The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 290 Shocking News

At noon, Guo Wei summoned the generals to discuss military affairs. Everyone had lunch together in the hall and dispersed.

After lunch, Guo Wei sat in the study and read for a while, only to feel sleepy, so he got up and went back to the bedroom to take a nap.

I got up to practice swords before dawn this morning, and my mental and physical strength was exhausted, so I inevitably felt sleepy in the afternoon.

Not long after he lay down, Guo Wei fell into a deep sleep. In his sleep, he frequently fell into nightmares. Sometimes he dreamed of being chased, sometimes he dreamed of raging floods and being trapped alone on an island.

Nightmares continued one after another. Guo Wei woke up repeatedly, covered in cold sweat. Even though he was lying on the warm earthen kang, his body felt extremely cold and he couldn't cover himself with heat.

"Dong Dong Dong~"

There was a knock on the door, and Guo Wei sat up suddenly, holding the Yanling knife placed beside his pillow, and shouted in a deep voice: "What's the matter?"

The familiar voice of the guard came: "Commander, the two generals Guo Chong and Cao Ying want to see you!"

"Let them in."

Guo Wei stayed down, poured three bowls of tea, drank it, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

After a while, the door opened, and Guo Chong and Cao Ying came hand in hand. They closed the door, walked to Guo Wei, and bowed down together.

"What are you doing?" Guo Wei sat at the table, his thick eyebrows furrowed, as if a huge stone had fallen from his heart.

"There will be an urgent and confidential report at the end!" Guo Chong lowered his voice.

Cao Ying took out a yellow silk book from her bosom, and held it above her head with both hands: "Please look over it, Commander!"

Guo Wei looked at the silk book with dragon embroidery patterns, and for a moment it felt like a big stone was pressing on his chest, making him unable to breathe.

Guo Wei looked at the two of them with cold eyes, then took the silk book and unfolded it.

"Where did this thing come from?" Guo Wei glanced at it a few times, his pupils shrank sharply, and asked in a deep voice.

Guo Chong lowered his voice and said: "The secret envoy Yantuo came from Kaifeng and asked me to meet in Yedu City this morning. He personally handed this thing to us."

"Yantuo?" Guo Wei thought about it carefully, and he seemed to have this person around him.

"What else did he say to you?"

Cao Ying said in a low voice: "Yantuo passed down a secret decree from the official family, ordering the two of us to find an opportunity to get rid of the commander-in-chief and the supervising army Wang Jun. He still has an edict in his hand. After the two of us succeed, he will reappear." Promulgate official decrees in front of all the generals."

Guo Wei narrowed his eyes slightly and couldn't see clearly the expression contained inside: "What kind of promise does the imperial court make to you two?"

Guo Chong said honestly: "Yantuo said that the officials promised us that after the deal is completed, we will be given the positions of Yuhou, the capital of the bodyguards, and the military governors near Kaifeng."

"Haha, the officials do not hesitate to use high-ranking officials and generous salaries as rewards. It seems that they are eager to kill me! Guo Wei does not fight or be jealous, nor is he greedy for power. So he is not tolerated by the officials and the court? Does he seriously want to kill me? Is it so urgent?”

Guo Wei's deep voice contained endless anger, and he tightly clenched the silk book that was light but enough to determine his life or death.

Guo Chong and Cao Ying lowered their heads and dared not speak out.

After a while, Guo Wei let out a long sigh and looked lonely. His appearance seemed to have aged ten years in an instant, and even the white hair on his temples became more and more conspicuous.

With a bang, the Yanling saber was thrown in front of Guo Chong and Cao Ying. Guo Wei said indifferently: "Since the official has passed a secret decree to you two, you two should follow the decree and take my head and send it to Kaifeng. From now on, you will live in peace and prosperity!"

Guo Chong and Cao Ying were shocked and fell to the ground in a hurry, kowtowing: "The two of us are here today because of the appreciation of the commander-in-chief. How dare we betray our master and be ungrateful? The commander-in-chief said this, making us both ashamed!" I would rather commit suicide now than harm the commander-in-chief at all!"

Guo Chong had an upright temper. He immediately picked up the Yanling knife and wiped it on his neck. He shed tears and sobbed: "I am willing to die to prove my loyalty to the commander-in-chief!"

Guo Wei's eyes darkened, he kicked the knife away from his hand, and scolded sternly: "I have trained you two for many years, but have I only taught you how to cry like a woman in times of crisis and wipe your neck to commit suicide?"

"Commander!" Guo Chong kowtowed heavily and knelt down, crying bitterly.

Cao Ying clasped her fists with tears in her eyes and said, "The commander-in-chief has been so kind to me and two of us. We would rather die than harm the commander-in-chief at all!"

Guo Wei sighed, stood up and helped the two of them up.

"You two now know why I deliberately neglected you and prevented you from being promoted to official positions for many years! What I did for this is today!"

Guo Wei patted the two of them on the shoulders sincerely.

The two looked at each other in shock, Cao Ying's mind turned quickly, and hurriedly said: "The commander-in-chief has long guessed that the official family cannot accommodate the commander-in-chief, and sooner or later they will attack you?"

Guo Chong suddenly said: "No wonder when Li Ye attracted the two of us, the marshal asked us to pretend to cater to him and deliberately showed his resentment towards the marshal. It turns out that the marshal had been preparing for today!"

Guo Wei smiled wryly and said: "The officials are young, their temperaments are unstable, and they are easily influenced by others. Li Ye and Nie Wenjin are villains, and they are all ambitious people. This commander is worried that the officials will be instigated by them, so he will get rid of me and other veterans and then hurry up." thoughts.

I, Commander-in-Chief Guo Wei, have a clear conscience and can only resort to covert means to protect myself.I swore an oath before the late Emperor's spirit that as long as the Liu family does not fail me, I will not fail the Liu family!I never thought that today, the officials would still listen to the slanderous words of Li Ye and other villains, and have murderous intentions towards me and other old ministers."

Guo Wei shook his head full of disappointment, his expression was full of unconcealable sadness.

Cao Ying hurriedly said: "The commander-in-chief must not let Li Ye and other villains persecute him! The officials are ignorant and there are villains on the side, so it is even more necessary for the commander-in-chief to sit in the court and bring order to the court!"

"The last general is willing to follow the commander back to Kaifeng to clear the emperor's side and set the record straight!" Guo Chong shouted murderously.

Guo Wei pondered for a while, then asked: "How is Kaifeng now? Are Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin and others safe? Did Yan Tuo reveal anything?"

Cao Yingdao: "Yantuo's words were cautious and he did not reveal too much, but the general could see some arrogance in his expression. I think Kaifeng is already under the control of the official family and Li Ye and others. The situation of several ministers Unknown at the moment.”

Guo Wei said slowly: "The soldiers and horses of Yedu, including you and my family, are all in Kaifeng. Don't act rashly, otherwise the morale of the army will be shaken and the Khitans will take advantage."

After pondering for a while, Guo Wei ordered: "You two hold Yantuo steady and ask for more information about Kaifeng from him. The more information the better. Then send people to Chanzhou and ask Wang Yin, commander of the infantry and guards, to secretly go to Yedu One trip.”

"I will obey the order!" The two men accepted the order in unison, resigned and left.

The door creaked twice and opened and closed, and the light in the room became brighter and darker.

Guo Wei sat alone in the bedroom, clutching the yellow silk book tightly, his expression suddenly turned sinister and terrifying.

He thought of a question.

Since Liu Chengyou and Li Ye dared to send Yantuo to convey the secret order and secretly ordered Guo Chong and Cao Ying to get rid of him, then Kaifeng City must be completely controlled by them.

Important officials such as Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin, and Wang Zhang may have been killed.

It has been two months since he received a letter from Shi Hongzhao. The Di newspaper from Kaifeng was full of scenes of singing and dancing, but behind those false words, there might be a bloody storm hidden!
Guo Wei's heart suddenly tightened. If Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bing and others were killed, with the cruelty of Li Ye, Nie Wenjin and others, I am afraid that their families would not be spared.

Will all the Guo family members in the Situ Mansion be implicated?Guo Wei only felt that his heart was tightening and his chest was so heavy that it was even difficult to breathe. He covered his chest and gasped for air. After a while, he gradually regained his composure.

"I didn't want to rebel, let alone rebel. I just wanted to keep my little one safe for the sake of some achievements in the past."

Guo Wei murmured to himself, his face showing signs of aging showing some sincerity.

As long as his family is safe, he is willing to make any compromise and agree to any conditions put forward by the officials and the court.

But if you can't even protect your family.
He really didn't dare to continue to think about it, if things really got to that point, how would he face the officials and the Queen Mother, and how he would face the subjects of Kaifeng.
Following Guo Wei's orders, Guo Chong and Cao Ying continued to maintain contact with Yantuo in private and tried every means to learn about the current situation in Kaifeng from him.

Yan Tuo was also tight-lipped and refused to disclose the exact information. He just urged Guo Chong and Cao Ying to take action as soon as possible, and then they returned to Kaifeng to report to the officials.

Guo Chong and Cao Ying reported to Guo Wei while dealing with Yantuo.

Wang Yundu under Guo Wei went out with all his strength to inquire about all news related to Kaifeng, and the secret envoy sent to Chanzhou was also on the way.

Two days later, Guo Chong and Cao Ying still failed to pry Yan Tuo's mouth open. Guo Wei was impatient and planned to find Chai Rong and Wei Renpu to discuss.

Yantuo held a secret official order and wanted to kill him and Wang Jun. Guo Wei had not told Chai Rong and Wei Renpu yet.

At noon that day, Chai Rong and Wei Renpu came outside the official room to ask for an audience.

"These past few days, I have always seen my father feeling restless and in a daze. I wonder what happened?"

Chai Rong asked with concern as soon as they met.

Wei Renpu, who was dressed in black robes, frowned and stared at Guo Wei. Judging from his intuition, something big might have happened.

Guo Weiping withdrew his personal guards, showed the yellow silk book to the two of them, and told him again what Guo Chong and Cao Ying had come to him to report secretly a few days ago.

"This is unreasonable!" Chai Rong became furious after seeing this, and hit the desks next to the chair with a heavy palm, causing one corner of the desks to snap and break.

"The officials and Li Ye are deceiving people too much!" Chai Rong was very angry, his face full of sullenness, "My father and son went to Hebei to guard Yedu to fight against foreign invaders for the country, but the officials are plotting to kill the father at this time. What’s the point?”

Wei Renpu took the silk book and checked it over and over again, and asked suspiciously: "Have you ever identified it, handsome man? How is it true or false?"

Guo Wei smiled bitterly and said: "With the emperor's seal as proof, it is certainly true. And Yantuo was originally a boy servant beside the official. After the official ascended the throne, he relied on him as a confidant. Over the years, he heard about the incident and made the local officials famous. , this person personally sneaked into Yedu City, there is absolutely no lie."

Chai Rong said angrily: "Where is this Yantuo dog thief? I will catch him right away and torture him!"

Guo Wei signaled him to be calm and said in a deep voice: "The situation in Kaifeng is unknown. I asked Guo Chong and Cao Ying to find a way to find out what happened from Yan Tuo, but there was no progress in a few days.

Yan Tuo was very tight-lipped and refused to reveal too much information. He just urged Guo Chong and Cao Ying to take my life as soon as possible.

I hesitated whether I should arrest Yan Tuo for interrogation first, so I asked you to discuss it together.

This matter has not spread yet, only the three of us know about it. "

Chai Rong sat down, suppressed his anger, clenched his fists and said, "I agree to arrest Yan Tuo first to prevent the news from leaking, and then ask him about the unsealing situation."

Wei Renpu Nianxu pondered for a moment and said: "I also agree to detain Yantuo first. This person has the official secret decree and there is an imperial edict to prove it. If he is allowed to appear in public and announce the emperor's decree in front of all the soldiers, I am afraid that the army will People's hearts are fluctuating, allowing those with unruly hearts to find an opportunity to disrupt the morale of our army in Yedu.

Although the commander-in-chief is extremely famous, and the troops in Yedu are dominated by the Tianxiong Army, it is still better not to be careless and to be careful in everything. "

Guo Wei nodded: "Yes, that's exactly what I thought."

Chai Rong got up immediately: "It's not too late, I'm going to find the two generals Guo Chong and Cao Ying, and catch Yan Tuo first!"

Just as Chai Rong was about to clasp his fists and leave, the door was pushed open with a clang, and a figure stumbled into the room. It was Wang Jun!

I saw Wang Jun's eyes were red, his hair crown and robes were slightly messy. I saw Guo Wei fell to his knees on the ground, and he cried heartbreakingly: "Something is wrong with Mr. Guo! Chen Guangsui, the deputy envoy of Chanzhou Jiedu, paid tribute to Wang Yin He and Li Hongyi were ordered to come and report to Duke Guo that the officials and Li Ye had killed Shi Hongzhao, Yang Yi, and Wang Zhang outside the Guangzheng Hall ten days ago!

All the officials, generals and schools who were close to the ministers in the past were all killed!All family members and friends are implicated!
Even the little boy Guo Gong and Xiaguan left behind in the capital was brutally murdered! ~~"

Wang Jun burst into tears in grief.

Guo Wei was shocked, his face turned pale, he clutched the armrest of the seat tightly, his mind went blank.

Wei Renpu's face was full of panic, and he was also shocked and speechless by the sudden bad news.

Chai Rong rushed forward and grabbed Wang Jun's collar, suddenly lifted him up, and roared: "How about the Situ Mansion? How about the family where my father and son stayed in Kaifeng? Say it again!"

Wang Jun wept unceasingly, with snot and tears all over his face, he choked and said, "Chen Guangsui said that everyone in Situ's mansion was killed and no one survived."

Chai Rong took a breath and felt the world was spinning. He took a few steps back and fell onto the chair, as if all his strength had been drained away.

"Where is Chen Guangsui?" Wei Renpu shouted hurriedly.

Wang Jun pointed outside the house: "General Chen has been traveling for days and is exhausted. He will come after a short rest."

As soon as he finished speaking, two personal guards helped a tired man rush to the hall, followed by a large group of officials and generals who came after hearing the news. They were all Guo Wei's subordinates.

The man had unkempt hair, a messy beard, cracked and bleeding lips, and was covered in mud. He looked like a refugee.

This person is none other than Chen Guangsui, deputy envoy of Chanzhou Jiedu!
When Chen Guangsui saw Guo Wei, he struggled and knelt down on the ground. Regardless of his exhaustion, he took off a blood-stained baggage on his back and said sadly: "Finally, Chen Guangsui is here to see Guo Shuai!"

At the end of the day, under the orders of the two generals Wang Yin and Li Hongyi, he rushed to Yedu day and night to ask for an audience with Guo Shuai!
On November [-], the Guangzhengdian Incident occurred in Kaifeng. Shi Hongzhao, Yang Bin, and Wang Zhang were executed. Their family members and friends were designated as rebels against the party, and they were all implicated!

As many as hundreds of officials, generals and colonels were killed in Kaifeng City on the same day, and thousands of others were implicated!
Two days later, under the instructions of the emperor, Li Ye and others, Liu Zhu, governor of the Kaifeng government, and Meng Ye, the enshrined officer, dispatched forbidden troops to surround Situ's mansion and invaded the mansion at noon, killing men, women, and children alike!
Then Meng Ye sneaked into Chanzhou with a secret edict, and secretly ordered the Jiedushi envoy Li Hongyi to kill General Wang Yin. Li Hongyi refused to join forces with the traitor and secretly informed General Wang that the two generals would kill Meng Ye and that he would take Meng Ye's head and General Wang wrote a personal letter and rushed to Yedu to report to Guo Shuai! "

With trembling hands, Chen Guangsui took out a crumpled secret letter from his arms, together with the bundle that wrapped Meng Ye's head, and raised it high above his head.

Guo Wei's face was as gloomy as a cold pond, he resisted his trembling body, and walked up to Chen Guangsui step by step, took the secret letter, tore it open, took it out, and read it word by word.

Wei Renpu looked at him with worry on his face. As a subordinate and old friend, he knew that Guo Wei was on the verge of collapse at this moment, and his heavy hands had never trembled so violently as now.

There were many officials and generals standing outside the hall. No one dared to speak, and the atmosphere was depressing and solemn.

Guo Wei read Wang Yin's handwritten letter word by word, and it was exactly as Chen Guangsui said.

Thousands of miles away, Kaifeng City has undergone earth-shattering changes, and his entire family has been massacred.
Guo Wei's burly body shook violently, and the light letter fell from his hand. His vision went black, his chest felt like being hit by a heavy hammer, his throat felt sweet, and a trace of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

Guo Wei covered his heart and let out a heart-breaking scream, and fell straight backwards!
"Big guy!"

There was a sound of exclamation, and countless people rushed into the hall, and the scene fell into chaos in an instant.
(End of this chapter)