Fan Zhongyan, the foremost scholar-official of the Northern Song, once wrote in Yueyang Lou Ji: "I once sought the hearts of the benevolent men of old. Perhaps they differed from the two states described above—but why? They did not rejoice over external things, nor did they grieve over themselves. Holding high office at court, they worried for the people; living far from court in the wilderness, they worried for their ruler. Thus, they worried whether advancing or retreating. Then when were they happy? Surely they would say, 'They worried before all under heaven worried, and rejoiced only after all under heaven rejoiced.' Alas! Without such people, with whom could I stand?"
Put into plain language: Sigh, when I had nothing to do, I tried putting myself in the shoes of ancient people with noble character. Their inner thoughts were probably different from the two emotional states mentioned above. Why was that? They would not be happy just because their surroundings were good, nor would they be sad because they themselves had suffered misfortune. If they held high office at court, they worried for the people; if they lived in some remote corner of the world, they worried for their ruler. That meant they worried whether they entered office or resigned and retired. So when would they be happy? They would surely say, "They worried before everyone else worried, and only rejoiced after everyone else rejoiced." Ah! Without people like that, whose side would I be on?
Ming Jing thought it over. This passage sounded incredibly impressive! He should memorize it first; he could use it to bluff these natives.
Master Fan really was the best!!!
Hmm, one profound passage like this should be enough, right? Once he had bluffed them, he could start indoctrinating them. Ming Jing had already decided that pyramid schemes would be his best template!
That evening, Yuexi called Upper and Lower Brothers over. The three sat in a row, their eyes filled with a thirst for knowledge. Well, at least that was how Ming Jing saw it. He could not help turning to Asuma, who stood nearby, and asking, "Captain, are you listening too?"
"I've got nothing better to do anyway," Asuma said lazily, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
"Fine! But I won't stop if you can't understand!" Ming Jing smiled faintly. Today, he would teach them something profound!
Asuma felt that his dignity as captain had been challenged again. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and said, "I can't wait. Get started already!"
Ming Jing gave him a meaningful look, then stepped before Yuexi and the others and began teaching for the first time in his life. He was teaching something he himself knew absolutely nothing about. This world was becoming more and more interesting.
"First, understand this: 'Those incapable of doing things become capable.' What does that mean? It means you may lack professional skills, know nothing about the work, and be unable to do anything at all. But as long as you can manage, unite, and fool the most capable core members, they'll get everything done. The sweat belongs to everyone, but the credit belongs to you..."
"Only a dark heart and thick skin make great things possible..."
"Be patient. Learn to wait..."
"Always remember that officials come first..."
"Smooth things over with every side. The key is using people well..."
After listening for a while, Asuma's eyes had turned into spirals. He could understand every single term, so why did he have no idea what they meant when put together?
At last, half an hour later, Asuma could not take it anymore. He staggered away from this place of trouble, shaking his head as he muttered, "Whew... my head hurts. This takes more brainpower than studying an A-rank ninjutsu..."
Watching Asuma's departing back, Ming Jing smiled smugly. Hah, kid! You wanted to steal some wisdom from this Young Master? I could confuse you senseless in minutes!
When he turned to look at his three subordinates, he found that the children were in even worse shape. At least Asuma knew to leave. Their eyes were somewhat vacant, their faces wearing the expression of a crashed system. Ming Jing rubbed his chin. He suddenly realized this was an ability even more awesome than genjutsu! Maybe he should find a chance to have a good chat with Nagato??
After a while, Ming Jing saw that Yuexi and the other two had come back to their senses. He coughed twice to draw their attention. "Ahem... everything I just said was nonsense. Just listen to it; don't take it seriously! That was only to fool the captain."
Uh... Yuexi and Upper and Lower Brothers wore expressions caught between laughter and tears. Having only just regained consciousness, they had nearly begun doubting their own intelligence. Now Young Master said he had just been talking nonsense—how were they supposed to feel about that?
"All right, all right. What I'm about to say is the important part. Remember this; it'll be on the test!" Ming Jing felt a little embarrassed himself, so he professionally changed the subject. "We don't need our subordinate officials to understand too much. Their brain capacity might not be enough. You only need to emphasize three points: obey, follow through, and keep up!"
Yuexi and the other two hurriedly wrote down the three points, then looked up at Ming Jing.
"To be specific: obey the Prime Minister's Residence, do as the Prime Minister's Residence says, and keep up with the Prime Minister's Residence's progress. It's this simple because time is too tight. We have no leisure to explain too much to our subordinates. Keeping it simple is better. Once this batch of subordinates takes office, our plans can truly be carried out." As Ming Jing spoke, he saw understanding gradually appear on Yuexi and the others' faces and could not help sighing in relief. These three points were indeed simple for subordinates, but in truth, they placed all the heavy responsibility on their superiors—and Ming Jing was that unfortunate superior.
Thinking about it that way, Ming Jing had to give himself a thumbs-up for being so conscientious and responsible!
Even Ming Jing felt that being his subordinate was truly blissful!
"Yes, Young Master is wise!" Upper and Lower Brothers shamelessly fawned over him.
Yuexi gave it some thought and found that Young Master's method seemed to be the best solution they could come up with at this stage. The girl could not help asking, "Young Master, what should we do if we encounter problems during implementation?"
Ming Jing thought for a moment before answering, "Judge matters by their importance. If you can solve it yourself, try to do so first. If you can't, report it. Then wait for your superior's response and act according to it."
"Understood!" Yuexi nodded.
Ming Jing looked at Upper and Lower Brothers. "Do you two have any questions?"
Upper and Lower Brothers looked at each other, then answered in unison, "No, Young Master!"
"Then ask when you encounter problems. We'll stop here for tonight. Everyone, get some good rest!" Ming Jing understood that haste made waste. He had already said more than enough today, so he stopped.
"We'll take our leave first!" Upper and Lower Brothers conscientiously packed up their things and left, leaving only Ming Jing and Yuexi behind.
Ming Jing took out a small box and said to Yuexi, "This is a medicinal salve Mirai prepared. Take it to Mirai and have her help you apply it!"
"Yes. Mirai is getting more and more skilled," Yuexi said with a smile as she accepted the salve.
"There's a saying: long illness makes a good doctor. Mirai has been watching over Yakumo every day, so naturally she'll improve," Ming Jing said with a smile.
"Isn't it a little inappropriate for Young Master to talk about Miss Yakumo like that?..." Yuexi said, amused to see Ming Jing mock Yakumo for once.
Ming Jing froze, then said awkwardly, "Ahem, ahem... I didn't say anything just now."
Tsukishiro Yuexi left with the medicinal salve. Hizashi Hyuga emerged from an inconspicuous spot, stood behind Ming Jing, and asked, "You want to manage officials the way the Anbu are managed? I'm afraid that won't work."
"The way the Anbu are managed?" Ming Jing looked curiously at Uncle Hizashi.
"Obey, keep up, follow through! Those are the Anbu's three rules. Don't tell me you didn't know?" Hizashi Hyuga asked, looking somewhat surprised.
"So that's how the Anbu are managed! No wonder the Anbu are so loyal to the Hokage." Ming Jing smiled faintly. He had unexpectedly discovered something quite extraordinary!
"Is there a problem?" Hizashi Hyuga asked when he saw Ming Jing's reaction.
"No, there's no problem." Ming Jing shook his head. He was certainly not going to tell Hizashi Hyuga that these three steps were the brainwashing method of pyramid schemes back on Blue Star!
Before you continue