Zhurou

Chapter 238 Trouble

After playing with the Qiongjiang for half an hour, Zhao Mingzhi made it snore. He felt that many distracting thoughts in his mind disappeared along with the snoring sound, and his body and mind were much more relaxed.

But when she returned to her room and washed up, she thought of what her brother had just said, and a trace of worry inevitably surfaced in her heart. Then she thought about the situation in the north and calculated the time. The army would be returning to the capital soon, but the court had not yet decided on the rewards for the three armies, and even the whereabouts of the generals could not be proposed. She really had to pay attention to everything.

It was so hard to win such a great victory, but if we failed to do the hardest thing and then capsized in the gutter afterwards, we would be so miserable that we couldn't even cry.

Zhao Mingzhi tossed and turned here, unable to sleep, and Zhao Hong in Funing Palace couldn't sleep either.

He returned to his bedroom and went to bed early, but he tossed and turned and could not fall asleep for half a day. He simply got up, sat back at the table, and took the booklet and looked at each name carefully.

How could Wang Shu, who was on guard, dare to sleep if Zhao Hong didn't sleep?

He did not dare to pour tea, but only served a cup of plain water, and then whispered: "Your Majesty, do you have any other urgent matters? If you don't sleep at night, I'm afraid you will have a headache tomorrow..."

Zhao Hong didn't even tell Zhao Mingzhi, so how could he explain so much to Wang Shu? He shook his head and just flipped through the book. He only saw the back and suddenly said, "You can go and ask around these few days to see if there are any guards who are down-to-earth, skilled in martial arts, and most importantly, loyal and not frivolous. Report their names to me as soon as possible."

This requirement is neither difficult nor easy.

Wang Shu agreed at first, but after going over a few sentences in his mind, he slowly figured out the thorny issue.

  ——If the person who is spying on us finds out something wrong and something goes wrong in the future, will we be implicated?

You have to know that these guards were newly transferred from all over the country. They may have some connections, but how could he dare to guarantee them?

Wang Shu didn't know what Zhao Hongxun was for, but since he didn't say anything, he didn't dare to mention it either. He could only play the side drum and cautiously said, "If Your Highness wants someone who is skilled in martial arts, reliable, and loyal, in my opinion, why do you have to choose him from the imperial guards?"

Zhao Hong immediately turned his eyes away from the booklet.

Being watched by the emperor, Wang Shu became more cautious in his words: "The many personal soldiers that came from our vassal states in the past are all old friends. They have been in the palace for many years and we know them well. Especially they escorted Your Majesty all the way to the capital, and then went south to Caizhou, and then returned to the capital. It is said that real gold is not afraid of fire. After being tempered so many times, how can we not see their character? If we choose from the personal soldiers, we don't need to investigate others. Picking out someone and asking Your Highness one more question is better than anything else!"

Zhao Hong had originally held out some hope, but after hearing his proposal, he shook his head and said, "We can't always use our personal soldiers for everything."

He added: "Just go and ask."

As he spoke, he pointed to a few names on the booklet and said, "Ask these people carefully."

Wang Shu originally thought that his proposal was an excellent one, but he did not expect that the emperor would remain unmoved. Not only did he still want to use the imperial guards, he even seemed to have chosen the candidates.

He hurried forward and took note carefully, but found that among those people, some were good at running, some were good at fighting, some were good at archery, and there was even one person who was said to be able to use a small-blade flying knife and could shoot the center of the bull's eye without missing within dozens of steps.

At this time, Zhao Hong said, "There is another matter. See who in the capital can speak the Northern Dynasty dialect and is familiar with the roads of the Northern Dynasty."

  Wang Shu was very confused by all these explanations. He thought to himself: Those who can speak the Northern Dynasty dialect and are familiar with the Northern Dynasty roads must be Di people, or they may be traveling merchants. But who would dare to agree to go looking for them like this?

He was afraid that he had misunderstood the meaning, so he couldn't help asking, "What name should I use to look for it? Are you afraid that others will find out?"

"Just inquire quietly and don't let others know too much." Zhao Hong said immediately.

Wang Shu was panicking. He really couldn't guess what the emperor wanted to do. After a moment of hesitation, he finally told everything he knew and said, "Your Majesty, let me tell you that if this candidate is needed urgently and needs to be reliable, the cheapest way is to have the Western Army select him..."

"I heard that the last time the court wanted to send an envoy to the north, they planned to find people from the Western Army to act as guides. Since the two sides are the closest, they often travel back and forth, and there are many soldiers who can speak the Northern Dynasty language. Since the Jiedushi Pei Yong is leading the troops to the north this time, I think many of his subordinates are familiar with the latest roads. When they enter the capital..."

Wang Shu wanted to say more, but Zhao Hong shook his head repeatedly and finally said, "Search among the people, don't alarm others."

After he finished explaining everything, he stared back at the booklet in his hand. He didn't turn the pages, nor did he drink the warm water. He didn't move for a long time.

Actually, although Zhao Hong was young, he had heard many arguments between the two governments. Even though he had never eaten pork, he had seen pigs run, so how could he not have thought of what Wang Shu said?

But if he used his personal soldiers who followed him from the fiefdom and the soldiers who came back from the north, how could he hide it from my sister?

He could just dispatch a few of his personal guards to go north with the envoys to Xingqing Prefecture, and he could use the excuse that he was going there to find out the strength of the Northern Dynasty. By then, even if the guards left halfway, the capital city and Xingqing Prefecture were more than a thousand miles apart. By the time the news came back, everything would have been a done deal and could not be changed.

Thinking of this, Zhao Hong's mind involuntarily flashed back to the corpses he saw when he returned to Beijing, and cold sweat broke out on his back. However, when he thought of his elder sister's smiling face again, his heart, which had been somewhat shaken, gradually became firm again.

  ***

The brother and sister each have their own plans, and the ministers in the two governments also have their own thoughts.

Since the last court meeting, because Zhao Mingzhi proposed the list of envoys to the Northern Dynasty, Yang Tingtong and Zhang Yi, who had only reached a brief consensus, quickly split into two sides again. However, once the news of Zong Gu's death and the unrest in the Northern Dynasty came back, their demands immediately became the same again.

——The so-called diplomatic mission still needs to be sent, but the conditions in the middle need to be carefully discussed.

Putting aside their previous grudges, the two sat down face to face again.

"After returning this time, how could Pei Yong not be appointed to the two ministries based on his military achievements? He must be a deputy privy envoy. It's because he is too inexperienced and has no followers, otherwise..." Although he boasted of being a prime minister, Zhang Yi couldn't help but snorted when he said this, "a deputy privy envoy who is less than 30 years old - and the emperor is young and ignorant, and the one behind the curtain is a woman with no long-term vision. She thinks that only we are a hindrance. Twenty years later, she will realize what disaster she has planted today!"

Even across half the table, Yang Ting seemed to smell the faint sour taste coming from the mouth of the person opposite him.

He was not as high-spirited as Zhang Yi. He had been annoying Zhao Hong all day long recently. He was much older and had a lot of experience, so he naturally sat more firmly. His tone was a little nonchalant at this time. He just said, "What's the matter with the future? If he wants to join the two governments, then he can join. If he is willing to give up the Western Army and give up the military power, once he enters the capital, are you afraid that he won't be able to control it in the future? I'm afraid that Pei Yong will not take your worries today seriously."

"You might as well worry about another thing - if this person is determined to return to Jingzhao Prefecture, and he also has great achievements, who can check and balance him?" Yang Ting watched the fire from the other side of the river, and when he spoke, he couldn't help but make some comments, "If the northwest is in chaos, won't your Privy Council be the one to suffer?"

Zhang Yi sneered and said, "Do you think that Pei will only be in the Privy Council when he comes to Beijing, and that it has nothing to do with you? The northwest is a large area, with Yan'an, Hezhong, Fengxiang above, Jingzhao Prefecture, Xingyuan, Junzhou below, are there only military generals? With such a large area under his jurisdiction, how many people can he use, how many people want to use, and how many people are rushing to send themselves to him to use?"

"If he really came to the capital and established his own faction, with his age and your age, do you think that officials of this dynasty who have just come to the court from afar, like Li Yan, can establish their positions just by showing us?"

Being called old in person and said so bluntly, Yang Ting did not seem to be touched at all. He just said: "I am already of this age. I should make room for the younger ones to come forward. As for who will come forward, I can't care too much..." Seeing that he was nonchalant, Zhang Yi laughed instead.

You want to make room for young people to come forward, so why are you sitting here with me today?

As if he had read Zhang Yi's mind, Yang Ting said, "What's the point of you and I planning here today? When Pei Yong arrives in Beijing, won't we have to deal with him? Besides, even if the sky falls, won't there be tall people to hold it up? There are not only a few of us in the two governments. You must know that there is another person in Caizhou, who may be anxious!"

"I won't interfere with other matters, but I have to intervene in the selection of the envoys to be sent to the Northern Dynasty. Daoheng and his men suffered a lot at the hands of the Di people. They were the best among the young people in the court. No matter what, we have to bring them back this time!"

When Yang Ting was talking before, he seemed calm and composed, but when he mentioned picking someone up, his breathing quickened.

Zhang Yi did not answer immediately, but just looked at him with a slight sneer.

They will turn a blind eye to things that do not concern them, but once they are related to their own interests, they will jump higher than anyone else. How can they say things like "I am already this age"?

We are all officials in the same court, so who doesn’t know each other’s background?

Most of the nephews and nieces of the Yang family died, or were useless and had long been of no use, but there were two very smart grandchildren. Yang Ting was very fond of them, and invited famous teachers to teach them since they were young, and kept them by his side to personally supervise their education.

But his grandson is still young after all, and is still far from becoming an adult. As for becoming a useful person, it will take at least another 20 to 30 years. Yang Ting definitely cannot stay in the two governments for that long - it is hard to say whether he can live another 20 to 30 years.

I think he had already made arrangements for his disciples such as An Daoheng, so that he could make the power transition in the future and protect his grandchildren in the future, which is why he was so concerned about it.

Yang Ting had people that he was anxious to bring back, and Zhang Yi naturally had some too, but he was younger, so he was more confident when he spoke. He stroked his beard and spoke three times slower: "It's not up to you and me to decide who to send to Xingqing Mansion. There's still His Majesty in the palace. If His Majesty is not convenient, there's also His Highness..."

This statement is full of confidence.

It should be noted that when the court sends an envoy to the north, no matter how they select the soldiers and generals, they will still have to choose from those people. How to negotiate and what conditions to set will be decided by the two governments.

Yang Ting had already made preparations, and at this moment he was too lazy to talk too much, so he asked directly: "We'll talk about the delegation later - what arrangements will the Privy Council make for Pei Yong's return to the capital?"

When he asked the price, Zhang Yi immediately made an offer: "Tell him to go back to Jingzhao Prefecture and not stay in the capital. As for the rest of the reward, we will talk about it later!"

Yang Ting didn't think it was a difficult task. He agreed without even bargaining.

The two sides discussed the details again, and only after reaching an agreement did Yang Ting stand up and walk out.

But when he walked to the door, he suddenly turned around to look at Zhang Yi and said, "Although I don't want Pei Yong to enter the two palaces, if the emperor can't return, Your Majesty, given the princess's usual behavior, will you allow the two palaces to take charge of the court today?"

"So what?" Zhang Yi said calmly, "Can we still count on Lu Xianzhang?"

Yang Ting shook his head and said, "The princess was going to Jingzhao Prefecture that day, and she wanted the two prefectures to take turns guarding the emperor's residence. Who was the one in charge?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yi couldn't help but be moved, and blurted out: "Sun Chong!"

"But... the two routes south of the Yangtze River need to ensure this year's autumn harvest, and in the south..." He counted the things one after another, "if there is no one in charge..."

Yang Ting said: "I also thought that Sun Chong was originally from Jiangdong, and he was the best person to be in charge of Caizhou. But early this morning, His Highness suddenly asked me about Caizhou and who could replace Sun Chong..."

He paused, then continued, "Once Sun Chong returns to Beijing, will you and I really be better off?"

Zhang Yi lost his composure for a moment and blurted out: "It's her again! She's a woman..."

He just said this and quickly shut up.

She is a woman, but she is so insidious. She also wants to learn how to use the emperor's tactics of mixing up different opinions and balancing them.

It is precisely this way that makes it impossible to guard against.

Sun Chong had always been greedy for power, which had long caused dissatisfaction among others. Since the emperor insisted on returning to the capital, this man had stayed in Caizhou for a long time to gain authority, but no one in the court had ever mentioned bringing the old prime minister back.

Having lived a good life in Beijing for so long, Zhang Yi had long forgotten about this trouble.

But just as Yang Ting said, if Sun Chong returns to Beijing, with his usual behavior, it is really hard to tell whether he or Pei Yong will be more troublesome.

Zhang Yi was about to turn around after sending him to the door, but at this moment he was unable to move at all and could only look at Yang Ting.

Yang Ting didn't say anything, but the expression on his face clearly asked silently: If you had to choose, would you rather tolerate Sun Chong or Pei Yong?

If he had a choice, Zhang Yi certainly wouldn't want to endure any of them.

Yang Ting said: "From what Your Highness said, it seems that Sun Chong's return to the capital is a foregone conclusion. It's just a matter of when the imperial edict will be issued. If it really comes to this, in my opinion, it would be better to keep Pei Yong in the capital. You and I can't stand it, so how can Sun Chong stand it?"

He said such straightforward words and walked away without staying any longer.

Zhang Yi was left standing there all alone, pondering the news over and over again. While having a headache, a thought inevitably emerged in his mind - this princess behind the curtain is overreaching and meddling too much. If she is not married off soon, there will be endless troubles!