The day of the expedition was set on the first day of April. The vanguard, composed of more than 2,000 men from the Fengguo Left Wing Army, quietly drove out of Tokyo from Chenqiao Gate. This is Guo Xin's third expedition with the army. Because he said goodbye to Guo Wei, Zhang, Yu Niang and others in advance, the situation was the same as the previous two times. No one saw him off when he left the city. Only Yu Niang prayed for him. He still had the fish bag with him.
From Daizhou, Weizhou, and now to Kansai, it seems that the situation faced by each expedition is more difficult than before. However, Guo Xin is not worried about the war itself. On the one hand, he knows that the Later Han Dynasty died in his own family rather than in the past. In Li Shouzhen's hands, on the other hand, the first two battles were probably very smooth, which made the battle look like this to him: sleeping in the open air, a long journey, fighting in battle, the loser either died or fled with nothing, and the winner or was sealed. Or be rewarded with glory and splendor.
However, there have been many changes. He can no longer be a general who simply obeys orders like he did in Daizhou, nor can he expect to watch friendly troops swarm to death like he did in Weizhou every time, waiting for the city to be broken and then call it a day. There are still many things to learn from the war, especially as the military ranks are promoted, how to preserve and exert the combat power of his troops has become the most important thing in Guo Xin's eyes.
According to the Privy Council's plan, Guo Xin and his party need to arrive at Tongguan within ten days, and then wait for the next order to go north to support Tongzhou, which is closer to Hezhong, or to continue westward to keep an eye on Zhao Siwan. This plan was very reluctant to march at the normal speed, but a few days after leaving Tokyo, drizzle began to fall in the sky, and the road became slippery and muddy, making it very difficult to reach Tongguan on time.
The air was full of the gasping sounds of men and mules, as well as the clanking of armor. In the slightly cold weather, people opened their mouths and spit out clouds of white steam. The soldiers on the official road were struggling like a long dragon. Crawling forward, marching became a difficult task.
The bamboo hat on Guo Xin's head could not protect him from the wind and rain coming from behind, and his face and body were all wet. However, he still had a horse to ride. Compared with the ordinary soldiers who were covered in mud and had to lead donkeys and carts around them, it was already better. too much.
The bad weather was annoying, resentment among the army was running high, and the sound of cursing continued to reach Guo Xin's ears. Guo Xin wiped the rain off his face and looked eastward. The official road extending forward gradually narrowed until it was completely blurred in the rain curtain, as if it would never end.
But he still shouted on the horse: "The boundary of Shaanzhou has been reached. Don't fall behind. You can rest in the city after another journey."
There were several responses in the long queue. At this moment, a scout suddenly came running forward and said that Wang Jin, the vanguard envoy, was summoning the commanders of various ministries in front.
Guo Xin soon saw Wang Jin at the front of the team. Wang Jin also had a bamboo hat on his head and frowned deeply. He seemed to be unhappy with the weather.
When the four commanders arrived one after another, Wang Jin began to speak succinctly: "We can't reach Shaanzhou today. The scouts have found out that there is a village of Miaotou five miles ahead. Let's camp there tonight and stay there tomorrow. Let’s talk after the weather clears.”
Several commanders said yes one by one, but only Guo Xin thought of the military period and asked: "It is only four days before the Privy Council order. If we wait until the weather clears, I am afraid that Yuhou will be responsible for missing the period."
Wang Jin shook his head and replied: "There is no military period now."
Before anyone could be confused, Wang Jin continued to explain: "The news came from the front an hour ago that Tongguan has been acquired by Wang Jixun, Li Shouzhen's subordinate. There is no point in us rushing there. I have informed Tokyo about this."
As soon as Wang Jin finished speaking, a rather burly commander next to Guo Xin immediately asked: "Since Tongguan has been lost, we have few soldiers, and the weather is so bad, what's the use of moving forward?"
The commander who spoke was named Qi Tingxun. Although Guo Xin knew this person's name, he was not familiar with him because the Fengguo Army had been reorganized not long ago. He only knew that he had been the commander of the Forbidden Army in the previous dynasty. This person was the person when the Forbidden Army was reshuffled last year. Instead of being demoted and moved out, he still stayed in the main force of the Forbidden Army. It seemed that he had lost a lot of connections.
"Since the princes of the imperial court have chosen me to be the vanguard, our army must work hard for the imperial court. How can we retreat instead of advancing?" Wang Jin glanced at Qi Tingxun coldly and continued: "Go back and appease the soldiers and wait for military orders. Don’t spread military information to anyone, and don’t disobey orders!”
So Qi Tingxun said no more, lowered his head and followed the others to receive the order.
... When the army arrived at Miaotou Village, it was already Shenshi time. Although Miaotou Village was called a village, there were actually few households, and most of them were feet, rafters and tiles. But for Guo Xin and others who had traveled all the way in the rain. In terms of safety, even a broken wall is enough to block the wind. What's more, the entire village is located on a high plain, which is suitable for camping.
After a while, the four commanders except Wang Jin set up camps in the village in four directions: east, west, north and south. A small number of people were placed in several courtyards in the village. Wang Jin led his troops and commanded the camp. On a higher hill at the west end of the village, there is still an unattended ruined temple, which Wang Jinzheng used as a temporary residence.
It rained heavily for three days, and it didn't clear up until the ninth day of April. At this time, there was only one day left before arriving at Tongguan, and the entire journey was only half way. Because of the continuous rain, the army could not go on the road immediately. Their clothes and armor needed to be dried in the sun, their swords and armor needed to be wiped and rusted, and their mules and horses had to be fed enough fodder before they could go on the road. Therefore, the entire vanguard army huddled in Miaotou Village, repairing their armor and waiting for military orders to come from Tokyo.
Guo Xin thought for himself that when the imperial army went to Guanxi to suppress the rebellion, Tongguan was basically the only way to go. Otherwise, they would have to take a long way to the east of Hedong, which would increase the distance by more than one or two thousand miles. It can be seen that Li Shouzhen is indeed a veteran on the battlefield. I am afraid that while the court was still arguing about sending troops, Li Shouzhen was already ready to capture Tongguan first. And I am afraid that it is impossible to conquer the famous Tongguan with just two thousand people from the vanguard army. In the current situation, there is no other way but to wait for the court's order.
Just as Guo Xingang had a hasty breakfast, Wang Jin's soldiers came over to invite him to discuss matters.
The temple on Gangshang is said to be a temple, but in fact it only has a small courtyard. It is far inferior to the large temples Guo Xin saw in Taiyuan and Tokyo. If it weren't for the fact that there is a Buddhist hall in the middle, it would be similar to ordinary people's homes. No different.
The meeting place was in the Buddhist hall. When Guo Xin arrived, he found that Wang Jin was not there. Only Qi Tingxun, who had also arrived early, was standing bored. The two fisted each other and said hello, and Guo Xin began to look carefully at the Buddhist hall in front of him. He found that the surface of the Buddha statue enshrined in the Buddhist hall had long been peeled off and mottled due to lack of care and maintenance, revealing the dark clay embryo inside. The hand that was holding the seal on his chest fell aside for some reason, which only made Guo Xin feel extremely dilapidated.
At this time, Wang Jin suddenly entered the Buddhist hall carrying a tattered futon. He seemed to be in a good mood. He warmly greeted Guo Xin and the two of them to sit down first. Then he threw the futon on the Buddhist altar and crossed his legs on the Buddha statue without hesitation. Sit down in front.
The other two commanders on the back foot also entered the Buddhist hall. Wang Jin couldn't help but smile and said: "There is good news from the front. We don't have to wait any longer. We will leave as soon as noon."
It was Qi Tingxun who raised the question: "Tongguan has been captured by thieves, how can we get there now?"
Wang Jin laughed: "Shaanzhou Governor Wang Yu has recaptured Tongguan for our army, and the bandit general Wang Jixun has now fled back to Hezhong Mansion!"
Several people in the hall had expressions of astonishment on their faces. Apparently no one expected that the news they were waiting for first was not coming from Tokyo behind them, but actually coming from Shaanzhou ahead. Even Guo Xin couldn't help but be surprised and sighed that such an important place could change hands so easily. Is this Hezhong Army so vulnerable?
