Chapter 348 The trouble left behind
"Wang De did a good job, but unfortunately someone on our side was stupid!"
In the backyard of Fengyuan Building, Han Yu smashed his teacup, his face livid. "After discovering that Jiang Qingzhi went to the Huben Zuowei, he should have immediately ordered Wang De to encourage Zhang Xinlin to take action. But those idiots felt that they were not sure, and they had to wait until Jiang Qingzhi led the Huben Zuowei out of the camp. But Jiang Qingzhi did not wait for the order to arrive, and rushed to the Fujun Youwei with dozens of cavalry. It was just a little short!"
Yang Qing sat opposite him and drank tea calmly.
"It has come to this, what can we do!"
"What a great opportunity!" Han Yu walked around the waterside pavilion a few times, then stopped and slapped the stone table. "If the Right Guard of the Palace Army had been able to launch a successful attack last night, and our people in the guards had been deceived, Lord Yang, you can trust them. The West Garden would be in chaos right now..."
"Regicide?" Yang Qing asked calmly.
"It's not like we haven't done it before. What's the matter? Are you scared?" Han Yu sneered.
"They did it, but I didn't." Yang Qing said, "But you forgot that if the Beijing Guards occupied Xiyuan, would Jiang Qingzhi follow the rules and wait for the order before sending out the Tiger Guards? In addition, you forgot Qin Yuan!"
"The vanguard of the government army?"
"That's right." Yang Qing said, "You overlooked a piece of news. Last night, after His Majesty ordered Jiang Qingzhi to suppress the Right Guard of the Palace Army, the entire Palace Army Vanguard was on alert."
Han Yu was stunned. "After losing to Jiang Qingzhi in the last martial arts performance, the front guard of the palace army became quiet, and even followed Jiang Qingzhi to the north. Qin Yuan is now considered His Majesty's man..."
"Only Your Majesty can command him!" Yang Qing sneered, "Once the guards are mobilized, Qin Yuan will definitely lead his troops to reinforce Xiyuan. Don't forget, they said that Jiang Qingzhi personally trained the Palace Army Vanguard when he went north. That man is a famous general. Do you think you can defeat the Palace Army Vanguard under his command and attack Xiyuan with those chaotic troops?"
Han Yu stood there in a daze, "Once Xiyuan is stabilized, Jiang Qingzhi will return..."
"When those rebel troops see Jiang Qingzhi, they will think of the Jingguan outside Datong City and the disastrous defeat of the generals under Altan Khan. Do they dare to face Jiang Qingzhi directly?"
Yang Qing put down the teacup, "So those people said that your majesty and Jiang Qingzhi escaped last night because they underestimated your majesty and even more underestimated Jiang Qingzhi.
Last night, we were evenly matched at best. Ever since Jiang Qingzhi disobeyed the rules and ordered the Tiger Guards to leave the camp, we no longer have any chance of winning!"
Han Yu took a deep breath and said, "But this is also an overstepping of authority!"
"That's right." Yang Qing asked someone to bring the Go board. "The rest has nothing to do with the two of us. Come, let's play a game of Go to end this cold and harsh autumn!"
Han Yu sat down and took a few chess pieces in his hands, "Last night, the guards in the capital were a little restless."
"Single!" Yang Qing placed a chess piece on the wooden chessboard. "After the assassination attempt, His Majesty is like a frightened bird. Before the Beijing Guards can completely reassure him, he will not support Jiang Qingzhi to go against us."
"You lose." Han Yu opened his hand, holding four chess pieces.
……
"Your Majesty, some of my subjects have accused Chang Wei Bo of ordering the Tiger Guards to leave the camp without authorization last night."
The impeachment letter had already reached the Daoye, and Yan Song actually sneered, "This person has ulterior motives, I think he should be severely reprimanded!"
Emperor Jiajing did not read the impeachment letter. Having just woken up, he took a sip of tea and asked, "Who is the first one?"
"Imperial Censor Zhang Qiang."
“Exiled to Yunnan.”
"Yes."
Yan Song glanced at Emperor Jiajing and said, "In Yunnan, I heard that the Duke of Qian is ill."
The current Duke of Qian, Mu Rong, is only four years old, and everything is decided by his uncle, Mu Chaobi.
Yunnan is the place of the Mu family. If he is exiled to Yunnan, will he become a tool of Mu Chaobi?
Yan Song had already thought of what would happen next: Mu Rong would die, and Mu Chaobi would submit a petition asking for the right of succession.
Emperor Jiajing said indifferently: "I heard that the Mu family has hundreds of eunuchs as slaves?"
"Yes." Yan Song said, "And the servants and maids in the Duke of Qian's mansion all wear silk and satin."
"The Mu family... is richer than I am." It was hard to tell whether the Taoist priest liked or disliked what he said, but Yan Song sneered in his heart. Later, when he returned to Zhilu, he said to Yan Shifan, "Return the gift from Yunnan."
"Dad, why?" Yan Shifan was puzzled.
Yan Song sat down, Yan Shifan stood up to make tea for him and asked someone to bring some snacks.
"Take your seat." Yan Song sighed comfortably, "I have tested him before, and Your Majesty does not have a good impression of Mu Chaobi."
Yan Song had a very accurate understanding of himself: I am a dog kept in captivity by Your Majesty, and I will go wherever Your Majesty directs me.
"Yunnan is too far away and the capital is out of reach." Yan Shifan was a little reluctant, but finally nodded.
"Dad, there are more and more memorials impeaching Jiang Qingzhi." Yan Shifan pushed a pile of memorials over.
"I won't read it." Yan Song knew the general content without reading it. "Lu Bing said that if Jiang Qingzhi had arrived a little later last night, the Right Guard of the Palace Army would have started a massacre."
"Tsk! Lu Bing is really... a man of integrity!" Yan Shifan said sarcastically, "It seems like he's tired of being a fence-sitter."
"He is still a fence-sitter, but last night we shared the same fate with Jiang Qingzhi." Yan Song ate a piece of dessert and clapped his hands. "The biggest problem at the moment is not the mutiny of the Right Guard of the Imperial Army last night, but that after this incident, His Majesty no longer trusts the Beijing Guard."
"I asked Zhao Wenhua to ask Lu Bing." Yan Shifan said, "Lu Bing said that most of the guards in Beijing were watching last night. There were some unusual movements, but they didn't dare to take action."
"Unless Zhang Xinlin succeeds, how dare they do that?" Yan Song rubbed his brows. "Your Majesty is most sensitive to the safety of the capital. After this incident, the situation in the court will probably change."
"Your Majesty will compromise for the time being." Yan Shifan said with a smile: "This way we can have a chance to catch our breath."
"Ever since Your Majesty spoke up for the Mohist School, there have been constant attacks from the court. To be honest, your father has been quite overwhelmed. It's good this way!" Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, what do you think about Jiang Qingzhi?" Yan Shifan asked.
"Jiang Qingzhi should be able to get through this wave of impeachment safely. But then His Majesty will choose to compromise temporarily. The Mohist School will retreat into the dark again. If Jiang Qingzhi is smart, he should leave the capital. Even if it means going to the north to fight with Altan Khan."
Yan Song raised his head and rested his neck on the back of the chair. Yan Shifan quickly stood up and came over, "Dad, does your neck hurt?"
"Yeah! It hurts." Yan Song closed his eyes and pointed to the right back of his neck.
"I told you to read less paperwork but you refused to listen. Just leave those chores to Xu Jie. With me watching over him, how can he possibly do anything? Throwing the chores to him will, firstly, let the outside world see my father's magnanimity, and secondly, make Xu Jie too busy to think about us..."
"Yes, right here, a little to the right...hiss!" Yan Song's face wrinkled up as he was pinched in a painful spot. "Xu Jie...Xu Jie is a patient man, don't underestimate him. In addition, the two princes..."
"Dad, His Majesty may seem frail, but he has never been seriously ill in many years. I think His Majesty still has a lot of life ahead of him! As for the two princes, it depends on His Majesty's wishes. Let's not interfere for now..." Yan Song patted the back of his son's hand, "Okay."
"Dad, you should get some sleep!" Yan Shifan whispered.
Yan Song was silent. Yan Shifan looked at his gray hair and felt sad. He quietly left the duty room and his entourage saluted outside.
"Keep your voice down." Yan Shifan asked in a low voice, "Where is Xu Jie?"
"Lord Xu said that the Ministry of Rites had something to do, so he went back."
Yan Shifan walked out of the Zhilu, stood with his hands behind his back and looked into the distance. "Has Xu Jie presented any poems recently?"
The attendant said, "Yes, there was one the day before yesterday."
"Old dog, you are trying to save the country in a roundabout way!"
Yan Shifan sneered and suddenly turned around, "Oh, right, the phrase "saving the country by a roundabout way"... I don't remember who said it... It was Jiang Qingzhi who said it, yes, it was him who said it."
The attendant laughed and said, "Jiang Qingzhi was really worried last night and almost fell down."
"If this person was not an enemy, I, Yan Shifan, would be willing to be friends with him." Yan Shifan said with some regret.
……
Last night's riots sparked some discussion this morning, and more and more memorials criticizing Jiang Qingzhi were received in the court.
"It is said that Chang Wei Bo led a few guards and attacked the Right Guard of the Palace Army. He killed the commander Zhang Xinlin with one sword, and then killed the captain with another sword... What a guy, he killed everyone from the beginning to the end by himself."
"It is said that Chang Wei Bo brought that Shura... Asura, and the two of them killed most of the Right Guards of the Palace Army."
A few idlers were chatting about what happened last night. Not far away, Sun Chonglou was beaming with joy. "Jia Lan, what did I say? Sooner or later, I, Sun Chonglou, will become famous in the capital. You see!"
Dou Jialan rolled his eyes, "Is Asura also a reputation?"
"Why not?" Sun Chonglou said proudly, "Who said that if you can't be remembered for thousands of years, you will be remembered for thousands of years. Ouch!"
Jiang Qingzhi slapped the guy on the back of his head and said, "Study hard and don't mistake boredom for fun."
Sun Chonglou covered the back of his head and mumbled a few words, then his eyes lit up, "Hey! We're here."
In front is Li Tian’s parents’ home.
In the morning, someone from Li Tian's parents' home came and said that Chang was ill, so Jiang Qingzhi took his wife back to her parents' home to visit her.
"Uncle is here."
The door opened and the servant turned around and shouted happily.
The couple was welcomed into the backyard, where Chang sat, looking a little pale. Li Tian's sister Li Xuan and brother-in-law Xiang Cheng were also there.
"Nothing serious, I'm just angry." Chang said with a smile, "I won't let you make this trip in vain."
Li Xuan glanced at her sister. "Rumors were flying everywhere this morning. Some people said that my brother-in-law was caught up in the chaos last night and was... Some people said that my brother-in-law participated in the rebellion last night. Mother was so worried that she got sick."
Li Tian quickly explained and bowed to Xiang Cheng with a smile.
"Qingzhi, I heard that His Majesty was furious last night?" Xiang Cheng was the Inspector of the Ministry of Revenue, a ninth-rank official, but because he was Jiang Qingzhi's brother-in-law, he acted a little more arrogantly.
"Not really angry." Jiang Qingzhi was telling the truth. He had been fighting with those people for more than 20 years without a clear winner, and he had long been accustomed to it.
He was telling the truth, but in Xiang Cheng's eyes he was just showing off.
Ha ha!
Xiang Cheng smiled, "I was at the Ministry of Revenue this morning, and someone said there were many memorials impeaching you. The Beijing Guards have left countless troubles. If the Beijing Guards are unstable, how can Your Majesty not be angry? Can't you?"
Chang sighed, "Second uncle."
"Mother-in-law." Jiang Qingzhi said with a smile.
"But what did the eldest brother-in-law say?" Chang said worriedly, "If His Majesty gets angry, you here..."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled bitterly, "Many things are inconvenient to talk about..."
If he told it, he would inevitably be suspected of leaking secrets or showing off.
But does he need to?
But seeing his mother-in-law looking worried about him, Jiang Qingzhi couldn't bear it.
The brother-in-law's words seemed caring, but in fact they were filled with jealousy. Jiang Qingzhi had no interest in competing with him, so he stood up and said he wanted to go out for a walk.
After he left, Li Xuan whispered to Xiang Cheng, "Why are you saying that? Don't embarrass your brother-in-law."
Xiang Cheng complained, "I am worried about him too... Qingzhi is of a very important status. If Your Majesty displeases him, those Confucianists will eat him alive."
"Yan'er." Li Tian suddenly spoke.
"Madam." Huang Yaner came in.
"Bring in the snacks I brought."
"Yes."
Huang Yaner came in with a lunch box. Li Xuan said unhappily, "Why are you bringing snacks with you? Just come."
"That's right." Chang felt relieved but pretended to be angry.
Li Tian opened the food box. "My husband went to the West Garden this morning. He not only ate and drank for free, but also took away the snacks that His Majesty prepared for Princess Changle before leaving. So I thought of bringing some for you to try..."
Xiang Cheng: “…”
(End of this chapter)
