The streets of Tokyo were filled with snow, and the walls were covered with a layer of white. Yao Erniu pushed open the gate, and the cousin in the yard looked back, her face suddenly lit up, she quickly shook the water off her hands, wiped them on her apron, and stood up and walked over quickly: "My husband came back so early today!"
Yao Erniu nodded and handed over a bag of rustling money.
My cousin asked in surprise: It has only been a short time since the military salary was issued, why are you issuing money again
There will be rewards before going out to fight, and even more rewards when coming back. Yao Erniu said as he walked into the main hall.
His cousin was anxious to go to war. When
Yao Erniu said: Early the day after tomorrow.
My cousin became even more anxious: Why haven't I heard my husband talk about this
Yao Erniu said: I just found out today. The brothers in the army said that this time it should be a northern expedition to Youzhou, and the military secrets cannot be leaked, so they told us at the last minute.
The woman occasionally spoke without thinking. My cousin said anxiously: "Youzhou is occupied by the Khitans, so why don't you go?"
Yao Erniu said directly: I have taken the reward money, I will not go
After entering the main hall, the whole family came over after hearing the noise. Yao Erniu's mother reacted even more. When her cousin wanted to give her the money for safekeeping, she burst into tears and said: This is the money to buy Erlang's life.
Yao Erniu had no choice but to persuade her kindly: Mom, I am going to kill the enemy, not to die.
My mother choked up and said: We are all born by our mothers and raised by our fathers. The Khitans are so fierce and their weapons are blind.
Yao Erniu said: "Going into battle is scary, but it's not as dangerous as you think. Once we go up, there will be at least tens of thousands of people, not to mention hundreds of thousands. The winning side will not have many casualties. After a battle, apart from the wounded, the real deaths are generally only one or two thousand. It takes dozens of people to die. I'm so unlucky that it's my turn.
My mother said: If we lose the battle
Yao Erniu said without hesitation: We will not lose. This time the emperor is leading the army in person. The emperor has fought so many battles, have you ever lost
My cousin also went to persuade my mother: The emperor is the reincarnation of Dayi, a living god in the world, and many people are burning incense to him.
All gates of Tokyo City were under martial law, and travel in and out of the city was prohibited.
The capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty had a population of hundreds of thousands, and there were a lot of people going in and out on a regular basis. For a time, many people gathered in various cities and asked for directions. It was said that a notice had been posted at the city gate, stating that martial law would only last for three days.
A group of people gathered in front of the notice. A middle-aged man wearing a futou looked at it for a long time and muttered: Why is there a sudden three-day martial law? My goods have arrived but haven't entered the city yet.
A man next to him said, "I heard that the emperor is going to send troops to Youzhou. He is afraid that there are spies in the city who will report it early, so he wants to close the city for three days first. I guess that after the city gates are opened, the inspection will be strict. It is best to take the pass if you have it."
We were about to attack Youzhou and several people surrounded us.
Everyone was talking about it, and soon they were all excited. Recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun was really exciting. Even the common people were very concerned. Youzhou was not somewhere else, but in Hebei, and there were powerful grassland cavalry in the north. This was not only the majesty of the country, but also had a great relationship with all the people in Tokyo. What could stop them from coming from Hebei? The Yellow River would freeze and freeze, just like now. The cavalry could rush directly across the Yellow River from the north, and it would be a smooth journey.
There was a commotion inside the city gate, and someone shouted: "Since the Jin Dynasty, Youyun has been lost, and today it will finally return to the Central Plains."
He could make the country strong and truly protect the safety of the Central Plains and the lives and property of everyone. Under his great prestige, few people in the Zhou Dynasty did not recognize Guo Shao's throne. As Guo Shao said, the same value is recognized by people, and the legitimacy of the throne is the same.
The Privy Council's military order required the Imperial Guards to assemble and march on the third day, but did not specify where they were marching. However, most of the Imperial Guards had already guessed that it was the Northern Expedition to Youzhou. At this time, where else in the world would the Imperial Guards need to be dispatched on a large scale
Troops were temporarily mobilized to go to war, and most people were busy saying goodbye to their families and packing their luggage.
However, there are also some people who have no family in Tokyo, like Zhao Hu from Hebei.
Zhao Hu deposited the reward money in a bank. He didn't care whether he could get it back or not. In the past, he worked hard for money, wanting to buy horses and accumulate wealth. But in a different situation, he suddenly found that money was not so important.
Zhao Hu sat in the rented house, without saying goodbye to anyone, waiting to go out with the army the day after tomorrow. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
The main room was completely empty, and looked like a bare house. There was a wooden frame on top, with plate armor hanging on it, and a helmet on top, making it look like a person in leather armor squatting there. Next to the armor was a sheathed single-edged sword, a new weapon added by Shenhuodu, because after the firearms were switched to more complicated matchlock mechanisms, they could no longer be used as maces, and would break if hit.
Zhao Hu sat alone for a long time, and finally stood up. He walked to the knife rack, reached out and grabbed the scabbard, and pulled out the single knife.
He held the sword and took a deep breath, recalling the killing moves taught by the coach. Then he stood in a horse stance and imitated them in a realistic manner.
The light outside was growing dimmer and dimmer. Zhao Hu's figure was like a shadow play at the door of the main room. The shadow of the knife suddenly stabbed forward, and the figure suddenly turned back steadily, and the knife also chopped with powerful and skillful movements.
Zhao Hu repeated the same actions over and over again, seemingly never getting tired of it. Even when the night had completely fallen, he still had no intention of stopping. The figure was very lonely.
Guo Shao had already left the government affairs behind for the past two days, and had been mainly saying goodbye. He summoned the prime minister and ministers to instruct them on the government affairs of Tokyo, and also said goodbye to Fu's second sister, Li Yuan'er, Zhou Xian and others, and was inevitably reluctant to leave.
He also wrote a letter in his own handwriting and secretly ordered Jingniang to leave the palace to deliver it to Dong's wife Gao.
Gao was the elder sister of Gao Huaide, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, and the mother of Dong Zunhui, the commander of the Tiger Guards. She was a real noblewoman with the status of a royal concubine. Although she was an official, it was still strange for an eunuch to pass on the imperial edict, but Jingniang could do it.
On the eve of the expedition, Guo Shao put aside all his personal affairs, and concentrated on reviewing the strategies and plans he had planned before, making sure everything was clear in his mind and focusing completely on military affairs.
This is the largest war since he ascended the throne. As long as he wins, everything he wants and cares about will become easier, and the rewards will come naturally.
Zhou Tong, who once taught him archery, is now a general under his command and can no longer teach Guo Shao anything. But Guo Shao remembers a sentence Zhou Tong said many years ago: thinking too much is not a good thing.
He seemed to see the target in the blur, and a sharp arrow flew towards the center of the bull's eye without hesitation and at the right time.