Li Yuangong was very satisfied with Gu Cheng's performance, and most importantly, he was very satisfied with Gu Cheng's background.
In fact, the princes of Daqian were a group of people who were ignored in the past. They were the face of Daqian. It would be easy to tell others that as long as you work for Daqian, you will be granted the title of prince and general in the future, and your descendants will be blessed.
In fact, because these Daqian princes do not have a complete inheritance like the aristocratic families, one generation is basically inferior to the other.
For example, the ancestor of Gu Cheng, Marquis Zhongyong, was just an ordinary soldier before, but later passed down the tradition and even his family could not find even a few practitioners.
Let’s take a detailed look at the truly powerful ministers in Da Qian. How many of them were born as princes? None, including Li Yuanxing.
Therefore, most of the princes and princes of Daqian were used as supervisors by the court of Daqian. At least their interests were combined with Daqian, which is very reliable.
It wasn't until Li Yuangong saw Gu Cheng take action in this battle that he realized that in fact, there were useful people among these seemingly useless princes, at least in terms of loyalty.
Looking at Gu Cheng, Li Yuangong waved his hand and said: "No need to be modest, you deserve all this.
Gu Cheng, what do you think about immortality?"
Gu Cheng is actually still in a confused state now because he doesn't know what Li Yuangong wants to do.
If it was just to win over himself and win people's hearts, those few sentences just now should be enough. He actually asked himself about his opinion on immortality, but Gu Cheng couldn't understand it.
So Gu Cheng had to be careful and said: "My strength is low, and I haven't reached this level, so I don't dare to talk about immortality.
But in my opinion, whether it is immortality or anything else, as long as it is something that is beneficial to me, no matter how many people oppose it, I must do it, because the truth is only in the hands of a few people."
Gu Cheng's words are very stupid. What do you mean by doing things that are beneficial to Da Gan? In Li Yuangong's opinion, he is doing things that are beneficial to Da Gan.
And the truth is in the hands of a few people, so who is the majority and who is the minority?
Everyone feels that they are in the minority and that they hold the truth. As the saying goes, I see you all like Dosabi, so I guess you should see me this way.
So Gu Cheng's words were very pleasant to Li Yuangong's ears. A flush appeared on his originally pale face, and he waved his hand fiercely and said, "That's right!
Am I pursuing immortality just for myself? I am also pursuing immortality for the whole Daqian!
In the decades since I have been on the throne, when have I ever done anything for my own pleasure? When have I wasted money on building gardens? When have I been extravagant and extravagant and attracted beauties?
I have worked hard for decades for the sake of the great cause and the imperial court, but in the end I am not satisfied with this outcome!
It has been five hundred years since Daqian was founded, and it has ruled the Central Plains for five hundred years. It has been a long-lived dynasty for thousands of years, but it has also gone downhill at this time.
The barbarians in the north are ready to move, the foreign tribes in the western frontier will have different minds, there will be no peace in the southwest, the rebels and rebels in the southern barbarians will continue, and Liaodong will become a place of its own that listens to the tune but not the propaganda.
There are so many things in this world that are waiting for me to solve, but unfortunately the last thing that waits for no one is time!
I don’t have much time left, but my son is not living up to expectations, and there is no one who can be of great use. How can I safely leave the country in their hands?
So what I seek is not immortality, but the future of the entire Daqian!"
What Li Yuangong said at this time was even more impassioned than Gu Chengdu. Those who didn't know it really thought that he was the kind of wise king who was rarely seen in the ages.
Gu Cheng also lowered his head at this time and followed his words: "It's just a pity that many people don't understand His Majesty's painstaking efforts."
Li Yuangong smiled bitterly and said: "Yes, too many people don't understand me. I am a loner. When I reach my position, I have become a real loner. I don't even have anyone to talk to."
Speaking of this, Li Yuangong suddenly looked at Gu Cheng and said in a deep voice: "Gu Cheng, can I trust you?"
Gu Cheng's heart skipped a beat, and then he said without hesitation: "I, Gu Cheng, swear in the name of my ancestors that I, the Zhongyong Marquis, will be loyal to Da Qian from generation to generation, even to the death!
If you break your oath, let me..."
Before he finished speaking, Li Yuangong interrupted him directly, smiled and said: "Don't be so nervous, I just asked casually, and you don't need to take out your ancestors to swear.
Loyal and brave, I trust your loyalty to the Gu family, so this time, I will also give you a task, a separate secret task, and I hope you can complete it for me."
Seeing that Gu Cheng swore on his ancestors without hesitation, coupled with Gu Cheng's previous performance, Li Yuangong felt very relieved about Gu Cheng at this time. At least his trust in Gu Cheng was higher than that of Fang Henshui and others. of.
Gu Cheng's heart moved, the meat show is coming!
"Your Majesty, don't worry. I will do my best to complete the task for Your Majesty. May I ask what Your Majesty wants me to do?"
Li Yuangong waved his hand, and Chen Gongqing, who had been standing behind Li Yuangong, took out a black box.
Li Yuangong opened the box, and there was a map inside. To be precise, it was a broken leather map fragment. It was already a little yellow and looked very old.
"You have personally experienced the hell realm, and you should know the legend about the immortal tree in it, even though it just became a puppet of the sacred tree, turning into a monster that is neither human nor ghost.
The Immortal Tree originated from the Southwest. In fact, there are many legends about immortality in the Southwest.
In ancient times, the southwest was an endless expanse of mountains and rivers, which gave birth to countless wonderful beings. It can be said that the Central Plains was a barren land at that time, but the southwest was the center of the entire world.
This map was handed down five hundred years ago. It was a spoil of war during the Daqian War. It was obtained after Daqian wiped out a small country called Shu in the southwest. It contains the secret of immortality.
This place is called the Immortal Realm. It is said that someone once entered it during the war five hundred years ago. The immortal took pity on their suffering and gave them the elixir of immortality, which finally gave them immortality.
Although I don’t know whether this legend is true or not, this map was obtained by my ancestors from the Kingdom of Shu from the royal palace of Shu. For it to be so treasured by the royal family of a country, it should not be a fake, and it must be related to longevity.
It's just a pity that there should have been several copies of this map. Although it was not a complete map, it should have been close to half. However, it was lost due to the intervention of local Jianghu forces during the attack on Xishu.
The task I give you right now is to go to the southwest, collect all these maps, find the Endless Wonderland, and bring the elixir of immortality back to me!
But don’t let anyone know about this matter. I will appoint you as the chief inspector of the four southwest counties, and you are qualified to supervise any situation in the four southwest counties. On the surface, you went to the four southwest counties to investigate the rebellion of the Hongye Army, but in fact The purpose is for me to find the eternal fairyland.
I will give you great authority, not only the authority to supervise Yasushi, but also the authority to supervise the military. The rebellion of the Red Leaf Army is related to the military. No one will doubt this.
I heard that you are unwilling to inherit the title of Zhongyong Marquis Mansion because of the massacre within the family.
But don’t worry, when you come back from the southwest, let alone a Zhongyong Hou, Zhongyong Gong will also be granted the title!
If I can live forever, I can lead my army to conquer a huge territory!
It reaches the grassland in the north, the desert in the west, the hundreds of thousands of mountains in the south, and the sea of thousands of miles in the east!
When the time comes, your future as Gu Cheng cannot be stopped by just being a prince, you can even be crowned king with a different surname!"
What Li Yuangong said was so impassioned that even he seemed to believe what he said, with a strange flush on his face.
Gu Cheng lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, don't worry! I will no longer be entrusted by your Majesty to bring you the elixir of immortality!"
As he said this, Gu Cheng sighed in his heart. Li Yuangong was still possessed. Even this failure made his greed and obsession with immortality even deeper.
This map of the Endless Wonderland has been kept in the Daqian Palace for so many years. Why didn’t Li Yuangong think of looking for it before?
Because the chances are slim.
This map was from five hundred years ago, and it was even scattered in the rivers and lakes. Not to mention the difficulty of collecting it, how can we find this thing if it was incomplete even five hundred years ago?
It's not worth it to waste so much energy and make the entire southwest land uneasy just for the sake of the legend of immortality. It's far less reliable than the Immortal Treasure Book that Feng Taisu finally deduced after spending a lifetime investigating and researching it.
But now the most reliable immortality plan has failed, and Li Yuangong is not willing to fail like this, so he thinks about the map of the Eternal Wonderland. This may be his last chance, just like the straw that a drowning man grasps. .
Although he himself knows how difficult it is to pull himself ashore with just a straw, who is willing to give up when there is only such a sliver of hope?
This was the state of mind of Li Yuangong at this time. Seeing Gu Cheng's promise, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Don't worry, I will provide you with conveniences along the way.
You, the supervisor of the four southwest counties, can be said to have a unique position. Even after your supervisory department is disbanded, you don't need to return those people to the Eastern Region, you can just take them to the southwest."
Gu Cheng nodded and said: "Then I will pack up and set off. Your Majesty will just wait for the good news from me."
Watching Gu Cheng leave the palace, Li Yuangong didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, he suddenly sighed and said: "Eunuch Chen, do you think Gu Cheng will succeed?"
Chen Gongqing shook his head and said, "I don't know, but Mr. Gu is considered a blessed general.
He overthrew Fang Zhenhai in Nanyi County and exposed the Reincarnation Sect's conspiracy in Jiangnan County.
It can be said that every place he goes to is very smooth, what if it is so smooth this time?"
In fact, Chen Gongqing's words were just to comfort Li Yuangong and give him a thought.
Even Chen Gongqing himself knew that Gu Cheng basically had no chance here.
But for Li Yuangong, only such a thought can keep him cheering up, otherwise he may not be able to hold on anymore.