The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 144

Kaifeng Palace City, inside the Privy Council Office.

A marching map was placed in front of Guo Wei, covering various city passes and fortresses from Kaifeng in Tokyo to Luoyang in Xijing.

Guo Weirushan frowned and stared at the map, his expression slightly solemn.

Chai Rong sat aside and carefully looked through several reviewed documents.

Not long after the new emperor took the throne, the Forbidden Army began to rebuild again, and the military envoys and vassal towns in various places were also reorganized and replaced. Taking this opportunity, Guo Wei asked Chai Rong to study in depth, and from the perspective of the privy envoy, he went there with a vision to oversee the overall situation. Look down and have a systematic understanding of the country's military strength.

Among them, how to balance the resources and power between the Privy Council, the Prime Minister, and the various ministries of the imperial court, how to form the Forbidden Army to ensure the stability of the imperial power, how to cultivate party members, and install and promote cronies without relying on the facts.

Every aspect is a matter of knowledge. Uncle Guo used his years of experience in leading military affairs to train Chai Rong from a strategic height.

Chai Rong knew that the opportunity was rare, so he tirelessly sought advice and did not step out of the Privy Council for many days.

"Da Lang, the Tongguan guard was transferred not long ago, did you know about this?" Guo Wei asked suddenly.

Chai Rong raised his head, thought for a while and said, "I heard a little bit about it. I heard that the former Tongguan guard accidentally broke his leg while riding a horse and voluntarily resigned from the court. Hezhong Festival Commander Li Shouzhen recommended General Dagu Pass to be promoted to Tongguan guard." , Li Shouzhen sent his subordinates to guard Dagu Pass."

Guo Wei nodded, and Chai Rong saw his solemn expression and asked, "Father, do you think it's inappropriate?"

Guo Wei said in a deep voice: "The dangerous pass of Tongguan has always been guarded by generals directly sent by the imperial court. This time, the person recommended by Li Shouzhen was transferred to Tongguan. It was just a temporary expedient. The imperial court has decided to transfer Caizhou Defense Envoy Murong Yanchao to take over as the guard of Tongguan. It's just that Murong Yanchao is still on his way home, and he can only return to Kaifeng in a month or so, and then go to Tongguan after meeting the saint."

Chai Rong smiled and said: "Murong Yanchao is the late emperor's half-brother, and he can be considered half of the royal family. With him in charge of Tongguan, the court can feel at ease."

Guo Wei nodded, shook his head, pointed at the map and said, "Come and see"

Chai Rong stood up and walked aside to sit down. Guo Wei pointed to several dangerous passes near Tongguan and said, "In addition to the change in the general guard at Tongguan, I also received news that Li Shouzhen sent four troops to the Hezhong Army to suppress bandits on the grounds that he had received a request from the Shaanxi Governor to send troops to suppress bandits. Thousands of soldiers and horses were divided into two groups and stationed in the two important towns of Ruicheng and Taolin."

After hearing this, Chai Rong frowned and stared at the map for a while: "The peach groves in Ruicheng are all dangerous passes outside Tongguan that guard the Yellow River. They are like two pliers, one on the left and one on the right. All land and water are under the surveillance and control of the Hezhong Army."

Guo Wei nodded with satisfaction and smiled happily: "What Dalang thinks coincides with being a father."

Chai Rong smiled and said hurriedly: "Based on this, the entire Tongguan defense area is under the control of the Hezhong Army. Whether the gate to the east of Guanzhong is opened or not depends entirely on Li Shouzhen's decision!"

Guo Wei stroked his beard, his tiger eyes flashed, and sneered: "Li Shouzhen, this old boy, I'm afraid he has two ambitions! I remember that the late emperor once told me that Li Shouzhen had great ambition but little talent, and he had to be on guard against it before. He has been requesting the imperial court to add Tongguan to his defense area, but I tried my best to stop it. Now he has come up with many tricks and replaced the pillars, but he still succeeded in taking control of Tongguan."

Chai Rong said: "Li Shouzhen has many gang members, and his disciples' old friends are spread all over Guanzhong and Hedong. Once he has second thoughts, I'm afraid it will be a big disaster!"

Guo Wei said with a smile: "That's why I asked Wei Renpu to go to Luoyang to deliver the order, asking King Linqing and General Gao Xingzhou to stay in Luoyang, and send more people to spy on the news in the river, and at the same time strengthen the defenses in Mianchi and Sanwei Mountain."

Chai Rong said: "It turns out that my father was on guard for a long time. No wonder he ordered Mr. Wei to rush to Luoyang. The boy thought that his father had quarreled with Mr. Wei again and was so angry that he sent him to Luoyang."

Guo Wei hummed: "If Wei Suanru continues to be ignorant in the future, I will have to send him to the frontier." "Haha, my father said it, but I'm afraid he won't let it go." Chai Rong said with a teasing smile.

The father and son chatted and laughed for a while, and Guo Wei said again: "With Gao Xingzhou sitting in Luoyang, no matter how much Li Shouzhen makes a fuss in Guanzhong, he can't make waves. It's just the Hezhong army and the people in Guanzhong. Oh, I hope Li Shouzhen can clear his mind~"

A personal guard in black armor strode from the corridor and knelt on one knee outside the official room: "Commander, I have received an urgent message from Yanzhou Fu Yanqing!"

"Oh?" The father and son were about to set up a chessboard to fight for a few games, but their smiles froze when they heard the report from the guards.

Chai Rong hurriedly took the secret message and waved his guard to retreat.

After carefully checking the sealing paint, he unscrewed the seal, took out the secret letter from the bamboo tube and handed it to Guo Wei.

Guo Wei hurriedly read it carefully, and Chai Rong clearly saw that his father's eyes suddenly shrank, and he thought something was wrong, something must have happened.

"." Guo Wei handed the secret letter to Chai Rong with a strange expression, stroking his beard and murmuring to himself: "I was really right."

Chai Rong became more and more frightened as he watched.

Duke Guo of Wei and Fu Yanqing, the military envoy of the Taining Army, sent a message saying that Li Shouzhen wrote a personal letter to him, inviting them to join in the uprising and attack Kaifeng from east to west to overthrow the Liu Han court.

Li Shouzhen established himself as the King of Qin and promised to establish the world. After that, he made Fu Yanqing the king, and he and the Li family were permanently married to each other and shared the country.

There is also a family letter said to be written by Fu Jinzhan to Fu Yanqing, which also persuades Fu Yanqing to support Li Shouzhen's uprising and persuade him based on the national justice and the affection between father and daughter.

He also categorically said that Fu Jinzhan played an important role in helping Li Shouzhen recruit troops and raise food in Chang'an.

Fu Yanqing knew that a disaster was imminent and asked Guo Wei to help explain to the court. He himself was preparing to go to Beijing to plead guilty to prove his loyalty.

Guo Wei cursed: "Li Shouzhen has rebelled against me, why do you still want to drag the Fu family into the water? Fortunately, Fu Yanqing has a clear head, otherwise the Fu family will follow the chaos, and Kaifeng will be shaken! Li Shouzhen is not a son of a man, he is very bad!"

Chai Rong looked at the family letter signed by Fu Jinzhan repeatedly, and frowned: "This letter was not written by Mrs. Fu! The handwriting is completely wrong! There are too many traces of deliberate imitation!"

Guo Wei took the letter suspiciously and looked at him with suspicion: "How come you know other people's handwriting by heart? Do you two exchange letters in private?"

Chai Rong didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "What did you say, father! You have forgotten that in Cangzhou last year, Ha'er and Lady Fu fought side by side against Yelu Ruan, and they worked together for nearly half a year. Isn't it normal to be familiar with her handwriting?"

Guo Wei patted his forehead and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, I really forgot about this if you didn't tell me. Alas, it's a pity that the girl ignored everyone when she was young and just liked to play with you. Later I went to Yecheng , you two will be separated, otherwise, such a good daughter-in-law, will it be his turn to be Li Shouzhen?"

Guo Wei shook his head with a look of regret on his face. Chai Rong felt embarrassed and hurriedly changed the subject: "Father said it's far away again. It's a big deal, so let's think about how to deal with it first!"

Guo Wei stood at the door of the official residence, overlooking the eaves of the palace and the shining glazed tiles. He smiled calmly and said: "There is no need to worry. The soldiers will come to cover up the water and the earth. As long as Li Shouzhen is trapped and killed in the pass, it is only a matter of time before he is wiped out. This turmoil , the key depends on how the officials decide."

(End of this chapter)