At the end of the year and the New Year, although the Han army was still deployed abroad and there was still the possibility of war breaking out in Hebei, prosperity was beginning to appear in the cities and towns in Tokyo.
As for the clues about Hebei's military strategists, most of the news circulating in the market is unreliable: the Khitans are far away in Youzhou from time to time, and have already arrived at the Yellow River from time to time. There is never definite news. However, the Han army had just won the battle in Guanzhong, and the occasional invasions from the southern countries were repelled by the border governors. The new dynasty established by the Liu family had not yet suffered a major military setback, and the people in Tokyo were also Gradually, confidence in the military power of the DPRK has been established.
However, there are always people who can get more reliable information. Wang Shiliang, who was promoted to a junior officer in the Forbidden Army not long ago, has just entered the ranks of such an "informed" minority. As far as he knew, not only had there been no major war in Hebei, but the Khitans had not even really assembled their main force to go south, and the Han army was controlled by Guo Wei and was stationed in the Yedu area.
Of course, when it comes to military affairs, there are probably few people who can compare with him at Shangfeng, Guo Xin, the son of Guo Wei, who was also the privy envoy of the dynasty.
Wearing plain clothes, Wang Shiliang led his horse through the bustling market. The further he walked toward the inner city, the deserted the streets became. He pondered in silence and soon arrived at the place - the Guo family's residence.
Guo Pu was already waiting in front of the square gate, and he bowed casually: "Brother Wang came early."
Wang Shiliang tied down his horse and returned the salute with a smile: "My lord has summoned me, so I don't dare to be late."
Guo Pu led him through the side door of Guo Mansion, led him to a side courtyard, and then said goodbye.
Wang Shiliang stepped into the hospital and looked around first.
There was a new snowfall two days ago, but the ground in the courtyard was swept clean, and the snow was swept up and piled in the corner. The whole side courtyard is not big. Except for a pear tree planted next to the west courtyard wall, there is only one main room on the north side. The doors and windows of the main room are open at this time. Wang Shiliang has already seen Guo Xin. It's flashing inside.
Wang Shiliang cleared his throat and stepped into the room. What he saw was Guo Xin's profile facing the wall. However, he took another look and found that Guo Xin was not facing the wall, but a large piece of yellow paper hanging on the wall.
There are many names written on the large paper, and there are many lines connecting some of the names to each other, and some names are circled or drawn with horizontal lines. As for those names, there were names that Wang Shiliang was not familiar with, but whose names he had heard for a long time, such as Zhao Hui, the military governor of Fengxiang, Fu Yanqing, the military governor of Taining, and even minor officials; there were also names that were very familiar to him. , such as Wu Deshi Li Ye, Lu Guogong Hou Yi, and Third Secretary Wang Zhang, some of whom Guo Xin had previously told him to pay more attention to.
Guo Xin was looking at such a work, his eyes wandering over it, and the expression on his face revealed solemnity and annoyance, as if he was very distressed by the chaotic and complicated people in front of him.
Wang Shiliang knew that Guo Xin's willingness to meet here was a sign of great trust in him, and he didn't dare to look at him carefully. Seeing Guo Xin watching and thinking so seriously, he couldn't help but lower his voice and said lightly: " Lord."
Guo Xin did not turn his head, but nodded slightly.
Guo Xin did not give any instructions, and Wang Shiliang was not able to move. He looked around the room casually and saw that the furnishings in the room were very simple. In addition to the papers on the wall, there were only tables, chairs, a lampstand and a table inside. Ink on paper.
Wang Shiliang thought to himself that Brother Yi was willing to spend a lot of money to buy a blacksmith shop, but he didn't like to spend the money on himself. He had never seen him take the initiative to spend money on sensual dogs like other yamen in Tokyo. However, Yi Ge'er's style is very consistent with the legendary Guo Que'er. It is rumored in the army that Privy Guo is also such a frugal, honest and hard-spending person. Such a style of life is very rare nowadays. Even Jun Jun Those military men who only care about money and food cannot help but respect the Guo family.
Not long after, Guo Xin withdrew his eyes from his work, paced back to the case, and while sorting out the messy papers and pens on the case, he talked casually: "My father sent people to Beijing several times to request that he lead the army to advance northward. At the Khitan border, we are looking for opportunities to seize Yingzhou, Mozhou and other lost lands of the previous dynasty, but the princes in the court are not enthusiastic about this... You have been in the army a lot recently, do you know what the army thinks about going north to fight?"
Wang Shiliang pondered for a moment: "The sergeants have been away for several years and don't have much thought about going on another expedition. Moreover, our army has not fought against the Khitan for a long time. Now that we are going on an expedition, we probably feel that the outcome is uncertain."
Guo Xin nodded: "I think so too, but my father wrote a letter asking me to meet with Yang and Shi in private and tell me the pros and cons of sending troops in order to win support from the DPRK and China. This is easy to do, but difficult to accomplish. …”
As he spoke, Guo Xin picked up his pen, quickly wrote on the paper, and continued: "The current affairs of the government are in the hands of several assistant ministers. In addition to my father, they are Yang Bin and Shi Hongzhao. These two are close to my family, and Although Wang Zhang, the third envoy of the imperial court, was already in charge of the war, although he was well-married to my family, he was firmly opposed to another war for the sake of money and food. Therefore, the key to promoting the war was to recruit the remaining two men, Su Fengji and Su Yugui. My husband also supports my father's military use, so it would be best if we can make a fuss about it from these two people."
While Wang Shiliang listened, he quickly imagined the relationship between this long list of names, and asked tentatively: "Brother Yi, want me to pay attention to these two husbands?"
"Well, there are too many people in Tokyo, but every one of them may be of great use to us!" Guo Xin spoke quickly and wrote even faster. After finishing his words, he had dried the handwriting and put it in an envelope and handed it over. In Wang Shiliang's hands.
"Besides, you can take this sealed envelope along the way to Xiangguo Temple and find a monk named Yuanren. You must hand it over to him personally."
Wang Shiliang held it in his hands and hid the letter in his arms: "I will never understand the affairs of the court, but I will definitely handle what Brother Yi has given me."
Guo Xin put down his pen and stood up, stepped forward and patted Wang Shiliang on the shoulder: "War is far more than just the light and shadow of swords. Sometimes fights without blood are more deadly! Shiliang is the invisible sword in my hand. The sharper the sword, the more invisible it becomes. I’m relieved!”
Wang Shiliang nodded heavily: "I will finally understand."
After leaving the side courtyard, it was Guo Pu who escorted Wang Shiliang out of the house, but he met a man wearing brocade clothes and a mink fur hat as he entered the house.
The man in Jinyi looked at Wang Shiliang curiously and asked Guo Pu: "Who is this person?"
Guo Pu smiled and said: "Back to Dalang, he is one of Brother Yi's subordinates. He came to the house today to deliver some things."
After Guo Pu replied, he turned to Wang Shiliang and introduced: "This is my eldest son, who is a young minister in Taipu Temple in the imperial court."
Wang Shiliang quickly clasped his fists and saluted: "I have met Guo Shaoqing."
"Oh, you go ahead." After saying that, Guo Tong flicked his sleeves and turned around to leave. Before leaving, he muttered: "Erlang, too, invites everyone home."
The expression on Wang Shiliang's face condensed, and Guo Pu on the side turned his head and whispered: "Dalang is different from Brother Yi. He doesn't like us warriors very much. Brother Wang, don't take his words to heart."
Wang Shiliang's face softened and he smiled: "This is not a big deal, so I can save it."
