"Chief Qiao, the merger of the Beggar Clan' Sect into the Martial Command Office is a good thing for both you and the Beggar Clan' Sect disciples."
"Whether for the sake of the country or the people, the existence of a Jianghu organization like the Beggar Clan' Sect does more harm than good."
" Military Command Commissioner mistaken. My Beggar Clan disciples led the charge against the Tartars, fighting bravely and fearlessly. We also took in homeless refugees, preventing them from becoming displaced. How can this be considered more harmful than beneficial?"
Upon hearing Xu Xiao's words, Qiao Feng couldn't help but retort.
He joined the Beggar Clan 'Beggar Clan a long time ago and has a deep affection for it, so he naturally wouldn't allow Xu Xiao to slander it.
"Really? Chief Qiao, then let me ask you something."
"You say you drove out the Tartars, leading by example, then tell me, how many Beggar Clan disciples died each time?"
"Furthermore, you say that the Beggar Clan disciples love their country and their emperor. But in the past few days, Beggar Clan disciples have even openly spread words of resistance against the Martial Command Office in the streets. This is a serious crime, equivalent to treason."
After Xu Xiao asked his two questions, Qiao Feng hesitated and replied:
"Well... in war, there are victories and defeats, and casualties are inevitable. As for the recent actions of the Beggar Clan' Sect disciples, they were the work of a few members of the sect. I came back this time to restrain them and come up with a solution."
"No, no, no, Chief Qiao, you're taking this too seriously," Xu Xiao interrupted, waving his finger.
"First of all, I am very pleased that the Beggar Clan members took the initiative to fight against foreign tribes. You are all passionate Huaxia men, and you are commendable."
Upon hearing Xu Xiao's affirmation, Qiao Feng's face lit up with joy. That's more like it.
Many of his Beggar Clan ' Sect disciples died trying to drive out the Tartars; if their efforts were to be refuted, they would not be able to rest in peace.
"But I ask you, did the deaths of these people really have any effect?"
Little did they know that Xu Xiao wasn't trying to praise them at all, but rather using a strategy of praising before criticizing.
"You rabble, ignorant of tactics and formations, rely solely on your hot-blooded rage to launch attacks. You often pay several times the price to kill even a small force of Tartars, but it's all utterly useless."
"Every time you kill, the lower-ranking Beggar Clan' Sect disciples risk their lives to earn you merit and fame. But after you leave, the Tartars' retaliation will bring utter devastation to the border residents."
"Have you considered that this reckless behavior, instead of solving the problem, has made the situation even more difficult for many border residents and itinerant merchants?"
Xu Xiao's words were exquisite, like a knife cutting out his heart.
This is also a misconception held by many people in this era: that tit-for-tat retaliation will make foreign tribes restrain themselves, but in reality, it won't work at all.
Both the Liao and Western Xia dynasties had a large number of horses and cavalry, while the Great Song mainly relied on infantry.
The Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were no longer in the hands of the Song Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was in a situation where it could defeat them but not catch up with them; it could not win the battle but could not escape them.
( The Song Dynasty was indeed not weak, and it won many battles against foreign powers, but the lack of horses and cavalry was a major weakness. Another major reason was that the emperor used most of his cavalry to protect the capital.)
The retaliatory attacks by the Beggar Clan members or other martial arts figures, whether for fame or out of genuine patriotism and love for the Han people, were simply ways for them to satisfy their own selfish desires.
They were highly skilled in martial arts, moving swiftly and gracefully. After their battles, they would return to the Central Plains to make a name for themselves, but they overlooked the consequences of their actions.
Not only did many of the lower-class martial arts practitioners who followed them suffer heavy losses, but after they left, the foreign cavalry would retaliate even more fiercely against the local people, causing even greater harm.
"So what? If we don't kill the Liao people, kill the Western Xia people, and retaliate against them, does that mean they won't kill or rob the Song people?"
Qiao Feng glared angrily at Xu Xiao with his bull-like eyes. At that moment, he felt that the other party was no different from those guys in the imperial court who only knew how to appease people.
Despite the fact that the Great Song won more battles than it lost in every major war, the annual tribute payments increased year by year—this is a disgrace!
The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars. People of the martial world may not understand grand Great Dao, but they know the principle of an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
"Don't worry, did I say I wouldn't fight?"
Xu Xiao glanced at the other person, then stared into Qiao Feng's bull-like eyes and continued speaking.
"I'm saying your methods won't work. Instead of wasting those promising young talents in the Beggar Clan' Sect on useless acts of revenge, you should disband the Beggar Clan' Sect and incorporate those talents into the Martial Command Office."
"The original purpose of establishing the Martial Command Office was to control the military power of the Great Song. Whether it's the military or the martial arts world, they should all have only one voice."
"At that time, by combining the strength of the martial arts world and the military, and gathering the power of the entire Great Song, we can seize the opportunity and wipe out the Liao and Western Xia kingdoms in one fell swoop. Wouldn't that be better than your petty skirmishes?"
"This... this"
Not to mention Qiao Feng, even the three women, including A Zhu, looked at Xu Xiao with surprise.
They spent every day and night with Xu Xiao Xu Xiao, and they had never heard of him having such thoughts.
They thought that coercing the emperor to obtain the Military Command Commissioner was already quite impressive, but they never expected that Xu Xiao's sights were set on the entire world.
The three women's eyes lit up; he truly lived up to the man they had their eyes on.
Qiao Feng was also tempted by the words: "Why shouldn't a man carry a Wu hook and conquer fifty states beyond the passes!"
This is something every man longs for, but he is not a man of the Great Song!
He had always considered himself a Han Chinese, but the information Xu Xiao had just given him clearly told him that he was Khitan.
Was a Khitan man qualified to do these things?
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Qiao Feng's mind went blank. A great hero who was determined to kill the thief suddenly realized that he was the thief. He was filled with helplessness.
"What? Chief Qiao, aren't you interested in what I'm about to say?"
Xu Xiao saw that Qiao Feng was not speaking and assumed that the other party was not interested.
'That's not right. In the original novel, Qiao Feng is portrayed as a chivalrous and righteous man, even willing to commit suicide to prevent the Great Song from being detained. Logically, he shouldn't be uninterested in such matters.'
Xu Xiao was puzzled, but the next second, Qiao Feng looked at him with a conflicted expression:
"But I am Khitan. You want me, a Khitan, to lead the Beggar Clan' Sect into the Martial Command Office and fight for the Great Song?"
Seeing Qiao Feng's suddenly reddened eyes, Xu Xiao realized the crux of the problem.
Well, in this era, there's no such thing as national unity; the debate between Han and barbarians is the consensus of everyone.
The problem that once drove Qiao Feng to his death has now returned to him.
"What else? You don't want to?"
But Xu Xiao wasn't some kind of Mind Stone guru, and he didn't have the inclination to offer advice; he could only throw the question back at the other person.
"Anyway, the letter that knows your identity is here, and I've already killed Kang Min. Although there are still some shameless people in the martial arts world who know your identity, I can help you deal with them, and even step in to support you."
"This is the best I can offer you; whether you accept it or not is up to you."
"Oh, and by the way, if you're unwilling to lead the Beggar Clan to join the Martial Command Office, then I don't mind using other methods, including destroying the Beggar Clan."
After Xu Xiao finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and took a sip.
He had already set the conditions; whether Qiao Feng was willing to accept them was up to him.
"You!" Qiao Feng glared angrily, but there was nothing else he could do.