At the training ground of the Tiger Army barracks, a group of more than a dozen riders rode their horses to an open space. It was a sunny day with wind, and the dry dust on the muddy ground was blown into the air, making the sun in the west look hazy.
Second brother, third brother, I have been practicing horseback archery whenever I have time for the past month, you should also train more. Guo Shao turned around and said, generals go into battle on horseback, it is not enough to just fight on foot.
Yang Biao and Luo Mengzi had no choice but to nod in response.
Near the fence at the edge of the training ground, some soldiers standing guard were curiously looking at the generals on the open ground. The group here was mainly Luo Yanhuan's generals, and there was a big man, Qi Tuo, the commander of the left wing, who was the most conspicuous. Qi Tuo was shot by more than a dozen arrows in Haozhou City but did not die, but after being carried back to Tokyo, he really took a long time to recover from his injuries, and he seemed to have recovered recently. If we were to compare who had more injuries to be the eldest brother, then among the people present, Qi Tuo would have to be the eldest brother.
Qi Tuo was surprised and said: General Guo still needs to practice riding and shooting
The generals did not answer. Those who were familiar with Guo Shao knew that he had only started his career two years ago and was just a young infantry general before, so it was normal that he did not know how to ride or shoot. Not only did he not know how to shoot, but even his two brothers who had shared in distress did not know how to shoot.
Guo Shao turned around and said casually: Learn it now.
After saying that, he took the 120-pound bow from his back. He didn't want to embarrass himself on the parade ground without having practiced well, but his family didn't have a good place like Dong Zunxun's, and the horse couldn't run in the garden; only in the military camp could there be conditions, and recently he had been running to the Hujie Army camp after work every day, and he had made enough of himself.
Let's go to that target. Guo Shao pointed to the target about a hundred steps away and called out to the people around him. After shouting, he kicked his feet lightly and rushed over on his horse. The sound of horse hooves sounded immediately, and a group of people rode up briskly.
Guo Shao stared at the target, calmed down, and took arrows from the quiver on his side while riding. His mount was rushing towards the right front of the target. He sat up straight, concentrating on feeling the distance and speed. When he felt it was right, he stretched out his arm, held the arrow in his right hand, and calmly put it on the bowstring from top to bottom. His movements were slightly exaggerated, as if he was performing a show. But he held it very steadily, without any hesitation.
As soon as the arrow was on the string, he began to draw the bow, his movements smooth and continuous. After drawing the bow, he paused in mid-air, took aim briefly, and the horse he sat on was still galloping. It was getting closer and closer, rushing diagonally towards the target and passing by. When it was more than ten steps away, there was a snap of the string, and the arrow floated past and hit the target.
Guo Shao was overjoyed when he saw this. As soon as the string sounded, he saw many arrows flying from far and near. Most of them hit the target, but only two flew into the air. They were obviously the arrows of Yang Biao and Luo Mengzi.
Hitting the target in a dozen steps seemed easy for most generals. However, in Guo Shao's opinion, the distance was still not close. Two steps were one step, and one step to the left and one to the right was one step. The distance just now was estimated to be about 20 meters.
General Guo shoots well. Qi Tuo seemed to have just shot an arrow casually, but he was not as exaggerated as Guo Shao. Luo Mengzi also agreed: Big brother is very good, he has practiced it now.
Guo Shao smiled and pretended to be modest: "It just missed the target. I didn't see the center of the target clearly. And the distance was short. If it was farther, I wouldn't be able to hit it. I have to continue to practice martial arts."
Qi Tuo said: General Guo's posture is very accurate and meticulous, as if he was specially taught by someone who inherited martial arts from his family.
Guo Shao slowed down his horse gradually, turned around and praised: "General Qi is an expert and a man with a discerning eye. To be honest, Dong Zun, the military commander of the Longjie Army, has trained me. But only novices will be meticulous in every step, right? You can be casual once you are proficient."
Qi Tuo nodded and said: You need someone to guide you to know the tricks. Dong Zunxun seems to be the descendant of a military family, no wonder he is so organized.
After hearing this, Luo Yanhuan laughed and said: Our Hujie Army is short of cavalry generals. Didn’t the higher-ups say that each side should be given 500 war horses? Why not get Dong Zunxun over here, and add my cavalry general Deng Fei, and we can form a cavalry of 600 to 700 cavalry.
Guo Shao did not comment, thinking in his mind: Dong Zunxun is in the Longjie Army, so I can use him to radiate my influence to the Longjie Army; if I transfer him over, he will never be able to get out of the left wing no matter what.
He ignored Luo Yanhuan and looked at the tall Qi Tuo and said, "I will take a leave in a few days. General Qi, go and get the horses back. There are only 500 war horses. If they are dispersed, they will not be effective. I think we can transfer them all to Luo Yanhuan's command of the Third Army. Form a new cavalry command and add more than 300 cavalrymen from Deng Fei's unit. If Luo Yanhuan is in charge of the second command's direct army, the cavalry of the Third Army will have some combat power. What do you think, General Qi
Qi Tuo didn't even think about it and answered directly: I will follow General Guo's orders.
Guo Shao said: "Pick a few hundred soldiers with good horsemanship from the six armies in the left wing. This matter will be handed over to General Qi."
I will obey your orders. Qi Tuo clasped his fists and said.
Luo Yanhuan asked: The Lord announced that he was going to Hebei
Guo Shao smiled and said: That’s right.
Luo Yanhuan reminded him: We need to send a general to escort the lord. Guo Shao said: The others have military duties to attend to. It would not sound good to use a general for my private affairs. So let my third brother take some soldiers with him. Besides, I am also a military general. It is not far to Daming Prefecture, so there is no need to have a large crowd.
Seeing that the sun was setting, Guo Shao said again: "It's time to return to the camp and hand over the horses. I'll come again tomorrow afternoon."
Following the shouting, everyone ran towards the barracks beside the parade ground.
As in the past, Guo Shao regularly wandered around the government office and military camp for a day and returned home on time. Recently, he has been thinking about Fu Ermei. He is not worried about her in the morning and evening, but is worried about the specific matters such as the betrothal gifts and itinerary that he has spent all his family's savings on. For someone of Fu Ermei's status, Guo Shao can't help but get involved in all kinds of mundane affairs.
When he returned to the living room, he took out a wooden box from the bedside cabinet, which contained some small items he collected. When he opened the box, a delicate silk handkerchief came into view. Guo Shao picked it up and smelled it. It actually had a sour smell. It was probably because it had never been washed. It must have been stained with sweat when he put it on his body before.
Guo Shao couldn't help but sigh when the fragrance that had inspired him turned into this smell. Yulian must have known about the existence of this scarf, because she handled everything Guo Shao had at home, and there was nothing she could say about it; but Yulian didn't touch his things and never mentioned it.
Guo Shao took out the silk scarf and when he walked out the door, he saw Dong Sanmei who was doing housework. He handed the silk scarf in his hand to her and said: Dong Sanmei, please help me wash and dry it.
Yes, Alang. She took it obediently.
Unexpectedly, Yulian also came over at this time. She took a look at what Dong Sanmei was holding and came up to greet her. Guo Shao asked her to come into the house to help take off the armor. The armor she usually wore was chain mail padded with leather, which was not heavy.
Yulian said while busying herself: "You have to go to Hebei to deliver the betrothal gifts, and it's still several hundred miles across the Yellow River. It's too much trouble to go back and forth to pick her up again. It's better to ask Madam Gao to talk to the Wei Wang family and set a date closer; this way, when you go to deliver the betrothal gifts, you can wait in Damingfu and pick her up in one trip."
She took off her leather armor and placed it on the stool, then said: When my husband sends someone back with a letter, Yue'e and I will decorate the house at home, write invitations, and then ask the cook to set up a stove in the yard and buy ingredients and wine.
When Guo Shao heard her muttering, he felt warm at heart and said with a hint of guilt in his tone: It's really hard for you.
Yu Lian said softly: We have been members of your husband's family for a long time, and we rely on this family to live a good life, but the second wife of the Fu family is still in the Wei Wang family and is a lady from a wealthy family. If you treat her badly, how can you marry her
Guo Shao hesitated for a moment and said: Don't worry, I have met Fu Ermei. She is not young, but she may not be as sensible as you. She is a kind and simple person, not a mean person.
He thought about it and finally couldn't help asking: Why does Yulian have such a big prejudice against the queen
How dare I? Yu Lian muttered softly.
Guo Shao tried to coax her with soft words again, but she said nothing.
At night, a lantern was hung under the eaves outside the back door of the living room. Guo Shao took a bath and sat outside the door to look at the scenery of the lake. Yu Lian sat beside him and chatted with him.
At this time, she slowly talked about the past. A few years ago, when Li Shouzhen's family was ruined, I saw you for the last time outside the inner courtyard gatehouse that day. The last time we met in Hezhong Mansion. You may not have noticed me, but only paid attention to the queen.
Guo Shao really had no recollection of it. It was none of his business. He had no recollection of Yu Lian that day, and there was nothing he could do about it. Guo Shao remained silent, thinking that asking her where she was at that time now seemed a bit hurtful.
Yu Lian said quietly: At that time, the rebels had already rushed into the mansion. You were standing in front of the gate tower. Did you see two people fleeing into the inner house? You must remember that one of them was Empress Fu. You wanted to die for her there. How could you forget it
Guo Shao thought hard for a while and replied: There are indeed two people, and the other one should be the current queen's attendant.
That attendant is me, Yu Lian said softly.
Guo Shao:
Yu Lian said: At that time, even the maidservants that Empress Fu brought with her from Hebei to Hezhong Mansion disappeared, but I was in Li Shouzhen's mansion from the beginning and could not be considered her confidant. I did not run away, not because of loyalty, but because I had nowhere to go; I thought that Empress Fu was from a wealthy family, and as long as I followed her, she would have a way and I could follow her to escape disaster.
She sighed quietly: I was with Empress Fu from the beginning to the end, and we were both from Li Shouzhen's house. In the end, she was rescued by Taizu Guo Wei, but I was abducted by Taizu's subordinates. Taizu was on good terms with Prince Wei and appreciated Empress Fu, so of course he treated her with courtesy; if she had said a word for me at this time, my fate would have been completely different. But those people of noble birth did not take us seriously and were reluctant to say a word.
Guo Shao was also a little sad after hearing this. He pondered for a moment and said: Maybe not. As far as I know, the queen is still very kind to others. If she had no sympathy, why did she persuade the prince of Wei to save me, a completely unrelated person, in Hebei? She still has sympathy for unrelated people, let alone you and her.
Yu Lian said: I knew that my husband would speak for her.
Guo Shao said: I am not speaking for her, this matter is indeed not clear yet. And my guess is very well-founded. It is rumored that Taizu Guo Wei rebelled against the Han Dynasty. In addition to revenge, he was mainly coerced by his subordinates. He may not be able to restrain his subordinates at first. After Taizu ascended the throne, he was almost coerced by the Privy Councilor. After Yu Lian was abducted by his subordinates, Taizu came forward again. He could not completely restrain his subordinates, so he might not be willing to cause unhappiness with his subordinates for a maid.
Is that so? Yu Lian looked at his face.
Guo Shaodao: When the opportunity is right, I will ask for you. No matter what, it is the past and cannot be turned back. Now we are not on good terms and I will treat you well.
After hearing this, Yu Lian held his hand and whispered: I never dreamed that my life would be like this.