The Middle Kingdom Read Online Free PDF Page B

to climb.
     
    LWO RANG, son of
Lwo Chun-Yi and Minister of the Edict, sat back in his tall-backed
chair and looked around the circle of men gathered about him. The
folds of his salmon-pink pau hung loosely about him and his
olive flesh glistened damply in the dome's intense light. He had a
strong but somehow ugly fece;. his eyes too big, his nose too broad,
his ears too pendulous. Yet when he smiled the faces of the dozen men
seated about him returned his smile like mirrors. Just now, however,
those men were silent and watchful, conscious that their lord was
angry.
    "You talk
of accommodation, Shu San, but the Edict is quite clear on this. We
are not here to interpret but to implement. We do as we are told,
yes?"
    To Lwo Kang's
left Shu San bowed his head abjectly. For a moment all eyes were on
him, sharing his moment of shame. Minister Lwo sniffed, then spoke
again.
    "Only this
afternoon two of these businessmen—Lehmann and Berdichev—came
to me. We talked of many things in the course of our audience, but
finally they presented me with what they termed an 'ultimatum.' "
Lwo Kang looked sternly about the circle of his junior ministers.
"They said that certain factions were growing impatient. Hsien Sheng Lehmann even had the impudence to claim that we have
been subjecting them to unnecessary delays. He says that our
officials have been over-zealous in their application of the Edict's
terms."
    There was an
exchange of glances between the seated men. None had missed that the
Minister had used the term Hsien Sheng for Lehmann—plain Mister
Lehmann, not even the commonplace Shih, or "Master"—when
proper etiquette demanded the use of his full title, Under Secretary.
It was a deliberate slight.
    Lwo Kang laughed
sharply, sourly, then shook his head in an angry gesture. "The
impertinence of these men! Because they have money they think
themselves above the laws of other men!" His face formed a sneer
of disgust. " Hsin fa ts'ai!"
    This time there
was mild laughter from some quarters. Others, not understanding the
term, looked about them for guidance, and formed their faces into
smiles, as if half-committed to the joke.
    Again Lwo Kang
sniffed and sat back a little in his chair. "I'm sorry. I
forgot. We are not all ch'un tzu here, are we?"
    Lwo Kang looked
about him. Hsin fa ts'ai. Social upstarts. Ch'un tzu.
Gentlemen. These were Kuan hua, or Mandarin terms. But not all who
sat about him were bred to the tongue. More than half the men here
had come up through the levels; had schooled themselves in the five
Confucian classics and climbed the ladder of the examination system.
He did not despise them for that; quite the contrary, he prided
himself on promoting men not through connection but because of their
natural ability. However, it sometimes made for awkwardnesses. He
fixed his gaze on Shu San.
    "We will
say no more of this, Shu San. You know now how I feel. We will have
no further talk of accommodation. Nor will I see these men again."
    Shu San bowed
his head, then met his lord's eyes, grateful for this second chance.
He had come expecting less.
    Lwo Kang smiled
and looked away, his whole manner changing, relaxing. He had the
reputation of being a scrupulously fair man, honest beyond reproach
and incorruptible. But that was not to say he was liked. His
appointment, three years earlier, had surprised some who saw family
connection as a more important quality in a man than honesty or
competence. Nonetheless, Lwo Kang had proved a good choice as
minister responsible for the implementation of the Edict.
    While his
subordinates talked among themselves, Lwo Kang sat back,
contemplating what had happened earlier that day. It did not surprise
him that there were those who wanted to subvert the Edict's
guidelines. So it had ever been, for the full 114 years of the
Edict's existence. What disturbed him more was the growing arrogance
of those who felt they knew best—that they had the right to
challenge the present order of