When the rain stopped, the army would continue to march towards Qingzhou. Before leaving, Guo Xin took the initiative to propose to the capital deployment Guo Qiong and the capital supervisor Yan Jinqing to divide the troops. On the grounds of escorting and supervising the subsequent grain distribution by the court, he left his commander Zhang Chenghua to lead the army. Our troops are stationed in Zizhou City. Guo Qiong and Yan Jinqing had no objections, so Guo Xinsui went on the road after meeting with Zhang Chenghua to discuss the matter.
At the beginning of May, the camp was no more than three miles away from Qingzhou City. Soon, officials from Qingzhou were dispatched by Liu Zhu to send a small amount of money and food to the army to express condolences.
Guo Qiong met the envoy in the army, and the envoy passed on Liu Zhu's message, asking Guo Qiong to lead the army to temporarily station in Linqu, southeast of Qingzhou, near the Yishui River. He also said that Liu Zhu would hold a banquet at his house to greet the generals, and invited Guo Qiong to do so. , Guo Xin and other business owners will enter the city in advance for the banquet.
Yan Jinqing then asked, "I heard that Duke Liu was ill earlier. Is he still in good health now?"
The envoy only said that Liu Zhu had recently recovered from his illness and did not say much else.
Guo Qiong asked the envoy to rest and have a meal in the army, and then invited Guo Xin and Yan Jinqing to come in for discussion.
Back in the tent, Guo Qiong looked relaxed and said: "Mr. Liu is polite, I want to go to the banquet, explain the official edict to Mr. Liu, and persuade him to come to the court to see him. I still won't lose my status as a prince and be protected from the imperial court." What do you two think of the misery of suspicion and war?"
Yan Jinqing seemed to still be thinking about Liu Zhu's illness, and asked: "Liu Zhu has been summoned for a long time and has not left the town. He wrote to Chen that he could not travel far because of his serious illness. Now that he has recovered, is there any other reason why he refuses to leave?" town?"
Guo Qiong said: "Maybe Liu Gong has decided to be called to the palace."
Guo Xin felt that the two of them thought of Liu Zhu too simply. On the surface, the attitude conveyed by Liu Zhu was indeed the same, but he had seen too many old people in feudal towns like Liu Zhu. How could any of them be simple-minded? What's more, he doesn't have that much time to spend on fighting wits and courage in Qingzhou City.
Guo Xin immediately asked the two of them: "I don't think Liu Zhu really decided to return to the court, and his respectful behavior now seems to appease us. Think about it, if Liu Gong has decided to leave town, why do you have to make me wait for a while?" Stationed in Linqu? Mostly because they are afraid that after our army enters the city, we can use force to force them back to the capital!"
Yan Jinqing pondered for a moment and then said: "What General Guo said is indeed reasonable. However, we have the military order for the camp. General Guo can borrow the military order and insist on leading the troops into the city. As for the banquet... General Guo is the commander-in-chief of the first army. Why take the risk personally? You can ask General Xiao Guo to go to the city to check the situation on the grounds that your health is not strong enough. General Xiao Guo is brave and resourceful, and he is the son of Xianggong Guo. With our army by his side, even if Liu Biao has a heart Even if you have different ambitions, you don’t dare to act rashly.”
Guo Xin glanced at Yan Jinqing and thought to himself that this guy was really uneasy and kind to him! He was not afraid to see Liu Zhu, but the feeling of being carried toward the fire made him quite unhappy.
Yan Jinqing's words seemed to stimulate Guo Qiong. Guo Qiong suddenly stood up and said: "Why did the governor say this? Do you think I am old and timid? Although I am old, I still have courage in my chest!"
Yan Jinqing quickly confessed, and Guo Xin also persuaded him: "Our army has come here, and we still don't know what Mr. Liu is thinking. But the safest way is to test him more and watch his words and deeds between advance and retreat. That's it. As the governor said, let's first make it clear that our general will lead the army to the city and garrison it, and try to see his response. If Liu Gong refuses to block our army's entry into the city, maybe he is really prepared. With three armies at his side, the general should be cautious."
Guo Qiong then sat down again, stroking his beard and pondering slightly, and then said: "Just as Guo Lang said."
The three men then issued military orders and summoned the envoys again. They rejected Liu Zhu's proposal to move to Linqu on the grounds that the army's military orders were for stationing in Qingzhou, and still led the army into the city two days later in accordance with the military orders.
To Guo Xin's surprise, Liu Zhu did not prevent the troops from entering the city to garrison, but instead offered to set aside military camps inside and outside Qingzhou for the army to garrison.
Nearing Qingzhou, the governor and other officials went ten miles out of the city to greet them. It was the busy farming season, and there were naturally no people eating pots of pulp. There were only twos and threes of children playing on the roadside, looking at the forbidden army from afar.
Not long after, the army entered the city from the north gate, and the garrison governor and subordinate officers came to greet them. Guo Xin, followed by Guo Qiong, Yan Jinqing and others, went to deal with the officials, but he deliberately avoided them and rode on horseback to observe the garrison guarding inside and outside Qingzhou City. Even though the people on the street avoid the main road, they still keep looking at me as they walk.
Qingzhou has not experienced war for a long time. Compared with the cities with broken walls and hungry people in Hedong and Guanzhong, Qingzhou's Fucheng streets and the people living in them obviously show a completely different temperament, with bustling markets and bustling people. The crowd is not much different from many places in Tokyo.
In an era of frequent wars, population is wealth. It is no wonder that Jiedu envoys such as Liu Zhu would rather move to the city until they die of old age than return to Tokyo to rank among the three princes. The difference between the experience of being a "local emperor" in a festival town and being a prince in Tokyo must be worlds apart!
After entering the city, Guo Qiong stationed most of his infantry in the military camp west of the city, and set up another camp outside the city to garrison Yan Jinqing's cavalry army.
Guo Xin, Xiang Xun and others took over the camp. Not long after the reorganization, Guo Pu said that Wang Shiliang had sent people from Tokyo to ask for an audience.
Guo Xin nodded and returned to the signing room alone. Guo Pu then attracted a man dressed as a merchant. After taking out a seal to prove his identity, he presented Wang Shiliang's secret letter. The content of the letter was that the Duke of Lu, Hou Yi, had been ordered. After leaving the post of governor of Kaifeng, Liu Chengxun, the emperor's brother, the governor of Shannan West Road, was appointed as the new governor. He was also appointed as Zhongshu Ling.
Guo Xin then wrote a reply and asked Guo Pu to arrange for the messenger to rest and provide transportation, and then thought about the matter in detail alone.
Liu Chengxun, the younger brother of the official family, is only a twelve-year-old child! This year, he has just reached the age when the royal family leaves the cabinet, and Liu Chengyou can't help but start to take back some power from his own family. Although Hou Yi's background in this dynasty is indeed relatively poor, is it really that easy for Liu Chengyou to mobilize the governor of Kaifeng and make the powerful official resign and become unemployed?
Guo Xin then thought of Hou Yi's fox-like temperament. Maybe Hou Yi noticed something from many recent events, so he took the initiative to retire. However, Guo Xin has no chance to investigate the matter in detail at the moment. The top priority now is to drive Liu Zhu away and allow the Fu family to enter Qingzhou.
The day after the army moved into the city, Liu Zhu once again held a lunch banquet at the government office to invite the generals in the camp.
Guo Xin ordered Xiang Xun to stay behind to restrain the soldiers and make emergency preparations, and then took Guo Pu, Zhao Kuangyin and several cavalry soldiers to the banquet. The reason for bringing Zhao Kuangyin is relatively simple. Among Gein's generals, Zhao Kuangyin is the best at fighting, and he has a black face, which makes him look more intimidating.
Guo Xin changed his clothes and was about to go out, but he saw Fu Zhaoxin, dressed as a soldier, among the group of people waiting outside the door.
Guo Xin didn't know what Fu Zhaoxin's plan was, so he asked him to come and ask: "This trip may be the Hongmen Banquet. Why is Mr. Fu here?"
Fu Zhaoxin clasped his fists in a decent manner and said, "General Wuyou, my status may be useful in times of emergency."
Seeing his resolute attitude, Guo Xin nodded without further persuasion and took people to join Guo Qiong and Yan Jinqing.
A group of people met outside the camp. Guo Xin was surprised to see that Guo Qiong was only accompanied by a general and no personal guards. Yan Jinqing, on the other hand, was as afraid of death as himself and came with more than ten cavalry soldiers.
Yan Jinqing also glanced at Guo Xin while on horseback, and Guo Xin smiled and clasped his fists in return. No matter what, at least everyone in Qingzhou City was a grasshopper on a rope for now.
Several people entered the commander's residence and left the soldiers and their swords in the front yard. Guo Xin explained a few words to Guo Pu, and then moved to the main hall with the generals and Guo Qiong.
Liu Zhu and his subordinate officials came to greet His Highness with a very respectful attitude. They called Guo Qiong his brother and took Guo Qiong's hand to go to the palace together.
When the generals in the camp saw this gesture, the atmosphere became much more relaxed. After the generals took their seats, the dancers filed in and danced gracefully to the music of silk and bamboo, like colorful clouds. After a while, the banquet started. Liu Zhu stood up and gave a toast. All the generals and subordinates toasted in return. The food and wine were sumptuous, which was a delicacy for Guo Xin and others who had been marching for more than a month.
During the banquet, there seemed to be only silk and bamboo dance, music, delicious food and fine wines. Liu Zhu had an old relationship with Guo Wei in Taiyuan Mansion. During the banquet, he frequently raised his wine glass and called Guo Xinxian his nephew. Guo Xin let down his guard a little.
Not long after, Zhao Kuangyin, who was beside him, left the table and went to the toilet. Then he returned to the table and whispered in Guo Xin's ear in a very light and clear voice: "There is the sound of soldiers in the back of the palace, and it seems that there are soldiers ambushed."
