Chapter 86: Light of Nirvana
In the first year of Zhihe, May, Yichou, Zi hour
At Tianning Temple in Zhengding, Hebei, Huailiang was copying scriptures in the Sutra Library with a few letters at hand.
He had been staying at this temple in his hometown for nearly three months. At first, he was a little worried that he would not be able to escape the law. However, the gates of various states and counties were full of official documents to track down the remnants of the Maitreya Sect. Zhuge Suizhi's name was among the main culprits, but there was no picture of his own, and no one was sent to find him. The government did not link Huai Liang with Zhuge Suizhi, so no one would come to arrest him. Shen Kuo obviously protected himself, at least convinced Bao Zheng.
The letter in his hand was sent by Shen Kuo with "Zhong Yin" as the recipient. He read it but did not reply. Zhong Yin was a name used by Li Houzhu in his calligraphy and painting. Not many people know about it. But because Shen Kuo and Huai Liang had both authenticated the authentic works of Li Houzhu in the palace collection, it became an unspoken secret. This way, they could avoid using names like Huai Bing or Huai Liang, which had been used before and were easy to cause trouble when written on the envelope.
These illustrated letters mentioned Shen Kuo's conjecture about the "hat monster" and the "Wang Ze human head" he drew floating in the air, as well as the chain crossbow. He hoped that Huai Liang would give some feedback, but Huai Liang did not reply.
He had begun to doubt the skills he once valued, and was no longer obsessed with the idea of solving the people's livelihood problems once and for all by gaining insight into the mysteries of heaven and earth. So, since he was already in the outside world, why should he jump back?
He was a little tired from copying scriptures, so he opened the east window to get some fresh air. Then he saw the flickering light of Tianguanxingce.
At this moment, he knew better than anyone that a crisis was brewing somewhere. If the Maitreya sect's previous methods were to forge various miracles, then the miracles at the moment were not forged. His knowledge of astronomy was not enough to explain the current situation. However, this did not prevent him from guessing that someone with ulterior motives might take advantage of this astronomical phenomenon. If this shining guest star disappeared in time, the situation might be better. He secretly noted the position and waited for tomorrow morning to continue observing this mysterious light to see if it would change.
Huailiang sat back at the table and picked up his pen to write a letter to Shen Kuo, offering some suggestions, but after a moment's hesitation he put the pen down again. He thought, the guest stars of astronomy and astrology have always come and gone without a clear reason, and they may disappear tomorrow, and nothing will happen in the end?
May 26th (early morning)
Shen Kuo was awakened by Yang Weide who came home in a panic. In the past, when Yang Weide came home in the early morning, his wife would wait at the door, and they would be very quiet when they entered the house. But today, it was a little abnormal. Yang Weide kept talking at the door, and it was hard to hear what he was saying. Shen Kuo thought that the thing he was most worried about - the hat monster appeared again. So he quickly put on his clothes and left the yard. Yang Weide was still mumbling to his wife over there.
"Teacher, is it the Hat Monster that has appeared again?"
"You've come just in time... Come with me."
Yang Weide pulled Shen Kuo to the backyard, where there was an alchemy room used to practice Yang Weide's other research based on ancient books - alchemy.
His alchemy room was very high, with a flat top, and because he often had to clean the chimney, he had a ladder to climb up. He led Shen Kuo up together.
It was May, and it was dusk. The sun had not yet risen, but the eastern sky was already white. The two stood on the roof of the alchemy room, and Yang Weide pointed due east.
Shen Kuo's eyesight was not very good, but he could see the white light in the distance. It was not the sun that was about to jump out of the horizon, but was higher up, near the Tianguan star. Its brightness had already illuminated the sky, almost hiding the much dimmer Tianguan star next to it.
"Teacher, I don't remember this star on the star map. Is it a guest star?"
"Well, it can be considered a guest star. Li Chunfeng mentioned in his book "Observing the Physique and Playing with the Divination" that a guest star is an extraordinary star. It has no fixed time of appearance and no fixed place of residence. It appears and disappears suddenly, sometimes moving and sometimes stopping. It is impossible to predict. It lives among the stars like a guest, so it is called a guest star."
"I heard the teacher was a little panicked and thought it was the hat monster that appeared again, but it turned out to be just a guest star that appeared in the sky..." Shen Kuo breathed a sigh of relief.
"What Cun Zhong said is wrong. How could you not know that the guest stars that suddenly appeared in the sky in the past dynasties were not a good omen. In the sixth year of the Jianyuan period of the Han Dynasty, a guest star appeared in the east. It happened that Emperor Wu wanted to stop the marriage and set an ambush in Mayi. As expected, the plan failed and the Xiongnu led their troops away, and the royal army was at a disadvantage. Therefore, Emperor Wu changed the reign to Yuanguang the following year. Now that the emperor has just changed the reign to Zhihe, a guest star flashed in the east. There is no way to change the reign to eliminate it."
"Teacher, there are many guest stars recorded in ancient books, but they may not always be related to disasters, right? I think this star is only near the Tianguan, not in Tianshu or Sanyuan, and is even farther away from the Zhongtian Ziwei Star. Why should I be afraid..."
"That's true, but this star has horns all around it, and it's so bright that it can be vaguely seen in the east at sunrise. I'm afraid..."
"I'm afraid someone might cause trouble?"
"Yes. Actually, I also know that the guest star may not be related to the disaster. I will naturally write a good omen when writing the "Astronomy Urgent Report" today. However, this strange phenomenon of 'the sun and the moon in the same sky' will surely be used by the thieves. Especially since it has only been three months since the Maitreya Rebellion. Although Bianjing is still prosperous, people's hearts are still as unstable as a pile of eggs. If there is any disturbance at this time, it will easily collapse."
"Teacher, don't worry too much. Look, the sun has risen in the east, and the light of the guest star has been blocked. If you don't look carefully, you can't see it clearly. Maybe the guest star will not be visible tonight."
"I hope so." Yang Weide sighed, obviously not optimistic.
The master and disciple stood on the roof, watching the sun rising in the distance.
After looking for a while, Shen Kuo suddenly remembered something.
"Teacher, what have you been busy with these days? I saw that Taoist Priest Li has been here for several days."
"It was the time when Yu Jing did something naughty. Not only did he burn himself to death, but he also ruined the grand plan of burying the evil spirit. The government has recently been pressing for an explanation on this matter, and wants to find an auspicious day to bury the evil spirit again, so as to give the world an explanation from beginning to end. Now everyone in the world knows that it was a Taoist priest from the Heavenly Master Sect who used a spell on the top of the city to extinguish the ghost face of Wang Ze that rose from hell. Naturally, everyone also hopes that those evil spirits that disturb the world can be suppressed under the stone slabs of Yuqing Zhaoying Palace."
"Why bother looking for an auspicious day? Since the treasure box containing those evil spirits and the evil spirits is in the Yuqing Zhaoying Palace, can't we just uncover the stone slab any day and bury it under the stone slab?"
"Haha, you are still too naive. If you don't tell the world, how can you relieve their worries?"
Yang Weide climbed down the ladder as he spoke. He still needed to take a nap. Before he got up at noon to write the "Astronomical Urgent Report", he needed to think about how to write this sudden visitor star as a good omen. This kind of thing certainly did not bother him, but what he was most worried about at the moment was that this strange guest star would still be there tonight and would not leave. If it dimmed and disappeared tonight, he could write anything he wanted. But if it was still there, it would definitely attract widespread attention from the public, which would be very conducive to the spread of rumors.
Shen Kuo watched for a while longer, until the sun hurt his eyes, then he went back to sleep. As one of the earliest observers, he did not have the political sensitivity of Yang Weide or Huai Liang. He thought it was nothing more than a strange celestial phenomenon. As an astronomy enthusiast, it was a blessing to see such a guest star. Not all the stars in the sky have names and traces. They emit strange lights, indicating that they have undergone some drastic changes in distant places, but these changes have nothing to do with the political situation of the Song Dynasty.
The day passed like this, and Dongjing City did not undergo any major changes. Although the prophecy of chaos had passed for nearly three months, there were still some paranoia in Bianliang City, but the spies of the Imperial City Bureau only heard some street rumors that someone saw a strange light in the east after midnight, describing it as: almost as bright as day. However, no one connected this phenomenon with "the sun and the moon in the same sky".
On the same day, Yang Wei De also submitted an "Urgent Astronomical Report" to the government.
He reported to the emperor about the guest star with horns that appeared outside the Tianguan star. He was very careful not to describe its brightness and avoid involving the key words "sun and moon in the same sky". He wrote in the memorial:
I saw a guest star appear, and there was a faint glow on it, yellow in color. According to the Yellow Emperor's Book of Divination, if a guest star does not invade Bi and is bright and prosperous, it means that a great sage will appear in the country. I beg to submit it to the History Museum so that all officials can congratulate it.
Interpreting any astronomical phenomenon as a good omen or auspicious sign was his ancestral skill.
In fact, he also quietly modified some of the content, such as changing the strong light to "slightly radiant" and the color to yellow. This avoided the official association. In addition, in this report, he also put forward the judgment that "the master country has a great sage", trying to lay a foreshadowing, which is also a small privilege of his as the Junior Secretary of the Imperial Observatory. He foresaw that this small foreshadowing would benefit Shen Kuo.
Since Yu Jing's death, Shen Kuo and Xu Chong's rewards have not been implemented, and the emperor has even given up the idea of summoning Shen Kuo and Xu Chong several times. Yang Weide was cunning and naturally guessed that the root of this matter was that Shen Kuo's behavior of playing a magician on the city wall made the emperor more wary. Since this battle for national destiny and destiny ended successfully with magic defeating magic, rewarding two mortals without Taoist skills would make things complicated and difficult. The emperor's consideration of everything is never as straightforward as ordinary people. He has to weigh all the pros and cons and deduce every possibility. In any case, he finally decided to break his promise and pretend to have forgotten the reward.
Yang Weide wanted to use the guest star incident to remind the emperor that he should not forget that the great sages who had made contributions to the country had not yet been rewarded. He secretly kept a hand here, which was considered to be an opportunity for Shen Kuo and a way out for the emperor.
Midnight of May 27
Contrary to Yang Weide's expectations, the star was still shining in the east, even brighter than the day before. No one knew that this was just the power of the supernova explosion, gradually reaching here.
For several days after that, this strange guest star did not fade away, but became more and more dazzling. Even after sunrise every day, it could be clearly seen not far from the sun, and it disappeared at noon. The spies of the Imperial City Bureau also found that the gossip on the street had changed. More and more people began to discuss this matter, and various conspiracy theories began to spread. Not only did some people attach importance to the "sun and moon in the same sky" left by the Maitreya Sect, but some people even talked about "two suns in the sky".
The emperor obviously had accurate information about the market, and the situation was getting worse for him. If the various tricks of Maitreya and prophecy were confined to the capital, this dazzling star could be seen by the whole world.
For those in power, if they don’t occupy the public opinion field, someone else will. So the emperor began to actively think about countermeasures, and it was easy for him to enter the plan that Yang Weide quietly preset. After repeatedly reading Yang Weide’s "Astronomy Urgent Report", the emperor discovered the words that he had overlooked before, that the master country has a great sage who allows all officials to congratulate him.
The emperor could not help but sigh. Yang Weide had indeed made a good move. If he could make a scene where all officials celebrated together, he could avoid the embarrassment of forcibly expressing his position by announcing it to the world. After the Maitreya Sect was defeated, the announcement had already been made once. Announcing it again three months later would seem trifling and guilty. If he just celebrated the auspiciousness, he could interpret the guest star as a good omen and change the negative associations among the people.
June 3rd, noon
Shen Kuo was at Yang Weide's house when a eunuch from the palace came to convey an oral order that the emperor would summon all officials to the palace three days later, which was on the seventh day of June, and would give a banquet at Gyeongbokgung Palace. He, Xu Chong, and those who had made contributions in suppressing the Maitreya Sect were also among those summoned.
Good things finally happened to Shen Kuo. After being forgotten by the emperor for three months, he finally got the chance to meet him.
He didn't know that Yang Weide had set a trap for the emperor, nor did he know that the emperor just wanted to put on a show.
So the next day he went to the street to buy some clean clothes, and then went to the Juntou Division to pay a visit to Bao Longtu, and also chatted with Xu Chong.
Bao Zheng was a little worried about the guest star incident at night, fearing that the Maitreya Sect would revive due to this incident. When he saw Shen Kuo coming, he could have a good opportunity to discuss it.
After the tea was served, they chatted about ordinary things, and then Lao Bao suddenly changed the subject.
"Cunzhong, can you recognize the guest star of Tianguan today?"
"Sir, I climb up to Yang Shaoqing's alchemy room every night to watch, and I see a brighter light every day. I don't know what it is, and there is no trace of it."
"All stars have their own direction, circling the purple star in the sky. Why is this star like this?"
"Not all stars have a direction. Li Chunfeng of the Tang Dynasty wrote: Guest stars are extraordinary stars. They have no fixed time of appearance and no fixed place of residence. They appear and disappear suddenly, sometimes move and sometimes stop, and cannot be predicted. They live among the stars like guests, so they are called guest stars."
"What good or bad luck is this?"
"Most of the ancient books say it's not auspicious. But I think the so-called guest star is another star billions of miles away that was once motionless and invisible, but suddenly became bright again and was seen."
"Why is there suddenly light?"
"Maybe the guest star has burned out its vitality like a meteor? I saw a meteor suddenly emit a dazzling light before it fell, and then it fell to the ground and turned into meteorite, no longer shining. It is very similar to the guest star that appears and disappears suddenly. I guess it is also the last glimmer of light before the star dies out?"
"If it is the last glow of a star before it dies, then it is indeed not a good omen, right?" Bao Zheng said, stroking his beard.
