The end of June is already here, and autumn is about to begin in a few days, but the weather is still hot. Without the war, Guo Xin would only show his face in the army every day. The rest of the time he spent most of his time in the tent reading, and occasionally practicing calligraphy. When Gein started writing letters to his family, he found that he was a bit rusty in writing. Although he was a military commander, there was a saying in later generations that made sense: if you are uneducated, you will suffer a big loss.
After a few days of stability in the army, the amount of grain transported into the camp from the rear suddenly increased. Then I heard that Guo Congyi's troops from Chanzhou had finally arrived in Chang'an, and at the same time there was another person - the envoy from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Wang Jun.
Guo Xin had a deep impression of Wang Jun. When he first received his meritorious service in Daizhou, it was Wang Jun who went to announce the decree. Later, when he escorted Empress Li to Tokyo, it was Wang Jun who greeted him at Chenqiao Station. We have met several times from time to time. Now Wang Jun seems to be a member of Yang Bin and Guo Wei's side in the court. He heard that Feng Guo's right wing who followed Liu Ci went to Hezhong Mansion to supervise the army, but he suddenly appeared here for some reason?
A few days later, a reply came from the previous letter home. Although it was a letter from home, it followed the way the Privy Council conveyed military information. It was personally delivered to Guo Xin by the Privy Council's Qi Qi. Guo Xin accepted the letter and secretly laughed at his father, who was a Privy Council envoy and did not mind that private matters were kept public.
In addition to encouraging him to serve his life in the army, most of what the letter said was official. In addition to stating that the imperial court was aware of the situation below the city, it also mentioned that the imperial court had dispatched Wang Jun to Yongxing camp to control the forbidden troops. In addition, it also mentioned that Guo Wei The privy envoy has joined Tongping Zhangshi and officially became one of the prime ministers and assistants of the dynasty.
Only then did Guo Xin understand that the reason why Wang Jun appeared here was because he was an airborne superior sent by the imperial court for the imperial army under the city. He was temporarily transferred from Hezhong to serve as the military supervisor of the camp. This should be the intention of the Privy Council to check and balance Guo Congyi in the camp.
As for Guo Wei's sudden appointment as Privy Councilor at this time, Guo Xin was not expecting it. However, Guo Wei did not elaborate on the reason in his letter, so Guo Xin had no way of guessing the court's intention.
On the first day of July, Guo Xin accompanied Wang Jin and others to greet Guo Congyi in front of the camp. I saw groups of people and horses on the official road one after another. However, except for Guo Congyi's personal troops, Guo Xin found that there were very few well-equipped soldiers and horses in his ranks, and some of them were obviously mixed with the old and the weak. Rechargeable.
However, these days, the military forces in the vassal towns, especially the old towns in the Central Plains and Hebei areas that have been depopulated due to wars all year round, are indeed declining for a long time. They are no longer as prestigious as they were a few decades ago. Nowadays, more and more of them just retain their prestige. That’s all.
Guo Congyi soon summoned the generals to discuss matters in his newly established Chinese army tent.
After the generals arrived, they were divided into two sides. There were two people sitting at the top. The one on the right looked solemn. The one in red official uniform was Wang Jun, the envoy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The general on the left with the same serious look was Guo Congyi. What surprised Guo Xin was that Guo Congyi looked much younger than Shang Hongqian, only forty years old at most.
It's just that although Guo Congyi is young, he has deep qualifications in the army. It is said that his background is not trivial. He is the adopted son of the former Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu. It was not until the Jin Dynasty that his surname was restored to Guo. Later, he was recommended as a general by the late emperor Liu Zhiyuan in Taiyuan. He fought many victorious battles against the Khitan in Daibei, so he was deeply loved by Liu Zhiyuan. Even when Liu Zhiyuan launched his army later, Guo Congyi did not lose credit. He first served as a vanguard to cross the river, and then killed Li Congyi, who was proclaimed emperor by the Khitan people. Now, although he has been exiled to vassal towns, he can really be called the founding of the Han Dynasty. The elders and important ministers.
Without allowing him to think any more, Wang Jun quickly stood up, took out an apricot-yellow silk book from somewhere, moistened his throat and said: "All generals, listen to the decree!"
Everyone knelt down on one knee, and Wang Jun continued: "Shang Hongqian was a loyal and good man of our country, and he was in urgent need of military service. He can be trusted with sincerity. But now he died at the hands of thieves. The imperial court was deeply saddened by it, and presented him with a letter... However, the army We must not be without a commander. According to the official decree, Wang Jun, the envoy of the Neihe Province, will go to Yongxing Mansion immediately and be appointed as the military supervisor of the Yongxing camp, with full power to control the soldiers and horses of the camp."
The generals below were in an uproar. Guo Xin had already learned the reason from Guo Wei's letter in advance, and he was naturally relieved.
After Wang Jun read the decree, he sat back down and let the generals whisper, regardless of the reaction of the generals, until Guo Congyi took over the topic.
"No matter what, the war comes first. Now the war is unfavorable. What's the reason? Let me tell you, Commander Bai."
Bai Chongzan, who was called upon, clasped his fists and replied: "To my Majesty, I think there are three reasons. First, Chang'an City is high and deep, making it difficult to attack; second, Chang'an City was originally well-stocked, but now all the food, grass, and armor in the city have been invaded by thieves. The thieves can sit back and relax; thirdly, the Zhao thieves have hooked up with the river. Now that the river is not calm, the thieves are lucky and determined to hold on. With these three points, our army is fighting in a hurry and cannot calm down."
"What Bai Duzhi said makes sense," Guo Congyi stood up after hearing this, and said slowly while pacing: "I heard that Zhao Siwan once cut up a person's courage and drank wine, and even said that if he swallowed a thousand people's courage, he would have invincible courage. From this point of view, Come on, he is really a vicious and heartless person."
"However, the officials asked us to suppress the rebellion. The purpose is to kill these young people and restore peace here." As he said this, Guo Congyi took off his sword from his waist and slapped it on the case: "When I was about to go to Tokyo to see the officials, the officials You have given me military uniforms, weapons, and envoys to the Yongxing Army, and this sword is a gift from them. The officials have entrusted me with important tasks, how can I live up to their trust?"
The generals listened attentively, but Guo Xin murmured in his heart: Do generals like Shang Hongqian and Guo Congyi have to say a few words with their swords before a battle?
"However, it is no longer possible to follow the previous method of attacking with force and attacking quickly. Throughout the ages, there have been many methods to attack and break the city, but the best method is indeed the simplest method, which is to surround the isolated city and wait for the people in the city to starve to death. .”
The generals were shocked, but they saw that Guo Congyi looked serious and did not look like he was joking at all.
After a while, Guo Congyi's voice said again: "Shang Yuhou is famous for his bravery. It is not good news for the imperial court to lose this general at this juncture. But now the Imperial Army has suffered a lot of casualties, and our army has come all the way from Chanzhou. It’s just that the men and horses are tired. Therefore, I thought that the top priority is not to defeat the enemy, but to repair it. Just now Bai Du made the Zhao thief rest easy, but I don’t think so. There are hundreds of thousands of people in the city. No matter how full the treasury is, it won’t last too long. When the land is starved to death, the only option is to surrender without fighting. Is it possible that all the traitors and soldiers will imitate Zhao's thieves, who capture the common people and eat their guts?"
At this time, He Hui, the commander of the capital, tentatively said: "But now it is not just the thieves who are short of food and grass. Since we came here, the food shortage has become increasingly serious. If the army is idle under the city, I wonder how the captain is prepared to maintain a stalemate with the thieves for a long time?"
Guo Congyi snorted coldly, raised his hand and raised his hand towards the east: "You and other ordinary people know about important military and national affairs, but the imperial court does not know about it? A few days ago, the officials ordered Li Chong, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, to serve as the transfer envoy to the southwest camp and supervise the transfer to Hedong. , The food from the Central Plains comes to Guanzhong to support us, and after the autumn, there will be enough food and grass."
This time no one objected. Everyone was originally unwilling to continue fighting, but now they got their wish and everyone nodded in agreement.
