After being provoked by some influential individuals, everyone tacitly started to smear Yang Ge’s reputation.
Yang Ge was fully aware that these people were pressuring him, yet he truly had no solution for dealing with them.
After much thought, he suddenly recalled a method used by Emperor Hongwu!
He sent people, forcing the court officials in the prison, dressed in prisoner’s garb and burdened with shackles, to handle official affairs in court, promising them that if they devoted themselves to the task, their initiative could be considered for leniency.
Was this method effective?
Of course not!
The reason Emperor Hongwu could employ this was because he was Emperor Hongwu.
’What is Yang Ge? Just a commander of the imperial guards, nicely put, but crudely, he is nothing but a dog kept by the Emperor!’
’Without any imperial decree, does he really dare to do anything to us, legitimate imperial officials who passed the civil examinations?’
These were the thoughts of the court officials when Yang Ge had people fetch them from prison to wear shackles and work.
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Of course, they knew that this was the subordinates trying to smear the Embroidered Guard.
Naturally, they were unwilling to take the stage and undermine themselves.
Yang Ge’s response to them was: I really dare!
He had all the court officials from the prison pulled out, gathered together, and publicly executed two of the most defiant ones, then holding the bloody knife, he asked their deputies if they were capable of doing their chiefs’ jobs?
Seeing Yang Ge’s fierce expression, the group of civil officials accustomed to manipulations were terrified on the spot, and dozens of them gathered together, none daring to make a sound.
After that, the Magistrate of Yangzhou, Yang Yuting, carrying his shackles, went to earnestly resume his official duties in court.
’Such insolence will not lead to a good death!’
’We, made of gold and jade, must not clash with earthen pots!’
’Let’s endure him for the moment and deal with him later!’
At that moment, their thoughts were mostly like this.
Thus, Yang Ge innovatively implemented the measure of working while shackled in Wei.
This was a tactic that no emperor in Wei had ever dared to use...
Documents flew out of the government office like snowflakes, and the governmental affairs of Yangzhou Prefecture were finally somewhat restored to normal.
To prevent those corrupt officials working while shackled from scheming against him, Yang Ge compared all the crucial, significant affairs they handled with past documents.
It couldn’t be said to be completely flawless, but at least there were no major issues.
There’s a saying: they play on the first, I play on the fifteenth.
Having dealt with the first trick from the officials of Yangzhou, Yang Ge then captured a large number of the most active low-level officials and threw them into prison, filling up the spaces of those shackled court officials.
As for their vacant positions...
The old method was used, calling in their deputies and telling them, "Your bosses are done for. Whoever can provide me with additional evidence will take their place."
Thus, those officials who had just settled into the prison had their deputies and subordinates bury them.
In such times, no one considered any loyalty or kinship among colleagues.
Even so many fifth and sixth rank officials had fallen.
How could these small officials, merely cogs in the machine, make any difference?
Now taking over their positions, the government’s subsequent appointment of a new Magistrate wouldn’t reach these insignificant minions.
Such an unexpected windfall—who would let it go?
After stabilizing the administration of Yangzhou, Yang Ge barely had time to catch his breath before the second wave of attacks from the local prominent families arrived.
Thousands of long-term laborers, under the instigation of these wealthy families, took to the streets, swarming toward the prefectural office, demanding that the Embroidered Guard restore their livelihoods...
They did not demand the release of the apprehended officials and landlords; they only questioned the Embroidered Guard about livelihoods: ’You Embroidered Guard like to uphold justice for the people, right? Continue then!’
Yang Ge was truly overwhelmed by this move.
He personally went out to explain to these impoverished families, telling them that they were investigating corrupt officials to restore clear skies over Yangzhou.
No one was willing to listen.
Indeed, among these people, there were poverty-stricken families whose farmland and livelihoods had been sealed off by the Embroidered Guard, cutting off their means of survival.
These people, uneducated and unable to understand his reasoning, only knew that these outsiders had taken away their livelihoods...
With no other choice, Yang Ge had a table brought out to register those who did indeed lose their livelihoods; the prefectural office would deduct a portion from the seized illicit silver to supplement their living expenses.
This time, some people were willing to listen.
However, someone immediately incited the crowd, alleging things like ’officials have double standards,’ ’they’ll deny it later,’ ’eating away at the base’ and so on.
Just when the crowd had calmed down a bit, it immediately began to boil again, even showing signs of potentially storming the prefectural office.
The instigators behind them knew exactly what they were doing...
Although the Embroidered Guard were the Emperor’s personal troops, without imperial command, they weren’t imperial envoys, so if they caused ’public outrage’ during their investigations... even death would be in vain!
Seeing the scene getting out of control and enraged, Yang Ge could no longer hold back, and with one stroke, he split a two-story building in half, suppressing the impending chaos.
He then ordered his strongmen to draw swords and ready their crossbows, declaring that anyone who dared to make a move would be dealt with as conspiring against an official...
Faced with gleaming steel blades, there were still some people attempting to incite the crowd, but high above them, Yang Ge spotted one such person and decisively beheaded him.
With that, the boiling crowd finally quelled…
After dispersing the crowd, Yang Ge immediately sent someone with his Embroidered Guard commander’s badge to call for troops to enforce martial law.