Chapter 732: Xie Mingxian

As he spoke, Xu Hongju shot a provocative glance at the scholar, his meaning perfectly clear: no matter what you say or do, the Hierarch Xu Hongru is my blood brother — I'm still closer to him than you are.

The middle-aged scholar seemed not to notice Xu Hongju's provocation. He merely mused aloud, "Hierarch, if we truly resort to force, it will mean a great bloodbath, squandering our own strength to no purpose. That would still harm the Hierarch's great enterprise. In this subordinate's view, there are three strategies — upper, middle, and lower. The upper strategy is for the Hierarch to marry that Mu Shulan and take the Mu family's operation into hand. The middle strategy is simply to slaughter the Mu family and seize their operation. The lower strategy is to raze the Mu family and destroy their operation entirely. But whichever of the three we choose, we absolutely cannot let Wang Haoxian marry into the Mu family."

"Why go to all that trouble? I'll lead men over right now, bring back whichever Mu family members ought to be brought back, and slaughter the ones who ought to be slaughtered!" Xu Hongju raised his voice again.

Xu Hongru, seated upright at the far end, did not display his usual composure. He frowned, fixed his gaze on his own younger brother, and said with great displeasure, "You're no longer a child. You have your own affairs to manage. What are you doing picking a fight with Little Xie? Little Xie led several hundred men in Liaodong and toiled bitterly to return by sea — and you bring every last man under your command over here? What is this? Showing off how many men you have, or telling everyone you're about to rebel?"

A few sentences were enough to leave Xu Hongju red-faced and speechless. Xu Hongru's anger only grew as he spoke, his voice rising steadily. "Is Qingzhou Prefecture really so secure? Are you so at ease just marching over here? Today you will get out and go back. Take all your men with you, or I will enforce family law upon you!"

Scolded so mercilessly, Xu Hongju was utterly mortified, yet he dared not utter a word in retort. He merely muttered under his breath, "He's all talk anyway. Goes on all day about the great operation he built in Liaodong, and all he comes back with is a measly two hundred. Who knows if he wasn't just fooling us all along..."

He had barely gotten halfway through when the Smelling Incense Hierarch Xu Hongru flew into a rage. He snatched up a teacup from beside him and hurled it. Though Xu Hongju dodged, he was still drenched by quite a bit of the tea and immediately dared not say another word.

"Get out!" Xu Hongru barked, already rising from his seat.

The steward standing behind Xu Hongru hurried forward and, with an apologetic smile, coaxed Xu Hongju out of the room. Xu Hongju did not dare linger, but he shot a hateful glare at that Little Xie as he left.

There were very few people in the hall. Aside from the Xu Hongru and Xu Hongju brothers, the steward, and Little Xie, only the guards standing in the corners of the hall were present. At this moment, all of them kept their heads lowered, pretending to neither hear nor see what had transpired in the room. Xu Hongru glanced at Little Xie from the corner of his eye. The middle-aged scholar called Little Xie remained calm, showing not the slightest indignation.

"Mingxian, ten years ago you volunteered to go to Liaodong to spread the faith. Empty-handed, you carved out a vast domain. That this sect has achieved such momentum in Shandong and Northern Zhili — the men and silver you sent from Liaodong are the greatest of merits. When those Jurchen Tartar slaves raided the border, this seat feared for your safety. Mingxian, it is good that you have returned. You alone are worth a thousand men, ten thousand men!" Xu Hongru had shed his usual manner of feigned profundity; he spoke with utter sincerity.

After saying this, Xu Hongru even stood and heavily clapped Xie Mingxian on the shoulder — a gesture that, for Xu Hongru, who now occupied such an exalted position, was already a rare display of closeness.

A look of gratitude surfaced on Xie Mingxian's face, but his eyes remained utterly calm. He bowed and said, "The situation in Liaodong was originally excellent. The incense-burning military households had formed whole villages and estates, and everyone was devout and zealous. But once the Tartar slaves came, the domain we had so painstakingly built collapsed in an instant. This subordinate could only lead two hundred faithful congregants across the sea and back home in batches. This subordinate is guilty!"

"What guilt is there? That you could return is a great merit in itself. After you left for Liaodong, I have had no clever man by my side to offer counsel. Our situation now is improving by the day — precisely the moment for great undertakings. Your arrival comes at just the right time..."

At this point, Xu Hongru paused, then asked slowly, "Is the Great Ming over there really any different from the Tartars? Can we not send men to restore the incense halls there?"

Xie Mingxian bowed again and said, somewhat abashed, "Your Eminence, the Great Ming is lax and chaotic, full of countless gaps to exploit. Even openly establishing halls, burning incense, and preaching scriptures draws no one's attention. But the Tartars are harsh and merciless, with an extremely ferocious killing nature. Violate their rules and the only path is death. Moreover, this time the defeat was like a mountain crumbling. Many incense heads and congregants were killed, wounded, or scattered. The domain has utterly collapsed."

"A pity. Truly a pity. I had thought Liaodong would be a foundation for ten thousand generations. I never imagined it would be destroyed just like that." Xu Hongru sighed.

At these words, a ripple of emotion finally stirred in Xie Mingxian's calm eyes, and a look of rueful reflection surfaced on his face. He lowered his head even further. "No one expected the defeat to come so swiftly. To be frank with the Hierarch, apart from the routed soldiers and refugees fleeing by sea to Shandong, soldiers and civilians are deserting every single day — either taking the land route through the passes, or going to surrender to the Jurchen Tartar slaves. The situation in Liaodong grows harder to sustain by the day. From what those below report, even Shenyang and Liaoyang likely cannot hold."

Regret was one thing, but as the topic turned to these latter matters, Xu Hongru showed little interest. Xie Mingxian lifted his head, stole a glance, and immediately cut himself short. Raising his voice slightly, he said, "However, the two hundred and seventeen men this subordinate brought back are every one of them elite troops of the Liao Garrison. Each is worth ten ordinary soldiers. All are devout congregants as well. They will be an immense asset to this sect."

Xu Hongru nodded with a faint smile, then changed the subject. "Hongju is a crude military man. He's been like this with you for more than just a year or two. In his heart, he still regards you as a brother. Don't let his temper anger you. We are still all family."

"Please set Your Eminence's mind at ease. The Second Master is the purple-gold beam that steadies the seas of our sect. This subordinate would never harbor any resentment. Rather, it was this subordinate who, in his youthful ignorance years ago, may have offended the Second Master. I beg Your Eminence to soothe the Second Master, and ask the Second Master not to take offense." Xie Mingxian spoke with the utmost deference.

The smile on Xu Hongru's face deepened. He looked at Xie Mingxian with satisfaction and said slowly, "Those three strategies — upper, middle, and lower — you proposed just now are all quite sound. At its root, this matter is about preventing the Wang family from acquiring the Mu family. After all, this sect's dharma lineage was passed down from the Wang family. However, there is one thing wrong with your upper strategy. Do you know what it is?"

"I beg Your Eminence to instruct me." Though Xu Hongru's manner was genial, as if in casual conversation, Xie Mingxian did not relax his vigilance in the slightest.

"You want me to marry the Mu family's daughter and thoroughly absorb the Mu family, so that there is no bloodbath within the sect. This upper strategy is an outcome that pleases everyone, is it not?"

Without waiting for Xie Mingxian's reply, Xu Hongru continued on his own. "But have you considered this? If we absorb them in this way, how do we arrange positions for Mu Wuzhen and Mu Wujia? How do we arrange positions for the Mu family's core members in Dongchang Prefecture? How many men have fought through life and death for this sect and still not received proper placement? On what grounds should the Mu family be given arrangements? If we follow your upper strategy, it may seem to please everyone, but in reality, it will cause disaffection everywhere."

"This subordinate's consideration was inadequate. I beg Your Eminence's forgiveness." Xie Mingxian spoke with deference.

"Little Xie, why so stiff and formal? Let's just chat casually, like we did in the old days. What talk of forgiveness? You were gone to Liaodong so long, and you barely returned in between. Your grasp of this sect's finer details is insufficient. You think that because we are also called the Smelling Incense Sect, and the Mu family over there is also called the Smelling Incense Sect, it is like the green lotus and white lotus root — sharing the same origin, all one body. But my Smelling Incense Sect is one matter; the Mu family's Smelling Incense Sect is another matter entirely. And if Wang Haoxian were to take the Mu family, that would be yet another matter. Do you understand?"

His tone had been relaxed at first, but toward the end, Xu Hongru's expression and voice grew extremely solemn. He fixed his gaze on Xie Mingxian as he spoke these words. Xie Mingxian nodded and bowed. "This subordinate understands. It was this subordinate whose consideration was inadequate."

The smile remained on Xu Hongru's face, but he said nothing further. Xie Mingxian frowned in thought, then said in a deep voice, "Linqing is a large city. Our sect cannot act freely there. Moreover, this Mu Wuzhen is cautious by nature and versed in military tactics. That place will be very troublesome. If we move, we must ensure success in a single strike, or there will hardly be a second chance. Given Mu Wuzhen's habits, he will likely have his own niece marry Wang Haoxian as soon as possible. If that marriage alliance is formed, the entire situation will change drastically."

Xie Mingxian glanced up at Xu Hongru, then continued, "Why not lure the Mu brothers over? Finish them off on the road or at the banquet?"

As soon as he said this, he shook his head and rejected his own idea, muttering glumly, "If we do that, I fear those remaining in Dongchang Prefecture will band together. That will still be trouble."

"If one merely schemes without acting, everything seems fraught with endless difficulty. Yet once one actually makes a move, one finds it is utterly simple. Mu Wuzhen is indeed capable, but he is only one capable man, that is all." Xu Hongru seemed to be implying something else.

Xie Mingxian, however, caught the confidence on Xu Hongru's face. He faltered for only an instant before catching on. Smiling, he bowed with clasped hands and said, "Your Eminence must have had a plan all along. This subordinate's rambling has only made a fool of himself."

Xu Hongru laughed as well, pointing at Xie Mingxian. "We've known each other far too long for this sort of empty bureaucratic formality. These Mu family people seem shrewd and capable, but they are muddled fools who do not understand the greater trend. The Mu family's third son — such an outstanding figure. If he had stayed by my side, who knows what great deeds he might have accomplished. Instead, he had to go to Xuzhou to expand the Wang family's territory. The Mu family's second son is a rare steady hand, yet he too cannot resist that character 'Wang.' That Wang Haoxian is a creature no better than a pig or a dog, yet he treats him like a crown prince."

As he spoke, a trace of rancor crept into Xu Hongru's tone. Xie Mingxian remained silent. In those years, within the Smelling Incense Sect, he and Mu Wusheng had been regarded as the two most outstanding young men. He was one of Xu Hongru's own men, while Mu Wusheng was loyal to the Wang family. He had believed Liaodong was fertile ground, that going there to preach scriptures and burn incense would surely expand the Smelling Incense Sect's domain. Mu Wusheng, on the other hand, believed Xuzhou was the pivotal hub of the realm — seize it, and one could radiate influence in all directions.

So many years had passed. Mu Wusheng had long since met a violent death in Xuzhou, and the domain he himself had built in Liaodong had also crumbled to ash.

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