Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

In the stronghold of Guzhen (between Hui County and Liangdang County today, in the Gudao Valley), Guo Shao was pacing back and forth in a tile-roofed hall, looking very restless. On a wooden table full of dirt that could not be wiped off, there was a drawing with folded marks.

The sky outside was dark, and the fires in the camp were flickering. It was already midnight.

"Qingniling nunnery was discovered by the Shu army, and everyone was kidnapped." The words of the young woman who came back lingered in his ears.

Time passed bit by bit, Guo Shao was in a mess and anxious. There was no sound of fighting around, and the hustle and bustle of the battle had subsided for many days, but now he was more nervous and anxious than when he was fighting the Shu army in Chencang Road. Fighting in the Shu territory, as Li Chuyun said, the worst result is nothing more than a quick battle and a retreat if there is not enough food and grass; but this time it is not that simple.

After a while, the question and answer between Jing Niang and himself appeared in his mind not long ago. He asked: Can Chen Tuan find it? Jing Niang said: It can only depend on chance. The last time I only saw Qing Xu, it was purely a coincidence. I really didn't expect to know her whereabouts in this life.

Guo Shao tried his best to clear up the mess.

According to the memory of the previous life, Empress Fu should have died early, and then Chai Rong could remarry her younger sister as empress. How will the queen die? Definitely died of illness. The Zhou Dynasty is still alive, and Empress Fu is the daughter of Fu Yanqing's family. Who can artificially threaten the Queen's life?

Life and death are fate, but Guo Shao can't die after looking at the talisman. If she dies, she will be completely hopeless in this era; This kind of wealth without any sense of security makes him very uncomfortable...

At this time, Guo Shao can truly feel that he needs her so much! Yes, this need is very real, as if something real can be seen and touched; it is far away from those elusive, dream-like feelings. Guo Shao’s feelings towards the Empress Talisman are vulgar at this time, but it’s because of vulgarity that it’s true... It’s as if his sister in the previous life was complaining that he didn’t know how to be frugal, spend too much, etc., and it didn’t make people feel emotionally happy at all.

In the past, Guo Shao felt that the "young man"'s feelings for Bai Fumei Fu's family were too pale and naive, but now Fu's family is completely different in his heart. He needs Fu Shi, not only for the consideration of practical benefits, but also for emotional needs... She takes care of herself like a sister, and she gives Guo Shao the illusion that she is a part of her sister in the previous life, because only her sister in this world cares about her own life... Of course, my sister is not as powerful and noble as Fu Shi, she is just a layman.

Queen Fu cannot die!

Want to go against the destiny to save her? Guo Shao is not a doctor, he doesn't understand medical skills at all, and there are always people with millions of soldiers in their hands, who can overcome the disease? He couldn't save her himself, so he wanted to find someone to save her... Dr. Lang in this era can't do it. If he can, can't the royal family invite Lang? How could the empress die.

Guo Shao thought of Fuyao Chen Tuan, the self-proclaimed half-immortal Taoist priest who saved him from the dead. Guo Shao can't be sure if these gods and men who play tricks are capable or not, but when there is nothing to do, people will always put their hopes on mysterious things... and Fuyao is definitely not the kind of Jingniang who just sets up a Taoist temple and calls herself a saint; he can revive the "dead" people, which is Guo Shao's personal experience.

But people like Fuyao are hard to find, not to mention it is said that he is in Mount Emei, which is the territory of Shu Kingdom. Chen Tuan couldn't find it, but his apprentice Qingxu was actually in Qingniling.

Guo Shao's idea is to lead an army to attack Qingniling reinforcements, snatch and rescue Qingxu from the Shu army.

Attacking from the front of Qingniling is very difficult, probably even more difficult than attacking the city. The trail on Baishui Road entered Guo Shao's mind. If he could make a surprise attack on the Shu army around the trail, he would have a better chance of winning.

Jingniang's entourage, a Taoist priest, was arrested, so she might have told about the Baishui path; and that path was also learned from the abbot of the nunnery. The Shu army should be able to torture the Baishui Trail... The surprise attack seems to be untenable. If the Shu army fortified the small road, it would be difficult to break through. According to reports from the soldiers, the road is too narrow in several places and can only be walked alone. If the surprise attack fails, even if the Shu army can be defeated, they will probably flee with Qingxu, or kill her over time.

The restless Guo Shao took a deep breath, rubbed his temples vigorously, and returned to the wooden table full of dirt. Only Qingni Ridge was marked on the map. Taking a ruler to measure it, it was estimated that it was 40 miles south of Guzhen; Baishui Road drew a thin line on the west side, but this map was drawn by Guo Shao himself. It is clear that there is no distance at all, just to mark it. There is a small road there.

"Come in." Guo Shao greeted the soldiers and young women who were still standing outside the door.

He asked the soldiers: "How long did it take you to return to Guzhen from Baishui Road, and how far is it?"

"We walked for more than two hours, but we walked fast. It should be ten miles...to the southwest of Guzhen." The soldier said, "From Baishui Road, go south for another thirty or forty miles, and you will reach the Shu Road. Follow the Shu Road and turn northeast, it will be far away, at least seventy or eighty miles to Qingniling Nunnery."

Guo Shao listened carefully, and then hurriedly marked on the map. Then he inquired about the road condition of Baishui Road.

He thought in his heart that as long as he crossed the Baishui Road (ten miles) and then rushed to the Shu Road (more than 30 miles), he could cut off the retreat route of the Shu army in Qingniling. Calculated, sending troops from Guzhen requires a one-hundred-mile raid...but the Shu army went south from Qingniling (eighty miles) to Baishui Road (more than thirty miles), and the distance was a little longer.

"When was the nunnery arrested?" Guo Shao asked.

The soldier said: "This afternoon."

Guo Shao pondered: The Shu army's reinforcements to Qingniling are unlikely to want to attack. If the Shu country was so aggressive, it would not have been hiding in the basin for decades; the Shu army might know about the Baishui trail and send troops to defend it.

There is no rush to defend one day or two earlier, they didn't know the way so long ago. Therefore, Guo Shao judged that the Shu army might send troops to the Baishui Trail to fortify tomorrow at the earliest... Tomorrow morning, it will take more than a hundred miles; if it is not a fast march and the road is not smooth, it will take at least two or three days.

Fighters still exist!

Guo Shao turned his head and said, "Send a few more servants to go with you. After crossing the small road, we will go along the Shu Road to find out about the military situation, and see if there are any large groups of troops from the south of Qingniling. I will remember your contribution."

"Humble post takes orders!"

Guo Shao said again: "Beat the drums and summon the commanders and generals to discuss matters in the Xingyuan of the army."

Guo Shao turned around and sat down on the bench next to the wooden table. After a while, the generals arrived one after another. One by one, they put their sabers on the knife holder at the entrance of the main room, and then entered the main room, standing in order according to their height.

"In the southwest of Guzhen, there is a small road that can go around to the back of Qingniling." Guo Shao said straight to the point, "But today I got the news that we have been arrested for sneaking into the territory of Shu Kingdom. This road may have been known to the Qingniling Shu army this afternoon. If we march now and rush for a hundred miles, we can cut off the retreat of the Qingniling Shu army and gather them in the back of Qingniling!"

The generals listened silently, and someone asked, "Guo Dushi, how many troops does the Shu army have?"

Guo Shaodao: "There should only be a few thousand people. This is the first batch of reinforcements from the Shu army to arrive."

Seeing that the generals didn’t respond, he was anxious and didn’t think too much about it. He said without hesitation: “These reinforcements are from the forbidden army in the hinterland of Shu Kingdom. Their families are in Chengdu Mansion, and there are many generals and officials in them. Shu Kingdom has had abundant grains for decades and is very rich. Let’s capture them and send them back to Shu Kingdom to extort money from their families... What do you think?”

Yang Biao said with a smile: "Then we don't work as bandits?"

Guo Shaodao: "Shu is an enemy country at war. If we blackmail them, no one will punish us. Unless the emperor of Shu can take care of our Great Zhou Imperial Army."

Wang Zhang echoed: "We went to the front of the Western Expedition, but we didn't get anything. It was all divided between the Fengxiang Army and the Zhen'an Army. They took over the city!"

One after another, military generals began to be tempted, commenting there: "I heard that the drowning utensils used by the emperor of the Kingdom of Shu are all made of gold..."

The generals echoed one after another: "The bandits can do it, but we can't do it? There is no city in Qingniling, as long as we can go there, we will set up a field battle, and we are afraid of who will come, mother|dammit, let's do it!"

Li Chuyun stood up and said in a deep voice, "My lord, please think twice."

Marquis Yu, the capital of the First Army, also said: "Since it's a small road, if it's not good, the retreat is too slow; the attack is like a lone army going deep...For the sake of things outside the body, Guo Dushi needs to think more about using a large army to put a dangerous place."

Li Chuyun said again: "If the lord is determined, I will be willing to be the vanguard."

Guo Shao pondered for a while, he felt that the advice of the two generals made sense; this was different from rushing to the mighty city, the retreat route was too narrow. But Li Chuyun and the others didn't know what they were thinking...the relationship between the queen and Chen Tuan was messed up, not to mention that everyone didn't know about it, even if I told them they couldn't explain it for a while.

Is it right to put thousands of elite soldiers in danger for private affairs? Of course not. Guo Shao hesitated in a rare way.

At this moment, Luo Yanhuan said: "My lord wants to do it, we will do it, we can trust you!"

Guo Shao gritted his teeth, frowned and said: "If the battle is defeated, I will first cut my neck and apologize, and I will be good companions with the brothers who died in the battle on the road to Huangquan! This battle is definitely not arranged by the imperial court, nor has it been approved by the general Wang Jieshuai of the Western Expedition. It is only for my own sake. I can't force everyone. If you are willing to go, follow me;

The generals looked at each other in blank dismay, and Li Chuyun, who had raised objections, was the first to stand up and said: "The final general is willing to go!"