The Eagle Shooting Heroes: From Golden-Knife Prince Consort to Emperor Guangwu of the Great Zhou Dyn

Guo Liqing's question was clearly meant to embarrass Xu Zhu. It was a question that even modern people would find difficult to answer. Although Xu Zhu was a centenarian, he was limited by the constraints of his time and could not understand the question.

Xu Zhu clasped his hands together and said, "In this world, things aren't always black and white, either this or that. Is it really impossible to protect everyone if one person has to be killed?"

Guo Liqing shook his head and said, "Master Xuzhu, let's talk as we walk."

Guo Liqing led Xu Zhu toward the city wall.

"Let's think of a story like this: On a river, a ship fully loaded with goods loses control and drifts downstream."

Downstream, the river branched off, and on the left branch, five river workers were repairing the embankment.

If the cargo ship rushes down the left-hand side channel, it will inevitably collide with the five river workers, resulting in the destruction of the ship and the loss of life!

On the right fork in the road, there was only one woman washing clothes on the shore.

And you, just happen to be at the fork in the river, holding the key to the diversion gate…

If you do nothing, the cargo ship will head straight for the left lane, and the five river workers will surely die.

If you move the sluice gate, you can turn the cargo ship to the right, and the washerwoman will surely die!

The difference is that if you do nothing, five people will die. If you choose to save five people, one innocent person will be sacrificed. What would you choose?

Xu Zhu's eyes widened; that was a truly brilliant question.

Guo Liqing said, "Monks are compassionate, and their first choice should be to save people! But saving people may involve killing them! Should they do it or not?"

"Then what will you choose, benefactor?"

"Don't rush, not all questions need answers," Guo Liqing said again. "Suppose that instead of five river workers, there were five swimmers on the left bank. The government has explicitly prohibited swimming in the river to prevent accidents, but they still sneaked over to swim."

In situations like this, wouldn't it be easier for you to make a judgment?

Xu Zhu was taken aback at first, then said, "If that's the case, then they certainly have only themselves to blame. But if there's an opportunity, we should still try to save them!"

"The cargo ship is going downstream; no human can stop it, not even a martial arts master. The only thing you can do is move the lock mechanism. But once you move it, the cargo ship will definitely veer to the right and will inevitably run over and kill that innocent woman!"

Xu Zhu wore a wry smile.

"Now let me assume that the five people on the left are still ignoring the ban and swimming in the river without permission. And the one on the right is not an innocent woman, but a notorious villain. What would you choose?"

Would one choose to kill the most heinous criminal and save the lesser ones?

If we add the following preconditions, most people would probably have already made up their minds.

Xu Zhu shook his head and asked, "This humble monk is dull-witted. If it were you, benefactor, what would you choose?"

Guo Liqing shook his head and said, "As I just said, not all questions need an answer. Master Xuzhu, your so-called Buddhist compassion for the equality of all beings is just like my first question: five innocent people and one innocent person, how would you choose? You can't choose!"

However, after I added a condition, did you find that this is a little easier to choose than the first question?

In reality, the problem we encounter is not five innocent river workers and one innocent woman.

If one of the workers on the river is your friend, and if that woman is your wife, then you might make a decision immediately!

The world is not simply a matter of "killing" and "not killing"; sometimes, "not killing" can lead to even greater "accidental killing."

Xu Zhu looked at Guo Liqing; he understood now. Guo Liqing was trying to persuade him with the bloody reality that had just occurred and this veiled story.

"The reason I followed you down the mountain was because I was worried that you would massacre the city, and I came to stop you! You ransacked Chengtian Temple, which they deserved, so I didn't show myself. But you killed members of the royal family... There were innocent people among the royal family."

"But as you saw, they are not innocent! Saving them only caused even greater casualties!"

Xu Zhu shook his head; this was something he hadn't foreseen.

"You don't need to do that. If I told you that the Mongols would surely rise and the Western Xia would surely perish, then the Mongols would have completely wiped out the Western Xia. But my appearance has saved most of the Western Xia people."

Guo Liqing wasn't just boasting. Historically, Genghis Khan died on his way to conquer the Western Xia, so the Mongol army vented all their anger on the Western Xia people, carrying out a large-scale massacre in Zhongxing Prefecture.

Not only was the Western Xia state destroyed, but the Tangut people also disappeared from history.

In comparison, Guo Liqing was able to save a large number of people, which is already quite good.

"According to you, your choice is: kill one to save five! Then what's the point of telling me all this?"

Guo Liqing seemed somewhat caught off guard by the question.

Suddenly, he turned and smiled, saying, "It doesn't mean anything special. I was just thinking, can pure good intentions lead to the best outcome? Can pure reason create a perfect world?"

Xu Zhu clasped his hands together and said, "Your words are beyond my comprehension. I've lived a hundred years in a daze, yet I haven't thought as much as you! It seems I'm not the one holding the sluice gate; you are!"

Guo Liqing smiled calmly, but he was anything but calm inside.

"Benefactor, I know you are not a bloodthirsty person, so you can rest assured. If there is nothing else, I will prepare to return to Tianshan."

Guo Liqing clasped his hands together and said, "In my plan, after conquering Western Xia, peace will be restored within ten years! If you, Master, can live another ten years, I hope you can come down the mountain to take a look."

Xu Zhu laughed and said, "That's probably difficult!" He looked at Guo Liqing and said, "If you practice the Everlasting Spring Skill with your own blood essence, you will suffer a qi deviation. You can eat more wild beast meat, which can help your body recover. But remember, you must not practice the Everlasting Spring Skill haphazardly again."

Guo Liqing asked, "Why is it the meat of a wild beast?"

"The wild beasts in the mountains absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making them the best at replenishing one's essence and blood."

"Spiritual energy of heaven and earth? Does such a thing exist?" Guo Liqing didn't know whether the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that Xu Zhu was talking about was the same thing as the spiritual energy of heaven and earth that he thought it was.

Xu Zhu smiled and said, "Heaven and earth have spirits, and all things have spirits too."

Afterwards, Xu Zhu quietly left alone and never appeared again.

Although Guo Liqing knew that, given Xu Zhu's character, he would only save people and would not participate in the Western Xia war.

But war always inevitably results in casualties.

Better safe than sorry; persuading Xu Zhu would certainly be the best option.

After seeing Xu Zhu off, Guo Liqing stood on the city wall, looking at the Western Xia army in the distance, feeling a sense of helplessness.

He truly hadn't expected that the royal family members he had released would have such power, capable of contacting the outside army.

This group of Western Xia troops was originally stationed by Western Xia to defend against the Northern Song Dynasty in the east, and later also to defend against the Jin Dynasty.

However, the Western Xia Dynasty is now weak, and these five armies combined number only tens of thousands of men.

The chances of winning a direct confrontation with the Mongol cavalry are slim.

However, given Guo Liqing's tactics, he certainly wouldn't choose to engage in a direct confrontation first.

Just as Guo Liqing was standing on the city wall pondering how to break the deadlock, Yelü Chucai arrived.

"Marshal, those Tangut nobles who are preparing to submit request an audience!"

"The Tangut nobles? I thought they had rebelled as well."

Yelü Chucai said, "Those to be executed that day were the royal nobles who refused to submit. Those who were willing to submit were not taken out. However, I don't know why they didn't join the rebellion."

"The fact that they didn't rebel shows they're smart," Guo Liqing smiled and said, "Let's go! Let's go see them!"