"Oh! Still breathing! I thought our loyal and patriotic Lord Yang had already taken his own life!"
Back in the meditation room, Wang Hao saw that Yang Jingzhong was still sitting there, not having taken his own life as he had feared.
Although they could be considered to have completed their mission in that way, it was far less than the information they claimed to possess.
"Young man, please stop making fun of Yang. Sometimes it takes courage to commit suicide, and it's clear that Yang doesn't have that courage yet."
Yang Jingzhong gave a bitter smile. He had tried to commit suicide before, but at the last moment he still couldn't bring himself to do it.
"Tsk tsk... People from Confucian School are indeed extraordinary. I thought you would kneel down and beg for mercy!"
Wang Hao admired Yang Jingzhong's composure; regardless of the man's character, his demeanor was indeed commendable.
"If you, young brother, could spare me, I wouldn't mind kneeling and begging for mercy. But would you let me go?"
Yang Jingzhong regained his composure, clearly having analyzed his current situation: he was doomed to die, the only difference being whether he would die comfortably or uncomfortably.
Of course not!
Wang Hao shook his head decisively, pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling playfully, "Lord Yang, will you confess yourself? Or will I do it myself? Or perhaps I'll take you back and hand you over to those eunuchs from the Eastern Depot to serve?"
"No need for all that trouble. This is the ledger for the sale of weapons to the nomadic tribes of the grasslands. It records everyone involved. This is enough for you to get by. As for anything else, don't ask. I can't say anything more, and even if I did, it would only bring you a deadly disaster!"
Yang Jingzhong took out an account book from his pocket, which was the record of arms sales to the grasslands over the past few years. This was very strong evidence.
Looking at this ledger, he was filled with emotion. He had deliberately left this ledger behind just to make those people wary, so that they wouldn't betray him and use him as a pawn if things went wrong.
After all, the risks of doing this were too great; one wrong move could lead to utter ruin. He had to keep a trump card up his sleeve.
But who would have thought that he would use this thing for this very thing? What Creation of fate!
"Can't say?"
Wang Hao took the ledger but ignored it, instead noticing something unusual in Yang Jingzhong's words.
If the other person says they can't or won't say it, that's understandable, but saying they simply can't say it is rather strange.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Jingzhong explained, "Those of you who practice martial arts know that the human body has three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit. Among them, the Divine Sense ethereal and intangible, yet its power is extraordinary, and it possesses all sorts of incredible and wondrous abilities. One of these is to plant a restriction in someone else's mind. Once certain secrets are revealed, it will be triggered, and you can imagine the consequences."
When this topic came up, Yang Jingzhong clearly showed a sense of fear, obviously terrified of the consequences of leaking secrets.
"You Confucian School have such powerful figures?"
Wang Hao's expression turned serious. This method was truly unbelievable, transcending the realm of martial arts and even possessing elements of fantasy and immortal martial arts.
With a sneer, Yang Jingzhong said arrogantly, "The foundation of our Confucian School far exceeds your imagination. It's laughable that the Zhu Family still wants to resist. They're truly ignorant. This plan was just an independent scheme devised by our younger generation. Those old guys didn't participate at all."
"If it weren't for your intervention at the last moment, young man, the Da Ming Dynasty royal family would have been severely weakened, if not completely wiped out, and its demise within a few decades would have been inevitable."
Upon hearing this, Wang Hao's expression grew even more solemn. He knew that in normal history, the Ming Dynasty did indeed perish a few decades later. Even though the Smiling Proud Wanderer World the World was not a real historical world, there were still some connections, at least in general.
I never expected that Confucian School would be involved; that's terrifying!
As expected of a power that has dominated the mainstream of Huaxia civilization for over a thousand years, its foundation is terrifyingly deep; it can change dynasties in the blink of an eye.
"There are quite a few participants, but it's far from enough!"
After quickly glancing through the ledger, Wang Hao looked up at Yang Jingzhong.
This ledger contains information on many important court officials, including several vice ministers of the Six Ministries who were on par with Yang Jingzhong, as well as many lower-ranking officials, totaling over a hundred people.
According to the laws of the Da Ming, this would amount to at least tens of thousands of deaths.
"That's definitely not enough. Cutting off ninety percent of the officials in the North would be more than enough!"
Yang Jingzhong looked at Wang Hao with amusement. He felt that this kid was an interesting person, and the other party seemed to have some ideas!
"So, the people in the imperial court are all involved?"
Wang Hao's heart sank once again, and he deeply realized just how terrifying the foundation of Confucian School was.
This world was less the world of the Great Ming Dynasty and more the world of Confucian School, for the power that controlled all the scholars in the land was truly terrifying.
"Those of rank three and above are all informed, while those below rank three are the executors. Alright, having said all that, young man, can you grant me one request?"
Yang Jingzhong maintained a smile, even one that seemed to convey a sense of relief.
He knew he was doomed, but he lacked the courage to commit suicide. His only option now was to use Wang Hao to end things. However, he had some things to arrange before he died.
This kid in front of me seems quite interesting; I'd give him a try.
"Tell me first! Since you've been relatively cooperative, I'll agree to anything as long as it's not excessive."
Wang Hao also became interested, and felt that Yang Jingzhong was an interesting person. If it weren't for the other party's treasonous behavior, he would even like to befriend him.
"I don't want to die far from home. Please take my body back to Huaxia after I die. It doesn't need to go far, just across the border at the Helan Mountains."
At this point, Yang Jingzhong proudly declared, "Although I, Yang Jingzhong, betrayed the Great Ming Dynasty, I have never harbored any intention to betray Huaxia. I was born Huaxia, and I will die Huaxia ghost!"
Noticing Wang Hao's disdainful gaze, Yang Jingzhong laughed and said, "Young brother, do you think I'm putting on airs and being hypocritical?"
Before Wang Hao could speak, Yang Jingzhong continued, "Although I admit that there is a part of the reason for this being due to Confucian School, the Great Ming Dynasty has been rotten to the core by now. The biggest problem is the serious land annexation, which has greatly reduced the amount of farmland owned by farmers. If there is a good harvest, that's fine, but if there is a year of disaster, it will inevitably cause endless war."
Only by destroying the old dynasty, along with the nobles and landowners who controlled vast tracts of land, and establishing a new dynasty, can new vitality be brought forth.
Every dynasty has its own cyclical pattern!
It's like having a festering sore on your body. Are you prepared to let it fester and eventually spread throughout your body, causing you to lose your life, or are you going to cut the sore out quickly and decisively?
Yang Jingzhong stared intently at Wang Hao. He knew that this kid could understand his words because he was different from those brainless people from the Eastern Depot and Blood Robe Tower. This kid was someone who could use his brain and had ideas.
Nodding thoughtfully, Wang Hao agreed, "From this perspective, your Confucian School is indeed doing the right thing. But don't you think you've led the entire Huaxia civilization into a vicious cycle? In the past two thousand years, Huaxia civilization has hardly made any significant progress, and in some aspects, it has even regressed."
If the world consisted only of the Huaxia nation, things would be fine. But the world is vast, with numerous other nations constantly progressing rapidly. If this trend continues, we will inevitably fall behind, and falling behind means being vulnerable to attack. Having our borders breached becomes almost inevitable!
"I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
To everyone's surprise, Yang Jingzhong was delighted rather than alarmed by these words, and his eyes brightened considerably.
You're actually referring to the Hundred Schools of Thought -Qin period, aren't you?
Whether it's an individual or a powerful force, once they reach a state of absolute dominance, without competitors or constraints, they will become corrupt, stagnant, and even regress.
The hidden dangers of suppressing all other schools of thought and exclusively honoring Confucianism were already foreseen when Dong Zhongshu first raised the issue. However, allowing the existence of other schools of thought could very likely cause Huaxia to split again, returning to the state of the Sengoku period, making it difficult to reunify and more likely to fall into endless internal strife. Therefore, exclusively honoring Confucianism was the safest option.
However, the interests of Confucian School, the interests of the state, and the interests of the nation do not always overlap. The class that benefits will inevitably protect its own interests and eliminate all challengers. This is an instinct and unavoidable.
Confucian School has evolved into an unparalleled monster; at least in the Central Plains, no one or any force can rival Confucian School. Only external forces can completely break Confucian School monopoly...
Yang Jingzhong became more and more excited as he spoke, but Wang Hao's expression grew increasingly strange as he listened.
This guy keeps talking about methods to destroy Confucian School.
Is this really from Confucian School?
Yang Jingzhong, his throat dry from talking, noticed Wang Hao's strange expression and a thought struck him. He smiled faintly and said, "Young brother, are you wondering why I, a Confucian School, speak in such a way?"
"It's truly puzzling! What's even more puzzling is how you've managed to survive until now with such thoughts? Didn't the Confucian School expel you from their ranks?"
Wang Hao's expression was quite strange; this guy was too bizarre!
"To my shame, my family was wiped out in a struggle within the Confucian School school when I was a child. Only I survived and was placed under a mental restriction and raised as a pawn."
Even a chess piece has its own thoughts. Do you think Yang would be of one mind with Confucian School?
Deep within Yang Jingzhong's eyes lay a terrifying rage and hatred.
Finally, he sighed and said self-deprecatingly, "Alas! I've said too much before I die, please forgive my foolishness, young brother! If you can bring me back to Huaxia Nation for burial, I will give you a piece of Profound Iron about ten feet in size."
"A ten-foot-long piece of Profound Iron? Are you sure?"
Wang Hao's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets; it was the first time he had ever heard of Profound Iron being ten feet in size.
Martial arts masters would be overjoyed to get their hands on a piece of Profound Iron the size of a thumb, but now they've got a piece of Profound Iron ten feet in size! This is too outrageous!
In essence, Profound Iron is a type of meteorite, but not an ordinary one. It is a meteorite that has undergone a qualitative change after falling to Earth due to certain special reasons, eventually becoming Profound Iron.
Of course, this is just the common way of saying it. In the Primordial World world, Profound Iron has another prestigious name: Star Essence, which is countless times more advanced than Star Essence Profound Iron.
It can be said that Profound Iron is an infinitely weakened Star Essence.
In a low-level martial arts world like the Smiling, Proud Wanderer, it's almost impossible to form a piece of Profound Iron that's ten feet in size. Even if it were possible, it would take billions of years to mature.
If Yang Jingzhong is correct, that piece of Profound Iron probably fell when the Earth was formed, almost as old as the Earth itself.
That's terrifying!
At the same time, I also have some concerns: is such a treasure truly within my reach right now?
"At first, Yang also found it incredible, but after confirming that it was indeed a whole piece of Profound Iron, the Profound Iron fragments that were given to Sect Leader Yue were chiseled off from it."
You can rest assured, the hunter who discovered this piece of Profound Iron has been dealt with. Right now, only you and I know this news. You can take your time dealing with the Profound Iron."
Yang Jingzhong was a smart man, and he immediately saw through Wang Hao's concerns and spoke up to reassure him.
"Carrying the body is too much trouble. How about cremating it and taking the ashes back with you?"
After thinking it over, Wang Hao felt that the deal was worth doing, but carrying Yang Jingzhong's corpse would be too conspicuous and unlucky. If it were ashes instead, he might consider it.
"..."
Yang Jingzhong was utterly speechless. He sighed again, took a jade pendant from his neck, and said, "Alright, but the conditions have to be changed. You have to take my ashes back to Orchid Village south of Yangzhou City, and give them, along with this jade pendant, to a girl named Xiulan. Well, you don't need to take them there yourself; just have a security escort agency deliver them."