Wang Chong summoned his two teachers to discuss the matter. Both Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui felt that, if they could secure Wen Xi's approval, taking Qizhou without bloodying their blades would be better than sending troops to attack it.
Wang Chong, however, had other ideas. His control over his current Seven Provinces ran deep. He had brought almost the entire itinerant population into the Tailwind Army, and even those bound to the land largely depended on its caravans to sell their grain and buy supplies.
In particular, he had abolished all officials and clerks and forgone taxation, so the common people no longer suffered exploitation. Whenever something happened, they generally turned to the Tailwind Army for help. Its squad leaders had little authority and were transferred so frequently that they could hardly form networks of mutual interest. They also all came from the bottom rungs of society and handled matters more fairly than officials. By now, an entirely new picture had emerged.
If he attacked Qizhou, there would naturally be nothing to discuss: Wang Chong would certainly follow these same rules. But if he took over the Seven Provinces from Wen Xi, there were bound to be constraints, and he was most unwilling to accept that.
Gao Gun and Qiguan Sui could not understand Wang Chong's concerns at all. Although both were renowned scholars of the age, they lacked several thousand years of experience from another world, after all, and their vision and knowledge had their limits. Still, they offered several sound suggestions.
There was, however, one point on which all three agreed: they could drag this matter out a little and get Grand Preceptor Wen Xi to concede more benefits.
After discussing matters with his two teachers, Wang Chong had a somewhat firmer idea of where he stood.