At three o'clock in the morning, the guard captain finally returned to the mansion.

Wu Zongrui originally thought that the guard captain would not be able to return to the mansion today. According to his understanding, as Zhang Zhifa was the chief minister of the cabinet, the mansion must be very lively and there must be many people visiting. In order not to expose his identity, the guard captain may choose

Wait outside the mansion and hand over the letter when Zhang Zhifa goes to court early the next morning.

The captain of the personal guard entered the wing and spoke before Wu Zongrui could speak.

"Sir, my subordinate has personally handed your letter to Mr. Zhang. Mr. Zhang has read your letter and said that if you have time, you can go to the private room on the third floor of XX Tea House in Xizhimen..."

Wu Zongrui was stunned for a moment, looked at the guard captain, and still did not speak.

"Sir, my subordinate arrived in front of Master Zhang's mansion and saw many people waiting. I thought of some ways and got acquainted with Master Zhang's concierge. The concierge led his subordinates into the mansion through the back door.

Later, I met Lord Zhang’s butler. The steward took his subordinates directly into the wing and met Lord Zhang. When the subordinate entered the wing, there was no one else in the wing..."

Wu Zongrui nodded slightly, looked at the guard captain and spoke.

"Go to Lord Zhang's residence. Did you find anything unusual along the way?"

"Your Majesty, I didn't notice much abnormality. When I left the mansion through the back door, I saw a few people wandering around. They saw that I was wearing ordinary clothes and carrying a load, so they didn't pay attention.

..”

Wu Zongrui nodded again. He knew that the guard captain was still very good in this aspect, and he was even better at disguise.

"Master Zhang asked me to meet at the teahouse. Did he say anything else?"

"I didn't say anything else, but my subordinate didn't accept the appointment for you, and I don't know if Mr. Zhang will go to the teahouse."

Wu Zongrui's expression became serious.

After arriving in the capital, Wu Zongrui always felt that there were "eyes" around him. Needless to say, these people must be Jinyiwei or Dongchang fans. There were many people wandering around the mansion, although they were far away from the mansion.

It's still a little far away, but the guards have noticed something strange about them. Needless to say, these people are also spies.

Lu Xiangsheng came to visit just now, and I'm afraid the emperor already knows the news.

The emperor strengthened his control over the civil and military ministers, largely by relying on Jinyiwei and Dongchang, or relying on eunuchs to keep track of the whereabouts of civil and military officials. This became particularly prominent after the middle of the Ming Dynasty. As the governor of Jiliao, Wu Zongrui controlled the Dengcheng.

The Laixin Army has strong military power, and it is reasonable for the emperor and the court to pay special attention to it.

In fact, Wu Zongrui was very different from other civil and military ministers in the court.

The Ming court and the emperor had extremely tight control over military power. In the Ming Dynasty, it was very common for generals to be ignorant of soldiers and soldiers to be ignorant of generals. The Qi family army back then was founded by Qi Jiguang. Because of its strong combat effectiveness, it was not known for a long time.

Because he suffered from the suspicion of the emperor and the court, Qi Jiguang lost control of the Qi family army.

The Denglai New Army under the control of Wu Zongrui can be said to be the most powerful army in the Ming Dynasty. It has defeated the Tatars and bandits of Houjin several times. With such a powerful army, it is false that the emperor and the court are not jealous, and they are not worried.

It's possible that the emperor and the court just couldn't find the opportunity to intervene in any affairs of the Denglai New Army.

So far, among the officers of the Denglai New Army, none have been sent by the imperial court. All of them have been trained by Wu Zongrui himself. Under such circumstances, the emperor and the imperial court may also know that forcibly intervening in the affairs of the Denglai New Army will definitely be counterproductive.

.

The Denglai New Army did not receive military pay or food from the imperial court, and relied on itself for everything. Wu Zongrui also did not reach out to the emperor and the imperial court. To put it bluntly, before the Battle of Liaodong, the emperor and the imperial court were not qualified to intervene in the Denglai New Army.

matters.

It's not very possible for the emperor and the court to remain patient. There will always be a day when conflict breaks out.

Therefore, Wu Zongrui must set up an informant in the capital to keep abreast of the news from the DPRK and China and be prepared for any danger.

Zhang Zhifa is the chief minister of the cabinet. It would be a great thing for Wu Zongrui to have a good relationship with Zhang Zhifa.

Wu Zongrui wanted to meet Zhang Zhifa, but the emperor's spies were everywhere in the capital, and Jin Yiwei and Dongchang were closely connected. Maybe an inconspicuous passerby around you was Jin Yiwei or Dongchang's fan.

Wu Zongrui knew that he was definitely the focus of Jin Yiwei and Dongchang's attention, and everyone wanted to know his every move.

"Sir, my subordinate did not answer the appointment because the situation outside is too complicated. You know, there are at least thirty people watching outside this mansion. If you go out, you will definitely be watched by them. If they notice anything,

..."

Wu Zongrui waved his hand, he didn't need the guard captain to say these words, he also knew them.

Meeting Zhang Zhifa presents great opportunities, but also great dangers.

The so-called major opportunity, if this meeting was secretly arranged by Zhang Zhifa, then Wu Zongrui and Zhang Zhifa will definitely be able to reach some agreement when they meet, and the two can even have a tacit understanding, which will be of great help to Wu Zongrui's future development.

The so-called major danger, if this meeting is a trap, that is to say is secretly arranged by the emperor, then the meeting between Wu Zongrui and Zhang Zhifa will definitely arouse greater suspicion in the emperor, and may even become a reason for the emperor to take action.

Wu Zongrui stood up and walked around the wing for more than a minute, then looked at the captain of the guard.

"When you left Mr. Zhang's residence, did you see anything unusual on the way back?"

"There was nothing unusual. The butler left through the back door with his subordinates. The two brothers who were ambushing in front and behind did not find anyone following the subordinates. When the subordinates returned to the mansion, they did not find anyone following them..."

"I understand, go and prepare and wait for my notification."

The guard captain looked at Wu Zongrui, said nothing, clasped his fists in salute, turned and left.

Wu Zongrui was still pacing. He needed to make a decision. If he did not meet with Zhang Zhifa, he might lose some opportunities, but at least he would be safe. The letter he wrote to Zhang Zhifa was not a big deal. It was just some greetings. In addition,

It's just a banknote worth a thousand taels of silver, but if you don't meet, you're likely to lose an excellent opportunity.

It should be said that the possibility of the emperor setting up a trap is not very high. On the one hand, the emperor may not have thought of this, and on the other hand, Zhang Zhifa could not have planned ahead and knew that he was going to write the letter.

The brave will be starved to death and the timid will be starved to death. This is how things are done these days.

Wu Zongrui stopped. He felt that he was thinking too much and was too cautious. No matter how careful he was, the emperor and the court would be suspicious. If the bandits were not still raging and affecting the stability of many places in the north, I am afraid that the emperor and the court would be suspicious.

The imperial court had long since turned its attention to the land of Denglai and him.

Time is very precious to Wu Zongrui. It is of course the best to be able to gain as much peaceful time as possible to develop and strengthen one's own strength. However, many times, everything will not develop according to one's own ideas. There is a saying that goes well.

, the more you are afraid of something, the more likely you are to encounter something.

"Bang..."

Wu Zongrui punched the table.

The guard captain quickly entered the wing.

"I have to meet with Mr. Zhang, are everything ready?"

"Report to your lord, we are ready."

"What's the situation outside the mansion?"

"There are still ten people in front of the mansion and five in the back. The rest should go and rest."

"Is there any way to deal with them?"

"Yes, use the adult's sedan chair to lure them away..."

After the guard captain finished speaking, Wu Zongrui nodded slightly. This arrangement is quite good. Although there are loopholes in it, it is already a very good arrangement.

Xu Shi.

The inner city was almost completely quiet, but the outer city was lively.

Compared with other places in the inner city, the Xizhimen area is quite lively. There are many restaurants, teahouses and theaters here. Even at midnight, they will not close their doors. Many dignitaries in the capital mostly go to the Xizhimen area.

Come for entertainment, of course the dignitaries who really want to have entertainment have already gone to the outer city.

Several personal guards escorted a sedan, came out from the side door, and left slowly.

Among the "idlers" waiting not far outside the mansion, several people soon followed the sedan from a distance.

When the sedan turned a corner, three of the guards following the sedan quickly left. As the three left, three people inside the sedan quickly got down and merged into the team.

The people following behind quickly turned the corner.

The number of people guarding the sedan chair did not change. Those who followed did not make any special movements and continued to follow slowly.

...

"Sir, I think I can teach these people some lessons and let them see..."

"No, when you come to the capital, you have to adapt to these things. If we can't help but teach these people, it will definitely cause dissatisfaction with the emperor and the court. There is no need. We will leave the capital tomorrow. You can go see Zheng Xiaoru later and ask

He must pay special attention not to reveal his identity."

The group of people hurried towards XX Tea House.

The arrangement of the captain of the personal guard was quite good. The sedan chair Wu Zongrui was riding in would wander around Xizhimen until Wu Zongrui and Zhang Zhifa met before returning to the mansion.

Within a few minutes, Wu Zongrui and his party arrived in front of the teahouse.

The red lanterns in the teahouse are still bright, but there are not many people coming in and out.

When Wu Zongrui walked towards the teahouse, the captain of the personal guard strode forward.

"Sir, please wait for a moment while my subordinate goes to the front to take a look."

Wu Zongrui waved his hand.

"No need, I have observed the movements around me along the way and found nothing unusual. You have also not noticed anything. If Zhang Zhifa has any arrangements, I can't hide them from you. I have thought about it just now. There is no need for Zhang Zhifa to do this. There is no need for him.
Chapter completed!