Gu Shengchao has now been promoted to Minister of War. As long as he is in the capital, he must go to the morning court.
Reluctantly leaving Wenrou Township, he rushed outside the palace and entered the Dahong Hall with all the civil and military officials. After paying homage to the emperor, he stood aside to wait for orders.
He was not familiar with court affairs, so he remained silent and just listened to other officials discussing court affairs.
Border conflicts with neighboring countries, sudden discovery of gushing spring water in a small village, which constellations the meteors crossed at night, and what flowers bloomed in the royal gardens outside the capital can all become topics for officials of all sizes to report to.
Gu Shengchao felt drowsy after hearing this, and almost fell asleep while standing.
At this time, an official came forward and said: "Your Majesty, bandits have been rampant in Pinghua County recently. The county guard led the officers and soldiers to clear it out many times without success. In the end, they were captured by the bandits. He escaped alone and lost half of his ear. I beg you. The imperial court sent a large army to encircle and suppress them."
The emperor asked calmly: "How many are the bandits?"
"According to the memorial written by the governor after escaping, there are at least a thousand bandits," the official said with certainty.
Without waiting for the emperor's reply, the Minister of War stepped forward and said: "Thousands of bandits are really difficult to deal with. If we send out officers and soldiers, we will need at least 5,000 troops. At present, except for the border officers and soldiers, most of them are guarding the capital to prevent King Wu's palace from attacking the capital. It is really difficult to mobilize them." Have extra men and horses."
"Is there no other way? For example, instead of using any soldiers, just send our people to help, just like how Yunzhou dealt with pirates." The emperor's eyes swept across the civil and military officials, as if he was looking for something.
Gu Shengchao could only say: "I am willing to go to quell the bandits and restore peace to the people."
"It's you." The emperor said happily: "Ai Qing, just choose a day to set off. When you get there, all the officers and soldiers will be at your disposal. It would be best if there are any sects willing to help. If you report to the court, they will not be treated badly."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ancient sage accepted the order and stepped aside.
One of the reasons why Gu Shengchao took the initiative to undertake this task was that he knew that he was the emperor's favorite candidate and there was no way he could escape. Another reason is that he was born in Pinghua County, which is his hometown.
Although the old house was occupied by his uncle, he had no intention of taking it back. After all, his roots were there. Even if he was sitting in the street doing nothing, the inexplicable sense of closeness could not be replaced anywhere else.
Back at the house, he heard his daughter's genuine laughter as soon as he entered the door. He went over to join in the fun, but it was Liu Ximei and the others who did not see Master and Disciple Wan Ruo.
"Where are they?" Gu Shengchao asked, holding his daughter in his arms.
"I went out after dinner in the morning and haven't come back yet. Fortunately, Zhenzhen is so well-behaved. If she really starts crying, we don't have experience and we really don't know how to deal with it." Liu Ximei waved her arm and coaxed her. She was exhausted from being a child for a long time.
Gu Shengchao came to the courtyard with his daughter in his arms to play with her. Zhenzhen had learned to walk and ran after him tirelessly.
Inadvertently, Gu Shengchao found Lu Jin sitting in the corner in a daze.
When Lu Jin came to the capital, people had a grudge against her, alienating and neglecting her intentionally or unintentionally.
No one is stupid, Lu Jin also felt this hostility and became depressed.
Gu Shengchao felt sorry for her and came to Lu Jin with his daughter in his arms.
"Brother Gu." Lu Jin stood up a little cautiously, showing a long-lost smile.
"Sit down, I'm not an outsider." Gu Shengchao found a low stool and sat down, putting Zhenzhen on his lap to play with her.
Lu Jin sat down again, pursed his lips, as if he had a lot to say, forced himself to lower his head in silence, and silently fiddled with the few strands of black hair hanging down.
Gu Shengchao sighed: "Why are you here? Instead of staying with your parents and enjoying family happiness, you have to suffer this crime with me. There are no friends and family in the capital. I am afraid that you will get sick for no reason because of your loneliness." Trouble."
"I won't." Lu Jin shook his head, looked at Gu Shengchao and said, "I know Brother Gu is a good person, you won't drive me away, right?"
Gu Shengchao was also speechless and sighed: "You can stay here as long as you want, but no one will talk to you, so I'm afraid you'll get bored."
"As long as Brother Gu doesn't dislike it, I won't do anything.
Not afraid. "Lu Jin's eyes were firm.
Gu Shengchao had no choice but to worry about her crying if she talked too much, so he had to hug Zhenzhen and go back to the house.
Zhenzhen had been playing all day long and was probably sleepy. Gu Shengchao ran back to the house and actually lay on his chest and fell asleep.
I wanted to put her on the bed, but I was afraid of waking her up and crying, so I had to hold her in my arms and sit against the wall.
Fearing that he would lose his hand and throw her to the ground, Gu Shengchao had no choice but to take off his shoes and go to bed, sit in the corner and hug his daughter tightly.
Not long after, familiar chatter and laughter came from outside, and Master Wanruo and his disciple walked in.
After saying hello to Liu Ximei and the others, Wanruo also smiled when he entered the room and saw the wretched look of the ancient sage: "Zhenzhen, let me hug you. If you are tired, just lie down and sleep for a while."
"I'm not tired. I just came back not long ago. Where have you been today?" The ancient sage was very curious.
Wanruo sat on the bedside and smiled and said, "I went to the capital's markets and Goulan tile houses to take a look at our future livelihood in the Four Kings Valley."
The ancient sage was puzzled: "The coffins in Shiwang Valley are famous all over the world. I don't worry about the lack of sales. Isn't my worry a bit unfounded?"
Wan Ruo shook his head: "Do you know why the leader traveled far away?"
"Isn't it for the shipping fee?" Gu Shengchao remembered what Wan Ruo had just said yesterday.
Wanruo nodded lightly: "This is just one of them. Since the imperial court started ordering coffins from our Shioji Valley, the sales volume in the past year has been as much as in the past few years. However, the wood grows slowly and takes nearly a hundred years to mature. According to the current situation It won’t take long for the speed of logging to cut down, and there will be no more trees to cut down, and by then we will just be left hungry.”
"So serious?" Gu Shengchao had never considered this.
Wan Ruo blinked his big eyes: "So when the leader came back, he asked me to chase you, saying that we might meet you on the road. In addition to telling you to work for the court with peace of mind, I also told you to pay more attention in the capital and look for a business that can be run. Our Prince Valley produces a kind of coconut fruit, the flesh of which is sweet and sour when ripe. I was counting the time on my way here this time, so I can transport it to the capital just in time to be sold."
"Madam, you are saying that we are going to open a business to deal in the specialties of the Shioji Valley?" Gu Shengchao became interested.
Wan Ruo shook his head: "Not necessarily. Anyway, we can't rely on coffins for long. We have cut down all the trees. We can't cut off the future of our descendants. We have to leave them a way to survive. I was just making an analogy. You just need to pay more attention. .”
Seeing that Zhenzhen was already asleep, Gu Shengchao carefully placed her on the bed and covered her with a thin quilt.
"I have to travel far away in a few days. There is a banditry in Pinghua County. The emperor sent me to clear it out. It will take a few months for me to come back." Gu Shengchao said helplessly.
"Are you going to take that girl Lu Jin?" Wan Ruo thought of this immediately.
Gu Shengchao scratched his head helplessly: "That girl will follow me and cry if she doesn't agree. I have no choice."
"You're not doing anything secretly, are you?" Wan Ruo was worried.
Gu Shengchao's head shook like a rattle played by Zhenzhen: "No, no, I don't have the guts to do it without my wife's permission."
Wan Ruo frowned coldly: "You dare?"
"Don't dare, don't dare." Ancient Sage Chao waved his hands repeatedly.
Wan Ruo took his hand and said softly: "It's not that I'm partial, that girl Lu Jin is obviously a beauty trap of the Boat Gang, and she's just waiting for you to jump in. Don't be careless."
"I know." Gu Shengchao agreed.
Gu Shengchao was about to travel far again. He had been preparing for a few days before setting off, but something happened in the capital that forced him to give up.
The Supreme Emperor passed away.
Because he was fed drugs by the original eunuch Wen Zhe, the Supreme Emperor had long been as angry as a thread, but he couldn't help but hang on for a while. It was not easy to persist until now.
The Supreme Emperor rode a crane to the west, and the Emperor issued a decree to grant amnesty to the whole world, so that the people of the world would be grateful to the Supreme Emperor for his kindness.
The construction of the mausoleum has been completed long ago, and all procedures are handled by the Ministry of Etiquette.
During the funeral process, there were several links that needed to be completed by the emperor himself, which gave the assassin opportunities and conditions.
The head of Wuwang Palace is from the same clan as the emperor. As a clan relative, he can have close contact with the emperor.
, if the head of Wuwangdian gets into trouble, the guards will never have time to rush over.
The Ministry of Rites repeatedly revised the matters during the funeral process, and finally decided on the plan. Even if the head of Wuwang Palace came in person, he would return without success.
The Supreme Emperor was no better than a mortal, and the entire funeral process was not only time-consuming but also complicated by rules.
On the official day of the funeral, the emperor, dressed in mourning robes, walked in front of the Zi Palace to pay homage, then paid homage to his ancestors, and finally began to mourn on foot. His relatives followed him, also crying as they walked.
When he arrived outside the city, Zi Palace ascended the throne and laid a memorial ceremony for him. The emperor continued to mourn in front of the grand palace.
After crying, several wizards began to dance, chanting words while jumping.
Witchcraft was prevalent in the Dawu Dynasty, and whenever major events occurred, wizards were indispensable.
The wizard's low and rhythmic voice came, and the place was completely silent. Everyone listened carefully and did not dare to neglect.
Gu Shengchao was guarding not far from the emperor, keeping an eye on every move of the head of Wuwang Palace. Whenever there was any abnormal movement on his side, he would be the first to pounce to stop it.
However, the head of Wuwang Palace behaved well throughout the whole process and did not behave excessively.
The wizard muttered something, and bells were tied to their ankles and wrists. With their uniform movements, the sweet sound of the bells also rang in everyone's ears.
Gu Shengchao became drowsy again after listening to this. In his daze, he saw many people he had killed.
First, Zhao Yinhu came over crying and complained: "I was wronged, you shouldn't kill me."
Then the people in Mengyou Villa cried out one by one: "You are wrong, we are all good people, you killed the wrong person."
Immediately afterwards, the old eunuch Wen Zhe, the young prince and the empress all appeared in front of him. Their pitiful looks made Gu Shengchao feel guilty.
Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind: "No, something seems wrong."
The ancient sage forcefully opened his eyes. The emperor not far away was already unconscious. He stood on the spot and shook slowly. He held a dagger in his hand and murmured to himself: "I am a sinner. I shouldn't kill you. I Damn it, I deserve it."
The emperor held the dagger and was about to stab himself in the chest.
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