Under this perfect cycle of interests, the entirety of Jiangzhe had been plundered by him as if it were a starving and freezing infant, yet he still remained the carefree Prince Ning, with a good reputation, passing through a myriad of flowers untouched by a single leaf!
With this perfect cycle of interests in place, the countless skeletons buried beneath the wheels of Prince Ning’s chariot had little chance of being exposed to the eyes of the commoners below...
Exactly how many skeletons are buried underneath Prince Ning’s chariot?
As everyone knows, the Wei’s overseas trade consists of three main commodities: tea, silk, and porcelain.
The more significant these industries in the overall commerce of Jiangzhe, the more Prince Ning consumed the livelihood of its citizens!
Furthermore, with the sprawling influence of Prince Ning’s far-sighted operations, along with his allies and business partners indulging their subjectivity for the sake of "group interests," it can be said that most of Jiangzhe’s man-made disasters could be traced back to Prince Ning alone.
Not for one year.
But for over twenty years!
Until now...
Prince Ning is dead, as ignominiously as a dog.
And the one who acted was none other than Jiangzhe’s most illustrious Yang Erlang.
What’s worse, the Jiangzhe officialdom that Prince Ning had spent much effort currying favor with had collapsed last year...
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
With a three-pronged attack, those rotten skeletons were finally exposed to the light of day.
They were piled upon each other, endless in number, so numerous they seemed fake.
But upon closer inspection, one could discern their own friends and relatives, neighbors and acquaintances, and even you, me, and himself...
Confronted by one irrefutable fact after another, Prince Ning’s reputation in Jiangzhe plummeted rapidly.
As if a gust of wind swept through, and the widely esteemed Prince Ning vanished.
In his place was a pile of filth dubbed Prince Ning that stank to high heaven, a rat called Prince Ning that everyone cursed and despised...
As time went on, inside any city in Jiangzhe, merely mentioning Prince Ning without cursing him would immediately draw strange looks or even cause an argument on the spot: ’If you’re not cursing Prince Ning, what exactly are you?’.
This onslaught of public opinion didn’t stop with Jiangzhe but continued to spread to other provinces.
Although the people of other provinces didn’t feel the same direct pain as those of Jiangzhe, most expressed disdain and spat contemptuously upon hearing the whole story!
As the other protagonist of this public opinion offensive, the more hated Prince Ning was, the more revered Yang Erlang became.
Everywhere there were curses for Prince Ning, yet Yang Erlang was seldom mentioned at all.
Those who blurted out anything related to "Erlang" would immediately be hushed by the people around them.
Even those lower-class laborers, who wouldn’t recognize a "one" if it fell in front of them, understood in their hearts: ’Erlang has done a mighty good deed this time!’
So, with the clumsiest and most unvarnished method, they willingly protected their "Erlang."
As if by denouncing Prince Ning unanimously, as long as they refrained from mentioning Erlang...
The one in the Golden Throne would focus only on the countless hideous misdeeds of Prince Ning and spare their Erlang.
...
"This stubborn donkey is truly both lovable and detestable!"
Inside Ziwei Palace, the Emperor Xiping, clad in a narrow-sleeved, round-collar dragon robe adorned with twelve insignia, sat high on the dragon throne in the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, looking at two opened memorials on the imperial desk and murmured with a light chuckle.
The soft murmur and laughter echoed vaguely in the empty hall, reaching the ears of the three individuals prostrating below the golden steps, sounding like the roar of a tsunami!
All three trembled in unison, silently bowing their heads even lower.
These three were dressed in vermilion robes with four-clawed dragons.
The man in the middle, with white hair and youthful appearance, was rotund and heartily amiable, his eyes crinkled with laugh lines etched by smiles. To those who didn’t know him, he seemed as amiable and kind as a granny at first glance.
But as they say, looks can be deceiving; this person was none other than the Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial and the Supervisor of the Eastern Factory, Huang Jin, who was privately called "Yellow-throated Marten" by the entire court.
It is well known that the yellow-throated marten is a fierce little animal that latches onto its prey’s throat and doesn’t let go, capable of hunting much larger prey many times its size.
To the left of Huang Jin stood Wei Heng, a newly promoted eunuch supervisor of the Western Factory who had grown a beard.
On Huang Jin’s right, was Shen Fa, who had a scar on his left eye, which instead of detracting from his looks, added a touch of exotic intrigue to his appearance, making him the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander.
Leaders of Wei’s three major intelligence agencies gathered together.
"Draft the imperial decree..."
After a long silence in the Hall of Imperial Supremacy, Emperor Xiping finally spoke again.
The three men rose in unison and shouted, "Your subjects heed the command!"
Emperor Xiping spoke calmly, word by word, "It is hereby declared that Yang Erlang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has deserted his post, knowingly broken the law, and without trial from the three judicial departments, used vigilantism to slaughter the retired senior official Geng Jingzhong from a high-ranking position, and furthermore, murdered our royal uncle Prince Ning Zhao Liang, desecrated and mutilated Prince Ning’s corpse, committing unforgivable and heinous crimes. The Eastern Factory is to immediately draft a wanted notice, to be dispatched to every province, prefecture, and county, offering a reward of one hundred thousand taels of silver, all resources are to be mobilized to arrest this unpardonable criminal, and whoever brings forth Yang Erlang’s head shall be awarded with a third-rank official position for themselves and a position for their father or son... So ordered!"
Although the three officials were profoundly shaken, they did not hesitate and shouted in chorus, "Your subjects obey, long live the Emperor, may he reign for eternities!"
After their exclamation ceased, Emperor Xiping removed the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to the eunuch by his side, saying calmly, "Huang Jin, you are to take my imperial command, have the Western Factory, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Ministry of Punishment, the Supervisory Office, and the Dali Temple work together, dispatch capable personnel, and make every effort to apprehend Yang Erlang, dead or alive. Within three months, I want to see results!"