Guo Wei went to town earlier than Guo Xin left the capital, but his belongings had already been packed up. However, because Guo Wei continued to serve as Privy Council envoy in addition to Jiedushi, he had to select a considerable number of Privy Council officials to accompany him. Weizhou could only wait until a subordinate officer was ready before dispatching troops to go north to the town.
Also accompanying him is Guo Rong, the eldest brother of Guo Wei, who is the commander of the Tianxiong Army and is about to take control of Guo Wei's personal troops in Weizhou Commandery. In the past, there were too many stories about commanders' Ya soldiers supporting their own commanders, so as a rule, ministers after conferring a town often used their own children as Ya soldiers generals. For example, Fu Zhaoxu and Zhao Yanjin were the commanders of each feudal town. .
But in fact, according to the relationship between father and son, Guo Tong and Guo Xin should be candidates for the yamen, but Guo Xin is already the commander of the imperial army, and Guo Tong is a civil servant who is unwilling to ride a horse. Of course, the more important reason is to keep his parents and children as hostages in Tokyo. That's why Guo Xin felt weird about his appointment to lead the army. If Liu Chengyou and others hadn't started plotting, then there were other traps waiting for him on this trip.
But it is useless to think too much at the moment. At least he has military power in his hands. For him, no matter what the situation is, it is better than staying in Tokyo!
The days the family spent together were getting shorter and shorter. The two days before leaving were during the holiday, and Guo Xin happened to be free. He met Guo Wei first, and the father and son discussed explaining to the Fu family how to wait for Guo Xin's class teacher. After another marriage, Guo Xin casually mentioned Wang Jin's request, and Guo Wei nodded and acquiesced. Guo Xin then resigned and was going to go to Guo Rong's home to say goodbye to his eldest brother.
As soon as he left the front yard, he met a group of Privy Council officials coming to the house to pay homage to Guo Wei.
Guo Xin and his subordinate officials bowed to each other, and among them he also saw Wei Renpu and Zan Jurun, whom he knew.
The officials of the Privy Council were very friendly to Guo Xin, and stopped to say some blessings to him, such as a smooth expedition and victory, before saying goodbye and entering.
Zan Jurun deliberately fell behind a few people and said goodbye to Guo Xin alone, saying: "A few days ago in the Privy Council, I said I would visit General Guo. Unexpectedly, now the general and I have to go to the military plane again. I don't know when we can see each other again." .”
"As long as the war goes well, the day we meet is not far away. But I have something to say, please listen to Mr. Zan."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."
Guo Xin held Zan Jurun's sleeve, took a step closer, leaned over and said in a low voice: "If you encounter a major crisis in Weizhou, don't ask your father to hesitate too much. You must make a decision and send troops quickly!"
"Guo Gong is well versed in military affairs. The Liao people would not have brought the situation in Hebei to this point." Zan Jurun hesitated to answer, but then solemnly said: "But Zan has written down what the general said. If it is true, I will take it seriously." Advise Duke Guo."
"Thank you, see you another day."
Guo Xin then bid farewell to Zan Jurun with fists in his hands. The reason why Guo Xin suddenly remembered to say this to Zan Jurun was because he just remembered the scene when he first met Zan Jurun. What Zan Jurun was doing at that time was to write a letter of persuasion to Liu Zhiyuan, who had not yet ascended the throne. Therefore, he does not need to explain his words at all. Zan Jurun can be regarded as Guo Wei's party member in terms of official career. Smart people will definitely understand what Guo Xin is referring to.
Guo Rong's mansion was not far from the Guo family. When he came to the door, he was told that Guo Rong was not at home. However, Liu's sister-in-law heard him coming, warmly received him, sat down in the hall for a while, and ordered the servants to serve him hot tea.
Bamboo curtains are hung on both sides of the hall, and the breeze passes through the hall. There are few people in Guo Rong's home and even fewer servants, so it looks very quiet.
Guo Xin took a sip of tea and looked up to see that in the courtyard behind the hall, there was a corner that looked like a small vegetable patch, but there were some flowers and plants planted in it.
Liu's sister-in-law noticed Guo Xin's gaze and asked him, "Brother Yi, do you still remember those flowers?"
"Is this the flower my sister-in-law planted in the mansion when I was still in Taiyuan Mansion? But I forgot the name."
Liu's sister-in-law chuckled and said: "Fushou grass, a cheap thing that grows everywhere, is not as good as the peony and wintersweet in the prince's house."
Guo Xin followed her and said: "I saw some peony seeds for sale in the market earlier. They are red, yellow, purple and white. What color does my sister-in-law like? Now that I have time, I will buy some good flower seeds. Sister-in-law, it will look better once the plants bloom."
"It's useless to look good. The main thing is that I'm used to it, and for the sake of good luck, I have to take good care of those famous flowers when I plant them. I don't have the leisure, but I have remembered Brother Yi's thoughts."
Guo Xin nodded and said: "Nowadays, there is no better blessing than longevity. And the more beautiful the famous flowers are, the more delicate they are. What my sister-in-law said makes sense."
"It's just a woman's opinion, it makes Brother Yi laugh."
At this time, the wet nurse at home brought Guo Rong's two sons, Guo Zongyi and Guo Zongcheng, to meet him. Mrs. Liu took the younger son and held her in her arms, and called her eldest son Guo Zongyi, who could speak, to salute Guo Xin and call him his second uncle.
"Second uncle."
The child's milky sound made Guo Xin smile knowingly, and said with emotion: "I still remember that this child was still a small one before, not much bigger than the dog I wore. Time flies so fast."
"Who says it's not?" Mrs. Liu agreed, and then asked Guo Zongyi to teach him: "Second uncle is a general. He will go out to fight in a few days to kill the enemy. I wish second uncle a victory."
Guo Zongyi clapped his fingers and said imitatingly: "Second uncle goes into battle, the flagpole is victorious, kill the enemy...Mom, what is the enemy? I want to kill the enemy too."
After saying that, even the maids and wet nurses serving next to him were amused. The hall burst into laughter. Guo Xin looked at Guo Zongyi with a smile: "As expected of Brother Rong's child. When you grow up, my second uncle will lead you to kill the enemy."
Guo Xin chatted with Liu's sister-in-law for a while, and decided that after Guo Rong left, Liu's sister-in-law and two nephews would be taken to the Guo family's house to live with Zhang and others. Not long afterward, a servant from the mansion suddenly came to report that an old official had hosted a banquet to see Guo Rong off and would not return to the mansion until later.
Guo Xinsui did not stay long and said goodbye to Liu's sister-in-law after a few pleasantries.
After leaving Guo Rong's house, seeing that it was still early, Guo Xin thought for a moment, then returned home, asked Guo Pu to drive, and transferred to a carriage to go to the Duke of Lu's mansion.
The carriage stopped at the back door of the mansion. After handing over the greeting card, Guo Xin still entered the mansion through the back door.
Hou Yi wore a scarlet robe and met Guo Xin in a side hall in the backyard. Hou Yi's attitude was even warmer than last time, and he said directly: "Why does my nephew come in through the back door again? I have already given instructions. If my nephew comes to visit again, he can just go through the front door."
"It's not good to cause more trouble to Duke Lu. Previously, Duke Hou reminded me at Shi Gong's banquet and did not avoid publicity, so I haven't thanked him in person for a long time. I will go on an expedition in the near future, so I came to thank Duke Hou again and said to him Mr. Hou bids farewell."
"It's just a little effort!" Hou Yi waved his sleeves cheerfully, "My nephew and I are so close, haha!"
The two chatted for a while, and Guo Xin said that he was about to go to war, but he unexpectedly made a singer in the band pregnant. He was worried that his brother at home would not tolerate it and had nowhere to settle for the time being.
Sure enough, Hou Yi understood the hint and said calmly: "What's the difficulty! My nephew will send the little girl to my house, and I will arrange for someone to take care of her. When my nephew's teacher comes back, I will return the mother and son to my nephew." .”
"Thank you so much to Mr. Hou, I will repay you generously in the future!" Guo Xin deliberately said the word "repaying generously" very deeply.
Guo Xin then took the opportunity to ask Hou Yi if he had any secrets from the palace. Hou Yi seemed to have no other reliable information, so Guo Xin had to remind Hou Yi to pay attention to the movements of the official family, Li Ye and others, but judging from Hou Yi's appearance Don't take it seriously.
Soon Guo Xin was about to leave. Before leaving, Hou Yi mentioned: "My good nephew is going to travel far, so why not go see his adopted son."
Only then did Guo Xin remember that he had a "son" in the Hou family. He immediately greeted him and was led by his servant to meet his adopted son Hou Yanguang.
The servant informed Hou Yanguang that he was studying in the study room under the guidance of Mrs. Liu, so he took Guo Xin directly to the study room in the backyard. As expected, he heard the sound of children reading as he approached.
In the study, Mrs. Liu was teaching Hou Yanguang. When she saw the servant, Guo Xin was slightly stunned. She quickly saluted and said, "When did my benefactor come to the house? I should go and greet him."
Guo Xin immediately returned the greeting to her and explained: "Madam is out of town. I will be going on an expedition in the near future. I came to my house to say goodbye to Duke Lu. I stopped by to see Yanguang."
Mrs. Liu then asked Hou Yanguang to stand up and salute Guo Xin, calling him his adoptive father.
It was a familiar scene, the only difference was that not long ago he was the second uncle, and even the two women had the same surname. However, sister-in-law Liu and Mrs. Liu are completely different types of women. My sister-in-law comes from a military family and has a simple style without any airs of a lady. Mrs. Liu still has light makeup on her face today, but her reaction just now was not Knowing that he would come, he obviously had the habit of dressing up and making up every day.
Mrs. Liu then told the waiting servant that she still had something to say with Guo Xin, and asked him to wait outside the yard first.
Guo Xin looked into Mrs. Liu's eyes with some surprise and said, "Compared with the first time we met in Guanzhong, Mrs. Liu's appearance is completely different, but at that time I felt that Mrs. Liu is actually very beautiful."
"At that time, mother and son were in trouble, and we looked like peasant women... I still feel very ashamed when I think about it now, but unexpectedly, General Guo saw us like that."
Mrs. Liu avoided Guo Xin's burning eyes and asked Hou Yanguang to continue reading. Then the expression on her face showed a slight hesitation, but she still said in a polite voice: "There is no place to sit here, but there is a compartment inside. General Guo will follow I'll go inside and sit down."
Guo Xin looked back and saw that the servant had left the yard, so he nodded: "When I came to the house before, I didn't have the chance to talk much with my wife, so I might as well sit down."
