The Immortal Seeker: Legend of Bronze Mirror-Chapter 427 - 187: Killing North Kong for the Greater Good (2nd Release, Please Subscribe)
Xu Qing quickly understood General Yu’s intentions.
He couldn’t help but laugh at himself; he was trapping himself. He wanted to come to East Mountain Province to find opportunities, but General Yu, fearing he would cause trouble, directly wanted to keep him by his side to prevent any mishaps.
One could only say, a man is known by the company he keeps.
He had left an impression of instability in the outside world and had to accept that such incidents would occur.
It also shows that General Yu uses his troops thoughtfully and can see the crux of problems. Such a person commands his troops with authority, striking at the vital points.
If he were an enemy, he would indeed be tough to deal with.
However, when General Yu asked Xu Qing about how to handle the aftermath in East Mountain Province, Xu Qing did not hold back.
Whether or not he benefited from the matter, he was willing to make an effort.
This was merely a matter of his personal conscience, nothing else.
"Originally, East Mountain Province was just made up of tenants and house slaves of the Kong Mansion, rebelling against their masters, but this matter has elicited such a huge response, just because of a flood. Has someone been stirring up trouble? Those lower and middle-ranking military officers involved in the upheaval have been dragged into the mutiny by the officials, showing just how rotten the Court’s governance is in East Mountain Province."
General Yu deeply agreed, "Defeating the rebels is not difficult, even if there are some formidable demon-like figures among these chaotic people, they still cannot shake the foundation of my army. Mr. Xu’s words hit the nail on the head. Please teach me, sir."
He had some ideas himself, but as a military general, there wasn’t much he could do, and sometimes he needed the help of a civil servant like Xu Qing to speak up for him to achieve good results.
Xu Qing’s mental scope had grown since before, he said, "I personally think the key to defeating the enemy is to strike at their morale. Winter is approaching, and if the battle drags on too long, first, the extreme cold will inevitably cause severe losses to our men and horses, and second, it will definitely delay spring plowing.
I think General Yu could take this chance to petition the Court, posting notices to reassure the people and prepare for spring plowing, and also take the opportunity to survey the land."
General Yu already knew that Xu Qing was deeply involved in the land survey matter and was surprised that he brought it up as soon as he arrived.
He knew this matter was complicated, saying, "The officials at the court think that these rebels have committed crimes too heinous for pardon, this matter is difficult to settle."
Xu Qing smiled, "That was then, this is now."
He continued and saluted, "I ask you, sir, to dispatch soldiers immediately, to assault Kong Mansion, and rescue the Master."
General Yu was taken aback, unable to grasp the sudden turn, he said, "I am here to suppress the rebellion, why attack Kong Mansion?"
Xu Qing replied, "In my view, these commoners are not committing rampant acts, but are righteous folks. Do you know, sir, that in my article, I argued that North Kong has barbarian bloodlines. Although this is not absolutely certain, the ties between North Kong and the barbarians cannot be faked, and North Kong has frequent trade with the Eastern Yi people, who are a great nuisance to the Court. Such actions by North Kong undoubtedly show they acknowledge no ruler or father. Besides, it is also the blood of North Kong among the collateral branches, and South Kong among the direct branches; it is now time for us to establish the proper lineage order for the Master’s sake!"
He spoke eloquently, in essence, it meant sacrificing North Kong for the greater good.
If these rebellious commoners and soldiers were killed, what would become of the world?
How degraded would the situation become?
Xu Qing was indeed alarmist, but obviously, his words made sense.
Sacrificing North Kong, if it could quell the rebellion and smoothly handle the aftermath, it could really be a happy outcome for all.
General Yu said, "This is a matter of great importance, I must report it to the Court."
Xu Qing nodded upon hearing this.
This was one of his several contingency plans.
Honestly, with a martial arts grandmaster of General Yu’s rank sent by the court to suppress the rebellion, the outcome was already decided.
This strategy by Xu Qing was both a way to save the people and resolve the problem effectively.
But in doing so, it indeed meant a great sacrifice of North Kong.
For the greater good, however, sacrifices had to be made.
If it was righteous men eliminating rebels on behalf of the Court, then the label of subversion from below would not be applicable, and the scholars and nobles would accept it.
Moreover, with North Kong leaving the historical stage and South Kong rising, returning everything to its rightful order, for the people of the Confucian Ming Sect, it would also be considered a good deed, worthy of prominent recording.
Especially the scholars involved in this, they could proudly explain their great service to the Ming Sect to the scholar community.
Moreover, given the severity of the situation, the scholars were also afraid of provoking a greater uprising, and now that they had a public pretext, it was righteous men dispatching a traitor, there was nothing more to discuss.
And this matter also had an underlying significance for the scholars.
In the future, when the Court demands tax from them, they could also claim to be righteous folks!
This would be a good excuse for resisting taxes, relevant now and in the future.
Of course, few people would consider this layer now, but should such an event happen, surely some would think of it.
Even if the Grand Secretary saw the benefits and drawbacks, it would not be easy for him to obstruct.
Because in this world, there is no such thing as a perfect situation.
Everything is just a matter between lighter or graver consequences.
Under Xu Qing’s guidance, General Yu wrote a petition and sent it on the fastest route to the Capital.
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The petition caused a massive stir in the Court. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
The Grand Secretary knew that General Yu did not possess such depth of insight, and upon checking, realized Xu Qing had joined the camp, knowing it must’ve been Xu Gongming’s doing.
He had to admit, Xu Qing really was talented.
Such an idea could only come from him.
It’s commonly heard about sacrificing the common folk for the greater good, but it was the first time seeing sacrificing nobles like North Kong for the greater good.
The officials at the court naturally had various opinions on this matter.
Because the suggestion in the petition was outrageous, yet it made disturbing sense.
Feng Xifeng was utterly confused.
