Guo Kang still knows nothing about what is happening.
When he returned home, he found that the guards were gathered at the door and looking in.
"What's wrong?" Guo Kang asked.
"Madam and the eldest lady are back." Chen Xiao, who was nearest, told him succinctly.
When Guo Kang heard this, he didn't have time to worry about anything else and hurriedly ran in the door. Far away, he saw the door to the living room open, and his adoptive father was sitting inside, talking to a middle-aged woman opposite.
"Mom!" Guo Kang greeted.
"Kang'er is back." The woman smiled and said, "He is busier than your father."
"Hey, isn't this a sudden change?" Guo Kang said, "Did Dad tell you? I recently proposed a plan and am currently discussing it with everyone."
"Yes, that's what I just told you." The adoptive father also immediately praised: "Kang'er is promising. Our current strategic plan for dealing with Egypt was drawn up by him. You two are not just from the Tomb Sect. Have you ever met anyone? You can use it now."
"Don't just praise him, I'm talking about you." The adoptive mother didn't appreciate it and urged: "Have you read all the books I asked you to read?"
"I haven't been busy helping Kang'er move around recently." The adoptive father once again tried to use Guo Kang as a shield: "Anyway, you also said that reading those books is also to help everyone, so it's the same, right?"
The adoptive mother was speechless for a moment.
"Okay, the child is great, so you are justified." She shook her head helplessly: "Come on, Kang'er, sit down. Come and tell me what progress has been made in the past few days."
Guo Kang nodded and pulled out a stool. When he turned around, he caught a glimpse of the girl standing next to him.
She is tall and has long black hair tied into a ponytail hanging down the back of her head. He was still wearing simple clothes and pants that were convenient for traveling, but he still showed a well-proportioned figure. Her appearance is also clearly inherited from her mother's, becoming more and more beautiful with age. It's just that she kept a straight face and a very cold expression, obviously not very approachable.
"Oh, sister, thank you for your hard work." Guo Kang nodded to her, then quickly turned around and sat down.
To be fair, she had helped Guo Kang a lot in the past, and if he seriously begged her, he would be able to do so. The problem is that she is too concerned about the belonging of her family, and she cannot hear her parents praising Guo Kang. Li Xuanying, who is often scolded for not being as good as Guo Kang, and even Cao Jian, who often feels inferior when facing Guo Kang, are not as bitter and hateful as she is. deep.
She has a very straightforward temper and often cannot control her temper. In addition, Guo Kang is so familiar with her that it is easy to see her mental state at this time from her expressions and movements. Just by looking at her like this, I knew she was in a bad mood.
Now, Guo Kang's situation is more embarrassing.
If he doesn't say hello to Guo Ponu, his parents will probably say that he is rude and ask him to greet his relatives, so he must take the initiative to show off. But on the other hand, if he really greets him, he doesn't know what to say. Given Guo Ponu's current situation, it would be great if they didn't start a fight in the end.
Therefore, after saying hello loudly and ensuring that his adoptive father and adoptive mother could hear him, Guo Kang immediately sat upright as quickly as possible and began to report to work!
"Recently, I accompanied Tu Huan Taiji to meet with the Egyptian Caliphate envoy and his delegation, and we conducted fruitful consultations on military and economic issues of mutual concern. The two sides exchanged views in a pleasant atmosphere and reached the following consensus..."
Guo Kang talked endlessly about the results of his work.
He first introduced the previous banquet and several common opinions reached subsequently, and then briefly introduced the new things about the Hafez forces in Syria, as well as the important information brought by the "old sea urchin" from Andalusia. Finally, he analyzed the situation and introduced the various agreements negotiated so far.
Regarding these matters, Guo Kang spoke very skillfully. After all, he personally participated in and promoted the entire plan. It can be said that it is his most proud achievement during this period.
Moreover, since he kept talking about business, Guo Ponu couldn't get a word in at all. Guo Kang completely achieved his goal.
After talking for more than half an hour, Guo Kang finally gave a brief introduction.
The adoptive mother seemed very satisfied with his idea.
"No wonder your father keeps praising you. This is indeed a good idea." She did not hesitate to praise, but reminded: "There have always been a lot of problems with the Cao family. Just do your own business, and don't worry about other things. It involves too much.”
"I wasn't familiar with them before, I was just a little familiar with brother and sister Dao Xing and Dao Yan. But you also know that they are not the children of the main wife, and their mother's background is embarrassing. Basically, the core interests of the family are It doesn’t matter.” Guo Kang said, “I just bought some books for them.”
"Hey, he is also a poor child." The foster mother sighed and looked at Guo Ponu again: "Ponu, look at me. There are so many setbacks in life, but I still try my best to study hard."
"You, like your father, should learn more from your brother." She shook her head and said, "When people study, they don't delay doing business."
"Don't compare yourself to me." The adoptive father waved his hands repeatedly: "Kang'er is much better than me."
"People like me are not suitable for politics. The most satisfying life is to travel around the world and live a leisurely life with a few friends. Kang'ercai, like his grandfather and third uncle, is the material to govern the country. ah."
"Forget it, you just want to be lazy." The stepmother said mercilessly.
"No, I'm serious." The adoptive father quickly replied: "When he has some practical results and can convince others, I will retire early and let him come. Sooner or later, our family's business will be left to him. .Isn’t it best to adapt to this as soon as possible?”
Ruined. Guo Kang thought subconsciously.
Sure enough, Guo Ponu was immediately unhappy.
"Do we really want him to become the future head of the Guo family?" Guo Ponu asked.
"Except for him, neither can anyone else." The adoptive father replied honestly: "Those of your cousins are also good at dancing with guns and sticks every day. What we need is someone who is as strategic as your uncle. Kang'er is the best choice now."
"There can be many ways. Can't we let him be a consultant? Don't we have officials and retainers?" Guo Ponu obviously did not accept this answer: "Does it have to be that his surname is Guo and he becomes the head of the family?"
"Po slave! Stop talking!" the stepmother shouted sternly.
Guo Ponu fell silent for the time being and sat aside without speaking.
The adoptive mother was obviously still angry, while the adoptive father looked at Guo Kang with some concern.
But Guo Kang himself didn't have much emotion.
This was not the first time this happened, and he had already been mentally prepared. In his opinion, the kind of things that happened to Cao Jian can happen in other families - he suspected that while he had always sympathized with the illegitimate children of the Cao family, he also sympathized with Cao Jian and even always wanted to help him. Maybe he also had this part. reason.
Of course, Cao Jian must know this himself. After all, Guo Ponu's mouth made it impossible for her to keep silent to outsiders.
Therefore, Theodora said that he was currently in a better situation than Cao Jian and should not provoke others. Although he agreed, he actually felt that this was just a matter of taking fifty steps and laughing at a hundred steps - he might even be the one who took a hundred steps.
Cao Jian's brothers were illegitimate; although Guo Kang's sister was a legitimate child, she was not a male. I don’t know which one of them is in a more precarious position...
Thinking about it carefully, it is actually very troublesome.
If nothing else, it is still possible for the Guo couple to have children. If his younger brothers show higher military talents in the future, and his adoptive father lives long enough, then it is indeed difficult to say where Guo Kang will be.
Although everyone feels that there is no shortage of people to lead troops in war, military talent is always the most precious and most convincing thing. And this is where Guo Kang has the least confidence in himself...
When it comes to science and technology, he can copy it from memory; for understanding current situations and strategies, he can refer to his more historical experience than others; he can also quickly learn even issues such as religion and culture. But for things on the battlefield, he had no idea whether the theories he knew were correct or whether they could be used.
However, the good thing about the Purple Horde Khanate is that no matter whether he can become the head of the family in the end, at least there will be no security problems.
In other places, the clan leader may get rid of the older adopted son who was previously expected to be the heir in order to allow his own son to take over. But here, neither members of the family nor other Zhuguo families would allow anyone to do this.
The most important factor here is not personal morality and family concern.
Because for each family, adopted sons are important talents and are often the guarantee for the continuation of family power. If someone does this kind of thing, it will destroy the mutual trust within the entire Purple Horde Khanate. If this kind of chaos occurs, we will no longer be able to let people work for all ethnic groups with peace of mind.
The country's situation has always been crisis-ridden, and the Guo family, as the most important pillar, is also experiencing exactly the same situation. Therefore, the internal structure of a family like the Guo family is actually similar to that of the Purple Horde Khanate as a whole. Between the various branches, there is more of an alliance to maintain the Guo family and maintain the interests of Rome.
A large part of the patriarch's authority also comes from the recognition of his own achievements by family members and recipients of favors with foreign surnames. If there is only a bloodline advantage, then not only outsiders, but also people within the family may question it.
Therefore, Guo Ponu's doubts and the direction of attack are actually wrong. Even if Guo Kang is not his biological child and therefore has greater limitations on his abilities than others, it is still more reliable than her strange focus.
Therefore, Guo Kang thought about it and felt that it would be better to speak directly.
"It doesn't matter whether I take it or not." He shrugged and said, "My great-uncle is not the eldest son, right? He has still been in charge of family affairs for a long time. So this matter can be done by anyone. As long as it is good for the family and the country. It’s good, it doesn’t need to be too particular.”
"Our understanding of ideals and goals may be different." He looked at Guo Ponu and said, "Have you heard the story about King Zhou Mu dreaming of a god?"
"What is that?" Guo Ponu blurted out, obviously he had never heard of it.
"It's a story recorded by Liezi." Guo Kang said: "It is said that a god who could transform into human beings came to the court of King Mu of Zhou. King Mu of Zhou was very happy and received him with high etiquette. Let him live in it, feed him with food sacrificed to the gods, and choose a beautiful female band for his entertainment."
"But the man of God thought that King Mu's palace was too short and poor to live in; King Mu's food was fishy and smelly, so he couldn't enjoy it; King Mu's concubines were smelly and ugly, so he couldn't get close to them."
"King Mu wanted to do his best to satisfy him, so he built a palace specifically for him. The design of the building and the colors of the paintings could not be more ingenious. All the money of the five palaces was exhausted before the towers were built. The towers were as high as a thousand feet. It is higher than Zhongnan Mountain and is called the Tower of Zhongtian."
"King Mu also selected beautiful and slender women from Zheng and Wei, sprinkled them with perfume, decorated their eyebrows, and put on jewelry and earrings. They were dressed in fine cloth from Dong'a, and their skirts trailed silk from Qi. They applied makeup, painted their eyebrows, and wore them. Yuhuan, and bring various herbs to enrich the tower. The musicians played beautiful music such as "Chengyun", "Liuying", "Jiushao" and "Morning Dew", trying to make the gods happy. Send every month I bought him the most beautiful clothes and gave him the most beautiful meals every day for him to enjoy. But the man of God was not happy yet and had no choice but to move in. After a short stay, he couldn't stand it anymore."
"Which kind of fairy story is this?" The foster mother next to her was a little surprised: "Don't you even look down on this?"
"This is actually not surprising. The best meals in the Western Zhou Dynasty may not be as good as the ordinary stir-fries we eat now." Guo Kang said: "The gods are so knowledgeable that they naturally look down on them - the gods are just a title, that's all. If there is a slight difference, he may not be a real god, but just a person living in a better place."
"oh……"
"After that, the god decided to open his eyes to King Mu of Zhou and invited him to visit his home. King Mu then discovered that the god's palace was decorated with gold, silver, pearls and jade, and was too tall, even above the white clouds and thunderstorms. I don't know. What is it relying on below, it looks like it is staying in the clouds."
"In the palace, what you hear with your ears, see with your eyes, smell with your nose, and taste with your mouth and tongue are all things that do not exist in the human world. King Mu really thought that he had arrived at the place where the Emperor of Heaven lived. He lowered his head and looked at the ground. The towers of my own palace are as crude as piles of dirt and thatch."
"The man of God invited King Mu to play with him again. Where they were playing, the sun and moon could not be seen when looking up, and the rivers and oceans could not be seen when looking down. The light and shadow dazzled King Mu and made him unable to see clearly. The sound of music rang out, which confused King Mu's ears and made him unable to hear. I understand. I feel like my whole body and six internal organs are all trembling and I can't calm down."
"The entertainment here stimulated King Mu so much that he became comatose and lost his spirit. He could only ask the God to take him back. The God then gave him a push, and King Mu seemed to fall into the void. After waking up, he found himself He was still sitting in the same place, with the same people waiting on him on his left and right. The wine in front of him had just been poured out, and the dishes had just been cooked. It turned out that this was just a dream conjured by the god. After that, King Mu fell into a trance. It took three months to get back to normal.”
"This myth is really bizarre. What can make people look like this?" the adoptive mother muttered with a strange look on her face.
"Do you know the kind of lamp I successfully made in the monastery before?" Guo Kang did not answer, but asked another question.
"You took us to see it last time." The stepmother thought for a moment and said, "That thing... is really eye-catching."
"We assume that there is an extremely huge, mountain-like building. The natural light is no longer enough to illuminate the inside, but that kind of thing is used to illuminate it. People who live there all day long will not be able to see the sun and the moon?" Guo Kang continued to describe.
"It seems true. That makes it clear." The stepmother nodded.
"We cover that kind of lamp with colored glass, and then use thousands of these colored lamps to rotate back and forth, open and close, will it have a dazzling effect?" Guo Kang asked again.
The adoptive mother hesitated for a while before expressing her understanding.
"Do you still remember the paper trumpet I pasted before?" Guo Kang continued: "What if it was more refined and made of more advanced materials, and could play complete music? Play it with various oriental and European musical instruments, and then use If it amplifies the sound, will it make people like King Mu of Zhou, whose ears are confused during music and cannot understand it?"
At this time, Guo Ponu, who had always had a straight face, also looked surprised and was speechless.
Guo Kang turned around and pointed to the glass on the living room window - it was made in the monastery workshop he established himself.
"I have used some new technologies to make flat glass larger and produce more. But now due to constraints, this thing is still not possible."
"If we can have higher technology and form a complete industrial zone, I estimate that the output can be increased dozens of times. By then, we can even make a house surrounded by glass." He imagined: "Also add some colors to the glass If so, wouldn’t this kind of house look like a treasure made of jade and colored glaze, but it’s really not too expensive?”
Both the adoptive mother and sister were speechless for a moment, but the adoptive father turned his head and said happily: "Look, let's just say he knows a lot more."
"No..." But the adoptive mother understood something and asked Guo Kang: "Have you ever had this kind of dream? And the god explained it to you?"
"Yes, I have seen them all." Guo Kang nodded confidently: "I suspect that many people in history have experienced this kind of dream, and it is not only recorded in Taoist classics this time. But I may be better at it. , so I probably understand some of the principles - of course, it may be that in our era, part of it can finally be reproduced."
"You also know?" She turned to ask her adoptive father again.
"Isn't this easy to understand?" The adoptive father seemed completely unconcerned: "He has known so many things since he was a child that the teacher has never taught him. What does that mean? It means that other teachers are teaching him in other ways. Isn't it hard to think that Master Shenren taught him secretly?"
The stepmother was speechless for a moment, not knowing whether to say he was too sharp or too straightforward...
"Then why didn't you tell me before?" she asked her adoptive father.
"I think you are so smart, you must be able to tell. And Kang'er himself will also reveal something to you." The adoptive father defended.
"What about you?" she asked Guo Kang again.
"I think dad knows, you must just listen to him..." Guo Kang was also a little surprised - this time, he mainly wanted to tell Guo Ponu. He thought that his adoptive mother must have known something about her before.
"..."
(End of chapter)
