This jailer had already gotten to know An Zhe, and had asked An Zhe to call him Old Sun when he introduced him.
Chen Zeyan, the deputy minister of the Ministry of War, had brought them directly into the cell. When he had come in, Chen Zeyan had specifically told Old Sun and the others, so they had been polite with him.
After entering, Old Sun smiled and said, ""Master An, you might need to stay for a while longer.""
""Why?""
Old Sun said, ""Just now, the a.s.sistant Minister said that he would have to wait until the public opinion had been calmed down before he could ask you to step forward.""
Lord just sent someone over to let me inform you … He said that the most suitable time for you to show your face is at the moment when this matter is about to be resolved perfectly.
You step forward and say a few words for the Martial Arts Academy and the Military Department.
As for your crime, the a.s.sistant Minister said, he will find a way to wash it out of you.
""It"s okay to stay for a few days, but I"m going to write back and tell my family.""
Old Sun said, ""That"s nothing. Master An, once you"ve written it, I"ll send someone to send it home to you.""
An Xuan nodded. ""Thank you, Brother Sun. You are much older than me. Don"t call me Master An.""
Old Sun had been smiling the entire time, looking very honest and honest, but there was a kind of philistine expression in his eyes, as if he had experienced many things, ""Master An and I cannot discuss age. Although you seem to have committed some crimes, there are many people watching over you, including the Minister of the Exchequer and the a.s.sistant Minister. The imperial court will not be able to do anything to you.""
And through this matter, Elder An"s future will be bright.
In the future when you come out of the Martial Arts Academy, you will be an officer of the sixth rank at the most. As long as you acc.u.mulate a bit of military exploits, you will be promoted to the fifth rank general very quickly. ""
""At that time, the difference between your position and mine would be like the difference between heaven and earth.
""Therefore, it is not too much for Old Sun to call you Master An now.""
An Zaiyue pointed to the dishes and wine Old Sun had left on the table earlier. ""Drink?""
Old Sun chuckled. ""Alright, thank you for your reward, Master An.""
The other guard quickly ran out to find two stools. He was a young man who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old.
His skin was very black, and his eyes were very big. He looked as honest as Old Sun, but he was much more spirited.
His name was Liu Guang, and he called Old Sun his master.
This was an unwritten rule. All the new jailers in the prison needed a master to lead them.
In the yamen, the police officers also had a group of helpers. These helpers received money from the yamen officers, but they didn"t belong to the yamen"s official organization. They also had to call them Master if they were unhappy about giving them money.
Six Waters looked dark and honest, but he was shrewd.
He carried a stool over, but he stood by the side and poured wine for Old Sun and An Zhe.
""Sit down, why are you so restrained?""
Anjou pointed to the empty stool beside him.
Old Sun said, ""Since Master An has asked you to sit, you can sit.""
In the future, if you take a look at Master An, your future achievements will be limitless.
I"m a few years younger than you, and you, you"re a loser, you"re just learning to clean up in this prison. ""
Liu Guang still chuckled foolishly and did not say anything.
An Zeng smiled and said, ""Actually, I feel quite comfortable in my position here. I don"t need to go out and get in touch with too many people.""
Old Sun said, ""That"s why everyone is so stupid. I"ve been shut up for so many years. I don"t know anything anymore.""
My foolish disciple has ascended to the next level. She was born with a foolish att.i.tude. If she were to enter the prison of the Military Department for a few more years, she would be even more foolish.
""At that time, he won"t be sociable and will not do anything. What do you think he will do if I lose him in the future?""
He was still laughing, his mouth popping out foolishly.
An Zou poured Old Sun a cup of wine and said, ""Our Military Department is actually the fairest yamen. At least, we don"t have so many dirty things to do.""
""It"s fine if you"re honest, but you won"t be bullied here.""
Old Sun nodded, ""Master An"s words are right. It is rare for our military to be clean.""
If this silly kid had been sent to the Ministry of Justice"s prison, he would have been bullied to death long ago.
""Following me is his luck. At least, I can wait on him. As long as you don"t contradict me, I won"t get angry.""
With a silly smile, he said the first sentence, ""Why would I make Master angry, that... that"s not filial.""
His ability to express his language was limited. He had probably never read any books, so he used the word ""most humble"" to describe his thoughts.
They seemed like two nice people, but they always seemed strange to An Zhe.
Perhaps it was due to his many years of experience in the Great Xi, but he had seen too many people.
Therefore, from the very beginning, he had been wary of Lao Sun and Liu Guang, even though he felt that the soldiers would not make things difficult for him.
An Zeng had been chatting idly with Old Sun all this time. When he leaned back, he saw that Liu Guang"s hand was rubbing unnaturally under the table.
His left hand was rubbing his right, while his right hand was rubbing his left.
That night, the a.s.sistant minister of the Ministry of War, Chen Zeyan, personally carried the senior official to the carriage.
When he got into the car, Hao Ping might have been tired and his footsteps were a little shaky. Chen Zaiyan held Hao Ping"s hand and sent him to the car.
The carriage was escorted by sixteen experts from the Infantry Division directly back to Hao Ping"s mansion.
At dawn the next day, Chen Zaiyan went to the palace and reported the details of the Martial Arts Academy to King Yan, Mu Changyan.
The window was open, and the early morning breeze blew in from outside, waking Mu Changyan, who had been drunk the night before.
He already knew about what happened at the Martial Arts Academy yesterday, so before he had a chance to do anything, the empress dowager Su Qing rushed over like a storm, demanding that the Military Department be thoroughly investigated and that Hao Ping be removed.
Mu Changyan was quite smart when it came to the military affairs. He knew that Hao Ping and the people from the military were the most loyal officials to him. If he made a ruckus with the military affairs, he would lose all his power.
Last night he was so worried and drunk that the morning court came in a daze.
""You mean?""
""Is this arranged by the Military Department?""
Mu Changyan"s expression changed when she heard Chen Zaiyan"s words.
Chen Zaiyan nodded, ""Reporting to your majesty, this matter was personally planned by Lord Shang Shu.""
Shang Shu knew very well that the Martial Arts Academy had already been infected by the evil wind. For a long time, the Martial Academy would be completely reduced to a place filled with dirt and filth.
However, there are too many people who are involved in this matter. Therefore, it would be difficult to investigate if this matter was made public. ""
""Then you should have said something to Gu first.""
Mu Changyan had heard from Chen Jiayi about the solution, so she calmed down a little, ""Hao Ping"s mind is good, but he seems a little reckless.""
""Especially after what happened before the Autumn Festival, the repercussions are really too bad. I"m afraid that those students of mine will be disappointed in Da Yan.""
Chen Zaiyan lowered his head. ""Master Shang Shu also wanted to report this to His Majesty first, but when he discussed it with this official later, he felt that once this matter was reported to his Majesty, the empress dowager would intervene.""
The empress dowager was a thorn in Mu Changyan"s heart, so Chen Zaiyan"s words immediately made Mu Changyan angry.
However, he was furious, so Chen Zaiyan"s words were not wrong after all.
Chen Zaiyan continued, ""Master Shang Shu said that the Martial Arts Academy is rotten. If we don"t cut off the rotten meat ourselves, those people who want to control the academy will use this rotten meat to make the Martial Arts Academy rot faster.""
At that time, it would be difficult for the Martial Arts Academy to get involved.
Furthermore, the reason why Master Shang had made such a decision was because he felt that there seemed to be an unknown force that wanted to control the Martial Arts Academy. ""
Of course Mu Changyan knew who the hidden forces Chen Zaiyan was talking about were. The empress dowager had always wanted to control the military and martial inst.i.tution, so he knew that.
Chen said, ""According to what Lord Shang Shu said, he wanted to catch the other party off guard.""
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he cut off all the hands that had reached into the Martial Arts Academy, and even cut off the hands that had reached into the Infantry Division.
This was the only way to ensure the purity of the Martial Arts Academy and the Military Department, as well as the loyalty of everyone from the Academy and the Military Department to the King.
He also said that after all, it would take a man to sacrifice himself, and that he would like to be that man. ""
Mu Changyan sighed, ""Sigh... It"s hard on him.""
Chen Zaiyan said, ""Actually, the person who made the sacrifice was not just Lord Shang Shu, but also that youth called An Zaiyan.""
""An argument?""
Mu Changyan fell into a daze. She couldn"t help but feel that this name sounded familiar.
All of a sudden, he remembered the time when he had gone out to visit the palace and met that team called Tian Qi Sect that had entered the city.
The two things that were inexplicably linked together made Mu Changyan think of the things that happened four years ago in the Illusory Realm, in the city.
""Oh … it"s him.""
Mu Changyan mumbled to herself, and then she was shocked.
[Is Auntie Ye and the son of the former Crown Prince here?
He straightened up at once. ""Who is this dispute?""
Chen said, ""He is a young man whom Lord Shang Shu greatly admires. He is a rare talent.""
Although he was only fifteen years old, his ambition was high and his scheming was deep. He would definitely achieve great things in the future.
Moreover, this young man had a heart to offer to the country, and was willing to sacrifice his reputation and future to help Lord Shang Shu complete this matter. This spirit was especially praiseworthy.
""Right now is the time for him to be a servant. This young man can be used as a servant in the future.""
This matter caused Mu Changyan"s heart to turn upside down. She was thinking of something else.
Ye Yun and the former crown prince"s child Xiao Qidao had come to the capital. Once the empress dowager found out about this, Xiao Qidao would die without a doubt.
And once Ye Yun knew that her child was gone, she would definitely be disappointed in him.
That was the child of his brother, the blood of the Mu Clan. This matter could not be leaked out.
Mu Changyan then thought of the fact that it had been more than four years since this youngster called An Zeng protected Xiao Qitao. It was obvious that he had true feelings for Xiao Qitao.
Once he mobilized men from his side to protect Xiao Qidao, it would arouse the empress dowager"s suspicions, so she had to keep this quiet.
He originally had the thought that if An Zaidao knew Xiao Qidao"s ident.i.ty, he would immediately get rid of him.
But when he thought about it, he knew that getting rid of the dispute was the most irrational thing to do.
""Oh …""
Mu Changyan made an ""oh"" sound absent-mindedly. Then, perhaps sensing that she had lost her composure, she asked subconsciously, ""Why isn"t Hao Ping telling Gu about this matter himself?""
Chen Zaiyan bowed his head and said, ""Master Shang Shu hasn"t been home for half a month because of this and the border war. He doesn"t sleep for more than an hour or two every day. It"s really exhausting.""
This morning, he had come to report to the King himself, but due to his poor health, he was already bedridden.
""Last night, my lord, the Minister sent someone to tell me that it would be difficult for him to report this to the King himself, so he sent his subject to the palace to see you in the morning.""
Mu Changyan sighed, ""Great Yan, if there are a few more people like Hao Ping, I will feel at ease.""
You are also very good. All these years, you are Hao Ping"s most capable a.s.sistant in the military. It is not easy for the two of you to smoothly control the military.
Hao Ping, stay at home to recuperate, you will take the place of the office.
""You are familiar with the military affairs as well. If it was anyone else, I"m afraid they would have turned the military affairs into a mess.""
""This subject accepts the order.""
Chen Zaiyan cupped his fist and said, ""Your Majesty, this matter must be settled as soon as possible. Therefore, this subject has already started to investigate the martial academy. Today, the results will be out.""
This official will first take his leave to appease the public, and then announce the results of the Martial Arts Academy to the public in the afternoon.
Then, he arranged for people to bring back all the examinees who had been delayed by the Martial Arts Academy over the years. Then, he arranged for the Martial Academy to open up to the common people so that the people could enter the Martial Arts Academy to have a better understanding of it.
""Go ahead.""
Mu Changyan replied, ""You can take full responsibility of this matter. You don"t have to worry about the empress dowager or the Military Department. There"s no way you"ll give in.""
Chen Zaiyan stood up, ""This subject will take his leave.""
After Chen Zaiyan left Extreme Heaven Palace, he immediately went to the Martial Arts Academy.
After that, he explained everything to the people standing around him outside the Martial Arts Academy.
With such a high-ranking official in the imperial court present, the commoners were no longer making such a ruckus.
Chen Zeyan then sent people to prepare a lot of steamed buns for the crowd. He stood on the high platform and explained while eating the steamed buns with the common people. Chen Zaiyan"s reputation in the hearts of the common people immediately rose to a new level.
In the afternoon, Hao Ping"s family sent a messenger to Empyrean Terminus Palace to inform him that the senior Shang Shu was seriously ill.
Mu Changyan was alarmed as she personally led the best healer in Heavenly Temple to Hao Ping Manor.
At the same time, Chen Zaiyan announced at the gate of the Martial Arts Academy the names of people who had committed irregularities. There were two pages that covered more than sixty people, including a vice princ.i.p.al of the Martial Arts Academy.
The commanding officer of the Military Department rushed into the Martial Arts Academy to arrest them. In less than half a day, more than a hundred people had returned.
Furthermore, this case was not handed over to the Board of Justice, so the Board of Soldiers directly reported it to King Yan, Mu Changyan.
By the time the sky grew dark, the people had been thoroughly infected by Chen"s charisma and were convinced of him.
Chen Zaiyan announced to everyone at the gate that the Martial Arts Academy would be open for three days. Anyone could enter and visit the Martial Arts Academy.
After that, the Martial Arts Academy would start a new review system. Relaxing the conditions for the Humble Cla.s.s offspring, more ordinary people would be able to enter the Martial Arts Academy to study, and they would receive the same fair treatment as everyone else.
As long as one was qualified to enter the Martial Arts Academy, he or she could be directly a.s.signed to the military as a low-level officer.
This news was too exciting for the common people.
Before he left, Chen said, ""The young exam candidate who found out about the academy"s greed is now in the Military Department. Don"t worry, he won"t be treated unfairly.""
Moreover, An Zhe said that he was willing to take out a portion of his a.s.sets to find the exam candidates that had been excluded from the Martial Arts Academy and let them return to the academy to study.
In addition, An Zeng was willing to fork out a sum of money to fund the impoverished students. At the very least, he would let everyone have three meals at the Martial Arts Academy without worry.
The commoners let out waves of cheers, and more and more people became aware of the name An Zhe.
brocade palace
Su Mao"s face turned ugly. ""Empress Dowager … the army"s reaction was too fast. Originally, I thought this was a good opportunity for us to take down Hao Ping.""
However, before this official could come up with a plan, the matter with the Martial Arts Academy was almost settled.
""For now, we can only call the ministers to join us and see if we can get Hao Ping out of the army.""
Empress Dowager Su said, ""His Majesty"s att.i.tude is resolute in this matter. He has the rare audacity to talk back to me, so I can"t force him into a corner. After all, we still need this puppet.""
But in any case, the army must be seized, and the peace must be overturned, so that our men may be put in.
""As long as the military is in my hands, I won"t allow the King any more thoughts of fighting against me.""
Su Mao replied, ""This matter cannot be delayed. This subject will return immediately. I will gather the officials and discuss how to enroll them in peace.""
Empress Dowager Su waved a hand. ""Go ahead. The academy"s affairs are small, but the army"s affairs are big.""
We can let them cause trouble for us in the Martial Arts Academy.
However, the matters of the War Department cannot be stopped for even a moment. Even if Hao dies peacefully, I cannot allow him to die with all his might. ""
Su Mao stood up and excused himself, ""This is what this subject will do.""
Just as he was about to leave, Li Changlu, the butler by Empress Dowager Su"s side, rushed in and knelt on the ground with a thud. ""Empress Dowager … the Military Minister is safe and sound … dead!""
Empress Dowager Su stood up abruptly. ""Dead?""
""Didn"t they say that he was seriously ill and died so quickly?""
Li Changlu knelt there and replied, ""It"s not that he"s very sick. There was a mistake in the news.""
""Just now, we received certain news from Hao Ping"s family saying that Hao Ping blamed himself too much for the matters between the military and the martial inst.i.tution. He was unable to think straight and apologized for his mistake with his death.""
Empress Dowager Su"s body swayed slightly, and the fury in her eyes flared up like fire. ""This … this … is safe!""
She had just said that even if Hao Ping died peacefully, she wouldn"t let him die in broad daylight.
Right now, Hao Ping was no longer a dead man in glory. He had left this world with a death sentence, but the reputation of this person could no longer be sullied.
He was dead and there was no point in putting any more blame on him.
A death-apology offsets all the fault.
Once Hao Ping died, an unprecedented unity would inevitably appear among the soldiers. Therefore, even if she wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to get in, it would be as difficult as ascending to the heavens.
""Immediately think of a way to win over Chen Zaiyan.""
Empress Dowager Su calmed down and ordered, ""He"s from the Humble Cla.s.s and has never seen much of the outside world. Give him money, treasures, and women. Give him everything he can to bring this person over.""
We have already lost the initiative. It is too late for us to choose a candidate to compete with Chen.
""Then get him here and do it now!""
Hao An quickly ran out and his footsteps were somewhat messy.
At the same time, Chen Zaiyan was sitting quietly face to face with An Zaihai in the military prison.