Contract Prince

Chapter 102 Bickering

Lu Cong is white tonight, and the moon is bright in my hometown.No matter how round and beautiful the moon outside the Great Wall is, it is not as good as the one in my hometown after all.Every time Gu Wei stood under the moonlight of the frontier fortress, his nostalgia for his hometown increased.Since the Western Expedition, he has always been concerned about Gu Yunjing's body.He really wanted to write to his "son" to ask about his current situation.

However, the distance is long and the war is tight, so it is really difficult to send a letter back and forth.Therefore, Gu Wei could only hide his homesickness and relatives in his heart.This time, he asked the soldiers Babaili to send a letter to the imperial court urgently, and brought back a letter from home by the way.

Gu Yunjing slowly opened the envelope and read the words on the letter.

"My son Yunjing, how is your health? I fought for my father outside the Great Wall, and I was invincible on the battlefield. However, when there is no one at night, I often think of my son.  … For my father, I should lead the army to fight the enemy bravely." , Drive the enemy thousands of miles away, and return the frontier to peace. When you return in triumph, it will be the day when you and my father and son are reunited. For the sake of father's health, my son will not miss it."

Looking at these contents, Gu Yunjing's father appeared in his mind, and his father's earnest teaching before leaving echoed in his ears.

"Gu Zhong, where is the sender?" Gu Yunjing folded the letter and said, "I'll write a letter to my father right now, and let the messenger take it along."

Gu Zhong replied: "Your Majesty, after the messenger gave me the letter, he went straight to the palace, eight hundred li to send the urgent report to His Majesty."

"It seems that the main purpose is to send an urgent report to the imperial court. My father should have sent him a message back home." Gu Yunjing knew Gu Wei better than anyone else, and his father would never waste a soldier's physical strength in vain. Sending letters home.

She pondered for a while, and then said, "Eight hundred li is urgent, but did something important happen at the border?"

"I don't know about that." Gu Zhong still knew the rules, he shook his head, "I'm a servant, so I don't want to talk too much about the military."

Gu Wei is the Grand Marshal of the Army and Horses, who is fully in charge of the Western Expedition.It is not only related to the army, but also related to my father. The so-called father-daughter connection is of course also related to Gu Yunjing.

Gu Yunjing thought about it: "Since it is eight hundred miles to expedite, it is definitely a very important matter. The Western Expeditionary Army rushed to the outside of the Great Wall, and more than 5 people fought against Xiliang for a year. Expedition is a very difficult thing, especially It is when the backup such as food and grass cannot keep up. Presumably my father is asking the court for help."

When it came to asking for help for food and grass, Gu Yunjing couldn't help feeling worried.In recent years, the emperor has been extravagant, and all the officials have followed suit, taking pride in luxury.As a result, the imperial court's financial resources are declining at a visible speed.Take for example not long ago, Xiao Guan still wanted to go to Fengchan Taishan. In the eyes of this emperor, the lives of soldiers were far less important than his personal enjoyment.

Outside the mountains, the green hills and the buildings outside the buildings, when will the singing and dancing in the capital stop?Such an emperor, such a court, how can they expect to provide food and grass to support the army?

Gu Yunjing said to Xiao Muxue: "Xue'er, according to Father's current temperament, I'm afraid he won't be so easy to provide financial resources or materials to support the army. I'm afraid you have to come forward and talk about this matter."

For the sake of the stability of the court, the Marquis of Zhenyuan did not hesitate to die, and the Gu family army did not hesitate to go thousands of miles to fight against Xiliang in order to keep the frontiers safe.In Xiao Muxue's heart, they are all truly upright men.If her father ignored tens of thousands of bloody soldiers for personal enjoyment, Xiao Muxue couldn't stand it.Even without Gu Yunjing's reminder, she would strongly advise Xiao Guan.

Xiao Muxue said: "I understand, I will definitely try my best to persuade Father."

.........

in the palace.

After Xiao Guan received Gu Wei's [-]-mile urgent memorial, his mood was delicate and complicated.Logically speaking, the army's food and grass are not enough, so it is a matter of course for the court to provide assistance.But once the aid comes, his plan for the southern tour will be ruined.Xiao Guan has heard of many beauties in the south of the Yangtze River, and this tour is to fill the harem.

Although there are countless harems and beauties like clouds, as an emperor, he always has an infinite desire for women.Even if he got all the beauties in the world, Xiao Guan would not feel much.

Xiao Guan is lustful and extravagant, but he is not completely fatuous.On the one hand, he wanted to support the front line, and on the other hand, he really wanted to tour the south.However, both cannot be achieved at the same time, because the current financial resources of the imperial court are limited.So Xiao Guan was very entangled.

Several important officials of the imperial court gathered in the imperial study room, represented by Li Chaochen, the Prime Minister of the Right, and Qin She, the Hussar General.The two of them didn't get along in the first place, and it was common for them to blush because of disagreements in court.At this time, they started a heated argument about this matter.

Originally, Lu Lin was also invited to speak, but Xiao Guannian thought that he was too busy working on Lu Zhong's affairs these days, so he didn't ask anyone to invite Ning Guogong to discuss the matter.Today's discussion meeting is completely a verbal dispute between Li Chaochen and Qin She.

Li Chaochen does not form cliques for personal gain, but he appreciates Zhenyuan Hou Guwei's character and admires his strong and strong character.Besides, it was only natural for the court to support the front line, so he naturally spoke for Gu Wei.

Li Chaochen's voice was extremely loud, like a wake-up call to people's hearts: "Your Majesty, I think the court should allocate all the food and grass to support the frontline troops."

Qin She stood up, full of confidence, and his aura was not inferior to that of Li Chaochen.He said: "It has only been more than a year since the Marquis of Zhenyuan led the army to go out for war. During this period of time, has he asked the court less?

"He said he wanted soldiers and horses, but the imperial court raised soldiers and horses for him without saying a word. He said he wanted silver taels, but the court gave him taels of silver without saying a word. After satisfying his various requirements, he has never seen any good news from him. This The last time he asked for 20 shi of grain and grass, the snowstorm was severe last winter, and many places had no harvest. The imperial court’s taxes only collected 20 to [-] percent, so where can I get him [-] shi of grain and grass?"

Although what Qin She said was true, the moisture was indeed quite large.No matter how peaceful and weak the imperial court is, 20 shi of food and grass will always be available.The reason why he said that, on the one hand, was because he and Gu Wei had a grudge against each other. If Gu Wei hadn't intervened, he would have been the Grand Marshal of the World's Soldiers and Horses.

Another aspect of this is that Qin She knows Xiao Guan too well.He knew that the emperor had been thinking about the southern tour.If he wanted to win Xiao Guan's favorability, he had to match everything to his liking.

Li Chaochen looked at Qin She with disdain. He has always been outspoken, and said coldly: "Master Gu leads the army to fight the enemy. How can the court have no reason to help? The old man knows that General Qin is a general of soldiers and horses. I have a grudge against Lord Gu, but at this critical moment, if you only see personal grievances and fail to see the overall situation of the court, you are too ignorant of the general situation!"

Qin She hates others talking about his pain. The fact that he was deposed as the marshal is a thorn in his heart that can never be eliminated, and it has always been a pain in his heart.Li Chaochen blatantly poked his wound, Qin She was extremely annoyed, wishing he could put the right minister to death immediately!

Qin She's cold tone seemed to condense the surrounding air, "Master Li, what do you mean by that? This general has always kept a clear line between public and private, and I'm telling the truth without any personal grievances involved! You Insulting the important officials of the court like this is not only ignorant of the general situation, but also touches the laws of the court!"

Qin She is the general of Hussars, the elder brother of the noble concubine, and the uncle of King Zhao, so he is extremely favored.Ordinary civil and military ministers have to salute when they see Qin She.If their sedan chairs blocked Qin She's, everyone had to get out of the way.However, in the eyes of Li Chaochen, this royal relative is nothing, let alone respect.

"General Qin is too alarmist. If you are so angry, it is possible that what I said was on my mind."

Qin She called him by his first name: "Li Chaochen, you..."

"Okay, okay." Xiao Guan's ears were almost ringing, and he said impatiently, "Noisy! The two of you haven't stopped for a day. It's okay to quarrel in the court room. Today, you are in the imperial study. Noisy, do you still have me in your eyes! Standing here as a living person, you treat me like air?"

Xiao Guan flicked his dragon robe suddenly, looking furious. Seeing the emperor's anger, the two had to kneel on the ground immediately, and shouted: "It's the minister who has spoken out, please calm down, Your Majesty."

The purpose of being in the imperial study today is to discuss the rescue of grain and grass, not for the disgust between the monarch and his ministers.Xiao Guan frowned and said: "Get up, you two, don't engage in unnecessary verbal quarrels anymore. If anyone attacks the other party with words, I will never let you go lightly!"

The two said in unison: "Yes, Your Majesty."

After pondering for a long time, Xiao Guan said again: "20 stones of grain and grass is not a trivial matter, it needs to be considered in the long run."

"Your Majesty, if the imperial court is late in allocating food and grass, the troops in front will probably starve to death. How can we continue to fight if we don't have enough to eat?" Li Chaochen was filled with righteous indignation.

Qin She said: "Since the battle with Xiliang, Master Gu has never won a single battle. How can the army's food and grass be so empty? Now, he wants 20 stones of food and grass. Who knows what he will do?" ?”

Xiao Guan was shocked when he heard this, and his eyes gradually became darker. If he had the intention to allocate food and grass to Gu Wei just now, then Qin She's last words made him completely dispel this idea.Among all the courtiers, he is the most jealous of Gu Wei.

Gu Wei is very good at fighting and has won the hearts of the army. Not only does he control the imperial army, but he also trains a group of Gu family troops who can count as ten.If Gu Wei wants to rebel, then the Xiao family's country will really be on the verge of collapse.

Xiao Guan pondered and said: "General Qin just said the truth, the imperial court really can't afford 20 stones of food and grass at once. I really want to support the front line, but now it seems that I can't do it."

Xiao Guan has been dissatisfied with Gu Wei for a long time. He knows Gu Wei's ability, but as an emperor, no one can tolerate a minister with high merit.If it wasn't for the sake of Gu Wei's ability to fight, Xiao Guan would have punished him with various reasons.

Originally Gu Wei is now outside the Great Wall, Xiao Guan's fear of him has slightly weakened.But recently, Qin She often asked his sister Li Guifei to whisper in the emperor's ear, saying that Gu Wei had a heavy army in his hands and lived outside the Great Wall, and the sky was far away from the emperor. , the consequences would be disastrous.

Concubine Jing Li fanned the bedside wind like this, and Xiao Guan's fear and defensiveness became serious again.If Gu Wei hadn't repelled Xiliang, Xiao Guan would most likely replace Qin She with the post of Generalissimo of the Army and Horses.How can the suspicious emperor still fully support Gu Wei?

Li Chaochen knew that no matter how poor the court was, it would not be impossible for them to provide these supplies, and the emperor was probably trying to shirk.

He cupped his hands and begged: "Your Majesty, if the imperial court really can't produce these grains, I am willing to take the lead in raising grain for the army from the people. Although the family background is not as rich as some ministers, it can be sold by sellers. Collect some money, I am willing to donate all the family wealth to the army!"

Meeting such an upright courtier, Xiao Guan was both happy and worried.The joy is that Li Chaochen is indeed loyal, but the worry is that he is too inexperienced to figure out the holy will.Li Chaochen expressed his attitude so frankly, Xiao Guan couldn't refuse immediately.He said slightly: "Let's talk again, I'm a little tired. You should step back first!"

As soon as the words fell, Chen Huaisheng came in again and announced: "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the Princess, please see me."

"Xue'er?" Xiao Guan's eyes were shining brightly, "Quickly, let Her Royal Highness come in."