Kyoto Prefecture, no, it is the supreme ruler within the Imperial City who will not tolerate a loss of balance between the civil servants and the martial marquises.
Xie Dongan's mind involuntarily surfaced with the last lesson his grandfather Xie Jing taught him before he left.
"The highest good is like water, benefiting all things without contending."
He remembered the serene look on his grandfather's face as he asked him for his understanding of this statement.
Xie Dongan's response at the time was "The highest virtue of a person is to be like water, nourishing all things."
But his grandfather, the Left Minister Xie Jing, who was second only to one on the court, said:
"Wrong! Good and evil both reside within oneself, where is there so much nobility?"
"The so-called 'highest good is like water' is nothing but someone wanting you to demand this of yourself."
Xie Dongan was stunned for a long time before he finally asked, what good does this kind of demand do?
