Although it was Zhu Yi who was waiting outside, they arrived at the British government palace.
Although it is said that before the return of the Supreme Emperor, the British government, under Zhang Xi's manipulation, successfully offended the Queen Mother, and was secretly suppressed by Jiao Jing and Ren Li, and even became a
The marriage between the Duke of Guo and the British Duke also implies that the Duke's Palace will be used to divide the power and power of the British Duke.
However, all this changed when the Supreme Emperor returned to Beijing.
Unlike the Empress Dowager Sun, who was bitter about her family's affairs, the Emperor's reliance on the British government was unparalleled.
The reasons for this are very complicated, but to put it bluntly, it is actually the word "inheritance".
From a rational point of view, although the British government is now in decline, it is still the first-class force among the nobles. It has extremely rich resources and contacts. Although it is said that there is no one who can take charge of the overall situation, it has accumulated over the years.
The influence cannot be shaken in a short period of time.
Moreover, when Empress Dowager Sun arranged the marriage between the two palaces, on the one hand, she wanted to win over the Chengguo Palace, and on the other hand, she also planned to take away the power of the British Duke.
However, many things are often not based on human will.
In other words, Queen Mother Sun's status as a harem woman still limited her knowledge.
In her opinion, from the Yongle period to the Zhengtong period, the two houses would definitely not shake hands and make peace even if they had in-laws. It was just a change from the bright side to the secret side.
However, what she doesn't know is that in today's complicated court situation, the two governments are facing threats from border nobles, and they are no longer the era when one family was the dominant one.
Although the Duke of Chengguo was tied to the British Duke through the marriage granted by the Empress Dowager Sun, once the marriage was established, Zhu Yi not only did not slowly encroach on the power of the British Duke as the Empress Dowager Sun imagined, but instead became involved with the British Duke.
Zhang Min joined forces and started fighting with Jiao Jing and others.
In this way, under the alliance of the two governments, for the Supreme Emperor, wooing the British government was equivalent to wooing the Chengguo government.
This is the foundation. With the connections and power accumulated over decades, the British government can still have a chance to recover after experiencing several failures.
Therefore, in the eyes of the Supreme Emperor, there is Zhang Fu's illustrious reputation, which guarantees the capability of the British government, the weight of the alliance between the two governments, and the position of the British government among the nobles, and Zhang Fu's deeds of resolutely sending an envoy regardless of his own safety.
To ensure the loyalty of the British government, he had no reason not to regard the British government as his most trusted ministers.
As a result, many things have quietly changed. Now that the Supreme Emperor has returned, it is naturally not the turn of the Holy Mother in the palace to continue to make the decision.
Simply relying on his own power, even if Jiao Jing and Renli secretly help, he will still be crushed.
Although Zhang Shi offended Empress Dowager Sun at the beginning, don't forget that the reason why he took the risk and threw away Empress Dowager Sun's natal Huichang Bo was to protect Ningyang Bo Chen Mao.
From Chen Mao's point of view, this is a huge kindness, and in the eyes of other nobles, his courage to offend the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother in order to save one of his own will undoubtedly make Zhang Mi's reputation high.
A piece of it.
This point was vividly reflected in the court meeting where the military camp was reorganized.
You must know that although Ren Li was temporarily pushed out, he still controlled part of the military power, which was why he had the courage to cause trouble at that time.
But that time, Zhang Xi and Zhu Yi secretly greeted various nobles, remained silent at the court meeting, and left the marquis to fight alone. In the end, they were attacked by Yang Hong and sadly jailed.
.
Although the consequence of this is that the power of the nobles has weakened again, the British government has undoubtedly regained a dominant position among the old nobles.
Looking at Zhu Yi who was leading the way with a wide smile, Zhu Jian glanced at Xu Youzhen beside him and couldn't help but sigh.
The gap is still too big...
Although he had just been in the carriage and criticized Zhang Xi and others for what they did this time.
But to be fair, if he were in Zhang Shi's position, he would most likely make the same choice.
In terms of age, Zhu Yi is much younger than Xu Youzhen, but his family has a title!
As long as a Duke's mansion can be built, no matter how young the Duke is, his status among the nobles cannot be ignored.
On the other hand, there is only one Xu Youzhen on my side, who seems to be in a daze. What kind of brain does he have to be able to say the words of moving south? Alas...
After exchanging a few words in the flower hall, Zhang Xi got straight to the point and said:
"Everyone, tomorrow is the day when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will leave the cabinet. We have made a lot of preparations and taken a lot of risks before, just for tomorrow. Now, although the incident of attacking the incense case has been suppressed, the public opinion in the court has already
Starting tomorrow, as long as we cooperate properly tomorrow, we will definitely be able to successfully get back the title of Duke Cheng."
After the words fell, Zhu Yi also stood up seriously, bowed deeply to everyone present, and said.
"For the affairs of Chengguo Gongfu and the family, I have worked hard for the Emperor several times, and everyone has cooperated with you. Zhu is really frightened. However, he dare not abandon the honor of his family. I hope you will forgive me. If I can successfully get the title back tomorrow,
, all of you present are all benefactors of Duke Chengguo, and you should be worshiped by Zhu first!"
This sounds nice, but the implication is that those who help are benefactors, and those who obstruct them are enemies...
Seeing that the matter of getting back the title reached the most critical moment, this young prince, who had always been kind to others, obviously began to show his edge.
There is no doubt about the importance of a title to a noble family. Among the people, Chen Mao was the first to speak.
"Don't worry, young master, what happens tomorrow is not only the edict of the Supreme Emperor, but also the common expectation of our family. If Duke Chengguo can get back the title, my family, Jingnan, will be as good as before.
, with the joint support of the two princes, from now on it will not be the young prince who relies on me, but we will rely on the Chengguo Government!"
Although Chen Mao has now been demoted from Ningyang Marquis to Ningyang Bo, his qualifications and military exploits are still there.
His statement, as he said himself, is actually a statement on behalf of Jingnan's old noble lineage.
Following closely behind, Jiao Jing also spoke.
"Yes, although this matter is important, with the presence of the Supreme Emperor and the Holy Mother, everything has been arranged properly. The Chengguo Duke's family has worked hard for the Supreme Emperor. Now that the title is vacant, we naturally cannot sit idly by and ignore what will happen tomorrow.
Do your best.”
Unlike Chen Mao, Jiao Jing is a relative, so he has a closer relationship with the palace. His words actually represent the attitude of the Holy Mother in the palace.
In fact, this is the most critical step, because tomorrow's ceremony will not only require the cooperation of the ministers, but also the cooperation of the Holy Mother.
Jiao Jing's statement shows that there is no problem with the Holy Mother.
Then, everyone's eyes fell on Zhu Jian!
This time they gathered together, to put it bluntly, it was a meeting to unify their thoughts before the war. The purpose was to get all the forces to take a stand again so that nothing would go wrong tomorrow.
Now, all the camps on the Supreme Emperor's side have made their statements, and the only one left is the civil servant camp represented by Zhu Jian.
Although Zhu Jian and Xu Youzhen are the only civil servants who can truly be regarded as the Supreme Emperor's party, they can influence many people.
Especially Zhu Jian, even though he has been outside Beijing for a long time and seems to be very unpopular in the court recently, what needs to be understood is that this old man has come up step by step.
A person like this, no matter how bad he is at management, will inevitably have various connections, it just means more or less.
Zhu Jian has a bad reputation during this period, but that does not mean that he has no supporters in the court. This is why they specially called Zhu Jian here today.
However, what everyone did not expect was that Mr. Zhu did not follow Jiao Jing to speak, but fell silent.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yi frowned, exchanged glances with Zhang Xi beside him, hesitated for a moment, and said.
"Mr. Zhu Ge, Mr. Zhu knows that some tricks were used in this matter to make Mr. Ge unhappy. Yesterday's incident will indeed cause His Highness the Crown Prince to leave the cabinet. The ceremony will have a small twist. However, we have obtained the approval of the Supreme Emperor in advance.
The edict was not done privately."
"Now that the matter has come to an end, there is no turning back. I hope Mr. Zhuge can help me with tomorrow's matter!"
As he spoke, Zhu Yi bowed to Zhu Jian upright and said, amidst the surprised gazes of everyone.
"Originally, Zhu should not have embarrassed the elder like this, but something went wrong temporarily. Just a few days ago, Zhu made his father-in-law displeased because of some things. Therefore, I am afraid that my father-in-law will not intervene in this matter.
In this case, I am afraid that the help of the elders will be needed when it comes to public opinion in the court."
"At this point, Zhu has no choice but to ask Mr. Ge to see that we are all doing our best for the Supreme Emperor and to lend a helping hand. Regardless of whether things happen tomorrow or not, everyone in the Chengguo Palace will definitely be grateful for Mr. Ge's kindness!"
After he finished speaking, Zhu Jian, who was already frowning, looked even more unhappy.
He glanced at Zhang Shi and others next to him, and when he saw that they were not surprised, he knew that they all knew about the matter and had only kept him in the dark.
You know, according to the original agreement, Zhu Yi had guaranteed that Hu Hu would speak for the Chengguo Palace in the court, which is why this matter progressed so smoothly.
But now that Hu Hui has stopped showing up, he is not the only one who needs an important person among the civil servants...
Listen to Zhu Yi's words just now. This is not a request, it is clearly a threat!
At this time, Zhang Xian on the side also said.
"Mr. Zhu Ge, it happened suddenly and we were caught off guard. However, all arrangements have been made. Thinking about it, even if the eldest uncle is missing, there won't be any big problems. Mr. Ge, don't worry. If this happens, besides
In addition to the Chengguo Duke's Palace, our British Duke's Palace will also miss your help!"
This is joint pressure...
If you agree, it is a favor from the two princes. But if you don't agree, you will offend both princes!
Zhu Jian looked at the people opposite him, his expressions becoming increasingly ugly.
To be honest, he knew it would be difficult to stop now that the matter had come to this point, otherwise, all the previous efforts would be in vain.
You must know that this time, in order to restore the title of the Duke of Chengguo, the preparations they made were not just as simple as the Xiang case.
The benefits paid below have not been used yet. If we really give up here, it will not be as simple as losing my wife and losing the army.
Therefore, even if Zhu Jian was dissatisfied, he still knew that his arms could not twist his thighs. However, even so, this scene now made him very uncomfortable.
This is not asking him for help, one by one, it is clearly forcing him.
At this moment, Mr. Zhu Ge was extremely lucky that he had made preparations in advance when he came, otherwise, he would really have to fight alone.
However, now...
"Young Master, what you said is wrong!"
Zhu Jian remained silent, picked up the tea cup and took a sip silently. Seeing this situation, Xu Youzhen stood up immediately and spoke slowly to the nobles facing him.
"It is certainly what we all wish to do to restore the title of the Duke of Chengguo. However, the Young Master cannot deny that this matter will harm the interests of all parties, and even risk His Highness the Crown Prince and replace him with the Duke.
It benefits the whole family."
"For the sake of the overall situation, the elder will naturally not refuse. However, the more important events come, the more everyone should abide by their duties. The elder has already tried his best to get out of the cabinet, but now the young master has made a temporary request to let the elder
Isn't it difficult for others to show up tomorrow?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present looked a little unhappy, as if they did not expect that the little Xu Youzhen would dare to refute them like this.
However, it was not over yet. Xu Youzhen looked around and continued.
"Previously, regarding the matter of preparing the palace for the prince, the elder of the cabinet went around and shouted in the court and did not hesitate to gamble with his own reputation. As a result, he is now being ostracized in the cabinet. At this time, you want the elder of the cabinet to come forward and raise this matter on behalf of the eldest uncle.
Have you ever thought about how the cabinet minister will gain a foothold in the cabinet after this incident?"
"We will naturally do our best to restore the title of Duke Chengguo, but to ask the elder to put himself in danger and to act in such a condescending manner, young master, isn't it a bit too much?"
After these words, the face of the person speaking became gloomy.
However, Zhu Jian was secretly happy in his heart. He asked you to join forces to force me. What's the matter, are you choked by the words?
However, at this time, he couldn't break up with each other after all, so on the surface, Zhu Jian still gave Xu Youzhen a soft drink and said.
"Yuan Yu, this matter is approved by the Supreme Emperor. Not to mention that I am asking for my help. What's the matter even if I lose my official position? I and others are complicit in this matter. How can we have such sinister intentions to speculate on you and make people laugh for nothing, and still not stand down?
!”
"Ming Gong..."
Xu Youzhen obviously wanted to say something more, but looking at Zhu Jian's face that darkened, she finally reluctantly held her hands and sat down again.
With this reconciliation, the atmosphere in the flower hall finally relaxed.
If someone gives you a step, you can't help but give him face. Zhu Yi cupped his hand and said.
"Mr. Ge understands the righteousness, and I admire him. It is true that Zhu did something inappropriate. However, I would like to ask Mr. Ge to see that Zhu has been working for the family for several days and did not consider it well at the moment. Don't worry about it..."
…”
Zhu Jian gently placed the tea cup on the table and said with a smile.
"Young Master, you don't have to be polite. I know a little bit about the situation of Duke Chengguo. It's really not easy for Young Master to support the family business alone."
"Since it is inconvenient for the eldest uncle to come forward tomorrow, I am naturally obliged to do so, but..."