Chapter 360 Making up for the situation before it is too late
Gu Family Ancestral Hall
Gu Yankai carefully wiped the tablet of Da Qin. After wiping it clean, he put the tablet away, picked up a stick of incense and lit it.
Gu Yankai stood there looking at the tablet of his deceased wife for a long time before he turned around and left the ancestral hall.
As soon as he left the ancestral hall, the attendant waiting at the door saluted and said, "My Lord, the commander of Songdu wants to see you and has been waiting in the main hall for a while."
Gu Yankai nodded upon hearing this and walked towards the main hall.
…………
Gu Family Hall
Gu Tingwei smiled and said, "Uncle Song, my father is in the ancestral hall. He has told us not to disturb him unless there is an order from the palace. You will probably have to wait for a while."
"Haha, it's okay. I'm not in a hurry."
Song Chaozhong put down the teacup in his hand and asked, "How is Lord Gu's health now?"
"My father has an old illness and is not in good health, but it's okay for him to recuperate at home," said Gu Tingwei.
"That's good." Song Chaozhong nodded.
"By the way, Uncle Song came to see my father. Is there anything wrong? If it's urgent, I will go to the ancestral hall and tell my father." Gu Tingwei said.
"It's nothing serious. The emperor has ordered me to lead troops to Jiangzhou to quell the rebellion. I will set off tomorrow. I came to visit Marquis Gu before leaving." Song Chaozhong said.
"Suppress the rebellion?" Gu Tingwei asked in surprise, "Has there been a rebellion in Jiangzhou?"
"Yes!" Song Zhaozhong nodded and said, "This news should spread in the next two days, but before that, remember not to say anything."
"Don't worry, Uncle Song. I won't tell anyone about this," said Gu Tingwei.
Song Chaozhong smiled. Since he dared to say it, it was because this matter was not a big secret and it would not have much impact whether he said it or not.
"Uncle Song, I want to ask you a favor." Gu Tingwei said.
"Don't ask for anything. Just tell me what you need. If I can do it, I will definitely do it for you." Song Chaozhong said.
"I want to go to Jiangzhou with Uncle Song to quell the rebellion." Gu Tingwei said.
"Come with me to quell the rebellion?"
Song Chaozhong was stunned when he heard this, and said in embarrassment: "The battlefield is dangerous. If something happens to you, how can I explain it to your father?"
"Uncle Song, my Gu family has received great favor from the emperor. How can we be afraid of death? I have children now. Even if I die on the battlefield, it is a worthy death for my country." Gu Tingwei said solemnly.
"this…"
When Song Chaozhong was in a dilemma, he saw Gu Yankai walking in, and he quickly stood up and said, "Greetings, Lord Marquis!"
"Yeah!" Gu Yankai nodded, looked at Gu Tingwei and said, "You go down!"
"Dad, I want to follow Uncle Song to quell the rebellion!" Gu Tingwei bowed.
"Back off!" Gu Yankai's voice became heavier.
"Father!"
Gu Tingwei knelt down and said, "If father doesn't agree, I won't get up! I am also a son of the Gu family. In the big picture, I should serve the country. In the small picture, I also want to fight for a future for myself!"
Gu Yankai looked at Gu Tingwei and was silent for a while. Then he looked at Song Chaozhong and said, "The emperor asked you to lead the troops to quell the rebellion?"
"Yes, the decree came down not long ago!" Song Chaozhong said.
"Please!" Gu Yankai said.
"Don't worry, Lord Gu, I will keep Sanlang by my side and won't let anything happen to him!" Song Chaozhong said, patting his chest.
Gu Tingwei, who was kneeling on the ground, said happily: "Thank you, father!"
"Get up. The matter of suppressing the rebellion cannot be delayed. Your uncle Song should be leaving in the next two days. You should go and prepare." Gu Yankai said.
"Yes!"
Gu Tingwei got up from the ground and saluted, "Dad, Uncle Song, I'll take my leave first!"
"sit down!"
Gu Yankai watched his son leave, asked Song Chaozhong to take a seat, and sat down in the main seat. "Thank you, Lord Gu, for your recommendation!" Song Chaozhong bowed.
"Hmm?" Gu Yankai frowned and said, "The emperor personally appointed you to lead the army to suppress the rebellion, not me who recommended you."
"Wasn't it recommended by Lord Gu?"
Song Chaozhong was stunned when he heard this, and asked in confusion: "Then why did they directly issue an order to order me to leave tomorrow? The emperor has no intention of summoning me."
Generally speaking, the government will summon whoever it wants to lead the troops.
However, he received the imperial edict directly, and the eunuch who delivered the edict did not say that the emperor wanted to summon him.
Gu Yankai was silent for a while after hearing this, then he sighed and said, "You shouldn't have come to see me. Although I don't know why the emperor asked you to lead the army, since the emperor has chosen you, you should take the initiative to go to the palace to see His Majesty!"
Song Chaozhong was stunned when he heard this, and then his face changed drastically.
Both civil officials and military generals have their own factions.
Even though the Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, there were still factions within the army.
After receiving the imperial edict, Song Chaozhong came to visit Gu Yankai because he heard that Gu Yankai had been summoned by the emperor before.
Therefore, I felt that it was Gu Yankai who recommended me, and I came to visit Gu Yankai to thank him for his support.
However, Gu Yankai told him that it was not him who recommended him and that he should not come to the Gu family.
Song Chaozhong was not stupid either, and he quickly understood what Gu Yankai meant.
The reason why Zhao Xing appointed him as a general but did not summon him was probably a test.
If he had gone to the palace to ask for an audience with Zhao Xing as soon as possible, he would most likely have been valued by Zhao Xing.
But it might not be the case if he came to visit Gu Yankai first.
"Lord Gu, is there any room for recovery now?" Song Chaozhong asked.
"I'm afraid it's difficult, but whether it happens or not, you should go to the palace now to ask for an audience with His Majesty." Gu Yankai said.
"Isn't it inappropriate to enter the palace at this time?" Song Chaozhong said hesitantly.
He felt that it was best to pretend to be ignorant at this moment.
It is normal for military generals not to understand those twists and turns.
Going into the palace to try to make up for the loss would only make the officials feel stupid.
Being straightforward and being stupid are two different things.
"The government may believe that you can't see it, but now that you've come to my place, do you think the government will think that I can't see it either?"
Gu Yankai said calmly: "The emperor did this just to keep you away from the Gu family. If you enter the palace now, it is equivalent to showing your attitude to the emperor. Although it is a little worse than you going directly to the palace, it is better than not going at all."
It is normal to have numerous factions in the court. Some factions only form for the purpose of banding together for warmth, rather than fighting for power and profit.
What the government needs to do with these factions is to balance them rather than suppress them.
However, the emperor intends to reuse Gu Tingye. If he reuses Song Chaozhong as well, then the influence of Ningyuan Hou’s faction in the army will be too great in the future.
Whether for Song Chaozhong's own benefit or for the benefit of the Gu family, Song Chaozhong must sever ties with the Gu family. From now on, he cannot say that he will never have any contact with the family again, but he cannot have too close contact with the family either.
This incident can be said to be a test of the Song Dynasty by Zhao Xing, but it may also be a test for the Gu family.
"But…"
Song Chaozhong opened his mouth when he heard this, with some hesitation on his face.
His ancestors were subordinates of the first Ningyuan Marquis, and successive Ningyuan Marquis had taken good care of the Song family.
When Gu Yankai was stationed in the northwest, he served under Gu Yankai when he first joined the army.
It was also thanks to Gu Yankai's promotion that he was able to serve as the commander-in-chief of an army at the age of over 30.
(End of this chapter)