The wind blew in the imperial city, and the yellow flags on the Beiyuan city wall fluttered in the wind.
Fu Jinzhan walked up the stone steps slowly, followed by a group of palace maids and eunuchs. The wind made her dress stick to her body and messed up her hair. A few strands of her black hair fluttered in the wind and floated on her jade-like face, adding a bit of sadness to her beautiful face.
When she walked up, she saw a man in military uniform standing alone on the Beiyuan grassland. He was Guo Shao, the emperor of the Great Zhou.
Guo Shao's back was facing the tower, which was not in the right direction. Fu Jinzhan raised his head to feel the wind direction in the air, guessing that Guo Shao was shooting with the wind for the accuracy of the arrow.
He was shooting arrows there, his movements were monotonous and repetitive, he pulled out an arrow, put it on the bowstring, spread his arms, aimed at the target in front of him, paused for a moment, and then released the arrow. Then he pulled out the arrow again, and repeated it in this cycle without any pause or accident.
From time to time, there was a dull sound of strings. After a while, there was another snap.
The bowstring seemed to vibrate in Fu Jinzhan's heart. Somehow, she felt a dull pain in her heart when she saw this scene.
The eunuch Cao Tai said carefully: Your Majesty met with ministers in the morning, read memorials for an hour, and has been shooting arrows here until now.
Fu Jinzhan straightened his neck and looked down at the grassland without saying a word.
Guo Shaoyi is the emperor and has many people around him, but Fu Jinzhan believes that no one truly understands him except himself, because people see different things at different heights.
After a long time, Guo Shao finally turned around and spotted Fu Jinzhan's yellow clothes. He stood there looking up at this side, and Fu Jinzhan also looked at him. The two of them were separated by a long distance, with the sound of the wind whistling in the middle. The gaze between them seemed to be in the world, as if they had traveled through a thousand years of time.
Cao Tai said: This morning, Prime Minister Fan Zhi submitted a letter to His Majesty advising peace, but was dismissed on the spot.
Fu Jinzhan finally spoke: Your Majesty is still a person who can tolerate and compromise. As long as it is beneficial, you can negotiate peace with anyone, but you cannot negotiate peace with the Liao Kingdom.
Cao Tai said hurriedly: Yes, I think Fan Zhi is a man who looks loyal but is actually seeking fame.
Fu Jinzhan stood there for a long time, not intending to persuade anyone, then turned and left the city wall.
The more things a person has, the greater the responsibilities he bears, the less courageous he is, and the more cautious he is.
Guo Shao fully understood the seriousness of the matter, so he delayed making a decision. However, there was an unbearable unwillingness in his heart that made him unwilling to give up.
Sometimes I think back and think that I may have some prejudice against Fan Zhi, so I am so dissatisfied with him. After all these years of fighting in the Central Plains, there are not many people who can really fight. The Northern Expedition at the beginning of the year was a brief experience, but it has already tested the difficulty of the Northern Expedition, otherwise the result would not be a hasty retreat.
Fan Zhi's suggestion was a little harsh, but it was a way, and perhaps in their eyes it was a very pragmatic approach. Under the current situation in the world, it was not difficult to unify most of the regions and establish a unified dynasty, which was the general trend; holding on to the territory that had been gained and governing it well would benefit both the emperor and the ministers and nobles who had obtained a lot of resources, at least sharing the glory and wealth would be no problem. In history, the Central Plains found it difficult to conquer the Liao Kingdom, and they did the same.
But Guo Shao was unwilling to accept this and felt even less at ease.
After practicing archery for most of the day, he felt his back and waist ached, and his arms were weak, so he packed up his things and left Beiyuan. In fact, this kind of practice would have been practiced every day seven or eight years ago, but it has indeed been a bit lacking in the past two years.
After returning to Xu'en Palace, Guo Shao did not summon any concubines to sleep with him, and Yu Lian took care of his daily life.
When Yulian saw Guo Shao, she said: "Mrs. Gao from Dong came to visit me that day. I know that she and Your Majesty have a sworn brotherhood, but I am not familiar with her.
She glanced at Guo Shao, paused and said: Madam Dong loves Princess Jinsuo very much and gave her a pair of gold bracelets inlaid with gemstones, which should be very expensive.
Women are indeed very sensitive about some things. Guo Shao pretended not to understand and said: If you give me something, just accept it.
"Hmm," said Yu Lian.
Guo Shao sat down on the Jinnan chair in front of the desk, reached out and touched his forehead, thinking of Gao, he also wondered why a lady of her status had not escaped and been captured by the Khitans. But it was conceivable that the Khitans' harassment and looting of the population was very serious.
The Central Plains dynasty was like a pasture to them. When they had no money or food, they would come to take it. Not only did they savagely plunder resources, they also robbed women for their sexual pleasure, which was like their brothel. The question is, why
Guo Shao's face gradually turned cold, and a feeling of humiliation and anger surged in his heart again. The strong prey on the weak, and the only way to survive in this world is to find a way to fight.
The more he thought about it, the more he was dissatisfied. Because of this, his anger gradually subsided. Guo Shao understood that although he had always been known for his benevolence and righteousness, for the sake of internal cohesion, it was not benevolence and righteousness that really won. Instead, the more rational and cold-blooded one was, the easier it was to make accurate judgments.
He opened the files on the table and began to look at the strategies proposed by Wang Pu, Wei Renpu, Cao Bin and others.
After watching for a while, he picked up the brush and started writing and drawing on the paper, drawing out his ideas in the form of circles and squares. He analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of both sides, summarized the experiences and lessons, and also deduced the strategies proposed by the ministers.
Guo Shao's life became very regular. He almost never approached women, let alone Fu Jinzhan. In the morning, he met with important officials of the central government as usual, and then read some memorials. Then he went to Beiyuan to run and practice archery and horse riding until he was sweating profusely and exhausted.
The situation in Hebei was urgent, like fire and water, and the ministers had various opinions, but Guo Shao ignored them all.
He did not become impatient and irritable because of this. Instead, he was calmer and more patient than usual, and his temper was very good. He never reprimanded his ministers again. Only when you are calm and peaceful can you rationally examine the risks and various factors.
August 29th, the eve of the grand court ceremony.
Guo Shao changed his regular routine and went to the Sanqing Temple. He sat in the temple for a while, but didn't want to see Qingxu, who was too dull, so he went straight to see the Grand Concubine Zhang.
Zhang seemed to have known that Guo Shao had come to the Sanqing Temple, and had dressed up and was waiting in the monotonous-colored temple. When she saw Guo Shao, she was still a little flustered and hurried up to greet him.
Guo Shao was very casual, even wearing an old robe that he had worn for several years, without even a jade pendant for decoration. If it weren't for the silk robe, he would have looked a bit like a Taoist priest. People are changing. Guo Shao used to like gold, probably because he thought it would keep its value even after a thousand years; but later he lost interest in these things, because when he reached the highest position with no way out, those things lost their meaning.
Guo Shao did not sit by the chess table in front of the window. Seeing a scripture on a desk, he pointed at it and asked: Can I take a look
Zhang said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, please do as you please. I usually have nothing to do, so I copy the Taoist scriptures."
Guo Shao looked through the book very carefully for a long time. Zhang gradually got used to it from her initial nervousness, made some tea, and sat down opposite Guo Shao.
A young woman who can concentrate on copying scriptures every day must have a good character, even though she is forced.
Guo Shao looked at it for a long time, then looked up and said: Taoism seems to emphasize having no desires and following the laws of nature.
Zhang smiled and said: That’s right.
Guo Shao relaxed and asked casually: Will copying scriptures be useful
Zhang glanced at him and shook her head slightly. Guo Shao saw that although she was wearing a Taoist robe, her lips were carefully painted with light rouge. Although it was deliberately light, it was still obvious that she had made up her lips if she looked closely.
She whispered: Thank you, Your Majesty, for allowing me to attend the banquet last time.
Guo Shaodao: Then the banquet isn’t actually that interesting.
Zhang said: It is much more interesting than copying scriptures. It is really difficult for people to be free of desires.
Guo Shao pondered for a moment and said: Today I just want to come to Sanqing Palace to calm down, and I came to bother the imperial concubine on a whim. Now I suddenly thought, is this a trouble that I have imposed on you
Zhang shook her head without hesitation and blurted out: In fact, waiting for His Majesty to come here also gives me a little hope in my life. Her face turned red when she said this, and she continued slowly, "Although the time is always very long, and I understand that there is no result, it is really sad to go on like this day after day."
Guo Shao looked at her. The pressure from the past few days made him unrestrained in his words and actions. He leaned forward, moved his upper body closer, and whispered: People's desires can be realized. If you give up, it means that the degree of desire is not enough.
Zhang looked at him in surprise, speechless.
Guo Shao originally wanted to calm down in the Taoist temple for a while, but unexpectedly the crazy ambition in his eyes was revealed at this time, and he could no longer control himself.
Deep down in his heart, he originally thought that in ancient times, he could do whatever he wanted and change the world upside down when he was in control of the country. However, he did not expect that he could not even take back Youzhou and was threatened and harassed by the Liao army at any time. This was something he could not accept. He should not be restricted by the rules here.