On the surging Yellow River, groups of horsemen slowly crossed the river from the pontoon bridge. Guo Shaolema stood by the river, facing the wet autumn breeze and watching the long dragon-like horses for a long time. The sound of "...... bang" seems to be pouring out countless past events here.

The riverbank and pontoon bridge are full of horsemen, and one person has at least two horses!

After Guo Shao's western tour, he summed up the lessons of the Northern Expedition at the beginning of the year and adjusted the forbidden army. The vast majority of the mounted infantry was abolished, and the cavalry of the infantry was allocated to the cavalry; In addition, several thousand good horses were obtained from the northwest, and now the cavalry of the forbidden army has a relatively sufficient number of war horses, which further improves the power of the cavalry.

However, due to the disappearance of the cavalry infantry, the power of the infantry machine declined, and it was completely unable to keep up with the cavalry march.

This time, Guo Shao went out of Beijing, mobilized more than 50,000 elite cavalry, and dispatched almost all the forbidden army horsemen. The accompanying army consisted only of horsemen, and the cavalry of the palace division and the guard division were mobilized. The infantry did not move.

Li Chuyun and Yang Biaoce came immediately, and the two followed Guo Shao's gaze to see the crowd of people and horses crawling like ants on the river like trees.

Guo Shao ignored them and didn't say a word for a long time.

He opened his mouth to take a few deep breaths against the wind, but still couldn't relieve the inexplicable stuffiness in his chest. He felt heavy, as if something was pressing on him, and his heart was beating fast, and he didn't feel a little nervous before he could go into battle.

Failure is not always a good thing, it can increase psychological stress. If it weren't for the unhappiness of the Northern Expedition at the beginning of the year, Guo Shao might still be able to lead the army to fight as freely as before, but now he really can't get rid of it; Deep down, I am worried about failure, and I can't get rid of it, and I can't take it easy...... A heart hangs in the air.

Or maybe the consequences of failure are too serious for him to bear; Expecting too much to win is almost a must-win mentality. All of this made him feel heavy.

Guo Shao jumped off the horse, picked up a handful of soil with both hands, put it in front of his nose and sniffed it, there was a fresh smell of earth. The soil stuck between his fingers, and he twisted it lightly with his thumb and forefinger, and the touch was very real. It's not a dream, it's where he really lives.

……

In the lobby of the Yizhou Military Mansion, there is a big plaque on which the four big characters of "Dai Tianzi Mu" are crooked, and there is an arrow nailed to it. There was a mess below, a "quiet" wooden sign was burning in the fire, a leg of lamb was roasted and yellowed, and the grease on the skin exploded softly on the flames.

Jerehugo was sitting on the public seat above, took a knife from his belt, and rubbed it back and forth on the leather cuff a few times.

The soldier below cut off the cooked layer of the leg of lamb and put it on a plate, and bent down with both hands on the table in front of Jeruxiu. Jeruhugo took a knife and cut off a piece and put it to his mouth, licked his tongue on the blade, and chewed it.

A nobleman sitting around pointed to the Han woman who was serving the plate and said a few words, his eyes looking at the wine jug on her plate.

At this moment, a Khitan hurried in, walked straight to the public seat, bowed his head and whispered a few words next to Yelu Huge.

After hearing this, Jeruxiu immediately stopped chewing, then began to chew again, and after a while asked, "Where is it?" ”

That Khitan humanitarian: "Zhenzhou." ”

The nobles and generals below turned their heads to look at the superiors.

Yelu Hugo looked back and said, "Blacksmith Guo is here, and he has just arrived in Zhenzhou. ”

Everyone was in an uproar immediately, and Yang Gon hurriedly said: "The forbidden army of the Zhou State is strong, and my Youzhou army has few major generals, so I can't fight in the territory of the Zhou State." Please give the marshal an immediate order to abandon Yizhou Beifu. ”

Brother Yelu sneered: "Blacksmith Guo has come to fight with me a few more times, very good!" Don't worry, sleep for the night first, and leave tomorrow morning. ”

Yang Gon said: "Don't be rash, beware of being besieged in Yizhou, something is wrong." ”

Yelu Hugh was a little displeased when he heard this: "This commander doesn't need to be taught by anyone to use soldiers. Ben Shuai is not stupid enough to fight with Guo Blacksmith to win or lose, just to tease him, and others have to walk a lot from the north of Tokyo. ”

Yang Gon had no choice but to say, "The handsome man is wise." ”

Yelu Xiuge ate meat and drank wine with the generals in a hurry, and after getting drunk, he said: "Didn't you say that you caught the daughter of Sun Xingyou, the envoy of Yizhou Jiedu? Bring it in and accompany the guys. ”

Early the next morning, Yelu Hugo's troops crossed the Juma River and stationed troops in Zhuozhou on the north bank.

……

When Guo Shao led the Zhou army north to Yizhou, he saw the villages that were burned along the way, and there was no Liao army in sight.

Walking to the post road outside Yizhou City, the soldiers along the way all turned their heads to look at the roadside, and the atmosphere was very bleak. Guo Shao also saw the pile of things clearly from far and near.

"Jingguan ......," Wei Renpu's voice said in a deep voice.

The scene is very terrifying, a high pile like a cone is made of the heads of Yizhou soldiers! The faces were piled up, and the smell of rancid felt in the air, a shocking sight of fear.

Guo Shao's face was pale, his left hand was clenched on the hilt of the sword, and a wave of humiliation and anger surged above his head! The meaning of this kind of thing is very obvious, it is showing off its strength and prestige to the Great Zhou, and it is laughing at the failure of the Zhou army!

Since Guo Shao led the troops, no one has ever dared to show off his martial arts in front of the Zhou army. The Liao people humiliated the Great Zhou so nakedly?!

But at this time, the defeat of Yizhou is a fact, and the weak will be trampled! Guo Shao felt that it was useless to be angry, so he coldly ordered: "Order the men and horses behind to change the route, send someone to burn the head and bury it, in order to prevent the outbreak of the plague after the decay." ”

Wei Renpu clenched his fists and said, "The minister will arrange it immediately." ”

The gate of Yizhou City was opened, and the burned houses inside were not counted, and there were ruins everywhere. There was no army to defend the city, and there were no people in the streets. When I first entered Yizhou, this deserted and dilapidated scene, coupled with the classical architecture, made people feel as if they had entered a ghost town!

Guo Shao led his troops from the north-south central axis road to the city, and came to the military yamen in Yizhou, where he and the guards of the minister of civil and military affairs rode straight into the gate of the yamen, because the door was open.

At this moment, suddenly a figure walked out of the door of the lobby. Everyone was taken aback!

There was no figure around, and suddenly a woman with uncovered clothes and a disheveled hair suddenly ran out, as if she had seen a ghost. But in broad daylight, there can be no ghosts, she is alone.

She walked over to Guo Shao and the others in a daze, pouting and despairing. The crowd was silent, unable to bear to look at it. I saw that her hair was unkempt, her eyes and face were swollen, her mouth and nose were bloodstained, and she was no longer human, and the skin on her body was full of bruises and bloodstains.

Guo Shao immediately guessed what had happened to her, and the discomfort and shame in her heart were indescribable! He gritted his teeth, and fire broke out in his eyes. This is a little lady he doesn't know, but Guo Shao is the emperor of the Great Zhou, and he has a certain responsibility for the people under his rule!

Everyone also watched silently and bowed their heads slightly. If the people of his own country are ** like this, the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs will not feel that there is light on his face.

Guo Shao jumped off the horse, didn't think much about it, quickly untied his cloak, and wrapped it around the little lady's body to cover her first. The little lady just stood there and didn't react at all.

Guo Shao grabbed her hand and put it in front of her to hold down the cloak, and her voice was a little choked: "I'm sorry......"

The ministers looked sideways, and the three words were equivalent to the edict of sin.

Guo Shao gritted his teeth and said, "I'm sorry for you. ”

The little lady was stunned, her face was dumbfounded and there was no reaction. Guo Shao turned around abruptly and ordered: "Send the wounded barracks and ask the officials to ask where her family is." ”

"Whoa."

Guo Shao's temples and tendons all came out, but his face gradually stopped. Lu Chengyong gave an order, and a group of guards entered the messy lobby first, searched and cleaned up, and Guo Shao led the minister of civil and military affairs into the upper and lower seats.

Wei Renpu said: "The Liao army has only more than 10,000 horsemen at most, and it has now retreated to Zhuozhou. It is impossible for Yelu Huge and Yang Gon to be willing to fight against our main cavalry, and at present, we can only expel the Liao army and not catch them. ”

"And that's to be expected." Guo Shao calmed down a lot.

Wei Renpu said: "Immediately cross the river to occupy Qigou Pass, and form a situation of outflanking Zhuozhou, and the Liao army should soon abandon Zhuozhou and flee north." The time is short, and it may be that they have not had time to transport all the people and money and food they plundered in Zhuozhou, and they can still recover some of them. ”

Guo Shao thought it was kind.

So Yang Biao was the striker, and the first army went out of the southwest of Zhuozhou. Shi Yanchao was invited to be a striker several times, but was rejected by Guo Shao, and was a little displeased; Because he always plays as a striker, but this time Guo Shao didn't use him, and Yan Shiyan is super impulsive.

Sure enough, the Youzhou army of the Liao State was not strong enough to meet the main cavalry of the Zhou army, and it did not defend Zhuozhou at all. As soon as Yang Biao built a pontoon bridge on the Juma River, he had to report that the Liao army had abandoned the city from Zhuozhou one after another.

After Yang Biao built the pontoon bridge and crossed the river, the Liao army had disappeared. The Liao army ran very actively and quickly, and it couldn't catch up at all.

Yang Biao marched into the city of Zhuozhou according to his will and persuaded the Zhuozhou guards to surrender.

Within two days, Guo Shao led the main force to the city of Zhuozhou, more than 50,000 cavalry set up camp on all sides, the battle was very huge, and the emperor's honor guard Luan drove to the city. The defenders of Zhuozhou were all Han'er, and when they saw this, they immediately opened the city and surrendered.

Guo Shao did not blame them for serving the Liao people, ignored their mistakes, emphasized the merits of welcoming the king, and rewarded them...... Because there are still many Han generals in the Youzhou area, every time they surrender, they are fine, and they can also save the Zhou army a lot of trouble.

In addition to a small number of cavalry temporarily stationed in Yizhou, Guo Shaojun had more than 50,000 cavalry and more than 100,000 war horses stationed in Zhuozhou; Then he took over the county seat of Gu'an in the east without resistance, Zhuozhou has been surrendered, and there is nothing to defend in a small city like Gu'an. The Zhou army then swaggered along the river near the Cao Canal to build a waterway and grain passage as far as the Juma River south of Gu'anxian.

To the southeast of Gu'an County is the confluence of several rivers such as the Juma River and Zhangshui, and Guo Shao ordered the Zhuang Ding who arrived in Hebei one after another to build a wharf and granary in this place together with the soldiers of the forbidden army. The walls were then built to form a new city.

There was a great deal of construction on the north side of the Juma River, and countless materials were transported north. But there was not a single battle between the two sides.