Hong Ming was a man dressed in white robes. His complexion was rosy, and his body was sturdy. He wore a faint smile on his face, and he looked to be in his forties, in the prime of his life.
Hearing Fang Yun's words, he smiled and said, "Of the dozens of counties in Mishou, only Ning An County can make me so tired."
The hall was silent. No one spoke at this time. Hong Ming was, after all, the Hanlin Prefecture Overseer, and he held the power of a prefecture. When discussing other matters, he could lower his head and remain silent. However, they were discussing the government affairs of his own jurisdiction. Even if Fang Yun could use Xusheng's name, he could not easily lower his head and admit his mistakes. Otherwise, it would be a stain on his official career.
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Yes, Sir Hong is working so hard for Ning An County, and I am tired as well."
Many people stayed out of the matter and looked at the two quietly. One was insinuating that Ning An County was in chaos, and the other was accusing the Prefecture Overseer of bringing disaster to his own county.
Ao Huang pursed his lips and said, "That Prefecture Overseer, I advise you to speak less. Fang Yun is not a doting parent. You can't win against him. If something happens, don't blame me for not warning you."
The scholars present were somewhat shrewd, or else they would have laughed out loud. Everyone understood what Ao Huang meant. He did not have any bad intentions. However, when these words were said to the Prefecture Overseer, it was completely different.
A young seventh-rank official beside Hong Ming could not help but snort and say, "It was clearly Prefecture Overseer Fang who did not manage his county well. Today, he actually turned the tables and pushed the blame onto my master. The Prefecture Overseer's yamen has a small mountain of documents regarding Ning An County. If not for Sir Hong's generosity and giving you some face, he would have ordered you to report to the Prefecture Overseer's yamen and make you lose all face. "
Fang Yun glanced at the seventh-rank official and then looked at Hong Ming. He said slowly and forcefully, "Sir Hong gave me some face, but gave the enemy's merchant company a lot of face. I have already reported to the Prefecture Overseer and asked him to investigate the grain matter. However, even an idiot knows that our grain has been bought by the enemy. Why does Sir Hong not care? I am just a small county magistrate, and I can't do anything. Can't the Civil Division under the provincial yamen do anything about it? "
The people Hong Ming had brought with him had angry looks on their faces. Hong Ming retracted his smile and said, "County Magistrate Fang is too impatient. This official has already instructed the Civil Division to investigate this matter. However, the grain store incident involved a lot of people, so it would take some time to investigate. County Magistrate Fang was slow in stabilizing the grain price. He was quick in eliminating dissidents in the county yamen and criticizing the superior official here. If it wasn't for the medical conference today, this official would definitely ask you how you messed up the grain prices in Ning An County! "
Fang Yun smiled. "Of course it was you, Prefecture Overseer Hong, working with General Lan and Minister Geng to help Ji Zhibai ruin my court examinations. You caused a huge ruckus in Ning An County's grain prices."
"How dare you!"
"How dare you!"
The officials who came with Hong Ming rebuked loudly. Hong Ming was also stunned. He did not understand why Fang Yun would bring this matter up in public.
Some people from the medical school were also curious. The internal conflicts of the country were triggered at the medical conference. No matter what, it would break the rules of the officialdom.
No matter how rotten the inside was. Bureaucrats were always concerned about their reputation. They had to cover it up.
The deputy county magistrate, Tao Dingnian, had been suppressing his anger ever since Shen Ren was brought to trial. When he saw that Fang Yun had overestimated himself and pointed his sword at the prefecture overseer, he immediately stepped forward and said, "County Magistrate Fang, this is an important medical conference in the Ten Nations. By stirring up trouble here and now, you are not only insulting Jingguo, you are also offending the superior official. You should be punished!"
"Deputy county magistrate Tao is right!" The officials of the Left Minister's faction in Ning An County stepped forward in unison. Today, they were caught by Fang Yun in the county yamen. Seeing that they had lost their ten houses, now that Prefecture Overseer Hong Ming was here, they had to turn the situation around.
Fang Yun looked at Tao Dingnian in surprise and said, "Deputy county magistrate Tao, your words are really strange. This is a cultural conference. I can speak freely but you don't allow me to speak. When I was in the county yamen, you shouldn't have interrupted, but you and some other officials did. Let me think about it. What did you guys say … Well, 'If the lord is not the lord, the minister is not the minister', and 'Scholars should have strength of character and not be afraid of power'. By the way, 'Fight for justice against the superior official'. You guys said these before, right? "
Led by Tao Dingnian, many officials of Ning An County stood rooted to the ground. They had indeed said that before.
Hong Ming had long known about what happened this morning. With a sullen expression, he said, "Enough. County Magistrate Fang, don't be unreasonable. This is a great medical conference, we can't stop because of your prejudice against me! Everyone … "
However, Fang Yun decisively interrupted Hong Ming and said, "Wait! Prefecture Overseer Hong, you were clearly the one who harmed your subordinate county magistrate, manipulated the price of food, and almost caused the medical conference to be suspended. Yet, you're slandering me now? However, I won't hold it against you. However, you owe the scholars of the Ten Nations' School of Medicine an apology! "
The group of medical scholars came to a sudden realization that Fang Yun was starting to retaliate. This morning, everyone thought that the medical conference was going to be suspended, and Fang Yun's reputation was almost ruined. If Fang Yun was an ordinary county magistrate, it would be fine, but he was Xusheng after all. Hence, he definitely couldn't take it lying down!
Everyone knew that Fang Yun would retaliate, but they didn't expect him to start with the Prefecture Overseer of a state. They secretly thought that Fang Xusheng was really audacious and that his title of Crazy Lord was not for nothing.
"If you're dissatisfied with me, you can submit a memorial to the imperial court to impeach me. You're simply flouting etiquette by accusing me in public for no reason! If you continue to speak without reason, as the Prefecture Overseer of Mi Province, I'll definitely strip you of your authority! "
Librarian Yu Ba Chi's expression changed. There were indeed privileges for a Jinshi to be the acting county magistrate, but if a major mistake was made, the Prefecture Overseer of a state could definitely temporarily suppress the acting county magistrate's official seal and strip him of his authority. Then, the king and the cabinet would decide whether or not to remove him. If he was to be removed, it would be reported to the Notre-Dame and the Half-saint examiner would make the final decision.
Since the beginning of the imperial examinations, there had been less than ten Jinshi who had been removed from their positions during the imperial examinations.
Everyone knew that the three Half-saint examiners wouldn't agree to remove Fang Yun, but the Prefecture Overseer Hong Ming could temporarily take away Fang Yun's authority and humiliate him.
Fang Yun smiled calmly and said, "You can't take it away!"
"How dare you!" Hong Ming hollered and widened his eyes in anger. The essence energy around him was surging, and he was clearly enraged.
The imperial physician Yang Zijiang didn't have a close relationship with either of them. He coughed lightly and said, "Prefecture Overseer Hong, Fang Xusheng is young and impetuous, and he has been tormented by the issue of the grain price. He is probably thinking too much about the people. I think we should let this matter go."
Yang Zijiang's words made it clear that Fang Yun was indeed too impulsive, but the reason for his impulsiveness was that the Left Prime Minister's party was too extreme. Everyone could see that, so Hong Ming had to take a step back.
Hong Ming knew that Yang Zijiang wasn't helping either side, but he couldn't say in front of everyone that Fang Yun had already submitted a report to the Cabinet and the Overwatch Council. Although he didn't know what the report was about, if he was intimidated by Fang Yun's aura at the meeting today, then he, as the Prefecture Overseer, would be humiliated by the county magistrate. How could the Left Prime Minister use him in the future?
Hong Ming suppressed his anger and said, "Doctor Yang is right. Since county magistrate Fang is young and impetuous, he should apologize for his youthful impetuousness."
Yang Zijiang was so angry that his nose almost went crooked. He was clearly trying to resolve the matter, but Hong Ming was using his words to attack Fang Yun and drag him, the peacemaker, into the conflict between the two.
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