At night, the light rain fell on the eaves, slid down the bottom of the eaves, and wet the bluestone tile floor.
The spring cold is sharp and bone-chilling. The weather has gradually warmed up, but a few spring rains suddenly set off another late-spring cold.
Therefore, various mansions had to relight the fires that had been extinguished.
In the calligraphy of the British government palace, the fire was not lit, but the windows were opened, allowing the whistling cold wind mixed with a few drops of cold rain to fall into the room from time to time.
The two brothers Zhang Fu sat opposite each other. The tea on the table had already turned cold.
In front of them were Prince Consort Xue Heng and Taichang Temple Minister Xu Bin.
A few people just sat like this, and the atmosphere was a bit stagnant.
After a while, Xue Heng seemed to be unable to bear it any longer. He stood up and tried to close the window, but as soon as he took two steps, Zhang Fu stretched out his hand and pushed him back.
"It's not good if it's too warm. Let the cool breeze blow and your mind will be clearer."
Glancing at the expressionless Zhang Fu, Xue Heng moved his lips but ultimately said nothing.
After a while, Xu Bin couldn't sit still. He forced a smile on his face and said.
"Third Master, the mission is ready."
"This time, the Ministry of Rites and Honglu Temple are very cooperative. Even the Ministry of Household Affairs did not cause any obstacles. They gave us more gold, silver and silk than we imagined."
"It seems that welcoming back the Supreme Emperor is indeed what everyone hopes for."
However, his words of enlivening the atmosphere did not achieve the desired effect, and Zhang Fu remained sullen.
On the other hand, Zhang Xi sneered and said.
"Who is everyone's favorite? I think the one who is everyone's favorite is the one on the throne!"
"These days, wherever I go, I hear praises for the man who governs the country with filial piety and broad-mindedness. He is the Holy Son of Heaven."
"No wonder that person agreed so happily. Who wouldn't want such a good reputation?"
Xu Bin was choked with words and had no choice but to keep silent.
At this time, Zhang Fu, who had been frowning, finally spoke. He shook his head slightly, with some worry in his eyes, and said.
"Second brother, what you said is wrong. The emperor now does not value these people with false reputations. Otherwise, when he first ascended the throne, he would not have taken the risk of being discussed by the government and the public and forcibly changed the imperial edict."
"What's more, Xu Siqing is right. Welcoming the Supreme Emperor is indeed something that many ministers in the court have always hoped for, but..."
Zhang Fu turned sideways, turned to Xu Bin and continued to ask.
"Xu Siqing, if I remember correctly, the date set by Honglu Temple is to set off in three days, right?"
Xu Bin nodded.
Zhang Fu's face became more and more worried. He looked at the patter of spring rain outside the window and frowned.
"Brother Xu, do you feel that the mission this time went too smoothly?"
Xu Bin hesitated for a while, then said after a moment.
"Third Master, is there anything wrong with this?"
"I know that Third Master has been wondering why the emperor agreed to send the mission for no reason that day at the Fengtian Palace."
"But no matter what, this is always a good thing. No matter what the emperor thinks in his heart, as long as he nods, then the initiative is in our hands."
In fact, Xu Bin also knew what Zhang Fu had been worried about.
But in his opinion, no matter what the emperor's plan was, at least the results showed that the mission was successfully prepared.
The next thing is to convince Ye first to get him to agree to release the Supreme Emperor.
When the Supreme Emperor returns to the dynasty, they will naturally have someone to rely on.
However, Zhang Fu remained frowning and pondered for a moment.
"Brother Xu said, of course I understand that welcoming back the Emperor is a big deal, and naturally the sooner the better, but what makes me a little uneasy is that the preparations for this mission are a bit too fast..."
Normally, it takes at least twenty days to a month to complete all aspects of an envoy from scratch, including the deployment of personnel, preparation of ceremonial guards, call for gifts, and all other aspects.
But this time it was different. It only took ten days from the emperor's nod to send the envoy to the preparations now.
The Ministry of Rites, Honglu Temple, and the Ministry of Husbandry all gave the green light to the mission. It could be said that they wanted money to give money and people to give to people.
more importantly……
"I secretly sent people to find the Langguan of the Ministry of Rites to inquire. According to them, a message was passed down from the palace, asking all the yamen not to slack off and get the matter done as soon as possible."
This is what makes Zhang Fu feel most uneasy.
Logically speaking, even if the emperor agreed to welcome back the Supreme Emperor, he should be reluctant to do so.
But now it seems that he is more enthusiastic about this matter than he and others.
Zhang Fu had a vague feeling.
He always felt that the palace was in a hurry, anxious to get the delegation over as soon as possible.
Xu Bin also fell silent. He also felt that there was something fishy about this matter, but after thinking for a long time with a frown, he still couldn't figure it out.
"This, is it possible that the emperor wants to drive us away so that there is some action in the capital?"
Zhang Fu didn't speak. After thinking for a moment, Fang slowly nodded.
"Now it seems that this is the only possibility!"
Following this train of thought, Zhang Fu continued to think, and suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he spoke.
"Now that Marquis Ningyang, Marquis Cheng'an and others have been imprisoned, if we are also transferred out of the capital, then the two people who call the shots at the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion will be Zhao Rong and Shi Jing."
After the great reshuffle after the Civil War, the situation in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion was basically divided into two factions.
One faction is an emerging force represented by Zhao Rong and Shi Jing. They do not have enough foundation, but they are people promoted by the emperor. They have holy favors and the position of official seal.
The other faction is the old forces represented by Zhang Fu and Guo Sheng. The British government has been operating for many years, and there are many middle-level generals in the Fifth Army Governor's Office, all of whom are inextricably linked to the British government.
Among the two factions, Zhang Fu's faction actually has the upper hand due to its large number of people and deep foundation.
Otherwise, Guo Sheng would not have sacrificed his face to serve as a pawn for the British government.
But now, Guo Sheng has been sent to prison, and Zhang Fu will soon leave Beijing with the mission.
As a result, their line of troops will inevitably be leaderless in the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion.
After hearing what he said, Zhang Xi on the side also reacted and said.
"Third brother, you are right. Marquis Ningyang and Guo Sheng are in jail. I am in the Imperial Guard Command and cannot interfere in the affairs of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Once you leave the capital with the envoy, they will definitely treat us in the Fifth Army.
People from the Military Governor's Mansion will take action."
As he said this, Zhang Xi looked like he suddenly realized what he was saying.
"No wonder, the person who banned Yu Qian early and instigated Li Xian and others to impeach Yu Qian originally planned to reach out to the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army."
Compared to Zhang Shi's excitement, Zhang Fu seemed calmer.
He also remembered at this time that at the Fengtian Palace, Li Xian had indeed led people to impeach Yu Qian for his mistakes, hoping to take back the capital camp. However, later, because the case of King Zhennan had been going on for too long, in the end
This matter is settled.
But it is conceivable that since Li Xian and others mentioned this matter, there must be the emperor's instructions behind it.
So, if we put these things together, the emperor's intention will be obvious.
It was a great shame and humiliation for the nobles and relatives to have the capital camp taken away by civil servants.
If Li Xian and others can take advantage of this opportunity to take back the Beijing camp, their prestige in the Xunqi and the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion will surely be further enhanced.
With this east wind, they can begin to clean up the British government's influence in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.
Without Zhang Fu, the person in charge, it would be difficult for their group to form an organized resistance, and they would eventually be taken down one by one by the opponent.
In this way, the emperor not only regained the capital camp, but also strengthened his control over the governor's mansion of the five armies. It can be said that he killed two birds with one stone.
By then, even if they welcome back the Supreme Emperor, their strength will be greatly reduced.
Damn it, Zhang Fu clenched his fists and felt helpless.
If he had known this, he should not have let Marquis Ningyang take the lead.
Guo Sheng, this idiot, is lost if he is lost, but Chen Mao is their mainstay now.
If Chen Mao is still safe and sound, then with his prestige among his relatives, even if Zhang Fu leaves the capital, the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army will not be leaderless.
Sighing, Zhang Fu turned his gaze to Xue Heng aside and asked.
"Prince-in-law, there is something coming from the eldest princess. What does the Holy Mother mean? How are Marquis Ningyang and the others doing now?"
During this period of time, I don’t know where the news leaked out.
Not only Dongchang, but also the manpower they had placed in Jinyiwei had suffered a lot of losses one after another.
Lu Zhong and Shu Liang worked together to make the prison airtight.
Ever since the Marquis of Ningyang and others were taken to prison that day, there has been no news at all. Zhang Fu really had no choice but to hope that the Empress Dowager Sun could bring some useful news.
Xue Heng's face looked a little ugly. After hesitating for a moment, he still said bravely.
"Third Master, there is news from the palace. The personnel arranged by the Holy Mother have found out that the Jinyiwei has obtained the confession of King Guangtong and others. It is said that it is not much different from what Xue Xuan said in the palace. This confession is now It has been sent to Qianqing Palace."
"I guess as soon as you leave the capital, the Ministry of Punishment will start a trial!"
Zhang Fu's face became a little more ugly: "So, they are determined to kill Ningyang Hou and others!"
Once Xue Xuan's accusation is confirmed, at least Ningyang Hou and others will not be able to escape the two charges of colluding with the clan in private and alienating the Tian family.
Although it is certainly impossible to charge him with lese majesty, even these two charges alone are enough to deprive Ningyang Marquis and others of their titles and official positions. If the sentence is more serious, they may even be exiled to the border guards. .
As a result, the use value of Ningyang Hou and others is completely gone.
With a glimmer of hope, Zhang Fu asked.
"Since Our Lady can find out such secret information, can we try to rescue them? If I remember correctly, Our Lady has mentioned before that there are a group of censors in the court who have received favors from her."
"I will ask my second brother to contact some relatives who are close to Marquis Ningyang. If both parties work together, maybe we can..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw Xue Heng shaking his head.
"Third Master, what the Holy Mother means is that the most important thing right now is to bring the Supreme Emperor back. All other matters must be put aside."
"Now that the Emperor has finally let go, we must not miss this good opportunity. If Ningyang Marquis and others push the Emperor into a hurry and the envoys stop us again, we may lose more than the gain."
"What's more..."
At the end of the conversation, Xue Heng was hesitant and unwilling to speak.
Zhang Fu stared at him with a stern face and said, "What's more, if you have anything to say, just say it!"
Xue Heng then continued to speak bravely.
"Third Master, what the Holy Mother means is that even if she is willing to take action, she may not be able to save Ningyang Hou and others."
"After all, this matter is too big, and with the witness of Xue Xuan and the confessions of King Guangtong and others, it is too risky to forcefully defend them, and it is easy to involve the people you have."
"Now that the mission of the envoy is about to begin, if the emperor is successfully welcomed back, then he will have to have some power in his hands to prepare for his return to the court. It is not easy to get involved in this matter."
"Bang!"
After the words fell, Zhang Fu had no reaction, but Zhang Min beside him immediately slapped the table.
"What are you talking about? No matter what, Chen Hou took up the case of King Guangtong and others just to welcome back the Supreme Emperor."
"Now that he is behind bars and in danger, will Our Lady just sit back and ignore him?"
Zhang Fu's face also looked ugly, but he still stretched out his hand, pushed Zhang Fu back on the chair, thought about it, and persuaded him.
"Second brother, don't worry yet. What the Holy Mother said makes sense. We were negligent in the case of King Zhennan. With Xue Xuan here, it is indeed not easy to rescue Chen Hou."
Zhang Fu also felt a little regretful. Who would have thought that King Guangtong and his two brothers would dare to conceal anything on such a major matter.
If they hadn't concealed the Su family's affairs, they wouldn't have been so confident and asked Ningyang Marquis to come forward and stand up personally.
As a result, the case was not overturned, but Marquis Ningyang was involved.
The atmosphere in the room was a little stagnant.
Although Zhang Shi was comforted, he sat aside and was still angrily silent.
Xu Bin's face didn't look too good either.
He and Yang Shan were close friends, and he was roped in by Yang Shan from the very beginning.
This time Ningyang Hou was imprisoned, and Yang Shan was not spared either.
He originally hoped that they could rescue Yang Shanye.
But now the Holy Mother in the palace has such an attitude. Not to mention Yang Shan, even the Marquis of Ningyang cannot protect himself.
Naturally, he felt uncomfortable. He turned his head, looked out the window at the spring rain that kept beating on the eaves, and fell into silence.
After a while, Zhang Fu took the initiative and spoke to Xue Heng.
"Prince-in-law, I'm afraid I have to trouble the eldest princess to enter the palace again."
"The Holy Mother lives deep in the palace, so she may not know something about the situation in the court. Looking at the current situation, as soon as I leave the capital, I am afraid that she will immediately take action against the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army."
"At that time, the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion will not have Marquis Ningyang in charge. I'm afraid it will be cannibalized when we come back."
"Even if we finally successfully return the Emperor, it will be very difficult to take back the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Please consider the pros and cons again and again, Our Lady."
Xue Heng nodded and said: "Don't worry, Third Master, I will let the eldest princess take the words to the palace intact."
Zhang Fu's brows slightly widened. After thinking about it, he turned to Zhang Fu and asked.
"Second brother, what happened to the relatives who had good relations with Duke Chengguo that you were asked to contact before?"
