"Haha... Haha..."

The shadows of the night flickered on the street below. In the tea house, the two men sitting opposite each other remained silent for a moment before Zou Xu's laughter broke out, calm yet complex.

"Monkey, you've really learned your skills well from Teacher..."

Fang Chengye looked at him from across the table: "...Isn't it worth considering carefully?"

"No, just now... I really did consider it carefully. For a moment... a very small moment." He held up a finger to illustrate. "...I was tempted."

Fang Chengye swirled the tea in his cup.

Zou Xu looked out the window.

...

Zou Xu's voice finally broke the silence after a while.

"But Monkey, have you... have you ever felt... standing on the city wall, watching tens of thousands of troops below obeying your command? Have you ever felt... in the Golden Hall, your word is law, holding the future of the entire world in your hands? Strategizing! Wielding power! Have you ever thought about standing at the very top of this era to take a look? You know... Yin Zong, Chen Shiquan, Dai Mengwei, even the female chancellor of Jin, you know their weaknesses, you know they can't compare to you... Monkey, I can replace them, a true man should be like this..."

"...Isn't it good to have equality for all?"

"It's good... but what does it matter to keep something you've never touched in thousands of years in your heart and set it aside... Monkey, do you know what I've been thinking about all these years... I keep thinking about what happened in Bianliang City, what happened when Teacher killed Zhou Zhe. After I entered Bianliang, I went to the palace almost every day to take a look. I sat on the steps and wondered how Teacher threw Zhou Zhe to the ground back then, how he used the knife to knock on his head, how he said to all the officials, 'A bunch of trash.'"

"...The emperor should be punished the same as the common people. Teacher did it for equality."

"You're wrong! You're completely wrong." Zou Xu's voice rose slightly, then he lowered it. "Monkey, that's power, that's absolute power. You walk into the Golden Hall, hold the so-called emperor in your hands, and tell all the most powerful people of that era, Cai Jing, Tong Guan... Teacher slapped Tong Guan, this arrogant prince with a different surname, and his whole head slammed into the steps of the Golden Hall. And Teacher told all these people that they were trash. Monkey, this is power, this is power that makes people tremble just thinking about it..."

"..."

"Teacher started from Little Cang River and taught us to have power. Back then, when the Jurchens brought Lu's shopkeeper's head, Teacher said he would rather kneel to them. Why? Because we didn't have power at the time. Later, all the forbearance, all the planning, all the perseverance, were for the ultimate power. When we arrived in the Southwest, facing figures like Nianhan and Xiyin, we decided everything in one battle! Killing two of Nianhan's sons in front of him, Monkey, what magnificence, this is the power to turn clouds and rain."

"...Knowing how powerful Teacher is, aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid! Of course, I'm afraid..." Zou Xu smiled. "If I wasn't afraid, why would I have hesitated just now? But what is life all about? Teacher asked us to think about this a long time ago. Monkey, back in Little Cang River, my grades were pretty good, and I did a decent job later on. At first, you'll be very apprehensive, always worried about what kind of level you are at, but slowly, as you come into contact with more things, you'll see the world as it is, and you'll find that our group, taught by Teacher, is the strongest group in the world. You too, Monkey."

"You're crazy."

"You are! You are." Zou Xu pointed his finger several times. "But what can we do now that we've reached this point? Monkey, I hate those ordinary people who point fingers at me, I hate those incompetent people who can't keep up! In this process, it's Teacher who has changed, not me. Monkey, think about it carefully. When he killed the emperor in Bianliang, he said that all the idiots in Bianliang deserved to die, he was looking for comrades, people with talent and strong abilities. But after arriving in the Southwest? He started uniting with the barbarians in the mountains, he was enlightening the most talentless people. Monkey, equality for all is impossible, some people are just stupid, naturally stupid. Pick out the most talented people, that's efficient, and that's the main axis of Confucianism for so many years, they have their reasons."

"..."

"You may not see it now, Monkey, but I can see it. Now, in the Southwest, it may still be the capable people who lead those mediocre people, but if we continue to develop towards equality for all, it will eventually turn into capable people having to accommodate those incompetent people, and in the end, it will lead to the collapse of efficiency... Such things have happened before, those rules and regulations, those so-called procedures that bind you and me, a few fools who don't understand what I'm doing, playing impeachment and conspiracies, and what happened in the end? If a general cannot be restricted by orders from his sovereign when in the field, then what can be accomplished? I cannot tolerate the disruption of incompetents!"

Zou Xu's words were fierce, and Fang Chengye took a sip of tea.

"Forget it, just take it as my pointless grumbling." He waved his hand. "But what's important? It's the methods that Teacher taught me, it's the vision that Teacher gave me. I learned these things, and I have my own ideas. One day you will ask yourself if you have surpassed your teacher... Monkey, I can have higher efficiency, I can give more freedom to people like you and me, let the capable people stand above and lead, let those who can read and master certain technologies become the backbone, and for most people who, you know, can never be taught to be smart no matter how hard they try, don't even try to make them smart, let them be obedient and receive the best arrangements, that itself is the most reasonable path."

"...These are all debates that we had in Little Cang River. Teacher talked about so-called elitism, but what about power, what about the degradation of abilities in power, and there are many other problems, do you want me to ask you? There's no need, is there."

"There's no need, Monkey, you think this problem is crucial when you're just talking on paper and making deductions, but that's how it's been for so many years. For so many years, I can pursue four hundred years for an empire that can last three hundred years, that's good enough... Teacher wants to pursue more, wants equality for all, wants the country to never perish, who is more likely to succeed? I'm afraid it's still me..."

"Then why were you afraid just now?"

"That's because you're standing on the momentum. Monkey, when we were studying, or when we were in the same system, I might have seemed a little stronger, but today, when you sit in front of me and say those words to me, you have the momentum, you're using an open scheme, you have the advantage that Teacher has led for more than ten years, the power of his force as the first in the world to defeat the Jurchens, it won't allow me to dismiss it lightly. I figured this out all at once, that's why I laughed, junior brother, you've learned Teacher's skills..."

"..."

"...Also, people like you can become my comrades. Monkey, look down below, how many people in there, after you've put in so much effort, can learn your skills, my ideas may not have been verified, but equality for all is absolutely illusory."

"Teacher also said to get closer to it."

"So what I said wasn't wrong either, a feather compared to a thousand pounds, the importance lies in the balance, but where should this balance be drawn... Monkey, these details, our brothers have deduced many times, there's something wrong with what I'm saying, there's something wrong with what Teacher is saying, we can't tell the difference, but what do I really want?"

"..."

"...That is, one day, you'll learn so many skills, you'll start to think about how you compare to Teacher, where exactly is the difference between you, if he can kill the emperor, can defeat the Jurchens... Monkey, I can kill too, you can too... Teacher isn't a god, he's also walking cautiously, so many of us brothers, if we add up - even if a part of us add up, we can dominate what we want to dominate! As long as we don't excessively pursue that illusory equality for all, we will definitely leave our names in history!"

"..."

"...Monkey, we can talk about ideals, but if we put aside ideals, if you come over, I can share everything with you equally, and in the future, when great things are accomplished, you can become kings, and the most important thing is that we brothers can know where we differ from Teacher, we can use the world as a chessboard and roam freely, and one day, if Teacher fails, I will save him, I will let him live, let him know that we have surpassed him... I'm not talking about today..."

"..."

"...Monkey, I'm not talking about today, I'm not saying that you have to answer me today, and I don't expect that either. You've experienced so many things over the years, you'll have your own ideas, your ideas are different from mine, and they're bound to be different from Teacher's, I just want to say that at any time, if you have any ideas about my side, if you have any ambitions that you want to realize and the China Army can't help you with, or if you can clearly see how to help me improve, and you also want to put these ideas into practice, you can come over at any time. I extend this invitation to all capable classmates... Monkey, the world is a chessboard, and heroes should roam freely, so that they don't waste their lives. And even if I say this, I don't lack compassion for the world, I will give them a good life, I seek four hundred years, not a thousand years, Monkey, I'm not cruel..."

"..."

Zou Xu spread one hand on the tea table, Fang Chengye looked at him, and he looked back calmly.

After a long while, Fang Chengye leaned back and laughed.

"Ha... Haha... On the way here, I considered that speech over and over again for a long time, and thought it was a trump card. Who knew... senior brother, you could still turn it around. Carrying the momentum, haha..."

Zou Xu also smiled calmly: "That's a very powerful speech, and it varies from person to person, doesn't it? If you meet someone else, you might really be tempted after thinking about it. In the end, bringing the entire Central Plains back to the Southwest, Teacher would be willing to let me be a wealthy man, and if I don't cause trouble, everything would end here... But in that case, what would my life be worth? A joke?"

"...So in the end, ambition harms people."

"Wanting equality for all is also a kind of ambition, Teacher wants to become an immortal sage."

"I don't think Teacher necessarily wants to..."

"It's a matter of perspective."

The two men said this, knowing that the topic was meaningless, and fell silent again, Fang Chengye took a sip of tea.

"Then guess, what will junior brother do next?"

"Sigh... you'll just spread the words that I persuaded you with, let Dai Mengwei and them hear it too... Why bother."

"Won't cause trouble for senior brother?"

"My alliance with Dai Mengwei, is it because I have a friendship with that old fox, and we appreciate each other? The alliance comes from interests. If he has no ability, no value, I'll eat him. If I'm weak, he'll eat me. This kind of nonsense news, you spread one, I'll spread nine, that old fox understands, he won't talk nonsense with me about these things."

"It seems I was naive... It sounds like you have a high opinion of the old fox, but you said just now that you know his problems, so what are his weaknesses?"

"He doesn't have troops under his command, he can only rely on me to fight... Junior brother, are you probing my bottom line?"

"Using an open scheme, you didn't react, so we're just discussing heroes over wine, anyway, senior brother, you can say what you want to say, and forget it if you don't want to... By the way, just curious, the female chancellor... what's her problem?"

"...She keeps talking about Teacher from the Southwest, it's not necessary, and it's not very beneficial to governance, but she's enthusiastic about it... She's a madman, she has problems with her brain."

"...Hmm, well said... I'll tell the female chancellor another day."

"...Sigh, please spare your senior brother from this kind of minor trouble, it's just a matter of running a few more trips and shouting 'Aunt' a few more times... If you like this, why don't you come over to my side, I'll recognize you as my adopted father, okay."

"...Is this turning a real father into an adopted father?"

"Hahahaha... Your father can be flexible now, so I won't argue with you."

In the starlight under the lamplight, the brothers laughed for a while, at a certain moment, Zou Xu's expression became slightly solemn.

"Monkey."

"Hmm?"

"One day, you may receive orders, coming here not to cause me this kind of minor trouble, but to cause me big trouble..."

"What will happen then?"

"Then you have to know that I won't show you any mercy, don't do this kind of thing."

"..."

The night breeze was slightly cool, and Fang Chengye looked back: "Maybe I'm here to do this kind of thing this time?"

Zou Xu also looked at him calmly.

"Then there's no difference, don't do this kind of thing, because..." He said word by word, "Because, I'll be very sad."

Fang Chengye lowered his eyes, thought for a moment, and then raised his teacup.

"...Me too."

He said.