"Sir, sir is awake!"
In Li Yan's duty room, several doctors fussed over him for a full quarter of an hour before he finally opened his eyes.
"Lord Li, are you alright? Do you feel any discomfort?"
Seeing that Li Yan had finally regained consciousness, the doctor, who was sweating profusely from his efforts, could finally relax.
Although they had been in Bianliang City for so many years and had seen all sorts of strange and peculiar things, these doctors were truly curious about Li Yan's injuries.
Even though the constables had repeated themselves many times, insisting that Li Yan had been hit by a collapsing house.
But looking at Li Yan's face, which was as swollen as a pig's head, all the doctors found it hard to believe.
However, no matter what others said, they could only treat him as they were told at this moment.
"Quick, quick, go and invite His Lordship…"
Although at this moment, Li Yan only felt stars spinning before his eyes, and his head was indeed very dizzy, feeling the world spin whenever he opened his eyes, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine when he remembered the conversation between Liang Shicheng and Yuwen Cuizhong.
Being beaten himself was not a big deal. As long as Tang Ke's position was still secure, everything else could be discussed.
But if Tang Ke were to make a grave mistake today and completely fall out with Liang Shicheng, even if Tang Ke could finally gather the three million guan for military expenses, he would likely be in trouble.
After all, the current court was not what it used to be. How many capable officials had been calculated and squeezed out by Liang Shicheng, Cai Jing, and Wang Fu?
"Lord Li, you should rest first. Lord Tang is currently discussing matters with Lord Yuwen!"
"Quick, go and invite His Lordship, say, say I have an important matter to report!"
Seeing his persistence, the constables had no choice but to brace themselves and go invite Tang Ke.
"Lord Tang, I wonder if Your Lordship remembers this item?"
With everything prepared, Yuwen Cuizhong, holding the two seals from the Ministry of Revenue's Left Assistant Minister, led Zhe Wanchun to Tang Ke's duty room.
"What? Lord Yuwen, are you even going to meddle in such trivial matters?"
After glancing at the seals, Tang Ke's expression turned grim.
Although they were of the same rank, in the Song Dynasty, the left was considered superior.
Logically speaking, it was enough that he did not put on airs in front of Yuwen Cuizhong. For this guy to come to his doorstep to demand an explanation made it difficult for him to tolerate.
"Trivial matter? How can I not consider this a trivial matter? I've truly never heard of constables from the Ministry of Revenue being able to seal shops on the street. If I had arrived any later, perhaps the esteemed shopkeeper here would have already gone to beat the Dengwen drum!"
Seeing that he was still putting on airs in front of him at this point, Yuwen Cuizhong sneered.
"Lord Yuwen, what you say is interesting. I accepted a task from His Majesty, to raise three million guan for military expenses within ten days. The Emperor has granted me the authority to act as I see fit. Why are you questioning His Majesty's decree?"
Looking at Zhe Wanchun standing nearby, Tang Ke naturally understood that this was likely his doing.
Although he was somewhat surprised that a mere shopkeeper could direct a dignified Left Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he also knew in his heart that this was the first shot fired. If he couldn't get any advantage from Zhe Wanchun here, then there was no need to continue with the matter of the three million guan military expenses.
After all, the seventy-two principal shops in Bianliang City all had complex relationships behind them.
And strictly speaking, the backgrounds of many of those people were exceptionally strong.
Although many of them did not hold substantial power, the vast majority of these people were members of the imperial clan.
Even strictly speaking, some of them, in terms of seniority, would have to respectfully call the current Emperor uncle.
If he wanted those people to willingly hand over their money, he had to set an example first.
"Hahahaha, I've truly never heard of 'acting as one sees fit' meaning you disregard national law!"
In fact, his words were enough. Yuwen Cuizhong no longer felt any anger at all.
With Tang Ke's words, as long as he leaked some information to the censors, there would immediately be countless impeachment memorials to completely bury Tang Ke.
Dealing with political opponents was something that both Wang Fu and Prince Yun were adept at.
"Whether I disregard national law or not is for His Majesty to decide. You don't need to worry about that. If you have nothing else, I suggest you go back and rest!"
The two of them were already rivals. Now that Yuwen Cuizhong had made the first move, Tang Ke was naturally not one to suffer in silence.
"I appreciate Lord Yuwen's good intentions, but if my matter causes discord between the two lords, then it is my fault!"
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel on the spot, Zhe Wanchun quickly intervened to smooth things over.
"See? Lord Yuwen, at least there is a sensible person here!"
Hearing Zhe Wanchun's words, Tang Ke became even more triumphant.
"Lord Tang indeed has great ability. Let's wait and see!"
Yuwen Cuizhong had not intended to genuinely help. Since he had obtained what he wanted at this moment, he was naturally happy to step down from the situation.
With a cold sneer, he turned and walked out.
Now, only Tang Ke and Zhe Wanchun were left in the room.
"You are truly resourceful, Shopkeeper Zhe!"
Seeing Yuwen Cuizhong leave, Tang Ke was extremely pleased with himself.
"Your Lordship is joking. I am merely a commoner. How dare I oppose Your Lordship? I just don't know where I offended Your Lordship to provoke such a grand reaction!"
Looking at his smug demeanor, although Zhe Wanchun despised him in his heart, he still forced himself to endure the disgust and said.
"Shopkeeper Zhe, as the chief shopkeeper, your news should be quite well-informed. You should know about the situation in Muzhou, right?"
Hearing Zhe Wanchun's words, Tang Ke naturally assumed he had caved in.
"I have heard some rumors about that. However, Your Lordship may not be aware of my shop's situation. Although my shop has made quite a bit of money recently, the money earned has been reinvested in new shops as soon as it came in…"
"You don't need to tell me this. I'm not interested. How about this? As long as Shopkeeper Zhe produces one hundred thousand guan in copper coins within three days, I will send someone to remove the seal from your shop. What do you say?"
"Ten, ten thousand guan…"
Even though Zhe Wanchun had already prepared himself for this man to make an outrageous demand, his mouth twitched.
This guy truly dared to ask for such an amount!