Taiheiki

Chapter 89 Human Heart
"I have heard of Meng De's great reputation for a long time. Seeing him today, I find that his reputation is well-deserved!" Bai Qi was very enthusiastic towards this uninvited guest: "Hey, my nephew is also thanks to your care. If I were not in this state, my poor sister--" When he said this, tears were already in his eyes.

"Asheng has helped me a lot, I can't say you're taking care of me!" Wei Cong said with a smile. He took a step forward and said in a low voice, "I came here today because of Asheng's matter. Please come in and talk to Mr. Bai in detail!"

Bai Qi blinked twice and reacted: "Okay, okay, please, please!"

They entered together and sat down as host and guest. Wei Cong said without further ado, "I came here to ask Ah Sheng to return to Chaisang and take charge of the family business. What do you think, Lord Bai?"

Bai Qi obviously hadn't expected Wei Cong to be so direct, and seemed a little flustered: "This, this is a good thing, but Zhou is the mistress of the family after all, and she has external support-"

"You are Ah Sheng's uncle, and you are also an elder in the family. As long as you are willing to come forward, there will be a reason. And I have also contacted heroes from all over the place, not just me!" Wei Cong said this and pulled out a piece of silk paper from his sleeve: "This is their name, they will all be here when the time comes!"

Bai Qi showed hesitation. "Yes, but I heard that Zhou is from the Lujiang Zhou family. Their family has two thousand shi (approximately 2,000 shi) and has the support of the clan leaders. If they use force, what can we do?"

"Father, you've brought three hundred elite soldiers with you this time!" Nie Sheng, seeing his uncle's hesitation, couldn't help but jump up. "They're all warriors who've defeated barbarians in southern Jing. They're fully equipped with armor, weapons, and bows and crossbows. If the Zhou family uses force, we'll give them a lesson!"

"Three hundred elite soldiers?" Bai Qi was startled and turned his gaze to Wei Cong: "Is that true?"

"Haha!" Wei Cong laughed twice. "I hold the military rank of Rebellion Suppression Captain and have served under Feng Cheqi. But don't worry, Lord Bai. I brought the troops here only as a precaution, not with the intention of bullying others!"

"That's good, that's good!" Bai Qi responded twice, then pondered for a moment. "If that's the case, that's good too. I heard some things about the Nie family a while ago. It was said that someone from the Zhou family was causing trouble at the Nie family and encroaching on the family property. Many family members had complaints, but no one dared to speak out. Ah Sheng, you've come back at the perfect time!"

"Really? Uncle, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Nie Sheng asked anxiously.

"Alas, I didn't know you had such a strong supporter as Captain Wei. If I had told you, with your personality, you would definitely fight with the Zhou family. Wouldn't that hurt you instead?" Bai Qi said with a wry smile.

"Asheng, Mr. Bai is very mature and prudent. Don't misunderstand his good intentions!" Wei Cong said, "Why don't you apologize to him?"

"Yes!" Nie Sheng had no choice but to apologize to Bai Qi. Bai Qi smiled and said, "We're all family, why apologize? How about this? I see there are still two days before the agreed time. I'll send someone to contact the Nie family servants who are dissatisfied with Zhou. Then we can work together inside and outside to give Zhou a hard time!"

"Then I'll have to trouble Mr. Bai!" Wei Cong said with a smile.

After the discussion, Bai Qi arranged for Wei Cong, Nie Sheng, and the others to rest. After everyone else had left, Nie Sheng complained, "Foster Father, my uncle clearly didn't want to bother with my affairs, but when he heard you were bringing three hundred soldiers, he changed his mind. And yet you said he was mature and prudent, and asked me to apologize to him."

"Asheng, do you know why I just took you away when I came to Chaisang last time, and didn't argue with your stepmother?" Wei Cong asked.

"I don't know!"

"There are two reasons: First, I didn't really consider you my own child at the time; second, I was still hesitant and didn't want to break up with the Lujiang Zhou family!" Wei Cong smiled. "Your uncle also has his own family business and children. Although you are his sister's child, there is still a layer of distance between us. He was able to do this for you, which is already very good! Don't expect too much from others, otherwise you will only be disappointed in the end!"

"Yes!" Nie Sheng was silent for a while, then nodded. "You mean we should be on guard?"

"No, I mean to make more preparations yourself!" Wei Cong rolled his eyes. "It's difficult to ask others for help, but it's much easier to go with the flow. Look at me this time. I've asked for external help and brought my own troops. As long as your uncle can show up, he will naturally be motivated. He may even take the initiative to contact your Nie family's servants on our behalf and do more. Why? Because he thinks the chances of winning are very high, and we can even succeed without him. If that happens, others will laugh at him for not caring about his sister's child and letting outsiders interfere. Do you understand? That's human nature!"

"Yeah!" Nie Sheng nodded and cursed, "This person's heart is so hateful. He only thinks about himself and doesn't think about others!"

"Asheng, you're wrong!" Wei Cong shook his head. "Human hearts are neither good nor evil. It all depends on how you use them. If you use them for good, they're good. If you use them for evil, they're evil. Experience it for yourself!"

"I understand, son!" Nie Sheng nodded ignorantly.

Wei Cong's suspicions proved accurate. That evening, Bai Qi arrived with six or seven people, all members of the Nie family, including Guo Kui, Nie Zheng's former close aide. Each of them kowtowed upon seeing Nie Sheng, tears streaming down their faces. They cursed Zhou and Zhou Ping, especially Zhou Ping, gnashing their teeth as if they wished to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin. Nie Sheng, following Wei Cong's instructions, treated each one with courtesy, made promises, and entrusted them with tasks. After a busy night, he finally dispatched them one by one. When Wei Cong saw his adopted son again, he found him exhausted and absent-minded.

"What's wrong? Is everything going well?" Wei Cong asked with a smile.

"It went very smoothly!" Nie Sheng nodded. He hesitated for a moment, as if he had made a great decision, and asked, "Godfather, can you answer a question for me?"

"Problem? What problem?"

"Everyone I just met was fiercely loyal to me, gnashing their teeth. They seemed to hate that bitch and the Zhou family with a passion! But when my father passed away, most of them treated me the same way. Now they've become like this, most likely because they suffered at the hands of the Zhou family during my absence, rather than being truly loyal to me. But the way they act in front of me, I really can't tell whether what they say is true or not! Can you teach me how to tell the difference?"

"I don't know!" Wei Cong answered very straightforwardly. "Huh?" Nie Sheng was stunned.

"I don't know how to tell. To be honest, I don't think they themselves knew whether they were sincere or not!" Wei Cong laughed and said, "Really? Do you think my men are loyal to me?"

"Are you talking about Zhao Yannian and Diwudeng?" Nie Sheng asked. "Of course. They are all your foster father's right-hand men, so naturally they will be extremely loyal to you!"

"Really?" Wei Cong showed an intriguing smile on his face: "I hope they can really do as you said!"

Seeing the smile on Wei Cong's face, Nie Sheng felt guilty: "Could it be that they have second thoughts about you?"

"That's not the case!" Wei Cong laughed. "Let me put it this way. People's hearts are easily changed, and they are very good at lying. They can not only deceive others, but also themselves. As they lie to themselves, they really believe it. Let me give you an example. Take those people just now. If you can regain the family property this time and then reward them according to their merits, they will tell themselves that they are loyal to you. Those things they did in the past were just forced by the situation. They had to endure humiliation and wait for a better opportunity to serve you. Over time, they will truly be loyal to you, and they will also truly believe these reasons, and truly believe that they have been loyal to you from the beginning. If someone reveals this, they will be furious and even kill for it."

"Ah!" Nie Sheng was stunned. The sixteen-year-old boy was confused by Wei Cong's incredible words, but there was a voice in his heart reminding him - this was true.

"You think this is strange, but that's just how people are!" Wei Cong laughed. "So someone who is unconditionally loyal is incredibly valuable, more valuable than their weight in gold. And you are one of them!"

"Me?" Nie Sheng didn't expect the topic to suddenly turn to him, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Yes, it's you!" Wei Cong nodded. "To be honest, although you worshipped me as your adoptive father, I didn't actually consider you as my own child in my heart. After all, there is no blood relationship between you and me, and secondly, we have only known each other for a short time. I only regarded you as a protector and brought you back to Jiangling. But later, Kuai Anping gave me fifty horses, and you were willing to follow me to the battle. I was a little touched. After all, at your age, you are willing to fight in a war that has nothing to do with you. This is not something ordinary people can do. Later, under the city of Ba Qiu, our army fought hard with the bandits. The enemy was numerous and we were few. In the critical situation, you personally led the cavalry to break into the enemy's formation and fought to the death. I saw it with my own eyes, and it was as heartbreaking as watching my own son trapped in the enemy's camp. I made up my mind at that time. From now on, Ah Sheng, you are my own flesh and blood!"

"Father!" Nie Sheng's eyes were filled with tears.

"I'm telling you this tonight because I want to tell you that you don't have to demand loyalty from others!" Wei Cong patted Nie Sheng's shoulder. "In fact, loyalty can be cultivated. As long as you act carefully and make loyalty the best choice for your subordinates, over time, people will become accustomed to your loyalty. Take Zhao Yannian as an example? You should know that when I left, I gave him the seal of command and the farm, and recommended him in my letter to Feng Cheqi. Do you know why?"

"This will make him very grateful to you!"

"That's right, but that's just one of the reasons!" Wei Cong smiled. "As I just said, human nature is very strange. Simply showing kindness is not enough. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so much ungratefulness in this world. You should know that the farm I own in Jiangling was taken from the Jiang thief Zhang Bolu. In fact, there are many people who covet that farm, but they just can't compete with me. Now that I'm gone, these people will definitely come back again, and many of the fields in the farm have already been distributed to the soldiers. What do you think Zhao Yannian and his men will do in this situation?"

"We will band together and fight hard against the foreign enemies!"

"That's right, that's how it will be!" Wei Cong nodded approvingly. "I believe someone will try to bribe them privately, promising them money and official positions. But Zhao Yannian and the others have been in the military for over twenty years and know very well that with their backgrounds, without family connections or strong support, no matter how many heads they chop off or how many flags they seize, they'll never be more than a commander of a hundred men. Those few hundred men, that farm, the workshop within, and the little military honors they've fought so hard for under my command are their greatest assets for the rest of their lives. Without them, they'll simply fall back into the mud, never to recover. And these things are inseparable. Without the farm and the workshop, the soldiers won't fight so hard against the enemy. So even if Zhao Yannian can be bribed, the others can't. And if I give everything to Zhao Yannian, the others will naturally keep a close eye on him. That way, it'll be hard for him to make any mistakes for at least six months or a year!"

Nie Sheng listened to so much, but he could only understand about 30% or 40% at most. He looked at Wei Cong with admiration and said, "Father, you are very thoughtful. I am far behind you!"

"There's no rush for that. You're still young, and there's a lot you can learn slowly!" Wei Cong smiled. "When you have nothing to do, read more of the Han Shu, the various philosophers, and the Shang Yang Shu. These books can benefit the mind. Remember, you have to use your brain when you do things. Even if you have the courage of a king, you will only be a brave man in this life and will not have a good ending!"

As soon as Wei Cong said this, he realized something was wrong. The other person's father was killed for his bravery. Wouldn't it be like exposing a scar by saying this? He quickly explained, "Don't worry, it's just that I won't stay in Chaisang for long. Ultimately, you have to take care of the Nie family's affairs, so I was a little anxious!"

"You won't stay in Chaisang for long?" Nie Sheng's sadness was immediately swept away by the shocking information in Wei Cong's words. He asked in surprise, "Foster father, where are you going?"

"It's not confirmed yet!" Wei Cong smiled. "It should be in the south. I plan to find a place to settle down there!"

"South? Souther than Chaisang?"

"Yes!" Wei Cong did not intend to hide it from his adopted son: "But you don't have to worry, I'm traveling by boat, and I have soldiers to protect me!"

"Isn't Chaisang good enough?" Nie Sheng asked anxiously, "Although the Nie family is not big, it is still enough to support the soldiers under my adoptive father's command. Why did you abandon me?"

Facing the sincere eyes of the young man in front of him, Wei Cong couldn't say the excuse he had originally prepared. After thinking for a while, he replied: "Asheng, you know what? Everyone has his own destiny. In life, there are things that he must do. I am no exception!"

"Your destiny lies in the South?"

"That's right!" Wei Cong nodded.

(End of this chapter)