The dream of a lonely hero

Guo Mao looked at King Jin. The king of Jin said:"The solitary king relied on the secret plan and wrote a letter asking the captured left governor Yelu Huaji to go to Tanzhou and forward it to King Yelu Tieda of Yan. The day before yesterday, the solitary king took the left governor Yelu Huaji, Fan Wang Yelu Tiehan, and the deputy. Pioneer Yelv Shi and other fifty prisoners of war from Pansigou were returned to Tanzhou, and the Liao people from Tanzhou surrendered today."

Let's say that the left governor Yelv Huaji, Fan Wang Yelu Tiehan, deputy vanguard Yelv Shi and other fifty The prisoners of war returned to Tanzhou to pay homage to King Yelu Tieda of Yan. The marshal left in Nanjing, Emperor Shu Yanwang Yelu Tieda, was a famous general of the Liao Kingdom. He would win every battle and be defeated by the Liao people. He was hailed as the"Invincible King" by the Liao people. He was killed by Guo Mao at the foot of Xiongzhou City and almost lost his life. His arm was picked off by Guo Mao's green dragon-pointed steel spear. A thousand soldiers were left with only a dozen of his followers. In the back hall of Tanzhou, King Yelu Tieda of Yan was lying on his bed with a bloodless face, puzzled. Where had King Yelu Tiehan of Fan gone? Are the stragglers under Xiongzhou City the Song Army or grass bandits? Then what is the background of General Guo Mao? Yelu Huaji and Yelv Shi, who were thinking and listening, came back and hurriedly summoned them. Yelu Huaji and Yelu Shi had finished paying homage. When they raised their heads, they saw a gray-headed rat face, incomplete clothes and armor, and many scars. Yelu Tieda couldn't believe his eyes and said in shock:"Huaji! What's going on? Where are Gu's three children? Where is coach Tiehan?" Yelu Huaji and Yelu Shi knelt down on their knees and cried bitterly. Can't help myself. Yelu Tieda roared like crazy:"The lonely king is asking you! Asking you!" Yelu Huaji fainted from fright. Yelvshi was frightened and woke up. He forced himself to cry and told the story of the battle in Pansigou intermittently. King Yelu Tieda of Yan was so grief-stricken that he was so angry that a mouthful of blood spurted out a few feet away. The servants around him hurriedly came forward to take care of it. In the evening, King Yelu Tieda of Yan improved slightly and summoned King Yelu Tiehan of Fan. When he saw his brother who was frightened and went crazy, he was furious again. The servants saw that it was getting late and turned on the lamps one after another. Yelu Tiehan was so frightened when he saw the lights that he hid around like a madman. King Yelu Tieda of Yan said,"Hahahaha!" He smiled bitterly and said:"I, a pair of royal uncles and princes of the great Liao Kingdom, have been victorious in every battle, but they were killed by five hundred people in Guomao Village, and they were both crippled and mad, and a hundred thousand troops were completely wiped out. Save, haha!" He vomited blood and died. The officials under King Yelu Tieda of Yan were panicked and had no idea. The governor of Tanzhou King hurriedly asked Yelu Huaji to make up his mind. Yelu Huaji originally wanted to submit a letter of persuasion from the King of Song and Jin Dynasty to Yelu Tieda, but when he saw him fainting from anger several times, he thought of submitting it again at night, but he died of anger. Prefect Wang asked him to come up with an idea. He panicked, walked around the room, thought for a long time, and said:"Prefect Wang, Yelvshi will help you guard Tanzhou. A certain family rushed to Youzhou overnight to move reinforcements. We will return in a short time. Come back!" Without waiting for Governor Wang's reply, he hurried out of the back hall, mounted his horse, and flew away to look at Youzhou. The dozen or so followers of King Yelu Tieda of Yan, not caring about their master whose corpse was still cold, resigned one after another."Prince Governor! I will go to Youzhou to fetch reinforcements." They all fled on horseback.

Governor Wang was very angry and thought: The Khitan's 100,000-strong army has been killed, and there are no pieces of armor left. My little Tanzhou Xiang army only has 2,000, which is not enough to fill the gaps between the Song army's teeth! The father and son of the Zuo family and eight thousand troops and horses that Tanzhou relied on were all destroyed by Yelu Tiehan. Yelv Shi, who had been frightened for a long time, could not count on him at all. In an isolated city with only a few soldiers, Yelu Huaji and King Yan's relatives If everyone escapes, can he be the scapegoat? Then he said to Yelvshi:"There are still a thousand troops in Tanzhou, all of which are under the command of the general. The safety of Tanzhou depends entirely on you, General Yelushi!"

Yelvshi was so frightened that his face turned pale and he almost collapsed to the ground, and he hurriedly said :"Wang - Wang Prefect, a certain family is in charge - can't afford it!"

Wang Prefect said:"Then let's all be the victims of Guo Mao's sword!"

Yelvshi said hurriedly:"Maybe - maybe there is a good strategy."

Governor Wang said:"We are all in this kind of land, what good strategy can we talk about? Let's prepare a good coffin each!" After that, he was about to leave. He grabbed him and said,"No, no, no! King Fan's hundred thousand elite soldiers cannot be saved, so we have to sit back and wait for death!" Governor Wang was not interested and still wanted to leave.

Yelv Shi couldn't hold it anymore and said:"The only good strategy is to accept the surrender!" Look at the body of King Yelu Tieda of Yan,"Let's give this meeting gift to the kings of Song and Jin Dynasty, not to mention glory and wealth, just to save our lives." There is still no problem."

Governor Wang forced him to say this, saying:"The general is really versatile in both civil and military affairs, and the kings of the Song and Jin Dynasties will definitely reuse him."

Early the next morning, Governor Wang brought Tanzhou military and civilian household registration, registration, and The warehouse was low on money and food, so Yelv Shi brought the head of King Yelu Tieda of Yan and more than a hundred people from Tanzhou to Xiongzhou to beg for surrender. The King of Jin was discussing matters with the military officials in the commander's tent. When he heard that Tanzhou was coming to pay tribute, he ordered his subordinates to put wine in charge. During the banquet, the King of Jin said to Yelu Shi:"General Yelu betrayed the enemy and surrendered to the Song Dynasty twice. King Gu wanted to reward you, but you actually cut off the head of his old master Yelu Tieda, King of Yan, to ask for reward. You are such an unfaithful and unjust person. If everyone finds it, he will be killed. Someone will show Yelvshi's head to the public!" Yangmao picked up the saber of the guard soldier, grabbed Yelvshi and chopped off his head with one knife. Yelvshi's dead body flopped under the dining table, blood spurting all over the floor. When Tanzhou and Xiongzhou were demoted, their hair stood on end and their hearts trembled with fear.

After lunch, the King of Jin personally led three thousand sergeants, together with Jia Su, Chai Yuxi, Guo Mao, Li Bin, Yuanda, Gao Qiong, Wang Zhao, Wang Hanzhong, Zhang Baoyang, Li Jun, Fu Dun, Geng Quanbin and Ma Wei. , Dai Xing, Sangzan, Shang Feng, Ge Ba, Fu Qian, Wang Neng, Zhang Xu, Wang Rong, Wang Xijie, Yang Mao, Mi Chao, Wang Yuanyou, Chen Xin and Tanzhou's demoted generals went to Tanzhou. When they arrived in Tanzhou, the king of Jin held a banquet to celebrate.

The next day, the King of Jin held a meeting with Guo Mao, Jia Su and Chai Yuxi in the back hall of the Commander's Mansion. Jia Su said:"The Guo Military Academy used only 500 stragglers in Pansigou to defeat a hundred thousand elite Liao troops. They defeated the many with the few and the weak defeated the strong. This made me fall to the ground, but there are still many people who are puzzled. They have never been taught or practiced before facing the enemy. How can Shanfu villagers get into the battle formation? Although you have arranged the pockets in Pansigou in advance, you have to block the two thousand Liao army vanguards back to Pansigou with two hundred civilians, and they are arrayed with their backs to the water, even the five hundred forbidden troops are If it is really difficult to do, please ask the military academy for advice!"

Chai Yuxi said:"The Art of War says, 'The mountains are on the right, and the water is in front of the left.' Set up your camp along the mountains and face the water, with the mountains behind so you don't have any worries, and the water in front so you can be the enemy, like this The camp can be impregnable, but the military academy is doing the opposite! Please give me advice from the military academy!"

This is what King Jin wants to know.

Guo Mao said:"I don't dare to give you advice! Imagine a desperado who has never been taught to act and is running through the market with a knife. No one dares to fight with him. If there is a person in the market who dares to risk his life and holds a sharp knife, the desperado holding a knife will You may not be able to take advantage." He paused for a moment. The King of Jin pretended that nothing had happened, while Jia Su and Chai Yuxi listened attentively.

Guo Mao said:"'Throw yourself into death and then live, put yourself into death before you survive.' In a battle like ours where the weak defeats the strong and the few defeat the many, we must put ourselves in the place of death. Only by sacrificing life can we forget death. Only then can we have combat effectiveness. Besides, what kind of army is our army? They are stragglers and ragtag groups. They are all untrained troops, gathered temporarily. This is called"driving the people from the city to fight", driving the people on the street. Going to fight is equivalent to shouting at a group of people on the street and letting them go to fight without any military training. Can he fight? Can he not be afraid? 'Courage is born from timidity, and strength is born from weakness'. Courage comes from extreme timidity. , is extremely cowardly and then becomes strong. The only way is to put him to death, so that everyone can feel the danger of their lives and fight to the death for their own lives."

Chai Yuxi said:"Excuse me, the military academy! Hulukou, Feihukou When two mountain passes are tied with pockets, how can you accurately determine at this time that the Liao army has completely entered the pocket and prevent one Liao army from slipping through the net?"

Guo Mao smiled and said:"Chai Sima, don't forget that Shanfu is an Orion. The mountain man has traveled all over the mountains and rivers, and he knows exactly which mountains, which ravines, and how long it will take. There are also arrows ringing at the mountain passes and mountain tops to clearly indicate it."

Jia Su slightly understood and said:"Oh! Victory or defeat on the battlefield. It doesn’t all depend on fighting in front of the battle. Before the battle in Pansigou, you once said that you would invite the heavenly soldiers and generals to come to help the battle. The dangerous terrain of Pansigou must be the heavenly soldiers and generals who will help the battle!"

Guo Mao said:"The words of Chang Shi. Absolutely! Zhuge Wuhou said,"Soldiers, there are visible soldiers, and there are invisible soldiers. The visible soldiers are soldiers holding halberds and swords, and they are physical soldiers. The invisible soldiers are the sun, moon, stars, wind, clouds, water and fire, and the spiritual energy of mountains and rivers. In this way, everything can be used as a soldier. A general must understand astronomy, geography, understand yin and yang, and know formations. Mountains, rivers, grass, trees, rain, fog, thunder and lightning, birds, animals, fish and insects can be used as soldiers. A general must plan but not be brave. The way to be a general cannot be mastered by brave warriors!"

When the King of Jin heard this, he secretly admired him and remained calm.

Jia Su asked:"Military Academy! I once said that you would put Youzhou in a box for barbecue. Isn't it a joke?"

Guo Mao said:"How dare you make such a joke in the army!"

Jia Su asked doubtfully:"Then - what about that huge Youzhou?" ——How to put it in the box?"

Guo Mao said:"There is no need to put it at all, Youzhou is already in the box set by heaven and earth."

Jia Su was even more confused and said:"How to barbecue? Where does this fire come from?"

Chai Yuxi After thinking about it, he said:"The moon is waxing and waning, and the sky is unpredictable. Even if the military academy knows astronomy and geography, it can calculate the weather, wind, rain, thunder and lightning. It will rain, snow, and hail, but it will never happen." There will be a fire from the sky."

Guo Mao said:"Sima's words are good, but Shanfu knows a little about the art of Qimen Dunjia. He can borrow a hundred thousand fire dragon soldiers from heaven to burn down Youzhou City. How can the rats in Youzhou not attack the city? Accept it!"

Jia Su and Chai Yuxi were surprised when they heard this.

By the way, Guo Mao talked about borrowing fire dragon soldiers from heaven to burn down Youzhou City. Jia Su and Chai Yuxi were stunned. Jin King Zhao Guangyi was puzzled and thought for a moment,"Guo Aiqing! When will the troops be sent to Youzhou?"

Guo Mao said:"Your Highness! Have the 100th Infantry Soldiers captured in the Battle of Pansigou been returned to Youzhou?"

Jin The king said:"Yesterday, I was released to Youzhou, and there is also the emperor Fan Wang Yelu Tiehan, the frightened uncle of Liao State."

Guo Mao said:"Your Highness! There should be less than 6,000 troops and horses available at present, right?"

The king of Jin said:"Except for the headquarters. The army and horses, including the troops surrendered by Xiongzhou and Tanzhou, amount to more than five thousand. This is all under the control of Ai Qing."

Guo Mao said:"The attack on Youzhou this time is of great importance. We must win it in one fell swoop. I would like to ask you to lend me the military talisman of your highness. Once you have used the seal, flag, and arrows, you will return them to the general after entering Youzhou. Do you agree or not?"

The military talisman deployed at the camp in front of the mountain. The seal, flag, and arrows were given by the emperor. Not to mention such an important thing, even ordinary officials have no one to borrow their seals. The gift. Guo Mao was so bold not because he was proud of himself, but because he didn't know the heights of the sky. It was actually the need to conquer Youzhou and coordinate and command all the troops.

After hearing this, King Jin was shocked and calmed down for a moment. Pansigou's five million to one hundred thousand, Fuxiong Prefecture, and Tan Prefecture were all commanded by Guo Mao. His mountain front camp was deployed in the hands of the general. The military horse, for the sake of the unresolved wish of emperors for generations, Quan lends him the military talisman and commander's seal; he agrees casually.

The next day, the king of Jin was promoted to the commander-in-chief, and the civil servants and generals were: Jia Su, Chai Yuxi, Guo Mao, Li Bin, Yuanda, Gao Qiong, Wang Zhao, Wang Hanzhong, Zhang Baoyang, Li Jun, Fu Dun, Geng Quanbin, Ma He, Dai Xing, Sang Zan, Shang Feng, Ge Ba, Fu Qian, Wang Neng, Zhang Xu, Wang Rong, Wang Xijie, Yang Mao, Mi Chao, Wang Yuanyou, Chen Xin and others lined up on both sides, solemnly holding military talismans in their hands. The seal was handed over to the general commander Guo Mao. Guo Mao bowed down and took the military talisman's seal with both hands. Guo Mao ordered the military officers to set up a chair beside the commander's case and asked the King of Jin to sit down. The civil servants and generals on both sides saw that the camp in front of the temporary mountain had been deployed and the generals had been deployed. Guo Mao turned to the King of Jin and said:"Your Highness! May I ask how you prepare the five hundred thousand apricots, five thousand sparrows, five thousand catties of mugwort, fifty thousand torches and red threads?" The

King of Jin asked Jia Su under the tent:" Jia Changshi, how are you handling the matter that Commander Guo Dushuai asked?"

Jia Su said:"Report to Your Highness! When I went to Xiongzhou, I sent troops to prepare. They were all ready. Xinghu was polished as thin as a cicada's wing according to His Highness's instructions. One hundred sparrows are placed in one birdcage, making a total of five thousand birdcages. These are stored in the Jiazhan warehouse behind the tent and can be ordered by His Highness at any time."

Guo Mao said:"Li Bin, Yuanda, Gao Qiong, Wang Zhao, Wang Han Chong, Zhang Baoyang, Li Jun, Fu Dun, Geng Quanbin, and Ma Xisu went to the Jiazhan warehouse to raise their troops and distributed them to the soldiers. Each soldier had a hundred apricots, a birdcage, a pound of wormwood, and ten torches. , Ten-foot red line."

The ten generals followed the order.

Guo Mao said:"Generals Shang Feng, Ge Ba, Fu Qian and Wang Neng must equip their soldiers with armor and those who lack weapons. The soldiers must wear military uniforms." The four generals followed the order.

Guo Mao said:"Zhang Xu went to the Military Treasury Department to pick up a two-foot-high building cart. He can be at my command at any time."

Zhang Xu followed the order.

Guo Maodao took out a pile of letters written on cloth and said:"Dai Xing, Sangzan, Wang Rong, and Wang Xijie sent these thousand letters to a hundred cavalry troops, and ordered the cavalry troops to tie them to their arrows and listen to them at any time. Marshal dispatches."

Dai Xing, Sangzan, Wang Rong, and Wang Xijie followed the order.

Guo Mao said:"All the generals gathered their troops and horses, and will follow my troops to Youzhou in an hour."

The generals followed the order.

An hour later, Guo Mao and King Jin led five thousand troops and horses to rush to Youzhou in a mighty manner. They stayed overnight at dawn and arrived at Huangshagang twenty miles outside the south gate of Youzhou at 17:00 three days later. Huangshagang is bare with no vegetation and no human habitation for dozens of miles. Guo Mao ordered the sergeant to put mugwort into peach husks and tie them to the sparrows' legs and let them fly. In less than an hour, hundreds of thousands of sparrows flew towards Youzhou City with a hula-la-ha.

Guo Mao said:"Dai Xing, Sangzan, Wang Rong, and Wang Xijie each led twenty-five cavalry troops to gallop around the city and shoot arrows into Youzhou City. After the incident, they returned to the commander-in-chief and listened."

Dai Xing, Sangzan, and Wang Rong and Wang Xijie took the order and went.

Guo Mao said:"Li Bin and Yuanda led a thousand soldiers to form an array ten miles away from the north gate of Youzhou. Seeing that there was a fire in the city and they could not attack the city, they ordered the soldiers to put torches on the ground and light them. They waved flags and drums and shouted, etc. At the east gate, the Liao army opened the city to accept the surrender and quickly entered the east gate; Li Bin divided his troops with 500 troops to guard the east gate. Yuanda divided his troops with 500 troops and entered the city to extinguish the fire. Leave on command.

Guo Mao said:"Wang Hanzhong and Zhang Baoyang led a thousand soldiers to form a formation ten miles away from the north gate of Youzhou. Seeing that the city was on fire and could not attack the city, they ordered the soldiers to put torches on the ground and light them, waving flags and drums and shouting. , wait for the North Gate Liao army to open the city and accept the surrender, and quickly enter the North Gate; Wang Hanzhong divided 500 troops to guard the North Gate. Zhang Baoyang divided 500 troops into the city to put out the fire. The fire was extinguished and entered the Youzhou Commander's Mansion to join the Jin King's army." Shake Zhong and Zhang Baoyang were ordered to leave.

Guo Mao said:"Li Jun and Fu Dun led a thousand soldiers to form an array ten miles away from the north gate of Youzhou. Seeing that there was a fire in the city and they could not attack the city, they ordered the soldiers to put torches on the ground and light them. They waved flags and drums and shouted, etc. At the west gate, the Liao army opened the city to accept the surrender and quickly entered the west gate; Li Jun divided his troops with five hundred to guard the west gate. Fu Dun divided his troops with five hundred and entered the city to put out the fire. The fire was extinguished and entered the commander's mansion in Youzhou to join the army of the King of Jin."

Li Jun and Fu Dun got the order. go.

Guo Mao said:"Geng Quanbin and Ma Xi led a thousand soldiers to form an array ten miles away from the north gate of Youzhou. Seeing that the city was on fire and could not attack the city, they ordered the soldiers to put torches on the ground and light them. They waved flags and drums and shouted, waiting for the south. The Liao army opened the city to accept the surrender and quickly entered the south gate; Li Bin divided his troops with 500 troops to guard the south gate. Yuanda divided his troops with 500 troops and entered the city to put out the fire. After the fire was extinguished, they entered the Youzhou Commander's Mansion and joined the Jin King's army."

Geng Quanbin and Ma Wei received the order. And go.

Guo Mao ordered Zhang Xu to push the prepared chariot over, and said:"All the generals and soldiers are arrayed beside the chariot. See how I ride the chariot, and borrow a hundred thousand fire dragon soldiers to burn down Youzhou City."

He said to him. He put on his clothes and jumped onto the carriage that was more than two feet high. He danced with his sword and muttered words. The soldiers under the carriage had already held dozens of lanterns.