‘Two bands of outlaws. Infecting the citizens. This I just noticed on my last trip out. It will only take four garrisons.’ That’s what I told the head of the militia in Chang’an. The Emperor has willed it to be so.

It’s about time they were destroyed. Both gangs, and every last criminal, thief and gambler among them. Their wealth belongs to the State anyway. I made sure I went down there to witness the massacre. In truth, I enjoyed it. It felt so liberating. The gifts from the one gang were nice, but it’s always nicer to have a clear conscience. It’s as if that “Red” woman never existed, and the diplomacy leading up to her sudden disappearance never happened. That’s why I hesitated to pay any attention to the bandits Huang and Nien when they pleaded for their lives. It was just something they said about needing to live in order to pay her back. Fighting for trampled ideals, destroying an abomination, an injustice to tradition. It sounded so Legalist, I had to give them a chance. If they ever succeed, it won’t be on my conscience, but perhaps one day I’ll be able to quietly revel in the fact that it was I who had set them free.