Jinxiang Hall has been around for some years, and there are obvious signs of wear and tear in the corners and window lattices, but after all, it is an important building and should be repaired frequently. Therefore, the environment in this side hall does not look new, but it is cleaned very clearly and beautifully arranged. The chair that Guo Shao is sitting on is inlaid with gold ornaments on the wood, but where the body can touch, the armrests and cushions are sewn with soft and delicate brocade, which is gorgeous, not expensive compared to all the gold dragon chairs, and the details are very thoughtful.

Such an environment makes Guo Shao feel calm, although noble but not exaggerated. The yellow dragon robe and hat on his body were tailor-made new clothes, the patterns on the ribbons were finely carved, and the materials were soft and bright; It's just that the copper-colored slightly rough skin on his face doesn't match the delicate outfit, and even he has a small scar on his cheeks, which even he doesn't know when he was bruised on the battle formation. Guo Shao doesn't look like a person with a good life at all.

The men sitting on the two sides below are also similar to Guo Shao, wearing fine silk and satin, but they are rough men, especially Li Chuyun with a big mouth and Yang Biao with a horse face...... It looks like silk wrapped around an old tree trunk. Even the civil official Wei Renpu is dark-skinned and strong, and the muscles on his shoulders are all holding up the satin.

At this time, Wang Pu said quietly: "The old minister thinks that in the current situation, the army should be used first in the north and then in the south.

Shu and Southern Tang have been destroyed, there is no longer a force in the south that threatens the belly and back of the Great Zhou, and Wu Yue, Southern Han and other places have no strength to attack the Great Zhou, so there is no need to rush to these places. Wu Yueguo, in the early stage, should be mainly to appease and persuade surrender; This place is a quagmire, the Southern Tang Dynasty Navy Division and the infantry army are not weak, but they have also been trapped in Wu Yue's progress difficulties, the two countries have been grudges for decades, and the Southern Tang Kingdom has not been able to destroy Wu Yue so far, and it is also a trouble for the Great Zhou to use force. In the Southern Han Kingdom, when the ministers heard that their kings were faint and mediocre, they could first recruit and surrender, and then use local divisions to capture their lands; And our main force in the Central Plains should recuperate and prepare to deal with the great enemy in the north. ”

At this time, Guo Shao sat in the front, and the ministers sat on both sides, speaking simply and neatly, and no one quoted scriptures; It's really a bit of Guo Shao's style of discussing in the lobby of the front hall of the palace.

Guo Shao feels that each circle will gradually form a unique way of communication, which is related to the origin, habits and thinking of the members. For example, in the "gentleman" circle in the pre-Qin period, if you don't quote the Book of Songs, you will be considered uneducated; The articles and remarks of ancient civil officials will always be the words of those who are also the sages of the economy; In the officialdom of later generations, there will always be a set of grandiose rhetoric derived from Marxism-Leninism, or any kind of ideology or theory.

But no matter what way you use it, there will always be some hidden "off-string sound" in it.

Guo Shao heard the sound of Wang Pu's remarks. He habitually picked up the brush and recorded in the booklet what he heard at this time.

He sat upright, wrote with his back straight, and he could write with a brush, not on his stomach like a hard pen...... Wang Pu advocated that the north should be followed by the south, and there should be a very important reason: to limit the military power of military generals as soon as possible. In addition to the war with the Liao State, the Central Plains Dynasty did not need to continue the previous militaristic system, and still had the strength to recover the south; However, unlike the war of the Liao State, it was originally a strong enemy, and restricting the military force would discourage them. As long as the sixteen states of Youyun are recovered, they can enter the step of completely restricting military power.

Wang Pu glanced sideways slightly, and saw that Guo Shao was still taking notes when listening to his proposal, and the expression on his face was greatly used and encouraged. Wang Pu continued: "The Khitan lord is mediocre and brutal, and the internal people are unstable. We cannot afford to waste time and miss a good opportunity for the remaining small countries in the south; It is supposed to seize the opportunity to make an early northern expedition, and while it is weak, to advance the northern defense line to the Great Wall! ”

He thought for a while and said: "Today, after a long period of war, the forbidden army has been sharpened all year round, and it is still martial and good at fighting; However, if he has stayed in peace for ten or eight years, it is still difficult to predict whether he will still have the current combat strength. Therefore, the old minister thought that the Northern Expedition should be sooner rather than later, and the internal rest should be stable, so that the things in the north could be deployed. ”

Guo Shao asked: "What does the king think, how should I start?" ”

Wang Pu glanced at Wei Renpu, who stood up and hugged his fists in worship, and then took out a scroll of drawings from his arms. Seeing this, Guo Shao turned out that the people in the Privy Council had been prepared for this matter for a long time.

The drawings brought by Wei Renpu were hung on the wooden frame above, and Guo Shao and the ministers looked at them one after another. Wei Renpu behaved calmly, stretched out his hand and pointed at the map: "Your Majesty, colleagues, please look here, the location of the Northern Han Dynasty."

This thick line is the Taihang Mountain, the west side is the territory of the Northern Han Kingdom, and the east side is the area of the Hebei Province. First of all, the Northern Han army came down from the south and approached the Yellow River, which was a hidden danger of a sharp sword hanging in the hinterland of the Central Plains, and advancing south could threaten our heart. Secondly, when we attack Youzhou, we will go out of Xiong, Ba, and Yi (Hebei), cross the Juma River, and use this as the base camp and the rear of the army; The main force of the Northern Han Army can enter the Xin and Dai basins from Jinyang (Taiyuan), and then enter Hebei from the west side of Yizhou, and go east to threaten the rear route of our Northern Expeditionary Army.

The Northern Han Kingdom is a wedge embedded in 'China', and it will be pulled out and then settled. ”

Guo Shao listened attentively, Wei Renpu was still as personable and elegant as before, and he spoke with a powerful spirit. Guo Shao has always admired Wei Renpu, this person's temperament has both martial and etiquette.

Wei Renpu said: "Assuming that our dynasty captures Youzhou, we must further advance north to seize Yanshan, Xishan, and Yunzhou (Datong, this section is the area of the Ming Dynasty's Xuanda defense line), and advance the border to the Great Wall, so that there is a danger." The Northern Han Dynasty is a threat to Yunzhou's abdomen and back, and it must also be removed.

Therefore, the common proposition of the king and the ministers is to take the clouds and attack the Northern Han first. ”

After he finished speaking, he bowed to his position again, and Guo Shao nodded in response. Wei Renpu returned to his seat. Guo Shao looked back left and right: "What do you think?" ”

Li Chuyun and Yang Biao had no intention of speaking, and the two civil officials, Wang Pu and Li Gu, were silent about it. Shi Yanchao, who was like a small mountain, sat in the middle of several people, like a person one size bigger, and like an orangutan, his eyes were round and he was stunned.

Without commenting on the claims of the Privy Council officials, Guo Shao stopped asking. Seeing that the hour was not early, and everyone had to return to the Yamen office, Guo Shao inquired about the defense military order in Tokyo, and then disbanded.

…… Today is the day of the adjustment of defense, Guo Shao is discussing, and he does not look at the recital, but goes straight to the Donghua Gate of the imperial city on the imperial chariot, and climbs to the head of the city to watch the army of the defense. As expected, he chose the right position, and there were many people and horses on the horse street on the east side of the imperial city who were moving according to military orders.

Guo Shao watched for a while and was very satisfied with the military discipline and military appearance.

The soldiers did not have to carry a large amount of food, grass and marching equipment in the city of Tokyo, and their clothes and armor were also very neat, of course, they looked much better than when they were fighting outside. The neat queue, the dull and heavy footsteps of "click, click......" are full of power. Guo Shao thinks it's better than singing and dancing.

At this time, someone found that the yellow umbrella on the castle tower was covered, so they shouted, and the soldiers looked sideways, and for a time there was an uproar on the street, and the shout of "long live" seemed to echo throughout the city.

……

The force of the Son of Heaven, the high status, and the soldiers in the queue held their heads high and were extremely imposing. The people and pedestrians on the street were all let to the side of the road, and they watched the forbidden soldiers and horses with respect and fear.

Since the Han and Tang dynasties, the status of martial arts has not been low, has never been discriminated against, the Tang Dynasty even to make meritorious contributions, out of the general worship of the greatest glory of the world, so there will be a lot of side poems, there are literati "if a scholar Wanhu Hou" remarks.

At this time, after the melee of the late Tang Dynasty and several subsequent dynasties (five dynasties), the martial arts were even more flamboyant. The war makes the world fear and hate the warriors...... However, the Zhou army banned the army well, the military discipline was relatively strict, and there was little disturbance to the people, so the people and the people of Tokyo did not have many prejudices against these forbidden soldiers.

The soldiers of the forbidden army were not serfs, in fact, they were the high-quality young and strong class of the Zhou Dynasty. Height, strength, and age have all been screened, and many of the soldiers are literate, and the gang is quite wealthy now. The imperial court gave priority to the military, and a large number of social resources were inclined to the army, and in the recent battles of Shu and Southern Tang, Guo Shao also rewarded them with a lot of money......

The image of the soldiers is not because of the profession of martial arts, but because the forbidden army itself has a large number of elite young ...... If in the era of emphasizing literature over military force, and high-quality young people go to study for the imperial examination, the world will feel that scholars are glamorous and respected.

The little lady and daughter-in-law who were blocked by the road and stayed there were some passers-by, and when they saw the soldiers in the queue, many little ladies had peach blossom colors on their faces, and they watched excitedly. Even the old woman praised it. The men in the world, old and young, tall, short, fat and thin, but the soldiers of the forbidden army are all young and strong, and they have land and money, eat imperial grain, and have the opportunity to be promoted to bureaucrats by merit, and they can still see the emperor if they have nothing to do.

Yao Erniu on the side of the road looked at this scene, and was also excited, regardless of whether the people standing next to him were strangers or not, he proudly said when he met people: "I am also a person in the forbidden army, and the people over there are my brothers!" ”

Someone couldn't help but mutter: "Look, if you are a member of the forbidden army, what are you doing standing here with us?" ”

Yao Erniu felt like he had been poured a scoop of cold water, thinking that he had just submitted his resignation to the commander, and a feeling of discomfort surged up in his heart. The commander Zhang Jiankui already knew the situation in his family, and there was only Yao Erniu and a young man in the family, so he would probably agree.

Yao Erniu returned from the Southern Tang Kingdom and made a fortune. The Third Army of the Left Wing of the Tiger Ben Army to which he belonged won many times in battle formations, and Yao Erniu was brought to the front row to charge during the Battle of Dangtu, and he shared a lot of money when he appreciated his merits...... I've never seen so many possessions in my life.

He took the money to buy a house and a shop in Tokyo, and bought a piece of arable land in Kaifeng Prefecture, since he already had money, he might die on the battlefield in the army, so he didn't want to do it at that time. This is not just a proposal to disarm and return to the field.

However, at this time, Yao Erniu sighed "sigh", looking quite unhappy.

.................