In Tokyo, there are some shops that open late, and shops selling fabrics and the like are usually closed in the morning. The wooden planks embedded in the façade on the side of the road (in Guo Shao's eyes equivalent to a roller shutter door) are being taken down, and the day's business has not yet begun; But at this time, Guo Shao had already finished dealing with the affairs of the palace front division for a day, and was riding a black horse towards the imperial city.

In the imperial study of Jinxiang Palace, Guo Shao walked outside the inner door and saw that Fu Jinzhan was still working on the chapter. There were many folds on the table with a yellow tablecloth, but they were all neatly placed there, and Marigold looked very calm in a purple round-necked robe and a hood on her head, and her movements were elegant and unhurried.

A eunuch next to him saw Guo Shao, bent down beside Jinzhan and said a word, and then withdrew with a few people. Fu Jinzhan also raised his head and looked at Guo Shao with a smile.

"The minister knocked to see the Queen Mother."

"Flat."

Guo Shao walked to the table, and Fu Jinzhan pointed to the waist round stool next to him: "Sit down and talk." Guo Shao said: "Empress Dowager Xie." He sat down on the stool at the moment, "Yesterday, the minister sent someone into the palace to report a private matter, and the queen mother heard about it?" ”

Fu Jinzhan gently put the brush in her hand on the inkstone, and then took the paperweight to press a piece of paper in front of her, she had a yellow ring on her finger, the finger was white and slender, but the details were very round and integrated, if there was such a thing as an infusion in this era, her blood vessels must be difficult to find. The sunlight from the window was streaming in, and at an angle, the reflection of the ring shimmered.

"Isn't it that the second sister and Li Yuan'er have it, if you can have a boy, your Guo family will have a successor." Fu Jinzhan didn't have much emotion when he said this, and recounted it indifferently.

Guo Shao owed, and said in a low voice: "If only the marigold had a ...... one day"

A trace of shame flashed on Fu Jinzhan's face, his eyes looked out of the inner door, and he said softly, "I don't want to." ”

"Why?" Guo Shaodao.

Fu Jinzhan said: "If General Guo has a successor, you will do your duty for the ancestors of the Guo family; We have men in the Fu family. I don't need to take on that responsibility right now. ”

"Is it just conscientious?" Guo Shao was thoughtful.

Fu Jinzhan said: "I have always disliked children. ”

Guo Shao thought for a while and said, "It is said that when Wu Zetian wants to pass on the throne, he wants to pass it on to the people of the Wu family. Di Renjie said that after the emperor is a hundred years old, if your descendants are in power, they will put the tablet on the mother in the temple. Wu Zetian dispelled the idea of passing on the mother's family......"

"I don't need others to remember me, you just remember me." Fu Marigold Road.

Guo Shao was stunned when he heard this, and said, "What if I'm gone?" ”

Fu Jinzhan looked at his face and said, "Won't you let me go with you?" ”

Guo Shao said: "Then it's too much, like a funeral." ”

The expression on Fu Jinzhan's face seemed to be smiling: "I have walked through the Ghost Gate Pass twice, and I wanted you to accompany me to the funeral at that time." ”

Guo Shao didn't understand Fu Jinzhan for a while. He often felt that his insight was more advanced, and he always remembered that the ancients might not understand some of his remarks, but rarely encountered things that he did not understand the thoughts of the ancients...... As long as they speak spoken language, not written Chinese. But now, he found that he didn't necessarily understand Fu Jinzhan's words.

"Wang Pu also wrote a book, suggesting that he should continue to use troops against the south first." Fu Jinzhan changed the topic and said, "After the destruction of the Shu Kingdom, the imperial court tasted a lot of benefits. If the attack on the Southern Tang Dynasty continues, the whole country will support this strategy. ”

Guo Shao came back to his senses and said: "The Great Zhou Dynasty established the country by force, as long as the army does not strongly oppose it, we don't need to obey the will of the people of the world...... The truth is sometimes in the hands of a few. ”

After hearing the last sentence, Fu Jinzhan raised her delicate black eyebrows slightly on her white skin, and said, "What does General Guo mean, first north and then south?" ”

Guo Shaodao: "No, I have also expressed my attitude before, and I also support the next step to deal with the Southern Tang Kingdom; What I just said means is that my attitude is not to conform to the crowd. ”

Fu Jinzhan held his chin with his wrist, looked at Guo Shao's face with bright eyes, and asked with interest, "Then why did General Guo make such a judgment?" ”

In a piece of history that I have read before, after Zhao Kuangyin unified southern China, he wanted to recover the sixteen states of Youyun, but he never did it, he set up a savings warehouse, and declared that he wanted to buy back the sixteen states of Youyun from the Liao State...... It is also said that he secretly accumulated money and used it to reward the head price of the beheading of the soldiers. No matter what that warehouse is for, it can at least show that Zhao Kuangyin is very cautious about starting a war with the Liao State and can fully realize the strength of the Liao State.

Otherwise, Zhao Kuangyin is unwilling to take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun? That's impossible, I guess he dreamed of taking it back. This kind of great achievement that can be exiled for hundreds of generations, if it can be done, no emperor will refuse.

Although Zhao Kuangyin is Guo Shao's mortal enemy, Guo Shao will not deliberately slander his ability in his heart, Zhao Kuangyin is a hero with real skills...... This kind of person thinks that the Liao State is difficult to fight, and he does not dare to act rashly, and he must have his knowledge.

Guo Shao thought about it and said: "Liao is the weakest time now, the timing is more appropriate, but you can't be too impatient...... First, if the blow misses, the external pressure we give to the Liao State is very likely to have an impact on its internal dynamics; The successive failures (last year's Chai Rong Northern Expedition occupied several peripheral states) will further weaken our confidence in victory. ”

Fu Jinzhan nodded slightly: "That makes sense." ”

Guo Shao said: "Second, risk. After the victory of the Shu War, the Great Zhou was at ease, the authority of the imperial court rose, and the internal contradictions were alleviated; But it's not as stable as Mount Tai, and it still can't afford to fail too much. In the event of defeat, it can lead to internal unrest; It will also weaken the elite strength that Da Zhou has accumulated over the years.

It is very difficult to accumulate elite soldiers who are good at fighting. I am a pawn and a low-level general, and I know very well the rarity of a soldier with combat effectiveness; It's not just a guy who can become elite. The average person's arm strength is only twenty or thirty catties, and a qualified elite soldier should at least draw a strong bow with one stone and two and fight, and the physical strength is not a level at all. It requires a strong body, long-term training and the accumulation of practical experience. It's not just a few months, a year or two of training that can be a tough battle. The army of 120,000 people in Shu State, facing more than 20,000 people on our East Road, is still so weak that they dare not fight, and the reason is here. ”

Guo Shao continued: "Third, our own preparation is also insufficient, and it will take some time. The attack on the Southern Tang Dynasty itself is also a kind of preparation, fighting this kind of country whose military strength is not as good as that of the Great Zhou, it will not lose money and will make money, and it can continue to expand its armaments; The successive victories in the wars will continue to raise the status of our imperial court, and the layout will be more stable, and our resilience to bear losses will increase at that time. ”

Fu Jinzhan said: "The three principles that General Guo said are all very true, and I agree with your proposition. ”

Guo Shao nodded and said, "So we have to prepare well in advance, and after concentrating our strength, we need to go all out." ”

Fu Jinzhan said softly: "If you really can't recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, it's useless to force it. There will be other ways to continue to sustain it. ”

"What the Queen Mother said is extremely true, if there is really nothing that can be done, then no one can do anything." Guo Shao said, "But I want to try." Now the Great Zhou Dynasty is the Empress Dowager in power, if during the reign of the Empress Dowager, such great achievements have been made...... The world will remember the Queen Mother, and the history of thousands of generations will also remember this pen. ”

He looked into Fu Jinzhan's eyes and said in a low voice: "Not only will I remember the Queen Mother, but everyone who is billions of trillions will remember you." ”

A smile immediately appeared on Fu Jinzhan's face, "The moment I leave, I probably won't be so scared anymore." ”

The two of them were silent for a while, immersed in the longing just now. Guo Shao opened his mouth and said: "To fight the Southern Tang Dynasty, you can first attack Wuping (Hunan) and approach the Southern Tang Dynasty from the upstream. Wuping Jiedu originally belonged to the state of Chu, which rebelled after being destroyed by the Southern Tang Dynasty. The remnants of the sins, the strength is not good, so there is no need to work too hard. Luo Yanhuan's guards stationed in Jingnan were full of soldiers and horses, plus some of the sailors returned from Shu, which was enough to deal with Wuping. ”

Fu Jinzhan nodded.

Guo Shao muttered: "How about letting Li Chuyun take command and go to Jingnan to transfer troops and be responsible for the battle of Wuping?" ”

Fu Jinzhan didn't answer right away, she didn't say a word, she reached out to play with her ring, as if thinking about something.

Many people in the forbidden army thought that the superior would stare at Shi Yanchao, but in fact, Guo Shao and Fu Jinzhan didn't care about him...... Last year, Guo Shao thought about Li Chuyun, and now looking at Fu Jinzhan's hesitation, he understands that some thoughts are not unique to him, and Fu Jinzhan is probably the same in his heart; Although the two of them have never said anything about Li Chuyun.

Fu Jinzhan finally said in a low voice: "If Li Yuan'er gives birth to a boy, and Li Chuyun is powerful, how will you end up?" ”

Guo Shao said: "Li Chuyun can't at least reach my level. ”

Fu Jinzhan still didn't let go: "Brother Shao'er still think about it carefully, there is no shortage of generals in the imperial court who can take charge alone...... Isn't Xiang Gong also very useful, although he didn't break through Jiannan Pass, he also hit Hanzhong like a bag. ”

Guo Shaodao: "According to my judgment, Li Chuyun is a rare general. But he didn't have much prestige in the army, and it was very difficult to lead the troops. If he is idle like this, the Northern Expedition will not be able to give full play to his abilities in the future. Our Northern Expedition is not an all-out effort. ”

"You don't care if you use one or two less?" Marigold Road.

Guo Shao said: "It is up to people to make things happen, but we have to do our best before handing over the adjudication power to God...... And Li Chuyun can't wait for the day when it becomes a hidden danger. ”

Marigold shifted her body and asked softly, "What do you mean by that?" ”

Guo Shao said: "Once the external military pressure of the imperial court is reduced, the current military system is no longer insured. The Privy Council and the Second Division hold all the power of the army in a centralized manner, as if the sword is always unsheathed...... In the future, we will divide the power of the troops, and separate and contain the power to command the troops, the right to transfer troops, and the power of logistics. weaken part of the war capability, and add a few more insurances; In times of peace, of course, the system of the war-torn era should no longer be used, and it is difficult for anyone to use force casually. ”

Fu Jinzhan listened and said: "Since you have talked about this, let Li Chuyun take command this time." ”