Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Guo Shao returned to Waqiaoguan (Xiongzhou) Beihu Jiejun left camp.

He first summoned more than forty generals including the Commander of the Army Capital, the Marquis of the Army Capital, and the Commander to discuss matters in the tent. The tents of the Chinese army are tents with felt tops, built with wood and cloth around them, and covered with felt grass for coir raincoats, which has a relatively good waterproof effect.

The generals arrived one after another, and they habitually put their weapons on the shelf at the door. After a while, it was like a weapons exhibition, with all kinds of knives, swords and bodyguards put on display.

When everyone arrived, Guo Shao brought his personal guards into the account, but the personal guards did not go in, and the surrounding area was immediately put under martial law, and no unrelated soldiers were allowed to approach.

"Meet Marshal Guo (Lord)..." A group of people clasped their fists in a messy salute. So many people came all at once, and there was no place to sit, so everyone had to stand.

After a while, a few soldiers came up with a simple shelf, on which was hung a large map, roughly sketched with thick lines, which resembled a map. This "picture" was made by Guo Shao himself. The drawing is a bit ugly, but it is very simple.

Guo Shao first took off the helmet and put it on the table. It was mid-April, and the weather was already a little hot, and the long hair tied on his head was a little stuffy to cover it with the helmet. When he turned around, the noise of the crowd stopped one after another, and many eyes turned to Guo Shao. He is used to such scenes by now.

So he pondered for a while, then pointed to the map and said casually: "It is said that the large reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom have arrived at Yanshan Mountain, and they are probably in this place; our army is currently in the north and south of the Juma River...

The mobilization of the left wing of the Hujie army is to cross the Juma River and arrive at Zhuozhou and Gu'an. The two cities form a corner and stand by for orders; "

Immediately someone asked: "Marshal Guo is going to step down as the commander of the left wing?"

Guo Shaodao: "I have new military affairs. I will lead the soldiers from various roads to follow the main force, and march towards Youzhou. Under my command, there will be tiger cavalry soldiers on the left side, Dingzhou army, and tens of thousands of soldiers. I don't know exactly where the troops are and how many there are."

He turned to look at the tall Qi Tingxun: "Send someone to move the dozen or so big boxes in Qizhou to Zhuozhou, do you know what I said?"

Qi Tingxun clasped his fists and said, "This subordinate understands."

Guo Shao said again: "Li Chuyun, Luo Yanhuan, Dong Zunxun, Deng Fei, the four generals led the cavalry to follow me; the others obeyed the commander Qi Tingxun in the left chamber. The commanding troops also followed the army, Zuo You and Luo Mengzi followed me; Lu Chengyong was the deputy commander, and Zhou Duan stayed in the left chamber shogunate. Do you understand where you have gone?"

Everyone agreed and discussed for a while, Guo Shao immediately ordered all the generals to return to the camp and prepare to set off.

Starting early the next morning, the armies crossed the Juma River through the pontoon bridge one after another. Most of the fighting was on the march, and everyone was used to it; it had been more than a month since the Northern Expedition started, and they had traveled hundreds of miles and occupied many places, but they hadn't really fought a single battle.

The river is clear, and the wilderness on both sides of the river is green at the turn of spring and summer. Many lands here are barren and covered with grass, but they still look vibrant. At this time, this scene, compared with the snowy winter, seems to be in a different place.

Guo Shao rode his horse to the river bank and stood under a tree watching the marching army and a large number of mule and horse carriages. Looking back, I saw Li Chuyun by my side, and recalling Li Chuyun's words at the end of last year, I couldn't help but say: "Brother Li is really right."

It has been several months since those words, and the generals have almost forgotten it. When Guo Shao mentioned it, everyone remembered it one after another.

Li Chuyun cupped his hands on the horse, smiled and said nothing.

When Guo Shao saw this, he suddenly felt that he was becoming more and more like a general... Guo Shao only remembered that in history, Chai Rong fell ill during the Northern Expedition and had to stop the army, which caused regret; but he couldn't remember the process at all. On the contrary, what Li Chuyun said at the end of last year, looking at it now, it seems that he only foresaw the future.

"Zhou's army fought all the way to the south of the Juma River, and there was only one small-scale conflict, and they surrendered all the way." Guo Shaodao, "After crossing the Juma River, Liao's reinforcements are coming soon. The most important part of this battle is a decisive battle with the main force of the Liao Kingdom. It is consistent with what General Li said. Admiration!"

After hearing this, Li Chuyun said, "Youyun and the former land of Bohai Kingdom are important places for the Khitan people to obtain their products. There is no reason why the Liao Kingdom should not be rescued. There are occasional fights between relatives and brothers in the folk, but which family is willing to hand over half of the good farmland in their hands to outsiders? You have to desperately."

Guo Shao asked again: "Win the battle between Zhou and Liao, how about brother Li predicting the outcome?"

Li Chuyun was a little hesitant, and said calmly: "The general feels that it is very difficult to win."

Guo Shao was meditating, when he suddenly reported that a messenger from the Daming Mansion had found the army. He sent an order to bring people up, and saw that it was a man wearing a head and robes and a few followers, and after seeing him, he sent a letter and presented it.

Fu Ermei's letter. Guo Shao asked his followers to receive the messenger first, and then he rode his horse to the side to avoid it, and then opened the letter to read. Letters in this era are very difficult and expensive, and people are sent to travel hundreds of miles to deliver letters. Otherwise, you can only find an acquaintance to carry it, and the possibility of losing it is very high.

The beginning of the letter seemed very plain. According to Fu Ermei, there is an official post in the gate of the palace, which is a special place to receive letters, official documents, invitations and other things. She would send someone to ask every few days, and it was the first time she realized how exhausting the waiting was. If she finds a letter from her husband, she will be very happy for a long time. For a long time, she can only read his letter carefully to express her thoughts.

When Guo Shao saw this, he suddenly felt a little anxious, and wanted to win the Khitan early and go back to Tokyo.

But he guessed that Chai Rong's body might not last long, and he would not be able to survive when he went back. The moment of great historical change loomed ahead. This made Guo Shao feel restless, and after thinking about it for a while, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

The best choice is to follow the queen's arrangement.

...

When the left side of the Hujie army arrived in Zhuozhou, all the troops of Dianqiansi had already marched north, so Qi Tingxun took over the defense of Zhuozhou and Gu'an. According to the imperial decree, Guo Shao led more than 2,000 cavalry northward to follow the main cavalry unit of the Zhou army.

The Zhuo River ferry was shallow, and the army waded through it, easily breaking through the Zhuo River. At this time, Zhou Jun had no danger to go to Youzhou City in front of him, and the river was flat; the rivers near the city were also shallow and could not stop the army at all... The Youzhou Plain was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the south was completely flat plains.

Guo Shao has only 2,000 cavalry under his command, and the Dingzhou army and Zhenjie soldiers have not yet arrived. The striker Shi Yanchao and the first division of the Sizhu Squad leading the front of the palace were already approaching Youzhou City, followed by the elite cavalry of the Chinese army, and Guo Shao and the cavalry of the Long Jie army were at the rear.

On the second day of the march, on the night of setting up camp, the Chinese army suddenly sent people, and the emperor summoned all the generals to discuss matters. Guo Shao had no choice but to take a dozen or so riders with him to catch up with the Chinese army.

The fire outside the big tent was brightly lit, and it was already dark when Guo Shao arrived. Wang Pu and more than a dozen generals and the emperor were present, and immediately said: "Shi Yanchao reported that the Liao army has arrived near Juyongguan and Deshengkou (northwest of Youzhou City)."

At this moment, Chai Rong said: "Everyone thinks how to enter the army, let's talk about it first and listen."

All the generals looked at each other, Chai Rong named Zhang Yongde and said, "General Zhang, tell me about it."

Zhang Yongde took a step forward, bent down and said: "The Liao army has already set out to save Youzhou. I don't know what you have to say... Dazhou has already occupied seventeen counties in several states on the south bank of the Juma River. It is already a meritorious service. There is no need to rush into Youzhou now, but Xu Tuzhi..."

"There is no need to talk about persuading me to retreat." Chai Rong said decisively.

At this moment, Zhao Kuangyin stood up and said: "Since the Liao army has arrived in the northwest of Youzhou, why didn't you come directly to rescue Youzhou City? It may be a plan to lure our army to the city and lure the enemy to go deep. Now that the reinforcements from the Liao people have arrived, I might as well wait and see from the south for the main force of the Liao army to go south, and then wait for the decisive battle."

Several generals immediately agreed with Zhao Kuangyin's strategy, and were unwilling to go deep into the city of Youzhou.

Wang Pu also said: "After the soldiers approach the city, we will divide our troops to besiege the city and disperse our forces. If we can wait for the Liao army to go south, we can avoid any worries."

Another person said: "The Liao army has traveled a long way to reinforce the city. When they first arrived in Youzhou, they will not attack at this time; they will not go south easily, and they will have to delay their rest. Now they are advancing on Youzhou City, forcing the Liao people to fight urgently. If the Liao army still retreats and wins the Shengkou pass, our dynasty can take the opportunity to attack the city; once they occupy Youzhou City, they will have a foothold."

"Guo Shao, where is Guo Shao?" Chai Rong suddenly called out.

Whenever it comes to siege, the emperor would think of Guo Shao who was often silent. Guo Shao hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The minister is here."

Chai Rong asked, "When will you be able to go to Youzhou?"

Guo Shao bit the bullet and said: "The minister sent a spy to investigate the situation in Youzhou. Youzhou has a military commander in the south courtyard. There are 18,000 Khitan cavalry in the south courtyard, and it is unknown if the Xi soldiers have cavalry. It is difficult to besiege the city with my troops... Even if the city wall is blown up, it will take about a month; tunnels must be dug around to find a suitable explosion point. Because in some places, there is water seepage in the ground, so there is no way to place gunpowder."

He couldn't help but uttered a stern advice: "To besiege Youzhou, you must bring in the elite infantry, build a few layers of fortifications outside the city, and surround it with a large army."

Chai Rong considered for a long time and decided to camp in the south of the city and not to attack Youzhou City for the time being. He also didn't decree to bring up the elite infantry from all walks of life.

It can be seen that Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin have more consistent views on the strategy of attacking Youzhou. They both focus on the reinforcements of the Liao Kingdom and seek opportunities to wipe out the enemy in field battles.

Guo Shao has participated in high-level court discussions many times, and he probably has figured out the military thinking of Chai Rong and other generals: generally they don't put their hopes on tricks, they just want to find an opportunity to fight against each other.

However, when fighting duels, there are always some external conditions that affect the outcome, such as terrain, morale, physical strength, number of people, etc., so the so-called tactics are to try to guide the external conditions to the side that is beneficial to oneself... In the end, it is the strength of the duel.

At present, the Zhou army's elite troops do not advance because they feel that the conditions for soldiers to approach the city are not good for their side.