Martial Cultivator

The black-robed monk suddenly smiled and said, ”Since we have come to this point, this destitute monk has actually had a question I have long wished to ask Lord Warden Commander.”

Chen Chao looked at the black-robed monk and smiled, nodding.

The black-robed monk thought for a moment and said, ”At present, Lord Warden Commander can truly be said to be someone who carries decisive authority in the Great Liang Dynasty. If one day, a decision made by Lord Warden Commander were opposed by the majority of people, and on that decision, right and wrong were, as previously discussed, matters where each side has its own reasoning - at the very least, not something whose correctness could be clearly determined before the decision was made - would Lord Warden Commander still persist in yourself?”

Chen Chao was startled. After thinking it over carefully, he asked softly, ”I must first ask: what does this ’majority’ refer to?”

The black-robed monk said, ”If it refers to the other people who have a say and are able to participate in decision-making?”

Chen Chao smiled and said, ”Then it is actually a matter of no consequence, because they are merely decision-makers and cannot represent the vast majority of participants.”

Within a single Great Liang Dynasty, the hundreds of millions of common people are the true participants.

The black-robed monk thought for a moment and said, ”Then to be more specific: if one day it were necessary to sacrifice a group of people in exchange for a long period of peace for the countless common people of the Great Liang Dynasty, how would Lord Warden Commander choose?”

Chen Chao glanced at the black-robed monk, smiled slightly, and said, ”The problem here is that I do not agree with sacrificing that group of people, while the rest of the ’majority’ would think that sacrificing that group of people is acceptable.”

The black-robed monk nodded.

Chen Chao said, ”First of all, such a situation may truly occur in the future. There are too many common people, and there will certainly be a majority who feel that sacrificing such a portion of people in exchange for peace for everyone is something that can be done, and is even a highly profitable bargain.”

The black-robed monk said, ”Such is the human heart.”

”First of all, I do not feel that these common people thinking this way is something particularly disappointing. A person’s understanding lies in whether their horizons are broad, and horizons are something that can only be gained through experience. It is like the common people living in a small town. Perhaps because none of their ancestors ever produced someone learned or well-informed, there is no family tradition to speak of. From the very beginning, their understanding of the world comes from the words and actions of their parents. As a result, when they act, it may seem unreasonable to you and me, yet they themselves do not feel that way at all.” ”To give a small example: suppose they naturally believe from the start that peeping at women bathing is no big deal. They are not killing anyone or setting fires; they are just taking a few looks. What does it matter? But if among these people, one or two eventually leave the small town, go out and see a broader world, learn to read and write, and teachers begin to speak of so-called principles of a gentleman, then when they recall this matter, they will probably truly understand that peeping at women bathing back then was completely without reason, and was even something wrong.”

”So when faced with the issue of sacrificing a group of people in exchange for peace for the majority, those common people who nod and agree are, in fact, people who do not know they are wrong, yet are indeed doing something wrong.”

Chen Chao smiled slightly. ”Then such so-called opposition from the majority is not important to me, and I will not take it into consideration.”

The black-robed monk said, ”But sacrificing a group of people can indeed allow the majority to live peaceful lives. Is that not a good thing?”

Chen Chao shook his head and said, ”It may be a good thing for the so-called ’majority,’ but what about the group that is sacrificed?”

”Those in power mostly seek results. To achieve their goals, they stop at nothing. Even so, in the history books they may still be given a good name, being called people who did good things for the common people. But here, would those who were used by him in exchange for others living well truly, from the bottom of their hearts, think he was a good person?”

Chen Chao shook his head. ”They would not.”

The black-robed monk frowned and said, ”Then the Northern Frontier Army?”

Chen Chao said, ”This is exactly the other matter I want to talk about. The soldiers made the choice to go to the Northern Frontier for their own families, for the nation behind them, for a peaceful world, and to ensure that the humiliation of the past would never happen again. To put it more simply, the court conscripted troops, but throughout the Great Liang Dynasty, notices were posted allowing the common people to choose for themselves whether to join the army, rather than forcibly seizing able-bodied men from every household.”

The black-robed monk said, ”So the crux of the issue lies in willingness, in choosing life and death for oneself.”

Chen Chao said, ”But after they voluntarily make that choice, the court ensures that half of the realm’s tax revenue goes to the northern frontier, and that extraordinary care is taken with the supply of provisions and materials.”

”You must see everyone’s sacrifices. Do not regard their sacrifices as something natural and take them for granted with a clear conscience. More importantly, you must not wrong those who have already given, and you must not casually discard the lives of these contributors in exchange for someone else’s peace.”

This was why, when the Great Liang Emperor marched south from the desolate north and saw that the survivor’s pension in Xuanling Commandery had been embezzled, he was so enraged.

The reason the Great Liang Emperor was so exceptional was that even after ascending the throne, he never regarded himself as a cold and heartless emperor. From beginning to end, he viewed the world and acted from the perspective of an ordinary person.

Such an emperor had no second equal in the history books.

There were very few people in the world who walked the same path as him. His own sons were not among them, and so it was difficult for him to feel affection toward them, because he clearly saw that Chen Chao was his true kindred spirit.

That was why he was so fond of this nephew of his.

The black-robed monk sighed with emotion. ”Just explaining these principles already takes so many words. Actually doing them is even harder.”

Chen Chao nodded and said, ”I do not do particularly well either, but I still want to do it properly, and to keep doing it, all the way.”

The black-robed monk fell silent for a long time before finally smiling and saying, ”That is why Lord Warden Commander is the one and only person under heaven, and why only Lord Warden Commander can be that one and only person under heaven.”