Except for the palace, the atmosphere of mourning outside had faded. Guo Shao sat in the Donghua Gate garrison barracks and wrote and drew for a while. When he stood up to rest, he looked at the bright sunshine outside. Under the dazzling sunlight, the autumn wind blew the dead leaves on the brick floor and fluttered them. The cool wind blew in between the walls, and there was a faint smell of impending storm.
Not long after, seeing Jingniang enter the city gate, Guo Shao returned to the barracks.
Is it true that Zhao Pu confirmed that these people were Zhao Kuangyin's personal soldiers? In the barracks, Guo Shao asked very carefully.
Jingniang glanced at him and said: Zhao Pu does not have the list in his hand. When I questioned him, his current recollections might have some discrepancies.
Guo Shao looked at the names one by one, and remained silent for a long time, as if he could see something mysterious from the names, with a serious and focused face. Jing Niang couldn't help but mutter: Sometimes I think the master's mind is too meticulous. You are already a general, there is no need to consider every subtle detail.
I won't care about irrelevant trivial matters. But Guo Shao looked up and picked up the paperweight on the table. This piece of stuff can be ground into powder, and each molecule makes up an inkstone.
Jingniang didn't seem to care about the inkstone. Her eyes only stayed on Guo Shao's face, and she looked interested: I helped my master catch Zhao Pu. You can do so many things from one person.
Sometimes things only need a trigger. Guo Shao reached out and touched the light beard that he had just trimmed. It stung a little. He didn't care that his body and hair were given by his parents. If he wasn't afraid that people would mistake him for a eunuch, he would have wanted to shave off all his beard.
He heaved a sigh of relief: "Let's do this. I will send this list to the palace first and ask the Queen Mother to help verify it. Only the Central Government can legitimately review the old files and official documents of the Palace Front Office. As long as there are names, some clues can always be found. First, get a partial list of confirmed names; as well as the addresses of these people and the latest duty times.
After Guo Shao finished speaking, he casually wrote a letter that looked like a memorial, put it on the table to dry, and pointed at it and said: "Can you help me get it directly to the Queen Mother? Do you know what to do?"
Jingniang said calmly: First find the eunuch at Donghua Gate, and then meet the eunuch Cao Tai.
Guo Shao nodded, ignored him, and took out his own booklet to write a few strokes. There were many pages of things scribbled on it, and I'm afraid only he could understand it.
Two days later, the Queen Mother summoned Guo Shao.
Guo Shao prepared himself and waited until the sun rose before entering the palace. Donghua Gate and Xihua Gate were both gates of the imperial city where he stationed troops. They were very convenient for entry and exit. Entering from Donghua Gate, crossing an arch bridge and bypassing a corridor, one could see the tall and towering buildings of Jinxiang Hall, with a wide view.
When he walked outside the Jinxiang Palace, he heard the eunuch singing: Summon the imperial guards and cavalry deputy commander Guo Shao to come to the audience.
Guo Shao walked up the steps and was searched as usual. He took off his sword, followed the eunuch into the main hall, and walked to the back through the corridor next to it.
Guo Shao was taken to a palace room at the back. He walked in and saw that it was very spacious, with bookshelves and documents everywhere, but no one was there. Inside, there was a screen made of brocade and wooden frames. The brocade was thin, and people could be vaguely seen walking around inside. Guo Shao couldn't see who was inside clearly, so he had to hold a stack of documents around his waist, kneel down outside and kowtow, saying: "Your servant, Guo Shao, is here to see the Queen Mother in compliance with the order of the Queen Mother."
A soft and gentle voice came from inside: Let him in and talk.
As soon as Guo Shao stood up, he saw a door on the screen being pushed open sideways, and a palace lady in mourning and seven or eight young women in purple round-necked robes and with their hair in buns came out.
The women quietly stepped back and stood outside. When Guo Shao entered, the door was still open. Fu Jinzhan was sitting behind a table inside, still in mourning. When she saw Guo Shao, her face turned red, her eyes seemed to brighten, and she gradually smiled.
Guo Shao glanced sideways at the thin silk and the open door behind him, and had to bow politely: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report to you."
Fu Jinzhan said: The people outside are Mu Shanggong and Beiguo Caimian's men. They won't leak military secrets. Come over and talk.
Yes. Guo Shao gently placed the things in his hand on the table, and then saw Fu Jinzhan pick up the pen and write a line of words quickly and softly like flowing water, and then turned the paper in a different direction. Guo Shao saw that he dared not meet alone every time, to avoid suspicion.
He nodded slightly.
Fu Jinzhan pointed to the chair next to her and said, "Sit down." Guo Shao hurriedly said, "Thank you, Queen Mother, for letting me sit down."
Although those people outside were the Queen Mother's confidants, they still did not dare to act recklessly in front of others. Guo Shao pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice: I have made some plans and preparations recently, aiming to clean up all the rebels of Zhao Kuangyin. I have written a plan and deployment status, please review it for the Queen Mother.
Fu Jinzhan took the book of paper that was stitched together with needle and thread, and when he opened it, he found that there were pictures. The handwriting was rather ugly, but the tiny calligraphy was very neat and clean, which was very convenient.
She read ten lines at a glance, very quickly, turning a page in a short while. Guo Shao was also a little surprised when he saw this, and couldn't help but doubt in his heart, did she really understand what was written
In the time it took to stick an incense stick, she roughly read through Guo Shao's dozen pages of paper. She raised her head and observed Guo Shao's face very carefully, and said softly: I guess everyone in the world underestimates you, thinking that you are a military general who is only good at leading troops in battle.
Guo Shaodao: To be praised by the empress dowager is better than being praised by tens of millions of people.
Fu Jinzhan raised her eyebrows slightly and looked at him with a smile.
Guo Shao said calmly: Do we need to ask Wang Pu and Wei Renpu to participate in the planning of this matter? He thought of Wang Pu's defense map, and mentioned that Wang Pu was still a trustworthy person, especially after the overall situation had been decided.
Fu Jinzhan shook her head and said: No need, only General Guo can relieve my worries.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "We must first issue an order to transfer Han Lingkun back to Beijing. It is said that Han Lingkun and Zhao Kuangyin are childhood friends and have a close relationship. It would be best to get rid of them together."
Fu Jinzhan remained silent.
Guo Shao said again: "Don't alert the enemy in Tokyo and scare Han Lingkun. Try to get him to come back. If he doesn't obey, his rebellious intentions will be exposed. We should start in Tokyo immediately, and then we can legitimately mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion, and we can also use this opportunity to deter other places."
General Guo was right. Fu Jinzhan's voice became gentler, and she inadvertently dropped her usual dignity.
Guo Shao glanced at her and said calmly: "If the Queen Mother agrees with these arrangements, we can start implementing them now. But at the last step, the Queen Mother must be ruthless, and then I will not be able to help you."
Fu Jinzhan frowned and thought for a long time, then said: "Just do as you arranged. If Han Lingkun has any news, I will send someone to tell you. Once there is a result in Hebei, you can take action." After she said that, she took a stack of papers at hand and handed it over: "By the way, this is what you want."
What? Guo Shao asked casually.
Fu Jinzhan said: I checked a part of the list of Zhao Kuangyin's personal soldiers stationed in the Iron Cavalry Army, as well as their addresses and duty hours.
Guo Shao was a little surprised. It had only been two days and her efficiency was too fast.
He had observed the situation outside the door before. The door inside was on the east side, and the servants were standing on the east side, so he couldn't see where Guo Shao was sitting directly from the door. When he reached out to take the thing, he took the opportunity to hold Fu Jinzhan's hand, and immediately felt that it was very smooth and delicate.
Fu Jinzhan instinctively wanted to shrink back, but failed, and her face flushed. She stopped struggling and hurriedly took the booklet sent by Guo Shao. Her voice changed and she said in a trembling voice: "General Guo's things should be taken back. I have memorized them." She took the booklet and covered the outside with her hand.
She stared at Guo Shao with resentment in her eyes, but Guo Shao ignored her and gently rubbed her palms with his warm, rough hands.
Fu Jinzhan's heart was pounding, and her chest was heaving. She was very worried, afraid that someone would see her. Although the attendants outside were trustworthy, it would be very embarrassing if they knew that she was like this with others during the mourning period.
However, because she was panicking and nervous to the point of suffocating and having difficulty breathing, she also felt vaguely that the feeling of her heart beating so fast seemed very comfortable, as if something was surging in her blood. Her chest suddenly felt uncomfortable, and her legs in her skirt subconsciously pressed together.
Guo Shao molested her for a while, and finally let her go without saying a word.
Fu Jinzhan's face flushed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't know why, but she could feel this way just when Shao Ge'er touched her hand; but she felt almost nothing even when she was naked in the bathtub and asked the palace maids to massage her body.
It was probably not because of the touch, but the mood. Fu Jinzhan believed that Shao Ge'er had the desire to get close to him, and he was a man, and the thought of being close to him made him blush, not because his palms were anything special.
Fu Jinzhan bit her teeth lightly, picked up the pen and wrote on the piece of paper: I really want to see you every day.
After writing, she felt that it was too explicit. Her eyes flickered and she quickly wrote again, leaving a heavy ink stain on the words. She straightened her neck and said coldly: "General Guo, do you have anything else to report?"
Guo Shao glanced at the paper, clasped his fists and said: "When everything is ready, all we need is the east wind. The Queen Mother must make up her mind at the last step. I will take my leave."
He immediately stood up, bowed, turned around and walked out of the palace. When he was outside, he saw a eunuch and walked with him. He pretended to stroke the light beard on his mouth, put his hand to his nose and smelled it. There was still a light fragrance left, which was very pleasant.
The time is not right now, but it would be a joyful thing if I could be close to her every day in the future.
Sorry, I had to go out during the day today, so the update is late; I still have one chapter to go, and there are 9 chapters in total.