When the drums sounded, seventeen honorable ministers were imprisoned, and the British government requested a diplomatic mission from Tingju. In just one morning, so many important things happened.
In less than half a day, the news spread throughout the capital, and almost every government office was discussing the matter.
At the same time, after hearing what happened in the morning, almost immediately, Jiao Jing dragged Xue Heng to the British government palace.
Coincidentally, on the road, I happened to bump into the impatient young prince of Chengguo Palace.
As a result, the two groups merged into one group and arrived at the British government together.
Everyone sat down in the flower hall, and the first one who couldn't hold back was Zhu Yi.
Looking at Zhang Shi who was still calm, the young master frowned and said.
"Second Master, what's going on? It was clearly agreed upon, but I just asked a few uncles to help me beat the drums and build momentum. How did it end up like this?"
There was quite a bit of resentment in his words.
Zhang Min smiled bitterly and didn't know how to explain it for a moment.
He could understand Zhu Yi's mood.
Among the seventeen noble families who were punished this time, there were two marquises and one earl, all because of the reputation of the Duke of Chengguo.
But the problem is that the Chengguo government is no better than the British government.
At least, the British government had a title. Although Zhang Fu was in prison, he had not been dismissed from office and was still the governor. Zhang Min was also the governor of the Beijing Guards Command Department.
Therefore, many palaces are willing to help, not only because of friendship, but also because of the background of the British government.
But the Chengguo Duke's Palace is different. Now that Zhu Yong is dead and his title has been uncertain, Zhu Yi is just a small escort general.
Therefore, these honorable ministers were willing to help because they actually took into account their in-law relationships and their previous relationship with Zhu Yong.
This kind of friendship naturally becomes weaker and weaker with more use.
As a result, now, helping has caused trouble. Even if they don't blame it on face, these honorable ministers must have a estrangement from Zhu Yi in their hearts.
This was so different from what he had said before, how could Zhu Yi not be angry.
At this time, Jiao Jing also followed with a calm expression.
"To be honest, Second Master, before I came here, I just went to visit Marquis Ning Yuan and Uncle Ning Yang. Although these two people have been out marching and fighting on the battlefield all year round, they are already old after all."
"Uncle Ning Yang is doing better. He received thirty sticks. Although he couldn't get out of bed, he is still awake. However, Marquis Ningyuan received more than forty sticks and was beaten until he fainted."
"When I came over, the doctor said that I had a high fever. I haven't woken up yet. It's unclear whether I can survive this. I'm afraid the second master will have to give an explanation for this matter."
Zhang Xian choked back a few words that came to his lips.
Originally, he wanted to say that it was Ren Li's improper performance that gave the emperor an excuse.
But when Jiao Jing said this, it would be too impersonal if he blamed Ren Li.
They almost risked their lives for you, but it's so chilling to say that they brought it upon themselves.
Zhang Shi still understands this bit of human sophistication.
Faced with the questioning of the two men, Zhang Min thought about it again and again before finally saying.
"Don't be impatient, you two. This incident is indeed unexpected. Don't worry, young master. I will prepare generous gifts tomorrow and apologize to each of the mansions that were scolded for this incident."
"In addition, in addition to preparing gifts for the noble families of Chong'an Marquis, Taining Marquis and Xing'an Bo, I can also make the decision to transfer the descendants of these families to the Beijing Guards Commanding Department or the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion. This is just to express my feelings, please convey it to me."
Zhu Yi also knew in his heart that the matter had reached this point and the matter was done.
He was beaten, and it was impossible to really fall out with the British government, so he just asked for more benefits for these mansions.
You know, gold, silver, wealth, silk, etc., everyone is a noble person, and it doesn't matter who has no background.
But the opportunity to arrange for his children to enter the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion is rare.
Although noble families all have hereditary and irreplaceable alchemy certificates, if a family wants to prosper, it cannot be done by just one person.
Only if a steady stream of descendants can occupy important positions in the military or garrison, and occasionally a few outstanding ones can achieve some military success, and with mutual support, can the family develop for a long time.
In the past ten years, the Supreme Emperor trusted the British government and allowed Zhang Fu to control the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.
This led to the fact that, under the suppression of the British government intentionally or unintentionally, the noble children of the Chengguo Duke's family could only start from the bottom level as school captains, scribes, etc., step by step.
Those who were not outstanding enough were directly eliminated. Among the five military commanders, in addition to officers promoted from various places, they were also members of the British government.
Now, Zhang Min is willing to give up part of his quota to make amends to these mansions, which can be considered sincere.
Zhu Yi's expression softened slightly and she spoke.
"Uncle Shi, you are too polite. My nephew was impolite just now and was rude. However, this incident has indeed caused quite a fuss. What on earth is going on? It's just a matter of redressing grievances. How could it cause such a big fuss?"
Zhu Yi and Jiao Jing were not qualified for the early court, so their understanding of the situation came from other people's reports.
But this time things happened too suddenly, and they didn't understand the situation in detail yet.
So Zhang Min smiled bitterly and told everything that happened in the palace exactly as it was.
"...I never thought that this time the emperor would change his gentle attitude and act so harshly. Any Marquis..."
Zhang Xi wanted to say that Ren Li was not clever enough, but after taking a look at Jiao Jing, he changed his words.
"Ren Hou just made a mistake and was caught by the emperor. He was beaten like this all his life."
"After I came to court, I also sent people to inquire about it, and I got a little bit of information. It turned out that before I and others entered the palace, the group of civil servants accused the nobles of gathering a crowd and intimidating the court."
"I think it was precisely because of this time that the emperor followed the trend and made a big killing blow. After all, the emperor was supported by those civil servants, so he must favor them."
This is a good statement, but it is incomplete.
After hearing this, Jiao Jing pondered for a moment and looked at Zhang Xi with a meaningful expression.
"That's true, but the reason why those civil servants reacted so fiercely is probably because the case of Qianfan Zhennan King was too big. I also vaguely heard that the Ministry of Punishment is currently discussing how to modify the Denwen Drum System."
"At this time, the second master brought so many honorable ministers to play drums. How could it not arouse the resentment of the civil servants? No matter whether Ren Hou denies or admits this matter, I am afraid that what will greet him will be the thunderous wrath of the emperor, so The difference is nothing more than punishment."
"Speaking of which, did Third Master really not expect this situation when he was planning it?"
Zhang Min was stunned for a moment, then forced out a smile and said.
"The prince-in-law is overly worried. Even if the third brother has a plan, it is not an exhaustive plan. After the Zhennan King case was over, the third brother went to Wala as an envoy. The third brother did not know the follow-up reaction of the capital to the incident of Deng Wengu. , how could we have calculated it in advance? What happened this time was really an accident."
Jiao Jing also smiled and didn't dwell too much on this matter.
Because he has more important things to ask.
Jiao Jing calmed down and asked seriously.
"Second Master, no matter how severe the punishment is, it is a thing of the past."
"What I want to ask is that we had clearly discussed it before. This time, we just asked Jin Yiwei to announce the case, and then used the power of various parties to put pressure on Xu Bin and put all the responsibilities on it because he could not produce evidence. Push it on him.”
"Why in the end, inexplicably, the case was decided in front of hundreds of civil and military officials?"
