Chapter 64: Final Edition of the Commentaries and Exegesis of the Five Classics

Zhang Song picked up the bamboo slips placed before him and began reading them one by one. He read with astonishing speed, glancing over ten lines at a glance, picking up a scroll and putting it down in barely several dozen breaths.

Before long, he had perused the entire volume of *Commentaries and Final Decisions on the Five Classics* from start to finish.

Liu Biao leaned forward slightly, eager to see an expression of admiration and awe on Zhang Song's face as he read the work.

However, things did not go as he wished. The expression he saw on Zhang Song's face shifted from puzzlement upon picking up the first scroll to heavy solemnity as he continued to read scroll after scroll. When he finished the very last scroll, Zhang Song actually raised his head and looked at him with a strange gaze.

"What does the mister think of it?" Seeing that Zhang Song had finished reading, Liu Biao asked the envoy from Yizhou for his impressions. Noticing Zhang Song's abnormal expression, he had a rather ill premonition.

"Alas!" Zhang Song heaved a heavy sigh, raised his hands in a salute to Liu Biao, and remarked with deep emotion: "Though you, Governor Liu, were renowned throughout the world in your youth, listed among the 'Eight Jun,' and your virtuous reputation is celebrated across the realm, I never expected that today you would be deceived by petty scoundrels."

"It is fortunate that this book has not yet been circulated throughout the world; otherwise, your lifelong virtuous reputation, Governor Liu, would be utterly ruined in a single day."

His words were filled with intense disdain on Liu Biao's behalf, implying nothing less than that this *Commentaries and Final Decisions on the Five Classics* had tarnished Liu Biao's good name.

"What do you mean by this?" Liu Biao frowned, his tone turning somewhat harsh. He dropped the courteous title of "mister" and addressed Zhang Song directly.

This book, *Commentaries and Final Decisions on the Five Classics*, was the painstaking creation he had commissioned scholars like Qimou Kai and Song Zhong to compile. Yet judging by Zhang Song's expression, he held the book in utter contempt, and his words carried deep, hidden implications.

As the master of the Jingxiang region, holding territory spanning several thousand li and commanding over one hundred thousand armored troops, his sudden surge of anger caused everyone present to hold their breath in absolute silence, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Zhang Song, however, remained completely relaxed, unperturbed by the anger on Liu Biao's face, and stated bluntly: "Even a three-foot-tall child in Shu could recite this book from memory. How can it be called 'Final Decisions'?"

"This was originally written by an anonymous author during the Warring States period. Qimou Kai and Song Zhong have merely passed it off as their own work. It is only because this book has hitherto circulated solely within Shu that it managed to keep you in the dark, Governor Liu."

"Therefore, I say it is fortunate that this book has not yet been published; otherwise, Governor Liu would bear the infamy of plagiarizing books."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in uproar, and the face of Liu Biao seated above grew even gloomier.

Qimou Kai immediately stepped forward and rebuked: "Utter nonsense! This book is the fruit of our painstaking efforts; how could it possibly have been written by some anonymous author of the Warring States?"

Song Zhong also stepped forward. Though originally a scholar, he now said viciously: "Since the mister claims this book was written by a Warring States anonymous author, do you have clear proof? If not, I fear today will not end well for you."

Hearing the surrounding rebukes and curses, Zhang Song calmly replied: "If you gentlemen do not believe me, I can try to recite it."

"If there is even a single word in error, I will subject myself to your disposal."

Hearing that Zhang Song dared to make such a heavy wager, Qimou Kai and Song Zhong exchanged glances, a trace of hesitation flickering in their eyes. Then Song Zhong stepped forward and said through gritted teeth: "Then I ask the mister to recite it."

Zhang Song placed his hands behind his back, narrowed his eyes, and began to pace slowly across the hall while reciting the *Commentaries and Final Decisions on the Five Classics* right from the very beginning.

Qimou Kai and Song Zhong pricked up their ears to listen intently, hoping to catch even the slightest mistake from Zhang Song. Yet as they listened to him reach the halfway point, it was truly as Zhang Song had claimed: not a single word was incorrect.

The two men looked at each other in utter astonishment. Even if the two of them were to recite it themselves, they doubted they could manage it without a single error.

They began to harbor doubts. Exchanging glances, they wondered if there truly was an anonymous author from the Warring States who had written the exact same book as them, matching them chapter for chapter and aligning with their every word and phrase.

Soon, Zhang Song reached the conclusion. Just as he had asserted, from beginning to end, recited aloud in one breath, there was not a single word amiss.

Qimou Kai and Song Zhong shrank back, entirely losing the arrogance they had displayed earlier when questioning Zhang Song.

Upon witnessing this scene, Liu Biao on the dais wore a face as dark as water, silent to a terrifying degree.

The two brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue were equally bewildered. Why on earth was Zhang Song able to recite the *Commentaries and Final Decisions on the Five Classics*, a work that had not yet been released to the world? Their minds raced as they frantically considered every possible explanation.

It was Kuai Liang, devoted to serious learning and possessed of vast and varied knowledge, who hit upon a plausible possibility. He sighed, stepped forward, bowed to pay his respects to Zhang Song, and said: "The mister possesses a photographic memory—truly an extraordinary talent of our time!"

He felt a measure of admiration for Zhang Song, who was not only eloquent and persuasive but also blessed with an unerring memory.

As for his ugly facial features and short stature, what did those matter compared to Zhang Song's brilliant talents? How many individuals of such caliber could the world boast? No wonder that Governor Liu of Yizhou had dispatched Zhang Song as his envoy.

With Kuai Liang's words, the rest of the company came to their senses, and Liu Biao, whose eyelids had been drooping, also opened his eyes wide in sudden comprehension.

At this point, not a single civil or military official of Jingzhou present dared to step forward to debate Zhang Song further.

Seeing this, Zhang Song judged that it was time to turn to official business. He bowed to Liu Biao and said: "My lord, the Governor of Yizhou, has a token to present to Governor Liu, stating that it should be shown to Governor Liu in person. We ask that Governor Liu graciously accept it."

Having spoken, he pointed to the wooden box held by Xi Su who was waiting outside the hall doors.

Liu Biao nodded. Two servants beside him immediately trotted to the doorway of the hall, took the wooden box from Xi Su's hands, and returned inside. One of them held the box while the other opened the lid.

The servant who opened the wooden box felt a momentary panic upon lifting the cover, but being the personal attendant to a regional governor, he quickly regained his composure. He bowed toward Liu Biao, who wore an inquiring look upon the dais, and reported: "Master, it is the head of Assistant Governor Liu."

As Liu Biao's personal servant, he naturally recognized Liu He, the man prone to reckless speech in the box. Even though Liu He's severed head wore a look of terror, he could still identify it from its general contours.

Zhang Song took over the conversation, not giving anyone a chance to react: "This man's surname is Liu, his given name He, and he styled himself the Assistant Governor of Jingzhou. He stirred up trouble and wreaked havoc across our lands in Shu."

"My lord, the Governor of Yizhou, suppressed and pacified this scoundrel within ten days, and now commands an army of one hundred thousand, stationed at Baidi."

"The reason he did not press down the river to call Jingzhou to account is that he harbors doubts. Considering Governor Liu as an elder of the imperial clan, how could you commit such an unrighteous act during a period of mourning? Furthermore, when this scoundrel raised troops, Jingzhou made no movement, which does not look like a coordinated pact to jointly invade our lands in Shu."

"Therefore, he sent me here to ask: was this scoundrel acting entirely on his own accord, or was it plotted by Governor Liu?"

"However, judging by my arrival here today—met with no pleasantries, but rather continuous harassment—it appears that nineteen out of twenty parts of the affair concerning Liu He stem from Governor Liu's true intentions."

Hearing that Liu Zhang had sent him the head of Liu He, Liu Biao showed no particular surprise. Since Liu He's army had been defeated, his death was only natural.

What surprised him was Zhang Song's speech. He exchanged glances with Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue below him, their eyes revealing the same bewilderment. Zhang Song had no intention of pressing criminal charges; instead, he was offering a solution—shifting the blame for the incident in Badu entirely onto Liu He, purposefully providing Jingzhou with a graceful way out.

Zhang Song continued: "Before my departure, my lord instructed that if this was indeed Governor Liu's true intent, he wished to present a seven-character quatrain to Governor Liu."

With that, he began to recite the verse entrusted to him by Liu Zhang.

*"Leaving Baidi in the morning amid colorful clouds,"*

This line was extremely plain; both Zhang Yun and Liu Pan understood it—it simply meant setting out from Baidi City in the morning amidst myriad colorful clouds.

*"A thousand-li journey to Jiangling is accomplished in a single day."*

Kuai Yue felt a tinge of doubt. Traveling from Yizhou to Jiangling, why use the word "return" (*huan*)? Surely "arrive" (*zhi*) would be far more appropriate.

After pondering for a moment, his eyes lit up as he grasped the deep meaning hidden within Liu Zhang's line. Liu Zhang, the Governor of Yizhou, was treating Jiangling as his own property. "Returning home, returning home"—one only uses the word "return" when going back to one's own dwelling.

He vaguely recalled Liu Zhang's place of origin; Liu Zhang's ancestral home was Jiangxia, specifically Jiangxia Commandery in Jingzhou. This single character "return" carried profound implications.

*"The gibbons on both banks never cease their cries,"*

Liu Xian, an official, wore a look of anger. This was clearly an insult, comparing the scholars of Jingxiang to mere gibbons, capable of nothing more than incessant, noisy clamoring.

*"While the light boat has already sped past ten thousand heavy mountains."*

Han Song, a Gentleman of the Household, did not even need to ponder before understanding the hidden meaning of this line. What light boat? Most likely, these were the towering warships and armored barges of Yizhou, riding the great river downstream.

"Already sped past ten thousand heavy mountains" referred to the formidable passes and defiles of Jingzhou, which were powerless to block the grand army of Yizhou.

Having finished reciting the seven-character verse with rhythmic cadence, Zhang Song bowed respectfully to Liu Biao and offered his farewell words: "Now that Governor Liu has set up a boiling cauldron and prepared scalding oil to welcome me, I cannot refuse; I ought to cast myself into it."

Having spoken, Zhang Song turned on his heel and strode toward the oil cauldron standing outside the hall.

Xi Su, standing near the doorway, heard Zhang Song's words. Being a man of courage, as Zhang Song reached the hall entrance, Xi Su stepped up right beside him. Since Zhang Song was going to leap into the oil cauldron, he would naturally jump right along with him; mere boiling oil held no terror for him.