Hou Ning came out of the palace and returned to the Duke of Wei's mansion.
As a garrison in Nanjing, he does not need to go to the Yamen on time every day. If anything happens, someone from below will naturally notify him.
Arriving at the gate of Duke Wei's mansion, he was quickly invited in.
Entering the study room where guests are being entertained, I see Wei Guogong and his eldest son Xu Yinjue both there.
"What did Eunuch Li say?" Wei Guogong directly asked about the outcome of their meeting.
Funing Hou, who had just sat down, wrinkled his nose and shook his head slightly, and said: "It's hard to say the result, but I said everything I needed to say before leaving. I don't believe he can't understand. If he is really determined to do it, If we fight to the end, it will be difficult to negotiate peace with Huziqi."
"He is a smart man. He should be able to understand that those turbans are our biggest opponents. Unfortunately, his cleverness was mistaken for him, and he actually promoted a turban to the position of assistant minister." Wei Guogong shook his head helplessly. Shake his head.
Funing Hou said: "I have said what needs to be said. If he still can't figure it out and insists on imitating Wang An, the great eunuch of the Tianqi Dynasty, I think it is better to have a Qingjun side and get rid of him directly."
"Nonsense, you can say such nonsense." Wei Guogong glared at Funing Hou fiercely.
Funing Hou spread his hands and said, "What else can we do? We can't really support the imperial court in the Northern Expedition!"
Duke Wei frowned.
The Northern Expedition was in the interests of some people, but most of the interests of Duke Wei came from the south. Even if the Northern Expedition succeeded, it would not be of much benefit to the Duke of Wei. On the contrary, if the Northern Expedition failed, the Duke of Wei would suffer along with it.
"Father, why don't we also learn from that man named Fan, treat him in his own way, assassinate them, and kill the envoys of the Qing Dynasty. In this way, the Northern Expedition will naturally not be able to proceed." The Crown Prince Xu Yinjue said from the side.
After hearing this, Marquis Funing on the other side, his eyes lit up and he said: "This is a good idea, Your Majesty. The man named Fan has been making trouble for the tiger-character flag and the envoys sent people to assassinate him. Let's give him a lie." It’s a real show.”
Duke Wei shook his head.
He said: "Killing Fan Wencheng and angering the Qing country will not do any good to the Ming Dynasty. If this makes the Qing Dynasty hostile to the Ming Dynasty, it will probably make them sit back and watch the Tiger Flag go south to attack the Ming Dynasty."
"It would be great if those big turbans didn't make trouble among them. Now the whole city of Nanjing is criticizing the tiger-character flag. Even the storytellers in teahouses and restaurants make up stories to criticize the tiger-character flag. It's all the instigation of those big turbans. "Funing Hou said angrily.
The reputation of these nobles in Nanjing is not very good.
In the past, when the Ming Dynasty was still the capital of all nations, the Lord's reputation among the people was somewhat poor, which might have been a good thing.
But it is different now, because only half of the Ming Dynasty is left, but the Lord has turned over and is able to intervene in the government affairs. When he is about to have the opportunity to suppress the turbans again, he finds that the turbans have already grasped the direction of the people.
The Lord's family did the same evil thing and caused uproar in the city, but few people knew about it when they did the turban. Instead, they hid it from each other and were still regarded as good people by the people.
In the past, they, the lords, didn't care about the people's reputation, but now they do, but they find that they can't do it at all. The people are still led by the turbans to continue to hate the lords in the court.
"What do you think of Ruan Jizhi?" Wei Guogong said a name.
Hou Ning was stunned for a moment when he heard the name. He couldn't remember who it was and began to search for information about this person in his mind.
Ruan Jizhi was not a silent person, and soon a figure appeared in his mind.
"The Duke is talking about the Taichang Temple Shaoqing who was dismissed?" Hou Ning asked.
Duke Wei nodded and said, "That's him."
"The Duke wants to use this person?" Hou Ning asked.
Wei Guogong said: "This person is at odds with Shi Xianzhi and others, and has deep conflicts with Yang Tingshu and others. Moreover, he has been seeking to re-enter the court, but the Donglin Party completely hates him. Duan, never give him a chance, now let's give him a hand, so we don't have to worry about him not being attentive to his work."
Hou Ning thought for a while and said: "This person is suitable, but if he is used, Qian Shouzhi and Shi Xianzhi will definitely be hostile to our lords."
"Even without Ruan Dacheng, wouldn't these people be hostile to noble families like us?" Wei Guogong asked in return.
After hearing this, Marquis Funing thought, and it was right, those big turbans had always looked down upon their lords.
Now, because three of the auxiliary ministers are from lords, they are even more hostile to these lords.
"I wonder what position the Duke would like to assign to Ruan Dacheng?" Hou Ning asked.
Before his dismissal, Ruan Dacheng was already a fourth-rank Shaoqing of Taichang Temple. Naturally, he could not be lower than this position when he was reinstated.
Wei Guogong said: "Let him go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate!"
"The Metropolitan Procuratorate has been controlled by the Donglin Party for a long time. I'm afraid they won't allow us to put people in easily, and this Ruan Dacheng may not be willing to go to the Metropolitan Procuratorate." Hou Ning frowned.
After hearing this, Wei Guogong said: "There is no need to consider Ruan Dacheng's side. As long as there is an opportunity to enter the court, I believe he will never miss it. As for arranging to enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate, I will discuss it with Chen Meng'e. I believe that Chen Meng'e, a left-winger, will not miss it." The imperial censor will still give me, the prince, a bit of a thumbs-down..."
"With the Duke coming forward, there won't be any problems." Hou Ning flattered him a little.
If he were just a mere Duke, he might not be able to easily place Ruan Dacheng into the Donglin Party's private territory, the Metropolitan Procuratorate. But if the Duke was an auxiliary minister, it would be different.
To deal with civil servants, you still have to use civil servants.
Wei Guogong decided to use Ruan Dacheng, a man abandoned by the Donglin Party, to deal with the Donglin Party.
"My lord, the envoy of the Qing Dynasty is asking for an audience with a generous gift." A servant from the Duke's mansion came to inform him.
"Why is he here?"
Funing Hou looked surprised.
Wei Guogong, who had become a spirit in his old age, quickly guessed a possibility and said with a smile: "It seems that your trip to the palace had an effect."
"The Duke is saying that Eunuch Yang has changed his attitude?" Hou Ning asked hesitantly.
Wei Guogong said with a smile: "Perhaps we chose to sit on the sidelines. In short, it is beneficial to us at the moment. Eunuch Yang will try to win over him to prevent him from getting too close to the civil servants."
"So he listened to the words that the Duke asked me to bring to him, but I don't know how much he listened to. It's a pity that Qian Shouzhi took a big advantage." Funing Hou said jealously.
A blood edict that meant nothing made Qian Qianyi, the chief minister of the cabinet, rise to become an auxiliary minister. How could he not be envious of him as a garrison in Nanjing.
