Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Using Political Affairs to Discuss Governance and Rule Over the Masses

"I am troubled by this very matter, and I wish to seek your counsel, Eldest Brother."

Xu Shiji wiped away his sweat but did not stand up. He remained seated, washed his hands and face with the clear water brought by Liu Hu'er, put on a sweat shirt, and took a sip of honey water before continuing. "Second Brother, let me ask you one thing first."

"Please speak, Eldest Brother."

Xu Shiji said, "Yesterday, we captured those scoundrels who robbed you of your wine and meat. I ordered them to be taken to the Hall of Law and executed. After their heads were shown to you, they were hung before the Central Army Pavilion at the summit. Second Brother, what is your view on this?"

Li Shandao was stunned. Given the question, how else could he view it? He replied, "Those men stealing my wine and meat is a minor matter, but violating the mountain rules you established is a major one. The mountain rules clearly state: 'Those who bully their own kind shall be beheaded.' According to the rules, they deserved to die."

"Do you not feel that executing them for merely stealing some wine and meat is perhaps too harsh?"

Li Shandao hesitated. He knew Xu Shiji was a shrewd man and that it was best to be honest. "Eldest Brother, to speak of harshness, it is indeed severe to behead people for robbing wine and meat. Even the imperial laws of the court are not this ruthless. At first, I did wonder if it was a bit inhumane. But our stronghold is different from the imperial court. What kind of people are here? They are all fierce outlaws who view killing and arson as routine. Without strict discipline, there can be no order. Once I thought of it that way, I understood why you enforced the mountain rules and executed them, even though they only stole some wine and meat."

"You are a little bit wrong, and half a point right."

Li Shandao humbly asked for guidance. "Please enlighten me, Eldest Brother. Where was I wrong, and where was my reasoning incomplete?"

"You said the imperial laws are not this harsh. That is wrong. Ten or twenty years ago, when the late Emperor was on the throne, there was an edict: 'One cash warrants execution.' Anyone who stole a single coin was to be executed in the marketplace. In terms of severity, the scoundrels killed yesterday stole wine and meat worth more than a single coin, right? During the late Emperor's reign, three people were once executed for stealing a single melon. Therefore, compared to that edict, executing those men for robbery is not considered harsh."

Li Shandao said, "The court had such an edict? I was unaware."

"When that edict was issued, both of us were still children, and it was later repealed, so it is normal that you do not know. Although that was repealed, the late Emperor later issued two more edicts: one stating that 'stealing more than a dou of border grain is punishable by death, with the family's assets confiscated,' and another stating that 'taking more than one coin from a government office is punishable by death, and those who know and do not report it shall also be executed.' These two have never been repealed and remain in effect. Second Brother, compared to these laws of the court, do you still feel our mountain rules are harsh?"

The previous Li Shandao had been a wastrel, playing around all day. Dong County was not a border region, nor was he an official, so the Sui Emperor's edicts had nothing to do with him. How would he know?

Although he had the memories of the former Li Shandao, he had no impression of this in his mind. Compared to the "one cash" edict, the cold-bloodedness of these others was clearly of the same origin. Feeling a sense of disbelief, Li Shandao said, "You know about things from twenty years ago? Your breadth of knowledge is truly impressive."

"The late Emperor pacified the south and subdued the Turks, who honored him as the 'Saint Khan.' He was certainly no mediocre ruler. At the beginning of his reign, he reviewed the new laws, deleting many of the cruel punishments of the previous dynasty, keeping only five hundred out of over fifteen hundred provisions. In the third year of Kaihuang, he issued an edict saying he wished to 'replace punishment with virtue,' clearly intending to govern the world with benevolent policies. Yet, why did he change in his later years and issue such harsh—or, to use your words, 'inhumane'—edicts?

"I have pondered this and believe it comes down to five words: 'Use heavy codes in troubled times.' Second Brother, during the late Emperor's time, the world had been at war for hundreds of years. Though it was unified, the customs remained wild, and the land was full of fierce men. Seeing that it was difficult to quickly change these customs with virtue, he chose to use 'heavy codes' as a correction.

"Whether his choice was correct or not, we need not dwell on, but applied to our stronghold, the phrase 'use heavy codes in troubled times' could not be more apt! To use your own words, our stronghold is full of 'fierce men who view killing and arson as routine.' If we are talking about 'troubled times,' can there be a place more troubled than our stronghold? Therefore, to stabilize the camp and ensure our ten thousand followers obey our orders without the slightest defiance, we must use 'heavy codes'!"

"In that sense, your statement that 'without strict discipline, there can be no order' is correct, but it is not entirely complete. That is where you were 'half a point right'."

Xu Shiji, a bandit leader in Wagang Stronghold, was speaking to Li Shandao about court affairs in a way that seemed incongruous. However, to Li Shandao, who knew of his future achievements, it felt perfectly natural and he listened with great interest. Hearing the conversation return to the stronghold, he asked, "May I ask, Eldest Brother, what was the half-point I missed?"

"The ancients said, 'Employ both virtue and might.' 'Heavy codes' are the might; everyone fears death. But if one only uses 'execution' to intimidate, there will surely be rebellion under such oppression. Therefore, governing solely by 'heavy codes' is not advisable. The best strategy is to combine it with 'bestowing virtue.' Might is fire, and virtue is water. When both are used, water and fire complement each other, and yin and yang are balanced. Second Brother, do you agree?"

Li Shandao nodded and said, "Indeed! Eldest Brother is absolutely right." He savored the words and laughed, "You said we need not debate whether the late Emperor's shift from 'virtue' to 'severity' was correct, but you have clearly already given your verdict."

"Therefore, your statement that 'without strict discipline, there can be no order' was only half right."

Li Shandao mused, "I understand what you mean. The part I missed was the need for 'virtue.' So, may I ask, Eldest Brother, what is the 'virtue' in our stronghold? Is it the rewards that come with clear rewards and punishments?"

Xu Shiji shook his head and said, "'Rewards' are benefits; they are different from 'virtue'."

"Then what is the 'virtue' of our stronghold?"

Xu Shiji did not answer directly but instead asked, "Second Brother, what do you think? What is our 'virtue'?"

Last night, after Liu Hu'er showed him the heads, he had remarked, "There are many good men who value loyalty, but there are also these unrighteous scoundrels." These words unexpectedly resurfaced in Li Shandao's mind.

He slapped his thigh and said, "As they say, 'a flash of insight is worth a thousand gold'!"

Xu Shiji asked, "Have you figured it out?"

"Virtue is benevolence. Our stronghold is full of fierce men whose daily business is killing, arson, and robbery; talking about 'benevolence' is pointless. To use 'proper' virtue to govern our people would be laughable. But among 'Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trust,' the 'Righteousness' is something we can use. Eldest Brother, if I am not mistaken, 'Righteousness' is the 'virtue' we use to govern the stronghold!"

Xu Shiji laughed and said, "Second Brother is clever and quick to understand. Exactly. This 'Righteousness' is indeed the virtue of our stronghold. How can we make our men willingly accept the mountain rules and obey our commands? Like those scoundrels who were killed yesterday—even though we enforced the rules, no one could say a word against it or complain that the law was too harsh. Second Brother, it is because of this 'Righteousness'!"

"Indeed. For a man who values righteousness, who would 'bully their own kind'? Since they 'bullied their own kind,' they were unrighteous, villainous people, and their deaths were not to be mourned."

Having finished his strength training and then speaking for a long time, Xu Shiji was thirsty. He took another sip of honey water and said, "Second Brother, since you have realized this, you should know how to discipline your men now, right?"

When Xu Shiji first brought up the execution of the men who stole the wine and meat, Li Shandao had not understood why he was talking about it. But hearing him speak of "employing both virtue and might," he understood Xu Shiji's intent.

Xu Shiji was discussing the execution of those men on the surface, but in reality, he was answering Li Shandao's request for "counsel."

Li Shandao smiled and said, "Eldest Brother, I understand now."

"How will you discipline them?"

Xu Shiji tapped his palm gently and said, "Not only is it correct, but you have grasped it well. While the mountain rules should be treated as supreme, when explaining them, you must always put 'righteousness' first." He paused and added, "There is one more thing, Second Brother. I must make it clear: if we are to 'promote righteousness,' we as leaders must lead by example. We must do it ourselves. We cannot just use it to restrain our followers while we only pay lip service to it."

Li Shandao replied, "Eldest Brother, there is no need to tell me that. I know it well."

"After we raided the boats, I heard you distributed most of your share of the rewards to Qin San and the others. This shows that you are a man who thinks little of wealth and values righteousness. I mention this only in passing."

Speaking of this, Xu Shiji remembered something. "Brother Bing returned to the stronghold a few days ago. He has finished tallying the goods we seized. Since that old Hu was a cloth merchant, there was little cash, mostly goods like fabric. We must wait until they are sold before we can receive our share, so you will have to wait a little longer."

Li Shandao knew that the stronghold had a dedicated department for selling stolen goods, headed by this "Brother Bing," whose name was Bing Yuanzhen.

Bing Yuanzhen had been a minor official in the county, was literate, and understood arithmetic. As he was also an old friend of Zhai Rang, Zhai Rang had appointed him to this position.

Li Shandao laughed, "Following you to rob that old Hu was meant to earn merit for the stronghold. Whether I receive a share of the goods or not is fine with me."

"These are the rules of the stronghold; you cannot refuse even if you want to. As I just said, relying only on punishment to discipline men is not enough; one must put righteousness first. Distributing the spoils according to the rules—that is 'righteousness.' Second Brother, if I did not give you your share, that would be me failing to be righteous." Xu Shiji was clearly joking.

Li Shandao replied with a smile, "Yes, Eldest Brother is right. When the goods are sold and distributed, I will accept them without false modesty." He paused, then said, "Eldest Brother, I know how to discipline my men now, but what about training? You know I am not a member of the imperial guards and have never been recruited into the Xiaoguo army. I was a wastrel who didn't like to study, and I have never read books on military strategy, so I am still at a loss. Would you be willing to teach me that as well?"