Inside the big tent, Guo Shao and the civil and military officials had yellow mud all over their boots, their faces were covered in dirt, and their bodies were covered in traces of gunpowder and dust. The guards filled Guo Shao's iron bowl with soup and brought up two wheat cakes. He looked around and everyone was looking at him, silently waiting for Guo Shao to start eating first.
No one was in high spirits. The generals were used to a life of sleeping in the open air and wearing coarse clothes and eating simple meals, because the Great Zhou was at frequent wars and they were often on the expeditions. But it was certainly not comfortable to eat such food. Those who could sit next to the emperor were the most prestigious people in the Great Zhou. They had no shortage of wealth, fine clothes and delicious food in Tokyo, but it was obviously not the kind of food they wanted to eat.
But the emperor and the soldiers had the same meals, and the ministers did not dare to mess around with such a small matter. In Guo Shao's words: The soldiers who risked their lives at the front could eat, but we who were driving the soldiers behind could not eat.
Guo Shao looked around and smiled, saying: "After we take Jinyang, I will hold a banquet in Jinxiang Hall to celebrate your victory. Let's eat and drink to our heart's content. What do you want to eat?"
The group of people were still quite reserved and cautious, and they just thanked him. Gao Yanchou said at this time: "It's good to have wine and meat."
Yes, he muttered to Wang Zhang, a general of the Tiger Guards Army, that as long as you don't eat vegetarian food, your mouth will be bland.
Haha, everyone couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Guo Shao did not blame Wang Zhang for complaining in his words. He smiled and said, "How can roast lamb be made by the imperial chef? He first sprinkles sesame oil and seasonings on it, and then roasts it layer by layer over a low fire until it turns golden yellow." He looked at the rough iron bowl in front of him, which was bumped and uneven. He cut it off and put it on a jade plate. The aroma of meat filled the air. He took a bite and his mouth was full of oil.
At this time, someone had already swallowed his saliva.
Guo Shao added that delicious food should be paired with good wine. Why not take a big sip of glutinous rice wine that is more than 18 years old? The aroma of the wine is mellow and warms the throat to the heart, making people feel warm all over and light-headed.
Lin Renzhao smacked his lips. He hadn't said anything before, but when it came to wine, he immediately said seriously: "I like to drink Nv'erhong, the wine tastes good too."
Guo Shao then picked up the soup and took a gulp, then let out a sigh.
Seeing this, everyone started eating and drinking. Guo Shao tore off another piece of wheat cake, put it in his mouth and chewed it with relish. Somehow he suddenly remembered the time when Fu Jinzhan took her out of the city to race horses, and she had also tasted this kind of military rations.
In the blackened old tent, in the military camp covered with yellow mud, surrounded by a group of rough and dirty strong men, Guo Shao was intoxicated. He imitated the beautiful woman with bright eyes and white teeth, picking up a piece of wheat cake with soft jade-like hands, slightly opening her red lips, and gently taking a bite with her pearly teeth. Chewing slowly, he could taste the fragrance of wheat and a hint of sweetness, which was light but not greasy.
Guo Shao's mouth was full of saliva, and he ate the whole wheat biscuits as delicious as delicacies from land and sea.
Everyone looked at the emperor in amazement, and seemed to think the food was delicious, so they ate and drank heartily and enjoyed their dinner.
Wang Pu smiled and said: "I am reminded of Cao Mengde's thirst for plums. Today, Your Majesty is looking for wine and meat to satisfy his cravings."
Haha, it's true. Several generals laughed along.
At night, bonfires were lit outside Jinyang City, looking like numerous stars in the dark night. The fighting on the battlefield also temporarily returned to peace.
But this relaxation only lasted until the next morning. At daybreak, the sound of drums and the noise of battle began again, and soon, the sound of cannons roared, and fire and smoke were everywhere.
Boom boom! In the Jiannan Army’s garrison area, Gao Yanchou’s tent was shaking.
Gao Yanchou picked up the helmet beside him and put it on his head, hung his sword on his waist, and strode out of the tent. His expression was solemn, no longer as relaxed as he was in the central army last night. A group of warriors in armor and weapons gathered around him, and they all clenched their fists and put them in the palm of their other hands to salute: My lord, I greet you, my lord.
Gao Yanchou looked at the large number of soldiers and various siege equipment that were prepared in the distance with a dignified look without being angry, and then looked around, and everyone was looking at him.
Today we are soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Only if we do our duty as warriors, we are worthy of this meal, Gao Yanchou said. He said something from his heart. In his cognition, he had to do his best in everything he did to maintain his existing status.
The generals looked solemn and expressed their opinions one after another: We followed the lord from Shu and have made up our minds to live and die together. We will serve under the lord.
At this moment, someone suddenly shouted: The emperor is coming!
Gao Yanchou and others turned their heads to look, and sure enough, they saw Guo Shao riding a tall black horse, leading a group of civil and military officials to ride towards them. When they approached, Gao Yanchou took the lead and knelt on one knee, giving a military salute: "Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you."
Guo Shao nimbly dismounted from his horse, stepped forward and personally helped Gao Yanchou up, and said to the generals: "Brave men, please stand up."
Guo Shao looked up at the square flag with the words "Da Zhou" written on it, and said solemnly: "Shu is the land of abundance and the rear base of China. However, for thousands of years, whenever the Han family fought for the world and resisted foreign humiliation, the people of Shu always tried their best to provide manpower, food, blood and sacrifice for the great cause of the world. The men have ambitions in all directions, and those who go out of Shu to fight for the great cause have earned face for the elders and villagers of Shu.
He raised his scabbard and shouted in the dialect of the Shu army:
The soldiers were immediately excited and shouted: Stand up!
A general in the crowd shouted excitedly: The one who retreated was the turtle son. Gao Yanchou also encouraged: The emperor is behind us, and your majesty has seen the bravery of the soldiers.
After a round of shouting, Gao Yanchou issued the order to beat the drums. At one moment, the flags fluttered, the cannons roared, and the drums sounded like thunder.
In the first line of defense, tall ladders were pushed out among groups of people and horses, and the armored soldiers spread to the city wall like a tide. After a while, the roar of artillery around them also stopped to prevent accidental injuries to their own people.
The young Shu general who was walking in front of them was holding a sword, staring at the top of the city wall with wide eyes, and following the large group of soldiers and horses, he kept marching. He held the hilt of the sword tightly, and was actually very scared. I'm afraid that no one would not be afraid of being attacked by arrows and rolling stones with a flesh and blood body, and face to face with the enemy soldiers, and escaping death, this situation is really not so easy.
When they were about a hundred steps away, the catapults on the city wall began to fire, and stones and crossbow arrows whizzed in from the air. The continuous artillery fire destroyed a lot of the Northern Han army's defensive equipment, but at this time they seemed to have temporarily reinforced the top of the city.
With a scream, the general looked back and saw a soldier hit by a crossbow arrow as thick as his arm and fell to the ground. The people around him were holding their weapons and staring at him. At this time, people's eyes were particularly bright and their hearts were tense.
Soon, there was a sudden bang, ...
The closer the troops were, the more people were injured by arrows. However, the Shu army soldiers were still equipped with plate armor and used swords and shields in close combat, so they were relatively good at defending against bows and arrows. The troops advanced in the rain of arrows and showed no signs of defeat. The Jiannan army's archers also entered the range and fired back from dozens of steps away. For a while, arrows flew in the air like locusts.
The crowd was unstoppable and swarmed towards the city wall. The first tall ladder had passed through the filled-in moat and was set up on the city wall. The crossbows below were constantly firing at one place; the first wave of swords and shields behind them were ready.
The commander on the battlefield shouted: Kill
Then they heard the sound of gongs, and the square flags with numbers written on them immediately tilted and fell flat. The high city wall seemed like another world, the gate of life and death. The general in front raised his sword and shouted in a trembling voice: "Long live the emperor!" Then he led a group of soldiers to climb the ladder. Everyone shouted and yelled, only in this way could they slightly offset the torture of fear.
A group of people opened their mouths and yelled like crazy. The noise suddenly became louder. The soldiers tried their best to climb up. Arrows flew upward from all directions.
An official from the Privy Council, also wearing armor, was reading aloud with a trembling voice: A letter from Li Damao, the third commander of the Fifth Army of the Jiannan Army. My son, because you have fought for the country under the command of the emperor, the emperor has shown great favor and your family has been exempted from corvée labor.
He used both his hands and feet to kill the ten young generals in front of him. The high top of the city wall was getting closer and closer, and he didn't dare to look back.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, a large vat hung by an iron chain poked out of the parapet, with white smoke coming out of it, and a foul odor was immediately smelled. The ten generals immediately guessed what it was. The boiling manure water with golden juice burned the wound, and there was basically no medicine. It was better to die than to be treated.
At this moment, General Ten's mind went blank and his face turned pale.
Boiling water with a foul smell immediately poured down, and the ten generals in the front were drenched in the boiling water. They screamed and fell from the ladder to the bottom of the city wall which was nearly three meters high.
Some of the less seriously injured soldiers at the back screamed and continued to climb up. Some of them even dropped their weapons and focused on climbing. At this time, another large barrel was thrown out, and the sticky flaming oil inside was poured on the soldiers on the ladder. This flaming oil came from the Southern Tang Kingdom and was shipped to the north by ship to the Northern Han Kingdom.
The soldier who was burned by the gold juice but not dead and was covered in stench was doused with black oil. At this time, he knew his fate, tears came out, and he looked at the top of the city in despair. As expected, a torch was thrown out a moment later, and the black oil caught fire and burned with a bang. The soldier felt a light in front of his eyes, and then he felt as if he was in a sea of fire. Extreme fear and pain overwhelmed his head and face. He could no longer control his body, his hands and feet became weak, and he fell straight from the ladder.
A raging fire was burning at the top of the ladder, black smoke filled the air, and people with their bodies on fire were falling down screaming. The city walls were like purgatory.