William Sullivan's newly acquired small siheyuan was located in Wangjia Hutong, Xisi Pailou—blue walls, dark alleys, and willows drooping in verdant green. It was truly a fine place.

When William Sullivan arrived at the siheyuan, it was already the second day after rescuing Mr. Smith. Naturally, he knew that after just being freed, the siblings would have much to talk about, so William Sullivan did not disturb them.

Upon seeing William Sullivan, Mr. Smith, whose legs had been beaten to a pulp, struggled to get up and pay his respects. This man, once so full of life and vigor, had been tortured to the point of emaciation, barely clinging to life.

Faced with such a scene of gratitude, William Sullivan felt rather embarrassed. He hurriedly offered a few modest words and quickly excused himself.

By the courtyard well, there stood a thriving locust tree, lush and full of life.

"Young Master Ye, thank you." Following behind William Sullivan, Emily Smith also entered the courtyard.

William Sullivan turned his head, only to see a gentle breeze fluttering by, the beauty before him in a flowing red dress, enchanting and graceful. Imagining her amidst a thousand horses, spear in hand, poised and heroic—beauty like a painting, a fierce steed like a cloud—he couldn't help but be entranced.

Emily Smith was a bit helpless. The respect and gratitude she had just felt for him seemed to dissipate, but there was a question she couldn't hold back: "Young Master Ye, may I ask why you helped us?"

This was a difficult question to answer. William Sullivan hesitated, then made up a story, sighing, "To be honest, my mother was originally Han, but... she was forcibly taken into a noble's household. When I was young, she... she suffered greatly..." At this, he sighed again and couldn't continue.

Emily Smith let out a gentle sigh and did not press further.

Suddenly, the sound of strings and flutes came from the east wing. Looking through the open carved window, it was David Harris playing an erhu and singing, "White Luoji, white rooster, one crow at dawn, the world awakes. The Jade Emperor issues a decree, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom brings peace to the land! Hey yo!" Then he sang, "Shield in the left hand, knife in the right, slashing horse legs to kill the Qing demons! Li the swift rider of Fengcheng, Zhang the whirlwind of Jingdong, none compare to me, Su Hongniang of Wuzhou! Yi ya hey!"

The melody was tinged with sorrow and excitement, the hoarse voice fitting the tune, leaving a lingering impression.

Who would have thought David Harris had such talent? William Sullivan was a bit surprised, but his expression quickly changed, for the song was in the Hakka dialect. It took him a while to realize what was being sung. This was the heart of the capital, with tens of thousands of soldiers patrolling day and night, and thousands of checkpoints inside and outside the city. If someone reported this, there would be no escape.

Before William Sullivan could speak, Emily Smith had already scolded David Harris a few times. David Harris stuck out his tongue and sheepishly put down the erhu. This fierce man was like a child before Emily Smith.

"Born of the wilds, young master, please don't take offense." For the first time, Emily Smith cupped her hands to William Sullivan in apology.

William Sullivan smiled slightly. "Brother Ajiu sings of heroes of the age, I see. Su Hongniang of Wuzhou—so Miss Su is from Wuzhou. No wonder such a talented person comes from a land of outstanding people. If I have the chance in the future, I must visit Wuzhou to soak up some of its spirit."

Emily Smith smiled without replying. The beauty pondered for a moment, as if troubled by something. At last, her starry eyes turned to William Sullivan, and she said, "Young Master Ye, I was looking through your collection of books and found several astonishing works, especially one called the Book of Peasant Wars. May I ask who wrote it?"

William Sullivan was taken aback, not expecting her to have found those playful writings. The so-called "Peasant Wars" was merely William Sullivan using the revolutionary practice of a certain great man as a framework, haphazardly writing about the theory of encircling the cities from the countryside in the present world. It was nothing more than not contending for temporary gains or losses, uniting the gentry, reducing rents and interest to mobilize the peasants, and so on. But the primary condition, of course, was to spread faith within the ranks of the uprising—a faith worth dying for. If an armed force lacked firm belief, it would collapse at the first sign of adversity.

William Sullivan asked in surprise, "You can understand it?"

Emily Smith gently brushed aside a stray lock of hair, uncharacteristically demure and quiet, and said, "I don't recognize many of the characters, but I can grasp the meaning."

Admiring her elegance, William Sullivan asked, "Which books do you find worthwhile?"

Emily Smith replied sincerely, "I don't understand the principles of governing a country, so I wouldn't dare judge. I can only say every word is a gem, thought-provoking."

William Sullivan became a bit smug and said with a grin, "To be honest, Miss Su, those books were just my idle scribblings."

"Ah?" Emily Smith looked over in disbelief. Seeing William Sullivan's proud expression, she was even more deflated. She had thought that if such a worldly sage could be invited to serve as a strategist and offer guidance, what great cause could not be accomplished? Who would have thought it was the work of this little lecher? Could he really possess such vast knowledge? But to ask this little lecher to be a strategist—never mind whether he had the ability, he certainly wouldn't agree to it.

Though she had only known William Sullivan for a few days, she already knew he was one to indulge in pleasure, definitely not a hero who licked blood from the blade's edge.

William Sullivan then sighed, "Even if a peasant war succeeds, what then? It's just a change of dynasty, a new master in charge."

"Besides, in today's world, even if you all seize power, so what? The Manchus retreat beyond the pass, the northwest and southwest are divided, and I'm afraid the land of China would fall apart in an instant. Perhaps a hundred years ago there was still hope, but now the foreign powers can't wait for China to split apart, and would surely take the opportunity to stir up trouble. Then, a hundred or a thousand years from now, how will future generations judge us?"

Emily Smith only smiled and said, "But what if the peasant war is supplemented by a theory of government?"