Chapter 1286 - The Desires of the People!

How many people were pretending not to see and feigning ignorance over the fact that the shy and bashful youths they saw now would grow up into those vicious and bloodthirsty Hu cavalry?

How many Han men, women, and children on the border had fallen to the swords and sabers of these Hu and been left to drown in pools of their own blood?

The cruelest butcher could put on a kind face, be filial to their parents, and show concern for their children, but when they stepped onto the battlefield, they would never show mercy to their foes.

“Let’s go!”

Wang Chong sighed. Loyal advice was jarring to the ears, and just because something was right didn’t mean that people would listen. Each person was more inclined to see what they believed.

And the hearts of the people had already changed!

Wang Chong’s eyes were brimming with worry.

At the same time, on the other side of the street, another figure was looking down at the scene. Unlike Wang Chong, this person gave a satisfied nod when they saw the people of all countries amiably laughing with each other, a gentle smile on their lips.

All the effort had paid off. The people of the Great Tang being friendly with the people of the other countries had once more proved that Confucian principle. If everyone was of the same mind, then although they looked different, spoke different languages, lived in different countries, and had different customs, in the end, once all these extraneous things were cast aside, their minds and hearts were the same, and they shared the same senses and emotions. Wars arose out of the unknown, out of mutual misunderstanding and ignorance.

If both sides knew that the other person was an ordinary person of flesh and bone just like them, wars could be done away with. And in order to achieve this grandiose ideal, one was compelled to take certain lines of action.

Li Junxian turned his head and said to the people behind him, “Let’s go! Send a notice to hasten the next phase!”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Elder Song and the others bowed.

Li Junxian waved his sleeve, and as he stood up from his table, he took one more glance at the people outside harmoniously intermingling. His starry eyes slowly became determined. The people of different countries could coexist with each other, and the scene outside the balcony was extremely precious for the entire world. For this sight, he was willing to pay any price, and if anyone tried to stop him, then for the people of all countries and for the sake of that lofty ideal, he would sacrifice that person.

Whoosh! In a gust of wind, Li Junxian vanished from the restaurant.

……

Several days later, in the Wang Family Residence.

“Your Highness, there’s a voice rising from the streets. The people are gathering together and asking for there to be no more war!”

In the early morning, Su Shixuan rushed into Wang Chong’s room.

The situation was getting worse and worse. The stories told in the tea houses and inns about the shift in the economic situation on the borders after wars and the Hu of various countries entering the capital had caused the voices rejecting war in the capital to get stronger and stronger. The mass disarmament of the surrounding countries and the withdrawal of the armies had strengthened these voices, causing the situation to get increasingly dire.

The occasional call for reason would be drowned out.

“Are the people of the Confucian Sect in the crowds trying to guide their voices?” Wang Chong calmly asked.

“No!”

Su Shixuan shook his head.

“These are all small groups of people who have been influenced by the anti-war atmosphere in the capital and decided to group together!”

Wang Chong said nothing, only closed his eyes, concealing the worry within them.

“We have to do something,” Wang Chong said. He raised his head slightly, his mind in turmoil.

War was cruel, and none enjoyed it. And it was understandable for the common people to be tired of war. But unlike a child’s game, there were no do-overs in war, and feelings meant nothing. It was irrelevant if one hated war or liked war. In the face of war, one’s only options were to fight or not fight.

And not fighting a war would lead to the ruination of the land and people, the obliteration of everything one cared about. This was the case whether one hated war or not.

When an enemy was knocking on one’s door, one did not have the right to refuse. The Confucian Sect’s ideas of war were far too simple! Moreover, the common people had been influenced by this attitude to think of war too simply as well. Wang Chong could already sense that an undercurrent was building strength. Although this undercurrent had been guided by the Confucian Sect, there was an even deeper and more fundamental reason.

Li Junxian and the Confucian Sect were only exploiting and driving this thing. Even without them, this ‘energy’ would still probably erupt. If one tried to ignore it, it would only present an even greater danger.

Wang Chong closed his eyes and suddenly said, “What’s the situation with the commander base?”

Su Shixuan was quiet, and after a long while, he finally said, “Given the enormous amount of manpower and resources invested into the commander base, it was finished on schedule. But now… the soldiers are uneasy, and the commander base has not received many applications. Venerable Senior Zhang would like to ask Your Highness if perhaps we should delay the opening somewhat?”

The longing for peace and disgust for war had not just affected the people of the capital, but also the soldiers on the border. Ü-Tsang, the Eastern and Western Turks, Goguryeo, Arabia, Mengshe Zhao… all the countries around the Great Tang had reduced their armies by a total of nearly one million soldiers. Such a thing had never happened before in the history of the Great Tang. And the Great Tang had also signed peace treaties with all these countries, and the foreign armies had withdrawn three hundred li from their original fortifications while the Great Tang had withdrawn two hundred li.

This meant that the armies were now an additional five hundred li from each other. Not even scouts could perceive them anymore. This was like walking with swords at the ready and a vigilant air into an uninhabited desert. The duty of soldiers was to defend against and defeat any aggressors. (AN: The regulations of the army are that the observation range of scouts cannot exceed five hundred li in front of the army’s vanguard.)

But if the opposing side had no hostility, if one could not even sense one’s opponent, why did the army even exist?

In the current situation, even the most experienced general in the army was left befuddled. Had the Great Tang truly realized peace with all the foreign countries? Was the existence of soldiers gradually losing its necessity?

All this information was being sent back by the border generals to the Bureau of Military Personnel and Wang Chong.

“There’s no need! Tell Venerable Senior Zhang and the Bureau of Military Personnel to continue as normal. In addition, keep a close watch on the Confucian Sect. I sense that this is not all that they want! They will definitely be trying something else!” Wang Chong sternly said.

“This subordinate will deliver this order!”

……

The Secretariat Advisor Residence.

During the day, countless people filed in and out of this place, but at night, it was countless messenger birds flying in and out. There were some from the foreign countries, some from the capital, and some from the other areas throughout the Great Tang; all the information from these regions was gathered in this place. When night fell, the Secretariat Advisor Residence was placed under heavy guard, countless fully-armed soldiers warily examining the surroundings, staring at anyone so careless as to draw close.

The center of the Secretariat Advisor Residence was brightly lit.

In the light of these countless lanterns and candles, one could see many figures of powerful aura going in and out. Almost all of these people had the ink symbol of the Confucian Sect on their wrists.

“How is the disarmament of the foreign countries proceeding?”

In the center of the hall was a wooden table. There was nothing on this table except a cup of clear tea. Li Junxian sat next to this table, his handsome and elegant face exuding a transcendent aura. But at this moment, the air in the hall was tense.

“Young Master, everything is proceeding according to plan. Goguryeo is the first to complete the disarmament, and when we sent men to inspect, we found that they truly did disband two hundred and eighty thousand soldiers. In addition, the Eastern and Western Turks, Ü-Tsang, the Xi, the Khitans, and Arabia are all keeping to their treaties and have already disbanded eighty percent or more of the soldiers that they said they would! Our men have been observing this entire process. In addition, we’ve noticed the men of the Bureau of Military Personnel. These were agreements we made with the foreign countries, but the Bureau of Military Personnel is intervening without our agreement. Should we warn the Bureau of Military Personnel and have them withdraw their personnel?” said a bowing, azure-robed young expert of the Confucian Sect. If one looked carefully, one would realize that this was none other than the masked sword dancer from Drunken Moon Pavilion.

Li Junxian waved his hand and carelessly said, “There’s no need! There are advantages to the Bureau of Military Personnel sending its own men. At the very least, the other countries will be on their guard. This will help us ensure that they are disarming their soldiers as we agreed!”

Li Junxian’s every movement naturally exuded the demeanor of a farsighted general, as if everything was under his control, whether it was far off in the distant countries or close at hand in the capital.

“Yes!”

“In addition, Sword Ghost, what’s the situation in the capital?” Li Junxian said.

“There are thirteen hundred storytellers in the tea houses and inns of the capital, all of them talking about the information that we gathered. All the information was obtained from the Bureau of Revenue and offered without modification. In addition, the entry of the Hu into the capital last time had a much better effect than we imagined. In the past, the people of the capital were fearful of the Hu and would pale at the mere mention of them, but with this interaction, everyone has come to understand that the Hu are ordinary people just like us and are not terrifying as the rumors say they are. Just as Young Master said, war originates from fear of the unknown. As long as both sides deepen their understanding of each other, there won’t be as many wars.

“The results are already beginning to show. Many people in the capital are gathering together and adding to the anti-war voices. All of this developed on its own, without any interference from us!” Sword Ghost sternly said.

“Not bad! But just this alone is still not enough! Elder Song, how much longer until the people we arranged for arrive?”

Li Junxian suddenly turned to the black-robed Elder Song.

“They all arrived at the capital two hours ago and are awaiting Young Master’s order,” Elder Song sternly said, his face hard and rigid.

“Very good. Sometimes, for the sake of the welfare of more people, for the sake of a greater goal, we are compelled to use certain methods. Elder Song, begin! Let it all start from tonight!”

Li Junxian finally stood up from his seat.

“Yes!”

With these words, the people of the Secretariat Advisor Residence began to turn like a millstone. And even though many people had not realized, all the people in the capital began to turn according to Li Junxian’s order.