The cold wind of the night poured in through the window, and the two booklets on the table were flipped through randomly, one of which was full of various scribbled handwriting, most of which were Guo Shao's inductions and thoughts on the Battle of Jingkou; In the past, war was a struggle in front of him, but now war is an ink blot written on paper.

The other booklet is Guo Shao's written down on the tactics of water warfare, specific observations, he had never experienced a decent water war before, so he recorded some of his observations...... In fact, he recorded a lot of things, but after the fact, he almost never looked back and didn't sort it out, and others couldn't understand his ghost drawings, but for some reason he always wanted to write them down.

Guo Shao was lying on the bed, a little excited, and not very accustomed to the shaking of the ship, which made him unable to sleep for a long time.

"Crunch......" Guo Shao turned over and shook the wooden bed board loudly. He couldn't help but pick up the map with ink on it again and look at it, the ink that filled the paper was very pale in color, and the original lines and place names on it were still very clear.

The question is, are these things mine or not? What do I want to do in the future, can I still say the count?

The more Guo Shao thought about it, the more difficult it became to fall asleep, so he got up in his clothes. When I left the bed, I really felt the chill of winter, especially floating on the riverside. However, winter turned to spring very quickly, and he remembered his pregnant wife and concubine in Tokyo, so he sat down at the table again to write a letter.

The letter to Fu Ermei is very easy to write, and you can care about other family members in the letter. But Guo Shao wrote two full pages of the letter to Fu Jinzhan, and he still tore it up after thinking about it...... In the end, only the progress of the war ahead is written, which can be regarded as good news.

……

The twentieth month of the lunar month, the New Year is approaching, but this year's Chinese New Year is not destined to be a peaceful festival for many people. There are 200,000 or 300,000 people in all parts of the Zhou army, and they will definitely not be able to go home for reunion.

Good news kept flying to Guo Shao's Chinese army account.

The victory has been laid, and there are some surprises. Cao Bin led Wu Yue's army to capture Changzhou and Runzhou (Zhenjiang) one after another; The Jingkou South ** Naval Division was besieged and defeated, and the losses and surrenders were countless, and it was difficult to know the number for a while.

Han Tong, Li Chuyun, Gao Yanyan and other generals all came to the Zhou army camp outside Jiangning City, and Guo Shao and a few people waited in the camp to meet. At this moment, I saw a military general and a few soldiers coming with a prisoner first, and a horse carrying something behind him, as if it was the prisoner's horse.

"Marshal Guo, this person was caught by our scouts ten miles away. He claimed to be Liu Cheng, the general of the southern **, and made a special trip to surrender. "The generals hugged their fists.

After Guo Shao and several people around him heard this, they were immediately attracted to the attention and looked at the man who was being escorted in the middle. The man was wearing armor, but his helmet was gone, and he looked dejected.

Guo Shao stepped forward and asked, "Are you really Liu Cheng?" ”

The man said, "I have a seal on me...... Your Excellency is the famous commander of the Great Zhou Army, General Guo? ”

"It's despicable." Guo Shao responded casually and looked at Liu Cheng again. I thought about Liu Cheng's honorific title and politeness in his words for a while, which was quite flattering. He said in his heart: Huangfu Jixun returned to Jiangning City after the defeat, and it is said that his entire family was slaughtered; The defeat of this guy in front of him is not lighter than that of Huangfu Jixun, is this a fear of sin?

However, Liu Cheng commanded the battlefield of the Eastern Front of the Southern Tang Kingdom, and his performance was really good, first he acted rashly and blindly transferred troops, resulting in the loss of Jiangyin, the ambush of reinforcements, and then the loss of the entire battle. Guo Shao really didn't see anything outstanding about him in the war, no matter how high his official position was in the Southern Tang Kingdom, he had lost interest.

Guo Shao's attitude towards Liu Cheng was obviously much worse than Lin Renzhao, and he even said in a mocking tone: "General Liu is very generous, he lost three big cities to us, cut off the entire downstream river of the Southern Tang Kingdom, and lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers on land and water. Am I still thankful for you? ”

Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard this, and the ridicule was not concealed at all.

Liu Cheng's face was cloudy and uncertain, and he was extremely embarrassed. In the end, he was not annoyed and angry, but said: "The general of the defeated army, I deeply admire General Guo who uses soldiers like a god......

Shi Yanchao was even more disdainful when he heard this, and said coldly: "Li Yu is really blind to let such a person take charge of the army." This guy is not even as good as a dog! ”

Liu Cheng's face suddenly changed greatly, and he was as red as a pig's liver...... Although Guo Shao mocked, he was quite tactful, and Shi Yanchao, a big man, spoke a little ugly!

Shi Yanchao said again: "Why don't you die, lose so many people and still have the face to live?" ”

Guo Shao didn't say a word, he not only turned his head to look at the mighty Yangtze River in the distance to the west, how many lives and national strength were buried under the vast water surface; And the people who control the lives of countless soldiers are living here in secret. Guo Shao was a little unhappy in his heart, but he didn't have much anger at this time, and after a while, he exhaled and stopped Shi Yanchao: "That's it, that's it." Come on, find a place for General Liu to settle down. ”

After Liu Cheng was taken away, it didn't take long for a military general who was outside to enter the Chinese army. The generals met and greeted each other, and then went to the Chinese army's big tent with Guo Shao.

Almost all the generals who sent troops this time gathered, happily recounting their achievements in the big tent, and even the ordinary soldiers outside the tent were filled with a joyful atmosphere, and some pigs and sheep were carried in, and the army was going to fight tooth sacrifices tonight.

Wang Pu pretended to be calm and said slowly: "Jiangning City has been captured by our country on all sides, and it is difficult to have reinforcements from far and near, and it has become a lonely city, and it is time to completely destroy the Southern Tang Kingdom." ”

Zuo You asked, "How long does the prince think Jiangning City can be defended?" ”

"Vulnerable." Wang Pu said without hesitation.

After hearing this, the generals all turned their heads to look at Wang Pu, and Guo Shao also agreed with Wang Pu's opinion and listened to his next with great interest. If you say such things in public, you may be considered arrogant and suspicious of the enemy by others, but Wang Pu has always been strategic.

Shi Yanchao said: "Jiangning City has strong walls, if they defend it, it will not be easy to storm the big city. ”

"Hah!" Wang Pu said with a smile, "Nan ** will gather heavy troops outside the city and fight with me; Otherwise, the siege of the city will be faster. If General Shi doesn't believe it, let's wait and see the after-effects. ”

He paused and said, "It's easy to defend the city, but it's hard to defend morale." At this time, the Southern Tang Kingdom was defeated many times, the hearts of the people in the country were scattered, and they fell apart, leaving only a lonely city, how many people were willing to defend for their lords? Let's send people to persuade us to surrender first, and then gather people from all walks of life, surround the city and attack, and we will be able to conquer the city! ”

After hearing this, everyone nodded and felt that it made sense, and Guo Shao also nodded. No matter what city the heart is, it always has to be defended by someone, the morale and confidence of the army are very important, Wang Pu is a civil official, but he can directly point out the key points, and he can be regarded as a person who understands the heart. If there is morale, the Hukou reinforcements of the Southern Tang Kingdom did not hurt their muscles and bones at all in Anhuikou, and the losses were very small, and it stands to reason that even if they suffered a little loss, they would soon be able to re-form their combat effectiveness, but the fact is that there is a mess over there for a while, and it is difficult for all departments to integrate together, and the threat is completely lost.

Wang Pu turned his head to look at Guo Shao, who was sitting in the front, "The battle of attacking the Southern Tang Dynasty has reached this point, and the use of troops is no longer the most important thing, General Guo should be thinking about other things?" ”

Guo Shao felt that Wang Pu's little eyes were very penetrating, and he was not very comfortable to look at, so he immediately remembered the matter of "persuasion", and immediately asked: "What are you considering?" ”

Wang Pu touched his chin and said indifferently: "To fight a country, of course, you must defend and govern it." ”

After hearing this, Guo Shao suddenly said: "It makes sense, what Wang Yuanjun said is extremely ......", but he always felt that Wang Pu seemed to be teasing something, and of course Wang Pu would not say such things in public.

Wang Pu said: "General Guo's destruction of Shu has obvious results, and it is strictly forbidden to kill indiscriminately and temporarily maintain the status quo of all parties." From the old man's point of view, this kind of behavior can be copied to the Southern Tang Kingdom. ”

Guo Shao nodded solemnly.

After a discussion among the people, Guo Shao got up and left his position, and said that he would reunite with everyone in the evening and set up a banquet in the big tent of the Chinese army to celebrate his achievements.

Zuo You then followed and said, "The lower official has something to say, can you take a step to speak?" ”

Guo Shao probably guessed what Zuo You wanted to say, and looked left and right, there were people everywhere in the Chinese army, and the tent was just a layer of oilcloth. Two columns of soldiers were patrolling the area with long weapons. He said quietly: "At this time, I am interested in taking a closer look at the momentum of the river. How about Mr. Zuo accompany me to the riverside? ”

Zuo You hugged his fists and said: "I am willing to follow the lord." ”

The two of them rode out of the barracks in a carriage and were escorted by a group of personal soldiers and horses. On a road to the riverside, Guo Shao said to Qin Shishi: "You take the groom and the soldiers and brothers around. ”

Qin Shi playfully beckoned the others to leave the carriage. In a short time, the carriage was parked alone on the side of the road, and there was only one horse left except two men.

Guo Shao lifted the bamboo curtain and looked at the water surface of the Yangtze River in the carriage.

Zuo You said: "The situation in the Southern Tang Dynasty is a foregone conclusion, and it may be a few months before I return to Beijing, but the major events involve a wide range of things, and the lord should have made a decision as soon as possible." At this time, it is a good opportunity for the lord to return to Beijing with a great victory and a great victory! ”

Guo Shao didn't say anything immediately.

Zuo You hurriedly said: "The generals don't dare to mention such a big thing easily, but they have long been looking forward to it in their hearts. If the lord delays for too long, it is not good. ”

Of course Guo Shao understands, and he doesn't want to, he thought about it for a long time last night...... even thinks that there is no emperor in modern society, and it is not that people have become noble, but it is really the result of the environment not allowing it, and many fights, fights, games and compromises; Most of the people who don't want to reach that position can't even look at it. And now that there is an opportunity, why should I give up power and let others check and balance and threaten? The throne means many things, and almost no one can resist that temptation and desire.

However, since ancient times, there are not too many people in the world who want to be emperors, but there are very few people who can really sit on it and sit firmly, and Guo Shao has to be extra cautious.

His performance at this time was very different from his appearance, and he cautiously asked Zuo You: "Mr. Zuo, do you think our time is really ripe?" ”

Zuo You nodded without hesitation: "Everything is ready, only the east wind is owed." ”