After the night of the Lantern Festival, I never saw Fu Ermei again. There was no news of her either, as if she had never existed.
Spring seemed to have arrived overnight. In the second half of the first lunar month, the weather cleared up and the wind brought the breath of spring. The snow on the roofs and steps of the streets and alleys gradually melted. If you looked carefully, you could see that the branches were already green. If you looked from a distance in the garden, you could see a layer of new green.
All things have revived, and everything seems to have a new beginning; but Guo Shao is still nostalgic for that night when the winter was stagnant, the snow was white and the stars were falling like rain.
He found himself missing Fu Ermei, a familiar yet unfamiliar woman. Familiar because she was too similar to Empress Fu; unfamiliar because he had only seen her once, and only at the moment when her hat fell off, half of her face was already unforgettable. Empress Fu and Ermei were intertwined and merged in Guo Shao's heart, making him a little confused. However, Empress Fu and Ermei were very different. Ermei was more playful and pure, and less heavy; probably because of different experiences.
If Guo Shao remembered correctly, Empress Fu died of illness during the Huainan Campaign, and Fu Ermei was the emperor's second empress. Perhaps only the emperor could protect such a woman, because she would easily be noticed as soon as she showed up.
What a woman who is loved and cared for, and a little annoying. She is planning to pretend to be a dancer to fool herself.
Guo Shao was in the ceremonial hall outside the palace. Fu Yanqing's house was really boring. It would be better to be with Zuo You and his group of brothers.
He was just daydreaming about nothing when he suddenly heard the rapid sound of horse hooves on the street. The sound of horse hooves in the city gave people the feeling that something was urgent.
Guo Shao walked out of the gate and looked in the direction of the sound. He saw a tall and strong man with a black face riding a horse and running towards him. It was Lu Chengyong, the personal soldier who went to Youzhou with the Khitan general.
The strong man also saw Guo Shao. He just reined in his warhorse, but before the horse could stand firmly, he turned over and said with a fist: "My lord has found where Madam Gao is."
Guo Shao was delighted and quickly took his arm and said, "Come in and talk."
The strong man Lu Chengyong said in a deep voice: "The Khitan Xiao Jin risked his life to find a Liao general he knew before in Youzhou to inquire about Madam Gao. After many twists and turns, he just happened to know the whereabouts of Madam Gao. She was forcibly taken as a concubine by a Liao general in Youzhou, and the Liao general was transferred to a military camp south of Waqiao Pass. We hid in a mountain forest during the day and came out at night. Xiao Jin could speak Khitan, so he pretended to be a Khitan peddler and went to inquire about the camp. There were dozens of Liao cavalry and hundreds of Xi infantrymen."
Xiao Jin decided to lead his men to attack the camp, rob the people and then escape. But we only have 18 riders, so we can only hope to catch them by surprise, but we don't know whether we will succeed or fail.
Guo Shao felt a little uneasy about going to the Liao army camp to rob people, thinking that the gang was in danger. The main thing was that even if they broke through the military camp, it would not be easy to escape.
Guo Shao paced back and forth in the corridor. At this time, Zuo You, Yang Biao, Luo Mengzi and others also came out, and the personal soldier Lu Chengyong had to repeat what he had just said.
If we don't consider Fu Ermei herself, and only consider alliance and power, Madam Gao and Fu Ermei are equally important, so they can form an alliance through marriage, and they can also form an alliance by rescuing Gao Huaide's sister.
With the strategic thinking that Guo Shao could do, he had a hunch: Chai Rong had somewhat overlooked the invisible strength. Zhang Yongde and Li Chongjin had the highest status and were guarded very hard; but Guo Shao felt that the strength of these two was actually not as good as Zhao Kuangyin. What defenses and restrictions did Zhao Kuangyin have in the Palace Front Division
The first bird to stick its head out gets hammered, Guo Shao felt that he didn't need to focus on improving his current status. On the contrary, winning over people everywhere and building a solid foundation and network of contacts were the most important directions he should focus on.
Mrs. Gao must be rescued, otherwise there would be no way to win over Gao Huaide's group of people.
I want to go to the north to pick up Xiao Jin and his friends, Guo Shao said.
Zuo You tried to dissuade him: "Most of the people who went into Liao territory would be useless. We can only defeat them if we launch a war across the country. My lord, don't take unnecessary risks."
We won't go to Liao territory, we will go to Hebei border and wait, so we can get the news earlier. Guo Shao said urgently, there is nothing to do in Daming Prefecture all day long. If Xiao Jin and others fail and someone is captured, will they reveal the purpose of their attack on the military camp
Everyone was silent, and it was obvious that they would confess. As long as they caught her alive, they would find a way to make her confess. Then Madam Gao would not go to the southern part of Liao territory again, and they would lose the chance to rescue her next time.
Guo Shao couldn't sit still, so he asked for a meeting with Fu Yanqing through the manager of the ritual hall.
Fu Yanqing also advised him a few times, but seeing that Guo Shao was anxious to go to meet him, he wrote a letter of recommendation to the governor of Dingzhou, saying that General Guo could go to Dingzhou. The governor, Sun Xingyou, and I have met several times before, and you are a general of the imperial army, so he should send troops to meet you when necessary. Dingzhou is across the river from the border, and it is the closest place to Waqiao Pass in the Great Zhou territory; but occasionally Khitan cavalry cross the river to raid the valley, so General Guo should be more careful. I will send two people to lead the way for you.
Guo Shao thanked him and left the Prince Wei's Mansion with the sealed letter of introduction.
He and the others made preparations, borrowed twenty-one sets of armor from the officials of the palace, put on military uniforms, took dry food and water bags, and set off. All of them were accustomed to military life and were very capable.
From Damingfu to Dingzhou, it was about 600 li, which was farther than Guo Shao and others had traveled from Tokyo to Hebei. Fortunately, most of the road was wide and flat, and the Hebei Plain was a good place for riding horses. Guo Shao was anxious, and he arrived in Dingzhou in three days. If he had to find a ferry to cross the river several times, it might have been faster.
The journey seemed relatively peaceful. We did not see the hay-making valleys that Fu Yanqing had mentioned. The Liao-Zhou border was peaceful, and one could even see farmers and oxen working in the fields in the spring.
Guo Shao asked about the return route of his personal soldiers and deployed his personal soldiers and cavalry nearby; this was a dilapidated ferry with only three small ferries, which should be used by merchants and civilians. There were only a few sentry posts set up by the old and weak Zhou soldiers. After the assignment was completed, Guo Shao and others entered Dingzhou City to deliver the visiting card.
The Dingzhou shogunate entertained Guo Shao and his party, and there was a banquet that night, accompanied by officials. Guo Shao had experienced this kind of occasion many times from Guanzhong to Hebei. When others played the role of host, at least the first banquet was inevitable. Guo Shao handed Fu Yanqing's letter to the shogunate officials, and sure enough, he met Sun Xingyou the next day.
Fu Yanqing had been the governor of Hebei for many years, and it seemed that his name was quite useful. Sun Xingyou was willing to send troops to assist in Dingzhou, but did not want to provoke conflict in Liao territory, so he sent a general to assist Guo Shao.
As soon as the group left the shogunate, they saw a personal guard waiting there anxiously: Someone from Xiao Jin's army had reached the riverbank.
Guo Shao rode out of the city and soon saw two strange men riding towards him. Guo Shao rode forward and asked: "Did you guys rescue Madam Gao?"
One of the men said: We spotted the right place and suddenly attacked the camp in the early morning. We captured the people, but we had to run away immediately. In order to disperse the targets of the Khitan and pseudo-Han soldiers, General Xiao divided his troops into three groups. Madam Gao was not in our hands. Several of us were chased all the way and three of them were shot dead.
Guo Shao led his men to the ferry, only to see about twenty or thirty enemy cavalry wandering on the other side, but no one else.
The general asked Guo Shao if he could mobilize the cavalry to lead the Khitan cavalry vanguard on the other side of the river. It is very likely that Madam Gao also took this ferry.
The general of Dingzhou said: I will go and report to the commander-in-chief. Once the commander-in-chief gives the order, I will lead the troops here.
At this moment, he suddenly saw the Khitan cavalry on the other side turn around and ride away. Guo Shao looked into the distance and saw three cavalrymen running towards him from the end of his sight. He said anxiously: Not good!
Guo Shao wanted to cross the river to meet them, but Zuo You persuaded him again. Seeing that the matter was only one step away from success, he did not care about much else, so he boarded the three ferries at the ferry with Yang Biao and others. Only nine riders crossed the river the first time. There was no one to stop them on the river bank, and the Liao riders had already spread out to both wings, outflanking the people in the distance.
After Guo Shao and others got ashore, they rode away on horseback.
After galloping at full speed, Guo Shao could clearly see a person in white clothes sitting on one of the horses. His heart skipped a beat: it was most likely Madam Gao. Xiao Jin and others raided the Liao camp in the early morning. Only Madam Gao could run away wearing only a white undershirt. Who among those soldiers would wear white clothes for no reason
He stared at the man in white and spurred his horse to gallop. The three riders were running in the opposite direction and seemed to have turned around when they found the Liao riders blocking the road ahead.
The three groups of horses were galloping forward and backward, and suddenly they saw dust in the distance and more Liao cavalry were coming. The three horses quickly turned around and rushed to the west, as if the Liao cavalry in the west was relatively sparse. Seeing this, Guo Shao also led his troops to gallop to the left.
Suddenly, a horse neighed and a rider fell off his horse. The Han soldier and Madam Gao had three riders in total, but only two were left.
The situation was already very critical. Rushing closer, Guo Shao shouted: Madam Gao, I am one of our own who is here to pick you up. As he walked towards this side, he heard the sound of strings snapping. The situation was already very critical.
Guo Shao estimated that he was within a hundred steps of a Liao cavalryman, so he took out his bow and arrow and shot an arrow, but missed.
The brothers around him, Yang Biao and Luo Mengzi, were terrible at archery, Guo Shao knew them too well. There was also a group of the most experienced personal soldiers, who were wounded soldiers collected by Wuqi Town. At that time, these people belonged to the small army, the cavalry, and the infantry, and most of them were not good at riding and shooting. If I had known earlier, I would have brought Li Chuyun or Luo Yanhuan with me.
There was another sound of bowstrings, and one of the Khitan cavalrymen was very good at archery and shot another horse dead. Finally, only Madam Gao was left, and she hurriedly ran towards Guo Shao.
But the Khitan soldier who followed her did not shoot at her, but fired another arrow, knocking her horse to its knees. Another Khitan knight was only a few dozen steps away from Guo Shao, and he drew his bow and shot two arrows in a row, but missed. Several knights surrounded Madam Gao, who had fallen to the ground.
Guo Shao drew his bow while running, but several arrows missed the target. The horse was shaking violently while running, and he couldn't find the right feeling. The arrows that shot out of the string had a slight deviation, and they missed even further after dozens or hundreds of steps.
Seeing that three or four Liao cavalrymen had already rushed to Madam Gao's side and more cavalrymen on the right wing were coming to encircle Guo Shao, the situation was very bad.
A guard shouted: My Lord, we are about to be surrounded, let's retreat first.