Yanzhou Prefecture's squad leader, Yang Chengwu, was wearing a patched dress and a worn-out hat. He carried a saber so worn out that its sheath was showing its leather color. He stood at the southern gate with his chest puffed out and belly puffed out. Beside him were a few guards holding whistle-sticks.
It had been a long time since Yang Chengwu had worn such tattered clothes. In order to find this outfit, he had specially made a trip to Old Constable Shang, who had retired many years ago.
These past few days, Yanzhou Prefecture had been in a state of chaos. Now, the city gate was very desolate. Yang Chengwu yawned and was about to instruct someone to keep an eye on things while he went to the top of the city wall to take a nap. Suddenly, dust flew in the distance.
Yang Chengwu thought that some prefecture had sent grain and couldn't help but feel angry. "Which damn prefecture is this? Didn't the prefectural government already issue an official document? Why are they still sending things here?"
Yang Chengwu was about to send someone forward to stop them when he suddenly felt something was wrong. Why did it look like an army coming from afar?
Yang Chengwu covered his eyes with his hand and looked carefully. Sure enough, it was an army with fluttering banners and horses. While Yang Chengwu was bewildered, the army had already arrived in front of him. There were three or four horses in front of them, each with a general sitting on top. Yang Chengwu stepped forward in surprise and asked, "Are you the prefectural army? Why are you entering the city?"
A man rode forward. He was wearing an indigo round-neck robe with dark flowers woven on it. He wore a silk scarf on his head and a honeysuckle embroidered belt around his waist. On top of it hung an abacus, a saber, a sharpening stone, a flint pouch, and other items. He was clearly a fifth-ranked military officer.
This man was very young, with eyes like stars. He was elegant and handsome. He smiled at Yang Chengwu, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth. "Don't you recognize me, Yang Chengwu?"
Yang Chengwu fixed his eyes on him and couldn't help but cry out, "Ah! You … you are … Dianshi Yang? "
Yang Fan laughed out loud, pointed his horsewhip forward, and said: "It is Yang, quickly open the gate."
Yang Chengwu stammered, "Dianshi Yang, this … where did this army come from?"
Yang Fan glanced at him and said indifferently, "Yang Chengwu, just do your job. there are some things you shouldn't be asking about."
Squad Leader Yang's face turned red, he awkwardly waved his hand to several of his men, who promptly removed the obstacles in front of the city gate. Yang Fan whipped his horse and entered the city with several mounted officers. Behind them, a large group of people entered the city with orderly footsteps.
Yang Chengwu looked at the army entering the city and slapped the back of his head. He muttered to himself, "From his attire, he should be a fifth-ranked official. I thought he was just a small follower of the Imperial Envoy. I didn't expect the rank of the Dianshi in the capital to be so high. It's true that the Prime Minister's doorstep is a seventh-ranked official. We're just running errands, we can't compare to him … "
Zhang Changzong talked big and witty, but there was always a time when he ran out of things to say. After making up nonsense for half a day, he saw that Yang Fan still hadn't arrived, so he ended the conversation and ordered the banquet to begin.
A sumptuous banquet was also set up in the reception hall of the second courtyard of the Provincial Governor's manor. Governor Xie, Official Ye, and the others accompanied the imperial envoy to drink. Ye Luoyu had originally been a little worried, but now that the banquet had begun and there was nothing out of the ordinary, he could finally relax.
Everyone ate a few dishes and drank a few cups of wine. Governor Xie and a group of officials accompanied Zhang Changzong out to toast the old people. Everywhere they went, the old people would stand up and exchange pleasantries with each other. It was a very lively scene.
Zhang Changzong slowly finished toasting the main courtyard and turned to the 'slums' outside the eastern courtyard. There was still more than half of the wine in his cup. Every time he drank, he only tasted it on his lips.
At this moment, a group of men and horses came from afar. Their swords and spears were shining, and their spears and halberds were like a forest. Everyone looked over and was stunned.
The elders at the banquet all stood up and looked at the scene in shock. They saw the group of soldiers running over from afar. Before they reached them, they split up and surrounded the entire 'slums'. Seeing this, Gu Da and Gu Er immediately stepped forward and pushed away Provincial Governor Xie and Lu Bie Che who were standing on Zhang Changzong's left and right.
Zhang Changzong said excitedly, "They're here?" Without waiting for the others to answer, he saw Yang Fan. Yang Fan and a few official army generals were approaching. They got off their horses and walked forward, followed by two groups of murderous soldiers.
Zhang Changzong was overjoyed and quickly walked forward to welcome them. Yang Fan immediately crossed his arms and saluted him, saying in a loud voice, "I am Yang Fan. Following the imperial envoy's orders, I have led a total of 1,200 soldiers from the Fulu Residence of Feng Province here. We will follow Zhang Fengchen's orders!"
Yang Fan didn't want to be in the limelight. Not to mention the fact that some of the Yanzhou officials came from aristocratic families, it wasn't appropriate for him to offend his' boss behind the scenes'. Even if he had connections with other officials in the court, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to take the blame.
The most outstanding person in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. In a political environment that valued the collective over the individual for thousands of years, even the most outstanding person, even if he temporarily held power in the court, would sooner or later be gnawed into bones by his colleagues. Fools who thought they could be invincible by clinging to the emperor's thigh would be finished sooner or later.
In Yang Fan's mind, Zhang Changzong's dainty physique was like a meat shield with a defense of 1000%. From the very beginning, he had been designated as a living treasure for a meat shield. If he didn't use it now, when would he?
Zhang Changzong didn't have this kind of awareness. Seeing that Yang Fan was extremely respectful to him and had handed over the limelight of capturing all of Yanzhou's officials to him, Zhang Changzong was overjoyed. He immediately ordered, "Yang Fan, listen to my orders. Immediately arrest all of the Yanzhou government's official seal, assistant official, chief official, odd-job official, and all of the officials!"
Only after Zhang Changzong finished speaking did he realize that he was still holding a wine cup in his hand. At this moment, it would be more dramatic if he tossed the cup as a signal! Zhang Changzong didn't even think about it. He immediately smashed the cup in his hand onto the ground and shouted, "Do it!" The wine cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. This time, it was quite imposing, but it was unknown how much hatred this smash had attracted.
"I will obey your orders!"
Yang Fan was very cooperative and loudly accepted the order. The Lu Residence's Zhe Chong Commandant, Li Yibai, laughed sinisterly and waved the saber in his hand, shouting, "Do it!"
His subordinates, like wolves and tigers, swarmed forward and pressed Governor Xie, Lu Bie Ge, Chief Historian Ye, Major Lin and the other officials to the ground. First they stripped them of their official robes and hats, and then they tied them up with ropes. Their hands and feet were very agile.
The surrounding elders were dumbstruck by this scene. Seeing this, Yang Fan hurriedly moved to Zhang Changzong's side and said in a low voice, "Zhang Fengchen, please appease the surrounding elders."
Zhang Changzong was a little unhappy that Yang Fan had always acted arbitrarily in the early stages of the plan. Now that it was time to be in the limelight, but Yang Fan was following his lead everywhere, his unhappiness had long since vanished.
Zhang Changzong nodded satisfactorily at Yang Fan and took two steps forward. Spreading his arms, he said in a loud voice, "Elders, please do not be alarmed. This official is under imperial edict to arrest a group of corrupt officials in Yanzhou. This official has nothing to do with you elders. Today, I invite all the elders to bear witness. Furthermore, this official has something to entrust to all the elders. Elders, please calm down, calm down. "
Ye Luoyu was pressed to the ground by several valiant Lu Residence guards. She was stripped of her official robes and hat, and her four limbs were tied up like a pig being slaughtered. Her face was pressed against the mud as she stared fixedly at Yang Fan. After staring for a while, she sighed sadly and slowly closed her eyes.
The entire Yanzhou Prefecture was in a mess. Soldiers were arresting people everywhere. Fortunately, most of the officials with status were in the Provincial Governor's Residence, so arresting them was very easy. Among them, there were some who were indiscriminately arrested, such as doctors of literature, doctors of medicine, and some powerless "old officials". At this time, there was no time to distinguish between them. First, they were all arrested. When they were registered, their identities could be ascertained before they were released.
As for the minor officials, they were all small characters who ran errands. Although Yang Fan had the heart to eradicate evil, he also understood that these people were the foundation of governance. He couldn't just sweep them all away. Moreover, these minor officials were all "dishonest at the top and unscrupulous at the bottom". If their superiors were incorruptible, they wouldn't dare to run amok. If their superiors were greedy, they would naturally lose their integrity. If another batch of people came up, they would still be the same. Where could he find so many incorruptible gentlemen? Therefore, he let them all go.
The situation in Yanzhou prefecture was undergoing a disastrous change. When the Fulu Mansion's officers and soldiers searched all the way down the Provincial Governor's mansion, they unexpectedly discovered a picturesque and magnificent mansion hidden deep in the forest at the back of the mansion. They could not help but be astonished by Governor Xie's wealth. Just from the Xie Residence's rear residence, they had confiscated mountains of gold, pearls, jade, and countless riches.
Of course, it was inevitable that the soldiers would steal some easily concealed small belongings in passing. In fact, this included the soldiers of Suizhou's Zhilie Division, who had strict military governance. When they searched the mansions of various corrupt officials, they also stole small fortunes. This kind of thing was unavoidable. Zhang Changzong was too lazy to care, and Yang Fan turned a blind eye to it.
From the beginning, Yang Fan's plan was to only catch the main culprit, catch the big tiger, and release the small mice. Those small mice who had a guilty conscience held the idea of making up for their mistakes with good deeds. During this period of time, they naturally trembled with fear and worked even harder. Moreover, with their superior officers arrested and the army stationed here, even if there were people among them who wanted to stir up trouble, they could only cry out in vain.
In addition, Yang Fan found an excuse ahead of time to summon the "venerable elders" of the official group who had direct jurisdiction over the villages to the Yanzhou government. He explained the situation to them and had them pacify the area before the court finished investigating the case and appointed new local officials. These people were all people with prestige in the area. They themselves were the heads of the local tyrants, landlords, and large clans. In the villages, their words were always the law. Naturally, they could play a role in stabilizing the area. Because of this, a political storm that could reach the heavens did not set off a major upheaval in the Yanzhou government.
This was also a request that Wu Zetian had instructed in advance. In the Emperor's heart, the entire world was hers. No one was more eager or more sincere in fighting corruption than her. However, the officialdom was about politics. The establishment of officials was to rule and serve for politics. She couldn't break all the jars and jars in her house just to catch a few big mice.
Zhang Changzong and Yang Fan stayed in Yanzhou for many days until the court sent another group of imperial soldiers to suppress the situation. They also appointed new provincial governors, other officials, and the Chief Censor. The Ministry of Justice and the Imperial Censorate also sent a large number of people to clean up the aftermath. Only then did the two of them escort the criminal officials back to the capital with irrefutable evidence.
From the feudal officials to the prefectural and county officials, Zhang Changzong and Yang Fan took more than 60 people back to the capital to be interrogated. More than 10 people committed suicide to escape punishment. Even so, this tornado was only the beginning.
Although Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen, who were experts in plagiarism, had already turned to dust, this case was too important. No official dared to be negligent in handling it. Additionally, there were too many clues to be found. It was inevitable that this storm would spread to the surrounding areas.
At this time, Shen Mu had already rushed to Luoyang. Because of the influence of the political storm in Yanzhou, an even more treacherous and complicated storm was faintly forming in the sky above Luoyang.
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