~~~~~~

"Xue Guoguan?"

"Yuan Qing, why does this little turtle come here at this time? Our results haven't been reported yet. Does this little turtle have such a long nose?"

Chen Zhong also didn't expect that Xue Guoguan, a notorious street rat, would come here at this juncture instead of just staying at Shanhaiguan, and his expression turned gloomy.

Li Yuanqing smiled: "Brother, although I don't have much contact with Xue Guoguan, but he can come here at this time, I'm afraid the rumors are wrong."

"this……"

Chen Zhong quickly looked at Li Yuanqing, "Yuanqing, you mean..."

Li Yuanqing smiled and patted Chen Zhong on the shoulder, and said in Chen Zhong's ear: "Brother, no one is a saint, how can anyone be without fault? This old Xue is also a person, so let's give him more face. In this way, brother

, you go to Sanchahe to meet him in person, and try out his tone first."

At this time, although Chen Zhong still had a fiery temper on his face, at his core, he had already become a qualified 'old official'.

In an instant, he understood what Li Yuanqing meant, and nodded with a smile, "Yuan Qing, don't worry. I'll set off now, and I promise to take good care of our Mr. Xue!"

Seeing Chen Zhong leave quickly, Li Yuanqing couldn't help but reveal an indescribable smile. He lit a cigar slowly and methodically, and said in a low voice: "If you are poor in the city, no one will ask you, but if you are rich in the mountains, you will have everything."

That distant relative."

…………

The sun at noon hung high in the middle, and the air was filled with an indescribable heat.

In this kind of environment, people are like steamed buns on a cage. If they light the fire a little bit, they will be steamed.

Especially on both sides of the river, you can sometimes see a lot of mounted sentries from the Hou Jin Army, staring at the big boats on the river with an extremely vicious look, which made Xue Guoguan, who was wearing a red official robe, not feel too wonderful.

However, despite this, Xue Guoguan did not choose the cool and comfortable cabin equipped with an ice sandwich. Instead, he huddled under the cover of the bow of the ship, standing up straight, pretending to be interested in looking at the surroundings.

Don't say it.

His high-ranking official demeanor, coupled with his rather upright and majestic aura, even the Changsheng Battalion soldiers on the ship were impressed by him and treated him respectfully.

Xue Guoguan even heard some sailors whispering, saying, 'I have rarely seen such a bold and elegant official like him.'

This made Xue Guoguan feel very good.

Maybe... his future may not be as bad as he imagined.

However, when he thought of the rising dignitary of the Ming Dynasty who was about to meet, who was as lofty as the sun and as dazzling as the sun, even though Xue Guoguan had seen many storms, deep down in his heart, he still couldn't stop beating.

I recall that it was almost ten years ago when I first met Li Yuanqing.

At that time, Li Yuanqing was still an unknown young general who was trying his best to gain connections in the capital. However, Xue Guoguan had just boarded the carriage of Eunuch Wei and was very high-spirited.

such a pity.

At that time, he was extremely ambitious, how could he show disgrace to an unknown young general like Li Yuanqing?

So much so that he let the opportunity right around him pass by in vain, and at this moment, if he wanted to get closer to Li Yuanqing, then...

"Huh~~~."

A gust of warm wind blew across his face, and Xue Guoguan couldn't help but exhale a long breath, and looked at himself through the observation mirror of the helmsman next to him.

Although the mirror is slightly tilted, Xue Guoguan can still see the bright and straight figure in it.

As a Jinshi for forty-seven years, Xue Guoguan is only in his early forties this year, at the time when he is at his most fertile, mentally strong, and politically strong.

It's a pity that fate has played a trick on people, and Eunuch Wei's downfall has turned him, old Xue, from being the star of hope and the mainstay of the future, into a street rat that everyone wants to beat and want to punish him.

Fortunately, Xue Guoguan was extremely shrewd and found an escape route before the big storm came and came to patrol the border in the north.

But Xue Guoguan understood very well that this thing could be hidden for a while, but not forever.

If the shit under his ass can't be wiped clean, it may not be that easy this time if he wants to rely on deceptive means to hide the truth and get away with it.

But who is Xue Guoguan, and how could he sit still and wait for death?

At this time, a neat dock area appeared in front of the ship. Xue Guoguan glanced at it for a moment, and his spirits were immediately lifted.

He had clearly seen a large flag with the word 'Chen' inlaid with gold on the side of the pier. 'Is it possible that Chen Zhong is here?'

And within a moment, a golden-helmeted general, accompanied by hundreds of elite soldiers, quickly came out of the temporary wooden house in the rest area of ​​the dock and came to greet him.

Xue Guoguan had seen Chen Zhong before when he was receiving awards from the Great Dynasty. He recognized him at a glance and couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

Soon, the soldiers put down the hanging ladder. Xue Guoguan hurriedly jogged a few steps and quickly got off the boat. He smiled and bowed his hands respectfully to Chen Zhong and said: "I asked why the magpies kept chirping this morning. It turns out that I went out today.

Come on, Mr. Chen Shuai, long time no see."

"Haha. Mr. Xue, you~~, you are planning a surprise attack. Fortunately, I, Lao Chen, have been well prepared. Otherwise, I am afraid that Mr. Xue will really get caught."

Don’t reach out and hit the smiling person.

However, Chen Zhong also played a trick. His tone was respectful, but also slightly tough. Let's see how Xue Guoguan will take the move next.

How could an old man like Xue Guoguan not understand the hidden meaning of Chen Zhong's words?

After a moment, he hurriedly laughed and said: "Chen Shuai was joking. Chen Shuai and Ding Haibo were fighting hard in the north. As an imperial envoy, Xue was entrusted by the emperor to shoulder the responsibility of the emperor, but he failed to rush to the battlefield in the first time. Only then did he

It’s Xue’s dereliction of duty.”

Saying that, Xue Guoguan took out a stack of silver notes from his sleeve with a smile, almost ten thousand taels, and handed it to Chen Zhong with a smile: "Chen Shuai, these are some military supplies and military pay that Xue has been carefully raising these days. They are also Xue's."

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the people of Liao, please Chen Shuai, please don’t refuse.”

Although Xue Guoguan said this tactfully, Chen Zhong was not stupid. He immediately understood that this was a meeting gift from Xue Guoguan to Chen Zhong.

If this matter were told, I'm afraid it would make people laugh out loud.

How is this possible?

This is simply impossible to happen.

How could a high-ranking scholar-official and disciple of a saint give gifts to a military attache with a mud-legged body, and then make a single move worth ten thousand liang? This is simply impossible.

But before our eyes, things were actually happening.

Chen Zhong wanted to refuse, but at this time, what shocked him was that Xue Guoguan's eyes revealed a bit of indescribable pleading...

Chen Zhong has such a temper that he can tolerate softness rather than toughness.

If you are tough with him, you will have to be tough to the end, but if you are gentle with him and act like a weakling first, things will probably go much smoother.

Obviously, Xue Guoguan made the right bet at this time.

Chen Zhong hesitated for a moment, put the banknote away with a smile, and said with a smile: "Master Xue, thank you for your concern. I will report this matter to Ding Haibo as soon as possible."

Xue Guoguan couldn't help but be overjoyed, "Thank you so much, Chen Shuai."

The two exchanged a few words, and Chen Zhong was about to invite Xue Guoguan to the banquet, but Xue Guoguan whispered: "Chen Shuai, I don't know, I don't know if you are kind, if so, if it is possible, I would like to meet Li Shuai as soon as possible. Li

Over there, the official has also prepared gifts."

Chen Zhong was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what he was doing. The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly, and he thought to himself: "Yuan Qing really guessed it right. This guy Xue Guoguan is going to find a way out with great ferocity."

However, to a large extent, Xue Guoguan and their brothers were from the same family. In addition, Xue Guoguan's attitude was so respectful at this time, Chen Zhong didn't mind giving old Xue a hand.

He smiled and said, "Master Xue, we can't take a carriage if we are rushing to Tashanpu here, and there are many Tatars riding outposts on the road. We must hurry up. I wonder if Master Xue can bear it?"

Xue Guoguan couldn't help but be overjoyed and said hurriedly: "Chen Shuai, I can bear it, I can bear it. It means Chen Shuai has worked hard."

…………

Riding a horse is a skill, similar to a driver's license in later generations.

However, in this era, the skill of riding a horse is far from being as common as a driver's license in later generations. There is almost no threshold and most people can possess it.

Riding a horse may seem simple, but actually riding a galloping war horse is definitely not like riding a donkey or a mule. Without real horse control skills, it is absolutely impossible.

But let alone a war horse, even an ordinary old horse is an extremely expensive luxury item for ordinary people.

But this was not difficult for Xue Guoguan, a scholar-bureaucrat.

Even though he was facing the raging scorching sun, his face, hands and feet were all exposed to the sun, but Xue Guoguan gritted his teeth and kept running all the way. At the right time, at around four o'clock in the afternoon, before dusk, he joined Chen Zhong.

Arrive at Tashan Pu Ming Army Camp.

"Hehe. Yuan Qing, look, this trip is not in vain, brother. Listen to what old Xue means, he has prepared a more generous gift for you."

Chen Zhong smiled and placed the ten thousand taels of silver notes in front of Li Yuanqing.

Li Yuanqing smiled: "This guy is a sensible person. That's good. Well, brother, you go down to rest first and prepare for today's dinner. I'll have a chat with this old Xue."

"I understand, Yuan Qing. Just don't worry."

Not long after Chen Zhong left, Xue Guoguan was led by Yang Lei and carefully arrived at Li Yuanqing's tent.

But what Li Yuanqing didn't expect was that Xue Guoguan had just entered the tent for a moment, and he hurriedly flicked his sleeves, knelt down respectfully on the ground, and kowtowed to Li Yuanqing several times, "Xue Guoguan, the lower official, has met Lord Dinghaibo.

My uncle is in good health."

After saying that, Xue Guoguan didn't dare to breathe, his butt was in the air, and he never dared to look at Li Yuanqing for more than half a second.

Li Yuanqing took a deep breath from his cigar, exhaled a long puff of thick smoke, and stared at Xue Guoguan for a long time, until Xue Guoguan was almost sweating, then he smiled lightly and said: "Master Xue, there is no need to be polite. Get up.

.”
To be continued...