This made him admire Lord Shen from his family immensely, as unstoppable as the Yellow River flooding... How had he conceived the idea of taking over the entire Upper Right Bureau, binding Lord Yang’s hands and feet?
Strategically orchestrating behind the scenes, securing victory miles away... No wonder he could hold the position of a commander.
Facing Fang Ke’s nearly frank words, Yang Ge remained silent for a long time before saying, "If you truly consider me a friend, as I consider your interests, you should consider mine too. We shouldn’t do this, I fear I might never sleep peacefully again... Why, Fang Ke, I ask you, why should he still be alive when so many others have died?"
With an eerily calm tone driving one to despair, Fang Ke blandly said, "Simply because he’s of noble birth, of the dragon’s seed, born to live above the clouds as a superior being..."
Yang Ge chuckled softly, a contempt in his laughter so profound that he couldn’t even bother to refute such a foolish perspective.
Seeing his smile, Fang Ke felt his heart sink into the abyss.
Yang Tiansheng finally understood and sharply inhaled, "Yang Ge, are you going to kill Vassal King Ning?"
Yang Ge glanced at him, "What, are you also trying to stop me?"
Yang Tiansheng, tremblingly, raised a big thumbs up at Yang Ge, but then pressed it down with his other hand, "Little Lord, Little Lord, Little Lord... I really want to join you, but this matter really shouldn’t be handled, killing that old dog is easy, but cleaning up the mess afterward, that’s too difficult!"
"I know it’s hard..."
Yang Ge didn’t contradict him, "Everyone knows it’s hard, the emperor knows it’s hard, all the officials know it’s hard, he himself knows it’s hard, that’s why there are so many issues in Jiangzhe, that’s why so many people died in Jiangzhe!"
Fang Ke and Yang Tiansheng were about to persuade him, but he waved them off and stopped them, "I understand the big principles more than you do, I don’t want to speak or listen, in short, just one thing, since he dared to bully me, I dare to make him die, no one can protect him, not even the emperor!"
After speaking, he looked at Fang Ke, "I told you to leave first because I cherished our camaraderie, if you refuse to leave, then you don’t cherish our camaraderie... Even if you go back, you’re still surviving, aren’t you? But many brethren can never open their eyes to see their families again..."
Fang Ke moved his lips, wanting to say something more but felt powerless.
He knew Yang Ge too well; once Yang Ge made up his mind about something, not even eight horses could pull him back.
Not even the emperor could save Vassal King Ning, this is a declarative sentence, not an exaggeration.
Struggle also flickered in Yang Tiansheng’s eyes, his emotions agreed with what Yang Ge said, but his reason told him, the matter really wouldn’t end well...
"So what do you plan to do?"
In an attempt to stay calm, Fang Ke asked, "Pretend to be someone from the White Lotus Sect?"
Yang Tiansheng looked at Fang Ke in shock, his few words once again lowering his expectations of the nobility.
Yang Ge of course understood the meaning of Fang Ke, but he still lightly chuckled shaking his head, "The White Lotus Sect doesn’t deserve such a grand showing!"
"Does it make any difference?"
Fang Ke also squeezed out a smile, trying to use a relaxed tone to minimize the impact of the issue in Yang Ge’s heart, "The person meant to die would die, and someone would take the blame, it would save face for the nobility, and our brothers could stay uninvolved... Even if you’re not afraid of trouble, there’s no need to go looking for it, right?"
Yang Ge pondered for a moment, then gently nodded, "Perhaps you are right."
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This matter, in his view, the biggest problem wasn’t in Jiangzhe but with Emperor Xiping.
It’s not that Emperor Xiping didn’t want Vassal King Ning dead.
On the contrary, Emperor Xiping probably wanted more than anyone to personally behead his own uncle and hang his head outside Ziwei Palace.
But Vassal King Ning could only die by Emperor Xiping’s own hand.
Vassal King Ning was a vassal king, not just a direct royal relative of Emperor Xiping but also a reigning vassal wielding significant military power.
Whether one looks at his bloodline or his influence, Vassal King Zhao Liang was the most honored person in the Wei royal family aside from Emperor Xiping Zhao Shu and Crown Prince Zhao Hong.
If the Vassal King were to die at the hands of anyone other than Emperor Xiping, it would constitute a severe provocation to the Wei royal family, and it could even jeopardize Emperor Xiping’s own safety...
With the Vassal King dead, many people... including Emperor Xiping himself would think, "If the Vassal King can be killed, why can’t Emperor Xiping be killed?"
Therefore, this precedent must not be set; whoever sets it dies!
Yang Ge was clear in his mind that this was the bottom line for Emperor Xiping’s tolerance.
So, he felt that it made no difference whether he disguised his involvement or obscured his tracks; it was all meaningless.
Emperor Xiping could pretend to be confused about other matters, but he would never feign ignorance or accept any deception from his subordinates concerning this matter...
However, after listening to Fang Ke’s words, Yang Ge suddenly realized that by using a disguise, he might still not escape Emperor Xiping’s wrath, but Shen Fa and the brothers from the Upper Right might be in a slightly better situation.
Even if they couldn’t completely dissociate themselves, at least they would suffer less from his troubles...
After all, it wouldn’t reflect well on Emperor Xiping if someone from his embroidered guards had killed the Vassal King in one stroke!
"I know what to do now!"
Yang Ge took a deep breath and said, patting Fang Ke’s tearful face like an elder brother comforting a younger one, "I’ll instruct Wei Xin to give you your share of the money as soon as possible. Take the money and leave quickly, the sooner the better... If we can never meet again from hereon, take care of Liu and his sons and my Huang for me!"
Fang Ke pursed his lips tightly, struggled for a long time, and then sighed heavily, whispering, "Sir, I won’t say much else, just beg you not to act foolishly. A worthless life isn’t worth you risking your own; the world doesn’t need you to prove anything by sacrificing your life. Those who understand you don’t need proof to understand you, and those who don’t will only suspect you had ulterior motives even if you proved something... You need to live, for only if you live can the Shopkeeper and Liu remain stable like Mount Tai!"
He wasn’t worried about the imperial court issuing a capture warrant for Yang Ge after the incident; he was worried that once Yang Ge had settled the matter, he might foolishly go to the royal court to reason with the officials.
Given what Yang Ge’s martial skills and connections were today, if he didn’t foolishly surrender, there were definitely no more than ten people in the world who could confidently say they could defeat him!
Such a man shouldn’t die!
"Don’t worry..."
Yang Ge smiled, "I can understand the Emperor’s thoughts, but I don’t agree with his reasoning. He doesn’t deserve my surrender!"
Those four words made Fang Ke’s heartbeat quicken considerably.
"Ah..."
He sighed deeply and formally bowed: "Serving under your command... I have been fortunate for three lifetimes. Please take care of yourself, sir. I look forward to meeting you again in the rivers and lakes!"
Yang Ge returned the gesture: "Farewell then, and take care yourself!"
Fang Ke stood up, gave Yang Ge and Yang Tiansheng one last look, then turned and left with heavy steps... He knew that the next time they met, they might no longer be friends but foes.
Yang Tiansheng watched Fang Ke leave and then turned back to look at Yang Ge, who hadn’t moved. He was about to say something when Yang Ge, as if knowing what he was about to say, preemptively countered, "The name of the White Lotus Sect is just a cover; it won’t fool anyone. If you want to come with me, you’re joking with the lives of hundreds of thousands of followers of the Ming Sect. If you are such a heartless and disloyal person, we shouldn’t be friends anymore..."
Yang Tiansheng opened his mouth, furiously said, "Yang Ge, you really should die!"
Yang Ge quickly blocked his incoming punch with one hand: "Stop it, we have serious business to attend to. Go hurry Wei Xin to settle the accounts quickly, and also send a message to Xiang Wudi. If they’re going to fight, they’d better do it quickly; miss this chance, and there’ll be no other..."
Yang Tiansheng: "He dares to fight you?"
Yang Ge: "He must fight; without fighting, the Xiang Family can’t regain their face..."