Guo Shao set out the next day and passed Bagong Mountain. Most of the right wing of the Hujie Army was stationed on the east side of the mountain. After Li Jixun resigned from the Imperial Army, the wing commander Zhao Chao led this army; at this time, they were short of food and were waiting for Li Gu to transport food. Guo Shao decided not to meet Zhao Chao for the time being and went to Shouzhou first.
When they arrived at the left wing camp outside Shouzhou City, all the generals heard the news and spontaneously came to the central army headquarters.
Guo Shao did not appear in front of his generals for a while, and paced around in the houses of the small village surrounded by the large military camp, feeling very bored. Two things: First, he had no chance to speak in Yangzhou when he asked for meritorious service and promotion for his generals, and there were not just one or two meritorious generals; he could only report to the imperial guard Sima Bujunsi Li Chongjin. Second, the matter of the Fu family.
Fu Yanqing's letter was very vague, just inviting Guo Shao to reminisce about the old friendship. Last night, Guo Shao analyzed the relationship again and felt that the Fu family's attitude was not optimistic.
There were many wealthy families in the Zhou Dynasty, and there were also many capable young generals. Why did Fu Yanqing write a letter to herself with an ambiguous attitude? It must be the Queen's intention, so Fu Yanqing could choose Guo Shao.
Since the Queen has spoken, Guo Shao is also an unmarried bachelor, why does Fu Yanqing still need to be vague? The only reason is that the Fu family may still look down on Guo Shao and want him to go to Hebei for more observation and examination.
Guo Shao only started to rise to prominence at the beginning of last year. In less than two years, of course his foundation and influence could not be compared with those warlords; although he had elite troops, his status was neither high nor low. Most wealthy families might think that his status was high enough, but the Fu family, which had been crowned kings for generations and whose daughters could marry emperors, was obviously not that satisfied with Guo Shao's status and sparse population.
Fu Ermei is already 23 years old, which is a level of leftover fighters in ancient times. If any person of status could be favored by Fu Yanqing, he would have been married long ago. Leftover fighters in this era are generally not a problem for girls. The marriage of a lady of a noble family is entirely determined by her parents, and has little to do with her.
Guo Shao thought about it and didn't think Fu Yanqing had done anything wrong.
With Fu Yanqing's attitude, Guo Shao reflected on himself and realized that his foundation was indeed weak and he felt very insecure. For a military general like Guo Shao who was a lone man and rose to power through military merit, if he failed at any time, the Guo family would become nothing. Their reliability and security were too low.
But he was not willing to give up the marriage with the Fu family easily. Precisely because of the weakness of the family, he had to stick together with the deep-rooted family. Moreover, the Queen once said that the second sister looked a lot like her. Guo Shao was simply full of longing for the second sister even though he had never seen her.
A Westerner once said that when you truly fall in love with a woman, you will feel that all other women in the world pale in comparison.
Guo Shao felt that this statement was a bit exaggerated, but it seemed to make sense. He really felt that no one could compare to Queen Fu.
The Yang who was awarded by the emperor did not even show her face at the time, but she already amazed many people present. Objectively speaking, if she had not been extremely beautiful, she would not have been treated specially by the Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty and Zhao Kuangyin and others, like a rare treasure. There are many women in the world, but real beauties are still scarce.
But even for a beauty like Yang, Guo Shao only thought she was pretty, but he didn't have much feeling. He even forgot about Yang when he went back home that night after being rewarded. This was his own problem, not because Yang was not pretty enough.
However, Fu Ermei was completely different in Guo Shao's heart. In Guo Shao's heart, he always remembered what Fu said: "My second sister looks very similar to me."
At this moment, Zuo You walked into the room and asked: "My Lord, what is troubling you?"
Guo Shao then said: I went to Yangzhou to meet the emperor, but I had no chance to ask for merit on behalf of the soldiers.
Zuo You said disapprovingly: "There is still a long way to go. My lord, wasn't he promoted to the commander of the Infantry Division and concurrently the governor of Xuzhou? This is already a very good result."
Guo Shao nodded in agreement, and then went to the main hall of the central army with Zuo You. There were dozens of people standing there, and when they saw Guo Shao coming in, they all looked at him and bowed to him.
Guo Shao raised his hand, signaling everyone to excuse themselves. He first looked around. There were a total of six regular armies on the left wing of the Hujie Army. Most of the generals of the first and second armies had surrendered to him, and he had also placed a few brothers under him. Moreover, these people had served under him since Qin Feng, and their foundation in the two armies was very solid. The soldiers of the remaining four armies had also established prestige because of the great victory over Shouzhou. However, only a few people such as Deng Fei were clear about their willingness to surrender.
If Guo Shao could promote a group of generals, the situation would be even more different.
Guo Shao said directly: "Two things. First, according to the military order of the Privy Council, the left and right wings of the Hujie Army will attack Haozhou. Please ask the generals of the left wing to confirm the troop transfer order with me later. We will set out in three days. Luo Yanhuan led his troops to set out one day in advance and sent out more scouts and cavalry along the way."
The second thing is that there are generals who have made great contributions in Shouzhou. Let's discuss it and let Zuo You make a report and report it to the Imperial Guard for approval.
At this time, all the generals congratulated Guo Shao on his promotion to the position of the commander of the Imperial Guards and the Infantry Division. The atmosphere in the hall gradually became noisy. Guo Shao didn't care and just asked in the midst of the noise: "Who knows Zhao Chao, the commander of the right wing?"
A general said: I have worked under him. Zhao Chao is very ruthless. A few months ago, Li Chongjin, the commander of Huainan, defeated the Southern Tang army in Zhengyang and captured 3,000 people, who were handed over to Zhao Chao for custody. Unexpectedly, he slaughtered all 3,000 unarmed people overnight, and the pile of corpses was simply horrible.
Guo Shao was stunned and thought: Last time in Jinyang, Shi Yanchao killed a few rebel soldiers and a few women, which was no big deal; I don't know why Shi Yanchao got the reputation of being bloodthirsty, but Zhao Chao did not.
At this moment, a message came from outside the door, saying that a young general had delivered a letter. Guo Shao opened it and passed it to his general.
After reading it, Li Chuyun frowned and said: "Zhao Chao's army is short of food, and he wants to get food in Shouzhou City. The general thinks that he cannot be allowed to enter the city, but some stored grain can be transferred from Shouzhou to him first."
Guo Shao thought it was a good idea and immediately ordered: Send someone to see Zhao Chao and order him to set out in five days. I will help him with the military rations. Strictly order Zhao Chao not to kill the soldiers and civilians in Huainan indiscriminately, otherwise he will not be forgiven.
A general said: "I have something to say. Zhao Chao and Zhao Hongyin are old friends and are from the same family. It is said that they have a good relationship.
Guo Shao was not familiar with Zhao Chao, but he was very familiar with Zhao Hongyin.
Guo Shao's impression of Zhao Chao only stayed on the eve of the Battle of Gaoping. Zhao Chao was a general in the Konghe Army at that time. On the way to the emperor's personal expedition, he advised the emperor not to fight a decisive battle lightly. As a result, he was imprisoned in a city on the road and was released only when the Zhou army returned to the court. Guo Shao believed that this person was not good at seizing opportunities.
The Battle of Gaoping was such a great opportunity that even a small soldier named Ma in the inner palace was promoted; Zhao Kuangyin and others were even more so. Even Guo Shao, a low-level general who was hovering between the top ten generals and the captain, rose to prominence because of this battle. Zhao Chao was a person who could speak to the emperor before the Battle of Gaoping, but now he has become a subordinate of Guo Shao and others.
The reason why Zhao Hongyin is so well-known is that he is Zhao Kuangyin's biological father. But now Zhao Hongyin's son is more promising.
Guo Shao had no good feelings towards Zhao Chao, the commander of the right wing of the Hujie Army, but there was nothing he could do for the time being, and he was unwilling to make enemies with him.
The list of people requesting merit and promotion was reported to Li Chongjin. Guo Shao had expected that this guy would not let him get away with it so easily.
As expected, three days later, just as the army was about to set out, Li Chongjin sent more than twenty military generals with a letter of appointment from the Imperial Guard Division, saying: I am here to take up the post on the orders of the Imperial Guard Division's Cavalry and Infantry Division.
Guo Shao said angrily: Where are the appointment letters of the meritorious soldiers of the Hujie Army
The visitor said: The appointment of the deputy general of the military capital school needs to be submitted to the Privy Council for review, and then the Imperial Guard Department can make a decision. Marshal Li believes that Guo Dushi is nepotistic and exaggerates military achievements, so he cannot be promoted.
Then what military merits have you made? Guo Shao was furious in front of dozens of left wing generals.
All the generals were furious when they saw this.
Just as the man was about to talk about their military achievements, Guo Shao suddenly snatched the appointment letter from the man and pretended to tear it up.
The noisy hall suddenly became quiet. This scene was extremely weird. Everyone looked at the piece of paper in Guo Shao's hand. No, it was not just a piece of paper. First of all, it was Li Chongjin's face, and then the prestige of the Imperial Guard Division.
Guo Shao took a deep breath, gently released one hand, and coldly handed it back to the general, saying: "The emperor's words are golden, and my vanguard troops obey the emperor's orders directly. Now that the army is going out, temporarily changing the generals will not be conducive to the stability of the army's morale. Please send it back to Marshal Li, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Guards and Cavalry. I'm sorry that I can't accept the order."
The visitor was stunned and said as he stepped back: Marshal Guo actually disobeyed the order of his superiors in public, so we will take our leave first.
At this time, the generals came back to their senses from their surprise and said in unison: "Li Dushi is too much of an exaggeration. The Zhou army has no rewards for its military merits. This is the first time I have heard of this."
Some people also advised: "Li Dushi is in charge of the Imperial Guards. Now the army is outside, so it's fine for the emperor to lead the army in person. When there is no war, all matters of the Imperial Guards will have to go through the hands of the Mabu Duzhishi. We can bear it, so we should bear it."
Guo Shao said with a straight face: "I have said before, I know who is loyal to me, and I will never treat the soldiers unfairly. Li Chongjin is obstructing me, but I still have a way to report it directly to the Privy Council."
Guo Shao said bluntly: "I have a good relationship with Wei Renpu, the privy envoy, and Wang Pu, the deputy envoy, so this matter will be handled impartially. Zuo You, please copy another memorial requesting merit."
He added: "The army will set out on schedule. You don't have to worry about other things. Just do your best. The court is only fair."
Guo Shao turned and walked out of the hall, thinking of Fu Ermei again, the girl who was said to look like the queen. She was already 23 years old and couldn't wait any longer. He thought to himself: This battle must succeed, not fail.