Guo Wei suddenly explained his idea of moving the town to the two of them, and Guo Xin guessed that Guo Wei was probably preparing to make a face-to-face petition to the Queen Mother.
Not long after, the eunuch came to summon him, and the father and son stopped talking and led the way from the eunuch to the Yide Hall, which was specially set up by the outer court for the Queen Mother to take charge of matters.
In fact, Empress Dowager Li lived most of the time in Gyeongbokgung Palace in the inner dynasty. At this time, it had become a political consensus that women should not participate in politics. Therefore, although Liu Zhiyuan had a deep relationship with the Empress Dowager and there were many children in the Li family, Liu Zhiyuan During the banquet, several important ministers with different surnames were still selected as ministers of Tuogu.
However, the emperor was young after all, and Queen Mother Li could still share some power. She could summon subjects from other dynasties and intervene in court decisions when necessary. However, Queen Mother Li was relatively content with the status quo and rarely did so.
The eunuch called the names of the father and son outside the palace, and then invited the three people inside to pay their respects.
There was an incense burner burning in the hall, and Guo Xin accompanied his father and brother to salute. The Queen Mother sat behind a bead curtain to receive the salute, and asked the eunuch to give seats to the father and son.
So the father and son sat down on their knees according to etiquette and talked to Queen Mother Li through a bead curtain more than ten steps away.
This feeling of being able to be looked at at will by the other person without even being able to see the other person's face is uncomfortable, especially in this palace.
Fortunately, I have seen the Queen Mother Li Sanniang and Guo Xin in front of me, and I should have met her when I was a child and went to Liu Zhiyuan's house with Guo Wei for a banquet. However, my memory at that time was too vague. Later, I accompanied my mother Zhang to Chongfu Temple in Taiyuan. That time, he also watched the Queen Mother from a distance. Later, the Han army successfully moved south, and he also participated in escorting the Queen Mother from Taiyuan to Beijing with the army.
Therefore, although the two of them have not spoken directly, Guo Xin is no stranger to her. Empress Dowager Li, whose real name was Sanniang, was born into a peasant family. They were married when Liu Zhiyuan was still young. She worshiped Buddhism and did good deeds, and her reputation among military and civilian officials was always very good. In fact, her mother Zhang should be more familiar with the Queen Mother. When she was in Taiyuan Prefecture, Li Sanniang would often ask women from various families to accompany her when she went out to play and worship Buddha. From this, it seems that when she was in Hedong in the early years, there was a lot of conflict between the families of Liu Zhiyuan, Guo Wei and other ministers. The relationship is actually quite good.
Guo Xinxin thought, but the Queen Mother had already spoken, and said in a woman's special comforting tone: "Fortunately, there are capable ministers like Guo Xianggong in the court, and there are Khitans after the three towns. They all rely on Guo Xianggong for his efforts. I Only with Chengyou in the palace can you sleep soundly. Sometimes I dare not think about how we, orphans and widowers, would be able to maintain such a large court without Xianggong Guo."
Guo Wei bowed slightly and replied: "The Queen Mother is very complimentary. Combating chaos and managing affairs is the duty of an minister, but it is not the merit of the minister alone."
There was a brief silence behind the bead curtain, and then Queen Mother Li slowly spoke: "Among all the ministers, I still think Mr. Guo is the most loyal and trustworthy. In recent days, there have been occasional bad rumors about Mr. Guo. Anyone who has heard of it When people talk about it, I will definitely rebuke them for not knowing loyalty."
The sound of Guo Wei's slight inhalation came to Guo Xin's ears. Just as he was about to turn his head to look, he heard Guo Wei say in a firm tone: "When you are in a court situation, it is inevitable that there will be slander and slander. I know it well and don't care."
Although there is a difference between Queen Mother Li and Guo Wei, Guo Xin can tell that there is not much barrier between them, and they are talking about light things in serious terms.
Then Empress Dowager Li seemed to notice that the atmosphere was getting a little serious, so she asked about Zhang's current situation, and finally mentioned the Guo brothers who had been kneeling all the time: "Ms. Guo has two good sons. If Cheng Xun is still there, they should be better than him." The two of them are still older. If Chengxun is still here, I shouldn't have to come to the outer court again, so as not to arouse criticism from others."
Guo Wei followed: "The Queen Mother is the mother of the world, and the affairs of the world are the Queen Mother's family affairs. The system of listening to politics behind the curtain has also existed in ancient times. What's more, the Queen Mother lives in the inner court and does not interfere with political affairs much. She is a model of sage. Who dares to do more? Word?"
Guo Wei's attitude really satisfied Empress Dowager Li, and a gentle laughter came from behind the curtain: "Let me just say, Mr. Guo is the most loyal and good among all the ministers. Mr. Yang and others will certainly not be able to say these words here. "
Then Empress Dowager Li said some words of encouragement to Guo Tong and Guo Xin, and the two brothers thanked them one by one. Unexpectedly, Empress Dowager Li suddenly asked: "Is Guo Erlang not married yet?"
Guo Xin looked up at the bead curtain and answered yes. Empress Dowager Li continued: "If I had known earlier, I would have called my third brother to Beijing during the Jiaqing Festival. The third brother's family has a daughter who has grown up, and she is the right age for Guo Erlang."
The marriage with the Fu family was still a secret between the two families, and the process had just begun. After hearing this, Guo Xin quickly looked at Guo Wei nervously, fearing that Guo Wei would have some idea and suddenly become the junior of Liu Chengyou and Li Ye!
Fortunately, Guo Wei did not disappoint Guo Xin, and managed to deal with it on the grounds that Guo Xin was in the Forbidden Army and there might be a war this year. Queen Mother Li seemed to just mention it casually and did not continue on this topic. She also asked Guo Wei about his strategy for dealing with the Khitans.
Guo Wei then bowed solemnly and said: "Now that Guanzhong has been settled, all the towns have surrendered. I want to leave the town of Yedu and station troops to garrison the river to defend the Khitan. When the time is right, I will go north to recover Ying, Mo and other states. Once I'm free, I will Worry towards the north.”
"There has been a lot of rifts between the Prime Ministers recently, so much so that the government's decrees are not enforceable, and the palace has also heard about it. If Prime Minister Guo leaves Beijing now, will the court be able to continue?"
Guo Wei paused for a moment: "Young Masters Yang, Shi and Su are all ministers of the country. Nowadays, affairs in the outer dynasty are quite complicated, but the Queen Mother does not need to worry too much... You can rest assured that I will leave them to you. Only Your Majesty is still young, The Queen Mother has been with the late Emperor for a long time and has experienced many events. Whenever there is a major event, the Queen Mother should give more guidance to Your Majesty. I am willing to do my best to be a fool on the battlefield and live up to the trust of the late Emperor, the Queen Mother and Your Majesty."
There was another silence behind the bead curtain. In Guo Xin's eyes, what Guo Wei said was very sincere, and he couldn't help but look at Guo Wei out of the corner of his eye. At this time, Guo Wei's plan was just to protect himself. If the following things had not happened, his father would have had a chance to become a loyal minister. It’s just that in the complex world of fame and fortune, most things don’t go as people want, and people inevitably kill each other for each other’s contradictory interests.
Then Guo Xin heard Queen Mother Li sigh softly.
"Since Xianggong Guo said so, I, a woman, don't know much about military aircraft. If Xianggong Guo thinks this should be the case, he will discuss it with Xianggong Yang and others and then implement it."
After saying this, the Queen Mother ordered her father and son to be given gifts and gifts. Guo Wei then led the two brothers Guo Xin to express their thanks again before retiring and leaving the palace.
It was still the previous eunuch who led the father and son out of the palace. Guo Wei walked in front, followed by Guo Xin. His wide sleeves flew left and right with Guo Wei's steps, like two wings that could fly at any time. Between the wings is a generous and reliable back.
Just when I was about to leave Changqing Gate, I saw the official canopy and jade chariot parked outside Guangzheng Hall not far to the north. Guo Wei immediately stood still and saluted from a distance in the direction of the car. Guo Xin and his brother Guo Tong followed suit.
Guo Xin looked from a distance and saw a lot of people under the umbrella with the light behind him. The official Liu Chengyou must be among the people surrounded. He seemed to be pointing in the direction where they were and saying something to the people around him.
Guo Wei stood facing the sun and waited for a moment. Seeing that no eunuch came to see him, he stopped looking back and walked out of the palace.
The two brothers Guo Xin followed immediately.
