The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 430 Unreasonable

Tang Lanzhou rode forward expressionlessly, thick streaks of blood visible between his sleeve and the reins. Several officials from the Ministry of Justice followed beside him, spreading documents on the horse's back and writing furiously.

“Treason, rebellion, disrespect, and immorality.”

"Possessing armor privately, colluding with foreign powers, forming cliques for personal gain, and engaging in conspiracy—"

One of the subordinates pondered this for a moment, then turned to his colleague and asked, "Brother Dong, who is the Ministry of Personnel colluding with again?"

"The Tatars, the Ministry of Rites is colluding with the Ming Cult, the Ministry of War is colluding with eunuchs, and the Ministry of Revenue is colluding with Japanese pirates. We can't kill many people in the Ministry of Works, so we don't need to collude with anyone."

"Oh."

He turned his head and wrote "colluding with the Tatars" on the document.

"almost."

He picked up the document, looked at it carefully, nodded, blew the ink dry, and then unfolded the document toward Tang Lanzhou.

"Teacher, do you think this is enough?"

Tang Lanzhou glanced at it and said indifferently.

"Add a clause regarding the embezzlement of disaster relief funds."

"Seven years ago, Henan suffered a great disaster. I remember that several officials from the Ministry of Personnel participated in the disaster and were promoted as a result. There is a reason to include them in this, so that your documents will be easier to handle in the future."

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and continued looking ahead.

As for whether the charges his subordinates wrote down based on his words were inappropriate, that was no longer his concern. Tang Lanzhou had to kill everyone he wanted to kill before tomorrow.

Time is limited.

The massacre by the Yingzhou Celestials within the city, the explosion and massive deaths at Wanggongchang, and Li Miao's attack in front of the Fengtian Hall plunged the entire capital into near-chaos. This chaos and fear severed communication among officials, providing Tang Lanzhou with the impunity to kill.

The chaos of the day is not yet over, and Zhu Zai will send the Imperial Guards to enforce a curfew tonight. Tang Lanzhou can act freely today. But by tomorrow morning, Yingzhou, the Eastern Depot, and the officials will all realize what's happening, and this opportunity will end then.

Tang Lanzhou must seize this last opportunity.

The horse's hooves jolted as it passed over the ruins, and in that instant, Tang Lanzhou felt a sharp pain in her chest.

His vision went black for a moment.

Consciousness also paused for a moment.

In his last moments before losing consciousness, he gripped the reins tightly.

A sound seemed to be coming from a distance.

“Teacher, teacher——”

Tang Lanzhou's pupils contracted, and her gaze refocused.

He turned to look at his side, where the subordinate who had just asked him the question was looking at him with a worried expression and calling out anxiously.

"Teacher, are you alright?"

"No problem."

Tang Lanzhou turned around and said calmly.

He gripped the reins tightly before losing consciousness, which prevented him from falling off the horse. The reins had rubbed a bloody mark on his palm, causing a dull ache, but he was grateful for the pain, as it invigorated him.

He knew he was about to die.

Last night, his arm was smashed. Although Li Miao healed his injury, he had never practiced martial arts and was an old man in his twilight years. Regenerating a severed limb would inevitably come at a price.

Adding to this the experience of witnessing his wife's tragic death in front of him.

Since this morning, he had been feeling a throbbing sensation in his temples, accompanied by sharp, intermittent heart pain. This wasn't the first time he had experienced such a sudden loss of consciousness.

Li Miao is currently engaged in a battle of wits with An Qisheng. The emperor's memory has been damaged, and no one can extend his lifespan.

Fortunately, Tang Lanzhou doesn't need to live too long.

He only lives for today.

As they spoke, the group arrived at a mansion.

The official who had just woken Tang Lanzhou jumped off his horse, carefully helped him down, and then led him toward the gate.

Tang Lanzhou suddenly raised his hand.

"stop."

He glanced around.

Last night's explosion left the city covered in dust, but the steps outside this mansion were spotless, clearly having been swept. Judging by the current thickness of the dust on the steps, it must have been swept an hour ago. That's exactly when Tang Lanzhou began his killing spree.

The gate of this mansion is about ten feet high. The bottom few feet of the gate are completely dark, but above that, a faint light shines through—someone is hiding behind the gate, spying on them.

Tang Lanzhou said calmly.

"There's an ambush."

The subordinate official beside him was his student of many years. He immediately understood and stretched his hand behind him, making a few gestures.

The elite imperial guards accompanying them immediately understood.

"Form ranks and protect Lord Tang!"

With a sharp shout, the leader of the Imperial Guards appeared in front of Tang Lanzhou.

At the same time, dozens of crossbows suddenly appeared on the courtyard wall of the mansion.

"put!"

Swish swish swish——

Arrows rained down.

The leader of the Imperial Guards let out a cold laugh.

"Do whatever you want!"

He drew his sword and instantly created a huge sword flower in front of him!
A burst of fire was seen, and arrows rained down.

Once the elite Imperial Guards had formed their battle formation and surrounded Tang Lanzhou with their shields, the Imperial Guard leader drew his sword and shouted, "Break the formation!"

After saying that, he rushed to the door, took a deep breath and held it.

The next instant, the sword flowers bloomed once more!

Within a few breaths, countless knife marks appeared on the door, wood chips flew everywhere, and the huge door groaned and shook incessantly, as if it would collapse at any moment.

But then a "sizzle" sound was heard.

The long knife suddenly pierced through the crack in the door.

A scream rang out from inside the door, and blood spurted out from the crack. Without a moment's hesitation, the Imperial Guard leader kicked the door hard.

The gate burst open with a roar.

The elite Imperial Guards, who had been waiting in ambush, unleashed a barrage of arrows, scattering a large number of people pouring out of the gate. They then followed their leader, brandishing their swords and charging in, hacking and slashing wildly as they made their way deeper into the mansion.

Fresh blood flowed down the steps.

After a while, the leader of the Imperial Guards stepped forward with his sword, flicked off the blood and flesh that stained the blade, sheathed it, wiped the blood off his face, and then clasped his hands in a fist salute to Tang Lanzhou.

"Lord Tang, it's over."

"This morning, Ke Gong, the head of the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Grand Secretariat, received the news and gathered his personal guards and private soldiers, hiding them all in this mansion."

"Those assassins and private soldiers have been dealt with. As for the gentlemen, I dare not make a decision on my own. They are all tied up in the courtyard and await your judgment."

Tang Lanzhou nodded.

Supported by his subordinates, he walked towards the gate.

Upon entering the courtyard, they indeed saw more than a dozen people dressed in official robes with their hands and feet bound, kneeling in the courtyard.

Upon hearing Tang Lanzhou's footsteps, the dozen or so people looked up and stared wide-eyed.

"Lord Tang!?"

"It's you! Not the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it's you! You're the one who slaughtered my colleagues and persecuted loyal people today!"

"Old dog!"

First came shock, then astonishment, and finally, anger.

Tang Lanzhou didn't speak, but just stood quietly, watching the officials who were constantly yelling at him.

After a while, when they had finished cursing and their voices had gradually lowered, Tang Lanzhou calmly spoke to one of the elderly men who had remained silent until now.

"Lord Ke, I never expected you to rebel as well."

"Can we face the late emperor with our lives?"

(End of this chapter)