The officials looked at each other. They could not understand why the Emperor would suddenly make such a request. It would be fine if he wanted to see Guo Jing, but Guo Fu was just a commoner, and a young girl who did not know the ways of the world. How could she move the Emperor?
"Could it be that the Emperor has heard of her beauty and wants to see her?"
"Although this Young Miss Guo is a little arrogant, her beauty is undeniable. She has perfectly inherited her mother's stunning beauty."
"Although Young Miss Guo is beautiful, I don't know why, but I always feel that she is not as attractive as Madame Guo."
"Isn't that obvious?"
…
The crowd made wild guesses. Only a few people knew that Zhao Gou was not lusting after Guo Fu's beauty. After all, his body was already incapacitated. There was still the beautiful Imperial Concubine Wu in the palace, alone on an empty bed. How could he have such thoughts about Guo Fu?
"Forget it, let's go directly to the Guo Manor." Zhao Gou thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Also summon the Jianghu people who have helped defend Xiangyang these years. I will reward them well. We cannot disappoint the hearts of the world."
The others had wanted to advise him, but hearing him say this, they did not dare to submit a memorial. Otherwise, they would be cursed by the world.
The commander of the front court department, Wang Ziteng, led a large group of guards and soldiers to camp outside Xiangyang City. After all, it was not convenient for an army to enter the city. Zhao Gou's safety was taken care of by the guards and the front court department. Of course, there were also the guards of Xiangyang City. Lu Wende had already done a lot of security work beforehand. The security of the entire Xiangyang City had reached a level where no one would pick up items on the road, and no doors would be closed at night.
The group entered the city. On the way, Zhao Gou summoned all the officials in the capital to ask about the situation in the city. He suddenly noticed a few young people and could not help but ask about them.
Lu Wende respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, this is my son, Shidao, the current commander-in-chief of Gui Province. This is my nephew, Shisheng, the current commander-in-chief of Xia Province. These two are my eldest son-in-law, Fan Wenhu, the current commander-in-chief of Wuding Province in Huang Province. This is my second son-in-law, Qiu Tongfu, the current commander-in-chief of Ying Province …"
If Song Qingshu was present, he would definitely look at Fan Wenhu a few more times. This man was a top talent in history. During the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty, Fan Wenhu led the last of the Southern Song Dynasty's navy and was defeated by the Mongols. But after surrendering to the Mongols, his career actually prospered and he quickly rose to a high position. The Mongols actually let him lead the Eastern Campaign against Japan. The result was, without a doubt, the complete annihilation of the Mongols' navy of hundreds of thousands.
Of course, Zhao Gou did not know any of this. Looking at how smart and strong they were, he could not help but laugh. "As expected of the sons of generals. All these years, it was all because of your concerted efforts that the borders of the Song Dynasty were safe."
Lu Wende and the others hurriedly replied, "To serve the country, we will not hesitate to die ten thousand times. We dare not take credit."
As Zhao Gou ordered the eunuchs to reward them, he laughed coldly to himself. The Lu brothers had indeed made the Jing Lake region a solid block. More than half of the entire Jing Lake military were their people. And that Qiu Tongfu, if he remembered correctly, his father was Ma Qiu Ming, the Secretary of the Bureau of Military Affairs and Supervisor of the Jianghuai Army. These people colluded with each other and joined forces. Where did they put me, the Emperor?
The group quickly arrived at the Guo Residence. The Guo family had long been informed. Guo Fu, Big Wu, and Little Wu were waiting at the door to welcome the Emperor.
Everyone could only see the girl in red in front of them. Her eyebrows were curved, her small nose slightly tilted up. Her face was like white jade, and her complexion was like the morning sun. It was Guo Fu. Her attire was not very luxurious. There was only a string of pearls hanging around her neck, which gave off a faint glow. It made her look even more like a jade sculpture. Perhaps it was because she suddenly found out that the Emperor was coming, she was nervous. Sweat appeared on her forehead. Her cheeks were illuminated by the red dress, making her look even more beautiful.
Everyone sighed in their hearts. Miss Guo was really beautiful. They heard that Guo Jing was tall and strong, but they did not know that Madam Guo had such a beautiful daughter.
How beautiful must she be to be able to give birth to such a beautiful daughter with him?
Lu Shidao and the other young people stared at the girl in red in front of them. Guo Fu's beauty had a strong impact on people of their age. They recalled that Madam Guo seemed to have the intention of marrying into the Lu family. However, their father was not very interested at that time. After all, he was prepared to find a wife from a noble family of Lin 'an. This way, a strong alliance would be more beneficial to the Lu family's power. Although Guo Fu was beautiful, and Guo Jing and Huang Rong were popular, they came from a poor family. Their help to the Lu family was limited.
"Although I can't be the main wife, I can still be a concubine." Lu Shidao swallowed his saliva. At the same time, there was a haze between his brows. Madam Guo seemed to be less interested in her marriage these two years. She was not as eager to matchmake the two of them. He did not know why.
Lu Shisheng also stared closely at Guo Fu. Looking at this beautiful girl who almost became his sister-in-law, he could not help but feel a strange sense of excitement. If he could take her in as a concubine … But then, his uncle and his family would not look good … Sigh, they were the ones who did not want her, but they did not allow others to have her. What kind of logic was this?
Among everyone present, only Zhao Gou's mind was the purest. After losing his virginity, he no longer had those messy thoughts. Looking at this beautiful girl, he thought in his heart, "Is this the descendant of King Cao's bloodline …"
Back then, he found out that Guo Jing was the descendant of Chai Rong's fifth son, Chai Xirang, who had disappeared after Taizu Huangpao was added. Therefore, he did not want him to stay in the capital to lead the imperial army. Instead, he was sent to the north on a expedition. No one knew if he was dead or alive. To a certain extent, this solved a big problem for him.
Fortunately, Guo Jing did not have a son, so the bloodline of King Cao was broken.
Thinking of this, Zhao Gou's gloomy mood for the past few days finally saw a ray of sunshine. His face also became amiable. "Miss Guo, please rise."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Guo Fu stood up and quietly looked at this Emperor. She thought to herself, "He is not as muddle-headed as the people say."
After casually praising the Guo family for their contributions, Zhao Gou noticed a few people in ragged clothes at the back. He could not help but frown. "Who are they?"
"This is the current Chief of the Beggar Sect, Lu Youjiao, and a few of the Beggar Sect's eight-pouch elders. These years, it was thanks to their help that Xiangyang was not lost." Lu Wende introduced. These years, Huang Rong had gradually delegated power. Now, she had completely handed over the Beggar Sect to Lu Youjiao.
"So they are the righteous people of the Beggar Sect." Zhao Gou nodded. He had heard of the Guo family's Huang Rong. Although he did not think that these Jianghu people would be of much use on the battlefield, they still had to have the proper attitude to avoid disappointing the hearts of the people.
Lu Youjiao and the others hurriedly bowed. "Long live the Emperor."
Zhao Gou walked over to express his condolences. Who knew that at this moment, an eight-pouch elder would suddenly jump towards him.
"There's an assassin!" someone cried out.
Lu Youjiao and the others were even more frightened. If anything happened to the Emperor, and the assassin came from the Beggar Sect, then the Beggar Sect would not be able to clear their name even if they jumped into the Yellow River.
The other elders obviously had the same thought. They all attacked at the same time, wanting to restrain this traitor.
Lu Youjiao's martial arts were not weak. In addition, in recent years, with the help of Huang Rong and Guo Jing, he had been taught the Dog Beating Stick Technique and the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. His skills had improved greatly. The others who were able to become eight-pouch elders of the Beggar Sect were all experts in the Jianghu. They worked together to seal the assassin's vital acupuncture points. If the assassin did not defend himself, he would be severely injured by them. Naturally, he would not have any energy left to attack the Emperor. If he defended himself, the people around the Emperor would have enough time to react.
Unfortunately, the assassin's body swayed strangely. He was like a fish in the water. His body very cleverly dodged the attacks of the eight-pouch elders. Then, with a twist of his legs, he broke through Lu Youjiao's defense.
His kick landed directly on his chest. Lu Youjiao spat out a mouthful of blood.
His entire body fell backwards. The assassin used the force of the recoil to shoot towards Zhao Gou like an arrow released from a bow. In an instant, he was in front of Zhao Gou.
The dagger in his hand was only a few inches away from Zhao Gou. A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of the assassin's mouth. He was very confident in his sword. He had carried out dozens of missions, and not once had he failed. And today's sword had been displayed to an extraordinary standard. The dozens of missions in the past could not compare to the magnificence of this stab.
However, he suddenly realized that the cold gleam of the dagger in front of him seemed to have suddenly turned into a blinding white light. The alarm in his heart rose. Unfortunately, it was already too late. He only felt a chill on the top of his head. Then, his entire body sank into endless darkness.
A person beside Zhao Gou calmly sheathed his dagger. At the same time, he ordered his subordinates to search for any remnants of the assassin.
Lv Wende and the others also hurriedly ordered the soldiers to seal off the scene and search for the assassin. At the same time, they looked at the Emperor's bodyguard with some fear. As an important official of the court, he naturally recognized the identity of that person. His name was Li Yanshi. He was Zhao Gou's confidant. After Zhao Gou ascended to the throne, he was appointed to lead the imperial weapons.
Lv Wende secretly wiped away his cold sweat. Everyone said that those who led imperial weapons were experts among experts. Now that he had seen it, it was indeed extraordinary. In all of Xiangyang City, perhaps only Guo Jing and Huang Rong could compare to them … No, Huang Rong might not be able to defeat him.
Those who led imperial weapons had always been experts among experts. The last batch of imperial weapons had been people like Han Shizhong, Liu Qi, and Yue Yun. The ones who led imperial weapons now, whether it was Ding Dian with the Shadowless Godly Fist or Wu Xi with the peerless sword skills (although he was later involved in the scandal of treason), all of them were famous figures in the martial world. Now, even Li Yanshi, who had never been famous, had such powerful dagger skills. Who knew who the rest of the imperial weapons were?
He subconsciously looked at Jia Shidao, who was not far away, with worry. With such an expert by Zhao Gou's side, would this operation really be okay?
Unfortunately, Jia Shidao's face was expressionless. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking at the moment.
Lu Youjiao and the others ignored their injuries and hurriedly struggled over to apologize. "Please forgive us, Your Majesty. We don't know why this person suddenly tried to assassinate us …"
A group of elders of the Beggar Sect kowtowed desperately to apologize, but they also knew that this excuse was useless. This time, the Beggar Sect was probably in trouble.
Li Yanshi, who was squatting on the ground to search for the assassin's imperial weapons, suddenly felt a waist tag. He presented it to Zhao Gou and said, "Your Majesty, this is a spy from the Jin Kingdom's Laundry Yard."
"Laundry Yard?" Zhao Gou's eyelids twitched. This place represented endless humiliation for the entire Song Dynasty. He did not expect that someone would dare to come and assassinate him.
"Report! The Guanghua Army is in an emergency!"
"Report! The Suizhou Army is in an emergency!"
"Report! The Xinyang Army is in an emergency!"
Suddenly, soldiers came one after another to report that the Jin Kingdom's troops had split up and were heading straight for Xiangyang.
Zhao Gou's expression changed. Didn't they just make peace with the Jin Kingdom? Why did they suddenly start a war? Did they know that he was coming to Xiangyang this time and wanted to kill him?
The officials were all talking about it. Jia Shidao suddenly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to lead an army to the Guanghua Army and defend the country from the enemy."
King Yi also stepped forward and said, "I am willing to lead an army to the Suizhou myself. I will not let the Jin Kingdom cross the Suizao Corridor."
"Permission granted!" Seeing the two's reactions, Zhao Gou felt relieved. It seemed that this urgent military situation was most likely made up by Jia Shidao. They were far away from him, so if anything happened to him, the world could not blame them.
"Let's see who has the last laugh." Looking at the two's loyal and courageous faces, Zhao Gou laughed coldly in his heart.
Please remember this book's domain name:. com. Wonderful Book House Mobile Version Website:. com.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
