Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

After Li Desheng knew Guo Shao's background, he warmly invited his brothers to move to his home. But Guo Shao saw that the Li family's house was not spacious and they had wives and concubines, so he kindly declined.

A month later, several shopkeepers came to Wuqi Town. It was the first time in many days that people saw someone from outside.

The middle of the main road in the town was very lively for a while, and suddenly there was some commercial atmosphere in the ruined town. It is said that trade among countries was very frequent at this time, even among hostile countries. However, it should be mainly concentrated in the metropolis and relatively peaceful areas in the south, and in this almost abandoned Wuqi Town, there is really not much business to speak of.

The peddlers who sell the goods are not from far away. They came from Luzhou. There are three people, one old, two young, and two donkey carts. Selling all kinds of goods, most of which are things that the common people cannot produce by themselves. Guo Shao looked at it for a while. Not only can it be bought with coins, but it can also be bartered. Wheat, cloth, leather, beef tendon, and even livestock are the things that the seller is most willing to accept.

Guo Shao saw a bow on the stall, so he said hello and stretched out his hand to take it. As soon as his fingers touched the bowstring, he put it down and took it back. Seeing this, the old man said with a smile: "Hunting can be used. If a strong man wants to buy something that is convenient, he has to place an order in advance."

Guo Shaodao: "Do you come here every month?"

The old man shook his head and said, "I don't know when the next time will be... There are discussions in the streets and alleys of Luzhou that Khitan soldiers are going to cross the turbid water to raid Luzhou. Haven't you heard the news yet?"

Guo Shao shook his head after hearing this, and said in surprise: "I am encircling Taiyuan with the army, where can the Khitan people come from?"

"I don't know, I just heard that I will come to Luzhou. If I really want to come, it may be soon."

Guo Shao wanted to find out more information, but unfortunately the old man didn't know much, so he was vague.

He had no choice but to call Shang Yang and Luo to leave. Yang Biao wondered, "I'm afraid the shopkeeper is talking nonsense. The army of the government attacked Jinyang, and the Northern Han Dynasty was at stake. If the Khitan people didn't save the Northern Han Dynasty, why did they come to Luzhou?"

Guo Shaodao: "If the Khitan people have a way to plunder Qin, Lu and other places, it will certainly be useful. The purpose of the imperial army's expedition this time was to repel the foreign invaders, but they continued to encircle Jinyang after the Battle of Gaoping. It is inevitable that they were insufficiently prepared and the route would be lengthened. If the Khitan invaded my grain road to the rear, it would definitely aggravate the shortage of food in the front. What I can't figure out is where the Khitan army came from. They have already opened up the Daixin Basin? We don't have a map, so it's hard to guess what happened."

After hearing this, Yang Biao said, "Ask the town general Li Desheng to see how much he knows."

"Exactly." Guo Shao said.

The two discussed, but Luo Mengzi couldn't talk to each other in the back, and he didn't interrupt. Compared with Yang Biao's knowledge, Luo Mengzi is much inferior, and he can only listen when talking about business.

A group of three people talked and walked to the door of Li's house, but they saw big boxes and small boxes carrying things out. There are two mule carts leaning against the door, almost full of things, and it seems like they are about to move. After a while, Li Desheng came out to look at things, found them, and rushed to meet them. Guo Shao pointed at things and said, "General Li wants to move to a new house?"

Li Desheng raised his brows and said with a sad face: "What are you doing! The Khitan people are going to plunder Luzhou, so I hurriedly asked my wife and children to hide in Luzhou for a while... Just as I was about to send someone to tell General Guo, you came to the door in person."

According to the level of rank, the generals of the town are higher than the officials of the capital, not to mention that Guo Shao's actual military system is actually only ten generals, but he has been promoted to the capital. But Li Desheng, a light-handed general, has no status without soldiers; he learned that Guo Shaoli had made great achievements, and even the officials and the commanders of the Dianqian Division had praised him, so his words were very polite.

"So that's how it is...General Li is going to Luzhou too? Then who is in charge of Wuqi Town?"

Li Desheng stomped his feet and gritted his teeth and said, "Hey! How dare I run away! Don't you know that when the new official family ascended the throne, during the Gaoping war, the strange generals were greedy for life and feared death, and already killed many people. It is said that the class teacher will settle accounts afterward. On this knife point, if I dare to run away after hearing the news, am I looking for death? You have also seen that this Wuqi Town is a place where the old and the weak are waiting to die.

Guo Shao said: "You are busy today, so I won't bother you much."

"Look, at least go in and have some tea..."

Guo Shao saw that the town general was full of fat and felt that he had no ability, but he didn't look like a bad guy. Now that the news of the enemy's attack has been confirmed, the town generals have started to send their wives and children away, so there should be no fake news; if the news is completely unreliable, why should the town generals be in such a hurry?

Leaving Li's house, Yang Biao said: "It seems that we brothers should have made plans earlier. This Wuyun Town is the territory of Li Yun in Luzhou, and it is not a matter of closing the forbidden army; besides, the superiors have placed all of us here to recuperate from the wounded, and there is no military order to defend the town. Now that the wounds are almost healed, it is better to leave here with the wounded soldiers, and go to Luzhou to find the Zhaoyi Army's military residence first.

Guo Shao was noncommittal after hearing this.

Several people returned to the dilapidated residence, and the atmosphere was a little dull because of something on their minds. Guo Shao pondered for a long time and finally opened his mouth to break the silence: "I think the Khitans have not opened up the Daixin Basin, otherwise they will come to Jinyang as soon as they pass Xinzhou; in this case, the officials will not be able to continue to encircle Jinyang, and they may have withdrawn their troops. It is also impossible to come from Hebei. If the Khitans attack from the east of the Taihang Mountains, why go to Luzhou?

Now this Khitan army came from nowhere, maybe it was from Liaozhou? But in any case, as long as Dai Xin is not informed, his strength will never be too large. It should be just taking advantage of the situation to harass and wait for the opportunity to rob food. "

Yang Biao said: "The implication of the elder brother's words is that he wants to stay in Wuqi Town and not leave?"

Guo Shao frowned and hit the palm of his left hand twice with his right fist. He gritted his teeth and said, "That's what I thought. I've been fighting with my head up many times in the past. Which one is not as dangerous as this time? Although this place is close to Luzhou, it's not on the main road. There may not be many Khitan soldiers, and it's very likely that they are just stragglers here. Are we afraid of him?"

Yang Biao immediately said decisively: "You are the eldest brother, as long as you say something, tell me how to make a decision!"

Guo Shao looked at Luo Mengzi, who couldn't get in the way, and Luo Mengzi patted his round head: "We are brothers. Wherever the eldest brother goes, can the brother not follow?"

Guo Shao was very pleased when he heard this, and his eyes glowed strangely, "What are we doing our lives for? In the past (later) Han Dynasty, now we serve the Zhou Dynasty, and the ones fighting for power and profit are the ones who fight the most! But today, why don't we voluntarily go to battle against it for the sake of protecting the Han people and repaying the kindness of the people for saving food and clothing and serving tea and meals... We fight like this. When one day we hear that the people are grateful for their righteous deeds and recall their enthusiasm at the beginning, will we regret today's decision? "

Luo Mengzi was very excited when he heard it: "Brother!"

Yang Biao also looked solemn, looking at Guo Shao with a pair of tiger eyes and nodding slightly.

Guo Shao stretched out his palm again and clapped: "My good brother, it is my great honor to fight side by side with my brother!"

Guo Shaoping made up his mind, walked back and forth for a few steps, then turned around abruptly and said, "Now that I have made up my mind, I have to do some preparations. First, let the town general Li Desheng assist, and obtain the right to restrain the use of local manpower and material resources; second, repair weapons; third, organize soldiers; fourth, prepare fortifications and tactical plans."

Yang Biao saluted the army and said: "Brother, just give orders, brother, wait for the saddle and horse before doing things with heart!"

Guo Shao nodded: "Then there's no need to linger, let's split things up. I'll go to the town general first, and the second and third younger brothers will go to the town to spread the news and let everyone go to the town general's house to hear the news."

The town general Li Desheng is naturally not comparable to the wealthy people in Tokyo, but he must be the richest person in this dilapidated Wuqi Town. The gate of the Li family can be seen, with walls and a foyer with screens.

The three mule carts that had been parked at the door had already left, Li Desheng led Guo Shao to sit down in the main room, and ordered someone to serve two cups of tea. Guo Shao sat down and said, "I don't know if I should ask or not."

Li Desheng raised his hand and gestured: "Guo Lang has something to say, but it's okay to say it."

Guo Shao asked calmly: "If General Li sacrificed his life for the country, his wife, children and belongings sent to Luzhou City will be..." He intentionally paused for a long time, just to give Li Desheng time to think about it in his mind. It is very normal for women to remarry in this era, but it is not so particular after the rise of Confucianism. However, Guo Shao is not inconvenient to say it clearly, he only hinted at such a prospect, and then he continued, "If the green hills are kept, there will be no worries about firewood. Why doesn't General Li think of a way?"

Sure enough, the fat on Li Desheng's face wrinkled together, "To tell you the truth, this general has never led a soldier, not to mention what can be done in such a wretched place like Wuyun Town."

"As long as there are living people, we can find a solution." Guo Shao said decisively, "If General Li can trust our brother, we are willing to help."

Li Desheng hurriedly asked: "What good strategy does Guo Lang have?"

Guo Shao said unhurriedly: "It is rumored (later) Emperor Yin of the Han Dynasty loved money and hid a lot of property in the deep palace. He didn't even pay the soldiers. When the Zhou army invaded Daliang, none of Emperor Yin's subordinates obeyed his orders. In the end, he died and the country was destroyed. What's the use of having hundreds of millions of wealth?"

"What Guo Lang said..."

"General Li, why don't you spend some money to buy armaments in Luzhou. The armored soldiers can't buy them, and you can get some raw materials back. If you can buy a batch of food, that would be even better... You will have to eat enough to fight. If you don't have enough, you can't do anything to gods. Next, General Li can order the mobilization of the people to save themselves, and get some old and weak to build fortifications and form infantry. In this way, you can fight when you are attacked by the enemy, and you don't have to be reduced to fish."

Li Desheng got up and paced around, he seemed a little hesitant... Why hesitate to send him to the door to help him guard the town? Could it be that he was reluctant to spend his money?

Guo Shao took advantage of the heat and said: "Commanders and envoys can be dealt with directly by Shangfeng. General Li can appoint me as the deputy of Wujun Township, and then order me to guard Wujun Township. You go to Luzhou to buy military supplies and send someone back."

"How dare this general confer a position on the general of the Forbidden Army..." Li Desheng said hastily.

Guo Shao smiled and said: "In the future, if the Zhaoyi Army Jiedu envoy wants to be held accountable, General Li will at least have something to say. He has tried his best to arrange defense and prepare military supplies, and he has not neglected his duties."

I'm afraid Li Desheng also wanted to run away, but it's just that the house is being cleaned up recently, and the atmosphere is quite scary, so he's afraid of harming Chi Yu. Hearing Guo Shao's words, Li Desheng immediately became tempted.

At this moment, the servant came in and whispered: "A lot of people gathered outside, they heard that Khitan soldiers are coming."

"Go, go out and have a look." Li Desheng said.