I know Jiang Cheng and Madam Yu blamed Wei Wuxian for the fall of Lotus Pier, but they are wrong, wrong, wrong.

You wanna know whose fault it was?

HIM. THIS GUY.

Because when Sect Leader Yao was attacked by the Wens for his disciples escaping indoctrination, he went crawling to Lotus Pier.

Then what happened? This.

JFM leaves Lotus Pier with an honor guard of disciples to bring Sect Leader Yao to safety in Lanling!

(and probably to use the excuse to talk possible war preparations/negotiations with the Jins, but let's focus on Yao here.)

Which means JFM and his disciples weren't there when the Wens showed up.

A Lotus Pier at full strength might've had a chance. As it was, they had a reduced number of fighters that included VERY junior disciples. Then YZY sends JC and WWX - the strongest young fighters - away.

By the time JFM and his group came back, there'd been too many losses for their return to make a difference. They were too few on their own, so they died, too, along with JFM and YZY.

If Sect Leader Yao hadn't gone to Lotus Pier for aid, JFM and his disciples wouldn't have left LP for Lanling. They'd have had more disciples to fight off the attack. The probably would have survived the assault.

Instead, we get Sect Leader Yao in the arms and debt of the Jins.

(And gosh, what does Sect Leader Yao end up doing after the war? He becomes a mouthpiece for rumors that undermine the Jiangs (!!) and support the Jins' scheming. So much for gratitude, huh.)

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk. Throw Sect Leader Yao into a lake.