Chapter 461: Fanatical Believers

Chapter 461: The Fanatics

Yang Baize and his companions did not have to wait long before a pitch-black Wuzhui carriage slowly approached from the far end of the street.

The Osaka Castle guards standing on both sides of the road instantly straightened to attention, their burning gazes tracking the movement of the vehicle.

The moment the carriage came to a steady halt before the gates of the Pacification Commission, a burst of hearty laughter rang out from the rear seat.

"I must apologize for keeping you all waiting so long. I ran into a minor bit of trouble on the road, so please forgive me."

Stepping out of the carriage was Wang Changting, his face radiant with smiles and his words perfectly humble. Dressed in a clean, simple long robe, he bore absolutely none of the arrogant, profligate demeanor typical of the scions from the Empire’s mainland elite families.

Standing at the very front of the crowd, Yang Baize was the first to clasp his hands in a formal bow. "Lower official Yang Baize, leading all my colleagues from the Inuyama Castle Pacification Commission, greets Lord Wang."

"No need for such formality." Wang Changting took two quick steps forward, reaching out to catch Yang Baize by the crook of his arm, and smiled. "I haven't the face to accept such a salute. To have Vice Magistrate Yang receive me at the gates is already more than I could have hoped for."

Wang Changting appraised the young official before him with care, a flash of marvel flickering in the depths of his eyes. "Vice Magistrate Yang is truly a brilliant young talent. When I was your age, I was still buried in my books at the New Donglin Academy, yet you are already governing a region on behalf of the Empire. I am truly full of admiration!"

"My Lord flatters me. It is merely doing some dirty, exhausting work, hardly worthy of being called governing. On the contrary, I have long yearned for the New Donglin Academy, known as the Dragon Gate of the Confucian Order. If it were possible, I would rather give up this post of Vice Magistrate just to enter the academy and properly study the books of the sages."

"Oh? If Vice Magistrate Yang truly wishes to pursue further studies, you can leave that matter to me. I shall send word to the mentor who admitted me back then and have him reserve a seat for you."

Wang Changting laughed. "Though the threshold of the New Donglin Academy is high, before Vice Magistrate Yang, it would be as level as flat ground. To recommend such an outstanding talent for further studies, the old gentleman will probably have to treat me to a jar of fine wine, or else I certainly won't agree!"

"Then this lower official offers his profound thanks to My Lord!"

"Think nothing of it, think nothing of it."

In front of the gates of the Pacification Commission, the crowd of officials, who had been holding their breath, could not help but exchange glances. The atmosphere between these two superior officers was exceptionally harmonious, without even a hint of the anticipated hostility.

Only Xu Zhun, the old clerk mingled within the crowd, wore a playful expression, the gaze he directed toward Wang Changting filled with a biting coldness.

"My Lord, the personnel responsible for the various tasks within the castle are ready to make their reports. Shall we enter the offices first?"

Yang Baize stepped aside to clear the path, extending a hand to invite Wang Changting to lead the way.

"We can listen to the reports later; there is no rush for that right now."

Wang Changting rubbed his arms and shoulders. "After sitting idly on the sea all night, my back is stiff and my muscles ache. I really wish to stretch my limbs a bit. Why don't we take a walk through the castle? It will also give me a chance to understand Inuyama Castle."

"Since My Lord commands it, of course we can."

"Then everyone else need not stand around here. Return to your posts. Vice Magistrate Yang alone will suffice to accompany me."

Wang Changting flicked his sleeves, waving away the rest of the crowd.

"As you command."

Amid the chorus of compliance, Xu Zhun’s lips parted, just about to speak. However, catching sight of Yang Baize giving a subtle, concealed shake of his head, he promptly closed his mouth and dispersed with the crowd.

A moment later, the Pacification Commission returned to its usual quietude, leaving only Yang Baize and Wang Changting walking side by side toward the outer streets.

"Vice Magistrate Yang, now that it is just the two of us, continuing to address each other by official titles feels a bit too estranged. I am a few years your senior, so how about I call you my worthy younger brother?"

"Then this lower official shall overstep his bounds. Greetings, Brother Wang."

Looking at the solemn Yang Baize, Wang Changting could not help but break into an amused smile. "Baize, you are not old, yet your speech and behavior are so mature and prudent. It is truly astonishing."

"It is merely a deliberate disguise. In a place like the Japanese District, surrounded by wolves and jackals, if I were to reveal my true nature, I would never be able to keep those criminal citizens under control."

Yang Baize raised a hand and rubbed his face with considerable force, as if trying to massage away the cold hardness from his features, offering Wang Changting a somewhat constrained smile.

"These days have been far too difficult to endure. But now that Brother Wang has arrived, your younger brother can finally breathe a great sigh of relief."

Wang Changting asked in an seemingly casual manner, "Since it is so arduous, why did you actively apply to come to the Japanese District to implement the New Policy, Baize?"

"I had no choice," Yang Baize sighed. "If I had remained in the Empire’s mainland, I am afraid I would never have had a chance to rise in the world in this lifetime. As for the reasons, Brother Wang, you should understand."

"Because of Lord Pei?"

Yang Baize gave a faint, soft grunt of assent.

"In truth, given the old gentleman’s achievements and capabilities, if he wished to return to the New Donglin Faction, he could do so at any time. Even the elders in my own family often lament and sigh whenever Lord Pei is mentioned, regretting that such an exceptional talent remains drifted outside the faction's gates. It is truly a loss for the Confucian Order."

Yang Baize muttered gloomily, "As his student, I have no right to criticize my mentor’s choices. Whichever way the old gentleman chooses to go, I shall simply follow."

"Then it has truly been hard on you. The Confucian Order of today, at times..."

Wang Changting hesitated, cutting himself off. "Ah, it is hard to say."

As they spoke, the two had already walked out of the street where the Pacification Commission was located, and a bustling wave of marketplace life washed over them.

Though it was only the hour of Mao, the streets were already thronged with people, weaving back and forth in a dense tapestry. All kinds of shops had opened their doors to welcome customers, presenting a scene of prosperity and excitement.

"It appears you have implemented the New Policy very well, Baize. No wonder I frequently see Inuyama Castle singled out for praise in the bulletins of the Ministry of Officials." Wang Changting's tone was entirely peaceful.

"I have merely done my duty. It is nothing worthy of praise."

"I know you still harbor reservations about me, brother."

Wang Changting stepped aside to let a hurried Japanese citizen pass, who was rushing to check in for morning duty. He tucked his hands into his sleeves, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

"There is no need to deny it in a hurry. If our positions were reversed today, I fear I would not even be able to manage greeting you at the office gates, let alone letting you enter Inuyama Castle so easily."

Yang Baize’s footsteps paused, falling half a pace behind Wang Changting, remaining silent.

"This time, the New Donglin Faction allowed our respective clans to enter the Japanese District with a very obvious intention: they sent us in to pluck the fruits of your labor. Even the officials today understood this clearly in their hearts. Many of them were likely waiting to watch the entertainment of the two of us clashing. Even I did not expect things to go so smoothly today. That is why, when you bowed to me in front of the gates, Baize, I did not dare accept it fully, because I felt unworthy of it!"

Wang Changting laid bare their current situation directly, and the atmosphere between the two men, one in front and one behind, suddenly grew heavy.

"To say something you might find hypocritical, I truly did not wish to come to the Japanese District. Though I, Wang Changting, cannot be considered a perfect gentleman, I still have my own bottom line and backbone. I disdain to commit the act of occupying another's nest. But just like you, Baize, I had absolutely no room to refuse; I had only one choice to accept."

Wang Changting sighed and continued, "This time the Wang Clan chose Inuyama Castle, and you should also be clear as to why. Yes, the Wang Clan once had a grievance with your teacher, Pei Xingjian. Therefore, they did this intentionally, aiming to have me sweep you out the door, making it a battle of spite."

Wang Changting's candor took Yang Baize somewhat by surprise. His eyes, fixed on the other man's back, gleamed with sharp light. For a moment, he found himself unable to gauge the other party's true intentions.

"But they are them, and I am myself!"

Wang Changting's voice suddenly grew passionate. He turned around to face Yang Baize, his eyes burning like fire.

"To be loyal to the state and to work with an earnest heart—this was the rule I set for myself the moment I stepped into the Confucian Order! Though I bear the surname Wang, I am unwilling to collude with them in these petty actions. Still less am I willing to carry on the grievances of the previous generation and become a puppet in their internal strife! Reading books should not be done this way, and being a human being certainly cannot be done this way!"

"Therefore, my coming this time is not to contend for your merits, Baize. Rather, I wish to join forces with you to make Inuyama Castle a benchmark model for the Empire’s New Policy, forcing the entire imperial court to look at us in a new light. Let those old antiques who are stubbornly attached to sectarian biases understand that our new generation of the Confucian Order will no longer walk the old path of internal strife!"

These words were delivered with stirring eloquence, echoing with power, every sentence ringing with sincerity and openness.

Yet Yang Baize appeared to have been startled. The expression on his face shifted back and forth between shock and bewilderment, before he finally forced two short words from his tightly pressed lips.

"Thank you."

"I know you still have misgivings in your heart, Baize. But a long journey tests a horse’s strength, and time reveals a person’s heart. What kind of person I am is something you will naturally come to see clearly."

Wang Changting let out a long sigh, gave Yang Baize a deep look, and turned to continue forward.

Even though the other man had already turned his back, the expression on Yang Baize's face remained highly complex, appearing as though he were truly shaken by Wang Changting's words.

"Baize, how do you view the current New Donglin Faction?"

Yang Baize was startled into a fright, saying hastily, "Brother Wang, watch your words."

"It matters not. The Langya Wang Clan is, after all, a first-class clan and one of the pillars of the New Donglin Faction. The accusation of rashly discussing court politics is a hat my family can wear securely. If you do not dare speak, Baize, then listen to my perspective first."

"I wonder if you have any knowledge of Emperor Jiajing from the former Ming Dynasty, Baize? This emperor possessed profound knowledge and extraordinary wisdom; his mastery of imperial artifice could be called unprecedented. Inheriting the throne as a vassal prince, he was still able to manipulate the civil and military officials within the palm of his hand. You must remember that was an era before the Orders manifested fully, a time when ideological trends came first. The unpredictable hearts of men could only be observed with the naked eye, and ordinary people could not distinguish the loyal from the treacherous at all. Yet Emperor Jiajing managed to relinquish power for decades while his imperial throne remained as solid as a fortress. Placed in the present day, he would be a peerless figure at least of the First Order of Strategy!"

"Yet it was precisely such an emperor of grand vision and strategy who became obsessed with the immortal illusions woven by the Daoist Order. He chanted pure verses and consumed mercurial elixirs, losing himself day after day, to the point of blaming a natural event where no snow fell on a divine punishment brought about by his own insincere devotion to the Dao. The Confucian Order, in turn, became the hotbed of boiling popular resentment, suffering innocent implication."

"I once read this record in a Huangliang Historical Archive of the Confucian Order."

Yang Baize spoke slowly, "However, in the version I saw at the time, there were annotations left by members of the Legal Order. One of them left a deep impression on me. That person noted that a winter without snow might not necessarily bring about a massive plague of locusts in the following year, but the hidden perils of the Jiajing reign were bound to erupt completely because of some trivial, insignificant matter. Limitless expenditure within the palace, rampant corruption throughout the cabinet and ministries, an empty national treasury, and a populace left with no means of livelihood—the Confucian Order bore the brunt of it, and their crime deserved death!"

I cannot accept this point. The true affliction of the Jiajing era lies in the ethereal doctrine of “non‑action”, which places the emperor’s ministers as if they were mere phantoms and leaves the common folk unattended!

Wang Changting spoke eloquently: “Bai Ze, look upon the emperors of our empire from the founding sovereign onward. In times of chaos they wielded strategy to subdue the realm, established the throne, their merit towering over the ages; yet because in a minor moment they were deeply influenced by Buddhist doctrine, after founding the nation they committed the error of not honoring Confucius and Mencius! Though they awoke in old age, they resorted to the strict laws of the legalist school and ruthless tactics to rule the empire, regarding the cabinet as servants, setting officials like enemies, striking when they wished, killing when they desired, thereby creating countless unjust cases and sacrificing countless imperial pillars!”

When the Jiajing era arrived, the emperor was further bewitched by the Daoist sequence, refusing to govern the world, fantasizing about attaining immortality, intent on plundering the realm’s wealth to enrich himself.

When it reached the Chongzhen emperor, because he restored the empire through martial vigor, from then on martial men ran rampant, giving rise to a century‑long calamity of the martial order! Moreover, it forced us Confucianists to abandon the carriage and preserve the horse, secretly aiding the Daoist dream of yellow millet, thus ending that dark, sunless rule.

After the realm fell into division of martial orders, the enthroned Longwu emperor, though no longer swayed by heterodox paths, still rejected Confucianism, brandishing a sword awry, granting authority to eunuchs, ruling the world as a household slave, causing the eunuch cliques to swell, nearly allowing a horde of monsters, worse than yellow‑millet ghosts, to seize the capital.

Surveying imperial history, how many sovereigns have caused the nation’s strength to wane, the people’s hearts to wither, demons to roam, and mountains and rivers to sink, precisely because they did not honor Confucius and Mencius!

Wang Changting’s words rang with unyielding clarity: “Thus, Confucian governance is the sole foundation of a flourishing age!”

He was, after all, a fanatic of the Confucian order!

Yang Boze suddenly awoke, feigning agreement on his surface while his heart had long scoffed at Wang Changting’s words.

He speaks of the Hongwu tyranny, yet omits the officials’ abuse of law.

He mentions Jiajing’s love of the Way, but does not point to the ministerial greed.

He cites Chongzhen’s embrace of martial ways, but does not note the scholar’s misrule of the nation.

Yet this maneuver of evading the heavy and light, of clouding black and white, deserves the skill of an elite clan from the new Donglin academy!

“Today I discuss these matters with you not out of sudden fervor, but to tell you that my brother and I both reject the present infighting within the new Donglin party!”

“In my view, the true enemy of the Confucian order does not reside within, but in other sequences! ‘Clans’ beyond blood now encompass the very notion of ‘sequence’!”

Wang Changting deliberately lagged a step, walking shoulder to shoulder with Yang Boze, who trailed behind.

“Do you find them acceptable, younger brother Bai Ze?”

Yang Boze’s heart sank suddenly, finally seeing the dagger at the end.

The crowd surged like a tide, yet Yang Boze felt as if plunged into an icy cavern, a chill clinging to him.

“I have always held reservations regarding certain actions of the new Donglin party.”

Yang Boze offered a vague reply, which Wang Changting dismissed without concern.

“Thus it seems we brothers are in accord; the external foe is the true belly of the heart, and only by presenting a united front can our generation of Confucianists act. Bai Ze, you once stood alone in the Japanese region, needing allies to stabilize affairs; now that I have arrived, you are no longer a lone archer.”

Wang Changting smiled warmly: “Those outsiders who must be cleared away should be removed promptly; we cannot be overly merciful, lest nightmares multiply and the tail grow too heavy.”

“Are there outsiders within the city of Jiangshan?”

“Surely not?”

Yang Boze replied calmly: “It appears my vision was narrow; I do not know whom you refer to as the outsider, and I beg you to clarify.”

“Jiangshan City, the Brocade Guard.”

Wang Changting placed a hand on Yang Boze’s shoulder: “I know you are a man of sentiment, having once received the Brocade Guard’s favor, so I could not bring myself to act. But no matter; this time your luck is good, and someone will help you resolve this matter.”

Yang Boze’s eyes narrowed slightly: “Brother Wang, have you forgotten that Su Qianhu still remains in the Japanese region?”

“Of course I will not forget that,” he replied, “but what does it have to do with me? The one who helps you is not me.”

Wang Changting laughed: “The Brocade Guard of Jiangshan City has mobilized its entire force, marching to Osaka to crush the rebel wako. In such high‑risk endeavors, casualties are inevitable, are they not?”

Wang spoke lightly, yet Yang’s heart churned like a raging tide.

“Younger brother, you are a rare talent, though you do not belong to the new Donglin party, yet I hold no narrow‑minded prejudices. I hope you will recognize the times, become a hero, and manage Jiangshan City for me. After you achieve glory, you will surely receive your due. Do you understand?”

Yang Boze’s steps halted abruptly, his figure pinned to the spot.

This time, Wang Changting did not linger waiting for him, but pressed forward.

Wang’s hands, folded in his sleeves, slowly rested behind his back, and the dense, congested crowd before him unexpectedly opened a path for him.

As an official on a procession, the people yielded.