The climate south of the Yangtze River is quite different from that of the Central Plains. It has been raining for several days since September this year. The Western Capital of Jinling is shrouded in a drizzle, and the scenery of the imperial palace has become blurred in the rain, just like an old painting that is not very clear; the low sound of rain is pervasive, and there is no place that is truly quiet.
Zhou Ehuang hid in the side room of the study because Li Yu had to meet a guest temporarily.
The sound of rain interfered with Li Yu's conversation with the guest, and sometimes it was difficult to hear clearly. The guest's accent was also a bit difficult to understand, as it was from the Wuyue region.
The gray sky, the damp air, the suppressed conversations, the environment affected Zhou Xian's mood. She inexplicably felt that this place was full of the smell of conspiracy.
Li Yu's voice said: "Envoy Cui should know the truth that the lips and teeth are cold. Now the Zhou court has annexed Shu and conquered Wuping, and has the momentum to advance to the south of the Yangtze River; if the Southern Tang Kingdom does not exist, how can the Wuyue Kingdom be spared?"
The man named Cui Shijun said something in a gibberish, and Zhou Xian didn't understand half of it in the ear room. It seemed to mention that the current Wuyue King Qian Hongchu was supported as king because of a coup. Zhou Xian knew about that. The former king of Wuyue wanted to weaken the military generals, and was arrested by the coup, so Qian Hongchu was able to come to power.
The ruler and his ministers of Wu Yue and Southern Tang were sworn enemies, and it was impossible for them to persuade their colleagues to rescue Southern Tang. What that person said was quite clear. This time I came here to tell the king an important news.
Li Yu's voice said: What news
The voice of Cui Shijun said: The Great Zhou sent a general named Cao Bin to Qiantang Hangzhou with an imperial edict, asking Wuyue to prepare for an attack on Southern Tang.
Then Li Yu's tone changed completely, and it was obvious that his emotions were affected.
When Zhou Xian heard this, he knew that the Great Zhou's attack on Southern Tang would soon be implemented, otherwise it would be useless for the Zhou court to issue an edict to Wu Yue to attack Southern Tang alone.
Soon, the conversation outside gradually died down. Zhou Xian waited for a while, then walked out of the ear room and saw Li Yu sitting alone on a chair, rubbing his forehead with his palm. Zhou Xian asked: What do you want to do
Li Yu said with a sad face: The upper reaches of the Yangtze River have been lost, and Wu Yue is in the middle.
Zhou Xian sighed and asked quietly: Has anyone ever advised the king to present a memorial
Li Yu immediately shook his head and said, "The Wuyue Qian family has always served the Central Plains country. They can surrender, but our Li family surrendered but ended up losing the throne. What else do I have left to endure humiliation in a foreign country?"
Zhou Xian was silent.
After a long time, Li Yu stood up and said: "I will discuss state affairs with the ministers first. My mother has mentioned Zhou Ermei many times recently. I miss her and want to bring her to the palace in two days."
Zhou Xian felt a little panicked after hearing this. She could only say: The Queen Mother loves my second sister, which is a great favor to the Zhou family.
Li Yu said: "Ehuang and I will go to the dinner with our mother tonight. Are you interested in dancing for her?"
Zhou Xian shook his head and said: "The world is not peaceful, I really don't have the heart to think about it. Your Majesty and I will go together to pay respects to the Queen Mother and fulfill our courtesy."
That's good, Li Yu sighed, I still remember that year, my father decided to betroth you to me, and you performed a dance in the palace and amazed everyone. Who would have thought that it would become like this after a few years.
After saying this, Li Yu stood up and left.
Zhou Xian was still in a trance when he mentioned those years. Many years ago, she had a lot of expectations for this life. Born into a wealthy family and beautiful and waiting to be married, she was inevitably very ambitious. She practiced music, chess, calligraphy, painting, music and dance diligently, just like a peerless master who practiced in the mountains, waiting to come out of the mountains to become an emperor. Naturally, she wanted to get the emperor's love. She thought that the days ahead would be very exciting.
Who would have thought that as time went by, life would become so boring and uneasy.
Zhou Xian walked to the mirror, looked at the very beautiful face in it, and thought to himself: How could I live such a boring and empty life.
The sky outside the window was gray, and rain was drifting outside the house. The air inside the house was also damp and cold. The light in the daytime was gloomy and dim, and even the bright yellow and red curtains looked a little old. The beauty in the bronze mirror was as beautiful as jade, but her eyes were lonely and stagnant. Zhou Xian felt that she was as cold as a ghost in a grave. She felt that there was no fun in this world.
But at this time in Tokyo Daliang it was a clear and crisp autumn day with very dry weather and bright sunshine.
With a snap, an arrow quickly nailed to the wooden board a hundred steps away, and the feathers at the tail trembled with the buzzing force. Guo Shao saw that he had hit the bull's eye and breathed a sigh of relief.
Dong Zunhui was the first to cheer, and then the soldiers on the parade ground followed suit. For a while, there were endless flattery and all kinds of compliments.
Guo Shao was very calm about such a scene. Like ordinary people, he would feel very happy when he was recognized by others. However, after a long time, he would lose interest in such ordinary compliments because he had heard them too many times.
Guo Shao turned around and smiled at the soldiers watching, then slowly took another arrow. After the first arrow hit the target, he felt less nervous and a sense of satisfaction surged in his heart.
I talked to Dong Zunhui before. Dong Zunhui hoped that his uncle would spend more time with Gao. From his attitude, it was clear that he didn't care about his mother's affairs. This made Guo Shao feel that Gao's matter was not that serious. The person who was most likely to find out the reason for Gao's pregnancy and rest was Dong Zunhui; now it seemed that even if he found out, it would not matter.
The training ground was made of mud, and the air was filled with dust, which affected the vision a little. Guo Shao held the bow and arrow, squinting his eyes to feel the distance between himself and the target.
It is not easy to hit the target from a hundred steps away. Guo Shao remembered that the archery competition in the Olympics was only a few dozen meters away, not to mention that the bows and arrows used in the Olympics were completely different from the bows and arrows used in ancient times. The two stone bows in Guo Shao's hand first required an extraordinary brute force, otherwise they would not be able to be pulled open; secondly, they needed to be accurate, which depended entirely on the feeling. It was difficult to make a stable aiming device for the shooting method of bows and arrows, and accuracy depended entirely on skill practice.
Hitting the target from 100 steps away is just a legend to most people. Accurate shooting can only be done by direct shooting. The bow that can shoot directly from 100 steps away must be at least as strong as the one in Guo Shao's hand. The wind direction from the outside world will affect the feel of the bowstring, and the shaking of one's hands, vision, and the timing of each movement will also affect the result.
In such a demanding sport, successfully hitting the target is an indirect proof of one's good condition. This is also one of the reasons why Guo Shao can't give up archery.
He felt like an ambitious hunter.
He silently said in his heart: I no longer have any psychological loopholes and entanglements. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I am not betraying. The people he cares about, Jinzhan's second sister, Li Yuaner, Yulian and even Gao, their dignity, safety, future and entire life are pinned on him; in this chaotic world, only men can support the dreams that people weave.
Victory, the dream of invincibility, will become the cornerstone of rebuilding the chaotic world.
I am no longer afraid. I will be free to do whatever I want. I believe I have the ability to take charge of this world.
Guo Shao reached out and touched the bow that always brought him good luck, an old waist ornament with crooked embroidery. He finally pulled the bowstring, the whole action was from loose to tight, smooth and skillful. The violence of pulling the two-stone bow made the bow body tighten and make a sound, and the atmosphere at this time alone attracted everyone's attention.
Sheng Guo Shao shouted as the strings sounded.
With a snap, the arrow pierced into the distant wooden board again, and the board was pierced twice with great force, splitting in the middle.
There was another uproar around, and the generals and soldiers looked at Guo Shao with awe. In the army, archery was the most important martial art to test whether a soldier was elite. As long as he could draw a strong bow, he would pass the selection immediately; Guo Shao's performance proved that he was a strong warrior in the most intuitive and simple way.
Guo Shao also felt that he had entered his best condition.
In the noisy atmosphere, Lu Chengyong came on horseback, dismounted, clasped his fists and said: My lord, the guest envoy Zan Jurun is asking to see you outside the camp gate.
Zan Jurun Guo Shao thought for a moment, and the first thing that came to his mind was the appearance of a helmet, because the helmet currently equipped was the style that Zan Jurun suggested to improve. He didn't think much about it, and just said with his own consciousness and willingness, "Take it to the lobby of the camp, I will come later."
Guo Shao threw the bow and quiver in his hand to Dong Zunhui, then rode his black horse slowly towards a group of buildings at the edge of the parade ground.
In the lobby, I met Zan Jurun, a fair-skinned civil servant in his thirties, who was actually very familiar with Guo Shao. During the reign of the previous emperor, he served as a military supervisor for Guo Shao's troops many times, responsible for monitoring unusual movements in the army; during the Tokyo mutiny, he was also detained by Guo Shao. Anyway, Zan Jurun and Zuo You and others were not of the same kind.
Zan Jurun stood up from his chair, looking exhausted, and impatiently took out a roll of paper and presented it to him. Guo Shao reached out and grabbed it, and asked casually: What is this
Topographic map of Caishiji. Zan Jurun Road.
Guo Shao was stunned. He was very familiar with the word Caishiji because he had been thinking about that place recently. A ferry crossing west of Jinling, because military books recorded many battles of crossing the Yangtze River in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, all from this place; Guo Shao thought that the ancients had some ideas, and this place must have its advantages, so he recently looked up a lot of files.
Why did Envoy Zan think of presenting the map? Where did it come from? Guo Shao asked.
Zan Jurun said: At the beginning, Li Chuyun, the commander of Li Du, was ordered to attack Zhou Xingfeng. Wasn't it for the purpose of attacking Southern Tang? I thought that Marshal Guo would want to know the situation here one day, so I took the opportunity to go there on official business.
Ha Guoshao was immediately happy and patted him on the shoulder. "I locked you up for several days last year, but Envoy Zan didn't hold a grudge against me. Let me take a look at the picture first."