It was difficult for everyone in the Yuan family to argue with each other, and enmity was forged."
Zhang Lei raised his thumb after a while and said: "Lao Wu, I found that you are quite ruthless. This move kills people invisible. The Yuan family will never be able to reuse it in twenty or thirty years."
Guo Song shook his head, "It's not that I'm cruel, but they forced me. My martial arts skills are a little bit worse, and I was the one who was killed. Since the Yuan family wants to kill me, why should I show mercy?"
Zhang Lei sighed and said: "You are right. In the eyes of these powerful people, killing us is like killing an ant, but we cannot touch them in the slightest. To fight against the Yuan family, I can only support you financially, and nothing else."
I can't help you, so you have to be careful."
"No need for your help!"
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "As long as you take good care of yourself and don't be dragged down by me, I will be happy."
"It's not bad! These Guanlong nobles are all extremely proud, and they all rely on their status. They generally don't bother to take ideas from small people like me. They generally won't do things that would lower their worth."
"That's good. Senior brother, don't forget to go to Xue's house the day after tomorrow and send a post first."
"Don't worry! I can't forget it."
Zhang Lei waved to Guo Song and returned to Jubao Pavilion alone.
Guo Song got on his horse and headed towards Qingxu Palace with his two followers, Yang Jun and Zhao Xiu.
As soon as I arrived at the gate of Qingxu Palace, I saw two carriages parked outside the gate and more than twenty powerful men standing there.
At this time, Senior Brother Li Ganfeng ran out in a panic and whispered to Guo Song: "The Emperor is here. He is in the Golden Body Pavilion and wants to see you. Go quickly!"
Guo Song quickly dismounted, threw the reins to the guards, and walked quickly into the Golden Body Pavilion.
There were several guards standing at the door of Jinshen Pavilion. They knew Guo Song and waved their hands for Guo Song to go up.
Guo Song quickly went up to the second floor and saw Emperor Li Shi sitting cross-legged on the futon, silently staring at the golden statue of Guo Song's master Mu Taoist.
Guo Song slowly walked upstairs, and Li Shi sighed softly: "This is Wang Zhongsi, the famous general of the Tang Dynasty, and now he is the Golden Body Celestial Master. It is difficult to connect the two."
Guo Song muttered: "My master often said that Wang Zhongsi died in the eighth year of Tianbao, and it was Mu Zhenren who was resurrected later. Your Majesty, he is my master Mu Zhenren, not Wang Zhongsi."
Li Shi smiled slightly, "I actually understand what you mean."
"Your Majesty came here specially to see my master?" Guo Song asked again.
"No! I want to go to the West Market and ask you to accompany me."
Only then did Guo Song notice that Li Shi was wearing very ordinary clothes, a fine white satin brocade robe, a leather belt around his waist, and a gauze hat on his head. He looked like a young man from a wealthy family. It turned out that he wanted to pay a private visit incognito.
Guo Song smiled happily and said, "If I accompany your Majesty, these guards won't have to follow you."
"Of course, they will just wait outside the gate of the West Market. It's just the two of us. You can bring two more followers."
"Your Majesty, come ride with me!"
Li Shi stood up and said with a smile: "You can call me Mr. Li."
"As you command, Mr. Li."
Li Shi laughed heartily and followed Guo Song downstairs.
A guard brought a horse. Guo Song and Li Shi got on the horse and urged the horse to go slowly towards the West City. Yang Jun and Zhao Xiu followed behind them, followed far behind were two carriages and a large group of guards.
"I have been looking for my mother, but I don't know her whereabouts." Li Shi sighed softly.
Li Shi's mother was Li Yu's first wife Shen Zhenzhen. She disappeared during the Anshi Rebellion and has always been an unsolved case. In fact, Li Yu found her in Luoyang later, but she did not protect her well. When Luoyang fell again, Shen Zhenzhu disappeared completely. .
There are many theories about her whereabouts. Some say she died in the war, some say she was kidnapped by rebels or Huihe, and some say she became a nun.
In fact, the third possibility is the most likely. The husband married Mrs. Cui as his wife and there was no room for her anymore. She was so disappointed that she became a nun and escaped into Buddhism.
As for being kidnapped, once the rebels or Uighurs know her identity, they will definitely use her to make an issue. This kind of good political resource will not be wasted easily.
It is unlikely that she would die in a war. With her appearance, she would be kidnapped rather than killed easily.
Guo Song pondered for a moment and said: "I guess it is more likely that the Queen Mother is in Kongmen."
"I think so too, but my mother refuses to show up, so there's nothing I can do about it."
Guo Song smiled slightly and said: "Actually, there is no way. It just depends on whether His Majesty will adopt it?"
Li Shi was overjoyed and said, "What can I do, Governor Guo, please tell me!"
"It's very simple. His Majesty issued an edict to order all female nuns and Taoist priests in the world to return to secular life. The Queen Mother knew that His Majesty was looking for her and would definitely stand up and stop His Majesty's behavior."
Li Shi was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Let me think about it."
Guo Song estimated that Li Shi would not adopt his suggestion. After all, the impact would be too great, so he said no more. The two turned to Zhuque Avenue. Li Shi thought of another thing and said to Guo Song: "Jiannan Jiedu Envoy Cui Ning is dead, do you know?"
Guo Song was startled, "I don't know at all, when did it happen?"
"The morning before yesterday, he was shot by a poisonous arrow. It was said that he was a female assassin. In the end, they searched all over the city but no one was caught."
Guo Song's heart moved, and he suddenly remembered that the female assassin who assassinated Yang Zilin, didn't she kill Yang Zilin's son with a poisonous arrow?
"Captain Guo knows about this assassin?" Li Shi looked at his words and noticed something strange in Guo Song's expression.
Guo Song smiled bitterly and said: "I really met this female assassin, and she lied to me once!"
Guo Song briefly told what happened to Guo Song that night, and Li Shi chuckled, "It's understandable that Governor Guo is sympathetic to the beauty and cherishes the jade!"
"Then what should Bashu do next?" Guo Song asked.
"This is what I want to ask you too. You just came back from Bashu and I want to hear your opinion."
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "Cui Ning has been in Shu for ten years, and the army is loyal to him. If the imperial court sends a new military envoy to Bashu, it will inevitably trigger civil strife in Bashu. I personally suggest that the imperial court appoint his younger brother Cui Kuan as the swordsman. As the envoy of Nanjie, he can stabilize the situation in Sichuan."
"How is this person Cui Kuan?"
"This man has low ambitions, a gentle personality, and a relatively upright character. He is deeply loved by the civil servants in central Shu. He has been serving as the commander-in-chief of Jiannan Jiedushi and has relatively strong control over the army."
Guo Song also heard Xue Xun talk about Cui Kuan, but in fact he himself was not very familiar with Cui Kuan.
Li Shi nodded. Han Huang also strongly recommended Cui Kuan. It seems that this person can be appointed after inspection.
Not long after, the group arrived at the West Market.
Although it is the first day of the first lunar month, there are still many shops in the West Market open for business, mainly shops related to people's livelihood, such as rice shops, butcher shops, tea shops, wine shops, etc.
The guards all stayed outside the gate of the West Market. Guo Song accompanied Li Shi into the West Market, followed by two of Guo Song's entourages. The two of them were responsible for leading horses and running errands. The number of guests in the West Market was half less than usual, and they were very crowded.
It's quiet, without the usual noisy and lively shouting, but it's not that business is deserted. There are customers in almost every shop, but not as many as usual.
At this time, Guo Song suddenly had a strange feeling. He looked back from the corner of his eye and saw a gray figure not far behind him, looming like a ghost. He clearly saw the existence of the figure, but did not know it.
What exactly does it look like.
It was Dou Xian who came, and Guo Song immediately understood that this man had become the new emperor's personal guard. It seemed that his martial arts skills were really extraordinary.
"Let's go check out that rice store!"
Food is the most important thing for the people. The first thing Li Shi paid attention to was the rice shop. This was also the main purpose of his leaving the palace today. He asked several people and everyone told him that the price of rice was different, so he wanted to take a look in person.
.
There were only a few people buying rice in the rice shop. Compared with the usual overcrowding, there were indeed a lot fewer people, so there were more waiters than customers in the shop.
A waiter was about to come over, but was pushed aside by the shopkeeper. He saw that the two customers were extraordinary and not ordinary rice-buying customers, so he was afraid that the waiter would offend others by being rude.
"Welcome you two gentlemen to our store!" the shopkeeper said respectfully as he stepped forward.
Li Shi looked at the rice shop and saw dozens of small bamboo baskets. Each basket was filled with grain, and there was a sign on it showing today's rice price.
This shocked Li Shi that there were so many types of grains. Guo Song laughed and said, "There are many varieties of grains and grains, just rice, so they are all separated one by one. Shopkeeper, these are all samples, right?"
"Exactly! One bucket per basket, whichever you like, after paying, the boy will transport the grain from the warehouse behind."
Only then did Li Shi understand. He nodded and walked to a basket of white rice. He saw that this basket of rice had the highest price, eighty cents per bucket of rice.
"What kind of rice is this? It costs eighty cents?"
"Reporting to the young master, this is Suzhou rice, the best rice in the world, with a delicate and waxy texture. The price of Huzhou rice is also the same."
Li Shi got the news that the current price of rice was thirty cents per dou of rice, but it was more than twice as expensive in Suzhou. He pondered for a while and asked: "Is there any rice that is thirty cents per dou?"
"No! The cheapest corn in Longyou is only fifty cents per pound..."
The shopkeeper slapped his forehead and said, "I understand. The young master is asking about wheat. Wheat is thirty cents a dou, which is our cheapest food."
Guo Song asked from the side: "Have you adjusted the price in the past few days?"
"No! From December last year to today, it has been this price."
Li Shi's face became a little gloomy. He knew how the people below had fooled him, using the cheapest wheat price to pretend to be the general trend of rice prices.