Chapter 16 The Official Road "Tan-ge'er is so handsome, if he had a..."
Gong Yibin and Mao Bingjun sat down angrily, their faces and bodies covered in bruises of varying degrees, their hair torn apart by each other, looking extremely disheveled.
Gong Yibin took a sip of hot tea to rinse his mouth, then snorted coldly and said, "Why should we embarrass ourselves in front of His Majesty? Haven't we already made a fool of ourselves in front of our colleagues in the Six Ministries enough?"
Jin An was a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. He had served in the Six Ministries for three years and had dealt with the Grand Secretaries many times. When he smiled, the flesh on his face trembled slightly. "Lord Gong, you flatter me. If the Grand Secretariat doesn't argue, the world won't understand! Many wise decisions of the Great Huang Dynasty have come from the heated debates among the Grand Secretaries. It is evident that the Grand Secretariat is bustling with activity, and the Great Huang Dynasty is full of benevolent voices!"
His flattery pleased the elders, and their expressions softened. Yue Yuda, the Minister of Revenue, said with a forced smile, "Jin'an, I think no one in Dahuang can rival your silver tongue!"
Jin An couldn't tell whether Yue Yuda was praising or criticizing him, so he cupped his hands and said, "This humble official is speaking the truth, and there is no intention of flattery."
Yue Yuda looked at Feng Tan, who remained silent to the side, and asked, "Who is this gentleman?"
Feng Tan bowed and said, "Your humble servant is Feng Tan, Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Justice."
As soon as he finished speaking, the ministers turned to look at him. The young man was dressed in a blue official robe, his demeanor was composed, and his eyes seemed to be shrouded in the misty rain of the mountains. His emotions were hidden in his clear, bright eyes, making them difficult to discern.
So this is Feng Tan, the one who fought with the Left Censor-in-Chief for a woman, slapped the Minister of Justice Gao Yu, and was then flogged twenty times by His Majesty.
Yue Yuda asked, "Just now I saw Lord Feng point his finger at their chests, and the two of them immediately lost their strength. Lord Feng is a civil official, but he also has knowledge of martial arts?"
Feng Tan said, "I wouldn't call it research; I only have a slight understanding of it."
Yue Yuda grunted in acknowledgment and instructed the eunuchs in the hall, "Prepare seats for the two lords!"
This was the first time Jin An had sat down with the cabinet members after breaking up the fight. He was filled with trepidation, wondering what the Minister of Revenue meant.
The young eunuch refilled two cups of hot tea and placed them on the table between Feng Tan and Jin An. After bowing and withdrawing, Yue Yuda said with a beaming smile, "I'm sure you two are aware of the matters discussed in the cabinet just now. With the end of the year approaching, money is needed everywhere, both inside and outside the palace. If the Ministry of Revenue's current reserves are evenly distributed, it's like a monkey trying to carry a lamp – unstable everywhere. If it's only given to one place, there will inevitably be a shortage of funds. Could you two gentlemen offer some advice to us old men?"
Jin An dared not take on this hot potato that would offend people. Upon hearing this, he feigned a troubled expression and said, "Lord Yue, although I am the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, I have no experience in the distribution of money. I am truly willing but unable to do so."
Yue Yuda had worked with Jin An for many years and knew he was good at passing the buck. Hearing this, he remained calm and threw the question to the person he wanted to ask. His smiling eyes held a sharp edge. "Lord Feng was able to escape unscathed from Xiao Yinshi. His intelligence and cunning must be extraordinary. What brilliant plan did you have?"
The hall fell silent as all the officials looked at Feng Tan, awaiting the reply from this young man who had recently become famous in official circles.
Feng Tan looked at the plaque inscribed with "Working tirelessly day and night" hanging on the roof beam of the cabinet, paused, and then turned his gaze back to Yue Yuda, the Minister of Revenue, and said, "There is a salt warehouse inspection and verification office under the Ministry of Revenue. The office has a large number of salt products. The Ministry of Revenue can check it and see if it is enough to pay the soldiers' salaries."
Upon hearing this, Yue Yuda was overjoyed and slammed his hand on the table, exclaiming, "Yes, how come I didn't think of the salary reduction! Jin'an, how much salt is left in the warehouse?"
With the year-end approaching, Jin An had just checked the inventory, so he remembered the numbers clearly. He said, "There are still 685,300 catties of salt left."
"That's enough!" Yue Yuda stood up and paced around the hall. "The surplus salt will be converted into salary for the Ministry of War, and the cash will be given to the Ministry of Rites. Both ministries will be satisfied, and His Majesty will be able to explain things to them as well."
The grim faces of Minister of Rites Gong Yibin and Minister of War Mao Bingjun relaxed considerably. Gong Yibin exclaimed, "Old Yue, do you see? This is what it means to be a formidable young man! If Lord Feng gets another opportunity in the future, he will surely rise to great heights!"
Mao Bingjun echoed, and Yue Yuda said in a friendly tone, "I have been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for many years, and I also carried out the matter of reducing the salary of Sumu many years ago. Now I am getting old and am no longer useful. I can't even remember that the Ministry of Revenue has a salt bureau."
Feng Tan humbly replied, "A powerful crossbow is not fired for a stray mouse. The Salt Warehouse Verification and Inspection Office is insignificant compared to the vast Ministry of Revenue's jurisdiction. It's no wonder Lord Yue overlooked it. If Lord Jin hadn't asked me to check the accounts a couple of days ago, I wouldn't have thought of converting it into military pay."
The smile on Yue Yuda's face became more genuine. He turned to Gong Yibin, the Minister of Rites, and asked, "Has the Court of State Ceremonial drafted the list of names for the peace talks between the two dynasties?"
Gong Yibin glanced at Feng Tan, then looked at Yue Yuda, and smiled broadly, "It seems we're on the same page! The Huang Dynasty and the Hua Dynasty are negotiating peace, and those refined and uneducated people in the Court of State Ceremonial have not been tempered for many years. They are not as good at cursing as us old folks! After hearing Lord Feng's speech just now, I was thinking of asking His Majesty to appoint Lord Feng to participate in this grand banquet!"
After saying this, he turned to look at Feng Tan and said, "Lord Feng, what do you think?"
Feng Tan asked, "Where will this negotiation and banquet be held?"
Gong Yibin replied, "According to ancestral rules, peace talks should be held at the Honglu Temple, but since a princess from the Hua Dynasty is coming to marry into the country, and she has more female relatives with her, His Majesty has separated the peace talks from the banquet, and the banquet is scheduled for the Wushuang Hall."
The Wushuang Palace is located within the inner palace of the imperial city. If this opportunity is missed, it will be very difficult to enter the inner palace.
Feng Tan stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you all for your kind words. I am honored to accept such a favor and will do my utmost to fight for the rights and interests of Da Huang."
***
After leaving the cabinet, Feng Tan and Jin An walked several hundred meters. Jin An looked around to make sure no one else was nearby before approaching Feng Tan and asking, "Lord Feng, are you really only eighteen years old? Tell me the truth, you can't lie to me."
Feng Tan subtly distanced himself from Jin An and replied, "What does Lord Jin mean?"
"As long as Grand Secretary Zheng is not around, the cabinet falls into chaos. I've dealt with things like this many times before. It's not difficult to mediate and get support from the Grand Secretaries, but it's not easy to devise a solution to their infighting! But you, Lord Feng, handled the situation perfectly on your first visit to break it up. In the end, you resolved the Grand Secretaries' urgent problem with just a few words. Although the method was simple, not many people would have thought of it! Lord Feng, what do you think of me?"
Feng Tan raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding the meaning behind Jin An's words.
Jin An chuckled and said, "Why are you pretending not to understand? I've made it so obvious, haven't you gotten it yet? What I mean is, even though I'm five years older than you... why don't you take me in? I'll be your little brother! Let's become sworn brothers sometime!"
Feng Tan chuckled upon hearing this, never expecting that Jin An, who was round and chubby, was such a wonderful person.
The laughter sounded rather grating to Jin An's ears. "Do you think I'm too fat?"
"No, no," Feng Tan waved his hands repeatedly, afraid that if he replied too slowly, he would overthink it. "I just find it strange that Lord Jin is willing to be my subordinate. I just don't know if Brother Jin An wants to get promoted or make a fortune with me?"
Jin An replied without hesitation, "A true man born between heaven and earth should naturally pursue both promotion and wealth! After all, I don't want to be criticized by Lord Feng..."
He paused, then mimicked Feng Tan's mocking tone towards Hang Yuanting, saying, "You are nearly fifty years old and hold the rank of seventh grade."
Feng Tan was amused by him and smiled, saying casually, "Alright, alright, little brother Jin'an."
Upon hearing this, Jin An's eyes lit up with joy. He put his arm around Feng Tan's shoulder like a good buddy and said, "Brother Tan, you're too thin and short, but you fit perfectly in my arms! Tell me what happened today! The stage has been set up and the performance is over, but I, the audience member, am still confused!"
Feng Tan was not short for a woman, only reaching the chest of Jin An, who was eight feet tall. She pulled away Jin An's arm that was around her and said, "We must not lose our official etiquette in the palace! As for today's matter, the Grand Secretaries fought fiercely, not only for the sake of the court, but also for the sake of personal matters."
Jin An was completely confused. Feng Tan glanced at him and explained the whole story in detail: "With the end of the year approaching, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Rites are short of money. The Minister of Revenue first said that he had no money and that the existing money was only enough for one family. As soon as he said this, the two Ministers of War and the Ministry of Rites were bound to fight. It is said in official circles that the Minister of Revenue is not as shrewd as the other ministers. In my opinion, he casually threw the problem to the other two officials with a single sentence. He is actually a shrewd person."
Jin An asked, "Then, what happened after that? When he asked me what my opinion was on this matter?"
"In today's events, Brother Jin'an, you've played the role of a gun."
"gun?"
“They’ve been used as pawns,” Feng Tan said bluntly, explaining the reasons clearly. “First, the Minister of Revenue wants to see them fight, but he can’t let it get too ugly. Having people from the Six Ministries present can ensure that. Second, the Minister of Revenue has been in charge of the Ministry of Revenue for many years, and every year-end a large amount of silver is taken away by others. How could he not feel the pain? His purpose today is to let the two ministers who want money know that the Ministry of Revenue is short of money, and the silver allocated to them at the end of the year is something that has been painstakingly scraped together. They should think twice before trying to skim off any profits.”
Jin An suddenly flicked his sleeves and said, "What profound knowledge!"
It was midday, and the winter sun was warm and gentle. The two passed through the tall white marble archway with carved dragon patterns and arrived at Fengtian Gate to have a meal together.
The officials of the Dahuang government ate at Fengtian Gate during their duty hours. They ate at different locations in Fengtian Gate according to their rank. Today, the two of them had been in the cabinet for a while and when they sat down at the dining area for seventh-rank officials, there was no one around.
Seeing Feng Tan pick the egg yolk out of the bowl, Jin An raised an eyebrow and said, "Lord Feng doesn't like egg yolks?"
Feng Tan asked, "You like to eat this?"
Jin An placed the egg yolk that Feng Tan had picked out into his own bowl, and then placed his own egg white into Feng Tan's bowl, saying, "From now on, I'll eat your egg yolk, and you eat my egg white! I love these runny eggs the most! The chefs in the imperial kitchen always make them just right, the yolk is slightly set but doesn't fall apart, and it's soft and fragrant when you eat it!"
Jin An quickly finished his food, then rested his chin on his hand and watched Feng Tan chew slowly and deliberately, asking, "Brother Tan, do you have a younger sister?"
"No."
"Alas, what a pity! Tan-ge'er is so handsome. If he had a younger sister who was as beautiful as a spring flower, I would gladly give up everything to marry her!"
Feng Tan paused, her fingers still holding the food, and said thoughtfully, "Wait, I think I have a younger sister."
"Huh?" Jin An was taken aback, he really didn't expect Feng Tan to react so strangely, and said, "Tan-ge'er, your memory is really bad! This sister shouldn't be Tan-ge'er's biological sister, otherwise how could you not remember her?"
Feng Dai and Feng Qinghuang are half-sisters, so they could be considered blood sisters, right? But in terms of affection, there's absolutely nothing between them. In Feng Tan's eyes, she only has one sister, Lin Wanzhou. However, in the fake household registration, Feng Tan's identity is that of the only son of the Feng family, who lost both parents at a young age. She said gently, "Distant cousin, I've been away from home for too long, I can't remember her."
Jin An looked at the boy's serene face and said, "Brother Tan, actually, before you came to our Sixth Department, a few of us inquired about your background. You had no powerful family to rely on, and after several years of schooling, you went from a poor student to the head of the Qingli Division in Fuzhou. Then, through solving the case of the fallen emperor, you were promoted to a government official in the capital. But within a few months of arriving in the capital, you offended two high-ranking officials. Brother Tan, which official path did you take?"
He truly couldn't understand it. Which official in the capital didn't have inextricable ties to powerful clans? Yet Feng Tan, a farmer's son who rose to become a high-ranking official in the capital, was so arrogant after arriving! But being with this young man gave one a sense of tranquility, far removed from the rumored image of someone who would risk everything for a woman. Yet, Feng Tan had indeed done things like stealing a woman from Xiao Yinshi and slapping Gao Yu. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't figure out what kind of person Feng Tan was.
Looking at the entire path to promotion in Dahuang, officials with connections and influence used their power; those with money emptied the treasury and made bribes everywhere; those with talent but no connections or money cautiously built up their seniority. Everyone followed their own path, and eventually, everyone could get promoted. But Feng Tan, with no background, no connections, and no money, acted ruthlessly and without consequence. No one had ever taken this path before.
Jin An had a round head and a round face, but he wasn't stupid at all. He instinctively felt that following Feng Tan was an opportunity.
Feng Tan smiled upon hearing this, a gentle light shining in her eyes. "As the ancients said, water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. What is the sentence before that?"
Jin An replied without hesitation: "The ruler is the boat, and the people are the water. Water can carry the boat, but it can also capsize it."
Feng Tan patiently and persuasively asked, "Then, what about officials? What is an official?"
Jin An shook his head.
“It’s a double row of oars.” Feng Tan took out eight clean chopsticks from the chopstick holder, divided them into two bundles, and held them in his hand, imitating the motion of rowing a boat with oars. “Serving as officials in the same court is like being on the same boat. The emperor steers, and the officials row. If the force is uniform, the boat will sail smoothly through the wind and waves; if the officials each exert their own force, the boat will capsize and the people will drown.”
Feng Tan and Jin An exchanged glances and Feng Tan said, "I am in the same boat as them and I do not threaten their fundamental interests. In their eyes, I am at most a clown or a small fry. Why would they go to such lengths for me and cause the boat to become unstable?"
Jin An took the chopsticks from Feng Tan's hand and fiddled with them, praising, "Lord Feng has the wisdom of a strategist, but is this a conspiracy or an open scheme?"
Feng Tan moved the bowls and chopsticks on the table to the side, making the boundary between light and shadow on the table clearer. "In the light, an honest official is not necessarily a good official; in the dark, a treacherous minister is not necessarily a great villain. They belong to different parties and serve different masters."
Her finger landed on the line where light and shadow met, and she curled her lips into a smile, saying, "At the boundary between power and darkness, there is a clear and bright road. There are no unspoken rules of officialdom here; by taking advantage of the situation, one can cleverly protect oneself."
She raised her eyes, looked steadily at Jin An, and said, "My way of being an official lies right here."
Jin An gazed into those clear eyes, his pupils dilated, and after a long while he said, "It's neither a conspiracy nor a scheme... It's just like... not going to the heavens nor the underworld, but walking the path of humanity openly and honestly! And that's why Tan-ge'er, despite having no power or wealth, can be without any taboos... Tan-ge'er's teacher, he must be a master!"
Feng Tan said, "She is an admirable person."
Jin An suddenly grabbed Feng Tan's arm and twisted it, with a hint of coquetry, "Brother Tan, let's make a deal, can you take me to the peace talks banquet?"
Seeing the reluctance on Feng Tan's face, Jin An was afraid that he would not agree, so he sincerely said, "Let me formally introduce myself. I am a supervising secretary in the Ministry of Revenue. My father is Jin Heng, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and my grandfather was Jin Rui, the chief carpenter in charge of building the imperial palace. I am currently working in one of the Six Ministries. After I have enough seniority, I will most likely be assigned to the Ministry of Works. After all, my family's expertise is in construction!"
Feng Tan thought to herself, "Of course I know who your ancestors were, otherwise why would I waste so much breath?"
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