After leaving the door of the British Duke's mansion, Luo Tong got on the sedan chair and immediately frowned.
Even though he looked confident in front of Zhang Xi and others, in fact, he was not very sure about the matter of Knocking Que.
After all, there has been no such precedent since the founding of the People's Republic of China.
However, after pinching the list in his hand, he felt a little more at ease.
At least, with these manpower, even if I can't convince that person, I finally have the qualifications to fight in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
It was still raining and the road was a little muddy.
Even if the bearers Luo Tong found were good, walking in such weather would inevitably be a bit unstable.
The swaying sedan chair made Luo Tong a little upset. Just as he was about to scold him, the swaying sedan chair suddenly stopped.
Opening the small sedan curtain beside him, Luo Tong's displeased voice came out: "What's wrong?"
The entourage wearing raincoats and bamboo hats immediately came over and said: "Master, there is a carriage blocking the front. He claims to be from the Ningyuan Marquis Mansion. Please come forward and talk to me."
Ren Li?
Luo Tong opened the thick sedan curtain in front of him and saw a luxurious carriage parked on the road ahead.
Ningyuan Hou Renli stood under the umbrella with his hands behind his back and made a gesture of invitation to him.
After only a moment's hesitation, Luo Tong immediately stepped down from the sedan with a smile on his face. Regardless of the rain outside, he quickly stepped forward and held his hands together.
"Master Lao is waiting here. Luo is too ashamed to deserve it."
The young man of Luo Tong's family quickly held up an umbrella to protect his master.
Ren Li nodded reservedly and said.
"It's getting late, and it's the curfew. If I run into the censor on the way home, it will be a big trouble. Mr. Luo is in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and I guess he won't dare to offend the censor. He is willing to escort me. ?”
This is just telling lies with open eyes. If he is appointed as a prince in the auditorium, no censor who patrols the city without foresight would dare to block his way.
However, Luo Tong seemed unaware and politely raised his hand and said: "It is an honor for Luo to go with Ren Hou. How dare you refuse."
So, he turned around and gave a few instructions, asking the bearers to carry the sedan back to the house first, while he took the servant and followed Ren Li to the carriage of Ningyuan Houfu.
The carriage is very spacious, even if five or six people sit together, they will not feel crowded at all.
Ren Li and Luo Tong sat opposite each other in the carriage, with the sound of rain pattering, Luo Tong was the first to speak.
"Today at the British Government House, I would like to thank Marquis Ren for speaking up for Luo. I just don't know that Marquis Ren specifically stopped Luo. What's the matter?"
To be honest, Luo Tong and Ren Li didn't have a deep friendship before today. They were just acquaintances at most.
But today in the British government, Ren Li's words were indeed biased towards him.
Even when he and Uncle Ning Yang had a conflict, Ren Li was the first to stand up and stand between them.
Luo Tong has been in the court for so many years, so he can still understand this gesture of goodwill.
It's just that he doesn't quite understand why Ren Li did this, but now it seems that he is obviously going to get the answer.
As expected, Ren Li sighed softly, and said as if sighing.
"Lord Luo, don't worry. Today at the British Palace, I saw that you were sincere, but you were questioned in this way. I couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy, so I said a few more words without any other intention."
Luo Tong raised his eyebrows, became interested, shook his head and said.
"Marquis Ren is joking. You are responsible for the great victory at Zijingguan. You have been promoted to a high rank and are in the limelight. Now you are in charge of the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army. Who among the nobles in Beijing can compete with you? How can you feel the same as Luo?"
Ren Li's face became more and more sad, he sighed heavily and said.
"It's just vain flattery. Who knows about my difficulties?"
As he spoke, Ren Li looked at Luo Tong sincerely and continued.
"Although I have no friendship with Mr. Luo before, I have always heard that Mr. Luo is both civil and military and ambitious. When I meet him today, he is truly worthy of his reputation."
"In this case, I would like to speak to Mr. Luo from the bottom of my heart. You and I are now considered our own people and work together for the Supreme Emperor. However, Mr. Luo should understand that people like you and me are actually in a very awkward position."
Luo Tong's eyes flashed, but immediately he looked like he didn't understand and asked, "Why did the Marquis say this?"
Hearing this, Ren Li hesitated a little and was not sure what Luo Tong meant. After thinking for a moment, he continued to ask.
"Now that you and I are our own people, Lord Luo shouldn't be so different from each other. How old I am to Lord Luo, so I will ask him to call Lord Luo to learn from the ancient times. In private, Lord Luo does not need to call me Lord Luo. For Lord Marquis, is this a good thing?"
Learning from ancient times is the word of Luo Tong.
In the officialdom, people are generally addressed by their positions, indicating that they only have official business dealings. If they are addressed by title, either one party is the elder of the other party, or the two people have a close relationship.
Upon hearing Ren Li's question, Luo Tong realized that his attitude just now was too ambiguous, and said immediately.
"Then Luo is so high on the Marquis that he pretends to be a sworn brother."
Ren Li nodded and said with a sincere expression.
"In this case, I will not mince words as a brother. The so-called prosperity in the world is for profit; the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. Of course, you and I gathered in the British Duke's Mansion to express gratitude for the kindness of the Supreme Emperor, but in the final analysis, it is also for For the sake of our career, we hope to have a cold start in advance, don’t we?”
As he said that, Ren Li kept a close eye on Luo Tong, not missing any changes on his face.
Luo Tong remained silent, his expression a little complicated.
Ren Li's words were very direct. They pretended to be grateful for the kindness of the Supreme Emperor, but in fact, they were just a group of frustrated people who were not reused in the officialdom and were just speculating.
As the saying goes, one emperor has one courtier. On the British side, the former emperor was destined to not be reused by the emperor today.
This can be seen from this transfer. The emperor promoted either side generals such as Yang Hong and Fan Guang, or relatives who had not been reused in the past, such as Li Xian, Yang Rong and others.
As for the British Duke's Mansion and the Dingxi Marquis Mansion, these veteran relatives who had been highly used by the Supreme Emperor were completely ignored.
Among the civil servants, none of them, including Yang Shan, Xu Bin and others, were officials with real power among the six ministries. They were either from Honglu Temple or Taichang Temple, and they did not belong to the important category in the court.
Luo Tong's own situation is relatively special. Although he is in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he has a criminal record.
If it hadn't been for the Battle of Oara and the border was in urgent need of people, he wouldn't have been promoted back.
But even so, his future career will be very difficult. Although the case in the early years of Zhengtong was ultimately determined to be corruption and prostitution, it was enough to ruin his reputation in the court.
If nothing else goes wrong, his official career will at most end at serving as censor of Youdu and governor of various places. As for the real Qingqing, he will not even think about it.
Just the public opinion between the government and the opposition is enough to stifle him.
This is also the reason why Luo Tong worked hard to encourage Knock Que. For civil servants, nothing can restore their reputation more than speaking out against them.
If he succeeds this time, then he can boast that his personal ethics are slightly flawed, but that he has no losses in major matters, and it may be able to turn a corner for his future career.
Of course, Luo Tong knew how difficult it was to knock on the que, so he didn't plan to do it himself. He just planned to follow behind and get some credit.
Therefore, he also prepared another escape route, which was what Ren Li said, burning the cold stove.
Outsiders may not understand, what is there to be flattered by an emperor who is hunting in the north? Even if he comes back, can the throne change hands again?
Of course, a lost emperor cannot be called a cold stove. A real cold stove must be able to burn up in the future.
Therefore, these people, who are unlikely to be reused by the emperor today, seem to be planning for the Supreme Emperor.
But in fact, the real opportunity to invest is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of the East Palace!
