On the surging Yellow River, groups of horsemen slowly crossed the river from the floating bridge. Guo Shaoling stood by the river, facing the moist autumn wind and watching the long dragon-like herds of horses for a long time. The sound of the waves seemed to be telling countless past events here.
The floating bridge on the river bank was full of horsemen, each with at least two horses.
After Guo Shao's tour of the west, he summarized the lessons of the Northern Expedition at the beginning of the year and made adjustments to the imperial army. He eliminated most of the mounted infantry and assigned the infantry's mounts to the cavalry. He also obtained several thousand good horses from the northwest. Now the imperial army cavalry has a relatively sufficient number of war horses, further improving the cavalry's mobility.
However, since mounted infantry no longer existed, the mobility of the infantry decreased and it was completely unable to keep up with the cavalry marches.
This time when Guo Shao left the capital, he mobilized more than 50,000 elite cavalry, almost all the imperial cavalry. The only troops accompanying the emperor were cavalry, and the cavalry from the Palace Guards and the Imperial Guards were mobilized. No infantry was dispatched.
Li Chuyun and Yang Biao rode up on their horses, reined in their horses and stood on Guo Shao's left and right. They followed Guo Shao's gaze and looked at the group of people and horses on the river that looked like ants crawling on tree branches.
Guo Shao ignored them and remained silent for a long time.
He took a few deep breaths into the wind, but still couldn't relieve the inexplicable tightness in his chest. He felt very heavy, as if something was pressing on him, and his heart was beating very fast. He felt a little nervous before going into battle.
Failure is not always a good thing, it can increase psychological pressure. If the Northern Expedition had not gone smoothly at the beginning of the year, Guo Shao might still be able to lead the army in battles as freely as before, but now he really can't be free and easy; deep in his heart, he is worried about failure, which he can't get rid of, and he can't relax. His heart is hanging in the air.
Or maybe the consequences of failure were too severe, and he felt that he couldn't bear it; or maybe he was too eager to win, and he almost had to win. All these made him feel heavy.
Guo Shao jumped off his horse, picked up a handful of soil with both hands, and put it to his nose to smell the fresh smell of soil. The soil stuck between his fingers, and he gently twisted it with his thumb and index finger. The touch was very real. This was not a dream, this was the place where he really lived.
In the hall of Yizhou Military Office, there was a large plaque with four crooked characters on it: "The Emperor's Shepherd" and an arrow nailed to it. Below, there was a mess: a solemn wooden sign was burning in a fire, and on it was a roasted lamb leg, with the fat on the skin frying in the flames with a crackling sound.
Yelu Xiuguo was sitting on the official seat above. He took out a small knife from his belt and rubbed it back and forth on the leather cuffs several times.
The soldiers below cut off the roasted outer layer of the lamb leg and put it on a plate, then bent over with both hands and brought it to the table in front of Yelu Xiu'ge. Yelu Xiu'ge took a knife and cut off a piece, put it to his mouth, licked the blade with his tongue, and began to chew.
An aristocrat sitting nearby pointed at the Han woman carrying the plate and said something incoherent, his eyes fixed on the wine jug on her plate.
At this moment, a Khitan man hurried in, walked straight to the official seat, bent down and whispered a few words to Yelu Xiu'ge.
Yelu Xiuguo stopped chewing immediately after hearing this, then continued chewing. After a while, he asked: Where are we
The Khitan man said: Zhenzhou.
The nobles and generals below all turned their heads to look at the one in the upper position.
Yelu Xiu'ge looked around and said: Blacksmith Guo is here and has just arrived in Zhenzhou.
Everyone was immediately in an uproar, and Yang Gun hurriedly said: "The Zhou imperial army is powerful, and our Youzhou army has few soldiers and generals, so we cannot fight within the Zhou territory. Please give the order to abandon Yizhou and flee north immediately."
Yelu Xiu'ge sneered and said: Blacksmith Guo is here to compete with me again. It's very good, don't worry, sleep for a night and leave tomorrow morning.
Yang Gun said: Marshal, please do not act on impulse. Be careful not to be besieged in Yizhou. It will be very serious.
Yelu Xiuguo was a little unhappy after hearing this: "I don't need anyone to teach me how to use troops. I'm not stupid enough to compete with Guo the blacksmith for face and win. I just want to tease him. Others have to walk a long way from Tokyo to the north."
After hearing this, Yang Gun had no choice but to say: The commander-in-chief is wise.
Yelu Xiu'ge leisurely ate meat and drank wine with the generals. After getting drunk, he said: Didn't we capture the daughter of Sun Xingyou, the governor of Yizhou, and bring her in to keep everyone company
Early the next morning, all of Yelu Xiu'ge's troops crossed the Juma River and stationed in Zhuozhou on the north bank.
When Guo Shao led the Zhou army north to Yizhou, he saw only the devastated villages along the way, and there was no trace of the Liao army.
When they reached the post road outside Yizhou City, the soldiers all turned their heads to look at the roadside, and the atmosphere was very desolate. Guo Shao saw the pile of things clearly from afar.
Jingguan Wei Renpu's voice said in a deep voice.
The scene was extremely horrifying. There was a cone-like pile with the heads of Yizhou soldiers piled up into a pile with faces on top. The stench of decay filled the air. It was a shocking and terrifying scene.
Guo Shao's face turned pale, his left hand tightly grasped the hilt of the sword, a feeling of humiliation and anger surged to his head. The meaning of this thing was very obvious. It was showing off its military power to the Great Zhou and mocking the failure of the Zhou army.
Since Guo Shao took command of the army, no one has ever dared to show off their martial arts in front of the Zhou army.
But at this time, the defeat of Yizhou was a fact, and the weak would be trampled. Guo Shao felt that getting angry and humiliated was useless, so he coldly ordered: Order the troops behind to change the route, and send someone to burn the head and then bury it to prevent the outbreak of plague after it rots.
Wei Renpu clasped his fists and said: I will arrange it immediately.
The gates of Yizhou were wide open, and inside there were countless burned-down houses and ruins everywhere. There were no soldiers guarding the city, and no civilians on the streets. When you first enter Yizhou, the desolate and dilapidated scene, coupled with the classical architecture, makes you feel like you have entered a ghost town.
Guo Shao led his troops along the north-south central axis road into the city and arrived at the military government office in Yizhou. He and the guards of civil and military ministers rode straight into the gate of the office because the door was open.
At this moment, a figure suddenly walked out of the lobby door. Everyone was startled.
There was no one around, and suddenly a woman with disheveled hair and no clothes came out. It was like seeing a ghost. But in broad daylight, there couldn't be a ghost. She was a person.
She walked towards Guo Shao and the others blankly, limping and looking dejected. Everyone was silent, unable to bear to look at her. Her hair was disheveled, her eyes and face were swollen, her mouth and nose were covered with blood, she no longer looked like a human, and her skin was covered with bruises and blood.
Guo Shao immediately guessed what had happened to her. He was so upset and ashamed that he could not express it in words. He gritted his teeth and his eyes were about to burst into flames. This was a young woman he did not know, but Guo Shao was the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he had a certain responsibility for the people under his rule.
Everyone watched silently, lowering their heads slightly. The civil and military officials would not feel proud to see their own people being humiliated like this.
Guo Shao jumped off his horse, and without thinking, he quickly took off his cloak and wrapped it around the young lady to cover her. The young lady just stood there without any reaction.
Guo Shao grabbed her hand and put it in front of her to hold down her cloak. His voice was a little choked up: I'm sorry.
All the ministers looked at each other sideways, these three words were equivalent to a confession of guilt.
Guo Shao gritted his teeth and said: I'm sorry for you.
The girl stood there in a daze, her face blank and unresponsive. Guo Shao turned around abruptly and ordered: Send her to the wounded camp, and ask the officials to ask where her family is.
Here.
Veins popped out of Guo Shao's temples, but his expression gradually calmed down. At Lu Chengyong's command, a group of guards entered the messy hall first, searched and cleaned up, and then Guo Shao led the civil and military officials to enter and take their seats.
Wei Renpu said: The Liao army has only more than 10,000 cavalry at most, and has now retreated to Zhuozhou. Yelu Xiuguo and Yang Gun are unlikely to be willing to fight against our main cavalry. At present, we can only drive away the Liao army, but cannot catch them.
This was also expected. Guo Shao calmed down a lot.
Wei Renpu said: "We should cross the river and occupy Qigou Pass immediately to encircle Zhuozhou. The Liao army should abandon Zhuozhou and flee north soon. Time is short, and it is possible that they have not had time to transport all the people and money and food they looted in Zhuozhou, so we can still snatch back some of them."
Guo Shao thought it was a good idea.
So Yang Biao was the vanguard, and the army marched out of the southwest of Zhuozhou. Shi Yanchao asked to be the vanguard several times, but was rejected by Guo Shao, which made him unhappy; because he always played as the vanguard, but this time Guo Shao did not use him, saying that Shi Yanchao was prone to impulsiveness and recklessness.
As expected, the Liao Youzhou army was not strong enough to fight against the main cavalry of the Zhou army and could not defend Zhuozhou at all. As soon as Yang Biao built a pontoon bridge over the Juma River, he received news that the Liao army had abandoned Zhuozhou one after another.
By the time Yang Biao had built the pontoon bridge and the vanguard had crossed the river, the Liao army had already disappeared. The Liao army ran very actively and quickly, and it was impossible to catch up.
Yang Biao marched to the city of Zhuozhou in accordance with the imperial order and persuaded the defender of Zhuozhou to surrender.
Within two days, Guo Shao led his main force to the city of Zhuozhou, with more than 50,000 cavalrymen setting up camps on all sides. The battle was very grand, and the emperor's guards and carriages were driven to the city. The Zhuozhou garrison commander and soldiers were all Han people, and upon seeing this, they immediately opened the city and surrendered.
Guo Shao did not blame them for serving the Liao people, ignored their mistakes, emphasized their merits in welcoming the royal army, and rewarded them. Because there were still many Han generals in Youzhou area, it would be fine if they surrendered every time, which would also save the Zhou army a lot of trouble.
Except for a small number of cavalry temporarily stationed in Yizhou, Guo Shao's army of more than 50,000 cavalry and more than 100,000 war horses entered Zhuozhou; then they took over Gu'an County in the east without any resistance. Zhuozhou had surrendered, and there was nothing to defend in a small city like Gu'an. Then the Zhou army swaggered along the rivers near the canal to build a waterway for food until the Juma River south of Gu'an.
The south of Gu'an County is the confluence of the Juma River, Zhangshui River and other rivers. Guo Shao ordered the young men who arrived from Hebei and the imperial army to build docks and granaries here. Then they built city walls to form a new city.
A lot of construction work was done north of the Juma River, and countless materials were transported north by water. However, no fighting took place between the two sides.