The originally routine court meeting ended with an ending that no one expected, and Xia Nan, the Marquis of Pingnan, who was in the middle of the day, unexpectedly agreed to the request of the Son of Heaven and sent the army to Ningyuan to meet the Tartars, but let Wu Sangui's Guanning army stay in the capital temporarily.

After the dispersal of the dynasty, the ministers walked in groups of threes and twos, whispering about the political consequences of this expedition, and by the way, they weighed and weighed themselves, and what benefits they could get from it.

Wen Tiren angrily went to Xia Nan to ask for an explanation, he really didn't understand why he agreed to such an obviously targeted request, which would almost ruin the whole good situation.

But after leaving the Imperial Palace, there was no trace of Xia Nan. Wen Tiren asked the ministers who had a good relationship around him, and someone pointed into the distance: "Oh, isn't that?" ”

Looking in the direction of the finger, it was indeed Xia Nan's back, but it was already a hundred steps away, and the footsteps were in a hurry, and he couldn't catch up if he wanted to.

Wen Tiren stomped his foot, but still chased after him. There are many people in the palace, and even if you catch up, it is not convenient to ask, so let's talk about it slowly and in detail when we return home.

But when he returned to the mansion and asked, Xia Nan didn't come back at all. Wen Tiren was a little anxious, this guy lives in his own house, and there is nowhere else to go, where will he go at this critical moment? But no matter how anxious it is, it is useless, so I can only wait for the rabbit in the house, and wait for Xia Nan to come back and ask what happened.

This waited for several hours, from morning to evening. Wen Tiren had no intention of dining, the tea was changed over and over again, the rice was not eaten, and he was so anxious that his mouth was foaming, and finally when the lights were on, he waited for the summer south.

"You're finally back? What have you been doing all these hours? Why did you agree to such a request at the morning court? Fang Zhenghua, Tang Shiji and others and I have staked our lives on you, but you can't hurt us! ”

Wen Tiren's continuous questioning made Xia Nan cry and laugh a little, he gently wiped the saliva off his cheek, and said with a smile: "Elder Ge, you have asked so much, where do I start?" ”

"Okay, let's take a look at the questions one by one." Wen Tiren rolled up his sleeves, "First of all, what have you been doing in the past few hours after you dispersed?" ”

At this time, the housekeeper of the Wen Mansion brought tea and brought it in, and wanted to pour tea for the two of them.

Wen Tiren said angrily: "Didn't you see the master, I was talking to the Hou Ye?" What kind of tea will this drink, go out and go out. ”

The old housekeeper was busy responding, but the movements in his hands were very slow, and he slowly cleaned up the tea set, and he did not have the usual vigorous and resolute appearance at all.

Xia Nan glanced at the housekeeper, and then said to Wen Tiren: "After I went down to the court, I went to the barracks, found a few leading generals, and explained the deployment and arrangements for this expedition. Since I didn't go with them, I left everything to them, so I naturally had to make arrangements in advance......"

"Are you really going to send the army out?" Wen Tiren changed his previous calmness, raised his fist and roared, "Without the Qiong Navy, will the emperor still be afraid of you?" Will the civil and military officials still give in to you? ”

"Don't be angry, talk slowly if you have something." Xia Nan looked at the housekeeper on the side, and stopped talking.

Wen Tiren followed his gaze and saw the housekeeper who was still slowly packing up the tea set, and frowned: "Don't clean up, let's go out first!" Remember to bring it to the door. ”

The butler had no choice but to put down his things, hunched back out, and closed the door with his hand.

"The housekeeper has been following me for more than ten years, and he has been in my house since I entered Beijing, and my wife and son are all on errands in the house, and they are trustworthy people, you don't have to worry." After explaining a few words, Wen Tiren continued to ask, "Tell the old man, what do you think today?" It's not like you're used to it at all. ”

Xia Nan said confidently: "Please rest assured, Elder Ge, I naturally have my reasons for doing this." I have long thought of the adverse consequences that Elder Ge said. There are a lot of things that are not easy to say now, and I can only say this: everything is under my control. ”

Wen Tiren stared at his eyes for a long time, except for confidence and firmness, he couldn't see a trace of confusion or entanglement.

For a long time, Wen Tiren sighed.

"We have entrusted our lives to you, and we can't get down when we get on the thief ship, so we can only let you go."

In the dark night, a figure took advantage of the cover of the night, quietly went out of the house from the back door of the Wen Mansion, turned a few street corners, stopped at a mansion near the Fusi Yamen in Beizhen, pulled up the door knocker and knocked a few times, and after the door opened, he quietly got in.

An hour later, Ciqing Palace.

"Did he really say that?" Zhu Cihong couldn't hide his joy, "So, it's a sure thing that the Qiong Navy will be sent out?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is what he said to Elder Wen Ge personally, there should be no fraud." A figure hid in the shadow of the candlelight, replied softly.

"What Wen Ge Lao, it's just an old puppet who is a thief!" Zhu Cihong gritted his teeth and said, "I believe in him so much, and he is also an old minister of the two dynasties, but he is willing to degenerate and become a lackey of a martial artist." When I get rid of Xia Nan, he will be the first one I clean up! ”

After pacing back and forth, Zhu Cihong said to the man: "At the critical moment, it is inconvenient for Yang Sichang and Wu Sangui to enter the palace frequently, so as not to arouse Xia Nan's vigilance. ”

"Obey."

"Be careful when you leave the palace and don't be ostentatious. The palace gate has been locked, and I will send someone to go with you and open the palace door for you with my warrant. ”

"The minister understands, this matter is big, it is related to the fate of His Majesty and the ministers, and it is also related to the society of the Ming Dynasty, and I will be careful about it."

This man wrapped himself in a cloak, covered himself tightly, and walked out of Ciqing Palace. A little eunuch stepped forward and said to him, "My lord, please come with me, the emperor's warrant is here." ”

"It's hard work, father-in-law." The man said politely, beckoned, and the two men in black who were waiting at the door followed him silently.

After leaving the palace, this man looked up at the stars in the sky, let out a long breath, and whispered to himself: "It's not that I don't report it, the time has not come, and when this matter is done, I will take back everything I lost!" ”

The two entourages next to him echoed: "My lord is right, you have a deep foundation in the capital, how can you compare a traitor and an outsider?" ”

"Hehe, Lu Yao knows the horsepower, and the hearts of the people will be seen over time, you brothers can follow me at this time, and when the mountain rises again, it will not treat you badly."

The two of them were overjoyed, bowed down and said, "This is all the duty of subordinates, and my lord's words are serious." ”

The man waved his hand: "That's it for now." It's inconvenient for me to show my face, so I'll have to work hard for you to make a trip. Xiao Ding went to Yang Shilang's mansion, and San'er went to Wu Sangui's army garrison to make a trip, and be sure to pass on the emperor's words. ”

The two of them responded in unison, and then each walked in a different direction.

The retinue, known as San'er, walked two streets in the direction of the Guanning army's garrison, and after checking that there was no one behind him, he suddenly changed direction, walked in the opposite direction, stuffed a small note one finger wide under the stone lion pier of a mansion in Xicheng, and then returned to the original route and continued on his way.

Two people