Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 185 Differentiation
In the courtyard of the envoys in the south of the city, the two sides confronted each other in front of the courtyard gate, neither of them gave in.
Two men in military uniforms stood outside the gate. On the left was Chen Hui, the leader of Zheng Hongkui's personal guards, and on the right was Jiang Ao, a personal guard sent by Zheng Cai. Although the two groups of men were blocking the gate, they were clearly separated, each occupying one side.

Standing at the gate of the courtyard were Zhang Tongchang, Deng Mingwu, and more than 20 Jinyiwei soldiers. After the shoving and shoving, everyone's clothes were a little messy. After confirming that the people had escaped from the mansion, they did not force their way out of the mansion, but retreated to the gate.
In fact, it was impossible for them to get out of the mansion. The delegation had only more than 30 people, while Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Cai had more than 100 people.
The two sides stood at the door and confronted each other for more than half an hour. Zhang Tongchang and others did not retreat, while Chen Hui and Jiang Ao also stood in front of the courtyard gate with their arms folded, blocking the courtyard gate tightly.

Zhang Tongchang stood in front of the gate, looking at the nearly one hundred soldiers gathered in front of the gate, his eyes gloomy. Although they had sent people to ask for help from the generals of other surnames in the city, he was not sure whether the generals of other surnames in the army would be persuaded.
They entered Fujian alone. If the generals of Zheng's army did not show up, they would be unable to escape.
The delegation stood by the door. Everyone in the room was silent and the atmosphere was extremely solemn.

But at this time, Wu Jisi suddenly walked up to Zhang Tongchang and whispered a few words. Zhang Tongchang looked at Wu Jisi in surprise after hearing what Wu Jisi said.

Zhang Tongchang hesitated for a moment, and then nodded slightly to Wu Jisi.

Wu Jisi saw Zhang Tongchang nodded in agreement, thought for a moment, and then walked forward without hesitation.
Wu Jisi had just walked ten meters out of the door when Chen Hui stepped forward and blocked his way.

Wu Jisi glanced at Chen Hui and said

"It is already past noon. I and others went to your Zheng family early in the morning to announce the decree, but now they haven't even had lunch. I am going out to eat now. Please get out of the way."

Chen Hui's eyes flashed when he heard this, and he said

"So that's the case. We have neglected you gentlemen."

"But the city is in turmoil right now, so it's not safe for you to go out. If you want to buy anything, just tell me and I'll ask someone to buy it for you. This way you can save yourself the trouble."

Wu Jisi looked at Chen Hui who was blocking his way, sneered, and said

"You want to buy it for me, right? Fine, then buy it for me."

"Just give your orders, sir."

Chen Hui seemed to have not noticed the cold expression on Wu Jisi's face at all, and replied respectfully:
When Chen Hui came, Zheng Hongkui had already instructed that except for not letting the envoys leave the palace, he would try his best to meet any requests made by the envoys.

At this time, the delegation attempted to go out under the pretext of shopping, which was naturally within their expectations.

"We are the angels of the court, and what we eat and use is different from others."

"First, the four kinds of fruit. I want the Pingpo fruit from Beizhi, the lotus root from Hangzhou, the bayberry from Zhuxi, and the loquat from Xiaoshan."

"I want four more kinds of meat: Guabu puffer fish, Dinghaijiang scallops, Xiling river crabs, and Zhaoqing roast goose."

"Four more dishes, Hangzhou chicken head, West Lake autumn wild rice stem, Taihu water shield, Hangzhou chives"

"I need another ten kilograms of lean meat, without any fat on it, all to be chopped into fine pieces to make the sauce..."

Chen Hui originally called a soldier over and was about to record the food and drink that Wu Jisi wanted. However, when he heard what Wu Jisi said, he was stunned for a moment.

The things that Wu Jisi mentioned are all over the country. Not to mention the small city of Anping, even the capital, which is connected to the whole world, cannot possibly have all the various things that Wu Jisi mentioned.
When Chen Hui heard that Wu Jisi had another ten kilograms of lean meat and another ten kilograms of fat meat, he could no longer bear it and said, suppressing his anger.

"Sir, please stop joking. What you have listed are all treasures from all over the world. Anping City is just a remote town in Fujian Province. Where can I buy these treasures for you?"

Wu Jisi listened to what Chen Hui said, but his expression remained unchanged. He said

"It's difficult, so don't do it."

"Since you can't do it, I will buy it myself."

Wu Jisi was about to bypass Chen Hui and walk forward, but Chen Hui took a step and immediately blocked Wu Jisi.

Chen Hui looked at the middle-aged man in the Feiyu suit in front of him, and his expression finally calmed down. He spoke in a cold voice

"Sir, please don't waste your thoughts. The Duke's Mansion has issued an order that we can satisfy any requests from the envoys, but without orders, the envoys are not allowed to leave the mansion!"

Wu Jisi heard what Chen Hui said, and a gleam of sharpness finally flashed in his eyes. He immediately spoke loudly.

"Good, good! Without the order of the Duke's Mansion, the delegation cannot leave the mansion."

Wu Jisi glanced at the soldiers surrounding him, then looked at Chen Hui in front of him and spoke in a cold voice

"I have waited for half a day, and finally I got your exact words!"

"I would like to ask, which is more powerful in Anping City, your Pingguo Mansion or the imperial court? We are the emperor's special envoys. How dare you, the Pingguo Mansion, imprison the emperor's envoy?"

"What exactly do you, the Duke of Ping, want to do now?"

Chen Hui's face suddenly changed, and he was about to speak, but Wu Jisi did not give Chen Hui a chance. Wu Jisi looked at the soldiers surrounding the mansion and spoke loudly.

"Brothers, you are all here to obey orders, and I don't want to embarrass you, but I see that you are all wearing the uniforms of my Ming Dynasty. There are some things that I must explain clearly in front of all the brothers in the army."

Wu Jisi's voice was high, and the two Zheng soldiers guarding the door were also attracted and looked at Wu Jisi who was shouting loudly in front of the door.

"We are the special envoys of His Royal Highness Gui, the Regent. We are here to confer the title of king on Zheng Zhilong, the Duke of Ping. Zheng is a person of a different surname, and is the only one in the Ming Dynasty who has been conferred the title of king in hundreds of years. What a great favor and reward!"

"But at this time, the Duke's Mansion sent people to imprison us in the mansion. I really don't understand what the Duke's Mansion means. I would like to ask the soldiers to help me solve this puzzle."

The soldiers in front of the Duke's Mansion were silent when they heard this. No one said anything.

But the soldiers looked at Wu Jisi who was angry at the gate and shook their heads slightly.
They were all guards in the Duke's Mansion. How could they not know about Zheng Zhilong's surrender to the Qing Dynasty?

Why did the Duke's Mansion surround the envoys? It was because Mr. Zheng wanted to surrender to the Qing Dynasty and was preparing to capture the imperial envoys and send them to the Qing court to ask for credit and reward.
The soldiers looked at Wu Jisi at the door and sighed in their hearts.

The court has been so kind to Master Zheng, but Master Zheng wants to take them to be the Tartars. Now he is even preparing to kill the angels. This is really despicable.
Although everyone felt sorry for the delegation, no one spoke out at this time. The soldiers just stood there, guarding the various places in the courtyard.
Wu Jisi looked at the expressionless Zheng family soldiers in front of the door, but he didn't care.
He was not speaking to incite the soldiers, and in fact, they could not incite these soldiers.

These soldiers were all the personal guards of the Zheng government, and their food, clothing and other necessities were all provided by the Zheng government. How could Wu Jisi persuade them with just a few words?
His purpose was not to persuade the soldiers to rebel, but to pass the news to Zheng's army through the mouths of these soldiers.
There were nearly a hundred soldiers in the field, including Zheng Hongkui's men and Zheng Cai's men. Zheng Hongkui's soldiers would keep it secret, but Zheng Cai's men would not cover up for his Zheng family.
As long as someone is interested and wants to investigate the situation of the delegation, he will definitely be able to find out from these people what he said in front of the mansion today!
Wu Jisi glanced at Chen Hui, who looked angry, and took two quick steps to avoid Chen Hui, who was trying to catch him. He spoke loudly again.

"I want to ask Zheng Hongkui on behalf of the imperial court whether Anping City is still the territory of the Ming Dynasty!"

"When I entered the city earlier, I heard people say that Zheng Zhilong wanted to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. I scoffed at it and thought it was nonsense."

"Zheng Zhilong is the Duke of Ming Dynasty. How could he be a Tartar? But today I have no choice but to believe him."

"But brothers, even if Zheng Zhilong wanted to surrender to the Qing, why didn't he let us go?"

"Even when the two armies were at war, they didn't kill the envoys. Could it be that the Zheng family had surrendered to the Qing court, and now they were going to capture envoys like us who were originally going to make him a king to curry favor with the Tartars?" "The Zheng family has been deeply favored by the Ming Dynasty. The court has never owed the Zheng family anything. How could the Zheng family act so shamelessly?"

Wu Jisi raised his arms and shouted continuously, and the soldiers in front of the gate also became a little agitated. The soldiers looked at each other and all felt that what the red-robed official said made sense.
You, Zheng Zhilong, were originally a minister of the Ming Dynasty. It would have been fine if you had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty at this time. The envoys did not know that you had already betrayed the Ming Dynasty, and came here with good intentions to confer you the title of king. However, you refused to let even these envoys go, and wanted to capture them and send them to the Tartars to curry favor with you. This is really too despicable.
Chen Hui's expression suddenly changed when he heard what Wu Jisi said. Finally, he could no longer bear it.

Chen Hui's face darkened, and he waved his hand. Several guards immediately stepped forward to arrest the outspoken Wu Jisi.
Wu Jisi, who had originally looked indignant and righteous, did not hesitate at all when he saw the soldiers surrounding him. He retreated without waiting for the soldiers to react, and ran back to the gate of the yard.

It's fine to let him shout in front of people, but he, Old Wu, must not be caught!
Although the delegation was also trapped in the palace at this time, it was still more reassuring to stay with their own people.

Chen Hui's personal guards tried to arrest him, but Deng Mingwu and his Jinyiwei soldiers stood guard at the door, blocking the entrance with their bodies.

When Shi Lang and his men arrived at the courtyard mansion, they saw such a chaotic scene.
Shi Lang was followed by more than a hundred soldiers. At this time, a group of soldiers came to the courtyard. Naturally, the people in front of the door also discovered Shi Lang and others at the first time.

Zhang Tongchang saw another group of people arriving, and his face was solemn. But when he learned the identity of the people from Lin Cha, a hint of joy flashed across his face, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Hui and Jiang Ao, who were standing opposite, felt their hearts sink when they saw Shi Lang rushing towards them with his soldiers.

Shi Lang led his men into the street and walked directly to the gate of the courtyard.
However, before he could get close to the gate, Jiang Ao had already come forward with his men and reached out to stop Shi Lang.
Shi Lang looked at Jiang Ao who was blocking his way, but his expression remained unchanged. He chuckled and said:

"Why, Brother Jiang, you don't recognize Shi?"

"I recognize Brother Shi, but I am currently carrying out military orders. Please don't make things difficult for me. I will personally toast to Brother Shi and apologize afterwards."

Jiang Ao looked at Shi Lang who was smiling in front of him and spoke in a deep voice, but he did not dare to be careless in his heart.

Shi Lang was well-known in the army for his arrogance and ferocity. His appearance in front of the courtyard gate at this time was obviously not a good thing.

"Military order? Isn't this a coincidence? I am also following a military order at this moment."

Shi Lang looked at Jiang Ao in front of him and suddenly grinned, revealing his sharp white teeth. When Jiang Ao saw the smile on Shi Lang's face, his heart suddenly sank. He knew that today's matter might not be resolved peacefully.

"How about this, Brother Jiang, continue to execute your military orders, and I will execute mine. We can each do our own thing and have the best of both worlds."

Shi Lang spoke softly, patted Jiang Ao on the shoulder, then walked around Jiang Ao and headed towards the courtyard gate.

Jiang Ao's expression darkened. He turned around and stared at Shi Lang's back, then spoke in a deep voice.

"Yongsheng Bo has ordered that no one is allowed to enter this house."

Jiang Ao's face was grim. As soon as he finished speaking, the two soldiers guarding the door drew out their swords with a clang. The cold swords pointed directly at Shi Lang in front of them.
When Shi Lang saw the two soldiers with their swords drawn, the smile on his face suddenly froze. His face turned cold and he suddenly turned around and stared at Jiang Ao behind him.
"Okay, very good. Since I, Shi Lang, came to Fujian Province, no one has dared to point a knife at me for several years."

"Jiang Ao, you are very good"

Jiang Ao looked at Shi Lang who suddenly laughed, but a chill suddenly rose in his heart.

But before he could say anything else, the smile on Shi Lang's face suddenly disappeared, replaced by a cold

Shi Lang turned around and looked at the two Zheng Cai soldiers holding long swords. His face was grim and he said:

"Look, my Shi Lang's head is right here, don't chop it off."

"If you fail to kill me, Shi Lang, I will kill your entire family afterwards."

Shi Lang glanced at the two soldiers in front of him, and then said nothing. He ignored the two soldiers holding long swords and walked straight forward.
Jiang Ao looked at Shi Lang who was walking forward with big strides, veins popped out on his forehead and a fierce look on his face, but he never spoke.

The soldiers in front saw Jiang Ao remained silent and looked at each other, then they all made way for Shi Lang to walk towards the courtyard.
Shi Lang walked straight ahead with a cold expression, and soon arrived at the gate of the courtyard.

When Shi Lang saw Zhang Tongchang in front of the door, wearing a scarlet robe, his expression changed. He bowed to Zhang Tongchang and then spoke respectfully.

"I am Shi Lang, the lieutenant general of the Wuyi Earl Shi Fu's army. Wuyi Earl has not heard any news from Guangdong Province for a long time, so I would like to hold a banquet in Xicheng to welcome Lord Zhang and the ministers of the envoys. I wonder if Lord Zhang is willing to go to Xicheng."

Zhang Tongchang looked at the young officer in front of him and immediately understood Shi Lang's intention. He said

"I have also heard of Wu Yibo's name for a long time. Before entering Fujian, Elder Lu praised Wu Yibo highly, saying that Wu Yibo was a great general in Fujian and well versed in military affairs, and ordered me to go and meet him."

"Since Lord Wu Yi has invited me, I will go."

"In that case, please ask Master Zhang and the other members of the delegation to make some preparations. I will personally escort you to West City later."

Shi Lang saw Zhang Tongchang agreed directly, and a smile appeared on his face.

Shi Lang bowed to Zhang Tongchang, then turned around and waved to the soldiers not far away, calling for a group of Shi family soldiers.

But at this time, Chen Hui and Jiang Ao walked up to Shi Lang and stopped him.
Chen Hui looked serious, looked at Shi Lang in front of him, and spoke in a deep voice

"General Shi, the Duke's Mansion has ordered that the Gui Regent delegation is not allowed to enter or leave without permission."

"This is an order from the Duke's Mansion!"

Shi Fu looked at Chen Hui in front of him with a calm expression on his face. He was about to speak, but at this moment two figures appeared from behind, walked to the gate, and stood side by side with Shi Lang.
Huang Erhui looked at Chen Hui and Jiang Ao in front of him and said in a deep voice
"Chen Hui, this matter is not something you two can decide."

"General Shifu, the Earl of Wuyi, General Huang Ting, the Earl of Yong'an, and General Yang Geng, the commander of the front army, all believe that the south of the city is not peaceful at this time. For the safety of the Gui Regent's delegation, the three generals want to invite the Gui Regent's delegation to live in the west city."

"We are all brothers in the same army. We don't want to embarrass you. The three of us will wait in front of the mansion gate. You can send someone back to report."

Chen Hui and Jiang Ao looked at the three young men standing in front of the courtyard gate, and their expressions suddenly changed.

Behind Shi Lang and the others were the three strongest generals from outside the army. The three parties had a total of 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and horses. The appearance of these three people at this time meant that the generals from outside the army had reached a unified opinion. They did not agree with the Duke's Mansion besieging the Gui Regent Envoy.
Chen Hui and the others also realized the seriousness of the matter, and without saying anything more, they sent people to report the news to the Duke's Mansion and Zheng Cai's Mansion.
The messengers left in a hurry and returned in a hurry. After the two messengers returned, Jiang Ao from Zheng Cai's side said nothing. He just glanced at Zhang Tongchang and others in front of the door, and then withdrew with his men.

After hearing the messenger's report, Chen Hui walked up to Zhang Tongchang and spoke respectfully.

"The situation in the city is complicated now. The Duke's Mansion was worried about the safety of the delegation, so they sent people to protect them. Unexpectedly, they bumped into the delegation."

"Mr. Zheng has ordered me to convey that he will personally host a banquet to apologize to Lord Zhang at another day. Please forgive me, Lord Zhang."

Zhang Tongchang had no expression on his face when he heard this, and did not respond.
Chen Hui also knew that Zhang Tongchang would not be in a good mood towards him and others at this time. After conveying Zheng Hongkui's words, he bowed to Zhang Tongchang again, and then hurriedly left with the people from the Duke's Mansion.
Zhang Tongchang, Wu Jisi and others were relieved when they saw the two groups of troops finally withdraw.

The envoys packed up their luggage without hesitation and headed for the West City under the escort of Shi Lang and others.
(End of this chapter)