Oh, the teacup is still full. The small one is for the two of you to heat up. The tea doctor came over and put two empty cups neatly, picked up the teapot and poured it. At this time, he couldn't help but secretly glanced at Zhou Xian, and was stunned. The teacup was quickly filled and overflowed onto the table. The hot tea was steaming.
Guo Shao was sitting opposite him, and saw Zhou Xian looking angry and cold. Guo Shao asked: "Does it look good?"
Dr. Cha came to his senses immediately, and looked in the direction of Guo Shao's voice. His face turned pale, and he fell to his knees: Damn it, damn it!
Guo Shao was a little surprised to see this. He was wearing a cloth robe and a bun, which didn't seem to reflect his identity. He rarely went to teahouses, so a waiter wouldn't recognize him. But Dr. Tea was scared like this, so he was just a little upset. He didn't say anything harsh. After all, there was no need to make things difficult for a waiter. The waiter didn't do anything unforgivable.
"Wipe the table dry," Guo Shao said casually.
Yes, yes. Dr. Tea hurriedly pulled the towel off his shoulders, wiped the water with his sleeves, bent over to face Guo Shao, and did not dare to look at Zhou Xian again. Guo Shao waved his hand gently, and Dr. Tea escaped from the private room with a sense of relief. .
Zhou Xian's eyes flickered, he looked at Guo Shao and said softly: General Guo scared him.
Guo Shaodao: That tea doctor doesn't know who I am
Zhou Xian blushed and said: I don't need to know your identity, I can tell at a glance that you are not easy to mess with. Guo Shao laughed and said: I look like a bully Zhou Xian shook his head: I have never been to such a place, but I also understand that people come and go here every day; don't underestimate the tea doctor, he has seen more people than us, how can he not see what kind of person General Guo is
But Zhou Xian is pure and innocent, and even when he is angry he is not scary, but cute and coquettish.
She frowned again and said: Let's leave here, I don't want to be stared at by these people.
Guo Shao nodded, stood up and walked to the bamboo curtain, waiting for Zhou Xian to pick up the veil and put it on and stand up. She slightly side-glanced and saw that the bamboo curtain had been opened, lowered her head and walked out without saying a word. The two quickly disappeared from the hall.
They got on Chen Jiali's carriage and rode together. Zhou Xian said: I have to go to my cousin's house first. The attendants and the groom who went out with me are still there.
Guo Shao then shouted: Go back to Chen Mansion in the west of the city.
Zhou Xian rubbed his hands lightly, then covered his mouth with his hands and blew a breath of hot air.
The man in front of the carriage shouted and whipped out a whip. The carriage moved, and the people in the carriage leaned back slightly. Guo Shao reached out to hold Zhou Xian's shoulders. As soon as his hand touched her body, her thin shoulders trembled slightly. She reached out and gently lifted Guo Shao's hand. In this era, although Neo-Confucianism had not yet emerged, it was still different from modern times. It was not fashionable to touch women's bodies casually.
Zhou Xian whispered: It's so cold, but your hands are still so warm.
Guo Shao boldly reached out and held Zhou Xian's slender jade hand. She shrank back but didn't break free, so she stopped struggling. Guo Shao simply held one with each hand and said kindly: Are you warm
Her face was flushed, her eyes were gently lowered, and she didn't say a word. Guo Shao then remembered that Zhou Xian's previous question was interrupted by the tea doctor; but Zhou Xian didn't ask again, so he didn't mention it again.
After saying goodbye, Zhou Xian left Tokyo the next day along with Li Yu, the envoys from Southern Tang and others.
At this time, in late October of the fourth year of Xian De, Xiang Gong had mobilized 39 troops to approach the important place on the Shu Road: Qingni Ridge. 20,000 troops plus tens of thousands of civilians were constantly flowing on several roads on the Shu Road. At this time, the signs of war could no longer be concealed.
The Zhou army went south from two routes. One route was Chencang Road, Chencang, Baoji, Dasan Pass, Fengzhou, Guzhen, Qingniling; the other route was Qinzhou, Gansu, Tianshui, Chengzhou, Guzhen, Qingniling. ..
Going south from Qinzhou, you can go directly into Shu from Longyou via Yinping Road, but Yinping Road is a narrow goat trail that is not suitable for large-scale military movement; and Xiang Gong's target this time is Hanzhong, so the two armies have to meet in Guzhen and attack Qingniling. If they don't go through Qingniling, they have to use Lianyun Plank Road to go to the southern part of Baoxiade in the east and reach Hanzhong directly. But as the name suggests, Lianyun is like a dangerous plank road that goes into the sky. For a large army to march, the best way is still Chencang Road, which is a bit roundabout but relatively flat.
Xiang Gong personally led the vanguard troops to quickly arrive at the north of Qingni Ridge and immediately launched an offensive, intending to break through this dangerous area in one go.
Unfortunately, the weather was not good. Although it was cold at the foot of the mountain, it was sunny. However, it was sleeting halfway up the mountain. The climate of this place seemed to be cursed by God. There was rarely any dry weather throughout the year. It was very strange.
The army was in a cluster on the hillside, and the ranks were crooked and looked like they had been routed. Xiang Gong tried the mountain road himself and felt very tired, so he couldn't scold the soldiers for no reason. It was impossible to ride a horse, and it was difficult to walk even with a horse.
The rain was mixed with ice particles, not very heavy, but very slippery on the ground. The road became muddy with many people stepping on it, with a layer of ice and mud floating on top and solid hard soil underneath. The road was also a slope, so every step you took made you slippery. It was indescribable.
After walking less than two miles to Xianggong, he asked a general who had been stationed in Guzhen for many years: "When is it sunny in this place?"
The general said: "Yes, sometimes it clears up, about ten days a month, but no more than fifteen days. But usually the sky is thick with clouds, especially in winter when it is cold, and after it clears up, the road is not dry, and it rains again. I have been in Guzhen for more than two years, and I often sent scouts to spy on the Shu army. I rarely encountered dry roads. It may be better in summer."
After hearing this, Xiang Gong thought to himself: I can't wait half a year until summer to use my troops. Waiting for the weather to clear up will make my head feel better, but the road is still difficult to walk on.
His feet hurt from slipping and his forehead was covered with sweat. After thinking it over, he decided to overcome the difficulties and force his soldiers to attack once as soon as they arrived at Qingni Ridge. Maybe he could take advantage of the Shu army's unpreparedness.
Xiang Gong straightened up and looked around again. Most of the soldiers had fallen countless times and were covered in mud, and they were exhausted after marching for several days.
After walking for a while, they finally saw a line of defense on the mountainside. The Shu army dug trenches and set up camps on it, and from a distance they were watching the chaotic Zhou army on the hillside. Xiang Gong leaned forward with a wooden stick to watch, and his general advised: General, be careful.
Xiang Gong ignored it and trudged on for a while until he could see more clearly before stopping. He saw many drainage holes between the trenches, a fence built behind them, and some simple grass and wood sheds. It looked very organized.
Xiang Gong thought that bows and arrows would be damaged if used in the rain, and the Shu army could hide in the grass shed to avoid the rain and use long-range shooting from a high position. Because of the slope, the Shu army only needed to shoot a few dozen steps away to throw more than a hundred steps away, while the Zhou army could not use bows and crossbows in the rain, so they had to be shot at from a distance of more than a hundred steps; and the road was so difficult to walk on, and climbing a slope of more than a hundred steps in the mud, I am afraid that the bows and arrows would slowly wear them down.
He looked around and felt that the chances of winning were slim, so he suppressed his anger and gave up the idea of attacking. He immediately ordered everyone who had followed to retreat and go down the mountain to rest today.
Xiang Gong had no choice but to send people to inquire about the situation of Baishui Road while waiting for the weather to clear up at Qingni Ridge.
Not long after, the scouts came back to report that a section of the cliff plank road on Baishui Road had been destroyed and could not be passed. In the past, Guo Shao used this road to raid the Shu army behind Qingniling. The commotion was very loud and seemed to have attracted the attention of the Shu army generals stationed in Qingniling.
Xianggong was worried that there was no way out; the only way was to take the roads opened by the predecessors, otherwise it would be blocked and we might get lost. Now we had to try Qingniling first.
Fortunately, two days later, he learned that the weather on the mountain was clear, so Xiang Gong did not wait for the road to dry, because the information provided by the generals in Guzhen was that it could not be dried. He immediately asked people to prepare fire, tung oil cloth strips and other items, and led the army up the mountain again.
The Shu army was not as strong as the Zhou army, but Xiang Gong still wanted to give it a try, thinking that the grass and wood huts were a weakness. When he arrived in front of the fortifications, he ordered the soldiers to gather the army and prepare for battle.
The Zhou army barely organized itself into an army two hundred steps away, with sword and shield soldiers in front and archers in the back slowly approaching to the sound of drums. The mud gradually became noisy, with drums and shouts resounding through the mountains. As expected, the Zhou army was still more than a hundred steps away when they were covered by arrows and crossbows from above.
Brothers, as long as we pass Qingni Ridge, the road ahead will be easy. Let's endure the hardship now and march straight in. The generals of various units also shouted, and the flags moved forward in a swaying manner.
Ah, there was a scream in front of them. A soldier with less armor behind them was shot by an arrow and fell in the mud screaming. People were shot and injured one after another. The Zhou army advanced even slower. The muddy road was very slippery under their feet, and arrows were flying overhead. Everyone didn't even have a chance to fight back. The upward shooting distance was far away and out of range.
But the Zhou army garrison soldiers still showed a relatively tenacious endurance, and advanced several dozen steps with difficulty despite the arrows. At this time, the generals in the army shouted: Light the fire! A gong sounded, and the generals shouted at the top of their voices: Release the arrows! Release the arrows!
There was a crackling sound of strings, and when Xiang Gong looked up, he saw a swarm of rockets whizzing away like fireflies. As expected, they set fire to the grass and wood sheds within the fence of the fortifications. Flames gradually appeared in many places, and smoke spread above, making a lot of noise.
A bunch of rockets flew out again, and the Zhou army fired several rounds in succession. The fence was already filled with flames rising to the sky and densely filled the air.
But because it was a sunny day, the Shu soldiers were not in the tents, and they were still hiding behind fences more than half a person high and firing arrows back. Both sides shot arrows at each other within fifty steps, and the battle array was noisy.