There were no signs of human habitation among the rolling green hills. As the evening approached, darkness gradually descended, and the rain continued as if the whole world was shrouded in this gloom. The mountains were still mountains, endless, with no exit, as if in the distant ancient times.
Ah Lang is sick, his forehead is so hot. Why don't you go and see him? Jingniang suddenly opened the curtain of the tent and said to Lu Xiaoniang. Jingniang, who usually had a cold expression, now had a panic in her eyes.
Lu Xiaoniang had no way of refusing, so she turned to Bai Lao and said, "Aunt San, I'll go see Marshal Guo."
Lu Xiaoniang followed Jingniang out, and they lived in the area of the Central Army Headquarters. After a while, they entered the tent where Guo Shao lived. Lu Xiaoniang bent over and walked in. Fortunately, there was firewood in the stove to light the room. As expected, Guo Shao was lying on a bed on a pile of branches and straw, sleeping. Lu Xiaoniang went up to take a look and saw that his face was red and his lips were black. She reached out and touched Guo Shao's forehead, then turned back to Jingniang and others and said: General Guo is not injured, right
Jingniang said: Apart from Zhou Jun, I didn't see a single person, so of course I wasn't hurt.
He must have caught a cold. Lu Xiaoniang reached out and opened Guo Shao's eyelids.
At this time Guo Shao turned over in a daze and murmured: Sister Jinzhan, Jingniang turned around and said to Lu Chengyong and others: You go out first and let Doctor Lu see Alang.
Yes. The two men followed Jingniang's instructions and left the tent.
Guo Shao said in a daze again: I'm so tired.
"Help me get the lamp," said Lu Xiaoniang. Jingniang brought a copper lamp with a candle to illuminate it. Lu Xiaoniang looked at Guo Shaoyi and saw that he looked sick, lying on the branches and thatch. He looked so desolate and fragile that she felt pity for him.
At the beginning of last year, he defeated thousands of powerful Liao cavalry in a battle in Hebei. Guo Tiejiang, known as the Bloody Hand Butcher, was the most powerful warrior in the Zhou Dynasty. Now he is sick and so fragile that he is no different from an ordinary person.
With the help of the light, Lu Xiaoniang pinched open Guo Shao's mouth to look at his tongue coating.
At this time, Guo Shao woke up and stared at the person in front of him with confused eyes. After a while, his eyes regained their brilliance. Lu Xiaoniang's eyes met hers. Facing such a fragile patient, her tone became much gentler, as if it was a female instinct. She opened her mouth and let me see her tongue.
She took one look and immediately said: I understand.
Guo Shao turned to look at Jing Niang: Has the rain stopped
Jingniang said: Not yet.
Guo Shao asked again: Li Gu sent someone to deliver food
Jingniang said: No, neither.
Lu Xiaoniang felt that the sick should be comforted the most, so she said softly: "General Guo, don't think about anything, just take a rest, it's okay, don't worry." As expected, Guo Shao's eyes showed a little touch of emotion.
At this moment, Jingniang said in a bad tone: Just treat the disease, why are you talking about those useless things
Lu Xiaoniang was not angry and did not argue with her. She took a look at Jingniang's towering breasts and thought about other things. She wondered why they were so tall and not collapsed. Did she have any secret recipe to maintain them
Lu Xiaoniang silently picked out some cloth-wrapped medicinal herbs from her bag, weighed them with a small beam scale, opened the lid of the pot on the stove, and busied herself with boiling the medicine.
Guo Shao sat up, and Lu Xiaoniang came over to cover him with a blanket. The swelling on her face had gone down, and she was now a fair and pretty girl. Looking at her hairline, he felt an indescribable warmth and beauty. Guo Shao felt that he was particularly easily moved for some reason. Such a small thing as her covering him with a blanket could also make ripples in his heart.
His heart softened. It was indeed miraculous that Nuwa created two kinds of people. There were some things he was unwilling to reveal in front of his fellow soldiers, even his most trusted sworn brothers who had lived and died together. But in front of this woman who he had only met twice and did not have a deep friendship with, he did not want to disguise himself at all.
The warm flame flickered in the stone. Lu Xiaoniang sat quietly in the rough and dim tent, looking back at him from time to time. Every time their eyes met, they felt very good. Jing Niang also observed the two of them silently but carefully. She seemed a little unhappy. What did she say before? How could the master not be greedy? But the reason was just the reason.
Guo Shao didn't mind Jingniang's jealousy, but he couldn't blame himself for flirting with women. He had no intention of doing anything, but it was normal for him to be a little moved when he saw a woman like Lu Xiaoniang who made him feel warm. It wasn't that he would change his nature and suddenly hate beautiful women just because he was thinking about her. Many times people would not go further just because of the constraints of rules or rational considerations.
Guo Shao had a headache, his body was alternating between hot and cold, his mouth was bitter, and his body still felt very uncomfortable, but he felt much better in his heart.
This sound was the wind whistling in the valley. Guo Shao calmed down and listened to the sound outside.
Lu Xiaoniang seemed to particularly enjoy listening to him talk. She immediately turned her head and looked at him, with the light of firewood flashing in her eyes. Guo Shao sat there and sighed: It was like an ancient voice, telling
He didn't care whether Lu Xiaoniang and Jing Niang could understand him or not, and said in a low voice: The army that has won every battle, the hero holding the sword of war, is actually just as insignificant between heaven and earth. A small rain can put people in a dilemma and put them in trouble.
Guo Shao fell into an emotion from which he could not extricate himself.
Lu Xiaoniang then slowly said: People say that Marshal Guo is the most powerful general in the Zhou court. Can't people in high positions ask others to do things for you? If you feel tired, why don't you leave this place and hand over the work to your subordinates
Guo Shao forced a smile and thought: If I had relied on others to conquer Shu, who would have gotten the credit and prestige
He said vaguely: You were right, people always want too much. But once you enter the game, you will either advance or retreat, so it is not so easy to give in and not so willing to let go of what you could have gotten. People don't want too much, they are too easily addicted.
In the evening and in the firelight, listening to the sound of the wind in the valley, Guo Shao spoke as if he was making a witty remark, but he couldn't say directly that he wanted to accumulate merit and prestige and become emperor.
That way, no one can threaten him casually and his fate will not be controlled by others at will. This is what the world wants. The reason why warlords have their own troops is that they don't want the court to dare to touch them casually. But in fact, just being a warlord will always be regarded as a threat by others and threatened by the court at all times.
The road still needs to go on. No matter how much you have, if you don't want to lose everything, you have to keep going because you have already entered the game and there is no way to get out by winning.
But Guo Shao suddenly asked: What happened to Zhang Liang and Fan Li later
Before Lu Xiaoniang could take over the conversation, she heard a burst of voices outside. Not long after, a group of civil and military officials opened the curtain and walked in. Yang Biao asked first: I heard that my eldest brother was sick and there was a strong smell of medicine.
When Zuo You saw Guo Shao's look, he stepped forward and advised: My lord, why don't you go back to Wushan County first.
All the generals were silent after hearing this, and they all looked at Guo Shao who was sitting on the bed wrapped in a quilt. Zuo You said in a deep voice: My lord is an important person in the court of the Great Zhou Dynasty. For the sake of the overall situation, you should take your health as the most important thing.
The gentle and relaxed expression on Guo Shao's face disappeared. He spoke slowly. Although his tone was soothing, there was no hesitation or pause. There was also a very ugly smile on his face: It rained a little the day before yesterday, and a little cold is nothing.
Everyone felt relieved when they heard him cursing.
Guo Shao said again: "I have already said that we must take Kuizhou this time. I have made up my mind. Anyone who talks about retreating will be punished with 20 sticks.
As a result, no one mentioned the issue of withdrawing the troops anymore. Seeing that Guo Shao looked sick, everyone dispersed after talking for a while.
Guo Shao sat there and rubbed his temples, feeling his head swelling, dizzy and painful. Seeing this, Jing Niang said unhappily: "What are these warriors talking about now?"
My brothers are concerned about my life or death. Guo Shaodao, bring my package here, it's not the one with clothes, there are a lot of papers in it.
It has been raining for three days. Guo Shao rubbed his forehead for a while, took out a map from his bag, looked at the lines on it, and tried to focus on the surrounding situation.
Indeed, people's thinking is greatly affected by their physical condition. Guo Shao could easily figure out the connections between various places before, but now he was confused for a long time, and he was worried but couldn't let go. He looked and talked to himself to help him think: Now it depends on whether Dong Zunhui can break through the Qutang Gorge. The logic should be like this: If Dong Zunhui can break through the Qutang Gorge, as long as the navy passes through the Yangtze River, the military rations can be transported by water to the dock near Kuizhou; on our side, we can go down this road, besiege Kuizhou, and rely on water transportation for supplies.
Guo Shao shook his head again and said: Dong Zunhui has not been able to break through the river defense for many days, so he took the trouble to build a plank road. If I put all my hopes on Qutang Gorge, it will be very unreliable. What should I do? Oh, there is still one hope, it will be fine once the rain stops.
Jingniang advised: Alang, why don't you take a nap, the rain will stop after a nap. Why can't you let go all of a sudden? You are thinking that the rain will last for ten days or half a month, and you don't think that it will stop soon.
Guo Shao said: I am panicking. He once again discovered that he was not a strong man like a tyrant, and his psychological quality was not very good.
It's all caused by illness, it will be fine tomorrow, ah. Jing Niang didn't know why she suddenly spoke very gently, talking to him like she was coaxing a child.
At this time, Lu Xiaoniang came over with the medicine and said: Drink it, it is made of ordinary herbs, but it is quite useful. Guo Shao took it and took a big sip, smacking his lips: This taste is very familiar. This is the medicine that Zhuozhou drank. Lu Xiaoniang really got your father's true teachings.
Lu Xiaoniang said softly: After such a long time, how do you still remember the taste
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said calmly: "I seldom get sick and take little medicine, so I remember it." He then poured the bitter medicine with a slight sweet aftertaste into his stomach in one breath.
The wind blew up the curtain at the entrance of the tent, and the raindrops reflected in the firelight, making them extremely clear. It was still raining outside, and the wind and rain made it dark.