The next day, more than a dozen boxes were moved to Guo's house. Guo Shao opened them in his room to examine them. One of the boxes contained copper coins, not ordinary copper coins, but newly cast ones with good quality, wrapped in red silk. Another box was opened, which turned out to be a silver box with exquisite patterns carved on it; when it was opened again, it was a golden box. In the innermost box was a large box of gold and gemstone jewelry, with a large bead the size of a quail egg in the middle. He couldn't help but pick it up to observe it, wondering if it was a night-shining pearl and how much it was worth.
Guo Shao looked at the beads for a while and thought: It really costs a lot to marry a wife. I am almost bankrupt now.
Zhao Kuangyin's wife died at the end of last year and he had to remarry; the loss must have been huge, and the money he spent on marrying his first wife in a formal ceremony was obviously wasted.
No matter how much money he had, it was never enough. It was not easy for Guo Shao to save some money. When he fought against Shu, he kidnapped prisoners and extorted them. After conquering Shouzhou, he robbed the Southern Tang government and plundered the wealthy families in the city. In addition, he had been a senior military officer and local official for a long time. All this money was gone in a flash, and he got a big bargain from Madam Chen, otherwise the betrothal gift would have to be reduced by at least half. Madam Chen must have spent a lot of money, and this money was a pressure for a senior military officer and bureaucrat like Guo Shao.
Of course, because of her background, Fu Ermei is worth much more than this money. Even if that man offers so much betrothal gift, he cannot marry her. As Guo Shaozeng said, she is worth exchanging for the Sixteen Prefectures of Huainan. The only problem is that the Sixteen Prefectures of Huainan are not his.
Comparing the two, Yulian and Yang were easy to get, basically free, and Jingniang was about the same. No wonder women generally don't want to be concubines, everyone wants to show their value and nobility, and it's probably not a pleasant thing to be taken home without any movement.
Guo Shao didn't have time to think about many other things. Marrying Fu Ermei was enough to keep him busy, so he had to focus on this matter for the time being.
At the same time, a caravan from Shen, Chen and Li Trading Company will soon go to Youzhou to transport goods. Guo Shao felt that if he only sent his personal soldiers and servants, they might not be able to find out any valuable information, so he tricked Zhou Duan into going to Youzhou as the spy leader; if he succeeded, he would be promised a fixed price to be the second in command of the Xuzhou Zhongwu Jiedushi's shogunate, and Zuo You, the chief secretary.
Zhou Duan is a member of a branch of the Zhou family of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He is unknown and has no achievements. Whether he has talent or not depends only on his own words. It is not easy for him to become an official. If an official position is so easy to get, everyone will be an official.
Although the Xuzhou Jiedushi had no elite troops, it was a big city after all. The Jiedushi was well-behaved and did not interfere in the political affairs of local prefectures and counties, but he could be a local emperor in a city. Guo Shao and Zuo You were often not in Xuzhou. If Zhou Duan became the chief minister, his power would be directly above all the officials in Xuzhou. There was no reason for him to refuse.
Zhao Kuangyin had tried to arrange marriage with the Minister of Hebei Wang before Guo Shao, but now he could not marry. The funeral of the Zhao family was basically over. He had written a letter of mourning, but it was rejected as expected. The emperor did not want a man he regarded as a capable general to be useless just because his father died.
The military generals were relatively idle now, and Zhao Kuangyin and Guo Shao had no contact with each other. They met once in the main hall during the court session on the first day of April.
The military commanders did not speak at the court meeting. The emperor and the civil officials were focused on ensuring agricultural production in various places. Li Gu presented detailed measures to prevent and control the Yellow River, and strongly advised the abolition of military farming and the implementation of a new tax system and labor service law. He quarreled with several other officials in the hall. Wang Pu wrote a letter to continue planning the expansion of Dongjing City and improve the water transport system. Wang Pu presented the Hebei Water Conservancy Irrigation Map. Some people also suggested various strange methods to prevent locusts.
The emperor finally managed to focus his energy on governing the country, and the civil servants all vied with each other to offer suggestions, hoping to demonstrate their achievements and value.
Zhang Yongde, Zhao Kuangyin, Guo Shao and others didn't say a word, and didn't care who was right or wrong.
After the court meeting was finally over, the senior generals walked out of the palace in boredom. Zhao Kuangyin and Zhang Yongde were traveling together. The two did not hide their friendship. One of them was the commander of the Palace Front Department and the other was the inspector of the Palace Front Department. They were the two most powerful military men in the Zhou Dynasty.
The two of them went out from Donghua Gate, then rode to the Dianqiansi office and went to the lounge together to drink tea.
Zhao Kuangyin was one year older than Zhang Yongde, but he was very respectful to Zhang Yongde in his words and often called him "Gong": "After the Battle of Gaoping, if you had not worked hard to ask for credit for me, I would not be where I am today. I will never forget your kindness."
Zhang Yongde shook his head and said: It is the emperor who has been kind to Brother Zhao. I am just discovering talented people for the emperor.
Because there were no outsiders around, Zhao Kuangyin personally poured tea for Zhang Yongde. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but swallowed it back into his stomach. Then he said: The government is focused on deciding and governing local affairs, and it is also to ensure that there are sufficient supplies for the Northern Expedition so as to avoid worries. Didn't Wang Pu say that as long as there are good harvests in summer and autumn this year, the Northern Expedition can begin next year? This year seems to be a good year with good weather and no major disasters. We will have to wait for a few months before we go into battle.
Zhang Yongde said solemnly: "Not only have we been preparing for the battle of Jinyang this year, but it has been three years now. Every day that the emperor is not preparing for the northern expedition to attack Qinfeng and Huainan is to eliminate the worries of the northern expedition. Youzhou has always been the pain of the Central Plains since Shi Jingtang offered it to the Liao Kingdom. If this place can be recovered by the emperor, it will surely be a great achievement that will be praised by the history for generations. Our imperial army has fought so many battles, waiting for that day.
It seems that the key to this battle is to capture Youyun and drive the Khitan soldiers out of Hebei, Zhao Kuangyin said.
Zhao Kuangyin felt that the emperor was in a very anxious mood. Could it be because his health was getting weaker? He and Zhang Yongde often saw the emperor, and they could observe the emperor's complexion and physical condition.
Zhao Kuangyin pondered for a long time with no expression on his dark face. He wanted Zhang Yongde to say something in front of the emperor, but he didn't know where to start. Before persuading Zhang Yongde, he opened his mouth to talk about Guo Shao's marriage with the King of Wei; but then he thought of his feud with Guo Shao, and it would be too obvious to mention Guo Shao, so he looked around and talked about something else.
There was one very obvious thing lingering in Zhao Kuangyin's mind: once the emperor passed away, the eldest prince Chai Zongxun was only three years old, and Empress Fu would inevitably become regent.
Zhao Kuangyin had to consider that Guo Shao was a military commander from the Prince of Wei's mansion and a close confidant of the queen. Now he was going to marry into the Fu family, which would take the relationship to a new level. If Empress Fu took control of the government, Zhao Kuangyin would have a lot to lose.
This situation would not matter as long as Emperor Chai Rong was in power, but now seeing that Chai Rong was in poor health, Zhao Kuangyin was under great pressure. After Empress Fu fell seriously ill in Huainan, there was no news of her being bad. She was still so young and should live longer than the emperor. And Guo Shao was still very lively in his twenties.
Zhao Kuangyin increasingly felt that the biggest threat to him was not Guo Shao, and that his grudge against him would only accelerate the conflict. The most difficult person to deal with was Empress Fu.
The queen has not appeared in public for several months, but if you pay close attention to her plans, it is not difficult to find that everything is very favorable to her.
She was the queen, and also the mother of the prince Chai Zongxun. No one could threaten her in the harem. In recent months, she was cautious in her words and deeds and rarely went out, unwilling to make any mistakes. She was generous in the imperial army and had a very high prestige in the hearts of the soldiers. In terms of prestige and support, she even surpassed Zhang Yongde. Not only that, she also promoted her confidants, concretized the military power, and further consolidated her power in the imperial army through marriage.
Guo Shao has a lot of power in the Imperial Guards. His elite troops are not as strong as those in the Palace Guards, but that doesn't matter. In the future, as long as he stays in Tokyo, he will be enough to threaten everyone and make them dare not resist, so as to ensure the will of the Regent Center. Moreover, his position is just right. If Guo Shao were to go to Zhang Yongde now, he would be the Queen's personal servant, and the Emperor would be unwilling to use him.
Fu was crowned as empress just over a year ago, and Zhao Kuangyin paid no attention to this woman at that time, as he was busy with his own affairs. But just one year later, looking back, he found that Empress Fu had already arranged everything.
Zhao Kuangyin had to look up to this woman. He calmly said to Zhang Yongde: In the past, I could occasionally see the queen during court sessions, but in recent months, I have never seen her and the emperor enter or leave the palace.
Zhang Yongde looked up as if thinking, thought for a moment and nodded.
Zhao Kuangyin said: Fan Zhi once told Dou Yi a secret. Did you hear that when Taizu passed away, he paid attention to two people. One was to let Wei Renpu be the Privy Councilor, and the other was to strictly order the emperor to confer the title of empress. Taizu believed that only with these two people could he safely hand over the throne to the emperor.
Zhang Yongde shook his head and said: I haven't heard of this. But the current queen is extraordinary, with the bearing of a mother of the country.
Zhao Kuangyin thought to himself: Wei Renpu's role is completely understandable. At that time, the emperor had just ascended the throne and his position was still unstable. He needed someone who was both capable and reliable to control the military power of the Privy Council. What direct role could Empress Fu have? Could it be that Taizu had a long-term vision and had already considered that there would be no successor if all the descendants of the Guo family were slaughtered? If the empress was dedicated to maintaining the Great Zhou royal family, it would be much more stable to have someone like her preside over the government a hundred years after the emperor's reign.
But now it seems that no matter what she thinks, it is not a good thing for Zhao Kuangyin. If the Zhao family can marry the Fu family and there is no Guo Shao, the queen's confidant, Zhao Kuangyin will naturally not feel threatened by the queen. It is the queen's actions that make him very uneasy.
He said calmly: Taizu's will was far-sighted, and Wei Renpu is still the Privy Councilor.
Zhang Yongde said without hesitation: In my opinion, Wang Pu may replace Wei Renpu as the Privy Councilor.
After hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin said: "It was Taizu's earlier intention to confer the title of Queen. If the emperor is away on a military expedition and is not in the court, the Queen can also take charge of the overall situation."
Zhang Yongde was stunned after hearing this, and felt that the tone of this sentence was a bit wrong. Doesn't it mean that it doesn't matter whether there is an emperor or not? The empress can still control the court.
Zhao Kuangyin ignored the consequences and emphasized his tone, suggesting: Please think carefully about whether the Queen's prestige and strength are enough to preside over military and political affairs. Now the emperor and the Queen respect each other like guests, and the dragon and the phoenix live in harmony, which is indeed a blessing for the world.