"Master, someone is coming to the palace. Please invite Marquis Funing to come into the palace."
A servant from the Duke's Mansion came to the study to report.
Hou Ning, who was also in the study, naturally heard this.
He frowned and said, "That eunuch actually sent someone to invite me into the palace. What does that eunuch want to do?"
The little emperor was still young, so naturally he would not take the initiative to summon officials from the outer court to enter the palace. Only the eunuch in the palace would take the initiative to summon people into the palace.
"Can't you guess something?" Wei Guogong asked back.
After hearing this, Hou Ning's face sank and he said: "He thinks he is nothing. If he wants me to enter the palace, I will do so. Today, I will not enter the palace. If he has the ability, he will send someone to the palace." The Jin Yiwei also took me away, a eunuch or something."
He insulted him unceremoniously.
"Go!" Wei Guogong said to him.
After hearing this, Marquis Funing was startled, thinking that he had heard wrongly, and asked in disbelief: "My lord, do you want me to enter the palace to see that eunuch?"
"Yes, enter the palace." Wei Guogong nodded to him.
Marquis Funing frowned and asked with a puzzled look on his face: "What do you mean, Duke? I don't quite understand."
He was confused by Wei Guogong.
Inviting him to the palace at this time was obviously for the officers and soldiers to protect the envoy of the Tiger-Character Flag. Once he entered the palace, the other party would definitely ask him to evacuate the officers and soldiers outside the envoy of the Tiger-Character Flag's house, but this was not consistent. The interests of these Lords.
It's hard to believe that the Duke of Wei in front of him has changed his mind again and is unwilling to negotiate peace with Hu Ziqi.
"You might as well go and meet him, and express our attitude directly to him by the way." Wei Guogong said.
Funing Hou said: "I sent the officers and soldiers to protect the envoys of the Tiger Flag. The other party should already know our attitude. The next step is to rely on their own abilities. I don't think there is any need to meet this side."
"No, you must see him. I need to know how determined he is to form an alliance with the Qing Dynasty. If you refuse to see him in the palace and make him feel that he has lost face, he will definitely fight against us to the end. This pair will continue There is no benefit in the peace talks with Tiger Character Banner." Wei Guogong said.
At this time, the Crown Prince Xu Yinjue said: "Actually, I don't think Eunuch Yang is very willing to go to the north to welcome back the Supreme Emperor. Everyone knows about our Supreme Emperor. If we really want to welcome him back, the auxiliary minister will definitely be gone. Yang The only Jin Yiwei in the father-in-law's hands has to be handed over. At most, he will be given the position of eunuch holding the palm seal. However, he is not the most trusted eunuch of the Supreme Emperor. He might only be given the position of eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who is responsible for etiquette. This is different from what he is doing now. He is far from powerful, and even the eunuch in charge cannot compare to his current status in the court."
"I'm sick. I can't live a good life. I have to launch a Northern Expedition!" Hou Ning curled his lips.
He also couldn't understand that the other party didn't act as a good minister of the DPRK and China, but insisted on creating a boss above his head to suppress him.
Wei Guogong said: "On the one hand, your attack this time is to express our attitude, and at the same time, it is also to test the other party's thoughts to see if there is any possibility of cooperation. As long as he is willing to join forces with us, the remaining turbans will not be able to afford it." What a big wave."
Seeing that both of them had said this, Marquis Funing knew that he had to go to the palace, so he said, "Okay, I will listen to you and go to the palace to see him."
When Wei Guogong saw that he no longer objected, he said to the servants on the side: "Go and invite the father-in-law from the palace!"
The servants retreated.
Not long after, a young eunuch dressed as a palace servant was brought over.
"I've met the Duke, I've met the Crown Prince, and I've met the Marquis." The little eunuch who came to the study said hello to these three people in turn.
Wei Guogong looked at him and said with a smile: "Is it because of official business that my father-in-law is out of the palace?"
"On the order of Eunuch Yang, I came here to invite Marquis Funing to the palace." The young eunuch said very respectfully.
Wei Guogong said: "But what's going on with Long Live Lord? Or is there something going on in the palace?"
"My family doesn't know about this." The little eunuch shook his head.
Seeing that he was unwilling to say anything, Duke Guo of Wei did not force him, so he turned to Marquis Funing and said, "Marquis Funing will go to the palace with this father-in-law, just in case something happens!"
"Listen to the Duke, I will enter the palace immediately." After saying this, Hou Ning stood up from his seat.
When the young eunuch saw that Funing Hou agreed to enter the palace, he bowed to the Duke of Wei very politely before leaving and said: "I won't disturb the Duke and the Crown Prince. We will leave."
The young eunuch and Marquis Funing left the Duke of Wei's mansion.
The two people arrived at the palace in a sedan chair.
With the little eunuch's badge for entering and exiting the palace, Hou Ning no longer needed to send anyone in to pass the news, and was taken directly into the palace.
The great eunuch Yang Guorui lived some distance from the harem, and he also served as an auxiliary minister. He had the power to invite people directly to the palace, but he could not take people to the back court.
Soon, Funing Hou was brought to Yang Guorui.
"Eunuch." When Hou Ning saw Yang Guorui, he took the initiative to raise his hand.
When the great eunuch Yang Guorui saw Funing Hou, he greeted him with a smile on his face: "Master Hou, please sit down quickly. Little Lizi, go and serve tea to the Marquis."
The eunuch who called Xiao Lizi retreated.
"My father-in-law is too polite." Hou Ning said politely, and then asked, "I wonder why my father-in-law is so anxious to find me?"
The great eunuch Yang Guorui said with a smile: "Don't worry, let's try the good tea that our family just got. It is a filial piety from one of our adopted sons."
After a while, the little eunuch brought two cups of hot tea and placed them in front of Funing Hou and the big eunuch Yang Guorui respectively.
"Try it!" The eunuch raised his hand and made a gesture of invitation.
Hou Ning picked up the tea bowl and put it under his nose, smelled it, then took a small sip, turned his hand and put it back on the table.
"What? The Marquis doesn't like it?" asked the eunuch Yang Guorui.
Marquis Funing shook his head and explained: "I am a rough man. I always drink peonies from cows. It would be a waste of natural resources for me to taste such a good tea like my father-in-law."
"Haha, no matter how good the tea is, it is only for people to drink. If the Marquis likes it, our family will have someone pack some for the Marquis to take back." The eunuch Yang Guorui said with a smile.
Funing Hou shook his head and refused, and immediately said: "I've drank the tea, father-in-law, let's talk about what's going on! If it's just for tea, I will go back first. There are still many official matters in the Yamen that I need to handle. .”
"Since the Marquis has something to do, we should tell him directly." The eunuch Yang Guorui looked at Funing Marquis and said, "We heard that the Marquis sent a team of officers and soldiers to protect the envoys of the Tiger Flag?"
Funing Hou nodded and said: "I heard that someone wanted to assassinate the envoy sent by Tiger Character Banner at night. In order to ensure the safety of the envoy, I specially sent a team of officers and soldiers to protect him. I also did this for Ming Dynasty, if something happens to the envoy, Tiger Character Banner will definitely hold Ming Dynasty responsible, and it will be bad if it causes war."
Hearing this, the eunuch Yang Guorui narrowed his eyes as he looked at Funing Hou.
(End of chapter)
