Chapter Four Hundred and Thirteen: A Disagreement Appeared
After leaving the gate of the British Duke's Mansion, Ren Li's carriage walked forward a short distance and saw Jiao Jing's carriage parked at the corner.
Sneakly got on the other party's carriage, Ren Li bowed his hands to Jiao Jing and said, "Just now, thank you very much, Prince Consort."
Although the two people did not communicate in advance, Ren Li knew from the look Jiao Jing gave him that Jiao Jing was deliberately quarreling with him in front of Zhang Min.
As for the purpose, one is to express the palace's dissatisfaction with the British government's recent failures, and the other is to help him win Zhang Shi's trust.
Of course, Ren Li knew in his heart that Jiao Jing's main purpose might be the former, but that didn't stop him from saying only the latter.
After all, the control is now in the hands of the other party, and he will most likely rely on the support of the palace in the future.
Jiao Jing's face had already returned to calm at this moment, and he nodded.
“Zhang Fu is very thoughtful and his arrangements should be correct. However, I always feel that Zhang Fu did not tell us the whole truth.”
Ren Li was a little surprised when he heard this and asked, "Why do you see it?"
Jiao Jing was silent for a long time, but in the end he just shook his head and said: "It's just a feeling, maybe I'm overthinking it."
Seeing this situation, Ren Li felt a little uneasy and asked: "Then, what Zhang Shi said just now, do we have to do what he said?"
This time Jiao Jing didn’t hesitate much and nodded.
"It's natural. In recent days, you have traveled around and published books many times. I'm afraid your image in Zhang Shi's eyes has changed a lot. This time you only need to continue to stand out to gain Zhang Shi's trust. However, you need to remember
…”
As he spoke, Jiao Jing lowered his voice and spoke a few words into Ren Li's ear.
After Ren Li listened, he finally felt relieved and nodded hesitantly.
At the same time, in the British government.
Chen Mao originally left in different directions with Ren Li and others, but before he could go out, he was stopped by the servant and led to the flower hall.
Looking at Zhang Shi sitting opposite, Chen Mao frowned and asked: "Second Master, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Zhang Wei stretched out his hand and motioned for Chen Mao to sit down first, then stood up, bowed to Chen Mao, and said.
"Brother Shunqing, you and I are very close friends. The next words are related to the future of the British government, so please keep it secret."
Chen Mao was shocked, quickly stood up, held Zhang Shi's arm, and said.
"Second Master, what are you doing? Don't you still believe me? You can tell me what it is!"
Zhang Xi sat down again, pondered for a moment, and then said.
"To be honest, Brother Shun, I had some words that I couldn't say in front of Jiao Jing and Jiao Jing. In fact, in the prison, my third brother had already made it clear to me that the only way to save him this time was through the mansions of our family friends.
Jiao Jing and others can’t believe it!”
This... Chen Mao frowned, feeling surprised and said.
“The Third Master really said that? How is this possible? If Ren Li has small thoughts, I believe it, but Prince Consort Jiao has been planning to welcome the Emperor together with the Third Master from the very beginning. How can I not believe it?”
Zhang Xi shook his head, his expression a little cold, looked at the direction Jiao Jing left, and said.
"When the third brother told me, I didn't believe it. As soon as I tried it, he immediately revealed his true colors."
Seeing that Chen Mao still had doubts, Zhang Xian said.
“Jiao Jing, Yang Shan, and Xu Bin have indeed been planning to welcome back the Supreme Emperor with their third brother from the beginning, but they are just seeking their own interests. Jiao Jing has always been the empress dowager in the palace.”
“So for them, although the existence of the third brother is worthy of attention, it is not irreplaceable, especially after the Huichang Bo incident, the Queen Mother was obviously afraid of the British government.”
"When I was in prison, the first thing my third brother told me was to always stay awake and not to be deceived by appearances. Jiao Jing and others wanted to save my third brother because it would be beneficial to them. Once the interests of the palace were harmed,
, then they will definitely turn around and give up immediately.”
As he spoke, Zhang Xi sighed, looked at Chen Mao sincerely and said, "Brother Shun Qing, only those of us who have known each other for generations are truly our own people."
This is actually a bit biased, but it is true.
Although the relationship between nobles and nobles is also a connection of interests, due to the intergenerational relationship, the close families have already formed a community of interests.
The relationship between them is very complicated. The first is the most obvious relationship between the old departments.
The British Duke's Mansion, Ning Yuanbo Mansion, Dingxi Marquis Mansion, Yangwu Marquis Mansion, these mansions, the older generation all fought together on the battlefield, and many of them were friends through life.
Based on this, several mansions formed marriage relationships with each other and were more or less related to each other.
Going one step further, relying on such a close relationship, direct descendants and collateral descendants of each family were arranged to work in the governor's mansion, guard post, and border town under the control of the other party, and were supported by each other.
When Chen Mao and Jiang Gui went on many campaigns, many of the young generals in the team were juniors who were close to the mansion.
They were protected, made meritorious deeds on the battlefield, and then were promoted step by step, reestablishing their loyalty.
Then continue to get married to each other and support each other.
As accumulated over several generations, various intricate relationships have formed between their several mansions, and they are firmly tied together.
This is also the reason why the British government was still able to control the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion after Zhang Fu's death. There were quite a number of people in it who came from noble backgrounds and had more or less connections with the British government.
Therefore, although Zhang Fu was forced to do so, he was willing to let Ren Lilai temporarily take charge of the Central Military Governor's Mansion without fear of him seizing power.
And Zhang Fu dared to contact several close mansions and ask them to help rescue Zhang Fu before the reason for the envoy's arrest was clear.
In contrast, although Ren Li is also a noble, he rose to power too late, and his connection with his established relatives is too weak. Even if he barely squeezes into the circle, it is understandable that he is not taken seriously.
The family of the ancestral family is more valuable the longer it is passed down.
Chen Mao naturally understood this. After pondering for a moment, he nodded and said.
“Yes, it’s true that we are the only ones who really want to save the Third Master.”
Although Chen Mao and Zhang Fu call each other politely on weekdays, in fact, the two are actually related by marriage.
Chen Mao’s second granddaughter married Zhang Fu’s eldest grandson.
At the same time, Chen Mao was also keenly aware of something.
Zhang Fu said that there was a connection of interests between the British government and Jiao Jing, and they came together because of the same purpose. In other words, when they cannot be trusted, it means that Zhang Fu's next plan will damage the relationship between them.
Benefit.
Sighing slightly, Chen Mao asked: "Second Master, you just said that in Yehuling, the Third Master gave Xu Bin and Xiao Weizhen different confessions respectively, and also said that the Third Master planned to testify against Xu Bin together with Xiao Weizhen.
But the truth?"
Zhang Xi looked calm, without nodding or making any request, he just spoke.
"Of course I am telling the truth, but I also said at the time that how to do it depends on the situation in the capital, but one thing is for sure, since the third brother wants to be freed from crime, he must be completely freed from crime.