He was faced with a huge crowd of people, all still wearing their court robes from the morning court session. He had never seen such a spectacle before.
His legs trembled with fear as he asked, "G-Gentlemen, this is Minister Tan's residence. Have you come to the wrong place?"
"That's right! The official I'm looking for is Tan Wu!"
Wang Ziru shoved the steward aside and led a group of people into the Tan residence with great momentum.
Tan Wu was just eating.
A servant rushed in, trembling and stammering as he reported.
"Lord Tan, something terrible has happened!"
Seeing the vase he had knocked over in his haste, Tan Wu slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage.
"What's the rush? This vase is worth a thousand taels of silver. Can you afford to pay for it if you break it?"
"No, the officials from the court have already entered our residence and are heading this way to you, sir!"
Tan Wu was greatly surprised upon hearing this.
Before I could even get angry, I was already thinking about getting into bed and quickly pretending to be sick.
To everyone's surprise, Wang Ziru and a group of officials had already arrived. They pushed open the door, spread out their formation, and surrounded Tan Wu with fierce expressions.
Wang Ziru shouted and kicked aside the servant who was in the way, his face full of anger.
"Minister Tan, aren't you sick? You're eating steamed duck and roasted chicken, you seem to be doing better than anyone else!"
The money owed to them was not coming in, and some people were struggling to make ends meet. They were so poor that they were practically starving and had nothing left but their underwear.
But Tan Wu, you're eating like a king, with your mouth full of oil, enjoying yourself like a big shot. A group of people who no longer live in Bengbu started questioning you.
Tan Wu was shocked. Since his feigned illness had been discovered, he angrily retorted, "What do you want? How dare you trespass on a private residence? I'm going to file a complaint with the Emperor! I'll have the Emperor punish you!"
"Get out! All of you, get out of here!"
Seeing that Tan Wu showed no remorse whatsoever and even dared to retort, the officials showed no mercy and stepped forward to hurl insults at him.
Tan Wu on the other side was not to be outdone; his lips moved as if pulled by two tall horses.
The verbal sparring escalated, and the tense atmosphere grew increasingly heated. Someone pushed someone first, and the argument quickly turned into a physical altercation.
"You've rebelled! You've rebelled!"
Tan Wu's collar was pulled in disarray, and he was so angry that his nose was crooked. He roared and summoned the servants of the manor.
"Who just pushed me? Beat them up! Beat them hard!"
The group of servants listened to their master's orders, but looked at each other in bewilderment, none of them daring to make a move.
joke.
These people are all high-ranking officials of the imperial court. Let alone fighting them, they would be terrified if they even touched a finger of one of them!
For the sake of their own money, the officials showed no leniency towards him, instead chasing away a group of servants and surrounding Tan Wu once again.
Wang Ziru unfolded the imperial edict and read it aloud.
"The repayment of national debt is a matter of great importance, concerning the vital interests of all officials and the dignity of the nation. Tan Wu, you dare to feign illness and refuse to attend court! This matter must be resolved! The repayment funds must be secured!"
Snap!
The imperial edict was closed, and Wang Ziru, with his hands behind his back, said firmly, "Did you hear that? This is His Majesty's decree! You dare to disobey it?"
"If we don't find a way to raise the money to pay off the debt within ten people, we'll go to the Emperor to file a complaint!"
"Furthermore, I believe all these valuable items in Minister Tan's residence are quite expensive. If he pretends to be sick again, we won't be so polite!"
After making these harsh remarks, Wang Ziru led his officials away.
Looking at the mansion that had been ravaged, Tan Wu was so angry that he cursed loudly!
How to secure the funds?
Where the hell does the Ministry of Revenue have any money?
That damned emperor was clearly forcing me to use money to subsidize it.
Now look what's happened! My father just died unjustly, and I haven't even recovered yet. Now, I'm inexplicably burdened with a debt of over two million taels of silver!
Seeing the servant huddled in the corner, he was furious and took two steps forward to beat him as a punching bag.
"Damn it! What are you all good for? You just had time to report to me, and you didn't dare to stand in their way, did you?!"
The servants were beaten and screamed in agony.
"Ouch! Sir, please stop! How could I dare to stop them!"
at the same time.
At the Prime Minister's residence.
The atmosphere in the council chamber was tense. Sima Lie stood with his hands behind his back, constantly giving orders.
"The war in Youzhou is critical. We can't worry about anything else now. Quickly gather the troops under the Ministry of Revenue and rush to Youzhou to prepare to resist the Xiongnu."
"Remember! Speed is crucial, no mistakes allowed, understand?"
Ma Shangtao nodded and bowed repeatedly.
"Of course! Prime Minister, please rest assured, I will handle this matter thoroughly and clearly."
Just as Sima Lie was making arrangements, the steward of the manor rushed over to report.
"Prime Minister, something terrible has happened! Po Jun has been killed and his headless body was brought to the gate of the Tan residence. Also, it seems there was a bandit involved."
"They had big-character posters plastered on their bodies, as an apology to the headless corpse!"
"What!"
Upon hearing this, Sima Lie was greatly startled.
Who is Po Jun?
A true ace assassin, ruthless and cunning, leaving almost no trace.
Who can kill him!
Sima Lie waved his hand to signal the steward to leave, then frowned and pondered in a daze. Unexpectedly, the steward returned again.
"Is there anything else?"
"It is Lord Tan Wu who requests an audience. He says he has something urgent to discuss with you, Prime Minister, immediately!"
Before Sima Lie could respond, Ma Shangtao's eyelids twitched wildly.
Having just accidentally killed this guy's father, wouldn't he be furious and cause trouble for me if we bumped into each other?
Without daring to think further, Ma Shangtao quickly cupped his hands and said, "Prime Minister! I have other important matters to attend to, so I will not keep you company any longer!"
Only after he slipped away through the back door did Sima Lie signal the steward to bring him over.
When Tan Wu met Sima Lie, it was as if he had met his own father.
With a thud, he knelt down and began to recount his story, tears streaming down his face.
"Your Excellency, Prime Minister! You must do me justice!"
Sima Lie helped him up, somewhat annoyed.
"What's the panic? Tell me, what is it?"
"Just now, I was eating, I was having steamed duck and roast chicken..."
Sima Lie was speechless.
Why don't you start from the story of Pangu creating the world?
"Get to the point!"
"As a result, Wang Ziru led a hundred officials into my Tan residence, where he insulted and shoved me, and even threatened me, saying that I should pay back my debts!"
"I am, after all, a high-ranking official of the court and one of your men, Prime Minister. Doesn't this mean I don't respect you at all?"
Tan Wu's purpose in first pouring out his grievances was obvious: to test Sima Lie's attitude. However, Sima Lie's old eyes drooped, and his reaction was not significant. Tan Wu could only continue talking reluctantly.
"It's all that foolish emperor's fault for shifting the blame for the loan onto me, and even issuing an imperial edict. What should I do now?"
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