The main force of the army will have to wait for a while. The Hanshui fleet from Xiangzhou and the joint fleet composed of the Hanyang Army Navy Wuhan are going upstream from the Yangtze River at a slow speed. The Eastern Route Army will definitely need the cooperation of the navy if it takes the Yangtze River route. However, the vanguard Dong Zunhui's troops and part of the fleet have already set out in the direction of Guizhou, carrying the captured Jingnan Army Navy.
The Zhou army in Jingzhou had good military discipline, and it was a peaceful night. But Guo Shao's heart was not at peace at all.
He flipped through various articles and drawings, and reorganized the information in his own notebook. The ancients were actually very experienced and wise, but their thinking patterns were different. They would not use tree-shaped summarization methods such as report writing methods, and the various information looked very messy.
Guo Shao's fingers slowly followed a winding line on the map and found two blurry words: Kuizhou.
If there were someone nearby, they would definitely be moved by his eyes, which were so focused, as if they carried a certain loving expression, and a gentleness mixed with a hidden desire. The country can really make people addicted, if people can feel that they are in their own hands.
Even modern people will revert to the ancient instinct. A man's primitive instinct is like that of a lord, longing for his own territory, where he has the final say, and he can change or create anything according to his own wishes, and he wants to realize his thoughts, attempts, will and dreams there. Back then, Guo Shao's simplest dream was to have a place of his own, which included this desire. His own place could give him the most basic dignity and security.
Guo Shao yawned, dropped the picture in his hand, and his eyes fell on the waist ornament next to him.
He couldn't help but pick it up and stroke it, thinking of Fu Jinzhan. This waist ornament was a little old, and after being washed many times, the stitches on it were still crooked. Guo Shao touched the stitches on it with his fingers, as if he saw Fu Jinzhan secretly embroidering alone.
He picked up his pen and wrote something to describe his feelings at the moment. Guo Shao was not as graceful and reserved as the ancients. He would express his feelings instead of hiding them and pretending to be deep.
I can imagine your expression when you read this. You will purse your lips and think to yourself: I am glad to be able to embroider for you. You still complain about your poor craftsmanship. I don’t complain about your poor handwriting. But you will then gently stroke the ends of your hair by your ears, which is something you often do. Maybe your cheeks will even show a little blush. This other side of you may only be seen by me.
The battle to attack Shu is about to begin. This battle is of great importance. In order to stabilize the situation in the Great Zhou, I don't want to disappoint you.
Guo Shao scribbled a densely packed small regular script. After thinking for a while, he realized that this letter could not be sent out. If he sent someone to deliver it to the palace, it would not be safe. If someone saw it, he would be asking for trouble. He had no choice but to put it away, and it became a self-entertaining letter that could not be sent out.
In Chengdu Prefecture, news of war came again. Xingzhou Qingniling and other places once again reported that they were attacked by the Zhou army; in the east, Kuizhou reported that the Jingnan Kingdom surrendered and the Zhou army had occupied Jiangling.
This time it doesn't seem like they're trying to scare people, both groups are coming together and the noise is so loud.
Meng Chang was frightened and his pleasure of lingering among the flowers was disturbed again. He hurriedly summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures. As usual, the court began to quarrel as soon as the ministers were together.
A minister questioned Wang Zhaoyuan: Didn't Deputy Envoy Wang say at the end of last year that Guo the blacksmith had no ambition and now he is invading from two directions. His purpose is very obvious. What do you think
Wang Zhaoyuan said: "What do you mean? Are you trying to persuade His Majesty to give up his title again? The Zhou army has already mobilized. It is useless to give up the title now."
Don't talk nonsense about titles. I am asking you now, what do you mean by claiming that the Zhou army has been kept out of the country and you can sit back and relax? The minister was aggressive.
Prime Minister Li Hao felt relieved when he saw Wang Zhaoyuan's embarrassed face, but he didn't dare to add insult to injury and help blame Wang Zhaoyuan, otherwise he would be dragged into the matter of Li Hao's family being rich enough to rival a country, keeping countless singing girls, and having written a letter of surrender.
Wang Zhaoyuan blushed and said: "To act rashly and use military force against my Great Shu, do you think you have great ambitions? Zhou Ting was forced into a dilemma. The mother and son of the young emperor could not stabilize the situation relying on a blacksmith like Guo, and their prestige was insufficient. Therefore, they urgently needed a great achievement to shock all sides, otherwise they would just sit and wait for death. That's why they jumped over the wall in desperation and made a desperate move to use military force to take down my Great Shu. Let's wait and see how the Zhou army ended up returning empty-handed. Last year's Battle of Qingniling was an example. They couldn't even break through Qingniling. How could they capture the natural barriers such as Jianmen in the north and the Three Gorges in the east?"
The Zhou Dynasty will inevitably be in civil strife after this battle. Your Majesty should organize the army and prepare for war, and leave Sichuan at the right time.
General Li Tinggui said: We must first defend the two important places. Deputy Envoy Wang is so eloquent and has put forward a strategy in front of Your Majesty. How should we defend the north and east routes? Where should we focus on
Wang Zhaoyuan paced for two steps, as if he was deep in thought, and remained silent for a while.
Li Hao said: The Eastern Route of the Zhou Army is led by the Palace Guard General Guo Shao himself. The Palace Guard has always been the most elite force of the Zhou Army. I think our army is not as strong as the Zhou Army, and we should use a multiple advantage in numbers to make up for the weakness. We should concentrate our main forces in the east, first defend the Three Gorges Kuizhou, and then gather heavy troops in Dongchuan to block the Eastern Route Army. The Northern Route Zhou Army is a detachment, mainly garrison troops. Even if they break through the Bashan Mountains and go deep into Mianzhou, our army can rush to help nearby.
Wang Zhaoyuan sneered and said: Prime Minister Li is right. Instead of setting up troops to defend the dangerous place of Bashan and Jianmen, he wants to let the Zhou army fight on the plain of Xichuan.
Li Hao said: If Deputy Envoy Wang has any insightful ideas, please share them with us.
Wang Zhaoyuan seemed to have figured out a solution. He was very calm at this time and said calmly: Eight words can defeat the Zhou Dynasty army.
Meng Chang's curiosity was aroused, and he asked anxiously: Which eight characters
Defend everywhere and win by surprise. Wang Zhaoyuan bowed and said, "The reinforcements are divided into two routes, relying on the terrain to defend layer by layer, and keep the Zhou army out of the country. Why does Dongchuan need a large number of troops? Gao Yanchou is not in Kuizhou. Your Majesty, send another force to reinforce. With the natural barrier of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and the strong city of Kuizhou, it is enough to keep the enemy out. When defending, Shu relies on the terrain. The troops should be divided into various dangerous places to resist step by step. When the Zhou army is not acclimatized to the local climate and the soldiers and horses are exhausted, then send troops to defeat them in one fell swoop."
Meng Chang pondered for a moment and felt that Li Hao's statement was unreliable. He actually wanted to weaken the northern route and open up Mianyang, the closest to Chengdu. Once Mianyang was lost, Chengdu would be directly under the city gates; in comparison, Dongchuan was even farther away, and there were many important towns along the way. Meng Chang really didn't see the brilliance of Li Hao's strategy, so he said: I think Deputy Envoy Wang's strategy is more reliable, and we should rely on the terrain to defend in dangerous places. But our army cannot act rashly and take risks with important places.
Wang Zhaoyuan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, when defending a city, you can also seize the opportunity to attack from outside the city. Simply defending the city is not a good idea. From time to time, we should destroy a group of enemy troops to weaken their strength, so that it will be easier to defend. Attack and defense complement each other's strengths and weaknesses."
Li Hao urged urgently: Your Majesty, do not listen to Deputy Envoy Wang's words. No matter how dangerous the mountains and rivers are, we still need to use troops to fight. Dividing troops is a taboo. Moreover, continuous resistance and continuous defeats will affect the morale of the entire army, which is not worth the loss.
Meng Chang didn't get any attention for a while, and soon the quarrel broke out in the court again.