On the one hand, Southern Tang agreed to the Shu envoys that it was willing to contain the Zhou army in the east; on the other hand, it had no intention of making any move at all.
The prince and his wife were summoned by their father and attended the family dinner that day. Li Yu was originally loved by his father, and he was trusted more during this period. The father and son had a very good relationship; his wife Zhou Xian was also appreciated by the king before she could marry Li Yu. For a while, the dining room was warm and affectionate, and it was a very harmonious family dinner.
The palace was magnificent and comfortable, with delicacies from land and sea and fine wines. Even the palace maids who served wine were dressed in beautiful silks.
But when Li Jing, the king of the country, looked at the things on the table, he suddenly sighed: Huainan was defeated and the country was in civil strife. People criticized me for being content with pleasure and not striving for progress, which led to my failure. I am really old.
Li Yu immediately said: Father has not grown old, nor has he changed. He is still the king who conquered Min and Chu back then.
The king shook his head and said: Of course you would say that, you are just comforting your father out of loyalty and filial piety.
What I said is not empty words. It is not the father who has changed, but the situation. Li Yu said calmly that when the Southern Tang Kingdom was expanding its territory, the world praised the father because the opponents faced by the Southern Tang Kingdom were weaker at that time. Zhou Shizong worked hard to govern a powerful lord, and our country was defeated, so the world criticized the father. If the opponent in Huainan was Minchu, would the father still lose
When the king heard this, he nodded slightly, obviously agreeing with his son's words.
Li Yu looked at it and said: This is a different time, but people always judge heroes by the results. The Zhou court's attack on Shu is a forced adventure. The Central Plains is in turmoil. Wait for the right time, and my father will send troops to recover Huainan and annex Jingnan. Isn't it a way to regain its glory
The king's mood was immediately provoked by Li Yu, and his decadent mood was swept away. He said seriously: Do you really think that the Zhou army will be defeated by Shu
Even Zhou Xian, who was sitting next to him, was infected by her husband's positive and high-spirited temperament at the moment, and cast a respectful look at him.
Li Yu said: As I said, the Zhou court was taking a risk by launching this war. I went to Tokyo last year and saw along the way that the Zhou court had a declining population and the people were suffering, but they had more soldiers and horses than other countries, and the situation was almost unsustainable; in addition, the heroic ruler Zhou Shizong passed away, and the superiors lacked prestige and their position was unstable. As soon as the new king took the throne, the two Lis rebelled. Although they were quickly suppressed, the problem was still far from being solved. In such a dilemma, the Zhou court hoped to plunder other countries and take shortcuts to solve the problem in one fell swoop.
He continued: If Guangsha, which was already in a precarious situation, suffered a defeat in Shu, the problems of the Zhou court would escalate sharply. When they were unable to take care of themselves due to the internal strife, my father would take advantage of the emptiness of Huainan and find an excuse to recapture it, strengthen his strength and march to the frontier. It might be possible to achieve great things.
The king was slightly excited and said: The ministers all say that you have no military or political talent.
Li Yu hurriedly said: I am the one who understands my father's painstaking efforts the most.
Zhou Xian looked at the father and son with relief, but she always had a hunch that Guo Shao would not be defeated so easily, perhaps because he had left such a deep impression on her in Tokyo.
At this time, in the Wu Gorge Valley, Guo Shao was on a boat looking at the Shu army fortifications on the shore. Suddenly, a burst of stone cannons flew over, but the range was a little short, and they fell into the river, splashing white water.
The general advised: This place is too close to the Shu army, my lord, please go back first.
Guo Shao nodded, and his subordinate ordered the helmsman to turn around and return downstream.
Zuo You often followed Guo Shao, and the two of them often chatted even on the battlefield. At this time, Zuo You took advantage of the boat to return and said: Yesterday, the lord said that he wanted to be safe. Today, he risked his life regardless of the cannonballs. Why
The ancients' thinking was quite different. When Guo Shao and Zuo You talked about safety, they could understand the literal meaning; but when it came to the word "sense of security", he didn't know how to explain it. However, when Guo Shao met Zuo You, he was still a general, so they were really close. Usually, the relationship was between an aide and a good friend, so Guo Shao was still willing to communicate with him.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment, and seeing that Zuo You was listening attentively, he said: I am not afraid of being hit by a cannon arrow due to bad luck. Sometimes feeling insecure is a state of mind. When you are in a low mood, you are always worried that something will go wrong and cause serious consequences. At that time, you will not feel safe. Soldiers are the way of life and death, and any war will involve risks, not to mention that the road to Shu is dangerous and difficult.
However, I feel that I am in good physical condition and have high morale. The soldiers are also very capable. We have our own strength and are constantly moving forward. Naturally, we don't have to worry about anything. It is not a good thing to think too much at this time. Guo Shao smiled and said: What we should think about is what we want after we get Shu and how to satisfy our wishes.
They both lowered their heads to think about what they wanted, then looked up at each other and laughed. Guo Shao smiled and said: The scenery ahead is better.
At this time, the ship had just docked, and generals such as Shi Yanchao and Yang Biao were welcoming them on the shore. They saw Guo Shao and Zuo You laughing, so Yang Biao said loudly: "Brother, you came back from inspecting the camp and were chatting and laughing with Zuo You. You must have thought of a way to break through the defense."
Guo Shao said: Let’s go to the central military camp and talk.
The vanguard and the generals of the central army were summoned to the camp in the valley. Guo Shao said directly: The fortifications of the Shu army in the front are, after all, a row of earthen forts. They build forts on high ground and dig wide trenches in front. Our army's frontal attack is the same as siege. The vanguard Dong Zunhui's siege equipment is simple, and due to the terrain restrictions, they can only attack from one place. The Shu army on the opposite side has dense forces, so it is naturally difficult to break through.
Guo Shao took out a map and stood among the soldiers. Everyone was confused. Guo Shao knew that he didn't draw it well, so he explained: This is a deep ditch, and behind it is a fortress. There are two layers of arrow holes, and the top is a nun wall. The Shu army is defended by dense infantry; there seems to be a hiding cave on the side of the mountain for the defenders to hide from our army's weapons. There are also a large number of stone cannons at the back of the Shu army. The navy from the Suojiang floating bridge may come down the river to counterattack our navy at any time.
Dong Zunhui's troops attacked from a narrow front and were first killed by stone cannons and arrows. When they reached the fort, they built a wooden bridge and ladder, and finally some soldiers rushed up the parapet, but they had to face dense infantry in a row. You should know what the result was when a small number of people went up in a disorderly manner to face the infantry row.
Guo Shaodao: But this kind of fortification is different from a city. The advantage is that it is only a short fortress, which is conducive to the concentration of troops by the defenders. The disadvantage is also obvious. It is a temporary construction and is not as high as the city wall. It can only rely on digging wide trenches to detain the attacking troops and horses; it also limits its own mobility and is in a passive defense situation. Gunpowder can break it.
When the generals heard about using gunpowder, they immediately gained more confidence, because Guo Shao had done a great job in using gunpowder to blow up the city in Shouzhou.
Guo Shao laughed and said: Li Jixun wanted to learn from me to blow up the city when he attacked Jinzhou, but he failed. Today I will use that thing to explode. After that, we need elite troops to seize the opportunity to attack fiercely. We don’t need many soldiers, but we need elite generals to lead the way.
After saying this, Yang Biao immediately stepped forward to ask for a fight:
Shi Yanchao slapped his thigh, stood up, and said with squinted eyes: I'd better go and teach the younger generation how to lead troops.
Dong Zunhui hadn't scored an inch in the past few days, and he looked ashamed when he heard this. Yesterday, Shi Yanchao said: Wait until the forwards can't play, then he should play, as if this will make him more powerful.
Second brother and General Shi are not suitable. Your positions are too high. It is a bit of a loss of status to lead hundreds of people to fight. Guo Shao's words made the two speechless. He turned to look at Dong Zunhui: "Doctor Dong, are you willing to try again?"
Shi Yanchao immediately said: No, then no, why did Inspector Guo have to make him go through all the trouble
Guo Shao ignored Shi Yanchao and looked at the young Dong Zunhui with encouragement: Get up from where you suffered a loss.
Uncle Dong Zunhui was touched by these words, and immediately knelt on one knee and said, "My nephew is willing to go. If he fails this time, I will tie myself up in front of the army and let you deal with me."
There is no joking in the army. Guo Shao said seriously, there are only officers here, no uncles.
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