Pei Meng rode his horse at full speed and arrived at the tavern near the express station.
Mr. Dou and Gu Ting were sitting by the window.
Mr. Dou stuck his head out and asked, "Why is Uncle here?"
"How can you drink without Master Ben?"
Pei Meng quickly dismounted, handed the reins to his personal guard, strode into the tavern and sat down in an empty seat.
"Come on, let's toast to you two with three glasses of wine first!"
After three glasses of wine, I can just moisten my lips.
Gu Ting was eating fried peanuts. "Isn't Uncle busy?"
Pei Meng slapped Gu Ting on the shoulder, but Gu Ting didn't even shake.
Twenty years of military life have given him a good physique.
"I heard that several of your brothers from the Gu family are in the northwest, and the others are under the command of the Grand Commander, but you are the only one in the Northwest Army."
Gu Ting nodded in agreement, "They came to the Northwest late, so they can only serve under the Grand Commander. We in the Northwest Army don't accept just anyone."
"Hahaha... That's right. The Northwest Army doesn't want everyone. But sometimes you may not be able to get the person you want." Pei Meng said meaningfully.
Upon hearing this, Gu Ting asked curiously, "Who does Uncle want, and how can he not get him?"
“Not only can this Lord not get it, even if the Lord comes forward, the court will reject it.”
Gu Ting was stunned on the spot.
He remembered what Pei Man had said to him.
The imperial court was wary of the Northwest Army and the Marquis of Lu and his son.
No one dared to take the Northwest Army's future lightly.
Gu Ting continued to eat peanuts, but he was a little absent-minded.
Pei Meng patted his shoulder again and said, "After decades of military service, it's time to return to the capital."
Gu Ting was surprised. "Is the uncle going back to the capital to report on his work?"
Pei Meng laughed, "Not only does this uncle want to return to the capital, you have to go back to the capital too."
"I?"
Gu Ting pointed at himself and asked, "Why should I go back to the capital?"
Pei Meng smiled and said, "You've been away from the capital for over ten years, and your child is growing up. Don't you want to return? Your sister is now the Empress, and you don't need to risk your life for your future. Everyone knows your contributions, and no matter how the court rewards you, no one will object."
Gu Ting shook his head. "But I haven't decided whether to return to the capital. I think the northwest is pretty good!"
Pei Meng finished his drink and said solemnly, "Returning to the capital is a military order. You must return to the capital whether you like it or not."
Gu Ting slowly put down his chopsticks. "When was the military order issued? Why didn't I receive it? Also, what am I going back to Beijing for?"
"The court will arrange your mission."
"My Lord, what you mean is, could it be that the court has issued a document demanding that I return to the capital?"
"Yes!" Pei Meng said firmly, "When you finish your vacation, you will officially receive the transfer order from the Ministry of War."
Gu Ting picked up the wine glass and poured it into his mouth.
The imperial order saved him the trouble of making a decision.
But why don’t I feel happy at all, but rather a little sad.
With red eyes, he asked Pei Meng, "Will you stay in the capital when you return this time?"
Pei Meng shook his head. "After I finish my report, I will set off back."
"Back to the Northwest?"
Pei Meng nodded.
Gu Ting lowered his head and smiled bitterly, his face showing resentment. "Master, have you ever considered staying in the capital?"
Pei Meng laughed out loud, "General Gu is drunk!"
"General Gu, please drink less." Mr. Dou also advised.
Gu Ting clenched his fists and wanted to punch Pei Meng in the face, but he controlled his temper.
He pushed the cup and plate in front of him away and wiped his mouth. "I'm drunk! I want to go back to the city and get some sleep. I'll meet you guys for a drink another day."
"General Gu, take care!"
"Two people come and escort General Gu back to the city."
Gu Ting raised his sword and strode out of the tavern.
Even the scorching sun in the northwest could not dispel the gloom in his heart.
He rode his horse at full speed, and his personal guards chased him closely, fearing that something might happen to him.
…
In the tavern, without Gu Ting, the two of them spoke more directly.
Mr. Dou asked bluntly, "Has Uncle seen the letter?"
Pei Meng nodded heavily, picked up the wine pot and poured wine, his brows furrowed. "What kind of opportunity is this for the Pei family? Why didn't they explain it in the letter? Are they trying to trick me into coming to the capital and then catch us all in one fell swoop?"
Mr. Dou lowered his voice and whispered, "I have reviewed Empress Gu's experiences over the past ten or twenty years. I can't guarantee anything else, but the only thing I can guarantee is that Empress Gu is definitely not a sinister villain. She wouldn't deliberately lure you to the capital and then use the opportunity to imprison you."
Pei Meng sneered, "Things are different now. She used to be the wife of the emperor's grandson, the prince's wife, but now she is the empress. People's ideas change."
"People's thoughts may change, but their natures remain unchanged. Queen Gu likes to play with big plans and big patterns. Everything she does is a win-win situation, or a balance of interests among multiple parties. From her choice of cooperation with the Northwest Army to launch a trade attack on Xiliang, it can be seen that she has a trace of goodwill towards the Northwest Army!"
Pei Meng's brows didn't relax at all. "What's the use of just a little bit of goodwill? The conflict between the Northwest Army and the imperial court is unsolvable!"
"Just because we can't find a solution doesn't mean Empress Gu can't find one. I dare to speculate that Empress Gu asked you to return to the capital to discuss the future of the Northwest Army."
Pei Meng sneered repeatedly, "For the court, the best way to deal with the Northwest Army is to dismantle my father and me's influence in the army. It would be best if we could kill all of our trusted subordinates and completely eliminate the Pei family's influence in the Northwest Army. If I were the court, I would do this. The Northwest Grand Marshal's Office is already capable of fighting, and the court only needs to cut off the Northwest Army's food and fodder."
Mr. Dou shook his head. "Others may not be aware of the Northwest Army's financial resources, but Empress Gu knows it all too well. She knew full well that the Northwest Army was too powerful to be controlled and a grave threat to the imperial court, so why did she continue to cooperate with it and provide it with financial resources? Didn't she and His Majesty have any ambitions to seize the throne when they cooperated with it? The fact is that she and His Majesty did have ambitions to seize the throne, and they were determined to win, yet they still chose to cooperate with the Northwest Army and strengthen its financial resources. Why? Has your Majesty ever thought about this?"
Pei Meng drank his wine. "I used to think she was attracted by the strength of the Northwest Army. If she wanted to trade with Xiliang, she had to go through the Northwest Army."
"But she can manage the Xiliang trade independently. At most, she can give the Northwest Army one million taels every year. The Marquis will not refuse this money and will definitely send troops to escort her."
Pei Meng smiled and said, "Now I know that I thought things were too simple back then. While our Northwest Army was making money, the Sihai Northwest Trading Company was also conducting a comprehensive investigation and even infiltrating the Northwest Army."
Bang!
Mr. Dou clapped his hands. "That's right! Empress Gu sent Deng Cunli to the northwest, stationing him there for many years. Naturally, it wasn't just for trade. Deng Cunli had a mission. He wanted to find out the inside story of the Northwest Army, and nothing could be more convenient than a business partnership."
Pei Meng took a sip of wine. "She wants to know the inside story of the Northwest Army. Actually, there's no need to go through so much trouble. She can just ask Gu Ting directly."
"It's obvious that Queen Gu doesn't want to embarrass General Gu. And General Gu knows very little."
"She's expended so much money, material resources, and manpower, even collaborating with the Northwest Army on trade and providing us with financial resources. Why hasn't she ever taken any action against them? Those monitoring the Northwest Grand Marshal's Office report that there's been no movement from them! This time, she wrote to ask my father and me to return to Beijing for consultation. I'm certain this is a scam."
Mr. Dou nodded. "If His Majesty had written to invite you to return to the capital, I would have strongly opposed it. Your Majesty cannot be trusted! And then Empress Gu wrote to invite you to return to the capital to discuss the future of the Northwest Army. I think it's worth a try."
"The Emperor and Empress are one!"
"The Queen and Your Majesty have completely different ways of doing things!"
"The Emperor and Empress are one!" Pei Meng insisted.
"I will return to Beijing with my uncle."
"Be careful or your head will be torn apart!"
"I have lived for most of my life and can discern Queen Gu's intentions. Even if my head and body are separated, I will have no regrets."
"absurd!"
"Is the uncle afraid?"
Pei Meng shook his head. "I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of dying in humiliation! Imagine a great general like me being thrown into prison and humiliated by a bunch of villains. I'll definitely regret why I didn't die on the battlefield, and why I didn't die at the hands of the enemy but at the hands of a bunch of villains."
"My Lord is too pessimistic! The capital may be a dangerous place, but it's not a 100% dead end. Even if there's a conspiracy, the court won't turn against us at this moment. This is the first year of Jingming, yet His Majesty and the court officials are at loggerheads, and it seems His Majesty will never compromise. With the court at peace and discord between the emperor and his ministers, His Majesty wouldn't dare launch an attack on the Northwest Army at this time. He has to be wary of anyone holding him back."
Pei Meng frowned slightly. "Has Liu Zhao lost his mind? He fights with court officials all day long. What good does it do him? Why not learn from the methods of the late emperor and wait patiently for two or three years until the imperial power is consolidated before taking action?"
"Perhaps Your Majesty is impatient!"
"I think he's deliberately trying to destroy the throne."
"Only when it really comes to that can we tell who is loyal and who is treacherous!"
"Why is he so sure he can overthrow the court and secure his throne? With the civil and military officials working together against him, how can he possibly win?"
"His chance of success lies with the Empress! The court may seem chaotic, but in reality, the Empress has been maintaining stability. Furthermore, His Majesty has done nothing wrong. There's no royal family leading the charge, Empress Dowager Pei hasn't spoken, and the late Emperor didn't appoint a regent. Looking at the entire world, no one can decide to depose the Emperor. Unless..."
"Unless Empress Dowager Pei can step forward to depose the emperor." Pei Meng knew the key to this matter.
Mr. Dou smiled and said, "Empress Dowager Pei won't have this opportunity. Your Majesty and Queen Gu will never allow Empress Dowager Pei to say such things in public."
Pei Meng nodded. "Your Majesty has many ways to constrain Empress Dowager Pei. However, Empress Dowager Pei has no way to constrain Your Majesty. She has no political wisdom and is just an ordinary woman in the harem."
In the words of Marquis Lu, Queen Mother Pei is a stupid woman!
As the empress dowager, she is always thinking about the fight between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Her vision and perspective are only at the level of a woman in the inner court. She has none of the grace and perspective that an empress dowager should have.
As the empress dowager, she didn't know how to win over the ministers, nor did she know how to persuade Emperor Chengzong Wende to appoint a regent before his death, and other means to restrain the new emperor. She allowed things to be controlled by Liu Zhao and Gu Jiu. If she didn't fail, who would fail?
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
First update! After this weekend, I'll start adjusting my status and try to resume my old update schedule within two days.
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