Linxia

Chapter 194, Impeachment

Pu Mansion.

That night, after a quick dinner, Magistrate Pu opened Journey to the West and saw that the preface was written by a man nicknamed 'General Lion Cat'. Naturally, he would not be petty and have any grudges because Fang Lin did not let him write the preface, but he did not recognize who this person was.

It's not that he is insensitive to politics. The truth is, who knows what the emperor's cat is called, and it's a pet cat from many years ago. If he really wants to know, that's not right - as a minister, why should he be so concerned about the emperor's private affairs? Does he want to spy on the palace?

That is to say, it was only recorded in the daily notes and known by the close eunuchs, but the ministers in the court were not aware of it for the time being.

Prefect Pu glanced over the preface and entered the main text, quickly immersing himself in it. It was not until the part about the havoc in heaven that he frowned.

"This part is a bit taboo."

Prefect Pu knew Fang Lin well. He was a very cautious person, so he should have realized it. "Forget it. I'll remind him tomorrow."

He made a decision, stroked his beard and continued reading: "However, putting this aside, this book is indeed very wonderful. Fang Lin's writing skills have not declined. I am afraid it will be another masterpiece that will be passed down from generation to generation!"

……

The next day.

Prefect Pu came to find Fang Lin and had a secret conversation with him before he felt relieved.

In the following days, Huai'an's "Journey to the West" continued to be popular and flourished everywhere, while in his base camp, Zhang Yide's "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" from Gu family's "Jingxuanzhai" did not make any splash at all.

The popularity of the book "Journey to the West" also boosted the storytelling industry. Restaurants and teahouses in the city were packed, and monkey juggling shows also became popular. It was fashionable for the city's wealthy families to raise monkeys, and for a time, the price of monkeys soared.

Due to strong demand, character cards and fireworks shows derived from "Journey to the West" are also being prepared in full swing.

Just when the situation in Huai'an was looking good, distributors in various parts of the Jianghuai region also began to launch "Journey to the West" one after another, showing a trend of spreading like wildfire.

……

Yingtian.

This place is the headquarters of the 'Yingtian Popular Fiction Guild'. Zhang Yide's "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" was released in the first half month and has achieved excellent sales. There are many teahouses and restaurants in the city telling stories about this book, and it has almost become a trend.

This also made Zhang Yide confident. However, on the day when the distributor of "Journey to the West" was released in Yingtian, he still went there in person to investigate the enemy situation.

"That's right. There are quite a lot of people coming to buy the new book by Mr. Fang." Zhang Yide looked at the bookstore with a lot of traffic and nodded lightly.

This attitude is somewhat condescending, as if the winner of the book battle is already there.

The book boy beside him thought it was natural and said, "It is good, but it is still inferior to the young master's "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger."

“Haha, this Chenshi Fang’s Journey to the West has just started, and the distributor only has three bookstores in Yingtian. If the quality of Journey to the West is good, there is still hope that it can catch up with my Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger in the future.” Zhang Yide waved his hand modestly.

However, having said that, he did not think that Fang Lin's "Journey to the West" had a hope of surpassing his own, because his "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" had the first-mover advantage and performed exceptionally well. It could be said to be the most proud work of his life and was already considered a masterpiece among the masterpieces of mythological novels.

I heard that Fang Lin’s new book, Journey to the West, is also a novel about gods and demons, but it is the first novel about gods and demons that he has written. Could it be a masterpiece that will be passed down from generation to generation?
Zhang Yide already considered himself a winner, and his mentality was still very good and tolerant. He bought a copy of "Journey to the West" with his servant and prepared to go back and read it.

On the way back, I heard passers-by talking about it.

"Brother Zhao, have you read Journey to the West? This book is very interesting! I came back from Lin'an on business. Journey to the West has just been on sale for two days. It is very popular and hard to find. I was lucky enough to get a copy and read it all night..."

“Is it really that beautiful?”

"How could it be false? Let me tell you, I've also read your favorite novel, The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger. I thought it was pretty good, but compared to Journey to the West..."

"how?"

"How can the light of a firefly compete with the brightness of the bright moon? This is not a book on the same level!"

……

Zhang Yide listened and his face darkened.

The book boy comforted him, "Master, don't listen to their nonsense. In my opinion, your "Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" will always be the best!"

Zhang Yide nodded. He didn't even plan to wait until he got back to read it. He found a teahouse nearby and opened "Journey to the West" to read. He was so engrossed in it that when he came to his senses again, he had already read five chapters... Thinking back to what he had just read and then thinking about the book fight, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

His "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" is just a compilation of folk stories, but Fang Lin's "Journey to the West" draws elements from folk myths and legends and constructs a bizarre world of gods and demons. There is a whole dimension of difference between the two!

"Since we have Yu, why do we have Liang?!" Zhang Yide had also read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. With jealousy and hatred in his heart, he uttered this famous line of Zhou Yu.

Seeing this, the book boy immediately expressed his loyalty: "Master, your "Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" is not bad, and it was published first, so it will definitely win... Master, let's not read this useless "Journey to the West". Watch me tear it up!"

"stop!"

When Zhang Yide saw the boy's actions, his voice became a little louder and he shouted at him, "Put it down!"

He hasn't finished reading it yet, how can I tear it up? Even if I want to tear it up, I have to wait until he finishes reading it!

……

Two days later, Zhang Yide finished reading Journey to the West. He felt thoroughly satisfied but also a little disappointed. This was his mood as a reader. As an opponent, he felt bad again when he thought about the book competition with Fang Lin.

He knew that he had lost the duel miserably.

This is indeed the case. As soon as Journey to the West was released, it showed a groundbreaking momentum in all the prefectures in the Jianghuai region, bringing about a Journey to the West fever that was vast, unstoppable and swept across the country.

All novels released by various institutions at the same time were crushed by Journey to the West. The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger was released first and had good sales at first, but its sales dropped rapidly after the release of Journey to the West.

Even in Yingtian, the headquarters of the Yingtian Popular Fiction Guild, the ascendant trend of "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" was doused with a basin of cold water after encountering "Journey to the West", and the good situation was extinguished. - In the final analysis, everything depends on the quality of the novel itself. This is the case when a traditional novel faces a masterpiece. Even in the opponent's home court, it is as easy as a father beating his son.

It is conceivable that if this continues, it won't be long before "Journey to the West" absorbs all the heat and the sales of "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" will drop to freezing point.

What made Zhang Yide feel even more humiliated was the evaluation of this book contest by people at that time. They said that his "The Legend of the Arhat Conquering the Dragon and the Tiger" was too petty compared with Fang Lin's "Journey to the West" and was far less exquisite and strange than the latter. His challenge to Fang Lin was like a clown, like a mayfly wanting to compete with a roc. He was simply overestimating his own abilities.

"Ridiculous! Ridiculous! In the popular novel field, I fought all over Yingtian without a single defeat, but I only got the qualification to stand in front of that Fang Chenshi... This time, I was completely defeated in just one round."

Zhang Yide felt like a joke, just like one of the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals in the heavenly palace in “Journey to the West” who dazzled an era like the bright moon in the sky, ascended from the lower world to become an immortal, but was eventually killed by a stick from Monkey King.

This feeling of unwillingness and powerlessness made him feel extremely angry.

"Besides, this is only the first part of Journey to the West. There should be two, three, and four more parts to come. Even if Journey to the West is finished, Mr. Fang will still have the next book."

Zhang Yide was filled with resentment when he thought that he would have to live under Fang Lin's shadow for the rest of his life in the field of his beloved popular novels.

"No! How can I, Zhang Yide, just accept my fate like this! My novel itself is not as good as the other party's. If I want to turn the tables, I can only use off-field means."

"It just so happens that although Mr. Fang's Journey to the West is good, it has a fatal weakness!"

He gritted his teeth and, without telling his father, wrote a letter to his eldest brother who was an official in the capital: "My eldest brother loves me the most. If he helps, maybe we can turn the tables this time..."

……

Capital.

In the Daxia Palace, the court meeting is held today.

Zhang Yide's elder brother, Zhang Yihao, the Imperial Censor, said, "Your Majesty, I have heard that there is a novel in Huai'an called Journey to the West. In the plot, a monkey breaks into the Lingxiao Palace and makes a big fuss in the Heavenly Palace. The metaphor behind this book, where does your Majesty stand? Where does the Heavenly Family stand? The more this kind of poisonous book spreads, the more harmful it will be. Nowadays, there are frequent natural disasters in the world. If it spreads, the victims will follow suit. What will happen? The author of this book is worthy of death!"

He had already made a connection, and after he spoke, some other imperial censors responded and added momentum.

"The good people have been corrupted by these novels!"

"The north is dry and the south is flooded. These scholars have no intention of serving the country and the people. They only know how to write some decadent words to gain personal benefits. They are really like business women who don't know the pain of losing their country!"

"When popular fiction is regulated..."

……

As soon as the words "regulate popular novels" were uttered, many officials in the court realized the huge interests behind it. For example, many officials from the Ministry of Rites, the Censorate, and the Imperial College were eager to take action and spoke out one after another, wanting to grab this power.

At the beginning, Fang Lin presented sweet potatoes and offended some interest groups, and now they began to add insult to injury.

Then, as this trend spread, some officials who were dissatisfied with the current open atmosphere took the opportunity to speak out, not only targeting popular novels, but also the newly emerging tourism, intending to ban folk entertainment.

At this point, it is no longer just a question of popular novels, but also a question of the future direction of Daxia, whether it is a question of freedom and openness, or conservative dogmatism.

……

In the Golden Palace, Emperor Hongtai listened to these voices, frowned slightly, and was unhappy in his heart, but he couldn't say anything.

As an emperor, he is actually similar to a referee. It is not easy for him to go on the field himself, otherwise, he will lose anyway.

Fortunately, Dong Zugao saw this situation and realized the danger. He was very anxious and immediately stepped out to refute: "I think what Censor Zhang said is a big mistake! How can the people of Daxia be corrupted by a book? Moreover, as far as I know, in Journey to the West, Monkey King made a riot in the sky and was suppressed under the Five Finger Mountain for 500 years. He ate iron balls and drank copper water every day... How can such a punishment teach people to be bad? It is to persuade people to be good and let people learn from it!"

"Besides, as far as I know, when Huai'an was hit by a flood, the prefect of Huai'an used popular novels to divert the attention of the victims, which led to the subsequent success..."

"As for the control of popular novels, it is even more ridiculous. When did the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties control Tang poetry, Song lyrics, and Yuan opera? How can we control and strangle popular novels, the cultural representative of our Great Xia? I think that only openness and freedom can create a prosperous era. Only because of openness, the Tang Dynasty has attracted all nations to come to pay tribute. Only because of openness, the Song Dynasty has economic prosperity, the best in history... Please think carefully, Your Majesty."

This speech simply blasted all the ministers who had spoken before, and made all the ministers in the court look at the new number one scholar in surprise, who used to be quiet and steady.

Dong Zugao's friends in the court expressed their support after his death.

Some officials who tend to be open also expressed their support.

Tao Chengbi, Dong Zugao's teacher and the Minister of Personnel, said at this time: "The rise and fall of a country has nothing to do with tourists, singing girls, and novels. The large number of tourists, the constant music, and the flourishing culture can precisely reflect the peace of the country... Moreover, there are a large number of people engaged in related activities. If private entertainment is prohibited, they will be displaced in a short period of time, and some counties and cities that rely on tourism will also fall into difficulties, with disastrous consequences."

The husband has his own reasons, and the wife has her own reasons. In this situation, the final choice fell into the hands of Emperor Hongtai.

Emperor Hongtai said: "I like popular novels very much. The preface of Journey to the West was written by me. I think there is no problem with this book... This is the only time, so you don't need to say more. Even if I am the emperor, thousands of years later, people in the future may still know about it based on this preface..."

Originally, when the court heard that Emperor Hongtai was going to write a preface for Journey to the West, they were all eager to give it a try and wanted to advise him. But after hearing the following words, they gave up the idea. His Majesty has said that this is the only time and if you say it again, it would be disrespectful. Besides, as a subject, it would not sound good to stop this good story and hinder Emperor Hongtai from becoming famous in future generations. His Majesty would also hold a grudge against him. Why bother?

Many ministers were secretly shocked by the emperor's favor towards Fang Lin, but because Fang Lin was not in the court and could not be a jester, they could still tolerate a scholar like Li Bai who was given gold and released to the people.

When Zhang Yihao heard this, he knew that he had hit a wall this time. Not only did he miss the target, but he also left a bad impression on Emperor Hong Tai. He secretly cursed Zhang Yide for betraying his brother.

Finally, Emperor Hong Tai made the final decision and expressed his attitude: "Let popular novels and folk tourism go as they please, and don't interfere too much."

……

This court meeting had a profound impact on Daxia. It established an open and inclusive social atmosphere, helped promote the popular fiction culture of Daxia to its extreme prosperity, and also opened the prelude to the subsequent national tourism boom.

Of course, this is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.

……

(End of this chapter)