Volume 1 Chapter 192 Restaurant Farce

Xiang Yun thought for a moment, then stood up from the dragon throne, looked around, and said loudly: "From today on, the Great Sun Dynasty will exempt taxes for one year to give the people a rest!"

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue, Wan Hou, immediately clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this matter is absolutely necessary."

Before Wan Hou finished speaking, Xiang Yun said loudly: "I have made up my mind on this matter, no need to say more! Within one year, no place is allowed to collect taxes privately. If I find out, all nine generations of your clan will be executed!"

Wan Hou fell into silence and said no more, but his face was not looking good. The Ministry of Revenue did not have any extra silver.

As the Minister of Revenue, he had been on a roller coaster ride these days. From time to time, he would receive mountains of silver and treasures, but the next day he would spend all of the silver on military expenses, food, and other war resources. The pensions for the 70,000 soldiers who died under Jiang Yue's command alone had almost taken out one-third of the silver in his Ministry of Revenue!

The more expensive thing is the firearms workshop!

To manufacture large quantities of guns and ammunition, the required materials had to be purchased from all over the dynasty. Moreover, due to the huge demand for iron ore resources, they had already spent money to find more than a dozen iron mines within the Great Sun Dynasty and began to arrange people to mine them. The iron ore was transported back to various departments of the firearms workshop day and night, which was another considerable expense.

Now that the emperor has exempted taxes, he, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, really doesn't know how to do the math. With the remaining silver in the Ministry of Revenue, he estimates that it will only last for half a year at most!

"No, I have to discuss with the emperor now to see if I can revoke the order!" Wan Hou made up his mind and decided to bite the bullet and fight Xiang Yun head-on, otherwise the entire Dayi Dynasty would collapse!

On the throne room, Xiang Yun waved his dragon robe sleeves and said in a loud voice: "Okay, all the ministers, if you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court!"

Jiang Yue hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the envoy from the Black Witch Nation is still waiting in the capital. Would Your Majesty like to meet him?"

Xiang Yunke was about to leave. When Jiang Yue mentioned this, he frowned, thought for a moment, and waved his hand, saying, "Let the Ministry of Rites negotiate this matter. Let's see what they say first, and then send a memorial up."

Minister of Rites Liu Xingjian quickly bowed and said, "I accept your order!"

The Imperial Study. Xiang Yun rushed here right after the court session. Without any free time, he began to look through the memorials that had piled up today and handle government affairs.

The country is his, the dynasty is his, so of course all the government affairs are his. This lazy guy can't steal them even if he wants to!

After the court session, some were happy and some were worried, and the most annoyed was Sun Shang.

He was originally a second-rank minister with great power. When facing Jiang Yue, he had a sense of superiority as a superior. He thought that Jiang Yue could not compare with him, let alone win over Zhen Yueling.

But now, only a few months have passed, and Jiang Yue has transformed from a fifth-rank general to a second-rank cavalry general, and even wears the title of viscount, turning from a commoner into a noble in one fell swoop!

How could he not be angry? This meant that his status was now lower than Jiang Yue's. On top of that, Zhen Yueling also liked him, so did he still have hope?

Sun Shang left in a daze, feeling disheartened. When he closed his eyes, all he could see was Zhen Yueling's graceful figure, which lingered in his mind for a long time.

He walked out of the palace in a daze, and didn't even get on the carriage that was specially sent to pick him up. He waved his hand and walked directly towards the streets of the capital. He wanted to be alone.

There was a huge amount of resentment and anger, even unwillingness, in his heart, all of which he wanted to vent out, but who should he vent to?

Jiang Yue, or the emperor?

Don't be ridiculous, who can he afford to offend now? He should just be an official in peace!

Suddenly, a lot of noisy sounds came from a restaurant not far ahead. Sun Shang had no intention of paying attention to it. He just frowned and continued walking forward in a daze.

"Damn it, I've been fighting on the frontier for so long, risking my life, and I can't even enjoy myself!" A confused and rough voice came from above the restaurant.

From the voice, you can tell that it is a drunk man who is now unconscious and confused.

The name of this restaurant is Zui Xiang Lou, and it is the third largest restaurant in the capital. The most famous thing about it is the famous wine called "Shili Piaoxiang", which has a strong aroma, mellow and sweet flavor, harmonious fragrance, mellow and pleasant taste, and a long aftertaste.

A wine table next to the window sill on the second floor of Zui Xiang Lou was filled with delicious dishes, including a bowl of fennel beans, a bowl of pork head, a bowl of braised beef, and a jar of Shili Piaoxiang.

Sitting next to him was a man wearing the armor of a general of the Lieyang Army. His name was Xue Manhan, and he was a fourth-rank official, also known as the Zhongjian General.

A few days ago, he followed Jiang Fei to fight in southern Xinjiang and luckily survived. After getting along for many days, the brotherhood between him and Jiang Fei is pretty good. He just came back with the emperor's army yesterday, and the next day he ran to this restaurant to indulge himself and got drunk without realizing it.

Xue Manhan is thirty-five years old this year, but he has never married. It's not that he can't find a wife, but his vision and requirements are a bit high. He looks down on women from secular families and only likes girls with some status or culture, and they have to be unmarried girls.

But how could a girl of such status look down on a small general like him, with low status and low salary? It would be better if Xue Manhan was an official in the capital, but he was a general who had to go to the border to fight frequently and might die there one day.

It would be better to marry a scholar who has passed the imperial examination or a son of a merchant family than to marry a man who has no peace of mind.

Now that he is older, people of his age already have children, but he still hasn’t got a wife. Many of his brothers make fun of him.

He is a man after all, so he naturally has physical needs. However, he looks down upon those places of entertainment, and even despises and disdains them, so he comes to this kind of formal restaurant to drink and eat meat.

Now that he was drunk, he felt resentful and lustful. At this moment, a graceful woman with a veil passed by him. The faint fragrance emanating from her body made Xue Manhan intoxicated. All of a sudden, he was overwhelmed by the wine and sex and lost his mind. He went forward and forcibly hugged the graceful woman into his arms.

"Ah~ let me go!" the girl screamed, and then struggled frantically. Because Xue Manhan was drunk and confused, he didn't hold the girl firmly, and she broke free after a while, and then he slapped her.

This really woke Xue Manhan up a bit. Being beaten by a woman in public, he felt extremely ashamed and angry, so he cursed out those words.

Then he was so angry that he lost his mind and dared to reach out to grab the girl. At this moment, a young man who looked to be in his twenties came forward, blocked the girl and shouted loudly: "Drunkard, don't be rude!"

This young man also came from a prominent family. His name was Tian Shan. He was a scholar who failed the imperial examination and was later selected by Xiang Yun. Now he has entered the court as an official and was appointed by Xiang Yun as the Left Censor-in-Chief, a dignified and powerful official of the fourth rank.

In terms of official position, he is at the same level as Xue Manhan, but in terms of power and voice in the capital, he is much higher than Xue Manhan.

Moreover, Tian Shan's position was special. He was a member of the Inspectorate, specifically responsible for supervising officials like them. Now, when he encountered an official appointed by the imperial court molesting decent women on the street, how could he tolerate it?

This world is so strange. Just like cats and dogs look down on each other, there are also many disputes between civil officials and military generals, and they look down on each other.

Xue Manhan thought that he was older and had fought for the Great Sun Dynasty on the battlefield for many years, and had made many contributions and worked hard. Now he was scolded by a young and weak scholar in public. How could he give him a good face? His temper also rose in his heart.

In fact, it was all alcohol that caused the trouble.

Xue Manhan slammed the table and stood up angrily, pointing at Tian Shan and yelling, "Who are you, nosy woman? You dare to meddle in my affairs? Are you tired of living?"

Tian Shan's face turned pale all of a sudden. This guy spoke vulgar words that were really harsh to the ear. But the next moment Xue Manhan actually attacked him and pushed him to the side with such force that he could not resist at all.

Then Xue Manhan ignored Tian Shan and said to the girl drunkenly: "I think you are pretty, why don't you marry me?"

"Get out of here! Who wants to marry you?" the girl screamed in horror. Xue Manhan looked too scary when he was drunk. Combined with his muscular body and big beard, he looked so greasy that no one would like him.

Xue Manhan was unhappy with what he said, and he pretended to go forward to grab the girl, and said incoherently: "Why can't you marry me, girl? Just rest assured, follow me, Manhan, and you will never be bullied again, and you will have no worries about food and clothing. The most important thing is that I, Manhan, love you."

The girl was frightened by Xue Manhan and kept backing away until she reached a table and chairs, where she was pulled and accidentally fell.

Xue Manhan hurried forward to help her and said, "Miss, be careful, don't get hurt!"

This made the girl panic and scream, as if she had been raped. People who didn't know the situation would think she was doing something shameless in broad daylight.

Tian Shan recovered by this time. Seeing this scene, he was furious. He quickly got up from the ground, drew the gentleman's sword at his waist, rushed forward and shouted, "Drunkard, stop it. If you dare to be so presumptuous again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Xue Manhan still ignored him and focused all his attention on the girl in front of him. He really needed to find a wife urgently.

Tian Shan was filled with rage, and he immediately swung his sword at Xue Manhan's hands. He didn't dare to kill anyone, but he dared to teach Xue Manhan a lesson!

After all, he was chosen by Xiang Yun. He was courageous in his political views and actions, otherwise he would not have been selected as the Left Censor-in-Chief. The sword immediately cut a small bloody wound on Xue Manhan's right arm, and then he kicked Xue Manhan in the waist.

Xue Manhan was very brave. He didn't move at all after being kicked. He just covered his injured and bleeding right arm with his hands and frowned. The next moment he became furious.