The key point is, Yang Ge truly had no confidence that he could make the world a better place for everyone!
They say being half a step ahead of the era is a genius, leading by a whole step is madness...
His mind full of advanced ideas was undeniably considered madness in the current era!
Unless there was a complete overhaul, on the barren land at present, his brilliant thoughts could neither bloom nor bear fruit.
And speaking of a complete overhaul might sound easy, but if it actually came to that, how many of the twenty million subjects would remain?
If there couldn’t be a genuine transformation, and it was just changing the dynasty on the existing foundation, turning the Zhao Family’s world into the Yang Family’s or Li Family’s mountain...
What meaning would that hold?
Even Yang Ge himself couldn’t guarantee that once he took the throne, he wouldn’t turn from a dragon-slayer into a dragon.
Could he assure that whoever took that throne would think of the people of the world?
It certainly wasn’t an option to stir the world into chaos again and have someone else sit on the throne, right?
Looking back at Emperor Xiping, aside from being a bit petty, a bit narrow-minded, quick-tempered, somewhat sinister... he wasn’t too bad, actually.
Just get by, what more could be done?
...
Making use of The Canal Transportation’s capacity was a complicated matter...
Luckily, Yang Ge’s influence in Wei still proved useful; he just made a trip around the offices in Jiangzhe, and the Jiangzhe government immediately prepared the necessary ships and manpower Yang Ge needed overnight.
Yang Tiansheng, Li Jincheng, Xiang Wudi, and the twelve zodiac followers escorted a large amount of wealth upriver through the night.
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Yang Ge knew what they intended and let them stay on the ship, spending their days drinking, playing chess, and enjoying themselves.
Not until the convoy safely passed the Huai’an river section did Yang Ge smile at everyone and say, "Alright, a farewell is inevitable after a long journey; let’s part here!"
Yang Tiansheng, with his legs crossed at the stern basking in the sun, lazily replied, "I have nothing better to do; I would only be lying around at home like a parasite, so I might as well accompany you to the capital."
Hearing this while shirtless and sparring with Xiang Wudi, Li Jincheng gave Xiang a "pause" gesture and loudly joined in, "Speaking of which, this young master has never been to the capital. Every time I thought about going to broaden my horizons, my father would stop me, saying we people of the water should not provoke Six Fan Gate... This time we are going to deliver money to the government, so we should be able to enter the capital without issues, right?"
Xiang Wudi, leaning on his spear, looked around and finally earnestly said, "We’ll accompany you into the capital. If the government decides to settle scores after the autumn, you’ll still have an exit strategy. If you go alone... well, you might just capsize in the gutter, calling heaven and earth in vain!"
At this, Yang Tiansheng and Li Jincheng both turned towards him and simultaneously snorted in agreement.
Yang Ge, holding his teacup, gestured towards the three men, "I appreciate your kindness, but I don’t think the government would be so unwise. And even if they truly went mad and decided to take action against me, it would be easier to discuss whether I should stay or leave if I were alone. Your presence would only give me more to worry about."
Xiang Wudi responded, "We don’t have to enter the city; we can just be on standby outside the city walls!"
Yang Ge chuckled, shaking his head, "That’s really not necessary... If you all accompany me, the government might think we are coming to show our force. Although I don’t mind trouble, there’s really no need for that."
After a pause, he softly called into the cabin, "Zi Rat, all of you come out."
The twelve zodiac followers obeyed and walked out of the cabin, silently watching him.
Yang Ge scanned the twelve, who always wore zodiac masks and whose true faces, or even the genders of some of them, he still didn’t know to this day. He felt slightly emotional.
In Dongying, no matter how the team changed or how others viewed him, these twelve always stood behind him, without a word of complaint.
He picked up a teapot from nearby, grabbed a stack of teacups, stepped forward, inserted them into their hands, and poured tea for them, "There is no feast that doesn’t come to an end. This journey stops here... Let’s not discuss the White Lotus Sect for now, but you are all earnest and passionate noble young men. It has been my, Yang Erlang’s, honor to have marched side by side with you. From the bottom of my heart, I hope when we meet again in the rivers and lakes, we can still be friends!"
The twelve zodiac followers stared back at him, their eyes typically adept at hiding emotions, yet hints of warmth bubbled up.
After a moment of silence, Zi Rat raised his teacup high, his voice hoarse yet resolute, "It is our honor to be considered friends by Second Master. Us twelve siblings, though not masters of our bodies, will always regard Second Master as our elder brother, no matter how the world changes. The twelve zodiac followers will always be at your call, through fire and sword, in all four directions!"
Yang Ge held up his teacup with a smile, and said softly, "Between friends, there shouldn’t be any talk of commanding or not commanding. Take good care of yourselves and try to withdraw from those messy affairs. Let your own hearts be cleansed and live the life a normal person should live... If there ever comes a time when your capacities fall short, you can always come to me. I can’t promise much, but a hot meal and a stable place to sleep, I can still manage."
Having finished speaking, he raised his teacup and drained it in one gulp.
The twelve zodiac patrons also lifted their tea bowls and drank up with their masks on.
Once the tea was gone, Yang Ge smiled and waved his hand, "Go back now, don’t be afraid of anything, you are friends of Yang Erlang!"
The twelve zodiac patrons took one last deep look, made a weighty bow, and leaping off the large ship, they covered for each other swiftly like hares and falcons, disappearing into the woods beside the river.
Yang Ge watched them leave, then turned to look at the three behind him who neither stood nor sat properly, "It’s your turn now, go back... Li, you know the state of your father’s health, stop wasting time here, go back and spend more time with your uncle!"
Li Jincheng glanced at Xiang Wudi, "As long as Xiang doesn’t target our family master, my father can still live!"
Xiang Wudi clenched his spear, almost swinging it at him, "Haven’t we agreed on a ceasefire? Are you trying to provoke me here?"
Li Jincheng’s face remained expressionless: "Ha ha!"
Yang Ge waved them away, "As long as Xiang has no holes in his brain, he won’t seek troubles with uncle again. Go on, don’t dawdle, men!"
Yang Tiansheng finally sat upright, seriously said, "Are you really sure the court won’t play dirty with you? Do you have any idea of what you did in Dongying yourself?"
"I know."
Yang Ge smiled lightly, "So, the one who should be preparing for a great enemy shouldn’t be me!"
His reasoning was so sound, the three were left speechless.
"You’re awesome!"
Yang Tiansheng stood up, waved simply at the three, turned, and shot out of the deck like a bird flying into the woods: "Take care and don’t die, collecting corpses in the capital is quite troublesome!"
Seeing that Yang Tiansheng had left, Li Jincheng and Xiang Wudi stopped their banter and bid farewell with their spears in unison.
Li Jincheng: "Speak up if you need anything, Lianhuan Fort lacks nothing else but connections!"
Xiang Wudi: "If you’ve nowhere to go, just head to Jiangdong. No matter how powerful the Zhao Family is, we lads of Jiangdong don’t care about them!"
Yang Ge returned the salute, the two turned and leapt from the deck, clashing their spears together mid-air several times, each snorted coldly, and without looking back, they went their separate ways.
Yang Ge watched the three leave, slowly letting out a sigh of relief.
After a long while, he finally turned around, his gaze scanning the northwest, seemingly piercing through thousands of mountains and rivers to see a squinting fox scarred by a knife, the corners of his mouth slowly curling into a smirk: "Ha ha!"
...
"Snap."
Shen Fa’s chopsticks fell to the floor as he stood up abruptly, the hair on his head standing on end as he exclaimed, "Where did that bastard go now?"
The utterly exhausted flag officer below didn’t dare meet the commanding officer’s eyes, bowing deeply, "Re… reply to your lordship, Yang… Erlang… is escorting valuables to the capital; by my calculations, he should have already passed Suzhou!"
"Suzhou?"
Shen Fa felt a chill, pacing back and forth, "No... No... No, I must leave, yes, I must go!"
He turned to grab his peidao tail knife, too hurried even to put on his large fur coat, and began to rush outside.
Just then, a group of eunuchs dressed in python robes swiftly entered the hall: "An imperial decree has arrived!"
Shen slowed his pace, his face filled with disbelief as he looked toward the group of eunuchs.
The leading eunuch, apologetically bowing, smiled and said, "Sorry, Shen, by the emperor’s verbal decree, you are required to focus diligently on your duties in the hall and cannot go anywhere for half a month..."