"Two princes, we need to be cautious about this matter. Although there is some truth in what Jianchang Hou said, I think that all this is speculation after all. My noble family really cannot go into these muddy waters. This time we actually
It's a gain. The foreign court has always been unkind to us.
, the weakening of the outer court is something we all want. As for Liu Jin’s future, it is still unknown. But it is alarmist to say that Liu Jin has the ambition to control the outer court and thus control the affairs of the Ming Dynasty. Does he have that ability? He is just a
Just a eunuch from the inner court."
Yongkang Marquis Xu Zhen said to Zhang Mao and Xu Guangzuo in a deep voice. He did not want to argue with Zhang Yanling because it was unnecessary. The attitudes of Zhang Mao and Xu Guangzuo were the most important attitudes.
"Yes, what Yongkang Hou said is absolutely true. We can't join forces on our own. Wouldn't it be good for the inner and outer courts to fight? If the outer court didn't go too far this time and wanted to kill Liu Jin and others, they wouldn't be killed.
The backlash is so severe. If you were anyone else, someone else would kill you, how could you be so soft-hearted?"
"It's absolutely true. Liu Jin and the others have enmity with the outer court, but not with us. The Marquis of Jianchang is also very strange. You are on the impeachment list of the outer court, and you are bound to Liu Jin and the others of the inner court.
They were impeached together. From what you say, you want to do something to help the foreign court? What’s the point of this? Could it be that you are getting benefits from the foreign court?”
"The Marquis of Jianchang beat Liu Jin that day because he was a little impulsive. There is no need to provoke him. People like Liu Jin are just as good as others. If you provoke him, aren't you asking for trouble? You can just live a good life.
, why bother with that kind of person?"
All the princes and princes talked about it one after another.
Zhang Mao frowned and said nothing. Although he was the governor of the regiment and a prominent figure among the nobles, he could not ignore the opinions of other marquises.
Although one of the purposes of today's gathering of distinguished officials is to discuss Zhang Yanling's proposal to help the outer court regain the positions of some key department officials. But the first thing to do is to convince everyone and act in a unified manner.
After all, this is related to the interests of all the nobles, because Liu Jin will definitely be offended if he intervenes. The opinions of the nobles must not be ignored, otherwise it will lead to division and suspicion within the nobles.
Xu Yande didn't have much to say. Zhang Yanling was his son-in-law. Duke Dingguo still had to maintain a neutral attitude in front of his relatives and not to protect his own people. Say as little as possible to avoid being questioned by others.
Zhang Yanling stood up and looked at the nobles at the table. Each of these guys was luxuriously dressed, pampered, shiny, and fat. These people were all eating and drinking based on the achievements of their ancestors, and their minds were filled with wine, sex, and
Enjoyment is worthless.
However, their identity and status are here, and even if it is not a plan, they still have to deal with them and explain it clearly to them.
"Masters, Yanling understands your feelings. However, there are some things that Yanling still needs to make clear, because what is related to this is the future of our family, and what is related to the interests of everyone here. Yanling
Age has to be said."
The princes looked at Zhang Yanling, feeling a little impatient in their hearts. It was a lively banquet to communicate with the nobles, but this guy wanted to talk nonsense. If it weren't for Duke Dingguo's sake, someone would have done it.
I'm going to reprimand him verbally.
"Yanling will toast you all first, as an apology for offending all the princes. Because I'm afraid you won't like to hear what I'm going to say next. I'm afraid I'll offend you all. Yanling will toast you first to apologize, and please bear with me, princes.
indivual."
Zhang Yanling picked up the wine glass and toasted to more than ten princes.
When Wu Hao was respectful, he stretched out his hand to hold the cup, but his arm was touched by Xue Han, the Marquis of Yangwu. He immediately understood and put down his hand.
The scene became awkward. Except for the two princes and the three young princes, none of the other ten princes responded with a glass of wine. Xu Guangzuo frowned, and Xu Yande couldn't help it anymore. The British prince Zhang Mao
He was very calm, and seemed to be quite amused by the scene in front of him, with a slight smile on his lips.
"What are you doing? Didn't you see Marquis Jianchang toasting? Didn't you see it?" Zhu Lin said angrily.
"Mr. Zhu, the Marquis of Jianchang drank the fine wine. He can drink it by himself. We won't accompany him. Whoever wants to accompany him can accompany him. We are here to drink the wedding wine to congratulate you, not to drink the fine wine.
." Xu Zhen said solemnly.
Zhu Lin raised his brows and was about to curse. Zhang Yanling hurriedly stopped him and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu is right, I will punish myself with a drink because this is indeed a penalty drink. Mr. Zhu, please sit down. You don't have to drink."
, I’ll just have a drink myself.”
Zhang Yanling raised her neck and took a sip, then drained the glass of wine. Zhu Lin picked up the glass and said, "They won't drink, so I'll drink with you."
Zhu Lin drained the wine in one gulp and sat down angrily.
Zhang Yanling smiled and patted his shoulder to express her gratitude. She turned to look at the princes and her eyes became sharp.
"Masters, all of us here are the noble families of the Ming Dynasty. Apart from me, all of you are from the families of the noble ministers, and each family has worked hard for the Ming Dynasty. Britain
Needless to say, there are Gongding Guogong and Zhu Xiaogong’s Chengguogong Palace.
, our ancestors were all loyal ministers who opened up the territory for the Ming Dynasty and protected the former emperors of the Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because of this that we have our current status. In addition to the three princes, all the princes here are also
In this way, our ancestors are all ministers with outstanding merits and are loyal and virtuous queens."
The princes rolled their eyes and thought: What do you need to say? Among our noble families, which one is not a loyal and loyal family? Which family does not have outstanding achievements? That is why we have today's status and glory.
"Take you, Marquis Xu of Yongkang, for example. Your ancestor was Cai Guogong of the Ming Dynasty. He was granted the title of Duke in the 11th year of Yongle. He was a powerful general under Emperor Yongle. He was famous all over the world, and his reputation is still as powerful as thunder. The name of your ancestor is taboo.
The word 'loyalty' really matches the name of the person he is named, a person who is truly loyal and brave," Zhang Yanling said.
Yongkang Hou Xu Zhen twirled his beard and nodded, feeling proud.
Zhang Yanling said: "Master Xu, please forgive me for the offence. Compared with your ancestor Cai Guogong, do you think you can compare with him?"
Xu Zhen was stunned and frowned: "What do you mean? Of course I am not as good as my ancestor. I can't even catch up with his great achievements."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's it. Then can I say this, none of you descendants of the Xu family can surpass the achievements made by your ancestors. You are just enjoying the ancestral shadow left by your ancestors and resting on your merits.
I am where I am today because of the merits of my ancestors, but I have done nothing. Is this something to be proud of, or is it something to be ashamed of?"
Xu Zhen stood up with anger, pointed at Zhang Yanling and shouted: "Marquis Jianchang, what do you mean? Are you humiliating me?"
Zhang Yanling frowned and said: "Why am I being humiliated? What I said is the truth. Ling Zuding hopes that his descendants will be the lintel of the gate, instead of being useless and living on their laurels. Lingzu led an army of 100,000 as a vanguard to defeat the enemy and seal the country. Both the Duke and Emperor Yongle respected him three points. But you, Mr. Xu, lead a battalion in Beijing and have never even been on the battlefield. You have no right to speak in the court. Can you say that you have gained the lintel? Am I wrong? "
Xu Zhen's face was livid with anger, and he said to the British Duke Zhang Mao: "My dear, this guy is so disgusting. He insulted me like this. My husband must uphold justice. Otherwise, I will fall out with this guy."
Zhang Mao frowned and said, "Marquis Jianchang, what are you talking about? Don't stir up trouble."
Zhang Yanling cupped his hands and said: "I'm sorry, I hurt his self-esteem. That's all, then I won't say anything about him. I don't mean to humiliate Mr. Xu, I am stating a fact. Think about the time when all the ancestors here were galloping on the battlefield. , when you were granted the title of Duke, your abilities were real, and your status made people all over the world sincerely admire and admire you. Compared with the status of the Dukes and Dukes of the past, which one is higher and which is lower? , self-explanatory. In those days, ministers discussed court affairs with the emperor and made decisions on major affairs in the court. But now? Except for some ceremonial occasions, my family may decide any major court affairs? Except in the Ministry of War. In addition to leading some troops from the capital, do you have any substantive power?"
"Isn't it the right to lead the troops in the capital? This is military power. No one can touch the military power. Only our honorable ministers have this honor. That is the emperor's absolute trust in our honorable ministers. Why is it in your mouth that there is not a cent? Not worth it?" Xue Han, Marquis of Yangwu, said angrily.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Of course it is not worthless, but it is not as proud as you said. Absolute trust does not exist. Otherwise, why should there be military eunuchs in each camp?"
"..."
Everyone was speechless. Indeed, there were eunuchs in each camp to guard the camp. To put it bluntly, they were sent by the emperor to monitor them. Of course, that was not absolute trust, but limited trust.
"It is a rule to supervise the eunuchs in the army. Military power requires supervision, which is understandable." Xu Zhen said.
Zhang Yanling said: "I admit that you are right. Of course, supervision is needed. Not only supervision is needed, but your right to mobilize troops also needs permission from the Ministry of War. If the Ministry of War does not allow it, who can mobilize troops privately? In other words, We are just leading the army. Without permission, it is difficult to mobilize a single soldier. If you mobilize without permission, you will be punished. This is your current situation. Don't say that the emperor has absolute trust. When your ancestors led the army, Are there so many restrictions?"
The princes were angry, but speechless. Although Zhang Yanling's words were harsh, the current situation was indeed like this. It seemed that the military power of the Beijing camp was in the hands of the princes, but it seemed that it was not in their hands. Whether it was in their own hands or not? They couldn't answer it themselves.
In fact, eunuchs who supervise the army have existed since ancient times, and they are not new to the present. But the existence of eunuchs who supervise the army shows that the emperor's trust is not absolute. Although Zhang Yanling's words have loopholes, they cannot be refuted for the time being.
"Zhang Yanling, what are you talking about? We have no time to listen to your nonsense here." Xu Zhen shouted in a deep voice.
Zhang Yanling said in a deep voice: "Mr. Xu, don't you understand what I want to say? Now, except for some false names, my family has nothing. Being in charge of the army is indeed a privilege and trust. But this trust and
The honor is indeed limited. The decline of the Xunqi Family has become a fact. Who in the world still respects the Xunqi Family in their hearts? In their eyes, the Xunqi Family is just lying on the throne of their ancestors.
They are just a group of people who live and die in a dream on their merits. In the imperial court, we have no say and no status in the hearts of the people. It looks like glory, but in fact it is surrounded by dangers. We can neither compare with the civil servants of the outer court nor the eunuchs of the inner court.
.In a position that is neither embarrassing nor embarrassing. I don’t know what you, Mr. Xu, have to be proud of. If this continues, the family of Xunqi will be doomed."
Everyone stared blankly at Zhang Yanling in a daze. Xu Zhen stood up suddenly and said loudly: "I can't drink this wine anymore. Duke Yingying and Duke Dingguo, I can't stand listening anymore. Zhang Yanling is talking nonsense and is trying to teach us a lesson."
What the hell does he know? He said these things without any shame to slander and humiliate us. Please punish him, the two princes."
"Yes, we don't allow this person to talk nonsense and talk nonsense." Several princes also said one after another.
The British Duke's face was ashen, he looked at Zhang Yanling, then at the several indignant marquises, and said slowly: "I think Zhang Yanling is right."