Xuanren City is a city with a very colorful name. It is full of military camps, warehouses and government offices, and the buildings are either rough and solid or simple and low. The biggest feature of the city is that it looks bare. The saplings planted have not grown up yet, and it is too troublesome to move the big trees. Anyway, the ornamental and greening are not considered in the construction of the city.
Even the walls of the palace where Guo Shao lived were rammed earth, without any decoration or whitewashing. He could still smell the smell of freshly built earth when he sat inside.
Guo Shao looked through the accounts reported by the Tokyo Internal Treasury Department and the former camp military office. The numbers were simply astronomical.
The nearly 300,000 troops on the front line had to maintain their armor and weapons, pay their salaries, and feed themselves. The hundreds of thousands of civilians who were recruited to build the city and transport grain, as well as the subsidies for the garrison soldiers who guarded the city, consumed millions of guan of money and food in a month.
Spending money like water is beyond description, it is simply a loss like the Yellow River bursting its banks. At this rate of consumption, if there were only the fiscal revenue of the previous Great Zhou Dynasty, it would be completely impossible to afford the taxes on the territories in the Central Plains that were destroyed by years of war.
The wealth of the area south of the Yangtze River had been accumulated over decades by Shu, Southern Tang, Southern Han and other large and small countries. Guo Shao robbed Shu and Southern Tang in recent years. He was originally very rich. Such a huge wealth would take more than ten thousand years for any family to use up, but Guo Shao did nothing with it and only launched two northern expeditions.
If this continues, it is estimated that within a year or two, the savings in the Tokyo Treasury and other prefectures will be emptied.
Guo Shao felt like he was going to lose a lot of money and couldn't stop it. But he remained calm on the surface. At least there were still things to be taken from the warehouses in various places, so he was not at the end of his rope yet.
There were forty or fifty people standing on either side of the hall, but it was so quiet that even the chirping of birds flying to the new city to observe could be heard.
Wei Renpu finally turned around and looked at the civil and military officials present: We will deploy the siege of Youzhou City today, and all the troops should boost the morale of the soldiers and prepare to set out.
The generals bowed and said: “Yes, sir.”
Wei Renpu said: The city has been built, and the army is heading straight for Youzhou City, but we still can't be too hasty. The military government's strategy is that if the main force of the Liao army does not move south, then besiege Youzhou; if a large number of Liao troops move south and threaten the attacking army, then retreat to the north line and confront the five cities. Repeat this until the Liao army is overwhelmed or the Great Zhou army breaks through Youzhou.
Although this method is not domineering enough, it is shameless enough. After hearing what Wei Renpu said, everyone was full of confidence, believing that it was only a matter of time before they captured Youzhou, and that the hope of victory lay in sight.
The hall gradually became lively. The military officials brought a stack of papers. Wei Renpu explained the siege ideas according to the map around Youzhou City, and issued military orders to the troops to make deployments. Military generals came forward one after another to receive military orders. The repeated responses were powerful and full of confidence.
Only Guo Shao did not say a word, but he pretended to be calm and composed on his face and sat steadily in the upper seat.
After the deployment was complete, Guo Shao ordered the troops to disband, and there were shouts of "Long live the emperor" in the hall.
The previous steps went smoothly. As long as there are no mistakes in the next steps, military expenditure can be maintained. However, if one of the links fails, all the previous victories will be meaningless.
The consequences are not as simple as the failure of the Northern Expedition.
Guo Shao had already seen the monthly expenditure accounts. This Northern Expedition was very expensive. The only reason they could sustain it was because they relied on the savings from the plundering of the southern countries. If they spent all their savings and failed to accomplish anything, it would take a long time to build up the treasury again in the future. After this long and large-scale war of attrition, it would be like drinking poison to quench thirst if they wanted to do it again right away.
Then, for at least ten years, it would be difficult to mobilize resources for the Northern Expedition. In ten years, the internal and external situations would change too much.
Guo Shao once again fell into the same subtle endurance he had before the New Year.
At this time, Wei Renpu entered the custody room to meet the emperor and reported: The Han generals of the Liao army in the three states of Ji, Shun and Tan secretly sent envoys to Xuanren City, intending to open the city gates and surrender to the Great Zhou.
Guo Shao raised his head and said casually: The men of Hebei still have their hearts set on the imperial court.
Wei Renpu said: In the current situation, all places are optimistic about the success of the Great Zhou's Northern Expedition. Those Han generals are not trustworthy, and they can still have a future if they surrender to the Great Zhou. Few are willing to be enemies with the Great Zhou.
Guo Shao stretched out his hand to smooth the blueprint on the table, raised his robe sleeves, as if he was about to say something, but no sound came out. Wei Renpu hurriedly clasped his fists and bowed.
After a while, Guo Shaocai said: The battle line has been stretched too far. Write to the military commanders of the three cities and ask them not to act rashly for the time being and then issue the appointment letter and grant him the official post secretly.
Wei Renpu hurriedly bowed and said: Your Majesty is wise, I will do it immediately.
He added: "There is an old grudge between Goryeo and Liao. Although they were beaten by the Liao army and begged for peace, the hatred was not resolved because they were intimidated by the Liao army's military strength. Now that our Great Zhou is as powerful as a tiger, Goryeo may be willing to take advantage of the situation and attack Liao, causing a fire in its backyard. I suggest that we send envoys across the sea to Goryeo to form an alliance with Goryeo and agree to attack Liao together."
This plan was brilliant. Guo Shao did not hesitate to take advantage of the situation. There would be no loss whether it succeeded or not. He immediately gave an order to select an envoy, bring the ceremonial guards, and cross the sea from Dengzhou.
"I obey your order." Wei Renpu bowed.
Wei Renpu took his leave, and everyone was busy preparing to set off.
A few days later, the weather was fine and the army set out as planned. Huang Gai accompanied the army in his imperial carriage, but the umbrella was empty. Guo Shao, wearing armor, rode on a horse and accompanied them westward.
There was no end to the mighty procession of people and horses. There were so many people on the north bank of the Sanggan River. On the surface of the river, sails were like clouds, almost covering the entire surface of the water. On the other side, teams of cavalry were galloping on their horses. The scene was very grand.
In the afternoon, Guo Shao saw the big city standing in front of the sky on the green plain.
Seeing Youzhou City, looking back at how it controlled this vast expanse of flat land, and thinking of its strategic importance, Guo Shao immediately felt that everything he had done was worth it. Guo Shao's eyes widened, looking back at his army and the thick and deep defense line behind him, and he thought: It's time to settle the accounts.
On the road, the faces of thousands of men were facing the same direction: Youzhou.
In this vast land, people from all over the world should be paying attention to the troops approaching the city. Youzhou is not just a city at this time, but it is a symbol of too many grievances, dreams, blood, honor and disgrace.
In the past, the Central Plains Dynasty ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, and after three dynasties and decades, it was still unable to be taken back. Guo Shao even knew that it had not been taken back for hundreds of years. Some dynasties were forced to give it away, and if they could take it back in their own hands, then prestige and national strength would not need to be emphasized too much.
The Liao Dynasty has been recognized as the most powerful and feared country for many years. Today, the Zhou army has arrived at its gates. Who is strong and who is weak? This city is a fair place for competition.
Guo Shao swept away the worry and depression in his chest and thought: Now that it has come to this, let's go ahead and do it.
He immediately rode forward, and his generals and guards immediately rode after him. A group of cavalry rushed straight to the south gate of Youzhou. On the ancient double-eaved high building, there stood warriors wearing barbarian clothes. The enemy soldiers had already been ready for battle.
The general behind him shouted: Your Majesty, take care of your health.
Guo Shao reined in his warhorse nearly two hundred steps away, jumped off, drew his bow and put an arrow on it. His eyes were wide open and his face was red. His big hands pulled the strong bow in his hands like a full moon. The bow and the tendons made a taut, teeth-grinding sound, as if they were about to be pulled apart, which inexplicably made people's hearts tense.
The soldiers held their breath for a moment and stared at the bow and arrow in Guo Shao's hand.
The arrow was pointed diagonally at the sky, and with a loud bang, the violent tremor shook off all the tiny pieces of debris stuck to the bow, as if a faint smoke was rising.
The heavy arrow whizzed into the air.
Seeing this, all the soldiers shouted loudly: Long live the king!
Guo Shao jumped on his horse, raised his bow high, and shouted: We must take Youzhou!
The soldiers were excited, and they shouted and surrounded Guo Shao as he turned his horse around. As expected, after running for a while, stones and crossbows flew out from the air one after another, and fell behind him one after another.
Guo Shao looked back at Youzhou again. The words, flags and people on the city gate became blurred, but he seemed to see Luo Mengzi bleeding from all seven orifices, the young woman who was ravaged and abused beyond recognition, the burning village, the broken homes and the displaced people with their heads piled up like a Jingguan. All the scenes flashed before Guo Shao's eyes like pictures.
Rushing back to the battle formation, the shouts of the soldiers, like a sea of steel, shook the wilderness outside the city.
Recovering the homeland with iron and blood Guo Shao rode his horse in front of the army with a very inflammatory emotion.
Long live! Countless men shouted madly.
The rage of revenge of the Zhou men will consume the Liao army, and the time has come to settle accounts for the crimes. Guo Shao was very emotional and shouted loudly.
He drew his sword and pointed it into the air. The soldiers were excited and raised their swords and guns to shout at Guo Shao in response.
The situation created momentum, and the Zhou army was confident of victory and their morale was high. That night, the military and civilians began to build military camps and siege works, and everywhere they could see people carrying soil and trotting to work.
A few days later, people from Youzhou continued to come to the Youzhou military camp with tools such as baskets and hoes, and carrying dry food on their backs, to volunteer for service. Some of them were in tattered clothes, but they still came to help the royal army.
Obviously, the Khitans were not popular. In the early days of the Liao Dynasty's occupation of Youyun, there were constant conflicts in order to stabilize its rule. Although Xiao Siwen implemented a conciliatory strategy after taking office in the Southern Court, it was obviously unable to make up for the extremely unfair actions of the Khitan nobles and the people. After Yelu Xiu'ge took over, the situation became worse. In order to attack the Zhou army's fortress, innocent people were forcibly captured and rushed to the battlefield to fill the ditch.
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. After the Zhou army arrived in Youzhou, this situation became a natural outcome.
Although Youzhou City was majestic, the scene of thousands of people digging the earth to build fortifications at this time seemed like a colony of ants digging at the foundation of the Liao Kingdom's rule in the South Courtyard.