Chapter 229: Master Wei, I Won't Let You Down, and You Shouldn't Let Me Down Either

Wei Yuan still looked worried when he returned to the Marquis' Mansion.

A few years ago, when he had not yet made his fortune, Gu Yankai had taught him martial arts after the Battle of Yanmen.

If not for this, he would have found it difficult to learn the strengths of all families and create the 'Wei Family Sword Technique'.

He could say without a doubt that the Wei Family Sword Technique had surpassed the Gu Family Spear.

If the descendants of the Wei family learned this sword technique, they would be able to defeat the descendants of the Gu family in martial arts.

In addition, Gu Yankai had helped Wei Yuan many times, and even took good care of him during battles.

Now that he knew that the senior who treated him so well was about to pass away, how could Wei Yuan feel good?

In the main hall of the Marquis' Mansion.

Zhang Guifen seemed to have noticed Wei Yuan's worries and couldn't help asking, "How is Uncle Gu?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and sighed.

Zhang Guifen didn't know what to say.

In her impression since childhood, Gu Yankai was an invincible general.

Even in a one-on-one duel with the warriors of Liao and Xia, he rarely lost.

In the era when the military generals of the Great Zhou Dynasty were declining, it was the appearance of Gu Yankai that supported the "martial virtue" of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, even such a great hero will have a day of twilight.

"Uncle Gu was a hero all his life, but at the end of his life, he was bedridden and skinny. If I had such a day, living would be torture."

Wei Yuan couldn't bear to see Gu Yankai's end, and he was also thinking, what if one day he would end up like that?

The most regrettable thing is that the hero is old!

Thinking back to the past, when we talked and laughed, we were full of vigor and vitality. Now, when we recall it, we just think that it was a joke of heaven.

"You are in your prime, there will not be such a day."

Zhang Guifen didn't know how to comfort Wei Yuan.

After a while, she said again: "What do we need to prepare for Uncle Gu?"

In fact, the relationship between Zhang Fu and Gu Yankai was not very good at first.

It is even said that the two of them had secretly competed for the ownership of military power.

However, due to the appearance of Wei Yuan, both of them wanted to cultivate him. Over time, their relationship became very good, and they often called each other "brothers".

"Wait for the day."

"If Gu Tingye fails in the imperial examination next year, I will find a way to let him join the army so that he can inherit Uncle Gu's legacy."

"We can't let the Gu family disappear from the army from now on."

The military leaders of the Great Zhou Dynasty can be said to have always adopted a "hereditary" system.

For example, after the Duke of Fuguo retired, Qin Zhen became the commander of an army.

But Qin Zhen never set foot on the real battlefield from beginning to end. At most, he was ordered to go to a certain place to suppress bandits, which was not a big scene or a big battle.

Therefore, the comrades who had experienced real wars brought by Wei Yuan from Daizhou would appear extremely scarce.

No matter how Wei Yuan valued them, except for some imperial censors, few people would say anything gossipy.

After all, anyone who has been an official in the court for a long time will feel difficult and helpless about the current situation of the military, and especially need a batch of fresh blood.

Zhang Guifen suddenly remembered Lin Zhaoyuan and asked, "When the official went to Gu's house, Zhaoyuan came and said that it was up to us to choose a good date for this important matter of marriage."

"I asked the officials of the Imperial Observatory, and everything is auspicious on December 6th. How about setting it on this day?"

Wei Yuan nodded and said, "Okay, set it on December 6th."

"At first, in order to make it convenient for Zhaoyuan to take care of his aunt, I specially bought a house in the suburbs of Beijing. It's not big, but it's enough for them to live in."

"Now that Zhaoyuan is married, it will be inconvenient for him to live there if he has children in the future. I plan to buy him a house again as a gift from us."

To buy a house in the capital, even if it is not a large courtyard with three entrances and three exits, but only a dozen rooms, it will cost tens of thousands of strings of money or even more.

What does this mean? It is equivalent to about 100,000 yuan per square meter.

So far, officials like Bao Xiaosu and Ouyang Yongshu cannot afford a big house.

However, they have official residences, so they don't have to worry about living.

But what about their descendants?

If their descendants are useless and have to go back to their hometown to live in the end, then their efforts in Beijing for most of their lives will be wasted.

Wei Yuan is very rich now, but he thinks it is necessary to discuss such a big thing as buying a house with the mistress of the house.

Zhang Guifen said: "Buying a house is not a big deal, but Zhaoyuan is one brother, what about Yuanzhi in the future? Do you want to buy a house for everyone?"

Wei Yuan nodded unexpectedly and said: "That's what I mean. I told Daniu and others that I will give a house to anyone who gets married in the future."

Zhang Guifen was speechless for a moment, this is a huge expense.

Wei Yuan saw that her face was not right, and hurriedly said: "Zhaoyuan, Daniu and others have worked with me for several years, and they have been through many life and death. As the eldest brother, I can't let them have no place to stay, right?"

In the past, I didn't have money and couldn't afford it, so I could only buy small houses in the suburbs of Beijing for a few people who urgently needed houses.

But now that we have money, we can't let our brothers suffer with us, right?

With their little salary, they will have to wait until the end of time to buy a house, right?

Zhang Guifen said, "We have already bought the house, and we will give them a carriage and sedan chair each."

Wei Yuan's eyes lit up, "Suitable."

Suitable?

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen was a little at a loss.

But she didn't dare to refute Wei Yuan's decision. After thinking about it, she could only follow his wishes.

Only today did Zhang Guifen understand why Chen Daniu and the others, such tough men, were willing to sacrifice their lives for their own officials.

He gives away a house, a carriage, and even a marriage. Where can I find such a good brother?

If he were a man, he would also be willing to serve his own officials.

Of course, Zhang Guifen didn't care about money. She just wanted to save some expenses as much as she could as the mother of the house.

Thinking about it carefully, she quite agreed with Wei Yuan's decision. Her brother was going through life and death, and he couldn't afford not to have a place to stay.

"You don't need to worry about the house or the carriage, just leave it to me."

"I'll go to brother Zhaoyuan's house in two days to buy some supplements and visit my aunt to see what else is missing in his house and make up for it."

The so-called sending Buddha to the West.

You’ve bought a house and a car, why do you still care about the small money?

Wei Yuan held Zhang Guifen in his arms and said with a smile: "I will say that it is my blessing to marry you in this life."

The former had nothing to do today, but the latter suffered a lot. When he got up early the next morning, he always felt weak and exhausted.

——

Wei Yuan got up early, and after attending the court meeting presided over by Han Zhang, he entered the palace to meet the saint.

Although Zhao Zhen's complexion has improved a lot in the past two days, he is still a little ugly, and he looks like he is about to die soon.

Zhao Zhen asked some questions about the border town and asked Wei Yuan to retreat.

After leaving the emperor's palace, he went straight to the East Palace. He had promised the prince long ago that he would teach him the art of war today.

Since Zhao Zhen fell ill, Prince Zhao Xi seems to have grown up suddenly, and his speech is no longer as immature as he used to look.

Being young and old is not a good thing.

It taught Zhao Xi a whole afternoon of military strategy.

And he also asked some questions that surprised Wei Yuan or that he had never thought about before.

"Master Wei, I've been reading history books these past few days and discovered something."

"Whenever the imperial power changes and the new emperor wants to attack foreigners, the scholar-bureaucrats will always jump out and say that it is not appropriate to tamper with the country."

"But whenever the foreigners change their positions of power, they will choose to go south. The foreigners' civil and military forces also support it, thinking that this is to show off the country's prestige and strengthen the country's foundation."

"Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, except for Emperor Taizong's Northern Expedition, there have been very few outbound battles, and most of them have been defensive."

"But the Weishi said before that the best defense is offense. What on earth are those scholar-bureaucrats thinking?"

Wei Yuan didn't know how to answer. After all, the national conditions were different, and the considerations of scholar-bureaucrats were not necessarily bad. It was also not necessarily good for foreigners to choose to go south when power changed.

Prince Zhao Xi looked at Wei Yuan seriously and said word by word: "A hundred years from now, when my father ascends the throne and I ascend the throne as emperor, at that time, I will let the guards lead the army in the Northern Expedition. Will the guards be willing or not?"

Wei Yuan was stunned, thought for a moment, and said: "Prince, you are still young and you are not aware of the current situation."

Before he finished speaking, Zhao Xi interrupted him forcefully, "Are you willing or not?"

Wei Yuan could feel that Zhao Xi's eyes were full of expectation and excitement. Perhaps because he didn't want to disappoint Zhao Xi, Wei Yuan said solemnly:

"The Northern Expedition is what I want!"

Zhao Xi smiled happily. At this time, he looked more like a child.

Then, Zhao Xi turned around and looked to the north. His eyes seemed to see through the layers of wall tiles, thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and finally landed on the location of the Sixteenth Prefecture of Yanyun. He said seriously:

"Master Wei, promise me!"

"I won't let you down, so don't let me down!"

After saying that, he looked at Wei Yuan again, "Promise me!"

He didn't call himself this palace.

Wei Yuan nodded, bowed deeply and said, "I will live up to Your Highness."

Zhao Xi suddenly burst into tears and murmured: "My father is ill. In the future, no one will help me except the guards and Wang Shangshu."

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid that I won't be able to carry the country of Zhou."

"Master Wei, you must not betray me, absolutely."

Wei Yuan sighed in his heart.

After all, Zhao Xi is still a child.

Both Zhao Zhen and the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty placed their hopes on a young man who should have grown up. How could this young man not feel pressured?

But he is the prince, and he is destined not to be like ordinary people in this life.

——

Two days later, Zhang Guifen specially picked a day when Lin Zhaoyuan would take a rest, bought some supplements, and planned to visit Lin Zhaoyuan's mother.

This is also a little bit of what it means to be a sister-in-law.

Before noon, Lin Zhaoyuan had just prepared some food and planned to have a meal with his elderly and demented mother.

Suddenly I heard a voice outside the yard, "Is General Lin here?"

Female voice?

Lin Zhaoyuan was quite curious, so he walked out of the house and saw Zhang Guifen and two maids standing behind her.

He was so shocked that he quickly opened the fence outside the yard, clasped his fists and said, "I have seen my sister-in-law. Why is my sister-in-law here?"

Zhang Guifen smiled and said: "You are about to get married. As my sister-in-law, I have to come to your place to visit my aunt."

aunt?

My sister-in-law calls my mother my aunt?

Lin Zhaoyuan was a little grateful, "Sister-in-law, you have a body of gold."

Zhang Guifen smiled and said, "What a rich man? I am not a member of the royal family."

Lin Zhaoyuan said quickly: "That's not what I mean. It's because my home is too simple."

Zhang Guifen smiled and said, "Are you going to let me stay outside the yard to talk to you?"

Only then did Lin Zhaoyuan react and immediately welcomed Zhang Guifen in.

Zhang Guifen looked around.

No wonder Wei Yuan proposed to buy a house for Lin Zhaoyuan.

This house is really simple, with only three rooms, all of which are thatched huts, and the yard is not big. It can be reached by walking a few steps.

"Bring these supplements inside the house."

"And these newly made clothes, put them away properly."

Zhang Guifen ordered people to move the gifts she carefully prepared into the house.

Lin Zhaoyuan saw it and said quickly: "Sister-in-law, these things are too valuable."

Zhang Guifen shook her head, "You keep it for use. Besides, you are going to be a groom. How can you go out without some nice clothes?"

"Those supplements, you should consider giving them to your aunt. I'm worried about whether your aunt's body is weak or not."

While talking, he had already reached the back room and saw Lin Zhaoyuan's mother.

At this time, Lin Zhaoyuan's mother couldn't help but feel scared when she saw many people carrying things to the house.

Lin Zhaoyuan said: "Mother, this is the wife that Brother Wei married as I always told you."

Lin nodded dullly, and Zhang Guifen could clearly feel that this aunt seemed not to be afraid anymore.

She came to Lin, squatted down, held Lin's slightly rough old hand affectionately, and said with a smile:

"Uncle, I am Wei Yuan's wife. Brother Zhaoyuan calls me sister-in-law."

"Now that it's cold, I came to see you. Are you feeling well?"

For some reason, Ms. Lin, who was already very demented and ignorant of everything, suddenly patted the back of Zhang Guifen's hand, nodded her head and said:

"well"

"Thank you. Thank you"

Zhang Guifen smiled and said: "Aunt, I have told Brother Zhaoyuan about a daughter-in-law. You will be able to meet him when Brother Zhaoyuan gets married some time later."

She was also worried that Mrs. Lin was deaf and couldn't hear, so she spoke very loudly.

Lin suddenly seemed to be well, no longer demented, and responded with a smile:

"Zhaoyuan is getting a bride"

"Thanks"

Lin Zhaoyuan had told Ms. Lin about this before.

Zhang Guifen nodded with a smile, looked at the various furnishings in Lin Zhaoyuan's room, and frowned:

"Baozhu, go to the market and buy some charcoal and a heater, and then ask two people to buy some thick bedding."

Lin Zhaoyuan was about to refuse when he heard Zhang Guifen say again: "If you call me sister-in-law, your mother is my aunt. The things I bought are not for you, but for your mother. You can't refuse." ”

"In the past few days, your eldest brother and I are looking for a new house. After we buy the house, it will be your wedding house, so you don't have to live here."

While talking, he saw some food on the table and couldn't help but cover his mouth with a smile and said:

"It seems like Brother Zhaoyuan did this, right?"

"You can wrong yourself, but you shouldn't wrong your aunt."

"You don't need to cook food from now on. I'll send someone to some nearby restaurants to deliver some meals to my aunt on a regular basis every day."

After a pause, she asked again, "On weekdays, if brother Zhaoyuan is busy, who will take care of my aunt?"

At this time, after hearing her question, Lin Zhaoyuan came back to his senses and responded:

"I hired a maid some time ago to take care of my mother. Later, Xiaodie found out where I live. When I was away, Xiaodie came to make some food for my mother."

"By the way, sister-in-law, you must not do anything about the new house."

Zhang Guifen frowned and said, "I told you just now that you can't refuse what your elder brother and I give you."

"When Daniu and the others get married, they will also buy a house for them, and they will both get something. Don't talk about this anymore. I am happy to see my aunt today, so don't make me angry."

For a moment, Lin Zhaoyuan, an eight-foot-tall man, suddenly felt a sore nose.

How could he not know how kind Wei Yuan and his sister-in-law were to him?

If it weren't for his eldest brother, he wouldn't be where he is today.

If it weren't for my sister-in-law, I'm afraid I might not be able to see myself married until the day my mother dies.

Now, I have to be busy again, arranging my wedding and buying a new house.

How should I repay this kindness?

I can only repay with my life.

At this time, Lin, who was sometimes sober and sometimes confused, suddenly said:

"Hello, Xiaodie, hello, Xiaodie"

Hearing this, Zhang Guifen covered her mouth and smiled, "You have to thank me as your niece-in-law. I have spent a lot of time on your son's marriage."

Mrs. Lin opened her mouth and laughed, and suddenly touched the back of Zhang Guifen's head, like a kind and kind elder looking at her junior.

Once an elderly person gets sick, their body will always make people feel unclean.

Lin Zhaoyuan took a look and said quickly: "Mom, no, this is my sister-in-law."

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Guifen glared back fiercely.

"Why not? My aunt likes me. She is your mother and I am your sister-in-law. Brother Zhaoyuan, we are a family. How come there are so many things?"

Lin Zhaoyuan lowered his head and remained silent.

Suddenly, Mrs. Lin looked at Lin Zhaoyuan and said with some unclear words:

"Kneel down and kowtow, kneel down and kowtow"

She kept repeating these four words, for fear that Lin Zhaoyuan could not hear them clearly.

Lin Zhaoyuan looked at Zhang Guifen and was about to kneel down.

Seeing this, Zhang Guifen shook his head and said: "Brother Zhaoyuan, the whole family is not allowed to see outside."

As he spoke, this new army general, who had fought against the enemy before, actually shed tears.

He knew that after today, the debt between his eldest brother and his sister-in-law would never be repaid no matter what.

And today, even Zhang Guifen herself did not realize that her intentional or unintentional actions had resulted in several generations of Lin's descendants being willing to sacrifice their lives for the Wei family.