Chapter 13: Do You Want to Be the Gang Leader?

He wasn't from the Beggar Gang, had never cultivated—just a perfectly ordinary old beggar.

'So all that stuff in novels about running into an old beggar who turns out to be some peerless master... it's all just lies made up by those authors who pull shit out of their ass to trick people.'

'To think I actually fell for their crap. The me who died at fifteen in my past life... I really was too young and naive!'

Shaking his head, Su Han dismissed the thought of the old beggar being some hidden, peerless master. Now, when he looked at the man, all he saw was an ordinary person.

"Then... what's your name?"

The old beggar, still inwardly puzzling over what a "Beggar Gang" was, collected his thoughts when he heard Su Han ask for his name.

"My lord... my surname is Hong. When I was young, I had many brothers, so my parents never gave me a proper name.

Since I was the seventh brother, my parents just called me Qi.

I was always just called Qi, right up until I left home to beg on my own. I've never had a formal name.

After I'd been a beggar for a long time, some of the other beggars I knew started calling me Hong Qi.

Some of the younger beggars, seeing my age and how I'd often look out for them, respectfully called me Elder Qi.

Crown Prince... you can call me Hong Qi, or Old Qi... either is fine."

Su Han: "..."

'Hong Qi?'

'Elder Qi?'

'Hong Qigong, is that you, Hong Qigong?'

"You... you're really not from the Beggar Gang?"

The old beggar, Hong Qi, gave Su Han a strange look and shook his head. "I've never heard the name Beggar Gang.

The Beggar Gang... is that a faction?"

Seeing that Hong Qi didn't seem to be lying, Su Han felt a pang of disappointment.

He sighed, but then an idea suddenly struck him. He looked up at the old beggar and asked seriously,

"Do you... want to be a gang leader?"

Hong Qi: "..."

......

And so, the Beggar Gang—destined to be the greatest faction in the world—was established. It happened just like that, casually and almost as a joke, in the Crown Prince's small courtyard at Prince Jing's Residence, founded on just a few words from Su Han.

Never mind that Lingzhou City currently had only one beggar—the old man, Hong Qi—making its Beggar Gang Leader the leader of a one-man army.

Never mind that the old beggar had never cultivated and was currently useless in a fight, a fact somewhat shameful for a Beggar Gang Leader.

Never mind that the Beggar Gang didn't yet possess the Eighteen Dragon-Slaying Palms or the Dog-Beating Stick Technique, making Su Han feel he wasn't doing the name "Beggar Gang" justice.

Regardless, Su Han had goaded the old beggar into establishing the Beggar Gang anyway.

No members? They could grow slowly.

No combat strength? They could cultivate slowly.

No Cultivation Techniques? 'Aren't all Cultivation Techniques created by people, anyway?'

Pulling Hong Qi aside, Su Han began drilling him on the core philosophies of the Beggar Gang.

Su Han told Hong Qi, "Your Beggar Gang must be developed with the ultimate goal of becoming the greatest faction in the world.

And don't you think this Crown Prince is just blowing smoke. Think about it: what is the most numerous type of person in this world?

It's not royalty, not the great clans, not the scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants. It's the beggars.

In every province, every kingdom, every city... as far as the eye can see, are there not beggars?

Their numbers must be in the hundreds of millions, if not more!

If one day all these beggars become disciples of your Beggar Gang, will the goal of becoming the world's greatest faction still be far off?"

Hong Qi followed Su Han's line of reasoning and couldn't help but grow excited.

"Not far at all! My Beggar Gang will become the greatest faction in the world in no time!"

Seeing Hong Qi straighten his bent waist, un-hunch his back, and throw his head back with pride, Su Han quickly brought him back down to earth.

"Hold on, don't get ahead of yourself. Your Beggar Gang isn't the greatest faction in the world yet."

Hong Qi's eyes glazed over with confusion. "But didn't you say it, Crown Prince? That all the beggars in the world would join my Beggar Gang?

Once all the beggars in the world have joined, how could the Beggar Gang *not* be the greatest faction in the world?"

Su Han: "..."

"Ahem. What this Crown Prince said was *if* all the beggars in the world join your Beggar Gang. The problem is, they haven't joined yet, have they?

What you need to do now is figure out how to make them *want* to join."

Hong Qi's eyes bulged. "Why? My Beggar Gang is the greatest faction in the world! Why wouldn't they want to join?"

Su Han: "..."

'Damn it, did I oversell it? I think I broke his brain!'

"The point is, the Beggar Gang will *only* be the greatest faction in the world *after* all the beggars have joined it. Right now, nobody has joined, see? So it's not the greatest faction yet. That's why you have to find a way to get them to join."

Hong Qi's eyes bulged again. "Then just let them join! The Beggar Gang will be the greatest faction in the world, right?

And since it'll be the greatest faction in the world after they join, why wouldn't they join?"

Su Han: "..."

'Goddammit. This conversation is going nowhere.'

Seeing that Hong Qi was stuck in the paradoxical loop of the grand vision he'd painted, Su Han decisively changed the subject.

"Alright, let's put the 'greatest faction' business aside for a moment. Since the Beggar Gang is going to become the greatest faction..."

Hong Qi interjected, "My Beggar Gang *is* the greatest faction in the world."

Su Han: "...Fine. Your Beggar Gang is the greatest faction in the world. A one-man greatest faction in the world.

But since your Beggar Gang is the greatest faction in the world, its philosophy must be clear and well-defined."

"Philosophy?"

The old beggar finally broke free from his delusion of leading the world's greatest faction.

"That's right."

Su Han nodded. "A philosophy: All beggars under heaven are one family. When one disciple of the Beggar Gang is in trouble, help will come from all quarters."

"All beggars under heaven are one family... when one disciple is in trouble, help will come from all quarters."

Hong Qi repeated the phrase, his eyes shining brighter. "Crown Prince, our Beggar Gang is already the greatest in the world, and our philosophy is so good to beggars... I truly can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to join us!

With the Beggar Gang and this philosophy, I'd like to see who dares bully us beggars from now on!"

Su Han: "..."

'Who the hell is "us"?'

'This Crown Prince is royalty! Royalty, you get it? You're the beggar. Your whole family are... well, okay, maybe your whole family really are beggars.'

"Yes, that's right."

Seeing Hong Qi was getting on board, Su Han struck while the iron was hot. "Bringing all the beggars of the world into our fold is just the first primary mission for the Beggar Gang's development.

Once the Beggar Gang is established and all beggars have become its disciples, you must shift your focus to people *outside* the beggar community."

"People outside the beggar community?" Hong Qi asked, confused. "What do they have to do with our Beggar Gang?"

Su Han shook his head. "That's the wrong way to think about it. In terms of sheer numbers, beggars are certainly one of the largest groups in the world. But even so, do they make up one percent of the total population? Ten percent?"

Hong Qi shook his head. Of course, there couldn't be that many.

Su Han nodded. "Exactly. So, once all the beggars have joined, the Beggar Gang will need to adapt if it wants to keep growing."

"Adapt?"

Su Han nodded. "From its very inception, our Beggar Gang will be split into two branches."

Hong Qi stared at Su Han eagerly, hanging on his every word. Su Han held up one finger. "First, the Wuyi Gang. This branch will be composed purely of beggars. They will wear the traditional beggar's garb and be scattered across the land, forming the foundation of the Beggar Gang's claim to be the greatest faction in the world."

Hong Qi started, "My Beggar Gang *is*—"

"Stop!" Su Han rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Are you ever going to let that go? Do you want to build this Beggar Gang or not?"

Hong Qi nodded. "Alright... and then?"

Su Han raised a second finger. "The Clean Clothes Gang. The members of this branch won't wear beggar's garb. They'll have their own jobs and lead their own lives.

But they are all still disciples of the Beggar Gang. They will enjoy the benefit of 'help from all quarters when one is in trouble,' and they will also be required to fulfill their obligations as disciples."

Hong Qi latched onto two keywords. "Benefits? Obligations?"

Su Han nodded. "The benefit is the protection of the Beggar Gang, the world's greatest faction, for every single disciple. The obligation... is that every disciple must work to make the Beggar Gang the greatest faction in the world—"

"My Beggar Gang—"

"If you dare say that again, believe me, I'll paralyze you with a pressure point strike."

Hong Qi: "..."

"Alright, even the greatest faction in the world needs someone to build it. Now, the great responsibility of building it falls to you.

Tell this Crown Prince, Hong Qi: do you have faith in the future of the Beggar Gang?"

Hong Qi nodded emphatically. "I do."

"Excellent."

Su Han looked at Hong Qi. "Confidence is a good thing.

But do you know what the Beggar Gang's greatest advantage will be in overpowering all other factions and securing its status as the world's greatest?"

Hong Qi blinked, confused. "Advantage?"

"Yes, advantage."

Su Han nodded. "Only by knowing your strengths and developing them to their fullest can you stand fearless against any competitor.

And the Beggar Gang's greatest strength is that its beggars... its disciples... are everywhere. They can keep track of events, large and small, happening all over the land. They can make contact with all sorts of people from every walk of life."

Hong Qi nodded, and Su Han continued, "Therefore, our Beggar Gang's greatest advantage lies in its control of information.

"In the twenty-first cent— Ahem. What is the most important resource in this world? Information.

To control the world's channels of information is to have a hand on the world's very pulse. As long as you develop this advantage, it would be difficult for the Beggar Gang *not* to become the greatest faction in the world."

Although he didn't fully understand Su Han's words, he could tell they were profound, and he couldn't help but feel greatly inspired.

"Rest assured, Crown Prince. I, Hong Qi, will go through fire and water, I will give my very life, to manage this great faction for you!"

Su Han was very pleased with Hong Qi's go-getter attitude and personally saw him to the gate.

Standing before the residence gate, Su Han watched him go. Even on his way out, Hong Qi was already trying to swindle Wu Da and his wife into joining his one-man Beggar Gang. Su Han only looked away after the three figures had vanished from sight.

'The Beggar Gang... its founding was a bit of a farce, but if Hong Qi actually develops it according to the plan I laid out...'

'The scene of Beggar Gang disciples spreading across the lands of Jiuzhou might not be an impossibility one day.'

'And if that happens...'

'It's been ten years. It should be about time for some results, shouldn't it?'

His gaze drifted to the distant north, as if piercing through countless barriers, and a thought surfaced in Su Han's mind.