Did Minister An not know that these people had been sent by Yang Fan?
Of course he knew. But he thought that since Yang Fan had arrived, this farce should end. These people had broken into the Ministry of Revenue, stirred up the kitchen, beat up the Minister, and caused such a ruckus in front of the officials from the various ministries. Was Yang Fan not worried that the Ministry of Revenue would retaliate?
Since he had come, it was clear that he felt that the matter had been stirred up. He did not want it to end badly. It would be fine as long as this embarrassing farce ended immediately. These soldiers were ruffians and did not care about their face. He was a two-ranked Jinshi and the current Minister of the court, so he still cared about his face. Once he sent these ruffians away, he could slowly deal with them.
Yang Fan saw Minister An's enthusiastic expression and hurriedly grasped his hand. He affectionately asked, "You are …"
The disheveled Doctor Zheng quickly came over and said, "This is Minister An of the Ministry of Revenue!"
Minister An looked at Doctor Zheng's appearance and couldn't help but jump in fright. He cried out, "Doctor Zheng, what's wrong?"
Doctor Zheng was overcome with sorrow and said with a "distressed" face, "Minister An, this lowly official was beaten by those soldiers who don't know etiquette. Minister, when has our Ministry of Revenue ever suffered such a big loss? Those soldiers really don't care about us. When this lowly official arrived at the Thousand Cavalry camp …"
Yang Fan hurriedly stopped him. "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. This general and Doctor Zheng have already talked it over. There's no need for Minister to worry. These soldiers are crude and uncultured. This general will order them back and strictly discipline them! Minister, please don't be angry. "
After Yang Fan finished speaking, he immediately turned to the group of soldiers and sternly shouted, "Who allowed you to leave the camp and come to the Ministry of Revenue to ask for pay? Didn't this general already say that the pay will be delayed for a month or two at most? Do you still have any military discipline or laws? En? "
Xiao Yuke, who was also from the Xiuwen Workshop, said in a mystifying tone, "General Yang, you own a shop, so of course you don't have to worry about food and drink. However, my entire family relies on this lowly one's share of the army's pay to get by. You may be able to wait for a month or two, but this lowly one's family cannot. In a month or two, our whole family will starve to death. What's the use of paying the soldiers then! "
"How dare you! Disrupting the Ministry of Revenue and even contradicting your superior. Men, take him down! "
Yang Fan's face turned ashen as he shouted sternly. Ren Wei and the other bodyguards immediately pounced towards Xiao Yuke like wolves and tigers.
"Who dares to come over!"
Before Xiao Yuke could speak, the ruffians beside him who had run to the Ministry of Revenue to cause trouble had already flown into a rage. One after another, they blocked Xiao Yuke's path. Someone said, "The Emperor doesn't need hungry soldiers. It's only right and proper for soldiers to eat their pay. General Yang, do you think you're fit to be a general? They're intentionally making things difficult for you and deducting your rations and pay, yet you're still groveling and wagging your tail to beg for pity!"
"There's a saying that a soldier is one and a general is one. It's true. If it weren't for an incompetent general like you, how could our brothers' rations and pay have been cut off? You still want to show your might to your own brothers? I don't recognize you as a general! "
They shouted fiercely, but Yang Fan was even fiercer. He stomped his feet and cursed, "Him and him, take them down as well. First, give them twenty strokes of the stick. You're rebelling. Military law is like the heavens. Do you think this general can't punish you?!"
Ren Wei and the others pounced on the ruffians. The ruffians immediately broke out in curses, "We don't have food to eat. You can't make the decision. We only came to the Ministry of Revenue to eat leftovers and cry out our grievances to the masters of the various yamens and departments. You, a dog official, are abusing military law. We don't accept it, we don't accept it, we don't accept it! "
Dozens of people said "we don't accept it" in unison. Their voices shook the roof tiles. Both sides began to fight. Looking at the situation, Minister An thought that Yang Fan really did not know about the situation and actually fought with his own people. At first he was very surprised, but then he was not surprised at all.
As soon as the two sides began to fight, they grabbed and smashed anything they could find. All around, there were some bailiffs holding water and fire rods on guard. The rods in their hands were all snatched away. Both sides began to fight with full force in front of the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue. Ren Wei and the others were 'weak hands and weak feet'; they only knew how to bluff; they were not the ruffians' match at all. They suffered several punches in succession. In a sorry state, they fled to Yang Fan's side and anxiously called out, "The soldiers are in a mutiny, we can't block them head on. General, quickly run!"
Yang Fan turned pale with fright; he turned around and ran toward the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue. He had the spirit of loyalty; before he left, he did not forget to pick up Minister An. Minister Zheng had been beaten by those ruffians for a long time. As soon as he saw these ruffians were running wild and leading their own officers to beat them up, he screamed in fright and crouched down next to a pillar.
'hu hu' those ruffian soldiers brandished their whistles and fought their way into the main hall, as if they were chasing after Yang Fan, this' dog official '. But' clatter clatter 'they smashed everything they saw, and snatched anything valuable they saw along the way. Carrying Minister An on his back, Yang Fan ran like a wolf, circling around the pillars, dodging in all directions, looking extremely battered and exhausted.
The officials from the various government departments who came to handle affairs one by one revealed their identities to the soldiers to avoid being caught in the crossfire. They then stood in the middle of the courtyard, looking around, their eyebrows dancing with joy.
With a 'boom' sound, the 'Nine-style Classic State' plaque hanging in the main hall of the Ministry of Revenue was also smashed down by those crazed soldiers. It fell heavily to the ground, making Minister An's heart jump with fear and trepidation.
Yang Fan carried him and escaped through the back door. He said, "The Imperial Army's soldiers have always been stubborn and arrogant. This time the Ministry of Revenue is in arrears. Ben General understands the difficulties of the Ministry of Revenue, but these rough fellows do not understand the difficulties of the Wei Guo Jing Bian State. They only care about their own food and do whatever they want, it is really annoying. Right now, Ben General is outnumbered and has no other choice. Wait until I go back and mobilize the troops, then we can catch them and punish them severely! "
"General Yang …"
Before Minister An could finish his sentence, he saw Yang Fan abandon him and lead his personal guards to escape without a trace. Minister An was very speechless. "This Yang Fan's pretense is really good. Isn't it obvious that he is playing with me?" But Yang Fan was obviously playing with him. By going through this' suppressing 'procedure, he was not afraid that Minister An would report this to the Imperial Court.
Just as Minister An was feeling hate and annoyed, Doctor Zheng with disheveled hair appeared out of nowhere. In a panic, he said, "Minister, it's not good. Those slave soldiers broke the lock of the storehouse. They say that if the Ministry of Revenue does not pay, they will take the items in the storehouse to pay the debt. Paper, ink, brushes, inkstones, firewood, and candles have all been stolen by them."
Hearing this, Minister An was unable to restrain his anger. Thumping his chest and stamping his feet, he said, "Preposterous, preposterous! Yang Fan, this official and you cannot exist under the same sky!"
Minister An had just made his oath when the Right Assistant Minister Liu Qing ordered two scribes to carry a ladder and hurriedly ran over. He ordered someone to erect the ladder to the top of the wall. Lifting his robe, he climbed up. When Minister An saw this, he shouted, "Assistant Minister Liu, where are you going?"
Liu Qing turned his head and saw that it was Minister An. He hurriedly said, "Minister, leave quickly. Those ruffian soldiers have gone crazy. They are robbing and smashing everything in the yamen. They are beating anyone they see. I can't stay any longer, I can't stay any longer! Aiya, they are coming. Minister, leave quickly! "
Minister An turned his head and saw that several imperial soldiers were fighting fiercely. They were rushing over from the distance like charging bulls, their feet stomping on the ground. Minister An was shocked. At this time, he no longer dared to maintain his status. If he really took a punch, even if the Emperor killed that slave soldier, he would not be able to get his body back in one piece.
Minister An hurriedly chased after Assistant Minister Liu and climbed up the ladder. When Doctor Zheng saw this, he quickly hid behind the lotus vase by the wall. Minister An usually lived like a prince and never ran, much less climbed a ladder. In his anxiety, he actually climbed very quickly. In a flash, he caught up to Assistant Minister Liu and climbed up the high wall.
The two imperial soldiers, one carrying a box of candles and the other a box of ink stones, ran to the bottom of the wall. When they saw the ladder, they kicked it, causing the ladder to fall to the side. With a 'bang' sound, it shattered the large vase. The water in the vase flowed out and drenched Doctor Zheng, who was squatting behind the vase.
Minister An and Assistant Minister Liu were standing on the top of the wall. The wall was at least two zhang high. Standing on top and looking down made them dizzy. In addition, the top of the wall was tiled, so their feet were slippery. The two quickly sat down on the top of the wall, afraid that if they were not careful, they would fall half to death. Several officials on the other side of the wall had already seen this and shouted, "Who is on the wall? How dare you cross the Ministry of Appointments!"
Assistant Minister Liu hurriedly said, "Don't make a sound! I am Assistant Minister Liu of the Ministry of Revenue. This is our Minister An! "
Minister An's old face was red with embarrassment. Holding onto the top of the wall, he turned his face and scolded Doctor Zheng, who was squatting at the foot of the wall, "Idiot! Why aren't you lifting the ladder! " Doctor Zheng wiped the water off his face and stood up, wanting to lift the ladder. But the ladder was stuck in the cracked vase and couldn't be pulled out at all.
At this time, the Ministry of Appointments was running around to spread the news. The scribes, officials, and yamen servants of the various departments all ran out to see what was going on. Seeing the Minister of Revenue and the Assistant Minister of Revenue on the wall, everyone laughed and laughed.
Not long after, the Heavenly Official Yang Qi of the Ministry of Appointments also heard the news and rushed over. Seeing Minister An on the wall, he couldn't help but throw his beard and laugh. He cupped his hands at the bottom of the wall and winked at him, saying, "Minister An, you really are in a good mood. In broad daylight, what do you want to reward by climbing up the high wall?"
Minister An cupped his hands at the wall to return the greeting. With a bitter smile, he said, "Heavenly Official Yang, don't make fun of me. That group of ruffian soldiers, that group of scoundrels, that Yang Fan …"
An Shangshu suddenly turned his head and roared furiously at Doctor Zheng, who was still hugging the ladder and struggling against the wall, "You idiot! Don't you know how to pick up a rock and smash the vase? "
…
The Ministry of Revenue yamen was a mess. Minister An stood in the midst of the mess, gritting his teeth and laughing coldly, like a winter plum on a branch.
Left Assistant Minister Qiu Lingzhi said hatefully, "The Thousand Riders are so reckless. Minister should report them to the Emperor and see how he explains it!"
Minister An rolled his eyes at him and said, "If the Emperor asks why the Thousand Riders are making a ruckus at the Ministry of Revenue, what should he say? It's not like you don't know what the Emperor's attitude is toward people who are close and distant. "
Assistant Minister Qiu said, "But you and I are third or fourth-rank officials of the court. Our Ministry of Revenue is the yamen of the six ministries. How can we allow these ruffian soldiers to make a ruckus? Right now, our Ministry of Revenue has become the laughing stock of the six ministries. Where is the face of the court? Where is the dignity of the Minister? We … "
Minister An raised his hand to stop him from speaking. He said coldly, "Go and tell General Wu what happened here. Just say that if he doesn't come out to resolve this matter, when those ruffian soldiers come again, I will have no choice but to submit!"
Assistant Minister Qiu exclaimed in shock, "Minister An!"
An Lingyu flung her sleeves and said with an ashen face, "If Yang Fan was like how he dealt with the Supreme Court when he was in charge of the Ministry of Justice, trying to find the opponent's weaknesses and use them as leverage, it would be easy for this official to deal with him. But this official really didn't expect that Yang Fan would put on such a ruffian face. That group of slave soldiers have nothing to lose. If this matter were to be brought to the Emperor, this official would be the one who would lose all face! You took responsibility for this matter, so deal with it as you see fit! "
Finished speaking, An Lingyu flicked his sleeve and left. Assistant Minister Qiu muttered a few times and could only stamp his feet and hurriedly leave the fu to find General Wu!
…
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