The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

Jiang Ning also laughed: "Why do you say that?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly but did not answer.

The two then arrived at a small lake. When Zhu Houzhao came to the lake, the guards on duty wanted to step forward to protect him, but Zhu Houzhao waved them away.

Zhu Houzhao squatted down by the lake, looking at the small fish swimming around in the lake, and said, "I remember when I took Brother Jiang to the brothel before, Brother Jiang compared many people in the world who are still suffering to these small fish in the water."

Jiang Ning looked at his crouching back without saying a word.

He did say that.

Zhu Houzhao did not turn around, but continued to look at the small fish in the lake.

“I have investigated you. I know everything you have done and some of the things you have said. I know you have killed many people, even though they were the most heinous criminals. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, you have still violated them and should be executed.”

As Zhu Houzhao spoke these words, he seemed to feel a chill run down his spine. His eyelids twitched involuntarily, and he quickened his pace, saying, "However, I did not mean to pursue Brother Jiang's case. Because besides Brother Jiang, there are countless other people in this world who are killing people and violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty. But Brother Jiang is better than them. At least none of the people Brother Jiang killed were innocent."

"I have no objection to what Brother Jiang has done."

Chapter 547: There's no need

There was still no sound coming from behind him, but the chill on Zhu Houzhao's back had also disappeared.

Zhu Houzhao breathed a sigh of relief, realizing he had been careless.

Although he was in the palace and surrounded by many guards, the other party was very close to him. If he really wanted to harm him, even these guards probably couldn't stop him.

It's best not to say things that might provoke the other person.

Zhu Houzhao did not say again that Jiang Ning should be executed according to the law.

"However, although I have no objection to Brother Jiang's actions, I still have to say that what you have done is still a drop in the ocean for this world."

Zhu Houzhao stood up and looked at Jiang Ning.

"You said last time that you cared about the people you saved, and I admire your actions. However, I still maintain my opinion that what you did was useless to the Ming Dynasty and to the people of the Ming Dynasty. How vast is the Ming Dynasty? How many millions of people are there in the Ming Dynasty? How much can you do? How long can you do it? How long can you live? A few years? A few decades? Or a hundred years? What will happen after you die? The world will still be the same."

Zhu Houzhao spoke very quickly without pausing at all. He pointedly said that everything Jiang Ning had done was in vain and asked Jiang Ning a series of questions. He was not worried that Jiang Ning would be so angry that he would kill him. If the other party was so easily provoked, it would prove that the other party was a person who could not amount to anything.

Jiang Ning looked at Zhu Houzhao without saying a word.

Zhu Houzhao looked at him without showing any weakness. Although Zhu Houzhao had no martial arts skills, he was not afraid at all.

After a while.

Jiang Ning laughed.

"You're right, I can't change much, I can only do what I can."

Jiang Ning knew what Zhu Houzhao was saying; he had always understood it. He did not evade or refute Zhu Houzhao's point of view, but rather readily admitted it.

Jiang Ning never denied this; he could not completely eradicate evil.

Zhu Houzhao laughed.

"But someone will always do it."

Jiang Ning also came to the lakeside and watched the fish swimming in the lake.

"If you can't do it, then don't do it; if you can't change it, then don't change it?"

Hearing Jiang Ning's words, Zhu Houzhao chuckled softly, thinking that Jiang Ning's words were too naive.

"Brother Jiang, you are very naive."

Zhu Houzhao directly said that Jiang Ning's idea was naive.

“I’ll say it again: how much can you accomplish by yourself? I believe that you’ve traveled to so many places and killed so many people, including many nobles and royalty.”

Zhu Houzhao bluntly stated, "Why did you kill them? Wasn't it because they committed all sorts of evil deeds and oppressed the people in the area, and the government was unable to stand up for the common people, so you angrily took action and killed them?"

Jiang Ning neither spoke nor denied it.

Zhu Houzhao continued, “Have you ever thought about why this phenomenon occurs? Why do they dare to oppress the people with impunity and why can’t the government do anything about them? It’s because they are princes, officials, and nobles. They naturally have privileges, and the government has to curry favor with them and be on good terms with them. So it doesn’t matter if they oppress the people, or commit rape and plunder. Someone will naturally help them deal with it. Commoners dare not retaliate when they are oppressed. Why? Because the laws of the Ming Dynasty cannot govern them.”

At this point, Zhu Houzhao gave a cold laugh.

However, his sneer was not directed at Jiang Ning.

"Our Great Ming Dynasty has been enacted since the founding of the dynasty by Emperor Taizu. These gentry enjoy the preferential treatment of the court, but they are doing things that harm the Great Ming. Corruption is rampant in the court, and outside the court they are oppressing the people, plundering their wealth, seizing their land, and driving them to the brink of despair. To this day, there are countless people like them who are still living freely in the Great Ming Dynasty, but the Great Ming Law has no way to deal with them."

After speaking at length, Zhu Houzhao felt a little tired, paused for a moment, and then continued.

"Moreover, the laws of the Ming Dynasty not only cannot govern them, but also those Jianghu people."

Zhu Houzhao understood very well that the Ming Dynasty law was meant to bind ordinary people, and it was only effective against ordinary people. It was useless against those江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the martial arts world) and the powerful and wealthy class of the Ming Dynasty.

Because ordinary people cannot bear the consequences of violating the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the laws of the Ming Dynasty are not to be violated. However, the court cannot do anything about those martial arts practitioners who violate the laws of the Ming Dynasty, because they have martial arts skills and can fly over rooftops and walls, ignoring the government's arrest.

Meanwhile, the princes and nobles used the privileges afforded to them by their class to make the laws of the Ming Dynasty ineffective against them.

"Those martial arts practitioners use their martial arts to fight against the laws of the Ming Dynasty, while those princes and nobles use their power to override the laws of the Ming Dynasty. To me, there is no difference between the two types of people."

Zhu Houzhao unknowingly referred to himself as "朕" (Zhen, the imperial "I") again, indicating that he now truly hated those princes and nobles.

"So, Brother Jiang, you must understand."

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning.

"Everything you've done is just scraping the surface, not touching the root cause. What if you kill one person? What if you kill ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand? They're just numbers, they don't help the world at all. You killed Xu Heqing, you killed Hu Anyu, but there's more than one Xu Heqing in the world, and more than one Hu Anyu."

"Xu Heqing?"

Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised to hear Zhu Houzhao mention Xu Heqing.

Xu Heqing was the former third-rank official whom Jiang Ning killed on his first trip down the mountain. At that time, Jiang Ning had just obtained the Innate Skill from the Ancient Tomb and stayed in Chang'an for one night. He happened to witness Xu Heqing's son forcibly taking a woman and saying in front of him that he would not let any runaway woman go. That's why Jiang Ning went to the Xu family and destroyed them. Originally, this matter had already passed for several years, but Zhu Houzhao brought it up again.

If Zhu Houzhao hadn't brought it up now, Jiang Ning would probably have forgotten about it.

Seeing Jiang Ning's surprised look, Zhu Houzhao smiled slightly.

“Brother Jiang, although you did not reveal your identity when you wiped out Xu Heqing’s entire family, there will always be some clues if you want to investigate. This is not troublesome for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.”

Jiang Ning smiled and nodded slightly.

Actually, he wasn't surprised at all, nor did he panic after the news broke.

“In fact, Brother Jiang, you know in your heart that no matter how many people you kill, you can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. If you want to reform this world, stop the people from being oppressed, and let them live, killing indiscriminately is not the way.”

Zhu Houzhao looked at Jiang Ning, his eyes shining.

"There's a saying in officialdom: 'Those not in a position shouldn't meddle in its affairs.' Although you're a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world) with a great reputation, in reality, you're just one person. I, on the other hand, am the Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty. This position allows for far more than what you're currently doing. Therefore, if you want to eradicate these..."

Zhu Houzhao's emotions grew increasingly agitated, and before he could finish speaking, Jiang Ning burst into laughter.

"So, according to you, the only way for me to completely eradicate these people is to rebel and become emperor?"

Zhu Houzhao's excitement vanished instantly, and he gave an awkward laugh, seemingly a little embarrassed.

"No need."

Chapter 548: Success Doesn't Have to Be Mine

Jiang Ning's words truly stumped Zhu Houzhao.

Seeing Zhu Houzhao's embarrassed expression, Jiang Ning laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha."

Seeing Jiang Ning's expression, Zhu Houzhao knew he was joking and said helplessly.

"You can't make jokes like that. I won't hold it against you, but if other people hear it, you'll be in big trouble."

"hehe."

Jiang Ning chuckled.

"I know what you mean, you want me to do things for you?"

Jiang Ning's words made Zhu Houzhao pause for a moment before nodding.

"good."

Zhu Houzhao did not feign an explanation, but said, "I have only recently ascended the throne, and there are all sorts of factions vying for power in the court. They are all busy fighting for power and profit. As the emperor, I do not have much power in my hands, and I urgently need to employ people."

Zhu Houzhao looked intently at Jiang Ning: "Brother Jiang, your martial arts are so high, and your abilities are so great. Since you have such lofty ambitions, why not serve the court? Why not serve me? There is a saying among the people: 'One who has mastered both literary and martial arts should serve the emperor.' Since you have such skills, why waste them on the conflicts of the martial world? Why not use them to express your ideals and abilities in the court and bring blessings to the people of the world?"

Zhu Houzhao spoke with great emotion and his eyes were very bright. This young emperor was full of passion and energy, and he wanted to dedicate himself to changing the country.

"The Ming Dynasty is sick now, very sick. Too many parasites are crawling on it, sucking its blood, making it weak and unable to protect its people. I want to heal it, but my strength alone is not enough. I need more people to heal it with me and make it regain its vitality. Brother Jiang, I need your help. This is not an order from the emperor, but a friend who shares your ideals asking for your help. Brother Jiang, help me! Help the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Houzhao was a man of great emotion, and his words were very persuasive. If anyone else had heard that the emperor valued him so much, they would have been deeply moved by now.

Jiang Ning laughed. He glanced at Zhu Houzhao, then turned to look at the lake.

"I'm just a江湖人 (jianghu person) who only knows how to fight and kill. You want my help? What can I do for you? Or rather, what do you want me to do for you? Kill someone?"

Jiang Ning did not believe that Zhu Houzhao wanted to give him an important position because he had a strong ability to govern the country. In Zhu Houzhao's eyes, he was just a Jianghu person who only knew how to fight and kill. So what did Zhu Houzhao want him to do by giving him an important position?

It's nothing more than using him to eliminate dissidents and get rid of those disobedient officials. To put it bluntly, they want to use him as a tool to seize power.

Zhu Houzhao's passion was dampened by Jiang Ning's words, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

Zhu Houzhao had no answer to Jiang Ning's question.

To be honest, that's exactly what he was thinking.

There was no way around it; Jiang Ning's superb martial arts skills were simply too suitable for him to be an assassin. Especially after Zhu Houzhao made up his mind about a certain matter, he felt that Jiang Ning was the right person for him. He had even decided that if Jiang Ning really agreed to work for him, he would have Jiang Ning assassinate those officials and ministers.

However, now that Jiang Ning has brought the matter to light, he doesn't know how to respond.

When dealing with intelligent people, you don't have to worry about them not understanding, but because they are so intelligent, there's no way to hide anything from them or take advantage of them.

"good."

Zhu Houzhao remained calm.

"That's exactly what I think, but the Ming Dynasty really needs radical reform. There are some things that have to be done. I want to reform, I want to establish a better system. Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty rise again, protect its people, and allow the people of the Ming Dynasty to live under a new system, so that the world can be at peace."

Jiang Ning smiled.