Yang Ge smiled wryly and waved his hand, "You can’t speak like that. One should not concern himself with the governance outside his station. Should that day come, as long as you can secure me an easy position so I can live out my days in peace, I would be forever grateful!"
Fang Ke’s face turned grim, "My lord, please don’t make fun of your subordinate like this, it’s really not funny at all. I beg of you..."
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Yang Ge "haha" laughed, "I am not joking with you!"
Having said this, he opened his eyes, which were as sharp as knives, "Enough of the idle chatter... Where is the imperial decree?"
Fang Ke said, "I came ahead to check; by my calculations, the imperial decree should enter the city this afternoon!"
Yang Ge stood up, "No need to wait for it. Pass my order, display the imperial envoy’s banner immediately. You lead the first battalion to the main camp and take control of the Yangzhou Prefecture troops. Arrest all military officers of a hundred households or more and put them in prison. Order Qin, Deputy Commander of a thousand households, to lead the third and fourth battalions to the Yangzhou Garrison and take control, detaining all military officers of a hundred households or above!"
He paused, then added emphatically, "If there are any who defy and resist, show them no mercy!"
Fang Ke trembled in fear, and goosebumps covered his body as he stammered, "My, my lord, please reconsider!"
"Reconsider?"
Yang Ge, with a broad grin, laughed heartily, "This is just the beginning!"
"As soon as the imperial decree arrives, dispatch the strongmen immediately to all the garrison towns in Jiangzhe. Order them to hand over the records of grain provisions and the account books for the land reserves to Yangzhou... Any who make excuses, detain them at once!"
Fang Ke, shivering violently as if sifting chaff, stuttered, "My lord, please, go easy. Military affairs are always sensitive. Even the royal family has always prioritized pacification and alliance-building. We, we can’t just force our way in like this, if they are pushed into rebelling..."
Yang Ge looked at him in surprise, "How do you know I’m trying to force them into rebellion?"
Fang Ke: ???
Yang Ge laughed out loud, casually patting him on the shoulder, "Relax, if the royal court hadn’t taken this into account, would they have given me the power to control the garrisons in Jiangzhe?"
Fang Ke looked uncertainly at him, "Is... is that true?"
Yang Ge feigned displeasure, "Do you doubt me?"
Fang Ke hurriedly responded, "Your subordinate wholeheartedly trusts my lord!"
Yang Ge said, "If you trust me, then go and get to work. I really want to see if, at this critical moment, these dog officials dare to openly oppose the court!"
The one on the dragon throne wants to use him as a pawn to commence the great weeding of Wei’s governance?
Yang Ge accepted the task!
He only hoped that His Majesty wouldn’t be too surprised.
And that dog thief Vassal King of Chu.
Just because he relies on the identity of a Vassal King, he believes Yang Ge wouldn’t dare to touch him even as the imperial envoy?
Yang Ge really wanted to see, when the knife actually fell on that scoundrel’s head, whether this royal uncle would dare to mark a four on his face!
You’ve made the first move!
Don’t blame Yang Ge for seeing it through to the end!
After all, this office was never meant to be a permanent appointment.
If need be, I’ll roam the world with a sword in hand...
Fang Ke, unable to argue with Yang Ge, could only accept the order and get to work.
Just then, a strongman brought in food, and as Yang Ge was about to pick up his bowl, Yang Tiansheng burst in, full of excitement, "Oh, are you able to eat now? Seems like there’s no big issue then!"
Yang Ge beckoned to him, "I was about to send someone to find you... Where’s uncle?"
Yang Tiansheng took a seat, "He returned the day before yesterday. He can’t be seen with you openly like I can..."
"I understand!"
Yang Ge nodded and slowly said, "There has been a change of plans on my side, and I can’t leave for now. You go ahead to Hangzhou and enjoy the show there. Once I’m done here, I’ll come find you in Hangzhou!"
Yang Tiansheng was puzzled, "Isn’t everything in Yangzhou taken care of? What’s happening, will you personally escort these dog officials back to the capital?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "You shouldn’t ask too much about the court’s affairs. Just leave first. If you hear any bad news later on, don’t come back. If I need your help, I will send someone to find you!"
Yang Tiansheng frowned and pulled up a stool to sit at the dining table, "After you’ve said all that, how could I possibly leave?"
Yang Ge shook his head, "If it were only about you, I wouldn’t have said this, but you really can’t get involved in this matter. It could drag your uncle and your Ming Sect down... I don’t know exactly what your Ming Sect is up to, but we are friends, and I can’t implicate you!"
Yang Tiansheng, "Don’t talk nonsense, just tell me what’s really going on?"
Yang Ge thought for a moment and then answered, "The one on the dragon throne wants to use me as his sword. I’m planning to show him a trick and pull off a big one!"
Yang Tiansheng’s eyes widened slowly, "The Yangzhou coup wasn’t big enough?"
Yang Ge laughed with a "heh heh," "It’s too small a stage!"
Yang Tiansheng immediately got excited, "Then I definitely can’t leave. How could I miss such an exciting event?"
Yang Ge scratched the corner of his forehead, "Have you not listened to a word I said? This matter is too significant, you can’t get involved. The slightest misstep could drag down your family, or even the entire Ming Sect. Our brotherhood only extends to us two, we can’t implicate others!"
Yang Tiansheng clapped his hands, "Isn’t that easy? Just get me an official robe, and I’ll quietly join in the fun without anyone knowing, problem solved, right?"
Yang Ge looked at him with disdain, "If things get real, can you hold back from calling on your father?"
Yang Tiansheng slammed the table and stood up, "Who are you looking down on? I didn’t ask for my father’s help!"
Yang Ge stood and pushed him back into the chair, speaking earnestly, "I’m not joking with you. This thing... it really might be too big. I’m not even sure I can come out of it unscathed. If you leave now, you can provide me with a way out. In case the court decides to get rid of the tool after use, or to kill the dog after the hunt, I could still have the option to seek refuge with your Ming Sect, right?"
Yang Tiansheng scratched his head, "You’ve been beating around the bush for so long, what exactly is the matter? When you set that fire in Lu Ting, I never saw you so alarmed!"
Yang Ge thought for a moment, put down his chopsticks, and thus replied, "It’s not really a big deal. The court appointed me as imperial envoy, supervising corruption cases in Jiangzhe, gifted with the Imperial Sword and control over various Jiangzhe garrisons, with the authority to execute first and report later!"
Yang Tiansheng’s eyes suddenly widened, he blurted out, "Damn, you’re about to make a fortune!"
Yang Ge clapped his hands, "And I’m preparing for a big move, to wipe out all the corrupt officials and scoundrels in Jiangzhe in one fell swoop!"
Yang Tiansheng’s mouth fell open, staring blankly at Yang Ge.
Yang Ge patted his shoulder, "Now you understand how big the matter is, right?"
Yang Tiansheng suddenly snapped back to reality, raised his thumb to Yang Ge excitedly, "Ballsy, truly fucking ballsy! It’s such a shame for a fierce guy like you not to join our Ming Sect!"
Yang Ge:...
"I wasted my breath talking to you!"
He picked up his rice bowl and continued to eat speechlessly, "Go to Hangzhou, you can watch the excitement there, and you can also see what’s happening here, while still providing me with a fallback plan."
"Having you here won’t be much help, and you’ll miss the excitement in Hangzhou. If I really can’t withstand it, we would both be in deep trouble!"
"No matter how you count it, the math doesn’t work out!"
Yang Tiansheng thought long and hard, eventually draping his arm around Yang Ge’s shoulder and whispered, "Then give your brother a hint, how confident are you about this move?"
"Are you betraying me and reneging on our agreement?"
Yang Ge brushed off his hand, "Didn’t we agree that I’m the older brother, and you’re the younger?"
Yang Tiansheng seemed to think of something and waved his hands with a chuckle, "Yes, yes, yes, you’re the older brother, you’re the older brother!"
Yang Ge eyed him suspiciously, always feeling that he was thinking about something very rude, but he had no mood to banter at the moment. While eating, he said, "Talking about confidence, I have some, but not much."
"Because the key to the problem doesn’t lie with me."
"I’m just a knife, tasked only with killing!"
"As for how to balance interests, how to clean up the mess afterward..."
"That’s not for me to worry about, and I can’t be burdened with that!"
"In short, with this move, I’m only responsible for punching a hole in the skies of Jiangzhe!"
"As for mending the heavens, that’s a matter for the emperor and the court’s big shots!"