The back court of the car division is flat, the front court surrenders by itself, the Han army rests for a few days in the capital of the car division, and the soldiers of the car division are recruited, and they plan to lead the army to the south to attack Yanqi and Qiuzi. This night, Dou Gu was reading the military book under the lamp, and a person pushed the door in, Dou Gu looked up, saw that it was Liu Zhang, was very surprised, and said: "It's late at night, why doesn't General Liu sleep?" ”

"I'm worried about the general, so I came to visit late at night."

"Oh, what's my concern?"

Liu Zhang took out a piece of paper from his long sleeve, stretched out his hand to hand it over, and said: "This is a letter from Mrs. Zun, the letter is not sealed, and I just saw it, I am afraid that the general will be sad." Therefore, come and send it in person, and may the general's day be smooth and changeable. Dou Gu's expression changed, and when he saw it, his tears flowed long, his arms trembled, and the steel hand that charged into battle could no longer hold the thin paper silk, and as soon as his hand was loosened, the paper silk fell to the ground. Dou Gu muttered, "How can this be? How so? In his mind, the appearance of his son Dou Biao appeared, "He is so young, why did he go before me......"

Liu Zhang didn't say a word, looked at Dou Gu quietly, and waited for Dou Gu to cry enough before he said, "Please take care of your body, don't be too sad." Dou Gu wiped his tears from his eyes, and suddenly said sharply: "Why didn't you hide it first, but you sent this letter at the critical juncture of the army to Yanqi?" Do you want me to quit the army? My son is dead and dead, that's a family matter, how can I forget my public because of selfishness? ”

Liu Zhang said slowly: "If the general doesn't listen to me today, I'm afraid that my son will die now, and the Dou clan of the Ming Dynasty will be wiped out." Dou Gu got up, pulled the sword in his hand, slashed it on the table, and said viciously: "Liu Zhang, you are alarmist, aren't you afraid that I will kill you with a sword?" ”

Liu Zhang looked at the angry Dou Gu, his face did not change, and he said lightly: "The general is angry, if I Liu Zhang dares to speak out, how can I live to this day full of gray hair in the midst of thousands of troops?" I'm really good for the general. On that day, the emperor built an altar to seal the general, and he was already sick, but he barely supported it, if it wasn't for the general's support, the emperor would probably fall on the spot! ”

"So what?" Dou Gu was taken aback and thought: "It turns out that Liu Zhang also saw that the emperor was seriously ill. ”

"Recently, I heard that the emperor's condition is getting worse, in case Mount Tai collapses, who does the general think the throne will belong to?"

"Then it doesn't need to be said, of course it has to be the prince!"

"Hahaha." Liu Zhang raised his head and laughed, and said: "The general is a famous general in a hundred battles, but this matter is very simple. In that year, Emperor Guangwu originally established Empress Guo Ziqiang as the crown prince, and later, Empress Guo was deposed, Emperor Guangwu was very fond of the fourth son of the emperor Liu Zhuang, the prince Qiang often felt uneasy, so he let the prince take the throne, Emperor Guangwu was happy, changed the title of the prince Qiang as the king of the East China Sea, and established the fourth son of the emperor Zhuang as the prince, that is, the current emperor. The king of the East China Sea is frugal and gentle, talented and virtuous, but unfortunately died early, the emperor pities him for his innocence and abdication, often ashamed, and adds 100,000 households to Liu Zheng, the son of Wang Qiang of the East China Sea, more than 30,000 households more than the prince's food, and the emperor wants to pass on the throne to Liu Zheng, because this matter does not conform to the national system, and the prince Liu Wei is very intelligent and very self-like, so he hesitates. ”

Dou Gu was taken aback and said, "There is such a thing? ”

"Exactly! The general thought about it, if the emperor is seriously ill and someone slanders him and changes Liu Zheng to the crown prince, it is not impossible! Moreover, I heard that Liu Zheng, the king of the East China Sea, was arrogant and cruel, and often said that the Han family originally belonged to his family, but it was only because his father was confused and gave way without guilt that he lost the world. General, think about it, if Liu Zheng wins the world, then you are not very dangerous? ”

Dou Gu was stunned: "What danger do I have?" ”

Liu Zhang laughed and said, "The general is really loyal!" The general's two daughters are both princesses and are deeply favored by the prince, if the prince loses his position, with Liu Zheng's cruelty, how can there be eggs? At that time, the general will be killed and the clan will be wiped out, how can it not be extremely dangerous! ”

Dou Gu suddenly realized, threw the sword on the ground, shook it to the end, and said: "Many of the general's instructions, this great kindness, he will definitely repay him in the future!" Dare to ask General Liu, what should I do? ”

"The general has no way out, return to the army quickly, monitor the imperial court, with the general's military exploits and prestige, the ministers are afraid, how can anyone dare to slander? Once the mountain collapses, the general enters the palace with a sword, does Huo Guangshi, and supports the prince, who dares to have two words? At that time, the general not only had the merit of supporting the empress, but also the father of the queen, who can compare this feat? At that time, were you still afraid that the Dou clan would not be prosperous? These words made Dou Gu's blood and blood tremble, and even the pain of his son's death disappeared. Yes, for that day, Dou Gu didn't know how long he had to wait! Back then, my brother Dou You was in prison, and he was also tortured in the edict prison, no one paid attention to him, and later he was demoted to a commoner, full of people, all of them looked sideways, and endured the warmth and coldness of the world. In order to revitalize the Dou family, Dou Gu learned from the pain, risked his life, and fought several times before he had some prestige, and the court gradually became endless.

However, Dou Gu was still a little hesitant and said: "Now that the enemy is present, pacifying the Western Regions is just around the corner, if you withdraw from the army, how can you explain it to the emperor?" How can you be worthy of the thousands of soldiers who died in a foreign land? Moreover, our army is in full swing, the countries of the Western Regions are terrified, the war situation is favorable, and it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. ”

Liu Zhang said with a smile: "The general is dedicated to the public and the country, but others will not be like this!" At that time, the general's brother was falsely accused and imprisoned in the edict prison, and no one spoke up in the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty! When the general was demoted to the common people of Luoyang, who came to visit the smiling and smiling friends? A few words aroused Dou Gu's old hatred, and he suddenly rose up and said, "I have made up my mind!" My son died of illness, he should be mourned, General Liu, pass my order, and return to the army tomorrow! ”

Liu Zhang shook his hand and said: "The general is in a hurry, the whole army is rubbing his fists at the moment, and he is trying to do a big job and win fame, how can the general retire in the name of the mourning?" The general can enlighten the emperor, but he said that the soldiers suffered too many casualties, morale was low, and it was already the end of the strong crossbow, so it was better to return to the army, recuperate, and wait for a good opportunity, and the emperor would definitely agree! ”

Dou Gu said: "The emperor is eloquent and strategic, and he wants to pacify the Western Regions, how can he agree to my withdrawal from the army, it is better to cut it first and then retreat." ”

"General rest assured, the emperor will agree to the horse defense in the court!"

"Horse defense? Will he help me? Dou Gu was stunned.

"Not bad! As long as the general promises one thing, Ma Fang will definitely do his best to help you! Ma Fang is the prince's uncle, you are the prince's father-in-law, and the two of you are both relatives, and you should be in the same boat. ”

"What's the matter? General Liu, please. ”

"May I ask the general, in this expedition to the west, whose merit is ranked first in the merit book?"

"Needless to say, of course it's Geng Gong! He dragged the 100,000 army of the Huns with 300 soldiers, and ambushed the inner line of the Che Division, pacifying the Che Division. ”

"Does the general know, who does Ma Fang hate the most?"

Dou Gu shook his head and said, "I don't know." Liu Zhang laughed and said, "The general is a sincere gentleman." Ma Fang came from the general's door, but was cut by his sister Ma Hou, and he is still a mere yellow doorman, but he is both wise and brave, ambitious, how can he be willing to be realistic and watch the Ma family become dull? At the beginning of the western expedition to choose generals, the emperor originally sent Ma Fang to fight, but Geng Bing and Geng Gong strongly advised his relatives not to pawn soldiers, causing Ma Fang's thoughts to be empty, how could he not hate Geng Bing and Geng Gong? Besides, the Ma family and the Geng family have a feud, if it weren't for Queen Ma's mediation, the two would have fought a long time ago. It's just that Geng Bing has always been cautious and difficult to deal with, only Geng Gong, a fledgling, has a strong blood, and is just calculating! Therefore, if the general remembers Geng Gong as the first meritorious person of the Western Expedition, Ma Fang will definitely be displeased, and there will be a gap with the general, which is not a wise approach! ”

Dou Gu moved and said, "That, what will happen then?" Geng Gong's merits are known to the whole army, how can they be wiped out? ”

(End of chapter)