King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 652 Can I give you instructions?

"Old Six, you've said so much, I also want to ask... do you know what the surprise Xiyi mentioned is?"

In the Qianqing Palace, after excitedly talking about the results of the negotiations, Zhu Jingyuan was upset by the emperor's questions.

Didn't I make it clear enough? Didn't Dad think that Xiyi's concession was a surprise? Why did the old man and Old Thirteen think the same thing?

Zhu Jingyuan felt uncomfortable, and so did Zhu Xianming.

Lao Liu's joyful look really disappointed him.

Just because someone gave you a little benefit, you let down your guard and made friends with them, and you don't even realize that your roots are being dug up...

Previously, Zhu Xianming thought that Lao Liu was okay, but now he has to admit that he was wrong.

This kid may be able to be a king who maintains the status quo, but there are enemies on all sides in the future. Can he hold on?

If a king who is supposed to maintain the status quo cannot maintain it, he is certainly unqualified.

Zhu Xianming already had a general understanding of the situation of the on-site negotiations before Zhu Jingyuan arrived.

So he knew that Zhu Jinghong pointed out the problem on the spot, but Zhu Jingyuan has not realized it until now.

Of course, Zhu Xianming also had to admit that given the court's current difficult circumstances, the conditions offered by the Spaniards were indeed very generous, and it was not too wrong for the Sixth Prince to be deceived.

But how to choose is one thing, and whether you understand it in your heart is another. The problem is that Lao Liu still doesn’t understand.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Jingyuan replied: "The surprise is that they are willing to make concessions, and the court can benefit greatly!"

"Although it would be embarrassing for us to allow them to occupy several ports in Luzon, compared with the benefits... my son thinks it is acceptable!"

In the second half of the sentence, Zhu Jingyuan felt that he was very responsible and said the most practical thing, which should make his father happy. This is where he is better than the pedantic prince.

"If there is any criticism, my son is willing to bear it all!"

Adding this last sentence made Zhu Jingyuan even more confident, thinking that he was truly helping his emperor and father to relieve their worries.

After hearing what Lao Liu said, Zhu Xianming sighed in his heart.

"Sixth Brother, do you think there is no problem at all with the benefits given by the Western Barbarians?" Zhu Xianming could only ask.

Didn’t I say that I know there are problems, but I can accept it... Zhu Jingyuan was very depressed.

Before he could explain himself, Zhu Xianming continued, "So they came across thousands of miles of sea just to bring us benefits?"

"Don't you think...they are giving so much profit for ulterior motives?"

"Dad, these people do have bad intentions, but my Ming Dynasty is strong and powerful. Should I be afraid of them?" Zhu Jingyuan was very unconvinced.

Zhu Xianming became increasingly disappointed, so he asked, "Can our troops go to the sea to kill the enemy?"

Of course, troops cannot go to the sea, so there must be a strong navy. Spain’s goal is to restrict, or even destroy, the Ming Dynasty’s naval construction.

"Can a matter of face be a trivial matter?"

"If we value profit over righteousness, how will the vassal states view the Ming Dynasty? And what will happen to our Celestial Empire..."

After hearing his old father's long speech, Zhu Jingyuan became more and more dissatisfied. He could only think that the emperor ignored the overall situation of the court for the sake of his own face.

It seems that the old man is not always wise, and he is old... Zhu Jingyuan thought secretly.

Thinking of the history books, those emperors with great achievements would become foolish and reckless when they got old, he felt that the current situation was very normal.

Zhu Xianming was certainly not stupid. He explained it this way because he did not want to embarrass Zhu Jinghong.

After all, if the truth is told and some deeper things are revealed, it will show that the Thirteenth Brother is smarter than the Sixth Brother, and the latter's jealousy will make it difficult for the former.

"So, we cannot agree to any of Xiyi's conditions!"

"And our request is that they withdraw from Luzon, and they must agree to this!"

After hearing these words from the old man, Zhu Jingyuan felt like crying but had no tears. He felt that the old man was old and confused, and was about to ruin the family.

And he, Zhu Jingyuan, will be the next emperor, and this old man is ruining his family.

"Dad, if we can't come to an agreement..."

"Then fight!" Zhu Xianming said firmly.

At this moment, Zhu Jingyuan was speechless.

He knew that if he said any more, the old man would probably get angry, and then he would have to bear the wrath.

So Zhu Jingyuan got scared and now he doesn't dare to take responsibility.

But in fact, if he had argued further, the emperor would not have been too angry. Instead, he would have looked up to him a little more.

If not compared with Zhu Jinghong, Zhu Jingyuan is actually very outstanding.

"Let's talk again in two days. If they still don't give in, then there's no point in talking!"

"Yes!"

The father and son parted unhappily. At this time, outside the Northern Pacification Office's Nancheng Qianhu Office, a eunuch dismounted and showed a visiting card, and was then led in by the captain on duty.

The man did not look for anyone, but went directly to the lobby of Captain Wang Jiyang, who had come out to greet him upon hearing the news.

"Hey, Eunuch Xu, why are you here? Do you have something to tell me?" Wang Jiyang greeted him with a smile.

This person came from Guangyang Palace, so Wang Jiyang of course had to give him some face.

Eunuch Xu did not dare to be arrogant and quickly bowed in return: "Captain Wang, is it that you can't come to visit if you have nothing to do?"

"What are you talking about? Our government office is open to the public, and you can come anytime!"

"please……"

After some pleasantries, the two men went to the back room and sat down. The servants brought them tea.

"Eunuch, serve the Third Master. I came here today...but do you have any instructions?"

This eunuch Xu was called Xu Cheng. He was one of the chief eunuchs of the Guangyang Palace, equivalent to Deng An and Zhang Pingan of the Xiang Palace.

His coming today was equivalent to representing Zhu Jingrun, so Wang Jiyang did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.

"Captain Wang, I don't deserve your order...but our prince has a small favor and needs your help!"

Before Wang Jiyang could ask what he was doing for, Xu Cheng continued, "Don't worry, our prince won't treat Captain Wang unfairly!"

As he spoke, Xu Cheng reached into his pocket and pulled out five silver bills.

"This is five thousand taels of silver, as a token of gratitude from the prince... Please help me, sir!"

Wang Jiyang was impressed by the Third Master's generosity when he was given five thousand taels of silver at a time, but he also wondered if the matter would be difficult to handle.

So he didn't rush to answer, but asked: "Eunuch, what are you talking about? If the Third Master has an order, just say it directly. It's unorthodox to take these things!"

"Hey...Friendship is friendship, but we can't break the rules. If we always make people work for nothing, who will give face to our palace in the future?"

Having said that, Wang Jiyang didn't want to waste his breath, so he asked directly: "I don't know what you want to tell me, Third Master?"

Xu Cheng did not keep the secret and said in a relaxed tone: "There is a servant in the mansion named Liu San. Maybe he did something sneaky and was caught by your Jinyiwei today!"

"If this person really did something evil, he should be punished according to the national law. But he is after all a close friend of the prince. If he is punished according to the public law... the prince will not look good!"

Paying close attention to Wang Jiyang's expression, Xu Cheng continued, "So what the prince wants to say is, can you hand this man over to me, lock him up and take him back and beat him to death!"

"This will not only punish his crimes, but also give us an opportunity to tidy up the palace!"

It sounds very reasonable, but Wang Jiyang always feels something is wrong, but he can't tell exactly what is wrong.

"Captain Wang?"

"Oh...oh...I'm not clear about this matter yet. How about I ask someone and then give my father-in-law an answer?" Wang Jiyang avoided the question.

To be able to secure the position of a thousand households in a government office like the Northern Pacification Office, Wang Jiyang was naturally very cautious.

This matter seemed to be a trivial matter, but he still did not give the order casually.

Xu Cheng couldn't be sure whether Liu San's arrest was related to that incident, but he now knew that Wang Jiyang was unaware of it.

The matter involved a serious matter. If the truth had been revealed, Wang Jiyang would definitely supervise the case personally and would definitely not ask for information about the case right now. This made Xu Cheng feel more at ease, and he wanted to take Liu San away as soon as possible.

The reason is very simple. Just because Wang Jiyang is unaware of the case doesn't mean the arresting officer didn't find any clues.

If we delay a little longer, Liu San might say something he shouldn't say after being tortured, and that would be a big trouble.

"Captain Wang, this is just a small matter... there's no need to make so much trouble!"

Xu Cheng sighed, his face showing worry, and said: "You also know that our prince has always been cautious and afraid of making the slightest mistake!"

As a captain of the Northern Pacification Division, Wang Jiyang knew very well how the first two princes died, so he understood Zhu Jingrun's situation very well.

"When the prince learned that such a disaster had occurred in the palace, he was so anxious that he fainted. The imperial doctors had a hard time saving him!"

"As soon as the prince woke up, he ordered me to bring the man back, saying that he would personally punish him severely!"

After laying out all this, Xu Cheng bowed and said, "Captain Wang, for the sake of the prince's health, please raise your hand!"

Xu Cheng's words were completely free of the airs of an envoy from the royal palace, and he appealed to Wang Jiyang's emotions and reason. If Wang Jiyang did not agree, it would seem he was being unkind.

"Captain Wang, you also know that... the Guangyang Palace has been trembling with fear and treading on thin ice over the years. You can't just stand by and watch them die!"

A little eunuch breaking the law would not bring disaster to the palace. Prince Guangyang is being too cautious... Wang Jiyang thought so.

But this indirectly shows that the young eunuch should not be a big problem, after all, the tolerance rate of Guangyang Palace is so low.

"Someone, go and ask... whether a eunuch was arrested today. If so, bring him here!" Wang Jiyang ordered.

Hearing Wang Jiyang say this, Xu Cheng felt relieved.

Putting down the banknote in his hand, Xu Cheng said with a smile: "Thank you, Captain Wang. Today, the palace is grateful for your kindness. I will definitely reward you handsomely later!"

"If Captain Wang needs any help in the future, just send someone to ask for help!"

Wang Jiyang didn't take Xu Cheng's polite words to heart, because Guangyang Palace could basically not help him.

The only thing the other party had that was useful to him was the silver bill on the coffee table... Thinking of this, Wang Jiyang glanced over inadvertently.

This happened to be seen by Xu Cheng. It was a good thing for him that this guy loved money. After all, a problem that could be solved with money was not a problem.

The two chatted for a while, and soon a captain came over. To Xu Cheng's disappointment, Liu San did not come.

"Is there no such person?" Wang Jiyang asked.

"Your Excellency, there is such a person, but General Zhao Zhi said that this person is involved in an important case, and he dare not release him without authorization!"

In each thousand-household office of the Northern Pacification Office, the leaders who actually do the work are basically small flag officers, and there are indeed not many cases where the general flag is in charge.

Now is not the time to care about it. The problem now is that his authority as a thousand households has been challenged in front of outsiders.

As a chief captain, Wang Jiyang has great say in the captaincy and no general can challenge him.

"Let Ren Fucai come to see me!" Wang Jiyang said coldly.

Ren Fucai was a centurion and Zhao Zhi's immediate superior.

It was too undignified for him, a captain, to talk directly to a general.

"Yes!" So the captain went to pass on the message again.

After the captain left, Xu Cheng said, "I heard before that the Jinyiwei family rules are very strict, but I didn't expect..."

"Captain Wang, don't worry. I have no other intentions. I just think you are kind to others, so..."

"Oh, look at my stinky mouth, I deserve a beating..."

Xu Cheng's words were full of sarcasm, which made Wang Jiyang even more angry, but he just kept a cold face and didn't say much.

About two minutes later, the captain who delivered the message came back again, this time he came back alone.

"Ren Fucai is not here?" Wang Jiyang asked coldly.

"Reporting... Reporting to the captain, the captain Ren also said... that this case is of great importance, so..."

Looking at Wang Jiyang's eyes that were about to spit fire, the captain didn't dare to say anything more.

"Captain Wang, look at this... I didn't expect it to be so difficult at this moment!"

Fearing that Wang Jiyang would calm down, Xu Cheng continued to stir up trouble, saying, "Alas... If there is really no other way, I will have to go back and report to the prince, and then I will ask him to find another solution!"

"Oh, this is a royal affair that involves a lot of things. I don't know how much trouble it will cause!"

"I'll go and see for myself!" Wang Jiyang stood up angrily.

Flicking his sleeves, Wang Jiyang walked out of the lobby. Behind him, Xu Cheng smiled fleetingly and then followed him out.

The Qianhu Suo in Nancheng is not small, and each Baihu Suo has a small courtyard. Daily management matters such as roll call and salary payment are delegated to the Baihu Suo level.

When we arrived at the centurion's office where Ren Fucai was, this guy had already brought people out to greet him.

"I pay my respects to His Excellency, the Thousand Household Master!"

Ren Fucai led his two small flag officers and saluted respectfully to Wang Jiyang.

"Captain Ren is truly a man of great bearing!" Xu Cheng's voice sounded at the right time.

Wang Jiyang's mood had eased a little, but at this moment he suddenly became angry again.

Walking up to Ren Fucai, Wang Jiyang asked coldly, "Captain Ren, you are so arrogant, but you ignored my words!"

"How dare I!" Ren Fucai replied, bending his waist.

"Don't dare? I asked you to release them? Why didn't you obey my orders?"

Ren Fucai replied: "Sir, this man is involved in a major case, we can't just let him go!"

"Big case? What big case? Do you know who is arrested?"

Ren Fucai knew very well who the arrested person was, but he didn't dare to say what kind of major case it was, because such things should not be discussed in public.

To be more precise, when investigating a case involving a royal scandal, one should not take the initiative to investigate unless the task is urgent.

"Sir, I know who this person is, but the country has its own laws..."

Before Ren Fu could finish his words, Wang Jiyang shouted, "What crime did he break?"
"This... this case is complicated. I am..."

Ren Fucai was answering seriously, but in Wang Jiyang's opinion, he was just evading the question, or even humiliating him, the captain, in public.

"shut up!"

After being scolded by Wang Jiyang again, Ren Fucai had no choice but to shut up.

"I'll give you one more chance, let him go now!" Wang Jiyang said in a firm tone.

He was very angry, but Xu Cheng behind him was even more worried, because he knew that Liu Sanda was probably exposed.

"Master, it's not that I don't want to release him. It's actually that Captain Li has already instructed me to conduct a thorough investigation. Otherwise..."

Li Wenzhao was the deputy captain, but at this moment he was used to block Wang Jiyang, which made the latter even more furious.

"I am instructing you now to release the person immediately!"

"Sir, Captain Li..."

Even after saying this, Ren Fucai still refused to give in, which made Wang Jiyang completely angry and explode.

"Can I give you instructions?"

"I asked you if I could give you instructions?"

After scolding him twice, Wang Jiyang couldn't bear it any longer and kicked Ren Fucai in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

Wang Jiyang was also a martial artist, and the kick he gave was quite powerful. Ren Fucai was stunned and couldn't get up immediately.

"How is this going?"

(End of this chapter)