At the gate of the Jinyiwei Commander's Office, Xu Kaiying walked in with heavy steps and uneasiness.
He sat down on the chair next to the table in the hall, picked up the teapot on the table, raised his head, and drank a few big gulps.
The tea that overflowed from the corner of his mouth flowed down the corner of his mouth and onto the front of his clothes, making a large area wet.
When the teapot bottomed out and there was no more tea left, Xu Kaiying put down the teapot, raised his sleeves, and wiped his mouth a few times.
After drinking half a pot of herbal tea, my uneasy mood calmed down a little.
When it came to suing Lin Shangli, she lost completely. Although the emperor did not punish Lin Shangli, nor did he punish himself, Xu Kaiying knew in her heart that she had shot herself in the foot this time, and I was afraid there would be no good results.
"Sir." The Qianhu from before folded his hands and saluted Xu Kaiying.
"Where have you gone to King Zhao yet?" Xu Kaiying asked in a low voice.
"My subordinates are ready. I'm waiting for you to come back. Do you have anything else to explain?" Na Qianhu replied.
"I will go there personally." Looking at the gate, Xu Kaiying seemed to have made up her mind.
In the Jade Room on the third floor of the Zhongzhen Inn in Beijing, Mr. Zhang seemed to have just returned from a long journey, sitting quietly next to the table in the guest room.
The gray cloth he wears is already a very stain-resistant color. Even so, it can be clearly seen that there is a thin layer of dust all over his body.
Wang Zhongzheng, a wealthy man from the capital and the owner of Zhongzheng Inn, held a tea bowl in one hand and a hot water bottle in the other. He looked around and slowly walked up the stairs.
Pushing open the guest room door, Wang Zhongzhen walked in, then turned around and closed the door again with his knees.
"General." After greeting in a low voice, Wang Zhongzhen put the tea bowl in his hand on the table and started pouring water.
"Baoding Prefecture, our people are the only one left, Blacksmith Wang?" Mr. Zhang raised his head and asked softly.
His face was calm, and he didn't seem to feel as frustrated as when the prince was found by Dongchang and his own power was greatly damaged.
"Except for him, everyone fell into the hands of Dongchang. The entire guard army was killed by Dongchang." Wang Zhongzhen pushed the tea bowl in front of Mr. Zhang and said with a slight bow.
"Sit down and talk." Zhang Laoyi pointed to the chair opposite him.
"Baoding Prefecture suffered heavy losses this time, and my subordinates dare not sit down in front of the general." Wang Zhongzhen lowered his head.
"A heavy loss?" Mr. Zhang smiled faintly, "If it was done by other people in the imperial court, it would be truly a heavy loss. This matter was investigated and handled by the captain in purple. Although we lost some manpower, the prince was also snatched back.
Doesn’t that mean that his ability is stronger than we expected?"
Wang Zhongzhen was stunned for a moment, and then a smile appeared on his face: "That's what the general said."
"Originally, I was thinking that Dongchang and Captain Ziyi were furious because the prince was kidnapped. We would find a suitable opportunity to escort the prince back to the capital and release him secretly. But I never thought that my worries were unnecessary.
Not only did he get rid of his own predicament, but he also made great contributions this time, and his status in the eyes of the emperor has risen even higher than before." Mr. Zhang said as he picked up the tea bowl on the table and shook it gently a few times.
"The factory owner of Dongchang is also courageous. He actually went to the Supervisory Office and forced the purple-robed captain to come out to investigate the case. If the purple-robed captain is still imprisoned in the prison, at this moment, everything is still in our hands. However, even though,
He found the prince and destroyed our power in Baoding Mansion, and he will definitely be rewarded by the emperor. However, he was imprisoned in prison without any hesitation before, and even the purple clothes on his body were taken back. Regarding this matter, we
It can be used to make some articles." Wang Zhongzheng said, hunched over.
"Yeah." Mr. Zhang nodded, and then looked at the other person, "Sit down and say, what's the use of standing so reservedly? Respect me? Or do you want to distance yourself?"
Wang Zhongzhen looked embarrassed and slowly sat on the chair opposite Mr. Zhang.
"The forces in Gu'an and Baoding Prefecture have been completely destroyed this time. We have suffered heavy losses. It will probably take a while for these two places to re-establish their forces," Wang Zhongzhen said.
"It's not urgent. If something goes wrong in these two places, the imperial court will definitely pay special attention to it. If new faces appear, they will be very wary. It is not easy to establish power." Mr. Zhang suddenly raised his head and looked at it coldly.
He asked the other party, "Has there been any news? How did Dongchang deal with Hu Yanqing, who was responsible for escorting the prince?"
"He uttered arrogant words in front of the purple-robed captain and was split in half on the spot." Wang Zhongzhen replied hurriedly.
Mr. Zhang was already very dissatisfied with what Hu Yanqing had done in Gu'an, and even went so far as to personally prepare to remove Hu Yanqing.
Now, the captain in purple clothes took his life on his behalf, which fulfilled Mr. Zhang's wish.
"Just kill him. This guy who doesn't understand the overall situation, I trust him so much. In order to gain power, he did not hesitate to attract the government and expose our secret base in Gu'an. I waited for him near Hanwang's Mansion in Anzhou, and he finally
He still didn't have the courage to defect to the King of Han, so he chose to follow our wishes and go to Baoding Mansion. He died in the hands of the purple-robed captain, which was also his destiny." Holding the tea bowl in one hand, Mr. Zhang held tightly with the other hand.
clenched into fists.
"General, we have failed in kidnapping the prince. What should we do next?" Wang Zhongzhen asked.
"Failed? Where did you fail?" Mr. Zhang picked up the tea bowl, took a sip and looked at the other party with deep meaning.
Wang Zhongzhen looked puzzled.
The forces in the two places were destroyed by Dongchang, and the prince was snatched away by Dongchang. Isn't this considered a complete failure?
"The prince was found by Dongchang, and we no longer have any hostages to threaten the court. Doesn't this count as a failure?" Wang Zhongzhen asked in confusion.
"Blackmailing the imperial court? You are overthinking it." Looking at the other party, Mr. Zhang put down the tea bowl in his hand and smiled faintly, "We have kidnapped the prince. The most the imperial court can do is use a weapon to scare away rats. It is impossible to blackmail him. Moreover, this matter
The reason is that we just want to disrupt the court situation. Whether it is Zhu Yuanzhang or his son Zhu Di, I am very disgusted with many things, but there is one thing that I admire them in my heart, that is, no matter what time, their bones
They are all extremely hard.”
"Some things may be solved through good communication. But if you use something that they care about very much to blackmail them, the final outcome will be that even if these things are destroyed, even if they feel sad, they will never compromise. This is also Zhu
The domineering power of the family dynasty."
Mr. Zhang said seriously.
Whether it is Ming Taizu or Ming Chengzu, they have conquered the country inch by inch. They are not little emperors who inherited their father's business, they are the real heroes of the world.
If you want to threaten them, you will face thousands of iron hooves trampling on you.
"We can't compete head-on with the imperial court. Now that we don't have the prince as a hostage, doesn't it count as a failure?"
"We lost the prince, but we won the hearts of the people!" Mr. Zhang smiled slightly.
"We kidnapped the prince, and the behavior of the Baoding guards was not very bright. The court defined us as a rebel force. The general said that we have won the hearts of the people, but my subordinates really don't understand." Wang Zhongzhen looked confused.
At present, both the situation and public opinion are not good for us. This has won the hearts of the people. Where to start?
"Zhu Di ruled the Ming Dynasty, which is what people want. But this time, there is one person who is dissatisfied with him, and that is the purple-robed captain. Whatever he loses, we gain." Mr. Zhang laughed.
Wang Zhongzhen nodded, as if he had woken up: "When the general said this, my subordinates remembered it. Not only was the purple-clothed captain ordered by Ming Chengzu to imprison the Inspectorate and file a case for investigation, he also had all his purple clothes taken back. According to the purple-clothed captain
With Lieutenant's temper, it may not be easy for him to put on that unicorn purple suit. Is the general's purpose to further deepen the conflict between the two of them?"
"While disrupting the situation in the court, it will deepen the conflicts between them. After all, one day, we will have to face the purple-robed captain." After saying this, Mr. Zhang's face became heavy again.
The last time they fought, the purple-clothed captain was defeated at his own hands. And the subsequent series of actions to kidnap the prince, I am afraid he also hates himself to the core.
Can this conflict be resolved based on the relationship back then?
