Guo Tu was lying on his back on a soft couch, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was still sleeping. He would shake a small fan in his hand from time to time, probably to drive away the heat of the scorching summer.
He seemed to be waiting for someone. Although there was an oil lamp in the tent, it was dimmed by him.
After a while, footsteps sounded outside the tent, and a young man walked in slowly.
But looking at this man, he has a medium build, a thin mouth and thin ears, and blue eye circles, and he looks a little short of energy. There are two slight mustaches under his chin, and he looks a bit shrewd.
Seeing this person walking in, he bowed his hands respectfully towards Guo Tu and said: "Nephew Guo Jian, I have met my uncle...my uncle hasn't rested yet..."
Guo Tu did not open his eyes, but pointed to the chair next to him with the small fan in his hand, and said softly: "Sit down!"
Guo Jian then sat down respectfully, looking extremely respectful.
Guo Tu then ordered his guards to go out and not to come near him without his orders.
After a while, he slowly sat up and looked Guo Jian up and down.
Guo Jian didn't dare to speak, so he had to let Guo Tu look around with his mouse eyes.
After watching for a long time, Guo Tu sighed and shook his head. There was a sadness in his eyes and said: "Jian'er... Alas! When I see you, I think of your brother Guo Hui... He If you don’t die..."
As he spoke, there were tears in his eyes.
Guo Jian quickly raised his hands and said: "Uncle... Brother Hui was killed by Su Ling... My nephew is also very sad... Every time he thinks about it, he sheds tears... .Uncle, please take care of yourself...My nephew said that my nephew is my uncle's biological son!"
Guo Tu
With tears in his eyes, he sighed: "Guo Hui is ignorant and has no skills, and he acts recklessly. He can't blame others for his life. He is really to blame for himself... Even if he is still alive, with his talent, he will have to bear all the consequences." I, the Guo clan, cannot afford the great responsibilities in the future..."
As he said that, he took a deep look at Guo Jian and said, "Uncle is already old. In the future, the heavy responsibility of the Guo family and the position of uncle's clan leader will still be left to you!"
Guo Jian was overjoyed in his heart, but he did not dare to show it on the surface. With a grateful expression, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you uncle for the promotion. Jian'er will serve your uncle and prosper the Guo family and will never break his promise!"
It turns out that Guo Jian is the nephew of Guo Tu. He is good at writing and writing, and is somewhat better than that bastard Guo Hui. Most of the Guo family are dandies, and they are the bigger ones. Guo Tu also knows that his son Guo Hui It was embarrassing for him to take on such a big responsibility, so he focused on training him.
During this expedition, he kept Guo Hui in Bohai City, but brought Guo Jian here. On the one hand, he thought that Bohai City was in the rear, there would be no danger, and his dandy son could continue to enjoy himself; on the other hand, he also wanted to let Guo Jian come with him. Guo Jian gained a lot of experience and broadened his horizons.
But he never thought that Su Ling would sneak into Bohai City and ruin his own son's life.
It would be a lie to say that he didn't hate Su Ling, but at this point, he had no choice but to train Guo Jian as his heir.
Hearing Guo Jian's words, Guo Tu nodded, and suddenly sighed: "Alas... Jian'er has such an ambition, and his uncle is very relieved... However, the disaster in the Bohai Sea is right in front of him, and the Shen family Defeat is only a matter of time. The city gate is on fire and the fish in the pond are affected. It cannot be saved. I, the Guo family,
, I will also be implicated!"
"What! Why did uncle say this? The general has countless generals, more than 100,000 soldiers, plenty of food and grass, and the Qiwei nest is impregnable. Why is it like this?" Guo Jian said with a look of surprise.
"Jian'er, you are still too young and inexperienced... The general said that Qiwei's nest has not been lost, so you believe it? I might as well tell you the truth, Qiwei's nest has been lost a long time ago, and now I The army will not be able to last more than three days even if it is full of food supplies! By then, the general will definitely be defeated like a mountain, and Xiao Yuanche's troops will be able to march straight into Bohai City..." Guo Tu said with deep concern.
"Hiss..." Guo Jian took a breath of air and said tremblingly: "The situation has reached such a bad point? Isn't it irreversible?"
"It's hard to save a deity! It's hard to save a deity..." Guo Tu said with a frustrated look.
"Then... uncle should make plans early!" Guo Jian said anxiously.
Guo Tu nodded and said slowly: "Jian'er, you are young and you don't know many things clearly. Do you know why my Guo family has been able to rank among the four major clans of the Bohai Sea for a long time without declining?"
"My nephew is willing to hear the details!"
Guo Tu nodded, and there was a trace of vicissitudes in his eyes as he said: "The first state pastor of Bohai was not Shen Jizhou, but Han Fu, the Marquis of Bohai, who was personally granted by the imperial court. This man is kind-hearted, to say the least. I am not a weak member of the Guo family... However, in troubled times, how can a person who is too kind survive? How much more a tyrant? At that time, Shen Jizhou was no more than a man and a horse, and he only had the name of the Four Generations and Three Dukes. That's all... He was forced by the national thief Wang Xi to sneak out of Longtai in Kyoto and wanted to attach himself to Han.
just."
"My nephew has also heard about this..." Guo Jian said.
"Although Bohai was nominally dominated by Han Fu at that time, in fact, it was controlled by several families, such as the Li family of Bohai deputy commander Li Chan, the governor Shi Xinping of the Xin family, and the Tian Hanwen and Tian family of Biejia. Of course, there is also our Guo family. But at that time, our Guo family was at the bottom of other families." Guo Tu said slowly.
"It turns out there are still so many powerful families..." Guo Jian sighed in a low voice.
"However, I was already the head of the Guo clan at that time, and my lifelong wish was to carry forward the Guo clan and keep it standing. Therefore, I saw that Han Fu was too pedantic and kind and could not be the leader for a long time, so I decided to abolish Han Fu. Shen's thoughts..." Guo Tu's expression changed, as if he was immersed in the past.
"It turns out to be uncle..."
Guo Tu nodded and said: "The Han family has been in Bohai for a long time, and he has reused Li Chan and others. If we want to develop and gain a firm foothold, we must establish another family and support the new master. Then we can rely on the merits of following the dragon. The clouds are rising straight up!"
"Uncle, you have such good thoughts! My nephew admires me!" Guo Jian said with cupped hands.
"Therefore, I secretly ran around, contacted Xin Ping, the head of the Xin clan, and Tian Hanwen, the head of the Tian clan, and encouraged them to secretly help Shen Jizhou. Shen Jizhou, the fourth and third prince, was far more noble than Han Fu, Tian Hanwen and Xin, in terms of reputation and origin. Either out of Bohai's public motives or hidden selfish motives, he decided to work with me to help the Shen family. Back then, Shen Jizhou even promised that once he becomes the lord of Bohai, our family will be permanently established!"
Guo Tu glanced at Guo Jian and said, "My nephew, this is the first time I have made a bet in my life. Facts have proved that I was right!"
"
But Han Fu, who has also been operating in Bohai for many years, is he really willing to hand over his power?" Guo Jian thought.
"Haha, the current situation cannot be controlled by him! Although Shen Jizhou was in decline at that time, his half-brother Shen Jigao had some abilities and had already occupied Jiangzhou in Huainan. Therefore, the world also called Shen Jigao Shen Huainan .I used all my family’s wealth to bribe Shen Jigao. As long as he agrees to support his brother Shen Jizhou, I will let Shen Jizhou be the lord of the Bohai Sea. If not, I will threaten Shen Jigao to attack the Bohai Sea. Shen Jigao was very ambitious, otherwise he would not have been eager to proclaim himself emperor. In the end, he was a strong man for half his life, and now he is a withered skeleton in the grave..." Guo Tu said with some satisfaction.
"My uncle, a strong man, cut off his wrists and did not hesitate to serve the Guo family. My nephew has learned a lesson!" Guo Jian said hurriedly.
Guo Tu said with a smile on his face: "Compared with the benefits that the Guo family has gained, it is not worth mentioning that such a sacrifice of money! Then Shen Jigao naturally turned to his brother? Although the two had a rift, after all, It is better for my brother to be the master of Bohai than for someone with a foreign surname, and besides, it is hard to resist the temptation of money and silk, so I naturally agreed and let him go immediately."
Guo Tu paused and then said: "I secretly ordered the Guo family to make noise in Bohai City. They also have fields, and the Xin clan came to help. Within a few days, the city of Bohai was full of wind and rain, and everyone said that in the land of Bohai, there should be virtuous people. Should Shen Jizhou take his place and become the master of the Bohai Sea?"
"For a time, the city was full of storms, and Han Fu's civil and military officials were also shaken. Han Fu couldn't control it, so he asked Tian and Xin for advice. We naturally followed the current and persuaded Han Fu to give way to Shen Jizhou. I said more, If we do not give way to the Bohai Sea early, disaster may be imminent.
Let Bohai and General Han still be peaceful."
Guo Tu had a meaningful smile on his face.
Guo Jian nodded repeatedly and said: "Uncle is very clever!"
Guo Tu then said: "So, Han Fu had no choice but to give up the land of the three states on the Bohai Sea to Shen Jizhou. Now, with Shen Jizhou conquering from the south to the north, there are now five states in the Bohai Sea!"
Guo Jian nodded and said: "Then Han Fu will let Bohai be a happy man, so he will have no worries about food and clothing..."
"Hmph..." Guo Tu snorted a few times, then frowned and said: "Jian'er, you are still too kind! Remember, kindness to the enemy is cruelty to yourself! Since you want to seek for yourself, Interest, once the enemy is weak, we must trample him under our feet at all costs! This will never be abolished!"
"My nephew has learned a lesson!"
Guo Tu nodded and his voice became calm again and said: "After that, I joined forces with Shen Jizhou, Xin Ping and others to force Han Fu to become more and more aggressive, but Han Fu could not resist. In the end, I even forced Han Fu to commit suicide. .. ..."
There was a fierce look in Guo Tu's eyes.
"What! It is said in the world that General Han died voluntarily...it turns out..." Guo Jian said in shock.
"You only have one life, but you lose everything after you die? That day, Han Fu held a banquet and wanted to make a last-ditch effort to win over us. The guests at the banquet were me, Xin Ping, Tian Hanwen, and the always loyal As for him, Li Chan was ignorant of current affairs! While he was going to the toilet, I secretly followed him and forced him to kill himself in the toilet. How could he submit? So I took advantage of his unpreparedness and inserted a dagger into his chest. As a result, Killed him!" The cruel look in Guo Tu's eyes
The cruelty is even worse.
Guo Jian turned pale with fright and could not utter a word.
"Nephew, don't blame your uncle for being cruel. If I don't take action, if Han Fu hides his power and bides his time, if he reappears, the entire Guo family will be dead! Since I killed Han Fu, Li Qihua knew that there was something inside, but there was nothing he could do about it. , had no choice but to retreat in shock, until he was plotted by me and other clansmen to force him to rebel. From then on, among the Bohai clan, his Li family was wiped out and no longer existed..." Guo Tu said calmly. .
"But my nephew has never heard of the Xin Ping family..." Guo Jian said doubtfully.
"Haha... Xin Ping is a man who loves success and is narrow-minded. He thinks he has merit by following the dragon. He is arrogant and domineering. He doesn't take Shen Jizhou and other clan members seriously. He is always bossy and arrogant. He was finally defeated by me and other clan clan members. Together, under the orders of Shen Jizhou, the Yi clan! The Xin clan is the second clan to be wiped out in the Bohai Sea."
Guo Tu seemed to show off: "Oh, I might as well tell you that the officer who executed more than a hundred members of the Xin family back then was your uncle and me!"
"I see...my uncle is standing tall in the Bohai Sea, and my nephew is looking up to him!" Guo Jian cupped his hands and said.
"The old Bohai clans, Han, Li, and Xin, were destroyed one after another, and the three families that replaced them, Shen, Guo, and Tian, were closely connected and became the prominent families in Bohai! Of course, how Xu Youzhi's Xu family settled down and later became prosperous is a story for another day!" Guo Tu said calmly.
"However, up to now, the only one that is still standing is my Guo family! My uncle has worked hard and achieved great results through his hard work!" Guo Jian flattered the horse again.
"That's what Tian Hanwen and Xu Youzhi asked for. I
But let's go with the trend. Although the five states of Bohai are big, but so many people want to divide them, the benefits are very small... Tian Hanwen angered his lord by sending troops to attack Xiao, and now he is on the run. Xu Youzhi was even more ignorant, his reputation was ruined, and he became a rebel. Naturally, the Xu family was also liquidated... Only I, the Guo family, became Shen Jizhou's only confidant. To this day, Shen Jizhou treats me He obeyed his advice and never had any doubts, why?" Guo Tu looked at Guo Jian with deep meaning and said.
"This... I'm sorry for my nephew's stupidity..."
Guo Jian lowered his head and didn't know how to answer.
"It's just a matter of finding the right backer and hugging him tightly... Is it possible for Shen Jizhou to be as noble as he is today without me? All his interests are planned by me, and human nature is inevitable. Li, how can he leave me?" Guo Tu said every word.
"That's it...my uncle's words made my nephew suddenly enlightened!" Guo Jian nodded.
Guo Tu didn't say anything, as if he was thinking about something, and after a while he said: "It's just that now our backing is about to collapse...the mountain will collapse and the people at the bottom will die...I have to do it for the Guo family." A family plan, let’s make another bet..."
"What does uncle mean?..." Guo Jian's expression changed and his eyes flashed.
"I have already said that the death of the Shen family is imminent... If he dies, let him die. I, the Guo family, will not be buried with him! Once the backer has fallen, then we will find another one... ..Jian'er, you might as well tell me, who can we look for as a backer at the moment?"
As he said this, Guo Tu looked at Guo Tu with deep meaning.
Jian.
"This..." Guo Jian lowered his head and thought hard.
After a while, he raised his head in shame and said with a wry smile: "My nephew is not very talented... I hope my uncle will teach me..."
"Haha, this thing is difficult to think about, but as long as you do it, it is not impossible... Our backers are far away in the horizon and right in front of us..."
As he spoke, Guo Tu raised a finger, pointed calmly in the direction of Jiuzhang, and said in a deep voice: "Our backer... is right there!"