"Get lost!"
Lin Yi glared at the two men and sneered. "Useless trash. A little scene like this scared you half to death. You're destined to amount to nothing. You're not qualified to take the blame this time, and I have no intention of taking it either."
"Not taking the blame?"
Their pupils contracted. If no one was taking the blame, was the heir going to kill them to silence them?
"Hmph, the heir was exterminating assassins. What blame is there to take? Anyone who dares punish the heir will have to ask whether the Tiger-Head Gilded Spear in my hand agrees!" Ma Chao sneered disdainfully.
Though he was no good at plots and schemes, he knew what the heir had in mind. When the heir gave his orders, he had repeatedly stressed that they were catching assassins and had never mentioned revenge.
The heir was managing Northern Liang City in another's stead. What was wrong with catching a few assassins? There was nothing wrong with it at all.
Holy shit!
The two brothers suddenly understood. So that was how it was.
In that case, not only did they not have to take the blame this time, they had earned merit.
Lin Yi paid the matter no mind. He had known all along that these people would stir up trouble, and impeachment was only to be expected. But if they wanted to punish him, they were dreaming.
He was the heir of Northern Liang. While the Prince of Northern Liang was away, unless the people under him mutinied, no one in Northern Liang dared punish him.
Most likely, these people wanted to keep him from taking further action. They didn't want to be the next targets of a purge, so they would most likely seek out Huang Yuntao, the governor of Yongzhou.
With that thought, he said gravely, "Han Song, go get some confessions from the assassins. As for whose confessions to get, you can ask Wang Yue for a list."
Confessions from the assassins?
Han Song was dumbfounded. The assassins had all been killed, and the real assassins were probably gone too. Where was he supposed to get confessions?
The heir was making things difficult for an honest man.
"Your Highness, these confessions..."
"If there's no one left, just make them up. Do I have to teach you that too?"
Lin Yi spoke with a smile.
They want to punish me? Let's see who cracks first.
Make them up?
Hearing that, Han Song stared in astonishment. The heir really was a little...
Unsporting.
But he wasn't good at making up stories. It took someone who knew how to lie; an ordinary person really couldn't do it.
Wait!
His gaze fell on Zhang Long and Zhao Hu. Those two were an excellent choice. They were masters at making up stories.
"What are you looking at us for?"
The two brothers felt a cold breeze down their backs and looked at Han Song with hostile expressions.
Han Song chuckled and said gravely, "You two idiots, it's time to earn some merit!"
After the three of them left, only Wang Yue remained in the room.
Lin Yi looked at Wang Yue and said gravely, "Wang Yue, I want you to establish the Net, an intelligence organization that belongs to me alone. Are you confident you can do it?"
His domain was growing, and he had more powers to deal with. To avoid being cut off from information, it was time to establish an intelligence organization of his own.
Relying solely on the Northern Liang Guard had its limitations. Some secrets were for him alone to know.
He had once watched the anime Qin's Moon. The Net in it had infiltrated all seven states and controlled a state's great general. In the jianghu, it had even swayed the balance of power and wiped out whole factions at will. How domineering that was.
A net cast over heaven and earth, penetrating every crack.
Now that he was the heir of Northern Liang, he ought to have a Net of his own.
"The Net!"
Wang Yue's eyes lit up at the name. What a name! His lord truly had grand talent and vision.
Weaving a vast, invisible net between heaven and earth to control the state of the realm-this was what an enlightened ruler who held the world in his heart would do. It was an honor for Wang Yue to be entrusted with creating and leading the Net.
Thud!
He dropped to his knees and said solemnly, "Rest assured, my lord. I will do everything in my power to forge this great net and bring the entire world within your Net."
Being able to take part in such a grand undertaking made his blood boil. Perhaps he could change the world alongside his lord!
How exhilarating!
This was the kind of mission a master ought to have.
"Mm. We must use only our own people for this, so nothing can go wrong. Pick them from the army yourself," Lin Yi said gravely.
He had great hopes for the Net. He could use it to gain complete control over the situation in Northern Liang, and even the Great Ning Dynasty. Only then could he pull chestnuts from the fire and accomplish a true grand undertaking.
The Ran Clan were the emperor's trusted confidants, yet they were connected to the assassins. To say the emperor had nothing to do with it was hardly convincing.
It now seemed that the reigning emperor truly was ambitious, intent on taking his father's position as Prince of Northern Liang. That meant he was bound to become Lin Yi's enemy.
Since the two of them were destined not to coexist, Lin Yi had no need to be courteous to the emperor.
He now controlled the overall situation in Northern Liang City. All that remained was to win the common people's hearts, which should be enough to complete the task of conquering the city.
To make one person submit, virtue was all that was needed: winning people over with virtue.
To make a power submit, force was necessary: winning people over by force.
But to make an entire royal city submit, one alone would not do. Both were needed to fully accomplish the goal before him.
Truth be told, he was looking forward to the reward for completing the task.
The next day!
After a night of purging, peace finally returned to Northern Liang City. The blood from the slaughter had been washed away, as though nothing had happened.
But the common people knew full well that this was merely the calm before the storm.
At first, they had not known what was happening or why even the Northern Liang Guard had been mobilized. Only after they saw the notice posted by the princely residence did they understand.
The whereabouts of the assassins who had attempted to kill the heir had been discovered, and their accomplices were being exterminated.
But the number of assassins uncovered left the people of Northern Liang City streaming with cold sweat. With so many assassins, how could anyone feel safe?
At this rate, they would probably run into an assassin even on a trip to the latrine!
"Damn it! Northern Liang City is the seat of our prince, yet there are so many assassins here. They have no regard for Northern Liang at all!"
"You don't know, do you? I heard the heir killed more than three thousand people this time. They included not only assassins and killers, but also the barbarians' Heavenly Eagle Guard. None of them were any good."
"Hiss! More than three thousand assassins? Isn't that a bit much?"
"No wonder they dared try to assassinate the heir. There were so many of them. Thank goodness the heir wiped them out, or they would have caused endless trouble later."
"What do you mean, catching assassins? The heir is treating human lives like grass."
"Hmph, what the hell do you know?"
"Exactly. The notice clearly listed the evidence of their crimes. Not one of them was innocent."
The common people argued about the matter. Some believed it, some doubted it, and some were half-convinced, making for a lively scene.