Chapter 35: The Twin Blades Unite Once More

"Young Master, I am loyal, absolutely loyal! I am yours in life, and I shall be your ghost in death!"

On the way back, Guangxiao kept offering assurances of his absolute reliability. Every word he had overheard on the boat today would be wiped clean from his memory by tomorrow morning.

"Hey, you've been with me for so many years—don't you know me by now?"

Guangxiao nodded frantically. He knew him; he knew him all too well.

The young master of the Cao family had played a few games with you, and before you knew it, he had swindled you right onto the front lines in the Northwest. If you died there, there wouldn't even be anyone to collect your corpse, and your soul wouldn't even find its way home.

Bitter fate. If he had known this, he would have just stayed home to look after the children; at worst, he could have taken a few extra beatings for the little young master.

The following day, Sima Guang sent an invitation.

After all, it was his son who had gotten into trouble; no matter how composed he was, Minister Sima could no longer sit still.

Li Chang'an boarded a carriage and rode out of the city. Upon disembarking, he found himself back in the same spot as yesterday.

This time, it was Li Chang'an who took the oars.

"Speak. What will it take for you to let Gongxiu go? If you offer a good enough reason, we shall go ashore; if I am not satisfied... do you see this hole?"

Sima Guang pointed to a wooden block wrapped in hemp cloth at his feet, from which water was constantly seeping through the cracks.

Good grief, it was a fast-sinking boat!

The wily old fox, he had actually set a trap for him.

"Uncle, why such an attitude? Gongxiu and I hit it off the moment we met, like brothers—we are quite close. Why would you say such things?"

He was currently calculating how long it would take him to swim back to shore if he stripped down.

He should have brought Guangxiao along today; that kid could really swim. As for his own body, his memories of swimming dated back over a decade.

"Enough nonsense. What are your terms?"

It seemed Sima Guang didn't want to fall into yesterday's trap; he was laying his cards on the table, resorting to the "rage of a common man" tactic.

Is it worth it? You are a Censor-in-Chief, and I am merely a low-ranking official of the Chenxin Bureau.

He thought for a moment. Ordinary temptations would hardly sway such a pedantic old fogey; he had to strike through his son.

"I want a protective umbrella!"

Sima Guang looked ferocious, his eyes as sharp as a falcon's.

Although he hadn't heard the term "protective umbrella" often, as a master of literature, he could infer the meaning from the words.

"Uncle knows me—I love to show off and I love to prove myself. My youthful mischief was legendary in the capital. Now, I want to play a bigger game: I want to publish a gazette."

Sima Guang was puzzled. He moved his hand away from the wooden block and leaned forward, ever so slightly.

"Go on!"

"I want a license—or a monopoly—to issue a gazette under the name of the Censorate, one that comments on the economy!"

A license? A monopoly? The economy?

How did these terms connect with a gazette? Even a learned genius like him was caught off guard, and it took a long while for him to wrap his head around it.

"Why do you want to publish a gazette?"

"For fun! Commenting on individuals is too boring. The Great Song is full of brilliant talents, but too few are worth wasting ink on. I want to debate with Minister Wang, Minister Sima, Minister Wen, and even the likes of Fan Wenzheng, Minister Han, and Minister Fu on what truly constitutes the way of governing the world."

"You?"

"Not just me. Also the noble families of the Southeast, the generals of the Northwest, the powerful clans of Hebei, and the many scions of Bianjing."

Sima Guang stared intently into Li Chang'an's eyes, trying to find a crack.

After dozens of breaths, he still saw no sign of weakness.

A madman. He was absolutely a madman. In his life, he had known countless people, and the only other person as brilliant and fearless as this he had ever seen was Wang Anshi.

Both of them were madmen—madmen who treated the world as a chessboard and the common people as mere pawns.

To think that after so much trouble at such a young age, he was actually a lackey of the aristocratic clans. No wonder he had such audacity.

"And if I refuse?"

"Within ten days, shrines to Gongxiu will be all over Kaifeng, and prophecies about the Sima clan will become the most popular nursery rhymes in Bianjing."

How ruthless. This was forcing the father and son to their deaths, killing with a borrowed knife.

"Hmph... now the plug is in my hands. I suppose we shall have to discuss this further with the Dragon King..."

Li Chang'an ripped his outer garment with a sharp tear, revealing his pale chest.

"Minister, have you forgotten? Although I live in the capital, my home is in Yangzhou. We are only a thousand feet from the shore; I can survive just as well away from this boat."

Sima Guang gritted his teeth, breathing heavily, his eyes burning with rage.

"The Censorate Gazette—I will review it. Let's see how you dare to publish chaotic articles!"

Li Chang'an shook his head. "Independent editing, with profits and losses at my own risk. The imperial court may audit it once a year. If there are violations, the fine shall not exceed two hundred strings of cash."

Two hundred strings of cash was a year's salary for a low-ranking censor.

After a long silence, Sima Guang thought of his completed *Zizhi Tongjian*, then thought of his adopted son, Sima Kang.

"Row the boat. To the shore!"

...

In the government office, it was much quieter today. Su Shi had hung a sign saying he was out, having gone to his teacher Ouyang Xiu's residence.

Having served as the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs for several years, his official career had reached its peak. The old man had no other desires, save for the hope of receiving the posthumous title of "Wenzheng."

To achieve this, he had to support his students in rising to power.

At the end of his career, he had to push his old bones one last time.

In the study, the old man was wrapped in a thin quilt, drinking ginger tea, without a drop of sweat on him. Su Shi, who was somewhat stout, was constantly wiping his head and neck with a cotton handkerchief.

"Forming a party? Let's try a different approach, Teacher. I still want to be buried with all my limbs intact!"

The old man had not expected his most admired student to pull something like this on him.

Forming a party—how was that any different from treason?

From the Partition of Jin to the Tian family replacing the Qi, to the Disasters of the Partisan Prohibitions and the Niu-Li Factional Strife—since ancient times, the word "party" had never been viewed favorably by the imperial house.

He feared that if they formed it today, the executioners would be at his bedside tomorrow.

"This party of mine is loyal to the throne, dedicated to worrying for His Majesty, and takes self-cultivation and governing the world as its duty. It is called the 'Youth Party'."

"The Youth Party..."

Ouyang Xiu had to admit that he was old. Young people today dared to imagine anything, thinking that just by giving it a nice name, they could pierce the heavens.

"I have three volumes of *Nine Reflections*, which constitute a philosophy that breaks through all the illusions of the world. The first thing I will do after taking charge of Kaifeng is to establish an academy, bring thirty disciples into the Kaifeng Prefecture, and personally put the New Laws into practice."

Ouyang Xiu was even more confused. Their school was the conservative faction; was he trying to betray his master?

"Young friend Chang'an said that the best way to reveal the stupidity of a wrong action is to execute it with double the intensity!"

Oh... a glimmer of light appeared in the old man's eyes.

Indeed, reform was the long-cherished wish of the late Emperor Renzong, and a political strategy that the imperial house had to push forward. Pushing back head-on was never the answer.

But what if they executed it to the bitter end? Its failure would become self-evident, and the whole world would see the absurdity of the New Laws.

It seemed his student wanted to seize the initiative in the reform.

"Can we not form a party?"

Su Shi chuckled. As expected, Chang'an was right. Aim for the top to achieve the middle. If you want to open a window, you have to demand that they tear down the house.

"Three years. As long as Teacher does not retire, I will not publicly form the party."

Sigh, I am old!

How could Ouyang Xiu not know what his student was planning? No matter how clever, it depended on who you were dealing with; he was an old fox who had served through three reigns.

"Be careful of Lü Huiqing!"

In the afternoon, the two brothers met at home and exchanged smiles.

"It's done!"

"Me too!"

"Then let's cause a grand scene and see who is truly the hero of the world!"

"Splendid!"

Wang Anshi still had a headache today. The news Wang Pang brought back only intensified his hatred for Lü Huiqing.

Without the achievement of the national debt, the first year of his administration would have no eye-catching results on the record.

Reform the military! Reform the military! Reform the military!

But Lü Yinping did not possess that plan. Trading twenty million strings of cash to let his arch-rival control the capital region—this deal wasn't just unprofitable; it was impossible.

If he were hindered at every turn, how could he push the New Laws?

Moreover, the Empress Dowager was still presiding over the court from behind the curtain. If he tried to reform the military and Ouyang Xiu sent troops to remonstrate, he would end up like Chao Cuo.

"Yuanze, you say my life is like walking on thin ice. Will I be able to reach the other shore?"