After coming out of Wang Jin's place, Guo Xin showed his face in front of the soldiers again and said some innocuous words to the soldiers before setting off for the expedition.
The reaction in the army was not as cheerful as when they heard about the expedition in Taiyuan Mansion, because this battle was not for the Central Plains. Even if Weizhou was captured, it would only consolidate the authority and territory of the new dynasty, which would not be of any benefit to ordinary soldiers. The soldiers have always understood this clearly.
Fortunately, fighting was already commonplace at this time, and it would be abnormal for there to be no war at all.
Guo Xin announced the date of the expedition to his subordinates and handed over the trivial arrangements for the expedition to his deputy general Zhang Chenghua, and then nothing happened again. For Guo Xin, he was just a middle-level general. It was not his turn to say how this battle would be fought. He did not need to be involved in the following details. His duty was to lead his five hundred or so men to follow orders.
Guo Xinxin thought: The people below work hard, and the people above work hard. People like me who are neither up nor down are the most free.
Guo Xin returned home and met his sister-in-law Liu when he entered the inner courtyard.
The Guo Mansion in Kaifeng is much larger than the old residence in Taiyuan. Guo Rong and Liu also moved into the Guo Mansion again, but they live in a slightly remote courtyard and are not easy to meet.
Mrs. Liu was still holding Guo Yi, as if she had just come out of Mr. Zhang's place. When she saw Guo Xin, she greeted him with a smile: "I heard from Brother Rong that Erlang will go on an expedition with the official family recently?"
Guo Xin nodded and said: "Brother is right, the officials are going to Hebei to conquer Buchen, and I am also among them."
Mrs. Liu smiled and said, "Brother Yi is caring for the family. He has time to run home before the war is about to begin. Unlike your eldest brother, who seems to have to stay in the camp whenever there is a war and is not seen for a whole month."
Guo Xin saw the disappointment in Liu's smile and said kindly: "Eldest brother is also dedicated to public service."
Mrs. Liu sighed slightly: "I understand what Brother Yi said. You guys are preoccupied with big things, so naturally you have no time to take care of us women."
After speaking, Mrs. Liu came back to her senses and realized that she had made a mistake: "I said too much, Erlang, don't take it to heart."
Guo Xin changed the subject wisely: "Sister-in-law just came out from mother's place?"
Madam Liu nodded and was about to say something else, but the infant child suddenly woke up from a dream and started crying in Madam Liu's arms.
Guo Yi has just turned one year old and can't walk yet, but he keeps waving and kicking in Liu's arms.
Guo Xin made a joke: "This kid has strong limbs and will definitely be as brave as Brother Rong in the future."
Mrs. Liu comforted the baby in her arms, as if mocking herself: "I hope that when he grows up, the world will be more peaceful and he won't have to go into battle to kill the enemy like his father."
Guo Xin said goodbye to Mrs. Liu and turned to his own courtyard. Liu's words reminded him that for women at this time, things related to their men occupied the most important part of their lives.
Yuniang was sitting in front of the window, embroidering, when she suddenly felt the sunlight in front of her eyes darken. She moved her eyes, only to see a figure suddenly standing in front of her, and she couldn't help but exclaimed.
When she raised her head and took a closer look, she realized that the person who came was Guo Xin, and said angrily, "Why didn't Mr. Guo say anything when he came in? You scared me."
Guo Xin: "I saw Yu Niang was so serious and couldn't bear to disturb her. What is Yu Niang doing?"
Yu Niang put away the needle and thread and handed the embroidery object in her hand to Guo Xin: "Guo Lang will go on an expedition soon. I made a fish bag for Guo Lang, but I haven't decided what to embroider on it yet... Guo Do you have any ideas?"
The fish bag originally referred to a small bag used to hold fish charms for officials, but later it became popular and ordinary people would hang it around their waists and use it as a pouch, similar to the later purses.
Guo Xin took the fish bag, played with it in his hand, and handed it back to Yu Niang: "If Yu Niang doesn't know what to tattoo, why not just tattoo the word 'jade'."
Yuniang's cheeks turned red when she heard this. Guo Xin would often say words that made her full of embarrassment. These words would always blurt out from Guo Xin's mouth inadvertently. If she hadn't known who Guo Xin was, she would have thought that What kind of prodigal son is he? But it was Guo Xin like this that made her always unable to help but guess what he was thinking...
Guo Xin saw Yu Niang staring straight at his face and said without knowing why, "Did I say the wrong thing?"
Yu Niang shook her head slightly and picked up the needle and thread again.
Guo Xin sat aside and watched the needle and thread flying up and down according to the movements of Yu Niang's hands. The look on Xiao Niang's face was also very serious, as if she was completing a major mission.
It is said that men are most attractive when they are serious, but now it seems to Guo Xin that this also applies to women.
…
It was the end of the month in a blink of an eye. Guo Xin had just stayed in Kaifeng Mansion for just over a month, and he was about to leave his new home where he had just settled down to fight again.
A war will cause many consequences and change many things, ranging from the rise and fall of a city to the survival of a dynasty... When it comes to people, it will also change the fate of many people. Therefore, Guo Xin never complained about the expedition. After all, being able to participate in the war was, in a sense, actively changing his own destiny.
Liu Zhiyuan decided to personally challenge Du Chongwei, and personally ordered more than 30,000 imperial troops to accompany him on the expedition. By then, together with the troops of Gao Xingzhou and Murong Yanchao under Weizhou City, a total of 60,000 to 70,000 troops would be gathered under Weizhou City. Because there is already a Han army camp under Weizhou City, the army from Kaifeng Prefecture does not need to be divided into three armies, but marches together in one line, waiting to arrive at Weizhou City as soon as possible.
At the end of September, Liu Zhiyuan's army set off from Beicheng. There are four gates in the north city. The main two gates are the Fengguo Gate and the Saint Guardian Right Wing. They follow Liu Zhiyuan and the honor guard accompanying the officials out of Kaifeng Mansion from Chenqiao Gate.
Guo Xin rode on a tall horse and led his men to camp out of the city. He looked around on horseback and saw that there were soldiers from the Fengguo Army in front and behind him. Because the Fengguo Army was used as the main force of the Forbidden Army's infantry, most of the soldiers were fully armored. They looked good in military appearance and finally looked a little more powerful. The appearance of a teacher.
This was the first time that the new dynasty went out to fight from Kaifeng Mansion. Many people in the city came to watch, but it was just a watch, and there was no scene of eating, drinking, and sending their children to join the army. However, some common people came over and disrupted the marching team by shouting their names from time to time - they were the family members of the army sergeants.
Guo Xin ignored the gradually scattered troops and allowed the soldiers and their families to say their final farewells. He is not that unkind. After all, the war is going on. Who can be sure that he will come back alive?
Guo Xin even faintly envied those soldiers who had their families to accompany them. But he felt relieved after thinking about it. After all, with his status, it was impossible for Guo Wei, Zhang and others to appear in such a scene. What's more, compared to the soldiers who need to charge into battle, it is obviously easier for him to come back and see his family.
Guo Xin thought for a moment and took off the fish bag Yu Niang had embroidered for him from his waist. The fish bag is woven with fine silk and has a jade character embroidered in the corner with gold thread. The jade characters were tattooed very small, as if they didn't dare to show them to others. Guo Xin couldn't help but feel funny as he imagined Yu Niang blushing with embarrassment and tattooing words one by one.
Guo Pu, who was standing next to him, noticed his smile and asked, "What is Brother Yi laughing at?"
Guo Xin put away the fish bag and pretended to be serious and said: "I'm laughing at Du Chongwei who doesn't understand current affairs and uses his arms as a chariot."
Guo Pu: "That's right. When the time comes, if Brother Yi wins the first one, won't he be promoted to the commander of the capital?"
Guo Xin was thoughtful on his horse after hearing this. He would never take the risk to climb the city in person like he did in Daizhou... But if so, is there any other way to break through the city and succeed?
