In the valley of the ancient road between Huixian and Liangdang counties, Guzhen was located. Guo Shao was pacing back and forth in the main room of a tile-roofed house. He looked very anxious. On a wooden table covered with dirt that could not be wiped off, there was a folded blueprint.
The sky outside was dark, the fire in the camp was flickering, it was already midnight.
Qingniling Temple was discovered by the Shu army, and all the people were kidnapped. The words of the middle-aged female Taoist who came back kept lingering in his ears.
Time passed by bit by bit, Guo Shao was in a state of confusion and anxiety. There was no sound of weapons around, and the noise of the battle had subsided for many days, but he was more nervous and anxious than when he fought against the Shu army in Chencang Road. As Li Chuyun said, the worst result of fighting in Shu territory is to retreat when the food and grass are insufficient; but this time it is not that simple.
After a while, the conversation between Jingniang and himself just now popped up in his mind again. He asked: Can Chen Tuan be found? Jingniang said: It depends on chance. I only saw Qingxu last time, and it was purely a coincidence. I never thought that I could still find her in this life.
Guo Shao tried hard to sort out the mess.
In the memory of the previous life, Empress Fu should have died early, and then Chai Rong could marry her sister as the empress. Empress Fu must have died of illness. The Zhou Dynasty was not over, and Empress Fu was the daughter of Fu Yanqing. Who could have threatened the life of the empress artificially
Life and death are determined by fate, but Guo Shao couldn't bear to see Empress Fu die. If she died, he would have no hope in this era. It was good to be rich and peaceful. He might offend a powerful person one day and be killed by the soldiers in the turmoil. This kind of wealth without any sense of security made him very unhappy.
At this time, Guo Shao could truly feel that he needed her so much. This need was very real, like something real that could be seen and touched; far away from those unpredictable and dreamy feelings. Guo Shao's feelings for the Queen were very vulgar at this time, but it was because of this vulgarity that they were very real, just like his sister in the previous life complaining that he didn't know how to save money and spent too much, which didn't make people feel any emotional pleasure at all, without any heartbeat or imagination, but it was such vulgar things that made him feel warm from the bottom of his heart.
In the past, Guo Shao felt that the feelings of a young man for the white, rich and beautiful Fu were too pale and too naive, but now Fu was completely different in his heart. He needed Fu, not only for practical benefits, but also for emotional needs. She looked after him like a sister, and she gave Guo Shao the illusion that she was a part of his sister in his previous life, because only a sister in this world would care about his life or death. Of course, his sister was not as powerful and noble as Fu, she was just a vulgar person.
Queen Fu cannot die
He had to go against fate to save her. Guo Shao was not a doctor and had no knowledge of medicine. He always had a million soldiers at his disposal, so how could he defeat the disease? He could not save her himself, so he wanted to find someone to save her. The doctors of this era could not do it. If it could, how could the royal family not invite a doctor? How could Queen Fu die
Guo Shao thought of Fuyaozi Chen Tuan, the self-proclaimed half-god Taoist priest who saved him from the dead. Guo Shao was not sure if these mysterious gods had any ability, but when they were at their wits' end, people would always put their hopes on mysterious things. Fuyaozi was definitely not someone like Jingniang who just set up a Taoist temple and called herself a saint. He could bring the dead back to life, which was Guo Shao's personal experience.
But it is difficult to find someone like Fuyaozi, not to mention that he is said to be in Mount Emei, which is the territory of Shu. Chen Tuan cannot be found, but his disciple Qingxu is definitely in Qingni Ridge.
Guo Shao's idea was to lead his army to attack the reinforcements at Qingniling and rescue Qingxu from the Shu army.
It is difficult to attack from the front of Qingni Ridge, probably more difficult than attacking a city. The small path of Baishui Road entered Guo Shao's mind. If he could take a detour to surprise the Shu army, his chances of winning would be greater.
If the female Taoist priest who accompanied Jingniang was captured, she might reveal the Baishui Trail. And that trail was also known from the nunnery abbot. The Shu army should be able to torture her and find out that the surprise attack on the Baishui Trail seems to be untenable. If the Shu army set up defenses on the trail, it would be difficult to break through. According to the personal soldiers, several parts of the trail are too narrow and only one person can walk. If the surprise attack fails, even if they can defeat the Shu army, they will probably flee with Qingxu, or harm her over time.
An anxious Guo Shao took a deep breath, rubbed his temples vigorously, and returned to the dirty wooden table. The map only marked Qingni Ridge, and after measuring with a ruler, it was estimated to be 40 miles south of Guzhen; Baishui Trail was drawn as a thin line on the west side, but this map was drawn by Guo Shao himself, so he knew there was no distance, just marking it to show that there was a trail there.
Come in. Guo Shao called out to the guards and the middle-aged woman who were still standing outside the door.
He asked his soldiers: How long did it take you to get back to Guzhen from Baishui Road? How far is it
We walked for more than two hours, but we walked fast, and it should be sixty miles southwest of Guzhen. From the Baishui Road, go south for another thirty or forty miles to reach the Shu Road. If we follow the Shu Road and turn northeast, it will be far, at least seventy or eighty miles to reach Qingniling Temple.
Guo Shao listened carefully and marked the map hastily. He then asked about the road conditions of Baishui Road.
He thought that as long as he crossed the Baishui Road for 60 miles and then rushed to the Shu Road for more than 30 miles, he could cut off the retreat of the Shu army in Qingniling. Calculating, it would take a 100-mile raid from Guzhen, while the Shu army would go south from Qingniling for 80 miles and then reach the Baishui Road for more than 30 miles, which was a little longer.
Guo Shao asked when the people from the nunnery were arrested.
The soldier said: This afternoon.
Guo Shao thought: It is unlikely that the Shu army's reinforcements arriving at Qingni Ridge are intending to attack. If Shu was so aggressive, it would not have hidden in the basin for decades; the Shu army might have known about the Baishui Trail and sent troops to defend it.
If they wanted to defend, they wouldn't rush one or two days earlier, because they didn't know the road for so long. So Guo Shao judged that the Shu army would send troops to defend the Baishui trail tomorrow at the earliest. If they set out tomorrow morning, they would have to walk more than a hundred miles. If they didn't march quickly and the road was not flat, it would take at least two or three days.
The fighter plane still exists
Guo Shao turned around and said, "Send a few more servants to go with you. After passing through the small path, we will inquire about the military situation along the Shu Road to see if there are any large-scale reinforcements coming from the southern part of Qingniling. I will remember your contributions."
I accept your orders.
Guo Shao said again: Beat the drums and summon the generals above the rank of commander to the central army headquarters to discuss matters.
Guo Shao turned around and sat down on the bench next to the wooden table. After a while, the generals arrived one after another. They placed their swords on the knife rack at the door of the main room, then walked into the main room and stood in order of rank.
In the southwest of Guzhen, there is a small road that can bypass the front and back of Qingniling. Guo Shao said straight to the point, but today I got news that our spies who sneaked into the territory of Shu were caught. This road may have been known to the Qingniling Shu army this afternoon. If we march now and rush a hundred miles, we can cut off the retreat of the Qingniling Shu army and annihilate this group of people in the front and back of Qingniling.
The generals listened in silence. Someone asked: "Envoy Guo, how many troops does the Shu army have?"
Guo Shaodao: There should be only a few thousand people. This is the first batch of reinforcements from the Shu army.
Seeing that his generals had no reaction, he was anxious and did not think much, and said without thinking: These reinforcements are all from the imperial guards in the heart of Shu, and their families are in Chengdu Prefecture. There are many generals and civil officials among them. Shu has had a good harvest for decades and is very rich; let's capture these people, then release them back to Shu, and extort money from their families. What do you think
Yang Biao laughed and said: Then we are not doing the work of mountain bandits
Guo Shao said: Shu is an enemy country that we are at war with. If we extort money from them, no one will punish us. Unless the emperor of Shu can take care of the affairs of our Great Zhou Imperial Guards.
Wang Zhang echoed: "We were the first in the Western Expedition, but we got nothing. All the spoils were taken by the Fengxiang Army and the Zhen'an Army. They occupied the city."
Some generals began to be interested and said: I heard that the urinal used by the emperor of Shu was made of gold.
The generals echoed one after another: "The bandits can do it, but we can't. There is no city in Qingniling. As long as we can get through and start a field battle, who are we afraid of? Damn it, let's do it."
Li Chuyun stood up and said in a deep voice: My lord, please think twice.
The First Army's Chief Military Officer also said: Since it is a small road, if it is not favorable, retreating will be too slow; rushing forward is like a lone troop deep into the enemy's territory for the sake of external things, and putting a large army in a dangerous position, Envoy Guo needs to give more consideration.
Li Chuyun added: “If my lord is determined, I will be willing to be the vanguard.”
Guo Shao pondered for a long time. He felt that the advice of the two generals made sense. This was different from the attack on Weiwu City. The retreat route was too narrow. However, Li Chuyun and others did not know that their considerations were a mess. Not to mention that everyone was unaware, even if they were told, they would not be able to explain it clearly for a while.
Was it right to put six thousand elite soldiers in danger for a personal matter? Of course it was wrong. Guo Shao hesitated, which was rare.
At this time, Luo Yanhuan said: If the Lord wants to do it, we will do it. We trust you.
Guo Shao gritted his teeth and frowned, saying: If we lose the battle, I will be the first to cut my neck and apologize, so that I can accompany my brothers who died in the underworld. This battle was not arranged by the court, nor did it get the approval of the commander of the Western Expedition Army, General Wang Jie. It was only for my own sake, and I cannot force everyone. Those who are willing to go, follow me; those who are unwilling, stay and guard the town. If you get the money, both the attackers and the defenders will have a share.
The generals looked at each other in bewilderment. Li Chuyun, who had originally raised objections, was the first to stand up and say: