A Pawn's Passage

Qi Xuansu affirmed Zhang Yuelu’s desire to change the Daoist Order, but rejected her methods of doing so.

No wonder Zhang Yuelu fell silent.

Qi Xuansu had waited until now to put forward this view because he had only recently understood it. After all, he had been constantly thinking and growing from his experiences over the years. It was impossible for him to have already formed such ideas when he was a deacon of Tiangang Hall.

Moreover, Zhang Yuelu was stubborn and too set in her own ideas. She was not always receptive to advice unless she ran into a wall herself.

Now that Zhang Yuelu had suffered a setback and begun reflecting on whether she had been right or wrong, coupled with the groundwork Qi Xuansu had laid earlier, this was the right time to say these things. Zhang Yuelu could now take his words to heart, allowing them to have the desired effect.

At the very least, Zhang Yuelu did not immediately refute him. She had clearly begun considering the feasibility of first seeking solutions outward and then turning inward.

Qi Xuansu temporarily severed his connection with the Heluo God and set up a formation. Then, for the first time, he began explaining his ideas to Zhang Yuelu in detail.

Qi Xuansu’s approach clearly incorporated elements of both Li Changge’s and Zhang Yuelu’s ideas.

Put plainly, Li Changge’s proposal was that one outstanding success could conceal a hundred flaws. If the pie was not large enough to divide among everyone, then they could make the pie bigger. But eventually, there would come a point when they reached their limit of expansion.

Zhang Yuelu advocated changing the distribution ratio, which meant cutting into people’s share of the benefits. That would immediately strike at the vital interests of many on their own side. Cutting off someone’s source of wealth was as serious as killing their parents, so it would be strange if they did not fight back with everything they had.

Thus, Qi Xuansu’s theory was to first make the pie bigger to ease internal conflicts, making it easier to consolidate the organization and unite their own people. Then, change the distribution ratio.

Although some people’s share of the pie would decrease because the pie itself was now much larger, the actual amount they received would not decrease. As a result, their resistance would not be as strong. Combined with the prestige and power gained from successfully delivering on the promise of a bigger pie, they could wield both the stick and the carrot. With both approaches working in tandem, the reform would be more achievable.

It was like restructuring a company’s shareholding. There might be more shareholders, causing one’s percentage of ownership to decline, but as long as the company grew larger, the actual dividends received from those shares would not decrease and might even increase.

Of course, all of this depended on one prerequisite—they had to win.

If they lost, there would be nothing more to discuss. Forget about making the pie bigger; they might even lose a portion of the pie they already had. As the person bearing primary responsibility, even the Grand Master would have to pay a sufficient price—losing power and being condemned for generations to come.

If they succeeded, they would bask in glory for generations and have their name immortalized in history. If they failed, their reputations would be ruined, and they would be reviled for centuries.

Those with loftier moral standards would ask, why wage war against outsiders? Can’t everyone simply avoid fighting? Of course. But if a nation did not fight outsiders, then it would have to prepare for civil war.

It had been the same throughout every dynasty and every age. Once contradictions accumulated beyond a certain point, the nation would inevitably descend into chaos, beginning yet another cycle.

Countless experiences proved that relying on internal reform to save a nation was extremely difficult due to human nature.

Even if one overthrew the existing framework and built an entirely new one, casting all those with vested interests down into the dust, force would still have to be used, and countless people would still suffer.

Put plainly, some people wanted others to vomit out the benefits they had already swallowed while also hoping everything could remain peaceful and amicable without a single drop of blood being spilled. Most importantly, they also wanted to remain safely on dry land. They were simply waiting for a pie to fall from the sky.

The redistribution of interests would inevitably be accompanied by the disappearance of some people.

Although these people wanted to bring about change at the top, they lacked the courage to draw a line between themselves and the interests they already had. Thus, they simultaneously desired change and feared it. This was their weakness.

Especially when their own survival was threatened, they would abandon resistance and sacrifice part of their own interests in exchange for the possibility of survival. They would continue compromising, enduring oppression, and pay protection money in exchange for whatever portion of the benefits they might still be allowed to retain. This was their compromising nature.

This viewpoint had become widespread and was often mixed with concepts such as loving peace and considering the bigger picture, thereby concealing and dressing up their true intentions.

Moreover, when everything was going smoothly, these people were more eager than anyone else for quick success and immediate gains. But once circumstances turned against them, they would successively resort to desperate struggle, conservatism, flight, and finally surrender. This was their fanatical nature.

No one wanted war, but when war came, no one could stop it. The only difference was whom the war would be fought against.

Even an Immortal who tried to halt the overwhelming tide of the ages would merely be a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Qi Xuansu was not blindly arrogant, nor did he believe that the Daoist Order was inherently superior to others. He also did not intend to take reckless military risks. That was the sort of thing the Taiping Sect would do.

Qi Xuansu simply understood one thing very clearly. Given the current situation among the Three Daoist Sects, if their conflicts could not be redirected and resolved, then sooner or later, they would be reenacting the story of the Three Kingdoms.

Zhang Yuelu’s various efforts had shown that the conflict over unequal distribution and the factional struggles among the Three Daoist Sects had gradually become intertwined. Trying to slowly unravel them was essentially impossible. The only option was to cut through the tangled mess with a sharp blade.

Whether to make their own people suffer or make outsiders suffer was not a difficult choice to make.

Qi Xuansu had no intention of inciting a fanatically warlike atmosphere within the Daoist Order. That was what the Taiping Sect was doing, with rhetoric about wielding the Daoist Order’s sword.

Qi Xuansu’s intention was to use controlled military force to resolve certain historical problems left unresolved, such as problems with the Buddhist Sect, secret societies, Shakya, the New Continent, and so on. Making the pie bigger was secondary. The key was to strengthen his own prestige, then use the absolute authority earned through illustrious military achievements to subdue the opposition and begin resolving the Daoist Order’s internal problems.

Absolute prestige had always been won through battle, not manufactured through political maneuvering.

The authority of the Grand Master was not entirely tied to the position itself. The most obvious example was that the Holy Xuan’s authority had clearly surpassed that of successive Grand Masters, while the fifth-generation Grand Master’s authority had likewise exceeded that of the sixth-generation Grand Master by an immeasurable margin.

Becoming the Grand Master did not automatically grant one enough prestige to push through internal reforms. That was still far from sufficient. One had to further strengthen one’s personal authority on top of holding the position of Grand Master.

Of course, this would also create a series of subsequent problems, such as the Grand Master accumulating excessive power and authority, the Deputy Grand Masters and the Golden Tower Council losing their ability to restrain the Grand Master, and even regional powers becoming too strong.

But every benefit inevitably gave rise to a drawback. There had never been a solution that offered the best of both worlds, nor would a dilemma ever resolve itself.

Qi Xuansu had no desire to be a saint. He knew what he could accomplish was quite limited, so he inevitably had to make certain trade-offs.

When faced with two evils, one had to choose the lesser. Qi Xuansu could only prioritize resolving the more dangerous problem of the Three Daoist Sects splitting apart. He had to preserve the Daoist Order’s foundations and then leave the problems he created for future generations to solve.

If the Daoist Order collapsed outright, then there would be no point discussing problems such as the Grand Master wielding excessive authority.

Just as the Holy Xuan could only solve the problem of unifying the Daoist Order, the question of how to expand the Daoist Order beyond the Central Plains was left to the Grand Masters who came after him.

Every generation had its own mission and responsibilities. No one could establish peace for all eternity.

This was the first time Qi Xuansu had openly spoken about his grand ambitions.

He had only ever spoken of these things to Zhang Yuelu. The Daoist Order had a dual nature, possessing both religious and political authority. When discussing political affairs, one could analyze matters objectively, but when it came to matters of faith, no blasphemy was permitted. Thus, some things were simply not meant to be discussed lightly.

Zhang Yuelu was somewhat shaken by what she had heard and then deeply moved.

The man she had chosen was indeed not someone solely obsessed with power. He had lofty ambitions and had planned even further ahead than she had.

Finally, Qi Xuansu said with complete sincerity, “Qing Xiao, our feelings for each other are genuine, so are our mutual trust and support. The only thing we have often disagreed on is our ideals. In the past, we always set those differences aside and left them unspoken. But now, we can no longer avoid them. We must have a unified vision and a common goal so we can work toward them together.

“We can’t have me over here thinking about how to resolve the Buddhist-Daoist conflict while you’re over there struggling against the old Daoist priests. That simply won’t work. We established long ago that fighting on two fronts is not going to work. So we must unify our thinking and form a united front. Do you agree?”

Zhang Yuelu could no longer disagree. She said, “Tian Yuan, you’ve convinced me.”

“That’s wonderful.” Qi Xuansu smiled faintly. “Right now, we can neither seek outward nor speak of seeking inward. We’re still at the stage of accumulating strength. So your most important task is to master the Nought Series of the Cihang Sword Sequence. Even if you can’t catch up with Li Changge, at the very least, you can’t fall behind Yao Pei.”

At the same time, Qi Xuansu’s gaze fell upon the Longevity Elixir in Zhang Yuelu’s hands.

Zhang Yuelu naturally understood what Qi Xuansu meant and asked, “Now?”

“Right now.” Qi Xuansu said, “Are you planning to wait until we return to the Jade Capital? By then, we’ll be getting married. Besides, once you take up your new position, there will be countless matters demanding your attention. You may not have any free time then.”

Zhang Yuelu said, “But the matters here in Poluo haven’t been resolved yet...”

Qi Xuansu interrupted her. “Have you forgotten why I came to Nanyang? Do you really think I came all this way just to escort Chen Jianchou to his new post?”

Zhang Yuelu sighed softly.

Qi Xuansu knew what she was thinking. He gently stroked her back and said softly, “This isn’t dependence. It’s mutual support. If I found myself in trouble, wouldn’t you step forward for me too?”

“Of course I would.” Zhang Yuelu sighed again. “Alright, then. I’ll go accumulate strength while you clean up the mess here.”

Qi Xuansu smiled. “Then it’s settled. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”