Chapter 1810: Attention from All Sides! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
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?”