Evening at the Shitokuden Hall in the Imperial Castle of Tokyo.

Two palace maids, dressed in moon-white dresses and with uncrowned sideburns, walked into a hall with lanterns, separated the two sides, and rested the lanterns on the lampstand on the wall. Then the dignified Fu Marigold walked in.

"Slaves and maids wait to meet Empress Duanci." The women who stood here bowed their knees.

Fu Jinzhan looked back left and right and asked, "The queen hasn't come yet?" ”

Mu Shanggong bowed down and said, "If you return to the general's mother, the queen may arrive later." ”

This huge hall is the place where the Zide Hall eats, and at this time, a room of women, with fluttering skirts, makes this place as wonderful as in the painting.

There is also a door opposite the entrance, and outside the door is an open hall. The sight here is broadened, and the dusk scenery of the imperial city is reflected into the palace from the doors and windows, and the color of prosperity is even greater; Inside the temple, the light is warm and soft.

There are three bonsai pots scattered on several tables next to the wall, and the interior is full of life. When Fu Jinzhan was in charge of the Jinxiang Palace, she put some irises on the table, and later heard the eunuch Cao Tai say that Guo Shao did not ask people to evacuate when he came back, so she also arranged plants in this place.

At this moment, an official eunuch sang in a loud voice: "The emperor has arrived!" ”

Guo Shao soon appeared at the door, and Fu Jinzhan vaguely felt that the aura here suddenly changed. Not only because Guo Shao is tall and strong and the only bearded eyebrow here, but also because he feels completely different from the eunuchs and women.

Guo Shao's movements are not muddy at all. His steps were steady, his expression gentle, but there seemed to be some kind of fire burning in his eyes, like a bowl of spirits, which immediately washed away the soft breath of the women gathered here.

The two politely saluted in public and sat down on a round stool next to a round table.

Fu Jinzhan inadvertently stroked her fingers from her cheeks to her temples, paying attention to her appearance. The feeling in her heart is completely different from usual, it is very strange, seeing Guo Shao do nothing, but with someone she is interested in, even if she doesn't do anything, she will fall into a more excited mood.

Fu Jinzhan's eyes flickered, and he didn't keep staring at Guo Shao, but just glanced at him inadvertently from time to time. There are other people next to them, and some clever people can determine many things from the eyes of people.

This is Guo Shao waved his hand at Mushang Palace, and the palace maid on the side hurriedly withdrew from the palace.

Fu Jinzhan looked at Guo Shao's face carefully.

Guo Shao said softly: "The big thing is almost certain. ”

Fu Jinzhan was very firm when he heard his voice, and he already knew that the big thing Guo Shao said was the Northern Expedition. In fact, Cao Tai, the provincial supervisor of the Inner Chamberlain, is Fu Jinzhan's confidant, and will often tell Fu Jinzhan about the government, and it is difficult for her to know it; But she didn't want to mention this kind of thing to Guo Shao, and she had to let him carry the major military affairs.

The prestige of the Liao State has been very strong for decades, and the Jin Dynasty even recognized itself as the emperor, at least the people of the Central Plains recognized the Liao State as a strong country. Fu Jinzhan originally wanted to persuade Guo Shao not to be anxious, but she didn't want to say it for a while.

She loves to see Guo Shao's ambitious appearance, and she doesn't like men to be dull.

Fu Jinzhan has had enough of having nothing to rely on, relying on everything with her own hard work and fear. She didn't want the man she had promoted and cultivated for many years to become depressed and decadent.

Because she never wanted to be Wu Zetian, women should get what belongs to them, and only sad women will only pursue power and wealth. Fu Jinzhan is proficient in clerical work, has a talent for governance, was the queen in the previous dynasty, and has a reputation and prestige, but she is unwilling to take advantage of the situation to fight for the power of the outer court.

She has insight into her husband, and sometimes feels that a man lives with a breath of heart. Without that breath, they will indulge in laziness and even end up not even wanting dignity.

Fu Jinzhan looked at the current Guo Shao, who was already in the world, if it was just to keep the throne and wealth, it would not be difficult to achieve the goal with the general trend at this time. If you have everything, what will you do if you don't have ambition? Of course, you will indulge in sensuality, dogs, horses and pleasures. A man who indulges in the harem all day long, is that what she wants to see?

She spoke slowly and said softly, "I'm waiting for you to return victoriously." ”

Guo Shao showed a slight surprise in an instant, probably because Fu Jinzhan persuaded him last time, and this time he changed his words relatively quickly. He muttered, "What does Marigold think about this? ”

Fu Jinzhan covered his mouth and chuckled, and said tactfully: "If you can recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, what a great merit." I'm still waiting for what you promised me (rightly speaking). ”

She said in a joking tone, but Guo Shao said seriously: "This is really what I should do, Marigold is kind to me ......"

Fu Jinzhan suppressed his smile after hearing this, and said softly: "Your Majesty is the king of a country, and he should take on the heavy responsibility of the country, so that all the people in the world can get the favor of the Son of Heaven. Your Majesty is also the head of the family, with a wife and children, I entrusted my second sister to you, not only for marriage, but also for her to have something to rely on.

Your Majesty wants to do great things and personally conquer, sometimes I think I can't see you anymore, and I am very reluctant, but I will not dissuade you...... Brother Shao can make a contribution, I will be very gratified. ”

"Life has the ambition of the four directions, how can it be that the deer and the pig are also together, and they often gather?" Fu Jinzhan paused and chanted softly, reciting the words in her tactful and soothing voice, and the charm was very different.

She felt like an older relative, but she was indeed older than Guo Shao, so she didn't want to care.

Fu Jinzhan found the brilliance in Guo Shao's eyes, and he was a little moved.

The light in his eyes was a reflected light. At this time, the light outside was dim, and the gold and silver vessels on the table, the smooth and fine ceramics, were reflective, and the stars were ...... Like starlight, Fu Jinzhan suddenly noticed that the atmosphere of this scene was very warm.

Guo Shao's mouth moved, and he exhaled and said: "It's not enough to just protect yourself, now that the Great Zhou is just rising, if you don't attack Liao, you will definitely miss the opportunity!" Even if we don't want to fight, the northern nomadic tribes will wait for the opportunity to go south in the future, how can we look weak and deceitful? ”

Fu Jinzhan looked at him with a smile, and the breath on Guo Shao's body was full of positive hope.

After a while, the second sister finally came, and the three of them continued to talk while eating. Guo Shao's speech seems to Fu Jinzhan to be very insightful, and she likes to talk to him very much, even if it is not about the ups and downs.

That night, Guo Shao stayed in the Zide Palace, but he stayed in the bedroom of Second Sister Fu. Second Sister Fu is the real queen.

……

Perhaps influenced by some micro-service private interviews with film and television, Guo Shao did not like to take the emperor's guard of honor with him when he went out of the palace to inspect, and the pomp and circumstance greatly beat gongs and drums. At this time, Li Chuyun was accompanied by the carriage, and the only escort was Lu Chengyong's team of horsemen.

But even such a simple team is known to ordinary people as royalty. Because Lu Chengyong's imperial guards belong to the inner hall, the clothes and armor are very neat and distinct, and they are easy to identify...... How can a person who is guarded by the palace guard be an ordinary person?

As soon as Guo Shao left the palace, although he stayed in the carriage, he immediately felt the breath of the market.

There are a lot of shops selling breakfast on both sides of Mahang Street, and many officials will not eat breakfast at home because they go to court too early, so they will buy them on the street and eat while walking. Even the stove is placed outside the ditch on the side of the street, and the steamer is steaming white, and people don't even need to look at the signboard to know that it is a place to sell food.

There are also shops selling all kinds of goods, and the facades are wide and mosaic, and you can see the shopkeepers and men picking up wooden planks along the way.

The group walked north, bypassing the imperial city to the north school field. The forbidden military academy is the most in the north of the city, with two places. On the south side of the city is the outer city, where the people gather, and there are hundreds of thousands of residents living in the attached city outside the city, and the place is not spacious and not suitable for building a school field.

When he arrived at the school field, Guo Shao lifted the curtain and saw the scene of the forbidden army going out to exercise. Soldiers in a queue are running in formation, and the horse team in the distance is galloping, vigorous and powerful.

As far as the eye can see, there is no end in sight to the men and horses of the military discipline rectification, and the iron armor shines brightly in the morning sun.

Behind the bamboo curtain, Guo Shao's face was calm, but he couldn't hide his excited look, his eyes were bright, and his eyes were focused on watching the scene outside.

"It's not enough to have a prosperous market, that's what we need." Guo Shao turned his head and said casually to Li Chuyun.

Li Chuyun hugged his fists and said: "The soldiers of the forbidden army have been slack all the time, and they will fight for Your Majesty at any time!" ”

Guo Shao's tone was very cautious: "At this time, there are only you and me, General Li thinks that we can win the battle of Youzhou?" ”

Li Chuyun was expressionless and said: "Your Majesty is the lord of the world, and no one can disobey Your Majesty's holy will. ”

Guo Shao lowered the curtain, and Lu Chengyong asked outside, "Does Your Majesty want to continue to inspect another school field?" ”

Guo Shaoduan sat in his seat and responded: "Change the place and take a look." ”

He closed his eyes and was silent for a long time, and suddenly said, "It may be a battle with some reinforcements from the Liao State." ”

Li Chuyun agreed: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true. Once Youzhou was threatened by our army, the Liao army would pass through Yanshan from Shangjing and other places. ”

Guo Shao said: "However, if they want to reinforce Youzhou in a short time, they will not have time to mobilize the whole country's troops, and the first to come should be the standing cavalry in Shangjing and other places." ”

Guo Shao's conclusion is based on a detailed analysis of all aspects of the situation in Liao...... The total number of Liao troops is large, but there are not too many standing troops that can be mobilized immediately in the capital; The standing army of 100,000 troops at every turn is just boasting, intimidating, or intimidating other countries, or claiming it. However, because the cavalry of the Liao State was fast in maneuvering and mobilizing faster, there was generally a war in which the army would be mobilized from all over the country first.

The Central Plains Dynasty also had hundreds of thousands of troops overall, but even in the era of frequent wars, the capital always had tens of thousands of cavalry, and it was very difficult to raise. With the current transportation and economy, it is a very heavy burden.

Although the Liao State is large, it is obvious that the economic foundation is far inferior to that of the Great Zhou. The grassland can support fewer people per unit area; A large number of cavalry were concentrated in one place for a long time, and there was not enough to eat grass.

Guo Shao noticed that after the siege of Jinyang in the Northern Han Kingdom, the Liao army rushed to help and also experienced a process of mobilizing troops and horses, otherwise it should have been faster.