125. Song Jiang succeeded in recruiting peace
Some people criticized Song Jiang, saying that it was because he was recruited that he killed so many Liangshan brothers. Some people also say that the three views of "Water Margin" are not correct, and they are all about some bandits who kill people and set fires.
But the most essential part of "Water Margin" is in Zhao'an. If Song Jiang doesn't recruit An, then Liangshan can only be a bandit, no matter how strong he is, he is still a bandit. Although they are waving the banner of "doing the right thing for heaven", they have not done a single thing for the way of heaven for so many years. On the contrary, they disregard people's lives, rob homes, kill people and set fires. If you don't recruit An, this book can only be called "Records of the Underworld of the Song Dynasty".
Liang Shan's gang is different from Fang La, Tian Hu, Wang Qing and others, except for Song Jiang, the other leaders have no great ambitions. All they want to be there is to drink wine in big bowls and eat large pieces of meat in the mountains. But where did the wine and meat come from? Fang La and the others still knew that they wanted to occupy prefectures and counties, establish base areas, and establish their own country. The Liangshan bandits were just a social cancer, and after they conquered the prefectures and counties, they just looted all the money, grain, and grass, and then hid back in the mountains.
Without Zhao'an, these people would eventually perish. Song Jiang is different from others, he always hoped to be a Bao Yilang before he went up the mountain and won fame.
What we would most like to see is for the bad guys to become good, not for the bad guys to continue to be evil. Song Jiang relied on his influence to bring the bad guys together and transform them into good guys. This is Song Jiang's merit, and it is also the reason why "Water Margin" can be among the four famous novels.
It is precisely because of this that even people like Wu Song, Liu Tang, Ruan Xiaoer, Ruan Xiaowu, Ruan Xiaoqi, Li Kui, Cao Zheng, Zhang Qing, Sun Erniang, and Bai Sheng, who resolutely oppose Zhao'an, finally chose to follow everyone to recruit An, rather than occupy the mountain as king again.
A good society will continue to influence bad people into good people, rather than letting good people slowly become bad people. Those in power should reflect on this matter.