Wei Heng stretched out his hand, "You needn’t have any reservations, just speak your mind."
Yang Tiansheng said, "The problem facing both our families, I have just mentioned. And the issues within the Ming Sect, you should be well aware of. Given this, let’s not talk about the entire Ming Sect surrendering to the government for now, and only discuss the matter of the sect members who are willing to accept amnesty. Let them set an example for the other brothers in the sect who still have doubts. If your government treats them well, I’m sure more sect members will naturally be willing to accept amnesty. If your government can’t even accommodate these few, I believe... there’s no need to continue our discussion!"
"This..."
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Wei Heng and Yang Yinghao exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and hesitation in each other’s eyes.
To be fair, this was indeed a solution to the problem.
But the difficulty of this was no less than that of bringing the entire Ming Sect into alliance; it might even be greater... After all, the key to allying the entire Ming Sect was whether the sect would agree, but accepting only a part of the sect members meant not only asking if the sect would agree but also if the government would agree!
The government, too, had its pride!
"Young Master Yang’s proposal, I have no authority to agree to. It must be reported to the central government for discussion by the various ministers," Wei Heng said after pondering for a while, his expression complex as he bowed his hands. "However, I deeply admire Young Master Yang’s conviction in resolving this issue!"
This solution required not so much brains as it did courage!
Yang Tiansheng nodded, "No matter, this gives my father and me the time to deal with the group of rigid old fellows within the sect."
Yang Yinghao opened his mouth and then closed it again.
A moment later, Yang Yinghao personally saw Wei Heng out. When he returned to the waterside pavilion, the cold leftovers on the table had been replaced with a pot of clear tea. Yang Tiansheng, seated there, smiled as he picked up the teapot to pour tea, "You’ve had plenty to drink tonight, have some tea to sober up."
Yang Yinghao sat down in the host’s seat, lifted the teacup to his lips, and drained it in one gulp. He then set down the cup, exhaling hot air as he asked, "What are you really thinking? I’m not even sure I can convince the many elders in the sect. Where do you get your confidence from?"
Yang Tiansheng once again lifted the teapot to pour tea for his father, "To tell you the truth, I don’t have much confidence either..."
Yang Yinghao frowned, "If you’re not confident, you dare to say it?"
Yang Tiansheng set down the teapot and said solemnly, "Father, roads are made by walking. People came first, then came the roads."
Yang Yinghao understood but his frown did not ease, instead it grew tighter, "Don’t you want to fight for the position of the next Sect Hierarch? What are you scheming? If you succeed, even if you get the position of Hierarch, it will be in name only. If you fail, everyone in the sect will see you as a target... What are you planning?"
"Fighting for the position of Hierarch..."
Yang Tiansheng smiled and slowly shook his head, "It’s just a matter of fighting for a moment of pride. As for the position of Hierarch, to tell the truth... I haven’t really taken it to heart!"
"As for this matter, how should I put it... Yang Ge always says, ’When one comes into this world, they should make it a little better because of their presence.’
He pinched his little finger’s tip, gesturing seriously to his father, "Not much is needed, just a little bit, then one’s passage through this world would not have been in vain!"
"I’ve traveled to many places over the past few years, met many people, and experienced many things..."
"It seems to me... Yang Ge is right!"
"One’s life should not be all shallow scheming and petty calculations. There should be two or three endeavors pursued not for potential losses or gains but simply for satisfaction, to make a bit of a difference in the world just because Yang Tiansheng was here!"
"And speaking of our Ming Sect..."
"We’ve been against the government for quite some years, haven’t we?"
"From the Former Tang Dynasty all the way to Zhao Wei, we’ve killed numerous government soldiers, and many of our sect members have died."
"The government was thrown into disorder by us, but haven’t we also been living in constant fear, hiding here and there?"
"Not to mention the distant past, Father, you’re also a well-known figure in the martial world, aren’t you? When you go out and announce ’I am Yang Yinghao, the Ming Sect’s Bright Right Emissary,’ who would dare not to pay their respects threefold with admiration?"
"But do you dare to go to Luoyang and shout ’I am Yang Yinghao, the Ming Sect’s Bright Right Emissary!’ in the streets?"
"Even you dare not go to the capital city, so do you know what life is like for the brothers below us?"
"If we, father and son, can ensure that several hundred thousand brothers in the sect can live the rest of their lives in peace and their descendants don’t have to run around for that illusory cause, risking their lives..."
"If we can save the government the trouble of losing soldiers and wasting money on us in the future, allowing them to focus on dealing with foreign threats and accomplishing great deeds!"
"Wouldn’t that count as accumulating great virtue?"
"Besides, if worse comes to worst, isn’t there still a way out in Dongying?"
Yang Yinghao steadily held the teacup, sipping the hot tea bit by bit, without uttering a word for a long time.
What more could he say?
Could he raise his thumb to this whippersnapper and say: ’You’re awesome, and you’re damn right about everything’?
Doesn’t a father need to save face!