thus won more than fifty seats and was known as "Dai Ping, the Minister of the Palace Attendants, who could not exhaust the classics".

This question is undoubtedly a direct challenge to Miao Jinqing: In what ways do you think you are better than Yan Tingzhi, and what qualifications do you have to take Yan Tingzhi's position?
The attack suddenly intensified, causing Miao Jinqing's expression to change drastically. Even with his composure, he couldn't bear being openly questioned and challenged like this. He immediately pointed at the student and angrily said, "The Imperial Academy has appointed doctors of the classics to teach you the meaning and principles of the classics. With such shallow common sense, you still dare to come here and disturb us. How can you become a Jinshi!"

"The meaning of the classics is so profound that no one can fathom it. Although we may have our own understanding, we still need to consult with the masters of the classics to refine our knowledge. Today we are here to seek their guidance, and we have no concern about us taking the seat. Why does Master Miao dare not answer?"

Upon hearing Miao Jinqing's angry rebuke, Li Yi stood up again and asked loudly.

Seeing this fellow's high spirits, Zhang Dai couldn't help but suspect that he must have studied the anthology of literature he had compiled last year very thoroughly, which was why he was so dissatisfied with the last-minute change of examiners. Thinking this to himself, he stood up and loudly questioned him.

The others, more or less dissatisfied, also rose to their feet in response, using the pretext of seeking knowledge to unleash various sarcastic and even insulting anecdotes. Wang Changling, standing in the group of students from the capital prefecture, loudly proclaimed that Miao Jinqing was only interested in his own private learning and unable to learn from others. The scene in the Imperial Academy spiraled out of control once more. Miao Jinqing, instead of maintaining order, retreated from the platform amidst the questioning of his students, covering his face. He approached Zhang Shuo and the others with a look of grief and indignation, saying, "These students are unruly and difficult to control; you all should know this. I am unable to manage them and have been slandered by them. I beg you all to take charge and prevent things from collapsing further."

The young people below looked indignant, so Zhang Shuo and his group naturally wouldn't go up on stage to make a fool of themselves. Seeing that Miao Jinqing had completely given up on himself, Zhang Shuo ordered the school officials to ring the bell of the Imperial Academy and mobilized the Imperial Guards to form a line outside and shout.

The resounding bell rang out, immediately silencing the commotion among the students in the hall, while the military orders to mobilize the outer guards of the Imperial Academy also made everyone inside tense.

Zhang Dai noticed that his grandfather was giving him a look, so he stopped inciting trouble and quickly began to calm the people around him down.

They have already ousted Miao Jinqing from the throne, and the subsequent matters still need to be debated and decided in the court.

In short, after things have escalated to this point, either the imperial court will dismiss Miao Jinqing from his position as examiner, or it will simply halt this year's provincial examinations. Even if Miao Jinqing continues to preside over the provincial examinations, he can claim that he is seeking revenge by dismissing anyone.

Since Zhang Yue and others refused to come forward, the officials of the Imperial Academy had no choice but to bite the bullet and go on stage to shout and control the situation. Fortunately, Li Yi and his troublemakers realized that they had achieved their initial goal and stopped stirring up trouble, so the situation was gradually brought under control.

Naturally, no further ceremony could be held. Taking advantage of the students' calming down, the officials immediately announced the end of the ceremony and dismissed them. If they were allowed to continue gathering and causing trouble, the buildings of the Imperial Academy might have to be demolished.

Because of this commotion, the candidates were dispersed before even the schedule for the subsequent imperial examinations was announced.

"Later, we will be going to Xintan Art Garden for entertainment. Would Liu Lang and the others like to come along?"

Li Yi, accompanied by his fellow students and cronies, approached Zhang Dai and greeted him with smiles and questions. Perhaps because they had just caused trouble together and ousted Miao Jinqing from the stage, the students of the Imperial Academy looked at Zhang Dai with much more amiable eyes than they had in the morning.

Zhang Dai, however, was too lazy to hold such gatherings. Besides, he was far more involved in personnel disputes within the court, and if he were to get entangled with these students, he might be accused of instigating the trouble later. Now that Li Yi had taken the blame, he naturally wanted to keep his distance.

"With my elders in sight, I dare not act recklessly. You may go now, and we will meet again at the examination hall another day."

Zhang Dai waved his hand to decline their invitation, glanced in the direction of his grandfather, then bowed and took his leave, hurrying towards his grandfather's place.

At this moment, the officials who had been watching the ceremony were also talking amongst themselves as they walked out. Zhang Yue deliberately stopped to wait for Zhang Dai. When he saw Zhang Dai approaching, he asked softly, "Is that the leading student your friend?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai shook his head. Sure enough, even his grandfather suspected that he had premeditated the matter. It seemed that it was really necessary to distance himself from those people.

He briefly explained how Li Yi had colluded with him and how he had gone along with it, and then asked, "In your opinion, Grandfather, what are the chances of Miao Jinqing being replaced?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang smiled and nodded: "Although this man holds the position, he does not know how to use his authority. Xu Gong and I both believe that he should not continue in this matter. We will report back to him and let the officials in the court decide whether to dismiss him. Now that the matter is settled, you should go home and not wander around outside."

After saying this, he was escorted by his guards to join Su Ting and the others, and together they went to court to report on their affairs.

Zhang Dai waved goodbye to Wang Changling and others at the gate of the Imperial Academy, and then obediently went home, doing a few more practice problems as he went.

As evening approached, Zhang returned home with good news: Miao Jinqing had been temporarily suspended from taking the civil service examination, and Yan Tingzhi would remain as the examiner and presiding officer for this year's provincial examination. The examination sessions and times had also been finalized, with the first session, the examination of classical texts, to be held in three days.

Upon learning of this situation, Zhang Dai felt somewhat relieved. He then stopped thinking about anything and going nowhere, focusing instead on memorizing the classics by rote.

The sutra might not be difficult for others, but it was a huge challenge for him. After preparing for it for so long, he couldn't afford to fail in the first test.

(End of this chapter)