"No wonder!"
"No wonder indeed!"
Looking at the approaching armored cavalry, Cai Yong sighed deeply.
With such elite cavalry in You Province, it was no wonder the Han Dynasty chose to pacify rather than suppress.
However,
Thinking of his purpose for this trip, Cai Yong couldn't help but ask again.
"My Lord Governor, have you truly not considered restoring the Han Dynasty?"
"Restoring the Han Dynasty?"
Qin Feng turned around, his eyes meeting Cai Yong's directly, and said calmly,
"Lord Cai, pray tell, whose Han Dynasty do you speak of when you say 'the Han Dynasty'?"
"Huh?"
Cai Yong was momentarily stunned, not quite understanding Qin Feng's meaning.
He had expected either a refusal or a prevarication.
But whose Han Dynasty?
What did that mean?
Pondering for a long time without comprehension, Cai Yong said with a hint of shame,
"This Cai is slow-witted, please, My Lord Governor, enlighten me!"
"Heh heh~!"
Qin Feng chuckled twice, and instead of answering, he countered with a question.
"Before I explain, I would like to ask Elder Cai a question first.
"That is..."
"In your opinion, whose Han Dynasty is the current Han Dynasty?"
"..."
Cai Yong's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself, wasn't that exactly the question he had asked?
However,
Considering that Qin Feng had raised this question twice, Cai Yong began to ponder.
"Governor Qin, although I don't know what you truly mean, this old man believes that the current Han Dynasty still belongs to His Majesty, the Han Dynasty of the Liu family!"
"The Liu family's Han Dynasty?"
A mocking smile played on Qin Feng's lips as he emphasized his question, "Are you absolutely sure that's the case?"
"Hmph!"
Being repeatedly questioned by Qin Feng, Cai Yong grew impatient and snorted,
"Is it not because of rebels like you?"
"Elder Cai, there's no need to be agitated!"
Qin Feng paid no mind to Cai Yong's annoyance and continued to analyze with a smile.
"Firstly, look..."
"The Sili Yang family, the Runan Yuan family, their disciples and former subordinates, occupy nearly half of the officials in the realm, wouldn't you agree?"
"This..."
Cai Yong was taken aback. He wanted to retort, but didn't know where to start.
Because theoretically, Qin Feng's question was indeed correct.
"Then there's another issue..."
Seeing Cai Yong's silence, Qin Feng smiled and pressed his advantage.
"Across the thirteen provinces of the realm, over a hundred commanderies, all their prefects are from aristocratic families.
"Is that not so?"
"This..."
Hearing Qin Feng's words, Cai Yong became agitated and couldn't help but argue,
"What's wrong with that?"
"Are the members of aristocratic families more capable than those from humble backgrounds? Why shouldn't they be employed?"
"Capable?"
Qin Feng scoffed at the mention of capability and pointed towards Jizhou.
"Your so-called capability has resulted in these hundreds of thousands of Yellow Turbans?"
"Indeed!"
"This ability to force the common people into rebellion is truly not something just anyone possesses."
"..."
As Qin Feng's words fell, Cai Yong's beard trembled slightly.
His words were hitting a little too close to home for many,
After all,
Some of his close friends, some of his students, were among those very people.
But,
Upon careful consideration of Qin Feng's questions, Cai Yong found himself unable to refute them.
Facts spoke for themselves!
If those individuals had truly been capable, there wouldn't be Yellow Turbans everywhere.
However,
Allowing Qin Feng to continue his onslaught was not an option. Cai Yong decided to be direct.
"My Lord Governor, what exactly do you mean? Are you suggesting that the ancestral practice of recommending the worthy is wrong?"
"Recommending the worthy is not wrong, but the people who do it are!"
Qin Feng was too astute to directly negate the ancestors in front of Cai Yong. He shifted his angle of attack.
"Are the people they recommend truly worthy?"
"In what way are they worthy?"
"Speaking from their conscience, how many of the people they recommended were strangers?"
"Yes!"
"It cannot be denied that some are still good and have truly practiced recommending the worthy.
"But what of it?"
"Where does worthiness come from?"
"Aside from the aristocratic families who monopolize knowledge, how many of the common people across the realm are worthy of their attention?"
"Are the common people not people?"
"Does this Han Dynasty belong to the aristocratic families, or to everyone in the realm?"
"..."
As Qin Feng's sharp questions continued, Cai Yong's face turned pale.
The next moment,
The old man's eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted, overwhelmed by Qin Feng's barrage of arguments.
The young girl beside him, however, stared at Qin Feng in a daze, unable to snap out of it.
"Uh..."
Qin Feng, who had expected a round of applause, was now quite taken aback.
Had he gone too far?
This old man wasn't very resilient!
Those great scholars might not be good at other things, but their thick skin was second to none.
Why was this old man so easily defeated?
Fortunately,
Despite his inner musings, Qin Feng's actions were swift.
He instinctively supported Cai Yong, then looked at the still-stunned young girl beside him.
"Is your father not feeling well? Why did he faint mid-conversation?"
"Ah?"
"No!"
The young girl, regaining her senses, shook her head first, then realized he was referring to her father.
"Father, Father, are you alright? Please don't scare me!"
"Don't worry, it's probably nothing serious!"
Although Qin Feng knew nothing of medicine, he had watched plenty of television dramas in his past life.
Thus, after laying Cai Yong down, he directly pinched the philtrum forcefully.
Whether pinching the philtrum actually worked, or if Cai Yong was woken by the pain from Qin Feng's excessive force,
In any case,
After only a few pinches from Qin Feng, Cai Yong's eyes fluttered open. He covered his lips with his hand and trembled.
"Elder Cai, are you alright!"
"I-I'm fine..."
Seeing Qin Feng's intention to try again, Cai Yong quickly scrambled to his feet.
"My Lord Governor, let's... let's talk about something else!"
"Uh?"
Qin Feng smacked his lips with regret, expressing a desire to continue,
"Elder Cai, don't you want to hear my views on the Han Dynasty?"
"No, no more!"
Cai Yong quickly shook his head, a look of lingering fear on his face.
He had realized!
This fellow Qin Feng was completely at odds with the entire aristocratic families of the Han Dynasty!
Could he possibly win against them?
Cai Yong didn't know, nor did he want to know. He just wanted to live a peaceful life now.
As for after going to You Province?
Whatever!
He was only going there to seek refuge, not because he genuinely wanted to pledge allegiance to this god of war.
It was just that,
What puzzled Cai Yong was, where did this fellow get his elite cavalry from?
The aristocratic families?
Impossible!
Given Qin Feng's expressed stance, which aristocratic family would foolishly support him?
Wouldn't that be courting death?
If not the aristocratic families, then who?
Foreign tribes?
Don't be ridiculous!
The number of foreign tribes Qin Feng had massacred in You Province was probably enough to circle it...
Alright!
Regardless of whether they could circle You Province, there were certainly many, many of them.
Therefore,
Cai Yong searched throughout the entire Han Dynasty, racking his brain, but couldn't figure it out.
Could they have materialized out of thin air?