"Privilege Guo, stay! Privy Guo, stay!"

Guo Wei left the Zichen Palace and wanted to leave the imperial city via the palace corridor. When he reached the gate of Yongxiang Palace, he heard shouts from behind. When he looked back, he saw an eunuch from the inner palace running towards him out of breath, waving as he ran.

shout.

The visitor was about thirty years old, wearing a scarlet eunuch's uniform, and was of high rank. Guo Wei recognized him as Zhang Gui, a trusted eunuch serving beside the Queen Mother.

"It turns out to be Zhang Neiguan." Guo Wei stopped and clasped his fists politely.

Zhang Gui didn't dare to accept the courtesy, so he hurriedly turned aside and gasped: "Privilege Guo is walking like a dragon and a tiger. As soon as he left the palace gate, our family came after him. I couldn't catch up..."

Guo Wei laughed and said: "The military man is very fast-paced and busy going to various government offices to hand over official duties, which really makes Zhang Naiguan tired."

Zhang Gui smiled and said: "The Queen Mother knows that the officials have entrusted Privy Secretary Guo with important responsibilities. Privy Council Guo is about to rush to Yedu, so she specially asked our family to invite Privy Councilor Guo to meet at Kunning Hall to carry out the mission for Privy Councilor Guo."

Guo Wei's heart moved, and the Empress Dowager summoned him. Thinking of what he had to entrust, he hurriedly clasped his fists and said, "I'd like to ask Zhang Naiguan to lead the way."

"Please, Mr. Guo!"

Zhang Gui took Guo Wei along the palace wall and alleyway to the harem.

Along the way, Guo Wei and Zhang Gui were talking and laughing.

Zhang Gui was originally just a minor eunuch in the court of the Later Jin Dynasty. When Liu Zhiyuan was promoted to stay in Taiyuan, Emperor Shi Chonggui of the Jin Dynasty rewarded a group of gold and silver slaves, and Zhang Gui was one of them.

Later, there was a war in Hedong, and Zhang Gui was lucky enough to be rescued by Li Sanniang, and he followed and served Li Sanniang from then on.

Li Sanniang saw that he was well-behaved and smart, and she liked to trust him. Zhang Gui was grateful and loyal to her.

Guo Wei and Zhang Gui were old acquaintances. Guo Wei had a strong personality and only treated people according to their taste. Regardless of their status, Zhang Gui was loyal to the late emperor and the empress dowager, so he naturally gained Guo Wei's respect.

Zhang Gui was also grateful to Guo Wei and did not look down upon him because of his status as an eunuch.

At this point, Li Ye and others were not so polite to Zhang Gui, and only treated him as a lowly slave.

In the Kunning Hall, Empress Dowager Li, who was dressed in plain clothes, sat on an embroidered couch. Her plain face without makeup looked a little pale and haggard.

She was in a daze, as if she was preoccupied.

"Chen Guo Wei pays homage to the Queen Mother!"

It wasn't until Zhang Gui led Guo Wei into the palace and Guo Wei bowed and paid homage that Queen Mother Li woke up with a start, forced herself to smile and said, "Privilege Guo is exempt from the ceremony."

Zhang Gui brought the embroidered pier, served him some fragrant tea, and waited for Guo Wei'an to sit in the hall. Then he bowed and left the hall, gently closing the door. Only two people were left in the hall.

"There are no outsiders in this palace, brother, there is no need to restrain yourself." Empress Dowager Li smiled.

Guo Wei also smiled and said: "I haven't seen you for a month, why does my third sister look a little thinner, but you must take care of yourself!"

Empress Dowager Li smiled bitterly. Ever since Liu Chengyou, Li Ye and others came to visit her that day, she had not thought about food or food. She often woke up at night and was mentally weak. How could she not feel haggard.

"Brother is out on an expedition, and the march is difficult, so we should take more care of him!" Empress Dowager Li said softly, "My little sister is in this deep palace, protected from the wind, not wet by the rain, and pampered every day. It is much more comfortable than my brother's life.

."

"Haha, don't worry, Third Sister. As a brother, even if I am in the military camp, I can still eat one liter of rice, three kilograms of meat, draw a three-stone bow, and wield a sixty-kilogram sword. I have a strong body! I can kill hundreds of people on the battlefield.

The Khitans are no big deal!"

Guo Wei patted his chest and boasted, his triumphant expression was quite youthful.

Empress Dowager Li burst into laughter, "Brother is also a man of great importance, why is he still so childlike?"

Guo Wei laughed and said: "Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer old friends around us. When I see Sanmei, it reminds me of the days when we raced together in Hedong. At that time, we were all young, but now we are all old!"

"Yes, we are all old. Even the late emperor has been gone for three years..." Empress Dowager Li smiled with sad eyes.

Guo Wei said with relief: "Fortunately, the children have grown up. If we old bones work hard for a few more years, we can go back to take care of our old age, entertain our grandchildren, and leave the world to these young people..."

Queen Mother Li opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't say it.

"Third sister seems to have something on her mind? Why don't you just tell her?" Guo Wei looked at her, "Do you still need to be polite to me?"

Empress Dowager Li sighed in her heart and smiled reluctantly: "I feel uneasy when I think that my brother is about to leave for another year and a half. Without my brother in charge of Kaifeng..."

Guo Wei didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "The Khitans are causing trouble in Hebei. I went to Yedu to prepare troops and horses. A big battle should not be fought. It will take up to a year. When the Khitans retreat, I will come back. Kaifeng is more useful here.

Don’t worry, Shi Hongzhao is in charge of the Imperial Army, and Su Fengji, Yang Bin, Wang Zhang and others are in charge of internal affairs. As long as Hebei is stable, there will be no chaos in Kaifeng.”

Empress Dowager Li clenched her hands tightly in her wide sleeves and nodded with a smile. She was too confused to hear what Guo Wei was saying.

"When I go back, I will ask Madam Zhang to come to the palace to visit Third Sister often when she has nothing to do, and to have a good talk with you." Guo Wei said with a smile.

"That's very good." Queen Mother Li smiled, "Brother, don't worry, I have a sister at home to help take care of you."

"Thank you, Third Sister!"

After chatting about the family affairs, Guo Wei said goodbye and left. Zhang Gui saw him out of Kunning Palace.

After a while, Zhang Gui returned to the palace and saw Queen Mother Li still sitting in a daze.

Zhang Gui changed a cup of tea and whispered: "The Queen Mother didn't tell Privy Guo the truth?"

Empress Dowager Li let out a long sigh feebly: "The official is my son after all, how can you ask me to say it out loud?"

Zhang Gui worriedly said: "If Li Ye and others are allowed to surround the officials and make slanderous lies and deceive the officials, I'm afraid it will cause a big disaster!"

Empress Dowager Li wrung her hands together, her face full of confusion: "It's better... let me persuade the officials first. When Privy Guo comes back from Yedu, I will discuss it with him..."

Zhang Gui smiled bitterly, hoping that it would still be too late...

If the officials really take action against Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bing and others, Kaifeng City will probably fall into chaos in an instant...

It was already evening when Guo Wei finished handling the handover matters and left the Xuande Gate of the palace city. Chai Rong led his horse and waited outside the palace gate with his bodyguards.

Just as the father and son were about to cross the horse and go home, another person ran out of Xuandemen, shouting "Guo Gong, wait a moment!"

Guo Wei turned around and saw that it was Wang Jun, the envoy of Xuanhui North Academy.

"Baby, wait at the entrance of Yujie Street." Chai Rong whispered, glanced at Wang Jun with disgust, and led his bodyguard to take a step forward.

Guo Wei turned over and dismounted, clasped his fists and said: "The King's envoy, this is..."

Wang Jun took a breath. This guy was white-faced, beardless, and had a feminine appearance. If he hadn't been wearing a purple robe, one would have thought he was an eunuch who had escaped from the inner palace.

Wang Jun bowed and saluted, and said with a bit of a flattering smile: "Wang Jun, the warden of the troops and horses of the Hebei camp, came here to report to Commander Guo!"

Guo Wei was stunned for a moment and was greatly surprised: "Is it possible that the officials appointed Wang Yuanshi as the supervisor of our army again? It seems that the previous supervisory candidate was not Wang Yuanshi?"

Wang Jun said sarcastically: "Shuai Guo didn't know something. It was a subordinate who recommended himself to the official family and followed Guo Shuai to Yedu."

Seeing Guo Wei looking at him with a strange look, Wang Jun hurriedly said: "Shuai Guo, please don't misunderstand! Last time Guo Shuai went to patrol the border in Hebei, I was fortunate enough to serve as the supervisor of the army and partnered with Guo Shuai. I was deeply impressed by Guo Shuai's magnanimity.

I am impressed and have admired Guo Shuai for a long time!

This time Guo Shuai went north to Yedu, and the lower official wanted to stay with Guo Shuai so that he could have the opportunity to ask Guo Shuai for advice..."

Guo Wei said calmly: "Envoy Wang Yuan, it is better to tell the truth, otherwise I will not agree to your going north with me."

Guo Wei's meaning is very obvious. You, Wang Jun, were previously a member of Li Ye's gang and considered a big boss of the "Emperor Party". This time you recommended yourself to go north with the army. How do I know if you are a spy sent by Li Ye and others?

Wang Jun gritted his teeth, stamped his feet and said bitterly: "Today, Wang will tell Mr. Guo! Last time I came back from patrolling with Mr. Guo, originally the official promised to give me the post of deputy commander of the Longwu Army, but I didn't expect Hou Zana to do so.

The servant suddenly ran back.

Mr. Guo should know that Houzan and I have always had a grudge. This guy just came back and took the position that originally belonged to me. It is really chilling that the officials prefer one to the other!

Compared with me, Li Ye and others must have more trust in Houzan, and they teamed up to exclude me... I can't survive in Kaifeng, so I have no choice but to serve Guo Gong!"

Wang Jun was about to kneel down as he spoke, but Guo Wei held him up.

The grievances between Houzan and Wang Jun were well known to both the government and the public. Back then, the two had a red-faced fight over the distribution of salt profits, and they became enemies ever since.

Houzan's relationship with Li Ye, Nie Wenjin, and Guo Yunming was also deeper than that of Wang Jun. When Houzan came back, Wang Jun felt uncomfortable and was suppressed everywhere.

He felt that he couldn't stay in Li Ye's powerful group, and the officials were lukewarm towards him. Wang Jun was a little disappointed and decided to change his employer.

Naturally, there are only a few auxiliary ministers who can compete with the "imperialist party". Guo Wei usually remains anonymous, but from Wang Jun's point of view, only joining Guo Wei is the most promising one.

Guo Wei understood Wang Jun's thoughts and looked at him with a scrutinizing gaze. Wang Jun accepted it calmly and said seriously: "If Mr. Guo finds out that I have done anything wrong in the future, he can have me executed. Wang will never say anything!"

Guo Wei smiled and slapped him on the shoulder with a thick slap: "What did Wangdu Supervisor say? You are a minister of the imperial court and a supervisor appointed by the government. From now on, you and I must cooperate and work together to stabilize the Hebei defense line."

Wang Jun felt as if his shoulder had been hit by a bear's paw. The pain was so painful that his bones were about to fall apart, but he couldn't help but his eyes were full of joy. After hearing this, Guo Wei agreed to accept him.

"I will obey Commander Guo's orders!" Wang Jun bowed his head to the ground.

"Go back and settle down with your family first, and come to my tent in three days to order something." Guo Wei warned.

Wang Jun respectfully accepted the order, said goodbye and left.

At the entrance of Yujie Street, Chai Rong handed the reins to Guo Wei, looked at Wang Jun's figure riding away, and frowned: "Father, do you really believe this man?"

Guo Wei mounted his horse and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not. Anyway, there is always someone sent by the Supervisory Army. Wang Jun is always better than others who are not familiar with him. As for the future, let's see how he performs~"

Chai Rong nodded. If Wang Jun truly surrendered, it would be a great help to them.

"Come on~" There was a shout, and the father and son led their guards and rushed to Situ's Mansion.

The next day, Guo Wei left the mansion early and went to the Privy Council to gather people to order generals. Chai Rong packed his bags at home.

Naturally, he didn't need to do it himself, as his wife, maids, and a group of personal guards were there to help.

Chai Rong held his youngest son Chu Ge'er in his arms and watched his wife Liu Ehui packing some daily changes of clothes for him in the room.
To be continued...