Fenghou

Chapter 712 Persuasion
Guan Shigu was a little caught off guard by the conversation of Xuanfu envoy Chen Qing. Chen Qing actually asked him to be the military commander. He didn't immediately agree or refuse. He needed to go back and think about it. The appointment came so suddenly that he didn't have the slightest mentality Prepare.

Guan Shigu returned to the mansion with many worries. Guan Shigu's house is an official residence covering an area of ​​about eight acres, and his three-acre private residence was passed on to his eldest son.

When Guan Shigu got out of the carriage, he happened to meet his second son Guan Xiaowen coming out of the mansion. Guan Xiaowen saw his father and hurried forward to greet him.

"Second brother, when did you come back?" Guan Shigu asked in surprise.

Guan Xiaowen respectfully said: "Boy came back this morning, isn't it the New Year's Eve? Boy specially escorted [-] New Year's sheep to Jingzhao."

Guan Xiaowen is about [-] or [-] years old. He came from a prefectural school in Chengdu. He is not good at reading, but he likes farming. He has raised a lot of chickens and ducks at home since he was a child. After coming to Jingzhao, Chen Qing asked him what he likes to do?He said that he likes to raise sheep, so Chen Qing appointed him as the shepherd envoy of the Yuanzhou Group, that is, the sheep officer, a job that everyone is unwilling to do, and Guan Xiaowen did it with gusto.

"Go to my study and ask you something for my father."

Guan Xiaowen followed his father to the study room and stood respectfully aside, Guan Shigu asked, "How are you doing in Yuanzhou?"

"Reporting to my father, the child has done a good job and has a sense of accomplishment."

"Sense of accomplishment?"

Guan Shigu shook his head and said, "Will raising sheep give me a sense of accomplishment?"

"Haier has a great sense of accomplishment. When Haier first took over, there were [-] sheep, and now it has increased to [-] million. Today, Haier sent sheep. Jiang Changshi specially received Haier, and said that the envoy of Xuanfu will come next spring." Going to Wonju to inspect the sheep ranch."

Guan Shigu pondered for a moment and asked: "Do the people of Yuanzhou still remember me?"

Guan Shigu used to serve as a military envoy on the Qingyuan Road, and stayed in Yuanzhou for five years. He had a deep affection for Yuanzhou.

Guan Xiaowen said: "They all remember my father. I often hear some elders talk about my father, saying that they are still very grateful for the Linpeng official road that my father built back then."

"Did you say anything about the present?"

"Yes! Everyone says that father is on the right path, and they all look forward to seeing him again."

Guan Shigu nodded silently, lost in thought.

"What else does the father ask the child?"

Guan Shigu smiled, "It's nothing, you can go!"

Guan Xiaowen saluted and slowly retreated.

Guan Shigu stood in front of the window, looking out of the window for a long time without saying a word. He is only in his fifties this year, and he can still work for at least ten years. It would be a lie to say that he is not eager to return to official career. When he returned to the court, he wrote to Han Shizhong, asking him to help him find out what the court meant.

At the beginning of the year, Han Shizhong wrote back to him. In the letter, he implicitly suggested that he stay in Sichuan and Shaanxi to avoid being impeached. He also mentioned that the officials did not pay enough attention to the generals of the Western Army.

This is still an official who has made great achievements, and an official who once rebelled like him is even less likely to be reused.

Moreover, Han Shizhong said it very implicitly, but his meaning was very clear. If he went to the court, he would definitely be impeached and sent to prison. It was this letter that made Guan Shigu completely desperate to return to the court.

This time, Chen Qing's Northern Expedition to Xixia actually wiped out Xixia, which was completely beyond Guan Shigu's expectation and shocked Guan Shigu. He has been fighting with Xixia for many years, and he is very familiar with the tenacity of the Xixia army, especially the Hengshan Qiang soldiers. The terrain is very familiar, and he is very good at using the terrain to fight, which caused the Song army to be defeated repeatedly.

When Guan Shigu learned about the battle situation, he realized that the Qiang people and the Xixia court had turned against each other, and the Qiang soldiers became an alliance of the Song army instead. When Xixia was at its weakest, they wiped out Xixia in one go.

But no matter what, Chen Qing destroyed Xixia, which shocked him greatly. He began to change his mentality. He was willing to serve Chen Qing loyally and lay a foundation for the descendants of the Guan family.

At this time, he became excited. Chen Qing actually appointed himself as the military secretary and entered the cabinet's internal affairs hall. This is actually the prime minister!
At this moment, Guan Shigu wished he could go to Xuanfu envoy to accept Chen Qing's appointment immediately.

Contrary to Guan Shigu, Lu Wei is listlessly packing his luggage in the mansion. He has been appointed as the magistrate of Xiazhou and will bring a group of officials to his post tomorrow. He will not be able to stay in Jingzhao even during the Chinese New Year.

You must know that he is the magistrate of Jingzhao, and he was actually asked to be the magistrate of the newly established Xiazhou. Next, he should be the transfer envoy of Sichuan and Shaanxi, or such important orders as household deployment and official deployment, but he was relegated to Xiazhou. When the prefect of the state got the news, Lu Wei almost wanted to cry.

At this time, a maid in the yard said: "Master, there are guests visiting outside!"

"Who is visiting?"

"It's Supervisor Zhang!"

"Ah! Zhang Miao is here."

Lu Wei was startled, and hurriedly got up and went out to meet him.

Lu Wei and Zhang Miao had a very good personal relationship. When Ganquanbao was established as a county, Zhang Miao served as the magistrate of the county, and Lu Wei served as the magistrate of the county. The two often quarreled and became friends.

More importantly, Zhang Miao was a subordinate or even a confidant of Lu Wei's grandfather, Lu Xihao. Lu Yihao served as the transit envoy of Hebei, and promoted Zhang Miao, who was shrewd and capable, to be the Xiangzhou support envoy. When he was transferred away, he and Zhou Kuan were entrusted to Chen Qing.

Therefore, although Zhang Miao was very low-key, Chen Qing trusted him deeply and let him take charge of two important organizations, the Supervision Department and the Intelligence Department.

Zhang Miao smiled at the door and said, "How about going out for a drink?"

"Let's go! Go to Ganquan Restaurant, the restaurant where I invested my capital."

Ganquan Restaurant is a joint venture between Zheng Ping, Yang Yuanqing and Lu Wei. Since its opening, the business has been pretty good.

The two found a seat by the window on the second floor, ordered a jug of wine and a few dishes, Zhang Miao filled a glass of wine for Lu Wei, and said with a smile: "Tomorrow we are leaving, this glass of wine is considered to be practice for my brother!"

Lu Wei blushed for a while and said, "Mr. Zhang, can we not go to Xiazhou?"

Holding the wine glass, Zhang Miao smiled and said, "You don't want to go to a chance that others can't win?"

Lu Wei was taken aback, "Why?"

Zhang Miao pointed at him, shook her head and smiled, "You made the same mistake again. Ganquan County's lieutenant was wronged, so the magistrate of Xiazhou also lost his talent?"

Lu Wei blushed, and said a little embarrassingly: "There is no one to explain to me, how can I understand?"

"You don't understand, but you can compare it! Zhang Xiao is second only to Jiang Yanxian among the hundred officials of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Propaganda Envoy. If you want to take up the post of Lingzhou magistrate, do you also feel that he has been demoted?"

"He is special, there is no comparison!"

"He is not special, what is special is the dispatching position, the prefect of Lingzhou and the prefect of Xiazhou, they are not ordinary state capitals, they are changed after Xixia destroyed the country, your important task is to transform Xixia into Song Dynasty, you understand What a difficult thing this is, the Xuan Fu envoy chose to appoint Zhang Xiao and you, which shows the Xuan Fu envoy's affirmation of your ability. If Lao Zhou and I were ten years younger, I am afraid that we would be the magistrates of Xiazhou."

Lu Wei sighed, "The Xuan Fu envoy asked you to appease me!"

Zhang Miao said with a smile: "The envoy Xuanfu saw that you were depressed, and knew that you were slow to react, so let me wake you up."

At this moment, Lu Wei refused to admit that he had something on his mind. He said angrily, "I'm awake! I just don't have confidence."

(End of this chapter)