Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 36 - 32: Refuting the Emperor

Chapter 36: Chapter 32: Refuting the Emperor

Refuting an emperor was, as one could imagine, an extremely difficult task.

In a society where everyone was equal, refuting an emperor wouldn’t be that difficult after all, since modern ideas had long deconstructed the legitimacy and legality of the "divine right of kings," sweeping those ancient thoughts into the dustbin of history.

If someone dared to oppress others in the modern age by styling themselves as an emperor, they would only be met with endless disdain and a retort, "Who do you think you are?"

But in ancient times, it was a completely different story.

The divine right of kings had an inherent righteousness; loyalty and filial piety were considered the highest moral standards. Sons could not defy their fathers, nor could ministers defy their monarchs. The emperor, also called "ruler-father," but how many fathers could patiently listen to their sons reason with them?

Getting an emperor to admit his wrongs was almost an impossible task, hence an emperor issuing an edict confessing his own faults was something noteworthy to be recorded in history.

In that era, all moral norms were meant to uphold the emperor.

Violating this protocol would not only lead to a rightful execution by the emperor, but would also provoke scorn from the entire social order.

If Chu Ge tried to use modern thoughts to crack this instance, it would be all too easy, directly leading to the emperor being vehemently scolded.

But that would not succeed in clearing the instance, only ensuring a gruesomely ugly demise.

Because he was playing Yang Yan, to clear this instance, he had to stand on Yang Yan’s position, using the existing rules of this world to win.

Truth be told, Chu Ge didn’t like these rules, but he could understand them.

Modern individuals couldn’t understand the olden times’ foolish loyalty, but as a history student, Chu Ge was well aware of one thing: when playing or assessing a historical figure, one must not exceed the limitations of their era, nor apply modern values and thoughts retrospectively, nor expect ancient people to handle problems with the mindset of hundreds of years later.

Thus, Chu Ge still tried to find what he believed to be the most rational solution within the context of that time.

After a moment of silence, Emperor Weizhao, clad in a black robe, spoke.

"Your memorial report has already been read to the great scholars of the Hanlin Academy. Each of them has prepared a refutation against you."

"However, with so many people opposing just you, Your Majesty understands you might not be convinced. Therefore, His Majesty has sent me here not to question you with their words but to have you personally answer a few questions from His Majesty."

"If you are confident, feel free to debate directly. If not, think it over for a couple of days—there’s no harm."

Chu Ge calmly replied, "Since it is His Majesty’s command, I will naturally respond to whatever needs answering."

Despite Emperor Weizhao’s apparent leniency, Chu Ge knew well from previous confrontations that this man was very proud and not very magnanimous.

If Emperor Weizhao asked questions he couldn’t answer, he would directly be deemed speechless and fail the instance.

Thus, no matter how casually Emperor Weizhao posed his questions, Chu Ge needed to confront them head-on and leave the emperor speechless; anything less would not count as a success.

Moreover, Emperor Weizhao’s pleasing words of not wanting to "gang up" on Yang Yan by using the rebuttals of the Hanlin Academy’s great scholars were, in essence, because he, after reading the scholars’ rebuttals, found them insufficient to refute Yang Yan.

Because Yang Yan’s memorial report had already blocked most of the paths by adopting the perspective of a Saint, the scholars could hardly overturn Yang Yan’s positions no matter how hard they argued.

Therefore, Emperor Weizhao wanted to refute Yang Yan from a different angle.

This angle was the art of governance.

Emperor Weizhao was confident that, having governed for over forty years, he had far more experience than a minor official like Yang Yan.

This line of thought was somewhat similar to Wang Chong’s previous approach, as neither could refute Yang Yan on the grounds of righteousness and thus tried to shift the debate to their own home ground.

"The first time," Chu Ge was truly rendered speechless by the question, suffering a great loss.

Emperor Weizhao paused slightly and said, "His Majesty asks you, the waters of the Yangtze River irrigate the fields of several provinces along its banks, and the waters of the Yellow River also irrigate the fields of several provinces along its banks.

"As the Son of Heaven, who rules over myriad states, one naturally cannot favor clear waters over turbid waters, nor can one abandon turbid waters for clear, this has always been the case.

"Whether it be the Yellow River or the Yangtze River, once they flood, they must be managed. Therefore, whether it be you, Wang Chong, or He Xueyi, whoever should be used must be used, and whoever should be abandoned must be abandoned.

"You, in your memorial, insisted that His Majesty must choose the Yangtze and abandon the Yellow River, but what is the reason for that?"

Having said this, he looked towards Yang Yan with confidence in his eyes.

Chu Ge did not immediately respond.

It must be said that Emperor Weizhao truly deserved his reputation as a clever emperor in history; in matters of imperial intrigue, he indeed reached the pinnacle. Although this cleverness was merely a minor cunning, in this kind of face-to-face confrontation, it still brought Chu Ge unimaginable great difficulty.

In comparison to the statements made by Wang Chong, the words of Emperor Weizhao were evidently more difficult to rebut.

Because Wang Chong, talking endlessly, was not personally clean. He was corrupt and amassed wealth, indulging the Wang Faction in both opulence and greed, extorting the fat and marrow of the people, ultimately not conforming to the moral standards of the era.

But Emperor Weizhao was different.

In this era, all under heaven was the private property of the emperor, all officials were the emperor’s domestic slaves, and the common people were the emperor’s livestock.

On many issues, the emperor had the ultimate interpretive authority; attacking the emperor’s private morals was absolutely impossible for Yang Yan, going against the moral norms of the era.

Furthermore, the emperor employed both corrupt and honest officials, choosing the most suitable capable ministers for different situations, and this itself was also an act difficult to criticize. If only honest officials like Yang Yan were used, not to mention Emperor Weizhao, no emperor throughout the ages could achieve this.

Thus, the words of Emperor Weizhao were indeed very misleading; if it were just any common scholar, he would indeed be easily rendered speechless.

Before this encounter, Chu Ge had already made several attempts, but none were effective.

He could not approach solely from the loyalty to the emperor that was characteristic of this era, nor solely from the norms of modern society. The former would fall into a dead end already prepared by Emperor Weizhao, and the latter would step outside the basic rules of this instance, leading to failure.

Chu Ge composed himself and asked, "May I ask, your excellency, what does His Majesty mean by ’flooding’?

"Does it count as flooding when water inundates the mountain tops, but not when it inundates the flat farmland? If Wang Chong becomes overwhelmingly powerful and threatens His Majesty, that naturally counts as flooding, but if Wang Chong only cultivates his faction and extorts the wealth of the people, yet remains utterly loyal to His Majesty, does that count as flooding?

"It seems that in His Majesty’s eyes, the flooding of the Yangtze and Yellow River truly threatens His Majesty’s authority. If it doesn’t threaten His Majesty’s authority, then even if the Yellow River submerges thousands of hectares of good land and displaces tens of millions of people, forcing them to exchange their children for food, it wouldn’t be considered flooding, right?

"Wang Chong’s overwhelming power and the widespread Wang Faction corruptly embezzle disaster relief funds and layer upon layer of taxes, causing the treasury to be empty and the people to suffer, yet His Majesty still does not deem them ’flooding,’ does not see any need for management.

"Isn’t this stating that what His Majesty considers ’flooding’ is not actually about the survival of the common folk, but about whether anyone dares to offend His Majesty’s authority?

"I fear that His Majesty would not kill Wang Chong but would have me executed, not deem Wang Chong’s actions as ’flooding’ but mine as ’flooding,’ again for this reason!"

Emperor Weizhao’s expression changed instantly, "You! Yang Yan, how dare you utter such unfilial and rebellious words!"

Chu Ge’s expression remained resolute, "Your Excellency, there is a saying, ’To eat a ruler’s grain is to assume a minister’s duties.’ There is also a saying, ’To eat a ruler’s grain, is to have the ruler as father.’ I, Yang Yan, have always regarded His Majesty as a father, how can you speak of lacking a father or a ruler?

"The common people under heaven are all His Majesty’s subjects, everyone regards His Majesty as a father. Yet has His Majesty ever regarded the common people as his children? Not only does he allow the Wang Faction to grow unchecked, but he also punishes loyal ministers who impeach the Wang Faction with caning and imprisonment, and even has the great scholars of the Hanlin Academy refute a memorial written in tears and blood!

"Has His Majesty ever perceived the sufferings of the people, ever considered the tens of millions who have a ruler but no father, officials who are like thieves? Have you heard, ’Bandits comb, soldiers scrape, officials shave’?

"Since His Majesty sees himself only as the lofty ’ruler’ and never as a father who cherishes his people, on what grounds does he expect the officials and the people to regard him as both ruler and father?"