Several days have passed since the prince left the cabinet.
In front of the flower hall of Duke Chengguo's mansion, there was an incense table. Headed by Zhu Yi, everyone from top to bottom was kneeling on the ground.
In front of them, the envoy was wearing a python robe, with an ever-changing fake smile on his face, and holding a yellow silk imperial edict in his hand.
"The emperor was appointed by heaven to make a decree: In the 14th year of Zhengtong's conscription, the general and other officers were all subject to the imperial court's approval. When he died in battle, he became the Duke of the country, the uncle of Xiuwu, and the title of earl of Yongning. They were all inherited by his descendants. He was given back to Cheng. The Duke's hereditary iron certificate still orders Zhu Yi to be in charge of the young military affairs of the East Palace."
"If any of the descendants of the princes and princes are unable to attack the title due to accidents, the Ministry of War will be ordered to find out. Except for those who are treasonous, the remaining descendants will be recorded as one of the talented ones. They will be given crowns and belts and ordered to prepare saddles and horses. If so, If you can perform meritorious deeds and use them all in one body, that’s great!”
"My lord, Zhu Yi, accept this order and express my gratitude. Long live my emperor!"
Even though he had received the news early, at this moment, Zhu Yi still couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart. The hands raised high above his head were trembling slightly.
After receiving the decree and holding the jade scroll and yellow silk tightly in his hand, he got rid of the unreality he had felt for the past few days.
The title of Duke Cheng Guo was finally taken back!
"Congratulations, Mr. Guo, you finally got what you wanted."
"According to His Majesty's decree, this is the hereditary iron certificate that was previously sent to the palace for safekeeping. In addition, this is the robe that the Ministry of Rites rushed to make. Please keep it, Lord!"
The one who came to announce the decree was Shu Liang. The smile that always hung on his face made it difficult for people to tell whether his words were sincere congratulations or fake perfunctory.
Seeing the old pieces of iron and the brand-new imperial uniform brought by the two envoys, Zhu Yi's agitated mind finally calmed down.
Facing the authoritative Dongchang Daxuan in front of him, there was no smile on his face and he said lightly.
"Eunuch Laoshu made this trip. Now that this hereditary iron certificate has returned to our Duke Chengguo's Mansion, it will be passed down from generation to generation and will never leave the gate of Duke Chengguo's Mansion again!"
As he spoke, Zhu Yi cupped his hands and said.
"It's getting late today, and the silver reward will be sent to my father-in-law's house later. Zhu, I won't keep my father-in-law here!"
"Qingfeng, see you off!"
Seeing Zhu Yi give the expulsion order neatly, the smile on Shu Liang's face faltered slightly, but immediately, he glanced at Qingfeng standing behind Zhu Yi and saw that the other party glanced back without leaving any trace, so, I immediately understood.
The smile on his face remained unchanged, but the people standing in the courtyard inexplicably sensed a dangerous aura from the governor of Dongchang.
"Thank you, Duke Guo, for the reward. In this case, our family will resign, but..."
Shu Liang cupped his hands, looked up at Zhu Yi, and said with a smile.
"It's hard to get this hereditary iron coupon. Lord, you have to get it! The hereditary iron coupon can protect your life, but it can't protect anything else!"
After that, Shu Liang took two steps back, turned around, and left the Chengguo Duke's Mansion under the leadership of Qingfeng.
It should be said that Eunuch Shu's reputation cannot be underestimated.
These words before leaving immediately diluted the joyful atmosphere brought about by the reinstatement of Duke Chengguo's house.
He ordered people to take the imperial edict and hereditary iron coupons to the ancestral hall and worship them. Zhu Yi himself changed his clothes. After Qingfeng sent people away, he took Qingfeng with him to the study.
"My lord, congratulations!"
As soon as he entered the door, someone was already waiting for him. When he saw Zhu Yi entering, he turned around from the window and cupped his hands with a smile.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Yi immediately stepped forward and said repeatedly.
"Shibo, you're welcome. My nephew is here today only because of Shibo's help. This friendship will never be forgotten by Duke Chengguo!"
The emperor's edict had been issued a long time ago, but due to the preparation of the duke's robes, ceremonial guards and other items, the official announcement of the edict would have to be delayed for two days, which would give the Duke Cheng's office time to prepare in advance.
The news of receiving the order on this day spread early, so early in the morning, the Duke Cheng's Mansion welcomed this unusual guest.
The British government, Zhang Shi!
"Shibo, please sit down..."
Although it was said that he was now the Duke of Cheng Guo who had received the decree and was formally ennobled, but facing Zhang Shi, who was a generation older than him, Zhu Yi still treated him with great respect.
He stretched out his hand to invite, and the two sat opposite each other in the study.
Zhang Xi looked at the young man in front of him, and a trace of envy flashed in his eyes. Although Zhu Yi did not deliberately wear supplementary clothes that symbolized his title, the dark unicorn pattern on this uniform was not something ordinary people could use.
My identity is different...
With a sigh in his heart, Zhang Xian picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea, with a hint.
"This time the emperor ordered Shu Liang to come here to deliver the edict. It seems that he still meant to warn you. Lord, you just insulted Shu Liang in public, aren't you afraid that he will make things difficult for you in the future?"
These words were obviously a test.
In fact, Zhu Yi had already seen that Zhang Min came here today to congratulate him, but in fact, he wanted to test whether his attitude had changed after his restoration.
This attitude has two meanings. One is...the attitude towards the Supreme Emperor.
"Shibo is joking. Could it be that just because my nephew was so polite to Shu Liang today, he won't embarrass my nephew in the future?"
Zhu Yi's eyes flashed, she shook her head and smiled, saying.
"This time the Duke of Chengguo was able to regain his title. In addition to the great help of Uncle Shi and his uncles in various palaces, we also need to thank the Supreme Emperor and the Holy Mother for strategizing, taking the risk of interfering in the government's affairs, and repeatedly putting pressure on him."
"The process in between is extremely difficult. Everyone in the government and the public knows it. My nephew has already offended Dongchang to death for everything before. Now it would be too naive to say that he wants to repair the relationship with small favors!"
In fact, everyone understands the truth, but Zhu Yi needs to express his position to reassure both parties.
To put it bluntly, at this point, Duke Chengguo's Mansion has no way out.
Many things in the court situation would be meaningless if they were really laid out.
Previously, Zhu Yi first asked to prepare the palace for the prince and reset the young army. For this reason, he was even taken away the hereditary iron certificate. Later, on the spring hunting ground, he spoke for the emperor in public and expressed his position. After the spring hunting was over, , to stop Shu Liang from breaking into the palace.
All these incidents have determined his position. Even if he wants to retreat bravely, the whole court has already regarded him as the spokesperson of the Supreme Emperor in the court.
This point is already immovable!
This is actually the so-called certificate of surrender. With these, the Supreme Emperor will make up his mind to restore the title of Duke Chengguo at all costs.
Before his restoration, his title was a means for the Supreme Emperor to suppress him. After his restoration, the government and the public agreed that he was a subordinate of the Supreme Emperor, which was a new means to suppress him.
What smart people have to do is to constantly ensure that both parties have the ability to check and balance the other. This is the basis of stability and trust.
Putting these aside, talking about the so-called loyalty is nothing but a mirror and a castle in the air.
"Furthermore, Shu Liang, if you give him face and call him Eunuch Shu, if you don't give him face, he is nothing more than a dog under the emperor's feet. In the past, the title of Duke Chengguo was vacant and he was given three points of honor. Now the lintel has been restored. , is it possible that my nephew needs to look at his face?"
Zhang Mian raised his eyes and looked at Zhu Yi. It was only at this moment that he found in this young man some of the high-spiritedness he had before.
You know, in the past, although this young master was not considered a dandy in the capital, he was also a handsome and unruly man.
But once the bad news came, Zhu Yong was defeated and died in battle, and the people in the court were panicked. He seemed to have matured a lot overnight.
It only took one night to go from a proud and self-respecting heir apparent to a down-and-out young man who came to see him but was turned away.
He was running around trying to clear his father's name, but there was still no explanation for the hereditary title. All the uncles interceded in vain, and the old father-in-law refused to come forward. He wanted to take advantage of the draft to send his daughter to the palace, but he got involved in the inner court struggle and was reprimanded by the emperor. Although it was accurate, He helped his father to be buried, but refused to give him a name after his death.
After such various blows, Zhang Min admitted that when he was young, he would have been depressed long ago.
But Zhu Yi was different. Instead of being depressed, he dared to make a desperate move. Although it was Chen Mao and others' idea to win over the Duke of Chengguo in the first place.
However, now that I think about it, the Duke of Chengguo at that time dared to accept the Holy Mother's marriage gift in a high-profile manner despite the precarious situation.
What's more, after that, he often spoke for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Supreme Emperor in the court, changing places. Zhang Min felt that he might not dare to take such a risk.
Of course, the price is that he is burdened with unimaginable pressure. After all, the emperor still calls the shots in the court today. The Chengguo Palace does not even have a leader who can come forward, but it repeatedly goes against the emperor. This is simply Walking a tightrope.
However, everything is fine now. Once the title is returned, the day will come when the Chengguo Palace will turn around!
Zhang Xi smiled and said.
"I can't say that. As the saying goes, the king of hell is so troublesome. Although Shu Liang is just an eunuch, he is in charge of the East Factory. His spies are everywhere in the capital. And those gangsters, if they deliberately cause trouble for you, they will cause a lot of trouble!"
However, Zhu Yi didn't seem to care much about Zhang Shi's advice.
"This is all a trivial matter. If I am a prince, why should I be afraid of him being a eunuch?"
"Not to mention this, before, the title of Duke Chengguo was not restored, so it was inconvenient to talk about many things in the court, but now, it is time for my nephew to fulfill his promise to Uncle Shi!"
Again, Zhu Yi knew clearly the purpose of Zhang Shi's visit today.
In addition to testing his future stance, more importantly, I wanted to see whether he, the newly promoted Duke, would still be led by the British Duke as before.
This is what Zhang Shi wants to know most, everything else is false!
Looking at Zhang Shi's slightly surprised look, Zhu Yi spoke.
"After this period of time passes, my nephew will recommend Uncle Shi to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Governor's Mansion!"
"Isn't this... inappropriate?"
Zhang Min rubbed his thumbs, seemingly refusing, but his actions revealed his inner activities.
"My nephew, are you a little anxious? Although we originally said that our two governments would join forces to take back the power of the military government, but you did this just after you were reinstated, I'm afraid there will be some discussion in the court!"
You old boy, if you are really afraid of comments, then just refuse. With this look, aren't you just waiting for someone to persuade you...
Zhu Yi secretly cursed a few words, but said it on his face.
"So what about the discussion? Does Shibo still want to entrust power to outsiders?"
These words deeply penetrated into Zhang Min's heart.
In fact, it was not a mistake to trust Ren Li by mistake, but in the end, Zhang Mian regretted it when things turned out like this.
As a result of the commotion, the military government has lost a lot of power, and it has also lost an ally.
After gradually calming down, Zhang Xi said thoughtfully.
"My nephew, I am very pleased that you have such a heart. However, I am afraid this matter will not be easy."
After sighing, Zhang Xi's expression was slightly complicated, and he seemed to be struggling a lot, before he continued.
"There is no one around here, and I don't deny it. The Commander-in-Chief's Mansion of the Chinese Army is the most important among the military mansions. Military merit, seniority, and title are all indispensable."
"Although I was born in a British prince's family, I don't have a title after all. Therefore, if I want to take charge of the Central Military Governor's Mansion, I am afraid that it will be difficult for someone above the imperial court to pass."
His own family knew his own affairs. Apart from the title of a British duke, Zhang Shi was actually inferior to Ren Li and Chen Mao in terms of real military exploits.
Because of this, he had to entrust the power of the general government to Ren Li.
Now that we have gone around in circles, we are actually back to the starting point. In the current situation, there are actually two people who are most suitable to succeed. One is Ningyang Marquis Chen Mao, who has just been reinstated. He has many military exploits and sufficient qualifications. In fact, if If he had not been demoted at that time, he would have been more suitable than Ren Li.
The other one, Zhu Yi, was in front of him now. Although he was young, had insufficient qualifications, and had no military exploits, he had the title of Duke, which was worth everything.
With his title and the support of the British government, there is no problem in taking charge of the Central Military Governor's Mansion.
But, again, if it is left to Chen Mao, then there is no guarantee that things like Ren Li will happen again.
However, if it were handed over to Zhu Yi, wouldn't it be that in the future, the Chengguo Duke's government would be the main one, and the British government's government would be the auxiliary?
This is where Zhang Shi really hesitated.
However, Zhu Yi is obviously more free and easy than him, said.
"You're welcome, Uncle Shi. Whether it succeeds or not, you have to give it a try. This time, we have paid such a high price, we can't just get the title back."
"Since the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs have received benefits, they must spit out the rights they should spit out!"
"Besides, our nobles have been silent for so long. Now that my nephew has been restored to the title, we cannot continue to do nothing. We should let them see that he and his family are not the only ones in this court!"
This sentence was recognized by Zhang Min.
"My nephew is right. This court cannot be filled with cowardly people like Li Xian. Instead, the civil servants always feel that we, the noble ministers, are weak and can be bullied."
"only……"
Zhu Yi looked at Zhang Shi and asked.
"But what?"
Speaking of this matter, Zhang Xi himself was a little hesitant and said.
"As for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs, now that the matter has been completed, isn't it..."
Seeing Zhu Yi's expression change, Zhang Xi hurriedly said.
"My nephew, you also know that this matter is really difficult to handle. These days, several mansions have come to ask me for advice. Now that the title has been returned, shall we..."
"No!"
Zhu Yi shook her head and gave up Zhang Xi's idea with just one sentence.
"Not to mention that if this broken promise spreads, it will be difficult for us to gain a foothold in the court. Yu Shaobao and Shen Shangshu, Shibo feels that if they are not sure, they will speak for us in the palace. ?"
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