Shen Fa rubbed his temples with a headache, "This is a different matter altogether."
"Last time we dealt with the three major grain merchants, and others were only involved by association, and ultimately, it was the government who made the move."
"This time, that scoundrel took matters into his own hands, striking at the lifeline of the Zhe faction without the government’s directive. How could they tolerate us again?"
"Don’t be fooled by their infighting on ordinary days -- it’s a matter of life and death to them, but that’s only allowed among themselves. Outsiders, be they nobles or eunuchs, who dare to intervene, seldom end well!"
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"Not to mention people like us..."
He was really too troubled, and thus spoke without much reservation.
Meanwhile, Fang Ke was already feeling extremely nervous upon hearing half of it. He wished he could cover his ears: ’Is this something I should be hearing?’
Shen Fa didn’t expect Fang Ke would have any advice to offer, so he picked up the lengthy document from the desk and scrutinized it again before asking, "What’s the situation in Yangzhou now?"
Fang Ke responded, "Before my departure, Lord Yang had just suppressed the collective pressure from many officials in Yangzhou."
"For this trip back to the capital to report, Lord Yang dispatched four groups. Three went ahead openly, and I followed covertly. So far, only I have safely arrived in the capital; the other three groups must have not made it out of Yangzhou."
"Even my group only managed thanks to the protection of Yang Tiansheng, a lay disciple of the Ming Sect, and the lords of Lianhuan Fort along the way. Lianhuan Fort even lost two of their lords for this cause..."
He tried his best to excuse his direct superior.
Yet the more Shen Fa listened, the more his heart raced and his thoughts became chaotic: "Wait, wait, tell me, how did Yang Ge suppress the collective pressure from the numerous officials in Yangzhou?"
He didn’t ask how those low-level officials had put on collective pressure because he had encountered similar situations when handling cases in the past.
It’s a common dilemma for imperial envoys dispatched from the capital to investigate cases: ’Without arresting people, cases cannot proceed; but once you detain someone, local governance grinds to a halt.’
To have the capital dispatch officials to take over from the detained ones, maintaining local governance?
Not to mention, on another’s turf, to turn a case into a rock-solid one from start to finish takes no less than a couple of months.
Just for the capital to dispatch new local officials could not be done in less than a couple of months.
As the saying goes, ’A snake without a head cannot function.’ Which local government could endure half a year to a year without a senior official in charge?
If one were to act so recklessly without concern, it’s likely that before the case could be cleared up, the investigator would be sent to the execution ground first...
Therefore, when an imperial envoy encounters a complicated case, they either must carefully plan before acting, waiting for the final directive to arrest people and resolve the case in one fell swoop. Once the case is closed, the subordinate officials naturally will no longer fuss.
Alternatively, executing the ringleader without inquiring into the followers, by killing a group, beating another, and bribing yet another, could stabilize local governance.
But what did Yang Ge do? He hadn’t closed the case nor had he shown leniency, so how did he suppress the collective pressure from the low-level officials?
Fang Ke didn’t want to elaborate on how Yang Ge suppressed the collective pressure, but seeing that he couldn’t avoid the issue, he honestly answered, "Lord Yang brought out those magistrates who had been detained, dressed them in prisoner’s clothing, shackled them, and had them continue handling official business..."
"Slap!"
Shen Fa slapped his own forehead, echoes of two words resounding in his mind: ’doomed, doomed, doomed, doomed...’
Just this one incident was enough for those well-fed and idle Imperial Censors at the Office of the Imperial Censors to drag out the entire Embroidered Guard for a posthumous flogging three hundred times!
Letting criminals wear shackles while administering government affairs?
How could that dead snake dare to do such a thing!
"I was wrong, I truly was wrong..."
The utterly disheartened Shen Fa murmured to himself, "Why on earth did I have to help him up to plaster the wall? Now, we’re all going to end up plastered on it..."
He once thought of himself as a reincarnation of Nezha.
Destined to turn the world upside down.
It was only now he suddenly realized.
His actions counted for nothing!
Look at Yang Ge!
Quietly, he stirred up a massive storm in heaven!
With this single act, regardless of its outcome, Yang Ge was bound to be remembered in history!
Fang Ke really didn’t want to say too much, but seeing his old boss looking as if he had been struck by hysteria, he steeled himself and cautiously tried to comfort him, "Don’t be too anxious, my lord. To tell the truth, I also felt that Lord Yang’s approach... was somewhat improper, but the outcome turned out to be very good. Once those criminal officials saw blood, they were more obedient than naughty children who had been severely beaten by their parents. Their efficiency in handling government affairs was incredibly high, a day’s work was equivalent to what they would normally do in ten days to half a month!"
"Heh heh!"
Shen Fa let out a dry laugh, his whole body leaning back as if he were sludge, collapsing onto the Taishi Chair.
At this point, he actually found himself free of worries.
After all, worrying wouldn’t change anything...
In a weak voice, he asked, "How did that guy get tangled up with the Ming Sect and Lianhuan Fort?"
Fang Ke responded honestly, "My lord, I’ve been following Lord Yang closely and have never noticed him having much to do with the Ming Sect or Lianhuan Fort. Yang Tiansheng emerged on the day we took action to apprehend the suspects. Perhaps he was drawn by the news of Lord Yang’s confrontation with Lianhuan Fort on the Bian River. As for Lianhuan Fort, after Lord Yang fought with the sixth leader of the fort, Ma Jichang, both sides seemed to respect each other..."
"I never would have guessed!"
Shen Fa applauded in amazement, "That lifeless snake always looks half-dead, but who would’ve thought he could dance better than the top courtesans in the brothel!"
A social butterfly, Yang Ge?
Ha, how ludicrous!
Fang Ke dared not reply.
He just felt it was too difficult for himself.
"Let’s go!"
After a while, Shen Fa took a deep breath, stood up, and draped on his cloak, "Follow me to the palace for an audience with His Majesty!"
"An audience with His Majesty?"
Fang Ke’s knees buckled in fear as he hurriedly said, "Shouldn’t we think of some other solution?"
He did want to have an audience with His Majesty.
But not for a matter like this!
"With the mess your Lord Yang has made, what other solutions could there be!"
Shen Fa said with a bitter smile as he walked out, "If we bring this matter before His Majesty now, we can still seize the upper hand. If we wait for the Zhe party to strike first, our position will be indefensible!"
Fang Ke hurriedly followed, "What should I say before His Majesty?"
"What are you afraid of?"
Shen Fa rebuked him calmly, "Just answer whatever the Emperor asks, with no half truths. While your Lord Yang may have been a bit extreme, he has a clear conscience... The worst that could happen is that his position as a thousand-household officer is stripped from him, but his life will definitely be safe."
’Who would give up such a useful knife?’
He didn’t say the second half of the thought out loud, but he was quite certain of it in his heart.
After all, no matter how extreme Yang Ge’s methods were, or how many taboos he broke, the one who ultimately benefited was the person sitting on the dragon throne.
Besides... the Embroidered Uniform Guard was not set up to offend the civil and military officials, but neither should it collude with them, right?
In a sense, the more vehemently the civil and military officials reacted to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the more secure its position became!
Hearing Shen Fa’s words, Fang Ke felt a surge of worry in his heart.
It wasn’t until they left the Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner’s office that Fang Ke suddenly spoke in a low voice, "My lord, do you think this outcome was within Lord Yang’s expectations?"
Before he could finish speaking, he couldn’t help but curve up the corners of his mouth.
The anxiety in his heart suddenly dissipated by a great deal.
Losing his position?
For others, this might be a catastrophic event.
But for Yang Ge...
Fang Ke felt that Yang Ge would already be showing the greatest respect for the position of a thousand-household officer of the Embroidered Uniform Guard if he could restrain himself from buying a couple of strings of firecrackers to celebrate.
Shen Fa laughed at his whisper, "Don’t even mention it, that guy might actually have such a thought... Clear conscience, free of desire and thus strong, what splendid sludge, what a wondrous lifeless snake!"
He suddenly realized.
Yang Ge had never changed, he was still the same Yuelai Inn waiter who had no grand ambitions and accepted death with equanimity.
The one who had changed was actually himself.