Before leaving, Guo Shao met with Lady Li and said goodbye to Madam Gao. He received a large tiger flag from Madam Gao, on which were embroidered a few large characters: "Return my rivers and mountains to me." Considering that the Northern Expedition had not yet begun and needed to be kept secret to a certain extent, Guo Shao hid the flag first. Guo Shao was quite moved by what he saw and heard during this period. The nobles and common people in Tokyo all supported the Northern Expedition, and Chai Rong's use of troops was very popular.
Taking advantage of the fact that it was more convenient to write in Tokyo, he wrote the first letter to Fu Ermei since they separated.
In addition to specifying the itinerary, he also wrote some of his own thoughts in the letter to share with Fu Ermei. Fu Ermei might not be interested in some of the things, but because they were written by Guo Shao, Fu Ermei would definitely think about them carefully because she always wanted to understand Guo Shao.
Guo Shao inserted some of his own views in the letter. This world is extremely absurd, and barbarism often defeats civilization. The people of the Central Plains are an agricultural nation and are not bloodthirsty and only want to live in peace, but it is difficult to influence the barbarians. They can only protect themselves through iron and blood. The vast majority of the common people in the world are farming and unarmed, but as long as the population and resource advantages are properly coordinated, the strength is still very strong, and it is not impossible to defeat the nomadic cavalry.
From what he saw and heard, he thought of the civilians who had toiled all their lives eating coarse food, and had to suffer wanton abuse and bloody massacres by the strong. The pain of life was like hell, which filled him with deep sympathy and pity for the people in this world. Guo Shao told Fu Ermei that he could only stay with her with peace of mind after he fulfilled his responsibilities as a general of the imperial army.
However, those uncomfortable things he saw and heard did not make Guo Shao despair at least because the Zhou Dynasty was also a violent country. Guo Shao followed the imperial army in its campaigns and witnessed the combat effectiveness of the Zhou army. He felt that he at least had the strength to turn the tables, take back the lost Hebei and punish the injustice.
As a warrior, Guo Shao believed that it was useless to complain about the evil deeds of the enemy. Those underdeveloped tribes did not understand what civilization was, and they needed to be taught how to behave through force and action.
At the end of August, the military parade began. As in countless military parades, the generals made a round among the troops and then summoned all the generals above the rank of commander to read the order of the Privy Council.
The transfer order had already been verified by senior generals. Military generals at the commander-in-chief level had no chance to participate in decision-making and only had to obey orders.
Before the Tiger Army set out, the generals would gather around the commander to listen to the pre-departure instructions; this was the custom before every battle. Guo Shao sat on a tall purebred horse with sleek brown fur, standing under a tiger flag, and spoke while all the generals were present.
I'm going to make it clear in advance that anyone who disregards military law and harasses and robs civilians along the way will be severely punished without discrimination." Guo Shao shouted with a cold face, "You all came from the military, have experienced hardships and difficulties, and have seen the suffering of the common people. It's already not easy for those civilians to survive. If you still let your soldiers kill and rob, how can you bear it?"
Guo Shao had a reputation among the imperial guards for being too soft-hearted, so no one was surprised by his order; but no one was dissatisfied either, because only Guo Shao dared to divide the spoils among the people after robbing the enemy country. The massacre was satisfying for a while, but after returning to the capital, everyone still felt that the benefits of dividing the spoils would last longer.
He was so excited that he added: "The Emperor of the Great Zhou cares about the people. Our imperial army is the king's army. The king's army should behave like a king's army. We should punish injustice with the king's way. We should use force to protect the land and the people. Hebei has suffered for a long time and is waiting for the king's army. You will understand that what we are doing is a major event that is of great significance and benefits the country and the people. The opportunity is rare, and it is worth shedding blood and sacrificing at this time; if we miss the opportunity, it will be useless to grieve in the future."
As Guo Shao spoke, he reviewed the generals. Most of them did not react. Just as Yang Biao had said, being a soldier means eating food and working hard. They did not care much about whether it was significant. However, there were still some people who listened with great interest, especially the young Dong Zunxun, who looked excited and seemed to agree with what Guo Shao said. He listened with admiration. Young military generals from aristocratic families were always more likely to have dreams.
There was a group of people watching in the distance. They were the ministers and generals who had just come to see him off and had not yet left. The Privy Councilor Wei Renpu, the Deputy Privy Councilor Wang Pu, and the Imperial Guards Han Tong and Gao Huaide all seemed to be very interested in Guo Shao's speech and listened quietly.
Guo Shao was too lazy to say more and shouted: Let's go!
Then all the generals said goodbye and returned to their own troops, leaving the parade ground in order, and the army slowly marched towards the main road in the city.
Guo Shao and others rode out on horseback, but saw a lot of families on the roadside. There were guards guarding the parade ground, and most of those who could come were families of military officers. When Guo Shao turned around, he found that Yulian, Yang Shi, Jing Niang and a group of followers were also on the roadside, and not far away were Madam Gao and a group of sedan bearers and servants. They had already said goodbye before, and now Guo Shao and others were in the army, so it was inconvenient for them to stay any longer. They could only ride on their horses to see their families and friends, and wave goodbye in the hustle and bustle.
When the families saw the generals, they all bowed and saluted on the roadside. A large group of horsemen, carrying the respect and high hopes of the Tokyo family, marched northward amid the sound of horse hooves and the sound of swords.
The Queen should not come. The left wing of the Hujie Army did not enter the inner city, but only passed through Tokyo from the outer city along the straight avenue between Chenzhou Gate in the south and Chenqiao Gate in the north.
The last time he saw Empress Fu was when he was summoned to see her when she got married more than two months ago. Since then, there has been almost no news from her. Guo Shao turned his head to the left and looked at the tower of the inner city. He would never see her again even in Tokyo. He reached out and touched the belt ornament around his waist, feeling a little sad about the separation.
Parting itself is nothing, but the sad thing is that after parting, there is no reason to write a letter. Guo Shao only wondered if he could see the world again in the future. The world is unpredictable and the wind and clouds are changing. Who knows what will happen in the future
The left wing of the Hujie Army had about 20,000 infantry and cavalry, but no navy, and did not take the Yongji Canal for transportation. The marching route was also determined by the Privy Council. If it was not necessary, it would be more appropriate to march according to the court's arrangement. First, it would be more disciplined, and second, the prefectures and counties along the established route would provide food and fodder supplies.
They first went to Huazhou, crossed the Yellow River on a floating bridge, and then marched due north, passing through Xiang, Ming, Xing, and Zhao, and finally reached their destination, Qizhou.
When passing through Mingzhou, it was only a few dozen miles away from Daming Prefecture, but Guo Shao, who held military power, could not leave the army at will, so he had to send someone to deliver his letter to Daming Prefecture. The right way is to pass by the door of your father-in-law without entering.
There were no women in the army, not even Jingniang, who could protect Guo Shao closely. However, civil officials such as Zuo You and Zhou Duan formed a simple shogunate. The journey was relatively peaceful. Marching in the inland, the road was flat, the food was sufficient, and there was nothing to worry about. The soldiers also obeyed the military discipline. Zuo Xiang followed Guo Shao east, west, south, north and east for thousands of miles. There were dozens of battles, big and small, and everyone was used to his style. Anyway, they were usually well behaved and prepared to share the spoils and make a fortune after winning. People easily formed habits from repeated experiences.
Shortly after crossing the Yellow River, Guo Shao did not make any moves, and led his generals to do some marching and camping every day. When resting at night, he also chatted with Zuo You, Zhou Duan and others, and listened to the advice of the civil servants, but most of the time he just chatted.
After one day of camping, all the generals and two civil servants gathered in the central army tent. The weather was a bit cold, so everyone sat around drinking and chatting in the evening. At this time, they had entered Hebei, and everyone knew that the Northern Expedition was imminent, so the topic inevitably talked about the Liao Kingdom.
Zhou Duan said: I heard in Tokyo that Zhou army general Shi Yanchao is bloodthirsty, but it seems that he was a bit wronged.
Yang Biao probably remembered that Shi Yanchao killed innocent people when he attacked Northern Han, and he couldn't help but say: How could he be wronged
Zhou Duan sat up straight and said: Haven't you heard about the Khitan leader Yelu Mingjing who avoided mentioning the Great Zhou's ancestor Guo Jing? Compared with him, Shi Yanchao is simply a kind-hearted living Bodhisattva.
Guo Shao couldn't help but become curious when he heard it. After spending some time with Zhou Duan, he found that Zhou Duan's eloquence in bragging was more than one level higher than Zuo You's. This guy always easily attracted everyone's attention when he opened his mouth.
Sure enough, everyone was busy asking questions, wanting to know how Shi Yanchao became a living Bodhisattva.
Zhou Duan kept the secret for a while, then said: "I am just saying that in comparison. I went to Youzhou and heard some things secretly, so I will tell you about it. What Yelu Ming did was not only bloodthirsty, but he also liked cannibalism."
Everyone looked at each other, but Yang Biao said coldly: We have seen everything.
Zhou Duan ignored him and said calmly: There is always such a person in the world. I have seen more than one or two of them. Take Yelu Ming for example. It is said that he cannot have children. A witch has made a magic medicine. Eating human brains can make that job useful. That guy caught a person and ate his brain. How do you think he ate it? He tied the person up tightly, knocked open his head with a hammer, and then poured hot oil into it.
Zhou Duan suddenly sneered and all the generals trembled and their faces turned pale.
He described it as if he had seen it with his own eyes: white smoke rose up, and then the medicine was put in. The witch scooped out the brain and presented it to Yelu Ming for consumption. The bound man burst into tears before being killed, and his struggles and screams were useless.
After Zhou Duan finished speaking, he tore off a piece of the roasted fish, put it in an iron bowl and handed it to him: General Yang, come and eat it. This white meat is like brain, feel it.
Yang Biao suddenly retched and cursed: Fuck!
Dong Zunxun cursed after hearing this: "How can the captured people not resist? Why don't they just fight to death together? Why let the Liao people torture us like this?"
Zhou Duan sneered: General Dong doesn't understand people. Those who were arrested were locked up together, and the witch went up to choose; the chosen ones were pushed out by their companions, and others didn't have to work hard at all. Since they were not chosen anyway, why should the rest of the people risk their lives for those who were about to be killed
It's like the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun in Hebei have been ravaged for decades. Who would be willing to fight to the death before? The Jin emperor gave it away for free. Anyway, the disaster has not fallen on them yet. Now the Liao people are in Hebei. If they fight south of the Yellow River one day, do you think the people further south will care about you
Zhou Duan added: Oh, by the way, I am also a person who came from the south to join General Guo.
Everyone fell silent after hearing this.