It's nearly May, and the climate in the North is getting warmer and warmer. People have taken off their jackets and put on light single clothes.
For Gongsun Zan, every degree of temperature increase was a reminder of his life.
It has been two months since the last trip to Bingzhou ended in defeat.
These two months were enough for Yuan's tribe to regroup and prepare for the Northern Expedition.
Moreover, we have recently received various explicit hints from Youzhou Mu Zhao Yu, which shows that Yuan Zhao's intention to send troops northward is already a certainty.
Now Zhao Yu's attitude towards Gongsun Zan has been much gentler than before, but after all, he is from the Daqing royal family. If Gongsun Zan attempts to overthrow the dynasty, he may not sit still and wait for death.
Zhao Yu also knew in his heart that once there was no Gongsun Zan, Youzhou would probably become Yuan Zhao's bag.
Zhao Yu's mood was actually very complicated. On the one hand, he didn't want Gongsun Zan to win, and on the other hand, he didn't want Yuan Zhao to get involved in Youzhou.
So, while reminding Gongsun Zan, he maintained the superficial relationship with Yuan Zhao's tribe.
This hatred is not the hatred of Zhao Yu and Yuan Zhao maintaining a superficial relationship and not taking their side.
It's the resentment of the family that doesn't think favorably of him and shows contempt for him.
Therefore, Gongsun Zan does not intend to continue fighting with Zhao Yu this time.
In early May, Gongsun Zan paid three visits to Xujiazhuang. This time, his attitude changed from quantity to quality compared to the previous two times.
Not only Zhao Bei can do this kind of thing, but also Gongsun Zan. It depends on whether he is willing to do it or not, and whether he has convinced him from the bottom of his heart.
And Ms. Wang Pingping, the wife of the Xu family, has obviously become the person he admires from the bottom of his heart.
The first time he arrived at Xujiazhuang, Gongsun Zan spoke in an orderly tone.
However, Wang Pingping didn't like him, and the two parties broke up unhappy.
The second time I went to Xujiazhuang, I sent two beautiful concubines as a warning, in an attempt to attack Wang Pingping, an arrogant woman who looked at people with her chin.
It's a pity that she fell down again. In this woman's eyes, there is no such thing as a concubine, there are only two categories: useful helpers and useless losers.
Now thinking about Zhao Bei's answer when he asked the two concubines how they were doing now, Gongsun Zan still couldn't help but feel his blood surge and wanted to look up to the sky and scream: Wang, you are so cruel!
Stepping into Xujiazhuang for the third time, perhaps I have already felt Wang's temperament and character, and Gongsun Zan's anger has subsided.
He greeted her politely and no longer called her Wang or Mrs. Xu, but her original name.
At this moment, he treated her as a woman, but he did not limit her to the identity of a woman in this era.
Gongsun Zan raised his hands and clasped his fists, and asked seriously to the woman standing in front of him, who was petite but dared to look directly at him:
"Please also invite Wang Pingping and Mrs. Wang to come out, eliminate the Yuan family, recapture Bingzhou, and help Bogui!"
When the woman standing in front of him heard this, she smiled faintly and returned the salute with her fists clasped, "Since the general has such trust, Wang Pingping will certainly live up to his trust!"
Gongsun Zan, who thought Wang Pingping wanted to give him a try, was stunned by this hearty reply. It took him a while before he showed a sincere smile.
He sighed sincerely: "Madam's broad-mindedness makes Bogui ashamed. I have been disrespectful so much before. I hope Madam will forgive me."
Wang Pingping did not shy away from his apology. She accepted his apology upright and said that she would not care about the past anymore.
Gongsun Zan seemed to have really gotten to know her now, and his eyes were full of surprise.
Seeing that he didn't recognize her, Wang Pingping teased: "We women are not as stingy as you men think."
Gongsun Zan suddenly felt embarrassed. Fortunately, Wang Pingping did not continue to argue about this matter. She raised her hand and made a gesture of invitation. The group sat down in the pavilion and began to analyze the current situation.
Xu Da, Zhao Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Zhang Fei who was standing nearby to protect her, surrounded Wang Pingping and listened to her.
The more I listened, the more shocked I felt, especially Zhao Bei and Zhang Fei. They came later than Gongsun Zan. Everything about Mrs. Xu was told by other colleagues, which was somewhat distorted.
But at this moment, looking at this woman who analyzed the situation so lucidly, they believed that there are people outside the world, and that women can be as good as men, or even better than men.
Just the fact that Mrs. Xu dipped her fingers in water and scribbled a military division diagram on the table made the two men feel ashamed.
Not to mention the theories in her mouth, planning and then deciding, first analyzing all the advantages and disadvantages of the enemy, then analyzing her own side, and finally taking into account the possible reactions of the various forces that covet Youzhou - after all this, she will
The required manpower and material resources, offensive and defensive tactics, etc. were calculated.
Finally, he told them: "It will take at least six months to capture Bingzhou. We will send troops in June and we can celebrate the New Year in Bingzhou at the end of the year."
Wang Pingping came up with the preliminary plan, her mouth was dry, she picked up the water glass and drank the water in one gulp. She was about to ask a few people for their opinions, when she saw the four people in front of them, staring blankly as if they were being tapped.
She was in a trance.
It was Xu Da who came to his senses first and coughed twice. Only then did the men beside him look away from his mother-in-law.
However, the three of them could no longer offer any opinions, because Wang had already thought of everything that could and could not be thought of, leaving no room for them to make suggestions.
In the end, only Gongsun Zan asked tentatively: "Madam... no, how many troops does General Wang plan to have?"
The title of general, in today's chaotic Daqing, is no longer exclusive to special military positions granted by the imperial court.
It is a general term for an army general. Gongsun Zan’s generals, generals, sergeants, and soldiers are also called generals.
Of course, this kind of calling also depends on the occasion. When Gongsun Zan is present, no one will call him like this, and they will only call him Lord so-and-so.
Therefore, when Gongsun Zan called Wang Pingping this way, he did not mean that they were equal, but a sign of respect.
In addition, when he first came to Xujiazhuang, he had already planned to give Wang Pingping a high-ranking general. Calling him this way now was just to compliment Wang Pingping.
However, the main thing is to test.
Wang Pingping replied: “The more, the merrier!”
These words are not arrogant, but coming from Wang Pingping's mouth, they are taken for granted.
Not everyone can be a general in ancient times. On the premise of possessing military talents, one must also have strong team management skills.
Just like a company, if there are only a few dozen people, the boss can manage it by himself. At most, he can add an accountant to calculate and pay employees' wages.
But if you manage a company with a thousand people, the boss alone may not even be able to name all the employees. In addition to having an accountant, you also have to add human resources managers to help you get familiar with these employees.