It was impossible for the Marquis of Stability to rest at home every day. Daliang's civil and military officials usually started their busy day from morning roll call. A small number of idle officials could go home to find their mothers in the afternoon, but Gu Yun was obviously not an idle official.
Even after the morning court, he was usually looked for by either the Emperor or his colleagues. It was rare for him to have a day free from social activities, but he still had to go to Beidaying. It was rare for him to be able to return home before sunset.
In short, he lived a life worse than a chicken or a dog.
Therefore, if he wanted to get Marshal Gu's personal guidance, he had to catch up with him before morning court to stretch his muscles and bones.
From then on, Changgeng began to wake up in the middle of the night. Every day, when the chicken was still dozing off, he led his sword puppet to Gu Yun's courtyard to wait.
The tall and thin youth walked in front with his sword in hand, and the sword puppet followed behind him. A pair of iron arms stretched forward. A gas lamp hung on the left arm, and a food box hung on the right arm. It looked like a god of the night delivering food.
When they arrived at Marshal Gu's courtyard, the old servant who woke up early would take the food box and simmer it with a small fire. Gu Yun began to give his godson a morning lesson.
The god of the night delivering food became the god of the night being beaten. It was very tragic.
After the imaginative lesson was finished, breakfast was also heated. The two ate separately and then went to do what they were supposed to do. Gu Yun had to go out, so Changgeng went back to wait for the teacher to lead him to study. After noon, he still had to practice martial arts with the guards of the Marquis' residence.
Gu Yun was not a good teacher. Like Shen Yi, he had the bad habit of thinking too much. Often, when he just stopped the iron puppet, he would already talk about how the heavy armor was arranged, how to distribute the ratio of heavy armor to light armor, how to save the purple gold, and even the differences between the horse breeds in the Western Region and those in the Central Plains, where the sorghum produced was the best to withstand hunger, etc …
After this topic revolved around Daliang, Gu Yun came back to his senses and asked Changgeng, "I digressed again, didn't I? What did I want to say at the beginning? "
Changgeng: "…"
Therefore, the two of them could only sit on the feet of the iron puppet. Listening to the creaking sound of the gears in the iron monster's body, they racked their brains to figure out the theme of their long journey.
In the beginning, when they heard that Marshal Gu was going to personally teach them, Ge Pangxiao and Cao Niangzi were extremely excited. They also overcame all difficulties and yawned as they ran over to listen a few times. Unexpectedly, from the beginning to the end, they only heard one thing — what the hell!
Ge Pangxiao commented in private, "I think it's better to listen to Mr. Shen recite scriptures."
"It's General Shen. Why can't I remember?" Cao Niangzi corrected her angrily and touched her conscience. Between a handsome man and her conscience, she actually chose her conscience. She added, "I think so too."
Only Changgeng had no objection to this. As long as he could stay with Gu Yun for a while every day, he would be fine even if he had to guard the door all night long. Anyway, he would only have recurring nightmares when he fell asleep, so there was nothing to be reluctant about.
He believed that he could definitely suppress Wu 'er Gu. He believed that he could become a sharp blade and grind away some of the unnecessary and bad things every day, including his fantasies about his little adoptive father.
Moreover, Gu Yun was just being unorganized. If one really listened to him, what he said would at least be true and reliable.
When Gu Yun was very young, he had been taken to the battlefield by his careless parents. He did not live a comfortable life of luxury in the palace. At the age of fifteen, he began to follow an old general who had passed away to the south to suppress bandits. Since then, he had been rolling around in the army.
Among the seven major military forces, except for the Iron Flood Dragon, which he wasn't very familiar with, he had fought with all of them. He had won many battles and suffered many losses. Therefore, he was very familiar with their strengths and weaknesses.
Changgeng listened eagerly. Gu Yun was like a tall mountain to him. He looked up every day and found a direction to lower his head and move forward for the whole day. Then, step by step, he suppressed the inappropriate thoughts in his heart.
However, Gu Yun himself didn't think that this was considered teaching.
He also specially hired teachers and martial arts masters to teach Changgeng and the others. Every morning, whether it was giving pointers to Changgeng and the Iron Puppet or talking about what he saw and heard, in Gu Yun's view, he was just squeezing out some time to play with Changgeng.
After a long period of observation, Gu Yun didn't think that Changgeng was suitable to follow his old path. This was because Changgeng always had a gentle and restrained appearance in front of him. He was a little stubborn, but generally speaking, he was very reasonable.
Gu Yun felt that when he grew up, he would be a graceful gentleman and not some killing general that gods and ghosts would retreat.
In the blink of an eye, it was the end of the year.
In the first year of the new Emperor's ascension to the throne, he changed the name of the year to Long An. On that day, he announced that he would be pardoning the world.
Since it was the world, it naturally included the barbarian heir Calais Yinghou, who was imprisoned in the imperial capital.
The Emperor restrained himself for more than two months and used this method to express his views in a roundabout way. The old Wolf King's condition of increasing the annual tribute by ten percent was too tempting. He didn't want to refute Gu Yun's face, so this matter was discussed again and again. The memorials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Marquis of Stability were all withheld and delayed until the Emperor's Sacrifice to the Heavens.
The two rows of Imperial Guards separated into two sides. Shen Yi rode his horse straight in and went straight to Gu Yun's side, who was dressed in light leather armor. Only then did he stop.
Gu Yun glanced at him, slowly turned his horse around and walked back. Shen Yi quickly followed and whispered, "Grand Marshal, I think the Emperor is determined to release the tiger back to the mountain this time. What should we do?"
"The Emperor's Sacrifice to the Heavens is a promise made to the Heavens. Spilled water can't be taken back. What can I do?" Gu Yun said expressionlessly, "In order to appease me, he promised to give the Black Iron Battalion thirty chariots and four hundred steel armors. The imperial edict has already been sent to the Lingshu Temple. He has done his duty to this extent. Do I still have the nerve to go on and on over such a small matter?"
The new Emperor had just passed the age of thirty and was more unyielding than the previous Emperor, who was in his twilight years.
Gu Yun didn't have the intention to play with power. He didn't care whether the Emperor was unyielding or not. The problem was that the Emperor's policy towards the border was even more short-sighted than the previous Emperor's.
The two of them stood side by side and pondered for a moment. Gu Yun said, "However, it's also true that the national treasury is empty. The Emperor has just ascended the throne and is somewhat impatient. You don't know, but the foreign 'tall hat' sent a sharp-tongued and monkey-cheeked messenger over yesterday. He chattered for an entire afternoon. My ears are buzzing now."
"…" Shen Yi was stunned for a moment before he reacted, "Are you talking about the Western Pope?"
In the hearts of most Daliang people, the foreign Russians were very improper. That 'Pope' didn't burn incense in the temple properly. Instead, he wore a tall hat and appeared in public all day long. He wanted to meddle in everything. The Emperor's words were actually useless. Wasn't this going to turn the world upside down?
Gu Yun nodded. "They said they wanted to establish a trade route. Yesterday, I accompanied them and listened for a while. They wanted to expand the Ancient Silk Road into a large trade route within the Western Regions. Our two sides would send troops to guard it to ensure the communication between the two sides. They made it sound so extravagant that they even drew a map and an imaginary physical drawing. It was just to deceive the Emperor."
Shen Yi smiled and said, "Trade is a good thing. What are you talking about?"
"I didn't say it wasn't. It's just that I don't know much about doing business," Gu Yun said, "But I still feel that if the foreigners trade with us, they may not be able to take advantage of us."
This was the truth.
Western goods began to flow into Daliang since the reign of the Imperial Emperor. Those small things like colored glass lamps and Western scenery were very fresh for a few years. Unfortunately, they didn't last long. Although the Western wares that entered the Central Plains were exquisite, many of them had to be burned with purple gold. As soon as they entered the Central Plains, the black market for purple gold was indirectly heated up.
At that time, the Imperial Emperor felt that if this continued, the country would no longer be a country. In order to strictly control the private use of purple gold, he prepared a soft and hard method. In one day, he issued four decrees to strictly investigate the private use of purple gold. Those who were caught in batches were killed. Those who were caught were punished for treason. First, he used a high-pressure iron fist to restrain the lifeline of the country.
Then, he ordered the Lingshu Temple to take the lead and gather a large number of civilian long-armed craftsmen. Soon, they worked overtime to imitate a pile of Western goods that had similar functions but were powered by burning coal.
The hard knife blocked the export of purple gold, and the soft knife directly cut off the market of Western goods. Even if they could get their hands on purple gold, who wouldn't be willing to burn some cheap fuel? Moreover, the Western paintings were gaudy. In the eyes of the Central Plains people, they were more or less unpresentable.
The real Western goods were quickly replaced by imitations. The goods of Western merchants couldn't be sold at a high price in the Central Plains.
On the other hand, delicate goods like silk were said to be very popular in the Western countries.
Gu Yun said, "Since there's no benefit, it doesn't necessarily mean that he has good intentions."
Shen Yi was silent for a moment, "What does the Emperor think?"
The corners of Gu Yun's mouth curled up, revealing an indescribable smile, and said, "The Emperor has nothing to fear. He thinks that with the Black Iron Battalion guarding the northwest, Daliang will be invulnerable. I didn't even know that I had such great ability. Tell me, shouldn't I be worried?"
Shen Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Did the Emperor say this in front of you?"
Gu Yun smiled bitterly, "Not only did he say it in front of me, but he also bestowed me with a fox fur coat."
Marshal Gu's problem of only wearing a single layer of clothing all year round was known by all the civil and military officials in the imperial court. He only put on some clothes when he encountered the white haired wind outside the pass. It was hard for people not to be suspicious of the Emperor's intention of bestowing him with winter clothing.
Shen Yi was silent.
Gu Yun said, "After the New Year, it's almost time for me to return to the northwest. The Black Iron Battalion is always in Beidaying. The Emperor can't sleep."
Thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, the beautiful land and mountains, condensed into a line in the new Emperor's words, pressing down on the Marquis of Stability's shoulders.
They felt that he had the Xuan Tie in his hands, and that he was invincible and omnipotent.
They relied on him, but they also feared him.
Gu Yun joked, "What do you think I'll do if one day I suddenly die?"
Shen Yi's expression changed, "What nonsense are you talking about? Bah!"
Gu Yun didn't care too much and said, "What's there to be afraid of? Life and death are decreed by fate, riches and honor are determined by the heavens. Our Gu family doesn't have a long life. Not only do we not have a long life, even our children's luck is like a weasel's. Each generation is worse than the previous. The Old Marquis sighed when he saw me every day.
Shen Yi, "Isn't there still His Highness the Fourth Prince?"
Gu Yun shook his head, "That child isn't fated to eat sand. Tsk, it's New Year's Eve, why are we talking about these annoying things? Quickly go and order a 'red-headed kite' for me. I'm going home to pick up my son. "
After he finished speaking, he urged his horse forward and left Shen Yi behind.
Shen Yi roared angrily, "Why didn't you say earlier that there are only twenty red-headed kites in the entire city? How can we order one today?"
Gu Yun, "Do as you see fit."
The word 'do' floated down, wrapped in the northwest wind and blew onto Shen Yi's face. The Marquis of Stability had already left.
Chang Geng had been reading a book in his room when the door was suddenly broken open from the outside. A gust of wind and snow came crashing down on his face. The rice paper on his table, which he hadn't had time to compress, scattered in all directions.
This annoying person who disturbed people's peace could only be Gu Yun. Changgeng helplessly turned his head, "Godfather."
Ge Ban Xiao and Cao Niangzi, one on the left and one on the right, followed behind Gu Yun and waved at him. "Big Brother, Big Brother, Master Hou said he would take us to ride the red-headed kite."
Changgeng, "…"
Changgeng didn't like to go out. He liked peace and quiet and didn't like noise. He was annoyed when he saw a lot of people. In the past, he went to General Slope to practice his swordsmanship because his courtyard wasn't big enough. Ever since he came to the Marquis' fu, he didn't have the desire to go out.
In his opinion, during the New Year's Eve, everyone should gather around a small stove, warm up a few cups of wine, and chat a little.
What kind of interest was it to go out and drink the wind and look at people?
Gu Yun had already taken the initiative to take off his outer robe, "Hurry up, don't dawdle. Uncle Wang said that you haven't gone out since you came to the Marquis' fu. Are you planting mushrooms?"
Thinking of the 'grand scene' of a sea of people in the capital, Changgeng had goosebumps all over his body. Even if he was going out with Gu Yun, he was still unwilling. Thus, he dawdled on the spot and found an excuse, "Godfather, there are rules when it comes to staying up late. Someone has to stay behind to look after the house, I … ah!"
Gu Yun didn't allow any explanation and rolled Changgeng into his outer robe. He directly treated him as a beam that could make a sound. He carried him on his shoulder and dragged him out of the room, "Little brat, you're so particular."
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