Chapter 99 Heaven's Way - Robbing the Rich to Help the Poor

The sword flies like a flower, and the knife is as fast as lightning in the northern sand.

His iron fist is invincible and he dominates Fujian, and he is known as a hero all over the world.

Those imprisoned on the fourth underground floor are all death row prisoners who have participated in rebellions and whose crimes are so serious that they will not be forgiven even if there is a general amnesty.

According to the danger level classification set by the Ministry of Justice Prison, the two highest ranked people are Zhang Rong from Liangshan Water Village and Zhong Xiang from Dongting Lake.

One of these two was the leader of an army of more than 30,000 volunteers who occupied the 800-li Liangshan Marsh after Song Jiang; the other was the Pope who carried out religious activities under the guise of robbing the rich and helping the poor and gathered an army of 100,000.

"I heard that Zhang Rong is a very good fighter, nicknamed Zhang Diwan. And this Zhong Xiang is also said to be able to use some magic. Who captured such powerful people?"

Zhao Huan looked at Majili and asked about the doubts in his heart.

"No matter how skilled your martial arts skills are, they are still vulnerable to kitchen knives. Even ants can kill elephants. Even the most powerful masters will eventually run out of strength. Besides, there are masters among our army. Three or five of them can still fight with them for several rounds."

"So, who is so powerful?"

"Uh, no one. In the end, they surrendered voluntarily to protect their people. They didn't resist."

“…”

Zhao Huan was speechless. Why are you talking so righteously? It made me think that I could gain a few more generals.

"Everyone, please protect me. Do you have the confidence? I need to have a good chat with them. I've already become the emperor, and my life will only get better and better. Once Doctor Sun's research on postpartum care for sows is completed, it's possible to eat meat every meal. Why are you making such a fuss?"

"The right path is to actively devote your limited life to the boundless struggle to improve the material and cultural standards of the people of the Song Dynasty. Rebellion will lead to no future, don't you agree?"

The bailiff opened the cell door. The environment of the cells on the fourth floor underground was more like a room in an inn than on the first and second floors.

A simple wooden bed, a square table, two wooden chairs, a small bookshelf with Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, and two pots of green plants in the corner.

Torches were burning brightly in the corridor, lighting up the cell as if it were daytime, but the smell of the oil was a bit pungent.

"Prime Minister Zhong, this is the current emperor of our Great Song Dynasty. His Majesty heard that you are also a talented person, so he came here specially to talk to you. You must perform well." Majili began to explain the whole story to Zhong Xiang.

Prime Minister Zhong held a scroll in his hands, and without even looking up, he spoke in a calm voice, "I am a condemned prisoner for rebellion. What is there to talk to Your Majesty about?"

"Of course there are. There's a lot to talk about. Isn't the religion you're talking about claiming to rob the rich and give to the poor? We can talk about that, but does robbing the rich and giving to the poor really work? Talk about whether you're doing this for them or for yourself."

"Does it make any difference?" Zhong Xiang put down the scroll in his hand and looked up at Zhao Huan, a young man in his twenties. He couldn't help but look down on him even more in his heart, thinking that he was still wet behind the ears.

"I'm scared. I don't dare discuss this with me. I'm afraid that in the end, all my righteousness will be revealed as selfishness, my faith will collapse, and my heart will not be redeemed or comforted."

"Correction, it's not that I'm afraid, it's that I said too much. I'm a death row inmate, and the worst that can happen to me is death. Whether it's a clean beheading or a painful slow slicing, it makes no difference to me. But I get a sense of accomplishment from your displeasure, that's all."

"Haha, your life realm shouldn't be so low. Can my little displeasure make you feel accomplished?"

"Beheading and lingchi make no difference in the final outcome. Similarly, the law doesn't really mean much about how one dies. It's simply to give you a bit of dignity. I'm not trying to gain anything from you. I just want to see the rumored Zhong Xiang, who robs the rich and helps the poor."

"Can killing the rich to help the poor really save the poor?"

"cannot!"

"Tell me, why not?"

“Kill the rich and the rich will not leave; save the poor and the poor will not leave.”

"The culture of the savior can be said to be the savior. The savior is not a person, but the Tao. Salvation is not the wolfing down of the Tao, but enlightenment. I talk about religion as a cure for the incurable, and my persuasion about salvation is all false. At most, I am just trying to make some connections with your Great Song Dynasty court."

"You are not just begging for alms, you are drawing your sword and drawing blood. Whether you give or not, you will have to shed three bowls of blood."

"I can't starve to death. People are born unequal. Why do some people toil their whole lives, working like slaves every day, only to end up with nothing to wear and no food to eat? And why do some people get to enjoy endless wealth and splendor, fine clothes and delicious food, beautiful wives and concubines, and can take whatever they want? Why do they live so high and mighty?"

"The fairest thing in the world is death itself. No matter who you are, you only have one life. No matter how rich and powerful you are, you are not invulnerable because of this."

"You're using bandit logic, which is itself a form of weak culture. Because they can't compete with others under the same rules, they resort to crooked tactics and exploit other rules to achieve their goals."

"Your Majesty, what you said is really easy to say. How can there be equal rules for the poor in this world? Here, we have fine clothes and delicious food every day, and we have enough to eat and drink. We can read any book we want, and we can even invite great scholars to give lectures and discuss the doctrines and predict the exam questions."

"Some people spend their entire lives just trying to make ends meet. A better person might borrow a few books from others to read in the evening after work, but even that requires a kind landlord."

"You say this is bandit logic because you've always been within the rules. No one dares to compete or treat you unfairly. Now, if the situation were reversed and you were forced to be a beggar on the streets, if you could manage to become an emperor in your lifetime, you'd be truly amazing."

"Unfortunately, there aren't that many hypotheses in the world. I might not be able to do it, but there must be someone who can."

Just a few hundred years later, a guy who was born a beggar took just over twenty years to overthrow the Mongolian rule of the Yuan Dynasty and restore the rule of the Han people.

The legitimate position he held is rare in the entire history of China. I really can't tell anyone about this.

"Let's talk about what others do, let's talk about you, Prime Minister Zhong. You must have failed the imperial examinations several times, so you're discouraged and looking for other solutions. I just want to ask, are you killing the rich to help the poor for yourself or for the people?"

"What if it's for myself, or for the people?"

"If you do it for your own sake, then you are using the people's hearts to oppose the court. If it is for the people's survival, then you are still worthy of redemption. The court has indeed done a terrible job in treating the people. If it is for the people, you can still be saved."

"Of course I did it for myself."

"A dead duck is still stubborn!"

Zhao Huan shook his head. "You really want to die?" It was obvious that Zhong Xiang was doing this for the people.