From the twelfth month to the first month, Tokyo was extra prosperous, and the festive decorations and warm atmosphere made the cold winter no longer lonely. Guo Shao found that after becoming emperor, the holidays were easier than before, because he no longer had to visit colleagues and friends to maintain friendships, and now he only had to read the congratulatory memorials from civil and military ministers.
After the beginning of the new year, the new reign title began to be Xuanren, which was the first year of Xuanren.
During this period, Gao Yanchou's troops stationed in Jiangning Prefecture were transferred back to Kaifeng Prefecture. At this time, the number of Jiannan Army had been supplemented to full strength and reorganized into two wings with 40,000 people. According to the rules of the Great Zhou Imperial Army, the army that can fight can be expanded; the units with poor combat effectiveness will be gradually reduced in size to save military expenditure.
The garrison in the old territory of Southern Tang was reduced, and Cao Bin was ordered to return to Tokyo. However, some garrison troops were mobilized from the Huainan towns in the southern part of the Central Plains to station in Jiangnan, and the military power was completely checked and controlled by officials dispatched from Tokyo and civil officials of Southern Tang. Southern Tang did not have any strong military force at present, and the limited garrisons were stationed in several large cities; however, the court ministers judged that the separatist forces such as Wuyue and Southern Han did not have the strength and courage to harass Jiangnan at present, and the military threat from the south was very small. This was also the basis for Guo Shao to move the military focus northward. Doing so weakened the war capabilities of Jiangnan, but the benefit was that the warriors in Jiangnan were divided and restricted, which was beneficial to maintaining peace in Southern Tang.
Guo Shao also made clear the personnel arrangements for the military and political affairs in Tokyo, and had prepared them long before the New Year. So when the weather got a little warmer, Guo Shao decided to launch a war against the Northern Han Kingdom.
On the third day of the second month in the first year of Xuanren of the Great Zhou Dynasty (960 AD), the year of Gengshen, the almanac wrote: It is a good time to offer sacrifices, travel, build, and start ground.
The weather was fine, and the snow in Tokyo had long since melted. When Guo Shao walked from the study in Jinxiang Hall to the central corridor, it was already light, but the sun had not yet risen. At this time, the old buildings and brick floors were not brightly lit, and the colors were dull, making them look even more ancient.
Guo Shao was accompanied by the eunuch Cao Tai, Li Shanggong and others, but today he looked very different from usual. He was no longer wearing a yellow fine robe. He was wearing plate mail, heavy metal all over his body, and a purple cloak, as if he had returned to the appearance of a warrior. Even his walking posture and heavy footsteps were different.
Just as he reached the end of the corridor, a small white petal on the brick floor made him stop for a moment. He looked up and saw that there was a wintersweet here. The flowers on the branches and leaves were already broken, and the petals were falling from the air. When a gust of wind blew, the petals fell even faster.
Guo Shao was somewhat touched at this moment. He stretched out his hand and caught a white petal, then spread it out in front of him and looked at it. The delicate flower looked very different in his rough, cowhide-bound palm. Although it was white, it had a light red color.
Guo Shao said nothing, and touched the waist ornament on his waist with his left hand. It had rusty stitches and was very old. Silk fabrics will become old after a few years. He looked back in the direction of Zide Hall, threw away the petals in his hand, and strode out again.
People around him might be curious about his waist ornament, but no one dared to ask about its origin.
When they walked out of Jinxiang Hall, Lu Chengyong, Dong Er and others were already waiting there with elite cavalrymen. Everyone looked up at the emperor in heavy armor and knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the emperor". The palace maids and eunuchs who followed Guo Shao out had no choice but to kowtow.
Cao Tai said loudly: "Your Majesty, I respectfully send you off and wish you a victorious return to the court soon."
Get up, and set off, Guo Shao said.
Cao Tai hurriedly moved a stool to the side of the tall black horse and knelt on the ground to hold the stool. Guo Shao walked over, snorted, held the horse's back, stepped on the stirrup and nimbly climbed onto the horse. Suddenly, the shouts of "harness" rang out, and a group of armored soldiers followed him on horseback.
Guo Shao went out of the Daqing Gate and met up with ministers including Wang Pu and Li Gu. He took the emperor's umbrella, carriage and other ceremonial objects and continued walking south. In front of him was the Xuande Gate, the main gate of the Great Zhou Imperial City.
A drum sounded, and in the morning light, a neat team of soldiers walked to the top of the Xuande Gate Tower. A young general checked the military order with the garrison commander according to the rules, and then a voice sounded: The emperor is going out, open the city gate!
The heavy main gate of the imperial city slowly opened, and the scene outside gradually came into view. Guo Shao continued to ride his horse slowly towards the city gate, and the loud sound of the bells and drums on the city gate shattered his attachment. His mood gradually changed, and he silently said in his heart: Goodbye for now, beautiful women, luxurious and comfortable palace life, but I am leaving to protect all these beautiful things.
Guo Shao, wearing full armor, rode a tall black horse out of the imperial city, accompanied by the gray-haired and bearded minister Wang Pu and an equally tall and strong general. They came out of the main gate in a swagger, followed by a group of guards with ceremonial guards.
At that time, the sun had just risen from the east, and the earth was full of light. Guo Shao's heart was relieved, his blood was rekindled, and he returned to his lifelong professional life: a warrior.
The Imperial Street was packed with people. A large number of imperial guards were waiting there. Banners fluttered in the crowd. Swords and spears looked like a forest. Armored soldiers looked like a torrent. In addition, there were a large number of Tokyo citizens and imperial guards' families. The wide Imperial Street was almost completely filled with people.
The crowd shouted noisily: The Emperor is coming
Guo Shao rode his horse to the front of the army, looked up at the familiar tiger flag and the familiar generals in front of him. People gathered their eyes here, Guo Shao raised his scabbard and shouted loudly: Great Zhou warriors, restore our land!
Guo Shao's voice and one sentence immediately ignited the morale of the soldiers. The soldiers widened their eyes and shouted excitedly, "Long live the emperor!" The shouts quickly spread in the crowd, and it seemed as if a storm was sweeping in under the sunny sky.
The soldiers of the imperial army gave Guo Shao the greatest trust and reliance. This was not gained by his incitement, but by leading this group of people to fight in every direction of the country and never losing a single battle. Guo Shao was like a god in the army, because as long as he led the troops, they would always win.
Guo Shao was also affected by the grand and glorious atmosphere at this moment, and the bright side of his heart expanded rapidly.
He was about to ride his horse closer to the common people outside the Imperial Street, where there were all kinds of people. Jingniang wanted to stop him, but Guo Shao, who was wearing heavy armor, did not listen. The black horse was tall and strong, and Guo Shao was also burly. When he and a group of cavalry passed by, the people were all afraid, and those in front retreated one after another. Some even knelt on the ground on the spot.
However, Guo Shao shouted loudly: I am your emperor. The billions of people in this world are all my subjects, including the people in the territory of the Great Zhou, the Northern Han, the Southern Han, the Wuyue, the Youyun, and the Bohai Kingdom.
I am not a militarist or a war-monger. But the Northern Han State has held the people of Hedong hostage, and has made the people suffer. As the Son of Heaven, how can I sit back and watch
The recovery of the country is just around the corner, the Great Zhou will enter a peaceful and prosperous era, hunger and cold will end, wars will end, the government will be clear and fair, and the sun will finally shine on the land of Kyushu.
More and more people knelt on the streets in front of the majestic imperial city, and the scene seemed like a pilgrimage.
Wang Pu and other ministers watched quietly from behind and did not interfere with the emperor. It was very rare for the emperor to speak in front of the common people. Guo Shao was determined to do this. Although the ancients kept saying that the people's hearts can win the world, the people are more important than the emperor, etc., not many people really took the common people seriously.
Guo Shao rode back to the army and shouted to his generals and soldiers: The army of justice, defending the country and the people, victory and glory have always belonged to this banner, and this time is no exception, we must win!
Thousands of soldiers shouted loudly, and their morale was very high.
Guo Shao then ordered his generals to march out of the city and lead the army into battle.
On the south bank of the Yellow River, the land is flat and fertile. After the Lantern Festival, people all over the world have started a new busy year. Along the post road, you can see many farmers in the fields doing spring ploughing. As the saying goes, a year's plan begins in spring. Guo Shao's army marched through the fields, and also carried a strong farming atmosphere.
However, the soldiers did not feel sad about going to the battle as described in the poems. Instead, they were happy to hear about the battle. They received rewards before going to the battle, and even more if they won. This kind of income was much more generous than the usual military pay.
The civil officials seemed to be in a good mood, too. Wang Pu even started to sing a song: "I have no clothes, but I share my robes with you. When the king raises his army, I will sharpen my spears and swords. I share the same hatred with you."
The spring breeze was blowing, and the journey was boring. The generals did not know how to sing, so they asked Wang Pu to teach them how to sing. There was a lot of noise. Wherever the group of horses went, the surrounding area became lively.
Guo Shao led the army in person, but the imperial guards from Tokyo only had 30,000 soldiers and not much baggage. Their plan was to meet up with Zhang Guanghan's troops after reaching Liaozhou, and then march directly to Jinyang, the capital of Northern Han, with 50,000 elite troops. In this way, it would only take a dozen days from the time the troops were dispatched to the time they reached Jinyang.
A quick attack would seize the initiative and not give the Northern Han the opportunity to deploy troops. However, with the current strength of the Northern Han army, these 50,000 elite soldiers could only watch and could not do anything to Guo Shao; the main force of the Northern Han would be forced to hide in the high walls of Jinyang, which was very passive.
Otherwise, it would take at least two months to gather more than 200,000 people, from large-scale mobilization to march deployment. The Northern Han would have more time to prepare. So Guo Shao adopted the strategy of the Privy Council.
These 30,000 people were all elite troops of the Palace Front Department. They included the right wing of the Huben Army, the three left wing armies, the Crane Army, the Horse Army, the bow and arrow army, and they were also the core troops of Guo Shao in this battle. Most of the generals of the Palace Front Department were also dispatched. The only generals of the Palace Front Department who stayed in Tokyo were Yang Biao and his deputies Luo Mengzi and Yuan Yan, who jointly checked the military orders of the Privy Council.
Preparations had been made on the Yellow River, with multiple floating bridges built. After the army crossed the Yellow River, it soon entered the territory of Hedong. The elite imperial army marched at a fast speed, approaching the Northern Han Kingdom without stopping. The war rhythm that suddenly calmed down during the New Year a while ago has now become extremely urgent again.