The long hall was fronted by an elaborate lattice screen that shielded hundreds of pigeonholed shelves containing the ancient words. Each manuscript was nearly a meter long, comprising loose sheets of centuries-old silk and linen, wrapped in cloth and compressed between two carved boards. He’d personally repaired several of them as part of his training. Silver lamps dotted the walls, but there was no need for their light as a bright sun flooded through the upper two galleries. Outside, the moan of a conch shell, blown by another brother, indicated that three PM had arrived.
“Of all our number, you are the ones I believe have the best chance of ascending to positions of power and influence. One of you may even become premier, which will make our goal that much easier to achieve. I have ensured that all of you have an adequate start. Each of you is ready. So go forth. Tou liang huan zhu.”
Replace the beams and pillars with rotten timber.
Tang understood the proverb perfectly.
Sabotage, destroy, or otherwise remove the key structures sustaining an opponent and substitute for them your own. Incapacitate your adversary, assume control from the inside.
“When the wheels are held up,” Pau Wen said, “the chariot can’t move. When the beams and pillars are withdrawn, the house will fall asunder.”
Tang was proud to be part of what was about to begin.
“I will be leaving soon,” Pau made clear. “That is necessary in order for our goal to succeed. But I shall monitor and command your progress from afar. Brother Tang will be my voice to you.”
Had he heard right? Why not one of the older ones? He was not even thirty and he was new to the Ba. Yet he would be in charge?
“His youth is his asset,” Pau said. “Our plan will take much time. Though there are many of you more experienced, time is not your ally.”
He glanced around the hall and saw that none of the others betrayed the slightest reaction. The Ba was not a democracy. In fact, that concept was devoid from Legalist thought. The Hegemon made all decisions, without discussion or debate.
“And why is it you must leave?” one of the older men suddenly asked.
Pau Wen’s face remained expressionless. “I could pose a distraction.”
“Meaning that your enemies could interfere.”
“You have long harbored reservations about our course,” Pau said.
“That is false. My reservations are directed toward you.”
Tang knew this man to be of nearly equal stature to Pau Wen. Favored in the capital, known to the Party. Respected. But Tang also realized what Pau was doing.
