Chapter 688

With the two favored officials fighting, the court officials were happy to see it happen.

The Censorate's censors, however, were like cats smelling fish, all excited and howling. Big business has arrived; brothers, charge!

Zhao Mingqiao was not one to yield, taking the lead in the charge against the two favored officials. At the same time, he fearlessly accused the Emperor of being biased.

Since they were going to lock people up, why only lock up the Zhao Fu's servants and not the Xiao Fu's servants? Although the Xiao Fu's servants lost the fight, it was because their skills were inferior; that was no reason to escape legal punishment.

The current Youth Society was quite large, having expanded several times over since its founding.

As the president of the Youth Society, Zhao Mingqiao's prestige among the literati had grown, already causing wariness among many high-ranking officials in the court.

This time, he led the charge with great momentum, and some wanted to take the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Borrowing the Emperor's anger, they used a borrowed knife to kill, attacking Zhao Mingqiao and the Youth Society behind him.

A chaotic battle thus began.

Chen Guanlou, in the Heavenly Prison, watched this chaos in the court, feeling dazzled and unable to distinguish east from west.

He had a bad premonition.

"Zhao Mingqiao is afraid he's kicked an iron plate this time."

Sure enough, he was a crow's mouth; the good didn't come true, but the bad did!

After more than a month of chaotic fighting, while the autumn heat was still raging, Zhao Mingqiao had his official hat removed by the Emperor during the morning court, was thrown into the Heavenly Prison, and was subjected to a joint trial by the Three Judicial Offices.

Looking at his old friend who had entered the palace for the second time, Chen Guanlou clicked his tongue twice, unable to help but feel a sigh.

He personally instructed Chen Quan to arrange a cell with excellent conditions for Zhao Mingqiao, cleaned it thoroughly, and even sprinkled medicine to repel insects.

One inside the cell, one outside the cell, just like in the past.

Chen Guanlou stood outside the prison door, "Why did you have to do this! Zhao Jinming and Xiao Jin, two favored officials—wouldn't it have been better to let them bite each other? You had to stick your foot in. As a result, those two are completely fine, only fined half a year's salary, while you've tossed yourself in."

"Zhao and Xiao openly trampled on the law; if I didn't know, that would be one thing, but since I know and yet turn a blind eye, fearing to move forward, what qualification do I have to be a role model, what qualification do I have to be the president of the Youth Society?"

"You are muddled! Precisely because you are the president of the Youth Society, you must know how to cherish yourself, to understand the principle that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. You've come in, and those people will certainly take the opportunity to dismantle the Youth Society. How many of your subordinates have your ability to withstand the attacks of the entire court?"

Chen Guanlou was frustrated, wishing he could pry the other's brain open and pour a whole set of logic into him.

"The Youth Society is no longer the inconspicuous little society it was when it was first founded. Now it is clearly one of the best among the literati, a large society with influence from the literati to the officialdom.

Do you know how many people covet your position as president and want to replace you? Do you know how many people view the Youth Society as an enemy and want to dismantle it?

As the leader, as the head, you don't know how to cherish yourself—preserving yourself is preserving your group—and yet you took the lead to charge forward, letting people grab your handle. Now it's good, you've entered the palace for the second time! I don't know if you'll be able to get out in a year or a half."

Chen Guanlou felt pained!

What a good situation, what a good beginning, prying open a crack in the stubborn and rigid literati officialdom. It only needed to be followed up, and this crack would get bigger and bigger, until one day, it would turn everything upside down.

Yet Zhao Mingqiao still held old concepts, his thinking not changing with the growth of the Youth Society. In everything, he still charged to the front himself.

That bunch of old slickers in the officialdom must be laughing their mouths off right now. They were just worrying about not finding an opportunity to deal with him, and they didn't expect him to deliver himself to their door, hahaha...

Zhao Mingqiao flicked his sleeves, not listening at all, "As president, how can I be cowardly and hide behind others? Besides, I am still a court censor; impeaching officials for illegal acts is my duty."

Chen Guanlou:...

"And the result? Did you achieve your goal? Calculate it yourself; how much have you lost this time? Running a society, not only must you be a role model, but you must also learn to calculate! Like this matter, you should have let them bite each other, and you just needed to put on a show. Only then can you maximize the benefits."

"I understand what you mean. However, sometimes one must act."

"Sometimes one must also choose not to act."

"The society is expanding, personnel are increasing; I must let the people below see the spirit of the Youth Society, which is to charge forward, never retreat, and never fear! If I cherish myself and retreat, how will others view me?" Zhao Mingqiao grabbed the prison bars and said solemnly.

He was like a messenger of justice, never retreating even if he died. Yet he didn't consider how chaotic the situation would be after his death, or what desperate straits the people around him would fall into because of his death.

It was justice, but it was too narrow!

Chen Guanlou:...

He sighed and said earnestly, "That's not how you do things. With the society developed to its current scale, what you need to do is have a clear division of labor.

Some people formulate strategies, some are responsible for charging, some are responsible for cheering... and you, you need to know people and assign them well, distribute everyone's work tasks, check for gaps and fill them, and hold the banner.

You are the backbone; which family's backbone gets arrested as soon as the battle starts? The backbone is the anchor; you don't need to be overly capable, you don't need to charge to the front, but when the team is developing smoothly, you hold the banner, grasp the direction, and let the team always walk on the correct path. When the team's development is hindered and it suffers adversity, you can turn the tide, gather hearts, unite everyone, work together, and overcome difficulties.

Look at you, still the same as in the past, still the same old routine of fighting alone. Although you have a bunch of people behind you, it seems not one of them can share your worries.

Clearly, your leadership strategy has a problem. On this point, you need to learn more from those big shots in the court, see how they win over talent, how they distribute tasks, and how they deploy personnel. Don't look down on them; anyone who can sit at the peak of the officialdom is no simple character."

Zhao Mingqiao frowned tightly, as if he had some realization, some dissatisfaction, and some reflection.

In fact, he was the chosen one to run the society and carry out reforms.

He was very good at bewitching people's hearts and also at winning them over. The Youth Society's development to this day owed much to him. Young scholars who joined the Youth Society basically all fell under his charismatic personality.

But his shortcomings were also very obvious.

He lacked leadership talent; he needed to make up for this lesson.

A leader with charismatic personality can move forward courageously and be like a hot knife through butter.

Chen Guanlou's tone softened, "Entering the palace for the second time is fine; just take this opportunity to calm down and think carefully about the future of the Youth Society and what kind of path it should take. You must formulate directions, establish rules and regulations, have strategies and tactics, and manage personnel deployment. This is just like fighting a war; you must train troops in peacetime, have battle plans and operational strategies in wartime, and have long-term goals. When encountering urgent military situations, you must have corresponding response measures, instead of running around like a headless fly."