In the first month of 947 AD, the news that Khitan Lord Yelu Deguang led the Khitan army into Kaifeng Mansion gradually spread throughout the Central Plains. The Shi family had not been in power for a few years before they were kicked off the throne by the Khitans. Even the emperor Shi Chonggui was deposed as a traitorous prince by the Khitan Lord Yelu Deguang. For everyone, this is really a great irony.
Although Shi Jin is out of the game, the chaotic situation in the world will not stop there. In the south, Tang, Shu and other countries all watched the fire from across the bank, waiting at any time to take advantage of the situation and seize the world. In the Central Plains, countless pairs of eyes hidden in state and county offices by warlords from all over the country were staring at the Khitan Lord who had just taken over Bianzhou and the dragon throne that was empty again.
…
Ever since he came to this world, Guo Xin has often entered the same dream.
Guo Xin in the dream has no body, but wanders between heaven and earth in the form of a certain soul, while heaven and earth are in darkness.
Everything on the endless land was gray, making him feel like he was being swallowed by the dark atmosphere - sinking in the cold along with all other living things.
I don't know how time passed, but Guo Xin began to feel that the long-lasting haze between heaven and earth was being dispelled - dawn was gradually approaching.
In an extremely sudden moment, a huge red sun suddenly jumped out from the end of the dome, followed by a strong wind. The fog in the surrounding fields was cleared away without a trace in a breath, and the world became as bright and clear as crystal.
The red sun bursts out countless rays of light, which pierce the vast sky and spread across the boundless wilderness, bringing new light and hope to the vast world.
…
Guo Xin sat up from the couch and felt the fire running through his body, as if he had been burned by the red sun in his dream, and the messy thoughts in his heart became even more confusing.
Guo Xin wiped away the fine sweat on his forehead, stood up, kicked on his boots, put on a round robe and walked straight to the bedroom door.
The two doors were suddenly opened by Guo Xin. As the door pivots turned, there was a muffled sound, and the air-conditioning that had been dormant all night rushed towards him.
The cold air rolled into the clothes from the collar and cuffs, brushing against the strong body hidden under the coarse cloth. However, Guo Xin didn't feel cold, and his restless mind calmed down again.
Guo Xin should not belong here, but in a time and space long after. He is not called "Guo Xin", but once had another name. However, he has gradually become unable to tell whether he is Guo Xin or whether he comes from that distant future.
The era he lives in now should be a troubled era called "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms" by later generations. This is a chaotic world where the earth is torn in all directions, wars are endless, and the people are like grass and grass. Fortunately, Guo Xin is not worried about survival at the moment - his father at this time is the official of Kongmu, the military capital of Fanhan and Han Dynasties in Taiyuan Prefecture. He is in charge of the money and food distribution of the entire Hedong (i.e. Shanxi) army. He can be regarded as a subordinate of the Hedong warlord Liu Zhiyuan. important figures.
In addition, Guo Wei also has another identity-the future emperor of the Later Zhou Dynasty.
Guo Xin didn't know much about the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, but he also knew that the Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou dynasties were finally completed by Zhao Kuangyin into the Song Dynasty. There has been new progress in this process this year. The Later Jin Dynasty, founded by the notorious son-emperor Shi Jingtang, was invaded by Khitan Lord Yelv Deguang and invaded Tokyo last month, declaring the end of his rule.
According to this sequence, it was the Liu family's turn to establish the Later Han Dynasty next, and the founding emperor of the Later Han Dynasty was the military and political envoy in Hedong, Liu Zhiyuan, King of Peking. After the Later Han Dynasty - it was Guo Wei's turn to create the Later Zhou Dynasty. Although his father was the future founding emperor, there was still a very serious problem. Guo Xin remembered that the reason why Guo Wei rebelled against the Han in history was precisely because the second emperor of the Later Han Dynasty killed his whole family...
Guo Xin raised his head, looked over the courtyard wall to the east where the sun had not yet risen, and took a deep breath. The hot breath was exhaled into a thin cloud in winter, but soon disappeared into the cold air.
Today is the Lantern Festival, which is a festive day of the year whether in later generations or at this time. However, the situation suddenly changed last year. The Khitan cavalry marched straight in and attacked Kaifeng Mansion, where the Jin Dynasty was located, and destroyed Shi Jin. Even though Kaifeng Mansion is thousands of miles away, it makes people less worried about celebrating the festival.
In fact, the war between the Bianzhou royal family and the Khitan did not affect Hedong too much. The Khitan invaded several times and was defeated by Jiedushi Liu Zhiyuan. But the entire Taiyuan Mansion is still shrouded in a tense atmosphere.
According to Guo Xin's knowledge, in the Peking Palace in the north of the city, Liu Zhiyuan was planning the current situation with his confidants day and night, including Guo Xin's father Guo Wei.
But the rushing time will not stop depending on people's state of mind, just like Shi Chonggui could only huddle in the palace of Kaifeng Mansion, waiting tremblingly for the Khitan cavalry to come, but he was unable to change his own destiny.
Guo Xin returned to his room to tidy up again. He thought that today Liu Zhiyuan would entertain Taiyuan civil and military officials as usual. His father Guo Wei estimated that he would leave for the commander's mansion after lunch, so he had to go to greet Guo Wei and his "mother" Zhang earlier. .
Mrs. Zhang was not Guo Xin's biological mother. Guo Xin's biological mother, Mrs. Yang, died of illness shortly after arriving in Taiyuan. Mrs. Zhang was the stepmother Guo Wei later married. However, Zhang and Yang were from the same hometown and had no children, so they took great care of themselves. Guo Xin also treated Zhang as his biological mother.
Guo Xin's own courtyard is to the west of Guo Mansion, while Guo Wei and Zhang live in the east. However, the two wings are not far apart for a simple reason - Guo Mansion is not really big. This is not because Guo Wei is of low status and cannot afford to live in a big house. On the contrary, Liu Zhiyuan had a good relationship with Guo Wei when he first took office in Hedong ten years ago. Now Guo Wei is even more important to him and controls the military and horse books in Hedong. He seems to be very close to Liu Zhiyuan. confidant.
Just because Guo Wei had a hard time in his early years and had always been diligent and frugal in managing his family, the size of the Guo Mansion was far less than that of many important officials in Taiyuan Mansion.
Guo Xin doesn't have any objections to this. After all, compared to the residence of future generations...
"Brother Yi is so late, where are you going?" A voice behind him brought Guo Xin back from his thoughts.
Yi Ge'er is Guo Xin's nickname. Most people who are familiar with him call him that. The servants in the house sometimes call him Erlang because Guo Xin has an elder brother, Guo Tong.
Guo Xin looked back and saw that it was Guo Shou, the concierge of the residence.
Guo Shou is not an ordinary servant of the Guo Mansion, but a fellow soldier who fought with Guo Wei in his early years. It is said that he even saved Guo Wei's life in battle. However, Guo Shou was later injured by an arrow and lost an arm, so he was taken by Guo Wei to work as a servant in the Guo Mansion together with his wife and children. Guo Wei treated Guo Shou very well, and Guo Shou was naturally grateful to the Guo family.
Guo Xinxin reached this point, hugged Guo Shou, and said with a smile: "Today is the Lantern Festival, and I am preparing to go to pay my respects to my father."
Guo Shou exclaimed: "That's no coincidence. The palace sent someone to invite you early in the morning, and the front leg has just left now."
Guo Xin was not surprised. Liu Zhiyuan often planned current affairs with Guo Wei. During these days, he often summoned Guo Wei for urgent matters, so he nodded and said: "The news has been very confusing recently, and my father is also busy and hard in dealing with things."
Guo Shou was also convinced: "People are saying that Lord Yelu is planning to proclaim himself emperor in Bianliang, but he just doesn't know what it means to be handsome..."
Guo Xin resigned from Guo Shou and still went to see Zhang. Although Guo Wei left the house, he still needed to show his face to Zhang on this day.
Not long after, he arrived at the front yard of the rear mansion. Although the Guo Mansion is frugal, it does not lack everything it deserves. There are already maids outside the courtyard waiting for him to enter.
Before entering the door, I heard a loud cough coming from the house. Guo Tong was convinced: his sick brother Guo Tong had arrived.
Sure enough, when the maid led Guo Xin into the room, Mrs. Zhang and her brother Guo Tong were sitting in the room.
Unlike most other civil and military officials who favor beautiful women, Zhang's appearance is far from beautiful. Guo Wei is indeed a rare "good man" at this time. Although he married three wives from his first wife, Mrs. Chai, to Mr. Zhang, both Yang and Zhang were married by Guo Wei. Regardless of whether it was his first wife, Mrs. Chai, his own Neither her mother, Mrs. Yang, nor Mrs. Zhang in front of her were extremely beautiful women, but they both had virtuous reputations in running the household.
After meeting Zhang and Guo Tong one by one, Guo Xin was about to sit down, but was stopped by his brother Guo Tong: "Erlang sleeps until this time again? My father is out day and night taking care of important things. On days like this, he doesn't even say hello to Erlang." ?”
Guo Xin was stunned for a moment when he heard this and looked at Guo Tong without knowing why.
Although both brothers inherited Guo Wei's tall stature, unlike Guo Xin, who was strong and strong, Guo Tong seemed to have some underlying disease and had been sickly since he was a child. Guo Tong, who is tall but thin and weak, is naturally not welcomed in the martial arts circle where the Guo family associates.
Because of this, Guo Tong turned his interest to literary and artistic matters very early, and he did not like Guo Xin, who often hung out among martial artists.
However, Guo Xin had long been accustomed to Guo Tong's self-esteem problem, and knew that it was best to fool him quickly to avoid trouble. So even though he didn't care in his heart, he put on a sincere look on his face and said: "It's because the child is late. I hope my mother and brother won't blame me."
Mrs. Zhang laughed at the side: "His Highness is looking for your father for important matters. Who can blame him?"
Guo Tong wanted to say something else, but the urge to cough came up in his throat again, so he had to huff and wave his hand to signal Guo Xin to sit down.
Seeing Guo Xin sit down, Mrs. Zhang immediately spoke enthusiastically: "Brother Yi came by chance. I was talking to Brother Qing about going to Chongfu Temple to pray and worship the Buddha in a while, so that the Buddha and the immortals can protect our family's peace and security... ...Since Dalang doesn’t want to go, you can go with me. You must know that Chongfu Temple is probably very busy today!”
After hearing this, Guo Xin shook his head repeatedly. He had never been interested in this kind of thing. If worshiping Buddha was useful, the monarchs and ministers of Bianzhou could just burn incense and worship Buddha day and night, praying for divine power to make the Khitan people retreat. How could they end up with the destruction of their country and their family?
