Chapter 1956

Before the Chengtian Gate.

Gao Yang sat upright on his horse, his gaze slowly sweeping over the scholars and commoners who had stood up for him and were now suppressing their grief and indignation because of his single word.

He saw the hot tears in Huang Zhizhan's eyes, the clenched fists of Lin Shuhan, and the "Golden Sacred Artifact" that Chi Potian was gripping so hard his hands were turning white.

Looking further back, he saw countless unfamiliar faces filled with trust, grievance, and even a readiness to face death.

When Gao Feng informed him, he had walked out of the Duke of Dingguo's residence.

He had witnessed the entire eruption with his own eyes, as it swept toward the Chengtian Gate with lightning speed.

He had not wanted to get involved in this heaven-shaking wave, but as Wu Zhao's imperial edict was issued, he saw that things were becoming difficult to manage.

He rode his horse and stood up for them.

At this moment, Gao Yang's heart was very complex.

Before his eyes, those pairs of eyes were extremely pure—not fawning over power, not craving profit, but pure anger at injustice and a resolve to protect him with their lives!

These pairs of eyes were fiercely impacting his spirit.

He prided himself on being a "poisonous strategist" and had never thought of being a good person; everything he did was based on his own interests.

For the three policies on wasteland management, he had no choice because the original owner had already taken down the edict for recruiting talent, so he had to show his capabilities.

After that, to topple Prince Rong, he had to offer plans repeatedly, even if it meant bringing out gunpowder and alcohol—those great weapons of mass destruction—it was all forced upon him.

He did it for his own life, for the Duke of Dingguo's residence; as for these commoners he had never met, they were just basking in a bit of his light.

He was used to the ugliness of human nature and had always been selfish; how could a poisonous strategist not be heartless?

Everything he did, whether it was bamboo paper, the three policies on wasteland management, or those ingenious inventions, was initially just to gain a firm foothold beside Wu Zhao, seize power, and protect the people he wanted to protect; he had never thought of doing anything for the masses of this world.

He considered himself a chess player, viewing all living beings as chess pieces, watching their life and death with cold eyes.

But at this moment, these "chess pieces" were petitioning for him, shouting for him, in the most pure and fervent way, even willing to use their flesh and blood to confront imperial power!

This sentiment was too heavy!

So heavy that he, the world's number one poisonous strategist who was accustomed to playing with people's hearts, felt an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and... a trace of shame!

He stood in the biting cold wind, looking at those pure eyes, looking at the impoverished scholars and gaunt commoners in the crowd who were shivering in the cold wind but still kept their spines straight!

He murmured to himself in his heart, "Perhaps... in this world, there are always some things that are more worth doing than heaven-shaking power, careful calculations, or personal glory and disgrace...?"

Gao Yang took a deep breath, his gaze sweeping over the nearly ten thousand commoners before him, and his voice rang out loudly.

"Your intentions, Gao Yang... I have received them."

"But the petition ends here."

"There are no treacherous villains, nor any other messy things; it is purely because I, Gao, am tired and my body can no longer hold up."

"Go home. It is freezing cold; do not let your parents, wives, and children at home worry. Go home, spend the winter well, and when the spring flowers bloom next year, we will enjoy the spring scenery together!"

In the crowd, some commoners wanted to speak out.

But Gao Yang had already stood up and spoken personally; were they to go against Gao Yang's wishes and continue to make a scene?

If things really got out of hand, Gao Yang would also be implicated, right?