BXBX NOVEL Chapter 459 - Four Hundred and Fifty-Five: The
Translator: 549690339
The debate over whether commoners or clans are more important is as pointless as arguing whether a chicken or an egg came first.
A clan is essentially an exceptional gathering of commoners, and from this perspective, it would seem more important to secure the allegiance of a clan, for it represents a selection of outstanding commoners. But, we can’t just skim the surface while evaluating matters.
Tang Luo knows that it is almost impossible to change the present mindset singlehandedly, hence he chooses to discuss the potential of commoners with the aid of two more convincing noble families.
“You all have seen Ji Fu, and have heard from Xu Clan about how powerful Han Family was a thousand years ago,” Tang Luo leaned his chin on his interlocked hands and softly said, “The first sacred land in the world was indeed that of the Han Family. Even when Saint Han ventured alone into the Endless Sea’s Dragon Island, it took seven other sacred clans and the top sects, together with the betrayal of allies from the An Clan, to break through the ancestral land of Han Family in the Central Plains.”
“Despite all this, the Han Family continued its legacy through its unparalleled potential for war. Yes, the martial arts ideas of Han Family surpassed those of others at that time, but most importantly, they advocated for the equality of all beings. Almost all the citizens of Central Plains were supporters of Han Family, and took pride in joining the Slaughter Immortal Army, providing an almost limitless source of soldiers. If Saint Han had not been tricked into going to Dragon Island, and had been able to command this war with his divine military strategies, the outcome could have been different. Doesn’t this prove the impact of the number of commoners on the potential for war?”
The most crucial part of a discussion is to state the facts and reason. Even today, the political philosophy of Han Family a thousand years ago is extremely advanced. Tang Luo plans to use the example of Han Family to slowly indicate the importance of numbers to the elders in his clan. However, when the Sixth Elder, Tang Gaomin, hears about the example of Han Family, he remains unmoved and retorts, “Exactly because of this philosophy prioritizing commoners over noble families, Han Family made enemies of all the noble families in the world. Yes, they had the support of countless commoners, but what was the result? The strongest sacred land a thousand years ago was directly annihilated. After a millennium of recovery, no one dares to restore Han Family as they are only able to wait and hide their names. Does Minister Luo want Tang Clan to tread the same path as Han Family?” Allowing all people to attain freedom is indeed a great virtue. Han Family was the indisputable first sacred land on earth with the support of all the noble families. However, promising equality for all, Han Family’s large-scale development of civilian power led to the alienation of all clans and sects, which eventually begot their destruction. Those commoners didn’t prove to be of any solid help in the end. Given this warning from history, there is little to be envied about Han Family, even considering their status of once being the first sacred land in the world.
“The largest advantage of learning from history is that it foretells the rise and fall of empires.” Tang Luo is unmoved by the Sixth Elder’s rebuke. His tone remains calm as he earnestly explains, “In my opinion, the biggest mistake of Han Family was that they rushed. Or rather, Saint Han was too eager to gain the support of noble families. He hoped his fellow elders would continue to stand with him. If Saint Han had kept his grand aspiration of equality for all hidden, steadily developed Central Plains for a hundred years, by the time his divine mandate came forth, who would dare disobey?
The Han Family had unparalleled potential for war, they had a strict meritocracy system that helped the competent and weeded out the incompetent. If Han Family had held onto their policies of integrating civilians and the military for a hundred years, Central Plains would have completely belonged to Han Family. However, Saint Han seemed discontent with this pace; he wanted all the noble families and sects to assist him and even initiated the great martial arts revitalization plan.
But the reality was that only the Xu Clan of Southern Heaven answered his call. Although martial arts greatly prospered and the Human Race flourished, Han Family ended up annihilated, which was undoubtedly ironic.
“Speculation is pointless.” The Great Elder, Tang Siyuan, responded with cold indifference, “A genius destined to be the strongest in the world is but a corpse once dead. If the Han Family had hidden for another hundred years as Minister Luo suggests, they may have indeed commanded absolute obedience. But it is equally probable that the commoners they have nurtured would have overthrown Han Family as soon as they gained power, leading to a civil war in Central Plains. If everyone is equal, what signify the lofty Han Family and Saint Han? The grand aspiration that Saint Han made was wrong from the very beginning, hence there couldn’t have been a good ending.” is the statement, “All are equal,” correct? Perhaps it would be, if it said: “All are ‘born’ equal,” but after birth, equality probably ceases to exist. There is a gap between the children of the rich and those of poor families, between the privileged and ordinary noble families, between generations-old sects and village martial arts clubs, between those with astonishing talents and those who are average. Differences between people manifest not only in wealth, spirit, martial strength, and status.
Even intelligence, which appears to be the fairest attribute, varies from person to person. Talking about equality in such a scenario is almost equivalent to blatantly lying.
Trying to implement a fundamentally wrong grand aspiration would turn even the first sacred land in the world to ashes. Tang Siyuan learned this lesson from the history of the Han Family’s rise and fall.
His words won unanimous approval from everyone at the table.
“I agree with the Great Elder’s point of view. Let’s now examine how another Sacred Family reacted after witnessing the downfall of Han Family,” Tang Luo is not planning to hang on the dispute with the Great Elder about whether Saint Han’s aspiration was right or wrong. Regardless of this, Han Family have already passed into history; they are just used to set things in perspective. “There were two worldly sacred lands in the whole world, the An Family of Central Plains and Xu Clan of Yuanzhou. The An Family of Central Plains, after defeating Han Family, acquired all their secret methods and has since remained at the pinnacle among all sacred lands worldwide. There isn’t much to discuss here. I wish to bring up the subject of Xu Clan from Yuanzhou.” A mysterious light flickered in Tang Luo’s eyes. Before Xu Lao Ying left, he spoke with Tang Luo a good deal about the current situation of Xu Clan in Yuanzhou. His mother once said that after leaving Southern Heaven to settle in Yuanzhou, Xu Clan had pulled themselves out of the competition for world supremacy. However, according to Xu Lao Ying’s information, when it came to the ability to wage war, the only ones that could challenge Xu Clan were probably the renowned An Family of Central Plains.
This drastic increase in military strength of Xu Clan following the death of Xu Saint is closely related to the policies they implemented.
Compared to the Han Family from a thousand years back, the present leaders of the Tang Clan, on hearing about Xu Clan, turned their full attention to the discourse. Xu Lao Ying’s trip to Xiling not only taught the warriors how vast the world was, but also revealed to Tang Clan how formidable the Xu Clan swordsmen actually were.
During the half year their challenge arena was set up, they defeated many fierce warriors of Xiling.
The Xu Clan’s martial arts, with hardly any blind spots, left the Tang Clan, who prided themselves on their martial prowess, with no option but to give up their competitive ambitions. Xu Lao Ying seemed to indulge in playful joy as he easily defeated the challengers. If the Xu Clan, known as the first sacred land for aggression, were to fully showcase their power, the challengers would probably find little difference even if they had an extra person to assist them. Knowing the Xu Clan’s path to strength would be like a stroke of luck for everyone present..