A son who doesn't resemble his father? Love you, old man, see you at Xuanwu Gate!

Chapter 230 Blood Contract

The morning light is slightly dew.

Ganquan Palace.

Shao Weng, a man from Qi who was granted the title of General Wencheng, removed the curtains and magic tricks used to summon the ghost of Lady Wang and replaced them with tortoise shells and herbs.

The former is called "divination", and the latter is called "divination by divination".

The creation of the Book of Changes and the Eight Trigrams is related to divination using herbs. Initially, it was just for recording numbers, but during the reign of King Wen of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Eight Trigrams and the Sixty-Four Hexagrams were developed. The so-called "yin lines" and "yang lines" are derived from the changes of "eight" and "one" in the hexagrams.

Throughout history, people have used divination to resolve doubts and uncertainties.

The Book of Documents, in the chapter "Hong Fan", states that if a ruler has doubts about something, he can consult "five advisors".

First, ask yourself what you truly desire; second, ask the opinions of the ministers around you; third, ask the opinions of the common people; fourth, ask the opinion of the diviner; and fifth, ask the opinion of the diviner. These are the five strategies.

"Of the five methods of planning, divination accounts for two; of the five methods of divination, the most common one is chosen." In human terms, divination is used in combination, and multiple divinations are required to obtain the most common result.

As for how to choose between the five suggestions, the answer is given in the "Hong Fan" chapter of the Book of Documents.

If the monarch deems it "auspicious," then "domestic affairs" will surely be auspicious. If the monarch deems it "inauspicious," but divination by tortoise shell and yarrow stalks deems it auspicious, then both "domestic and foreign affairs" will be auspicious. If divination by tortoise shell and yarrow stalks deems it auspicious, but yarrow stalks deem it inauspicious, then "domestic affairs will be auspicious, while foreign affairs will be inauspicious." If both divination by tortoise shell and yarrow stalks deem it inauspicious, then "stillness will be auspicious, while movement will be inauspicious."

In conclusion, among the five methods of divination, tortoise shell divination is more important than oracles, or divination is more important than the monarch's own opinion, while the opinions of ministers and commoners are insignificant.

The fifth scheme is the scheme of Heaven's will restraining royal power and the royal power overriding the subjects.

When divining for good or bad fortune, Shao Weng of Qi said "it will definitely be auspicious".

Three tortoise shells and three portions of sage grass bring good fortune in succession, aligning perfectly with His Majesty's wishes. It is truly "great fortune"!
At this moment, the chill that had gripped Liu Che's body gradually dissipated.

After retiring from his post, Shao Weng went to sip some thick rice wine. When Dong Zhong was feeling comfortable, he said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the theory of celestial phenomena is something that exists if you believe in it, and doesn't exist if you don't."

If the celestial phenomena are favorable to me, I can use them to boost morale; if they are unfavorable, I can disregard them. The sage Confucius never dabbled in supernatural phenomena or superstitions; he only did his best. If the world were to blindly believe in such things, wouldn't that be a great disservice to Emperor Gaozu?

Liu Che felt much more at ease. Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang had fought for the Central Plains, challenged the Qin court's mandate of heaven, and finally established the Han dynasty. If fate was predetermined, and Qin Shi Huang had a wise and virtuous advisor by his side who strived for a dynasty that would last for ten thousand generations, how could it have ended after only two generations?

Seeing this, Dong Zhongshu continued, "Going back to the beginning, when King Wu consulted the oracle before attacking King Zhou, the old Jiang Shang pointed to the sky and shouted to King Wu, 'To comfort the people and punish the guilty, why bother with this unrighteous creature?' King Wu listened, launched a large-scale military campaign, and destroyed the Shang dynasty in one fell swoop. The talk of the Way of Heaven and the Mandate of Heaven is nothing but a rotten thing. Why should Your Majesty lose heart over a mere comet? Those who wish to accomplish great things must first devise a good strategy and secondly exert all their human strength. What are people like Luo Shu and Tang Ping worth mentioning?"

"well said!"

Liu Che's dejection vanished, and he rallied, saying, "If the Mandate of Heaven has a master, how could my Great Han Dynasty have stood, while Emperor Gao would have spent his life in absurd and frivolous ways in the Sishui Pavilion!"

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. In the seventh year of Emperor Gaozu's reign, he destroyed Qin and Chu, established the Han dynasty, and his power shook the world. Your Majesty should restore its former glory!" Dong Zhongshu praised the emperor.

As Prince Wuqiu Shou watched the emperor and his ministers' back-and-forth, his heart sank. If he remembered correctly, the astrologer was invited by His Majesty to seek a just cause for restoration, but the astrological signs were unfavorable, so he was dismissed. The former emperor, in his pavilion by the Sishui River, indulged in absurd and frivolous pursuits of cockfighting and bird-watching; His Majesty's words seemed even more absurd and frivolous. Restoration requires five things: soldiers, money, provisions, people, and reputation. If the campaign fails and the reputation remains unfulfilled, will the other four things proceed smoothly?
"There is no need to worry about the vague and unfounded theories about stars."

Liu Che slowly stood up, facing the bowing Dong Zhongshu and Prince Wuqiu Shou, and looked down at them, saying, "Dong Zhongshu, Prince Wuqiu Shou!"

“Your subject is here,” Dong Zhongshu and Wuqiu Shouwang replied immediately.

"I entrust you with important state affairs, to unite officials, powerful figures, wealthy merchants, and chivalrous bandits throughout the land. When you achieve success, your teachers will be appointed as Grand Tutors, and if they rise to the position of Chancellor, they will be rewarded with the title of Marquis. Your students will be appointed as Junior Tutors, and if they rise to the position of Minister of Works, they will be rewarded with the title of Nobleman!" Liu Che said in a deep voice.

Dong Zhongshu finally heard those words: His Majesty is about to rebel against the Crown Prince!

His spirits instantly lifted, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Even if I were to die a martyr's death, I would still serve Your Majesty!"

Once the matter is accomplished, he will be promoted to Grand Tutor of the Jin Dynasty, then to Chancellor, and then to Marquis. His Majesty can be said to have replicated Gongsun Hong's glory for him. Dong Zhongshu did not feel that this was inappropriate; on the contrary, he felt at ease. In his mind, everything Gongsun Hong had was stolen from him. If that day ever came, Dong Zhongshu would erase all traces of Gongsun Hong's existence, just as the Confucian school of thought erased the other schools of thought.

"Your subject obeys the decree," said King Wuqiu Shou, bowing deeply.

He received neither the promised praise and promotion nor the "thank you" for his imperial favor, nor the "obey the imperial decree" for the latter part of the decree. Instead, he simply sang "I accept the decree."

Neither the excited ruler nor his minister noticed this strangeness, nor did they care; they were merely pawns manipulated by the concepts of "loyalty" and "filial piety."

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you bestow upon me a 'blood oath' and a 'secret book'!" Dong Zhongshu said respectfully.

Liu Che said with dissatisfaction, "A secret written agreement is fine, but a blood oath is unnecessary. Isn't my edict enough?"

Secret writing: Whenever confidential matters are transmitted, they are written on bamboo slips. The intention is to gradually divide more than ten slips into three or five parts, and send them by several groups of people in different directions. Each group sends only one slip. If the slips are intercepted, no one will be able to understand their meaning. After the recipient collects all the bamboo slips, he/she will rearrange them according to the hidden symbols on the back of the slips and then he/she will know the original meaning.

This is called "three messages to one reply" or "five messages to one reply," a top-secret message transmission.

Blood Pact: As the name suggests, it is a pact made with blood, often used to make promises to others to show sincerity and never break them.

Dong Zhongshu's intention was to get Liu Che to make a blood oath promising restoration to officials, powerful families, wealthy merchants, and wandering bandits.

As the emperor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che was naturally dissatisfied that he had to write a letter in blood by breaking his finger; in his view, an imperial edict would suffice.

Dong Zhongshu paused for a moment, then said tactfully, "Your Majesty, this contact is to win over the wealthy and powerful, not to incite rebellion."

After Emperor Jing's will resulted in the execution of Dou Ying's entire clan, the imperial edicts of the Liu family completely lost their credibility. The wealthy families of the Han Dynasty suffered losses in terms of their interests, not their minds. Using the edicts to win them over was tantamount to directly sending them to the opposite side. After all, the Crown Prince wanted money, while His Majesty's character and the edicts threatened the lives of the man's entire clan in the future.

Liu Che, his face grim, pondered and said, "Fine, since you fear I will deceive you and desire a blood pact, I will grant it to you!"

Dong Zhongshu took a piece of sheepskin, placed it on the imperial desk, presented a golden knife, cut his finger, and used it as a pen to write: "Imperial Edict: Reply to all letters from marquises, officials, powerful clans, merchants, wandering knights, and thieves under Heaven..."

(End of this chapter)