Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 596 Loose
"The emperor in Chang'an didn't treat Guo Ziyi very well, but Guo Ziyi supported him with all his might. Do you know why?" Pugu Yan asked Ren Pen suddenly as he walked on the dilapidated stone road in the city.

"I don't know." Ren Pen said.

"He said that the country is stable and that he is selfless." Pugu Yan said, "His family is a branch of the Taiyuan Guo family, the Huayin Guo family, which owns countless fertile fields in Huazhou. His ancestral tomb is in Fengqiyuan on the outskirts of Chang'an. Therefore, even though he led troops outside and held great power, he never had the intention of separatism."

As he said this, Pugu Yan patted Ren Pen on the shoulder.

"You are still young, don't believe their talk of being concerned about the people of the world and being loyal and brave. People who are involved in political politics may talk about morality, but they only care about their own interests."

"Da Lang sees things clearly. I have learned a lesson."

"I tell you this to let you know that the world-famous Guo Ziyi is also a human being. You don't have to look up to him or be afraid of him." Pugu Yan said calmly.

Ren Pen still listened attentively with his head bowed, and answered "yes" honestly.

In fact, he was not afraid of Guo Ziyi at all. Instead, he felt that Pugu Yan kept saying these things all day long, which made him seem too guilty.

Soon, they arrived at Guo Ziyi's residence and followed Pugu Huai'en inside.

"Mr. Guo."

"You're here." Guo Ziyi was sitting upright, and he stood up and said, "Let's go and hand over the military affairs."

Although everyone knew he was acting, his movements were so natural and smooth that Pugu Huai'en had to quickly step forward to stop him, looking embarrassed.

"Wait a minute, Mr. Guo. The military affairs are not ready for handover yet. They are not ready yet."

"Oh?"

Although Guo Ziyi was a guest, he was calm and composed. He first pretended to be angry and got off the bed, then said with a stern face: "Are you trying to push me?"

"Don't dare."

Pugu Huai'en took out a few letters from his sleeve, which were the intelligence he had recently obtained.

He did not mention that the Tang army took the initiative to attack Shanzhou, but only said: "I learned that the king is going to fight with Dazhalugong, and I am afraid that the court will have difficulty coping, so I want to support him. Unfortunately, Zhongshoujiang City sent urgent news that the Huihe invaded."

At this point, he changed his tone and continued, "The situation is difficult. Pugu Yan is familiar with the military situation in Shuofang. I recommend him to lead the troops to resist the Huihe."

Hearing this, Guo Ziyi sat back on the couch and said slowly, "I was chatting with the soldiers yesterday, and they said that you have given them many rewards since the beginning of the year, and increased their salaries by 10%. You really love your soldiers like your own sons."

"I learned all this from Mr. Guo."

"The food and grass for the Shuofang Army were previously supplied by the imperial court. When Zhang Qiqiu was in office, Li Linfu simply withheld the food and grass, and the soldiers almost mutinied and killed him. At that time, you worked with me to quell the rebellion. Have you forgotten so quickly?"

Guo Ziyi was still explaining the pros and cons to Pugu Huai'en, telling him that there would be no good results if he confronted the court head-on.

Pu Gu Huai En said, "What kind of person is Zhang Qi Qiu? How can his achievements be compared with yours, Mr. Guo? I am afraid he is far inferior to me. I don't ask for much, I just want to find a way out."

There was no point in saying more. Guo Ziyi closed his eyes and rested, thinking that several days had passed and the news from Longyou had already arrived. Why hadn't Du Wulang come yet?

Pugu Huai'en then spread out the map and talked about the current situation. He knew that the Tang army was mainly attacking the Helong battlefield, so he mainly talked about the Uighurs.

"Yidijian did not pursue Yehu, but sent troops to wander around the border of the Tang Dynasty, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity. When he learned that the Tang Dynasty and Tubo had started a war again, he would definitely send troops..."

As they were talking, someone suddenly came forward and reported: "General, Du Wulang is here."

"Which Du Wulang?" Pugu Huai'en was confused.

"It's Du Wulang from Chang'an."

Guo Ziyi seemed to be the master of this place. When others were stunned, he said, "Call him in."

After a while, Bai Yuanguang came in with Du Wulang.

~~
After herding sheep on the grasslands of the Great Wall for a while, Du Wulang became much darker and thinner, and had a messy short beard on his lips, but he looked more calm and capable.

But once he entered the lobby, he was still the one with the weakest aura.

Pugu Huai'en turned his head and took a look, wondering why he was able to escape. There was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, but he did not really give the order to arrest Du Wulang.

This is the difference between when Guo Ziyi is present and when he is not. When he is present, there are rules.

No one spoke. They all stared at Du Wulang. The atmosphere was so depressing that it made people uncomfortable.

After all, there are many things that can be known without saying anything. The reason why Du Wulang can come here is, first of all, that the Shuofang general Bai Yuanguang has defected to the court, and secondly, the Bayegu tribe obviously no longer supports Pugu Huai'en.

The situation has changed and everyone needs to re-evaluate.

"Generals, long time no see."

In the end, it was Du Wulang who spoke first, but he did not accuse Pugu Huai'en of imprisoning him privately. Instead, he said with a smile: "Everyone says that the scenery of Helan Mountain is beautiful, so I went to take a look."

Guo Ziyi also smiled, stroked his beard and said: "Wu Lang is afraid that he will be detained if he returns to Chang'an."

"Haha, Mr. Guo still understands me."

The atmosphere became a little more relaxed. Du Wulang turned to Pugu Huai'en and asked tentatively, "Since Mr. Guo is here in person, Pugu Jieshuai will probably come to the capital soon, right? Why don't we go together? We can visit each other more often in Chang'an, listen to operas, play dominoes, and have fun."

From the moment he entered the door, he has been showing goodwill.

He first stated that he would not pursue the matter of Pugu Huai'en detaining him, saying that he had just gone out for a walk on his own. Then he said that he had returned to Chang'an and would certainly not harm Pugu Huai'en's life.

Unfortunately, Pugu Huai'en did not appreciate it at all.

"Let Mr. Guo know that Du Zhuo was trying to spy on military intelligence and it was me who had him detained!"

Guo Ziyi said: "I remember that your memorial did not say this."

"That's me giving the court face." Pugu Huai'en said with a desperate attitude, "If Mr. Guo wants me to tell the truth, I can submit another memorial to plead guilty and ask the court to punish me!"

After he said this, his face was filled with murderous intent, and he displayed the rude, overbearing, and unreasonable demeanor of a local vassal.

If Xue Bai had only sent some civil servants and eunuchs as envoys, they would have been so scared that they would wet their pants and surrender impatiently when they saw that the negotiations had suddenly broken down. Even though they knew that Pugu Huai'en was just trying to scare them, they would still have to consider the overall situation.

Du Wulang was a timid man. Seeing the bloody mouth opening and closing in front of him, with a strong fishy smell, as if a mad beast, he was so frightened that his face turned pale.

Only Guo Ziyi laughed, pointing at Du Wulang and scolding him: "I know that you said something nice, but it made this barbarian behave erratically."

"The boy knows his mistake."

Du Wulang looked at Pugu Huai'en and said, "Now that we have spoken out, then good. Cao Lingzhong has left Lingwu and is heading for Chang'an."

"so what?"

"The reason you detained me is simply because I was investigating Cao Lingzhong's case. Anxi and Beiting are isolated outside the borders, and it was not easy to send an envoy. You dared to stop them for your own selfish reasons. You have violated the bottom line of the emperor. Just wait for the court to send troops to punish you!"

These words coming from Du Wulang might be enough to scare others, but they are not strong enough to intimidate Pugu Huai'en.

Pugu Huai'en just sneered and said, "My Pugu clan has been loyal and righteous for generations. If the court wants to attack us, just come!"

Du Wulang stopped talking, as he couldn't make a decision for Xue Bai.

The situation now was a bit like when he was a kid and had an argument with another kid. The two of them stared at each other, their heads almost touching, and they shouted, "Fight! Fight!"

In fact, no one wants to really fight.

Pugu Huai'en was the older child. He held his head high and proudly, thinking he saw through the children's timidity and could snatch the candy from the other children without fighting.

But he didn't know that some kids were cruel and crazy.

~~
More than ten days later, Chang'an.

Cao Lingzhong looked up at the towering brackets on the Xuanzheng Hall and slowly walked up the stone steps. Every step reminded him of the vast Gobi Desert and towering snow-capped mountains on his way home.

After guarding the border for many years, when he returned, the emperor had been replaced.

Sitting upright on the imperial couch was a young man, handsome, dignified and full of vigor, like the rising sun in the east.

"General Cao Lingzhong pays homage to the Saint!"

"Get up! You have traveled thousands of miles to return home. You can imagine how difficult it was. You are a hero."

Xue Bai paused, as if he didn't know what to say. This detail showed that he was not an experienced emperor, but it revealed his innermost emotions.

Cao Lingzhong also paused, and a hot tear fell on the carpet in the hall.

He was a man of blood who would not cry even if he died, but he could not help crying today, not because of what the emperor said, but because he had come from Beiting to Chang'an, returned to his homeland, and ascended this supreme palace, which made him so emotional that he could not control himself.

But he still suppressed his temper and said, "I am only following orders, and I cannot bear the praise of the saint."

"Tell me about your experience."

"As ordered, when Anshan rebelled, the imperial court mobilized troops several times and transferred troops from Anxi Beiting..."

Cao Lingzhong first talked about his experience in Yizhou. The Tubo took advantage of the chaos to capture the Hexi Corridor, cutting off all access and the numerous difficulties the Protectorate faced when it could not contact the imperial court.

The lack of food and the fear of losing their daily life are secondary. The most difficult thing is the loneliness and insecurity that these people from the Central Plains feel after being stationed in the Western Regions and cutting off contact with their homeland.

When talking about these places, Cao Lingzhong choked up several times, until he mentioned Feng Changqing's return to Tubo, he reported the news back to the Tang court with hope.

Next, he talked about what happened in Lingwu.

"We thought Pugu Huai'en was a loyal and capable general, and we trusted him very much. But for some reason, he detained us and never let us return to Chang'an. After I requested several times, he let us go, but he asked the guide to take us to the territory of the Bayegu tribe, where we were detained."

"At first, I thought the guide had taken the wrong road. It was not until Du Wulang persuaded the leader of Bayegu to let us out that I realized it was Pugu Huai'en who instructed us. But I didn't know why. After asking, I learned that he was worried that after the recovery of Hexi, Feng Jieshuai and his generals would make meritorious contributions, so he could no longer use his troops to threaten the court to reward his son. I... can't believe it."

Xue Bai asked: "Why can't you believe it?"

Cao Lingzhong said: "It is hard for me to understand how a famous general of the Tang Dynasty could be willing to do such a great detriment to the country for something that might not hinder him."

Xue Bai was silent for a while and looked at the officials of His Highness.

"Did you all hear that?"

"Your Majesty, we have heard everything."

"In this case, pass on my decree and order Pugu Huai'en to come to the capital to apologize within one month." Xue Bai's tone was calm, but it contained a majesty that could not be offended. He added, "If you don't come by the deadline, it will be regarded as treason." Sure enough, a group of officials hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

"Your Majesty? I beg Your Majesty to think twice. This is too arbitrary!"

"Yes, Pugu Huai'en has made great contributions in the war. How can he be convicted of a crime based on just one word?"

Facing these dissuasion, Xue Bai took a firm attitude and said, "How can you be arbitrary? The court has issued edicts to summon him several times, but he refused to do so. Now we are just asking him to come to the capital to defend himself. How can you be guilty of a single word?"

Cui Youfu became very anxious when he saw that things were spiraling out of control.

"Your Majesty! The Tang Dynasty has been in turmoil for years, people's livelihood is declining, and the treasury is not well-off. This is definitely not a good time to raise troops over such a trivial matter. I beg Your Majesty to withdraw your order!"

Even though he was so excited, Xue Bai remained unmoved. He waved his hand and said, "I called you here today to see Cao Lingzhong. If you have anything else to report, we can discuss it later."

After saying this, he withdrew from the court.

The court officials then went to the prime minister to persuade the emperor to calm down.

Afterwards, the officials continued to submit petitions, and Xue Bai seemed to be touched and his attitude softened.

Two days later, when another small court meeting was held, Xue Bai finally became impatient with their nagging and softened his tone a little.

"How about this? Draft two edicts, one for Ma Xiang and one for Yi Di Jian."

When everyone heard this, they knew that the emperor had already made plans for this, and he was only speaking about it now just to appease them.

They glanced at the prime ministers, thinking that His Majesty had to personally deal with such a big matter, but the prime ministers remained silent, which showed that His Majesty was very determined.

Xue Bai said slowly, "The letter to Ma Xiang asks Tubo to hand over all the territories it has occupied in recent years, including Hexi, Longyou, and Sichuan, and to become uncle-nephew countries with the Tang Dynasty again, and to send envoys to pay tribute, and I will withdraw my troops. As for the letter to Yidijian, I can enthrone him as the Khan of the Uighurs, and all he needs is for him to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty."

After hearing this, Cui Youfu immediately understood what Xue Bai meant. It was nothing more than continuing to put pressure on Pugu Huai'en to prevent the war from breaking out, but the fundamental attitude remained unchanged.

"Why would Your Majesty rather negotiate peace with Tubo and Huihe than give Pugu Yan an official position?"

"Because this is not an exception." Xue Bai said: "Feeding wolves with meat, no matter how much meat you eat, they will never be full."

"Can……"

"You don't have to say anything more, Cui Qing. If the imperial court tries to save the situation, but Pugu Huai'en is still determined to rebel, then it's better to start this war sooner rather than later."

Before Cui Youfu could say anything else, Yuan Zai stepped out and spoke.

Yuan Zai also did not want to force Puguo Huai'en to rebel, but his mind had already turned to dealing with the matter of Xingqing Palace. For this reason, he began to express his support for Xue Bai's severe persecution of Puguo Huai'en against his will.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to make regarding the restoration of Xingqingfang."

~~
On the way back from the Bayegu tribe, Hu Luo asked Du Wulang a question.

"How could Wu Lang explain the pros and cons to that leader? It's really amazing. It's not like before."

"That's nothing." Du Wulang said, "I've seen it a lot around His Majesty, so I'll learn it naturally. Just like you, learn some skills this time, so they'll be useful in the future."

"I am just a slave-born child. There is no time for me to use such skills."

"You are like this again." Du Wulang said, "Your Majesty, in the past... In short, as long as you are smart and diligent, you will definitely have a bright future."

He originally wanted to say that when Xue Bai was in the Du family, his status was different from Hu Luo's.

As soon as he said this, he realized something was wrong.

He had never thought about this problem before. Xue Bai was a runaway slave who eventually became an emperor. If this incident was used to motivate the slaves, it would seem that the slaves would think that they could also become emperors, and then things would get chaotic.

At least, if an ordinary person became emperor, he would be very reluctant to mention these past events.

The solution is to deliberately emphasize the identity of "Li Qian" and no longer mention the previous experience in the Du family.

Xue Bai never did this, so the Du family realized it later and never considered this matter.

At this moment, Du Wulang suddenly realized that the Du family might be in a very dangerous position. He always paid attention to self-preservation and knew that since ancient times, many meritorious officials like the Du family who knew the emperor's dishonorable side well had a bad ending.

He couldn't help but think to himself that after returning to Beijing this time, he must persuade his grandfather to retire, and then let his sisters hand over those businesses and keep a low profile in the future.

Now is not the time to think about these things, so he just buried this thought deep in his heart for the time being.

After returning to Lingwu City, he had a talk with Pugu Huai'en, but they failed to reach an agreement, so Du Wulang moved in with Guo Ziyi.

He also revealed the secret to Guo Ziyi in private.

"Mr. Guo, I noticed that if you want to kill Pugu Huai'en and his son, there may be a chance."

Guo Ziyi said: "It seems that your majesty has placed people around Pugu Huai'en."

Du Wulang was greatly surprised, and felt that the old man in front of him was truly an amazing person with a keen eye.

He quickly denied it and said, "What I mean is, doesn't Lord Guo have many old subordinates in the Shuofang Army? With one order, they can capture Pugu Huai'en."

"It hasn't come to that yet." Guo Ziyi asked in return: "Do you know why Your Majesty is determined not to give Puguyan the banner of the governor?"

"I don't want to condone rebellion."

"This precedent cannot be set. Nowadays, all the vassal states in the world are watching Pugu Huai'en." Guo Ziyi said, "If Your Majesty gives in, they will rush to follow suit. Military commanders from all over the country want to become military governors, and military governors want to pass the position to their sons. If Your Majesty kills Pugu Huai'en directly, they will panic, fear the court, and unite to fight against the court."

Du Wulang was in a dilemma and said, "It's neither appeasement nor killing. Then we can only shock or beat them?"

"Yes, it would be best if we could shock them." Guo Ziyi said, "Once the war starts, not to mention the cost of raising troops and food, if any other vassal states respond to Pu Gu Huai En, the consequences will be disastrous. But then again, the court will not be afraid of fighting this war, and if we fight it, we must win."

When he said the last four words, there was a gleam in his eyes.

Du Wulang understood what he meant by "the time has not come yet" and said, "If the war really starts, will Lord Guo take action to capture Pu Gu and his son?"

"How can it be that simple? You should go back to Chang'an."

"No hurry." Du Wu said, "I want to follow Mr. Guo and learn some ways to protect myself."

"You don't want to learn my military tactics and martial arts, but you want to learn this?"

"Yes, Mr. Guo has a deep understanding of the world. I admire him very much."

Guo Ziyi stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "Well, I have figured it out. People say you, Du Wulang, are stupid, but in fact you are wise but appear foolish."

He actually saw through Du Wulang's worries, or rather, he realized the hidden worries behind the Du family's prominence earlier than Du Wulang.

"The foundation of the Du family is that they knew your Majesty's background from the beginning and took great pains to protect and rescue him. It is up to the Du family to dispel the slanderous words of others against your Majesty. Wulang has a long way to go."

After hearing this, Du Wulang was at a loss for a moment.

He understood what Guo Ziyi meant. It was the Du family that should come forward and tell the world that His Majesty was Li Qian from the beginning, not some traitor Xue or some escaped slave.

But what confused him was why Xue Bai had never revealed this meaning?
Perhaps in this way, he would have to deny their sharing of hardships since the fifth year of Tianbao...

In the following days, as news from Chang'an was sent to Lingwu, the relationship between Pugu Huai'en and Guo Ziyi became more tense.

That morning, Du Wulang was still sleeping, but was woken up by Hu Luo.

"Wu Lang, Lord Guo is going to force Pu Gu Huai En to submit."

"today?"

Du Wulang woke up in shock.

Hu Luo said: "The emperor's decree has come, asking Pu Gu Huai En to come to the capital to plead guilty within a month. It took eight days to deliver the decree, and then there was the journey back to Chang'an, which did not leave much time for him to make a decision. Guo Gong said that he went today to save his life."

"This... is it so cruel?"

Du Wulang was very surprised. He got up in a hurry, without washing, and rushed out the door. He happened to see Guo Ziyi preparing to go to the government office surrounded by a crowd.

Looking at Guo Ziyi's calm appearance, it seemed as if the people sent by Pugu Huai'en to monitor him were all his own people.

"Mr. Guo, wait for me, let's go together."

"Okay." Guo Ziyi nodded casually.

Du Wulang asked, "Does Mr. Guo have any instructions? Is there anything I can do?"

"All the moves that should be made have been made. It just depends on what Pugu Huai'en chooses."

"Ah, really?"

~~
"You bastard! Can you scare me?!"

Pugu Huai'en had just finished reading the news from Chang'an and angrily threw the paper in his hand to the ground and stomped on it twice.

He has always been a stubborn person and rarely changes his mind once he has made up his mind.

However, this news caused Pugu Yan's attitude to change a little.

Although the Jiedushi was to be given to Pugu Yan, and he had always been the loudest one, always saying "rebellion", but when the time really came, he suddenly realized that rebellion was not easy.

In addition to the issue of money and food mentioned earlier, Xue Bai's determination to quell the rebellion even at the cost of selling Xingqing Palace was something that a fledgling like him hiding under his father's wings could not compare to. What made Pugu Yan even more concerned was that he really didn't trust Yidijian and Dazhalugong. These people might actually stab him in the back and turn around to cooperate with the Tang court.

Thinking about these things, the troublesome position of Jiedushi gradually became less attractive.

Ye Gong’s love for dragons is nothing more than this.

"Grandpa." Pugu Yan hesitated and said, "How about..."

"Rebellion, right? I know you're anxious." Pugu Huai'en had never said he wanted to rebel, but his attitude remained tough. He said, "If you really push us too hard, we will rebel, but the time has not come yet."

When Pugu Yan heard this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Just as he was hesitating about what to say, Guo Ziyi arrived.

"Go, the swordsmen are ready."

At the last moment, Pugu Huai'en was no longer polite and said to himself: "The court thought that this method could scare me, let them see the real thing."

(End of this chapter)