When several eunuchs saw Zhengyao leaving with Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, they didn't feel anything wrong, so they didn't think too much about what they should do and continue.

After a lot of trouble, it was already the hour of the unitary hour, the sky was gradually getting darker, and the afterglow of the setting sun shone on the tower, which made it feel a little more dejected.

Facing the setting sun, Zhengyao followed Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng, striding towards the Meridian Gate.

Although they said they wanted to accompany Xu Jie to Xu Mansion to get some sea cucumbers, in fact, Zhengyao, Xu Jie and others knew in their hearts that this was just an excuse, an excuse to send the eunuchs away and discuss it alone.

Therefore, when they reached the Meridian Gate, the three of them did not go out directly. Instead, they turned right, crossed the stone bridge, and walked directly into the narrow alley.

The palace is so big that it is naturally not just the palace and administrative areas. In addition, there are also many vacant houses and places that are not usually used but are only opened on special days. And the narrow alleys that Zhengyao and the others turned into are exactly these.

Constructed of houses that are not commonly used.

Normally, no one would come to a place like this, so it is relatively safe.

The three of them finally stopped after they all felt that they had reached an absolutely safe place.

Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng subconsciously looked around. After confirming that there was no one around, they immediately bowed to Zhengyao and said, "I'm here to see the imperial consort!"

"You two adults, please get up quickly! This is really embarrassing to me!"

With that said, Zhengyao lifted the two of them up.

For Zhengyao, what he dislikes the most is these boring red tapes. After all, he was born in a democratic and equal society. Although he had to follow the locals when he came here, the concept of no class distinction in his bones still made him

Not entirely comfortable with this etiquette.

Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng nodded one after another and stood up, but the happy smiles on their faces never diminished.

"Haha, I haven't seen you in seven years. The prince-in-law is still the same as before, so rare!"

Xu Jie smiled slightly and couldn't help but sigh.

Seven years is not a long time, but it is not a short time either.

After all, Zhengyao and Xu Jie were old acquaintances seven years ago, and Xu Jie had always admired Zhengyao, and even thought about betrothing his daughter Xu Yuzhi to him. In addition, Zhengyao later became the person he is today.

The relationship between the two of them is that of a teacher and a friend. Now that they meet again after seven years, it is inevitable that they will exchange pleasantries.

"Yes, speaking of which, Bai Gui has to thank his consort for his support and enlightenment, otherwise Bai Gui might still be a frustrated scholar today."

Zhang Juzheng also intervened, and his words showed his gratitude to Zhengyao.

Zhang Juzheng calls himself Bai Gui in front of Zhengyao, which is enough to prove his respect for Zhengyao. And what he said is understandable, if he hadn't met Zhengyao in the capital that day, and Zhengyao played a game of chess with him. He said this

After the phone call, I'm afraid Zhang Juzheng really didn't think about it and continued his wandering life. How could he reach the status of a cabinet minister now?

In the final analysis, in Zhang Juzheng's view, everything happened only because of Zhengyao's favor.

"Uh, sir, don't say that, let's get back to business. Let's talk about business!"

Of course Zhengyao knew that both Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng were out of concern, but he knew better what was more important at this juncture.

At present, whether it is the palace, the capital, or even the entire Ming Dynasty, it is at a critical stage of survival. If there is even the slightest mistake, it may be catastrophic, so we must put the overall situation first.

"Well, what the consort said is absolutely true! Now that Yan Song is in power, Chao Gang is in chaos, and the emperor has never shown up. I think he must have been put under house arrest by Yan Song's dog thief. Mr. Zhang and I have no good plan now, and we really have failed the emperor's favor."

The more Xu Jie talked about it, the more he felt ashamed. It was indeed like him. As a minister who cared about life, he was unable to relieve the emperor's worries at this time. It was really suspected of dereliction of duty.

"Master Xu, there is no need to be like this. Things have developed to this point and are beyond the control of you and me. What we need now is not to blame ourselves, but to find ways to remedy and prevent worse situations from happening.

.”

In fact, as Zhengyao said, the whole thing was carefully planned by Yan Song, and whether it happened or not was only a matter of time. Even if Zhengyao and Xu Jie had the power to reach heaven, if Jiajing had not been stopped before

If you raise tigers to cause trouble, then things will still develop to the end, and there won't be much difference.

So no matter how Xu Jie sighs and feels sorry for himself, it doesn't matter after all. As Zhengyao said, the most important thing is to find a way to stop or directly get rid of Yan Song.

It's just that, I want to think about it, but in the end, we still have to do it according to the actual situation.

"What the consort said makes sense, but Bai Gui has a question he wants to ask the consort. Now that Yan Song has almost sealed off the entire capital, how did you enter the capital from outside the city and then enter the palace?"

After pondering for a long time, Zhang Juzheng still had a knot in his heart, and finally couldn't help but ask.

Of course, he didn't know how many levels Zhengyao and Liu Yan had to go through before they sneaked in like a civet cat for a prince, so he naturally became curious.

"Haha, this matter is a long story, so let's talk about it later. Now I want to tell you two about the current situation."

Zhengyao did not directly answer Zhang Juzheng's words, but tactfully changed the topic.

Zhang Juzheng naturally understood Zhengyao's intention, so he didn't ask any more questions. When he heard Zhengyao mention the word "situation", his face became a little solemn, which made him suddenly become serious.

"Please also ask the consort to elaborate."

Xu Jie immediately followed up and said, his expression was much calmer than before. He understood that there must be no carelessness at this moment.

Zhengyao nodded and said: "Based on what my second brother and I learned when we entered the palace before, we found out that the emperor was under house arrest in the imperial study room by Yan Song, a thief. It was impossible for others to get in. So even if I didn't show up just now, I believe you two

Your Majesty's visit to the palace this time is in vain."

"Damn Yan Song, he has such courage, he is really treasonous! Is he going to rebel?"

With a "pop" sound, Zhang Juzheng slapped his thigh violently, his eyes wide open, as if he wanted to swallow Yan Song alive.

It is undeniable that Zhang Juzheng is an absolutely upright and good official. But at this moment, because he has been in the officialdom for a relatively short time, he still feels more or less like an angry youth, so it is inevitable that he will curse when encountering such things.

But Xu Jie was different. Although he was also very angry with Yan Song's behavior, he did not write his anger on his face like Zhang Juzheng. Instead, he shook his head and sighed: "This Yan Song has been doing something wrong for a long time."

Thoughts, but I really didn’t expect that he would take action at this time, it seems that he is already very sure.”

Even though he knew, Xu Jie could only sigh helplessly, because he had no real power at all, and he had no ability to clear the emperor.

"No, Mr. Xu is wrong about this. Yan Song has not officially taken action yet. He is still waiting for an opportunity."

"Oh? Timing?"

Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng were both surprised at the same time. It seemed that Zhengyao's words were very surprising.

Zheng Yao nodded slightly, wiped the tip of his nose, and said: "Well, that's right, but the situation seems to be changing now. I'm afraid Yan Song won't be able to wait for this opportunity to come."

"Why?"

The two asked in unison again.

Zhengyao continued: "Just now, I received a secret message and discovered that Yan Song had the intention to act in advance. This information is absolutely true, so now both the emperor and the entire Ming Dynasty are in danger.

!”

"Ah? Then...then how should we deal with it?"

Hearing this, Xu Jie and Zhang Juzheng both started to panic.

Although the two of them were both cabinet ministers and loyal ministers around Jiajing, although Xu Jie was used to seeing big scenes, his resourcefulness was indeed much inferior to that of Yan Song; although Zhang Juzheng was brave and resourceful, he lacked

In addition to their lack of experience, neither of them has substantial power. When encountering such a thing, they will naturally feel that there is no order.

Zhengyao could always look at problems with a calm mind no matter what time and under any circumstances. This was not only related to his nature, but also because he knew the direction of the Ming Dynasty. So in a fundamental sense,

He won't have too many worries.

So after a moment, he replied: "Now the emperor is short of manpower, and most of the imperial guards are already Yan Song's people. For the current plan, only some of the royal guards who stay in the palace are available. So I decided to let Mr. Zhang

Secretly contact Jin Yiwei to escort him. Of course, the escort must be secret

It must be carried out secretly and must not be known to outsiders; Mr. Xu, get in touch with Prince Jing and others as soon as possible, and inform Prince Jing of the capital's trends at any time; finally, I will monitor Yan Song's every move. If Yan Song makes any changes, I will immediately send a signal

, so that King Jing and others can send troops into the palace in advance to stop Yan Song."

"Now it seems that this is all we can do! Okay! Then everything will be done as the prince-in-law said!"

There is no other way now. If there are enough people, why bother to go to such trouble? Just call King Jing and lead troops to attack the city? But after all, this is very unrealistic for the current situation. And don't

Forgot, it is still unknown whether the current King Jing has contacted Qi Jiguang and others, and whether he has persuaded the surrounding generals to return King Jingqin!

"Well, I would like to obey the emperor's decree!"

"Okay, without further ado, let's set off now!"
Chapter completed!