Will Not Repeat the Same Mistakes (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

After moving from the side room into the three spacious chambers, Xu Xing did not rush to cultivate the Meridian Condensation Art Yao Dang had given him. Instead, he ordered men to move Four Brightness Mountain's account books from past years out of Might King's room and into his study. Then, with the ledgers before him, he began checking the supplies in the storehouses, sorting everything out item by item.

On his first day in office, Xu Xing intended to display his skill in internal administration and win the wholehearted conviction of everyone on the mountain.

Internal administration... seemed unimportant.

Yet the allocation of military rations alone was enough to stump a whole crowd of greenwood heroes.

Take a simple example.

Suppose Four Brightness Mountain needed at least one hundred shi of grain each month for military provisions. In the hands of mediocre managers, it might consume one hundred and fifty shi a month—perhaps even two or three hundred—robbing Peter to pay Paul.

But under the allocation of a capable man, it could be reduced to merely seventy shi a month, while still ensuring that the soldiers throughout the stronghold ate and drank their fill without any loss to their fighting strength.

The grain saved would be enough to recruit twice as many soldiers.

That was the value of a man skilled in internal administration.

Perhaps he lacked the ability to open new sources of wealth, but he certainly knew how to cut the flow of waste.

In only three short days, Xu Xing had sorted through all of Four Brightness Mountain's stores and inventory. He rewrote them into new ledgers and presented them to Mourning Heaven King Yao Dang.

He had formerly served as an Assistant Keeper of Stables, specifically responsible for receiving and managing the miscellaneous livestock submitted by the various imperial ranches.

In other words, he had been the Imperial Stud Directorate's accountant.

"Fourth Brother..."

"How many talents like you do you suppose the imperial court possesses?"

After reading through the account books, Yao Dang suddenly felt a deep sense of frustration and asked Xu Xing this question.

He and Might King had once overseen Four Brightness Mountain's internal affairs. The ledgers they had compiled together had seemed fairly good to him. Yet the ledgers Xu Xing had submitted were concise and clear; every item of material could be put to its fullest use and allocated appropriately...

The gap was simply too great.

And Xu Xing was merely an eighth-rank court official.

To resist the court and raise the banner of rebellion... for the first time, he felt such powerlessness.

"As numerous as the stars."

Xu Xing considered it seriously for a moment before answering, "This younger brother was only an insignificant minor official in the court. After becoming an Assistant Keeper of Stables, I received no promotion for two years. Those in the halls of power whose achievements surpass this younger brother's... must be too numerous to count!"

"Fourth Brother..."

Yao Dang fell silent for a moment, then laughed soundlessly.

He understood the meaning behind Xu Xing's words.

On the surface, they sounded modest, but in truth they told him of the court's decay. With talent like Xu Xing's, one only needed to think to know there could not be many such people in the imperial court. Yet such talent could not gain promotion there, with no hope of advancement. This showed that even if the court gathered the finest talents under heaven, it would still be vulnerable to a single blow.

"From now on, you will handle the internal affairs yourself."

"Your foolish elder brother will no longer interfere."

Yao Dang intended to delegate his authority.

He had always been busy with official duties and had no time to manage internal affairs, which was why he had appointed their second brother, Might King, as the stronghold's steward. Now that Xu Xing had arrived, he planned to follow the same precedent.

"You are my Fourth Brother..."

"Not my subject."

Seeing Xu Xing about to decline, Yao Dang gripped his right arm and stopped him from kneeling. "The stronghold's internal affairs were something Eldest Brother promised before all the brothers in the stronghold—he entrusted them to you! If you come to report every little matter to me, what will the brothers think of me?"

"The stronghold is not my private property."

He repeated those words once again.

Only this time, he was not saying them before Earth King, but before Xu Xing.

If Xu Xing truly intended to tamper with the accounts, Mourning Heaven King Yao Dang believed that, given his own ability, he likely would not be able to spot the tricks within... Rather than questioning everything and appearing suspicious of Xu Xing, why not be more generous—do not employ those you suspect, and do not suspect those you employ.

The ability of veteran clerks to falsify accounts was not something ordinary people could match.

Much less a master proficient in mathematics...

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, Eldest Brother."

Seeing that Yao Dang did not seem to be putting on an act, Xu Xing hesitated for a moment, then accepted.

He did not know whether Yao Dang's actions were due to his red fate [Reform], or for some other reason. After all, the description of the [Reform] fate stated: "Cast off the old and remake the new; sweep away the accumulated abuses of successive ages, and easily win the favor of those in power."

The [Reform] fate made it easier for him to gain Yao Dang's trust.

But his caution in all things had also played no small part.

He had not laid a hand on military authority, so Yao Dang trusted him more than he trusted others when employing him.

After leaving Snow-Treading Pavilion, where Mourning Heaven King resided, Xu Xing rubbed his brow.

Yao Dang's sincerity toward him left him somewhat uncomfortable. He had come to Four Bright Mountain with no good intentions. He wanted to use Four Bright Mountain as a stepping stone to contend for supremacy beneath heaven, breach the Divine Capital, and avenge the blood feud he bore...

Whether toward Chang Ji or the Three Great Kings, he had always harbored thoughts of using them.

But now...

"Why am I thinking so much?"

"Su Qin once said, 'If I had two qing of fields in Luoyang, how could I wear the seals of the six states' chancellors?' Cao Cao, in the beginning, only wanted to earn a marquisate through merit and become the Great Han's General Who Conquers the West."

"When I truly reach that point, it won't be up to me anymore."

Xu Xing calmed down.

Gathering power was an instinct.

If he willingly took a step back, then from this day forward, everything would be beyond his control.

One step back, then step after step back, until his feet stood at the cliff's edge and all that remained was to leap.

What "if my lord does not betray me, I shall never betray my lord"...

Power struggles had always been bloody.

Only by keeping his fist clenched would he have the ability—the right—to speak of loyalty.

Rather than, when blades and spears came for him, bitterly beg others for mercy.

Entrusting his life to someone else? Impossible!

He had already entered the Heavenly Prison once. He would not repeat the same mistake again!

"Fourth Brother."

"This is the long saber you asked me to forge for you."

Just as Xu Xing was lost in thought, Earth King approached from the northwestern corner of the stronghold with his men. When he was about ten paces away from Xu Xing, he called him back to himself and tossed him a sheathed long saber.

"Thanks, Third Brother."

Xu Xing came back to his senses and caught the saber one-handed.

He tucked the sheath beneath his arm and drew the blade. Its cold gleam flashed, its edge piercing to the bone.

"A fine blade!"

He offered the praise casually.

Four Bright Mountain Stronghold had gathered quite a few greenwood heroes, including no shortage of wandering men who had once been blacksmiths. Within the stronghold, Earth King held greater control over Five Tigers Hall.

That was why Xu Xing had asked Earth King to have someone forge him a long saber for self-defense.

"Fourth Brother, you're a scholar..."

"If you were to carry a weapon, it should be a gentleman's sword. Yet you insisted on getting a long saber..."

Earth King was rather puzzled.

He had assumed Xu Xing was asking him to forge a treasured sword. Only when he went to the smithy to collect the weapon did he discover that what Xu Xing had asked him to make was not a sword, but an oddly shaped long saber.

"Third Brother, now you're being pedantic."

"Who says... a scholar can't become a saber wielder?"

Xu Xing fastened the long saber at his waist, held the account book in his hands, and smiled.

The long saber Xu Xing had asked Earth King to forge was none other than the Guanshan saber that circulated in Qin Province in the instance world. It resembled a Song-style pudao, except it lacked the long haft.

He did not know swordsmanship. He only knew the saber techniques taught by Master Ma.

"True enough..."

"No one ever said scholars could only be swordsmen."

Earth King smacked his forehead, silently cursing himself for being foolish.

A scholar like Xu Xing... how could he possibly be judged by ordinary standards?!