Before winter came, there was a light rain in Jinzhou. The rain was dripping, but it wet the ground, and the ground was muddy when people and horses stepped on it.
Groups of people came to the construction site in Jinzhou City on the road. They were all men, wearing bamboo hats or straw hats, carrying tools such as hoes and hoes, and carrying packages on their backs.
Gao Yanchou rode up to the crowd and asked them what they were doing there.
Someone in the crowd shouted: We brought our own food and came here to do the labor service to repair the city, general, please keep us here.
The imperial court did not forget Hebei and launched two northern expeditions in one year. The villagers were looking forward to the arrival of the imperial army, so how could they not contribute their efforts
Gao Yanchou was deeply moved after hearing this. He rode forward, dismounted, clasped his fists and bowed, saying: "The righteous men of Yandi are well-informed about justice. Please accept my bow." He then said loudly, "I am Gao Yanchou of Shudi. All the soldiers are from Shu. We have heard that the people of Hebei are suffering from the harm of the Liao people. How dare we not follow the expedition and drive out the Hu people? We have come from thousands of miles away to
At this moment, a military general came forward, bent down and whispered in Gao Yanchou's ear: His Majesty has come to Jinzhou for inspection.
Gao Yanchou immediately turned around and asked: Where are you
The general said: We’re almost there.
Gao Yanchou immediately called his general Hou Mao over and said: "You are here to appease the people who came here on their own initiative, but you must register them when they are admitted to the camp." These people usually do not come alone, but in groups from the same village, and they need their fellow villagers to verify their identities.
Hou Mao clasped his fists and said: I understand.
Gao Yanchou immediately took people to greet the emperor.
Guo Shao met Gao Yanchou's men on the post road. A group of people dismounted, bowed, clasped their fists, and saluted, saying: "Your Majesty, we are here!"
No need to be polite.
Gao Yanchou said calmly: It is raining and the weather is cold, I ask Your Majesty to rest your body.
Guo Shao nodded in response. He was wearing armor and riding a horse, with no cover on his head. Although the rain was light, it soaked through the armor and clothes after a long time. The helmet and plate armor were covered with water droplets. The water droplets gathered under the brim of the hat dripped down on his face from time to time, which was very cool.
Guo Shao's face didn't look very good and he spoke very little. He only said: Take me to see the city's construction works.
His voice is very low, but his pronunciation is heavy, which makes him sound down-to-earth.
Yes. Gao Yanchou clasped his fists in agreement and turned to mount his horse.
The group rode slowly towards a construction site on the river bank. Guo Shao's black horse shook its head, sending water droplets flying into the air. The ground was muddy, and the horse seemed to be expressing its dissatisfaction.
Gao Yanchou pointed at the people in front of him and explained their origins.
After hearing this, Guo Shao praised him and said: We must also be careful of spies sneaking in.
Gao Yanchou said: I have already been on guard.
The group walked around the city. The circumference of the wall they were building was not long. Many strong men were transporting earth in the rain, and some were carrying wooden pestles and shouting as they worked on the earth wall.
Then they came to a hillside with higher terrain. An official from the Ministry of Works dismounted and came to Guo Shaoma, presenting him with a blueprint: Your Majesty, the city wall you see is very small. This is a temporary fortification, all arranged by the military government.
Guo Shao took a look at the drawing and then looked at the construction site in front of him.
In fact, what is being built now is not a city wall, but just an earth wall with a trench outside, which is just a temporary defensive fortification. Because winter is coming, it is more difficult to build a city wall, and there is not enough time. The Liao army may take the initiative to attack in winter, so the current preparations are for winter defense; to have a place to stand, store food and soldiers.
Once they have established a firm foothold, they will rebuild the city outside the fortifications. The administrative system has been established, and Jinzhou City will be built sooner or later.
Guo Shao looked back and said: "The earthen wall must be built quickly, and General Gao must send more scouts to patrol the surroundings. You are the farthest from Zhuozhou. If Yelu Xiu'ge comes to harass us, he will most likely choose Jinzhou as his target."
Gao Yanchou and others hurriedly bowed and said: We will obey the imperial edict.
Guo Shaoyao pointed to the distance in the drizzle and said: "When the main city fortifications are built, the local army will reinforce Jinzhou and build fortresses around the city in the northeast, with two layers of staggered deployment as early warning and peripheral attack and defense fulcrums; the main force of the Jiannan Army will be stationed in the center to protect the granary. There are also elite cavalry from the rear to support Jinzhou.
Everyone echoed and said that the emperor was in control of the situation.
Guo Shao kicked the horse lightly in the belly and rushed down the hillside. Seeing this, everyone followed.
Guo Shao entered the fortification area for inspection. He looked very carefully, even asking about the toilets and drainage canals. He also asked about the food, winter clothing and housing of the soldiers and civilians. He came to a thatched kitchen, picked up a piece of wheat cake from the bamboo basket, and tore off a piece to taste.
Gao Yanchou hurriedly found a wooden stool and invited Guo Shao to sit on it. Then the emperor sat in a thatched hut, holding a wheat cake in one hand and a branch in the other, drawing on the mud ground while explaining the tactics designed by the military.
The generals gathered around and listened, commenting from time to time.
Just then, someone outside was heard saying: His Majesty is in the house.
The veteran general Tan Shitou came in with a messenger, who presented a report with both hands. Guo Shao put the wheat cake on the chopping board, picked up the report and said: Youzhou has received news that the person in the Southern Court of Liao has been replaced, and Xiao Siwen has been reinstated and has taken over as the King of the Southern Court.
The generals shouted: "Xiao Siwen is your Majesty's defeated general. This guy is no match for your Majesty."
Guo Shao did not comment. In the previous emperor's northern expedition, Guo Shao had indeed defeated Xiao Siwen in Zhuozhou; but when he attacked Youzhou earlier this year, he found that Xiao Siwen was very good at collecting information and deploying city defense in a targeted manner, and it was effective.
Guo Shao did not undermine the confidence of the crowd, and let them despise Xiao Siwen; but he did not despise him in his heart. Guo Shao had never met Xiao Siwen, but from the two encounters in the battlefield, he knew that Xiao Siwen was not as good as the famous generals of Liao, and lacked the nose and experience of specific battlefields, but his grasp of the overall situation was not comparable to that of ordinary generals, and he was more open-minded and could learn and change strategies very quickly. It was said that the Liao royal family only married into the Xiao family, and the Xiao family was the designated prime minister's family, so it was no wonder that his strategy was better than other Khitans.
After receiving the report, Guo Shao continued to inspect the place as if nothing had happened.
In a few days, he led the cavalry to travel back and forth along the Juma River, focusing on the construction of fortifications in the two cities. In early October, he returned to Zhuozhou City where the imperial army was stationed.
After entering Zhuozhou City, Guo Shao accidentally recognized the house of Dr. Lu. The small courtyard was spared and still exists today. When Guo Shao was still a military commander, he fought in this courtyard.
He looked sideways and found clothes hanging inside the courtyard wall. There should be someone living there, but definitely not from the Lu family. Doctor Lu was deceased, and Lu Lan was now in Tokyo.
Things have changed, Guo Shao suddenly felt a little emotional, and silently passed by this place. He remembered Lu Lan's request to him, and sure enough, Xiao Siwen came to Youzhou, but he didn't know if he brought his family with him.
After traveling on the muddy and difficult road in wind and rain for several days, Guo Shao went straight back to the palace.
Zhuozhou was far away from the cities in the Central Plains and the south of the Yangtze River, but it was always possible to find a better house to use as a temporary palace. Guo Shao bathed, changed his clothes, and went to his bedroom to rest.
It was still drizzling outside. Guo Shao thought of the construction sites and couldn't help but curse in a low voice: What a horrible weather!
The inner house was very quiet. From afar, one could see some guards in armor and carrying swords walking slowly under the eaves. They worked in groups of two, silently observing the movements around them.
Near the bedroom, there were only the eunuch Wang Zhong and the veteran general Tan Shitou.
Guo Shao had been abstaining from sex for a long time since he did not take Jing Niang to the battle, but he still couldn't calm down at this moment. He couldn't do anything else. He paced back and forth for a while and finally walked to the map to think about military affairs.
Compared with Yelu Xiu'ge, Xiao Siwen is more conservative. Guo Shao seemed to be talking to himself.
Wang Zhong echoed at the right time: Your Majesty is absolutely right.
Guo Shao glanced at him, then lowered his head and pondered for a long time. An intuition came to his mind: the Liao army would launch a large-scale counterattack in winter.
Many times, Guo Shao relied on intuition, just like the accuracy of archery depends on feeling. It is a subtle thing, and there is not much reason for judgment, but he believes in its reliability. But his mood has not been very good recently. He caught this intuition from the dark, but he couldn't be confident.
Perhaps, we can infer that if the Liao army wanted to use light cavalry to harass, Yelu Xiu'ge would be a better commander than Xiao Siwen; and the sudden replacement of Xiao Siwen at this time might be a sign of preparing for something big.
Guo Shao raised his head and looked out the window. The sound of the drizzle made the surroundings seem even more peaceful, as if deathly silent.
Yes, the Zhou army has been making a lot of noise on the Juma River North line recently, but the Liao army has been too quiet, so quiet that it is hard to believe that the Liao people would sit idly by.
The calm before the storm.
Guo Shao looked at Qin Shitou: You are responsible for contacting the people from the Military Department. Let me know immediately if there is any news.
Qin Shitou hurriedly said: I have obeyed your order and released a few brothers in the Yizhou branch of the Bingcao Division. We will know what happens soon.
Guo Shao added: There may be news coming from Beijing soon.
Qin Shitou was confused and looked at Guo Shao with awe. Several times Guo Shao predicted small things, and Qin Shitou found that they were very accurate. However, Qin Shitou could not figure out how the emperor knew it.
If the Liao Kingdom wanted to mobilize a large army to march south in winter, it might have started gathering troops from all over the country by now. The scale of this mobilization would be large, and anyone in Shangjing could see some signs with their eyes.
Guo Shao was thinking about many things. He was exhausted after working for a few days but couldn't sleep at all. He was in a state of tension and excitement. He was a little worried that something might go wrong; but he was also a little excited. Every time he fought, the whole plan would move forward a step, so he seemed a little impatient and couldn't wait to see the upcoming results.
He let out a long sigh and came back to his senses. Everything around him was calm and peaceful. Time was still passing slowly, bit by bit, without any rush. This was destined to be a long process.