Arriving at the door of a mansion, Guo Mo jumped off the yellow horse and carefully looked at the door in front of him.
To be honest, if someone hadn't inquired in advance and the words were clearly marked on the door plaque, Guo Mo would have doubted whether he had gone to the wrong place.
He has been in power and has been prominent for several generations. Who would have thought that the mansion where this person lives is at the level of an average person at best.
Because now, the owner here is in a special period. He has been staying home sick for several days and has been engaged in tug-of-war with the officials. There are not many visitors in front of the door.
Guo Mo stepped forward and knocked on the door knocker. In a short time, the corner door was opened a crack.
"Who are you looking for?"
A young concierge poked his head out, looked at Guo Mo, and expressed that he didn't recognize him.
"I would like to ask my brother to tell me that Guo Mo, the new top scholar in Kewu and the commander of the Dunwu Army and the commander of the Tidian Imperial City Division, is here to pay his respects."
After Guo Mo finished speaking, he handed over the greeting card and gift list he had prepared in advance, took out a one hundred tael silver note, and stuffed it into the concierge's hand without leaving any trace.
"this..."
Originally, not many people came to visit me in the past few days. Even if someone came, they were all the master's regular customers.
The concierge was still very jealous when he saw the one hundred taels of silver notes.
Even though Guo Mo's official position is not high, he has two explosive points in just one sentence. This concierge really knows.
One is the "Martial Arts Champion". A few days ago, there was a lot of commotion in Lin'an City. Who doesn't know about this unprecedented "Martial Arts Examination".
Then there is the "Imperial City Division". After all, this is a special organization that everyone knows about.
"Wait a moment, I will go in and give you a report. As for whether the master will see you or not, it is not for me to decide."
Finally, the concierge decided to give it a try. At most he would be scolded, but at least he could get a hundred taels of silver.
Guo Mo thanked him again, the corner door was closed again, and Guo Mo was waiting outside.
About a meal time later, footsteps sounded from the door again.
The corner door was completely opened, and two people walked out.
They are all young people, obviously one master and one servant.
The servant was the concierge who opened the door just now, but the master was looking at Guo Mo.
"I'm the historian, are you Guo Mo, the new top scholar?"
Guo Mo didn't expect that the person coming was the man's son, so he quickly bowed.
"I am none other than Guo Mo. He came here recklessly and asked Mr. Shi Haihan to come."
Guo Mo's style shocked Shi Zhai. This man didn't look like a martial arts champion at all, but he was full of literary spirit.
"What did the Number One Scholar say? Please come inside. My father is waiting for you in the flower hall."
Guo Mo said "Thank you", took the gift, and followed Shi Zhai through the door. The yellow gelding had its own servants to take care of it.
Walking in the historical residence, Guo Mo did not feel the splendor and luxury at all, but instead revealed the antique elegance everywhere.
"Is this what they say, a treacherous person is like a loyal person, a vulgar person is like an elegant person?"
Guo Mo thought about it and came to a place.
"Master Zhuangyuan, wait a moment, let me go in first to report."
Shi Zhaizhi handed over to Guo Mo and entered the flower hall first.
After a while, it came out again.
"Master Zhuangyuan, please come with me." The two of them entered the flower hall.
The decoration in the flower hall is simple. A slightly rich old man is sitting at the main seat, and there is another person sitting next to him.
It seems that he is also an official, and he is a little thin compared to the old man in charge.
Before anyone else could say anything, Guo Mo stepped forward and bowed to the ground before the old man in charge.
"I entered Guo Mo as a junior student and met Enxiang."
That's right, the person Guo Mo came to see today was none other than Shi Miyuan, the biggest traitor to power in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty, the Prime Minister and Privy Councilor at that time.
No one spoke for a while in the flower hall. Both Shi Miyuan, who was in charge, and the officials accompanying him were all staring at Guo Mo.
In fact, the three of them had met each other at the "Daqing Hall".
Those two, especially, were already aware of Guo Mo's figure and appearance, but Guo Mo didn't pay much attention to them that day.
"The number one scholar is exempt from the ceremony, Ziyi, let's watch tea."
Shi Miyuan had no expression on his face, and told his son to invite Guo Mo to sit down, and personally gave him a bowl of tea, and then stood behind Shi Miyuan.
"Thank you for your kindness."
Guo Mo held his hand again and sat down generously to the side. Opposite him was the slightly thinner official, who was still looking at him.
"I heard that Duke Zhuangyuan is training troops in the south of the city. How come you have time to come to the residence of an idle man like me?"
Shi Miyuan held the tea bowl, took a sip and asked.
"I am reporting to the Prime Minister. I am highly regarded by the officials and have been given important responsibilities. I should have come to the Prime Minister's house to pay homage to him a long time ago. I have been staying in the military camp a few days ago. It happened that the 'Imperial City Division' had some affairs and the general had just returned.
city."
"Prepare a few small gifts to repay your kindness, and I hope you will accept it with a smile."
"Haha, your ability to win the first prize in one fell swoop and hold an important position is entirely the result of your own efforts. What does it have to do with the appreciation of the officials? I'm afraid this gift was sent to the wrong place?"
Shi Miyuan continued to drink tea and glanced at the gift list placed in front of him.
"The last general heard that Mr. Xue, the Minister of Civil Affairs, recommended the last general to serve as the 'Tidian Imperial City Secretary' at the behest of Enxiang."
"Similarly, after seeing the 20,000 elite Imperial Guards, the general understood in his heart that without the care of the Prime Minister, the Third Yamen would not allocate such elite troops to the general."
"If a general who has received generous gifts over and over again still does not know what is good and what is good, wouldn't he be a fool?"
Guo Mo also got some information in advance and added his own guesses before saying this.
"Haha, Mr. Enxiang, look at this Number One Scholar, he has a perfect demeanor of being both civil and military. It's not in vain that Mr. Enxiang secretly cultivated him."
Before Shi Miyuan could answer, the guest sitting next to him commented first.
"I haven't asked yet, who is this?"
Seeing that the other party was speaking, Guo Mo also raised his hands to the other party and asked.
"I'm Zhao Rushu."
The guest smoothed the three locks of beard under his chin and said with a smile.
It turns out that this person is Zhao Rushu, one of the "Four Woods and Three Fierce Men", the current Minister of the Ministry of Punishment. Rumor has it that he is also the eighth grandson of Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi.
The person who is best at slandering others and opportunistically praising himself in person?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "It turns out that Mr. Zhao, the Minister of Punishment, is in front of you. I will be rude at the end."
After saying that, he stood up and bowed respectfully.
Guo Mo came to meet today, just to put on a "surrender" look, to play a Song Dynasty version of "Infernal Affairs", to secretly accumulate his own strength and take the opportunity to weaken the opponent's strength.
When the time is right, destroy it in one fell swoop.
After thinking about the Moser incident, Guo Mo felt it was perfect.
Although there are some accidental factors, the result is good.
The original "four trees and three evils" have now been replaced by the "one evil", and the position of Minister of Household Affairs left by Mo Ze, taking advantage of Shi Miyuan's current special situation, the official family has appointed a military supervisor, Huai
Yue Ke, the Commander-in-Chief of the East, is acting temporarily.
Yue Ke is the grandson of Yue Fei and the biological father of Yue Ao, the current deputy commander of the "Dunwu Army".
Let him supervise the weapons inspection and then enter the household department. This is obviously for the logistics of the "Dun Wu Army" and completely eliminates hidden dangers.
"It's good for young people to know the importance of importance. Although you hold the title of 'disciple of the emperor', after all, the 'martial arts examination' is led by the Privy Council. Strictly speaking, I am your serious 'leader'."
The "seat master" is the "seat master" of later generations. Guo Mo didn't expect Shi Miyuan to say such a thing. Was this a clear intention to get him on board?
Guo Moduo knows how to get into trouble, and today he is here to "surrender". With such a good opening, how could he not seize it.
Guo Mo quickly stood up and left his seat again, came to Shi Miyuan, and respectfully performed the "Apprenticeship Ceremony".
"Student Guo Mo has met the 'Master'. The student is young and has little knowledge. He will have to rely on his benefactor for more teachings in the future."
"Haha, good. You don't have much foundation in the court. If anything happens in the future, you might as well talk to me first so that I can clear things up for you."
"As for the official family, please don't show it for the time being that you belong to me. Except for the people here today, I don't want others to know about our relationship for the time being."
Hearing what Shi Miyuan said, both Zhao Rushu and Guo Mo were a little surprised, but they had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Now that everyone is related to this "level", it becomes much easier to talk.
"I heard about the 'Sanyuan Building' incident. The twenty or so martial arts examinations that followed did not go to your 'Dunwu Army'. That was my order, so I won't bother you anymore."
"Since you are committed to building a strong team, I will fully support you. I also want to see how far you can go. I wonder if there are any difficulties?"
Shi Miyuan seemed very happy. Taking down Guo Mo was equivalent to taking down the "Dunwu Army", and Guo Mo also served as the "Tipian Imperial City Division". Isn't this much better than the original Xia Zhen?
Seeing Shi Miyuan, he started to ask, how could Guo Mo be polite to him? He also knew that the less polite he was, the more he would be trusted.
"Eun Xiang, after all, the general is just a soldier. He has dreamed of building an invincible 'iron army' since he was a child, but now it seems that it is indeed very difficult."
"Oh, are you really having difficulty? Tell me."
Shi Miyuan picked up the tea bowl again and looked at Guo Mo with a smile.
"En Xiang, it is not difficult to build a powerful army that can dominate the Song Dynasty, but this is not what the general wants. The general wants to build a powerful army that far surpasses the armies of the Jin Kingdom, Xixia, and Mongolia."
"If that's the case, the gap in needed materials will be too big. We in the Song Dynasty are second to none in terms of weapons and armor, but horses are far from enough."
"The five thousand 'Dunwu Army' that the general dreams of is at least one man and two horses. If it is a long-distance raid, it is best to have one man and three horses. At present, the general is not sure whether it can be done with one man and one horse."
.”
"One person and three horses?"
Guo Mo's words shocked everyone present.
Just imagine, all the places in the Southern Song Dynasty that did not produce horses had to buy horses from outside.
The Jin Kingdom, Xixia, and Mongolia in the north, intentionally or unintentionally, strictly restricted the sale of horses to the Song Dynasty.
Nowadays, horses in the Southern Song Dynasty mainly come from the south and Sichuan area, and the quality of horses is much lower than that in the north.
Even so, the income is only over 10,000 horses a year, and there is no guarantee that all of them will be war horses.
Even if all the horses purchased by the Song Dynasty every year were given to Guo Mo, it would probably take two years to get "one person and three horses" for him. How could it be possible to give them all to him?
"War horses are indeed a rarity in our Song Dynasty, and I can't afford so many at once. Let's do this. No matter the quality is good or bad, I will give you five thousand first, so that the 'Dunwu Army' can train normally, and the rest
Let’s slowly think of a solution.”
Shi Miyuan did not refuse. He inexplicably saw an energy in this young man that he had never seen before.
It's not just his sharpness, it seems to make people trust him inexplicably and want to see what kind of miracles he can create.
"Thank you so much for your kindness!"
This time Guo Mo was sincerely thanking him. He couldn't guarantee that in the entire Song Dynasty, who could solve the problem of five thousand war horses at once for him? Even the officials might not be able to do it.
"Enxiang, why don't we, the Song Dynasty, pay attention to 'horse politics'?"
Horse administration refers to the management system of past dynasties governments for the husbandry, training, use and procurement of official horses.
After the Song Dynasty moved south, the horse administration gradually declined. There were no sources of horses, and no suitable place to raise horses could be found. The only way to do this was to purchase horses.
The current horse administration is still under the management of the Privy Council.
"Haha, Duke Zhuangyuan, you don't know something. The Song Dynasty is located in the south of the Yangtze River, and we completely rely on the purchase of war horses. The so-called horse administration is almost in name only."
It was Zhao Rushu who was there to "answer" Guo Mo's doubts.
"I got some news and made some random analysis, but I don't know whether to talk about it or not?"
Guo Mo hesitated, but seemed to have something to say.
"I don't need to be restrained here. You still need to have the vitality that young people should have. What's the matter with being so depressed?"
It's rare that Shi Miyuan actually spoke in a "teaching" tone like a teacher. Perhaps it was because he really didn't have any outstanding juniors.
"The general will ask the people from the 'Imperial City Division' to pay attention to the movements of the three northern countries, Mongolia, Xixia, and Jin."
"I found that recently their troops seem to be moving towards the border of Xixia. In the early years, the late general also traveled in the north. Knowing that Mongolia has long wanted to attack Xixia, the Jin Kingdom may stand on the side of Xixia."
"However, the general feels that even if Xixia and Jin join forces, they may not be able to stop the Mongolian attack. Therefore, the general is thinking, can our Song Dynasty get a share of the Xixia pie?"
Guo Mo asked tentatively, because he knew that Shi Miyuan was not someone who advocated foreign war.
"You mean, the Song Dynasty also participated in the battle against Xixia? But the Song Dynasty and Xixia are not bordering each other now."
Shi Miyuan didn't understand Guo Mo's intention for a while.
"Starting the war lightly may not be a blessing to us, the Song Dynasty. What I will talk about at the end of the day is to solve the problem of war horses."
"Xixia is located on the border. Once a war breaks out, the most indispensable material in terms of supplies is war horses, while other items such as food, even weapons, and armor will be in short supply."
"We can contact Xixia secretly and offer to exchange rice for war horses, and even match them with some weapons and armor. Those we eliminate will be considered good in Xixia."
"This matter can be carried out in the name of 'private people'. The same matter can also be exchanged with the Kingdom of Jin."
"Our goal is not only to meet the needs of the war horses, but also to allow them to consume each other. How to operate it specifically is not something that the general can figure out."
Guo Mo spoke eloquently, while Shi Miyuan and Zhao Rushu listened quietly and thought about the feasibility of this proposal.
"The Number One Scholar has thought deeply about this matter, and there is indeed something that can be done about it. I will find someone to review it later, and I will definitely get a satisfactory answer."
Shi Miyuan thought for a long time but did not make a final decision.
"Daddy——"
At this moment, a woman's voice came from outside the flower hall.
The door curtain was lifted, and a woman in an apricot-yellow dress came in from the outside. She looked to be less than 20 years old.
Seeing Shi Miyuan sitting in the main seat, he walked over with a smile.
"Girl, how come you haven't made any progress in the past few years since you've been out? Didn't you see that Daddy has guests?"
Shi Miyuan spoke harshly, but there was a rare smile on his face.
"Ming Ke, Zhuangyuanlang, this is my adopted daughter. After staying in the mountains for several years, she no longer understands the world's ways, which makes you two laugh."
"Girl, why don't you hurry over and see your Uncle Zhao and the new top scholar in Kewu?"
Shi Miyuan scolded in feigned anger.
The woman restrained herself slightly and bowed to Zhao Rushu first, "I have met Uncle Zhao."
Then he turned around and looked at Guo Mo in front of him.
The last glance, the next glance, the left glance, the right glance, a total of seventy-two glances, finally made Guo Mo feel embarrassed.
"Ahem—Girl, have you seen enough? How do you behave?"
Shi Miyuan, who was sitting in the main seat, couldn't stand it any longer. Isn't this little girl too embarrassing?
They all regretted that they had spared no expense over the years to send this girl out to learn martial arts through favors.
However, my life was bought by this girl's biological father.
Shi Miyuan had several sons and daughters, but he was most attached to this adopted daughter and loved her the most.
"The little girl has seen the Number One Scholar——"
Guo Mo couldn't sit there and receive a courtesy like Zhao Rushu, so he hurriedly stood up.
"Young lady, you are polite."
Unexpectedly, this woman refused to let Guo Mo go after the ceremony.
"I didn't expect that the dignified martial arts champion would be so fair? Dad, are you sure this is the martial arts champion and not the literary champion?"
"How can he be so weak and weak that he can dominate the crowd? How about I compare with him?"
"Ahem——"
Shi Miyuan unconsciously picked up the tea bowl again.
"Well... Mr. Enxiang, if there is nothing else to do, I will retire first. It just so happens that the 'Imperial City Division' still has some things to take care of."
"Well, I have accepted you today. I will take the matter of the war horse to heart. If anything happens in the future, you can come to me at any time."
"Zi Yi, on behalf of your father, you can send off the champion."
Guo Mo did not dare to stay any longer and followed Shi Zhaizhi out of the flower hall.
"Dad, why did you let Wu Zhuangyuan go? I haven't been able to compete with him yet."
Seeing that Shi Miyuan asked his son to send Guo Mo away, the woman was a little unhappy. She came behind Shi Miyuan and shook his shoulders with her hands.
"Mo Chou, stop now, don't shake me to pieces——"
It turns out that Shi Miyuan's adopted daughter's name is "Mochou".
Unfortunately, Guo Mo was already far away and could not hear it.