When Guo Mo brought Yang Guo and Guo Xiang to the Juyongguan Tower, Li Mochou, Wu Nantian and Zhang Ting were already waiting there.
Guo Mo chased the two children to the top of Mopan Mountain and fought with the mysterious Taoist for three hundred rounds. This back and forth took more than three hours.
At this time, the sky was getting dark, and the sky was full of wind and snow, but there was no sign of letting up.
"Master, I heard that you are here. I just took people to catch some hares in the mountains. I was lucky today. I even got several pheasants. They are all ready and waiting for you to come back -"
Haji brought Guo Mo and the others in with a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with tears. He was a warm-hearted child. He had been away from his master for so long, and now that he suddenly saw him, he couldn't help but feel the instinctive excitement in his heart.
.
Everyone had a lively meal, but Guo Mo always thought about what happened during the day. One was the crazy monk back then, and the other was the mysterious Taoist today.
Guo Mo didn't understand why they came to him one after another, but he vaguely felt that the reason behind the matter might not be that simple.
Although Guo Mo has never fought against the crazy monk, judging from the skills of this mysterious Taoist today, these two people may have reached the innate Dzogchen realm.
So, what are the intentions of these two people?
Listening to what that Taoist said, are they waiting for themselves to reach innate Dzogchen?
Huashan?
Will there be anything different there?
Everyone saw that Guo Mo was a little uninterested, and the voices of chatting and laughing were invisibly lowered a lot.
It wasn't until Li Mochou quietly tugged at the corner of Guo Mo's clothes that he woke up from his thoughts.
"Master, I heard from the second senior brother that you want to go and inquire outside Juyong Pass. According to my disciple, there is no need for you to go."
"With such heavy snow now, it is estimated that it will not stop for three to five days. We are pretty good inside Juyong Pass. But after leaving Juyong Pass, I am afraid the road will be even more difficult."
Haji has grown up in the Mongolian desert since he was a child, and naturally knows that the further north you go, the longer the snow and ice periods will be.
In such weather, it is not easy for even a martial artist to walk here, let alone marching or fighting.
Seeing Guo Mo's frown, Haji thought the master was having trouble with the expedition to Mongolia, so he explained from the side.
When Guo Mo arrived here, Haji naturally gave up the tower and let the master and his wife live in it, while he accompanied his second senior brother to live in the military tent.
Zhang Ting and Guo Xiang also lived on the tower. They had burned the charcoal basin early and the room was very well sealed.
"Brother Mo, did something special happen today?"
Li Mochou has been with Guo Mo for many years, so she has a relatively good understanding of Guo Mo's character.
She would not think that Guo Mo was upset because of the heavy snow and road closures.
"Mochou, come and take a look. Do you recognize such a person?"
Guo Mo did not answer Li Mochou's question. Instead, he picked out a piece of charcoal that did not burn much in the brazier. After it gradually cooled down, Guo Mo sharpened one end of the charcoal into a sharp shape.
Taking out a piece of rice paper from the table, Guo Mo used the charcoal in his hand to draw lightly on the rice paper.
Guo Mo has an excellent memory, let alone someone he just met during the day?
He used the sketching technique of later generations. Although it does not look so solemn, the portrait he sketched is more realistic and close to reality.
Not long after, the appearance of a middle-aged Taoist priest appeared on the rice paper. It was the Taoist priest he had seen during the day, but Guo Mo had hidden the huge wine gourd.
Because Guo Mo understood that if Li Mochou had really seen such a portrait, then it must not have a wine gourd.
"This Taoist looks so familiar. I think I've seen him somewhere before?"
Li Mochou was first surprised by Guo Mo's painting ability. After knowing him for so many years, she knew that Guo Mo could write poems. Every time he wrote a poem, she wished it would be a famous poem that could be passed down through the ages.
I also know that Guo Mo’s literary talent is good, and a masterpiece like "The Romance of the Gods" can be written right away.
However, Guo Mo's painting movements this time still surprised Li Mochou.
Although she had never seen anyone painting like this before, she knew from the portraits alone that this novel painting method would definitely shock the current painting world if it spread.
"If you think about it carefully, does he look like a Taoist from Mount Zhongnan?"
Guo Mo had some guesses in his mind, but he couldn't make a hasty conclusion. He just hoped to find a breakthrough from Li Mochou.
"Taoist from Zhongnan Mountain?"
Li Mochou went through all the famous Taoists in the Quanzhen Sect of Zhongnan Mountain in her mind, but found that there was no one whose appearance was similar to the person in this painting.
"Did I remember it wrong?"
Li Mochou couldn't help but doubt herself.
"But, I just think this Taoist looks very familiar. What's going on with Brother Mo?"
After thinking for a while, Li Mochou didn't remember who the Taoist was. Instead, Li Mochou confused herself.
"Mo Chou, is it possible that the Taoist's portrait you are familiar with is not this Taoist? If you think about it carefully, have you seen similar portraits somewhere?"
Of course Guo Mo knew that there was a portrait of a Taoist hanging in the ancient tomb at the foot of Zhongnan Mountain. If the mysterious Taoist he saw today was the Taoist he guessed, Li Mochou would definitely know it.
However, Guo Mo had never been to the ancient tomb, so he had to pretend to make random guesses to remind and inspire Li Mochou.
"Oh, brother Mo, if you didn't tell me, I really wouldn't have thought of it. The Taoist portrait you drew is at least 80% similar to the Taoist portrait hanging in my ancient tomb."
"It's just that that person should have been dead for decades. How could Brother Mo draw a portrait of that person? Have you seen his portrait elsewhere?"
Hearing what Li Mochou said, Guo Mo was disappointed in his heart. The mysterious Taoist he saw today was the person he had guessed in his mind.
After confirming this, Guo Mo's heart did not feel the slightest joy. Instead, he became even heavier. However, he could not let others share this burden for him.
Guo Mo still didn't reveal the truth and simply told Li Mochou what happened during the day. He just said that the Taoist must have taken a fancy to Guo'er and Xiang'er's talents and deliberately led them to Mopan Mountain.
As for the Taoist's appearance, Guo Mo didn't describe it too much, and he didn't even say that what he just drew was the Taoist's appearance.
Since the road was blocked by heavy snow, it was impossible to find the fighter planes attacking Mongolia from the north. Guo Mo stayed at Juyongguan for a total of three days and then returned to Changping.
The New Year is approaching, and the road is blocked by heavy snow. Guo Mo and others are unable to attack Mongolia from the north, and it is even more impossible for the Mongols to attack Juyong Pass.
At Guo Mo's insistence, on the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, before the Northern New Year's Eve, brothers Guo Mo and Guo Jing took everyone back to Zhongdu City.
The new palace was still under construction, but the snow was so heavy that many projects were forced to stop.
On such a large construction site, only a few skilled craftsmen are still working, mainly on palaces that have already been built, and the interior of the palace needs final touches.
Of course, outdoor work cannot continue. In the spacious hall, a group of carpenters are already making the furniture needed for each palace in advance.
When Guo Mo came to Zhongdu City, he naturally lived in the original palace first, and even took his mother Li Ping and his eldest brother Guo Jing's family over.
Although Guo Jing felt something was wrong in his heart, he could not defeat Guo Mo. He also knew what his second brother was thinking and wanted to spend a lively New Year with his mother, so he simply refused.
"Haha, Your Majesty, I can come to your place to have a meal again——"
While Guo Mo and his family were having dinner in the main hall, a long-lost voice sounded in Guo Mo's ears, and then two old men walked in from outside one after another.
The man walking in front, with gray beard and hair, but a strong figure and a rosy face, is none other than Cheng Ju, the Minister of Rites, who has been away for three years.
Among all the civil and military officials in the dynasty, I am afraid that only this old Cheng Ju could be so unscrupulous in front of Guo Mo.
As for the person following him, Guo Mo also had some impressions. He had only seen him at the court meeting. If it weren't for the purpose of building a new palace, this person would really not have attracted Guo Mo's attention.
Zhao Jianda, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, was also in his fifties, with dark skin and a face full of bitterness and hatred, but Guo Mo knew that this man was considered a master of arithmetic today.
"Haha, Mr. Cheng, Minister Zhao, I mentioned you just now. I thought we would get together more this year and have a lively New Year. I didn't expect you to come over on New Year's Eve."
"Nantian, go ask the kitchen to bring another banquet. It doesn't need to be too much, just eight exquisite dishes. Brother, how many drinks can we have with the two ministers?"
It was originally a family dinner, so Guo Mo naturally sat at the table with his mother, Li Ping, Guo Jing, Li Mochou, Hua Zheng, Zhang Ting, Yang Guo, Guo Xiang and other family members.
There was another table next to them, but they were the two apprentices Wu Nantian and Haji, accompanied by the third master "Horse King God" Han Baoju, the commander of "Jinyi" Lu Pingsheng, and several captains of the "Jingnan Army".
Cheng Jue and Zhao Jianda arrived, and Guo Mo naturally wanted to come over to accompany them, so he pulled his eldest brother Guo Jing over, and the four of them opened another table on the other side of the hall.
"Mr. Cheng, you and Zhao Shangshu have worked hard over the past three years. I would like to propose a toast to you first -"
As soon as the food and drinks were served, Guo Mo took a glass first and toasted to Cheng Jue and Zhao Jianda.
"Haha, Your Majesty, what's so hard about this? When you captured Luoyang, Lao Cheng went to Luoyang and worked for you as a Sima of Prince Yan's Palace."
"You captured Bianliang, and Lao Cheng went to Bianliang to repair the Bianliang Palace for you. Now that Zhongdu City has returned to the embrace of the Han people, Lao Cheng is here to supervise the construction of the new palace for you. It is naturally his duty to do so."
"However, Lao Cheng is getting older. If you try to conquer a place further north in the future, I'm afraid Lao Cheng won't be able to go. His body is almost falling apart from the cold as it stays in Zhongdu City, hahaha——"
In front of Zhao Jianda, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Cheng Jue showed off his past "glorious history" like a treasure trove.
Even the honest Zhao Jianda was amused by him. He had already heard old Cheng Ju repeat this rhetoric more than once.
It's a pity that he is an old man and what he said is true. It is not easy for Zhao Jianda to argue with him.
"Haha, Mr. Cheng, please rest assured on this matter. Even if we conquer territory further west or north, we will not find a place more suitable for our capital than Zhongdu."
"How can I keep asking you to supervise the construction of the palace? In that case, wouldn't I become a fool like Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty? And you, old, want to steal the limelight of Zhao Shangshu?"
Among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, there were many important ministers whom Guo Mo respected, and there were also many people who regarded Guo Mo as his arms. However, the one who had the most harmonious atmosphere with each other in private was the Minister of Rites in front of him.
Guo Mo's joke made the somewhat restrained Zhao Jianda feel a lot more relaxed.
"Your Majesty, don't tell me. I have benefited a lot from working with Cheng Shangshu to build the palace. I have also been in the Ministry of Industry for many years, and I have some experience in the construction process."
"This time I partnered with Cheng Shangshu, and I discovered that in the past, I was simply building houses, but with Cheng Shangshu's advice, I turned each house into a work of art."
"Hahaha--"
Seeing Zhao Jianda's serious look, Guo Mo couldn't help laughing.
Originally, he thought that the Minister of Industry, except for matters within his own profession, had always been a serious person, but he did not expect that this person who always praised people could be so fresh and refined.
"Your Majesty, don't laugh. Lao Cheng thinks Zhao Shangshu is right. Shouldn't you give an extra salary to the ministers? You don't dare to ask for anything else, even if you give a 'hero drunk' a month,
hey-hey……"
A small New Year's Eve dinner, with the participation of Cheng Jue and Zhao Jianda, created a harmonious atmosphere between monarch and ministers.
During the banquet, Guo Mo made a decision directly, and asked Old Cheng Jue to be responsible for gathering people. It was scheduled to hold a banquet in the palace on the last day of the old calendar, and celebrate the New Year with the civil and military ministers from Zhongdu City and nearby.
…
When Guo Mo secretly went to Zhongdu City, the palace far away in Bianliang City received an uninvited guest.
One windy and snowy night, a man broke into the palace at night. He avoided all the guards and broke into the Funing Palace of the Supreme Emperor Zhao Kuo.
"You are the old emperor who has resigned, right?"
A gloomy questioning sound came, and a figure had already arrived in front of Zhao Kuo's royal book case.
Before Zhao Kuo could react, the old eunuch standing next to him jumped forward quickly, blocking the way between the visitor and Zhao Kuo, and at the same time shouted loudly with his unique voice.
"There is an assassin, come and escort him——"
I saw this person coming, could he be fifty or sixty years old?
The whole body is covered in green, covered with soap, a pair of straight sword-shaped eyebrows, slightly white, holding a snake-shaped crutch that is neither gold, nor silver, nor copper, nor iron, and two bright eyes, shooting out two
The cold light is eerie and terrifying.
Even though the old eunuch was standing in front of Zhao Kuo, his heart felt like it was exploding.
"Who is this person? How come there are so many great masters in the world?"
The old eunuch is also a first-rate expert. Since he was repeatedly defeated in front of "Dongxie" Huang Yaoshi and Guo Mo many years ago, not only has he practiced more diligently, but he has also put more effort into the arrangement of guards around Zhao Kuo.
Except for the old eunuch, there are still twenty-four people waiting secretly inside and outside the Funing Palace, including eight first-rate masters and sixteen second-rate masters.
Among the eight first-class masters, two of them are the old eunuch's direct disciples. They learned the same set of exercises. Because they practiced at a young age, their skills are no less than those of the old eunuch.
The remaining six first-class masters were brought over from the rivers and lakes by the old eunuch at no expense over the years. Some of them were even criminal thieves who were secretly exchanged from the sky prison by him.
When the old eunuch employs people, as long as you have real skills and can swear allegiance to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty from now on, he will never consider the person's background and origins.
Of course, the old eunuch also has his own methods of controlling these masters, which are nothing more than some shameful methods that cannot be put on the stage.
However, nearly half of the sixteen second-rate players were trained by him personally.
Since meeting Guo Mo, the old eunuch's vision has become higher. Kung fu can be taught, resources can be spread freely, and martial arts secrets can also be shared.
However, among so many people he trained, if you have not reached the first-class level, then I'm sorry, you are not qualified to call the old eunuch "master".
Therefore, so far, there are only two people who can call the old eunuch "master".
The old eunuch's ancestor's surname was Cao, and he also gave these two people the surname Cao, and they were called Cao Shan and Cao Hai respectively.
That is to say, in recent years, since Guo Mo became the crown prince of the Song Dynasty, he no longer used special methods to enter and exit the palace, but walked in openly, and no one came to test the depth of the defense around Zhao Kuo.
"who are you?--"
With "Dongxie" Huang Yaoshi and Guo Mo as reference, the old eunuch also knew that the person in front of him was at least a master above the extreme level.
Although he knew he was outmatched, he could only bite the bullet and protect Zhao Kuo.
"Hmph, you are a worthless and indifferent person, do you deserve to talk to me? Tell me, where is that boy Guo Mo?"
It turns out that this person came to see His Majesty?
The old eunuch felt a little relieved. He naturally knew Guo Mo's whereabouts. Anyone could hide Guo Mo's journey north, but he would not hide it from his father, Zhao Kuo.
If Zhao Kuo knew about it, it would naturally mean that the old eunuch also knew about it.
"What do you want from my prince? I see that you are also a master-level figure in the world. Do you have evil intentions at this late night?"
Zhao Kuo heard that this man was looking for his son, and he seemed to be his son's enemy.
At this time, the twenty-four masters secretly guarding outside had all appeared in Funing Palace, and Zhao Kuo asked boldly.
"Humph, I don't need anyone else to judge what kind of person I am. In the eyes of others, you, Zhao Kuo, are the supreme emperor. In my eyes, you are no different from an ordinary trafficker and a pawn."
The person who came here looked very arrogant, but his words were sure to matter. Maybe in his heart, he really didn't like the Supreme Emperor Zhao Kuo in front of him.
"Old man, the palace is not a place for you to run wild, go to hell -"
Among the guards who came in from the outside, there was a second-rate guard who was also a gangster, but he was the most despised thief.
The old eunuch only accepted him as one of the twenty-four bodyguards because of his good martial arts skills. However, he was often looked down upon by the other twenty-three people and ostracized him from time to time.
Seeing such a rare opportunity to perform in front of him, this guard who was a thief naturally did not want to let it go easily.
If you can deal with the old man who broke into the palace at night, wouldn't you be able to show your face in front of the Supreme Emperor?
He would naturally be the first to jump out of the opportunity given to such a person to show his holiness and arrogantly seize the honor.
He didn't say hello to anyone, scolded the visitor, then waved the ghost head sword in his hand and hit the visitor from behind.
"Dang-woo-"
The person who came didn't even look back, and directly waved the snake-shaped crutch in his hand back, which made the guard happy.
The snake-shaped crutch hit the ghost-headed knife. First, the knife flew out, and then the force from the knife knocked the guard away.
With a "pop" sound, he fell outside the door of Funing Palace and lay motionless on the ground.
An enthusiastic guard rushed over and saw that the guard had been shocked to the point of bleeding from all his orifices and was too dead to die.
As the saying goes, money is more important than a servant, but art is more important than a traveler.
Just like that, everyone in Funing Palace was suppressed.
"Cao Hai, go to the harem——"
Seeing this, the old eunuch shouted loudly to a top-notch expert guarding the entrance of Funing Palace.
That was one of his two disciples, he was in his early thirties, and he was the one he thought was the most spiritual and capable person to succeed him.
Unfortunately, so far, Guo Mo still doesn't like to use eunuchs. He was guarded by the "Hu Ben Army" before, but now he directly lets the people from "Jin Yi" use them.
Upon hearing this, Cao Hai flew away, fearing that someone would stop him.
It's a pity that the old eunuch and Cao Hai thought too much, and the visitor wanted them to go to the harem to report the news. Anyway, he came to see Guo Mo, and he broke into Lao Zhao Kuo's place because he was unfamiliar with the road.
"What do you want, your Excellency? If you have a grudge against Mo'er, you can just ask him to fight openly. It seems that your current behavior is not only unacceptable, but also too vicious, right?"
Old Zhao Kuo was also shocked when he saw the person who had just turned around killed one of his guards.
However, after all, he has been the emperor for many years, and he is so majestic. What's more, he is in the palace with so many guards around him.
"Hmph, I've always acted like this, so what if I kill one of your guards? My only son died in Guo Mo's hands. If Guo Mo is not handed over to me, there will be no one left in the palace tonight.
Want to live——"
When the visitor finished speaking, he shouted directly with the energy of his Dantian, which made Zhao Kuo's eardrums buzz.
"Quick, hurry up and escort——"
Seeing that the person coming was about to go crazy, the old eunuch shouted again.
Eating the emperor's salary, being loyal to the emperor, raising troops for a thousand days and using them for a while. Even if you know that the old man who comes here is not easy to mess with, you still have to go all out.
The remaining twenty-two guards, each of them, killed the intruder. However, Cao Shan, another apprentice of the old eunuch, quietly came to Zhao Kuo's side to act as his last barrier.
In the face of absolute strength, there is no saying that two fists can't beat four hands. The gap between the two sides is too big. In the eyes of visitors, these guards are nothing more than gathering feathers for dusters.
He waved the snake-shaped crutch in his hand, whistling in the wind, and suddenly swords flew into the Funing Palace, and corpses fell to the ground one after another.
In just a quarter of an hour, out of sixteen second-rate masters, only seven were left alive.
Of the six top-notch experts who took action, only three were still standing.
"You...who are you? How could you have such vicious methods?"
Zhao Kuo would not be too surprised to say that all these guards were beaten to death by the other side. The problem is that many of them were livid and died of poisoning, and the room was filled with a highly toxic stench.
"Haha, am I poisonous? Then let you, a fool who stays in the palace all day long, see my more vicious methods -"
The snake-shaped crutch was raised again, and at some point, two tiny poisonous snakes appeared on the head of the crutch.
Although the venomous snakes are small, they look very scary. If Guo Mo were here, he would recognize these two snakes as the same species as the venomous snake he got from Ouyang Ke.
However, these two snakes look more like chicks, and the one in Ouyang Ke's hand is the best of these venomous snakes.
"Old poison, stop it quickly——"
A loud rebuke came from the entrance of Funing Palace, and two women floated in one after the other, each holding a sword in their hands.
At the critical moment, it was Huang Rong and Murong Yan who arrived.