Another early day.
At Yinzheng time, Cao Bin was called up.
In summer, at four o'clock, the sky is already bright.
"Xiangyun, are the carriage and food ready?"
Du Shiniang asked while changing Cao Bin's clothes.
Mianyi Xiangyun nodded and smiled: "Don't worry, aunt, Xiangyun has already informed the sedan chair."
This female official of the Xixia Palace did not want to be confined to the backyard, but served as the second housekeeper of the Hou Mansion.
With her previous experience in the Xixia Palace, she was able to take care of the affairs of the Hou Mansion with ease.
This saved Fu Bo a lot of energy.
Today's Zhongjing Marquis Mansion is different from the past. In addition to the internal affairs of the palace, including welcoming and sending guests, they also have to take care of various industries.
Uncle Fu couldn't take care of it anymore, and now that Wu Yixiang Yun was here, he was relieved.
As the saying goes, there are seven officials in front of the prime minister.
As the chief steward of the Hou Mansion, taking care of the housework is only the second most important thing. The most important thing is to pay attention to the dynamics of the court and help Cao Bin deal with the relationship between superiors and subordinates.
By the time Cao Bin finished washing, the red sun had fully risen, spreading its soft red color over the streets and alleys of the capital.
"Cao Lang, be careful and don't make the emperor angry."
Du Shiniang warned with some worry.
As the saying goes, being with a king is like being with a tiger.
Many people happily go to attend the morning pilgrimage in the morning, but cannot come back at noon.
Du Shiniang's worries are justified.
Cao Bin hugged her and said with a smile: "Don't worry, I know."
It was also the first time for Cao Bin to participate in the Chang Dynasty. Generally, only officials of the fourth rank or above in the capital could participate.
This type of official is called a regular official, which is also a reflection of his status and qualifications.
When Cao Bin arrived at the imperial city, most of the officials were already waiting in the courtyard.
The waiting time was not too long this time, and soon the emperor ascended to the Zichen Hall, and all the officials stood in line.
The discussion issues were also very straightforward. The first question was about the mission to Xixia.
Cao Bin has already written down the process of his mission and handed it over.
This time it was mainly the emperor and ministers who asked about the details and doubts.
Cao Bin kept in mind Taishi Pang's lessons and answered all kinds of questions honestly, never going into details where he could be vague.
After asking the question, Wang Fu, the censor Zhongcheng, suddenly said:
"Uncle Zhongjing, who gave you and Yang Zongbao permission to attack the Xixia Hengshan camp without permission?"
"Also, whose order did you receive when negotiating with Xixia? Who gave you the right?"
Hearing this question, while the others were still calm, Mrs. She and Mu Guiying were already nervous.
Because of this incident, Yang Zongbao took at least half of the responsibility.
If Cao Bin is unlucky, the Yang family won't be able to escape.
When they received Yang Zongbao's letter earlier, the Yang family had mixed feelings.
I was delighted to have harvested more than 3,000 war horses.
The Yang family is too trapped. Having a war horse means having money. If there is a war in the future, it can reduce some losses.
The worry is that if he sends troops without the permission of the court, he will definitely be impeached.
Mrs. She once lamented at that time: Her grandson had been guarding the border for many years, but he had lost a lot of caution.
Mu Guiying was speechless secretly. She knew that Yang Zongbao would not have taken such a risk without Cao Bin's instigation.
The Yang family has never been afraid of foreign enemies, but they kept secret about the pressure within the Song Dynasty.
Now that the most critical question has been raised, I wonder if Cao Bin has any way to defend himself.
If he was questioned, the Yang family would have no choice but to consider themselves unlucky and suffer the punishment along with him.
However, Cao Bin was not surprised at all when he heard this question. He had expected it, so he answered unhurriedly:
"Master Wang is a little confused."
"First, we did not attack the Hengshan Camp. We just asked the Xixia ministers to come out for negotiations."
"If Mr. Wang doesn't believe it, you can ask the soldiers at the border if we have ordered them to attack Hengshan."
"Second, as the deputy envoy of the Song Dynasty, doesn't Cao have the right to negotiate with Xixia?"
"If it is true as Mr. Wang said, then why are we sent to Xixia as an envoy? I am lonely as an envoy."
"Forehead......"
Hearing this, not only Wang Fu was stunned, but Mu Guiying almost didn't react.
The first question is a bit difficult to define. Although Cao Bin shot and killed a Xixia general, he did not send troops to attack Hengshan. No one can tell whether it counts as disobedience to the imperial order.
The second question is interesting. Everyone knows that after Yuan Hao came out to pursue him, Cao Bin's mission was meaningless.
However, Cao Bin's position as deputy envoy was not canceled by the court, and he could of course negotiate with Xixia.
It's just that this negotiation is a bit informal. It might as well be said to be taking advantage of the other party's internal strife to coerce them.
Hearing Cao Bin's explanation, Taijun She and Mu Guiying breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that Yang Zongbao was right. Cao Bin had already expected this situation at that time.
Wang Fu frowned, glanced at Cai Jing slightly, and sneered:
"If Uncle Zhongjing was negotiating for the Song Dynasty, then why didn't the war horses sent by Xixia be handed over to the court, but instead they were kept privately?"
"Those are seven thousand war horses worth half a million guan. You are embezzling the public property of the imperial court. Doesn't Uncle Zhongjing know?"
When Mu Guiying heard this, her face turned pale. If these war horses were defined as public property of the imperial court, then Yang Zongbao's crime would be huge.
So he quickly left the class and interrupted:
"What Wang Yushi said is wrong. The market price of war horses is twenty taels per piece. Seven thousand war horses are worth at most 150,000 guan."
"Besides, the imperial court did not require Xixia to pay tribute to war horses."
"That is clearly a private transaction between Uncle Zhongjing and the Queen of Xixia. How can it be regarded as public property of the imperial court?"
In fact, even Wang Fu underestimated the value of those war horses. The top war horses carefully cultivated by Yuan Hao, even if you pay a hundred taels, they are still valuable but have no market.
Wang Fu looked at Mu Guiying, laughed and said:
"Don't be impatient, Hun Tianhou. This matter of negotiation was not said by me, but by Uncle Zhongjing himself."
"...I thought Mr. Yang was loyal to the country and dedicated to the public good, but I didn't expect that he would also be greedy."
After saying that, his laughter became louder and louder. He was able to defeat two political opponents in one move. Wouldn't it be extremely joyful?
Mrs. She paused her dragon-headed crutch, stopped Mu Guiying from continuing to argue, and said with a wry smile:
"I, the Yang family, are willing to hand over the war horse. I hope that the officials will consider my hard work and give me a lighter sentence."
Seeing this, Wang Fu smiled proudly, turned to Cao Bin and said:
"What do you think, Uncle Zhongjing? Don't you want to say something?"
"kindness......"
Cao Bin pondered for a moment and sighed:
"Wang Zhongcheng is right, but Cao has already sent a memorial to the officials alone."
"The horses must be presented to Qijiyuan to replenish the royal horse farm."
Hearing this, both parties were shocked, especially She Taijun and Mu Guiying, the resentment in their eyes almost overflowed.
This guy is so unreasonable. No wonder you admitted to the negotiation. It turned out that you were prepared for it.
But you know the memorial yourself, why don’t you inform Tianbo Mansion?
This is equivalent to throwing the Yang family into the pit alone.
Mu Guiying's chest heaved with anger.
I just feel like I shouldn’t trust this guy. He just got better a few days ago and then he comes out to trick people. It’s so unreliable!
