The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 170
Dazhai, Hexi.

Commander of the Chinese Army.

The nearly two hours of discussions ended without any resolution, and more than a dozen generals including Hu Yanke and Li Qian resigned one after another.

Guo Wei was sitting in the tent, wearing a thin shirt, his face was gray, his waist and abdomen were wrapped in gauze, and there was faint blood oozing out.

Chai Rong and Wei Renpu helped him get up, slowly moved to the couch and lay down slowly.

During the raid on Pujin Bridge, Guo Wei ignored the dissuasion of the generals and went into battle in person. He led his army to withstand the dense arrows of the rebels guarding the bridge, and then engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the rebels on the narrow pontoon, with sharp blades like a forest and blood intertwined like water. At the end of the night, it was not until the corpses of the soldiers almost blocked the bridge head that the army was able to successfully cross the bridge.

Guo Wei was also injured in this battle, and his abdomen was most seriously injured by the arrow.

"Father is injured, don't worry too much, so as not to aggravate the injury." Chai Rong took a thin quilt and covered him.

Wei Renpu, a black-robed scribe, also expressed relief: "The handsome man can rest in peace and recover from his injuries. Li Shouzhen is already a turtle in the urn, and he cannot escape even if he has wings."

Guo Wei breathed a long sigh of relief, his pain relieved a lot, and said with a wry smile: "Li Shouzhen's defeat is a foregone conclusion. If there is plenty of time, it will not be a problem to surround Puzhou City for a year and a half.

But there are still more than [-] soldiers and civilians in the city. If Li Shouzhen is determined to fight to the end, once the food in the city is exhausted, it will definitely be a purgatory on earth where children will be eaten and hunger will be everywhere!The people are so innocent, how can I bear to let them be implicated?
Outside Qizhou Sanguan, the pseudo-Shu army is gathering. Jiao Jixun and Zhao Hui are short of troops and horses, and they are afraid that it will be difficult to cope with it. If Li Shouzhen is allowed to delay any longer, the Shu army will definitely send troops to harass, and Guanzhong will be turbulent again."

Chai Rong said: "But after days of inspection, we haven't found any obvious omissions in Puzhou City's defense. If we want to conquer it in a short time, I'm afraid."

Chai Rong shook his head. It was almost impossible to capture Puzhou City by force. Instead, it would cause a large number of casualties to his own soldiers. The cost was too heavy and was not advisable at all.

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and said: "To conquer Puzhou City, we can only start from within, attack the heart first, and disintegrate the morale within the rebels. But how to start, I haven't figured out a way yet."

Guo Wei coughed twice, glared at him angrily, and muttered, "Qizhou is in a hurry, and the Shu army will not wait for you to slowly think of a way!"

Wei Renpu pondered for a while and said: "If this is not possible, we can only divide our troops and let Bai Wenke and Hu Yanke lead an army to Qizhou for support."

Chai Rong cupped his fists and said, "If we want to divide our troops to occupy the enemy, I am willing to lead Tianxiong's army to Qizhou!"

"The Tianxiong Army cannot leave Yecheng for a long time. If you go to Qizhou, I will ask the officials to appoint you as the military commander of the Yongxing Army. This matter is important, let me think about it."

The wound hurt faintly. Guo Wei frowned with a look of pain on his face and closed his eyelids tiredly.

"Father, rest in peace. My son and Mr. Wei will leave first and come back to visit later." Chai Rong tucked in the thin quilt and said softly.

Guo Wei nodded and soon fell asleep, breathing evenly and heavily.

The two of them exited the tent, and Chai Rong gave some instructions to the soldiers waiting outside the tent before leaving with Wei Renpu.

"Even though my father is as brave as he was before, he is already in his forties after all, and the injuries he suffered in the early years have recurred from time to time. I would like to ask Mr. Wei to urge my father next time not to take the lead in every war. His safety is far away." It's more important than the outcome of a war." Chai Rong clasped his fists with a solemn face.Wei Renpu smiled bitterly and said: "How can I not persuade him, but the handsome master is always perfunctory, and when the battle is hindered, he can't help but go into battle himself. What can I do! Next time, you can directly bring a few people to stop the handsome master. You can't Let him not cherish himself like this again."

Chai Rongwei said: "As a son of a man, how dare you fight against your father? Mr. Wei is the only one in the army who dares to argue with my father. Please bear with me."

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and said: "Chai Shuai didn't dare to make a move, so he let Wei Mou talk. It's really unkind!"

Chai Rong said with a smile: "Mr. Wei, there is no need to worry. He speaks in front, and I will help him in the back. You and I can be strong and soft, and we can guarantee nothing will happen."

The two looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

Wei Renpu looked around and said in a low voice: "There is one more thing, Mrs. Fu in Puzhou City, Chai Shuai must find a way to rescue, even if things cannot be violated, and Mrs. Fu is at fault, this matter cannot affect Mrs. The relationship with the Fu family."

Chai Rong said: "Sir, don't worry. I have asked Li Chongjin to go to Puzhou City with Fu Zhaoxin to inquire about the news. Zhu Xiu of the Zhangyi Army has also arrived to join Li Chongjin and others. A few days ago, I asked Zhang Yongde to contact him and we will definitely find a way. Ensure Madam Fu’s safety.”

"It's good that Chai Shuai pays attention to this matter."

Wei Renpu nodded, "Now the situation in the court is gradually becoming clearer. Wang Jun, Li Ye and others have surrounded the officials and want to fight for power with Minister Gu Ming. Su Fengji has an enmity with the handsome man and has turned to the officials. Yang Yi has formed his own faction. Shi Hongzhao I support the handsome man, but he is greedy for money and has little plan, so it is difficult for him to achieve anything.

The Fu family had always been friends with Shuai Ye, but this time Li Shouzhen was implicated, and the two families became even more closely united.Fu Yanqing has a wide network of contacts and a high reputation, and he also served as the military governor of Taining, which is a great help for the handsome man in the local vassal town, and the Fu family also needs the escort of the handsome man in the court.Only when the two families advance and retreat together can they be the horns of each other and be safe. "

Chai Rong heard the hidden meaning and said in surprise: "Mr. Wei, do you mean that my father will be in danger?"

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and said solemnly: "Shuaiye is one of the four ministers, so he is inevitably afraid of the officials. If the officials want to gain power, they will inevitably compete with the ministers. Game between kings and ministers has not been uncommon since ancient times. But the officials are cold-blooded, ungrateful and harsh by nature, and because the young man is shallow, once he is instigated by Li Ye and others, I am worried that he will do something crazy!"

Chai Rong's eyes narrowed slightly and he said in a deep voice: "Sir's worries are not unreasonable. When the late emperor was in power, Li Ye wanted to seek the position of Third Secretary, but was blocked by his father. From then on, he regarded his father as a thorn in his side. This man is insidious and cunning, and he will definitely... Use the officialdom to gradually erode the power of the auxiliary ministers."

Wei Renpu sneered and said: "How can Li Ye, a wine bag and rice bag in the market, be able to serve as the third minister? The late emperor was wise and knew this man's virtue, so he ignored him. Li Ye established himself in the court as a foreign relative and gained official status through flattery. I believe that if the officials want to regain power, they will definitely rely on Li Ye, Wang Jun and others. This court battle is inevitable."

Chai Rong sighed: "Sir, don't worry, I will handle my relationship with the Fu family carefully."

The two discussed for a while, and Wei Renpu said goodbye and left.

Chai Rong watched him go away and stood there for a long time, his expression solemn, as if he was deep in thought.

Wei Renpu, a black-robed scribe, was the chief adviser to his father. He always judged the trend of the court accurately and had foresight. In addition, he had been with Guo Wei for a long time and had access to court secrets. The conclusions drawn by his analysis must be credible.

However, Wei Renpu seemed to have many unfinished words, and the ambition and expectation revealed in those words made Chai Rongdu feel a little startled.

Where this foreseeable and inevitable court battle will go, I'm afraid Wei Renpu has already glimpsed the ending.
(End of this chapter)