In the sunny palace, the two could not hide their brief joy and impulse after they met again. But after they regained some rationality, the huge pressure of the situation returned to Guo Shao's mind.
After a moment of silence, Guo Shao said: At present, with the righteousness and grace of the Queen's center, most of the imperial guards should be able to be stabilized. But the most important thing is to deploy a greater force advantage. Gao Huaide's right wing can be borrowed in advance, and then the other half of the left wing of the Tiger Jie Army that has been disbanded and rested can be assembled.
He thought for a while and said: I would like to ask for an order to open the national treasury immediately to pay the reward to Gao Huaide's right wing; let the people from the Privy Council take the money and military order to see Gao Huaide, so that he can gather troops faster.
Fu Jinzhan's face flushed, and she said softly: "I will do whatever you say. There are more important things to do next, and there must be no mistakes with the government."
After hearing this, Guo Shao suddenly felt a sense of oppression in his heart. Even if Chai Rong was lying in bed and couldn't get up, he still dared not ignore him. He couldn't help but ask: Will there be any accidents in the emperor's bedroom
Fu Jinzhan said: I still have dozens of Beiguo Caimian in my hands, and I have transferred them to the emperor's bedroom. These people may not be very useful in battle, but they have been trained in martial arts since childhood, and they are very useful as close guards.
Guo Shao then nodded slightly: I will send Lu Chengyong to lead his personal soldiers to guard outside the Jinxiang Palace.
Chai Rong was so powerful that no one dared to move when he was around. Zhao Kuangyin had not taken action before, probably because he was afraid that Chai Rong would come forward and think that the time was not right. Guo Shao was under great pressure this time. In addition to dealing with Zhao Kuangyin, he was also under pressure from Emperor Chai Rong. Chai Rong was bedridden, but he could still speak. Even now Guo Shao was a little scared. In terms of prestige and authority, he was not at the same level as the emperor. What he did this time was really bold.
Since the Five Dynasties, the Zhou Dynasty established by Guo Wei should be the most popular dynasty with the most prosperous civil and military achievements. Chai Rong took over the throne from Taizu and immediately stabilized the throne with his ability. Internal politics was relatively clear and reforms covering all aspects were carried out, and the country gradually became stronger; externally, the country gradually seized the key areas of major countries such as Shu and Southern Tang, and launched offensives against the Liao and Khitan. Since Chai Rong ascended the throne, he has basically not lost a battle. In just four years, the achievements in civil and military affairs were huge, and Chai Rong was worthy of being a powerful lord.
But a strong fortress often begins to collapse from the inside, and even if Guo Shao did not take action, Zhao Kuangyin would not stop. Guo Shao could not help but think about it again, and felt that Chai Rong had no chance to turn the tables, and his unbridled madness made Guo Shao not give him another chance.
At this time, Guo Shao said goodbye and walked out of the Jinxiang Hall.
Soon they met a group of generals, and Guo Shao led them to the side hall next to the main entrance of Jinxiang Hall to discuss matters. This place was originally used by the emperor to summon ministers and for ministers to rest while waiting to see him.
Guo Shao said directly: I just went to the palace to see the queen. What needs to be done now is, first, to mobilize the Huaide troops to move closer to the imperial city, and second, to summon the remaining troops of the left wing of the Hujie Army to form a military force.
Li Chuyun suggested using messengers to pass on the message, first ordering the commanders, and then asking the commanders to send people to notify the lower-level generals to pass on the message layer by layer, and it is estimated that the army can be assembled one after another after tomorrow. In his opinion, Guo Shao's shogunate organization is already very efficient. It is more troublesome to mobilize the imperial army and other troops from a disbanded state; after all, there is no rapid information transmission method such as broadcasting.
Just when everyone had agreed on what to do, Zuo You suddenly asked: My Lord, what do you think Zhao Kuangyin will do now
Everyone was silent for a while. Luo Yanhuan asked: Will you mobilize your cavalry to fight us
Guo Shao already had a lot of grudges against Zhao Kuangyin. Hearing this, he said coldly: If he fights me now, it would be a good opportunity to purge his people with the crime of treason.
Li Chuyun pondered and said: I think Zhao Kuangyin might have prepared to escape in advance.
Guo Shao thought it made sense. At this moment, not to mention that the other imperial guards had no intention of fighting a civil war, even the soldiers of the Iron Cavalry probably had little morale. Zhao Kuangyin had no chance of winning, so running away might not be the best option.
Guo Shao immediately asked: If Zhao Kuangyin wants to escape, where should he run to
He certainly wouldn't dare go to places like Wu Yue and Jing Nan. The Great Zhou court issued an edict to capture the king and present him to the emperor. Li Chuyun stroked his beard and said, among the big countries, Southern Tang is the most unlikely place. During the Battle of Huainan, Zhao Kuangyin defeated the Southern Tang army several times and accumulated a lot of resentment. Besides, Southern Tang didn't have much ambition to compete with the Central Plains for hegemony, so it would not be safe for Zhao Kuangyin to go there.
In my opinion, Zhao Kuangyin was a man who cared a lot about his reputation. Although surrendering to Khitan was the best way to save his life, it was a barbarian country after all, which was not good for his reputation.
The Shu Kingdom was unruly and disrespectful to the government. Despite repeated threats of force, the Shu Kingdom leader still called himself the emperor. However, the Shu Kingdom had never shown any signs of progress. It depended on whether Zhao Kuangyin just wanted to hide his name and survive, or if he still wanted to make a comeback. If he still had ambitions, the Shu Kingdom was not a good place to go.
Guo Shaodao of the Northern Han Dynasty.
Li Chuyun nodded and said: I also think that the most likely place for Zhao Kuangyin to flee is Northern Han.
Guo Shao immediately said: If Zhao Kuangyin wants to fight, he may be able to gather some troops; but if he runs, there will definitely be few people willing to abandon their wives and follow him. We can now urgently send two cavalry teams to set up an ambush on the Huazhou Road west of Chenqiaoyi in the north and make advance interception arrangements. In addition, let the central government order Li Yun of Luzhou to go east to capture Zhao Kuangyin.
Xiang Xun will definitely help Guo Shao. He doesn't have a big position, but he has a good relationship with Guo Shao. Li Yun has already arranged to marry the royal family Chai Zongxun and is more loyal to the Zhou Dynasty. However, Guo Shao and others have not claimed to rebel against the Zhou Dynasty. In a short period of time, Li Yun will not be able to figure out what happened in Tokyo, so he should obey the imperial edict of Tokyo.
Guo Shao and others then got busy and started making various arrangements again.
Gao Huaide was stationed in a right wing of the southern outer city. After he and his generals received the commendation from the Privy Council, they felt relieved. It can be speculated that Guo Shao's troops have entered the imperial city and controlled the center; in this way, Gao Huaide's head is at least saved.
He certainly hoped that Guo Shao would win. Gao Huaide's sister was Guo Shao's adopted sister, and they had a close relationship and favor; his nephew would join Guo Shao and call him uncle. In this case, as long as Guo Shao won, he would not be in danger, but would have a good turn of events, and would definitely not be suppressed like before; on the other hand, if Zhao Kuangyin gained power, he would have a good life.
When they were in Huainan, Zhao Kuangyin said in front of the emperor that he was negligent in military management and did not look like a leader. These resentments had not yet been resolved. In addition, Zhao Kuangyin was Guo Shao's mortal enemy. All kinds of things were circling in Gao Huaide's mind. He was absolutely certain that once Zhao Kuangyin came to power, even if he was lucky enough to save his life, his future in this life would be over.
Fortunately, the situation is good now, Gao Huaide just breathed a sigh of relief. But he still can't mobilize troops. He is not like Guo Shao and Zhao Kuangyin who have deep experience in one army; without military orders, he can't convince his subordinates to mobilize the troops. He can only follow the rules.
Not long after, someone from the Privy Council came. Gao Huaide hurriedly led his troops out of the camp to see, and saw a line of dozens of horsemen walking slowly, with a few large carts in the middle.
General Gao. A strong man in official robes rode forward to pay his respects. Deputy Privy Councilor Wei Renpu
Gao Huaide hurriedly said: “Greetings to Deputy Envoy Wei.”
Wei Renpu jumped down from his horse and shouted without saying anything:
The subordinates immediately lifted the sackcloth covering the cart. "Oh, oh!" Gao Huaide's eyes widened immediately.
Seeing several carts full of copper coins, Wei Renpu smiled and said: Not long ago, the central government issued an order to reward the soldiers, and I am here with the promised reward. You gather all the soldiers from each camp, and divide the money after they gather in the inner city.
The Privy Council was ordered to reward the soldiers. How could we not believe it? It was fulfilled too quickly. Gao Huaide said casually. His heart immediately lifted. It seemed that he was going to use the troops.
Before each large army went out to war, they would usually reward the entire army first, and then let everyone go out to the war with satisfaction. The current situation is too similar to mobilizing troops for war; but now the money is easier to get, as long as you gather in Tokyo, you can get it. Going out to fight, walking one or two thousand miles, you have to risk your life.
Wei Renpu led his men into the military camp and read out the order of the Privy Council in front of all the generals outside the central army. After reading it, he handed the order to Gao Huaide and asked him to check it with the deputy generals and generals. Obviously, there was nothing to verify. The deputy privy councilor had brought the military order a few days ago, and the privy councilor himself had brought the military order, so it couldn't be fake.
The money is all from the Imperial Treasury allocated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Wei Renpu added that it would take too long to distribute it to the soldiers now, so you should escort it in the Central Army first and then distribute it when you get there. The main force of the right wing of the Hujie Army should be mobilized and gathered in the southwest corner of the Imperial City, and then divided into troops to control the intersections in the west; after things settle down, we can slowly reward each army.
I and other generals obeyed your orders and responded happily.
Gao Huaide was ecstatic. For him, his current situation was the most suitable one in the whole incident. If he participated too early, the risk would be huge, and he would be reluctant to restrain his subordinates from mutiny; if he did not participate, he would not have a share of the fruits of victory.
It is precisely when the general trend is gradually settling that it is the most stable and profitable time for him to emerge as an important force.
Guo Shao is really good at employing people, and he is very good at thinking for him. Gao Huaide felt for a moment that Guo Shao's style was a bit inconsistent with his age. A man in his early twenties could consider things so carefully and appropriately.
After Gao Huaide sent Wei Renpu away, he smiled so hard in front of everyone.
You guys leave some men behind to guard each gate, and the rest of you gather outside Chongming Gate. There must be no mistakes. Gao Huaide raised his head and shouted calmly.