Luoyang’s Ziwei Palace, the Imperial Study.
Emperor Xiping, Zhao Shu, looked at the report that the Eastern Factory had just delivered, silent for a long time.
For him, this report brought one piece of good news and one piece of bad.
The good news was that Huang Jin, whom he had high hopes for, made a big move as soon as he entered the fray, successfully grabbing Yang Erlang’s hatred.
The bad news was that Huang Jin had overperformed to such an extent that the hatred overflowed severely. If not handled well, it might affect him, the group leader.
"Is this damned servant really stupid or just pretending to be confused? Can you use such methods against such a stubborn mule?"
Zhao Shu felt a headache so intense it made him furiously incapable of action, imagining the scene of the aforementioned stubborn mule, carrying knives and kicking up a trail of dust as he sprinted towards the capital.
Last time that stubborn mule entered the capital and beat up Shen Fa on the street.
If he comes into the capital again, he might even attack the Ziwei Palace.
Of course, the Ziwei Palace would not fear his attack...
But the problem is, with the aging eunuch population in the Imperial Horse Supervisor, and the dwindling number of Grandmaster level national-guarding eunuchs, if that stubborn mule were to take one or two of them down with him, the Zhao Family’s reign would shake to its core!
Moreover, if he really attacked the Ziwei Palace, it would undoubtedly set a terribly bad precedent.
"Change commanders? No, that won’t do. If we change commanders, how would the world view the imperial court? If changed, who would calm that stubborn mule’s anger?"
Emperor Xiping rubbed his aching eyes and suddenly felt some understanding of Shen Fa’s frustration, like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—with nowhere to start.
To be fair, he really did want to teach Yang Ge a lesson profound enough to be memorable.
But he truly didn’t want to push Yang Ge to a state of desperate, life-or-death struggle...
First, he genuinely valued Yang Ge’s talent and spirit.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
Second, he had seen clearly that Yang Ge really had no intention to rebel, and even lacked the ambition and desire to climb the ranks or amass wealth.
In Emperor Xiping’s heart, there was even a bit of intention to polish off the untamed thorns on Yang Ge, to use him for his own purposes once more... After all, brandishing Yang Erlang as the proverbial sword was very effective, silent with each slice, praised by all who wielded it!
But with that damned servant Huang Jin’s interference, let alone winning back that headstrong mule, if the mule didn’t charge into the capital or breach the palace, one could already count him as clear-minded and mature.
"No, I must rectify this, I cannot let that stubborn mule enter the capital!"
Zhao Shu, rubbing his aching eyes, gathered his energy to stand up: "Set out for the Imperial Horse Supervisor!"
...
Meanwhile, as Emperor Xiping restlessly paced the Ziwei Palace,
Another scene unfolded, where a large group of officers from the six government departments, tasked with joint law enforcement, made a grand and mighty procession, marching downstream along the river.
The officers, traveling while enjoying the scenery, with poetry and wine, many who had long been stationed in the capital, already began to eagerly anticipate the taste of the famed ’Yangzhou skinny horses’...
The majority saw this substantial military mobilization as a rare opportunity for an official excursion, a chance to profit from public funds.
Their way of thinking wasn’t entirely wrong... at least not outrageously so.
After all, in their eyes, this mission was aimed at capturing a lone individual with the overwhelming force of the nation—what could go wrong?
Even if that person was the widely known Yang Erlang from north to south of the great river, no mishap was expected.
A swordsman?
If the old and new ten heroes could combat the imperial court, then they should be the court.
Therefore, in their view, the possibility of returning from this mission without accomplishing anything was there, but no other potential outcomes were conceivable.
This couldn’t be attributed to their narrow perspective, limited like frogs at the bottom of a well.
It was because they lacked a very important piece of information regarding Yang Ge—the time he had been practicing martial arts.
As a matter of fact, up until now, only Shen Fa and Jiang Kui, who had no sense of martial arts virtue and had secretly sabotaged Yang Ge early on, knew about Yang Ge’s "Grandmaster constitution." Even if you included Emperor Xiping, Zhao Shu, who might know, and Liu Mang, who learned of it from Yang Ge himself, that was only four people.
In the eyes of everyone else, Yang Erlang was simply a genius and a master of martial arts who had meticulously trained behind closed doors, reaching the peak of his abilities as soon as he started out.
A genius who had engaged in martial arts since childhood, training through winters and summers for over a decade, and became famous throughout the land once his skills matured.
Compared to a shockingly brilliant genius who has practiced for merely two and a half years, intended to remain a mediocre inn assistant but still became one of the top twenty in the world...
The former is certainly formidable, but obviously not formidable enough.
The latter is already terrifying now, and what’s even more frightening is his potential future.
Emperor Xiping and Shen Fa were concerned about Yang Ge’s future, the consequences of failure, because they knew time was on Yang Ge’s side.
Whereas the others were focused on Yang Ge’s present situation, assuming that if it doesn’t work once, try again—they mistakenly believed time was on their side.
...
The large group of officers passed through Suzhou and stayed overnight at Suzhou Wharf.
Upon hearing the news, officials from the Suzhou Government Office, both high and low, mobilized the city’s food and entertainment industry workers to entertain the distinguished guests from the capital at the wharf overnight.
Who would want to miss out on the opportunity to curry favor with the six major law enforcement agencies of the inner and outer courts in one go, all at the expense of the flower government?
That night, the sounds of flutes and laughter at the Suzhou Wharf were ceaseless; copious amounts of alcohol, large chunks of meat, lavish distribution of gold and silver...
From Huang Jin of the Eastern Factory down to the groom from the Ministry of Punishment, everyone was immersed in the enthusiastic hospitality of the local officials.
Stand guard?
Stand guard for what?
Which blind fool would dare to make trouble under the nose of those in power?
Wouldn’t that be like an old immortal hastening to eat arsenic, tired of living?
It wasn’t until midnight, when a sudden outcry of "The water is rising, the water is rising!" in panic, broke through the mingling cheers and laughter of the wharf.