"What reward did your elder sister give you that day? What is a bigger reward and surprise than that?" asked Fu Ermei.
Guo Shao was stunned there, and the scene of the queen hugging himself suddenly appeared in his mind. Could it be that after returning to Beijing, they would be closer and more intimate
This made his blood boil. The queen was the mother of the country, an unattainable status. The fact that he could kiss the queen was a bit crazy. Moreover, Fu Shi was not just a matter of status for Guo Shao. The psychological dependence and concern could only be directly satisfied by physical intimacy.
Guo Shao had a nostalgic look on his face: it seemed as if he was just rewarded with a pair of hats brought from the palace.
Fu Ermei frowned and said: What kind of surprise can a jewelry have? The elder sister said, as long as I tell you, you will definitely understand what she said. I think you two are hiding something from me.
Guo Shao sighed and said: Some things are hard to say.
What's the matter? Fu Ermei asked, holding his hand.
Guo Shao felt that the Queen had thrown the question to him. He was caught off guard and had to say: "It's hard to explain big things in one or two sentences. I'll tell you slowly later. Anyway, your sister, I and you, the three of us are as close as a family. Our rise and fall are at least one."
Fu Ermei nodded thoughtfully when she heard this. She seemed to be judging the problem directly. Indeed, her sister and husband were the people she trusted and was closest to the most. She believed this.
Let's prepare today, time is running out, we will leave for Damingfu tomorrow. Guo Shaodao.
There is nothing to prepare. You can just take Yuqing and a few close people with you. My parents' home has everything. I have only been married for a month or two. If I go back, I guess all the money I used to live in will be there. Fu Ermei hugged his arm, her soft and elastic chest pressed against his shoulder, and said sadly, I can't bear to leave my husband.
Guo Shao hurriedly tried to comfort him with kind words.
Fu Ermei said: You will miss me and write to me. When can we be together again
Guo Shaodao: Of course, no matter what happens in the future, you are my wife, and I will care for you and love you unless I die.
Fu Ermei's face fell, and she directly blocked his mouth with her lips. The two of them then hugged each other, caressing each other, and soon became inseparable.
Guo Shao was a man of clear ideas. He didn't bother about choosing girls at all. He would take any girl he liked, the only difference was the importance. His wife Fu Ermei obviously didn't care about this either. The lady from a wealthy family was used to men having many wives and concubines. This was the situation she had seen since she was born.
Therefore, Guo Shao's finding a bunch of women was not a betrayal to his wife. If he paid attention, he would find that no matter how much Fu Ermei cared about him, she only wanted him to think about being with her, not to monopolize him. The wives of the wealthy families in ancient times almost did not have such petty thoughts.
Jingniang said something very interesting: Who is not greedy for wealth and beauty as a master? He feels that he is the master, so he can pamper all his women at the same time, and there is no conflict of value of loyalty; loyalty is the feelings of others towards him, and as a master, he just needs to live up to the loyalty of others. Jingniang's things are very simple, but after being influenced by them, Guo Shao felt that they were quite philosophical, so he believed them. Just like believing that there are gods in this world, as long as you can convince yourself to believe, everything will be fine.
But Queen Fu was the only exception for him.
Guo Shao's mood has not been so peaceful recently. On the one hand, he personally sent Fu Ermei to Daming Prefecture, and on the other hand, he was worried about many matters and had no time to care about his children's personal affairs.
The words of Empress Fu kept lingering in his mind. Why did she so eagerly urge him to make contributions in the Northern Expedition? And why did she want him to return to Beijing at all costs after the war
According to Guo Shao's understanding, this should be the post-war situation after the Northern Expedition was deployed in advance:
He had to perform well in the Northern Expedition in order to retain the power of the imperial guards. Guo Shao and Zhao Kuangyin were at odds, and Chai Rong knew that. If the emperor put them in the same place after the war, there might be a conflict, which was something the emperor did not want to see; if Guo Shao, who was not so trusted, was placed in the local area, and if Guo Shao still had the elite imperial guards under his command, would it be encouraging them to start a civil war
Therefore, if Guo Shao disappointed Chai Rong and the emperor found a reason, Li Chongjin's fate would most likely be his; and it would be unlikely that the elite troops would be left in his hands to garrison in other towns.
Most people are not sure why he returned to Beijing at all costs, but Guo Shao was sure that Chai Rong would not live long. Once the emperor died, it would be very dangerous for Empress Fu to have no soldiers. She also guessed that Chai Rong would not live long and prepared to prevent the incident early.
Guo Shao felt that the queen was very broad-minded and thoughtful, and her mind was really amazing. Guo Shao was glad that he had some knowledge, otherwise he would have been unable to keep up with the queen's layout. Because there was no opportunity for in-depth communication on many things, it required the upper and lower levels to understand and guess each other's intentions before they could cooperate.
But the above analysis was just his own conjecture and inference, and he had no idea what Fu's real plan was.
Guo Shao sent Fu Ermei to Daming Mansion, and he was reluctant to leave. But there was no other way. Guo Shao's profession was a military commander, and the country was at war, and they had enjoyed a high salary for so long, and it was time for them to go to the battlefield.
In late August he rushed back to Tokyo and began to make arrangements for troop deployment and other matters.
He had just left Tokyo not long ago, and when he came back he found a lot of things piled up and he had to be busy.
The first important thing is that Dong Zunxun was transferred from the left wing of the Longjie Army to the left wing of the Hujie Army, and he was also in charge of the cavalry of 500 cavalry. It is said that Dong Zunxun learned from the top leaders that Guo Shao might attack the central vanguard, and he was eager to make a contribution and took the initiative to request to be transferred to the Hujie Army and become part of the third army under Guo Shao. Guo Shao had no idea how Dong Zunxun made the transfer, but it should not be difficult, because the military rank of the Longjie Army was higher than that of the Hujie Army, and he took the initiative to request a demotion, and the superiors were embarrassed to refuse.
Dong Zunxun's leaving Long Jiejun might not be a good thing in Guo Shao's opinion, but he had no time to care about it now.
Then there were some invitations to banquets to celebrate his farewell, including those of Mrs. Gao and Mrs. Chen, a wealthy merchant.
Guo Shao planned to visit these two women because they were both kind to him. For example, Mrs. Chen not only helped Guo Shao send someone to find out about the Liao situation, but also helped to pay a small portion of the betrothal gifts. For such people, at least they should be treated with respect in terms of etiquette.
There were less than ten days left before the army was to march, so Guo Shao was ready to hurry up and do these things. During the day, he was busy at the Imperial Guards Office and the military camps. He sent someone to deliver a visiting card to Chen's residence in the west of the city, and went straight to visit Mrs. Chen after leaving his post.
When he was a squad leader, he could go on a mission very easily; now that his network of contacts is growing, things are a little more troublesome.
It was still the same house with dull colors. Guo Shao asked Jingniang to accompany him and bring some gifts to say goodbye to Mrs. Chen.
Mrs. Chen knelt down to greet him at the entrance of the hall. Her dress and manners were still elegant. Her plain top was not tucked into her skirt, and it was loose, which concealed the outline of her waist, which made Guo Shao a little disappointed. Mrs. Chen was most suitable to wear a dance costume that tightened her waist, which could show her best parts.
After a few pleasantries, Mrs. Chen said: I would like to introduce two people to General Guo.
Guo Shao asked: Who
General Guo, please follow me in, Mrs. Chen said.
He and Jingniang followed into the hall, and at that moment, they saw several women in white carrying a chair in. On the chair sat a woman who was also wearing a plain white dress, like mourning clothes.
But the woman seemed to be disabled, with bare feet wrapped in white socks. She had a pretty face and was quite pretty.
General Guo, do you remember what I mentioned last time? After my late husband was killed, I used money to redeem two concubines from the Liao people. Madam Chen said with a cold expression.
Guo Shaodao: I remember.
Mrs. Chen said: She is one of my late husband’s concubines, Hongying. Tell General Guo how the Khitans treated you.
The woman named Hongying had a sad face. After a long while, she trembled and said: They pushed me onto the red-hot charcoal fire and told me to dance on it. I was thrown up and burned so much that I wanted to run out, but there were people all around. They laughed and pushed me in. I fell down and was burned in several places. My feet were already roasted, so I was dragged out. They tied me up again and cut the meat off my feet with a knife to eat. I fainted several times, and later the doctor sawed off my feet and I survived.
When Guo Shao and Jing Niang heard this, their eyes widened.
Mrs. Chen said coldly: The other one died within two days of being redeemed. She was even more miserable. The Khitan generals stripped her naked and tied her up, poured boiling oil on her buttocks, and then cut her flesh and ate it alive. Several generals sat beside her, listening to her screams for fun while sharing her flesh. She couldn't die after being injured, and the pain lasted for more than a month. After she came back, her wounds finally festered and could not be cured, and she died.
Jingniang was furious and said: This is true
Mrs. Chen said: I have never heard of such things since I was a child. If I hadn’t heard it with my own ears and seen it with my own eyes, I would not have been able to imagine it.
Even Guo Shao, who had seen mountains of corpses and seas of blood, could not imagine such a thing. After hearing this, he felt that the Liao Kingdom was the truly evil country.
If such a country is not punished by heaven, Guo Shao will no longer believe in God.
He asked without thinking: Why did those people do that? Even if they had a grudge, it would be unpleasant to kill someone with a knife.
Mrs. Chen said: We should go and ask the Khitans what grudge we merchants have against them. They are just doing this for fun.
Guo Shao felt very upset and was speechless.
This time, General Guo went to war and killed Xiao Siwen's men. Let them pay the price. I will not care about etiquette and am willing to repay you at any cost. Madam Chen said, compared with the sins committed by Xiao Siwen's men, our etiquette and rules are nothing.