What is Benevolence and Righteousness

At dawn, outside the West Gate of Yangzhou City, the vast open grassland was densely packed with tens of thousands of soldiers. Without exception, their faces were etched with tension and anxiety. These men had all laid down their weapons, awaiting an unknown fate. Until today, they had been imperial soldiers; but now, before every single one of their names hung a single, damning word: rebels.

Wang Lanping and Shi Kefa stood side by side on the city wall, looking down at the crushing mass of soldiers and the mountain-like piles of weaponry stacked against the base of the ramparts. Both men could not help but sigh with a lingering sense of relief: How close! A hair's breadth away, and the ground beneath Yangzhou City would have been dyed red with the blood of our own people.

A trace of stability finally settled into Shi Kefa's heart. His brow, furrowed with sorrow and despair for days on end, gradually smoothed out. He turned to Wang Lanping and said, "I know not whether what you have done is right or wrong, but today, on behalf of the common folk of Yangzhou, I must say thank you. There have been many rumors in the world that Top Scholar Wang won back military power over wine in Xiangshan and settled an army of ten thousand with a mere flick of his finger in Huai'an. I, Shi Kefa, always suspected those tales were exaggerated. To witness you achieve such a grand feat overnight with my own eyes has truly made me look at you in a new light. You are admirable and worthy of the highest respect."

Wang Lanping laughed heartily. "Those who accomplish great things do not sweat trivial details. Perhaps to outsiders, some of my methods may seem ruthless, cold, and merciless, but to receive such praise from Viceroy Shi today brings me great comfort."

Shi Kefa smiled and nodded slightly. "History will judge the merits and demerits of the ages, but even now, I can hardly believe this matter could end this way—it is simply too uncanny. There is one thing I do not understand: from the moment you entered Yangzhou to the capture of Gao Jie, barely half a month has passed. Yet everything that happened during this time seemed pre-planned by you, linked ring by ring without a single flaw. For instance, how did you deduce that Xu Dingguo harbored rebellious intentions? Did you know him beforehand?"

Wang Lanping smiled. "No, no. Before entering Yangzhou, I did not know the man at all; I had never even heard of his name. But I understood Gao Jie to a certain extent. This man was a surrendered general of the roving bandits. Although he later served the imperial court, he himself understood that his background was tainted. Among the prominent generals of the realm, he was not favored, and this forged his suspicious nature and his compulsion to constantly prove himself—always guarding against those who might plot to harm him. This time, when he came to Yangzhou and Your Excellency flatly turned him away at the gates, how could he possibly stomach it? Then, to suddenly invite him back into the city—with his suspicious nature, he naturally would not believe it easily. He was bound to think there was some scheme afoot, but unwilling to be made a fool of, he was certain to send men into the city to scout. That is how Xu Dingguo surfaced."

Pausing for a moment, Wang Lanping continued, "If Gao Jie had merely sent a few men into the city, I could be certain he had no wild ambitions. But for Xu Dingguo to lead five thousand men into the city—that was truly a wretched move. Even a fool could guess what Gao Jie wanted: nothing less than to fathom the city's defenses, coordinate from within and without, and seize Yangzhou. Yet he miscalculated one thing: Yangzhou City was in the hands of Your Excellency the Viceroy. When necessary, not even a sparrow could fly out of it, let alone news. In my subsequent conversations with Xu Dingguo, I discovered that the man still retained a shred of loyalty toward the imperial court and held deep grievances regarding Gao Jie's lawless deeds. I concluded that if Gao Jie was to be broken, this man must be the instrument. With a slight trick, sure enough, without spilling a single drop of blood, the siege of Yangzhou was lifted."

The more Shi Kefa listened, the more awe he felt, nodding repeatedly. "Top Scholar Wang possesses a keen eye for talent and knows how to employ people according to their strengths. I am deeply impressed, truly impressed."

"You flatter me. Knowing oneself and knowing the enemy is a basic requirement for any commander. When all is said and done, my luck was simply a bit better than Your Excellency's."

After a brief exchange of polite pleasantries, amid the jeers and curses of the onlookers, Song Xian and Xu Dingguo escorted Gao Jie through the gate beneath their feet, bringing him before the gathered army. Arrested along with him were four of his key generals.

Gao Jie had lost his former majesty, but his face still wore an expression of stubborn defiance.

"Kneel!" Song Xian kicked the back of Gao Jie's knees. Gao Jie staggered a few times but managed to stand straight again.

Wang Lanping waved a hand at Song Xian. "There is no need. After all, he is a major general of a region; a warrior may be killed, but not humiliated."

Gao Jie raised his head to look at the two men on the ramparts, letting out a disdainful huff. "Hmph! Such hypocritical posturing! If you want to kill me, just kill me. Let's see if this lord so much as frowns."

Ignoring him, Wang Lanping turned to Shi Kefa and said, "Viceroy, by rights he was your subordinate general. Today he committed treason and rebellion and was captured. How to dispose of him is entirely up to you."

Shi Kefa nodded. "Ah, this is a difficult matter to handle. Gao Jie is a major general of the Four Garrisons, holding high rank and great power. If we report to the court that he plotted rebellion, he will undoubtedly die. But if we do so, wouldn't it cause the people of the realm to lose faith in the imperial court? For such an important minister to harbor treasonous intent makes the court look quite disgraceful."

Wang Lanping had long anticipated Shi Kefa would say this: timid, hesitant, looking before and behind. In the eyes of the common people, the imperial court had long been worthless; where was it anyone's turn for the likes of Gao Jie to tarnish its name? The more turbulent the times, the more extraordinary measures must be taken. Execute one to warn a hundred.

"Does Viceroy Shi have a plan that satisfies both ends?" Wang Lanping asked.

Down below, the citizens within the city had swarmed to the gates, hurling fierce abuse at Gao Jie. Among them were those whom Gao Jie's army had driven into the city from the outside to take refuge, those whose families had been ruined by Gao Jie's forces beyond the walls, and those within the city whose wits had been frightened out of them by Gao Jie's soldiers over the past few days. A torrent of curses rained down, accompanied by rotten vegetables and flying eggs, with people screaming, "Kill him! Kill him!"

Hearing this, Shi Kefa grew somewhat nervous, looking around anxiously. Not to execute Gao Jie meant standing as an enemy to the people.

At that moment, the four bound men under Gao Jie's command knelt on the ground. One of them cried out loudly, "Viceroy Shi! Today's upheaval in Yangzhou was truly forced upon us! Our thirty thousand soldiers were left without support, sleeping out in the wilderness. We are all soldiers of the imperial court; why must we be treated so unfairly? The four of us could not bear to watch our men live such a life, so we urged General Gao together. General Gao refused to listen, and we coerced him instead. Today our endeavor has failed, and we know we deserve to die. We beg Viceroy Shi to grant us death and deal leniently with General Gao!"

The other three shouted in unison, "We only beg for a quick death!"

Immediately behind them, out of the tens of thousands of Gao Jie's soldiers who had laid down their weapons, over a thousand men collapsed to their knees in a wave, crying out, "We were wrong! Please, Your Excellency, deal with us leniently!"

Faced with these loyal subordinates desperately trying to exculpate Gao Jie, Gao Jie flew into a rage. Enduring the knife wound on his leg, he kicked one of the kneeling men over and roared, "No one is allowed to beg for mercy! This lord stands tall between heaven and earth; whatever I did, I own it. It's just that heaven is blind and did not let me succeed! Stand up! If you're going to die, you die standing!"

Wang Lanping leaned over and whispered softly to Shi Kefa, "See that? If Gao Jie doesn't die, how do you ever pacify these hearts?"

Caught in a terrible dilemma, Shi Kefa finally hardened his heart after a long silence. "Even if he dies, he cannot die by my hand! Men, draft the events of today into an official dispatch, and escort Gao Jie to Nanjing along with it to await the Emperor's sagely judgment."

Wang Lanping smiled inwardly: *You truly wish to keep your hands clean. Can executing a single man possibly stain your reputation as a paragon of scholars throughout the realm?*

"Hold!" Wang Lanping hurriedly reached out to stop him, leaning close to Shi Kefa's ear. "Do you see these men who have laid down their weapons? They all harbor loyalty toward Gao Jie. After last night, although the majority of Gao Jie's forces surrendered, there are still thousands of unyielding elements scattered outside. If you escort Gao Jie to Nanjing, will you even make it out of Yangzhou's borders alive?"

Shi Kefa replied, "No matter what, Gao Jie cannot die in Yangzhou. I, Shi Kefa, will never do anything that grieves our friends and gladdens our foes."

"Absurd! If Gao Jie does not live, none of us can suppress these tens of thousands of hearts. Most of them are old veterans Gao Jie brought from Li Zicheng's forces. Keeping Gao Jie alive will spell disaster, my Lord Viceroy!"

"That still will not do! Either he is escorted to the capital, or he is detained while we await the court's decree."

Wang Lanping said, "Round-trip dispatches take at least five days, and as well you know, Gao Jie is Ma Shiying's man. Once this matter reaches the capital, Gao Jie will never die. If the court strips him of his rank but retains him in office to observe his future performance, will you hand these thirty thousand men right back to him?"

Shi Kefa said blankly, "Then... then if His Majesty truly holds such an intention, I... I can only do so."

Anger flared in Wang Lanping's heart. He had never expected Shi Kefa to be so utterly impossible to work with. "Scholar-bureaucrat sentimentality! Then what was the point of everything I did today? Aren't you pulling the ladder away after crossing the bridge? You've dug a pit and buried both me and Xu Dingguo in it, do you know that?"

Knowing his own words were lacking, Shi Kefa said, "We haven't reached that point yet, have we? How about I return to the prefectural office, summon the others, and discuss it further?"

Having completely lost faith in him and past caring, Wang Lanping faced the crowd below the wall and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Viceroy Shi has issued an order! Gao Jie knowingly broke the law and attempted to assassinate his commanding officer—a crime equivalent to high treason, which should rightly incur the annihilation of his entire clan. Considering his past military achievements, the Viceroy has graciously spared his family, executing him alone. Carry out the sentence immediately. Decapitate him!"

Xu Dingguo, standing right behind Gao Jie, had been waiting precisely for this moment. The instant the word "Execute" left Wang Lanping's lips, Gao Jie's head was severed by a single flash of his blade, tumbling down to rest before the feet of his four subordinate generals.

"General! General..." The four men fell to their knees and wept aloud in unison.

The citizens inside the city cheered, dancing with joy and spreading the news to one another. Outside the walls, however, among the tens of thousands of Gao Jie's soldiers, absolute silence reigned. One could almost perceive a suppressed, latent explosive force and cohesion gathering beneath the surface of those faces.

Shi Kefa's eyes widened in horror. Stunned for a long moment before regaining his wits, he pointed down at Wang Lanping and stammered, "This—this, this, this is Yangzhou City! I am the Viceroy! How dare you issue an order without authorization!"

Unfazed, Wang Lanping said, "I am helping you, Old Sir. Though my seniority falls short of yours, I know that accomplishing great things requires ruthlessness. You are far too soft-hearted."

Seeing that Gao Jie was already dead, Shi Kefa could only let out a long sigh. "Alas! With his head severed from his shoulders, it cannot be undone. Let the matter end here. The rest of the troops shall not be questioned further."

Again disagreeing, Wang Lanping grabbed Shi Kefa's arm and pointed down at the street below, speaking in a low voice. "My dear Old Sir, take a good, hard look at who is down there. After Gao Jie's death, whom will you appoint to succeed him? Who would dare take command? Those four accessories down below command immense prestige within the army. With them around, whoever you appoint to lead these thirty thousand men will inevitably find themselves reduced to a figurehead. You are digging your own grave!"

Shi Kefa’s temper flared as well. "You are far too vicious! Do you expect me to slaughter them all to the last man?"

"Cut the weeds and do not eradicate the roots, and endless troubles will follow."

"I, Shi Kefa, am not a man who lusts after slaughter!"

Wang Lanping gritted his teeth. "Kindness does not command an army! Do you not understand this simple truth?"

Shi Kefa flicked his sleeve. "I need no instruction from you on that. Men..." He made as if to release the prisoners on the spot.

Beyond endurance, Wang Lanping cut off Shi Kefa's words with a thunderous roar: "Execute!"

Four heads rolled to the ground.

Shi Kefa's face turned livid with rage. He pointed a trembling finger at Wang Lanping, unable to speak for a long while, before angrily flicking his sleeve and storming off.

With Gao Jie and his primary generals executed, the leaderless army of over twenty thousand soldiers had nowhere to turn and could only submit to the arbitrary arrangements of various commanders inside Yangzhou City. The tens of thousands of men were thoroughly broken up and absorbed into the various city defense garrisons. Especially given the addition of dozens of cannons and artillery troops, the defense capabilities of Yangzhou City multiplied manifold, growing several times stronger.

Shi Kefa refused to see Wang Lanping for the remainder of those days.

Feeling thoroughly helpless, Wang Lanping realized there was nothing left for him to do by staying in Yangzhou. His objectives had been met; it was time to leave.

On the day of his departure, Wang Lanping went to the Viceroy's residence several times to take his leave, but Shi Kefa avoided him entirely.

Yet just as Wang Lanping reached the city gates, Shi Kefa caught up with him. Wang Lanping had Song Xian lead three thousand cavalrymen ahead, leaving the two men to travel together in silence.

In truth, after days of self-reflection and observing the massive surge in the city's defensive strength, Shi Kefa had gradually come to understand Wang Lanping's actions. It was only out of stubborn pride that he had never spoken of it clearly. But as parting drew near, he felt that if he kept these words unsaid, a pang of guilt would plague him for the rest of his life.

After traveling a short distance, Shi Kefa cleared his throat, cupped his hands, and said, "Top Scholar Wang, I... previously, well... *sigh!*"

Wang Lanping smiled. "Viceroy Shi need say no more. I understand. We are all serving the country; naturally, our perspectives sometimes clash. The road is long and rivers are wide—do not trouble yourself to escort me further. Please turn back."

A look of awkwardness crossed Shi Kefa's face. "Very well, very well. Safe journey, and until we meet again."

Wang Lanping swung up into the saddle, cupped his fists, and said, "Take care, Viceroy Shi." In uttering those words, his mind drifted to a historical certainty: the Yangzhou Massacre, and Shi Kefa dying a martyr for his country.

He spurred his horse away, but after riding only a short distance, Wang Lanping turned back.

"Viceroy Shi, the Manchu forces are pressing south, and the Huai River defense line has been blown wide open. The strategic hub of Yangzhou is a place the Manchus are certain to take. You must keep a close eye on it. Furthermore, since Huai'an General Liu Zeqing is dead, I have had Deputy General Zheng Sen temporarily take his place. Without a proper title, his position lacks official standing. Given that Zheng Sen is nominally your subordinate, the formal writ of appointment still requires the trouble of Your Excellency memorializing the throne."

Shi Kefa smiled. "That goes without saying. However, who is to say whether today's Huai'an army even remains under the command of the Yangzhou Viceroy?"

Catching his drift, Wang Lanping laughed heartily. "That is unimportant. As long as Your Excellency knows they are all Ming soldiers, that is enough. For the defense of Yangzhou City, Zheng Sen will lend you a helping hand from Huai'an."

Shi Kefa did not argue the point.

"Oh, right, Viceroy Shi. Do you see that forest over there? That is where Gao Jie's army ambushed us. It is detrimental to the defense of Yangzhou and obstructs the line of sight. Your Excellency should have those trees cleared away as soon as possible."

Shi Kefa looked in the direction indicated and immediately smiled. "No, no. Top Scholar Wang does not realize—that grove is no ordinary place. It is the resting place of the late Senior Grand Secretary through the ages. People of our generation must not disturb it."

Wang Lanping found it utterly absurd. *What time is it, and you're still worrying about such things?*

"Think on it, Viceroy Shi. Farewell." Wang Lanping found further words pointless.

"Take care!"