Wang Jun was very efficient and quickly borrowed a commanding cavalry army from Bai Chongzan. Guo Xin asked Wang Jin for a commanding officer from Qi Tingxun, so Guo Xin temporarily had three commanders with a total of more than 1,000 people. horse.
After a short period of preparation, Guo Xin did not stop in Chang'an. On the seventh day of July, which was the Qiao Qiao Festival, he officially set off, bypassing Chang'an City to meet Zhao Hui in the west.
Before leaving, Wang Jun saw him off in person. When he was about to leave, Wang Jun made a spur-of-the-moment idea and wrote the name "Shooting Tiger Army" on the flag for Guo Xin, which was regarded as giving a name to this improvised Forbidden Army.
As soon as the Shehu Army was on the road, news came from Zhao Hui's troops in the west that it had reorganized its garrison in Qishan County, forty miles east of Fengxiang Mansion, and asked him to lead his army to obey orders as soon as possible.
The war was urgent, and Guo Xin did not dare to neglect. He marched forty miles every day, which was not slow for the Shehu Army, which was mainly infantry. However, he would receive urging from Zhao Hui almost every step of the way.
Under the eager march, the soldiers were exhausted, and the weather was hot. The journey during the day made people breathless, and there was no coolness at night. The roads that were scorched by the sun dissipated the heat absorbed during the day, and the soldiers all wanted to I have to drag my feet to move forward.
Guo Xin commanded the army alone for the first time. He was very concerned about the situation in the army. Seeing that the soldiers were showing signs of fatigue, he decided to recuperate for half a day in Fufeng County, not far from Qishan. This would not delay the trip and give the army a short break. rest.
Fufeng is a small county, no more than two miles square. The county magistrate who was guarding the city saw the arrival of the Shehu Army and prepared food and grass in advance to reward the army. Although it was not much, it was enough to show his sincerity when there was a current shortage of food.
At this time, the literati and common people were generally afraid of the soldiers. Guo Xin had already seen this, and he wisely did not lead his troops into the city. Instead, he collected the baggage and set up camp outside the city.
After briefly setting up camp in Yicheng, Guo Xin asked Guo Pu to call the other two commanders to discuss sentry posts and patrol matters. In addition to Qi Tingxun, the commander of the horse army drawn by the Holy Guard Army was named Wang Huan, and he was also a young commander in his twenties.
After getting along with each other for a few days, Guo Xin became familiar with the two of them. Qi Tingxun was tall and straight-tempered. However, unlike Shi Dejun, this guy was quick-tongued and obedient. He was under the command of Guo Xin, who was also the commander. No complaints either. Compared to Qi Tingxun, Wang Huan was slightly shorter. In addition, perhaps because he was born in the cavalry army, he followed orders very neatly. But speaking of it, the Holy Guard Army and the Fengguo Army have always been at odds with each other. When they were escorting Empress Li to Tokyo, if it weren't for Xie Hui's timely persuasion, the two armies almost made a commotion in front of the Empress's post house. However, Guo Xin and Wang Huan were only commanders below, and the struggle above had little to do with them.
After the two arrived, Guo Xin began to make arrangements: "It's still the same as the previous few days. Commander Wang will select scouts, mainly in the east, and spread sentry cavalry five miles away from the local area. Commander Qi and I will each send one man. Responsible for patrolling the sentries on all sides and in the camp, you go in front and I go behind, and change the guard when the situation is ugly."
Qi Tingxun said first: "I have no objection."
Guo Xin looked at Wang Huan, and Wang Huan said cheerfully: "Just follow Guo's command."
Guo Xin nodded and gave another instruction: "Our army has entered Fengxiang territory. Although there is no fighting ahead, we still have to be careful as we are alone outside."
The two took their orders and quickly left. Just as Guo Xin was about to take a rest, Guo Pu suddenly came in and reported: "There is someone outside the tent asking to see Brother Yi. He claims to be the grandson of Hou Yi. What...Hou Yanguang wants to see you."
Hou Yi was the former Fengxiang Jiedushi, and he had secretly colluded with the Shu Kingdom before. However, Liu Zhiyuan ordered Wang Jingchong to lead the imperial army to attack him. He secretly ran back to Tokyo, bribed Shi Hongzhao and others, and with some clever maneuvers, he suddenly became the leader of the Shu Kingdom. Kaifeng Prefectural Governor and Zhongshu Ling said a lot of bad things about Wang Jingchong in court. Now that Hou Yi is high in the temple, Wang Jingchong, who went to quell the rebellion, became a rebel. Everyone could see that the two people had a deep feud, and Guo Xin couldn't help but think: Wang Jingchong, as a general of the imperial army, occupied the city and rebelled, but most of it was forced out by Hou Yi.
As for Hou Yi's family, it is said that only one son who was serving abroad escaped by chance, and dozens of other family members had been slaughtered by Wang Jingchong before.
Therefore, at this moment, the visitor outside the tent was named and his identity was very strange. Guo Xinxin was curious and asked Guo Pu to bring the person in.
Guo Pu came back soon, but behind him was a woman. The woman was wearing commoner clothes and looked a little embarrassed. She was holding an infant baby in her arms. When she came in and saw Guo Xin sitting in his seat, she was stunned for a moment, then she slightly bent her knees and reluctantly said a blessing to Guo Xin.
Guo Xin looked at Guo Pu suspiciously, and Guo Pu nodded seriously, indicating that this was the person.
Guo Xin looked at the woman carefully again and found that although the woman's face was dirty, except that she was a little darker, her facial features were not bad, and her back was straight and her fingers were slender. At first glance, she had not been working for a long time. , indeed unlike ordinary peasant women.
The woman remained silent until she met Guo Xin's gaze, then quickly lowered her head.
Guo Xin broke the silence and asked her with interest: "Are you Hou Yanguang?"
The woman shook her head quickly and raised the child in her arms slightly: "The general is joking, Hou Yanguang is the child."
Guo Xin nodded and asked again: "You said he is the grandson of the Hou Prime Minister, do you have proof?"
The woman immediately knelt down with her child in her arms: "The father of this son is none other than Hou Taigong's second son, Hou Renju, the governor of Xizhou. The Hou family's family of more than seventy people were all killed at the hands of the bandit Wang Jingchong, and only this child managed to escape." I hope the general will make a clear decision."
Guo Xin then asked: "Since you said Wang Jingchong destroyed the Hou family, why can this child be saved alone? Who are you?"
When the woman spoke again, she was crying: "I am Liu, and I was originally the wet nurse of this child. Wang Jingchong lost his humanity and destroyed the whole family of the marquis. In order to preserve the blood of the master's family, I exchanged my own flesh and blood for this son to escape." , I don’t know how many hardships I suffered before I escaped here. I heard that the general is a soldier of the imperial court, so I came to seek refuge. If the general doesn’t believe it, I have no other choice but to beg for food all the way to Tokyo to find the old lady."
After Mrs. Liu said this, she cried more and more miserably. The child in her arms was also awakened and cried bitterly along with Mrs. Liu.
Seeing that Mrs. Liu did not want money or food, but only said that she was going to Tokyo to find Hou Yi, Guo Xin already believed most of this and said quickly: "Don't disturb the military tent, I believe it."
Mrs. Liu glanced at Guo Xin and bowed with all her strength, but she still cried softly. Seeing Mrs. Liu, Guo Xin felt pitiful and thought to himself: When people suffer alone, they can endure no matter how great the grievances are. But once they finally achieve their goals after going through all kinds of hardships, all the grievances and sufferings they have suffered will no longer be tolerated. If you can't stop it, you will be unable to restrain yourself.
However, in the dead of night, the woman's voice came out from her tent, fearing that she would be criticized by the soldiers, so she quickly stepped forward to help Mrs. Liu up in person: "Madam, please get up quickly. Since she is the grandson of the Hou Prime Minister, I will not fail to save her." reason."
Guo Xin then asked Guo Pu to go find some dry food and water. Mrs. Liu finally stopped crying and said, "I have been disrespectful and made the general laugh."
After Mrs. Liu finished speaking, she was about to salute again, but was supported by Guo Xin's strong hands. Looking at the two bright tear marks on Mrs. Liu's face, Guo Xin suddenly realized that the woman in front of him was not black at all. She was just dirty because of the dust. And that face covered in dust was really beautiful.
