"What's your attitude?" Guo Song finally got a little annoyed.
"What attitude do you want? I'm very busy and don't have time to chat with you here. You can either give me the report or take it away!"
"You" Guo Song was so angry that his mouth was full of smoke.
At this time, a person walked out of the inner room. When he saw Guo Song, he was surprised and said: "Brother Guo, why are you here?"
Guo Song was also slightly startled. The person who walked out of the room was actually Liu Ji, Liu Yan's younger brother. He met him in Liang Mansion in Lingzhou. Wasn't he the chief historian in Chuzhou? Why was he in the Ministry of War?
Guo Song quickly raised his hands and saluted, "It turns out to be Liu Shijun, long time no see!"
"Brother Guo is here to do something?"
Guo Song nodded and glared at the staff member Wai Lang with dissatisfaction.
Liu Ji understood immediately and smiled at Yuan Wailang: "This is my old friend. You go and do your work. I will receive him."
Yuan Wailang turned around and left. Liu Ji took Guo Song to his official room. Guo Song smiled and asked, "Have Liu Shijun been promoted?"
"I haven't been promoted. I'm still at the lower level of the sixth rank. I was just transferred from Chu Governor Shi to Military Member Wailang. The one who received you just now is Jiang Qian, the Zuo Yuan Wailang. I am the Right Yuan Wailang. Jiang Qian has some troubles at home, so his attitude is not very good.
OK, please forgive me!"
"This has nothing to do with family affairs, right?" Guo Song questioned.
Liu Ji smiled and said, "You just need to understand. This is the custom of the court. Court officials look down on local officials. Most local officials are respectful when they come to the court to do business. They usually bring some local gifts. You come empty-handed like this. What an attitude."
If you are not respectful enough, the court officials will certainly not look good on you, so don't take it to heart, it will be the same no matter where you go to the ministry or temple."
Guo Song was really dissatisfied, but he didn't show it on his face. He handed the report to Liu Ji, "Liu Shijun, you can collect it here!"
"sure!"
Liu Ji took the report, turned it over, and said to Guo Song: "This report is actually related to Anxi. It should be very important. I will hand it to Cui Shilang early tomorrow morning. Please leave an address. If anything happens, the Ministry of War may come to you."
Guo Song was stunned, and after a while he asked: "I'm on a mission to Anxi and Beiting. Doesn't the Ministry of War know?"
Liu Ji shook his head, "At least I know nothing about it. Sending an envoy to Anxi is a big deal, but no one told us about it."
"Will one of your colleagues be responsible for this?"
"It shouldn't be possible. The Ministry of War will have records. Just wait and I will check it for you."
Liu Ji got up and went out. After a while, he came back and said: "I checked all the records and asked several colleagues. No one knows about it. It seems that even our minister doesn't know about it. Everyone is very familiar with it."
I’m surprised, I don’t know where I missed this.”
Guo Song finally couldn't hold back his dissatisfaction and said to Liu Ji: "Although we set off in secret, we got brand new armor and supplies after all, and the emperor named me the governor of the Anxi Protectorate. Even the Ministry of War didn't know about it?
"
Liu Ji shook his head, "If I had known that you were the Chief of the Anxi Protectorate, I wouldn't have called you Brother Guo just now. You really know nothing about your appointment and the mission of the Military Department. You should be stuck in some link above.
Already."
Yuan Zai's pale and hypocritical smile suddenly appeared in Guo Song's mind. No one but him dared to stop what the emperor had told him.
Guo Song nodded, "Okay! Since the Ministry of War does not know about this matter, I will not report it to the Ministry of War. I will report it directly to the emperor later."
After coming out of the Ministry of War, Guo Song quickly left the imperial city. Guo Song felt an unspeakable anger. They had gone through hardships and suffered so many casualties among their brothers, but in the end there was no record in the court.
He didn't dare to say that it was Yuan Zai who was behind the scenes, but he was the most likely suspect.
Guo Song immediately came to Guo Ziyi's house. To be honest, he didn't want to see Guo Ziyi. He couldn't explain Guo Chongqing's death in battle to Guo Ziyi.
But he had to come, it was his responsibility.
After waiting for a moment in front of the mansion, an old housekeeper led Guo Song into the mansion.
When we got to the back garden, we saw an old farmer wearing a straw hat pruning flowers in front of the flower bed. The old housekeeper stepped forward and bowed: "Master, he's here!"
Only then did Guo Song recognize that the old farmer wearing a straw hat turned out to be Guo Ziyi. He was wearing a coarse cloth jacket and a pair of cloth shoes. There was no trace of a Tang Dynasty veteran, and he was clearly an old gardener.
"I heard yesterday that the Western Expeditionary Army was back, and I was still thinking, when will little brother Guo come to visit this bad old man like me?" Guo Ziyi asked with a smile.
Guo Song came forward, knelt down on one knee, and said with tears: "Guo Song is here to apologize to my old master!"
The smile on Guo Ziyi's face disappeared and she asked doubtfully: "Did the mission fail?"
"No! It's Chongqing, I didn't bring him back."
Guo Ziyi was shocked. He stared blankly at Guo Song for a long time. After a long time, he smiled miserably and sighed, "Okay! He died for the country and died a worthy death. I am proud of this child."
A tear finally rolled down his face full of vicissitudes of life. The old housekeeper quickly helped him sit down. Guo Ziyi waved her hand and asked, "How many of you will come back in the end?"
"A total of seventy-five people came back, and the rest are buried in the Western Region."
Guo Ziyi sighed and said slowly: "The casualties were within my expectation. In fact, I also know that I may not be able to come back from Chongqing, but you have completed the mission, right?"
"Yes! I finally lived up to the emperor's trust and completed my mission."
"This is something worth gratifying, and the sacrifice of the soldiers is valuable."
"But the court's attitude is chilling."
Guo Song told Guo Ziyi about his visit to the Ministry of War today. He was very sad, "I don't care whether I, the governor of the Anxi Protectorate, do it or not, but what about the soldiers who have made meritorious service to the country? The soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the country.
What should we do? When will the court give them justice?"
Guo Ziyi pondered for a moment, then said earnestly: "Justice lies in the heart of the people. Don't be anxious. I believe the emperor will definitely give an explanation to the soldiers."
"I heard that the emperor is seriously ill?"
Guo Ziyi nodded, "The emperor has always been in poor health, and it is common for him to fall ill. He is currently lying in bed and does not have the energy to interfere with Anxi's affairs. But it does not mean that he does not care. It is just that everyone hopes that he can rest in peace and recuperate. We don't want to do that for the time being.
Tell him about your return. As for the imperial court, some things are really sad. Some people do not hesitate to harm the interests of the Tang Dynasty for the benefit of their own small group."
"The old man is talking about Yuan Zai, right?"
Guo Ziyi did not deny it, but just shook his head and said: "The emperor has been trying his best to tolerate what they did, but after Yu Chaoen was punished, they thought they were heroes, became more arrogant and arrogant, formed cliques for personal gain, nepotism, greedy for money and bribes, and became more arrogant in government affairs.
You are doing whatever you want, you were ordered to go on a mission to the Western Regions, such an important matter, but they actually dared to hide it from the imperial court."
"What do you mean, Mr. Lao Ling, it was not done by one person?"
Guo Ziyi nodded, "It is a group. The imperial court is called Yuan Dang. Three of the five ministers occupy it. Many important positions in the imperial court are also controlled by them. Your mission to Anxi involves the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, the Shaofu Temple, and the Army.
Qi Jian, Honglu Temple, etc. cannot be concealed by one person alone, they must be a group."
"But why hide it?"
Guo Song questioned: "What good will it do them to conceal my mission to Anxi?"
Guo Ziyi was silent for a moment and said: "Whether or not to recover Anxi has been the focus of debate in the court for decades, so that the Jingbian faction and the Annei faction emerged. The Jingbian faction is supported by a large number of border generals, such as me, Pugu Huai'en
, Li Siye, Bai Xiaode, Ma Lin, Duan Xiushi, etc., we advocate taking back the Hexi Corridor, Anxi and Beiting, and restoring the Tang Dynasty's rule over the Western Regions.
The Anei faction was mainly composed of some Guanlong nobles and a large number of civil servants. They advocated temporarily abandoning the frontiers and concentrating financial and material resources to eliminate the feudal separatism. In the end, they gained the upper hand and the Supreme Emperor supported them. Therefore, why Shuofang's army has always been insufficient in strength? This is actually the reason.
The result of the debate between the two factions.
Now the important figures of the Jingbian faction are dying, retreating, and almost all have disappeared from the court. The power of the court is completely dominated by the Annei faction, but the emperor has shown his intention to regain the Western Regions, and naturally he was attacked by Yuan Zai.
Wang Jin and other An Nei faction strongly opposed it, and your mission to the Western Regions was naturally resisted and concealed by them. This is not because they are dissatisfied with you personally, but because they are dissatisfied with the emperor's intention to regain the Western Regions."
"What about King Lu's attitude?" Guo Song asked again.
Guo Ziyi said lightly: "His Royal Highness King Lu's current attitude is definitely to support Yuan Zai. When he ascends the throne and becomes the emperor, it will be another matter. You must understand what is most important to him now?"
Guo Song certainly understood that the most important thing for Lu King Li Shi now was to ascend the throne. In order to gain the support of Yuan Zai and other important ministers, even if he had the ambition to open up frontiers, he would choose to endure it now.
Guo Song could only sigh helplessly, "I have to wait for the emperor to recover now. There is no other way."
Guo Ziyi nodded, "This is also the advice I give you."
After a pause, Guo Ziyi said slowly: "If you want to fight for fair and just treatment for the soldiers, then I advise you not to act hastily and be dismissed like a beggar by some people. Once it becomes a formal decision of the court, even the emperor will not
It’s not good to change.”
Jiang is still old and hot. Guo Ziyi's last words made Guo Songfan suddenly realize that he almost made a miscalculation. If Guo Ziyi hadn't reminded him, if he went to the court again, he would probably be sent away by Yuan Zai with the lowest reward and pension.
In the end, the court finalized the decision, and even the emperor could not change it at will. How could they explain it to their brothers at that time?
"Thank you, Old Master, for reminding me. I know what to do."
After coming out of Guo Ziyi's house, Guo Song immediately went to the West Market and found Zhang Lei.
"I need some money now, how much can you give me at most?" Guo Song pulled Zhang Lei to a quiet place on the street and asked straight to the point.
Zhang Lei scratched his head and said, "I have to ask my wife, I really don't know, please wait a moment."
Zhang Lei ran back to the shop. After a while, he ran back panting and said: "About two hundred thousand guan, is that enough? If it's not enough, we can take a little more from the jewelry store. Most of our money is accumulated in ten years of sake and jade jewelry."
Up."
Guo Song calculated in his mind, "You don't need so much, just give me 130,000 yuan."
The imperial court was temporarily unable to provide pensions to the fallen soldiers, but Guo Song could not ignore them. A total of 225 people were killed in the battle, and the family members of each fallen soldier were given 500 guan as a pension.
As for the rewards for the seventy-five surviving soldiers, we can only wait for the emperor to recover.