In the late afternoon of the last day of August, Guo Wei, who had just returned to Tokyo and started serving as a director of the Privy Council, was summoned to the palace.
The afternoon sun has set slantingly in the west, which is the time when the temperature is the best in autumn. Guo Wei entered the palace along the walking path and received exceptional treatment in front of the palace gate. As soon as he dismounted, the officer on duty at the palace gate recognized him and ordered the guard on duty to immediately let Guo Wei pass, while he hurried over and saluted Guo Wei with fists in his hands.
Guo Wei recognized the officer as someone under the command of Zhi Hanxun in front of the palace, and waved his hand to signal him to excuse himself. When he looked up, Guo Wei found that the man looked young, probably about the same age as Erlang, but he was still a captain on duty at the palace gate. He couldn't help but compare the two, and thought to himself: Erlang should have arrived home by now.
After entering the palace gate, there were already servants waiting here. Yan Guan's family was meeting Zhang Zhao, the minister of Taichang Temple, in Guangzheng Hall.
Guangzheng Hall is located in the west of the Forbidden City. The chamberlain led Guo Wei to meet the saint, and happened to meet Zhang Zhao on the way out of the palace.
Zhang Zhao served as an official for several dynasties and was proficient in literature and history. He is now over sixty years old. Since his eldest son, Guo Tong, was the young minister of Taichang Temple, Guo Wei took the initiative to say hello: "How are you doing, Zhang Siqing? We haven't seen you for a long time, but Zhang Siqing is still walking with style, which is enviable."
Zhang Zhao's eyes were slightly dazzled. When he got closer, he saw that it was Guo Wei and quickly returned the courtesy.
"Guo Gongyan smiled. How can he be better than Guo Gong when he is fighting for the country?" After saying that, he sighed heavily and said without any scruples, "Officials favor and trust their ministers. Recently, there have been many vulgar remarks in the holy mouth. Guo Gong is respected. I also asked Duke Guo to speak to the officials, get close to the Confucian ministers, and give lectures on exegesis."
After hearing this, Guo Wei just nodded and said: "Definitely."
After a while, Guo Wei was called to the Guangzheng Hall. A scent of aroma filled the air from the heater in the corner of the hall. In the small Guangzheng Hall, Guo Wei saw that in addition to the small official behind the case, he was also accompanied by the military envoy Li Ye and the internal guest envoy Yan Jinqing. , Privy Councilor Nie Wenjin and others, Guo Wei thought to himself: The "close ministers" mentioned by Zhang Zhao must be these people.
After saluting, Liu Chengyou got to the point: "Prime Minister Guo came back a while ago. At that time, he only talked about rewards in the army. He didn't think about what to reward Prime Minister Guo for a while. He was afraid that the reward would not be good, so he asked Prime Minister Yang and others to teach me. But now I After thinking about it, I specially invited Prime Minister Guo to come and receive the reward."
Liu Chengyou continued: "Previously, all the ministers said that without Prime Minister Guo's intervention, Guanzhong would not be pacified until long ago. Therefore, the gold, silk, clothes, jade belts, pommel and horses were all asked to pick the best ones from the palace for Prime Minister Guo, and they were guaranteed to be safe. Mr. Guo is satisfied."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Ye, the military commander on the side, clapped his hands, and a group of palace servants brought out boxes of gold and silk from the back of the palace, as well as jade belts, brocade clothes and other items.
Guo Wei looked at them and declined: "Your Majesty is so kind to me, and I feel deeply ashamed. I am entrusted by the court to conquer only one city a year, and the princes can just ignore the crime. How can I have great achievements! Not to mention your Majesty's reward. We can’t sell it at the regular price, and I hope your Majesty will take it back.”
"Oh..." Liu Chengyou seemed a little surprised, "Then whatever Xiang Guo wants, as long as the palace has it, I will definitely reward Xiang Guo."
"Your Majesty, I am leading my troops and horses outside to secure the capital and supply military supplies. It is all the efforts of the ministers in the court. I dare not accept the reward alone, but if I want to reward it, it is better to share it among all the ministers."
Liu Chengyou was silent for a moment, but Li Ye next to him actually said: "How can your lord, Prime Minister Guo, care about these external things? In my opinion, it is better to grant Guo Xiangjia a vassal and a town to show his favor."
Guo Wei took a deep look at Li Ye and felt a little dissatisfied: How dare a military envoy dare to speak out about such an important matter as conferring a town? I have been away from Beijing for a year, and it seems that there have been many changes in the palace and the court.
After Li Ye finished speaking, Liu Chengyou did not answer the question on the spot, and the hesitation and hesitation on Liu Chengyou's face was not concealed at all. When Guo Wei saw it, he couldn't help but thought to himself: The official is only nineteen years old, so he is still too immature.
Liu Chengyou, who was behind the case, leaned back and said in a tentative tone: "Does Prime Minister Guo want to grant an additional vassal town? Prime Minister Shi has already taken over the returning German army, why don't Prime Minister Guo also take over a vassal town?"
Naturally, Guo Wei did not want to lead the town, purely out of political considerations. You must know that every time Shi Hongzhao attacked Su Fengji's faction, Su Fengji and others would definitely ask Shi Hongzhao to go to the town, but Shi Hongzhao could only stay in Tokyo. ——As long as you go up to some positions, even if you use a fire to grill, it will be difficult to come down.
What's more, all his status comes from his control of the Privy Council and the Forbidden Army. Leaving Tokyo and the imperial court means giving up the two sharpest swords in the imperial court. Besides, the most important thing is that he deeply Knowing that he had already been deeply involved in the struggle between Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao and Su Fengji and Li Tao, it was impossible to stay out of the matter, so he could never leave Tokyo. Otherwise, who knows whose head the sword will fall on in the future?
Fortunately, Guo Wei's reasons for rejection were very good.
Guo Wei solemnly said: "The privy envoy Yang Bin is above the ministers. He has not yet been granted a vassal town. Besides, no one close to the court can compare with Su Fengji. The late emperor asked his ministers to assist me, and I worked hard day and night to repay him. How dare I do that? Can you relinquish your responsibilities easily?"
Liu Chengyou did not want to continue this topic and asked Guo Wei to accept the reward of gold and silk. Guo Wei repeatedly declined. It was not until Liu Chengyou promised that the rewards of the prime minister, third minister, Xuanhui envoy and other important officials of the dynasty would be equal to those of Guo Wei. Guo Wei no longer had any reason to refuse. The reward has to be thanked and passed on.
The eunuch sent Guo Wei out of the palace with a ceremony. Liu Chengyou breathed a sigh of relief in the Guangzheng Palace and said to the people on the left and right: "Of all the Xianggongs, it is easiest to be with Xianggong Guo. He never asks for rewards and never cares. I have never preached to me like Yang Bin and others."
Nie Wenjin, the privy minister, said: "In my opinion, although Xianggong Yang and others are rude to His Majesty, but their nature is so upright, it is Xianggong Guo who is the most cunning."
"Oh? What do you say?"
"Your Majesty, think about it carefully. Your Majesty just promised Mr. Guo to reward all the princes in the court. If the news spreads, wouldn't he be using the palace's treasures to win over Mr. Guo's hearts?"
"That seems to be the case!" Liu Chengyou frowned, "But the words have been released, what else can be done?"
This time, it was the turn of Yan Jinqing, the envoy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to answer: "In this case, your Majesty, why not get more people to reward! Not only should we give officials to several ministers in the court, but also to various vassals and towns. Tianxiong, Tai Ning, Hedong, and Tianping Town all have the title of Grand Master, Grand Tutor, and Attendant, so that everyone in the world will know that there are not only princes but also officials in the court."
"Okay! Let's do it like this!" Liu Chengyou felt confident again when he spoke. The relaxed and joking expression reappeared on his face, and he did not forget to praise: "Fortunately, you are here, otherwise I will be beaten by Mr. Guo again." They coaxed me over. But as long as Mr. Guo and the others are there to block me outside, and you are there in the palace to plan things for me and have fun with me, I will really sleep peacefully."
At this time, Liu Chengyou realized that Li Ye was silent and didn't know what he was thinking, so he curiously asked him: "What is my uncle thinking?"
Li Ye raised his head and said gloomily: "Your Majesty, do you remember that when King Zhou was here, Guo Xin, the second son of Xianggong Guo, went hunting with us?"
Liu Chengyou thought for a moment: "Remember, Guo Erlang shot a tiger that day and was loved by his brother."
Li Ye continued, "At that time we found an injured roe deer, which happened to be captured by us. Later, we found out from the arrow cluster that it was also shot by Guo Xin. Later, there were rumors that we had robbed him of his catch. We had to Shooting tigers to show off your force... Now I heard that Guo Erlang has made great achievements in Guanzhong and has been promoted to the commander of the capital. He even refused to give up a deer, which shows how serious he is! Let these people be in charge of the army, Your Majesty really Did you sleep peacefully?"
All the relaxation and comfort of Liu Chengyou were instantly condensed on his face, and he lowered his head and said nothing.
