Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 388 Zhang Tan's Defeat

Hearing what Chen Mao had said so clearly, Zhang Min's face froze again.

After a while, he sighed and said helplessly.

"Brother Shunqing, regarding the matter of Marquis Ren, the old man knows that you have a grudge, but when the third younger brother left, he actually made it very clear that it was just a stopgap measure for Marquis Ren to be in charge of the military governor's mansion. Why bother..."

As he spoke, Zhang Min couldn't help feeling a sense of frustration in his heart.

To tell the truth, when Zhang Fu was alive, he had always favored Zhang Fu of the third house. He not only arranged for him to go to the battlefield to fight for military exploits, but also regarded him as the person in charge after the British government.

But when he arrived at Zhang Min's place, he was arranged to be the commander of the Beijing Guards and envoys, as an official position that was neither salty nor dull.

Zhang Min was actually dissatisfied with this kind of differential treatment.

However, due to the prestige of the eldest brother and the outstanding performance of the third brother, Zhang Xiang could only cooperate in a peaceful manner.

However, there is always some grudge in my heart.

So this time when Zhang Fu went to Wala as an envoy and asked him to take charge temporarily, Zhang Fu actually secretly wanted to do a good job.

However, the reality gave him pots of cold water, which made him have to admit that Zhang Fu's choice back then was correct.

Among other things, when Zhang Fu was still in Beijing, although the British government was not as good as when Zhang Fu was there, it was still thriving and strong.

At that time, they and the Empress Dowager Sun worked together in the palace, and the two sides trusted each other without any estrangement.

On the side of the Five Army Commander's Mansion, Guo Sheng, Zhao Rong, and Shi Jing, although they were appointed as the commanders, they could not get real power at all. Even Guo Sheng had to change his court and vote for them.

On the side of civil servants, Yang Shan, Xu Bin, Luo Tong and others, although they don't have any particularly respected ministers, they are also full of talents.

As a result, within two months of Zhang Fu leaving Beijing, the situation in Beijing and China was turned into this.

Not to mention anything else, even his own interior is a mess.

Chen Mao said that he was deceiving himself and others. Zhang Min wanted to refute, but he was speechless because he knew that what Chen Mao said was right.

Ever since the meeting about Uncle Chang last time, Zhang Yu could feel that the relationship between the palace and them had gradually become a little alienated.

He was not sure how Luo Tong got in touch with the palace, but in the end, Luo Tong would only be able to get in touch with the Empress Dowager Sun if she had such intentions.

To put it bluntly, the palace has gradually become wary of them now.

In fact, before Zhang Fu left Beijing, he had specifically told him that he must follow the palace's opinion regarding the matter of rescuing Chen Mao.

But Zhang Xiang didn't pay too much attention to it, he always felt that the palace had no other support but them.

So at that time, even if the Empress Dowager Sun's words were insincere, she said euphemistically that if something can't be done, don't force it, Zhang Yu selectively ignored it.

As a result, in the end, although the Queen Mother cooperated with them and rescued Chen Mao, she had a grudge after all.

In addition to this, there are frequent internal strife on their side.

This is also the reason why Zhang Xiang feels frustrated the most. Now he is more and more doubtful whether he was right to insist on rescuing Chen Mao.

Since Chen Mao was released from prison, his prestige among the nobles has plummeted, and he has basically withdrawn from the court, and can only make ideas behind his back.

Perhaps because of this, Zhang Min always felt that Chen Mao was holding a breath in his heart. It was not the first time he had said such suspicious words like today.

From Luo Tong before, to Jiang Yi, and then to Ren Li, who he is about to talk about, Chen Mao has doubts about the reliable people here.

But the facts proved that it was nothing in the end. Even though it was an old friendship for many years, Zhang Xiang still couldn't help but feel a little bit of resentment.

After all, Chen Mao was still an old man, and he immediately heard the dissatisfaction in Zhang Min's tone, and his face froze slightly, and he said unnaturally.

"Second Master misunderstood, the old man didn't mean that, I just think that our actions have not been smooth in recent days."

"Over the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion, the second master also said it, and he didn't stop. Marquis Ren just took office. Although he is trustworthy, he can't put all his eggs in one basket."

"That's why the old man feels that today the world has already taken precautions against us. Since this is the case, we can't just sit and wait for death. We have to continue to find some strength to protect ourselves."

Only then did Zhang Min's expression soften, and he said.

"Then what good idea did brother Shunqing think of?"

The two of them tacitly did not mention the matter just now, and Chen Mao also hid the disappointment in his eyes very well, and murmured.

"I don't know if the second master still remembers, last time we talked about that kid Zhu Yi sent his mother's cousin into the palace, and wanted to use this to curry favor with the emperor and get back the title of Duke Cheng?"

Zhang Min nodded and said.

"It's natural. At that time, Brother Shunqing suggested that we should release some rumors, saying that Cheng Guogong's mansion was willing to degenerate, and it was reduced to the point where it had to rely on blowing pillows. The one in the palace who is greedy for beauty even treats the title of the country as a plaything to curry favor with women, wantonly rewarding her..."

At this point, Zhang Min suddenly realized and said.

"That's right, the list just brought out by the Ministry of Rituals doesn't seem to include the girl from the Wang family, right?"

A smile appeared on Chen Mao's face, and he spoke.

"That's right, not only was there nothing, but the emperor also specially sent eunuchs to the Wang family and rewarded them with a lot of gold and silver. He said that the parents and daughters of the royal family are deeply loved by the Empress Dowager Wu. gift for marriage."

Hearing this, Zhang Min was stunned. He didn't know the news before, but soon he understood, shook his head and said.

"It seems that the rumors concocted by brother Shunqing have worked. The one in the palace still wants to save face. If you do this kind of thing in private, you will do it. But if it is brought to the public, I'm afraid there will be some shame on the face. I can't hold it anymore, in order to avoid suspicion, I can only do this."

After speaking, Zhang Min's attitude finally improved a lot, and he smiled and said.

"Speaking of which, it is thanks to Brother Shunqing's suggestion at the time, otherwise, I am afraid that Zhu Yi would have really done this matter."

Chen Mao stroked his beard, his face was calm, and said.

"The old man didn't expect that mere rumors could really work, and it seems that the effect is far beyond our imagination."

Now Zhang Min finally became interested and asked, "What do you mean?"

Chen Maodao: "Perhaps the second master didn't know that, just a few days after we released the rumor, Zhu Yi was called into the palace."

"It is said that he was very excited when he went in, but he was distraught when he came out. On the way back home, he almost fell when he got into the carriage."

"After returning to the mansion, I locked myself in the study until midnight. In the end, I invited Na Hu to come over late at night, and then I slowly recovered."

Zhang Min seemed to have thought of something, and asked softly.

"In this way, if Zhu Yi wants to flatter her, she might just hit her hoof. Look at this, it's not as simple as being reprimanded, right?"

(End of this chapter)