The next morning, the two men discuss the exchange of goods. They realize that the goods were exchanged for military equipment, and they blame the young man for the exchange. The young man blames the military governor, Lu, for the incident. He also blames Lu's son, Hu, for smuggling the goods without remorse. He says that the jade palace owner has been using his money to bribe people all over the country and plans to return the empire to the people. He asks why the general is using the money to buy military equipment when he can just sell it for profit. Hu points out that the general has seen the suffering of the people and knows more about reality than anyone else in the world. He tells the young men that the difference between the new republic and the corrupt past is that the former is based on power, while the latter is only interested in profit and oppression. Hu tells the men that he will take his leave of the country.