Soft knives had always been the hardest to deal with. Although Yang Fan had been in a civil office, he had easily resolved the internal attacks by dealing with the Censorate's external conflicts when he was in the Ministry of Justice. Later on, he became the Minister of Personnel. As the matters he was in charge of were too sensitive, the entire imperial court had their eyes on him. No one dared to stab him in the back.
Before this errand was even completed, Yang Fan had already used a self-degrading method to step down from the stage. As a result, he didn't have many opportunities to truly interact with scholars. His opponents were either those scoundrels from the Imperial Censorate draped in the robes of civil officials, or those noble young masters from the great clans who valued their status, or the bloodthirsty Khitan Turks. He had never experienced the sinister skills of these disgusting scholars.
Today was the first time Yang Fan had taken action, but he had been met with a soft rebuff. He had nowhere to vent his anger, nor did he have the appropriate means to fight back. Yang Fan gloomily left the Ministry of Revenue and walked back with his head hung low. He did not walk far when he suddenly saw the Ministry of Justice's main door. The six ministries were adjacent to each other. Seeing that it was still early, Yang Fan decided to turn into the Ministry of Justice to visit his old friends there.
Chen Dong was reading through documents in the Ministry of Revenue when he heard that Yang Fan had arrived. He immediately went out to welcome him and cupped his hands with a smile. "Erlang, what brings you here? You haven't been back in a while. I heard that you have been promoted to Guide's Lieutenant General and are in charge of the Featherwood Guard's most elite Thousand Cavalry. Congratulations!"
Yang Fan smiled wryly and waved his hand. "Don't tease me. If this continues, I won't be able to continue as a Lieutenant General even without being told. "
Chen Dong was greatly astonished. "What do you mean? Do you think you can't deal with those ruffians with your abilities? Come, come, come. Quickly enter the room. Let's sit down and talk. "
Chen Dong led Yang Fan into the detention room. The two of them sat down and Yang Fan told Chen Dong about the soft rebuff he had received at the Ministry of Revenue.
Chen Dong burst out laughing. "Haha! It turns out that the crafty and successful Erlang also has a time when he is defeated like this. It's really funny. If Sun Yuxuan heard about this, he would definitely laugh himself to death! "
Yang Fan said angrily, "You really are a good friend. Seeing me in such a difficult situation, you can still laugh so happily?"
Chen Dong said, "Why would I be unhappy? Thinking back to the beginning, the ruffian and ruthless officials of the Imperial Censorate, all of the civil and military officials of the court were helpless against them. Even they suffered a big setback under your hands. Today, the Ministry of Revenue's little tricks have left you helpless. What is this called again? Haha, right, this is called the elephant eats the lion, the lion eats the worm, the worm eats the jackal, the jackal eats the wolf, the wolf eats the dog, the dog eats the cat, the cat eats the mouse, the mouse eats the elephant! "
Chen Dong laughed until his tears flowed out. He took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped the corners of his eyes. When Yang Fan heard this, his eyes lit up and he hurriedly said, "Doctor Chen, don't tease me. You don't know how important this matter is to me. Hearing you say this, could it be that I have a way to deal with them? "
Chen Dong pointed at him with a smile and said, "The Ministry of Revenue making things difficult for you is not the only one. If it were someone else, perhaps they wouldn't be able to do anything. They could only swallow their anger, bribe everyone, and ask for help from all sides. Even so, it is not easy to make the people of the Ministry of Revenue stop making things difficult for you. But for you, this matter could not be any easier! "
Yang Fan seemed to understand and said, "You are saying … my 'Thousand Cavalry' was formed by imperial edict and you want me to complain to the Emperor?"
Yang Fan thought about it and then shook his head. "That's not appropriate, that's not appropriate! If the Emperor speaks, of course this problem can be solved. But whether it is the Emperor or the soldiers under him, they will certainly look down on me because of this. Furthermore, I can't even communicate with them properly on this matter and still have to ask the Emperor to step forward. Let me ask you, who wouldn't be able to do this kind of general? Why did they have to entrust me with the formation of a thousand cavalry? "
Chen Dong said, "Of course it's not appropriate. Not only is it inappropriate, but … even if you go to the Emperor, it will be useless."
Yang Fan was shocked and cried out involuntarily, "What did you say? Going to the Emperor will be useless? How is that possible? "
Chen Dong said, "How is that not possible? You go to the Emperor, and the Emperor summons the Ministry of Revenue to inquire. Fine! If I were the Minister of Revenue, I would not say another word and immediately agree. I would pat my chest in front of the Emperor and guarantee that I would do my best to cooperate and settle this matter as soon as possible. There are no problems, right? If there are no problems, let's go and go back to calculate and pay the rations. "
Chen Dong smiled slightly and said, "When I return to the Ministry of Revenue, I will make it clear that I want to allocate money and rations. Please make a detailed list of official documents, paper, ink, brushes, inkstones, horses, fodder, rations, and all kinds of consumption. Also, report to me how much the generals are paid, how much the soldiers are paid, how much they eat, drink, and go to the toilet.
There is no problem with me doing things impartially, right? Who can find fault with me? Next, you can go back and wait for the news. You have to give me time to verify the estimates. I will delay you for a few days and make you run back and forth to the Ministry of Revenue. When it's almost time to pay, I will tell you that the signature here is a mess and there is a mess there. I will send it back and list it again.
Even if you work through the night to produce a satisfactory report, that is not a problem. Why did I ask you to make such a detailed list? It is to find fault with you. Our Ministry of Revenue feels that this item is not in the list. There seems to be a discrepancy in the calculation of that item. Let's wrangle.
If you have the ability, then continue to find the Emperor. In any case, you are a great general with eight residences and a power that can shake an area. If you can afford to lose face, then go. It is not that we are not willing to do it, but it is against the rules and cannot be done. The Emperor also cannot find fault with me, so what can you do to me? After you find the Emperor a few more times, you will leave the impression of incompetence in front of the Emperor. If you don't find the Emperor, then we will drag this out. By this time, it will be long past the day of pay. At that time, let's see who will be angry at both ends and have smoke coming out of their heads! "
When Yang Fan heard this, he felt a chill run from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. It was cold.
With a smile that was not a smile, Chen Dong said, "Erlang, this is just a method that I came up with casually. If I really want to punish you, I still have a method to make you speechless. You have been in the government for a short time. You don't know that this soft knife to kill people does not see blood!"
Yang Fan sucked in a breath and stood up to solemnly bow to Chen Dong. He said, "Yes! Yang Fan's skills are still a little shallow. I still need Brother Chen to give me some pointers! "
Chen Dong hurriedly stood up to return the bow. He helped Yang Fan up and said, "You can't do that, you can't do that. I, Chen, cannot accept such a big bow from Erlang. Actually, you, Beta Persei, can deal with things that are more tricky than the Ministry of Revenue's methods. This time, you are really confused because you are closely involved. "
Yang Fan asked doubtfully, "What do you mean by that?"
Chen Dong said, "That's because the people you've faced in the past were either high and mighty bigwigs who disdained using such despicable methods, or they were straightforward, ruthless officials and robbers. You know how to deal with them. Now, you really think of them as refined and respectable officials. You only want to reason with them, but you don't know that when this group of people turns black, they are even more despicable than ruffians. How can you win against them? "
Yang Fan seemed to understand something and said hesitantly, "Then … what should I do?"
Chen Dong said resentfully, "My Erlang, why don't you understand? You are a soldier now! When a scholar meets a soldier, you can't reason with them! You are a soldier. You don't want to use your fists with them. You insist on following their rules to reason with them. Aren't you asking for trouble? "
"Haha! I understand now! "
Yang Fan's fists and palms intersected, and a hint of joy flashed across his face.
This time, Yang Fan really didn't reflect on himself because he was in the middle of the situation. This was the first time he was dealing with these scheming civil officials as a general in the army. He was on their home ground, according to the rules they had set, and following the trap they had laid for him to compete. How could he not lose?
He would be in the right to bring this case to the Emperor. The problem was that if he went to the Emperor to complain, he would be at a disadvantage. The other party had probably already made preparations for this. At that time, even if he had ten thousand reasons, he wouldn't be able to clear his name. Since the Ministry of Revenue was clearly making things difficult for him, there was no harm in making a big fuss. If he really wanted to bring this matter to the Emperor, he would let the other party do it. Only then would he have the initiative.
Yang Fan was suddenly enlightened. He laughed loudly and said, "Doctor Chen's words have enlightened me. I know what to do now. I will go back and make arrangements! I will hold a banquet at the 'Thousand Gold Drunk' to thank you. I will definitely find two beautiful Hu Ji to drink with you. Haha, I will leave first. "
Chen Dong was overjoyed. The wine at the 'Thousand Gold Drunk' was good, and the Hu Ji there were even better. Unfortunately, the wine at the 'Thousand Gold Drunk' was expensive, and the beautiful and enchanting Hu Ji there were even more expensive. With his salary, he usually couldn't bear to go there. Chen Dong hurriedly ran out of the door and waved at Yang Fan reluctantly. He said, "Erlang, it's a deal! It's a deal! "
…
The food in the 'public kitchen' was recognized as the best among the six ministries by the Ministry of Revenue.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of money and grain. It was the richest among the six ministries. The food of the Minister of Revenue and the assistant minister was no worse than that of the Prime Ministers of the Political Affairs Hall. As for the food of the yamen servants, it was also comparable to the food of the other yamen officials.
That afternoon, the aroma of food wafted out from the 'public kitchen' early in the morning. There were fish and chicken being stewed. The aroma of meat assailed the nostrils. As soon as the yamen bell rang, the officials of the various ministries rushed to the 'public kitchen'.
The officials walked slowly and very politely. They weren't afraid that the food would be emptied. Their portion had already been served by the chef. The yamen servants, on the other hand, were in a hurry. They were afraid that if they were late, they would only be left with fish heads and chicken feet. The yamen servants, who were the first to rush to the 'public kitchen', were about to enter the kitchen when they suddenly heard a shout from afar. Everyone stopped and looked into the distance. This was the yamen. Who dared to make a ruckus here and speak so rudely?
In the Ministry of Revenue, not to mention the scribes, historians, Dianshi, and Zhanggu, even the yamen servants were all educated and polite people. Naturally, they wouldn't care. Everyone stretched their necks to look at the source of the noise. They saw a yamen servant who was guarding the door stagger in from the yamen. He shouted, "Not good! Military slaves breaking into the yamen … ouch … "
Before he could finish speaking, he fell to the ground. A group of soldiers ran in like mad bulls. Swinging their large feet, they trampled over his body.
Under the dumbstruck gazes of the Ministry of Revenue officials, the group of soldiers ran in front of them, swearing and swearing. Swinging their arms, they shoved them to the side and swarmed into the kitchen. What was left in their noses was a strong stench of sweat and sour sweat.
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