Chapter 5: The Purple Robe (Nine Below)

"After the subordinates got the news, they once wrote a letter to the marshal!" Gao Shi smiled slightly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth that were extremely well maintained, "My subordinates remember that they once advised the marshal in the letter not to be in a hurry to show favor to Yang Xiang. His favor can be repaid at any time, and the initiative is in the hands of the commander. And in case of bad relations with the Anxi Army, you have to always be on guard against Feng Changqing's revenge! Compared with the two, it is better to let the baggage team go in a daze! It may be that the marshal was busy with official business and didn't notice the reminder of his subordinates at all. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Ge Shuhan was stunned again, vaguely, he really had a little impression of this letter. But this letter was sent together in a large pile of official documents, and there was no special mark on the cover, how could he have the energy to read it carefully? What's more, he has always thought that Gao Shi is too angry to make any long-term plans. So after a few quick glances, he threw the letter into the waste paper heap.

Now, being mentioned by the other party in person, Ge Shuhan's face is a little hot. Turning his head to avoid Gao Shi's gaze, he whispered, "Alas! Why don't you remind me more! With so many official duties to deal with every day, how can he have time to read every letter carefully? It is estimated that the army at the bottom is classified in the wrong category, so it did not attract the attention of the commander at all. Alas! These lazy guys are doing everything I can. Sooner or later, I'll have to find a chance to put them in order. But it's too late to say these things now, I was also offended by Feng Changqing, and Yang Guozhong's side didn't fall well! Alas! Why am I so unlucky?! ”

When the words fell, the soldiers grinned bitterly on the side. At the beginning, Ge Shuhan insisted on repaying Yang Guozhong's kindness, who had the courage to block him? That is, Gao Shi, a knife and pen official who has been rolling in the local officialdom, will come up with such a way to not only fulfill his responsibility but not provoke Ge Shuhan to be angry. You don't necessarily expect it to do anything, it's just peace of mind.

"Actually, if the marshal wants to remedy one or two, it's not very difficult!" Without waiting for everyone to put away their smiles, Gao Shi arched his hand again and threw out an astonishing remark.

"Remedy, I'm afraid of them?" Ge Shuhan sneered and pursed his lips, his face full of indifference. "The people offended by Ben Shuai are not afraid of one or two more. But you can talk about it. If it's just a gesture, Ben Shuai doesn't mind selling him Yang Guozhong and Feng Cripple a little face! ”

"Death to save face!" The generals were slandered in their hearts, but their eyes turned to Gao Shi in unison. Let's see how he can fill the bottom of the pot that Ge Shuhan has smashed.

"Of course it's not a question of who's afraid of whom!" Gao Shi smiled and nodded lightly at everyone, "As long as our Hexi Army works together, no one can help it!" The subordinates just want to solve some minor troubles for the marshal. There is an old saying in the Central Plains, it is better to prevent thieves in a thousand days, it is better to get rid of them in one fell swoop. Shuai, please think about it, if the news that Wang Xiaowei and the others are not dead reaches Yang Guozhong's ears, how will he react?! ”

"That guy! will definitely scold Ben Shuai for not having the heart to do things for him! Then immediately want to make trouble for our Hexi Army! Regarding Yang Guozhong's temperament, Ge Shuhan saw it very clearly. He smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly.

There is neither the talent of the prime minister, nor the character of the prime minister. This is the unanimous opinion of everyone on Yang Guozhong when Gao Yichu and Li Bai, Cen Shen and others pointed out the country. Smiling, he said to Ge Shuhan very sincerely: "Yang Guozhong has just ascended to the phase, and his foundation is not stable, so it is estimated that he will not immediately turn his face with the big handsome. However, in the future, when it gains a firm foothold in the DPRK, I am afraid that it will inevitably turn over old accounts. Therefore, it is better to send him a generous gift in time now, so that he will no longer be obsessed with what our department failed to do as he wanted! ”

"What kind of gift?" Ge Shuhan frowned and asked, "Is he Yang Guozhong still short of money now?" ”

If someone else is the prime minister, Gao Shi will definitely not dare to jump to conclusions. But for the thoughts of a gangster like Yang Guozhong, he can guess with his eyes closed, "This human nature likes luxury and luxury, and there are many places where you need money." But just by sending gold, silver and jade silk, it doesn't show the friendship between Dashuai and Yang Xiang! Besides, he has just replaced Li Linfu now, and what he needs most is not money, but to really show his political achievements that are better than his predecessors! ”

"Political achievements?" Ge Shuhan's eyebrows tightened, and the wrinkles on his forehead that were born early due to excessive wine were clearly visible, "I am a military general, how can I give him my political achievements for nothing?" ”

"How can you get the prime minister's strategizing to expand the territory?" Gao Shi smiled slyly and responded in a low voice, "In the last few years of Li Xiang's rule, his mentality has been very lazy. The grain and grass allocated to various parts of the border towns have been repeatedly deducted. And all over the border towns, except for the big handsome, no one can take any dazzling credit. In particular, the battle of Hengros in the tenth year of Tianbao, due to the betrayal of the Qarlu troops in front of the battle, caused General Gao Xianzhi to advance and retreat. The grain and grass were all lost to the enemy, and less than 1,000 of the 24,000 soldiers finally broke out of the encirclement safely! This battle is a rare shame since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. The government and the opposition all heard about it. Although Li Xiang covered it up in many ways afterwards, after all, it was difficult to plug the mouth of the world, and it also left a stinger in His Majesty's heart. As far as his subordinates know, this is also one of the reasons why Gao Xianzhi then returned to Beijing to recuperate and handed over the Anxi soldiers and horses to the management of the Feng Changqing Dynasty! ”

These words, even if Gao Shi didn't need to say them, Ge Shuhan knew them very well in his heart. Since His Majesty the Emperor ascended the throne, the Tang Dynasty soldiers have been fighting in the east and west, and they are almost invincible. However, the fiasco of Hengros in the first battle made the court lose face. If the responsibility is carefully investigated, the leading coach Gao Xianzhi certainly deserves to be dismissed, and Li Linfu, as the prime minister, may not be able to escape the blame. After all, since this man took charge of the power of the DPRK and China, the amount of food and salary allocated to the military has been reduced again and again.

Now that Yang Guozhong has finally succeeded in replacing Li Linfu as prime minister, after taking office, the most convenient way to prove that he is more capable than his predecessor is to expand his territory. If someone can deliver one or two passable records in time, I am afraid that in Yang Guozhong's eyes, it will be tantamount to sending charcoal in the snow. Not only can the previous big suspicions be written off. In the future, when Yang Guozhong sits firmly in the position of prime minister, he will also lead this person as his right-hand man.

Thinking of this section, Ge Shuhan couldn't help but stroke his palms hard, "Okay, you are a, you are worthy of being an old oilman in officialdom, and you have read all the sophistication of human feelings!" Just do as you say, when the spring season opens next year, let's immediately pull the brothers out and give Yang Guozhong a generous gift! ”

"Handsome and wise!" "Mighty and mighty!" "Fight, fight, if you don't fight again, Lao Tzu's crotch will grow fat!" Huoba Guiren, Absi, Zuo Che, Hun Weiming and several other henchmen and generals of Ge Shuhan shouted in unison. There is always no fighting, they have long been idle and itchy, and they wish they could find a soft persimmon and knead it as soon as possible.

"But, where?" Ge Shuhan waved his hand to stop the commotion, "Duff, you go on, where should we start?" ”

"Of course, which is the most convenient, where to start!" Gao Shi had already prepared the answer, nodded, and responded unhurriedly. "According to the news that his subordinates found out when they were in Yangguan City, Tubo Zampu was terminally ill, and it seemed that his prime minister and the prince were already on the same page. At this time, if the handsome man doesn't take the opportunity to kill them, when will he stay? ”

"Hmmm! What an opportunity! Ge Shuhan nodded and groaned, but his voice was not very firm. A few days after replacing Wang Zhongsi in charge of the Hexi soldiers and horses, in order to prove his talent, he led the army to fight a tough battle against the Tuboans. Although he took several strategic bases in the area of Qinghai Lake and Dafeichuan as he wished, due to the influence of many unfavorable factors such as weather and terrain, the losses of his soldiers were really heavy.

The sequelae of this battle have not yet been completely eliminated, and when the Central Plains people mentioned it, they ridiculed his brother Shuhan for his great success, and exchanged the blood of his brothers for a royal purple robe to wear. Zhang Shouyu and Gao Xiuyan, the few fierce generals in the Anxi army, also left one after another. One went back to his hometown to retire, and since then he has been lazy to hear the sound of the golden drum. The other simply went directly to Ge Shuhan's old opponent, Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong Towns, and An Lushan.

"It's a win-win Secretly looking at Ge Shuhan's face, Gao Shi continued to plan carefully for the other party, "After the beginning of spring, take advantage of the civil strife in Tubo to go south, as long as you make some gains, you can make Yang relatively handsome and grateful." The reason why Feng Changqing was in a hurry to ask the imperial court for armament supplies must be to prepare to use troops to the west to wash away the shame of the Anxi Army's disastrous defeat in Hengros. Once he re-started the war with the Great Cannibal, he was most worried about being stabbed in the back by the Tibetans. And if the soldiers and horses in Hexi contain all the main forces of Tubo on the front line of Jishi Mountain, presumably Feng Changqing will not forget the virtue of the marshal's help. Although he is a maverick, he must be able to distinguish clearly which is lighter and which is heavier than national affairs and personal enmity! ”

"Wonderful!" Before Ge Shuhan fully understood Gao Shi's suggestion, the loyal general Lu Jiong had already begun to laugh and stroke his palms. "No matter how deep the background of the surname Wang is, he is just a captain at the moment. The role they can play in the military is limited. If our Hexi Army takes the first step to solve his worries before the Anxi Army's westward expedition, forgive that Feng Changqing, and I don't have the face to worry about the marshal anymore! ”

"Well——, get me a map! Brother Duff, just put your ideas on it! Ge Shuhan pondered for a moment, then suddenly stomped his foot and commanded in a loud voice.

In that short moment just now, his mind had already turned a hundred times. Intuition told him that Gao Shi's suggestion must be more than just to reduce trouble for the Hexi army. There may be other motives behind it. However, the huge benefits of this strategy made him unable to refuse. As the loyal general Lu Jiong said, with this favor, it is enough to make Feng Changqing unable to say anything to seek justice for Wang Xun. What's more important is that whether it is for Ge Shuhan himself or Yang Guozhong, who has just become prime minister, this is a timely credit, which is enough to make them join hands again and abandon the previous dislike.