Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Gao gave birth to a baby! Jing Niang came into the palace to report to Guo Shao, Guo Shao suddenly got the news, was startled for a moment, and asked, "Male or female?"

They were in the back room, with notes and maps plastered on the surrounding walls, and no one else was there. But Jingniang still said very quietly: "I gave birth to a little girl."

After hearing this, Guo Shao asked again: "Is Mrs. Gao okay?"

Jing Niang remained calm and said lightly, "It's not the first time she gave birth. It's so difficult for a woman to give birth the second time. Besides, Lu Xiaoniang, who is proficient in medicine, is still there. She gave birth without much trouble."

After hearing this, Guo Shao felt relieved, but he also thought about Fu and Li Lian's wives and concubines who gave birth to him, and he was there with him; Gao's was pitiful, not only gave birth quietly alone in another courtyard, but the child would be taken away soon.

"Oh!" Guo Shao sighed, walking back and forth by the wall. Thinking that Mrs. Gao is a widow, and her husband has been dead for many years; now that she is the emperor, even if she recognizes them, no one can do anything to them.

However, Guo Shao remembered Gao Shi's unhesitating attitude when he met Gao Shi last time. Calm down and think about it for a while, the times are different, although the etiquette at this time is not as strict as that of Song and Ming Dynasties, but it is indeed a serious matter to disobey women's morals, and adultery among the people is still a felony;

What's more, there is the name of sworn brothers... In ancient times, sworn brothers were also very important. It's not as good as when Zhao Kuangyin and Jing Niang got married back then, he would not pay so much attention to influence; the sworn brotherhood at this time is completely different from the ambiguous relationship in later generations who are always called brothers and sisters.

Guo Shao finally made a decision, turned around and said to Jing Niang: "You take that child to the palace and keep it secret."

Jing Niang said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will handle this matter well."

... Guo Shao's daughter was first taken to the house to stay for a few days before finding a nanny. Then he was sent to the palace and handed over to Yulian to be raised.

It was rumored that Guo Shao had made a servant's belly bigger in the mansion before, and gave her remaining child to Yulian to raise. But soon there were rumors that the emperor loved Yulian too much, and the child was raised|raised for her elsewhere.

In any case, Guo Shao believes that the baby is his own daughter, and the identity of the princess is very certain. He also personally named the baby: Guo Jinsuo. Give your child a golden lock made by yourself as a gift.

The two sons over there also took names, but Guo Shao couldn't think of a good name. Li Yuan'er's older son was called "Guo Kui", and Fu Ermei's son was called "Guo Gui".

Not long after, he made another decree to organize the ceremony of conferring concubines, conferring Fu Ermei as empress, Li Yuan'er as noble concubine, Yulian as Shu concubine, and Yang Yue'e as de concubine. Guo Shao treated his wives and concubines more favorably. The few wives and concubines before he ascended the throne were all the highest-ranking concubines in the harem; the pattern of the harem was also quietly changing.

Taking advantage of this, Guo Shao issued an edict to announce to the world that the reign name will be changed to "Xuanren" from next year.

Guo Shao was not in a hurry to make Jingniang a concubine, because he still wanted Jingniang to help manage the affairs of the Privy Council's "Bing Cao Division". It is not unusual for women to participate in government affairs (but it is not unusual, there were many female officials involved in politics in various periods of the Tang Dynasty, especially during Wu Zetian's period), and it was even more inconvenient to be a concubine. Guo Shao asked Jingniang to get the seal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the sake of Jingniang's status.

...

Prior to this, the Privy Council had hurriedly dispatched secret agents to Jinyang of the Northern Han Dynasty to investigate the truth.

There were a lot of people sent this time, a total of dozens of people. Several of them were responsible for secretly investigating Zhao Kuangyin's whereabouts. Ma Bin is the leader of these people, a low-level military general in Kaifeng Mansion who was directly transferred to the Privy Council as an errand.

Because Da Zhou hadn't shown any signs of using force at this time, Jinyang City was too easy to get in. The government of the Northern Han Dynasty did not seem to have much defense against spies. Ma Bin and others came here pretending to be merchants, and they only paid money at the pass and the gate of the city. Money is very easy to use here, as long as you pay taxes, you can go freely... However, there are too many yamen for tax collection and exploitation.

Zhao Kuangyin's status in the Northern Han Dynasty was not high, but he was already a famous person. It was very convenient for Ma Bin and others to inquire about his residence, so they found a place to live nearby, and at the same time sent someone to contact the leader of the spy who was dispatched to Jinyang.

The superior ordered them to find a job as a cover, and they only had to keep an eye on Zhao Kuangyin's whereabouts.

Ma Bin didn't stay up for a few days, and soon his mind was moved. He discussed with his subordinates: "The imperial court issued a reward order, so Zhao Kuangyin's head is worth tens of thousands of dollars, and the fertile land is worthless. Now the great benefits are under the nose. Why don't you brothers vote?"

The subordinate was still a little scared at the beginning: "Everyone knows that Zhao's head is valuable, but he is still alive and well, I am afraid it will not be easy. Besides, the superiors did not ask us to assassinate, will we be punished for making claims?"

Ma Bin said disapprovingly: "The Northern Han Dynasty is the enemy of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the reward order cannot be posted in Jinyang. Besides, ordinary people can't do this kind of thing, and even if they succeed, they are afraid that they will not get money, let alone spend their lives. But this matter will not trouble us, we have already worked hard for a living!"

When everyone gathered together, the more they talked, the more excited they became. Everyone looked forward to the prosperity and wealth, the huge wealth of eating, drinking, whoring|gambling, and soon reached an agreement. They discussed taking Zhao Kuangyin's head back and asking for a reward, and then shared the reward money.

Ma Bin and the others discussed immediately, first preparing bow and arrow weapons, and then preparing salt and lime...to prevent the head from rotting too quickly and making it difficult to recognize the appearance. One drove the carriage to a wine shop near the street and waited for a drink; the rest set up two stalls selling pancakes and vegetables outside the gate of the Zhao Mansion. As soon as Zhao Kuangyin went out, he first shot him with a bow and arrow, then cut off his head and ran into the alley; after meeting in the carriage of the restaurant, he hurried out of Jinyang City in a carriage before the government was dispatched.

They were ready, but they hadn't had a chance for a long time. Zhao Kuangyin lived in seclusion and seldom went out; once a carriage came out, but he couldn't be sure whether the guy was in the carriage or not. And there are more than a dozen strong and sharp warriors around. Ma Bin and the others didn't dare to fight, because they guessed that their own people couldn't beat the dozen or so people... The fighters wearing armor and holding military weapons were much stronger than the few of them who only had a few weapons.

But the difficulties did not dispel Ma Bin's thoughts. When he thought of the happy days of spending time and money in brothels and restaurants in the future, the desire in his heart could no longer be suppressed!

So Ma Bin decided to change his approach, and decided to climb up to the roof alone in the middle of the night, and climb into Zhao Kuangyin's mansion, and quietly inquired about the facts, and found out which room Zhao Kuangyin himself lived in. If there is a chance, do it before dawn, so that you can get out of the city as soon as possible after getting out; if there is no chance, go another day.

The risk is enormous, but Ma Bin is unwilling to turn back.

He said: "Most houses in the Zhao Mansion are on the top of a hard hill. Climbing from the edge, the roof can bear a person. In the middle of the night, everyone is asleep. As long as you are careful, nothing will happen. Even burglars can do it!"

Everyone saw that his face was calm, he spoke in a dignified manner, and his thoughts were not too different from his.

That night, the moon was dark and the stars were sparse, which was a good time. A group of people came out of the residence, holding a pair of wooden ladders, and walked down the alley in black. Ma Bin pinned a dagger to his belt, carried a bow and arrow on his back, took the wooden ladder, and said in a deep voice: "You are here to meet me, I will come as soon as I go."

He first stretched out his head and looked at the street. The long street was dimly lit, and there were a few lanterns that were sparsely lit. If it wasn't for the faint barking of dogs in the distance, it would have looked like a ghost town. There was no one on the street, and it was already curfew.

Ma Bin carried the wooden ladder and walked out against the wall. Then he looked left and right, crossed the street, and came to the back of Zhao's house. There is no wall around this house, but a yard surrounded by houses. Without further ado, he put a wooden ladder next to a tile-roofed house, tried it, and then climbed up cautiously.

He climbed up to the roof in no time, and he didn't even make a movement. Immediately, he groped for the ridge on the roof, using both hands and feet, and slowly crawled towards the opposite side. When he reached the edge, he took the bow and arrow from his back and held it in his hand, and lay down on the edge of the roof to observe. The yard was very quiet, and no one was seen.

Feeling more at ease, Ma Bin put away his bow and arrow, climbed back along the original road, and took the wooden ladder. This time there was some movement, because it was too dark, a tile fell and fell with a "slap", Ma Bin was startled, held his breath, but did not hear the sound. At that moment, he continued to carry the stairs with his body bent, one hand on the ground and the other on his shoulders, and walked over the stairs.

After slowly and carefully building the ladder, Ma Bin quietly climbed in from the wooden ladder nervously and excitedly.

As soon as his feet landed, he suddenly heard the sound of "huhu..." blowing, and then the surroundings suddenly lit up. He broke out in cold sweat immediately, and when he looked back, several strong men in armor stood there coldly, holding bow|crossbows in their hands.

Ma Bin suddenly felt like he had fallen into an ice cave.

A tall and strong man said: "Isn't it not easy to turn in?"

Ma Bin: "..."

"Come on, hand me the weapon first." The strong man said coldly.

Ma Bin had no choice but to obediently send out the bow, arrow and dagger. Then a man calmly took a rope and tied his arms behind his back, and stuffed a piece of cloth in his mouth.

Ma Bin was taken to a room, and when he went in, he saw Zhao Kuangyin, a black-faced man, fully dressed, sitting there drinking tea. Zhao Kuangyin said: "It has been discovered that you are sneaking around, and I didn't touch you... It's a good idea to show off in front of me. If I could fall into your hands, I would have died eight times out of ten times! We are also people under the eaves now. We are not sure, so we have to wait and see."

The tall and strong man next to him said: "There are five of you in total, should you all wait outside now?"

Ma Bin's mouth was blocked, so he was naturally speechless and didn't make any movements.

The man said again: "Anyway, no one can escape now. Tell me where the others are, so you don't have to suffer. We don't need to make the city full of wind and rain. What do you think?"

Ma Bin's heart was ashamed, and he knew that he would die, so he didn't nod and just stayed there motionless.

"Hmph!" said the man, "then we just need to employ more people."