After the dinner, Guo Xin helped Wang Pu, who was so drunk that he was unconscious, back to the side courtyard next to the government office, and then returned to his room to prepare for bed.
Just as Guo Xing was about to take off his clothes, he heard a muffled sound from the wooden door, as if it had been hit by something.
Guo Xin held a short blade in his hand and pushed the door open, but there was nothing outside.
Just as he was about to go back, he heard two strange birds chirping from the side. Guo Xin looked up and found a figure faintly moving on the poplar tree planted on the wall separating the courtyard and the government office.
Before he could ask a question, the figure had already stepped on the tree trunk and jumped down from the dense branches and leaves.
Guo Xin put the short blade back into his sleeve and said in surprise: "Why is little sister coming to my place so late?"
The figure that jumped down from the tree was none other than Zhao Luan. Zhao Luan came closer, but his expression was not very happy: "Second brother said you are going back to Tokyo tomorrow. If you are leaving, who will teach me archery?"
Guo Xin quickly motioned to Zhao Luan to lower his voice, and then explained with a wry smile: "Lieutenant Zhao just brought his family in yesterday. I thought I wouldn't see my little sister before I left. But even if I leave, my little sister will go find your second brother." It shouldn’t be difficult to find a skilled archer from the army.”
"Brother Yi was shooting arrows in the palace just now, I even saw it secretly!" Zhao Luan smiled sweetly, "Who else can shoot arrows besides Brother Yi?"
As Zhao Luan walked up to Guo Xin, Guo Xin noticed that Zhao Luan actually had a small horn bow on his back. Then he saw Zhao Luan take off the horn bow and a few short arrows and take them in his hand: " My father asked someone to make this bow for me, so without further ado, let’s get started quickly.”
Zhao Luan was wearing a short robe with a round collar and tight sleeves. He looked up at Guo Xin. The two were very close to each other. The tighter robe could not block Zhao Luan's tight figure that he had trained on horseback riding for many years. There was a slit on his chest. The round and straight lines, full but not too plump, are hard not to remind people of the beauty of softness. In a daze, Guo Xin even smelled the faint fragrance, and he felt a little bit drunk.
Guo Xin calmed himself down and said in an unquestionable tone: "I will only teach my little sister to shoot one arrow. After one arrow, my little sister will promise me to go back to the room as soon as possible."
Fortunately, the moon is bright tonight and there is not a single cloud in the sky. Everything in the courtyard can be seen clearly. Guo Xin found a target for Zhao Luan - a jujube tree in the courtyard, and began to teach her how to put on a good posture and how to stand in the courtyard. Stretch your arm muscles before shooting.
Soon, Zhao Luan was ready to pick up his bow and set up an arrow. Guo Xin looked at Zhao Luan's posture: "My sister's upper body should be slightly tilted forward. In addition, once the arrow is set, you can't move around. Don't think about anything."
Zhao Luan nodded and said nothing, but the hand holding the bow was trembling slightly for some reason. By some strange coincidence, Guo Xin stepped forward and pressed his chest against the girl's back. His hands went around Zhao Luan's body and grabbed the other two hands holding the bow and strings.
"Like this, keep the entire arrow in line with the arm..."
As Guo Xin spoke, his eyes involuntarily shifted from the arrow to the girl beside him. Zhao Luan's plump forehead, willow-leaf-like eyebrows and flashing eyelashes, and his black and white eyes are as clear as moonlight. At this moment, the real moonlight shines on the young lady's ears and neck, showing a piece of jade white, as if A beautiful halo was cast on it.
With a "pop" sound from the string, the arrow flew out, but no one knew where it went.
... After leaving Fengxiang Mansion, with no worries about war and no mission, Guo Xin galloped his horse between the official road and the wilderness. He felt extremely light all over his body. He only had one thought day and night: go home!
The closer he got to Tokyo, the more the faces of his family members in Tokyo flashed through Guo Xin's mind: Yu Niang, his mother Zhang, his three younger brothers, his eldest brother Guo Rong's family, and of course his brother Guo Tong and his sister-in-law Wang. Whether it is Taiyuan Prefecture or Tokyo City, only his family is his eternal residence.
Eager to do so, Guo Xin and his party arrived at the gates of Tokyo on the last day of August, only two days later than Guo Wei's imperial army entered the city.
After entering the city, he said goodbye to Wang Pu. Guo Xin first went to the Forbidden Army camp to pay a visit. Because the rewards from the court and the emperor had not yet arrived, the imperial troops who participated in the war did not directly disband and go home. Instead, they continued to wait in the army to be rewarded based on their merits. When the rewards were received, they could go home directly with the money.
Back in Tokyo, Guo Xin was already the commander of the First Army. Although he was still affiliated with the left wing of the Fengguo Army, the original station of Wang Jin's First Army could no longer accommodate his men, and there was a new station.
Guo Xin spent some effort to find the headquarters camp. The long flag embroidered with the word "shooting tiger" was even standing in front of the army. When he got nearby, a soldier recognized him and took him to the signing room that Xiang Xun and others had packed for him and used for the general's 'office'.
After learning that Guo Xin had returned, a group of commanders quickly came to see him.
After the war, the most important thing was to reward one's merits. There was nothing else to say. Everyone's minds were focused on the rewards promised by the palace before the expedition. Only Xiang Xun sighed and said:
"Now that the three rebellions have been suppressed, every town has bowed its head, and the imperial court will be at peace for a long time!"
"It's hard to say." Guo Xin said seriously.
Then Guo Xin inquired about Xiang Xun's pension. Since the expedition, the main casualties of Guo Xin's men were in the battle of Donggou River, so he ordered Xiang Xun to make a book and ask for additional pensions from his subsequent rewards.
Xiang Xun clasped his fists: "All the casualties and casualties of the soldiers will be compensated by the imperial court. I will never skimp on the service of the soldiers. Why should my lord do this?"
Guo Xin waved his hand: "After the battle at Donggouhe, I told Commander Zhang that when everything is over and I return to Beijing, I will distribute all the rewards I have to the fallen and meritorious officers."
Zhang Chenghua on the side nodded: "That's true."
"I always mean what I say and will never let my brothers down."
Only then did Xiang Xun admire him: "My lord is brave and kind-hearted. I will admire you very much."
After explaining the matter to Xiang Xun, Zhao Kuangyin and others, Guo Xin rode for a walk in the camp.
Many subordinates in the camp looked at Guo Xin with admiration and saluted him with clasped fists. Guo Xin immediately smiled and saluted them back. In fact, many of their faces are also very familiar to Guo Xin, but he can't call them by name one by one. Only after personally leading the troops can he know that the soldiers are never as cold as those shown in the newspapers of the prime ministers and ministers. Numbers, but concrete and vivid people in front of you.
After sleeping in the army, the first person to visit him the next day was his old boss Wang Jin. Nowadays, Guo Xin and Wang Jin have almost the same number of troops, but Wang Jin also holds the post of Marquis of Yu, the capital of the right wing, so his position is still higher than that of Guo Xin. But Wang Jin obviously wouldn't show off in front of Guo Xin. The two exchanged a few words and soon became as close as brothers.
Not long after bidding farewell to Wang Jin, cheers were heard outside, and then someone came to report that the official reward for the soldiers who went on the expedition had arrived.
Guo Xin and a group of middle and high-level military generals were summoned together. Accompanied by generals Xie Hui and Wang Yanchao, Hanlin, who carried the imperial decree, read to Guo Xin and others some classical Chinese that most of the military officers could not understand. Then everyone As usual, the generals of the Forbidden Army all went to the direction of the palace to receive orders and thank them.
Not long after, the internal eunuchs in the palace and the officials of Kaifeng Mansion drove the entire truckload of property into the military camp, transported it to various departments of the Forbidden Army, and then distributed it to their respective owners.
The imperial court's rewards included less gold and silver, but mostly copper coins and cloth. When given to everyone, it only looked like a lot. In fact, tens of thousands of people would not get much. Only generals like Guo Xin would receive more rewards. But Guo Xinxin knew that this was by no means stingy. You must know that although the Central Plains dynasties had strong military forces, their treasury was far less abundant than that of the southern countries. Especially since this dynasty had been fighting almost all the time since the founding of the country, you can imagine that the treasury in the Central Plains How about emptiness.
His brother Guo Tong's father-in-law, Wang Zhang, the third official in charge of finance and taxation for the Liu family, has been struggling to support himself for a long time.
