The cold wind at night blew in through the window, and two booklets on the table were flipping through. One of them was filled with various scribbled words, mostly Guo Shao's summary of the Battle of Jingkou. In the past, war was a fight and struggle in front of him, but now war was ink written on paper.
The other booklet contains Guo Shao's specific observations on naval warfare tactics. Before this, he had never experienced a proper naval battle, so he recorded some of his experiences. In fact, he recorded a lot of things, but he almost never looked back at them after the events, nor did he organize them. Others could not understand his scribbles, but for some reason he always wanted to write them down.
Guo Shao was lying on the bed. He was a little excited and not used to the rocking of the boat, so he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Guo Shao turned over with a creak, making the wooden bedboard shake. He couldn't help but pick up the map with ink on it again to look at it. The ink filling the paper was very light, and the original lines and place names on it were still clear.
The question is, are these things mine? Can I still have the final say in what I want to do in the future
The more Guo Shao thought about it, the harder it was to fall asleep, so he got up and put on his clothes. When he left the bed, he could really feel the chill of winter, especially on the river bank. However, winter passed and spring came quickly. He thought of his wife and concubine who were already pregnant in Tokyo, so he sat down at the desk again to write a letter.
The letter to Fu Ermei was easy to write, and he could also express his concern for other family members in the letter. But Guo Shao wrote two full pages to Fu Jinzhan, but after thinking about it, he tore it up and only wrote about the progress of the war in the front, which was considered a victory report.
It was the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the New Year was approaching. However, this year's New Year was destined not to be a peaceful festival for many people. The 200,000 or 300,000 Zhou troops from all over the country would definitely not be able to go home for reunion.
Good news kept coming to Guo Shao’s central military tent.
The victory was expected, but there were also some surprises. Cao Bin led the Wuyue army to successively capture Changzhou, Runzhou, and Zhenjiang; the Nan Tang navy in Jingkou was besieged and defeated, and the losses and surrenders were countless, and it was difficult to know the number at the moment.
Han Tong, Li Chuyun, Gao Yanchou and other generals came to the Zhou army camp outside Jiangning City. Guo Shao and a few others were waiting to meet them in the camp. At this time, a general and several soldiers came with a prisoner, and behind them was a horse carrying something, which seemed to be the prisoner's horse.
Report to General Guo, this man was captured by our scouts ten miles away. He claimed to be Liu Cheng, a general of the Southern Tang Army, and came here to surrender. The general clasped his fists and said.
After hearing this, Guo Shao and the people around him were immediately drawn to the man in the middle. The man was wearing armor, but his helmet was missing, and he looked dejected.
Guo Shao stepped forward and asked: Are you really Liu Cheng
The man said: I have a seal on me. Your Excellency is the famous General Guo, the commander of the Great Zhou Army.
It is me. Guo Shao responded casually and looked at Liu Cheng again. He thought about the honorific and politeness in Liu Cheng's words, which seemed to be flattering. He thought to himself: Huangfu Jixun returned to Jiangning City after his defeat, and it is said that his whole family was slaughtered; the defeat of this guy in front of him was not as light as Huangfu Jixun's, so he came here out of fear of punishment.
However, Liu Cheng's performance in leading the Eastern Front of Southern Tang was mediocre. He first acted rashly and blindly deployed troops, which led to the loss of reinforcements in Jiangyin and an ambush, and then he lost the entire battle. Guo Shao really didn't see any outstanding performance in him in the war. No matter how high his official position in Southern Tang was, he had lost interest.
Guo Shao's attitude towards Liu Cheng was obviously much worse than Lin Renzhao's. He even said in a mocking tone: General Liu is very generous. He gave us three big cities and destroyed the entire lower reaches of the Southern Tang Kingdom. The number of soldiers lost by land and sea reached hundreds of thousands. Should I still thank you
After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter, and they didn't even try to hide their laughter.
Liu Cheng's face was uncertain and he was extremely embarrassed. In the end, he did not get angry, but said: "The defeated general deeply admires General Guo, who is a master of military tactics."
Shi Yanchao was even more disdainful after hearing this, and said coldly: Li Yu is really blind to let such a person take charge of the army. This guy is worse than a dog.
Liu Cheng's face suddenly changed, and it turned as red as pig liver. Although Guo Shao mocked him, he was still tactful. Shi Yanchao, the big man, also spoke harshly.
Shi Yanchao said again: Why don't you just die? You are so defeated and have lost so many men and you still have the nerve to live.
Guo Shao said nothing. He turned his head and looked at the vast Yangtze River in the west. Under the vast water, countless lives and national strength were lost. The man who controlled the lives of countless soldiers was living here. Guo Shao was a little unhappy, but he didn't have much anger at this time. After a while, he exhaled and stopped Shi Yanchao: Forget it, forget it. Come on, find a place to settle General Liu.
Not long after Liu Cheng was taken away, a group of military officers from the outside came into the central army camp. After greeting each other, they went to the central army tent with Guo Shao.
Almost all the generals who had led the troops had gathered together, and were happily recounting their achievements in the big tent. Even the ordinary soldiers outside the tent were filled with a joyful atmosphere. Some pigs and sheep were carried in, and the army was going to have a feast tonight.
Wang Pu pretended to be calm and said slowly: Jiangning City has been conquered by our country on all sides, and it is difficult to get reinforcements from far and near. It has become an isolated city. It is time to completely destroy the Southern Tang Kingdom.
Zuo You asked: "How long do you think Jiangning City can be defended?"
Vulnerable. Wang Pu said without hesitation.
After hearing this, all the generals turned to look at Wang Pu. Guo Shao also agreed with Wang Pu's opinion and listened to his next words with great interest. If someone else said this in public, he might be considered arrogant and underestimated the enemy, but Wang Pu always had a plan.
Shi Yanchao said: The walls of Jiangning City are high and strong. If they defend it to the death, it will not be easy to attack the city by force.
King Ha Pu laughed and said, "The Southern Tang army will gather a large number of troops outside the city to fight with us; otherwise, the city will fall faster. If General Shi doesn't believe it, let's wait and see what happens."
He paused and said: "It is easy to defend a city, but it is difficult to defend morale. At this time, the Southern Tang Kingdom has suffered many defeats and the people in the country are scattered and falling apart. Only an isolated city is left. How many people are willing to defend their king to the death? Let's send people to persuade them to surrender first, and then gather troops from all directions to surround the city and attack it. We will surely conquer the city."
After hearing this, everyone nodded and thought it made sense. Guo Shao also nodded. He thought that no matter what city it was, people had to defend it. The morale and confidence of the army were very important. Wang Pu was a civilian official, but he could directly point out the key points. He was also a person who understood the situation. If the morale was there, the reinforcements from Hukou of the Southern Tang Kingdom would not have suffered any serious damage in Wankou. The losses were very small. Even if they suffered some losses, they would have been able to regain their combat effectiveness soon. But the fact was that they were in chaos recently. It was difficult for the various units to even integrate together, and they had completely lost their threat.
Wang Pu turned to look at Guo Shao who was sitting in front of him. The battle against Southern Tang had reached this point, and the use of troops was no longer the most important thing. General Guo should be considering other things.
Guo Shao felt that Wang Pu's small eyes were very penetrating, and he felt uncomfortable being stared at. He immediately thought of the matter of persuading him to ascend the throne, and asked: What are you considering
Wang Pu touched his chin and said calmly: After conquering a country, of course we have to maintain its governance.
After hearing this, Guo Shao suddenly realized and said: That makes sense, what Envoy Wang said is absolutely right. But I always feel that Wang Pu seems to be teasing something, and Wang Pu certainly would not say such things in public.
Wang Pudao: General Guo destroyed Shu, and his actions were effective. He strictly prohibited indiscriminate killings to temporarily maintain the status quo of all parties. In my opinion, this kind of action can be copied to the Southern Tang.
Guo Shao nodded seriously.
After everyone discussed it for a while, Guo Shao stood up and left, saying that he would meet with everyone again in the evening and hold a banquet in the central army tent to celebrate the victory.
Zuo You followed him out and said, "I have something to say, may I have a word with you?"
Guo Shao probably guessed what Zuo You wanted to say. He looked around and saw that the central army was full of people. The tents were just a layer of oilcloth. Two rows of soldiers were patrolling around with long weapons. He said calmly: At this time, I am interested in observing the might of the river. Mr. Zuo, how about you accompany me to the river
Zuo You clasped his fists and said: I am willing to follow my lord.
The two of them took the carriage and left the camp under the escort of a team of personal soldiers and cavalry. When they reached a road by the river, Guo Shao said to Tan Shitou: "Take the groom and the soldiers and brothers for a walk."
Qin Shitou tactfully asked the others to leave the carriage. Soon, the carriage was parked alone on the side of the road, with only two people and one horse left.
Guo Shao opened the bamboo curtain and looked out at the Yangtze River from inside the carriage.
Zuo You said: The situation in Southern Tang is a foregone conclusion. It may take several months to return to the capital, but the matter involves a lot of people. The lord should make a decision early. At this time, the lord is leading the army outside. It is a good opportunity to return to the capital with a great victory.
Guo Shao didn't speak immediately.
Zuo You hurriedly said: "The generals dare not easily mention such an important matter, but they have been looking forward to it in their hearts. If the lord delays for too long, it will be disadvantageous."
Guo Shao certainly understood. It was not that he did not want to. He had thought about it for a long time last night and even felt that there was no emperor in modern society. It was not because people had become noble. It was really the result of the environment not allowing it and the compromise of many fights and struggles. Most people who did not want to have that position could not even reach it. Now that he had the opportunity, why should he give up power and let others check and balance and threaten the throne? It meant a lot of things, and almost no one could resist such temptation and desire.
However, since ancient times, there have not been too many people who want to be emperor, but only a very small number of people can actually sit firmly on the throne, so Guo Shao had to be extra cautious.
His behavior at this time was very different from usual. He asked Zuo You cautiously: Mr. Zuo, do you think our time is really ripe
Zuo You nodded without hesitation: Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.