Under the night sky, the Zhou army camp in Qingniling was brightly lit with fire and light snow was falling in the night sky. Xiang Gong summoned his generals and passed the imperial edict to everyone, saying: The weather is getting worse. Since the court has given me some time, I plan to order all the troops to withdraw to Guzhen Fengzhou for rest and regroup, and then use the troops when the weather warms up.
Everyone was happy after hearing this, as if they were relieved. The soldiers had been suffering a lot recently. Only Li Gu said with a worried look on his face: Our army has wasted money and food without any achievements. If we withdraw now, it will affect morale.
Xiang Gong asked: What does Lord Li think of the art of attack and defense
Li Gu pondered and said: Attacking requires greater strength and often comes at a greater cost.
Li Gong is right. Xiang Gong said calmly, but I also have an idea why the Shu army had to fight in the ice and snow.
Li Gudao: The Great Zhou army is about to attack Shu, and the Shu army is forced to defend the dangerous place.
Xiang Gong nodded: Why did the soldiers of the Great Zhou stay in this poor and remote place
Li Gu pondered and said: If our army wants to seize the land of Shu, we will naturally have to go through a hard battle.
The defense of the Shu army is a matter of life and death. Xiang Gongdao, and our Great Zhou army has the final say on whether to attack or not and when to attack. The weather is bad today, and our army can retreat if they want; can the Shu army defend on their own
Li Gudao: Having said that, attacking Shu is absolutely necessary and we cannot give up.
Xiang Gong seemed to be thinking about something, and said: "I am not giving up, I just think that the opportunity is not here yet and I need to wait for the right time." His expression became clear, "The inspector of the imperial court, Guo Du, understands me, and he knows this very well. So, Mr. Li, don't worry."
I hope so. Li Gu sighed.
Xiang Gong smiled: Guo Du Dianjian is not only a military general, he is also a wise man who thinks things through.
Therefore, Xiang Gong, who was previously in charge of the military deployment, made a decision and ordered the entire army to retreat to Guzhen. At the same time, he wrote a detailed on-site report and sent someone to submit it to Tokyo.
The snow is falling even harder in Tokyo, and it's already the twelfth lunar month.
Today was the tenth day of the lunar calendar, and all civil and military officials in Beijing could take a day off every ten days, on the pretext of going home to take a bath. So Guo Shao didn't have to go to work, but he still got up early in the morning and went outside to a remote road to set up roadblocks and targets for practice.
He felt that the winters of this era were colder than those of modern times, and the lake was completely frozen. He felt a little uncomfortable when he first went out, and anyone could feel how to be more comfortable. Of course, it was better to stay in a warm house; but once he went out for a while, he would slowly adapt and integrate into the cold state without comparison.
Bang! It hit the bull's eye from a hundred steps away.
Guo Shao exhaled a breath of white steam, and felt that everything was perfect. The philosophy of people in this era was still based on moderation, but Guo Shao could not change his original mentality of pursuing extreme perfection. In his mind, if you can do something better, why do you need moderation? So he could hit the bull's eye from a hundred steps away, but Zhou Tong, who taught him archery, could not do it.
Although his cheeks were slightly painful from the cold, Guo Shao felt very good in good condition; the energy from his body to his mind was flowing smoothly, and maintaining his strength and threat made him feel safe.
Some people say that you can't step into the same river twice, the world is in motion; Qin Shihuang's static thinking of melting arrows and casting golden men, and defending Guanzhong to make his country forever, has proven to be a futile idea, relying on deceiving oneself to find a sense of security. Guo Shao will not paralyze himself to eliminate the pressure in his heart. The most reliable thing is to take the initiative to come out of the greenhouse and maintain competitiveness in the cold environment.
He took another arrow, drew the bow to its full length, and listened to the crackling sound of the tendon being stretched. The roughness on the back of his hand was like the tendon being stretched. The sound of the bowstring was like listening to the truest voice of himself, the purest voice without disguise or entanglement. Every arrow could make him hear a different voice in his heart.
Like a hunter's arrow, staring at the target, with desire for prey.
Desire is the soul of a man, Guo Shao whispered, concentrating his attention, and then, with a click, he hit the bull's eye with another arrow as he muttered to himself like a prayer.
He had nothing before, but he wanted a lot, and wanted the people he cared about to live a good life. Now he has everything, but it is still easy to lose it, especially in this era of frequent changes of dynasties.
According to historical knowledge, he knew that after the Later Zhou Dynasty, the people of the Northern Song Dynasty were relatively stable and the world seemed to be heading towards unification. But history has changed, and the general trend is only the general trend. When it will come and whether there will be twists and turns are all made up of specific things. Just as according to historical needs and the general trend, the Northern Song Dynasty should be completely unified, and there will be a period of great military power after the founding of the country; just like the Huns in the Han, Tang, Ming and early Han dynasties were also very powerful. But in fact, butterflies changed the pattern of the founding of the country, who can say for sure
Security is also a kind of desire. How to hold on to vested interests and even get more is a very difficult question.
The plum blossoms are in bloom, and they are not afraid of the cold. Guo Shao muttered again, glanced slightly sideways at the red plum blossoms that were proudly blooming in the wind and snow by the lake, and pulled the bowstring again.
At this moment, Zhou Xian's graceful and slightly sad face appeared in Guo Shao's eyes, and his words were also vivid in his ears: I regard my wife as a plum blossom, standing proudly in the wind and frost and worthy of respect.
The arrow hit the target's wooden board, three points into the wood but missed. Guo Shao stared at the arrow in shock, the tail of the arrow still trembling in the cold air, just like his trembling heart.
Guo Shao adjusted his mindset, but he was still a little confused. He simply packed up his things and returned to the living room.
The smokeless charcoal in the hall was red, and a wave of warmth came over him. Guo Shao patted the snowflakes on his sleeves and walked to the brazier to warm himself. Not long after, Fu Ermei came out of the bedroom, looking a little lazy. She walked over and patted the snowflakes on Guo Shao's back, saying: "Husband, you went out so early, aren't you afraid of the cold?"
Guo Shao shook his head. He looked at the beautiful Fu Ermei and felt ashamed. His wife was very good, so why did he still think about others? He immediately relaxed his tone and said softly: Chen Jiali's business group traveled to Shu and brought some news. I heard that Meng Chang, the Lord of Shu, built a crystal palace for his noble lady, Madam Huarui, on the Mohe Pond, but I can only let my second sister live in such a small yard. This is still your Fu family's place. Shu is really rich. It would be great if it could become ours someday.
Fu Ermei put her hand on Guo Shao's cheek and said softly: What do I need that thing for, as long as my husband is in my heart.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: I am also better than Meng Chang in some ways. I can do my best to give my second sister a sense of security.
Fu Ermei seemed to be thinking about this word: sense of security.
Guo Shao said kindly: "It means that I can maintain my strength to protect you, so that you don't have to experience those hardships and sufferings." Fu Ermei smiled and said: "That's enough. I just need someone to think about me every day, so that I won't feel empty in my heart."
Your hands are so cold. Guo Shao held Fu Ermei's hand, and he felt a sense of déjà vu in his heart. For some reason, he was more gentle to Fu Ermei and said kindly, "Ermei's hands are cold, but her heart is warm."
The two chatted for a while, and Guo Shao said: Today is a day off and I have some time. I will go to Chen Jiali's house later. If she invites me to have lunch at noon, I will not come back for dinner.
Her husband seemed to be in frequent contact with her, but she heard that he was just a businessman or a widow. Fu Ermei looked at him teasingly.
Guo Shaodao: My second sister's betrothal gift was bought with her help. We are friends. She is a businessman who values profit and wants to rely on my power, but she is very honest and reliable. Let's help each other with things we need.
Friend and confidante Fu Ermei looked at him with a smile.
Guo Shao:
Seeing that he was speechless, Fu Ermei said: "It's nothing to have a confidante. Don't worry. She can't be compared to me. Li Yuan'er is the daughter of a general in the Palace Front Division. I don't care about her. Why should I care about your confidante?"
I don't have that kind of relationship with her. Guo Shao defended himself, saying that he had a chance to introduce her to his second sister. I actually didn't want to have anything to do with too many women, but I didn't know why. I just picked those few. You probably know them all. Now as long as I don't go behind my second sister's back, it's not too much.
Fu Ermei thought about it and said helplessly: What can I do? My father and brother both have wives and concubines. I can't stop you from not liking beauty, so I have to let you do it. She put her hand on Guo Shao's chest, but my husband's feelings are in my heart. You are not allowed to ignore me too much. If you keep thinking about me like this, who told me that I am your first wife
Guo Shao asked his second sister to help him pack up, and then asked someone to prepare the carriage and horses.
After he left, Fu Ermei went into the bedroom and took out a letter from Fu Jinzhan. The two sisters didn't talk about serious matters, but just trivial matters. In the letter, Fu Jinzhan taught her how to control the people in the mansion.
As expected, the eldest sister was thoughtful. Fu Ermei did some of the things she said and it really worked. Everyone in the mansion was completely obedient to her and no one dared to challenge her authority easily.
The eldest sister answered some of Fu Ermei's questions and advised her: the more powerful and capable a man is, the more he wants. In history, all those who have achieved great things are extremely greedy. The second sister is a married woman, her status is very stable, and she should not be too petty; what she needs to do is to compete for favors to protect her status, not to restrict the man.
Fu Ermei didn't quite understand what was going on. She felt that being a wife was quite difficult. It turned out that there were so many rules and regulations to follow.
She believed her elder sister's words very much, not only out of trust, but also because she admired her elder sister a little bit. After being married once, she was able to become the queen mother. She was careful and no one could bully her. Fu Ermei felt that she would not suffer any loss if she listened to her elder sister.
She hid the letter and pondered it for a while. Guo Shao would not read her letter, so there was no need to worry about him finding out. Even if he found out, he would not read it secretly. If he was curious, he would only ask her in person. Second sister gradually got to know him a little better.