The return of the son-in-law

After the new year, Guo Zhan'an started to be busy with Xuzhou's various official duties again, while Huo Yu gradually overcame the problem of staying in bed in winter and earnestly completed the homework assigned by Guo Zhan'an.

After the Lantern Festival, the cold wind in winter gradually loses its former power, and new shoots emerge on the grassland. At first, they are just the length of fingernails, but within a few days, they grow into a piece.The Tatars drove the cattle and sheep that had survived the winter to graze on the grasslands. Although there were only a few of them, they were the hope of survival.

At the same time, the number of Tatars participating in the trading market began to decrease. The latest time, the number was only half of what it was a year ago.

When Guo Zhanan received the news, he turned his head to look at the young shoots on the branches outside the window, and sighed, "Spring is coming."

After the first lunar month, the envoys of the Fourth Prince came from the capital, leading people to the gate of Xuzhou Mansion Yamen, and asked to see Xie Bing and Guo Zhan'an by name.The concierge saw that he was dressed brightly, with fine white jade hanging around his waist. Although the journey was bumpy, his face was always red and beaming. He only regarded him as a nobleman from the capital, so even though the other party did not invite him, he hurriedly welcomed him to the inside. After drinking good tea, I hurried to report to the people inside.

When Xie Bing heard the news, he finally breathed a sigh of relief - the staff of the fourth prince embezzled a lot of tax revenue before, Xu Zhou's tax revenue for a year was going to the capital a year ago, and he paid for the difference.

Xie Bing was born in poverty, and was taught to save money and save money since he was a child. In order to save the dowry, he didn't even marry a wife.The fourth prince's staff had borrowed money for almost two months, and he was really afraid that the fourth prince would not pay it back.

Now that there are people in the capital, Xie Bing feels that he finally sees hope.

On the other hand, Guo Zhanan was a little puzzled. His name was not on the IOU, and he concluded that the remaining aide would not tell Li Shaojin that Guo Zhanan was involved in dealing with Tatar. Why did he now ask him to meet with him by name? ?

Although he was puzzled, Li Shaojin was the fourth prince, which Guo Zhanan was far inferior to.He didn't want to give Li Shaojin a chance to make use of these trivial matters, so he temporarily put down the official duties at hand and went to the front hall to meet the envoy of the fourth prince.

When Guo Zhan'an came to the front hall, he saw a strange young man sitting in the upper seat, while Xie Bing, the magistrate of Xuzhou, could only sit in the lower seat and greet him politely.

Guo Zhan'an had his own thoughts in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face. He just pretended that he didn't pay attention to anything, and entered the front hall to say hello to the two of them.

Xie Bing saw that it was Guo Zhan'an who came, and stood up to greet him, "Master Guo, you came just in time, come, come, I will introduce Mr. Chai for you."

Mr. Chai, who was seated above, didn't get up. Instead, he sipped his tea happily and looked at Guo Zhan'an out of the corner of his eyes.

Xie Bing's face froze, and then he returned to normal, and said: "Master Guo, this is a friend of the fourth prince, Mr. Chai from the capital. Mr. Chai, this is Mr. Guo Zhan'an, the general judge of our Xuzhou."

Then Mr. Chai got up slowly, with a sneer on his face, he said: "So it is Mr. Guo. I have heard of Mr. Guo's name for a long time in the capital. Now that I see it, it is really worth seeing once."

Guo Zhan'an didn't know the real purpose of this person, but since he was Li Shaojin's person, he would definitely not have any good intentions, so he had to deal with it with [-] points of energy: "Where is it, Guo is just lucky to be favored by His Majesty. You follow the third prince's side, it's just contaminated with some royal immortality."

"Hehe, Mr. Guo is quite self-aware." Mr. Chai said with a smirk, before the other two could speak, he sat down first, "Come here today, the Fourth Prince specially asked me to retrieve it for him same thing."

After hearing this, Xie Bing couldn't help feeling anxious—the fourth prince said that he wanted to get back something, so it could only be the IOU, but what about the money?

Of course Xie Bing would not hand it over so easily, he simply pretended to be stupid and asked: "Young Master Chai, may I ask what kind of thing you are referring to?"

Mr. Chai raised his eyebrows and said: "What? Don't you just think that the fourth prince is easy to talk, take advantage of the fire, and force his husband to write an IOU in the name of the fourth prince. Now you dare not admit it?"

Xie Bing was in a hurry, and quickly explained: "Young Master Chai, it was indeed the fourth prince's husband who was in a hurry to use the money that day, so he embezzled part of Xuzhou's tax revenue. These are all written in black and white on the IOU."

"Okay, don't you just want money?" Mr. Chai said impatiently, took out a bag from the pocket in his sleeve, and threw it at Xie Bing's feet, "That's all, hand over the things quickly." Give me."

Xie Bing looked at the money bag at his feet, it didn't matter if he really bent over, or if he didn't bend over.

Just when he was wondering whether he wanted face or money, a hand appeared, picked up the money bag from the ground, and handed it to Xie Bing—it was Guo Zhanan.

Guo Zhanan looked normal, and said, "My lord, let's count first. If you don't match, you will have to pay your lord again."

Xie Bing hurriedly responded, smiled and said to Mr. Chai: "Mr. Chai just wait first."

Mr. Chai's face changed, and he said: "It's all here, you can't trust me, can't you still trust the fourth prince?"

Guo Zhan'an smoothed things over and said, "It's not that you can't trust the fourth prince. It's the official rules. Mr. Chai is not an official in the court. I'm afraid he's not familiar with these rules."

Mr. Chai's complexion became worse, he sneered, and said: "I forgot, Mr. Guo was a Tanhualang when he was young. I heard that he suffered a lot when he went to Tonghua County as the county magistrate. Let us These aristocratic families admire us. In fact, we have been spoiled and spoiled since we were young. Although our father is strict, there is always a loving mother at home. Even if we are beaten and scolded by our father, our mother still loves us. Master Guo, don’t you think so?”

Guo Zhanan nodded calmly and said, "Naturally."

Mr. Chai just felt as if he had punched cotton. He intended to satirize Guo Zhanan who lost his mother when he was young, and his father didn't care about him.

At this time, Xie Bing finished counting the silver taels in the money bag, and said happily: "Young Master Chai, did the four princes give it wrong? Look, there are two ingots of gold here, but they are much more than the borrowed tax money."

Mr. Chai seemed to have thought of something, and said: "At that time, the nobleman was too forgetful, and there were important matters waiting for him to deal with in the capital, so he forgot to leave some silver taels. Let me tell you, how can the fourth prince see What money? By the way, I'm afraid you don't know yet. In order to reward the four princes in the first month, the emperor has already decreed that the four princes be crowned kings! This is the first prince in this generation to be crowned king. The emperor is happy. There was a big banquet for three days to celebrate the fourth prince, oh, no, now we have to call him the King of England, to celebrate the King of England."

Xie Bing hurriedly flattered: "This is a great event, why didn't Mr. Chai tell me earlier? I can still prepare a congratulatory gift to congratulate King Ying."

"Hehe, there are thousands of treasures hidden in King Ying's house. What do you think, you should take them out sparingly to avoid embarrassment." When Mr. Chai was speaking, he kept staring at Guo Zhan'an, for fear of missing any subtle expression on his face.

Guo Zhan'an knew that Mr. Chai didn't mention it at first, and he always called Li Shaojin as the fourth prince. He didn't tell them that the fourth prince was crowned king until now, just to see his panicked expression.

It's a pity, Guo Zhan'an is such a restless person.

"The fourth prince is the proud son of heaven, and it is reasonable to be crowned king," Guo Zhan'an said indifferently, "I wonder if this king of England is the Prince of Zhenguo, the Prince of Protecting the Country, or the Prince of Fuguo?"

"Prince Fuguo is only a third-rank prince, so how can he be worthy of the status of King of England? Now the King of England is the Prince of Protecting the Country, and that is because His Majesty said that if he is now the first-rank Prince of Zhenguo, then he should be the king of England tomorrow." Has he become the crown prince? However, even if he is the Prince of Fuguo, the King of England is also the first among his brothers, and the three princes and five princes are all respected by him, and there is no getting past him."

Guo Zhan'an glanced at Mr. Chai with a half-smile, and said, "The crown prince is under one person and above ten thousand people, not everyone can be worthy of it."

"Master Guo is right," Mr. Chai smiled when he heard the words, "Only someone like the King of England is worthy of the status of prince. It's a pity, credit like this doesn't happen every day. If there is such a big With one credit, the crown prince of the King of England is just around the corner."

Guo Zhan'an waved his hands again and again: "Mr. Chai, be careful, I didn't say that. Talking about the crown prince in private, spreading it is a crime of beheading. Although Guo is not talented, he still understands the principles of being loyal to the emperor, patriotism and law-abiding."

Mr. Chai's face turned dark, and he said through gritted teeth, "Thank you, Mr. Guo, for reminding me. However, there are only three of us now, so who would say it?"

Guo Zhanan smiled and gave four words: "The wall has ears."

This time the conversation broke up badly.

Mr. Chai failed to show off, but was taught a lesson by Guo Zhan'an, and he went back to the restaurant where he was staying; although Xie Bing got the money, he had to hold back when Mr. Chai ridiculed him, losing all face , even if he was used to being a grandson, he couldn't swallow this breath; as for Guo Zhan'an, although he deliberately let Li Shaojin make meritorious service first, he never thought that the emperor would take the opportunity to become the king, making Li Shaojin the first among the princes in this generation. Now Li Shaojun in the capital is about to give in on the face of it!

Guo Zhan'an returned to the study room, and originally wanted to write a letter to Jiang Yannian, but immediately thought of the market in a few days, so he put down his pen and continued to deal with official business.

When the Yamen was scattered, Guo Zhan'an didn't go back directly to the Guo Mansion, but went to the restaurant, and took the opportunity to buy some drunken shrimp with duck claws to go back, and chatted with the owner of the restaurant.

"Has Ning Guhan come to the market recently?"

The owner of the restaurant thought for a while, nodded and said: "Come here, they won't come after checking, but he will come every time. My lord, is there something wrong?"

Guo Zhanan shook his head and explained: "The number of those tribes that were investigated and attacked is small, and those cattle and sheep are enough to last for a period of time. Ning Guhan took advantage of the winter to absorb a lot of people. The food in the tribe is not enough, and he is worried that the people of his own tribe will go out in private. Trade with us with iron ore, so I will come to watch every time. In this way, you arrange an identity for me, and I will go with you next time at the market."

The owner of the restaurant didn't dare to inquire about Guo Zhanan's purpose of going to the market, but nodded and said, "Understood, then I will wrong you to pretend to be my buddy."

"it is good."

So, a few days later, there was a strange guy in the caravan going to the market.

The scale of the bazaar trading with Tatar is getting bigger and bigger, and more and more people are participating. Every time, a new face will appear in the caravan, so even if someone notices it, they will not try to find out the identity of this person .

Guo Zhan'an pretended to be a clerk, and kept helping out behind the stall. His eyes were always watching the movements around him, looking for Ning Guhan.

After waiting for half a day, when Guo Zhan'an was worried that Ning Guhan would not show up this time, Ning Guhan finally led the people from the tribe.

Guo Zhanan was a little relieved. When the people around Ning Guhan dispersed and went to different stalls to purchase, while Ning Guhan walked to the side to stare, Guo Zhanan put on a hood to block the wind and went around for a while. Daquan found Ning Guhan.

For Guo Zhanan's sudden appearance, Ning Guhan was a little surprised: "Master Guo, I haven't seen you for a few months, what's up?"

Although there was a cart of goods next to it blocking other people's sight, Guo Zhan'an still did not take off his hood, and lowered his head halfway and said, "Spring is here, what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"You doubled the size of your tribe in one winter. With so many people, do you still plan to hide in one place like winter? The most fertile grassland should be occupied. With so many people, you plan to rely on this episode for the rest of your life." Is it raised in the market? Are your goods and silver enough to last?"

Ning Guhan snorted: "Since when did Master Guo care so much about the life and death of our Tatars?"

Guo Zhanan said with a smile: "I don't care about your life or death, but I have some ideas, which are good for you and me, so I came to discuss with you."

Ning Guhan has been worrying about this for the past few days, as Guo Zhanan said, after winter, they must find a place with rich water and pasture to take root as soon as possible, but people from other big tribes have started to move, his Tribal equipment and horses are not comparable to those of those big tribes. If there is a head-on conflict, he has a very small chance of winning.

However, Ning Guhan still remembered that the annoying Central Plains man in front of him was too smart, he had plotted against him several times and took a lot of benefits from him.He is not stupid, even if what Guo Zhanan proposed was very tempting, he did not immediately agree, but asked: "What do you think, tell me."

Guo Zhanan took two steps forward and whispered something in Ning Guhan's ear.

Ning Guhan's expression changed drastically: "You are crazy! It is absolutely impossible for me to agree! If I agree, I will be Tatar's sinner!"

Guo Zhan'an said: "If you agree, you will be the king of Tatar. If you don't agree, I will be the general judge of Xuzhou anyway. As for you, I want to know how long you can last. I heard that there are several The tribe has taken a fancy to your place, so it depends on who starts first, and the rest can reap the benefits of the fisherman."

Ning Guhan remained silent for a long time, and finally said: "Let me think again."

Guo Zhan'an is very considerate: "Five days, I will give you five days to think about it. After five days, I will go find someone else. I think no one is willing to give up the chance to be king."

Ning Guhan suddenly raised his head, glared at Guo Zhanan, and cursed: "The devil! You are the devil's messenger!"

Guo Zhan'an didn't take it seriously: "I will wait for you in the border town for five days. If you have an idea, just put a red-painted stone under that tree, and I will send someone to look at it every day. It can be as short as half a day. , more than a day, I will definitely show up."

Four days later, a soldier hurried over, took out the stone hidden in his sleeve, and handed it to Guo Zhanan: "Master Guo, stone."

Guo Zhanan took it, looked carefully, got up and patted Xiaobing on the shoulder, and said: "You have worked hard, you will go back to the barracks the day after tomorrow, and pass a message to your young master for me, saying that the man will not be jumping for long .”

Xiao Bing nodded, and said, "Master Guo, don't worry, I went secretly while on patrol, and no one else will know."

Guo Zhanan hummed, and said, "Jiang Yannian trusted you, and of course I trust you too."

Xiaobing's tense face finally smiled: "Thank you, Mr. Guo! My lord, I'll go first, so that no one will be suspicious."

"Okay." Guo Zhanan threw the stone into the pile of old clothes beside him, and sat down by himself, thinking.

The next day, Guo Zhanan found an excuse and went under the big tree alone. After waiting for about half a day, Ning Guhan came.

"I promise you," Ning Guhan said straight to the point, "I only have one request, if your emperor wants to appoint someone to discuss with me, I absolutely don't want that fourth prince."

"Of course," Guo Zhan'an nodded, "If this is done, it will benefit the people of the two countries without causing any harm. They must not be disturbed by others. However, I dare not speculate on your majesty's thoughts, and I am very light-hearted. I'm afraid you won't be able to shake your Majesty's mind, but in my opinion, it's better for you to write a letter, which can not only show your sincerity, but also make your majesty consider candidates carefully."

Ning Guhan thought about it, so he said: "Then wait, I will write a letter to you when I go back, and you can give it to your emperor for me."

"Why go far away?" Guo Zhan'an untied the cloth bag on the side, which contained all the four treasures of the study, "If the leader is willing, use mine."

Ning Guhan tapped carefully, and said, "Have you even prepared the hemp paper unique to our Tatar?"

Guo Zhan'an said with a smile: "If I use what I'm used to, it will inevitably make His Majesty suspicious. This is just right. Not only paper, but also the ink that Tatars are used to. Is the leader satisfied?"

Ning Guhan suddenly sighed: "It would be great if you were my partner instead of an enemy."

Guo Zhan'an corrected him: "The leader is wrong, as long as His Majesty agrees, I will be your partner."

Ning Guhan laughed loudly: "It makes sense!"

He was also unambiguous, and immediately wrote a letter, and when the pen and ink were dry, he took out the sealant that he carried with him to symbolize the identity of the tribal leader, sealed the envelope, and then handed it to Guo Zhanan: "Thank you."

Guo Zhanan took it: "Don't worry, the leader, he will fulfill his mission."