Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Before winter came, there was a light rain here in Jinzhou. The rain was pattering, but the ground was wet, and when people and horses stepped on it, it was all muddy.

Crowds of people came to the construction site of Jinzhou City one after another on the main road. They were all men, wearing bamboo hats or straw hats, carrying tools such as hoes and heads, and carrying packages on their backs.

Gao Yanchou came to the people on horseback and asked them to ask what these people were doing here.

Someone in the crowd yelled: "We brought our own rations and came to build the city as corvée! The general will leave us alone."

"The imperial court did not forget Hebei, and went to the north twice a year. The villagers are looking forward to the arrival of Master Wang, so how can they spare no effort..."

Hearing this, Gao Yanchou was greatly moved. He rode forward, jumped off the horse and cupped his fists to worship: "The righteous man of Yandi understands the righteousness, please accept this general's worship!" He said loudly, "This general is Gao Yanchou of Shu land. All the soldiers are from Shu. I heard that the people in Hebei have suffered from the Liao people. How dare you not join the conquest and expel the Hu people? We will come from thousands of miles away..."

At this moment, a general came forward, bowed his head and whispered in Gao Yanchou's ear: "Your Majesty has come to Jinzhou for inspection."

Gao Yanchou immediately turned his head and asked, "Where are you going?"

The general said: "It's almost there."

Gao Yanchou immediately called Hou Mao, the general of the Ministry, and said, "You come to appease the people who came voluntarily, but they must be registered when they enter the camp. These people usually don't come alone, they are all in the same village, and their fellow villagers are required to verify their identity."

Hou Mao clasped his fists and said, "The general will understand."

Gao Yanchou immediately took people to meet the emperor.

...Guo Shao met Gao Yanchou's men and horses on the post road, and a group of people dismounted from their horses, bent down and held their fists in salute, saying, "Welcome Your Majesty!"

"Exemption." Guo Shao said.

Gao Yanchou said calmly again: "It's raining and it's cold, at the end I ask your majesty to rest the dragon's body."

Guo Shao nodded and dealt with it. He rode in armor and his head was uncovered. Although the rain fell lightly, it soaked through the armor and clothes after a long time. The helmet and plate armor were covered with water droplets, and the water droplets condensed under the brim of the hat dripped down on the face from time to time, which was full of coolness.

Guo Shao's complexion was not very good, and he said very little, he just said: "Take me to see the fortifications of the city."

His voice is very low, but his enunciation is thicker, which sounds quite solid.

"Here." Gao Yanchou clasped his fists in agreement, turned around and mounted his horse.

A group of people rode slowly towards a construction site on the river bank. Guo Shao's black horse shook its head and threw water droplets into the air. The ground was muddy, and the horse seemed to be expressing dissatisfaction.

Gao Yanchou pointed to the people in front of him and explained their origins.

After hearing this, Guo Shao praised, and said: "We must also guard against spies getting in."

Gao Yanchou said: "The general is already on guard."

A group of people circled the city. The perimeter of the built city wall was not long. Many villagers were transporting soil in the rain, and some people carried wooden hammers and yelled on the earth wall to exert their strength.

Then people came to a higher hillside. An official from the Ministry of Industry got off his horse and came to Guo Shaoma, and presented a set of drawings: "Your Majesty saw that the city wall is very small. This is a temporary fortification, and we will follow the arrangement of the military government."

Guo Shao took a look at the picture, and then looked at the construction site in front of him.

In fact, what is being built now is not a city wall, but an earthen wall, and the trenches are outside, which are only temporary fortifications. Because winter is about to enter, it is more difficult to build the city wall, and there is not enough time... The Liao army may take the initiative to attack in winter, and the current preparations are for defense in winter; there is a place to stand, stockpiling food, grass and soldiers.

After gaining a firm foothold, the city will be rebuilt outside the fortifications. The administrative system has been established, and Jinzhou City will be built sooner or later.

Guo Shao looked back and said: "The earth wall fortifications must be built quickly. General Gao must send more scouts to patrol around. Your place is the farthest from Zhuozhou. If Brother Yeluxiu comes to harass you, you will probably choose Jinzhou as your target."

Gao Yanchou and others hurriedly bowed and said, "Your servants will abide by the imperial decree."

Guo Shaoyao pointed to the distance in the drizzle, and said: "When the main city fortifications are built, the township army will reinforce Jinzhou and build a fortress around the city in the northeast. It will be deployed in two staggered layers as an early warning and peripheral offensive and defensive pivot. The main force of the Jiannan Army will be in the center to protect the granary. There will also be the rear imperial guards to help protect Jinzhou."

Everyone echoed one after another, saying that the emperor had planned strategies and so on.

"Drive!" Guo Shao lightly kicked the horse's belly and rushed down the hillside, and everyone followed after seeing this.

Guo Shao entered the fortification area to inspect. He looked very carefully, and even asked about toilets and drains. There are also food, winter clothes, shelter, etc. for sergeants and civilian husbands. He came to a straw shed kitchen, picked up a piece of wheat cake from a bamboo basket, tore a piece and tasted it.

Gao Yanchou hurriedly found a wooden bench and invited Guo Shao to sit on it, so the emperor sat in a thatched hut, holding a wheat cake in one hand and a branch in the other, drawing on the mud floor while describing the tactics designed by the army.

The generals gathered around and listened, discussing a few words from time to time.

At this moment, someone outside said: "Your Majesty is inside the house."

Veteran Qin Shitou came in with a messenger, who presented a report with both hands. Guo Shao put the wheat cakes on the chopping board, took a look at the report, and said: "Youzhou got the news that the Liao State South Court has changed people, and Xiao Siwen was reinstated as the king of the South Court."

All the generals shouted one after another: "Xiao Siwen is His Majesty's defeated general!" "This fellow is not His Majesty's opponent..."

Guo Shao was noncommittal. During the Northern Expedition of the late Emperor, Guo Shao did defeat Xiao Siwen in Zhuozhou; but when he attacked Youzhou at the beginning of this year, he found that Xiao Siwen was very good at collecting information, deploying city defenses in a targeted manner, and it was effective.

Guo Shao didn't have the confidence to hit everyone, so they despised Xiao Siwen; but he didn't despise this person in his heart. Guo Shao had never met Xiao Siwen, but from the two encounters on the battlefield, it can be seen that Xiao Siwen is not as good as a famous general of the Liao Kingdom in his use of troops.

After receiving the report, Guo Shao continued to inspect the place as if nothing had happened.

For a few days, he led the cavalry back and forth along the Juma River, focusing on the fortifications of the two cities. At the beginning of October, he returned to Zhuozhou City, where the forbidden army was stationed.

After entering Zhuozhou City, by chance, Guo Shao recognized the house of "Master Lu"'s family. The small courtyard survived the disaster and is still there today. When Guo Shao was still a general, he lived in this courtyard among the states.

He looked sideways, and found that there were clothes drying in the courtyard wall, and there should be people living there...but definitely not from the Lu family. Miracle doctor Lu has passed away, and Lu Lan is now in Tokyo.

Things are different and people are different, Guo Shao felt a sense of emotion for a while, and passed by this place silently. He remembered Lu Lan begging him, and sure enough Xiao Siwen came to Youzhou, but he didn't know if he brought any family members with him.

After traveling on the muddy and difficult road for several days in the wind and rain, Guo Shao went straight back to the palace.

Compared with the cities in the Central Plains and Jiangnan, Zhuozhou is far away, but you can always find a better house as a palace. Guo Shao took a shower and changed clothes, and calmed down in the bedroom.

It was still raining lightly outside, Guo Shao recalled those construction sites, and couldn't help cursing in a low voice: "Damn weather!"

The inner house was very quiet, and some guards in armor and swords could be seen walking slowly under the eaves from a distance. They were in groups of two, silently observing the movement around them.

Near the bedroom, there are only eunuch Wang Zhong and veteran Tan Shitou.

Guo Shao didn't take Jingniang on the expedition and had been abstinent for a long time, but he still couldn't calm down at the moment, because he couldn't do other things, so he walked back and forth for a while and went to the map to think about military affairs.

"Compared to Brother Yeluxiu, Xiao Siwen tends to be more conservative." Guo Shao seemed to be talking to himself.

Wang Zhong echoed in a timely manner: "Your Majesty's words are absolutely true."

Guo Shao glanced at him, then lowered his head and pondered for a long time, and an intuition came to his mind: the Liao army will launch a large-scale counterattack in winter!

In many cases, Guo Shao relies on intuition, just as the accuracy of archery relies on feeling. It is a subtle thing, and there is not much reason for his judgment, but he believes in its reliability... But he has been in a bad mood recently, he has caught this intuition from somewhere, but he can't be confident.

Perhaps, it can be deduced like this: If the Liao army wants to use light cavalry to harass, brother Yeluxiu is better than Xiao Siwen in using troops; and at this time, Xiao Siwen is suddenly replaced, maybe there is some big news being accumulated!

Guo Shao raised his head and looked out the window, the very low sound of the drizzle made the surroundings seem more peaceful... as if dead still.

Yes, the Great Zhou Army on the Juma North Line has been very active these days, but the Liao Army has been too quiet! It was so quiet that one couldn't believe that the Liao people would sit idly by.

The calm before the storm.

Guo Shao looked at Qin Shitou and said, "You will be in touch with the Bing Cao Division. If you have any news, let me know immediately."

Qin Shitou hurriedly said: "The final general obeyed the order and released a few brothers in the Yizhou Branch of the Bing Cao Division. We will know soon if there is anything."

Guo Shao said again: "There may be news from Shangjing recently."

Qin Shitou didn't understand, so he looked at Guo Shao in awe... Several times Guo Shao foresaw small things, and Tan Shitou found that his words were accurate, but Qin Shitou couldn't figure out how the emperor knew.

If the Liao Kingdom wants to mobilize its troops to go south in winter, it may start to gather troops in various places now. This kind of mobilization is on a large scale, as long as people in Shangjing can see some signs with their eyes.

Guo Shao was thinking about all kinds of things in his mind. He was exhausted for a few days, but he didn't feel sleepy at all, and his spirit was always in a state of tension and excitement. He was a little worried, worried that something would go wrong; he was also a little looking forward to, every time he passed a contest, he could make the whole layout move forward! So he seemed a little impatient, eager to see the upcoming results soon.

He took a long breath and came back to his senses. The surroundings were peaceful and the time was still passing slowly bit by bit. It was destined to be a long process. \u003c