Gu Yongnian looked at his eldest son with relief and said, "Okay, only you are allowed to know about this matter. Chen'er must keep it secret!"
"Yes, I will obey my father's teachings!" Gu Jingming kowtowed again, then stood up and left the main hall.
After Gu Jingming left, Gu Yongchang sighed, and then opened the letter that came halfway.
This letter was sent by Hu Shichang. It explained everything and also told him when to return to Beimang.
"Brother Shichang, once you leave, I will have to fight alone. I wish you a bright future!"
As Gu Yongnian finished speaking, the piece of letter paper also slowly burned.
Hu Shichang's mission has indeed been completed, and he has completed it quite well. Not only did he destroy the defensive offensive at Bingdaokou, he even took away most of Linxian's defenses and troops before leaving. As long as Beimang goes south, Linxian can take it in half a day. Down.
Just when Gu Yongnian was about to sit in the main hall and take a nap, two servants hurried into the main hall.
Seeing a hole in the isolation barrier, Gu Yongnian's tired face showed dissatisfaction. With a wave of his hand, the barrier was repaired again.
"Master, the Prime Minister's Mansion has sent a message and wants you to come over." A servant said quickly.
"Sir, Commander Shan Qi of the garrison and Commander Ma Ning of Zuoyingsi are outside asking for a meeting." Another servant reported.
Gu Yongnian frowned. If Shan Qi could come, he wouldn't doubt it, but if Ma Ning came, there would be a problem!
"You go back to the Prime Minister's Mansion first, and tell Shan Qi and Ma Ning to come to the Mansion to inquire about the matter, and ask the Prime Minister to wait for a moment." Gu Yongnian said to a servant.
The servant took the order, got up and ran outside.
"Did the two of them come together?" Gu Yongnian asked another servant.
"Not at first, but when they got to the door, they bumped into each other." The servant replied.
Gu Yongnian nodded and said: "Okay, let's invite the two adults in, and remember to serve them good tea!"
The servant cupped his hands and quickly retreated.
After a while, a middle-aged man in armor and an old man in cloth walked in.
The middle-aged man in armor was Shan Qi, the commander of the garrison, and the old man was Ma Ning, the commander of the Zuoying Division.
"Meet Lieutenant Gu." They both held their hands and smiled.
"Haha, Gu is not a lieutenant." Gu Yongnian returned the greeting with a smile and quickly asked the two military camp commanders to sit down.
Shan Qi and Ma Ning looked at each other. They didn't know what was going on in Qinzheng Hall today.
Seeing Shan Qi and Ma Ning stunned, Gu Yongnian said that he naturally concealed what happened in the Qinzheng Palace and tried to protect the two troublemakers.
When they heard that Gu Yongnian had dismissed him from the post of Taiwei because of the Bingdaokou incident, both of them expressed their admiration.
In their eyes, although Gu Yongnian was a perfunctory person, in any case, he had stood up for them and helped to keep Ma Ning's position as commander-in-chief. Otherwise, Ma Ning would have been killed by Zhang Jishu and the others last time. Dismissed from office.
"I really didn't expect Mr. Gu to stand up for the disaster at Bingdaokou. Please accept my respect." Ma Ning said and was about to salute.
Seeing this, Gu Yongnian hurriedly stepped forward to help him and said: "Old General Ma, your salute shames me. Since I am the Minister of War, I should stand up and be punished."
"Master Gu, we and other generals were still talking about you before. It seems that we really have the hearts of villains and are trying to get rid of gentlemen. I, Shan, am here to apologize to you." Shan Qi immediately bowed at this time. .
"General Shan, you are the commander-in-chief of the palace guard. I dare not accept your courtesy. I hope the general understands." Gu Yongnian did not step forward to help, but lowered his waist lower.
When Shan Qi and Ma Ning saw this, they immediately understood. It turned out that they had guessed wrong... At this moment, both of them were a little ashamed.
Gu Yongnian can naturally see the shameful looks in their eyes, and this is the result he wants. Only in this way can he further encroach on the entire court. When the Beimang army reaches the capital, he can lead the entire court with him. Civil and military regicide!
"Are the two generals here because of the Xu family's affairs?" Gu Yongnian asked.
"To be honest, sir, that's right!" Ma Ning stood up first and said.
"I already know about this matter. Although the emperor has issued a royal decree, the resentment of the people is still a bit heart-wrenching." Gu Yongnian pretended to be thoughtful, and then said: "Please rest assured, after Mr. Xu, I will take care of someone We must protect it, even if I am demoted three levels in a row, I will ask the Xu family for help."
Hearing that Gu Yongnian was actually willing to defend, Ma Ning and Shan Qi quickly bowed their hands, thinking that they had come to the right place this time.
And just after the few people finished talking about the matter, Gu Yongnian came to Ma Ning and quietly handed him something, and then sent him out of Gu's house.
After sending the person away completely, Gu Yongnian smiled, glanced at the Gu Mansion compound, rolled up his sleeves and left the Gu Mansion...
In the carriage, Shan Qi approached Ma Ning and asked, "Old General, what do you have as a gift from Mr. Gu?"
"You kid, your eyes are still so sharp." Ma Ning laughed.
When he took out what Gu Yongnian gave him, both Shan Qi and Ma Ning were stunned.
"Why is it a land deed?" Shan Qi was surprised.
"There's still a letter!" Ma Ning didn't care about the land deed, but unfolded the letter.
When the two read the contents of the letter, they looked at each other. Neither of them expected that Gu Yongnian could do this for them, generals like them.
"I'm so ashamed." Ma Ning sighed.
"Who says otherwise? We thought he was the Prime Minister, but it seems we were all wrong." Shan Qi agreed.
Ma Ning put the letter away and unfolded the land deed. Although the land deed was not the land deed of the Duke's Mansion, they all knew this place. It was the land deed of the Four Seasons Villa in the most prosperous inner city of the capital!
"What are your plans?" Shan Qi asked.
"Since it is Master Gu's wish, then it should be left to the descendants of the Xu family." Ma Ning sighed with emotion.
At first they thought that Gu Yongnian bought the Duke's Mansion to step down on the Xu family. Who knew that he wanted to protect the Xu family and even prepared the land deed for the Four Seasons Villa...
…
Prime Minister's Mansion
When Gu Yongnian entered the main hall and bowed, Prime Minister Qu Zhongyi said what he had thought of.
At first, both Gurley and Wen Qinghai had no objections, but Gu Yongnian raised objections after hearing this.
"Master Gu, do you think there is something wrong with my plan?" Qu Zhongyi asked in confusion.
"Prime Minister, please don't forget the previous rumors about cutting down the vassal vassal. If the two vassal kings really mobilize more troops, do you think they won't..."
Gu Yongnian did not finish his words, but made a neck-stuck gesture.
Qu Zhongyi hesitated, and Ge Li and Wen Qinghai nodded frequently after hearing this. They really didn't think much about it before, but now they are a little scared.
"Does Mr. Gu have any plans?" Qu Zhongyi asked.
"The prime minister's strategy to appease Beimang is fine. This will not only satisfy them, but also silence the world. It's just a matter of defense. I think you should mobilize troops from the Western Mountains and the southern border." Gu Yongnian thought for a moment. Speak your mind.
In fact, this is not his opinion. He is clearly demolishing the east wall to repair the west wall, and then diverting water from the south to the north. When the troops from Xishan and the southern border reach Nanfengzhou, the Beimang cavalry will also reach the capital.
However, Qu Zhongyi and the others did not see Gu Yongnian's viciousness, and they even thought that this was indeed a good method.
After all, in Qu Zhongyi's eyes, Nanfeng Prefecture has its own soldiers, and whether they can survive the fight or not, they can always survive three months.
"I agree with Mr. Gu." Wen Qinghai was the first to express his opinion.
Gurli nodded slightly in agreement at this moment, but what they didn't know was that subtly, he had begun to favor Gu Yongnian.
Seeing that both of his subordinates felt that Gu Yongnian's method was feasible, Qu Zhongyi stopped making any deductions and made a decision directly.
With the issue of troop deployment solved, other matters could be easily solved. Even the rumors outside the capital, Ge Li and Wen Qinghai also came up with countermeasures.
Although the Xu family was still blamed, this time they did not directly throw dirty water on the Xu family.
Gu Yongnian agreed to this kind of thing. After all, this kind of thing did not affect his plan at all, so it was logical that he agreed...
