Guo Xin came back from Hele Building and rode into the inner alley of Guo Mansion. Suddenly he saw Guo Pu pacing back and forth in front of the mansion. He stretched his neck to look out the street. When he saw Guo Xin, he hurriedly ran towards him. come over.
Guo Xin stopped his horse, but before he could ask, Guo Pu said: "Something happened in the army. General Wangdu has just come to visit in person. The whole house is looking for him. My brother is missing. I don't know where he has gone. I don’t dare to go out and look around to waste time, so I have no choice but to wait here.”
Guo Xin was a little surprised: "What happened in the army? Is Wang Yuanmao still there?"
Guo Pu shook his head: "It's not a big deal. The king will only say that there are soldiers and people in our command who used fists and kicked, and accidentally caused lives in the city..."
Guo Xin breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, knowing that it was not an important matter. As the chief officer, it was indeed his responsibility to deal with the trouble caused by his subordinates.
...When Guo Xin rushed to the army, a circle of people had gathered in front of the command barracks. When they saw Guo Xin approaching, they all saluted and made way for him.
Guo Xin walked into the crowd and saw several people surrounded by the crowd. Zhang Chenghua and Wang Yuanmao were among them.
Seeing Guo Xin, Wang Yuanmao hurriedly came up to him, pointed to the side and said: "These stupid guys went crazy drinking and drinking in the city. They had a dispute with the store owner, accidentally beat the store owner to death, and hid here... Commander Guo How to deal with it?”
Guo Xin looked slightly sideways and saw that the four or five soldiers were naked from the waist up, kneeling on the ground and trembling. There were several deep red and bloody marks on each person's back. In a blink of an eye, he saw the riding whip in Zhang Chenghua's hand next to him, and he knew it clearly.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Guo Xin pondered slightly, got off his horse, and said unhurriedly: "We are all brothers who have been through life and death on the battlefield," and then ordered those around him: "It's cold, so put on your clothes first."
Guo Xin's words revealed his guarantor attitude, and everyone felt a lot more relaxed at the moment. After hearing this, the people around him quickly stepped forward to help the soldier on the ground stand up and put on his clothes.
Several people supported each other and thanked Guo Xin, and some of them had the time to defend themselves: "That thief shopkeeper spoke rudely to us, but he didn't take a beating..."
Guo Xin ignored him, but turned to Wang Yuanmao and asked, "Have the people from the restaurant reported their official positions?"
Wang Yuanmao nodded with a sad face: "Send someone to go back and take a look. The body is still lying on the street. Kaifeng Mansion's Yamen officials have already gone to check it. That's why I had to trouble Commander Guo to come back and deal with it."
"I will take care of this matter." Guo Xin immediately got on his horse and loudly shouted to several soldiers who had committed the crime: "Since ancient times, killing people must be punished with life, and according to the laws of the new dynasty, serious crimes cannot be avoided. I will remember that you and others have just returned from the battle. The journey is hard, and a severe punishment will inevitably lead to loss of military morale. However, the punishment can be avoided, but you must make up for the crime yourself. I order you to go back and prepare the funeral expenses together. Do you have any objection? "
Paying money to buy lives, there is not much money at all per head - not to mention that the imperial army has just returned from Weizhou with official rewards and is not short of money at the moment. The several soldiers who committed the crime did not hesitate, clasped their fists and responded gratefully: "But it depends on the commander's orders!"
Zhang Chenghua, who was on the side, raised his riding whip again and angrily shouted: "Commander Guo is benevolent and righteous, yet I have not thanked Commander Guo for his kindness!"
So the soldiers thanked him profusely.
Guo Xin asked the soldier who committed the crime for details of the crime. Knowing that it was indeed a disaster caused by an ordinary dispute, he felt that it was not too difficult. It is common for warriors to be brave and fierce. In addition, the government laws have no binding force on the Imperial Guards. It is not uncommon for the Imperial Guards stationed in Tokyo to cause trouble in the city.
Therefore, Guo Xin felt that this matter was not a big deal. Even if it involved human lives, for a Forbidden Army general like him with some background, it was probably not a big deal, at most it would be a little trouble.
So after Zhang Chenghua was ordered to lead the soldiers to disperse, Guo Xin took Guo Pu out of the camp.
After leaving the camp, Guo Xin did not go to the Kaifeng Prefecture's Secretariat, nor did he go to the scene of the crime. Instead, he went straight to the Yamen of the Guards Division in the inner city, which was responsible for the affairs of the imperial army.
The Fengguo Army belonged to the Guards and Pro-Army ranks, and the largest chief officer of the Guards Division and the Commander of the Guards and Pro-Army Ma Bu Army was Shi Hongzhao. At present, the Guards Department is under the control of Shi Hongzhao. It not only establishes the Guards Department to handle military law, but also interferes in civil affairs, especially in Tokyo City, which has the power to supervise and guard.
In addition to this, another reason is also very important: at the moment, the person with the right to know the governor of Kaifeng is Liu Chengyou, and it is obvious who to choose between the two.
After arriving at the Guards Department, when I asked, I learned that Shi Hongzhao, the commander of the Ma Infantry Army, and Liu Xin, the deputy commander of the capital, had already entered the palace to face the saints. Only Liu Ci, who had just been promoted to the infantry commander of the Guards Army this month, was included.
Guo Xin and Liu Ci were not familiar with each other and had only met once when they were in Weizhou. Moreover, the hilltop where Liu Ci was in the Forbidden Army did not seem to be on the direct side of Hedong... The certainty of getting things done with Liu Ci was much smaller than that of Shi Hongzhao. But if the matter is not resolved quickly through the Guards Department, it will become more troublesome to drag it to Kaifeng Mansion. Guo Xin thought for a moment, then handed the commanding talisman to the concierge and directly informed him to come in and wait to be seen.
Guo Xin didn't wait for a moment and saw Liu Ci in a public room. Liu Ci had already taken a seat next to a large wooden table and was waiting for him. After Guo Xin came in and saw the ceremony, he asked Guo Xin to sit down again. Liu Ci was already quite old, but he was in good spirits. He started to reminisce about the past and said, "It seems like yesterday that Wei Zhou and Commander Guo said goodbye."
Guo Xin responded, and Liu Ci stopped saying anything. He just stared at Guo Xin carefully and waited calmly for him to say something.
After thinking about how to express it, Guo Xin finally said: "Two soldiers under the general's command had a dispute with someone in the city today. Commander Liu is a veteran on the battlefield and knows that those rough guys in the army never attack lightly. , I killed one by mistake... The general knows that this is against the law, but the Kaifeng Mansion has always been at odds with our army, so the general wants to ask the guards to punish this matter."
"It's just a trivial matter," Liu Ci said without hesitation, "I'll ask someone to write a signature when I turn around. The person who committed the crime, Guo, will be punished by himself in the army. There is no need to leave the Feng Mansion. way."
Guo Xin was slightly stunned. He didn't know if this matter was handled so easily or if Liu Ci was deliberately selling his favor. But he knew how to answer at this time: "General, I understand. I feel sorry for bothering Liu Du with this matter today. If there is no other mission, I will leave now."
"There's no rush." Liu Ci coughed twice intentionally, "Has Commander Guo heard about what happened in Kansai?"
Guo Xin saw that he had really made up his words, so he sat down again as he was about to stand up, nodded and said: "Zhao Kuangzan and Hou Yi have both announced that they are ready to enter the court. Wang Jingchong led his army to defeat Li Tinggui in Ziwu Valley. The court must be here soon. Can pacify Guanxi."
Liu Ci glanced at Guo Xin and continued: "After Guanxi is pacified, the imperial court will definitely choose another good commander to serve as the military governor of Fengxiang and other places. Recently, I heard that the officials and the Privy Council intend to make Wang Jingchong take over as military governor of Fengxiang, and Wang Jingchong and I That man has been with the Forbidden Army for a long time and knows that although he has two talents as a general, he is not worthy of being reused. If he were to be a frontier commander in the imperial court, he might not be safe."
Guo Xinxin said: "Whether it is appropriate or not to be chosen by the superiors as Jiedu envoy, what does it have to do with the two of us?" It was nothing more than Liu Ci's own desire to be released from the town. In addition, Liu Ci deliberately mentioned the Privy Council in his words, obviously wanting to open up the door to his father Guo Wei.
However, this matter is not at the same level as what Guo Xin came to ask for. Liu Ci seemed to be aware of this and added: "However, the final appointment by the imperial court is also an official decree."
After Guo Xin said a vague farewell to Liu Ci, he was about to leave the office when he saw several warriors in brocade robes hurried in from the main entrance. The ones walking at the forefront were the scar-faced Shi Hongzhao and his own Shangfengxiang envoy Xie Hui.
Guo Xin quickly stepped aside and saluted: "General, I have seen Taiwei Shi."
"Why is Guo Lang here?" Shi Hongzhao raised his eyebrows, and before Guo Xin could answer, he waved his hand impatiently: "Anyway, go home quickly."
Guo Xin didn't know what was going on. He looked at Xie Hui and saw that Xie Hui's face was also very solemn. He shook his head slightly at Guo Xin and followed Shi Hongzhao inside.
Guo felt confident: What else could happen at this moment?
