The summer rainstorms came suddenly, intermittently, sometimes heavy and sometimes light. It rained for three days in a row and it hasn't stopped yet.
The rain curtains were blown by the wind, like strips of milky white gauze curtains floating in the wind, or like thick fog rippling in the air. Looking at Jinyang City from afar, the towers and walls seemed to be shrouded in deep smoke. The rain extinguished the beacon smoke and washed away the bloodstains left on the walls by the dead and wounded soldiers.
The war was put on hold, and fences were built outside the city to surround it. Behind the fences were large tents, like countless umbrellas on a rainy day.
After the rain, the weather turned cooler, washing away the scorching heat of the summer; but the coolness and humidity made people miserable, because there were not enough houses for all the soldiers to live in. The tents could not completely block the rain, and dry firewood was also in short supply. The soldiers could only use fire to dry their wet clothes and armor, which was not very comfortable to wrap around their bodies.
The most inconvenient thing was the muddy roads. The roads connecting the camps were trampled into pieces. Walking on them was like hiking in a swamp, or like being in the mud of a rice field. One step down and the mud would directly submerge the ankles. The post roads were better, as the land had been compacted by horses and carriages for a long time and was very solid, and the rain could not penetrate too deeply; but a thin layer of mud adhered to the surface of the hard soil, like a lubricant, making it very slippery for horses and men to walk on, and they would fall if they were not careful.
The generals of each army of the Zhou army went to the central camp every day, seemingly arguing about whether to fight or retreat.
General Xiang Xun sent someone to ask Guo Shao to meet him in his tent again. This time, Xiang Xun looked a little embarrassed and dismissed his attendants. Guo Shao saw from the time he had known him that Xiang Xun was actually a down-to-earth person. But down-to-earth people would occasionally make promises like "I'll take you to see the emperor and ask him to give you another official position." Seeing Xiang Xun's expression, Guo Shao knew that this might not be that easy.
The Zhou Dynasty could not compare with the great unified empires of the Han and Tang Dynasties, but it was at least the strongest regime in the Central Plains, and Chai Rong was at least an emperor recognized by the people of the world. Even if the Lord of Northern Han and others verbally did not acknowledge Chai Rong as the common ruler of the world, they would certainly take Chai Rong seriously in their hearts.
Is the emperor so easy to see
Seeing this, Guo Shao hurriedly said: "General Xiang is so polite and has received me many times. I am flattered. The court will definitely reward me for my little contribution. There is no need to ask for an official position."
Guo Shao said this not to flatter Xiang Xun, nor was he being modest. It was true that the gap in status between Xiang Xun and himself was too big. During their several private meetings, Xiang Xun had indeed been very considerate and shown enough respect.
Xiang Xun asked: By the way, last time Commander Zhang praised you for your merits, what position did you want to be promoted to
Commander: Guo Shaodao.
Xiang Xun frowned and said: "The commander is just a low-ranking official. He has no more than 500 soldiers under his command, and it's unclear what kind of soldiers they are. It's too low."
Guo Shao answered truthfully: "Before this battle, I was only a captain." Not only did he answer truthfully, he also did not explain in detail: he was only a captain for one day and was actually a small team leader.
Xiang Xun shook his head: The title of killing Zhang Yuanhui in battle is not suitable for a commander. Besides, others don't understand, how can I not understand to save Shi Yanchao in Xinkou? If Guo Lang was not there, Shi Yanchao would have died. Just based on these merits, not to mention the military merits accumulated in Wuqi Town, Luzhou, you can be more than just a small commander.
Although Guo Shao also wanted to stand out, he had not thought of reaching the top overnight. There was a saying in his mind: If you take too big a step, you may easily get hurt.
Xiang Xun pondered for a moment and said: I have always been on good terms with Prime Minister Wang Pu. Let me talk to him about this matter first and I will give you news in a few days.
Guo Shao did not refuse, thinking that a few months ago he was an unknown team leader who was ignored by everyone, and now he has a relationship with the prime minister.
Xiang Xun patted his chest again and said: I can't guarantee anything else, but you definitely shouldn't be promoted to a commander-in-chief just for the merit of beheading the most powerful general of Northern Han and saving Shi Yanchao. It's really laughable to people all over the world. He lowered his voice a little, "The emperor has killed more than 70 generals in Luzhou, and he has to govern the armies when he returns. There are a lot of vacancies at this time. Don't worry, I will talk to Prime Minister Wang, as long as he nods, this matter will be easy.
Guo Shao hurriedly thanked him.
However, Xiang Xun's words were indeed a bit exaggerated, not to the point of making people laugh. Killing Zhang Yuanhui in battle, fighting the Liao army in Wuqi Town, and saving Shi Yanchao were all big or small things. The size of the merits depended on how the emperor viewed it and what others said.
If we talk about it in a small way, these things did not affect the war situation at all, and they could not be considered great achievements; if we talk about it in a big way, we can make a mysterious discussion about them. The army needs heroes and specific deeds to talk about. Those who have the reputation of being the best general or those deeds that are easy for the lower-level soldiers to understand can affect the morale of the army.
It still rained from time to time. Guo Shao spent many days outside Jinyang City, and the Zhou army did not attack the city again. Finally, after a few days of continuous clear weather, news came from the army that the emperor ordered the troops to withdraw in batches.
The siege of Jinyang should have ended here. Although Zhou Dynasty did not directly destroy Northern Han, it severely damaged its main force in Gaoping. After reaching Jinyang City, it swept all the territory of Northern Han. Except for Jinyang City, all other states and towns surrendered to Zhou army. This time Northern Han may be quiet for a long time and dare not take any action. It is still unclear whether it can recover.
The infantry of the Xiaodi Army was no longer organized, with only a few scattered soldiers and defeated generals left; but the cavalry suffered little loss and the main force was still there. Guo Shao and others joined the Xiaodi Army Cavalry Commander and retreated with them.
The army still walked back to the capital, and the horses had to carry some things, but they were rarely ridden. Guo Shao couldn't calculate, but it felt like he had walked thousands of miles in a few months. He soon discovered that his small group of people had no one to supervise them. There was no leader or commander in chief, and no one cared about the troops that were not under their control. They only had one commander, the commander of the cavalry of the small army.
When the army arrived at Luzhou, the troops in front were in disarray and blocked the road. A minister went to coordinate, and the troops behind temporarily stopped to rest.
The weather in Luzhou had cleared up, so Guo Shao invited the two brothers to walk around the area and revisit their old place, since no one would bother them anyway.
The three of them rode to the outskirts of Wuqi Town. Luo Mengzi asked: "Brother, do you want to go in and take a look?"
Guo Shao thought about it and found that there was no one he wanted to see in Wuqi Town. He met Li Desheng, the town commander. Li Desheng was not a bad person, but Guo Shao had no interest in making friends with him. He felt a little familiar with the people in the town, but he was not very familiar with or concerned about any of them. Thinking about it this way, he could not find a reason to stay after bleeding here. So what was the point of going in? Was he going to see if the people had erected a monument to praise him
He shook his head, turned his horse and continued to march slowly south with the two men.
By noon, due to the hot weather, the water in the three people's water bags had been used up, and there was no well nearby, so they decided to find a village to replenish some drinking water, eat some dry food and return to the camp.
They saw smoke from cooking on a slope not far from the road, and it seemed that there were several families living there. So they led their horses up the road.
As soon as they approached, they heard a commotion on the hillside, and then heard a young girl's cry for help. The three of them heard it clearly, and looked at each other. Guo Shao hurriedly took down the two stone bows and prepared an arrow; Yang and Luo, who did not bring long weapons, immediately drew their swords and were on guard.
As they continued to walk upward, they heard someone in the dirt yard above shouting: "Where is the food hidden?" Another voice said: "My fellow heroes, my family is really out of food. The government imposed an additional tax at the beginning of the year, and the soldiers from Jinyang came again last time to collect the food. They wanted to scrape away all the soil. My mother has died of illness and hunger. My family can only eat tree bark and roots. My fellow heroes, please let us go."
She can live to this age by eating tree bark. If you don't give her food, just cook her.
Guo Shao followed the sound and walked into the broken courtyard. There was a small earthen dam and a few thatched houses. Standing at the door were two ragged and skinny men who looked like refugees. When they saw Guo Shao wearing armor, their expressions changed drastically and they hurriedly shouted inside: The soldiers are coming!
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang and Luo rushed forward and put their knives on the necks of the two refugees. The two were horrified and stared at them without daring to move. At the same time, Guo Shao had already rushed into the house.
There were four other people inside. An old man was kneeling on the ground, looking blankly at Guo Shao. Two ragged refugees were holding a little girl and pressing her against the stove. The little girl was wearing a patched dress and was incredibly thin. Her head was facing the pot on the stove. The water in it was bubbling and boiling. She was crying because of the steam. Her face was dirty and covered with black and white spots.
Yang and Luo then led the people into the house. The old man kneeling on the ground moved over with his knees and hugged Guo Shao's legs: "General, please save us!"
Seeing this, the man at the stove said sternly: Don't move, or I'll let go and cook her.
Be patient, I will put down the bow and arrow first. Guo Shao carefully lowered the arrow head first, then collected the arrow on the string, and then said, we have food and three fast horses. They are all in the yard.
The man who let them go and spoke had the most ferocious look on his face, and the other refugees were so frightened that they dared not even breathe.
Guo Shaodao: You let that girl go, and my people will let them go.
The man said: You f*cking think I'm stupid. Let me go. How can we beat you? How can we survive
Guo Shao remained calm and said: If you let her go and she begs for mercy immediately, she can still live. If you kill her, she can still live. Do you think we have any relationship with this family? We just came here to ask for water to drink.
The man whose neck was held hurriedly said in fear: "General, please spare my life, please spare my life!"
Guo Shao ignored him and just stared at the man with the ferocious expression: Be careful not to slip and hurt innocent lives, it will be difficult for you to survive.