Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 276 I wish to be your confidant for life

"Debating the classics is not an urgent matter. The rebel army currently only has the Lingnan region. Even if they raise the banner of Confucianism, most scholars from humble backgrounds will only admire the powerful. Even if the aristocratic families exclude them and exploit them, they will still flatter the aristocracy, hoping to get a scrap of food from them. The aristocracy is obsessed with metaphysical discussions and Zen meditation, neglecting practical matters, so scholars from humble backgrounds also become immersed in this way, wanting to squeeze into the circle of the aristocracy."

Lan Suting spoke softly, but her calm narration revealed her unmistakable contempt for those who fawned over the powerful.

She studied Buddhism not to flaunt its esoteric teachings, but for self-cultivation; her interests were quite different from those of others.

Zhu Wen clapped his hands and said, "Well said, continue."

Lan Suting continued, "But Suting believes that the Salt Commissioner's suppression of both Buddhism and Taoism, while highlighting the status of Confucianism, is a clear indication of his ambition for unification."

The orders issued by Huang Chao required Taoist temples to be scaled down and staff to be laid off, not just Buddhist temples. It's just that there were far more Buddhist temples than Taoist temples.

Zhu Wen said, “When a king receives the mandate of heaven, he establishes the first month to unify the world, so that all things shall take it as their beginning. Hence the saying ‘Great Unification.’ This comes from the Gongyang Commentary. I heard my grandfather tell this story when I was a child.”

Lan Suting nodded: "Both Confucianism and Legalism have the idea of ​​unification. Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms and burned the books of all schools of thought. Emperor Wu of Han dismissed all other schools of thought and exclusively promoted Confucianism. In fact, their goals were similar. Taoism advocates small countries with few people, and Buddhism originated in India, a land with many kingdoms. Therefore, they often became tools for powerful families to resist imperial power and for feudal lords to resist the central government."

Zhu Wen suddenly remembered that when they joined forces in Songzhou, Huang Chao had said to Wang Xianzhi, "You want to restore the former glory of the Langya Wang clan, but I want to make sure that there are no more noble families in the world."

Huang Chao's ambitions went far beyond simply eliminating the gentry from the world.

He also wanted there to be no more warlords between heaven and earth.

Zhu Wen always hoped that he could become a military governor before he turned thirty.

Huang Chao, the master, wanted to abolish the Jiedushi system.

Realizing this, Zhu Wen was not discouraged, but rather inspired.

How could he not know the drawbacks of the military governor system?

The imperial court and the regional military governors were suspicious of each other, resorting to military confrontation, which resulted in rampant expansion of the army and an excessive number of redundant soldiers. Before the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty had an army of 490,000. By the time of Emperor Xuanzong, the population and finances were not as good as during Emperor Xuanzong's reign, yet the number of soldiers in the country had reached 990,000!
Even after a long period of peace, these redundant troops were severely understaffed and lacked combat effectiveness, often collapsing at the first sign of trouble when facing the rebel army. Extensive connections of vested interests made eliminating the redundant troops an extremely difficult task.

The cost of a large army, which drains the people's resources, will only lead to more and more people rising up in rebellion.

Zhu Wen initially felt that Huang Chao and Pi Rixiu's ideas, while meaningful, were somewhat impractical.

I never expected that my master would have the spirit to be an enemy of all the warlords in the world.

"Teacher, since you have such a noble spirit to bring peace to the world, how could your disciple not oblige?"

Zhu Wen murmured to himself, feeling a surge of heroic spirit welling up within him.

Even if Huang Chao were to do something like "the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked," if it were for such a grand ideal, the overall situation would be completely different.

Whether Huang Chao's plan was aimed at them or not was no longer important.

“But I, Zhu Sanlang, also want to live a fulfilling life in this world.” Zhu Wen said resolutely, “If Master can tolerate me, then so be it. If he cannot, then I will defeat Master and then fulfill your ambition!”

"Suting will always stand with you through thick and thin, through life and death," Lan Suting said earnestly.

Zhu Wen had made up his mind and all his confusion had disappeared. He suddenly pressed down on Lan Suting's shoulder and said, "Zhizhen, I suddenly miss my second brother again."

"Mmm," Lan Suting responded softly.

"Have a drink with me," Zhu Wen said somewhat lazily.

“Okay.” Lan Suting nodded.

Lan Suting brought over a jar of Xinfeng wine, poured it into a convex glass cup for Zhu Wen, and then filled his own cup.

The two sat facing each other and drank. After a few rounds of drinks, they were both a little tipsy.

Zhu Wen tapped the edge of the table with his iron ruyi scepter and suddenly began humming a drinking game composer of unknown origin. "How many call me brother! How many see me dead drunk! So many…trivial matters…let them be! A few boastful heroes? A few laughs, and they look down on me!"

There was a touch of carefree spirit and a touch of desolation in his singing.

Deep down, he is still a wandering knight-errant, enjoying the carefree spirit of the martial world and despising the petty scheming and intrigue of human relationships.

Zhu Wen was not born with a lust for power, nor did he have any interest in stepping on others to show off his own abilities.

But he was cynical and hated this filthy world, as well as the look of disgust in others' eyes. He wanted to climb to the clouds and change the world.

In the past, Xingxiang and her grandfather did not look down on Zhu Wen for his lowly status. However, Zhu Wen was too proud and wanted to work his way up to be worthy of Xingxiang's status, so he directly rejected Governor Zhang Rui's offer to help him find a way.

Now, in order to obtain the power they desire, they are forced to navigate a world of deceit and intrigue, and even have to carefully endure suspicion.

Even so, Zhu Wen was much happier after arriving at the bandit camp than before.

Because here are heroes who hold his value, and the soaring ambition he has always admired.

"Please, drink less. You're a little drunk." Lan Suting got up and walked to Zhu Wen's side, gently stroking his back.

She sipped her wine slowly, drinking far less than Zhu Wen, but two beautiful blushes rose on her face, and her cherry lips were stained a bright red by the wine. Under the flickering lamplight, she looked more vibrant and charming than usual, with a touch more delicate beauty.

Zhu Wen's heart stirred slightly as he looked at Lan Suting, and he suddenly grabbed her small hand and pulled her into his arms.

Before Lan Suting could react, Zhu Wen had already placed one hand on her cheek and reached for her sash with the other.

"No..." Lan Suting murmured, her delicate lips exhaling an alluring aroma of wine.

"What if I wanted you?" Zhu Wen's voice was low and magnetic, with a captivating and alluring quality.

Lan Suting's slender body trembled slightly, then her eyes suddenly brightened, her shyness vanished, and she answered solemnly, "Suting likes Dudu, but she wants to have an equal relationship with him, to be his subject for life, with him treating his subject with courtesy and the subject serving his subject with loyalty."

"Whether it's Sister Jun or Sister Xingxiang, whom I've only heard Jiang speak of, they both like Jiang more than Suting, to the point of loving him."

"If Su Ting becomes the general's woman, she can only be a concubine. As a concubine, how can she confidently offer insightful and honest advice to the general?"

She grasped Zhu Wen's palm with her small hand, her eyes resolute: "I wish to be your confidant for life!"

Zhu Wen put his arm around Lan Suting's slender waist, his gaze clearing as he burst into laughter.

This is the answer I wanted. And this is the integrity that Lan Suting should possess.

The satisfaction he got from this answer far surpassed the lingering passion he shared with Kao.

Lan Suting was indeed qualified to be called Zhu Wen's confidante. She understood that for a hero like Zhu Wen, spiritual support was more important than the satisfaction of physical desire.

There's no need to be wishy-washy about choosing to possess or not possess.

Zhu Wen laughed heartily, placed Lan Suting on his lap, and occasionally raised his cup to drink. He told her about his life and past, and when he got emotional, he suddenly sang a long song.

Lan Suting also joined in, keeping time with the music.

Even with a beautiful woman in his arms, Zhu Wen had no romantic thoughts. His demeanor was as clear as a gentle breeze and the bright moon. His drunken appearance was as graceful as a jade mountain about to collapse.

After they both got drunk, they fell asleep fully clothed, using each other as a pillow.

When I woke up, I saw that it was already white outside the window. We looked at each other and smiled, our eyes showing no trace of desire.

(End of this chapter)