"Guo Liangping, deputy envoy to the Privy Council, has been summoned to appear before you!"
Accompanied by a sonorous and powerful singing sound, the door of the Chui Gong Hall slowly opened. Guo Liangping stepped inside and reached the front of the imperial palace. He raised his eyes and glanced at Emperor Liu who was sitting behind the imperial desk. He lifted his robe, bent his knees, and kowtowed devoutly again.
"No courtesy!" Seeing this gesture, Emperor Liu waved his hand and said calmly: "This is not a court meeting, nor is it a formal occasion. There is no need to be so formal. Get up!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Guo Liangping still had a meticulous attitude. After thanking him solemnly, he stood up.
"Sit!" Emperor Liu stretched out his hand and pointed at a small table in the palace.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Guo Liangping thanked him again, with the same humble attitude as before.
As he sat down, Guo Liangping glanced at Emperor Liu carefully. The old emperor's expression was indifferent, like a dormant beast. Just one look could make people's hearts palpitate. The palace soon became quiet again, Emperor Liu remained silent, and Guo Liangping did not dare to speak rashly, but he kept guessing in his mind why Emperor Liu summoned him.
After a while, Emperor Liu asked softly: "How do you feel about serving in the Privy Council these past two years?"
Unable to grasp Emperor Liu's pulse, Guo Liangping could only respond cautiously: "With Prime Minister Pan leading the command, I only need to obey orders and everything is just like in the army."
"Haha!" Emperor Liu suddenly burst into laughter, and then said pointedly: "This is a little different from what I heard! I heard that you and Pan Mei often have disagreements, especially in the navy. There are frequent conflicts in affairs!”
Facing Emperor Liu's question, Guo Liangping felt embarrassed. He subconsciously stood up and bowed: "I only have political differences with Privy Pan. I have no personal grudges and have not affected the operation of the military and government. It is the principle of mutual tolerance to serve the country. I I still understand!”
Since returning to Beijing and being appointed as the Deputy Privy Envoy, Guo Liangping has officially become the spokesperson of the Han Dynasty's naval power. He is no longer limited to the Southern Navy and the Guo faction. He stands on a higher and larger stage and carries the banner of the navy. The army in the imperial court "charged into battle" and fought for interests.
Of course, during the period when Guo Liangping served as deputy privy envoy, the Privy Council was not peaceful. Guo Liangping's rise was like a catfish stirring up the internal affairs of the army.
This was due to both Guo Liangping's personal reasons and the overall situation of the land and sea dispute. Guo Liangping has a somewhat strong personality, and his military style is also very strong. Such a style, which he kept true to his words when leading the army, was still maintained in the Privy Council, which would inevitably offend people. After all, although the Privy Council was the center of power of the Han military regime, It manages the military all over the world, but it is still essentially a bureaucracy, and the trend of bureaucracy is becoming more and more obvious. If you don't know how to restrain yourself, you will offend people. Guo Liangping has obviously offended many people.
Guo Liangping joined the army as a teenager. He served in the navy with his father when he was young, and also participated in the Northern Expedition. Later, he independently led the army and built the Nanyang Fleet, which traveled across the seas and oceans and greatly enhanced the country's prestige.
When he was still in Nanyang, he received a lot of criticism in the court, saying that he was authoritarian and domineering and acted recklessly. He also committed many evil deeds in Nanyang, including robbery, hiring private individuals, and blackmailing foreign friends. Doing it can be said to be full of evil deeds. Of course, the most vicious attack was the report that Guo Liangping had trained the Nanyang Fleet as a private soldier of the Guo family. The soldiers only obeyed military orders and did not recognize the imperial command.
It's just that Emperor Liu was particularly fond of Guo Liangping at the time, and especially admired his enterprising spirit. Although some of those rumors and slanders did irritate Emperor Liu's sensitive nerves, he didn't pay too much attention to them. On the contrary, after Liu Chengxun and his party returned to Beijing, they were promoted to senior officials and entrusted with important responsibilities, showing greater trust.
This inevitably boosted Guo Liangping's pride. Among the senior officials of the Han army, especially the older generation of generals, Guo Liangping's reputation is not good. On the one hand, they are envious, jealous, and hateful. In the eyes of the older generation, Guo Liangping is just a lucky man who caters to His Majesty. It's just bad luck. If we really want to talk about his military exploits, his two ocean voyages, including a battle with Srivijaya, occupied a small area, which is not worthy of mention at all.
Although he has little qualifications and little merit, he has climbed to a high position, and his official position and title are better than those of a large number of old nobles. How can this convince those generals who think that they have fought through life and death, and have achieved great military exploits to gain fame and titles.
On the other hand, the army generals rejected the navy. The Han Dynasty was built by the soldiers of the Horse and Infantry Army with swords and guns. At the beginning, the Navy was just an auxiliary force, helping to transport food, grass and weapons. In the eyes of many generals, its status was not much better than that of the logistics and baggage troops.
Who would have thought that more than 30 years later, the Navy would become elite and would no longer be called the Navy. Instead, it would be renamed the Navy. It would actually begin to compete with the Ma Bu Army. It was simply the opposite. In the process of overseas trade and colonization, the navy showed off its power and made great profits from it. In the two ocean-going and Srivijaya wars, the navy made a huge fortune.
The navy relies on sailing and steering, bullying the barbarians and natives, and eating a lot of food. As for their army, not to mention guarding the border and suppressing bandits, the only direction of great expansion is Anxi, which requires the lives of the men and women to fight for and rob. It's not enough to support the soldiers. In comparison, the navy is relaxed and its life is too smooth. What makes people even more irritated is that when fighting Srivijaya, the main force of the battle was the horse infantry drawn from Annan and Guangdong and Guangxi. How could the army do this? Mental balance.
Therefore, Guo Liangping's life in the Privy Council was not satisfactory. From the beginning of taking office, he has been suppressed and excluded. Privy Councilor Pan Mei is not that narrow-minded. He also knows the significance and value of the existence of the navy. However, as an army general, he has to consider the mood of the entire army. Therefore, in daily work, he can blend and blend, but he cannot. After adjusting, Butt still sided with Ma Bujun without hesitation.
This is the reality. Although the navy has developed well in recent years and is very prosperous, the voice of the military is still firmly in the hands of the army. From a high-level perspective, there are currently four deputies in the Privy Council, three of whom are from the cavalry army, and their specific work is also responsible for army affairs.
In the face of exclusion and suppression, Guo Liangping did not change his temper and fought everywhere. Especially in the naval work, he refused to give up an inch of land, competed for military expenses, troops, and supplies, and refused to take any losses. Of course, the one who suffers in the end is often Guo Liangping. If he can't compete, he just can't compete, but he has to fight, and he can't lose his vigor.
It's just that this uncompromising style, which is tough to the point of arrogance, is indeed annoying. It does not help solve the problem in the actual work process, but intensifies the contradiction.
As time goes by, Guo Liangping's thorny nature becomes more and more obvious, and Pan Mei's patience with him is gradually wearing away. Now, he has completely turned against him. This time due to the enfeoffment discussion, the two people had different opinions. Guo Liangping took it as an opportunity to fight for naval interests and develop and expand naval power, and he strongly agreed. However, even if he did not mention the righteous considerations of caring for the country and the people, he only Starting from the bottom, Pan Meidu has to hold a different point of view.
Emperor Liu was well aware of these contradictions within the Privy Council, but had no intention of intervening. This time it was not for balance, but every yamen and system had its own rules. Guo Liangping was suppressed and excluded due to public outrage. Very natural thing. As long as the turmoil doesn't get out of control, Emperor Liu will not easily go off the rails again.
At the same time, Emperor Liu could not help but feel a little disappointed with Guo Liangping. He was too reckless and too arrogant. He could not get along well with his colleagues. His interests were often too simple and straightforward, and he lacked political means. . Compared with the original Lin Renzhao, it was much worse. Of course, this was also the difference caused by different backgrounds and experiences. Guo Liangping had never encountered any major setbacks in his life.
Over the past two years, Emperor Liu also saw clearly that Guo Liangping was acceptable as a general, but under-trained as a prime minister, and his flaws were obvious. Over the past two years, I found that Guo Liangping had not changed at all, and had no intention of actively seeking change. He still went his own way.
Therefore, the disappointed Emperor Liu had to make some adjustments.
(End of chapter)
