In fact, he only has one idea, which is to protect the world for his father-in-law Guo Wei, and to protect the family's inheritance for the princess, because he is Zhang Yongde of the Zhang family.
Knowing that Guo Rong was more decisive than himself in killing and was obviously more suitable to be the heir to this foundation, Zhang Yongde did not fight that day. Guo Wei also took a fancy to Zhang Yongde.
Guo Rong seemed to understand Zhang Yongde's thoughts at first, but as time went by, he seemed to no longer believe that Zhang Yongde would be so single-minded. Let me ask you, if you are sitting in that high position and there is someone who can threaten your status next to you, who will feel at ease and who will deal with it calmly?
Zhang Yongde does not regret his original choice, at least not yet. Because he knew that even if he came back to make another decision, even if he sat in this position, he would not necessarily be better than Guo Rong. Moreover, because of his temper, the foundation left by Guo Wei may have been torn apart long ago.
The courtiers left behind by Guo Wei had all experienced hundreds of battles with him that day, and they were all ambitious figures. Zhang Yongde asked himself about his own temperament. He couldn't control these people who wanted to be successful because he couldn't be as decisive as Guo Rong. Moreover, the situation in the past two years has proven that under the leadership of Guo Rong, the Central Plains of Zhou is developing in a good direction. It held Shuzhong hostage and could not develop to the west, and its geographical limitations made it extremely difficult for it to go south. Naturally, the Central Plains did not have much to worry about; it even swallowed up more than ten state capitals in the Southern Tang Dynasty, leaving no Jiangnan forces north of the Yangtze River. ; It also withstood the development of the Northern Puppet Han, leaving the little Liu Puppet Northern Han with no way out.
Even with the rise of separatist forces in various places, most of the countries in the south of the Yangtze River still bow to the Zhou Kingdom. The Qian family of Wuyue and the Gao family of Jingnan make Shuzhong and Southern Tang dare not give it a go. Even Fujian, which had surrendered to the Southern Tang Dynasty, secretly sent people to join the Central Plains. This was no longer something ordinary people could control.
Zhang Yongde has always admired Guo Rong! Therefore, when Guo Rong ordered the officials accompanying the expedition to discuss matters today, Guo Rong said that he would continue the northern expedition, and Zhang Yongde fully supported it without question. Zhang Yongde doesn't want to prove anything, he just wants to give Guo Rong a simple message directly. I support whatever you do, and I will accompany you if you need to fight.
As expected, Guo Rong got to know Zhang Yongde again, and actually promoted Zhang Yongde himself. This was the first time that Zhang Yongde was promoted to the Grand Lieutenant of the Great Zhou Dynasty after inspecting all the officials before he resigned, and together with him, he continued to conquer the Liao Kingdom.
For a person who has just reached his thirties, he has achieved the highest honor of a military commander in history. For anyone, it is the most proud thing in life. Zhang Yongde is happy, and the Zhang family is also happy! After all, we can come out of the shadow of the inspection after leaving office.
Before the emperor Guo Rong went to the north, he vaguely heard the rumors. On the way, he actually got a leather bag with a wooden board inside and a line of words written on it, saying that he was to be inspected to become the emperor. Therefore, the emperor, who was not too suspicious, evacuated Zhang Yongde who was stationed in the capital before the battle. This move not only made Zhang Yongde feel uneasy, but also made the Zhang family panic. After all, there had been too many accidents in the Zhang family during this period.
At the end of April, Zhang Yongde, who originally stayed in the capital, received a summons from Guo Rong, saying that Zhang Yongde would accompany him on the expedition. Zhang Yongde understood that this was because the emperor was still worried about him. In order to dispel the emperor's doubts, Zhang Yongde hurried to the front line without even thinking about it.
Emperor Guo Rong felt much relieved when he saw Zhang Yongde's arrival. He let Zhang Yongde be his personal guard as if nothing had happened, but promoted the deployment of land and water to Zhao Kuangyin to do the capital inspection. Zhang Yongde suddenly thought of someone's words in his heart, and he was filled with surprise and expectation.
Then I saw Yijin Pass and Waqiao Pass surrendering without a fight. The actions of the Zhou army greatly boosted the morale of the Northern Expedition soldiers. Zhang Yongde was also very pleased, although he was a little worried about his situation. After all, the world still belonged to the Guo family, and it was everyone's wish to drive the Liao people out of the Central Plains. Emperor Guo Rong's actions undoubtedly proved the imperial court's wishes.
The surrender of these two passes means that Nanjing, known as the Liao Kingdom, and Youzhou City in the Central Plains are already at the forefront of the Zhou Kingdom. Of course, it is a good thing for everyone to be able to regain the two major border passes without spending a single soldier. For the soldiers who surrendered, they can be remembered in history. Therefore, the defender Yao Neibin received a grand courtesy from the emperor Guo Rong.
As the guard of Waqiao Pass, Yao Neibin led 500 elite soldiers to surrender, which naturally led Guo Rong and others to settle in Waqiao Pass. Waqiao Pass is not only a famous border pass, but also an important trade exchange area on the northbound route. Therefore, there are many buildings in the pass, which can be used as the emperor's palace.
Emperor Guo Rong was still extremely satisfied with Yao Neibin's greeting. At that time, it was decided to promote Yao Neibin to the governor of Ruzhou, and people from all over the country called for praise for Yao Neibin. But because Yao Neibin's wife and children are still in Youzhou City, it is not recommended for the whole people to know.
Zhang Yongde still respected and admired the brave and mighty Yao Neibin very much. Although he was a military general of the Liao Kingdom, in the face of national justice, he resolutely chose to leave the Liao Kingdom and incorporated Waqiao Pass into the territory of the Zhou Kingdom. Although he admired him, Zhang Yongde knew that he would never interact with him because of his sensitive identity, he was destined not to associate with these people.
Although he was promoted to the governor of Ruzhou, and this was a good place close to the eastern capital Luoyang, the Northern Expedition was not over yet. Maybe Emperor Guo Rong would not let a fierce general like Yao Neibin leave his side. After all, it would be the best choice for someone like Yao Neibin to use him on the battlefield.
Seeing that the crowd was gradually decreasing, Zhang Yongde stopped his thoughts and walked towards the place where his horse was parked, where his personal guard Zhang Zhen had been guarding him.
! ! !
Whether to decide whether to attack Youzhou first, or to recover Mozhou and Yingzhou first. If we attack Youzhou, we will be directly facing the elite cavalry of the enemy Liao Kingdom, and countless soldiers will inevitably die for the country. If we attack Mozhou and Yingzhou, then means that all the lands of the states in Guannan may be owned by the Great Zhou Dynasty. If Mozhou and Yingzhou can be like the previous cities, this kind of peaceful surrender without spending a single soldier and this kind of war to regain the territory will really be an unparalleled achievement. Even if Guo Rong is dissatisfied, naturally some of his generals will also pursue him.
As the backbone of the return, Waqiaoguan has a special geographical location, close to the sea and lake, and can retreat or defend. What everyone was not worried about following the emperor was that Li Chongjin, who commanded all the bodyguards and was part-time military envoy of the Tianping Army, was also leading an army to support the emperor. According to reports from spies, it should be possible to arrive in less than two or three days, and all the generals are very confident. At this time, in a larger military tent outside the pass, Zhao Kuangyin was sitting in front of the desk, with five people sitting on both sides, all with serious faces, and everyone looked at him in silence.
