When they were half drunk, Li Gu suddenly sighed: There is a ferry called Zhengyang not far from here. Brother Guo should know
Guo Shao nodded and said: Of course I know, Li Gong’s vanguard entered Huainan through Zhengyang.
Li Gu picked up the cup of wine in front of him, raised his head and drank it all, with a rather sad look on his face: I remembered my good friend Han Xizai, I saw him crossing the Huai River in Zhengyang. The ferry is still there, but the man is no longer there.
The sun shone through the cracks in the simple bamboo curtain onto Li Gu's face, and Guo Shao suddenly felt that this man was like a poet full of sincere feelings. Guo Shao calmed down, put Gao Huaide and Zhao Kuangyin aside, and asked in a listening manner: "Where is Han Gong now in the Southern Tang Kingdom?"
Li Gu nodded, his voice choking: It's rare to have a close friend in life. I really don't want to let him go, but I can only watch him go. Things are unpredictable. His father was involved in a coup and was killed; the entire Han family was implicated. Brother Han could only turn into a merchant and flee to the south of the Yangtze River.
He poured another glass of wine, drank it, and said with a wry smile: Brother Guo, guess what we said when we parted.
I can't guess. Guo Shao watched his expression.
No matter what, Li Gu now really regards himself as a friend, otherwise he would not talk about these private matters in front of him, let alone the past of assisting fugitives to escape to the Southern Tang Kingdom; and he would not lose his composure to the point of revealing his emotions.
Li Gu looked out the window, was stunned for a moment, turned back and said: Brother Han said that if Wu State appointed him as prime minister, he would march straight to the Central Plains.
Guo Shao looked at him in a calm voice and said: How did Lord Li answer
Li Gu smiled, and of course I did not give in. I said that if the Central Plains appointed me as prime minister, taking Wu would be as easy as taking candy from a sack.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment, picked up the wine glass and said: "A bosom friend is a friend indeed." Li Gu poured wine and drank with him. Guo Shao picked up the wine cup again and said: "For my bosom friend, let's drink more."
The two drank a lot in this random tavern, and Li Gu got very drunk. Guo Shao called his followers to take him back to where he was staying, and then left.
Guo Shao rode back to Xiacai in the afternoon and met Yang. He called Jingniang and others over and said: The Huainan Imperial Army may be returning to the capital. It is not convenient for you to go with the army, and the army moves slowly. He looked at Yang and said: Your revenge has been avenged. Let Jingniang and Luo Mengzi take a team of cavalry and go with you first.
They all nodded in agreement.
When Guo Shao saw that the woman who was looking for her husband was still here, he said: You should go back to Kaifeng Prefecture with them, and then go home.
The young woman suddenly whispered: General Guo, can you take me in? I only want to be a servant in your house.
After hearing this, Guo Shao secretly recalled the circumstances when he met her at the beginning. It didn't feel like it was a deliberate arrangement: first of all, she was caught by scouts and brought to the central army, otherwise she wouldn't have happened to meet Guo Shao when he was leaving the camp; secondly, if her sadness that day was an act, it was too realistic; her identity was a soldier named Guo Er, and her military unit number also matched. He must have worried too much. Guo Shao had been in this era for a few years, and he didn't think there was any decent spy organization in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, like the Ming Dynasty's Changwei.
But it didn't seem so good to let the widow of a fallen imperial guard serve as one's maid.
He asked calmly: Why don't you go home
The woman lowered her head and said, "My family is very poor. I have been married once before and my husband is a tuberculosis patient. My in-laws gave my parents some money to marry him off to bring good luck, but he died on the wedding night. The wedding turned into a funeral and many people in the village gossiped about him. My later husband, Guo Er, came with his relatives to attend the funeral and he fell in love with me. He is a very good man. He has martial arts skills and can work. He comes to my house to help whenever he is free. He is young and tall, and he receives royal food and military pay. He doesn't dislike me at all, and I thought I was lucky. But just as we were happily engaged, he went to war. When I sent him off, he told me to wait for him to come back."
Her voice got lower and lower, she lowered her head, and suddenly a big teardrop hit the back of her hand. She choked and said: I don't want to go back, someone will definitely say that I am unlucky, and someone will bully me.
Guo Shao sighed and said: It is indeed a bit difficult to face, but your parents will definitely worry about you. You should go home. When you arrive in Tokyo, let Jingniang take you back. By the way, what is your name
Qiao Niang, the woman said. She said nothing more and left silently.
Guo Shao turned to look at her, only to see that she was thin and plainly dressed, and her experience was indeed pitiful. He immediately said to Jingniang in a deep voice: "Try to find out her details and confirm her identity. Start with her neighbors and relatives, and the team where Guo Er is. There must be some people who are familiar with Guo Er. I will let Luo Mengzi assist you."
Jingniang said seriously: I understand.
After Guo Shao arranged Cai's affairs, he said goodbye to Jingniang and Yang, and agreed to meet again after arriving in Tokyo.
Chai Rong deployed the 14 prefectures in Huainan and established four military governorates to control Huainan. The Zhongzheng governor was Xia Caizhi, the governor of Shouzhou, the governor of Huainan, the governor of Xiongzhou, the governor of Baoxin, the governor of Luzhou, and the governor of Yongtai.
Among them, Li Chongjin was appointed as the governor of Huainan with the military post of the imperial guards, and the senior military officers of the imperial guards were sent to the local areas. Li Chongjin's development did not seem optimistic. Chai Rong also made some deployments, and most of the surrendered elite soldiers of the Southern Tang were moved out of Huainan.
In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the imperial guards began to return to the capital one after another.
The left wing of the Tiger Army of Guo Shao's army was in Haozhou, and they could cross the Huai River on a floating bridge to the north. He hoped to return to Tokyo before the end of the year to celebrate the New Year. However, due to various cumbersome matters, he did not achieve his wish in the end. The early troops did not arrive in Tokyo until the first month of the third year of Xian De.
The troops entered the city from several gates, and the city was very lively. Red lanterns were hung on both sides of the long street, and all kinds of peddlers and hawkers were driven to the side of the road to watch. The festive atmosphere had not faded. The people watched the soldiers entering the city noisily on the street, and some families even sent them food. The soldiers who won the battle were all jubilant. However, the military strength of the Southern Tang in Huainan was not in vain. Although the war was quickly resolved in more than half a year, the number of Zhou army casualties was not small. It is unknown how the families of those who died would feel. As Prime Minister Wang Pu said, war means death.
The Hujie Army was not the imperial guard. Before entering the city, Guo Shao ordered the commander of the left wing army to disband on his own after returning to Beijing, except for a few people who would be on duty, and the rest would be allowed to go home and rest for three days.
The general who successively captured Shouzhou and Haozhou cities was called Guo Shao, also known as Guo Pocheng. While walking on the street south of Daxiangguo Temple, Guo Shao actually heard people talking about him. However, those people obviously didn't know that he was passing by with a few cavalrymen.
As soon as she entered the street where the mansion was located, she saw Yulian and several women standing there waiting. When she saw Guo Shao riding over, her face suddenly lit up.
Guo Shao jumped off his horse, walked up to her and called out: Yulian.
Yu Lian's oval face was red from the cold. She didn't know how long she had been waiting. She walked up to Guo Shao and threw herself into his arms, sobbing and saying, "Don't write that kind of scary letter again in the future."
Yulian. Guo Shao stroked her shoulder.
A few months ago in Shouzhou, Guo Shao did make some preparations for the worst, including a letter to Yu Lian, in which he clearly mentioned that if something happened to him, all his personal property would be under Yu Lian's control. This is equivalent to saying in the most vulgar way: among the people around Guo Shao, Yu Lian occupies the most important position in his heart.
Guo Shao let her vent her emotions in his arms. It seemed a bit strange for a man and a woman to hug each other in public on the street, but no one dared to pay attention to what a military general was doing.
Langjun Yulian called him with a wronged look and hugged him very tightly.
Her body was soft and comfortable in his arms. Guo Shao couldn't help but reach out and touch her soft hair. Suddenly, he saw a snowflake falling on her black hair. When he raised his head, he saw snowflakes floating in the sky, fluttering and extremely beautiful.
But through the snow, he suddenly saw a pretty face in the window of the teahouse next to him. Wasn't it the young lady from the Li family
Madam Li noticed Guo Shao's gaze and was stunned for a moment. She quickly disappeared by the window.
Guo Shao said kindly: There are a lot of people here, let’s go home and talk.
Yulian nodded obediently and finally let him go. Guo Shao led the horse and walked side by side with her in the snow, walking towards the mansion not far away. Guo Shao turned around and said to a few personal soldiers: Go home and reunite with your family.
Several people clasped their fists and saluted, saying: We are leaving.
Guo Shao walked to the door, looked back at the teahouse, stood there for a while, and then went in. Li Chuyun has now been promoted to the commander of the imperial guards. Although he is Guo Shao's subordinate, his status is already very high, and at this time he has a higher status than ordinary bureaucrats; Guo Shao feels that he should not provoke Li Niangzi again, unless he has made up his mind not to marry Fu Ermei, but to marry Li Niangzi, in which case, of course, Li Chuyun and Li Niangzi should not object.
Guo Shao didn't want to do that. Snowflakes floated on the ground and soon melted. Li Niangzi's heart was moved like love at first sight, but if he put aside his interests, no one could replace Fu's position in his heart.
The consolidation of strength and prestige gained through marriage is more substantial. I have to ask for leave to go to Hebei, but I can't be too hasty. I have to visit Xiang Xun in the next few days. Xiang Xun stayed in Tokyo this time and didn't get any military merits, but at least he has a good relationship with those who helped him in the past. If he doesn't visit, the relationship will fade.
Master. A gentle voice startled Guo Shao.
Guo Shao raised his head and saw Yang standing in front of him, gently bending her knees and placing her hands on her waist, bowing to him. At this moment, Guo Shao felt a slight chill on his hand, and Yu Lian beside him quietly held his hand.
It just snowed. Guo Shao looked up at the sky and smiled. He greeted Yang in a casual tone and said, "No need to be polite."