PFC Chapter 7203 Seeking Common Ground While Reserving Differences
Chapter 7203 Seeking Common Ground While Reserving Differences
Chapter 7203 Seeking Common Ground While Reserving Differences
At this moment, Xun Qi was unusually silent, so silent that he didn't even know how to respond to Oswin's words. What did he mean by saying that you could command an army of 600,000 people after just reaching the level of a large army commander? This was completely beyond the comprehension of normal people.
Xun Qi had considered Oswin's breakthrough in commanding large legions, but in his understanding, even if he did break through, Oswin would only be able to command around 100,000 troops. However, considering that there was a guy who supposedly had the ability to command large legions who sacrificed himself, this level might be improved.
Therefore, Xun Qi felt he could understand why Oswin's command scale rose to around 200,000. However, Xun Qi couldn't understand how Oswin could break through and immediately reach the top level. This was completely wrong!
"Are you sure there's no problem?" Xun Qi asked, frowning. "That's 600,000!"
“It’s true. I have no reason to joke about this, and you’ll see later,” Oswin said calmly to Xun Qi.
"You haven't been corrupted by something, have you? Although I haven't seen you many times before, I feel that your expression and demeanor are obviously different from now." Xun Qi looked at Oswin's expression and asked with some doubt. Oswin in the past, if not bitter and resentful, definitely didn't smile so much. Today's Oswin doesn't look like the Oswin of the past.
Oswin paused for a moment after hearing this, his smile fading as he regained his normal expression. "Your observational skills are indeed second to none among the Kushan leadership. Actually, it's not really about contamination, but rather because I haven't yet filtered out the excess."
"Even if it's a voluntary sacrifice, will it still have an impact?" Xun Qi felt slightly relieved upon hearing this, but still asked with some doubt. The Kushan Empire certainly wouldn't dare to act recklessly regarding Oswin's promotion, after all, this was their last pillar of strength. If something went wrong due to carelessness, the trouble would be huge. Therefore, the Kushan Empire had definitely considered all aspects of Oswin's promotion.
“Yes, there were some minor issues that I hadn’t considered before, but fortunately, for me, it only takes some time to resolve.” Oswin nodded and said, “Bannaja is, after all, a resurrected Avatar, not a real human, so there are some effects. But the good thing is that the pollution caused by the Avatar can simply be removed.”
Kushan considered all aspects of Oswin's promotion, but in the end, due to inexperience, they stumbled into a pitfall. However, the pitfall was not significant; it had some impact on Oswin, but it was not enough to completely ruin him.
“But if it’s a human, even if they completely agree and offer a sacrifice, there will still be a fusion in the end. With our current technology, we may not be able to completely eliminate it. On the other hand, if it’s a deity or Buddha who descends to earth, as long as we take good care of our mental defenses, there will be basically no deep impact,” Xun Qi said with a frown.
Oswin did not elaborate further on this point, but simply nodded.
"What am I like in your eyes?" Seeing that Oswin did not continue to explain, Xun Qi was somewhat puzzled, but still asked the most important question according to the plan he had come from, a question that concerned many answers.
“I thought His Highness wouldn’t ask this question.” Oswin looked at Xun Qi and sighed softly.
After upholding the Imperial Will, Oswin, like Chen Xi, gained the ability to access the Imperial Will. Although he, like Chen Xi, had to face the problem of how to match people, theoretically, important nodes should still be easy to find. However, Oswin realized early on that many people were missing from his Imperial Will.
Leaving aside the Brahmins of the Southern Nobles and the Kusroys among the Dalits, many of the high-ranking members of the Kushan Nobles in the North are not aligned with the imperial will, or to be more precise, they are detached from it. They seem not to identify with the Kushan Empire, but they are indeed part of the Kushan Empire.
At that time, Oswin, who had just completed upholding the imperial will, considered taking down all these guys who were only vaguely related to the Kushans, but in the end he gave up the idea because there were a few people who were not easy for even Oswin to take down, as they were of a higher rank than Oswin.
For example, Vasudeva I!
"As expected, I am not within the will of the Empire." Xun Qi sighed softly, but since he had come, he had already prepared himself mentally.
“Yes, Your Highness does not agree with the Kushan concept I have created. In fact, it’s not just Your Highness; many people do not agree with the Kushan concept I have created. They agree with me!” Oswin said with a hint of helplessness. He did not say his name, but Xun Qi guessed who he was in an instant.
No, we shouldn't even say who the other party is, but rather which group of people under Oswin they belong to. Based on what Oswin said before, Xun Qi guessed that Urdu, Salman, and others under Oswin probably did not agree with the Kushan concept constructed by Oswin; they only agreed with Oswin.
“Those who agree with the concept of the Kushan Empire that I have constructed are mostly from the lower and middle classes. The upper classes, whether it is the Brahmins of the Southern Nobles or the nobles of the Yuezhi, do not really agree. The Yuezhi probably still hold the idea of eliminating the Southern Nobles, while the Brahmins probably also hold the idea of assimilating and absorbing the Yuezhi. There is no such thing as seeking common ground while reserving differences.” Oswin said frankly to Xun Qi.
"Where is His Majesty?" Xun Qi asked the biggest question.
“Where can a subject tolerate a king?” Oswin sighed softly, offering his answer without giving a direct reply.
"I see. You've really had a tough time. You're still able to keep going under these circumstances. Do you think we can win?" Xun Qi's expression became complicated upon hearing this. Even he felt that Oswin had indeed had a tough time and was a true hero, but heroes always end up in a tragic way.
“At least this time we will definitely win.” Oswin said solemnly, then looked sharply at Xun Qi and asked, “Your Highness, what is the Kushan Empire that you endorse?”
"The Yuezhi will be reintegrated into the Han Dynasty as the Five Marquises, and then a princess will be sent over. That will completely achieve our goal." Xun Qi laid it all out. Hiding it from Oswin now would only make him look down on him. Besides, since he was here, he had made all the necessary preparations.
"Where have you gotten to now?" Upon hearing this, Oswin did not think Xun Qi was a traitor. It was a matter of strategy. As long as Xun Qi had not betrayed the country, Oswin would not take him down. Moreover, if things were not going to work out, the path Xun Qi had taken might not be a bad option.
It's fine to fight for a bigger opportunity, but if you really fail, you really need to prepare for the future. Moreover, when the two of them were face to face, Oswin could clearly feel that Xun Qi hesitated when he said these words, but he was sincere.
Of course, what Oswin couldn't have imagined was that Xun Qi hesitated to marry a princess rather than to bring the Yuezhi back under the Han dynasty and become the Marquis of Wuxi or something.
Oswin subconsciously believed that Xun Qi's hesitation stemmed from bringing the Yuezhi under the Han dynasty, thus demoting himself from a future emperor to a vassal king, rather than from his hesitation in marrying a Han princess.
For the Yuezhi, marrying a Han princess was a no-brainer. It would be crazy not to have the opportunity. If a Han princess were to run past Oswin now, he would capture her. That's the kind of situation the Yuezhi were.
The reason they were able to become the Kushan Empire, the reason they were able to get to this point, was clear to Oswin the moment he personally raised the imperial will: it was for the Han princess.
Therefore, for Oswin, it was enough to hear the hesitation in Xun Qi's words.
"What if I manage to drive the Han army back?" Oswin asked with a hint of seriousness.
“If the Han army really retreats, I can try to help you ask for a Han princess in marriage.” Xun Qi was equally serious.
Although Xun Qi's position is not high in the current succession arrangement, if Oswin really defeats the Han Dynasty, Xun Qi's chances of taking over will increase dramatically.
Considering that Oswin really did defeat the Han Dynasty, the Kushan Empire could not possibly be destroyed, so Xun Qi had no choice but to become the leader of the Kushan Empire.
Of course, by then, Xun Qi would no longer be a spy for the Han Dynasty. Personal thoughts can never outweigh class positions. If things really came to that, what Xun Qi sought would probably be no different from what the Yuezhi people sought now. At that time, Xun Qi would be more of a member of the Yuezhi royal family than a successor of the Xun family.
After all, their identity and their duties are quite clear.
“Alright, then I’ll have to trouble Your Highness.” Oswin nodded.
After Xun Qi left, Helilah came out of the inner room and asked Osven, "General, why didn't we just take him down? As a high-ranking Kushan official, his absence from the Empire's will is definitely suspicious!"
Oswin glanced at Hrithalah, shook his head and said, "His absence from the Imperial Will doesn't prove anything. You know, there are actually quite a few high-ranking officials who aren't in the Imperial Will. When I built the Imperial Will, there were even more people who weren't in it."
“But so much time has passed, and it still hasn’t appeared in the Imperial Will. That’s a big problem.” Hrilah said solemnly, with a look that said, “It’s better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free.”
Oswin shook his head. From the first day he realized that Vasudeva I was not in the Imperial Will, Oswin had already come to terms with reality. Considering that many of his officers and generals were actually only half-close to the Imperial Will and would disappear from time to time, Oswin knew very well that even the Imperial Will could not represent a person's true heart.
“You can’t expect everyone in the Kushan to be willing to die for the Kushan,” Oswin sighed. “How the country treats them and how they treat the country is not really a problem. Some people, though living in this country, act as if they are in an enemy country.”
“But if he’s not in the Imperial Will at all, then there’s definitely a problem,” Hrilah said urgently. “Although Kusroy, Urdu, Salman and the others aren’t always in the Imperial Will, at least when they’re with you, they still fight for the Empire. But when Prince Qi sees you, he doesn’t change at all. That’s a big problem.”
“They have their own ideas and their own methods,” Oswin said, shaking his head. “Or to be more realistic, their path is completely different from ours. There are quite a few people within the Yuezhi who want to restore their status as the Five Marquises and become members of the Han Dynasty, and there are countless Brahmins who want to submit to the Han Dynasty. But doesn’t the Kushan Empire still exist?”
“These traitors should all be killed!” Helilah said with a hint of coldness.
“There are too many people to kill.” Oswin shook his head. Of the thirty million people in the Kushan Empire, less than ten million truly identified with the concept of the Kushan Empire. That was the reality.
It was precisely because Oswin recognized this fact that he would not take action against someone like Xun Qi, who had problems with his approach but would not deliberately hinder or affect him.
For Oswin now, someone like Xun Qi, who has never actively harmed the Kushan Empire and has even contributed to its development and maintained its stability in various situations, is someone Oswin would try his best to find common ground with despite his differences, even if Xun Qi does not agree with the Kushan Empire he has built.
Talk about interests with those who can talk about interests, and talk about ideals with those who can talk about ideals. Even if the two sides can't talk about anything, they can put aside their disputes and seek common ground while reserving differences.
It is precisely because of Oswin's attitude that the Kushan Empire is now able to unite all its forces. Even though some people privately made strange remarks after watching the Han Dynasty's grand military exercise, saying that it would be better to return to the historical norm and become one of the Five Marquises of Han, and even though some Brahmins made sarcastic remarks, saying that things have come to this point, why pretend anymore, they were all willing to do their part when facing Oswin.
After all, given that they still had a choice, the Yuezhi were willing to rely on their own strength to acquire the princess. On the Brahmin side, the Han Dynasty simply refused to accept her, so choosing the Kushans and Oswin became a matter of course.
This is also why Oswin was able to quickly test his own limits after breaking through the barriers of the large army's command, because everything he needed was readily available at the moment.
“But won’t those people really cause trouble?” Hrithrah asked, frowning.
“They have never recognized the current Kushan Empire from the beginning. What they recognize is the future Kushan Empire that they have built. But no matter what they think, as long as they have not betrayed the empire, that’s fine. It’s not a problem that Prince Qi does not recognize the Kushan Empire that I have built. Judging from his past behavior, it can be seen that he has not harmed Kushan. In fact, he has been trying to make Kushan stronger.” Oswin shook his head and said, “So there is no need to keep an eye on them.”
To paraphrase Oswin, even Vasudeva I did not recognize the current Kushan Empire, using it merely as a tool. How could he expect others to be genuinely loyal to the empire? To put it bluntly, how could those who were starving, those veterans who were crippled after fighting for their country and then inexplicably drowned, possibly be loyal to this empire?
Oswin, who held the will of the empire, was naturally able to perceive that the Kushan Empire had many problems. Some of these problems, Oswin could solve through force, but others, even if he saw them, he could not find a solution to. After all, the distinction between high and low, noble and common, was, in other words, a clear class system!
So Oswin didn't have any good solutions either.
“Then why not bring him along? Leaving him behind would be a bit too risky,” Hrithal suggested solemnly, but Oswin rejected the idea.
“Hrih, you’ve overlooked a fact: His Majesty Vasudeva I isn’t actually part of the Empire’s will. So there’s no need to worry about these things. Just do what we need to do: prepare our supplies and provisions, get our armor and equipment ready. As long as we don’t betray the country, there’s no need to keep an eye on them.” Oswin finally blurted out what he shouldn’t have said.
“Actually, it’s not just His Majesty; there are several others who are not aligned with the Empire’s will. Many people don’t actually identify with the current Kushan Empire, but with me personally. I can sense that they are fighting for me, not for the Empire,” Oswin said with a touch of emotion. “So, Hrithrach, there’s no point in pursuing these matters.”
Hearing this, Harrira was somewhat saddened, but she quickly composed herself and walked over to use her Avatar to help Oswin clear up the personality problems caused by Bannerjar's sacrifice.
Bannerjeer's qualifications were only those of an ordinary large-scale army commander. However, he saw a god before his death, which caused his entire Dao heart to collapse. Therefore, when he saw that Oswin was willing to inherit his talent, Bannerjeer, who had already turned into a clay or wooden sculpture, did not hesitate to choose to sacrifice himself.
At the time, no one considered one thing: what was Bannerjere, who was resurrected as a reincarnated god, really like?
It wasn't until Oswin completed the succession that the hidden dangers surfaced, leading to the confirmation that the true nature of the incarnate deity was actually Brahma in armor.
Although the outer layer of armor is an existence that transcends gods and Buddhas, it can accommodate this tiny part of Brahma and even fully reveal the self of the outer gods and Buddhas. However, the process of self-sacrifice is not only about assimilating oneself, but also about exposing one's true nature.
Brahma's status was undeniable, and although the Kushan's emergency measures were effective, they still had some impact on Oswin. It was only thanks to Oswin's unwavering will and consistent beliefs that his mind did not change drastically after the sacrifice.
However, there are still professionals who can solve these kinds of problems, like Hrithalah right now!
Oswin was the kind of person who knew everything, yet still resolutely chose to move forward. What others did was their business; he himself had to do the right thing.