The sky was getting dark, and Duan Tianming couldn't help but wonder a little when he saw that the gate of the county government office had been closed, but it was still as quiet as ever inside.
"Could it be said that all these people had left Lantian County before dawn?"
"Are they afraid that the county magistrate will bend the law for personal gain and have already gone to Xi'an Prefecture?" a school captain whispered.
"It's very possible. I'll report this to Xiao Chen. I'll write a secret letter in a while and you can send it to the nearest official post."
In the capital's command hall, Commander Xu Kaiying looked at fellow commander Ma Yunshan sitting opposite with a puzzled expression.
"Dongchang's recent actions are a bit strange. It seems that we Jinyiwei have begun to be wary of us. Our people can't catch any signs of their movements." Xu Kaiying spoke slowly while leaning forward.
"What do you mean, sir, Dongchang's current actions have deliberately avoided Jin Yiwei?" Holding a letter in his hand, Ma Yunshan looked at it and replied.
Xu Kaiying nodded: "Zhang Jin's behavior in Gu'an and Baoding Prefecture should have aroused Dongchang's suspicion. This is equivalent to saying that Dongchang has included us in the ranks of enemies. If this is true, what will happen next?
We may need to be more careful with our actions.”
"What are you worried about? Dongchang will bite us back?" Ma Yunshan said with a smile as he closed the letter and put it gently into his arms.
Xu Kaiying was startled, and then said: "Ma Tongzhi's meaning seems to be that he is not worried about Dongchang being hostile to our Jinyiwei."
"I raised the issue of restricting the scope of use of Dongchang's firearms at the court, and I was invisibly standing on the opposite side of Dongchang. And the emperor appointed me as the commander of the Jinyiwei, and the meaning is very obvious. No matter how powerful Dongchang is,
, we also have to obey the emperor, right? The emperor's actions are obviously dissatisfied with someone in Dongchang. They are restraining their behavior now, but they may not really be wary of us. I think the purple-clothed captain is talking to the emperor.
Showing weakness." The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and Ma Yunshan looked confident.
"Dongchang is showing weakness? Why are they showing weakness?"
"To be precise, it is Colonel Ziyi who is showing weakness." Ma Yunshan shook his head, "Lin Shangli, the Duke of Dongchang Factory, has been recalled by the emperor to serve around him. The affairs of Dongchang are handled by Colonel Ziyi. This man is bold and careful.
They captured the emperor's feelings and did not want to become the second Ji Gang, so after the emperor released the message of dissatisfaction, they stopped all actions to show their loyalty."
"But, according to what I know about the purple-robed captain, he is not this kind of person?! Back then, he dared to kill the former Minister of Rites in front of hundreds of officials. He was arrogant, domineering and arrogant. This time, he did it again
I have recovered the crown prince, and my contribution is unparalleled. How could I not take advantage of the victory and continue to search for the whereabouts of this rebellious force? How could I suddenly settle for the status quo and take no action? This kind of weird behavior really makes me wonder.
It doesn’t make sense.” Xu Kaiying picked up the tea bowl in front of her and took a sip.
"It's because he had too much limelight before that he deliberately restrained himself now." Ma Yunshan responded.
At this moment, Ma Yunshan was no longer in the mood to discuss Dongchang affairs with Xu Kaiying. Just now, in the letter from Shaanxi, his brother gave him a shocking message.
Unexpectedly, in an inconspicuous place in my hometown of Magou Town, raw jadeite was found.
His younger brother Malianshan said in the letter that the quality of the raw stone is of the highest quality. This kind of thing is rare to find. If more can be produced and processed into high-quality jade articles, they can be appreciated and collected by the ministers of the DPRK and China. In the future, his official career will be better.
Isn’t it smooth sailing and a steady progress?
However, my sister-in-law lost her life because of the rough stone. If this matter were brought to Xi'an Mansion, I am afraid that as my brother Malianshan said, the place where the jadeite was produced will eventually be confiscated.
Although an ordinary murder case would not be difficult to solve, when a raw jadeite is involved, it is best not to make any mistakes.
No, I have to intervene in this matter myself, at least to give Xi'an Prefecture some air and "take care" of Lantian County.
"Ma Tongzhi, how do you let the emperor know that Dongchang wooed the local army when handling the case? Have you thought of an excuse?" Putting down the tea bowl, Xu Kaiying looked at Ma Yunshan.
In Xu Kaiying's eyes, Ma Yunshan is now her wisdom bag, and every idea is so unexpected and impeccable. When it comes to dealing with Dongchang and striving for Jin Yiwei to get ahead, Xu Kaiying seems to have regarded Ma Yunshan as her spiritual support.
"This matter cannot be urgent." Ma Yunshan said, "To make the emperor believe it, we must have relevant evidence that Dongchang and Daning Dusi are very close. If we just rely on words, I am afraid that the emperor will think that we are sowing discord.
.”
Ma Yunshan's heart has long been filled with the possibility of jade mines, and he is not that concerned about the matter against Daning Dusi.
After carefully looking at the other party, Xu Kaiying sat up straight, with a hint of dissatisfaction in her words: "Ma Tongzhi seems to be absent-minded? A few days ago, didn't he advocate taking down Daning Dusi to let me, Jin Yiwei, regain confidence? Today,
Why do you look forward and backward?"
"Da Ning Dusi is a local government office with a lot of troops. Once we take action, we must take it down. It is better to discuss this matter in the long term."
"Long-term plan? That's not what Ma Tongzhi said a few days ago." Xu Kaiying glanced at Ma Yunshan's arms and asked, "Is there something wrong with Ma Tongzhi?"
"There's nothing wrong, it's just that something happened in my hometown, which is quite annoying."
"Hometown? I remember Ma Tongzhi seems to be from Lantian. Who else is there now?" Xu Kaiying asked pretending to be very concerned.
"My parents have passed away, and I have only one younger brother who has already started a family and started a business. However, I recently had a conflict with my neighbors, and I am afraid that I will go to Xi'an to file a lawsuit." Ma Yunshan said in a low voice.
"Xi'an Mansion? Can't Ma Tongzhi just say hello to Xi'an Mansion? Why bother?"
"I have been working in the Ministry of Rites before, and I have just been appointed as Jinyiwei. If I greet the Xi'an Mansion like this, I am afraid that I will be offended." Ma Yunshan looked at the other party tentatively.
"Ma Tongzhi is also from Jinyiwei. Even if we are evenly matched with Dongchang in the imperial court, we won't be able to gain much advantage for a while, but in a small Xi'an mansion, it should be easy to say hello. If it doesn't work, send someone specially.
Go over and take a trip to Xi'an Mansion."
Hearing this, Ma Yunshan nodded slightly: "Actually, my subordinates think so too. Send someone to go there specially. Firstly, it shows that we attach great importance to it. Secondly, if we take the opportunity to build a relationship with the Xi'an Mansion, it might not be a bad idea for Jin Yiwei."
A good thing. Dongchang has won over Daning Dusi, and Jin Yiwei has gained support from the local government far away. If there is a tit-for-tat confrontation in the future, we will have some backup of our own."
"Okay, then send someone to Xi'an Mansion. Get close to them and help Ma Tongzhi solve the problems in his hometown." Xu Kaiying said with a smile.
It is necessary to win over local forces and make Ma Tongzhi lose his favor and go to Xi'an Prefecture.
Ma Lianshan stood up and saluted the other party: "I would like to thank the Commander for now."
Xu Kaiying laughed and waved her hands: "We are all our own people, why are you so polite?"
"Your Majesty, Commander, who do you think is appropriate to send to further communicate with Xi'an Mansion?"
After thinking for a while, Xu Kaiying said: "Or, send Zhang Jin?"
"Zhang Qianhu is a close confidant of the Lord, so there is no problem. However, if Dongchang knows about this matter, there may be a lot of trouble. After all, the emperor does not like his subordinates to form cliques."
"Don't worry, Ma Tongzhi. Zhang Jin, like you, has a deep hatred for Dongchang. He will be careful during this trip," Xu Kaiying said.
"Zhang Qianhu has a conflict with Dongchang? Didn't he always follow the Lord and serve in Tianjin Wei? How come he has a deep hatred for Dongchang?"
"Haha." Xu Kaiying laughed, "Mr. Ma knows something, but Zhang Qianhu has a younger brother who used to serve in Jinyiwei. His name is Zhang Youde. He had a conflict with the purple-robed captain and was killed by the purple-robed captain."
"Is there such a thing?" Ma Yunshan pretended to be surprised and said, "So, in Zhang Qianhu's heart, he hates Dongchang, especially the purple-clothed captain, deeply."
"No. So, as long as it targets Dongchang, Zhang Qianhu is absolutely at ease."
"Well, let's arrange for Zhang Qianhu to go to Xi'an Mansion. However, before that, we still want to find out what the purple-clothed captain is doing recently."
Ma Tongzhi put on a straight face and nodded seriously.
