Chapter 156 Aftermath
Yang Xuangan didn't care about Hao Xiaode's small army, and he was also disgusted that this man dared to ask for the position of general with such a small army, so he ignored him.

Li Mi only had this skill in his spare time, and he didn't expect to use it today. However, he also discovered one thing: there was something wrong with Hao Xiaode's eyes, and there was no intention of asking for his permission when he spoke.

Li Mi's expression did not change. He thanked him solemnly. Hao Xiaode accepted it calmly: "Brother Fazhu has encountered a great disaster. It is a great joy to escape today. Let's go back and welcome Brother Fazhu!"

The lowly villain who used to only be able to bow down and respectfully address Li Gong now dares to address him as a brother. Li Mi remained calm but was extremely angry in his heart.

But there is no other way now, I can only follow him.

Soon the news of the escape of the prisoner reached the ears of the emperor, so Yang Xuangan's body was first torn into pieces by five horses, then chopped into mud and scattered on the streets together with livestock manure.

Three full days later, the emperor was still angry at night and ordered people to burn the pile. A strong stench filled the air, but the emperor seemed to be much relieved.

Li Jiancheng and others also followed the emperor's order and returned to the court. On the way, they heard about Yang Xuangan's fate and understood the emperor's attitude towards the matter.

Instead of punishing according to the law, he also deliberately imposed extra-legal punishments. This was not just for Yang Xuangan, but also for the rest of those implicated.

Not to mention the officials from aristocratic families who might be implicated, even heroes like Yuwen Shu and Li Jiancheng who had suppressed the rebellion felt depressed when they returned to Chang'an.

After returning to Beijing, the Emperor went straight to court. He sat on the dragon throne with a sullen face, wishing that everyone in the world knew how angry he was.

When everyone was present, the emperor spoke: "Hundreds of thousands of people followed Xuan Gan's call. This shows that the world should not have too many people. If there are too many, they will gather together and become thieves. If we don't punish them all, there will be no way to punish them in the future!"

Many civil officials wanted to stand up and speak out, what does it mean that there should not be too many people in the world?

The emperor is the father of all the people, and all the people also serve the emperor and father. But now this father has begun to dislike that he has too many children and should kill more of them.

So the emperor hand-picked two of his confidants, two villains who were famous for their flattery. They suddenly had the greatest power at the time and could decide life and death.

After the grand court meeting, Li Jiancheng and other confidants were left behind. The emperor's stern expression eased a little. He first scolded Yuwen Shu mercilessly and even said he wanted to kill him.

This is talking about the fact that Yuwen Shu was sheltering the remnants of Yang Xuangan. Li Jiancheng, Yu Shiji and others dared to dissuade him. Haha, if he really wanted to kill him, it would only be an imperial decree. Why would they waste their breath on him at this time?

Thus, Yuwen Shu escaped death and was gloriously demoted to a commoner again, but the fact that he was still able to stay here showed that it was just a superficial act, and he was worthy of being the emperor's true love.

After this matter was over, the most urgent task was to deal with the aftermath of Yang Xuangan's rebellion. The focus was not on Yang Xuangan, nor on those who followed him in the rebellion.

Rather, the question is why so many people risked their lives to follow Yang Xuangan in rebellion, but the emperor is obviously unwilling to consider this now.

But as the emperor's confidants, they had to advise him on some matters. However, it was difficult to talk to people like Yu Shiji and Pei Yun, after all, their sons were involved and even ran away.

Finally, it was Xiao Cong who spoke up and said, "Your Majesty, I think it is not appropriate to punish so many people right now. Instead, you should grant amnesty to the whole nation to show your majesty's supreme benevolence and influence the people."

Yang Guang sneered: "They have all started to rebel, what else do they want me to pardon?"

Uniting officials to maintain Guanlong and then reducing the burden on the people is the only solution to the problem at present.

Unfortunately, the emperor was not willing to take this good medicine. Li Jiancheng had expected this, so he just stood there with his head bowed, not wanting to speak at all. Yang Guang now felt that I was too lenient and kind before. All my tolerance and concessions were weakness in the eyes of ministers and people. No one was afraid of my majesty, so they dared to treat me like this!

…………

Li Jiancheng was ordered to supervise the execution. Wei Fusi, who was escorted back, was tied to a wooden pillar not far away and cried sadly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am innocent! Why are you treating me like this? I am the only one who did not run away. I am the only one who is loyal to you, Your Majesty!"

The five fierce horses were not far away, but according to His Majesty's wishes, Li Jiancheng was still waiting for the civil and military officials of the court to arrive.

Young and old were all dressed in official robes and carrying bows and arrows. No one spoke, and no one needed to be led. They all stood still, facing the direction of Wei Fusi, and drew their bows and shot together.

A dense rain of arrows poured down, and the wailing stopped abruptly. There was no telling how many arrows were all over his body.

All the officials remained silent, watching in silence as the hedgehog-like Wei Fusi was untied, and his head, hands and feet were tied with thick ropes. As the knights shouted and the horses neighed, the body of a man who had died not long ago could not even be kept intact.

Everyone was somewhat numb. In just over a month, countless children of aristocratic families, scholars, literati and officials in the court were killed as the remnants of Yang Xuangan.

Even yesterday, the emperor issued an edict that when Yang Xuangan besieged the Eastern Capital, he had opened the granaries to provide relief to the people, and all those who received rice would be buried in a pit south of the capital.

How many people are there? At least 20,000 or 30,000. Has your Majesty’s wrath not ended yet?

Maybe not yet. Now, not only those who have connection with Yang Xuangan, but also those who drank and hunted with him in the early years are implicated.

These drinking and eating friends were not even thought of by Yang Xuangan when he was in need of manpower when he started his rebellion, nor were they allowed to join. However, the emperor helped to find them all, and some were beheaded or exiled.

The whole Guanzhong was filled with the smell of blood. Li Jiancheng was also very confused. He thought Yang Guang had really gone crazy and there was no trace of his former self at all.

He doesn't pretend to be confused when he should, and doesn't be gentle when he should be gentle. He only thinks about establishing his majesty and making the world fear him.

Now people are afraid, and it is indeed effective. From Shandong in the east to Ningxia in the west, from Hebei in the north to Jianghuai in the south, people are rebelling everywhere.

It is because of the excessive fear that no one wants this king or father anymore.

Li Jiancheng looked at the list of names left for him by Yang Xuangan. All of them were Yang family confidants whom he had not had the chance to employ. The funny thing was that, after the emperor's purge, only six or seven of these people died.

Li Jiancheng couldn't figure out whose people these two or three thousand people who were killed were.
It was not until the spring of the tenth year of Daye that the incident of Yang Xuangan came to an end. The emperor's anger dissipated, and he greatly rewarded the two confidants who handled the case.

The success of these two people attracted many people to follow suit. Within just these two or three months, a faction composed of cruel officials emerged, led by Yuwen Shu.

With their great efforts, the court finally became what the emperor wanted to see, with people obeying his orders and no one defying his authority anymore.

…………

(End of this chapter)