In the past, when he was still in Taiyuan Prefecture, Guo Xin lived in that house in Taiyuan Prefecture. He would often sleep until the sun was shining brightly before getting up. Guo Tong often talked about this matter. But when he came to Tokyo, Guo Xin seemed to never sleep well, and often got up before it was dark. When Yuniang heard the noise, she would get up to prepare breakfast for him and help him change clothes.
Guo Xin first went to the study room in the side courtyard to stay for a while. After breakfast, he put on his armor, put on his robe, put on his futou and went out. Yu Niang only stopped after sending him out of the courtyard.
Because he said yesterday that he was going to the military camp early this morning, Guo Pu was already waiting in the front yard with his horse.
Guo Xin is now the commander of the capital. He has at least five infantry troops under his command. According to the routine, he can have more than ten cavalry accompanying him when traveling, but most of the time he still only has Guo Pu accompanying him.
On the one hand, because this is the city of Tokyo, the Imperial Guard generals at the level of Metropolitan Commander are not yet qualified to take the lead in Tokyo. Unlike some prefectures and counties with a declining population, all the garrison troops in the territory may not be able to form the establishment of a Imperial Guard commander. On the other hand, his father Guo Wei himself was not a person who paid much attention to etiquette and other common etiquette. After becoming the Privy Councilor, he traveled with ease and simplicity. The son's ostentation cannot be greater than that of his father, right?
When he arrived at the military camp, Guo Xin first went to visit Xie Hui, the commander of the Shangfeng Army, and Yuhou Wangjin, the commander of the Zuoxiang Army.
Since the Liu family took control of the Central Plains, they have rebuilt the Imperial Guard system in Tokyo with the Hedong Army as their team. Guo Xinyin was affiliated with the Fengguo Army when he was in Taiyuan Prefecture. Now that he has been involved in the Fengguo Army, his seniority in the Fengguo Army is not very high. In addition, after several battles, the officers and soldiers in the Fengguo army were all familiar with Guo Xin. There were often generals whom Guo Xin didn't know, and who even couldn't name him, and greeted him enthusiastically.
After Guo Xin met with Xie Hui, Wang Jin and some generals on duty, they discussed for a while the current confrontation situation between the Han army and the Khitan in Hebei Province. Guo Xin took the opportunity to personally express his opinion that the Han army should march north. Wang Jin and other The generals are more supportive, but there are also many opponents, and the general Xie Hui does not agree that the current opportunity is to use troops.
Seeing that the army had different opinions and could not reach any conclusion, Guo Xin quickly left and returned to his barracks to handle some specific matters.
Most of the chores in the army are still in charge of Yuhou Xiangxun. There are very few things that require Guo Xin to make decisions. The main task of the mid-level generals is to obey the orders of the superiors and go out to fight. It is only when he is commanding the battle on the battlefield that he needs to make detailed decisions. consider.
Fortunately, although Xiang Xun was a warrior, he seemed to be very meticulous and methodical in running the army. Guo Xin listened to Xiang Xun's report and looked at him at the same time.
Xiang Xun has a very upright face with Chinese characters, and he is the kind of person who makes people trust him just from his appearance. But of course Guo Xin would not simply judge a person's ability and loyalty based on his appearance. Guo Xin trusted Xiang Xun and trusted him to take care of the general's affairs. The most important reason was that Xiang Xun was selected by his father Guo Wei.
Guo Xin still believes in Guo Wei's vision. After all, if Guo Wei did not have the skills to control his subordinates and the ability to recognize people, the internal fighting among the armies of the Han Dynasty may not be over to this day, and the outcome of the Battle of the River is even further away. The fact that they got along with each other also proved that Guo Wei's knowledge was not bad, and Xiang Xun was fully capable of commanding battle formations and daily responsibilities in the army. As for loyalty, Guo Xin had no reason to be wary of Guo Wei.
Guo Xin asked a few more questions casually, and Xiang Xun replied to them one by one. Guo Xin then said, "Star citizens, follow me to the camp for a walk."
Because the New Year is approaching, many people have taken turns to go home. Less than half of the soldiers stationed in the camp are on duty. A few people are more conspicuous on horseback. From time to time, soldiers see them and call them General Guo on the roadside and salute Guo Xin. , Guo Xin immediately responded with clasped fists.
Upon seeing this, Xiang Xun said from the sidelines: "My lord has always been brave enough to shoot tigers, and he has the style of Duke Guo. Everyone in the army also respects my lord."
Guo Xin was noncommittal upon hearing this, but felt that Xiang Xun didn't hit the point. His status as the son of the Privy Councilor and the story of "shooting a tiger" naturally make him easily respected by warriors, but in the army these are not enough.
Guo Xin believed that what was important was his solid military exploits in the two battles at Damingfu and Guanzhong! And after the class teacher returned to Beijing, he did as he promised and distributed the rewards to his subordinates. Soldiers such as Zhang Chenghua and Wang Yuanmao believed that they could continue to advance and make a fortune by following him - at least they didn't have to worry about everyone going into battle. Just run away and sell yourself out.
Several people were walking in the camp and saw many people gathered in the open space of the school field in front of them, shouting from time to time.
Guo Xin looked at Xiang Xun, and Xiang Xun also looked confused.
Guo Xin then said to Guo Pu who was accompanying him: "Go and see what's going on."
Not long after, Guo Pu came back and explained: "The army horses added by the Chinese army were not used to feeding and had a strong temper, so the sergeants could not tame them, so someone asked Commander Zhao to tame the horses."
The commander of Zhao was Zhao Kuangyin. After hearing this, Guo Xin said, "Let's go and see together."
The soldiers formed a circle on the school ground, and Zhao Kuangyin and the fierce horse were surrounded by everyone.
Zhao Kuangyin was not wearing armor, so he took off half of his robe and tied it in his belt, exposing his lean upper body. At this time, one man and one horse were dozens of steps apart, and the horse training seemed to have just begun.
Guo Xin and the others were riding on horses, which was simply the best-positioned stand. Everyone was waiting for how Zhao Kuangyin would perform.
The horse was panting and shaking its head, its front hooves constantly scratching the ground. The horse's back was empty, and the saddle on it had probably been thrown elsewhere.
Zhao Kuangyin stretched out his hand to stop the shouting of the people on the sidelines. When everyone was quiet, he whistled, just once, and the sound was very high-pitched.
The horse snorted, and then it saw Zhao Kuangyin, its khaki body shining brightly in the snow.
Zhao Kuangyin whistled again, and the horse also moved, running towards Zhao Kuangyin at a small pace, but his legs and feet were stiff, his ears were erect and trembling slightly, and his two asymmetrical eyes were spinning. At twenty paces, He suddenly stopped outside and stood sideways, turning his head to look at Zhao Kuangyin, looking naughty and alert.
"Beast, come here." Zhao Kuangyin shouted.
The horse moved again, and suddenly started galloping, as fast as wind and thunder, so that the hair on its body gathered into clusters, and its dark yellow mane danced like many tongues of fire. The horse's mane and tail were tumbling and waving, and its eyes were rolling. After a leaping sprint, it suddenly stopped a few steps away from Zhao Kuangyin, with its four legs together as if it was sizing him up.
Zhao Kuangyin walked towards it steadily, his hands hanging on his sides. Just when he was about to touch it, the horse suddenly reared up on its hind legs and pounced on him. Everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.
But everyone soon discovered that Zhao Kuangyin was like a flexible leopard between the horse's hooves and under the horse's chest. At the moment when the horse's hoof was about to step on Zhao Kuangyin's arms, he let his lying body suddenly rise into the air. He got up, swung his body, grabbed the horse's nostrils and then fell back to the ground.
One person and one horse were standing still, fighting fiercely. The horse was supporting itself on its stiff and trembling legs and feet, its head was lowered, and it was struggling backwards.
"Beast! Don't be honest!" Zhao Kuangyin pressed his heels against the ground, blocked the horse's snort with one hand, and stroked the horse's neck rapidly with the other hand while cursing harshly.
Then Zhao Kuangyin bowed and jumped, getting into a riding position in mid-air and flying onto the horse's back.
The horse paused for a moment with its legs crossed and its head lowered, and then immediately started to flapping again, galloping across the school field with a series of jumps. The people in the circle moved away when they got close to make way for them.
Zhao Kuangyin clung to the horse's withers like a leech, and the horse didn't stop hastily until it reached the railing in front of the school gate.
"Okay!" Zhao Kuangyin yelled on the horse, "You've had enough trouble, just be honest for a while!"
All the sergeants around were cheering. Seeing this, Guo Xin asked Guo Pu in a low voice: "Which one is better, Zhao Kuangyin or me?"
Guo Pu scratched his face: "I fought in the river before. I saw that Commander Zhao was very good at killing enemies on horseback, but I never saw him use his bow to release arrows. No matter how fast the horse ran, it was not as fast as the arrow. I saw it in the battle formation. Brother Yi is still amazing. Brother Yi’s archery skills are unrivaled in the world!"
"real?"
"That's what everyone says."
Soon Zhao Kuangyin asked someone to bring new saddles and shackles to put on the horses. Then someone pointed in the direction of Guo Xin and others and reminded Zhao Kuangyin.
Zhao Kuangyin came to see him soon. Before he could wipe the sweat off his face, he clasped his fists under the horse and said, "I heard that there is a fierce horse that is difficult to tame, so I came here to tame the horse for the entertainment of my brothers. I didn't expect that my lord is here. What a shame!"
Guo Xin seemed to feel more comfortable hearing Zhao Kuangyin call him lord than others. Guo Xin laughed and praised: "It's not about showing off one's embarrassment. Zhao Kuangyin's horse training skills are simply an art! It's eye-opening, a testament to his bravery and admiration!" "
Everyone around him also praised him.
Zhao Kuangyin cupped his fists and said, "It's all thanks to my father's teachings."
Zhao Kuangyin's father's name was Zhao Hongyin. Guo Xin had heard of this name and had met him several times in the Hezhong camp. Now Zhao Hongyin was also serving as the commander of the horse army in the Forbidden City Protector's Army. The Zhao family did have martial blood.
Guo Xin nodded and saw that Zhao Kuangyin was still shirtless, so he smiled and said, "Yuan Long, please put on your clothes quickly. Don't catch a cold."
Zhao Kuangyin took the robe from his waist and put it on. Guo Xin thought for a moment, then got off his horse and put his fur cloak on Zhao Kuangyin's shoulders, and tied the belt for him himself.
Zhao Kuangyin's eyes were filled with light, and a very moving expression appeared on his dark face: "My lord, I love you so much."
Guo Xin looked around and said: "If all the armies are as brave as Yuen Long, how difficult will it be to pacify the world?"
Everyone said yes.
Guo Xin and others were chatting and laughing. Not long after, Zhang Chenghua, Wang Yuanmao and other Yuan Cong's subordinates also came to see the ceremony. They looked close and familiar to each other, and their words did not care much about etiquette, but everyone's posture was very respectful.
After noon, Guo Xin had dinner with the generals in the army before leaving home.
On the way back, Guo Pu asked curiously what happened in the morning: "Brother Yi thinks so highly of Zhao Kuangyin?"
Guo Xin simply responded: "Zhao Kuangyin is a fierce horse. If you can tame him, he will be very useful in the future."
After saying that, Guo Xin was still thinking to himself, Zhao Kuangyin seemed to be a fierce general, and he was able to convince the crowd. In the era when martial arts ruled the country, he would definitely stand out as long as he had the chance, and he might threaten himself in the Forbidden Army in the future. But when he thought about it for a moment, he felt that it was unnecessary. Zhao Kuangyin's performance on the school field today was so eye-catching that he couldn't help but think about it.
To put it bluntly, Guo Xin did not regard Zhao Kuangyin as an enemy or opponent from the beginning, otherwise there would be no need to keep Zhao Kuangyin by his side in the first place. With Guo Wei's power and prestige, he could even replace the one left behind in Xijing, and there was no one in the DPRK. People say nothing, but it’s really not easy to figure out the Zhao family before they became rich.
Guo Xin judged that at least for now, it is unnecessary to worry about that level of risk. As long as his family can survive the crisis smoothly, he believes that it will be difficult for anyone to threaten his survival for a long time.
