Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Guo Shao loves to watch the scenes of men and horses in armor marching in formation, and also likes to listen to the sound of well-coordinated footsteps and metal grinding, like a symphony.

Downstairs in Jinzhou City, rows of heavy infantry entered the city one after another, and the sound of "click, click" footsteps was like a rhythmic bass. At first glance, the cavalry marching slowly in formation looks like brisk jumping or dancing, but when you look closely, they are not jumping with four hooves, and the posture of the horses is elegant and powerful.

A row of infantry, a group of cavalry, the same scene was repeated under the tower, but Guo Shao stood on it and watched for a long time.

He turned to Wei Renpu who was beside him and said, "Does Vice Envoy Wei think this scene is boring?"

Wei Renpu bent down slightly, and said calmly: "It's very interesting for me to watch."

Guo Shao pondered for a while, and said: "People always want to have omnipotent power, but unfortunately, no matter how strong a person is, his ability is limited. If thousands of people can do one thing together, the power will not be underestimated. So whenever I see this kind of scene, I am always a little excited."

Wei Renpu thought about it seriously, and after a pause, he echoed seriously: "Your Majesty knows everything."

Guo Shao raised his head, looked over the row of Xu Jun flags fluttering high, and looked at the endless green field. The Xiaoling River meanders on the vast land, and his sight can no longer be seen further. Not only is the individual's strength and running speed limited, but his vision is also very limited.

Gao Huaide lived up to his hopes and took half a month to capture this important town originally built by the Han people in the Tang Dynasty. However, Guo Shao was not very excited. Instead, he felt that his heart was still hanging in the air.

Jinzhou is surrounded by flat terrain and faces the sea in the east, with rich water systems and fertile land; the city is the ruling center of this area. If the general captured this place for the imperial court, it must be a remarkable achievement. But Guo Shao mobilized so many troops to conquer the Northeast, not for a single city.

He is waiting for news from Liao.

This feeling reminded him of the scene when he first came to prominence: shooting Zhang Yuanhui with one arrow. At that time, the timing and angle were very good, and Guo Shao was also very sure of his long-term practice of archery, but before the moment of releasing the arrow, he was very nervous and worried. Because there are some things that no one can be 100% sure of. When Guo Shao was in Lingzhou, if he killed the party member and didn't hide Brother Ling, he would have missed.

It's also like the little girl who hooked up with her when she was young, she has already started, but she is always careful, for fear that she will fly away if she is frightened...

People and horses were active all day inside and outside Jinzhou City. The garrison deployed defenses, placed and screened captives, and appeased the people. Everything was cumbersome, but Guo Shao ignored it. When he repeatedly pondered and designed the Qianying Military Mansion in the past, he had already paid for today's hard work in advance.

Until the next evening, the ministers and generals who accompanied the army gathered together for dinner in the temporarily requisitioned camp of the Chinese army. The food was the same as that of all the soldiers, even Guo Shao was no exception.

Baked hot wheat cake, very dry and toothsome. There are leaves in the soup, dried sea fish...sometimes bacon. This saves a lot of trouble in soup, and even salt, because dried fish and bacon are very salty.

If nothing happened, Guo Shao talked about some anecdotes with everyone.

At this time, Gao Huaide smiled and said: "Mr. Shi, I heard that once in Hedong, there was a rebellious army with no military discipline, plundering the people and kidnapping young ladies, and Shi Guogong saw it. Shi Guogong executed the rebellious soldiers on the spot, and then cut down those little girls. After hearing this story, the general has never understood why Shi Guogong wanted to kill innocent people as well?"

The chatter and laughter in the room immediately died down, and the atmosphere became a little delicate. Everyone was paying attention to Shi Yanchao's reaction.

Guo Shao sat in the upper seat and didn't say a word, still chewing the wheat cake "bajibaji". The barley cakes eaten in the army are very thick, so they must be chewed more, otherwise they will be difficult to swallow. After chewing more, you can taste the unique sweetness of grain.

Guo Shao reckoned that when Shi Yanchao killed Queen Qi of the Liao Kingdom, he must have had some flirtation with Gao Huaide, mocking or showing off. After Gao Huaide captured Jinzhou, he spoke with full confidence, and he was paying back in public. Anyway, there is never a lack of small frictions among these generals and civil servants, especially Shi Yanchao, and Guo Shao is not surprised.

Shi Yanchao threw the round barley cake with a nick in his hand into the soup in the iron cup with a "slap", and the vegetable soup splashed all over the floor. He squinted his eyes and said without changing his face: "Kill them together, I feel comfortable and save trouble."

Gao Huaide gave a thumbs up and sneered, "I admire you."

Shi Yanchao said again: "Those soldiers traveled thousands of miles, fighting with their heads up, burning, killing and looting, of course they deserve to die, but I can't let a group of women watch them die and gloat over their misfortune!"

At this moment, the eunuch Yang Shiliang walked into the hall, walked directly to Guo Shao from the side, bowed his head and whispered in Guo Shao's ear: "The secret envoy from the Liao Kingdom has just arrived in Jinzhou."

After hearing this, Guo Shao let out a sigh of relief, and said to the crowd: "The Liao Kingdom has come to seek peace."

Shi Yanchao had completely forgotten the quarrel just now, and immediately yelled: "Let the Lord of Liao be called a minister and call him father, and the officials will agree to make peace with them."

Wei Renpu glared at Shi Yanchao angrily and said, "Then let's talk about it!"

The civil servant Lu Duoxun said solemnly: "Before the expedition, everyone discussed politics in front of the officials. This expedition is to force peace. Otherwise, in the thousands of miles of grassland and the vast cold northeast, there may be nothing we can do."

Guo Shao patted his thigh and said: "Leave the secret envoy for two days first, and tomorrow morning, he will send a wanderer out of Jinzhou, and wander around in the direction of Liaoyang for a few times."

Lu Duoxun clasped his fists and said, "Would the people of Liao think that we have no sincerity in peace talks?"

Guo Shao changed his silent expression, and suddenly smiled and said: "Be calm. The people of the Liao Kingdom are fighting or making peace, not because of our politeness. If they think they can continue to compete with Daxu for profit, even sending the princess money to beg will not have a real effect."

...

The Daliao King’s Tent is still stationed in the western plain of Dahei Mountain, and many horses are gnawing grass, but they are not fat, and the grass seeds grow fat in autumn. The spring thunder suddenly appeared in the depths of the mountains, and the whole land was shrouded in lingering haze. But the most unhappy person in Wang's tent camp should be Xiao Siwen.

Not long ago, he said to his confidant Xiao Abudi: "The ewes are grazing desperately, dangling the bulging milk under their bellies, and showing their value to the owner."

The most shameless thing in the field of power is to be flattering to your former subordinates!

Thinking back when Youzhou fell (Xiao Siwen never thought it was his responsibility, there was no hope of reinforcements from the Daliao court, who could defend the isolated city under the siege of hundreds of thousands of troops), Xiao Siwen fought back desperately, and turned the blame on Yelujing, the emperor of Daliao! Yelu Xiezhen and others respected him and were humble.

But now, Xiao Siwen has fallen to the point of trying to please Yelu Xiezhen with every means. Xiao Siwen has been holding back shame and unwillingness in his heart, but more of it is helplessness.

The situation of negotiating peace with Xu Guo could not be controlled, and Xiao Siwen gradually lost power. He often wakes up from a dream and cannot remember what nightmare he had, but then he will think of the people who have offended, hated, and dissatisfied with him over the years. There are too many people to count.

Xiao Siwen got up from the collapse again, and when his breath calmed down, he walked to a pair of bronze mirrors that accompanied him, looked at his face in it, and turned his head to look at the profile. He straightened his neck and made a calm and upright posture in the mirror. He only felt that his facial features were upright and his appearance was very good. He gradually found his confidence.

There are ups and downs in the world, Xiao Siwen believes that he can overcome this difficulty. In the future, he will still be a Khitan nobleman with a stable demeanor, loyalty to the country, and noble status.

Xiao Siwen gently smoothed his temple hair with his palm, picked up his hat, put it on, turned around and walked out of the tent.

Riding unimpededly into the king's tent, many Liao ministers had already arrived, and Great Khan Yeluxian also sat on his tiger-skin chair. Xiao Siwen stepped forward and bowed with his hands on his chest, and then found his seat near the front.

People around are talking about it. Standing next to him, the king of the Yi family said to Xiao Siwen: "The secret envoy of the king's account has returned, and he praised the emperor's conditions for the peace negotiation. First, the place to negotiate peace must be within the territory of Xu country. Second, Daliao should send someone with status as an envoy to designate the Beiyuan privy envoy or the king of the Beiyuan."

Xiao Siwen was taken aback when he heard it, and asked in a deep voice, "When did you hear the news?"

King B said: "Just now."

Xiao Siwen's eyebrows almost frowned immediately, he was weak and went to the enemy's territory to negotiate a peace, who would want to go? Yelu Xiezhen is now the most powerful person in Daliao, he is definitely not willing to go...then only Xiao Siwen will go!

Xiao Siwen's heart suddenly fell into the ice valley again, and he hurriedly asked the king of the second family: "What else did the emissary say?" He hoped to get as much information as possible so that he could think of a solution.

The king of the second room said: "After Xu Jun occupied Jinzhou, he immediately sent rangers to Liaoyang to harass and spy on the military situation, and he didn't pay much attention to the negotiation of peace. The secret envoy didn't meet the important figures of Xu State until two days later."

Xiao Siwen immediately shouted: "Great Khan, the Xu people are not sincere about negotiating a peace, how can we negotiate a peace in such a situation?"

Yelu Xiezhen said calmly: "It's not that Xu Guo doesn't want a truce, how much benefit will the southerners get if they fight? But Xu Guo should form an alliance with Goryeo to attack Daliao. If they want to make peace with Daliao, things will be more complicated; moreover, Xu Guo people want Daliao cavalry to stop raiding the border in the future, and they don't trust Daliao very much. Even so, judging from the current situation, there is still a great chance of negotiating a peace."

Xiao Siwen immediately asked back: "If you agree to Xu Guoren's conditions, who will negotiate peace?"

Yelu Xiezhen stared at Xiao Siwen with a self-explanatory expression.

Xiao Siwen almost cried: "Emperor Xu hates me so much, if I send him to my door, can I come back alive?"

Yelu Xiezhen persuaded: "This peace negotiation is not a trivial matter, and the world knows it. If Blacksmith Guo took the opportunity to avenge his personal revenge, wouldn't he be stingy and break the trust of the world? You don't have to worry too much, Mr. Xiao, and you don't have to worry about your life."