The Gathering Storm in Liyang City

Shang Yang had never been so furious. The fire at the ironworks had been extinguished, the charred ruins cleared away, and within days sturdy brick buildings replaced the ramshackle wooden workshops. While the ironworkers cheered their improved conditions and increased productivity, darker currents swirled through Liyang. On the very night of the fire, rumors spread like wildfire that Mohist assassins had attempted to kill Shang Yang, sending waves of unease through the capital and surrounding counties.

The mastermind behind Qin’s Legalist reforms understood the gravity of the situation. Whoever had attacked and driven away the Mohist disciples—likely sympathizers of his reforms—had unwittingly awakened dormant anti-reform forces across Qin. The people’s initial enthusiasm for the land redistribution policies now faced a crisis of confidence, chilled by uncertainty and suspicion.

The Mysterious Attackers: A Political Enigma

Shang Yang’s mind raced through possible culprits. The attackers who had swiftly expelled thirty skilled Mohist swordsmen from Liyang were no ordinary force. Among the Warring States philosophical schools, only the followers of Guiguzi could match the Mohists in covert operations. Yet the Guiguzi school, firm Legalist supporters who opposed Mohist ideals of “universal love” and “non-aggression,” would have surely coordinated with him if involved.

Could it be the Six Eastern States protecting Shang Yang? Absurd. The puzzle remained unsolved when Jing Jian entered with troubling news: Gan Long, the conservative Grand Tutor, had been lecturing Crown Prince Ying Si on the “Great Plan” chapter of the Classic of Documents—a text promoting ancient kingly virtues diametrically opposed to Shang Yang’s Legalist reforms.

The Power Struggle Around the Crown Prince

This unauthorized lecture represented a subtle but dangerous challenge. The education of the heir apparent was crucial for the continuity of reforms. Duke Xiao had carefully balanced the prince’s tutelage between his loyal brother Ying Qian and the conservative Gongsun Jia, with plans to eventually entrust Shang Yang with the prince’s education. Now, Gan Long’s intervention threatened to plant traditionalist ideas in the young mind that would one day rule Qin.

Shang Yang immediately visited Ying Qian, the prince’s chief tutor. Their meeting revealed Gongsun Jia’s machinations—the conservative tutor had manipulated Ying Qian’s authority to arrange Gan Long’s lectures while presenting it as collaborative decision-making. When confronted at the prince’s study, Ying Qian’s explosive reaction exposed the political tensions simmering beneath Qin’s reform surface.

The Cultural Clash: Legalism vs. Tradition

Gan Long’s emotional lecture to the crown prince laid bare the cultural struggle. Weeping over Qin’s lost glory since Duke Mu’s era, the elderly statesman condemned the current reforms as abandoning the “Kingly Way” that had once made Qin great. His dramatic performance deeply affected the young prince, who vowed to advocate for Gan Long’s conservative policies to his father.

This scene encapsulated the broader ideological battle—between Legalist meritocracy and traditional aristocratic values, between radical change and nostalgic conservatism. The prince’s sympathetic response showed how easily years of reform efforts could be undermined through emotional appeals to tradition.

The Crisis Deepens: Duke Xiao’s Perilous Journey

The situation reached its climax when Che Ying arrived with alarming news: Duke Xiao had ventured alone into the treacherous Shennong Mountains to confront Mozi himself. Shang Yang collapsed upon hearing this, understanding both the physical danger to his ruler and the political vacuum created by his absence. Qin’s reforms now hung by a thread—without the duke’s support, Shang Yang’s position became precarious.

The Unlikely Solution: Seeking Help from the Underground

In desperation, Shang Yang turned to an unconventional ally—Hou Ying, the merchant who was actually a master of the shadowy world of knights-errant. Finding the Weifeng Inn mostly abandoned, he learned that Hou Ying had left unexpectedly. This dead end forced Shang Yang to confront an uncomfortable truth: there were limits to what Legalist governance could achieve, moments when the state’s rigid structures needed supplementation by the flexible, individual action of the “jianghu” underworld.

Legacy and Modern Relevance

This crisis in Qin’s reforms reveals timeless truths about political change. Shang Yang’s dilemma—balancing radical transformation with maintaining stability, confronting entrenched traditionalist opposition, and navigating the unpredictable human elements in governance—resonates across centuries. The episode demonstrates how even the most carefully designed systems must sometimes adapt to unforeseen challenges, and how political success often depends on personal relationships as much as institutional structures.

The Liyang crisis ultimately tested the depth of the partnership between Shang Yang and Duke Xiao, a relationship that would determine whether Qin’s reforms survived to lay the foundation for China’s first unified empire. Their ability to navigate these storms of opposition—from aristocratic conservatives to philosophical schools to popular uncertainty—would write one of history’s most consequential chapters in governance and statecraft.