The Guozixue, Taixue, Simenxue, the School of Law, the School of Calligraphy, and the School of Mathematics.
All of them fell under the authority of the Guozijian and were collectively known as the Six Schools.
During the Wude era, the Xiuwen Pavilion had been established within the Secretariat. After His Majesty ascended the throne, it was renamed the Hongwen Pavilion. More than two hundred thousand volumes were collected there, scholars were appointed to teach students, and the library's holdings were reviewed and collated.
Back when His Majesty was still the Prince of Qin, he had set up the Wenxue Pavilion within his own residence, recruiting talented men from across the realm to study the classics and debate doctrine. Even after taking the throne, he did not abolish it, instead placing it as well under the Secretariat.
These made up what had formerly been known as the Six Schools and Two Pavilions.
Starting last year, however, His Majesty elevated mathematics into the Mathematics Pavilion, appointing figures such as Li Chunfeng, Wang Xiaotong, and Lü Zhi to serve within it. Following the precedent of the other pavilions, a serving grand councillor was named as its Grand Scholar. From that point on, the title of Three Pavilions was firmly established.
Within the Guozijian itself, a new discipline of engineering and applied sciences was opened. Its doctors and teaching assistants were concurrently appointed from officials of the Court of Imperial Manufactories and the Directorate of Works. In this way, the gap within the Six Schools was filled.
To the people of Chang'an, none of this counted as real news. This was, after all, the capital of the Great Tang, beneath the Son of Heaven's very feet.
"I know all about the Six Schools and Three Pavilions. I just say it the old way out of habit. What I heard is that His Majesty wants to change the schools again."
"All right, all right. How is he planning to change them?"
Hu Lao San took a bite of his flaky bread, washed it down with a mouthful of lamb soup, then leaned closer with an air of secrecy. Even through the clamor of the shop, Ma Zhou could hear him clearly.
"I heard that His Majesty plans to build two more Taixue and admit far more students."
"Admit more? Would the high ministers ever agree to that?"
"Hah. Their sons and grandsons all go to the Guozixue. Who among them would stoop to studying at the Taixue with you? That would be dragging their own family name through the mud."
"That's true, but there are only so many officials of fifth rank and above in Chang'an. If more Taixue are built, wouldn't it still be…"
For the common people of Chang'an, education had always been a sore point.
They could not, like officials, simply send their children into state schools, nor could they afford the exorbitant fees of private academies.
Now that the imperial examinations were open, everyone knew that knowledge alone could carry a man to the top, allowing him to parade through the capital in glory. Even so, one still needed a place to study.
That was why Hu Lao San's rumor stirred discussion among the locals in the shop. Even if their own children could never meet the threshold for the Taixue, there was no harm in listening and talking it over.
By the Guozijian's written regulations, students of the Guozixue were drawn from the descendants of officials of third rank and above. Taixue students came from families of fifth rank and above. The remaining four schools had their own requirements.
And that was only the Six Schools. The Three Pavilions were of even higher standing, especially the Wenxue Pavilion founded when His Majesty had been Prince of Qin. To enter it now, one needed nothing less than fame throughout the realm.
Ma Zhou felt a certain resonance with the frustration of the people around him.
He had been born poor, with neither reputation to enter official schools nor wealth to pursue private study. In the end, he had survived only by serving as a retainer to Duke Leize.
Because of that, he was sincerely grateful for his present life.
Had His Majesty not promoted him, he might still be drinking away his days in someone else's household.
Had the examinations not selected men by merit, how could ten years of cold-window study ever overcome the prestige of families with three generations of rank?
That was also why he so willingly carried out His Majesty's orders to reform the Taixue.
Inside the food shop, spirits ran high whenever official education was discussed, only to sink again when the barriers to entry were mentioned.
After finishing his lamb soup and meat bread, Hu Lao San carefully wiped the remaining grease from his lips with the last scraps of flaky pastry before speaking again.
"But what if His Majesty ordered that all respectable households be allowed into the Taixue?"
"For real?"
"Impossible!"
"Why impossible? In just two years, His Majesty crushed the Turks and then wiped out those Tuyuhun barbarians. He never raised taxes and even showed mercy to common folk…"
"What does that have to do with you, a runner in the West Market?"
One simple remark set off a storm.
Though it was nothing more than hearsay, the shop instantly split into two camps, hurling arguments and insults at one another.
Ma Zhou watched quietly. When both sides finally lost interest and dispersed, he settled his bill and left, still savoring the scene.
As the New Year drew nearer, Ma Zhou only grew busier.
Even with a grand councillor backing him, and with His Majesty himself standing behind them, matters concerning the Taixue were no small thing. His Majesty's emphasis on the examinations was plain for all to see, and Taixue students naturally held an advantage. Opposition was inevitable.
Still, no matter how busy he became, Ma Zhou always found time to sit in the West Market.
Sometimes he ate grilled lamb. Sometimes flatbread and soup. Sometimes he came at midday just to fill his stomach with various pastries.
Those who lingered in the West Market were ordinary people through and through. Listening to their casual chatter over food and drink gave Ma Zhou another angle from which to view the disputes surrounding the reform.
"Three dormitories and two halls? Sounds like nothing more than a new excuse for the state schools to collect money."
"You haven't even seen it yet. How can you say it's about squeezing money?"
"Even if it isn't, the expenses alone would ruin people like us. Do you think you're wealthy?"
"What's the use of studying mathematics anyway? Knowing how to count money is enough. Anything more is just burning silver."
"By that logic, people who can speak but can't write still survive. Why bother learning characters at all?"
Ma Zhou ignored them and raised his hand.
"Shopkeeper, another bowl of lamb soup."
By late November, after days spent mostly inside the imperial city, Ma Zhou heard two notable pieces of news.
In Dunyi Ward, a cart carrying night soil had overturned, spilling its contents directly in front of the residence of Grand Scholar Xu Jingzong. Before it could be cleaned, it froze solid. Xu Jingzong reportedly missed court for three days as a result.
Rumors claimed the incident was tied to Duke Qi, Zhangsun Wuji. Xu Jingzong dismissed this as slander, insisting he had no quarrel with the duke and that such talk was the work of petty men.
For the people of Chang'an, even if this was not fit conversation for polite gatherings, it involved a grand scholar and an imperial relative. Spending a cup of tea's worth of time embellishing it into a tale of grudges and intrigue was harmless entertainment.
Soon enough, however, another event seized the city's attention entirely.
Merchants from Dengzhou and Laizhou arrived in the capital by sea, presenting thirty cartloads of treasure to His Majesty in praise of his virtue. Afterward, they swept through both the East and West Markets, loading a hundred carts of goods before returning home.
On its own, this was nothing remarkable. Chang'an was no stranger to great merchants.
What set tongues wagging was that these sea traders openly declared they had once been convicted commoners, sent to sea under His Majesty's self-issued decree. In a single year, they had amassed such wealth and now offered it up in gratitude.
The entire capital was stirred into a frenzy.
Everyone was a commoner. If those men could succeed, then why not themselves?
Many felt sudden regret. The decree to open the seas had been posted earliest in the capital, yet people here had scoffed at it, only to see men from Shandong seize the chance.
More than a few wastrels made up their minds.
Rather than wasting time in Chang'an, they would head to Dengzhou or Laizhou next year and try their luck at sea. Who knew? Perhaps they too could return with vast fortunes.
And the Eastern Sea was said to hold endless wonders. If even a former convict could amass wealth there, why could upright commoners not find the immortal isle of Penglai?
That night, many idlers of Chang'an shared the same dream.
In it, they wore fine clothes and sailed great ships that cleaved wind and waves. They toyed freely with holds full of treasure. The silhouette of Penglai hovered at the bow, visible yet unreachable.
At that very moment, aboard a massive ship in the Eastern Sea, Liu Rengui carefully adjusted the long-distance telescope pressed to his eye, patiently scanning the darkness.
A pinprick of red flame appeared within the lens, and his spirits lifted.
Without lowering the scope, Liu Rengui raised his left hand and pressed it downward, then judged the distance by experience and extended four fingers.
The adjutant beside him, who had worked with him for over half a year, understood the direction and range conveyed by the gesture and immediately relayed the order.
The great ship silently adjusted its course on the pitch-black sea and headed straight toward the chosen direction.
As the tiny flame grew visible to the naked eye and the dark outline of an island gradually emerged, Liu Rengui finally exhaled. He carefully stowed the telescope in the silk pouch at his chest.
Noticing the envy in the eyes of the Wa envoy beside him, Liu Rengui spoke casually.
"Envoy Mitarai no Tsuchi. Since we have reached Tsushima, Wa is close at hand. Your day of returning home draws near."
Mitarai no Tsuchi imitated Tang etiquette and bowed with hands clasped.
"General, to move upon the sea as you do is nothing short of divine."
"As for returning home, it matters little. I wish only to assist the general in accomplishing his task."
Liu Rengui remained unmoved.
"Keep to your duties."
Mitarai bowed even deeper, though a trace of melancholy stirred within him.
He dared not resent the Tang general. Along the way, he had personally witnessed how effortlessly this man commanded the great ship, splitting waves and crushing enemy vessels. To one who knew the dangers of the sea, such a man was no less than a god.
He simply missed the days when he had lived as a Tang subject.
The Emperor of Tang had been generous. After reaching an agreement with the envoys Pei Shiqing and Du Ruhui, he had been given a residence that very night.
Every day he marveled at the might of Tang, at its prosperity and splendor.
After buying a Turkic slave, life became even more comfortable.
Before foreign merchants, he could puff out his chest and sneer, calling them barbarians, watching them fume without daring to respond.
When soldiers returned victorious from the Tuyuhun campaign, he had squeezed onto the main avenue and shouted "Ten thousand victories" along with the crowd.
He reveled in this life, until Pei Shiqing, who understood the Wa tongue, came again to inform him that the Tang general was ready and that it was time to fulfill his agreement.
So, just as he had arrived, Mitarai no Tsuchi once more led the delegation out of Chang'an, setting off "for" Wa.
Yes. For.
Wa had squandered thirty years. Only then did it realize Chang'an was its true home.
Inukai felt himself drawing ever closer to the great realm he revered. Was not this homesickness proof enough?
Liu Rengui had no interest in guessing what the Wa man was thinking.
With some time before landfall, he returned to the cabin and studied the charts by lamplight.
"Zhengze. Have we reached Tsushima?"
Liu Rengui turned to see Li Shiji enter, wrapped in a fur cloak, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
"Brother Maogong."
Both were secret ministers of the Ganlu Hall and only five years apart in age. Now serving together in the naval command, and with Li Shiji's deliberate friendliness, they had quickly grown close.
Because charts were kept inside, Wa personnel were strictly forbidden from entering.
With no outsiders present, Liu Rengui spoke plainly.
"The closer we get to Wa, the more uneasy I feel."
Li Shiji stared at him in surprise.
"You command the flagship as calm as stone. Now you hesitate?"
"It is not the same," Liu Rengui began, but Li Shiji stepped past him and pointed at the chart.
"We set out from Laizhou in the ninth month, crossed the Bohai to Baekje, sailed south to Jeju, then east. Now Tsushima lies ahead."
"So much effort has brought us here. How could we turn back now?"
Liu Rengui nodded slowly, though doubt lingered.
"If this expedition fails…"
Li Shiji looked genuinely puzzled.
"How could it fail?"
"Victory and defeat are the common lot of soldiers," Liu Rengui replied.
Li Shiji shook his head, his tone earnest.
"Zhengze, at sea I cannot match you."
"But on land, you are far from my equal."
Without giving Liu Rengui time to argue, he changed the subject.
"Jeju and Tsushima are fine names. You chose them well."
Jeju lay south of Baekje and had been recorded by Pei Shiqing as Tammora. Tsushima lay south of Silla and had been noted as Dushima, both names transcribed by sound.
Finding them awkward, Liu Rengui had petitioned to rename them, citing the Tang navy's mission to relieve hardship and bring aid. His Majesty had approved at once.
Seeing Li Shiji's resolve, Liu Rengui said no more.
"Very well. We will rest at Tsushima for a day, then set sail again."
Li Shiji brimmed with confidence, and a hint of dissatisfaction as well.
The Wa envoy had spoken repeatedly in Chang'an of ceremonial captives. Li Shiji longed for such a sight. He had been present when the Turks were defeated and Illig Qaghan captured, yet Li Jing later crushed Tuyuhun and gained another great merit.
He had volunteered to study naval warfare and come to Laizhou, but so far had nothing to show for it.
Wa was different.
Its ruler was weak and its ministers strong. One decisive battle would settle everything, and it would be fought on land, where Li Shiji excelled.
Leaving Liu Rengui to ponder the charts, Li Shiji stepped back onto the deck.
The sky was beginning to pale. Tsushima's outline grew clearer in the distance, a land unfamiliar yet full of promise.
Seeing the general in good spirits, Inukai ventured carefully.
"General, beyond Tsushima lies Wa. The Soga clan holds all power. Perhaps it would be better to sail by night, as before…"
Li Shiji shook his head.
"If you wish to be a subject of Tang, why fear head and tail alike?"
"To strike from above is called a punitive expedition. If the King of Wa is the rightful ruler, then the Soga are traitors."
"We shall lead Tang warriors through the main gate, campaign openly, crush the rebels, and purge the treacherous."