After coming out of Dongshi, Guo Song came to Yan Mansion. The court was closed today, and Yan Zhenqing should probably be at home.
The reason why Guo Song asked Yan Zhenqing to be a matchmaker was because Yan Zhenqing had promised him in Fengzhou. On the other hand, Xue Xun himself admired Yan Zhenqing's character and calligraphy very much. Letting Yan Zhenqing be a matchmaker really gave the Xue family face.
After waiting at the gate for a while, a man in his thirties came out. He was Yan Zhenqing's youngest son, Yan Shuo. He currently worked in the Secretariat Department, and Xue Xun was his immediate boss.
"Shijun Guo, my father invites you!"
"excuse me!"
Guo Song bowed and bowed, then followed him into the mansion. The two of them went to the outer study room. Yan Shuo smiled and said, "Mr. Guo, please sit down for a moment. My father will be here soon."
This was the first time for Guo Song to come to Yan Zhenqing's house, and also the first time to enter his outer study. It gave Guo Song the feeling that his outer study was where he practiced calligraphy. There was a large nanmu table in the middle, with an upper floor covering.
It is made of good rice paper and the surrounding walls are covered with Yan Zhenqing’s own calligraphy.
Guo Song couldn't sit still, so he simply put his hands behind his hands and admired Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy. The calligraphy was particularly vigorous, powerful and majestic.
"These are all authentic works!" Guo Song sighed softly.
He walked to a piece of calligraphy and was stunned. There were two poems written on it, "There have been talented people from generation to generation, and each has been leading the way for hundreds of years."
This is the calligraphy I originally wrote to Liu Ji. Later, Liu Yan got it. How did it end up in the hands of Yan Zhenqing?
"The calligraphy of the wise nephew has good poetry, good calligraphy and good artistic conception, so I collected it!"
Yan Zhenqing's voice came from behind, "I exchanged three pieces of calligraphy from Mr. Liu."
Guo Song hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, "The Prime Minister is too high-minded to the juniors!"
"Sit down first! Sit down and let's talk later."
The two of them sat down separately, and a maid served them tea. Yan Zhenqing smiled slightly and said: "Frankly speaking, although your handwriting is good, it still lacks a bit of warmth in my opinion. There are many people who can write better than you."
There are many, but why do I only like this one of yours?"
Guo Song quickly leaned forward and said: "I don't know, junior, please give me some advice from the Prime Minister!"
"Because I like you. Among the young people of your generation, including my son, there are probably only a few who can do great things, and you are the leader among them!"
Guo Song was ashamed, "Yan Xiangguo thinks too highly of me, and I really can't afford it."
"I won't comment now, I'll talk about it later."
Yan Zhenqing asked again: "My dear nephew, what do you want from me?"
Guo Song hesitated and said: "Last time during the Prime Minister's trip to Fengzhou, I promised this junior that I would be a matchmaker for me in the future..."
Yan Zhenqing laughed, "Yes, I said, do you have someone you like now?"
"Secretary Provincial Shaoqing Xue Xun's daughter. Xue Shaoqing has promised to betroth his daughter to me."
"good eyesight!"
Yan Zhenqing gave a thumbs up and praised: "The talented girl Xue is so beautiful and smart, she is indeed a good match for you."
"Xiangguo has seen her?"
Yan Zhenqing nodded, "At the request of her father, I tutored her in calligraphy and painting several times last year. The child is very talented. I was wondering who would be lucky enough to marry her in the future. I didn't expect it to be Guo Xian's nephew. No problem.
I will be the matchmaker for you, so have you found the elder you want to propose to?"
"Guo Laolinggong promised this junior before!"
"Haha! Xue Shaoqing is so proud. When does your nephew want me to go?"
"You can do it tomorrow or the day after. It's convenient to see the Prime Minister."
Guo Song took out an exquisite brocade box from his arms and placed it on the table, "This is a token of marriage proposal and a jade pendant for this junior!"
Yan Zhenqing asked Guo Song some more questions, and then happily agreed to propose for him the day after tomorrow.
"When you come to my place for the first time, you can choose any calligraphy and painting you like in this room, and it will be considered as a wedding gift from me."
You must know that Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy is highly prized in the market of the Tang Dynasty. Yan Zhenqing never takes it out easily. His own satisfactory calligraphy is hung in this room.
Guo Song was overjoyed and pointed to the large painting hanging in the middle and said: "If the Prime Minister is willing to give up his love, this junior will want this painting in the middle hall."
There are only four words in this painting on the nave, which are 'compassion for the world'.
Yan Zhenqing was a little hesitant. This was a piece of calligraphy he was going to give to the new emperor. It seemed a bit inappropriate to give it to Guo Song. But then he thought about it. Isn't it true that scholars pay attention to 'if you are poor, you can benefit yourself, and if you are prosperous, you can benefit the world'? It is also to have compassion for the world.
There is nothing wrong with that.
He nodded and said, "If you like it, I'll give it to you!"
.........
After coming out of Yan Mansion, Guo Song stored the calligraphy writing cylinder in Jubao Pavilion, and then went to Guo Mansion. Unexpectedly, Guo Ziyi was not at the house, but in the military camp of the West Inner Garden of Taiji Palace.
Guo Feng told him that his grandfather had not returned home for ten days and he did not know when he would return.
Guo Song had no choice but to say goodbye and headed to the West Neiyuan.
Xineiyuan is located in the north of Taiji Palace. It is entered through Xuanwu Gate. The Xuanwu Gate Incident in the early Tang Dynasty took place here.
Guo Song left the North City from Guanghua Gate. A city outline was faintly visible seven or eight miles ahead. There was the Han Chang'an City. The city was very dilapidated, but there were still hundreds of thousands of lower-class people living there. To the south of the Han Chang'an City was the Forbidden Garden.
It became a military garrison to guard the palace.
The army that defended the palace was originally called Shence Army. After Yu Chaoen established the new Shence Army, the old Shence Army was renamed Beiya Army. The military envoy was Yu Chao'an, Yu Chaoen's brother, General Qianniu Guard.
The brothers were executed, Yu Chaoen's new Shence Army was disbanded, and the Beiya Army returned to its original name: Shence Army, which was no longer the same thing as Yu Chaoen's Shence Army.
There is a question here, what do the left and right guards, left and right Xiao guards, left and right Tun guards, etc. sixteen guards mean?
In fact, the Sixteenth Guards of the Tang Dynasty only had military offices and no military camps. To put it simply, they only had generals and no soldiers. When it was necessary to perform tasks, the Ministry of War dispatched an army to the military offices. After the task was completed, the generals returned to the government offices and the soldiers
Return to camp.
Moreover, the Sixteenth Guards mainly mobilized troops to defend the capital, a total of 200,000 troops, mainly stationed in Bashang and Jingyuan, while the Shence Army was to defend the imperial palace and was a forbidden army stationed in the West Neiyuan.
The Shence Army currently consists of 30,000 elite troops, which are subdivided into the left and right Shenwu Army, the left and right Yulin Army, and the left and right Longwu Army. Each army has 5,000 people. It is known as the Sixth Army of Beiya in history. The commander is the Shence Army Envoy.
This is the real person with real power in the army. Currently, the Shence Army Envoy is concurrently held by Wang Jiahe, the Minister of War.
But on the eve of Prince Li Shi's accession to the throne, the military power of the Shence Army was temporarily handed over to the veteran general Guo Ziyi.
Guo Ziyi is currently serving as the military envoy of Gyeonggi Province and controlling the Shence Army. This means that he not only controls the 200,000 troops guarding the capital, but also controls the 30,000 Shence Army guarding the palace.
Guo Song was led into the military camp, and went all the way to the commander's tent. Some soldiers went in to report, and after a while they came out and said: "Old general, please let me in!"
Guo Song walked into the tent and saw Guo Ziyi wearing a golden helmet and golden armor. Although he was old, he was still majestic and had the aura of an old tiger.
"Junior, see my old master!" Guo Song stepped forward and bowed.
Guo Ziyi asked with a smile: "When did you come back?"
"I just came back this morning. I went to the Guo Mansion in the afternoon and learned that the old prince was in the military camp."
Guo Ziyi smiled and nodded, "It looks like you want me to help you propose. Am I right?"
Guo Song nodded sheepishly, "If the old man is too busy, I can find someone else."
"Nonsense! Your marriage is a matter of the Guo family, how can you leave it to others?"
Guo Ziyi stroked her beard and thought for a while and said: "Let's do this! I will be the witness, and leave the errands to Guo Ying, the oldest child. He is relatively free and is very good at marriage customs. He has been the one to propose marriage proposals for several grandchildren.
"
Guo Song said quickly: "I asked Yan Xiangguo to be the matchmaker. He will come to Xue Mansion the day after tomorrow to be a matchmaker. It's best to communicate first."
"I'll write you a letter. You go back and give it to Guo Ying. You don't have to worry about the rest. You're a pitiful little guy. You have no parents and you have to do everything by yourself. Hey! If your master still
In fact, it would be good."
Guo Ziyi wrote a letter and handed it to Guo Song.
Guo Song was about to leave, but Guo Ziyi stopped him again.
"Do you have any other instructions from me?"
Guo Ziyi pondered for a while and said: "I talked about you with Xinjun before, and he praised you for your ability to see the overall situation very accurately. In fact, the late emperor planned to appoint you as the governor of Ganzhou, but the late emperor unfortunately fell ill again, and your appointment was delayed.
, but the situation in the Hexi Corridor is not good now. Shatuo has massively increased its troops in Suzhou. I heard that Shatuo has also been occupied by Shatuo's army, so the new emperor decided to let you serve as the governor of Ganzhou."
"When does the emperor plan to let me take office?" Guo Song asked.
"The road there is now blocked by heavy snow, and there have been several blizzards this year. You can't get through it now. You have to wait until spring next year, and the court decides to increase troops in Ganzhou. If you have nothing to do during this period, I will ask the emperor to ask you to
Temporarily serve as my deputy envoy and select 10,000 troops for training in preparation for going to Ganzhou in the spring."
Guo Song nodded silently. In fact, he also guessed that the emperor would most likely ask him to go to the Hexi Corridor.