Jiang Qiubai called two guards, escorted the Han soldier down, then got up and headed towards the Chinese army camp. It was already dawn, and he guessed that Guo Rong had already gotten up from bed.
When they arrived at the central military camp, they saw all the generals of the three armies and Zezhou officials in their tents. It turned out that Gao Huaide and others had come to welcome the Holy Emperor into the city early in the morning.
Seeing Jiang Qiubai's arrival, Guo Rong was happy and said with a smile: "Uncle, do you have Liu Ni's military connections?"
After Jiang Qiubai saw the ceremony, he told the news that the Han soldier said. After hearing this, Guo Rong nodded thoughtfully, looked at the commander Zhang Yongde and others in front of the palace and said: "My dear friends, please order the three armies to mobilize the stronghold."
Set up camp and get ready..."
All the generals thought that they were going to lead troops into the city, and their faces were all happy. They saluted in unison and said, "I obey your order."
Guo Rong stood up and looked at Zhao Kuangyin, "Follow me into the city with the Shenhu Camp Guards."
After Zhao Kuangyin complied with the order, he immediately ordered the chariots and chariots to be prepared at the camp gate to wait for him.
Guo Rong nodded to Jiang Qiubaidao, motioned for him to accompany him, and boarded the chariot into the city surrounded by Zezhou officials.
The camp was only three miles away from the city gate. In a short time, the chariot had arrived at the south gate of Zezhou City. At this time, the city gate was wide open, and there were many guards. The people knelt down and worshiped on both sides of the city gate. Seeing the chariot approaching, everyone was embarrassed
He concealed his excitement, his face showed joy and he shouted long live.
The garrison of Zezhou City did not exceed 6,000 in regiment training. However, after hearing that the combined forces of Han and Liao Dynasties claimed that there were 100,000 soldiers, the soldiers and civilians in the city were naturally afraid. So Guo Rong personally led the army to the city and led troops to the city.
This is a great boost to people's hearts. How can anyone not be happy about it?
Guo Rong, also a Longyan Dayue, stood in front of the chariot, holding on to the hook rail with his left hand and motioning for everyone to level up with his right hand.
"See the Emperor..."
"Long live……"
Upon entering the city gate, deafening cheers rang out, and many soldiers and civilians cried with joy.
Jiang Qiubai, who was driving beside the car, felt his blood boiling in his heart. He raised his eyes and looked at Guo Rong, but saw that his smile suddenly faded. Following Guo Rong's gaze, he saw a group of people kneeling on the city wall road on the left side, some with buckets, some with others.
The cannon stones and wood were probably taken to the top of the city to defend against the enemy.
Jiang Qiubai was confused for a moment, but he didn't know why Guo Rong looked serious.
But when Guo Rong called to stop the carriage, he slowly got out of the chariot and said to Gao Huaide who was following him: "Gao Aiqing, please lead me to the city wall to have a look..."
The accompanying officials were all frightened by the change in Guo Rong's expression, and were all surprised and doubtful. Gao Huaide, suspicious, led Guo Rong to the top of the city.
Jiang Qiubai looked around at the east-west walls on the top of the city, and saw many parapets, cannon stones and other defensive tools stacked on them. Many of the kneeling guards had arrow feathers or cannon stones in front of them, thinking they were seeing the emperor.
Going up to the city for inspection, everyone put down their belongings and paid homage.
Guo Rong didn't say a word, but his face became more serious. He walked quickly along the east direction. No one knew what Guo Rong was thinking for a moment, and everyone was uneasy. They followed him and looked at each other secretly. When they arrived in front of the gate tower at the head of the north city, Guo Rongfang
He stopped, turned around, looked at Gao Huaide, and said suddenly: "Have you received the imperial edict from my imperial commander?"
Gao Huaide suppressed his pounding heartbeat and responded cautiously: "The emperor's edict was sent to Zezhou three days ago..."
"Okay." Guo Rong pointed to the wood and other objects beside the city wall and said in a deep voice: "These piled up defense objects should have been put away before I arrived, right?"
Gao Huaide seemed to be aware of it, with cold sweat on his head. After a slight hesitation, he bowed down and said, "Your Majesty is wise, I am guilty, and I am ignorant... Please forgive me."
The accompanying Zezhou officials were shocked and at a loss for words, but when they saw Gao Huaide kneeling down to plead guilty, they also knelt down and apologized.
However, Guo Rong turned to the confused Zhao Kuangyin and said: "Instruct the three armies to move to the north gate city." Zhao Kuangyin immediately accepted the order and left.
Looking at Gao Huaide who was kneeling on the ground, Guo Rong shook his head and said with anger on his face: "After Gao Aiqing, a famous general, he has been on the battlefield for a long time, but he is so... but he is so ignorant of my heart, get up."
He was wise and powerful, but had a bad temper. Before he came to the throne, he was in charge of Chanzhou. During the time of Kaifeng, whenever his subordinates made mistakes and made him angry, they were always comforted by his virtuous and gentle wife. Now she is the queen.
Guo Rong's tone was originally harsh, but when Jiang Qiubai shook his head, he changed "so ignorant" to "so unaware of my heart." Although he was the emperor, he respected Jiang Qiubai and knew what he was thinking.
Then he suppressed the anger in his heart and his tone became calmer.
Looking at the officials who had already stood up, Guo Rong said slowly: "Yesterday, I arrived outside the city. Now you are making the soldiers and civilians work hard to bring up these city defense objects. I personally marched to drive out the enemy and destroy the bandits.
If you are not here to defend Zezhou City, what you are doing...won't it destroy my morale? If we implement the strategy of defending the city, and the enemy forces build up momentum and claim that we are besieged in Zezhou, won't it disturb people's hearts?"
If Guo Rong had not arrived in Zezhou, he should have prepared wood and other materials. But now Guo Rong has arrived, and Liu Chong has not led his troops to attack, so he cannot implement the strategy of defending the city and sit back and wait for difficulties.
This move affects the morale of the military and civilians.
All the Zezhou officials looked ashamed when they heard this, looked at each other, and knelt down to apologize, "I am so ignorant, please forgive me..."
"Get up." Guo Rong's face was calm. After everyone got up, he looked at Gao Huaide, "You will send two thousand elite soldiers out of the city, line up with the three armies on standby, and publish an announcement... Let the people in the city feel at ease. I will never do it."
The rebels will come to Zezhou City."
"I obey the order." Gao Huaide bowed to receive the order, and immediately sent an order to assemble two thousand elite soldiers. Thinking it was for war preparations, the soldiers had already been prepared. After a cup of tea, two thousand elite soldiers had already assembled at the foot of the North Gate City.
.
Guo Rong walked closer to the outer wall of the city, looking at the officers and soldiers who were about to complete their formation, with a look of approval on his face. After a while, dust started to rise in the west, and the three armies that were waiting for orders at the south gate had already moved in with orders.
"Is the flag commander here?" Guo Rong said solemnly.
"The general is here." A few feet behind him, a flag commander in his thirties wearing bright armor quickly saluted.
"Beat the drum and order the three armies to line up."
"According to the order." The flag commander quickly turned around and ran up the tower behind him. In a moment, he heard the sound of "dong, dong, dong" drums, and saw the flag commander standing on the top floor of the tower, holding the flag and commanding the formation.
.
When the generals of the three armies heard the sound of drums, they raised their eyes and looked towards the top of the city. Following the orders of the flags, the generals of each battalion quickly moved into formation. The sounds of drums, horse hooves and footsteps were intertwined, and the sound did not reach half a stick of incense.
As time passed, the people and horses were already standing in neat rows.
At this time, the morning sun was rising, and the soft light shone on the tip of the spear in the hands of the 20,000 soldiers, reflecting a bright white light. Guo Rong looked at the soldiers gathered in front of the moat, who were heavily armored and majestic, with majestic faces.
With a smile on his face, he raised his left hand and the drums on the tower stopped immediately. For a moment, the tens of thousands of soldiers were silent, except for the sound of flags fluttering in the southeast wind.
"The traitor Liu Chong recruited deserters to steal rivers east of the river. He did not think about the kindness of Emperor Taizu in reforming his life. He forgot the lesson of Pingyang's rout. Now he plans to rebel and create chaos again. He wants to split up our territory. How should I deal with it...
…”
In his early years, Guo Rong followed Guo Wei in charge of military affairs. In recent years, he has also been in charge of state affairs. He is naturally slack in martial arts, but he also has the skills to consolidate the Yuan Dynasty. Now he aims at the country and the country, and he speaks slowly with the words of a strong man,
But it was strong and powerful, and among the ups and downs, the soldiers could hear every word clearly.
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Huaide beside him raised his arms and shouted, "Sweep out the traitors and bring peace to Hedong."
"Sweep out the traitors and bring peace to Hedong..."
"Sweep out the traitors and bring peace to Hedong..."
The first two sounds had a slight ups and downs, but the third sound was heard by thousands of people, and the sound was like thunder.
The land east of Hedong has always been integrated with the Central Plains. It is the gateway to the north of the Central Plains. Liu Min occupied it and proclaimed himself emperor. Guo Rong regarded him as a traitor and rebel, and never treated him as a country, so he called him a traitor and a rebel.
, splitting the country. When mentioning that in the first year of Guangshun, Liu Chong invaded Pingyang and was defeated by Guo Wei's troops, and the army destroyed the camp and fled, it certainly meant to boost morale.
"The foreign Khitans took advantage of the chaos in China and stole the Youyun states. Now they have linked up with the traitor Liu Chong and invaded our borders. How can I control it, all the officers and men?"
Gao Huaide raised his arms and shouted, "Drive out the enemy and break the captives, recover the rivers and mountains..."
"Driving the enemy and destroying the captives, recovering the rivers and mountains..."
"Driving the enemy and destroying the captives, recovering the rivers and mountains..."
"Drive the enemy and capture the captives, recover the rivers and mountains..." At this time, tens of thousands of people in the inner city also shouted loudly, and the sound shook the sky for a while.
"I think this Khitan is a Chinese citizen. He is not familiar with rituals and music, and he has a disobedient heart. He wants to use the power of a water to sweep our vast sea. I will go to Beijing within ten years to teach him rituals and music.
Great righteousness, let him know the way of all the currents returning to the sea, and join our Great Zhou Heavenly Court... All the soldiers should be able to go with me." Guo Rong said to Pleiades.
When Yi Wuwei became frustrated, he hid in Taibai Mountain and set up an academy to educate students. Although he wanted to escape from the world for his students, he never gave up his desire for unification of the world deep in his heart.
When he was born, not long after the death of Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty, the world was relatively stable under the remnants of the ZTE in Huichang. Therefore, he often mentioned in front of Jiang Qiubai and others that when he was young, he saw the world was unified and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.
Jiang Qiubai and others lurk in their hearts a longing for the unification of the world.
Hearing Guo Rong's heroic words, Jiang Qiubai couldn't help but feel excited, and shouted loudly: "The emperor is so powerful that he can unify the world..."
All the soldiers were born in troubled times, and none of them had ever seen a stable situation in the world. They only thought about the historical records in their minds, and the stories of the prosperous Tang Dynasty that were spread among the people. When they heard Jiang Qiubai's shout, they all felt strong and fierce, and raised their spears.
Scream loudly: "The emperor's divine martial arts will unify the world, the emperor's divine martial arts will unify the world..."
Guo Rong never thought that Jiang Qiubai, who was usually humble and reserved, would be so excited, and he couldn't help laughing in surprise.
At this time, a flying bird thought that it could not bear the shouts of all the people, so it was frightened in mid-air and fell down towards the moat. When the bird's body was about to touch the river, the frightened bird screamed and spread its wings.
Fly up.
With a thought in his mind, Jiang Qiubai reached out with his right hand, and a force of energy caught the frightened bird that was about to fly away more than three feet away. The frightened bird seemed to be entangled in a web, but could not move, and followed Jiang Qiubai.
The qi machine recovered in vain fell into his hands.
Guo Rong glanced at the frightened bird with a cluster of feathers on its head, "Does any of you know the name of this bird?"
An official on Jiang Qiubai's left bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this bird is called the peacebird."
"Peacebird?" Guo Rong felt something slightly. He raised his head and looked at the sky for a moment, then suddenly said: "Get pen, ink, paper and inkstone."
Gao Huaide beside him was startled, and immediately called two soldiers to follow him into the tower quickly. After a while, he saw two soldiers carrying a desk with the four treasures of the study coming out. Guo Rong looked at a room with a thoughtful expression.
But the rice paper has already been laid out.
Gao Huaide polished the ink in an instant, then held up the jade brush and presented it to Guo Rong. Guo Rong took the jade brush, walked to the case, dipped it in the ink, pondered for a moment, then waved the brush and wrote:
The sun and the moon have not changed, the mountains and rivers are split, the Qin city is shining in the sky for thousands of miles. The stream of light is magnificent, the wind is cold, and the Six Kingdoms have been extinguished in ten years. The ancient iron-hoofed roads, the long walls of moss, and the vastness of pride are to be found.
A unified legacy is passed down, and the strong grass in Lishan Mountain looks out at the tower.
The smoke and clouds rise wildly, the fish in the abyss are replaced by dragons, and the banners of the city walls are changed. Why hate the feeling of the campfire? The setting sun is sad and the horses are bleeding. Looking at the Great Wall again, the halberds are raised and roaring, and the majestic energy breaks through the chaotic snow.
There is peace in the world and a breeze blows.
At this time, the world was torn apart, and there were six or seven dynasties and vassals that were proclaimed kings and emperors. Each dynasty had its own religion, the military officers were arrogant, the civil servants only had their ambitions, and the people only knew that they had a family but not a country. The current situation was still unclear.
Compared with the chaos of the Warring States period when heroes were competing for hegemony, everyone was moved when they saw that he used Qin Shihuang as a metaphor in every word, revealing his ambition to unify the world and make the people live in peace.
Guo Rong placed the pen on the inkstone and looked at the peacebird in Jiang Qiubai's hand, "Peacebird, peacebird, good, good..."
He turned to the eunuch accompanying the army and said: "Get a cage and raise it well. I want to have a peaceful world with it within ten years."
"Your Majesty has great talents and great plans, and I am willing to serve you from the front and back." All the officials said in unison as they bowed down.
"Everyone is alive..." Guo Rong laughed loudly and looked at Gao Huaide who stood up and said, "I have been to Zezhou many years ago. I remember that there is a valley more than 20 miles to the north. What is the name of that valley?"
"Back to the Emperor, it's Mao'er Gang."
"Mao'er Gang," Guo Rong nodded, thought for a while and said, "Zezhou Commander Gao Huaide listened to the order."
Upon hearing this, Gao Huaide immediately knelt down and worshiped, "My minister, Gao Huaide, listens respectfully to the holy edict."
"I will appoint you as Yuhou, the vanguard of the bandits. I will lead my two thousand elite troops to set up an ambush at Mao'er Gang. If the enemy army comes, don't move lightly. Only after I lead the army to fight with them can you attack them from behind and disturb them.
It..." Guo Rong paused for a moment and then said: "If they are the vanguard, attack them for me and weaken their spirit."
"I obey the decree."
Turning his eyes to the remaining Zezhou officials, Guo Rong said slowly: "I will then unite the three armies to set up camp on the south side of Mao'er Gang. All the ministers will prepare grain and military supplies in the city. If the war breaks out... I will order the regiment to train and transport weapons and arrows.
feather."
After hearing this, all the officials immediately knelt down and accepted the order, "I will obey the holy edict."
After Guo Rong said this, he and Jiang Qiubai led the Shenhu Camp Guards out of the city. However, they placed their chariots in Zezhou City, switched to war horses, and led the three armies to march toward Mao'er Gang.
After setting up camp and taking a short rest, at Shenshi time, Guo Rong led Jiang Qiubai, Zhang Yongde, Elder Fu, Shi Yanchao, Li Chongjin, and He Zheng, and led the twenty-horse guards to Mao'er Post to find and hide at the post.
Gao Huaide in the dense forest.
After checking the terrain, everyone came to the cave where Gao Huaide was stationed in Maoergang. Guo Rong called Elder Fu and said to Gao Huaide: "I ask Mr. Fu to assist you. If you want to inquire about the enemy's military situation or
If you have any news for me, please leave it to Mr. Fu."
He had already communicated with Jiang Qiubai before coming here, leaving Elder Fu to assist Gao Huaide to facilitate communication.
When Gao Huaide heard that Guo Rong called Elder Fu as Mr. Fu, he thought that Elder Fu was a capable person who protected the emperor. He was very excited. He looked at the thin body of Elder Fu and saluted, "Gao Huaide, the Marquis of Pioneer City Yu, has seen him."
Mr. Fu."
Seeing his respectful attitude, Elder Fu smiled slightly, raised his hands and returned the greeting: "I'm just a commoner. I don't know anything about marching and fighting, but I'm quite capable at running. If Marquis Du Yu has something to do, just ask him directly. Don't be polite and miss the military plane."
."
Guo Rong saw that he did not rely on his arrogant status, and his words were straightforward and to the point. He was greatly admired in his heart, and he suddenly wanted to win over his followers. With a thought in his mind, he looked at Jiang Qiubai and nodded.
Jiang Qiubai knew what he was thinking, and smiled bitterly in his heart. He secretly thought that Luo Hanshui, the elder of Tongbao Pavilion, had to spend all his efforts to win him over to the pavilion. How could it be so easy to win him over? When Guo Rong looked at him, he shook his head slightly.
Shake his head.
Guo Rong felt a little disappointed in his heart. He knew that in these troubled times, there were many people in the martial arts world who were unwilling to intervene in the court disputes, but he wanted to make it clear to Luo Hanshui after his victory and ask him to help the Zhou court.
Thinking of this, he felt relieved, smiled, and looked at Gao Huaide, "The rebels just captured Gaoping yesterday and will definitely rest and recuperate. If they don't come today, they will surely raise their troops to attack Zezhou tomorrow. This place is still far away from Gaoping."
It's more than a hundred miles away, and its army is heavily loaded with equipment. It will take five or six hours to get here from Gaoping... We don't know our military situation, so we think we will send vanguard soldiers to explore the road.
And the speed of the subsequent enemy troops marching along this hundred-mile stretch should be two hours behind the lightly-armed vanguard troops. If you succeed in one attack, the number of defeated troops that will return will be as large as..."
Guo Rong paused for a moment, thought for a moment, and then said: "In my opinion, Liu Nixiang will set up camp halfway and wait for news of the scouting troops ahead. If there is no ambush, he will not dare to move forward.
If the vanguard is defeated by me at that time, our army should pursue it for more than a hundred miles, more than a hundred miles... The place where it will camp should be somewhere in the middle of the road from here to Gaoping.
Gao Aiqing, you are going to follow Mr. Fu with two scouts who are good at light skills, and thoroughly explore the terrain of the road about fifty or sixty miles away from here."
As the guard general of Zezhou, Gao Huaide was familiar with the official roads to Gaoping County, but he didn't know much about the country roads. He also didn't expect that Guo Rong would prepare for a decisive battle on the way, and he didn't know the details. Guo Rong
The arrangement made sense. After hearing this, he immediately called two detective horses to accompany Elder Fu to investigate.
After the three Elders Fu left, Gao Huaide hesitated for a moment and said: "As far as I know, there is a village called Bagongyuan more than fifty miles away from here. The terrain there is flat.
Spring plowing has not yet begun, and the fields and roads are very wide. If, as the emperor expects, I defeat their vanguard, the enemy troops will be defeated and will meet the rebel army at Bagongyuan."
"Well," Guo Rong nodded, thought for a moment and then said, "How is the road condition between here and Bagongyuan?"
Gao Huaide thought for a while and said: "It's uneven. There are hill-like terrains and streams every few miles, which is not conducive to the march of the army. If the two armies are facing each other, Bagongyuan is the best area, but it can be
Let the Zezhou regiment train their troops and horses, and then lie down on the higher hills on the way, and then even if..."
Seeing him stop talking, Guo Rong continued with a smile: "Even if our army is defeated for a moment, we can use this ambush to block the enemy's advance when we retreat... Hehe, but if this is the case, the morale of the army may have been weakened.
And there are mountain trails, which may have been scattered in all directions."
Gao Huaide looked frightened for a moment and did not dare to answer.
"When marching to fight, there are many opportunities. This strategy is to prepare for danger. Gao Aiqing doesn't need to be afraid of talking about it." Guo Rong smiled when he saw this, and said: "The flat terrain of Ba Gongyuan...its vertical and horizontal directions
How's the number?"
"It's wide..." Gao Huaide paused and changed his words: "It's roughly seven or eight miles from north to south, so it's flat, and it's more than twenty miles long from east to west, so it's considered flat... but there are a few small holes in the east-west direction.
Villages, as for the small roads that run through each village from the north to the south, I don’t know. I think Mr. Fu will come back later to find out..."
"Okay. Having said that, we will lead the battlefield here..."
"Your Majesty..." He Hui, commander of the Infantry Guards, continued: "The enemy army has between 40,000 and 50,000 people. Now our army only has more than 20,000 elite troops under the vanguard... Why don't you wait for Liu Ci's rear army to march?"
Come on, give it another full blow."
Guo Rong shook his head and said: "Liu Ci's army has a lot of provisions and baggage. It may take two or three days to arrive. The enemy has just captured Gaoping and is in full swing. Perhaps they have sent troops from Gaoping to capture Zezhou."
.
The reason why I stationed troops at Mao'er Gang is that I am afraid that the enemy will arrive tonight. I will take advantage of the higher terrain and narrow roads on both sides of this place to restrict the advantage of their cavalry... to block the enemy's advance and dampen their vigor.
The small roads leading to Zezhou on both sides of this place are where your right army and Li Aiqing's left army are stationed. I am in the middle. If the enemy comes to attack, use the long narrow valley of Mao'er Gang to snipe.
, the right army can divide its troops and take a small road to the enemy's flank to attack. Gao Aiqing can draw fire arrows on the post and hit them with huge rocks, which will definitely make them retreat."
"The enemy will not come tonight, but they will come tomorrow. If a large army comes, we will act accordingly. If we send a vanguard army..." Guo Rong's voice deepened, "Gao Aiqing, you will beat him hard... The troops of the three armies are stationed here."
The camp is only three miles away from here. Then I will meet the army, merge with it, pursue it, and fight it decisively at Bagongyuan."
"Your Majesty, then..." He Yu hesitated for a moment and stopped talking.
"He Aiqing just said it doesn't matter. The so-called strategy is to pool wisdom. I may not be able to think everything through, but it doesn't matter." Guo Rong said with a smile.
At this time, Jiang Qiubai, who was beside him, actually had a feeling of admiration for the student emperor of this academy. In his heart, he secretly admired his talents in literature, Taoism and military strategy, as well as his understanding of wise strategies.
"If the enemy army only invades with the vanguard and is defeated by General Gao, deserters will rush to inform the enemy army, and their army may have been stationed in Bagongyuan, waiting for news of the vanguard troops. Our army will pursue until the position is unstable.
The enemy may take advantage of it then..." He Yu said.
"He Aiqing's concerns are reasonable." Guo Rong nodded, "The so-called brave man wins when we meet on a narrow road. Our army takes advantage of the victory and pursues it. Its morale is high and the enemy is inferior. This is one of them. According to the Han soldiers who were captured this morning, this counterattack
The enemy still doesn't know that I'm going to fight in person. When they see our army's banners and know that I'm coming in person, they will definitely be afraid of the large army following behind them, and they will definitely not dare to rush to greet them. This is the second point.
Third, if what I have predicted is correct, when we approach Bagongyuan, there will be forked paths. At that time, the left and right armies can divide their forces and advance quickly. When we reach the vast land of Bagongyuan, I will go out from the middle of the post road, and the left and right armies will march on both sides.
I also found that the speed of assembling the array does not take half a cup of tea..."
"Your Majesty, do you mean to travel lightly?" He Yu asked suspiciously.
"Zezhou is the backing of military supplies. This attack does not need to worry about the lack of food, grass, or weapons. I have ordered the regiment in the city to train troops to keep up with the supply. Even if the enemy cannot be defeated for the time being, they can still set up camp to confront them.
The only thing Liu will fight against is the Khitan cavalry. When Mr. Fu comes back to clarify the terrain, some troops can be sent in advance to transport the horse guns and horse stakes and hide them.
And Liu Ci's army should arrive the day after tomorrow at the latest, so He Aiqing can be ready to kill the enemy quickly, haha..."
While the monarch and his ministers were making plans to attack the enemy, nearly an hour passed before they knew it. Elder Fu and others who had gone out to explore the terrain had returned.