It was still dark, and the few long night lights on the long street were still emitting a cold light in the wind. It was too early, and there was not even a single pedestrian on the wet street in front of the Guo residence. The long street was lined with classical buildings on both sides, and the scene seemed very deserted and lonely at this time.
Inside the gate, Cao Tai stood in front of the carriage guarded by dozens of cavalrymen led by Lu Chengyong, and turned to Guo Shao and bowed deeply. Guo Shao returned the greeting and said: Eunuch Cao, see you later.
I hope we can meet again. Cao Taiqiang said with a smile.
Guo Shao, who was wearing heavy armor, looked into his eyes with a sharp gaze and said firmly: I definitely will. Then he reached out and grabbed Cao Tai's hand, shaking it vigorously like a handshake.
The resolute action seemed to transmit a force from his palm to Cao Tai, causing the eunuch's expression to change slightly. He then got on the carriage and left the mansion under the escort of the cavalry.
Guo Shao watched him leave, and when he turned around, there was a group of fully armed personal soldiers holding lanterns and poker lights standing in front of the horse behind him. Even Jingniang was wearing armor, not to mention that she looked heroic in her martial arts uniform.
Everyone looked at Guo Shao intently. Guo Shao jumped on his horse and said directly: Let's go.
After leaving the palace gate, I saw a large group of horsemen coming out diagonally opposite. They gathered together and marched silently along the long street. They first went west, then swaggered onto the Imperial Street, and went directly to Suzaku Gate from the widest road in Tokyo.
When they arrived at the military camp on the side of the Suzaku Gate, they saw many horses and followers inside and outside the camp gate. The generals had arrived in advance. Guo Shao's way of summoning them was very simple: he sent Zuo You to the camp of Yang Biao of the Second Army, and then wrote a military order and sent the messenger system to deliver it directly to each army to call them to come. Nothing was needed, the messengers were the personal soldiers of the generals, and they just needed to recognize the people.
Guo Shao walked into the Second Army's Central Military Headquarters and saw 20 to 30 generals standing in the hall. For a moment, it looked crowded. Because only about half of the troops were on duty, the number of generals on duty was less than usual.
Marshal Guo led the crowd to clasp their fists and salute, and they automatically made way for him. Guo Shao nodded, patted the general's shoulder, and walked up to the upper seat from the middle. Li Chuyun, Yang Biao and others quickly stood beside him.
Up to now, there are only two generals in the left wing who know about the situation, Li Chuyun and Yang Biao.
Qi Tingxun was not there. He received a letter from Guo Shao last night, saying that he would meet at Guo's house this morning. He would be kept there once he arrived. It didn't matter if he didn't go. Now that Qi Tingxun was not there, no one noticed.
Yulian and Yang were also sent to Mrs. Chen's new residence last night. Bai Xiangu stayed at Guo Shao's mansion, which was almost empty.
Everyone was still a little noisy, and the generals were not as orderly as the soldiers. They were still talking quietly with those they were close to, just like a class with poor discipline. But soon everyone gradually quieted down, because they finally noticed that Guo Shao didn't say a word after he came.
Lord Li Chuyun gave a quiet reminder.
Guo Shao finally spoke: "Yesterday I received the Queen's imperial edict and the secret order from the Privy Council. Here is the imperial edict, please take a look." Then he took out the imperial edict from his arms and handed it to the guards to pass on.
The emperor is seriously ill, I'm sure everyone has heard about it. Guo Shao's voice was a little nervous, and suddenly he said sternly that a few days ago, the treacherous minister Dou Yi made a slanderous statement, which made the emperor, who was already bedridden, vomit half a bowl of blood and fell into a coma. At this time, the queen, who should have protected the imperial guards, was in charge of the overall situation; but the treacherous generals in the court communicated with the inside and outside, and imprisoned the queen for ulterior motives.
I am a general of the Queen's family, and I am deeply trusted by the Queen. The world knows that now I cannot see the Queen, and can only receive secret orders from the Privy Council. The rise and fall of the Great Zhou has reached a critical moment of life and death. Now we must let the treacherous succeed, weaken the national strength, and let the foreign invaders take advantage of the opportunity. You are humble and kneel down to be her vassal.
Damn it, what kind of eunuchs and civil servants are there? The generals believed Guo Shao’s words without even a second thought and started cursing.
Guo Shao was very satisfied with this. Li Chuyun's prediction was correct. He raised his arm to signal everyone to be quiet: Should we obey the call to suppress the rebellion and support the queen who is dedicated to protecting the soldiers? Should we obey the imperial decree to clear the threats for the queen and the central government and defend the country
Generals such as Luo Yanhuan, Liu Zhang, and Dong Zunxun reacted and shouted: "Just wait for the lord's order and charge in. Don't care if those birds cry for their parents!"
Yang Biao suddenly shook a square flag and held it in the middle of the hall. An embroidered tiger suddenly appeared, with its fangs and claws bared and looking very ferocious. On it were written four big characters: "Summoned to rescue the emperor"
Guo Shao said: The emperor is in a coma and dying. The empress and the prince will soon take charge of the government. What you have done today is a great merit in saving the emperor and supporting him. You will surely rise to high positions, and your position will not be limited to the Tiger Army. Anyone who is unwilling to be summoned can stand up and refute me now.
No one spoke, and a commander said: "Just give the order to stop the battle. We will fight the same way as before. We are not afraid of the Liao army of ten thousand cavalry, but we are afraid of a group of treacherous tyrants."
Very good. Guo Shao nodded and asked someone to take out a rough large map hanging on a wooden frame. Looking back at the generals, he said, "Now I will start to deploy the military affairs of each command."
Guo Shao took out the booklet and held it in his hand, while pointing at the map, and said, "Map of the main passages in and out of Tokyo. There are currently 19 troops stationed in our army. The main battle goal is to quickly enter the Jinxiang Palace in the front of the imperial city to protect the queen and the Privy Council. After success, there are two goals: first, control and guard the gates in the front of the imperial city, and second, prevent some people from the Palace Front Office with ulterior motives from rebelling."
Guo Shaodao: Zhuque Gate and Chongming Gate were originally in the hands of our army. Yang Biao, the first commander of the Second Army, is responsible for guarding Zhuque Gate; Li Chuyun, the first commander of the Fifth Army, is responsible for guarding Chongming Gate. They will stay at these two gates and wait for military orders. Except for the troops specially ordered by the left wing commanders, no one else is allowed to enter the inner city. After the left wing troops pass through, the city gates will be closed immediately and martial law will be imposed.
The last general received the order
Guo Shao glanced at his subordinates and said, "We have seized thousands of war horses from the Liao army. The superiors have not yet asked us to hand them over, so we keep them in the military camps. After sending out the troops, all of us will ride horses quickly and maneuver quickly. If we encounter resistance, we will dismount and fight in battle formation. Those who resist will be killed without mercy."
He gradually calmed down, his voice was low and powerful, and his finger gestures became calm: After the generals dispersed and returned to the barracks, they would immediately gather all the troops and bring their weapons, mount their horses and enter the inner city from the south gate of the inner city, Suzaku Gate, and assemble in the open streets inside Suzaku Gate; the Second Army only needed to assemble at the Suzaku Gate station; the Fifth Army would also rush over. This step was clear to me.
Everyone listened attentively, and they all echoed: "I understand!"
Guo Shao then said calmly: It is still dark, and we should have enough time to reach the designated location before the hour of Mao. At the hour of Mao, the bells and drums on the tower rang, and the commanders of the various armies immediately rode out on horseback.
All three commanders of the First Army; the three commanders of the Second Army, except for the Suzaku Gate, immediately set out from the Suzaku Gate in the south, and marched quickly along the Imperial Street to the Xuande Gate in the south of the Imperial City. The inner city is more than 20 miles in circumference, and the Imperial Street is 2 miles and 100 steps long. A short distance horseback march of half an hour or 60 miles is not a high requirement; I require that after the above troops start to move out, they reach the Imperial City within about 2 minutes.
After two minutes, the First Army's First Commander immediately took control of the Imperial Guard Office next to the Zuoye Gate of the Imperial City and did not let anyone escape. If anyone asked, he said that the Tiger Guards were following the imperial edict of the Privy Councilor and asked them to ask the Queen or the Privy Councilor. If anyone dared to resist, they would be killed in battle array with 500 elite soldiers. The guards were well prepared and could not be their opponents.
Guo Shao asked the commanders who were called to repeat the military orders, and was relieved only after they succeeded in repeating them. Then he handed them the prepared written military orders.
He went on to say that the remaining troops of the First and Second Armies would turn eastward and follow the main street to the intersection of Ma Xing Street and the Second Tianshui Street; the military power would be handed over to Yang Biao to unify the military orders. The main direction would be to guard the north and control the main traffic routes in the east.
Guo Shao then assigned detailed military tasks, specifically to a certain commander stationed at a certain intersection, requiring them to block the road in a dense square formation. Then, Commander Yang Biao, who was stationed at the intersection of Ma Xing Street, was asked to reinforce each intersection when the opportunity arose.
After everyone had finished repeating the military order, they were given a written order. Guo Shao added: "All the remaining troops will ride westward to Xihua Gate and prepare to enter the palace from there. I will send the vanguard and the insiders to attack this gate. If it fails, we will tear down the beams and pillars of the houses nearby, hit the palace gate, set it on fire, and force the gate to break in; we will attack the imperial city at all costs."
I will arrive at Xihua Gate, and the central army's orders will be sent and received from here; after entering the palace, the central army will be set up outside Jinxiang Hall.
Guo Shao made a series of deployments to fill in the gaps, asked the generals to confirm their tasks, and finally completed the pre-war mobilization after repeating them again. He also did not forget to ask the generals to order the soldiers to tie wide cloth strips on their left arms to identify the colors. The armor of the Zhou army was actually slightly different, but the armor and clothes were very similar. This method was slightly used to prepare for a melee. It was not used in battle formations. The directions of separation of the two sides were different. Most of the time, they fought in a concentrated battle formation. The infantry formation would easily collapse if it was in disarray.
The rise and fall of the world depends on this battle. Guo Shao shouted, "I hope all the generals will do their best to succeed. If they fail, all the left-wing generals will be liquidated by the treacherous and traitorous officials in power, and they will either die without a burial place or never be able to turn over a new leaf in their lifetime."
The generals said in confusion: We are willing to follow the lord and fight with all our strength.
Guo Shao said again in a wishing tone: I wish you immediate success.
Each general took the tiger flag and returned to the barracks. Guo Shao ordered, "Meet in the Imperial City."