Chapter three hundred and ninety-fifth: the out of place British government
With the end of the morning dynasty, news of the great victory in Shawo spread like the wind throughout the capital.
For a time, almost every yamen and mansion in the imperial court was filled with joy.
Only the British Crown is not.
Unknowingly, three months have passed.
Jiao Jing and Xue Heng's confinement has finally been lifted. Although all their errands have been relieved, it is still a good thing.
However, sitting in the study room of the British Duke's mansion, facing Zhang Shi, Ren Li, Chen Mao, Jiang Yi and others.
Jiao Jing and Xue Heng felt that their air pressure was frighteningly low.
Comparatively speaking, Jiao Jing was older. After hesitating for a moment, he was the first to ask.
“Xue Prince-in-law and I already know the news about Datong, and we have already suffered this setback. I think it can make him calm down a little bit. Is it possible that the second master is so anxious to come to us because he is worried about the third master’s safety in Oala?”
He and Xue Heng had just been released from confinement for two days, and they had barely digested all the things that had happened in the past few months.
However, some specific situations are still unclear.
Zhang Xi had a dark face and said nothing.
Ren Li on the side sighed and said.
"Jiao Prince Consort, Xue Prince Consort, to be honest with you two, the mission has already received news, saying that they have arrived at Xuan Mansion before the Battle of Shawo."
Hearing this, Jiao Jing was even more confused and continued to ask: "Then the second master and you are now..."
At this time, Chen Mao, who was also gloomy, spoke.
“I did come back, but as soon as I entered the Xuan Mansion, the entire delegation was arrested!”
"What?" Jiao Jing suddenly couldn't sit still and asked angrily: "Who has the courage? Tao Jin? Yang Xin? You rebelled against them!"
You should know that although Jiao Jing was only the Prince Consort, he was a confidant of Empress Dowager Sun and held great power as early as the Zhengtong period.
When the Supreme Emperor left Beijing for the northern expedition, he even handed over the power of the capital camp to him, which shows his status in the court at that time.
Although all his errands have been taken away from him now, when Tao Jin was still serving in the Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army, when he saw him, he would clasp his fists and salute.
Looking at Jiao Jing's angry look, Ren Li and Chen Mao didn't say anything. At the same time, they looked at Zhang Shi, who gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words.
“It’s Jin Yiwei!”
With that said, Zhang Mian took out a letter from his sleeve, handed it to Jiao Jing and Xue Heng, and said.
"This is a secret letter sent by Tao Jin quickly. It describes the situation at that time. According to Tao Jin, the mission encountered resistance in the negotiations in Oara. He also had a eunuch named Xi who surrendered to the enemy from the Ming Dynasty.
Ning, has been causing trouble."
"So the third brother planned to trick Xi Ning into Xuan Mansion and then take the opportunity to ambush him. After Tao Jin received the report, he originally planned to cooperate with the third brother to set up an ambush in Yehuling. However, just before he was about to set off, Lu Zhongchi, commander of the Jinyi Guards, arrived with a secret edict.
Xuanfu, strictly orders the Xuanfu army not to act rashly."
"Unable to set up an ambush in Yehuling, the third brother and others simply deceived Xi Ning into the Xuan Mansion. Unexpectedly, as soon as they entered the Xuan Mansion, Lu Zhong led a large number of Jin Yi guards and took Xi Ning, the third brother and the others.
They were all arrested."
"Right now, they are being escorted back to the capital together. They should arrive in three days at most!"
Jiao Jing listened and read the letter carefully. His brows suddenly knitted together and he said nothing.
Xue Heng on the side said puzzledly.
“It is not a trivial matter to arrest the envoy without permission. How can Lu Zhong dare to do this?”
this……
Zhang Shi, Ren Li and others looked at each other, shook their heads in unison, and said.
"Tao Jin's memorial about this matter has already been sent to the capital. However, it is a little slower to go to the inn. But no matter what, Jin Yiwei arrests people in such a big way. If you want to cover it up, you will definitely not be able to cover it up. It won't be long.
By the end of the day, everyone in the imperial court will know."
“However, the Jin Yiwei did not say the specific reason for arresting the person. He just issued a secret edict to act expediently and warned Tao Jin not to ask further questions.”
At this time, Jiao Jing finally raised his head from the secret letter and said.
“The fact that Jin Yiwei dares to arrest people shows that they are not afraid of things getting serious, so this time, it must be that the Third Master and others have something that falls into the hands of Jin Yiwei.”
The scene suddenly became a little stagnant.
This possibility has been thought of by everyone present more or less, but this is precisely the most troublesome thing.
Jinyiwei is very strict with his words, so until now, except that they know that the person has been arrested, they don't know anything else.
With his eyes darkened, even if he wanted to think of ways to save people, he did not dare to act without permission.
Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it may have the opposite effect.
Zhang Xi slammed his fist on the table and said with a livid face.
"I have known for a long time that the emperor would not be so kind and send an envoy to welcome the emperor back for no reason. First he made some exchanges, then he went to the capital, and now he couldn't help but try to show off and directly confront the third brother.
Let’s start!”
In fact, during this period, the court seemed calm, but the British government was really having a hard time.
After the mutual trade was approved at the court meeting, the Ministry of Revenue acted very quickly. It didn't take long to negotiate the specific details with the envoys from Tuotaobuhua. After they returned, they would prepare for it for another two months.
You can start trading for the first time.
The failure of Kouque made the old guy Wang Wen completely forget about it. The manpower they trained among civil servants was targeted one after another, and now there are not many left.
Zhang Shi had no choice but to endure these cowardly attitudes. As a result, now, the Jin Yiwei actually arrested the envoy directly.
If this continues, Zhang Shi feels that before long, the British government may be stripped of its lintel, so how can he not be anxious?
Having said that, looking at Zhang Shi who was so restless, Jiao Jing still had a flash of dissatisfaction in his eyes, but he concealed it very well. After pondering for a moment, he spoke.
“Second Master, don’t be anxious, we will always come up with a solution. The most urgent task now is to find out what happened. I remember that when the Zhennan King case was reported, didn’t we still have manpower among the Jinyi Guards?”
Zhang Xi gradually calmed down, nodded with a sullen face, and said.
"Yes, there are, but this time is different from the past. In the past, the Zhennan King case and the Luo Tong case were all locked up in ordinary prison cells. But this time, since Lu Zhong took the secret edict to arrest people in advance,
, indicating that the emperor is watching behind you."
“So, I’m afraid it won’t be easy to arrange.”
This is a problem...
Jiao Jing pondered for a moment, but after much deliberation, there was no good way, so he had to say: "Let's inquire first and use some money. It would be best if we can meet each other. If we can't meet, we must try to send a message first."
Only by understanding what happened can we take appropriate measures."
“In addition…” Jiao Jing turned his head and faced Xue Heng.
"Now our power in the court has been greatly reduced, so we must continue to do a good job in our relationship with the palace. The third master's matter is most likely not a trivial matter. I would like to ask Prince Consort Xue to accompany Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess on two trips these days.
In the palace, try to get the support of the Holy Mother and her family."
Zhang Xi and Xue Heng nodded at the same time, and the atmosphere finally became a bit calmer.
Ren Li watched quietly from the side, and couldn't help but admire the prince-in-law a little more in his heart. No wonder he was the one who could conspire with Zhang Fu in the first place.
Although he has been banned from the mansion for so long, when he came back for the first time, he quietly took away the power to make decisions from Zhang Shi.
What’s more important is that Zhang Shi actually looked convinced and didn’t feel anything was wrong.
It seems that he will pay more attention to this prince-in-law in the future...