Of course, in the end, it all came to nothing.
Meanwhile, in secret...
The Wei Imperial Court never again organized any real large-scale operations to apprehend or surround and kill Yang Erlang.
Emperor Xiping never mentioned Yang Erlang’s name again, as if there was no such person as Yang Erlang and no incident of Yang Erlang killing Prince Ning.
And the officials from various ministries who survived and returned to the capital from the Huai’an River section were ordered by Emperor Xiping to keep their mouths shut, strictly forbidding them to spout nonsense to the outside world.
Of course, even without this order of silence, the surviving officials from the six ministries who had fled back to the capital were few who wished to recall that bloody scene at the Huai’an River section.
Even a large number of officials from the six ministries, after returning to the capital, turned in their queue-cutting sabers and took their savings back to the countryside to farm... Not to mention wielding a saber again, they would feel dry-mouthed and their legs would tremble at the sight of one.
This incident was also the bloodiest and most brutal direct conflict between the Wei Imperial Court and the lone wolf martial arts master since Emperor Xiping’s ascension.
And the result was not just a slap in the face of Emperor Xiping alone.
In other words, if even Emperor Xiping was outmaneuvered by a lone wolf martial arts master, what would the outcome be for other civil and military ministers?
Look, isn’t Huang Jin’s head still feeding the fishes in the Bian River? Isn’t he the best example?
That dead eunuch, who had been matching wits and strengths with the entire court for seven or eight years without a clear winner, had his head twisted off by Yang Erlang immediately after he stepped out of the capital...
The dead eunuch himself was a master of profound skill, even surrounded by the protective soldiers of the Six Law Ministries, yet this was his fate.
For other ministers who were neither martial artists nor in command of troops, wouldn’t they die just like chickens or ducks?
This realization made countless rulers start to reassess the killing power of these lone wolf martial artists.
Or rather, the entire court realized that when a martial artist, with high enough skill, few enough attachments, and ready to go all out, decided to avenge himself on the court at all costs, the extent of damage he could cause was enormous!
Although masters like Yang Erlang were exceedingly rare.
In Wei’s population of ten million, Yang Ge and other pinnacle masters from both the court and the martial world totaled no more than twenty.
Among these twenty, lone wolves like Yang Ge, unattached and solitary, there was only Yang Ge himself...
But what if?
Like unruly wild grass, who knows when another lone wolf martial arts master might spring out of some unsuspected corner?
Moreover, the common folk might not know how Prince Ning died, but did these central government officials at the heart of the court not understand?
That guy even beheaded Prince Ning; beheading other civil and military ministers would just be a matter of getting a hold of them, wouldn’t it?
Thus...
After a period of unprecedented tense atmosphere, the political climate of the Wei Imperial Court suddenly became much clearer.
The previously severe factional strife, from the capital to the local areas, from civil disputes to military ones, suddenly eased.
The leading figures of various factions at the court began to flatter each other exaggeratedly, spouting flowery little phrases as if they cost nothing.
Policies beneficial to the state and the people, which had long been stalled in the court due to political disagreements, suddenly made big strides from Luoyang to the fourteen provinces of Wei...
Especially those involving "disaster" and "border troubles," once they reached the capital, they were green-lit all the way. The entire court, regardless of faction or military or civil status, mounted their horses to solve these issues. Nobody dared to manipulate these problems further; everyone wanted to quickly pass the responsibility to someone else, everyone wanted to quell the issue promptly lest it reach Yang Erlang’s ears again.
In a nutshell, everyone at the Wei Imperial Court, from Emperor Xiping down to the minor seventh rank officials, wanted to hear Yang Erlang’s name as little as possible and stay as far away from his blade as they could.
The "Single Whip Law" of the newly appointed deputy prime minister Wang Jiangling finally, riding on this east wind, smoothly moved from the court to the localities.
If it were any other time, it would certainly have caused uproar at the court, as the "Single Whip Law" affected the interests of the official, gentry, and scholar class.
But now, everyone unanimously chose to hold their breath for the moment, watching him build his high towers, watching him entertain his guests...
Facing this situation, Emperor Xiping, who was thoroughly baffled by Yang Erlang’s slap, finally came to his senses. He secretly rejoiced, muttering to himself, ’This slap seems well worth it!’
He then ordered the secret police and imperial guards to bring him the relevant documents, and covertly calculated the taxes after implementing the Single Whip Law. When he saw the approximate figure he had calculated, even he himself couldn’t believe it and rubbed his eyes vigorously. After confirming he hadn’t made a mistake, he boldly planned out three new palaces for himself, just waiting for this year’s taxes to come in, and then he would immediately start construction... It was simply too much money to spend!
The high officials of the court had all been enduring quietly, and naturally, the local officials in various provinces and prefectures became even more cautious in their conduct...
If one were to say that the high officials of the court were just being prudently mindful of potential dangers and planning far ahead, then for the local officials, it was truly a ’pain that cut to the quick’!
Have you seen the vacancies in Jiangzhe filled by the court for over half a year now, and still a third unfilled?
Who dares to exact a levy on life anymore?
This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
Earn a living, but no life to enjoy it?
The local officials dared neither extort money nor oppress the common people, even if they all just gave up and slacked off... The lives of the common people seemed to have improved quite a bit all of a sudden.
It somewhat unintentionally matched Lao Tzu’s idea of ’govern a great country as you would cook a small fish.’
For a while, from the imperial court to the local governments, everywhere showed an image of a saintly emperor and wise ministers, a government clean and people at peace.
The signs of a prosperous era became even more pronounced!
Of course, the people at the court were still the same old faces, and the people in the local governments were also still the same as before.
They say it’s easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to alter one’s nature. In just a short one or two years, let alone Yang Ge, even the Buddha himself couldn’t expect to convert them back to the right path.
But at least they started to restrain themselves and no longer dared to unscrupulously oppress and exploit the common people as before, treating human lives as grass.
Nor did anyone dare to openly say anymore: Let’s make the common people suffer a bit more, I’ll take the infamy...
And the lives of the people of Wei, compared to before, might still not have undergone any fundamental changes.
But at least there was a bit more hope, a slight but indeed real hope.
Yang Ge finally lived as he wished, becoming a knife.
A knife hanging over the heads of everyone...
...
In early June, Lianhuan Fort saw Shopkeeper Liu and his family of over a dozen, sent back to Lu Ting County.
Both families left quietly.
No sooner had they stepped out of the door than a strongman from the supervisory office stepped in to manage Yuelai Inn and Deng’s meat shop for them, claiming outwardly that they had returned to their hometown for a feast with relatives, and they were just overseeing the businesses temporarily.
Today, both families returned without any disturbance.
Only the neighbors, curious, asked them about the process of their return for the feast and visiting relatives, then it seemed nobody cared about them anymore, as if the previous storm had been just their illusion.
Both families smoothly took back their livelihoods.
Those who were supposed to run the inn continued running the inn, those who were supposed to train disciples with martial arts continued training, and those who were supposed to kill pigs continued killing pigs.
Life seemed to have no changes at all.
Only a small dog had waited a very long time and still had not seen the person it was waiting for.
"Ah..."
The old shopkeeper sat in front of the inn, stroking the glossy, silky fur of little Huang, and whispered softly, "It’s almost autumn, when will your stupid dad come back to the roof!"
Huang lay on the steps, its ears drooping, motionlessly watching the end of the bustling street.
The little dog didn’t understand why its owner still hadn’t returned, but it would wait, always wait.