The First Great Ancestor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 172

Behind the big tent, which was partitioned off with a cloth curtain, there were rustling sounds and the voices of military doctors talking.

Zhu Xiu whispered: "How is Guo Shuai's injury?"

Chai Rong said with a smile: "Fortunately, it was just a skin injury. The injury to the abdomen caused by the arrow was more serious. It has improved a lot these days of rest."

"Guo Shuai is so blessed that he can turn disaster into good luck!" Zhu Xiu clasped his hands and bowed to the sky.

Wei Renpu looked at him with a smile, a bit of scrutiny in his eyes.

Zhu Xiu could only return the innocent smile that was harmless to humans and animals, but his mind flew behind the curtain, worrying about Uncle Guo's injury.

Historical records record that Uncle Guo fought bravely. In every battle, he would "take the lead and share the joys and sorrows with his fellow soldiers." Therefore, injuries were common.

With the current medical level, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no sequelae. According to the trajectory of future generations, Uncle Guo died of illness when he reached middle age, which is not unrelated to this.

"Commander Jie still needs to advise Commander Guo more. As the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he should not put himself in danger anymore. He must put himself first and the safety of the entire army first!" Zhu Xiu said seriously.

Chai Rong and Wei Renpu looked at each other and laughed.

"What Zhu Shaolang said really coincides with ours!" Wei Renpu stroked his beard and smiled.

Chai Rong said helplessly: "How can I not persuade him? It's just that every time Guo Shuai verbally agrees, when the war comes, he is still stubborn and no one can stop him!"

Chai Rong looked at Zhu Xiu and said with a smile: "Why don't I leave this matter to you? If you can persuade Guo Shuai to cherish his life, it will be considered a great achievement!"

Zhu Xiu glared and said: "Guo Shuai and I have never met each other, how can you listen to my advice? I'm new here, how can I dare to tease the tiger's beard? If I offend Guo Shuai, my life will be at stake!"

Wei Renpu joked: "It is true that Zhu Shaolang and Guo Shuai have never met, but Guo Shuai has been attracted to you for a long time! They all praise you for your natural wisdom, why don't you think of a way to admonish Guo Shuai with us!"

Chai Rong also joked: "You know how to do business. When you were in Cangzhou, you gave me black fire thunder in exchange for protecting your life. In Jingzhou, you started a salt transportation business again. You might as well do business with Guo Shuai this time."

Zhu Xiu shrank his neck, cupped his hands and begged for mercy: "Don't make fun of me, you two, and if you lend me ten more heads, you won't dare to do business with Guo Shuai, haggle!"

As soon as I said that, there was a loud laugh from behind the curtain: "Who wants to do business with this handsome?"

Zhu Xiu trembled and almost slipped under the chair. He hurriedly stood up with everyone else and saluted: "Greetings to Commander Guo!"

The curtain was opened, and Guo Wei walked out, followed by two military doctors, who were mumbling instructions to him.

"Oh~ ok, ok, I know! It's annoying to be nagging! After fighting for a lifetime, you won't be injured a few times a year. If you rest and recuperate, won't you be full of energy? How can you be as weak as you say?"

Guo Wei, wearing only a thin undershirt, sat down behind the handsome desk and waved his hand impatiently.

Chai Rong hurriedly took a military robe and put it on him.

The old military doctor said sincerely: "The handsome man is already 45 years old, no more than when he was younger. Every year he fights, old injuries often remain unhealed, and new injuries are added. The body loses vitality, and it takes a few years of meditation to recover."

"How can I have the time to maintain my health for a few years?" Guo Wei said with a straight face and angrily: "You guys go down first and tell them if you have anything to say."

Guo Wei pointed at Chai Rong and Wei Renpu.

The two military doctors were helpless, and Wei Renpu also signaled for them to leave first.

Zhu Xiu stood in the tent and shook his head with a wry smile.

No wonder even Chai Rong and Wei Renpu's persuasion didn't work. Uncle Guo had his own ideas and persistence on the matter of fighting.

"It really gives me a headache!" Zhu Xiu scratched his head and didn't even listen to the military doctor's words. He didn't know how to persuade Uncle Guo to cherish his body.

"Ahem~" Guo Wei looked around at the people in the tent and said with a smile: "Everyone, please sit down."

Everyone sat on both sides, Guo Wei looked at each other in turn, and suddenly sighed: "It's a group of young people! Wei Shusheng, look, we two are already old men!"

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and said with a smile: "Wei is not yet forty, and he is in his prime, so he dare not compare himself with the handsome man!"

Guo Wei was at a loss for words, slapping the table and feigning anger: "What a Wei Suanru, you are telling the truth!"

Wei Renpu cupped his hands and said solemnly: "The handsome man is already the age of Weng Fu, and he is indeed not young. The handsome man is also a privy envoy and the commander-in-chief of the six armies, and he was ordered by the late emperor to be a pillar of my dynasty. Put yourself in danger and ignore the overall situation!"

Chai Rong stood up and said: "A gentleman will not stand under a dangerous wall. My father is at risk for the safety of the country. I hope you will cherish your life!"

Li Chongjin also said carelessly: "Uncle, just sit still and issue orders. We can just leave it to us to go into battle to kill the enemy! If the commander-in-chief of the army has to personally go into battle to kill the enemy, wouldn't the generals become freeloaders?"

Everyone said in unison: "Master, please put your own safety first!"

"You~~"

Guo Wei was surprised and immediately yelled at Wei Renpu: "Is this your bad idea coming from a sour scholar? Let these guys unite to persuade me?"

Wei Renpu smiled and said: "We are concerned about the safety of the handsome master. This is a reflection of the will of the people!"

Guo Weihu scolded with a face: "Okay, my commander has recovered from his injuries. He can still eat three kilograms of meat per meal and shoot a two-stone hard bow. How can he not go to the battlefield? In ancient times, Lian Po defeated the Qin army when he was over seventy years old. I, my commander, In my prime, don’t you want me to disband my armor and return home early?”

Uncle Guo showed off his tiger power, and all the young tigers trembled. The black fox Wei Renpu could only smile bitterly and shake his head.

Zhu Xiu followed the others and sat down, raised his eyes and took a peek, only to see that Guo Wei's face was yellow after Shuai's case, his eyes were slightly swollen, his face was dull, and he was obviously in a state of deficiency of energy and blood.

External injuries heal easily, but internal injuries require a long period of rest and conditioning.

In the past 1000 years, how many honest people have been produced in the world?
Uncle Guo doesn't believe in evil, and he has to use the one-in-a-million case to trap himself, and he will definitely suffer a big loss in the end.

Guo Wei looked around everyone and his eyes fell on Zhu Xiu.

For a moment, Zhu Xiu felt her whole body tense up, and she couldn't help but sit upright, feeling as if she was being watched by a tiger.

"Are you Zhu Xiu?" Guo Wei laughed.

Zhu Xiu stood up and bowed: "Exactly!"

Guo Wei leaned on the back of his chair and said leisurely: "Two years ago, Chai Rong recommended you to serve me. Why didn't you come? Why didn't you go to Jingzhou and join the army of Shi Kuangwei of the Changyi Army?"

Zhu Xiu bent down another three points: "Because Shi Jieshuai was so kind and could not refuse, he strongly invited the students to work with him in Jingzhou. The students also considered that there were many talents around Guo Shuai, and felt that their knowledge was shallow, so they might not be able to serve Guo Shuai. So I went to Jingzhou!"

"Oh? Is that really true? Shi Kuangwei didn't force you?" Guo Wei glanced at Wei Renpu and asked.

Zhu Xiu said seriously: "Shi Jieshuai regards his students as his nephews and treats them favorably and kindly. How can he force each other?"

Guo Wei smiled and said: "You are quite righteous! That's all. Why did you go to Jingzhou? I won't ask you any more. You are now a member of the Zhangyi Army. I have been ordered to supervise the soldiers and horses of various states. You can also be regarded as my subordinate." !”

Zhu Xiu bowed his head and said: "It is a lifelong honor for a student to serve Guo Shuai!"

Guo Wei smiled and motioned for him to sit down and talk.

"Fu Dalang said that you deployed manpower in Puzhou City early to ensure Fu Jinzhan's safety?" Guo Wei asked with concern.

"Reporting to Commander Guo, it is indeed the case. In Puzhou City, there are 15 elite guardsmen of our Changyi Army. They sneaked into the city half a year ago just to find an opportunity to rescue Lady Fu!"

"Perhaps we can find a way to get your people to act as internal agents, open the city gates, and cooperate with my army internally and externally?" Guo Wei asked urgently.

Zhu Xiugong held up his hand and said: "Forgive me, Commander Guo, but I'm afraid I can't. Firstly, the city is currently blocked and we can no longer deliver the message. Secondly, there are too few manpower to accomplish anything."

Guo Wei couldn't hide his disappointment and shook his head: "If you want to save Fu Jinzhan, you must first defeat Puzhou City, but the city is strong and cannot be attacked for a long time. What can we do?"

Li Chongjin roared anxiously: "I am willing to lead the army to attack the city, please agree with Guo Shuai!"

Li Chongjin did not forget to cast a provocative look at Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Kuangyin immediately stood up and prostrated: "Zhao Kuangyin, who is under the command of Tianxiong Army, is also willing to lead his army to attack the city!"

Guo Wei smiled and said nothing.He had a good impression of Zhao Kuangyin. The son of Zhao Hongyin, the commander of the Holy Guard Army, was tall, heroic and talented. Chai Rong also mentioned it to him several times.

The Guardian Army is one of the Forbidden Army guarding Kaifeng. Zhao Hongyin holds the military power and can be regarded as the number one figure in Kaifeng City.

Since he learned that Zhao Kuangyin had joined the Tianxiong Army, Zhao Hongyin visited the Privy Council and Guo Wei's Situ Mansion more frequently, often requesting visits under various names.

In the eyes of outsiders, Zhao Hongyin is already a member of the "Guo Party" faction.

In return, Guo Wei also regarded Zhao Kuangyin as one of his own and asked Chai Rong to focus on training him.

Chai Rong looked at the two men who were glaring at each other, and said with a serious face: "A large army attacking the city is not a child's play, nor is it an opportunity for competition to show off! Once something goes wrong, involving all the soldiers and disrupting the counter-insurgency war, military law will definitely punish them severely. No loan! Just step back and wait for the order."

Chai Rong's tone was stern, Zhao Kuangyin did not dare to say anything, lowered his head and said "yes", stood up and sat down.

Li Chongjin wanted to mutter something, but Chai Rong's eyes darkened and he glared at him fiercely.

Guo Wei looked at Zhu Xiu and said, "What is the sky-shaking thunder mentioned in the military report? Is it the same as the black fire thunder?"

Zhu Xiu hurriedly said: "The principle and structure are similar, but the power is a hundred times that of the Black Fire Thunder!"

Guo Wei was overjoyed and said anxiously: "You used this thing to blow up Zheng County City. Why don't you repeat your old trick and use it under Puzhou City?"

All eyes were focused on Zhu Xiu. Most of them had seen the power of the black fire thunder, and how powerful the thunderbolt was a hundred times more powerful. Except for Zhao Kuangyin, who was the chief blaster, they knew clearly. Everyone else could only stay in their imagination. stage.

Zhu Xiu shook his head and said: "Most of the city walls in Zheng County were built with rammed earth. The section that was blown up was soaked in the river all the year round. It was severely affected by moisture and the roots were broken. It was only due to many factors that the Thunderbolt was able to be effective.

Puzhou City is a majestic city in the world and an important town in the river. It has been repaired and reinforced countless times over the years, making it as solid as a rock.The walls on all four sides are built with stone barriers, so even thunder can hardly work.

The power of the Sky Thunder is indeed a hundred times that of the Black Fire Thunder, and it is also a hundred times more difficult to make.In the past six months, despite all the efforts of the Zhangyi Army, only twelve were built, two were discarded, and only ten were usable.

I brought five with me on this trip, used three in Zheng County, and have two left.”

Guo Wei's fiery gaze gradually cooled down, and he sighed: "So, if you want to break Puzhou City, the only way to defeat Puzhou City is to besiege it?"

Everyone was silent, the tall and majestic Puzhou City made people despair.

According to the trajectory of later generations, Uncle Guo really had only one option: siege but not attack. He stationed camps on three sides outside Puzhou City and waited for a good opportunity to defeat the enemy after half a year of siege.

But now, the Shu army has already dispersed outside the pass, and Qizhou is in danger. The imperial court issued a series of urging letters of war, asking Guo Wei to break the city as soon as possible, and then rush to Qizhou to take charge of the overall situation.

If it doesn't work, we can only divide our troops to go.

However, Puzhou City guarded the water and land arteries between Guanzhong, Hedong, Kaifeng, Luoyang and other places, and was the choke point of commercial thoroughfares. There were tens of thousands of rebels in the city. Guo Wei was worried that something would happen again after he left.

With tens of thousands of elite soldiers from the Hezhong Army, Guo Wei was reluctant to give up.

The dilemma gave him a headache.

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and smiled bitterly: "Now, if we want to defeat the enemy quickly, we can only find a way to recruit and surrender Li Shouzhen's generals and undermine the enemy's military morale from within. But where should we start?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "I have some ideas, please Mr. Wei for more details."

"Oh? Zhu Shaolang just said it doesn't matter." Wei Renpu became interested.

Guo Wei waved his hand: "Speak freely without any scruples."

Chai Rong cast an encouraging look at him.

Zhu Xiu stood up and walked to the city defense layout map hanging nearby, bowed to everyone, pointed at the picture and said: "Puzhou City is composed of three parts, Zicheng, Inner City, and Luo City. The northwest is Zicheng, which is Where Li Shouzhen stationed troops, Luocheng was the outer city and the focus of the entire city's defense. It was only repaired after Li Shouzhen went to Hezhong in the 12th year of Tianfu. The focus of the siege was Luocheng."

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and said: "The people guarding Luocheng are all the trusted generals Li Shouzhen brought from Hedong. It is difficult for these people to persuade them to surrender until the last moment."

Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Does Mr. Wei know about Li Shouzhen's general Wang Jixun?"

Wei Renpu said: "Of course I know that this is the person who guarded Pujing Pass before! Wang Jixun is quite brave and is good at using iron whip, iron spear and iron cudgel. He is called 'Wang Three Irons' in the army. He is Li Shouzhen's confidant." General! It is this person who is guarding Luo City now."

Wang Jixun is courageous and cruel.

Later generations also rumored that he was Zhao Da's brother-in-law, and Zhao Da's second wife Wang was his sister.

However, as far as Zhu Xiu knew, this matter was probably a lie.

The Wang family is from Bin County, Shaanxi Province, and Wang Jixun is from Yuncheng, Shanxi Province. They are not the same family at all.

Moreover, Wang Jixun is now at least 40 to [-] years old, while Wang is just a six or seven-year-old boy. Not to mention the difference in seniority, if he is really born from the same father, this old man of the Wang family is really going strong.

Zhu Xiu glanced at Zhao Kuangyin meaningfully, making him confused.

"There is a general under Wang Jixun's command named Zhou Guangxun. I wonder if Mr. Wei has heard of it?" Zhu Xiu said with a smile.

Wei Renpu thought about it carefully, shook his head and said, "I have never heard of this person."

Guo Wei and Chai Rong also shook their heads to express their ignorance.

Li Chongjin groaned: "Just a nobody."

Zhu Xiu smiled. Those who can leave a few words in the history books are not considered unknown.

According to records, Zhou Guangxun was the first person under Li Shouzhen to surrender to Guo Wei.

This man's surrender was a key turning point in the Puzhou War.

Since Zhu Xiu arrived in the town, he asked Pan Mei to lead people to inquire around, and he actually got some news about Zhou Guangxun.

"Zhou Guangxun, a native of Huayin, Huazhou, is about 29 years old. He is the only son in the family. His father died young and he was raised by his mother. In the 12th year of Tianfu, Zhou Guangxun joined the army in Puzhou. Because of his good looks and outstanding martial arts, he was accepted by Wang Jixun. Under his command, he participated in the battle against the Khitan across Hedong.

Wang Jixun was reused by Li Shouzhen, and Zhou Guangxun was promoted along the way.

Zhou Guangxun's biggest characteristic is that he is a filial son who is well-known in Huayin County. "

Zhu Xiu cut her hands behind her back and talked eloquently, taking in everyone's expressions one by one.

Chai Rong and Zhao Kuangyin were thoughtful, Fu Zhaoxin was a little absent-minded, and Li Chongjin yawned, smacking his lips and looking sleepy.

Guo Wei asked suspiciously: "Is it possible that you have a way to persuade this person to surrender?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and pretended, while Wei Renpu frowned, suddenly thought of something, and asked hurriedly: "Is Zhou Guangxun's mother still alive? Is she in Huayin?"

Zhu Xiu patted her hands and praised: "Mr. Wei really knows me! That's right! Mother Zhou is still in Huayin! Half a month ago, I sent people to look for her, and now I have found out where Mother Zhou is."

Wei Renpu said in a deep voice: "You want to use Zhou's mother to persuade Zhou Guangxun to surrender, but how do you pass the news into Puzhou City? How do you get in touch with him?"

Zhu Xiu smiled and said: "With just a little bit of news, maybe Zhou Guangxun can come to your door!"

Wei Renpu stroked his beard and thought deeply, a smile gradually appeared on his face: "I see, I understand."

Immediately, Wei Renpu bowed to Guo Wei and said: "Master Handsome, I would like to ask you to work with Zhu Shaolang to recruit and surrender Zhou Guangxun! There will be a decision within half a month!"

Guo Wei thought about it for a moment, looked at the two of them, and laughed: "That's fine! I also want to see what surprises you two foxes, big and small, can bring together!"

The two bowed and thanked each other, and Zhu Xiu cast a grateful look at Wei Renpu.

Wei Renpu took the initiative to ask to join forces with him, not to gain credit, but to share the responsibility for failure with him.

Although the strategy of recruiting Zhou Guangxun to surrender is clever, it is extremely random and cannot be guaranteed to be foolproof.

But currently, this is the best opportunity to break into Puzhou City in the short term.

(End of this chapter)