Guo Shao rode slowly to the door of his house, and unexpectedly ran into Jingniang again, seeing her walking out of the narrow street diagonally opposite. Guo Shao suddenly felt that this woman was like a ghost, and he didn't notice her following him just now, but he happened to run into her at the door.
Jingniang came over, leading a horse with a bundle on its back. She looked like she was going on a long journey. Guo Shao waited for a while at the corner gate. When she came over, he heard her say: If your hand trembled on the city wall and you shot that person, you would really lose your life.
Guo Shao was speechless. Why did this woman ask such difficult questions as soon as she opened her mouth
But he couldn't just ignore it. This was the first time Jingniang took the initiative to talk to him, so he should at least respond positively. It had been a few days since the last accident, and she had figured it out.
Guo Shao carefully observed Jingniang's expression, which was relatively calm and normal, not as unstable as at the beginning when she might go crazy at any time. This was good, it was an accident, and it had to be resolved; everything could be discussed, which was better than having a grudge and having an enemy who wanted to kill him for revenge.
Therefore, Guo Shao was prepared to show a positive attitude to resolve the grudge.
But he couldn't answer Jingniang's question directly, and didn't know what to say for a moment. After a while, he uttered a very cold and self-righteous sentence: My hands won't shake, I'm praying, the gods will help me
Jingniang asked coldly: What god do you believe in and how do you pray
Guo Shao casually said in a relaxed tone: Thank you Queen Mother, thank God, pray for the Queen Mother's blessing
Jingniang immediately rolled her eyes at him and turned to get the bag from the horse.
The two of them entered the corner gate one after the other, and Huang the blacksmith came forward to take the horse away and take care of it. Guo Shao certainly would not stop Jingniang from entering the mansion, but seeing that she was carrying something and did not look like she was coming to visit, he could not help but ask: Jingniang, are you going out or moving
Jingniang said: I live with Yulian. I have already handed over the position of the head of Yuzhen Temple to someone else.
Guo Shao blurted out: Yulian slept with me.
Jing Niang was stunned and asked: Are you trying to drive me away
No, no, then go find Yulian and ask her to clean up a room for you. If you want to live here, you can live here as long as you want. I will never drive you away. Guo Shao said hurriedly.
Jingniang said: I won’t live in the inner courtyard, I’ll just find a room outside to stay for a few days.
They walked inside one after the other. Guo Shao first went to a hall in the outer courtyard to wait for dinner, because the kitchen was in the outer courtyard. Yulian and Dong Sanmei were not there, probably cooking. Guo Shao had mentioned it last time, asking her to find two strong women to hire, so that they could help with the dirty and tiring work in the courtyard; but there was no increase in the number of people in the mansion so far, maybe they couldn't find the right people for the time being.
Guo Shao first took off the sword hanging on his waist and put it on the sword rack, then took off his armor, which was more troublesome, so he called Jingniang. Jingniang was silent for a while, and really came up to help, and her hands and feet were very skillful. It turned out that she was an expert who had practiced, maybe someone in her family was a warrior before.
Seeing her change of attitude, Guo Shao said: There are so many people in the Taoist temple, why don't you bring a few trusted people to take care of your daily life
Jingniang did not comment.
Unexpectedly, after just a few days, people really came to Yuzhen Temple. There were not just a few people, but more than a dozen people. No one lived in the middle courtyard of the mansion, but there were many houses. Guo Shao and Yu Lian lived in the garden at the back, which had a good view. So he let the Taoist priests from Yuzhen Temple live in the middle courtyard temporarily.
The mansion suddenly became lively with so many people. It was good that such a large mansion was in need of gardeners, cooks, firewood, rice and labor for rough work. Among them were two dark and strong women who knew how to work. Adding these people could make Yulian's life easier. She only had to manage the income and expenditure of money and grain.
Guo Shao did some calculations and said that his salary was not enough to support these people. Moreover, soon after, the money and grain increased slightly, and the appointment letter came down. The salary of the commander of the two armies was higher than that of the inner palace guards; the governor of Qianzhou also received his share.
He was in charge of the Tiger and Jie armies, but there was no news of an immediate expedition; even the officials in the court and the generals in the army were still unsure whether the Zhou army would go to war with Shu. Tokyo was relatively peaceful recently, and some job adjustments in preparation for the Western Expedition did not attract people's attention at all, because the large-scale reform and rectification of the Palace Front Department was more eye-catching. The main person in charge of the rectification of the Palace Front Department's armies was Zhao Kuangyin. Guo Shao had now been transferred to the Imperial Guard Army, and this matter had no impact on him.
Guo Shao had already mentioned at home that he was going to march west. Yulian and Jingniang both knew about this, but two months had passed without any movement.
Zuo You made a very clear argument in front of Guo Shao: After returning from the Jinyang Campaign, the Imperial Guards had nothing to do, but after resting, it would be autumn. If the Western Expedition was to start right away, considering the preparation time and the time spent on the march, it would most likely be winter when the war was launched in Guanzhong. Guanzhong is windy, dry and cold in winter, and the climate is not conducive to fighting. I guess the court will use troops in the early spring of next year.
Guo Shao felt that Zuo You's random thoughts made some sense, so he agreed with him.
It is said that Shaanxi had a humid and warm climate many years ago, so Guanzhong was rich and prosperous, and it has been the capital of various dynasties since the Qin Dynasty. However, since the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the climate in Shaanxi has become drier year by year. After the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Dongjing Daliang has replaced Chang'an. So Zuo You may not be wrong when he said that Shaanxi was windy, dry and cold in winter at that time.
However, Guo Shao's mood has become a little impatient. The goal of the campaign is to conquer the territory of two states. This achievement is naturally considered a military achievement, but it is probably not a great achievement. I don't know how much the military function will be improved after completion, but it shouldn't be too much. In the imperial army, the appreciation and connections from above are of course very important, but without military merit, prestige and qualifications as a foundation, it is difficult to achieve anything.
We will have to wait until next year to achieve this little bit of military achievement; and it seems to be a tough nut to crack, and it is not known how long it will take.
Guo Shao was thinking about marrying Fu's second sister to form an alliance with the Wei Wang family, but as it stands now, there is no hope at all, and there may not be much progress in a year or two. That's why he occasionally gets impatient.
But there was nothing he could do. He thought about it and realized how rare it was to have an opportunity like the Battle of Gaoping. It was a pity that his position was too low at the time and it was impossible for him to achieve anything great. If he missed such a great opportunity, it would be difficult for him to encounter it again. Maybe he could only gnaw on the chicken ribs of the Shaanxi battlefield first, and then wait for the campaign of conquering Huainan.
After Guo Shao prepared to enter Guanzhong to fight, he tried to win a quick victory to avoid wasting time.
However, Qin, Feng and other states were the outposts of Shu, their strongholds that prevented them from being confined to the Sichuan Basin. If they were defended, they could serve as a buffer to the heartland, and if they were attacked, they could serve as the source of war. Shu would certainly not be willing to give them up easily.
Guo Shao also realized that if he wanted to use others to gain military merit, he had to first ask the Shu army for their consent.
Of course Shu Kingdom disagrees, so if it wants to win a quick victory, it must go all out and not take it lightly.
Guo Shao then went to discuss with Zuo You: If the Western Expedition has to wait until the beginning of next spring, we won't have much to do in Tokyo for several months, so why not prepare in advance? I have never been to Guanzhong, and I know nothing about the terrain and scenery of Qinfeng and other places; I want to ask for leave from the Imperial Guards, saying that I am going to Guanzhong to visit relatives, and then take the opportunity to visit and inquire about the situation in Qinfeng and other states.
He was eager to make achievements and his followers were certainly pleased. Zuo You pondered for a long time and said: If the lord wants to go, he should talk to the eunuchs in the palace first before reporting to the Imperial Guard and the Infantry Department; and then tell Prime Minister Wang Pu.
Zuo You only knew that the queen was willing to promote Guo Shao, but he did not know that it was the queen herself who revealed the news of the Western Expedition. Guo Shao did not tell anyone about the incident at Daxiangguo Temple.
Guo Shao accepted Zuo You's suggestion. It was just their guess that they would set out in the early spring of next year. If they guessed wrong, Guo Shao would not be found when the imperial court called for generals. Wouldn't that ruin the whole thing and be a waste of time
First tell the nobles above you. Both the Queen and the Prime Minister of the Privy Council are sure to be fully aware of the military affairs. If they nod their heads, you don't have to worry anymore.
At this time, Guo Shaocai suddenly realized a problem: the queen had always sent eunuchs to contact him, but he had no way to communicate with them. As a general of the Hujie Army, he had to report to the official office of the Imperial Guard or guard the barracks of the first and second Hujie Army. He could not even enter the gate of the imperial city. How could he find the eunuchs
Guo Shao planned to tell Wang Pu about this first, and then wait for a while to see if the queen would know about it. Finally, he would formally ask for leave from the Imperial Guards. If the palace could not know about it, it would not matter; if Wang Pu had no objection, it would prove that there would be some time before he could go to war.
Things went smoothly. Two days after Wang Pu learned about it, an eunuch met Guo Shao on the street and encouraged him to make preparations in advance.
This incident surprised Guo Shao. It had only been two days since Prime Minister Wang Pu knew about this, and the people in the palace had already learned about it. He had to speculate: Could it be that the Queen's influence could reach the Privy Council? Fu, a woman in the harem, did not seem to be an ordinary person. Not only did she have great prestige among the military generals, she also had connections in the military secrets and government offices.
：Sorry for updating so late today. I was too tired yesterday and had some things to do during the day. I came back feeling restless. I have tried to save some manuscripts recently and adjust the update time, trying to update occasionally on the basis of stability.
Yesterday I killed the second ghost. Thank you all. I wrote a thank you note and congratulations, which is at the top of the book review section. It's not easy for everyone. If you are interested, please take a look.
Strong westerly wind