Ruthless people can change their environment.

There's a historical question that's been debated for a long time: that group of people from Liu Bang's village—basically a bunch of pig butchers and dog walkers, rogue heroes. Early rogue heroes weren't the gangsters depicted in TV dramas; they were basically grassroots civil servants and neighborhood committee members with social credit and lending capabilities, able to conduct extensive social activities. But compared to the Qin dynasty and the officials' descendants, they were just junior clerks, prison wardens, carriage drivers, dog killers, and funeral musicians. Yet in the end, they became kings and received noble titles. Han Xin and Peng Yue were acquisitions—business partners with trust that came at a cost. But these group of fellow townsmen had almost zero trust cost. I recently spent a long time studying Liu Wenjing's story from the late Sui dynasty. Recognizing that I'm not a ruthless genius, I should find someone to pledge allegiance to in this vast sea of humanity...