-
12. President Shi, Board of War
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Jf \ President Shi , Board of Wa r Even as Governor-General Ma was holding a conference i n his official residenc e with his confidants, th e othe r grea t officials i n Nanjing wer e having thei r ow n meeting concerning great affairs of state with Shi Kefa and others in the residence of Gao, the President of Population and Revenue. It was not until the first watch that Shi Kefa was able to return to his lodgings in th e Garde n o f Urba n Solitude . Ther e h e sa w th e callin g card s o f Che n Dingsheng, Huan g Taichong , an d realize d the n tha t the y ha d bee n waitin g a t Secretary Zhou's place since noon. He therefore hurriedly bade his attendants t o invite them over. It wa s true tha t Che n an d Huan g had bee n waitin g for a whole afternoon . They staye d a t Secretar y Zhou' s plac e unti l afte r dinner , whe n the y sa w tw o attendants running towards them with lanterns. Stretching his neck and looking out eagerly , Huang coul d just make ou t the characte r 'Shi ' on th e lanterns . H e thus shouted with great relief, 'Coming! Coming!' Zhou, Chen and Huang quickly ordered their attendants to light a few lanterns and came over to see President Shi of the Board of War. By coincidence, Shi occupied the main wing in the Garden of Urban Solitude as Zhou, who stayed in the annex . Shi was a native of Henan Province. He was only forty-three years of age, but his eye s carrie d a dee p expressio n o f th e warmt h an d benevolenc e o f a n ol d gentleman, coupled with the melancholy of a man who had suffered muc h in life. He had been in the army for a long time. Eating the same food as his troops on the battlefield an d bearing the same hardships, he had a dark and weather-beate n The Peach Blossom Fan face like that of a common soldier. If he was not wearing an official gauze cap and embroidered robe, no one would have guessed that he was the current President of the Board of War in the Subordinate Capital. His grandfather wa s a Provincial Graduat e an d hi s father wa s a Licentiate. His father was a bookworm and had none of the worldliness required for making a living. Life becoming harder as time went by, they were obliged to seek refuge a t their relative's in County Daxing near the capital. Soon, his father died, so life became extremely difficult for his mother, himself and his younger brother Kemo. In the first year of Emperor Tianqi's Reign, when he was just twenty, he set out on one wintry day for the capital to attend the Preliminary Examination for young people. Braving the snowstorm, he arcived at the capital but had to stay in a temple because he could not afford th e expense of an inn. One day, when the wind was particularly strong, he unknowingly fell asleep in his little room after having just finished a composition. At that very moment, a few men on horseback came into the temple because the snowstorm was uncommonly severe. At the head of the small party was none other than the renowned Zuo Guangdou, a leader of the Eastern Forest Party and the highl y revere d Superintenden t o f Educatio n i n th e capita l fo r hi s utte r incorruptibility and high integrity. As it happened, he was the Chief Examiner for the Preliminary Examination . Quite by chance Master Zuo found himself sauntering along a covered corridor where he saw a young man asleep at his desk. He was shabbily dressed, and ther e was not a trace of fire in his room. He entered to take a look, and saw on the desk a composition. Afte r readin g i t carefully, h e coul d not hel p himself fro m bein g astounded by its quality. He then remove d his sable jacket, placed i t gently on the youth's body, an d closed the door quietly after him as he left. He then went out and inquired...