Chapter 79

When the conversation is not agreeable, half a sentence is too much; the meeting between the two ended in less than a quarter of an hour.

Leaving the government office full of doubts, he was arranged to stay in a luxurious salt merchant's mansion.

After seeing the decorations inside, Xu Wenyue was so angry he wanted to curse.

There were simply too many violations of protocol; even he, a Cabinet Minister, would not dare to be this arrogant.

Just as he wanted to sit down and rest to calm his mood, he saw the golden dragon carvings on the chairs.

If he hadn't observed carefully and discovered that the dragon was missing a claw, he would have thought someone was privately building a dragon throne.

Even so, Xu Wenyue still dared not sit.

In an instant, he suddenly understood why Emperor Tianyuan was determined to destroy these salt merchants.

They were truly too arrogant and completely ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth.

An awkward scene soon appeared.

He dared not sit on the chairs left by the owner.

He dared not sleep in the bedroom left by the owner.

He dared not use the bedding left by the owner.

All he could use were the servants' things.

The main reason this mansion could be vacated was that there were too many violations of protocol, and no one dared to live in it.

Even those lawless pampered young masters didn't dare touch it, so Xu Wenyue dared even less.

If an ordinary person violates protocol, one can say the ignorant are fearless, and the Emperor usually won't care.

But for a current Grand Secretary to violate protocol, that is a serious political issue.

"Don't waste time tidying up; move directly to the servants' quarters to live.

It's only for a few days anyway; after the Marquis of Wuyang leaves, we will move to the government office!"

Xu Wenyue said, suppressing his anger.

Just entering Yangzhou, he was dug a big pit.

Fortunately, he was cautious enough; if he hadn't observed carefully and had foolishly moved in, the trouble would have been huge.

"Grand Secretary, why don't we go stay at an inn!

There are too many violations of protocol in this mansion; if a Ding Yushi impeaches us later, it will be hard to explain clearly."

Hou Huaichang stepped forward to advise.

Being able to become the private secretary of a current Grand Secretary, he is naturally no ordinary person.

His performance at the city gate during the day was undignified, but that was caused by empiricism, not because he lacked ability.

The Censorate may seem to be controlled by the Pure Stream, but that doesn't mean it is Xu Wenyue's private domain.

Competitors in officialdom come not only from the opposing Eunuch Party but also from challengers within the Pure Stream.

When interests are involved, one's own people are often more ruthless than outsiders.

"Hmm, then go find an inn.

A plain one will do; remember, it must not be luxurious.

Also, send someone to investigate what the Marquis of Wuyang has been doing recently.

And the stance of the Yangzhou gentry is very strange; it must be clarified!"

Xu Wenyue ordered cautiously.

Once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a rope for ten years.

With people watching from the sidelines, he dared not be as high-profile as he was on the road.

There were too many confusing points; if he didn't clarify the situation, he wouldn't be able to sleep.

Under normal circumstances, local gentry should be close to him, a civil official Grand Secretary, rather than getting mixed up with a relative of the Emperor.

Being able to establish a connection with him is of great significance to the descendants of these families who are officials in the court.

The Marquis of Wuyang is just a relative of the Emperor; no matter how good the relationship is, he cannot bring them substantial benefits.

"Don't worry, Master, I will arrange for someone to handle it immediately!"

Just as Secretary Hou finished speaking, the accompanying steward walked over with a calling card.

"Master, Commander Rong has sent an invitation for you to attend a banquet."

Hearing this news, Xu Wenyue didn't react for a long time.

What Commander Rong? He had never heard of him.

There are plenty of Commanders in the Great Dayu Dynasty; there are over three hundred Guard Commanders alone.

For just any random Commander to send him an invitation is simply looking down on him, a Grand Secretary.

According to normal procedures, formal banquets require sending an invitation three days in advance, agreeing on the time and place.

An ad-hoc invitation is either from a senior to a junior, from a superior to a subordinate, or because the relationship is particularly close.

If the relationship is not close, it proves that you are just there to make up the numbers, not the guest of honor.

For a small Commander to dare to be so disrespectful of the rules, Xu Wenyue even wondered if he had been too kind in the past, causing everyone to forget his severity.

"Master, this Commander Rong is from Imperial Consort Rong's family."

Hearing the steward's reminder, Xu Wenyue's anger instantly dissipated; one cannot argue with a fool.

For a relative of the Emperor to associate with a Cabinet Minister—anyone with a bit of brains wouldn't do such a stupid thing.

Especially for the relatives of a favored consort like the Rong family, it is easy for people to associate it with the inner palace colluding with the imperial court.

If even a hint of wind leaks out, it's a life-threatening matter.

The Marquis of Wuyang making things difficult for him from the start, besides the power struggle, was also due to their respective identities.

"Tell the messenger that I am unwell and it is inconvenient to attend the banquet.

Forget it, just say I don't have time to deal with him!"

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Wenyue chose to be more direct.

In case this person didn't understand and brought gifts to visit him, that would be another troublesome matter.

The Marquis of Wuyang had mentioned a Commander Rong once before, but he hadn't taken it seriously; there is more than one Commander surnamed Rong in the Great Dayu Dynasty.

Now it's different; there are no other troops in Yangzhou City, so it can basically be confirmed that the vanguard officer the Marquis of Wuyang spoke of is this Commander Rong.

Letting this guy serve as the vanguard—in an instant, Xu Wenyue felt his brain wasn't enough.

He had seen the reports of victory; the overall performance of the noble youths in the Wucheng Gendarmerie was still at the average level of Great Dayu military generals.

Choosing anyone from the Battalion Commanders or Company Commanders below would be ten times more reliable than this guy.

Just as he was about to speak to remind someone, the words reached his lips and he swallowed them back.

What does the internal problem of the Emperor's relatives have to do with him, a civil official?

If the relationship isn't there, speaking up rashly to remind them will only make people think he is trying to stop them from earning merit.

The next day, early morning.

The Marquis of Wuyang came early to see off the army about to set out on the expedition.

Although he hadn't received an invitation, Xu Wenyue, as the Imperial Envoy, also arrived at the drill ground early.

The people seeing them off had arrived, but the main character was missing.

"Marquis, you truly have a way of governing the army!"

Xu Wenyue teased with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

With such stupid, well-connected people under his command, one can fully imagine how difficult it is to lead the troops.

What's worse is that there isn't just one such well-connected person in the Wucheng Gendarmerie, but a whole group.

"Haha!

Many thanks for the praise, Grand Secretary Xu; I have always been lenient in leading troops.

As long as we can win the battle, I don't care about minor details at all!"

Speaking lightly on the surface, deep down, the Marquis of Wuyang was filled with rage.

The reputation he had worked so hard to build in the Defense of Yangzhou had been ruined by this bunch of idiots.

If it weren't for the need to use these guys to lure the enemy, he would have loved to serve them a set of military law immediately.

Dragging it out until the sun was high, Commander Rong finally arrived late with his people, and his fox friends and dog cronies were also late.

"Stop the nonsense, hurry up and go take roll call.

You are the commander of everyone now; you must shoulder your own responsibilities!"

Not being punished, Commander Rong was very surprised.

The Marquis of Wuyang doesn't have a good temper; even for well-connected people like them, if they offend him, they won't escape a beating.

"This subordinate obeys!"

(End of chapter)