Chapter 281: Ambition

"Those are Zhang Daoyuan's men; they want to kill you."

A gentle breeze blew. The previously fiery sunlight was transforming into an orange hue in the sky. On the rooftop, the young man spoke with a smile. On the street at the end of the view, nearly half the people, including the archer, looked up towards the rooftop here. A slight stiffness settled over the atmosphere.

The young man turned his head. "They're not the only ones who want to kill you. Zhang Daoyuan and Li Tianyou are together, and there's also Xu Bai, Yuan Xing... and someone named Zhuo Wanli, I don't know many of them. But you don't need to worry, this is the territory of the Overlord Saber Camp... Hey, look, that's Li Tianyou, he seems to be leaving..."

At that moment, the atmosphere near the streets and alleys was strange, with figures scattered in twos and threes. The sunlight in the sky began to feel warmer, and tree shadows dappled the ground like golden elm coins, bright yet gentle. Aside from the archer at the end of the street, at first glance, this long street gave no impression of tension.

Two men sat on the rooftop here, while across the street, in some uneven old buildings, people had opened windows. Some looked at each other, some down at the street, and others towards this rooftop. After the young man waved with a smile, a middle-aged man in a window of a two-story building across the street quietly stepped back two paces, disappearing from Ning Yi's view.

The young man saw this, smiled slightly, and after a while, as if suddenly remembering something, abruptly asked, "But... why aren't you worried?"

Ning Yi had also been observing the man for a moment. Now, he frowned in thought. "I am worried. But... since I've survived until now, I probably won't die in a situation like this today, is that right?"

"That's hard to say..." The man sat there, watching the situation below, murmuring. After a moment, he added, "I dislike clever people..."

This was Ning Yi's first real contact with someone from Fang La's side in over ten days. He had made several conjectures before but had not anticipated the current situation. The young man before him exuded a certain wildness, making him seem quite different from many people of this era. Typically, such individuals would either be madmen or possess extraordinary skills.

Like Qin Shaoqian, Qin Siyuan's second son, who journeyed a thousand miles to decapitate his enemy despite being outnumbered. However, Qin Shaoqian's audacity was relatively conventional, rooted in his family's lineage as a noble, wealthy scion. The man before Ning Yi, by contrast, exuded a somewhat radical, unconventional air, leaving Ning Yi with the initial impression of an angry youth from humble origins. Of course, this was merely a first impression, and difficult to call objective.

Ning Yi watched the scene with interest. As the young man murmured, figures scattered through the streets and alleys, and the atmosphere continually shifted. On the rooftops of nearby courtyards, people gradually appeared, one by one, solidifying into a massive standoff under the sunlight. The young man did not notice these developments. He simply sat there, kicking a patch of moss on the rooftop tile with his foot. When he finally turned back, he met Ning Yi's scrutinizing gaze for a moment before his brow furrowed, and his expression became solemn.

"I heard that during the retreat from Huzhou, you were used as bait, deliberately left behind to lure the enemy, and thus captured. The imperial court treated you unjustly, but those people are always like that, so it's not surprising. Now, we have more practical things here; are you willing to stay and do something?"

"Do I have a choice?"

Ning Yi's question was rhetorical. The young man, however, smiled. "What if you did?"

Ning Yi thought for a moment. "I don't want to."

"Why not?"

"You have no future."

Ning Yi's answer was blunt. After speaking, he sighed and stood up on the rooftop. The young man watched him, then also stood up. Just as he was about to speak, a sudden *boom* echoed from the window across the street where Li Tianyou had disappeared.

A startling presence suddenly surged forth, overwhelming. In that instant, the young man in front of Ning Yi swiftly swung his left hand. A tile a meter or so from Ning Yi's side exploded and scattered, and an arrow ricocheted into the air from the window across the street. The window frame splintered into wood dust, dancing in the air. Ning Yi subtly shifted his position on the rooftop, then stopped, an arrow vibrating slightly in his right hand. The young man, facing Ning Yi, had just extended his left arm and, astonishingly, held two arrows firmly in his left hand. Ning Yi couldn't tell how he had gripped them, but in that moment, he had clearly seen the young man's sleeve whip like a long lash, sending one arrow flying high above his head, now spinning and beginning its descent.

The few arrows that had shattered the window frame and flown in seemed to have triggered a switch. Ning Yi was now intensely focused, his hearing and eyesight enhanced. Before the wood splinters and arrows had even landed, he heard the *clang-clang-clang* of swords and knives being drawn, fast and slow, rising and falling in continuous succession throughout the air. The window across the way was broken, hanging precariously and swaying, wood splinters falling to the ground. The launched arrows hit and broke tiles. Then, scattered "ping" and "pong" sounds followed, evidently from the newcomers growing tense as they drew their weapons against each other. Some had engaged in combat, and shouts of "Stop!" could be heard, echoing indistinctly through the alleys and between the houses.

The atmosphere then nearly solidified. Many people on this side were likely waiting for the young man's reaction, while those on the other sides probably didn't want to fight just yet and were awaiting precise orders. The young man, however, merely frowned, looking at Ning Yi. After a long pause, he finally spoke:

"My teacher said that some people, to gain others' attention, always like to exaggerate and alarm, first saying things others don't want to hear to provoke resentment. Then they use clever and misleading words, presenting specious arguments that are actually worthless, to deceive people. Ancient strategists loved to use such methods, but they were good for nothing more than a momentary display of courage. Now, the imperial court is corrupt, and the world is uniting to strike it down. You say we have no future; why? If you're just speaking thoughtlessly... I will kill you."

"Uh..." Ning Yi was slightly taken aback by the man's strong reaction. In truth, there were many ways and words to show one's value, and Ning Yi had naturally considered various possibilities. He was just a little surprised that the other party reacted so intensely to that statement, indicating that the young man's thoughts at this moment were different from most of the Fang La rebel army's. He tried to guess the other's identity. But ultimately, his understanding of the Fang La military faction was insufficient, making it impossible to identify who the man truly was. After a moment, he finally said, "You lack ambition."

"Those who do not strive for peace in their own generation will struggle to bring peace for all generations to come."

It was nearing nightfall. Chen Fan looked at the line of words in his messy notebook. The handwriting was scrawled and difficult to read. He stared for a while, then licked the tip of the brush in his hand and added a line: "No ambition." After that, he tossed the notebook aside and lay down on the bed.

In the afternoon, no fight ultimately broke out, and the man named Ning Liheng did not make any further moves. All in all, it wasn't a major incident. The scholar, Ning Liheng, generally seemed to possess some skill — Chen Fan had known before that he must have some ability, but he hadn't expected such a good impression this time; he wasn't an annoying fellow. Nevertheless, he still needed to be wary of him. Of course, while he knew the other party would certainly say something interesting, he hadn't anticipated that particular remark.

He had previously heard his master say that a scholar's views were difficult to judge right or wrong, that there was no absolute truth in the world; it all depended on the circumstances and how one interpreted them. If the other party had said something else, he would have let them explain, as he didn't dislike the person and was willing to listen to their perspective. But he never expected it would be "no ambition" that reminded him of... that particular saying from his teacher.

Those who do not strive for peace in their own generation will struggle to bring peace for all generations to come.

It sounded like a rather tedious sentence. After his teacher had roughly explained it to him, he hadn't truly taken it to heart. The reason it now resonated with him was actually due to the past half-month. After the Sacred King's army captured Hangzhou, his teacher led troops to battle, assigning Chen Fan to roughly maintain order in Hangzhou. He wasn't foolish; he already knew what needed to be done. So, while he grumbled verbally, he wasn't actually troubled by the task.

Over the past half-month, even though outsiders viewed his methods as crude, as he swaggered around Hangzhou, relying on his identity as a disciple of the Buddhist Marshal and his martial prowess, his acts of fighting and killing in the city seemed utterly lawless. In reality, however, without such ruthlessness, he would have been utterly incapable of truly steering the situation. Trying to reason with military leaders accustomed to looting, or speaking of discipline, would have been ignored. Even if they gave him face, some insipid minor punishments would never have instilled fear.

At this time, true reason and discipline were hard to come by. Having been in the army for several years, he simply didn't bother with such concepts. Burning, killing, looting, and seizing by force were fine, as long as it was done discreetly and didn't disrupt the larger situation. If anyone truly affected vital interests, he wouldn't bother reasoning; he'd just go directly to their doorstep and kill them. For example, a few days ago, Chen Damu, a subordinate of Bao Daoyi, had been extorting protection money, which was relatively minor. But when it began to affect water transport, within days, Chen Fan had beaten to death or crippled several of the major associated groups. After that, no one dared to do such a thing again.

But the more he dealt with these chaotic affairs, the more he came to understand the meaning behind his master's words. Saying "to bring peace for all generations to come" might be too lofty; "lacking ambition" was probably more apt. To most people, these individuals had already risen in rebellion, killed officials, and even captured Hangzhou – surely the most ambitious of acts. Yet, now, that ambition was insufficient.

"Why should not a man carry a Wu hook, and conquer fifty provinces?" From Chen Fan's perspective, many harbored grand ambitions, wishing to achieve glory from afar, yet upon closer examination, only those at the very top—like his master, Bao Daoyi, Zu Shiyuan, and Lu Shinang—naturally possessed the aspiration to pacify the world. Just below them, however, such ambition ceased. Even among figures like Zhang Daoyuan, Xu Bai, and Yuan Xing, a significant portion of their ambition had come to a halt after the capture of Hangzhou. As for those further down, the common soldiers and refugees, they had no notion of what ambition truly was.

When they had nothing, they thought only of seizing money, grain, and women. But once they arrived in Hangzhou, these people seemed to suddenly realize that everything they desired was already within their grasp. They no longer needed to venture far to plunder; abundance was everywhere around them. Among the armies that had benefited from the capture of Hangzhou, a large number had no desire to attack Jiaxing next. While the high-ranking generals and leaders might not explicitly state this, such sentiment was very clear among the lower ranks. Even many of those who hadn't directly gained from Hangzhou, but had connections, didn't want to fight in Jiaxing either, because as long as they had connections, they could obtain many things right there in Hangzhou.

However, Chen Fan knew that Hangzhou's resources were actually insufficient to satisfy so many people. They simply saw things readily available around them, easy to acquire. In a short time, dangerous acts of burning, killing, and looting had transformed into relatively safe internal conflicts. Once these people found safer ways to obtain grain and treasures, they no longer wanted to assault Jiaxing. In the past, the rebel army might have razed Hangzhou, with everyone taking their share of the spoils and rampaging across the land, a period that could have created more refugees and amassed larger armies. But Chen Fan also knew that the Sacred King intended to become emperor, and the current form of the uprising had already spread widely; stability was now required.

The biggest problem was precisely this lack of ambition among these people. Over these past few days, Chen Fan had also discovered that the more ambitious ones were perhaps those scholars who had previously studied the Four Books and Five Classics and lacked any physical strength. This was because, once the Sacred King decided to recruit talent, those literati who came to pledge allegiance—whether they had ability or not (most, in fact, possessed no real talent)—almost all dreamed of being ennobled as marquises and appointed as prime ministers. While countless soldiers were busy dividing up Hangzhou, it was these very individuals who, one by one, were envisioning themselves as founding ministers if the Sacred King's army could seize control of the entire realm.

No ambition... it's a headache...

He pondered these thoughts, sighing softly. Of course, as for Ning Liheng, who had uttered that statement, Chen Fan didn't attach too much weight to it. Ning Liheng possessed some insight, proving Liu Xigua's judgment was correct. However, he knew that there weren't just one or two people who could perceive these things. He certainly wasn't surprised to consider the other party a world-shaking talent; it was just that the words spoken had stirred a certain sentiment in him.

As for a solution, so many people in the army had none, he himself had none, and his master currently had none. Even if the scholar could articulate one, it would naturally be difficult to implement. Scholars just loved to prattle on; if he were to ask him, he would undoubtedly boast. Of course, if he had the leisure someday, it wouldn't hurt to listen to him brag. While mostly unreliable, it might offer some inspiration...

As he thought this, someone outside reported that Lou Shuwang, the eldest young master of the Lou family, had come to visit. This person had been persistently visiting several times, and the thought annoyed Chen Fan. As usual, he waved his hand. "Tell him I'm busy. Tell him to go die." He then stood up, ready to go pick a fight and get a free meal.