(Second update.) ）

Guo Chongtao returned to the mansion with a gloomy face, ignored anyone, and went directly into the inner study, then closed the door tightly, locked himself inside, and did not show up for half a day.

The people in the house talked a lot, but they didn't know why Guo Chongtao, who is now a privy envoy of the Tang Dynasty and has a lot of power, is so indignant.

A well-informed person said: "Recently, Kuang Guojun Jiedu made Wen Tao be given the name Li Shaochong by His Majesty, and the Privy Envoy repeatedly advised him that he could not be reused, but His Majesty did not accept it, so it did not go well. ”

"Is it Wen Tao who helped to abuse me when the pseudo-Liang was still alive and excavated my Tang Mausoleum?" Someone asked.

"Isn't that him! Hey, such a person should have been razed by the Nine Clans, but after we defeated the pseudo-Liang, this guy was not questioned for his meritorious service in offering Zhao Yan's head, and he was able to keep his original official position! The man said indignantly.

"I see! So how did he get favored and given his name by His Majesty? ”

"Why else, didn't you bribe the officials, eunuchs, and concubines in the palace with your money?"

"Ahh You can't talk nonsense, so be silent! ”

After nightfall, a regular visitor came to the house, Guo Chongtao met him in the east study, and the two had a long conversation.

"Looking at the face of the privy envoy, I can see that it has been quite unpleasant recently, but I don't know why?" Feng Dao was still spotless, and said with a warm smile.

Guo Chongtao's already majestic face became more and more solemn and dull at this time, "Why does Lord Shilang ask knowingly? ”

Feng Dao smiled, "Since ancient times, there has been no shortage of villains in both the government and the opposition, Brother Guo is not an ordinary person, and now he is in the center, why bother with these laymen?" ”

Guo Chongtao said angrily: "Not everyone can have qi cultivation kung fu like Brother Feng!" ”

Feng Dao didn't plan to continue to entangle with Guo Chongtao on this topic, and instead talked about another matter, and said: "Speaking of which, not everywhere in the world is not going well. ”

Guo Chongtao looked at Feng Dao and relaxed, "Brother Feng is saying, the north?" ”

"Isn't it?"

Guo Chongtao shook his head and smiled, meaning inexplicably, "Brother Feng, do you know how the recent war is going on in Youyun?" ”

"Li Congjing not only recovered Pingzhou, but also restored Yingzhou, and defeated Yelu's enemy and stabbed 30,000 troops, who doesn't know about this now?" After Feng Dao said this, he was suddenly stunned, and a gleam flashed in his eyes, "Could it be that the war has changed recently?" ”

"As my brother expected." Guo Chongtao said, "The latest battle report, Yelu Bei led the army to aid Yelu's enemy, and Li Congjing was forced to withdraw from Yingzhou and retreat to Bianguan. This time, in the face of the Khitan 50,000 army, whether Li Congjing can hold the Bianguan Pass and keep Pingzhou from being lost is still unknown! ”

Feng Daoshang was surprised when he heard about such a military situation for the first time, and he couldn't help but feel worried about Li Congjing, so he thought about it and said: "I heard that Li Congjing conquered Ping and Ying's two prefectures this time, and only led 10,000 people to fight, and Yelu Bei and Yelu attacked 50,000 troops to the south, although the momentum is great, but as long as Li Congjing transfers troops and sends generals, with a total of 30,000 horses and horses in the two armies of Baizhan and Lulong, it is not difficult to resist the danger of Bianguan, right?" ”

Guo Chongtao shook his head, "That's not the case!" ”

"Why?"

Guo Chongtao sighed and said: "The elder brother was the envoy to the Khitan, you should know that Your Majesty has the intention of temporarily resting the sword soldiers with the Khitan, Li Congjing and the Khitan war, it has already violated the holy will, if he has the great merit of recovering peace and camping two states, or he can offset the merits, but now the border army is defeated in Yingzhou and forced to retreat to Bianguan, and then want to get the support of the imperial court, but it can't. And without the support of the imperial court, how can Youyun fight one country with one place? If Li Congjing can resist the 50,000 Khitan army with 10,000 people, if he does his best to raise the border army at Bianguan, who knows that the Khitan will not do all the domestic troops and compete with them to win or lose, in order to recover Pingzhou? If this is the case, then there will be a national war between the Tang Dynasty and the Khitan! Li Congjing disobeyed the order to start a war with the Khitan, he was already guilty, and it was enough that he could control the war within a certain range, and if it led to a full-scale war between the two countries, his actions were already unpunishable, how could he act like this? ”

Feng Dao is good at political affairs and not very good at military affairs, but Guo Chongtao's words are clear, and he has understood what he means: the Tang Dynasty can accept a local war with the Khitan, but it cannot accept a full-scale war with it!

"Brother Guo, the Khitan is powerful, and it must be controlled! Previously, I was fortunate enough to enter the grassland, and I saw the domestic situation of the Khitan, and I knew that its national strength was not trivial, if it was not curbed at this time, with its current situation, within ten years, it would be a great disaster for the Central Plains! Li Congjing seeks the country without taking refuge, making a living without avoiding death, a pure heart, all of them are loyal to the Tang Dynasty, not to mention that he has the merit of recovering peace and camping Erzhou, when he is in danger, how can the court stand by and watch? Feng Dao said unevenly.

Guo Chongtao still shook his head, "If it was in the past, the situation might be different, but the current situation in the court, wouldn't my brother know?" At this moment, how could His Majesty have the heart to pay too much attention to Youyun? ”

Feng Dao was silent when he heard this, pondered for a moment, raised his head and said: "Pingzhou is the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and it was taken by Yelu Abaoji before, which is a national shame, and the Tang Dynasty can't help it." Now Li Congjing takes it and returns it to the Tang Dynasty, isn't his line majestic, and his benefits are not far-reaching? is to only keep Pingzhou, Li Congjing is still a great achievement, and the imperial court can't help one or two? ”

Guo Chongtao shook his head three times, "I can't." ”

Feng Dao finally stood up angrily, "Brother Guo, you are in the high position of a privy envoy and are in charge of the military affairs of the world, so you can't help you when you are in danger?" Food, grass, ordnance, really nothing? ”

"Your Majesty has no intention of fighting at the moment, what can I do?" Guo Chongtao said helplessly.

The corners of Feng Dao's mouth moved, and he wanted to say something, but he couldn't help but say it after all.

Soon, the two parted unhappily.

After Feng Dao left, Guo Chongtao still sat in his place and did not move.

After a long time, he walked to his desk, spread out the rice paper, studied the ink and picked up the pen, and wrote a letter.

“…… The teacher said that he returned, and the brother also tried to help each other, but the current situation in the border is unclear, the war is unpredictable, the teacher has been in Youyun for a long time, and there is prestige, when he sits in Youzhou, he must not leave at this time...... If there is a teacher sitting in the borderland, my brother should dispatch materials and send them to Youyun, so as to strengthen my brother's military might......"

After writing the letter, Guo Chongtao put down his pen and sat on the sandalwood chair for a long time.

At some point, he muttered to himself: "Teacher, it's not that the students don't sympathize with your condition, but that once you return to the court, you will fight with me for power." The villain is on the edge of the court, and the traitor gains power, and the students are already struggling, and they can no longer be coerced by the teacher...... Teacher, don't blame the students, who made you the first general of Datang? ”

After Feng Dao said goodbye to Guo Chongtao, he returned home and locked himself in the study, ignoring no one.

There were already people waiting in the study.

"Squire-sama." Wu Changjian saluted Feng Dao.

Feng Dao returned the salute and beckoned the other party to sit down, and said with a slight sorrow: "The privy envoy refuses to help Youyun, I can't help Brother Congjing!" As he spoke, he briefly informed Wu Changjian of the conversation with Guo Chongtao.

Wu Changjian said: "The old general Li Cunxian came in and became increasingly ill, and he urgently needed to return to the court to recuperate and heal. Today, listening to the words of Lord Shilang, I am afraid that most of the reasons for this are in the privy envoys. The privy envoy is in charge of military power, and he still talks like this about the war in Youyun, it seems that the military commander is not bad, and it is difficult for Youyun to get much support from the court. ”

Feng Dao didn't know what to say.

Wu Changjian said with relief: "Lord Shilang doesn't have to be like this, although the Lord Privy Envoy did not agree to help Youyun today, but with Lord Shilang's invitation today, and there is a military marshal, General Li and his affection, I want to come to the Privy Envoy so that the court will not blame the military commander too much in the war of Youyun." In this way, it is not without gain. ”

"The world is like this, what can the husband say?" Feng Dao's mood was a little low, "It's just that Congjing and the border army soldiers are suffering!" ”

Wu Changjian didn't have hope, so he was not as disappointed as Feng Dao, and he could still smile and say: "What the privy envoy did was just for himself, it was nothing. ”

"Seek your own life......" Feng Dao chewed on these words repeatedly, and for a moment he only felt mixed feelings in his heart. He stood up, went to the window, pushed the leaves open, and looked at the night sky with his hands down. The sky is dark and the moon is hidden, there are no stars, the cold wind is blowing, and the winter breath is cold and biting, which makes people inevitably afraid of moving forward, and just want to nest in a corner to protect their own body warm.

Feng Dao's eyes were complicated, mixed with pain and confusion, for a long time, he sighed and said sadly: "Everyone is seeking themselves, who is going to seek the world?" ”

……

Li Congjing put down the letter in his hand, picked up the pen, and wanted to write a reply, but the tip of the pen fell on the page, but it did not move for a long time, so that a huge ink spot condensed on the white paper.

Although he is in the border area and has been busy with war recently, he is very clear about the situation in the court, although there is military intelligence in play, and there are also Feng Dao, Jing Xinmo, Li Siyuan and others who often correspond with him.

Li Cunmiao indulged in pleasures, wasted political affairs, and rewarded and punished excessively, so that the merits of good officials could not be reused, and flattering villains were repeatedly rewarded and stolen important positions, with his thousand-year-old view of history, he naturally knew that this was the rhythm of the decline and decline of the imperial court.

However, Li Cunmiao went from the King of Jin to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and then to the Central Plains, accumulating great power, and with this, the world will not be in chaos in a short period of time.

The emotion of "the erector has no virtue, and the world will be chaotic in the hands of you" is not aimed at a certain person, but at a certain group of people, and for the current situation of the Tang Dynasty, which is a kind of vision. Because he knows the direction of history, he is more able to be touched by the heartstrings after being exposed to certain information.

For him, the Central Plains can be chaotic, but the clouds are absolutely chaotic. Not only can it not be chaotic, but it also needs to be prosperous, otherwise, it is not enough to compete with the Khitan. When the Tang Dynasty is declining, how to make the clouds swim against the current and improve their comprehensive strength, the foothold is not only in how the clouds change, but also how to deal with the reaction of the court. It's a challenge, a tall order.

Outside Bian Pass, the Khitan army was attacking on a large scale, and the sound of fighting continued day and night, as if it was about to shatter this mountain and river.

Pushing open the door, Li Congjing could see the inner wall of Bianguan, where the soldiers of Baizhan and Lulong were fighting bloodily.

Facing the battlefield in the border area, seeing the soldiers going forward one after another, falling one by one, and rushing forward one by one, the anger in Li Congjing's heart did not dissipate, but became more and more intense, he held the hand of the letter behind him, and said to himself: "Each of you has taken your own way, but the people of the world have no way to go; Each of you is trying to make your own life, but there is nowhere for this world! ”