Guo Song took a deep breath and said slowly: "I have lived up to your majesty's trust. After going through ups and downs and bloody battles, I finally completed my mission."
Li Yu nodded, "I didn't know that Guo Changshi had returned to Beijing not long ago. It's just that my body is quite ill and I have been recuperating. I have only looked better in the past two days. I also heard that you and Yuan Xiangguo have some conflicts.
, so I think I should meet you."
"Your Majesty, please allow me to go back and get the original copy of the Western Region Report and hand it over to Your Majesty. I really don't know that Your Majesty will receive you today."
"Go! I just want to take a short break."
Guo Song bowed and hurried back.
Li Yu took a sip of tea. At this time, Li An walked in and whispered: "Your Majesty, I have just received the news. Guo Song resigned from the post of General Ningyuan this morning and gave up his title of Marquis. His Highness the Supervisor has approved it."
.”
"What!"
Li Yu suddenly slapped the table, "How could he do this?"
Li Yu suddenly coughed violently, and it took him a while to stop. He panted and said, "How could the situation become so serious?"
"Your Majesty, I heard that Yuan Zai had decided to remove General Guo Song Ningyuan from his post and asked His Majesty the Supervisor to deprive Guo Song of his title. However, Guo Song took the initiative and resigned."
Li Yu closed his eyes and said bitterly for a while: "This Yuan Zai really disappoints me!"
Li An added: "His Royal Highness the Governor probably didn't want to be caught in the middle, so he approved Guo Song to give up his title."
Li Yu said coldly: "Shi Chaoting, the governor of the Anxi Jiedu Prefecture in Anxi, does not recognize it. The marquis and casual officials who have been granted the title will be deprived of it. Is it true that in their eyes, I am so easy to bully? No one can deny it."
Take me seriously."
"Your Majesty, Yuan Zai has been so domineering for more than a day or two. There used to be a Yu Chao'en, and he was a little afraid to do anything too obvious. Since Yu Chao'en was kicked out, he has basically taken control of the government. Wang
The two prime ministers, Jin and Yang Yan, are his people, so he can guarantee that he will win every time the Zhizhengtang votes. He bends the law for personal gain, appoints nepotism, and makes the court a mess..."
Li An has also been grudged against Yuan Zai for a long time. Taking advantage of today's opportunity, he poured out all his dissatisfaction with Yuan Zai in his heart.
Li Yu waved his hand gently, "I know Yuan Zai's character much better than you do, and I also know clearly the crimes he committed. You don't need to say more. Go and bring Guo Song in. I have something to do."
Find him."
"Follow the order!"
Li An bowed and went out.
For a moment, Li Yu seemed to be talking to himself and asked: "What do you think of Guo Song?"
A slightly hoarse voice came from behind, "This man is not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also very strategic. Even Yuan Zai is manipulated by him."
Li Yu nodded, "You can see it too."
"Your Majesty, he is Xiangzhuang dancing the sword, and he is aiming at Pei Gong."
Li Yu laughed, "That's right. He found that he was trapped by King Zhao and would be jealous of King Lu. In order to cleanse himself of the mark of King Zhao's party, he deliberately attacked Yuan Zai and found it difficult to create opportunities.
I resigned from all my official positions and titles and got away beautifully."
"His Majesty still has profound eyes!"
"It's not that my eyes are deep, it's that he made it too obvious and deliberately resigned from his post. Maybe he wanted to express a certain attitude to King Lu!"
Not long after, Li An reported at the door, "His Majesty Guo Song is back!"
"Come in!"
The door curtain opened, and Guo Song quickly walked in from the outside. He bowed and presented a formal report to the emperor Li Yu, "This is the official report of Wei Chen's mission to the Western Regions. Your Majesty, please read it!"
Li Yu took the report and put it aside, smiling: "This report is too long. I will read it carefully when I get back. Guo Song, I want to know, what are your plans now?"
Guo Song pondered for a while and said: "Wei Chen wants to go out for a walk and see the magnificent mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty."
Li Yu smiled slightly and said, "Can you do me one more favor before leaving?"
Guo Song knew very well that Li Yu summoned him not just to appease him, but also had a deeper meaning.
He quickly bowed and said: "I am willing to serve your Majesty!"
Li Yu nodded with satisfaction, took out a gold box and placed it on the table, "The things I need you to do are in the box. You can go back and take a closer look. Also, is the gold medal I gave you still there?"
When Guo Song was about to take out the gold medal, Li Yu waved his hand with a smile, "No need to take it out, I just want to tell you that that gold medal has many uses. For example, you can form an elite guard of no more than 300 people. It's entirely up to you.
She directs it by herself, like Aunt Gongsun. Why can she build the Hidden Sword Tower? It’s because of this gold medal.
And the Eagle Attack Army under your command, why does it only have 300 people? Why does it exist without records in the Ministry of War? Is it also because of this gold medal? The money and materials you need to form the guard are paid for by the imperial merchants. Do you understand?
!”
"Weichen...I understand!"
Guo Song finally understood that Li An's so-called imperial merchants were actually the private business and fund-raising institutions of Emperor Li Yu. There were no other shareholders at all. All personnel expenses such as Cangjian Pavilion were all paid by Li An.
.
Li Yu said to Guo Song meaningfully: "Sometimes, forbearance and waiting are more meaningful than grudges. You are still young and may not be able to realize it. One day, you will finally understand!"
After speaking, Li Yu stood up to leave. Two eunuchs came in and helped him up. Guo Song suddenly found that there was a man in gray clothes in the room, following Li Yu closely like a ghost, which made Guo Song stunned.
The moment Li Yu left the room, the man in gray suddenly looked back at Guo Song, revealed half of his extremely pale face, smiled meaningfully, and then disappeared.
Guo Song immediately recognized that he was the man in black who stabbed Liang Wu in their duel. If he guessed correctly, this man was Dou Xianlai, who was known as the number one master in the capital.
The emperor Li Yu left. Li An gently patted Guo Song on the shoulder and said: "Although the emperor is not in good health, it does not mean that he does not pay attention to anything. He is clear about everything that happens. He asked you to endure it."
, but forbearance does not mean swallowing one's anger, nor does it mean doing nothing. You have to understand the emperor's deep intention? From ancient times to the present, no emperor will allow his appointment to be ignored or overturned."
Guo Song nodded, "Uncle An makes sense. I want to ask, what is going on in Duobao Pavilion?"
Li An laughed dumbly and said: "You are very smart, not ordinary smart. Duobao Pavilion is indeed the emperor's property. Transferring it to you is the emperor's reward for you. Now, I will not hide it from you. I am in charge of it."
All property belongs to the emperor. This is a big secret. Not many people know about it. You must not tell Zhang Lei."
"I know what I know, and I won't reveal it. Uncle An, I'll leave first."
Li An sent him out of the gate and said to him: "The emperor allows you to set up a guard camp. All expenses will be borne by me. Plan it yourself and give me a list."
"Having borne the expenses of Hidden Sword Pavilion and also having to bear the burden of my place, will Uncle An's burden be too heavy?"
Li An laughed loudly and said to Guo Song: "You underestimate the emperor's financial resources. Do you know how much money I made from my trip to the grassland the year before last? It was a total of 100,000 yuan, not to mention the money I had in my hands.
There are still more than 20 shops and seven or eight imperial mansions, each of which covers an area of thousands of hectares. Will they not be able to support your hundreds of people?"
At this time, the entourage brought the war horse. Guo Song got on the horse and said, "Thank you, Uncle An. I will go back first."
Li An smiled and waved to him, and Guo Song urged his horse to leave the trading house...
Driving slowly along the way, Guo Song slowly calmed down. Looking back on Li Yu's condition today, although he looked sick and was indeed not in good spirits, it seemed too much to say that he was too ill to handle government affairs and must be handed over to King Lu to supervise the country.
If it goes too far, Guo Song can basically conclude that Li Yu is using retreat as an opportunity to advance, and has a very deep plan.
So much so that he remained silent about the various injustices he encountered and looked on with cold eyes. Yuan Zai didn't seem to realize this, and instead went further and further down the road of attacking himself.
Guo Song suddenly became interested in the gold box given to him by the emperor. What kind of secrets would be hidden in the gold box?
Guo Song returned to the Taoist Temple all the way, but there was still some distance away from the Taoist Temple. He saw a dozen officials saying goodbye to Li Ji, turning their horses and galloping away. They did not recognize Guo Song and passed by him.