Just as Fei Qian had speculated, Cai Yong's anger stemmed from the deposition of the emperor. Strictly speaking, it wasn't the result of the deposition that angered him, but rather the process by which it was carried out.
During the grand court assembly today, Dong Zhuo took advantage of the gathering of civil and military officials to declare to the crowd, "The Son of Heaven is weak and unfit to rule the land. Here is a decree that should be read aloud." He then ordered Li Ru to read the edict deposing the emperor.
As Li Ru read the edict, the young Han emperor was drenched in sweat and overwhelmed with panic.
With the tacit approval of Wang Yun and Yuan Wei, Dong Zhuo proposed the deposition of the emperor. Not a single voice among the court officials dared to speak out, except for the Minister and former General of the North, Lu Zhi, who stepped forward and angrily rebuked, "In the past, when Tai Jia was established but proved incompetent, Yi Yin exiled him to Tong Palace. Similarly, when the King of Changyi was enthroned for only twenty-seven days and committed thousands of offenses, Huo Guang deposed him. However, our current emperor is young and has not committed any faults. This situation is incomparable to those precedents." — In other words, the previous instances of deposing emperors by Yi Yin and Huo Guang were justified, but Dong Zhuo's actions were baseless and could not be compared to those of Yi Yin and Huo Guang.
After speaking, Lu Zhi saw that the situation was beyond redemption and immediately resigned from his post, retreating to the mountains of Shanggu to live in seclusion.
The pitiful young Han emperor sat on his throne. When Lu Zhi first stepped forward, he had hoped that other officials would join in opposing Dong Zhuo and speak up for him. However, as he looked around, he only saw a group of officials bowing their heads like quails. The hopeful gleam in Emperor Liu Bian's eyes gradually dimmed.
Thus, a dramatic scene unfolded.
The young emperor's crown and imperial seal were removed, and the Prince of Chenliu was invited to ascend the throne. A group of officials, as if they had rehearsed countless times, skillfully congratulated the former Prince of Chenliu, now the new emperor...
At court, Dong Zhuo was promoted to the position of Chancellor, marking the official rise of the Dong family as the most powerful external faction in the imperial court...
Cai Yong's anger was not solely directed at Dong Zhuo for deposing the emperor. He was also furious at the court officials for their silent compliance and lack of resistance, which included himself. For a moment, he had the impulse to step forward and join Lu Zhi in a passionate denouncement. But thoughts of his family and his daughter Cai Yan made him hesitate. In the end, he followed the crowd and went through the entire process of the young emperor's abdication and the new emperor's enthronement.
However, after leaving the court and returning home, Cai Yong felt a conflict between his actions and the Confucian principles he had studied. Yet, he had no way to vent this inner turmoil and could only suppress his anger.
Seeing Fei Qian standing respectfully by his side, Cai Yong restrained his frustration and remembered that Fei Qian had come to express his gratitude as a disciple. He forced a smile and offered Fei Qian a few words of encouragement.
But in the end, Cai Yong couldn't hold back and asked Fei Qian, "Ziyuan, what do you think of the phrase, 'If the ruler can correct his faults, the imperial robes will not be discarded'?"
Although Fei Qian instinctively wanted to respond with the classic line, "There must be something fishy about this," he knew that Cai Yong was using the literary reference to explore a moral explanation. Naturally, Fei Qian couldn't recklessly spout nonsense.
The phrase "If the ruler can correct his faults, the imperial robes will not be discarded" comes from the biography of Duke Ling of Jin in the *Zuo Zhuan*.
Duke Ling of Jin was a man of high tastes. He even enjoyed standing on a high palace wall and using a slingshot to shoot at people's private parts, finding great amusement in watching them dodge...
It was truly unique for a feudal lord to engage in such behavior.
Thus, Duke Ling's ministers were deeply concerned and felt the need to guide him toward more noble pursuits, such as advanced ballistics, rather than wasting his time with slingshots and childish antics.
One minister, Zhao Dun, tried to admonish Duke Ling. Although Duke Ling verbally acknowledged his faults and promised to change, he never did. After repeated admonitions, Duke Ling grew tired of Zhao Dun and attempted to kill him. However, Zhao Dun was protected by fate and survived multiple assassination attempts. Eventually, Zhao Dun turned the tables and killed Duke Ling, welcoming Prince Heitun of Jin and installing him as the new ruler.
Fei Qian had read the *Zuo Zhuan* and was quite familiar with it. Every time he reached this part, he couldn't help but laugh. The people of the Spring and Autumn period were so simple and honest, even in naming their rulers. "Heitun" (Black Buttocks) — what an image! And he was a ruler...
However, Cai Yong's question today wasn't about whether the ruler's buttocks were black or white. Instead, he was using Duke Ling of Jin to allude to the events at the court assembly — "If the ruler can correct his faults, the imperial robes will not be discarded." If the young Han emperor could correct his mistakes, should he not have been deposed? Even if the young emperor had faults, shouldn't he have been admonished first, with deposition being the last resort?
In Confucian ideology, no matter how foolish, tyrannical, or immoral the "Son of Heaven" might be, he was still considered "sacred" and inviolable. To impeach or overthrow him would be a grave crime of deceiving the ruler, blasphemy, and rebellion.
Thus, Cai Yong believed that when the emperor made mistakes, he should be admonished. He felt guilty for not having done so and for failing to prevent the emperor's deposition. Now that things had reached this point, he was deeply troubled.
Fei Qian thought to himself that his teacher was idealistic to a fault. Didn't he see that almost none of the court officials had spoken up? Most were happily welcoming the new emperor. Who cared about the deposed emperor now?
However, Fei Qian couldn't say this directly to Cai Yong, or he would surely be scolded. Although Cai Yong hadn't dared to rebuke Dong Zhuo in court, he wouldn't hesitate to chastise his own disciple.
Fei Qian carefully considered his words and said, "When Song and Chu made a treaty under the city walls, the agreement stated, 'I will not deceive you, and you will not deceive me.'" — This referred to the constant deceit between Song and Chu, where even written agreements could be openly broken. If that was the case, how much more so with an emperor? Teacher, you may be an honest gentleman, but not everyone else is.
Who doesn't deceive? Without deception, it would be difficult to stand firm and secure one's own interests. The saying "There are no righteous wars in the Spring and Autumn period" reflects, to some extent, the conflicts of interest between states, which often involved deceit.
The current situation was no different. With Dong Zhuo's army stationed at the gates of Luoyang, what other options were there? Moreover, weren't all the court officials seeking their own interests? Why did the Yuan and Wang families remain silent? Wasn't there some deceit or self-interest behind their actions?
Cai Yong sighed deeply, "Though what you say is true, still..." He didn't finish his sentence, but Fei Qian understood. Everyone knows the principles, but when faced with reality, it's not always easy to act on them.
Cai Yong shook his head. Although he seemed somewhat comforted, his mood remained somber. He patted Fei Qian on the shoulder, told him to study hard, and sent him on his way.
As Fei Qian left Cai's residence, he wondered if Cai Yong's character was the reason for his historically contradictory reaction to Dong Zhuo's death. However, at this point, Dong Zhuo hadn't granted Cai Yong any significant official position, so Cai Yong likely didn't feel any gratitude toward him.
Fei Qian pondered further. To confirm his suspicions, he felt it necessary to test the waters with another person, though it would be challenging.
*****
A/N: Historically, there was no Ding Guan. But this Ding Guan... well, let's just say he was a different story. As for Lu Zhi, he resigned after the emperor's deposition, not before... In history, Lu Zhi was the only one who spoke out boldly... Some interesting fictional elements from the novel have been preserved, but the more dramatic parts follow the novel's account