It was snowing. The snow in the south of the Yangtze River was a little moist because the temperature was not low enough. The tiny snowflakes did not float in the air but fell down slowly. It did not look so melodious but seemed urgent and impatient.
Wang Pu had just crossed the Yangtze River and was standing next to Guo Shao. The two of them silently admired the snow in the sky and the winter plums on the roadside. But neither of them had any poetic and leisurely mood. Being in the enemy country, in the war environment day after day, it seemed that no one could have any leisurely mood.
Guo Shao deliberately observed the wintersweets on the roadside. The small white petals with red petals looked very delicate. They fell into the mud on the roadside in the snow and wind before they fully bloomed. His eyesight was very good. He saw the color of the stamens and petals in the flowers and their slight trembling in the cold wind. The scene in front of him was like a macro camera carefully presenting the scene.
Over the years, he really hadn't looked at a branch of wintersweet or even other flowers and plants so carefully, let alone in his current impatient mood. It was the same in the past. Guo Shao had to pay attention to more things, things related to survival and life, and plum blossoms really had no impact on his life. At most, when he saw them by chance, he would think: Hey, this flower is so beautiful. That's all.
The plum blossom reminded him of a person and some things, so he inexplicably fell into a faint mood.
And that person, I will see him soon. In what kind of scene will we meet again, and what identity and attitude should I take to face him
Guo Shao let out a long breath, raised his head and looked into the distance. In the hazy snow and wind at the foot of the hill, several long black dragons were slowly crawling in the endless wilderness. They were the Zhou army's troops on land, and countless people were heading north to Jiangning Prefecture, the capital of the Southern Tang Dynasty.
This place has so many people, yet it seems quiet and ethereal. History has embarked on a path of no return, but Guo Shao believes that everything he has done is right for the sake of the living people he knows and can imagine, and for the future generations who will be born and live here.
Guo Shao did not think that he was a genius or a man with talent beyond everyone in the world; but he had something beyond the world, so he had a hidden power. In this familiar land, when he stood on a high hill, he always felt that he had the responsibility to point out a direction for his people, a road to the sun, even if this road was still full of blood and killing.
Are we doing something big? Guo Shao turned his head and glanced at Wang Pu, and finally spoke.
Wang Pu retracted his eager gaze and said seriously: It is a major event that will go down in history.
Guo Shao nodded calmly and said: It's windy here, be careful not to catch a cold if you stand for a long time, let's go down the mountain first.
So the group began to go down the mountain road. In this weather and road conditions, they dared not ride horses. Lu Chengyong walked behind and led Guo Shao's black horse. Along the way, Guo Shao said, "Slow down, Wang Shijun." Looking at the road under their feet, it was a bit slippery due to the snow. The two of them looked like good friends who had known each other for generations.
At this time Guo Shao brought up the previous topic again: We are doing a big thing, but at this moment it feels like nothing special, just like we just came out for a walk, a look and a chat today; it is nothing like what is recorded in history books.
Wang Pu smiled and said: History is written in the style of the Spring and Autumn Period, so it naturally won't write about how we eat, how we walk, and how we appreciate plum blossoms and snow.
Guo Shaodao: I think that history is like a specimen, and we are alive, so there will be some differences.
Specimen Wang Pu looked puzzled.
Guo Shao was about to explain, when a small plum blossom petal floated over. He quickly grabbed it, held it in front of Wang Pu and said, "This is a flower that just fell from the tree. If you put it in a book and look at it next year to see what it looks like, it will be a specimen."
Wang Pu suddenly realized what was going on, and after a moment he seemed to be thinking about something. Guo Shao looked at him calmly, thinking that these civil servants who could reach high positions had very high comprehension.
After the group came down the mountain, the road was wide, so they mounted their horses and rode slowly back to the central army. The army marched on the main road, and the main roads in the plains were very wide. On the left were four rows of infantry or cavalry and mounted infantry with horses; in the middle were horse-drawn and donkey-drawn carts, and there was a gap on the right for the rapid transmission of information from front to back, or for damaged vehicles to temporarily stop, so as not to affect the march of the entire army. In ancient times, there were no traffic rules for cars, but people still organized the crowd in an orderly manner.
At that time, a knight came galloping from the right side of the road. The knight looked up at the tall flag of the central army, slowed down his horse, jumped off the horse, said a few words to the general of the central army, and led the horse towards Guo Shao.
When Guo Shao heard General Cao's report, he spurred his horse to the right, took the military report from the messenger, and opened it to read.
After browsing through it, he caught up with a large carriage of the central army, abandoned his horse and got on. Not long after, Wang Pu, Zuo You, Li Chuyun, Shi Yanchao and others also got on the carriage. Guo Shao handed the report in his hand to Wang Pu, and took out two maps from the package under the chair.
Wang Pu read it and said: The ruler of Wuyue dispatched troops from Suzhou, Zhongwu, and followed Cao Bin's advice. He led the army by land and water along the Grand Canal, bluffing and heading straight for Changzhou; and then deployed the elite troops in the east. The Jiangyin defenders of the Southern Tang Kingdom really went out to rescue Changzhou, but were ambushed by the Wuyue army halfway and were defeated and almost wiped out. The elite troops of Wuyue took advantage of the opportunity to capture Jiangyin and besieged Changzhou.
Guo Shao picked up the brush and licked it on his tongue, then drew arrows and circles on the picture and wrote a few words on the booklet.
Li Chuyun said: Changzhou is the southern gateway of Jingkou. If Changzhou is captured, we can go straight to Runzhou Zhenjiang Jingkou Water Fort along the canal, which will surely terrify the Southern Tang army in Runzhou and even Jiangning Prefecture. The strategy of making a feint to the east and attacking the west that General Guo had set before was to distract the attention of Jiangning Prefecture and put pressure on the capital of Southern Tang, with the goal of attacking the Southern Tang navy in Jingkou. The movement of the Wuyue army this time is of great benefit to the general, so I suggest sending an envoy to the Wuyue army to commend its commander.
Wang Pudao: I agree with General Li’s proposal. The Great Zhou army is short of manpower, and the Wuyue army’s march north is a timely help.
Guo Shao turned to look at Zuo You, and Zuo You said: Cao Bin did not lead the troops this time, but his contribution to the mission to Wuyue was not small.
Guo Shao nodded, licked the tip of the pen again and wrote two words, then looked at Shi Yanchao again. Shi Yanchao glanced at Li Chuyun and snorted: What can I say? Anyway, these people above are all Marshal Guo’s men. You can do whatever you say. Has the method I said been used
The faces of the people present changed. Shi Yanchao's words were sometimes really harsh. Several people looked sideways, silently paying attention to Guo Shao's reaction.
Guo Shao held the brush, looked down at the wooden floor in silence for a while, and finally raised his head to look directly at Shi Yanchao. Shi Yanchao was really bold and did not avoid Guo Shao's gaze at all. Guo Shao's heart was sincere, and he believed that his eyes were also sincere at this time, because isn't it said that eyes are the windows to the soul
General Shi, what you said is not right, but I won’t hold it against you just because of what you say.
Where there are people, especially in power circles, there may not necessarily be factions, but there will definitely be circles, which is similar to the theory of cliques and factions by Han Yu, a master of the Tang Dynasty. We are human beings, and we have our own preferences and like-minded friends, but if we only rely on relationships to determine merits and demerits, we will fall into factional struggles.
Party strife is definitely not conducive to the whole country's strength. We are not satisfied with being rich and powerful and holding high positions. We have more dreams and great things to do. To achieve success and realize the ambitions of the whole family of Kyushu, I have to try my best to avoid internal strife, so General Shi, rest assured that I will not judge a person based on some insignificant things.
General Shi has made great contributions to the Great Zhou on many occasions, so you should have an unshakable position in the court and have room to speak. I remember what you have done for the country, which is also the only criterion for measuring a person here. I did not adopt General Shi's proposal because I think it is biased against the overall strategy, that's all.
After saying this, Guo Shao smiled and said easily: In fact, I still respect General Shi as a person in private. He is very straightforward and understands the rules of the army.
After hearing this, Shi Yanchao looked a little embarrassed. He rubbed his forehead with his hand and couldn't say a word.
At this time, Guo Shao noticed that not only Shi Yanchao, a warrior, was convinced, but also the people around him all looked at him with respect. Using Han Yu's theory of cliques as an argument could convince the civil servants of this era.
In fact, Guo Shao seemed to have read the article before but had forgotten everything. He just read it again at home in Tokyo not long ago. He is a person who is good at self-study, and this is indeed his strength that he himself recognizes.
There are some things that he only truly understood when he reached a certain position. The practice of like-minded people in later generations is still applicable to ancient times: using a bright concept to unite people's hearts is more brilliant than simply uniting to unite and attack dissidents. Guo Shao did not just treat him as a tool in his heart. He really believed that people in the world have a sunny side, and he wanted to be like that too.
While everyone was pondering Guo Shao's words, he added: General Li should order the main force of the navy on the river to follow the land army and advance towards Jiangning Prefecture to put pressure on it.
Li Chuyun clasped his fists and said: I understand.
Guo Shao then lifted the curtain and looked outside. The wheels of various vehicles made different sounds, and people's footsteps were messy and loose, but not many people were talking. The road was not easy to walk on, and after days of marching and fighting, the soldiers looked a little tired.
It was not a problem to keep warm during the daytime march. The temperature in the north was much lower than that in the south of the Yangtze River in winter. People could still adapt to the cold and would keep warm during the march. However, the wind and snow still stung the face and neck. Many soldiers wrapped dirty shoulder scarves around their necks as if they were wearing scarves.
Guo Shao watched everything carefully and remained silent for a long time.