When Qin Lin heard Chen Li, he immediately said, "County Magistrate Chen, this project started with good intentions. We clearly haven't done anything wrong. We can't just give up because a few people who think they're morally superior and believe they're saving the world have said some nasty things."
"Wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting we were wrong? It would only make those people think their righteousness had prevailed and make them even more self-righteous. Who knows, next time they might go even further."
Qin Lin wasn't going to compromise on something like this. He firmly believed it had to be dealt with.
He remembered a story from the Han dynasty that he'd read once.
During Emperor Wu's reign, the Xiongnu once requested a marriage alliance, hoping to get a Han princess for free.
At the time, a scholar named Di Shan had voiced his support, saying that waging war would leave the people destitute and expose the border residents to raids.
The Imperial Censor Zhang Tang thought this was the ignorant opinion of a foolish Confucian.
Di Shan retorted that although he was a "foolishly loyal" man, Zhang Tang was "deceptively loyal." He also criticized Zhang Tang's handling of the cases against the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Jiangdu, both of which involved treason.
Emperor Wu asked Di Shan, "If I sent you to govern a commandery, could you stop the Xiongnu from invading?"
Di Shan replied, "No."
The emperor asked, "What about a county?"
Di Shan replied, "No."
The emperor asked again, "What about a zhang—a fortified stronghold built at a strategic point along the border?"
Di Shan confidently answered, "I could."
So Emperor Wu sent Di Shan to govern a border stronghold. A little over a month later, the Xiongnu invaded and cut off Di