Qiao Feng—Quan GuanQing

Qiao Feng—Quan GuanQing is a relationship defined by a contest for authority within the Beggar Clan. Quan’s role in exposing Qiao Feng’s identity as a Khitan helped bring about Qiao’s expulsion, while Qiao’s act of expelling Quan left the latter with a grievance and a compromised position. In the Clan’s later leadership deliberations, Quan’s supporters framed his political usefulness as a reason to restore and promote him, even as Quan tried to distance himself from the appearance that his actions had been self-serving.

Origins of the Rivalry

Quan’s earlier conflict with Qiao Feng had both personal and institutional consequences. At a gathering of the Clan’s Hall of Great Wisdom, members discussed candidates to succeed as Clan leader. Some favored Elder Song, others Elder Wu, while another speaker argued that Quan’s resourcefulness made him the strongest candidate. But Quan had been expelled by Qiao, and his return had yet to be settled. His supporters maintained that he had rendered the Clan a great service by exposing Qiao’s identity, and proposed first arranging his reinstatement, then presenting that service as grounds for leadership.

The argument shows how Qiao’s departure did not end the political consequences of their opposition. Quan’s supporters connected his standing to the disclosure that had turned the Clan against its former leader; in their account, the same act that had helped displace Qiao could justify Quan’s return to power. Their plan was not simply to reward a past service, but to turn that service into a claim on the Clan’s future leadership.

Quan’s Effort to Control His Reputation

Quan resisted being openly recommended as the next Clan leader. He said he could rejoin, but objected that a leadership nomination might lead people to suspect he had exposed Qiao for the selfish purpose of replacing him. This caution did not erase his ambition: those present continued to praise his judgment and resourcefulness, arguing that the Clan could not defeat Qiao by force and would need Quan’s strategic ability.

The exchange makes reputation part of the struggle for power. Quan’s supporters treated his return and promotion as practical necessities, while Quan emphasized the appearance of impartiality. His concern was not that the accusation would be baseless in the eyes of the Clan, but that the connection between exposing Qiao and seeking his office would make his motives suspect. The rivalry thus persisted not only through formal expulsion and factional maneuvering, but also through competing accounts of why Qiao had been brought down.

The Letter Challenging the Accusation

The dispute resurfaced when Duan Yu arrived with a letter from Duan Zhengchun, addressed for the Beggar Clan’s elders to open personally. Duan Yu said his father had witnessed Bai Shijing’s death at Ma Dayuan’s residence and had been unable to deliver the letter earlier. Quan accepted it but, noting that the seal directed it to the elders, said he would present it at the forthcoming General Assembly rather than open it himself.

Quan then asked whether Duan Yu’s father had personally witnessed Qiao killing Bai Shijing and Madam Ma. Duan Yu denied that Qiao had killed them and said that Ma Dayuan had been harmed by someone else; he added that the letter explained the matter. The clarification directly challenged the accusation that had helped define Qiao’s fall. Duan Yu did not give Quan a full explanation, judging that the matter could not be adequately conveyed in a few phrases and that Quan was not someone to whom he owed further argument. The letter therefore carried a counter-account of the deaths, but its contents remained to be presented to the Clan elders.

A Rivalry That Shapes the Clan’s Politics

Quan’s response to another threat at the gathering further shows how he balanced Clan authority against his own standing. When a Xingxiu Sect follower demanded poisonous snakes and insects for the Divine Elder of Xingxiu, Quan considered the danger of refusal but also feared that yielding would cost him the respect of Clan members and damage his leadership prospects. This separate confrontation does not settle his conflict with Qiao, but it places his ambition within the same political environment: his choices are measured by how they affect both the Clan and his own position in it.

The contrast between the two men’s positions is significant. Qiao’s former authority rested on his place as Clan leader, but his identity and the accusations surrounding him precipitated his expulsion. Quan, meanwhile, sought a way back through the Clan’s ranks, with supporters invoking the exposure of Qiao as evidence in his favor. Duan Zhengchun’s sealed letter threatened to reopen the basis of that claim by disputing Qiao’s responsibility for the deaths. The relationship is therefore more than a personal feud: it is a continuing struggle over who can speak for the Clan, how leadership is justified, and whether Qiao’s disgrace can remain the foundation of Quan’s rise.