Chapter 1168: Vision
Although Wang Jiaohe’s faction had made arrangements and preparations in advance, Qi Xuansu’s instincts were exceptionally sharp, immediately seizing upon the biggest flaw, which was the procedural issue.
Even if Chen Jianchou’s high-ranking Daoist status could still be questioned, his role as a secretary and his status as a meritorious contributor were beyond doubt. This meant that Chen Jianchou was a special case and even held access to certain sensitive information. As Xie Jiaofeng had said, this could raise concerns about leakage of secrets. Even if the local branch of the Beichen Hall believed they could arrest him without prior approval, the very least they should have done was inform the Daoist Mansion. Otherwise, the Daoist Mansion would be completely unaware and be thrown into a highly passive position.
This was essentially bypassing levels of authority, which was a major taboo.
The reason Wang Jiaohe made such a mistake was due to habit. In the past, it had always been Wang Jiaohe’s one-man rule, so no one cared much about procedures. In truth, this was a common phenomenon that was not limited to the Poluo Daoist Mansion. Even Qi Xuansu himself had not always strictly followed procedure and sometimes bypassed it in pursuit of results. The key point was that such matters could never be brought into the open.
Qi Xuansu was a pragmatist. He occupied the moral high ground not to proclaim his own virtue, but because striking from a higher ground made it far easier to attack his opponents.
That was why Qi Xuansu had brought this matter into open discussion.
Regardless of whether Qi Xuansu had ever done the same, if no one saw it and no one caught it, then it did not exist. But when the Beichen Hall’s local branch did it, they were caught red-handed, and it was made into a major issue.
This was what internal strife looked like.
As a result, Wang Jiaohe was immediately pushed into a passive position.
Wang Jiaohe had not expected this, so he was at a loss for words. It also became difficult for others to step forward and rally support.
Every word Qi Xuansu had spoken fit his position and stood firmly on reason, so in the end, Wang Jiaohe decided not to confront Qi Xuansu head-on.
Of course, struggles within the Daoist Mansion were not merely about eloquence, nor solely about who held the truth. The key lay in momentum.