He never started out actually wanting to be a 'bad guy'. I was wondering if it would work if someone could just credibly persuade him that he's not helping anyone but a murderous megalomaniac... I guess a bit like in that one story of yours... He strikes me as a fundamentally decent guy.
I think the big difference between him and all the other villains is that he's an idealist at heart. Ya Qing's also driven by principles, but she's much more of a pragmatist IMO. (And everyone else seems to be driven by misplaced revenge...) So give him someone with a pragmatic streak to sanity check his proposals and give him free rein over Dixing, boom, stuff improves! He'd have to learn some administration-related skills, but make him part of a team and he could effect change.