Ever since the news of the great victory in Shawo came out in the morning a few days ago, everyone in the court was smiling, and even the official operations were running much more efficiently.
Today is a sunny day. It is early summer and the weather has gradually become hotter. Therefore, all the elders unanimously went to the office a little early.
The same goes for the cabinet.
Since Takasushiro left, let alone the senior officials in the cabinet, all of them have become very enthusiastic about their work.
Originally, they would leave when it was time to go to the lower office, but now things have changed. The palace gates are not unlocked, and the cabinet is not off duty. If there is anything to do, they will go to Wenhua Palace and Qianqing Palace.
I feel that if things continue like this, there will be no need for the Secretary of Ceremony to send the memorial, and the cabinet will directly handle it.
This situation made a certain chief assistant who had no motivation to work overtime feel very melancholy.
But the emperor was happy to see this situation come to fruition, so he had no choice but to follow the roll honestly.
Wang Shoufu got up a little late today. When he arrived at the cabinet, there was only half an hour left before he went to the Yamen.
Sitting in the public room, the person from the Zhongshu House who was waiting outside delivered the memorials to be processed today, while adding tea to the chief minister. He casually reported that several other pavilion elders had already approved the memorials for half an hour. .
So, Wang Shoufu let out a long sigh, feeling that his old bones could no longer bear the pain.
Just when he was thinking about whether he should go into the palace to urge the emperor and quickly select the second assistant, the door of the public room was pushed open, and then Yu Shiyue walked in quickly with a serious face and a frown, and said.
"Chief Assistant, something happened!"
Wang Ao immediately put his chaotic thoughts to the back of his mind, his eyes instantly became sharp, and he asked in a deep voice: "What's wrong?"
Yu Shiyue handed the memorial in his hand to Wang Ao and said.
"Tao Jin, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, reported that a few days ago, Lu Zhongchi, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, acted in an expedient and secretly issued a secret edict. He detained all the returning envoys and the eunuch Xining who was also sent to escort them in Xuanfu."
Wang Ao opened the memorial in front of him and asked: "What's the reason? Have you sent someone to Beizhen Fusi to ask?"
Yu Shiyue nodded and said: "The people sent to inquire have returned. Lu Zhong has returned to Beijing this morning. It is true that the envoy was arrested. Xu Bin and others have been taken to the imperial prison. However, Jin Yiwei did not mention a word about why they were arrested. He said he did it under orders."
No reason?
Wang Ao closed the memorial, his two gray eyebrows were tightly twisted together, and he was silent.
At this time, Yu Shiyue couldn't help but worry.
"The chief assistant, the mission represents the Ming Dynasty, and Xu Bin is the second-rank censor of Youdu. Even if he holds the emperor's secret edict, it is not appropriate for the Jin Yiwei to arrest such a high official."
"What's more, the mission went to Wala for the sake of the Supreme Emperor. The Jin Yiwei arrested people rashly but couldn't give an explanation. If this matter spreads in the court, it will definitely cause unnecessary speculation!"
Although the court has been relatively calm during this period, the issue of the Supreme Emperor is still the most sensitive issue in the court.
There are countless pairs of eyes watching the affairs of heaven.
Once this matter is not handled well, it will easily damage the emperor's reputation and make people suspect that the Tian family is at odds.
Wang Ao naturally understood this truth, so after a moment, he spoke decisively.
"Block the news and order someone to go to the General Affairs Department with my order. On the grounds that the report involves military information, the officials who have handled it will be summoned to the cabinet for questioning, and the copy of the General Affairs Department will be sealed. Mr. Yu Ge, you will go to the palace with me immediately to meet the Holy Spirit.
.”
He hurriedly sent people from Zhongshushe to the General Administration Department, and sent someone to hand over a message to ask for an audience. Wang Ao didn't waste much time, and took Yu Shiyue and two people to the palace.
They originally thought that they would have to wait for a while. After all, there was no morning court today, and it was not yet time for the Yamen and the banquet, so the emperor might not have risen yet.
But what surprised them was that not long after the post was submitted, a chamberlain came to the Wenhua Hall to summon them to see them.
Entering the hall, Wang Ao glanced first and saw that in addition to the emperor above, there were two people standing below, both of whom were familiar faces.
They are Lu Zhong, the commander of Jinyiwei, and Shu Liang, the eunuch of Dongchang.
With a vague guess in their hearts, Wang Ao and Yu Shiyue bowed down and said.
"I have met Your Majesty."
The emperor's face looked pretty good, he raised his hand and said: "Without courtesy, sit down."
After the two chamberlains had moved their chairs over and they sat down, the Emperor asked, "Why are you two gentlemen so urgently asking to see me so early in the morning?"
The two looked at each other, Yu Shiyue stood up, took out the memorial from his sleeve, handed it over, and said.
"Your Majesty, this morning the cabinet received a memorial from Tao Jin, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, instructing Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, to detain the returning mission in Xuanfu city on the basis of a secret edict."
"The minister and the chief minister felt that the matter was of great importance. They were afraid that the matter would spread, and they would talk about the disharmony between the Tian family overnight, so they sent people to the General Affairs Department to block the news. The two of us rushed to the palace to report the matter."
When he said this, Yu Shiyue glanced at Lu Zhong standing aside, but saw that his expression was as usual, obviously he had expected this.
The memorial was taken by the chamberlain and sent to the emperor. The emperor opened it and looked at it, then put it aside casually and said.
"Thank you for your trouble, gentlemen. Jin Yiwei has already reported this matter. The edict to arrest this person was issued by me."
This was not an unexpected thing, but Wang Ao was still a little surprised by the emperor's straightforward admission.
After thinking for a while, Wang Ao said: "Your Majesty, this matter is of great importance. I dare to ask Your Majesty, what crime did Xu Bin and others commit?"
Hearing this, the emperor suddenly looked a little strange and asked.
"Chief Assistant, it's not that I deliberately concealed it. It's just that the Jinyiwei matter is still in the trial stage, and there is no conclusive evidence for some of the charges. Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Wang Ao was slightly stunned and didn't know what to say for a moment.
He was originally sure, but when he was asked this question, he was a little unsure.
For some reason, he had a feeling that it was a bit reckless for him to bring Yu Shiyue over.
Well, since it was a matter reported to the Xuanfu and a criminal case, why didn't he think of calling Yu Qian and Jin Lian over too...
But now that the matter has come to this, he asked himself, and he couldn't refuse, so he had to bite the bullet and said: "Your Majesty, please give me your permission."
Zhu Qiyu nodded with satisfaction and said.
"It's a coincidence that you two gentlemen are here. Jin Yiwei is reporting on the progress of this matter. Lu Zhong, please tell these two gentlemen what you just reported to me."
Therefore, the commander Lu Zhong, who had been silent all the time, handed over his hands to accept the order, then turned around and said to Wang Ao and Wang Ao.
"Chief Assistant, Mr. Yu Ge, the thing is like this. About half a month ago, the Jin Yiwei got the report and wanted to attack Shawo first. Therefore, this is a place where grain and grass are transferred on our border. Your Majesty ordered the Jin Yiwei to investigate the source of the information leakage."
"After various investigations by Jin Yiwei, it was finally determined that the information was leaked by the mission. The purpose was to gain Ye Xian's trust and lure Ye Xian's inner eunuch Xi Ning into the Xuan Mansion and ambush him on camera."
"After receiving the report, my commander immediately rushed to the Xuan Mansion according to the holy order, detained Xi Ning and the rest of the mission, and escorted them back to the capital to await trial. At the same time, His Majesty secretly ordered Datong Commander-in-Chief Guo Deng to set up an ambush in Shasha
When the nest is destroyed, the army must be raised first."
These words can only be regarded as a rough description, but it is enough for Wang Ao and others to understand the ins and outs of the matter.
Leaking military information is a serious crime, which explains why the Jinyiwei moved like lightning and arrested people directly.
However, after Wang Ao listened, he did have a few questions in his mind, such as how the Jin Yiwei investigated the mission as far away as Wala, and where did the military report of the night attack on Shawo come from...
But after thinking about it, he didn't even ask, but simply asked: "Is there any evidence?"