Yu Mansion.
Today was a day for bathing. After noon, a heavy rain made Yu Shiyue give up the mood of going out. He was sitting cross-legged on the couch, thinking about whether to take a nap, when the housekeeper hurried in and reported.
"Master, Yu Shaobao is here."
Yu Shiyue was a little surprised. It was raining so heavily. What was Yu Qian doing here? However, he still got up and put on his soft shoes and said, "Welcome him to the main hall first. I will go there later."
The two of them have been friends for many years. It is common for them to visit each other, and they rarely need to say hello in advance. The servants of the two houses are also accustomed to entertaining each other.
But this time, the housekeeper looked embarrassed. He rubbed his hands and said, "Now, sir, it's better for you to greet me personally. Yu Shaobao's arrival is a little... unusual."
Yu Shiyue was stunned, but became interested.
Changing clothes in a hurry, passing through the inner courtyard and reaching the gate, Yu Shiyue saw a person standing in the corridor.
Wearing an old raincoat and a bamboo hat, the clothes on his body were half dry, and the fast boots on the soles of his feet were stained with mud. He looked very embarrassed.
I have to say that this look is quite different from the image of Yu Shaobao, who has always been dignified and dignified in the court.
Yu Shiyue couldn't help but feel happy, and quickly stepped forward and asked: "Tingyi, what's going on? Is it possible that the servants in your house ran back to the house and abandoned you when they saw that God was not kind to you?" ?”
Faced with the teasing of his old friend, Yu Qian remained calm and composed, but he seemed to be in a bad mood and had no intention of joking. He said directly: "Brother Shichao, Yu came here in the rain and I have something to discuss with you."
Seeing Yu Qian's expression, Yu Shiyue was stunned, then nodded and said.
"You're caught in the rain. I'll find someone to change your clothes first. We'll talk about it in the study later if we have anything to do."
After a cup of tea, Yu Qian changed into clean clothes and sat down opposite Yu Shiyue in the study room of Yu Mansion.
Immediately, a servant brought a bowl of steaming ginger tea, and Yu Shiyue said: "I asked the kitchen to make it freshly. You can drink it to warm yourself up."
Yu Qian picked it up and took a sip. Yu Shiyue asked: "What happened to you in such a hurry? Is it possible that there is trouble at the border again?"
Putting down the tea bowl in his hand, Yu Qian shook his head and said, "No, the border is stable. I am here because of the mission."
Yu Shiyue's expression froze, and he smiled bitterly and said nothing.
Yu Qian sighed and said: "Brother Shi Chao, to tell you the truth, these days in the Ministry of War, Yu receives various colleagues asking insinuating questions about what is going on with the mission."
"But Yu really doesn't know the inside story of this matter. Nowadays, the situation in the DPRK and China is getting more and more intense. Yu knows that on the day Tao Jin's memorial arrived in Beijing, the official brother and the first assistant had sealed the memorial and went to the palace to meet the saint. Presumably, I should know something about this matter, but I wonder if I can tell you the truth.”
Yu Shiyue felt a little headache. He had put down all social activities these days, basically going to two o'clock and one line. He basically didn't go anywhere except the government and the cabinet. He was afraid that someone would catch him and ask him, but he never thought about it and still didn't hide away.
Of course he knew the inside story, but he couldn't figure out what the emperor meant, but he didn't dare to leak it out hastily.
After pondering for a long time, Yu Shiyue did not answer, but asked instead.
"Your Majesty has already said that this case involves military affairs. As Minister of War, Tingyi, do you really know nothing about it?"
Compared with Yu Shiyue's hesitation, Yu Qian was much more straightforward. He nodded slightly and said.
"To be honest, Brother Shichao, before the Battle of Shawo, the Ministry of War received a military report from the Xuanfu. At the same time, the Jinyiwei also received a secret report from Datong. After discussion with the emperor, I finally ordered Guo Deng to send troops to Shawo."
"Later, the mission was captured in Xuan Mansion, which happened to be on the same day as the Battle of Shawo. The emperor also said that the arrest of the mission involved military intelligence, so I had no doubts. It was the mission that leaked the defense situation of Shawo, allowing Also take advantage of it first."
Yu Shiyue sighed, he knew how could Yu Qian, as the Minister of War, be unaware of this kind of thing.
But then, Yu Qian said.
"But if this is the case, there is no need for the emperor to delay in announcing the truth. Even if the trial is still ongoing and there are still doubts, he will not be unwilling to disclose it at all, causing a lot of discussion in the court."
"So I think there must be some deeper reason for this. I wonder, Brother Yu, can you tell me?"
this……
Yu Shiyue sighed, Yu Tingyi was indeed Yu Tingyi, nothing could be hidden from him.
Indeed, just to leak military information, there is no need to hide it from the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. It doesn't matter whether it is true or false in the end.
If it is false, just let the person go, and at most punish the Jin Yiwei for arresting people randomly. As for if it is true, it is no big deal, just deal with it how you want.
Among the three members of the envoy, Xu Bin had the highest official position, but his title of censor of the right capital was only temporarily withheld for the convenience of the envoy. There was no corresponding political performance support, and he had no due role in the court. Portion size.
As for Zhang Fu, although he was backed by the British Duke, he himself did not have a title. Although he was a first-grade governor, the rank of a military commander was never as valuable as a civilian official.
As a first-rank man, his weight in the court was at most about the same as that of a third-rank minister.
So in fact, even if the news leaking military information is released, their weight is there, and the impact on the entire DPRK situation will be limited.
So from this point of view, the emperor has been reluctant to tell the officials what happened. It is obvious that there are other reasons behind this.
And it must be a reason that can affect the entire court if revealed.
Yu Shiyue knew what the reason was, although he didn't want to know.
But faced with Yu Qian's persistent inquiry, he hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said.
"Tingyi, I won't hide it from you. There is indeed something behind this matter. That day in the palace, I and the chief assistant happened to encounter Lu Zhong reporting to the emperor, so they learned a little bit about it, but this matter involves too much. , before the emperor announces it, I dare not leak it without permission, so I ask Tingyi for your understanding."
Friendship is friendship, and principles are principles. Yu Shiyue still understands this clearly. No matter how good the friendship is, some things cannot be said carelessly.
But he obviously underestimated Yu Qian.
After listening to his words, Yu Qian was silent for a long time and asked.
"Your Majesty ordered Brother Shichao not to reveal anything?"
Yu Shiyue was stunned and couldn't react for a moment. Isn't this kind of thing tacitly understood? Do you still need to give an order...
After hesitating for a moment, he finally shook his head slightly.
So, Yu Qian said: "It's not that Yu wants to embarrass Brother Shichao. I came here today and I just wanted to confirm my suspicion. But when I was hiding from the rain just now, I heard something that made me determined that I need to find out. "
With that said, Yu Qian recounted the conversation he heard in the tea shed, and then continued.
"Brother Shichao, now not only the court and the court are talking about it, but also the traffickers and common people are talking about it. There are rumors in the capital that the emperor secretly killed everyone in the envoy in order to prevent the emperor from returning to the court."
"I don't know what the real reason was for Jin Yiwei to arrest the envoy. Brother Shi Chao also kept silent and did not dare to reveal it. But now, no matter the reason or reason, we can no longer hide it."
"Otherwise, rumors will spread, people will be unstable, and they will suspect that there is a rift in the Tian family, which will damage the emperor's sanctity, but it will cause big troubles."
Yu Shiyue's expression also became serious.
He knew that there had been some rumors in the capital recently, but he didn't expect them to be so serious.
Even the illiterate people in the tea shops in the market say they have noses and eyes, which can only mean that everyone knows about this matter.
And judging from the current situation, the direction of public opinion is obviously not conducive to the emperor.
Do you want to say it?
Yu Shiyue frowned, somewhat difficult to make a decision.
Seeing this situation, Yu Qian probably understood a little bit, stood up and said: "Okay, since Brother Shichao is really inconvenient to say, then Yu will go into the palace right now and ask His Majesty personally."
