Chen Xi disappeared since he led his troops out of the frontier, and even the more than 10,000 troops he commanded were separated from the surveillance of the Ming Dynasty's strict intelligence system.

Zhu Houzhao had no plans to send troops for the time being. In his opinion, the time for Chen Xi's troops to embark on the journey was May 15th, and the time for him to send troops was May 30th. Everything was arranged properly and there was no need to question at all. You can lead the troops to set off after the date arrived.

During this period, Hu Lian and Wang Shouren went to the palace many times to apply for a meeting with the emperor and explained the truth to Zhu Houzhao, but they could not get the opportunity to meet.

Zhang Yuan was already prepared and arranged eyeliners to stare at each gate of the palace. Moreover, he issued a death order to the officers and soldiers on duty. Whoever asked the foreign ministers to disturb the emperor's quietness would let anyone move.

In this way, even the little twister dared not step beyond the line.

Until May 15, the palace's vigilance showed no signs of loosening, and Hu Lian and Wang Shouren were anxious.

The two of them thought that even if no one in the palace on May 11th, the day when Chen Xi sent troops was sent, the emperor recognized that Chen Xi sent troops, so he should have some concern. However, until nightfall, no one was sent to the palace to inquire about the situation in Datong. It seemed that the life and death of Chen Xi and the army he led were not paid to the court at all.

In desperation, Hu Lian went to the Governor's Office to visit Wang Shouren. On the way, he found many people following him and shook his head and smiled bitterly... He didn't have to think that he knew that these were people sent by Zhang Yuan.

Hu Lian didn't care and pretended not to know anything, so he went straight into the gate of the Governor's Office.

In the back hall of the Governor's Office, Wang Shouren retreated and sat down against Hu Lian. Hu Lian immediately told Wang Shouren what he knew, emphasizing the suffocating tranquility in the palace.

Wang Shouren sighed a little with a hint of lament: "Your Majesty has been in the city for almost a month. When did you ask about military information? This time the imperial army was almost a joke..."

Hu Lian said: "Boan, Your Majesty ignores the matter of Secretary Chen sending troops. Now that there is no place to mobilize people from all over the nine sides, this is a dangerous signal."

Wang Shouren nodded silently and asked: "Brother Chongqi has sent a letter to Shangshu Chen, please ask him to submit a new memorial to Your Majesty?"

Hu Lian smiled bitterly: "I did write a letter, but I have not received any response until now. I don't know if the information transmission route has been blocked... Alas, what should be stopped cannot be stopped. No one knows what happened outside the border. The next step is to get news of the defeat of Shangshu Chen."

Wang Shouren was very difficult to understand: "With the ability of Shangshu Chen to use military forces, he would not lead to advance and retreat. Why did he be so unaware of this? Or he had other arrangements and had already discussed with His Majesty in advance, but we don't know for the time being?"

"this……"

Hu Lian was stunned by Wang Shouren's bold assumption and did not react for a while.

Wang Shouren asked again: "Is there any news coming from three sides? Such as food and grass and troops mobilization?"

Hu Lian understood a little a little and said, "Boan, do you want to say that Shangshu Chen deliberately played a play with His Majesty. His Majesty's troops would not go out of the frontier at all. They mainly cooperated with three sides and side gates. The previous conflicts between Shangshu Chen and Ge Lao Xie were also performed?"

"Um!"

Wang Shouren nodded.

Hu Lian frowned and said, "But why did I hear that after Mr. Xie arrived at the Three Territory, he strictly ordered everything to follow the imperial edict issued by His Majesty, and not accept any orders including the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Five Army... This is clearly to block the way for Secretary Chen to dispatch troops. Furthermore, the three sides are calm now. When the Tatars invaded in the past, the three sides were always the main area. If the three sides were transferred from the Three Territory without authorization, if something happened, the crime would be serious..."

Wang Shouren glanced at Hu Lian, then lowered his head and closed his eyes and thought hard.

Although both of them supported Chen Xi's troops, one thing was a consensus, that is, this war must be based on the victory of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty was unfortunately defeated in the end, it must also be ensured that the beacon did not ignite inside the Great Wall.

If Chenxi's defeat in the army could bring peace to the Ming Dynasty, the price would be acceptable.

Wang Shouren sighed: "For the sake of the present, I still hope that you and I can find a way to meet the saint, explain the pros and cons to His Majesty, and at the same time, I will write to Sanbian, discuss with Master Xie to see how to solve the current troubles."

Hu Lian continued to smile bitterly, obviously because he was not optimistic about the prospects for this battle.

The problem now is that everything you do is empty talk, and it is impossible to change the emperor's mind and focus on military affairs.

After a while, Hu Lian asked, "Boan, I actually think we should contact Mr. Chen as soon as possible. He is more visionary than us. Perhaps as you said, Mr. Chen has his own ideas, but we just cannot know it for the time being!"

Wang Shouren and Hu Lian sighed, their eyes full of helplessness and sorrow.

...

...

Yansui, the three-border Governor's Office, Xie Qian was very concerned about what happened in Xuanfu and Datong.

During this period, whenever something happened, Wang Qiong would first ask Xie Qian for his opinion. In this way, Xie Qian, an old minister who was sent to the emperor to manage military salaries in three sides, suddenly became apparent.

Xie Qian would not pay attention to daily trivial matters, but if there is a major decision, it must come from someone else's words.

Wang Qiong seemed to be used to being driven by others. Even though he did not need to ask for instructions everywhere according to the imperial edict, he still chose to cooperate with Xie Qian because he felt that the war was very involved and there was a great possibility that Zhu Houzhao would have bad consequences due to the lack of military and political affairs.

As a three-sided general system, he nominally controls the three-sided, barely guards, and soldiers from all over Xuanda, but he does not want to be responsible. In his opinion, it is a merit to have no mistakes in his post. As long as he survives for a few years, he will return to the court to become a ministry. There is no need to take risks to establish any unparalleled achievements.

Opportunities and risks coexist, and wanting to get credit, it may ruin the efforts of these years.

It is even more important to have a good relationship with veterans of the three dynasties like Xie Qian when he is in trouble. Even if Xie Qian leaves office and returns home in the future, the Chinese government group of the court will still firmly grasp the right to speak. Xie Qian, who is out of power, can also gain official positions and reputation for him.

"...Your Majesty still has no news? Shen Zhihou has sent troops from Datong for three or four days?"

When Xie Qian heard the news, he frowned and realized that Chen Xi was in big trouble. He might have gone deep into the grassland alone and finally survived by the Tatars.

Wang Qiong said: "Your Majesty has not issued a military order to three sides so far. I am afraid that something is wrong with the Xuanfu. Shen Zhihou's hard-working plan to lure the enemy into the battle of annihilation may be lost..."

When Xie Qian heard this, he looked full of disdain and waved his hand and said, "When will Shen Zhihou become Zhao Kuo, who is talking about war on paper? In my opinion, the plans he made are useless. How could the Tatars use war according to his ideas? Dehua, you don't have to worry about other places, just do your job well!"

...

...

At this time, everything in the capital was peaceful.

After Zhu Houzhao left the capital, there was no supervision in the capital, so everything was dominated by the six ministries. In this way, the impact of the war on the court was reduced to the lowest point, and there was basically no one to recruit companions for the six ministries and nine ministers. The six ministries and yamen were operating normally. The only bad thing was to memorialize the Tongzheng Department, and the cabinet process would be sent to the Xuanfu for review by the emperor, which greatly extended the time for the implementation of the government orders.

Fortunately, after Liu Jin's fall, the autonomy of the six ministries was enhanced, so that many things could be implemented without Zhu Houzhao's approval, especially after the budgets of each ministries were reviewed and approved at the beginning of the year.

Among the six ministries, only the Ministry of Revenue was relatively troublesome. Although the food in this battle was basically raised by the Ministry of War, the war was imminent, and the Ministry of Revenue had to transfer grain from the capital to the front line. Yang Yiqing had no courage to force the urge to Zhang Yuan. After all, after Xie moved away, no one in the court supported him. No matter how brave he was, he could not fight against a eunuch like Zhang Yuan.

In the Forbidden City, Empress Dowager Zhang focused all her attention on her son. Her channels for getting information were very limited, so she could only ask her attendants to go to the Governor's Office of the Five Army to inquire about the news every day, and then summoned her two younger brothers to the palace for inquiries from time to time, and also urged the Zhang brothers to guard the capital.

On May 16th, Empress Dowager Zhang asked the Zhang brothers again to inquire about the situation. After learning that there was no new news, she was worried and frowned:

"...Not to mention anything else, since the Emperor's attack, your brothers have been highly valued, because you are not only in-laws in the royal family, but also have obvious abilities. In the battle to defend the capital, you two have made great efforts. Just now, even if you did something wrong, the emperor has punished you, but in an emergency, he was still valued because the emperor knew that except for you brothers, others in the court could not take on the heavy responsibility of guarding the capital."

Zhang Heling empathized with it: "My brothers will definitely live up to the expectations of the Empress Dowager."

Zhang Yanling said anxiously: "But sister, now we brothers have little say in the Governor's Office of the Five Army. The Duke of England and other old guys have been excluding us and are subject to their own restrictions on everything we do, as if what our brothers do will endanger the safety of the capital! Sister won't come forward to talk?"

Empress Dowager Zhang shook her head: "The Ai family doesn't care about these things. The world belongs to the emperor. Whatever he says is what he says. If you have difficulties, you should find a way to solve them yourself or report to the emperor. Isn't the Holy Lord in Xuanfu now? It will not be until the end of the month that the emperor will lead troops to fight."

"Please rest assured to Queen Mother, my brother will be able to solve the current difficulties smoothly." Zhang Heling expressed his opinion.

"Um."

Empress Dowager Zhang nodded, "You must also think of ways to see how to make the emperor stay in Xuanfu and take risks without going out of the brigade... But now Shen Qing's family has sent troops, and it seems that it is not good to let him lead troops alone to fight against the Tatar cavalry on the grassland..."

Empress Dowager Zhang was hesitant, and on the one hand the overall interests of the Ming Dynasty and on the other hand the safety of her son, it was difficult to make a choice.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said, "As long as the emperor stays in Xuanfu, everything will turn around... I can find a way to ask someone to lead the army out of the frontier instead of His Majesty..."

Empress Dowager Zhang's eyes lit up: "The Ai family had this idea before. You brothers quickly go and make a plan, find someone to submit a memorial, and ask the emperor to stay in Xuanfu... As an emperor, you only need to manage the country well. Where can I go to the front line to fight in person? Didn't Taizu also send civil officials and military generals under his command to attack the Yuan Dynasty?"

Zhang Yanling wanted to say something, but Zhang Heling stared back at him.

Zhang Heling said: "Please rest assured to the Queen Mother. My brothers will do their best to do these things to ensure that Your Majesty is safe and sound."

...

...

When the Zhang brothers came out of the palace, Zhang Yanling smiled with a wry smile on his face: "What's wrong with the eldest brother? I can't even say anything in front of my sister?"

Zhang Heling had a gloomy face and said nothing.

Zhang Yanling said carefully: "I know if my brother doesn't say it. Do you have any objections to me? I think it's not reliable for me to speak and do things, so try to avoid me being ugly in front of my sister?"

Still no one answered.

The two brothers seemed to be angry and left the Ming Gate. They walked forward for a while and saw their sedan chairs parked beside the road ahead. At this time, Zhang Heling said in a stern tone: "Don't think that your brother doesn't know what you do! You are still guilty now. If you can be abide by yourself, there will naturally be a good result. But if you know the mistake and make it tiring, it depends on how you explain it to Your Majesty! Even if you have a sister to protect you, you will probably have to spend the second half of your life in the cell!"

After saying that, Zhang Heling got into the sedan chair and left.

Zhang Yanling was unwilling to accept it and stood there for a while without moving. Huang Yu, who was standing next to the sedan chair, came over to salute: "Mr.

Zhang Yanling kicked Huang Yu and scolded: "Did you tell the master what I did?"

"No!"

Huang Yu had no temper in front of Zhang Yanling, and could only endure it when he was kicked. He knelt down and said, "The villain is usually cautious in his work. Not to mention the master, even if some irrelevant servants in our mansion don't know what the villain is doing."

Zhang Yanling asked, "Who is secretly informing you?"

Huang Yu analyzed: "Mr. Marquis, in fact, no matter what the villain does, he will leave a secret in the city defense yamen. If the master is interested in asking, he really can't hide it, unless he ignores it at all... But the villain heard that the eldest prince would go to the city to inspect every night recently, and maybe he happened to see us delivering goods to the city at night."

Zhang Yanling waved his hand: "If you go back, let's talk about these things, I don't want to cause trouble." After saying that, he looked around with caution, and was timid after being cured by Shen Xi. This time, he did not inform Zhang Heling of the smuggling incident because he was afraid of leaking the news.

When he returned to the Jianchang Marquis Mansion, Zhang Yanling called Huang Yu to his room and asked in detail about his recent money making.

Huang Yu looked aggrieved: "I still looked like before, I could only make some hard money... I have sent someone to check who was messing around. Where did the low-priced goods on Panming market come from, but the effect is not good. Every time I find a clue, I will be cut off. The shipper is very cunning, and it seems that he has taken precautions in advance!"

Zhang Yanling frowned: "This is strange. He did not guard against the imperial court, but came to guard against this marquis. Does it mean that he had known that this marquis would take advantage of the opportunity of martial law to do business?"

Huang Yu asked in confusion: "Marty, how do you know that they are not guarding the imperial court?"

Zhang Yanling cursed: "You are a pig's brain! He sent a large number of goods to stabilize prices. The court not only would not punish him, but would praise him more! Why does this person's style of conduct feel familiar?"

Huang Yu said, "But I don't know who it is?"

"Those old guys have retreated now, and you don't know if you say it... This time the matter is too strange. If you don't investigate it clearly, I will not be able to sleep or eat!" Zhang Yanling thought, and said, "If Shen Zhihou was in the capital, he would have done this. Could it be that you have been tracing for so many days without finding any clues?"

Huang Yu lowered his head timidly and whispered: "It's not that I didn't find out. People from various chambers of commerce in the city are doing low-price dumping. They said that a large dealer said that the war cannot be over. If you don't hurry up and ship it, it will be smashed in your hands when the war is over. It's better to take advantage of the fact that the goods price is much higher than usual and cash out earlier!"

Zhang Yanling jumped up and said angrily: "In this way, these chambers of commerce are playing tricks. What big dealers are clearly the excuses these people have made to deal with me on purpose... and sent someone to seal their warehouse. They said that the martial law in the capital was strictly regulated, and all goods must be arranged in a coordinated manner... Humph, let's see how they can do it!"

Huang Yu looked full of embarrassment: "But Marquis... this is a matter of Shuntian Mansion. If our hands are too long, we will be afraid of criticism."

"I said it's fine. Whoever dares to obstruct it, and directly gets jailed... I don't believe it anymore. Shen Zhihou has left the capital, who dares to jump out and go against me! Don't look at who is the one who is in charge of the capital now!" Zhang Yanling said arrogantly, "Now there is no need to investigate the source of goods, just seal the warehouse, seal as much as possible, and then directly sell the goods in their warehouses. The money earned is my master... Whoever wants to seize profits from my master is my enemy!"
Chapter completed!