In the awkward silence, someone spoke softly: "Your Highness, in my opinion, there may be something that can be done about this matter."
"Oh? Mr. Changqing, what do you think?" Guo Xu looked at the staff member who spoke in surprise. His name was Zheng Zhixue, also known as Changqing, and he was one of the many staff members around Guo Xu.
This person usually didn't make much achievements. He was very particular about eating and drinking, but he didn't come up with any good ideas. The other staff were very disdainful of him, saying that he was just here to eat and drink. Guo Xu didn't care about raising more idle people, so he didn't have much
I care. This time when he led the army on an expedition, Zheng Zhixue volunteered to accompany the army. Everyone else thought it was funny, but he insisted on coming, so Guo Xu did not stop him and let him accompany the army. He did not expect him to come up with any good ideas. No.
Thinking that at this moment, when all the staff had no opinions, he actually spoke up.
"Your Highness, when it comes to the matter at hand, I have to point out Your Highness's mistakes. Your Highness may not like to hear it, but I have to say that His Highness's tactic of killing people with a borrowed knife should not be used. This counterinsurgency has seriously damaged His Highness's reputation.
.Your Highness is solely responsible for the current result." Zheng Zhixue said straight away.
"Bold, Zheng Zhixue, what did you say? Who do you think you are? How dare you accuse His Highness Prince Huai like this?" The staff were startled and immediately accused him.
Zheng Zhixue frowned and said: "You guys, things are in your hands. You are also part of this plan. If you hadn't instigated it, how could His Highness Huai have done this? You didn't stop it, but encouraged it. This is how you protect His Highness.
Is it?"
"Zheng Zhixue, don't be presumptuous. You eat, drink, and talk strange things all day long. His Royal Highness, King Huai, courtesy and virtuous corporal, don't care about you, so you can eat and drink here. Now you come to accuse us? How dare you accuse His Highness? Are you afraid?
Crazy." All the staff members shouted with the same hatred.
Zheng Zhixue said: "Am I wrong? His Highness Prince Huai wants to use this rebellion to consolidate his position in the hearts of the emperor and everyone in the court. It is true that for the future battle for the crown prince, he really needs some credit and capital.
But we definitely don’t want to take such a risky route. This can be easily seen through by others, and even if there is no evidence, people will suspect it. It’s just that His Highness Prince Huai is in the game and hasn’t thought clearly. Don’t you guys see it either?
Understand? It is obvious that King Jin and the others have seen through this, so they marched to Xingren Mansion in advance. They can understand, and many people in the court can understand. Not to mention that His Highness's reputation has plummeted this time, I am afraid he will still stay.
The grudge and suspicion in the hearts of the Emperor and everyone is more fatal than the setback in suppressing the rebellion, but you are still here quibbling. It is really useless to support talents like you. If you do not share the worries of His Highness and come up with some bad ideas, what use are you?
?”
"You! Zheng Zhixue, how dare you be so presumptuous in front of His Highness. Now you are here to show hindsight. What were you doing earlier? Why didn't you tell me?" a staff member scolded with red faces.
"I didn't say it? Is it because I didn't say it or because you didn't give me a chance? When you discussed this matter, you completely excluded me. Afterwards, I wrote to His Highness to dissuade you. Your Highness probably even threw my letter into the brazier.
Right?" Zheng Zhixue said angrily.
"His strong words, Your Highness, look, this guy is so arrogant and makes sarcastic remarks at this time. He must be punished severely, otherwise he will break the rules." The staff said to Guo Xu angrily.
Guo Xu was originally full of anger and felt that Zheng Zhixue was really disgusting. But when he saw Zheng Zhixue standing there with no fear, he couldn't open his mouth to rebuke him. This person did submit a letter, but at that time
I wanted to implement this plan wholeheartedly and didn't care about his objections at all. This person felt that he shouldn't do this at that time, which was obviously knowledgeable, and the facts proved this. I shouldn't blame him, but should blame myself.
yes.
"You all should stop arguing. This matter... it is indeed possible that I have not thought it through, and the current situation is indeed my own fault. But I don't want to talk about this now. Mr. Changqing, you said there is a remedy.
I want to hear your opinion, you can speak freely, I won’t blame you." Guo Xu said in a deep voice.
"Thank you, Your Highness. Let me tell you the truth. Your Highness is in an extremely unfavorable situation right now. It is impossible to completely reverse the situation without taking a step back. As the saying goes, the world is brighter when you take a step back. Sometimes, the more eager you are for quick success, the more difficult it will be for you.
Can’t get it.”
"How can I take a step back? Please make it clear." Guo Xu frowned.
Zheng Zhixue said in a deep voice: "What your Highness has to do now is to let the Emperor and the ministers in the court eliminate all suspicions about Your Highness. If the Emperor thinks that His Highness deliberately drove the bandits to fight with the King of Jin, he will be considered to have evil intentions, even if the Emperor takes it seriously."
Your Highness, you will not tolerate you doing such a thing. Therefore, eliminating the impact of this matter is far more important than the credit of suppressing the rebellion."
Guo Xu frowned and nodded slowly. He had not yet realized the consequences of this incident. He was only thinking about the success of the plan and the benefits to himself after King Jin was defeated or died in battle or retreated, but he did not consider the consequences of this incident.
What bad suspicions have been brought into the hearts of his father and the courtiers? If Guo Mian dies in battle, there is no need to worry too much, because even if his father is jealous, he has to pass the throne to himself, the only prince. But now the situation is different.
If his father sees through his evil thoughts, it will not be a matter of ability to suppress rebellion, but a matter of quality. It is absolutely impossible for his father to let a person who intends to kill his brother become the prince. There is no doubt about this.
.
"It's easy to say, how to eliminate it? It's just nonsense." A staff member said sarcastically.
Zheng Zhixue raised his hands and said to Guo Xu: "Your Highness, please let these people go out. I don't want them to gossip around and influence me to give advice to Your Highness. These people are useless. They are only good at sweeping the floor, pouring tea and feeding the horses. They can't do anything else. Your Highness
If they want to listen to my advice, tell them to get lost. Otherwise, I’ll get lost."
Guo Xu couldn't help but smile. This Zheng Zhixue really had a bad temper and actually gave him an order. In normal times, Guo Xu would not allow him to be arrogant, but now, Guo Xu needs to listen to his opinion. The staff cannot be dismissed, let alone
It is impossible to let them feed the horses and pour tea. These people still have some role. But now, it is okay to let them leave.
"You guys go out first. You are all tired. Go and have a rest early. Mr. Changqing and I will have a few words." Guo Xu said to the staff.
All the staff rolled their eyes, but had no choice but to bow and leave. When only Guo Xu and Zheng Zhixue were left in the tent, Guo Xu said in a deep voice: "Mr. Changqing, you can say it now."
Zheng Zhixue sat down on the chair, reached for the wine bottle, drank a few sips, and burped heavily. Guo Xu frowned and held back from having an attack.
"Your Highness, if we want to reverse the current situation, we need to retreat in order to advance." Zheng Zhixue said. "What is retreat in order to advance?" Guo Xu frowned.
"His Highness must still be thinking about marching into Xingren Mansion and snatching the captured bandit leaders and religious bandits from the hands of King Jin. Perhaps he is also thinking about finding out why King Jin's army dared to march into Xingren Mansion and disobey the imperial order.
Do you want to use this to report to the court and find flaws in them?" Zheng Zhixue stared at Guo Xu, as if he could read Guo Xu's mind.
Guo Xu turned his head and looked away, coughed and said: "Don't make blind guesses, I have not made a decision."
Zheng Zhixue nodded and said: "Okay, if His Highness has no such intention, that's all. If His Highness has such intention, I think this must not be done. Since they dare to march into Xingren Mansion, they are fully prepared. Your Highness is looking for
There is no way for them to find a flaw. They will never hand over the bandit leaders and prisoners to His Highness. I am afraid that all the memorials for the victory have been sent to the court. It is too late for His Highness to seize the people with swords. Therefore, it is simply too late now.
No need to consider anything else, soldiers and horses cannot go to Xingren Mansion."
Guo Xu frowned and said nothing.
Zheng Zhixue continued: "What Your Highness needs to do now is to immediately congratulate King Jin for annihilating the religious bandits and making great contributions to suppressing the rebellion."
"What? You want me to congratulate him? Absolutely impossible." Guo Xu said angrily.
"Your Highness, not only must you congratulate him, but you must also immediately submit a memorial to the court. In the memorial, you must also congratulate the King of Jin and at the same time review your own mistakes. In the memorial, you must have the courage to admit that you were slow in your actions and that the recovery of other cities slowed down the attack.
The footsteps gave the religious bandits an opportunity to gather and flee west. Fortunately, the King of Jin's army annihilated the religious bandits, so it did not cause a catastrophe. You have to tell the emperor and the court officials that the credit for suppressing the rebellion lies with the King of Jin, and you have no merit.
It can be said that you will learn a lesson from this matter, and it is best to resign from all official positions and think about your mistakes behind closed doors. This is what you should do now." Zheng Zhixue said solemnly.
"Are you crazy? How can I compete for the crown prince position? I hold my opponent so high, am I crazy? Did you give me this bad idea?" Guo Xu stood up and cursed angrily.
"I want His Highness to do this just to eliminate the Emperor's suspicion about His Highness's slow advance in the army. At the same time, this matter can also show His Highness's generosity. As long as Your Highness does this, the Emperor and the courtiers will no longer have any concerns about the bandits escaping to the west.
When other suspicions arise, they will only think that His Highness has just misjudged the situation. His Highness will not understand whether it is more important to admit a mistake or to be suspected of killing someone with a knife." Zheng Zhixue said softly.
Guo Xu frowned and thought for a moment, then slowly sat down.
"Besides, your Highness, please don't forget. The higher the praise, the harder the fall. This battle is not King Jin's ability. Who doesn't know how capable King Jin is? It was Lin Jue who helped him suppress the rebellion this time. If he hadn't
That Lin Jue, can the King of Jin do such a thing? Just give him credit. It is best to ask Prime Minister Lu to recommend the King of Jin to do things. After making such great achievements, it is justifiable to give him an official position to do things.
But whenever King Jin does something, it will be messy. He is not a person who does things at all. As long as he makes a mistake, there will be opportunities. Your Highness, don't worry about the gains and losses in front of you. It's like gambling, even if I keep losing.
, as long as you win the last game, everything will come back. The emperor's favorite people are those who can do things and are generous and humble. If you take the initiative to admit your shortcomings, you will not only not make the emperor unhappy, but will also make the emperor treat you.
Have a different opinion. This is definitely not a bad thing." Zheng Zhixue continued.
