The family talked for a while, and Guo Xin could see that Zhang's energy was gradually weakening, and he mostly listened to the two brothers with a smile.
In fact, Zhang is younger than Guo Wei, only in her early forties, and as Guo Wei held a high position, she was awarded the title of Mrs. Wu. She is considered a very noble woman in Tokyo, but she is already a little older at this time. Getting old.
Not long after, the two brothers said goodbye to Zhang together and went out to find another place to talk about business.
The plump sister-in-law Wang also followed the two of them out. Wang had been married into the Guo family for a long time, and she almost gave birth to Guo Wei's first grandchild, but to Guo Xin, the two of them were just fine. He was not an acquaintance, and his impression of Wang was not good.
Wang and Guo Xin exchanged greetings for a while. Seeing that the two brothers still had something to say, they quickly took their maids and left.
Guo Tong stared at Wang's figure with something on his face. It wasn't until Wang disappeared around the corner at the end of the verandah that he said to Guo Xin, "Brother Yi, come with me. Let's go and talk."
Guo Tong didn't go far. After leaving the backyard, he stopped under a corridor.
Not even the servants could be seen in the snowy courtyard. The two brothers stood silently on the porch, while the snow was still falling with no sign of stopping, but the wind had subsided, making the surroundings seem quiet.
It was Guo Xin who thought of Mrs. Zhang's appearance just now and spoke first: "My mother has been staying in the house morning and night since the beginning of winter. I think this is not good. At least the maids should be allowed to take my mother to relax in the house more often." When taking a walk, people still need to move to feel energetic.”
Guo Tong glanced at Guo Xin unexpectedly and nodded: "My mother is afraid of the cold and is reluctant to go out. I am also worried about letting my mother catch the cold... It was better last year. My father and Brother Yi were in Guanzhong. When I was in charge of military affairs in the river, and when I heard that the war was going on, my mother would often ask us to accompany them to several Buddhist temples in the city to burn incense and pray for peace."
Guo Xin nodded: "My mother believes in Buddhism very much...Due to the war in Guanzhong, many houses were destroyed, and there were also many abandoned temples. Whenever I meet, I will think of my mother's love and care, and then I will no longer feel How lonely it is to be out there alone.”
This is true. Even though Zhang is not even the biological mother of the two brothers, the memories and emotions that have been together for a long time in the past will not be erased. It is these memories and emotions that make Guo Xin feel that he has roots in this world, otherwise All ambitions and ambitions of fame and wealth will become too vain.
"It's just that my brother is often ordered by the king to conquer, so my mother can only rely on my brother to take care of me. My mother's energy is getting weaker and weaker every year, and she is getting older. Her only hope is that the family will prosper, and her children and relatives will be by her side. .”
"That's what happens when people get old. Time flies so fast." Guo Tong nodded in agreement, his tone was very gentle: "Brother Yi is not young anymore. Too many things have happened in the past two years, and Yi The days when I see my brother in detail have actually become rarer... In the past two years, I often feel that I am becoming more and more unfamiliar with my brother."
Guo Xin felt a little surprised after hearing this. He remembered that Guo Tong didn't treat him very much in the past. In terms of brotherly love, he and Guo Rong were more like brothers. Could it be that a year and a half of expedition has allowed the brothers in front of me to have the effect of distance creating beauty?
Guo Tong continued to sigh: "Last year when I was in the government office, I often listened to my colleagues discussing the situation in Guanzhong. Occasionally, I would talk about Brother Yi. They all praised Brother Yi for his bravery. They would ask me what kind of person Erlang was. Really? It’s hard to answer. Sometimes I think to myself, is the Yi Geer in the battle report really the same person as the Yi Geer who played with birds and climbed trees in my memory in Taiyuan Prefecture?”
Guo Xin looked at the falling snowflakes outside the corridor and muttered: "Many people will change, but they will not change without reason. It may be that the environment and things they own have changed, and many aspects of their mentality will change." Things have changed with it. My father is now in a high position, and all kinds of intangible and tangible things have come with him. This may not be a good thing for our family. Just like a pavilion rising from the ground, once it catches fire, the higher it is built. The bigger the fire becomes. What I want to do is to protect everything we have. I don’t want to end up with ashes."
Guo Tong raised his head and looked at Guo Xin's face, then moved his eyes to look at the snow in front of the corridor: "Does Erlang know that this house is the former residence of Feng Yu, a relative of the former dynasty and the privy envoy? This man was also in the prime minister's position at the time. Until the fall of the country, the Shi family was taken captive to Yanbei by the Khitans. If he was still alive, I am afraid that he would not be as relaxed as you and I living in this house on such a snowy day. I firmly believe that my father can protect the whole family, but the future will not be the same. People can predict it.”
The expression on Guo Tong's face was thoughtful: "But a gentleman should live among the trees and geese. When there is a dragon and a snake, what Erlang said is quite reasonable."
In fact, Guo Xin didn't want to let his family know prematurely what disaster the Guo family would face. Apart from making everyone think he was talking crazy, it was also because as long as there were too many people involved in any plan, it would be easy for things to go wrong and delay things. Fortunately, Guo Tong's reaction was quite calm, and he even seemed to have already had concerns about such issues, which made Guo Xin breathe a sigh of relief. At least my brother is not that kind of mindless person.
Soon Guo Tong spoke again: "What my father said in the letter this time, as a son-in-law, I know that the prince is a waste of time for the court and does not want to start another war, but I will ask Madam to think of something to persuade him." Convinced, Taishan still listens to his wife's words... Yang Xianggong and the prince are in the same county, and they know the Privy Council affairs with my father. Most of them will agree, at least they will not oppose my father's use of troops in court. As for Shi Xianggong, Erlang Rather than let the matter rest, I would like to let Erlang and Shi Xianggong communicate with each other first and confirm their attitude, and then we can reply to my father after the matter is over, how about it?"
What Guo Tong said was basically consistent with Guo Xin's thoughts, and he immediately agreed: "I will obey my brother's instructions." He smiled casually and said: "My brother has married a good wife, and my sister-in-law is very capable of taking care of important matters. I also heard that the Wang family spent a lot of money on My brother has been cured of his old illness, and I just wait for him to give birth to an heir and meet his nephew."
Guo Tong's expression was unnatural when he heard this: "Yeah, but when Brother Yi gets married in the future, it would be best to marry a handsome girl from another town."
"how you said that?"
Guo Tong shook his head slightly: "No matter what you do, it's best to do it yourself."
...After becoming a teacher, in addition to military awards, Guo Xin also received the official title of governor of Qianzhou as usual. Although Qianzhou is actually still the territory of the Southern Tang Dynasty, there are still umbrellas, gongs and drums, and ceremonial guards. Now that the New Year is approaching and things in the army are free, he can go to the Guards Department to get it at any time.
The person in charge of the bodyguard department was still Shi Hongzhao, so Guo Xin decided to go see Shi Hongzhao first on the pretext of receiving the seal of the governor of Qianzhou and other things.
Guo Wei, Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and others could barely be regarded as "comrades" in the court, and they would always communicate with each other on major matters. Shi Hongzhao probably also knew that Guo Wei and Guo Wei wanted to go north to use troops. Guo Wei asked Guo Xin to go to see Shi Hongzhao in person to explain the reasons. In Guo Xin's view, it was more to show that he attached great importance to the matter.
Guo Xin went to the Guards Department, and when he reported it, the official in the government office told Guo Xin that Shi Hongzhao rarely came to the Guards Department recently, and often went to Zhongshu Province.
Shi Hongzhao is now not only the bodyguard envoy, but also because after the three towns were pacified, Guo Wei extended the court's favor to all officials, Shi Hongzhao also took the opportunity to join the Zhongshu Ling, so the Bodyguards Department and Zhongshu Sheng can be regarded as Shi Hongzhao's office. .
It's just that the daily work of Zhongshu Sheng is to accept Xuan and draft the emperor's edict, and now it is the imperial edict negotiated by several ministers.
Guo Xin thought carefully: The Guards Department was nominally in charge of the recruitment and dispatch of all the imperial troops, so that should be the important thing. Shi Hongzhao didn't know many Chinese characters. What else could he do in Zhongshu Province except quarrel with several civil servants who didn't like it?
Fortunately, it was not difficult for Guo Xin to meet Shi Hongzhao. He quickly found his friend Shi Dejun and agreed on a date to visit him privately.
That morning, Guo Xin arrived at Shi Hongzhao's house as the prefect of inspection as scheduled. The servant at the door asked Guo Xin's name and official position and went in to inform him. As soon as Guo Xing tied up his horse, Shi Dejun's voice followed his tall and strong body and ran out of the mansion gate.
"It's so early, Erlang! Please come quickly!"
The two entered the mansion together, and Shi Dejun led Guo Xin directly into the inner house to see Shi Hongzhao.
Shi Hongzhao's mansion was also "inherited" from a certain husband-in-law who was kidnapped to Khitan in the previous dynasty. It has all the houses and balconies in the mansion. It is larger than the mansion his family was assigned after entering Tokyo. It is just that they have not been seen along the way. When I saw a few people walking around, it seemed a little deserted, and there weren't many relatives of the Shi family.
At this time, Shi Dejun asked casually: "How is your father doing in Ye? Are you really going to fight the Khitans?"
Guo Xin then also mentioned it in a casual manner: "The Han army in Hebei is limited in strength, and my father will not take the initiative to engage with the enemy. If he wants to take action, he must at least obtain the support of the princes in the court, and then allocate troops, horses, money and food to Hebei."
"I heard from my dad that Kunnu's side isn't peaceful either. I'd say it's the same. There will be a fight sooner or later. It's better to get it done early."
Guo Xin nodded in agreement: "Father and I both mean the same thing."
Guo Xinshen believes that in the current situation, with the war in Hebei starting, the most advantageous party is definitely the Guo family! If he can really take the opportunity to regain the land of Youyan and several states, it will be an absolute good thing for both the Han people and the Central Plains Dynasty. In addition, Guo Wei's own prestige in the military will be unparalleled! As for the merits that shocked the master, since Guo Xin already knew that Liu Chengyou was going to attack his family, why not simply praise his merits even higher?
