Chapter 871 - 75: Using Myself as Medicine to Cure the World’s Ills

At least—

Before Gu Hui made it clear to the entire world what he wanted to do, no one could really know what Gu Hui was up to.

They would instinctively think that Gu Hui would act like the past disciples of the Gu Clan.

First, uphold justice in the world, then hand over this power completely to the Emperor!

...

The news spread instantly.

This time, Gu Hui did not hide his identity.

And the news of the disturbances in the Northern Border also spread across the world in an instant.

Even the beacon seemed to falter!

Though the Gu Clan had retreated to the temple, its influence across the entire world was still undiminished!

The most crucial thing is—

The world’s situation today is vastly different from the past.

Let’s not forget, the Gu Clan has always controlled the development of maritime trade, which is one of the most crucial cash cows in today’s world, even the Delicious Group among the Foreign Race could hardly avoid it.

This has naturally provided a protective umbrella for the Gu Clan.

Not only the people of the Central Plains, but even the Foreign Race, and even Wanyan Digü are unwilling to offend the Gu Clan.

After all, interest is the essence of any regime.

If there is no interest, any regime could collapse within a short period.

Even Zhao Gou rejoiced because of this.

Although he was unwilling to ask for help from the Gu Clan, if the Gu Clan truly volunteered to come out and help the Great Song stabilize everything once more, he, as the Emperor, would be more than pleased.

As the news continued to spread, envoys from various places immediately rushed to Julu to explore the intentions of the Gu Clan.

Even Gu Yi did not anticipate this scenario.

This gave him another feeling.

As long as there were sufficient interests, the current Gu Clan could quell the situation in all directions without even having to resort to arms.

Of course, this was only a thought.

Everything in Kyushu must undergo reform, although these people seemed very concerned about the attitude of the Gu Clan, they were fundamentally only concerned with personal interests. Without a change in the overall system, even if the Gu Clan could resolve the current predicament, Kyushu would remain unchanged.

Chaos cannot be stopped.

And to this, the Gu Clan’s response is very simple and forceful.

Which is that the Gu Clan will not affect the normal conduct of trade.

This is a distinct signal.

It tells the people of the world that the Gu Clan will remain as before, Julu will always stay away from conflicts.

—As the news spread, the situation changed again!

To this, Gu Hui was not surprised at all.

Or rather, he never considered using the Gu Clan’s own power, for the reform this time was too severe, a slight misstep could affect the whole situation, though his reputation would naturally give him some advantages, this too is expected.

But regarding this answer.

Zhao Gou was indeed very desperate.

The indifference of the Gu Clan gave this self-proclaimed wise Emperor a strong sense of humiliation.

"If not for the ancestor visiting the Gu Clan, how could the Gu Clan have come this far?"

"Five generations of regents!"

"How much honor have my Great Song’s ancestors bestowed upon the Gu Clan?"

"Now, the Gu Clan dares to humiliate my Great Song like this!"

"Does he truly think that my Great Song cannot survive without the Gu Clan?"

Inside the Chuigong Hall, the sound of smashing utensils resounded again, and those questions silently conveyed this Emperor’s fear at that moment.

Being abandoned by the Gu Clan.....

This was the shattering of Zhao Gou’s last hope, ultimately making him smell the scent of the nation’s demise.

It’s a pity.... once certain paths are taken, there’s no way back.

And this is exactly the situation with the current Great Song.

...

In the tenth year of Shaoxing, in April.

—The army led by Gu Hui formally stepped into the territories of the Central Plains, and the people along the way all offered food and drink, eagerly awaiting.

Gu Hui traveled neither too fast nor too slow.

He did not directly target the main rebel forces in the world, but took advantage of the current opportunity to deal with various local armed forces along the way.

The current Great Song was indeed too chaotic.

It’s not just the families in various places, but also countless common people.

These people, because they were too oppressed, had no choice but to turn to banditry, and Gu Hui addressed this issue all along the way.

Urgent?

Why should he be anxious?

It’s the Central Hub of Great Song and Zhao Gou who are anxious.

But definitely not him.

Under Yue Fei, the elite Beiwei Army and Youyi Cavalry were divided into several units, and they dispersed to attack in companies and battalions.

Their military discipline was strict, the intelligence was accurate, and their actions were as swift as the wind.

Often a band of bandits ravaging several counties had not yet figured out who the attackers were before being overwhelmed by the Northern Border cavalry descending like divine soldiers, their strongholds crushed, their leaders slain, the remnants either surrendered or scattered.

And with every pacified place, Gu Hui not only implemented simple military occupation but stabilized the order while dispatching the guards that always followed him to spread ideology locally.

A spark can ignite a prairie fire!

This is Gu Hui’s true intention.

He wants to change the ideology of the entire world, not just subdue the chaotic era.

And this is actually Gu Hui’s greatest obstacle.

—Restricting imperial power.

If the sole aim was this, it wouldn’t be considered difficult.

As long as Gu Hui has troops in hand.

He can easily hang the sword over everyone’s head, attracting a batch of people through benefits, and effortlessly hollow out the imperial power.

Such a task is definitely not too difficult for someone like Gu Hui.

But doing this is merely superficial work.

Once he dies, if the ideology below the Skywell has not changed, imperial power would instantly reign above everything once more.

What Gu Hui wants is certainly not this.

He needs to change the world’s ideology.

Just like that old man once did, letting him directly say who is the real culprit for all of this!

This is his goal!

Of course, doing this would naturally cause great turmoil.

Ideologies cannot be easily accepted, let alone Gu Hui wanting to influence the deep-rooted ideology in Kyushu.

Fortunately, the current Great Song is chaotic enough.

Fortunately, the oppression by those people leaves everyone breathless.

And this provides Gu Hui the best opportunity to gradually shift the ideology across Kyushu.

"Old man, all three of your sons have been conscripted, two died in battle, one was disabled. How much compensation did the court provide? Why is the pavilion of Prime Minister Qin’s family growing higher and higher?"

"....."

"Sister-in-law, your family’s farmland was already little, why do taxes increase year by year, to the point of having to sell your son and daughter? Where does this money and grain go, is it for frontier military funds or the song and dance feasts in Yingtian Prefecture?"

"...."

"Brothers, we are here shedding blood, fighting for whose household? For the starving elders behind us, or for the Imperial Family still lost in dreams in the deep palace?"

Depending on different circumstances, different questions were continuously raised across various places.

This is Gu Hui’s smartness.

He won’t directly point out everything, for this would make him become the public enemy of everyone.

Not only the Great Song, but also those forces against Song, and certainly the scholar-official group of today. Even if these people hold grudges against the Great Song, their discontent is not with the imperial power system.

On the contrary, these people are among the beneficiaries of the imperial power system.

There’s no need to speak much about the Great Song court.

Which among the rebel forces does not want to be the Emperor?

The scholar officials seek to govern the world jointly, yet their core ideology still holds the distinction between ruler and subject?

These people would all be Gu Hui’s enemies.

At least for now, Gu Hui cannot do this.

Of course, these issues certainly cannot shift everything in a short period.

But what does it matter?

Change has begun, as each spark has already spread along Gu Hui’s path, destined to follow his every step and ignite every inch of Great Song’s land.....

....

(Ps: Humbly asking for monthly votes, please brothers support more, Fish is extremely grateful.)