Lou Huai, governor of Nanyang Commandery, had committed suicide.
Officials of Two-Thousand-Shi rank were almost never executed by beheading. Most committed suicide, preserving one last shred of dignity.
Wang San was not quite an ordinary commoner. After all, the property tax targeted the middle class and above. He had owned assets worth tens of thousands of coins, all of which had vanished like smoke in this turmoil.
But Wang San was satisfied, because Governor Lou Huai was dead. He had already considered what he would do if going to Chang'an proved useless.
He would turn outlaw or conceal his identity and seek revenge. Whatever happened, he would never let the vermin who had ruined his family and destroyed his wealth live comfortably.
His first targets would naturally be the county-level officials. Wang San did not know whether the others were innocent, but the county magistrate certainly was not. As for the commandery governor, that remained to be seen. Last came Grand Minister of Agriculture Sang Hongyang and Emperor Liu Dan.
Being lord of the Altars of State and king of All Under Heaven was not so easy. If things went well, the emperor was wise; if things went badly, his subordinates were at fault. Where in this world was there such a sweet deal?
The classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought all recorded a saying of the Sage King: "A ruler's foremost duty lies in choosing the worthy and raising the capable. The unworthy and incapable endanger the people; half the blame for calamity belongs to the king. Such is the responsibility of the lord of the Altars of State."
What did that mean?
The most important ability of a ruler-an emperor, a lord king, a high-ranking marquis, a recommender, or a sponsor-was choosing suitable talent. If someone you