Chapter 810: Three Factions
Qi Xuansu and his group had only just arrived in Fenglin, but they had already experienced the might of its eight million ghosts and spirits. Yet Qi Xuansu also conceived a bold idea. Since the Daoist Order could recruit the Qingqiu lineage, it might as well absorb some of these ghosts and spirits too. Of course, some were stubborn and beyond reason, but others were adaptable and pragmatic.
One could not lump all eight million spirits together as enemies. They had to be classified carefully and treated accordingly.
For instance, the Suzuka Gozen that Qi Xuansu had mentioned earlier was renowned for her ability to work with humans. She would even aid the Fenglin Court in suppressing another mountain god, Ootakemaru, and was therefore viewed in a relatively positive light, clearly a candidate for alliance.
This was, in fact, a typical Daoist strategy. Back when the new reforms were pushed forward, the same pattern was used. Win over one faction, stabilize another, and eliminate the third, leaving just two. Then win over one again and eliminate the other until only one remained. Finally, when that lone faction had lost all strength, it too would be purged.
Back then, there were three major factions: the new elites, the submissives, and the meritorious nobles. The new elites were officials who had risen through imperial favor, the submissives were surrendered ministers, and the meritorious nobles were old warriors from Liaodong who had fought alongside the emperor.
The emperor first used the new elites to suppress the submissives. The meritorious nobles did not mourn their fall, thinking the surrendered officials deserved what they got. So the new elites were drawn in, the submissives were eliminated, and the meritorious nobles remained stable.
Through this process, all opposition among the submissives was eliminated, and those remaining posed no threat. Only the new elites and meritorious nobles remained. The new elites were the emperor’s blade—they had no merit or roots, so their only value was in serving imperial interests. In phase two, they were used to destroy the meritorious nobles. After that, the nobles believed it was now their time to shine.
Once the meritorious nobles were wiped out, only the new elites remained. But they had risen through imperial grace and held no real power. If the emperor ordered their deaths, they had no choice but to obey. Through this three-step strategy, all major opposition was dismantled, entrenched factions were broken apart, centralized authority was achieved, and the new reforms were rolled out smoothly.
The same approach could now apply to Fenglin. They could draw in the ghosts and spirits as the new elites, treat the surrendered warlords as the submissives, and see the Chancellor Toyotomi’s Office as the meritorious nobles.
This way, they could purge the filth of Fenglin and complete its transformation.
The journey that followed held little turbulence.
With the blizzard no longer blocking their path, the wounded group moved quickly thanks to their cultivation. By dawn, they had finally emerged from the mountain forest.