In Zhengnanfang of the outer city, on the north side of the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, the luxurious residence of British Duke Zhang Mao was packed with guests. Several Dukes and more than a dozen honorable princes and nobles gathered here.
In the middle hall, the lights are bright. The long table is covered with sparkling wine vessels and dishes. Young and graceful maids are walking back and forth holding food boxes, serving up plates of delicacies like water.
The servants brought the big wine jars and after breaking the mud seal, the aroma of wine overflowed. They filled more than a dozen silver wine bottles with wine spoons and placed the wine bottles one by one on the long table.
The nobles sitting next to them were talking loudly in a compartment separated by a flower-and-bird screen, and bursts of laughter came out from time to time. Someone vividly described the new red card in his Cuiping Building, imitating her voice and twitching, which made the other nobles tremble.
Laugh and scold.
Soon after, the back door of the hall opened, and British Duke Zhang Mao, Dingguo Duke Xu Guangzuo, as well as Zhang Lun, Xu Yande, Zhu Lin, Zhang Yanling and others filed in behind them.
Upon seeing this, all the princes stopped talking and laughing and stood up.
"Hahaha, everyone has been waiting for a long time. I discussed some things with Duke Dingguo, and I have left you all in the cold. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Zhang Mao rolled up his long sleeves, exposed his jagged hands, and saluted with a smile.
"How dare you, how dare you. What did you say? I'm not in a hurry. I'm polite!" Everyone bowed their hands and saluted.
Xu Guangzuo also stepped forward and saluted, and everyone returned the salute. Several young princes and Zhang Yanling also saluted, and everyone returned the salute. Finally, the greetings to each other were completed.
"Everyone, please take a seat. The food and wine are all ready. Let's eat and drink first." Zhang Mao said with a smile.
Everyone laughed and showed some humility, and finally everyone took their seats.
Several maidservants poured orange-yellow wine into the silver cups in front of everyone with quick movements like butterflies wearing flowers. They held the pots and stood aside.
Zhang Mao picked up the wine glass, looked around at everyone, and said with a smile: "Everyone, thank you for coming to support me today and congratulate Zhang Lun on his appointment as deputy governor of the regiment. I am very grateful. In special times, you can't make too much noise, so as not to attract others.
I am dissatisfied. Therefore, I will invite you to my home for a banquet today. I will prepare a small amount of wine to show my respect. I hope you will forgive me for my poor hospitality."
"Old man, you are too polite. We are a family of relatives. Mr. Zhang has been promoted to the position of deputy governor. We are here to congratulate you. This is a major event for the British government and a major event for us." Xu Zhen, the Marquis of Yongkang, said with a smile.
"Yes, yes, my young master is both civil and military. Now he has taken up the post of deputy governor of the regiment, which is highly expected by everyone. I am really happy for my husband that he has a successor." Wu'an Hou Zheng Yuan also said.
All the people nodded in agreement.
Zhang Mao laughed, raised his glass and said, "Thank you all, I'd like to toast you a glass first, and do it first as a token of respect."
Zhang Mao raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp. Everyone also raised their glasses and drank up the wine.
"Good wine, is this osmanthus wine? It has the aroma of osmanthus. But it doesn't quite resemble it. It also has the taste of autumn dew. It tastes mellow and fragrant, which is strange." Xue Han, Marquis of Yangwu, praised loudly.
Zhang Lun said with a smile: "Mr.
It is made from wine. The wine you are drinking tonight was stored in the wine cellar ten years ago. Therefore, the wine is golden in color and mellow."
"I see, it's strange that the taste is so wonderful. We are in a good mood today." All the princes praised it one after another.
Zhang Mao smiled and said: "Zhang Lun, are you showing off again? What does it matter whether the wine is good or bad? Even if what you drink tonight is inferior wine, I won't blame you. You just love to show off."
Zhang Lun's face turned red and he said hurriedly: "Grandpa taught me a lesson."
Zhang Mao smiled at everyone and said: "Speaking of which, Zhang Lun is still young. At his age, I am really worried about the position of deputy governor of the regiment. I am afraid that he will act improperly and make mistakes.
Get up, most of you here are Zhang Lun's uncles, you should be more considerate of them. If nothing else, for my sake, please bear with me. I would like to toast you all again."
All the princes stood up one after another without even daring to say anything.
Li Yu, the Marquis of Fengcheng, said: "Don't say that, old Duke. Now my family is in need of a rising star like Brother Zhang Lun. We are all old, and our family needs someone to take over. Fortunately, a few young princes
My lord, and several of my nephews and nephews are all capable. In the future, my family will surely be even more prosperous."
Zhang Mao chuckled and said: "What Fengcheng Hou said is true, but I am also worrying blindly. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, and we old people can't help. In the future, we will stand up and stare, and we will have to rely on them.
Hey, Zhang Lun's parents died early, so I just said a few words. If he had been taught by his parents, I wouldn't have worried about it."
Zhang Lun said from the side: "Grandpa, don't talk about these things anymore. What are you talking about?"
Zhang Mao smiled and said: "That's right, people become verbose when they get old. Come on, come on, cheers."
Everyone raised their glasses and drank another toast. Zhang Mao asked everyone to help themselves, and the princes began to eat and drink one after another.
Zhang Lun picked up the wine glass and stood up and said: "Marquis Jianchang, I would like to toast you a glass. I also congratulate you on your promotion to the post of admiral of Zhenwei Camp. When will you invite all the princes to get together?"
Everyone turned to look at Zhang Yanling. Although Zhang Yanling was already the admiral of the Zhenwei Battalion, many princes did not fully accept him from their hearts. Therefore, they always ignored him intentionally or unintentionally.
Zhang Lun was the first to toast him, which gave him enough face.
Zhang Yanling raised his glass and said with a smile: "Today I will lend you flowers to offer to the Buddha. I will toast all the princes with a few glasses and we will be considered to have met each other."
Zhang Lun laughed and said: "You can take advantage. If not, I have to buy you a drink."
Before Zhang Yanling could answer, Zhang Mao said: "Zhang Lun, please don't make a fuss. Nowadays, we all have to keep a low profile. There is a lot of commotion in the court. The matter has not calmed down yet. We can't have a big banquet and make a fuss now."
Get other people’s attention.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Xue Hanzier, Marquis of Yangwu, took a sip of wine and waved his hand: "Actually, it's nothing. What happened in the court this time was caused by the outer court and the inner court. What does it have to do with us? We don't help each other. We eat and drink from us.
Ours, who can do anything to us? We are a family of honorable ministers, and we are hard-core crops. The emperor is protecting us, how dare they touch us if they don't like us?"
Zhang Mao looked at Xue Han, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Marquis Yang Wu, according to what you say, our family of honorable ministers can sit back and relax, lie down and sleep."
Xue Han said: "Yes, the snipe and the clam are fighting for the fisherman's profit. What does the inner and outer court have to do with us? The outer court deserves it this time. Liu Jian and the others are usually very arrogant and treat us badly. This time
Just kill the majesty of the outer court, let's see if they can still be arrogant from now on?"
Xue Han's words received nods of agreement from many people.
Zhang Mao glanced at Xu Guangzuo, who nodded slightly and said in a deep voice: "Masters, do you have the same view on the situation in the court as Marquis Xue? Do you think there is no need to get involved?"
Xu Zhen, the Marquis of Yongkang, said: "Why are we interfering? These things have nothing to do with us. What Marquis Yangwu said is not unreasonable. The outer court is suicidal and it is the fault of itself. Don't forget that they once tried to put their feet into our Beijing camp. , divide our honorable ministers and sow discord within us. Aren’t they the ones who drew Uncle Xin Ning over? They secretly inquired about our internal information. Fortunately, we found out early. Let me tell you, they deserve it. It’s best for Liu Jin to kill them. I cleaned up everything and ended up in a clean place."
"Yes, they deserve it." Several princes said one after another.
Xu Guangzuo frowned.
"I don't agree with what Marquis Yongkang said." One person said in a deep voice. Everyone turned to look, and the person who spoke was Marquis of Jianchang Zhang Yanling.
"Oh? What do you think of Marquis Jianchang?" Marquis Xu Zhen of Yongkang said with a smile.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "The lips are dead and the teeth are cold. Once the balance is broken, everything will be difficult to deal with. Although the outer court is responsible for itself, the outer court is now an important force to contain Liu Jin. If we stand idly by and wait until Liu Jin and the others clean up the outer court and control the inside and outside. After the imperial court, do we still want to live a good life? I'm afraid it's just wishful thinking."
Xue Han, the Marquis of Yangwu, frowned and said: "What Marquis Jianchang means is that Liu Jin dares to attack us? Even if you give him ten courages, he won't dare. Who does he think he is? How dare he get involved with us, our honorable ministers?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and the six ministers of the outer court, what about these people? Isn't it all over? Although our family of honorary relatives has a noble status, is it more powerful than them? Important affairs of the imperial court, our family of honorary relatives Can you interrupt me? With all due respect, our family has been marginalized for a long time. We no longer have the right to participate in the important affairs of the court. We still feel good about ourselves and think that we are arrogant. Isn’t it a joke?”
"Marquis Jianchang, what do you mean by this? How could you speak like that? Talk about our honorable ministers in such a bad way?" Xu Zhen frowned.
"That's right, how can you say such a thing? We, nobles, have a distinguished status. We just don't want to take care of those things. If we really want to take care of those things, who can stop us?" Wu Hao, the respectful host, said in a deep voice.
"Come on, don't deceive yourself. What the Marquis of Jianchang said is true, but you just want to save face and refuse to admit it. Nowadays, apart from leading the soldiers and horses of the Beijing camp, what other power does my family have? Even if it leads the army and mobilizes The power of the army is also in the hands of the outer court. When Liu Jin takes control of the outer court, he can pinch us as much as he wants. By then, it will be too late to cry." Zhu Lin said loudly.
"How dare Liu Jin touch us? We are all conferred by the emperor. Which family is not a loyal and good minister? How could the emperor allow him to do this? Mr. Zhu, your words are alarmist." Xue Han frowned.
"What if the emperor allows him to act recklessly?" Zhang Yanling asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty...how could you allow this?" Xue Han said in astonishment.
"The leader of the foreign court beat him to the end, almost using up his ink. He also beat people to death. Now that the situation has reached this point, do you think that Liu Jin would dare to do this without the emperor's permission? If Liu Jin can do this to the foreign court, he can do this to us. He As long as you get the permission of the emperor, you dare to attack anyone. Who dares to guarantee that the emperor will not nod? Dear princes, who dares to pat his chest and guarantee?" Zhang Yanling said solemnly.
The princes were speechless. No one can guarantee it, because the emperor's behavior today is unpredictable. Liu Jin and the others are very likely to persuade the emperor to do anything. Because these recent events have already shown this. The so-called emperor
Liu Jin will not be allowed to act recklessly. It is just wishful thinking and self-comfort. No one has any confidence in his heart.