Chapter 305 A Blessing in Disguise

The Guazhou matter mentioned by Yu Wenhu was also a border issue that had existed for the Western Wei regime for a long time.

Guazhou is far away in Dunhuang, Hexi Province. The original governor was named Yuanrong, who was granted the title of King Dongyang. He had served as the governor of Guazhou long before the establishment of the Western Wei Dynasty. After Xiaowu went to the west to establish the Western Wei regime, Guazhou was also attached to the Western Wei Dynasty. Yuan Rong therefore became one of the few feudal officials in the Yuan and Wei clans who still had real power.

The reason why the Western Wei royal family was able to maintain a certain degree of influence and control in Longyou and Hexi was also because of the existence of such a relationship. However, what really made Yuan Rong famous for future generations was his vigorous promotion of the construction of Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes during his tenure.

Yuanrong stayed in the town for nearly 20 years, and did not die in Guazhou until the eighth year of Datong. The local powerful felt their old friendship and were worried that the imperial court would send people there again that might disrupt local order, so they elected him. Zi Yuankang succeeded him. But unexpectedly, Yuan Rong's son-in-law Deng Yan jumped out, killed Yuan Kang and seized the position of governor.

Such a thing happened in the borderland, but because Guazhou was located in a remote area, the Western Wei Dynasty and the Bafu did not send troops to quell the rebellion after weighing the situation. They could only admit Deng Yan as the governor of Guazhou. The matter dragged on for several years. .

Now that Deng Yan has achieved his wish, if he can keep his integrity and continue to be respectful to the court, his separatist regime can generally be maintained. After all, after the Western Wei Dynasty was defeated in Mangshan, it really lacked the ability to conduct long-distance expeditions.

But after all, he had a guilty conscience and kept making small moves. He disobeyed the court's orders and failed to summon him repeatedly. He also had a secret relationship with Tuguhun in the south of Guazhou. This seemed to scratch Yu Wentai's itch, so he Send Shen Hui to Hexi to wait for an opportunity to deal with Deng Yan.

Shen Hui lived up to expectations and arrived in Guazhou with only fifty cavalry. He first tried to stabilize Deng Yan by verbally probing and superficially agreeing with him, but secretly contacted a group of powerful people in the state headed by Linghu Zheng, the chief registrar of Guazhou. Capturing Deng Yan in one fell swoop and escorting him to Beijing was an extremely beautiful thing. It not only solved a hidden danger that had existed for several years, but also strengthened the united front against the local powerful forces in Guazhou.

Just a few dozen people were dispatched as envoys, and they neatly solved a stubborn border problem and brought a state that had been out of control back under control. This can certainly be regarded as a great achievement.

But it is absolutely impossible to say that this meritorious service is so great that it is completely difficult to compare with the Beizhou War, so that the heroes from Hexi were jointly feasted by the king and powerful ministers, and the heroes from Beizhou only deserved to drink the cold wind in front of the city gate after entering Beijing. .

After all, Li Tai and the others had actually eliminated tens of thousands of uncontrolled Jihu forces in the northern state, and the seizure of personnel and materials also directly expanded Bafu's power.

Although Guazhou was lost and recovered, its remote geographical location did not change, and since the Hexi Corridor as a whole could not be completely cleared, it actually did not have much significance for the growth of the power of the Western Wei regime. Moreover, this incident in Guazhou is not a complete solution. There will be an even bigger disturbance soon after next year.

Seeing Li Mu's expression of disappointment and unwillingness, Li Tai couldn't help but sigh. The reason for the disparity in treatment between the two parties after returning to the capital was probably due to the attitude of Emperor Yuan Baoju.

Deng Yan, who was captured and brought to the capital by Shen Hui, was not only a criminal of the country, but also the murderer of their Yuan clan. No matter who he was under, he was still working for the royal family. Therefore, the emperor gave him super high standards of courtesy, probably because he wanted to give others a thumbs up. In this way, we can increase everyone's enthusiasm to serve the imperial court.

In order to prevent Li Mu from getting more and more angry when he went home after being left out in this cold treatment, and Li Tai himself was a little unsure about why Yu Chigang changed his attitude towards him, he also tried his best to invite Li Mu to a banquet at Yuwenhu's mansion.

Li Mu couldn't resist, and he was really depressed, so he no longer refused, and the group of people entered the city together and headed to Yu Wenhu's home in the north of the city.

As the banquet progressed, nothing unexpected happened except that Li Mu got drunk because he was in a bad mood. Yu Wenhu's attitude towards Li Tai was very enthusiastic, and Yu Chigang also apologized frequently and persuaded him to drink. For a while, the atmosphere seemed to be as harmonious as when they first met each other.

In the middle of the banquet, a banquet visitor and Daxingtai's soldiers brought some food and drinks. According to the governor who led the team, Daxingtai was very happy after knowing that the two of them returned to the capital and had no choice but to return the banquet. Since he was unable to attend the banquet without leaving the banquet, he simply asked His Majesty the Emperor to package the food, wine and dishes on his case and send them out of the palace in a cage to feed the two of them.

Li Mu drank heavily, his brain was already filled with alcohol and he was sensitive to sadness. After hearing these words, he couldn't help but burst into tears. He rolled over and faced the north and kowtowed to the Lord for such meticulous care.

Li Tai saw that Li Mu had lost himself a little in the changes in the world of ice and fire, and he couldn't act too calm and ordinary, so he also thanked the Lord for his grace.

But when the waiters put the food and wine on the table again, Li Tai felt a little uncomfortable. In the past, I had only seen unscrupulous people eating food at banquets and grabbing elbows. This is really not a big deal in the west. Even the boss of their tyrant family has to go to other people's banquets to feast on food and wine for their henchmen.

But putting aside these gimmicks, he had to admit that Yu Wentai's move was really heartwarming. If he didn't really care about them, why would he spit out the meat and wine that was about to be eaten in his mouth and give it to them? When Duke Zhou spits out food, he doesn't pick up his mouth and feed it to his subordinates!

That night, Li Mu really drank too much because of the food and wine that Yuwen Tai had packed. He hugged the pillar of Yuwen Hu's family hall and cried loudly. He just wished that there were no enemies around him so that he could throw his head and shed blood for his master and save ten lives. No matter how much I did it, I didn't hesitate to do it all.

Yu Wenhu originally had something to say to Li Tai, but because Li Mu was drunk and drunk, he basically couldn't care about other things. He managed to calm Li Mu down and put him on the carriage driven by his family slave. Send it away.

Li Tai, the rebellious elder Lu Zi, was not as emotionally out of control as Li Mu. After sending Li Mu away, he did not stay for long. He thanked Yu Wenhu for his hospitality and then left.

Yu Wenhu saw that his hall had been ruined by Li Mu, so he didn't force him to stay anymore. He only grabbed Li Tai's wrist and sent him out the door, then patted the back of his hand heavily and said: " Life is full of ups and downs, but if you stay true to your heart, evil emotions will naturally be hard to disturb. I know that Boshan is arrogant and cannot be changed by anything. Even if he encounters occasional setbacks, he does not need help from others, but he still needs to be comforted. Talking too much is a blessing in disguise."

Li Tai was slightly tipsy, but when he heard what Yu Wenhu said and his expression was quite serious, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. He quickly grabbed Yu Wenhu's wrist and asked quickly: "Brother Sabao, what do you mean by this?" ?”

However, Yu Wenhu shook his head and waved his hands and did not want to say more. He half pushed and half helped Li Tai to get on the horse, and then said: "Bo Shan should not accept Tu Yuan's invitation lightly these days. If there is nothing important, just stay at home." , wait for me to come and invite you.”

Before Li Tai could ask again, Yu Wenhu had already returned home, so he had no choice but to give up and go straight to Gao Zhongmi's Situ Mansion in the city.

He does not have a fixed residence in the city, and he does not serve in the court. In addition, he does not like the dilapidated Chang'an City. Anyway, no matter who else comes to power in the future or himself, it will have to be demolished and rebuilt, so there is no need to do it again. The hard work of buying a home.

When they arrived at Situ's house, the slave who stayed behind told Gao Zhongmi and Wang Yuanxin of Guangling that they had gone to Lishan together, leaving a message that they would not enter the capital in a few days.

Li Tai was not surprised by this. Gao Zhongmi had already mentioned to him that King Guangling was very interested in his family's industrial products, so he had a close relationship with Gao Zhongmi.

Although he himself was not very willing to get involved with the Yuan family, Guangling Wang Yuanxin was not the kind of Guzhong clan who worked hard to overthrow the overlord rule. Otherwise, he would not have become a member of the Eight Pillar Kingdom. Gao Zhongmi It is not a taboo thing to associate with him.

He also asked his servants to report to Cui Lu's cousin and other families that he had returned to Beijing. He chose a day to visit, and then went to bed while still feeling drunk. Although Yu Wenhu's nonsense words made him curious, it did not affect his sleep.

When Li Tai woke up early the next morning, the visitors from Taifu were already waiting in his residence and summoned Daxingtai. Li Tai did not dare to neglect, so he hurriedly washed himself and put on brand new clothes, and then followed the visitors straight to the imperial city. Go to the Prime Minister's Mansion in China.

When Li Tai arrived, many civil and military officials who came to see Daxingtai had gathered inside and outside the corridor hall, and the atmosphere seemed a bit strange. When he walked towards the corridor hall, many people looked at him. Their eyes were not just looking, but looked at him with a bit of amusement. And as he approached, some people who were talking stopped talking.

Sensing this strange atmosphere, Li Tai quickly went through some of the things he had done recently in his mind to see if there were any that deserved the crowd's attitude of keeping a distance from him and seeming to take schadenfreude.

If you really want to count them one by one, he has done a lot this year. But if you want to say that the civil and military people in Beijing can feel it, it is just that he took out a handful of the prince's east palace before, or he did it in Baishui University. After messing with Zhao Gui before the meeting, Li Tai couldn't think of anything more. The war in Beizhou was not worthy of the serious attention of these Chang'an City gentlemen.

Although Li Tai was curious about how these people treated him, he didn't care much. Who of the truly important people would stand in line at the corridor. He walked straight past the crowd, and under the guidance of the visitor, he walked into a secluded hall and sat down, waiting for Daxantai's summons.

"Boshan, you came here too early. You were so drunk last night that you laughed!"

Not long after, Li Mu, wearing a ducal uniform, walked in from the door. His steps were still a little staggering, and his face still showed some weakness and discomfort after a hangover. He was followed by a handsome young man who was not yet young. Support him.

Li Tai quickly stood up to greet him, but Li Mu first pushed the boy next to him in front of him and said with a smile: "I will introduce you to a young man who, although temporarily inferior to you, has surpassed his peers. This is one of my sects." The good boy who is both smart and handsome is nothing like the bad boy who took care of you!"

Li Mu said with a proud face, but the young man blushed at the praise. He quickly bowed his head and bowed to Li Tai: "When we met before, the voice and appearance of Governor Li were engraved in my heart. Now we meet again, the style of Governor Li is even better than old!"

The young man's name is Li Ji, the son of Li Mu's elder brother Li Yuan, and the second son-in-law of Daxingtai Yuwentai. Li Tai met him when he was the best man of the Yu family.

Li Tai couldn't help but smile when he saw that Li Mu loved his nephew so much that he even bluntly said that his son was a low-class person.

Although Yu Wentai had great utilitarian considerations in choosing his son-in-law, he had to say that he was a handsome boy. The Li Ji in front of him, including Yu Laoer, the second son of the Yu family, could be said to be a handsome young man, at least the most outstanding one in his family. 's children.

Seeing that they already knew each other, Li Mu did not introduce them any further. He praised his nephew a few more times, and then sat down to discuss with Li Tai what to say when he met the Grand Chancellor later.

"Silang, if you have something to say, you can speak directly."

Li Tai noticed that Li Ji, who was standing beside Li Mu, looked at him frequently, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, so he looked at him and said with a smile.

Li Ji was a little embarrassed after hearing this. Li Mu patted his arm and said, "General Li went to the battlefield with your uncle and experienced life and death together. You should be honest if you have something to say. Don't worry too much." After hearing this, Li Ji stepped forward and said with his head down, "It's not a certain thing. I just heard some gossip by chance, which is slightly related to General Li. May I ask if the general knows Zhao Yongren, the young man of Zhongshan Gong's family, and whether he has any grudges against him? This person has been claiming in the prefectural school recently, saying that it is the general..." Li Ji told the story intermittently, and some doubts in Li Tai's mind suddenly became clear. All the strange things were explained. It turned out that after he went north, Zhao Gui, the old boy, made a lot of small moves again, and even seemed to have snatched the quota of Yuwen's son-in-law. After sorting out the logical thread of this matter in his mind, Li Tai did not feel lost because of it, but felt relieved. He had sensed some of Yuwen Tai's hints before, and sometimes he was still worried about how to refuse. Now Zhao Gui's brave fight was undoubtedly a minefield for Li Tai.

If the situation was just like this, Li Tai would not be disappointed, but would have to thank Zhao Gui and his son.

But according to Li Ji, the matter was not that simple. That stinky boy Zhao Yongren often said that he was a toad wanting to eat swan meat but his wish failed. Although Li Ji described the matter more tactfully, Li Tai could imagine that this little brat must have nothing good to say about him, and he must have ridiculed and slandered him to the extreme, so as to restore some of the dignity that Zhao Gui lost in the Baishui contest before.

Thinking of this, Li Tai suddenly felt a little unhappy. Although this matter was essentially a win-win situation, it was a bit unkind of you to take advantage of it!

At this time, the usher came to tell the Grand Chancellor that they were summoned. Li Mu was thinking about how to comfort Li Tai, but he saw Li Tai stood up from the table, with greed in his eyes.

But when he walked out of the hall, Li Mu found that Li Tai's eyes were slightly red and his eyes were sad and angry. It seemed that the light he saw before was just an illusion.