Chapter Thirty-Seven: Three Rules of Engagement

Xiao Zhi had always wanted to change the world, to make people happier and more equal. But the reality was that no one wanted to accept his changes, just as he was unwilling to accept the values of this era. Why should the people of this age be changed by him?

It was like the man he had met on the road who simply wanted his child to survive. If someone told him, "You must have freedom, you must be strong," would it not be laughable? Among the displaced refugees covering the wilderness, if you offered them a single bite of food—just one—they would let you trample on their dignity. A single bite of food could make any woman strip off her clothes, and she wouldn't even care if the person taking her was human or otherwise. When survival is at stake, what use is dignity?

Xiao Zhi could not accept the woman Mu Weihu had arranged for him. Yet, he knew how fortunate that girl felt as she waited for a stranger to bestow his favor upon her, for it meant she would finally have food to eat. If the man she was about to serve happened to be kind-hearted, she might be able to keep eating indefinitely. For Xiao Zhi to impose "dignity" upon her now, to force her to be self-respecting, would be no different than smashing her rice bowl. And it wouldn't just be her rice bowl; it would be her life. If Xiao Zhi rejected her, she would likely end up as nothing more than an anonymous skeleton by the side of the road.

To put it bluntly, the dignity Xiao Zhi wanted to bestow upon others was merely a way to move himself. He couldn't help but offer a self-deprecating smile; he had never been a starving wretch, and he had fallen into the trap of the man who asked, "Why don't they eat meat?" If he truly wanted to give these people dignity, he could only do so by using the knowledge from his previous life to increase productivity. A full granary leads to an appreciation for etiquette; a full belly and warmth lead to a sense of honor and shame. Being well-fed and clothed was the foundation of everything.

Having realized this, Xiao Zhi understood why Mu Weihu had arranged for the woman: it was simply to make the out-of-place Xiao Zhi a "normal" person for this era—to help him conform to the laws of these times. If he wanted to survive, he had to integrate and alter his original values.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Zhi spoke: "Today, we shall establish three rules. If you can follow them, we continue. If you cannot, I will return to the capital immediately, resign my position as a commander of the Imperial Guard, and we shall part ways."

"Do you wish to hear them?"

Mu Weihu and the others bowed immediately. "Please, my lord, speak."

"Orders must be followed, and prohibitions must be respected. There are military regulations for the army and laws for the state. Since we wear the uniform of the Imperial City Guard, we must abide by its rules, without changing a single word; they must be implemented to the end. Anyone who cannot do this should leave. If anyone violates my bottom line, they will be dealt with according to the law. I am the same; if you are unhappy with me, say so clearly, and I will leave myself."

***

Mu Weihu and the others shifted their expressions but remained silent. Without Xiao Zhi, the Imperial City Guard would simply revert to what it had been before.

"As we enter Shandong and Jiangsu, we are temporarily shedding our official status, but that does not mean we can act lawlessly."

"First, you may have women, but there shall be no coercion, and absolutely no forced abduction. If you cannot keep your trousers on, you must provide the woman with a formal status. Anyone who uses force and refuses to take responsibility will be beheaded on the spot."

"In chaotic times, we must use strict laws. Those who plead for mercy will share the same punishment. Is that understood?"

They were allowed to have women, but they could not simply take advantage of them and refuse responsibility. After much deliberation, Xiao Zhi decided this was the best solution. What was "status"? Being a wife or a concubine was a status, and being a maid was, too. But regardless, there had to be responsibility. For the refugees here, having a source of food was at least better than starving to death. Mu Weihu and the others looked at each other and finally nodded.

Xiao Zhi continued, "Second, there shall be no wanton killing. Whether it is starving refugees or officials—if they can be killed, and how they should be killed—I will be the one to decide." On this point, Mu Weihu and his men had no objections.

"Third, all wealth and property seized must be turned over to the public. Those who do not comply will be beheaded. It is inconvenient for us to carry such things while out in the field; there will be rewards upon our return to the capital. This is for the best for everyone."

Money was hard to carry, but land deeds and property titles were easy to conceal. If he did not run a strict military now, the future trouble would be endless. Once problems arose, by the time Xiao Zhi noticed, they would already be severe. When you see one cockroach, it means that in the places you cannot see, they have already become a plague. Mu Weihu and his men thought it over and eventually agreed.

Mu Weihu offered a sheepish smile and rubbed his nose. "My lord, everyone didn't mean to disobey; it's just that the company commanders... they... heh... I will definitely exercise more restraint in the future."

Xiao Zhi knew that Mu Weihu was trying to ease the tension, but he did not want to hear it. Through this incident, Xiao Zhi learned a truth: those you do not personally raise will never stand on your side. These men in the Imperial City Guard were obedient to him, certainly, but they had all been raised by Mu Weihu, and when it came to major issues, they still looked to him for guidance. Xiao Zhi had overestimated his own personal charisma—perhaps he had none at all. Before this, the fact that everyone could earn a great deal of money was the real reason they were willing to follow him.

"The world is bustling, all for the sake of profit; the world is clamoring, all for the sake of gain." Loyalty had always been relative, never absolute. Xiao Zhi had now truly grasped the essence of this statement.

***

A transmigrator possesses an aura, but it is not omnipotent. Xiao Zhi's only "aura" was the memory of his past life; how much could that really change this world?

Xiao Zhi had already agreed to keep the woman; if only to put on a show for the others, he had to keep her. But how to face her was another problem. Unable to sleep, Xiao Zhi sat up, glanced at the food on the table, and said sternly, "Tell me about the situation in the vicinity."

Due to the terrain and the distance from the breached dikes, the disaster around Tai'an was not too severe. The problem lay with the refugees. After the disaster struck, there was no relief. To survive, these people began to head toward other lands, gradually evolving into bandits who robbed others of money and grain, and eventually, they occupied mountains and became outlaws. The issue involved an increasingly vast area and affected more and more people, making the disaster difficult to control. Fortunately, these various bands of mountain bandits acted independently and had not yet coalesced into a unified uprising. Throughout history, there had been many rebellions by the starving, but very few had ever truly amounted to anything.

"My lord, our scouts have been deployed to various locations, and intelligence is being sent in continuously," Mu Weihu said gravely. "According to our scouts, this disaster is not as severe as imagined. If the granaries were opened, the situation would calm down quickly. The problem lies with the granaries themselves."

Xiao Zhi had long guessed this. The biggest "hamsters" in the Great Chu were the aristocratic families and the bureaucrats. To cope with natural disasters, there were granaries in every region. Yet, in the reports sent to the imperial court, it was claimed that the granaries in Shandong and Jiangsu had already been emptied, though it was hard to say how many people had actually received relief grain.

"The granaries were already empty, were they not?"

Mu Weihu nodded. "Not a single grain was distributed in any of the regions."

Not a single grain? This meant that the reserve grain that should have been in the granaries had long since become the private wealth of the bureaucrats. This Great Chu was truly rotten to the core. If he hadn't made this journey, he never would have believed it. The emperor sitting high up in the palace—what kind of nonsense reports was he reading? They were all fabricated data, and he likely believed the country was peaceful and the people were content.

However, Xiao Zhi was puzzled. "Then why hide the truth and not report it? That makes no sense."