Chapter Five Hundred and Fifty Six: Yu Qian Returns to Beijing
Beijing, outside Zhengyang Gate.
The sun has risen high, but the weather is still very cold. It has started to warm up a little in the past two days, so the surrounding snow is showing signs of melting.
As a result, it brought a lot of trouble to several gates, because the snow melted and the roads were muddy, making it very inconvenient for people to enter and exit the city gates.
A team in the distance is slowly approaching the capital, with a carriage in the middle. Although it looks simple and simple, just by looking at the leading sergeant in the official uniform, you can tell that the people in this carriage are either rich or noble.
.
The carriage swayed forward and stopped in front of the city gate. Then, an official in green robes got out of the carriage, and then an old man in scarlet robes, with the support of his entourage, set foot on the capital again.
"The capital is finally back."
Looking at the crowds coming and going, the young official couldn't help but sigh softly, feeling quite relieved.
These two people were naturally Yu Qian and Fang Gao, who had just returned from patrolling the border in Xuan Mansion.
Looking up at the three characters Zhengyangmen, Yu Qian's expression was very complicated for some reason.
After a moment, he let out an inaudible sigh and turned around.
"I have worked hard these days. You should go back and have a rest. Tomorrow, you will follow me to the palace to meet His Majesty."
Fang Gao cupped his hands and said without refusing.
"Thank you, sir. I will resign now."
After that, Fang Gao took his two servants and boarded the soft sedan that had been waiting nearby, and soon disappeared into the crowd.
Yu Qian watched Fang Gao leave without looking back, his voice was still very calm and he said.
"You guys should go back too. I've arrived in the capital safely. There won't be any surprises. I guess you have more important things to do at the moment."
No one answered.
After a while, an ordinary sergeant walked out of the escort team and said.
"Sir, it's better to ask your subordinates to escort you back to your home. Your safety is more important than anything else!"
Yu Qian looked at him deeply and did not persist.
Because the person in front of him was not someone he could completely control. Since the latter said so, it would be useless even if he said more.
So, Yu Qian got on the carriage again and wandered into the city.
It didn't take long before we arrived at the door of Yu's mansion.
Yu Qian's itinerary was never kept secret, so naturally someone was there to greet him early.
There are them at the city gates and outside the mansion gates.
Outside the gate of Yu's mansion, Yu Qian's eldest son Yu Mian and his servants had been looking around early in the morning. Seeing Yu Qian's carriage stop in front of the mansion, they immediately came to greet him.
"I would like to say hello to my father. It's been a long journey, thank you for your hard work."
"Serving the country is nothing..."
Yu Qian was helped by his son to get out of the carriage and spoke at the same time. However, he only stopped halfway, because there was another person at the back of the crowd who he did not expect.
"Brother Shichao?"
For some reason, there was no joy on Yu Qian's face, but instead he frowned slightly.
This look naturally fell into Yu Shiyue's eyes. He felt strange, but he did not stop moving forward.
He walked forward, cupped his hands and said, "Ting Yi has been working really hard these past few months patrolling the border and investigating cases. Today I am returning to Beijing, and I came uninvited. How about you and I getting drunk together?"
The two were old friends, so it was a good thing that Yu Shiyue came to greet them personally and invited them so kindly.
However, the strange thing is that Yu Qian's expression became more and more strange. He thought for a while and said.
"Brother Yu comes to greet you in person. It's my honor. However, I just returned to Beijing and am dusty. It's better to meet again someday."
At this time, Yu Shiyue finally realized that something was wrong with Yu Qian's state.
After all, he was a man who had been in officialdom for many years. After weighing it for a moment, he decided to trust Yu Qian and resign first.
However, before he opened his mouth, he heard Yu Qian speak again, saying.
"However, Brother Shi Chao came here in a hurry. He must have something to do. You and I have known each other for many years. If you need help with anything, you can just say it directly. There is no need to go through so many red tapes."???
Several question marks seemed to pop up on Yu Shiyue's head. For a moment, he didn't know what Yu Qian meant.
When he came here this time, he really wanted to ask Yu Qian for help.
But, this is on the street?!
Even the surrounding people know that this is the residence of the Minister of War and dare not approach it easily, but after all, it is also a crowded place.
How can we talk about this kind of thing in this place?
Is it possible that Yu Qian has been patrolling for several months and his head has gone crazy?
After thinking about it, Yu Shiyue asked tentatively: "Yu Shaobao, why don't you go to the mansion first and talk about it later?"
However, Yu Qian refused to give face and said.
"It doesn't matter, Brother Shichao, just have something to say!"
These words were still spoken calmly, but after having known Yu Qian for many years, Yu Shiyue could naturally detect that there was a rare hint of urging in his tone.
After pondering for a moment, Yu Shiyue decided to trust Yu Qian again.
So, he smiled bitterly and said: "In that case, I am not afraid of embarrassment. I will tell Tingyi directly that I am here because of the recent events in the cabinet and want to ask Tingyi for his opinion."
This was said euphemistically, but in fact, anyone who has a little knowledge of the recent trends in the capital can understand the true meaning of Yu Shiyue's words.
The most serious dispute in the recent cabinet was naturally the dispute between Yu Cifu and the newly promoted Zhuge Lao.
Moreover, although he joined the cabinet late, due to his great achievements, Mr. Zhu Ge vaguely had the upper hand in the struggle.
To put it bluntly, this time, Yu Shiyue came to ask for help.
He naturally has his own connections in the capital, but what connections can compare to Yu Tingyi, who holds great power, has a clean mind, and is highly praised among scholars?
Of course, the biggest reason is that Yu Shiyue's life has become increasingly difficult during this period of time.
On the one hand, Zhu Jian has made great progress in the cabinet and is no longer satisfied with ordinary government disputes. In the past few days, Yu Shiyue discovered that the memorials sent to him were much less than usual.
I sent someone from Zhongshushe to inquire, and found out that many government affairs that were supposed to be sent to him for disposal had been taken away by Zhu Jian.
This kind of thing cannot be considered big or small.
Although the cabinet has separate votes for the chief and assistant ministers, after all, each cabinet minister has independent voting rights, and many government affairs span multiple yamen at the same time, making it difficult to completely clarify them.
If it really breaks out, it will be a mess.
Yu Shiyue, a high-ranking junior assistant, clashed with Zhu Jian over a few memorials, and was demoted to the lower rank.
However, Yu Cifu felt unwilling to let him swallow this embarrassing loss.
What's more important is that since the last agreement on the leadership of the Nangong guards, Yu Cifu has become more and more aware that the emperor's heart is unpredictable and he is somewhat unsure of the emperor's pulse.
As we all know, Yu Qian is the emperor's confidant, and Yu Shiyue knows even better that Yu Qian understands the emperor much better than he does.
Therefore, after hearing the news that Yu Qian had returned to Beijing, he rushed over in such a hurry, but he never thought that Yu Qian's reaction would be so strange...
However, after Yu Shiyue said these words, Yu Qian laughed and said.
"So that's what happened. In that case, Brother Shichao will go to the mansion to rest. After I change my clothes, I can talk to Brother Shichao in detail."
Yu Shiyue blinked, wondering why Yu Qian was so crazy.
You were the one who had to deal with all this one after another, driving people away and keeping others. For a moment, he could neither stand nor leave.
Just as he was hesitating, he saw a person walking out from behind Yu Qian. He had an ordinary face and ordinary clothes. But for some reason, Yu Shiyue felt that this person was dangerous as soon as he saw him.
Moreover, this feeling had not occurred just now, but as soon as this person walked out of the queue, Yu Shiyue suddenly felt a little uneasy.
However, this man did not look at him. He just came to Yu Qian, cupped his fists and performed a military salute and said.
"Since your Excellency has returned home safely, I will take my leave."
As he spoke, he bowed deeply, and then several more people emerged from the team. They didn't say a word, they just bowed silently, then got on their horses and walked away.
Suddenly, Yu Shiyue's face changed, as if he had realized something, and a trace of cold sweat broke out on his forehead...
In the study room of Yu Mansion, the fire was burning brightly, and the room was as warm as spring.
Yu Qian and Yu Shiyue sat opposite each other, each with a cup of fragrant tea in front of them.
At this moment, Yu Qian had already put on a soft and comfortable casual robe, and was sipping the tea in front of him, looking relaxed and comfortable.
On the contrary, Yu Shiyue was a little restless. After a while, he still couldn't hold back and asked.
"Tingyi, who are those people just now?"
Yu Qian smiled, put down the tea cup in his hand, and asked.
"Brother Shichao already has the answer in his mind, why bother asking again?"
However, in the end, Yu Qian didn't play riddles with this old friend much. He just made a joke and answered calmly.
"To be honest, Brother Yu, I have a mission during this patrol, and there are many dangers involved. Those few people are sent by Your Majesty to protect my safety."
After saying this, Yu Qian looked at Yu Shiyue deeply and said meaningfully.
"Of course, I am also responsible for conveying everything I see around me to His Majesty truthfully!"
Yu Shiyue's face looked a little complicated for a moment, and after a while, he asked.
"So, the rumors in Beijing are true. Are you really investigating the border villages?"
Although Yu Qian's patrol on the border this time was called investigating a case, he traveled around the border to check the status of military settlements everywhere. It would be a matter of time before such a big movement could not be suppressed.
During this period, there had been rumors in the court, speculating on the real purpose of Yu Qian's border patrol, and Yu Shiyue naturally heard about it.
However, although the military camp matter was serious, he believed that his old friend was sensible and would not make too much of a fuss. Besides, after all, it was just a rumor and no one had proven it, so he never let it go too far.
In the heart.
What's more, after these days, Mr. Yu Ge's life was not easy, and his own affairs were very troubled, so naturally he didn't have any more energy to spare.
However, after all, he is a dignified cabinet minister.
After linking up the scenes outside the house, he immediately realized that this matter was not just an ordinary investigation as he had imagined before.
Otherwise, with Yu Qian's character, he would never use the word "many hardships and dangers" to describe the experience of this trip, and the emperor would not predict these risks in advance and make arrangements in advance.
After understanding this, Yu Qian's inconsistent behavior can be easily explained.
Although he didn't know what Yu Qian found this time, after all, it was an extremely important matter.
However, as soon as Yu Qian returned to Beijing, one of his cabinet ministers hurried over to meet him and refused to explain his purpose.
This performance inevitably makes people speculate whether he came here because of the situation Yu Qian found out.
Especially when Yu Qian is surrounded by several "guards" arranged by the emperor, the risk factor of this matter rises sharply.
Therefore, Yu Qian directly asked Yu Shiyue's intention in front of everyone.
The purpose was to clear up the relationship for him and indirectly tell the emperor that the matter between Yu Shiyue and Juntun was not involved.
This detail is very small, but many times, the seeds of doubt often take root and sprout in this kind of detail.
Yu Shiyue understood this truth, so he felt even more scared.
At this moment, he had been in the study for half a stick of incense, but the cold sweat on his head still had not completely subsided.
Yu Qian nodded slightly, but obviously didn't want to mention this matter anymore, so he just said:
"I have indeed found something. I will go to the palace to present it to Your Majesty tomorrow. I will explain this matter to Brother Shichao in detail in a few days. Brother Shichao just said that his life in the cabinet was quite unsatisfactory. What do you mean?
Let’s talk about it in detail.”
Therefore, Yu Shiyue understood that the affairs of the military camp would not be kept secret for a long time.
But originally, he didn't come here for this, so he naturally didn't get too involved in this matter. Hearing Yu Qian's question, he smiled bitterly and recounted what happened during this period.
"...Other things actually don't matter. No matter how arrogant Zhu Jian is, I am not without determination. However, the problem now is that he is repeatedly aggressive. If I keep swallowing my anger, someone in the court will definitely regard me as a person from now on.
Cowards."
"Tingyi, you know that the cabinet is different from the yamen next to it. If you have a bad reputation in the court, it will be difficult to reconcile the internal and external affairs. I am afraid that I will not be able to hold the position of second minister for long..."
Yu Shiyue frowned deeply and sighed again.
"Moreover, what's more important is that after the Nangong guard incident last time, I no longer know what to do to continue to stand up in this complicated cabinet. Therefore, I hurriedly passed through the government today and wanted to ask Tingyi for help.
I will show you the way."
Only their long-standing friendship can say such heart-to-heart words. It is hard to imagine that Yu Shiyue, a junior assistant, would say such words as "showing a clear path" at this moment.
But Yu Qian was obviously not surprised.
On the contrary, he thought seriously for a moment and then said apologetically.
"Brother Shichao, you and I have known each other for many years, and I will tell you some things directly."
"I can understand your doubts. However, I have not been in Beijing during these days. It will be difficult for me to grasp the whole situation just by listening to what you said."
"The emperor is wise and decisive, and he has the government's principles in mind. What he measures must have many aspects. Therefore, before I can grasp the details of all aspects of the government's situation, if I rush to make an idea, I may be wrong for you."
"However, if you ask me what I would do in such a situation, I can tell you a few words."
Yu Shiyue originally hoped that Yu Qian could help him analyze the emperor's mentality. Therefore, after hearing what he said, he understood, but he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.
However, later on, he regained his energy and said.
"I am naturally all ears to Tingyi's high opinion."
So, Yu Qian pondered for a moment and said.
"Actually, it's simple to say, it's just four sentences."
"Keep your body upright, speak uprightly, do the right thing, and walk the right path!"
"I don't know the details of the emperor's many actions in the cabinet during this period, and I can't explain them to Brother Shichao."
"However, one thing I am sure of is that people like Zhu Jian who fight for power and profit and wantonly start party strife will never be protected by the emperor."
"On the contrary, as long as those who truly dedicate themselves to the interests of the government, the emperor will never treat them badly..."
"So, brother Shichao will do his duty and do what he should do. The rest will naturally be decided by the emperor!"