Volume One, Chapter Twenty-Five: Nursery Rhymes Are Not to Be Trusted

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Xu Shiji was the chief leader of the stronghold. Since the settlement had no fixed administrative office, his residence also served as his workplace. People were constantly coming to see him, and Shan Xiongxin and the others often sought him out as well, leaving him with little peace and quiet. Thus, after learning that Xu Gai would be coming up the mountain, Xu Shiji ordered a second residence built not far from his own. The new house had already been completed, and Xu Gai, Xu Lan, and Xu Shigan had moved in yesterday.

When Li Shandao came to see Xu Shiji today, the three of them were no longer at Xu Shiji’s residence.

Xu Shiji himself was absent as well.

After waiting for quite some time, Li Shandao finally saw him return, accompanied by Shan Xiongxin.

They exchanged greetings and took their seats.

Li Shandao said with a smile, “Brother Liu said that Duke Zhai summoned you and First Brother Shan to the Gathering Hall?”

Shan Xiongxin replied, “He summoned us for two matters. First, to send off Li Xuanying. Second, Duke Zhai agreed to First Brother’s proposal and mine. He has decided to invite Li Mi into the stronghold.”

Li Shandao had long known that Li Mi’s entry into the stronghold was inevitable. He had already decided that the future conflict between Li Mi and Zhai Rang was beyond his power to control, and that he could only let matters take their course. All he needed to do was cling firmly to Xu Shiji’s support.

Even so, when Shan Xiongxin’s words reached his ears, his heart gave a sudden jolt.

He asked, “Duke Zhai is willing to accept Li Mi as one of us?”

“For the moment, it would be premature to call it acceptance. He merely said that he was willing to invite Li Mi into the stronghold.”

There was no real difference between that and accepting Li Mi as one of their own.

Zhai Rang might still have doubts about whether to take Li Mi in, but once Li Mi entered the stronghold, his formal admission would be a certainty.

Li Shandao unconsciously glanced outside.

Dark clouds pressed down upon the emerald mountain peaks. A fine rain drifted hazily through the space between heaven and earth.

He withdrew his gaze and said, “Duke Zhai has always hesitated over Li Mi’s admission. What made him change his mind so suddenly?”

Shan Xiongxin smiled. “Two people deserve Li Mi’s thanks for making this possible. One is First Brother, and the other is Li Xuanying.”

“Li Xuanying?”

Shan Xiongxin continued, “Li Xuanying is an old Daoist from Luoyang. A few days ago, he came to the stronghold, claiming that he was looking for Li Mi. When Duke Zhai heard of it, he summoned the old Daoist and asked why he sought Li Mi. The Daoist sang him a nursery rhyme from Luoyang:

‘Peach and plum child shall gain the realm;
The emperor and empress wander Yangzhou, turning through the garden.
Speak no idle words—who can say whom?’

“After singing it, he explained to Duke Zhai that ‘peach’ sounded like ‘escape,’ and that the ‘peach and plum child’ meant the son of the Li family who had fled into exile. As for ‘speak no idle words—who can say whom,’ he said that it contained the meaning of secrecy, and that the rhyme referred to Li Mi. He had heard that Li Mi was somewhere in this region, so he had traveled all the way from Luoyang, searching from mountain to mountain for him.”

“Brother Shan, what does ‘the emperor and empress wander Yangzhou, turning through the garden’ mean?”

Shan Xiongxin replied, “‘The emperor’ means the emperor, and ‘the empress’ means the empress. Li Xuanying said that the line meant the emperor and empress had lost their way in Yangzhou and could not return to the capital. In short, the old Daoist believes that the Sui dynasty’s rule is already finished, and that Li Mi is the new man chosen by Heaven’s mandate.”

“Did Duke Zhai believe him?”

stroking his beard, Shan Xiongxin smiled. “Second Brother, do you?”

“What?”

“Do you believe what the old Daoist said?”

“Me? Well…”

Xu Shiji set down his teacup. “Second Brother, say what you truly think. There is no need to hesitate. Do you believe the old Daoist?”

Li Shandao naturally did not believe it. The problem was that he did not know whether Xu Shiji and Shan Xiongxin did.

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He hesitated briefly, then decided to speak honestly.

“First Brother, Brother Shan, it is difficult to judge what the old Daoist said. But his conclusion—that Li Mi is the new man chosen by Heaven’s mandate—was drawn from a nursery rhyme. Perhaps I should explain my own view of such rhymes.”

Xu Shiji nodded. “Go on.”

“In my humble opinion, it is not merely this particular rhyme from Luoyang. In general, nursery rhymes throughout the realm that are said to concern Heaven’s mandate cannot be wholly trusted, but neither can they be dismissed entirely.”

Xu Shiji asked, “Oh? How so? If they cannot be trusted, why can they not simply be rejected?”

Li Shandao replied, “What is Heaven’s mandate? Is it merely Heaven’s will? In my humble opinion, it is not. The people’s will moves Heaven, and only then does Heaven issue its mandate. In other words, Heaven’s mandate is, in truth, the will of the people.

“Therefore, the singers of nursery rhymes are not necessarily trustworthy. If a single rhyme could determine who had received Heaven’s mandate, would that mandate not be far too easily won?

“Yet from another perspective, nursery rhymes—especially those sung and repeated widely—can, to a certain extent, be said to represent a portion of the people’s hearts and wishes. From that point of view, they cannot be entirely dismissed.”

Xu Shiji summarized his words, stroking his thick beard. “You mean that Heaven’s mandate is the will of the people, and that its recipient is ultimately determined by the people. Thus nursery rhymes are not wholly reliable, but the popular will represented behind them cannot be completely ignored.”

“Exactly, First Brother.”

Xu Shiji pondered for a moment, then nodded. “Second Brother is always full of remarkable insights. There is real merit in what you have said.”

Shan Xiongxin, however, said, “Second Brother, you say nursery rhymes cannot be trusted. Yet according to the old Daoist’s interpretation, this particular rhyme from Luoyang clearly refers to Li Mi. Li Mi is not in Luoyang now, and he is a fugitive. Luoyang’s children nevertheless sing this rhyme. If that is not Heaven’s will, how else can it be explained?”

“Brother Shan, you yourself said that it is only according to the old Daoist’s interpretation that the rhyme refers to Li Mi. What if we do not follow his interpretation? As the saying goes, ‘Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.’ Perhaps, in another person’s eyes, the rhyme refers to someone else.”

He pointed to his own nose and smiled.

“Brother Shan, First Brother, as I see it, the rhyme may well refer to me.”

The claim was so astonishing that Shan Xiongxin stared at him in disbelief.

“It refers to you? What could you possibly mean?”

“‘Peach and plum child.’ Brother Shan and First Brother have not yet visited the valley where I live. Beside my thatched cottage stands a great peach tree, and my surname is Li. Why can the ‘Li’ in ‘peach and plum child’ not be my Li?

“Then there is ‘speak no idle words—who can say whom.’ It means not to speak recklessly or utter empty words. My given name is Shandao, meaning ‘善道’; a man who follows the good way naturally does not speak recklessly or utter empty words. Why, then, can that line not refer to my name?

“Besides, the old Daoist had to make ‘peach’ sound like ‘escape’ in order to interpret it as the son of the Li family who had fled. My ‘peach and plum child’ requires no such pun. Is that not more precise, and more faithful to the Luoyang nursery rhyme?”

Shan Xiongxin burst into laughter. Pointing at Li Shandao, he said to Xu Shiji, “Second Brother is truly like his name—he certainly knows how to make a good argument!”

Xu Shiji stroked his beard and laughed heartily as well.

Li Shandao’s interpretation was undeniably clever. Taken that way, the Luoyang nursery rhyme did indeed seem to refer to him.

But as for saying that Li Shandao was the one who had received Heaven’s mandate, neither Shan Xiongxin nor Xu Shiji could possibly believe that.

After laughing for a while, Shan Xiongxin said, “By that reasoning, the rhyme is indeed, as Second Brother says, something that cannot be believed completely.”

Li Shandao laughed along with him. When the two men gradually stopped, he also put away his smile and asked again, “Brother Shan, First Brother, what did Duke Zhai say?”

Shan Xiongxin answered, “Duke Zhai was half convinced and half doubtful. But the old Daoist genuinely possesses some ability. Military Adviser Jia discussed celestial omens and divination with him for two days and praised him without end. Military Adviser Jia then urged Duke Zhai further, saying that whether or not the rhyme truly corresponded to Li Mi, it would do no harm to invite Li Mi into the stronghold and form a favorable connection with him. Whatever happened afterward could be dealt with afterward. Duke Zhai was moved by this and decided to invite Li Mi into the stronghold.”

“I see. Then the men sent to receive Li Mi have already gone down the mountain?”

Shan Xiongxin took a sip of honeyed water before replying, “Duke Zhai assigned the task to Yuan Zhen. Yuan Zhen has already descended the mountain together with the old Daoist.”

Li Shandao calculated the distance. “Li Mi is currently in Chief Wang’s stronghold, about a hundred and ten miles from ours. In that case, he should reach us in five or six days at the earliest.”

“More or less.”

The matters concerning Li Xuanying and Duke Zhai’s decision to bring Li Mi into the stronghold had now been settled, so Shan Xiongxin changed the subject.

“Second Brother, Hu’er said that you had been waiting for First Brother for quite some time. What did you wish to report to him?”

Li Shandao rose from his seat and bowed to Xu Shiji.

“First Brother, I have a favor to ask.”

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Xu Shiji motioned for him to sit down and smiled. “Do not tell me yet. Let me guess.”

“Guess? Can First Brother really guess?”

Xu Shiji stroked his thick beard and smiled. “Have you come to ask me for weapons?”

“To ask for weapons?”

“I heard that over the past two days you have been busy organizing and drilling the men under your command in your valley. I assume your unit has now been organized, but you lack weapons, and so you have come to ask me for some?”

Li Shandao was startled. How did Xu Shiji know that he had spent the past two days organizing his men?

He quickly smiled. “Nothing escapes First Brother’s notice! To answer you, First Brother, I have indeed been occupied these past two days with organizing my men, and I finished arranging them into units only yesterday. However, that was not actually the main reason I came to see you today.”

“Not for weapons?”

“Following First Brother’s instruction, now that the men have been organized, I am preparing to train them in the use of drums, gongs, and banners. The banners are easy enough; we need only have several sewn. But drums and gongs are more difficult to obtain, so I wondered whether you might have any spares. If so, I would humbly ask for a few.”

He paused, then smiled again.

“But since First Brother mentioned weapons, I will not conceal the truth: we are short of weapons as well, especially bows, crossbows, and arrows. If you have any to spare, I would be so bold as to ask you to allocate some of those too.”

Shan Xiongxin chuckled. “You really know how to take advantage of an opening, Second Brother.”

Xu Shiji said, “We do have drums and gongs. If you need them, allocating some will be no trouble. But the branch strongholds are short of bows, crossbows, and arrows as well, so I cannot give you many. How about this, Second Brother: three drums and three gongs; ten bows, two crossbows, and a quantity of arrows. I will also allocate some spears, sabers, and shields, along with one suit of armor. How does that sound?”

Li Shandao was overjoyed. He had never expected there to be armor as well.

He clasped his hands in salute. “Thank you, First Brother! I do not know how I could ever repay your kindness!”

Xu Shiji smiled. “You need not repay me. I still have to repay you. Second Brother, sit down and let us talk.”

Li Shandao assumed Xu Shiji was joking. He laughed along twice and returned to his seat.

Unexpectedly, Xu Shiji had not been joking.

Once Li Shandao had settled himself, Xu Shiji said, “Second Brother, my father questioned me closely about what had happened since you came to the stronghold. He severely reproached me and asked why I had not arranged a proper post for you. It was indeed my oversight.

“I gave it some thought. If one speaks of the best position available in our stronghold, nothing surpasses a post in the treasury office. I have already reported the matter to Duke Zhai and secured you the position of assistant administrator of the treasury. You may take office tomorrow.”

As he spoke, he beckoned to Liu Hu’er, who was waiting beneath the eaves.

Liu Hu’er took something from his pocket, held it in both hands, and presented it before Li Shandao.

Li Shandao saw that it was a tally token resembling the command insignia of his unit. There was no doubt that it was the token of office for his new post in the treasury administration.

He did not accept it. Instead, he rose once more and bowed.

“First Brother, I am deeply grateful for your kindness, but I dare not accept this token.”

He had actually declined the appointment tactfully.

Shan Xiongxin was astonished.

“Second Brother, do you perhaps not know what the treasury office does?”