Xu Erniang had no place to live and no food for two days. Zhao Hu took out the wheat cakes and water bag cakes he brought with him. They were very difficult to chew and the water was cold, but they were enough for a hungry person.
She would eat voraciously, and then cry with her dirty sleeves until her whole body was shaking. A Zhou army soldier in armor was squatting next to her. The scene was a bit strange, and the Zhou army cavalry passing by on the road looked at her sideways.
Zhao Hu squatted on the ground without saying a word.
When Xu Erniang calmed down a little, he asked: Where are you going
Xu Erniang looked confused.
Zhao Hu thought for a while and said: There is a healing camp in the army. I will take you there to tell the military doctor about it. You can help there first. When the wounded soldiers need to be sent back to Yizhou, Er Niang can follow the troops escorting the wounded to Yizhou, and then go home.
Xu Erniang's pale face was empty as she murmured: "How can I go back like this? What can I do if I go back?"
Zhao Hu hesitated for a moment and said, "Go back and wait for me. I'll ask the doctor to write a letter home and tell my mother to go to the Xu family to propose marriage first."
Xu Erniang was stunned when she heard this, and looked at him and said: "Are you still willing to marry me?"
Zhao Hu smiled bitterly and said: As long as Second Mother is willing to marry, I am willing to marry her anytime.
Xu Erniang pursed her lips and whispered: I have become like this
Zhao Hu said: I am not the same young man as before.
He looked back, stood up, took a tied fur blanket from the horse's back, and stuffed it into Xu Er Niang's arms: Take it, it's still cold, you won't get cold with this.
Xu Erniang asked: What are you going to do
Zhao Hu said: "We have charcoal fire, maybe we can get together with the brothers in Shenhuodu. You don't have to worry about me. The soldiers in the army are treated very well, maybe we can get another quilt."
He added: Let's go, I'll take you to find the doctor in the healing camp and tell him about it. I have to hurry back to Shenhuodu.
Xu Erniang silently followed Zhao Hu, who was leading the horse on foot. She held the blanket tightly in her arms, as if she was afraid that someone would snatch it away from her.
Zhao Hu had nothing to say. In the past, Xu Erniang was a famous beauty in the nearby villages. It was not easy to marry her. But now, everything was completely different. She was not injured except that her body was a little dirty, but it seemed as if her body was covered with wounds.
Rows of mounted soldiers in armor and sharp weapons marched in the opposite direction from them, and the ruins of the burned-down village gradually moved away, like a fleeting shadow.
Xu Erniang suddenly called out softly: Brother Tiger
Zhao Hu turned and looked at her.
She lowered her head and said: "Would you go home with me?"
Zhao Hu shook his head and said: My father was burned alive by the Khitans, and my family was destroyed. Your brother and Zhao Shuyuan's fellow villagers did not offend anyone, but they were killed like this. I will go to Youzhou to seek revenge on the Khitans, otherwise I will not be able to rest in peace in this life.
Xu Erniang was speechless after hearing this, but her face was very sad. After a long while, she said: You will definitely come back.
Zhao Hu said: The Emperor of the Great Zhou is the reincarnation of Dayi. He is invincible and has never been defeated. It was only us who killed people, and there was no such thing as the Khitans killing our imperial guards.
The two walked for a long time, and the army on the road seemed to have no beginning or end. The healing camp that Zhao Hu mentioned was at the end of the army.
Xu Erniang turned her head to look at Zhao Hu from time to time. She knew Zhao Hu, but she had never looked at him so closely. Zhao Hu was no longer the young man who seemed a little reckless and a little shy in front of women. In just two years, he had become a man. The wind, sun and the grinding of the battlefield left marks on his face and a more resolute expression.
The armor made his tall and strong appearance more imposing. His movements were very orderly. With his upright figure and regular facial features, Zhao Hu's appearance was one of the best heroes within a few miles of Zhao Shuyuan. The imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty was almost entirely composed of young and strong men, and it gathered heroes from all over the country.
Brother Hu, Xu Erniang called out again.
Zhao Hu glanced at her, but said nothing. He pondered and said: After we conquer Youzhou and seek revenge on the Khitans, I will return to Zhao Shuyuan, and we will slowly forget about the past and build a beautiful house to provide for our mother until she dies. As long as the land is still there, the house can be rebuilt.
He then said: Second Mother, please give me another child.
After hearing this, Xu Erniang blushed.
Time is like water, it can wash away everything. If it can’t wash away everything, it’s just that time is not long enough.
At this moment, the sky suddenly became brighter and brighter, so bright that it was blinding. Zhao Hu and Xu Erniang looked up and saw the sun rising from the clouds.
In the middle of the army, Wang Pu looked up and said happily: The sky has cleared up.
Guo Shao looked up, squinted his eyes and looked at the dazzling sun, and said softly: Everything is perfect.
From the army came the sounds of trumpets of varying lengths. Guo Shao seemed to sense a grand melody, rapidly spinning upward into the sky, like a dormant dragon emerging from the water with a loud voice.
Ha, from afar came the inspiring shouts of countless warriors, the men's voices were simple but full of passion.
Guo Shao looked back at this flat land and said with some excitement: The entire Hebei Province has been the land of the Han people since ancient times.
Shi Yanchao advanced to Youzhou, and Guo Shao's army did not engage in any fighting. That night, they set up camp and the entire army set up camp and defense in an orderly manner.
As soon as the sun came out that day, the clouds dispersed quickly, and when the sun set, the clouds had almost completely disappeared. The changes in the sky were beyond imagination.
After nightfall, the sky is full of stars, echoing with the patches of fire on the ground, making everything more open.
Guo Shao walked out of the central army tent and was shocked to see the clear stars in the sky. In any case, the sky of this era is cleaner and brighter than the modern one. Guo Shao had seen a sky full of stars in his distant memories, but he had never seen such a clear starry sky.
He felt dizzy for a moment, because he seemed to have suddenly merged into the starry sky, as if he was not on the ground, as if his body was floating in the starry sky.
Guo Shao calmed down and finally calmed down.
He then realized that there was no one around him. Looking back, he saw Wang Pu and other followers standing at the door of the tent and not following him. Guo Shao was standing alone in the military camp.
The temporary fence built by the military camp was very low and could not block people's vision at all. The sky was high and the land was vast. Guo Shao did not feel that he was standing in the small space of the military camp at this moment, but felt that he was standing on the vast plain of Hebei Province, standing on the spherical surface of the earth, looking up at the endless universe.
The world is really big, and the river of time is really long. Sometimes people are confined to a moment of time and fall into chaos and greed for a little profit; but as long as they look at this grand scene, Guo Shao feels that his mind is as vast as the starry sky.
Countless lights flickered, and Guo Shao's thoughts were flying aimlessly.
He thought about the future that he probably couldn't see, a civilization with trains, planes, and tall buildings, and even an endless future; but he still couldn't see the past, when he didn't exist yet, the world remained the same, with countless great and enterprising events taking place and many sages who could only be remembered now.
Are those stars the gazes of our ancestors? They created a civilization with broad minds and ambitions, and now they are still looking down at the people on the same land, wondering whether they are living a petty life or actively exploring new lands.
Most of the time, making great achievements and making contributions that will go down in history was just a concept to Guo Shao, but now it suddenly became very intuitive.
Youzhou is a stumbling block that restricts the expansion of the Great Zhou to further places. It is a mountain. If you don't climb over this mountain, your vision and mind will be imprisoned in a closed space.
Guo Shao paced back and forth without saying a word, staring at the sky for a long time.
He felt it was a bit cold outside, so he walked back to the central army tent. Wang Pu and others followed him in.
Guo Shao sat down on the stool above, and Lu Chengyong and a guard came forward, unfolded a large map and spread it on the wooden table in front, and then placed a copper candlestick on the map. Several military officials also gathered around, because there was no place to hang such a large map vertically in the tent.
Everything in the tent was very simple, even old. Guo Shao himself asked the court officials not to buy luxurious things in the army. He did this not only for economy, but also to give people the impression that he shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.
And he doesn't care about that little bit of enjoyment. When a person's heart becomes bigger, he will lose interest in a little material enjoyment; when a person's prestige and status are high enough, he doesn't need extravagant luxury goods to highlight his status.
There are a few words written on it: Map of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun.
Guo Shao reached out and picked up the candlestick, moving it slowly across the picture, looking at it and pondering something.
Wang Pu pointed to the map and said: Gao Yanchou's Jiannan Army set out from Xiangzhou, and Liu Renzhan's Gan De Army set out from Luzhou. They should be here now. They marched slowly but left earlier. Within ten days of the main force of the Imperial Army arriving in Youzhou City, the two groups of troops should also arrive one after another. In other words, within half a month, the elite troops of the Great Zhou in Youzhou City will reach 200,000.
Guo Shao said: We have sufficient military strength this time.
The estimated 200,000 troops to be mobilized and deployed were the actual numbers on the organizational roster, not just a claim. This was a huge number of troops in any period. In the Battle of Chibi, Cao Cao probably had only 200,000 troops, but he claimed to have 800,000. At this time, it was completely fine for Guo Shaojun to claim to have 500,000 or 600,000 troops.
Wang Pu said: The early stage was very smooth. The Front Camp Military Office has sent envoys to persuade the southern cities of Youzhou to surrender. There should be news in the next two days. I have asked people to find out clearly that the garrisons of Zhuozhou and other places are still Han generals. It is expected that they will definitely surrender the city after they are sure that the Great Zhou army has been dispatched.
Guo Shao nodded: "We don't have to worry about these cities. Let's go to Youzhou first and build siege works as soon as possible. Even if the territory behind resists stubbornly, it will be left to the rear army and Liu Renzhan, Gao Yanchou and others to deal with."
Wang Pu clasped his fists and bowed, saying: Your Majesty is wise.
Guo Shao's fingers followed a line to the location of Youzhou, and then pressed his entire palm there.