Chapter Fifty-Six: The Crime of Deceiving the Sovereign

“Your Majesty, I beg to accuse the disciple of the Mohist School of the crime of deceiving the sovereign.” Censor Wang suddenly stepped forward, his words shocking. All the ministers looked at him in astonishment.

“Deceiving the sovereign?” Li Shimin was utterly confused.

“Censor Wang, you must be grasping at straws! That lad from the Mohist School has barely exchanged a word with His Majesty, and he kept his promise by publicly revealing the secret of keeping fish alive. On what grounds is this a crime of deception?” Qin Qiong spoke with a darkened expression.

Li Shimin, too, glared at Censor Wang with displeasure. The discovery of the marvel that was block printing had brought harmony to the court, and yet Censor Wang had broken the mood with a single stroke.

“The Duke of Yi is not mistaken; the Mohist disciple did indeed fulfill his promise regarding the secret of keeping fish alive. But, Your Majesty, I urge you to look at his advertising pamphlet. How could there possibly be a youth capable of lifting a thousand pounds with one hand? Such blatant falsehood is being widely promoted in the city of Chang'an by the Mohist disciple. This is hardly the conduct of a gentleman.”

Censor Wang spoke with righteous indignation. In truth, he knew that such grounds were far from sufficient to punish the inventor of block printing. But seeing how the Mohist disciple was gaining increasing imperial favor, he wondered when he would ever have his revenge. For now, if he could brand the Mohist disciple as dishonest, he would surely damage his reputation and diminish his favor at court, creating opportunities for vengeance in the future.

“This is but a pamphlet distributed on the streets. To call it the crime of deceiving the sovereign is rather excessive!” Unexpectedly, Kong Yingda stood up for Mo Dun. Though he disliked Mo Dun, he would not allow the reputation of the Imperial Academy to be tainted with such a charge.

“Even if it is only for the common folk, it is still outright deception. And now it has reached the court itself, even misleading Your Majesty. In my observation, the falsehoods on the pamphlet are not limited to this one. ‘Conversing across city walls’—the very idea is ridiculous. One so dishonest truly deserves contempt.” Censor Wang was insidious, seeking to ruin Mo Dun’s name outright.

Several ministers nodded in agreement. By their understanding, such things were indeed impossible.

“I am in my seventy-third year, and never have I heard such absurdities,” lamented a white-haired official.

“I had thought the Mohist disciple a man of his word, but now it seems he is a base liar.”

“Alas! I misjudged him!”

The civil officials each voiced their disappointment, one after another, as if deeply aggrieved, quickly condemning Mo Dun for deception.

Kong Yingda was left speechless. He wished to defend Mo Dun, but could not find the words. After all, even he found these claims impossible to believe.

“Your Majesty, though the Mohist disciple has rendered meritorious service to the state, his character is unworthy. The Imperial Academy is the cornerstone of the nation, nurturing talent. How can one of such character be allowed entry? I request that Mo Dun’s student status at the Imperial Academy be revoked,” Censor Wang declared mercilessly.

At present, Mo Dun’s greatest shield was his status as a student handpicked by the emperor for the “catfish effect” experiment. If anyone targeted him, it would surely draw Li Shimin’s attention. If Mo Dun lost that protection, he would be no more than a fallen county baron, at anyone’s mercy.

Li Shimin found himself in a dilemma. Mo Dun was his chosen instrument for the catfish effect, and had just contributed the secrets of keeping fish alive and the invention of block printing—great merits indeed. Yet now he was accused of dishonesty, and this truly troubled the emperor.

“Censor Wang, how can you be so certain that a youth lifting a thousand pounds is false? Have you verified it?” Qin Qiong suddenly interjected.

Censor Wang stammered, “Is verification even necessary? It is common sense.”

“And before this, had you ever heard of the secret of keeping fish alive? Had you ever heard of block printing that could produce a thousand books in a day? If we had not seen these things with our own eyes, would we not have deemed them impossible as well?” Qin Qiong pressed him relentlessly.

Enlightenment dawned on the assembly. Indeed! Before this, everyone knew that fish would die soon after leaving water, and that copying one book a day was the limit. Yet now, Mohist techniques had turned the impossible into possible.

“That was just the Mohist disciple using some clever trickery. But as for human strength, how could it be faked? It is absolutely impossible for a youth to lift a thousand pounds. Even two hundred pounds is the limit for a grown man. Not even the legendary Conqueror of Chu could achieve that. If such a prodigy exists, I would be the first to recommend him for reward,” Censor Wang stubbornly insisted.

“How fortunate, then! The youth you speak of is none other than my son, Huaiyu,” Qin Qiong said, sweeping his robe and speaking solemnly.

At these words, the entire court erupted in astonishment. No one had expected the youth in question to be Qin Huaiyu—a notorious troublemaker who had dodged studies and whose mischief had been reported to the court—now suddenly proclaimed comparable to the Conqueror of Chu. The twist was staggering.

No, even greater than the Conqueror of Chu, for Qin Huaiyu was still a youth with much room to grow.

“Truly? Huaiyu can really lift a thousand pounds?” Li Shimin exclaimed in delight. If Qin Huaiyu truly possessed such strength, would not the Tang dynasty gain another unparalleled general—one as young as Huo Qubing, and with the might of the Conqueror of Chu?

“Your Majesty, it is but a legend. As far as I know, Huaiyu’s strength is only about two hundred pounds—he can draw a bow of two dan. Yet yesterday, the rascal came home boasting that he would lift a thousand pounds with one hand at the Mohist Exhibition,” Qin Qiong replied with a wry smile.

“With one hand?” The entire court was stunned.

“That’s impossible!”

“Even the Conqueror of Chu used both hands to hoist the cauldron!”

“I too find it unbelievable. I questioned the rascal myself, but he insisted he had already done it. When I asked how, he would not say, only inviting me to witness it in person on the second day of the second month,” Qin Qiong said.

“He’s already done it?”

Li Shimin was dumbfounded.

So was Censor Wang.

So too were all the ministers, civil and military alike.

“I cannot explain it either, but I trust my son—he would not dare lie to me,” Qin Qiong said confidently.

At this, several ministers chuckled knowingly.

Cheng Yaojin stepped forward as well. “Chumo mentioned at home that he and Yuchi Baolin had personally tested the ‘conversing across city walls’ claim, and it does work.”

“My foolish son can never keep a secret; he’s been boasting about it at home for days. But as to how it’s done, they have no idea. The Mohist School is still keeping it under wraps,” Yuchi Jingde added his testimony.

“Then it seems these things may indeed be true!” Li Shimin nodded.

“Whether the Mohist Village can achieve these feats or not, it is too early to say. All will be revealed at the Mohist Exhibition on the second day of the second month,” said Kong Yingda, unwilling to let the Academy’s reputation be stained with a charge of deceiving the sovereign.

Thus, the farce of the crime of deceiving the sovereign was temporarily laid to rest. Though Censor Wang was bitterly resentful, he could do nothing but await the Mohist Exhibition on the second day of the second month.