"This isn't a long-term solution. I'm afraid it'll backfire." Zhao Feng didn't think much of Xu Xie's passive approach.
Outsiders all thought martial warriors liked solving problems with brute force, that their minds weren't as sharp as Literary Scholars', and their thoughts weren't as subtle. That was pure prejudice. Not a single Martial Gall Warrior capable of leading troops was truly a fool.
Zhao Feng took a sip of wine. "Our lord's temperament..."
He paused, then said flatly,
"Our lord is, after all, our lord."
No matter how close Xu Xie and Wu Xian were in private, Wu Xian still harbored suspicions and couldn't trust anyone completely. As a subordinate, Xu Xie could resist his lord's orders and go against his wishes once or twice without issue, but if it happened too often, resentment was inevitable.
Refusal meant defiance.
Xu Xie, as Wu Xian's subordinate, was defying his lord because he worried that Tianhai's involvement would make life difficult for the common people in Heyin. Whether that possibility would actually come to pass was beside the point. The very fact that the thought had occurred to Xu Xie meant he was questioning Wu Xian and keeping his guard up.
It also meant Xu Xie felt more indebted to Shen Tang.
Wasn't Xu Xie turning his elbow outward?
Who wouldn't take issue with that?
Xu Xie was deeply troubled and downed his wine in one gulp.
He gave a bitter smile. "How could I not know?"
Wu Xian had grown wary of him. If Xu Xie showed some sense and handed over Heyin's real power at this point, all their disagreements would settle down. The problem was that he didn't want to. He knew all too well what would happen to commoners who lost their land, how much pressure they would