Chapter 306 - - 304 Shameless and Wicked_1

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Looking at the groveling Land Lord Lu, Luo Shuang fell silent.

Her thoughts were similar to Land Lord Lu’s, if you’ve already got the knife to his neck, just go ahead and rob him, why bother preaching a bunch of seemingly sound but hollow principles?

“Princess, have you learned anything?” Duge stopped paying attention to Land Lord Lu and turned to look at Luo Shuang, asking.

“Master, the method you teach doesn’t apply.” Luo Shuang said, “I’ve learned from the history books about the changes of dynasties; the emperors who founded nations, indeed, all had their own set of policies and strategies, but that was under specific circumstances…”

Stretch out your hand." Duge interrupted her.

Luo Shuang reflexively stretched out her hand.

Smack!

The rattan cane fell, striking hard on Luo Shuang’s palm.

Luo Shuang instinctively drew her hand back, but she quickly realized and said with dissatisfaction, “Master, am I wrong? He is nothing but a rural merchant, and his compliance doesn’t come from your reasoning, but from his fear of you. He would give you the grain and money even if you threatened him with a knife…”

Land Lord Lu nodded earnestly in agreement.

“Princess, I know that reasoning is wrong.” Duge looked at Luo Shuang with disappointment and said, “But is what I taught you today about how to find money and grain? Is it how to recruit talent?”

…" Luo Shuang furrowed her brows, ready to argue.

Before she could speak, Duge cut her off again: “Princess, what I really want to teach you today is the art of being thick-faced and cold-hearted. You’re right, if I threatened him with a knife, he would indeed give me the grain and money, but if we did that, wouldn’t we become robbers? Are we robbers?”

“Of course not.” Luo Shuang said.

“We are,” Land Lord Lu silently muttered to himself.

“Right, we’re not robbers.” Duge said, “To punish without teaching is called cruelty; to teach and not convert is to punish according to the royal way. Just like Land Lord Lu just now, I promised him benefits, and it’s best if he’s willing to help us; if he doesn’t want to, then it means he’s stubborn, and when it’s time to kill him, we will have a just cause…”

“Master, that’s not what you really mean by those words, right?” Luo Shuang said.

Duge glanced at her and continued: “Princess, don’t take it too literally, as long as you understand what I’m trying to say. You have to side with either the landlord class or the peasant class. If you can’t win someone over, then kill him, and win another group over. This way, your forces will grow stronger and larger.”

Luo Shuang pondered, thoughtful.

Land Lord Lu kept wiping the sweat that broke out on his forehead. Compared to Duge, he suddenly felt that his own act of robbing a few fields from the commoners was not such a grave sin after all.

“But this way, we can only attract the weak. What do we do about the strong?” Luo Shuang, still unconvinced, asked, “I can’t possibly find a group of people who grudgingly obey, or a bunch of mud-legged peasants who have never seen a battlefield, to help me restore our country, can I?”

“Are you grudgingly obeying?” Duge turned to Land Lord Lu, asking.

“I wholeheartedly obey.” Land Lord Lu was sincerely afraid.

“Master, you know that’s not what I mean.” Luo Shuang got a little angry.

“Luo Shuang, do you remember what I’ve told you? A single spark can start a prairie fire, gather sands to form a tower, accumulate furs to make a coat. However large an empire may be, it’s composed of these commoners.” Duge frowned and earnestly said, “Right now, you have nothing, why do you look down on them?”

Land Lord Lu was moved.

“Princess, you’ve played the leaf card game, right? To win in the leaf card game, the premise is that you must have cards to play in your hand. Right now, you don’t have a single card in your hand, so stop thinking about making a big bet with little at stake.” Duge said, “When you’re desperate, indeed you can gamble. But most of the time, step by step, you will walk steadier and further.

The reputation of a person is accumulated bit by bit. When you have accumulated enough prestige, then, that’s when you truly can make a high call and have followers gather, and not like me now, with a false following, gathered by intimidation. Do you understand?”

“Hmm, I somewhat understand.” After pondering for a moment, Luo Shuang’s mental fog gradually cleared, and the halo of sanctity around Duge once again converged.

I understand too.

Land Lord Lu, admiring Duge, also felt he had benefited a lot. He thought the principles Duge taught the princess could be used by him as well, and perhaps he could use them to become wealthy and successful.

“Since you understand, tell me, what do you plan to do with Land Lord Lu next?” Duge pointed to Land Lord Lu, presenting a test.

Land Lord Lu was stunned.

So was Luo Shuang. She asked naively, “Master, weren’t you using him to teach me how to recruit talents? Do you really plan to recruit him? This is Chongming Country, not Qingwu Country…”

Exactly, exactly, you’ve already taught her, now let me go like a fart! Land Lord Lu looked hopefully at Luo Shuang, eyes full of gratitude.

“Without taking small steps, one cannot cover a thousand miles; without accumulating streams, there can be no rivers or seas,” Duge said. “Princess, is your ambition limited to only Qingwu Country?”

“…” Luo Shuang frowned. “Isn’t it? Duke Dingguo is already trying to kill us; at this time, it’s not appropriate to provoke Chongming Country as well, is it?”

“What’s inappropriate about it?” Duge smiled and said, “Don’t let fixed thinking imprison your own thoughts. Pulling together your own forces in Chongming Country is the same. If you can overthrow Chongming Country, use Chongming Country’s military to restore your own country; if you can’t overthrow Chongming Country, stir their waters, show everyone your capabilities. By that time, if you need troops or food, you will have them.”

Landlord Lu started to wipe the sweat from his forehead again.

“But…” Luo Shuang frowned even more deeply. “But in that case, won’t Qingwu Country and Chongming Country join forces to fight against us?”

“When your father was alive and Chongming Country was at war with other countries, would he have sent troops to help them, or would he have seized the opportunity to strike at them, forcing them to fight on two fronts, extorting and shearing wool?” Duge asked.

“The latter, I suppose!” Luo Shuang said hesitantly.

“Then that settles it,” Duge shook his head and said, “Princess, don’t limit yourself to where you start a rebellion; the key is to start with something. Now, Landlord Lu knows your identity and our plans. If you don’t recruit him, then we’ll have to kill him. If he goes to the government, the trouble will fall on the two of us.”

Luo Shuang looked towards Landlord Lu.

Greatly frightened, Landlord Lu hastened to say, “Princess, I’ll keep my mouth shut and definitely won’t report you. If I report you, let my entire family suffer from painful sores and meet a terrible end.”

“Princess, do you believe him?” Duge asked, “Throughout history, if oaths really worked, I’m afraid the Thunder God would be the busiest every day.”

“…” Upon hearing this, Landlord Lu suddenly looked up, realizing that it wasn’t this naive princess but the ruthless man before him deciding his fate. Swallowing his saliva, he forced a laugh and said, “Sir, what must I do for you to believe me?”

“Accumulate money and grain, find blacksmiths to forge armor and weapons, train soldiers under the guise of protecting your estate, and frequently collect information about the officers’ whereabouts. Better yet, write a denunciation berating the Emperor of Chongming Country. Only by taking such actions can you show your true allegiance to the Princess,” Duge said composedly.

Landlord Lu’s complexion turned as pale as paper.

“Are you willing to do this?” Duge continued to ask.

“I… I am willing,” Landlord Lu said dejectedly, lowering his head.

“Congratulations to the Princess for gaining a great general,” Duge turned around, saluted Luo Shuang with cupped fists.

Confused, Luo Shuang thought, Isn’t this still a threat?

“Princess, this isn’t a threat, it’s coercion,” Duge, having seen through Luo Shuang’s thoughts, said with a smile, “After giving these tasks to Landlord Lu, we can leave boldly, without worrying about him reporting us. If he reports, he’ll have to strip off a layer of skin first.”

Gulp!

Landlord Lu swallowed, glaring at Duge with immense resentment.

“Princess, we just need to keep going step by step, planting pegs like Landlord Lu everywhere in Chongming Country. When the time comes, we can quickly gather a large force to attack and seize territories,” Duge said. “In chaotic times, there are ways to rebel suitable for chaos; in peaceful times, there are ways to rebel fitting for peace.”

“But if he runs away after we leave, what then?” Luo Shuang pondered for a moment and asked, looking toward Landlord Lu.

“We’re just two strangers who threatened him a bit; he may think we’ll leave today and never come back,” Duge looked at Landlord Lu and said, “If he abandons his home and belongings over this, he’d be too foolish.”

Landlord Lu had already planned to run away, but Duge’s words gave him pause to think again.

“Moreover, within the vast lands under the heavens, all belong to the Emperor. Where could he run to?” Duge chuckled, “Should there ever come such a day, we would deliver the denunciation he wrote about the Emperor of Chongming Country to the government, affirm his guilt, and make sure he can never sleep in peace…”

God damn it!

Disaster strikes without leaving home.

In his heart, Landlord Lu cursed Duge, wondering how there could be such a heartless scoundrel in the world?

“I dare not run, I dare not run,” Landlord Lu said with a forced smile.

“Right, that’s the smart choice,” Duge said approvingly, looking at Landlord Lu. “Take a gamble, and you could rise in rank and nobility; take a step back, and you could end up in jail forever. Landlord Lu, you’re a smart man, and a smart man certainly knows what to do…”

Landlord Lu wanted to cry but had no tears.

Luo Shuang was speechless, realizing for the first time what Duge meant by recruiting talents.

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