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He'd find some other way to punish himself - for the time being. Once the sunshot campaign is over, unless someone actively stops him by talking to him like a sick goat* and passing the highest persuasion check ever he'd still take his life once he's no longer needed.
Thing is, Nie Mingjue is a lot of things but he's not a hypocrite. We know this when he goes 'I'll kill myself after killing him' with Meng Yao. But he is aware that there is too much at stake to remove him. He didn't become the general because he can hit things really hard, I'm sure (I mean, he can, but that's not the reason) but because he's a good leader and a great tactician. He knows this. He knows how much is at stake.
I honestly think talking him out of killing himself would be harder than talking him out of killing Meng Yao was.
I don't want to entertain this thought any longer. I love Nie Mingjue. I don't want him hurt. (And I say that as someone who loves Jin Guangyao every bit as much.)
*Have a weird Austrian idiom directly translated into English, haha.
imagine the following scenario:
during the sunshot campaign, due to the demands of war, nie mingjue frequently has to move his troops through farmland, the farmers of which depend on the land and the crops they raise for survival. nie mingjue orders his men to not disturb the farmers' crops; however, he has trouble enforcing this order.
eventually, nie mingjue decrees that the next person who damages the common people's crops will be executed, regardless of rank or status. and when two men do not take this decree seriously and steal some crops for themselves anyways, nie mingjue actually has them executed.
unfortunately, barely a week later, due to severe sleep deprivation, nie mingjue himself neglects to watch where he is going and ends up trampling a farmer's crops.
some notes: as it turns out, nie mingjue is basically the only person on the entire hejian front who has the ability to be an effective general. his battle prowess, understanding of war tactics, and ability to command the loyalty of his men are unparalleled. furthermore, there are many secret operations currently underway, and while multiple people in the sunshot campaign know about these, only nie mingjue knows about all of them and can see the full picture. thus, if nie mingjue dies, then the sunshot campaign will suffer a severe setback.
"does not punish himself" is not a poll option bc lbr he would not dodge punishment