The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

in the slightest. They suffered when the taxes were heavy. They suffered when the taxes were light. When that happens, policies must be examined and analyzed. Conclusions must be drawn and responses drafted. But we simply skimmed the surface, and only barely."
    Shuka at length grasped the point of Seiki's argument. Shinshi had instructed Shishou over and over. The proper rate of taxation can only be determined by looking closely at how the people actually live and the real conditions they face.
    When asked how much, she refused to answer. Because she couldn't point at a number and say what the proper tax rate was. Try it and see what happens, was her only proposal, which Shishou flatly rejected. The taxes the people were laboring under were too heavy already, and they should only go down. That was his steadfast position.
    "I think Shishou-sama got it into his head that there was one and only one ideal kingdom. It lay at the end of that golden road, and he would accept no other. To start experimenting now was out of the question. His allegiances to the Shangri-la he saw in the Kasho Kada were so strong that there could be no compromises. Except that these convictions had arisen out of his criticisms of King Fu and then fostered in his dreams."
    "Yes, that's it," Shuka said to herself.
    The Imperial Court was crumbling before their very eyes, and they had been content to criticize King Fu. Shuka had protested King Fu's heavy taxes along with the rest of them. Her protests were not the product of careful thought, but the result of her righteous indignation at what the people in front of her were suffering. They cried out that the taxes were too heavy and should be reduced. But strong convictions alone offered no solutions when the taxes were lightened and the lot of the people didn't improve.
    The right course of action had always seemed self-evident. Because King Fu had strayed from the Way, they simply assumed that everything he did must have been wrong. They'd burned the midnight oil on so many occasions picking apart everything King Fu did and talking about how things ought to be and dreaming of paradise.
    Their criticisms of King Fu had fertilized the seeds of those dreams. Every mistake the government made and every spot of corruption that came to light nurtured them and made them more concrete in their minds. If King Fu did it, then it must be undone. Reduce the world to such a simple equation and discovering what was right and what was wrong became a piece of cake.
    Over twenty years they had built upon a foundation fashioned from cheap convictions, and had succeeded in creating an Imperial Court even more brittle than King Fu's.
    "We really were incompetent."
    They had never understood what in the world a "kingdom" actually was. They didn't have the knowledge or direction required to rule one, while all the time believing they did. They thought that criticizing King Fu had somehow endowed them with the ability to run the government better than he had.
    Shuka lay sprawled on the floor, her hand pressed against her chest. She heard light footsteps approaching. She sat up to see an ashen-faced Shinshi rushing into the hall.
    "Shuka—Seiki— They say Shishou has passed away—"
    Shuka nodded. "The song of the White Pheasant was heard. He left a last testament to accompany his abdication. Nothing can be gained by finding fault with others. "
    The stark surprise showed on Shinshi's face. She hung her head and buried her face in her hands. "So he amended his ways," she groaned. "A fine boy. Yes, a fine boy."
    From the look on her face and the tone of her voice, it was clear that she had seen through everything from the beginning. She had taught Seiki that criticism was not the same as reform. She had realized the magnitude of Shishou's errors all along. That was why she hadn't supported Kouto in the first place.
    Shuka said to her, "You knew that we lacked the qualifications to run the Imperial Court. Since it was so easy to criticize King Fu, we assumed we knew everything he didn't. Parading our foolishness about must have been a constant irritation to you."
    Shinshi knelt down next to Shuka. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far."
    "But—" said Shuka, choking down the cry of grief rising in her throat. Her own shameful state was infuriating. Being proven so incompetent was bad enough. Realizing how blind she had been to her own abilities made it all the worse.
    "Tormenting yourself so will profit you little, Shuka. Do you