[There are a lot of things after the year, and it has been interrupted again, I'm sorry for all book friends, and today I watched it again and again to make up for my character. 】

Guo Kui is sitting in Baozhou, and it has been close to ten years.

Since nine days ago, when he transferred the Shuai Mansion back to this border state again, the western half of Hebei's border line immediately became as stable as Mount Tai. The morale, military spirit, and popular spirit in Baozhou have all been restored to the situation before the defeat of Yizhou.

But after all, it was only before the defeat of Yizhou, and it was impossible to win again. Regardless of morale or resources, it is impossible for the Hebei Army to organize an operation of the same scale. In front of the Liao people, whose military strength is better than before, even Guo Kui can only choose to hold steady.

In the past few days, Guo Kui has often turned over the Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, whether it is the book, the family or the biography, in the biography of many people, the words are full of helplessness. Cao Cao's defeat of Chibi, Liu Bei's defeat and retreat to Yiling, Zhou Yutian's non-holiday, Zhuge Liang lamented Wuzhangyuan, many times even if he was ambitious, he could only sigh helplessly.

"My lord, Li Xin has arrived and is waiting outside." Guo Kui's second son, Guo Zhongyi, came into the room and whispered to Guo Kui.

The defeated general has finally returned. Guo Kui put down the book in his hand and muttered, "Please let him in." ”

"I know it." Guo Zhongyi responded and wanted to go out.

"Wait a minute." Guo Kui stopped him and stared at his son deeply, "Be polite and count." ”

Guo Zhongyi was a little unimpressed by his father's advice, but he didn't dare to object, after all, Li Xin still had a cousin behind him - Han Gang, who was already in Xifu with his old father. If you really want to offend Li Xin, you will only be unlucky in the future. Obediently bowed his head, turned around and went out again.

The change in his son's mood couldn't hide Guo Kui's spicy eyes, and he picked up the book again, and he didn't even have the idea of explaining more. He courteously treated Li Xin, not because of Han Gang behind Li Xin, but because he didn't want to see a rare general in the army be humiliated.

Even though Li Xin's army was defeated in Yizhou, Guo Kui's evaluation of him still did not decrease. After the defeat, most of the Song army, which was dominated by infantry, was able to escape the pursuit of the Khitan cavalry, and even maintained the basic structure without rout, which was the credit of the commander in any case.

But Guo Kui still can't help but regret that the opportunity to turn the tide of the war is gone, and the next time he has the opportunity, it will not be his turn Guo Kui to preside over military affairs.

A decisive battle is a battle that decides the final outcome of the battle. Occupying the initiative on the battlefield and forcing the enemy army to fight a decisive battle in an unfavorable situation is a sign of the competence of every commander.

Attacking Yizhou was Guo Kui's plan to defend and attack. The capture of Yizhou can indeed turn the tide of the war, but forcing the Liao army to rush to Yizhou to relieve the siege, take advantage of its fatigue from afar, and win the battle, and even without capturing Yizhou, the battle will be settled.

Although the Liao army also had the means to encircle Wei and save Zhao, Yizhou was already very close to the Xijin Mansion in Nanjing, and Guo Kui was sure that Yelu Yixin would not dare to gamble. What's more, the border states, whether they are Baozhou, Bazhou, Xiongzhou, have all proved the solidity of the defense line there. As for Cangzhou, although the area is vast, it is mostly offshore wasteland that has not yet been reclaimed, far away from the core of Hebei.

The decisive battle is always preceded by a series of skirmishes. In the frequent confrontations, the officers and troops approached Yizhou step by step smoothly. After arriving in Yizhou, the camp where they were stationed was also close to the mountain, making full use of the infantry's advantage in terrain adaptability.

From the topographical point of view, most of the land boundary is in Yizhou in the Taihang Mountains, which is far more suitable for infantry deployment than Bazhou and Xiongzhou to the north. You can fight when you advance, you can flee when you retreat, and you don't have to worry about being besieged by the cavalry taking advantage of the horse. Even now, Guo Kui doesn't think that he chose the wrong place to fight back.

It's a pity that this plan has fallen short.

It was not a mistake in the selection of the main general, but a miscalculation of the amount of force that Yelu Yixin could use.

Although Guo Kui had calculated the strength of Nanjing Dao as far as possible beforehand, and the city of Yizhou was not far from the border, when the Liao army cut off the rear road of Li Xinjun's army with heavy troops, Guo Kui realized that he still counted the soldiers and horses in Yelu Yixin's hands less.

He even felt a little incredible, this should be a war for both sides without any preparation, how Yelu Yixin could transfer the Jurchens of Tokyo Province before the prophet was unpredictable, this is completely unreasonable.

Guo Kui suddenly laughed, Yelu Yixin really has the ability to predict the future, not to mention Hebei, the east side of the river will not let Hangang have the upper hand.

Suddenly, I heard a little movement coming from outside the door, and although the only remaining famous general in the Renzong era was nearly sixty years old, he was still deaf and clear-sighted. He sat up a little straighter, waiting for the cousin of the Hedong boss to come in.

……………………

Li Xin's expression was the same as before, and he walked steadily towards the main hall where Guo Kui was.

There were many officials running back and forth in the line, and there was not a single one who did not know him Li Xin, but their eyes became extremely strange, and there was absolutely no sympathy or kindness.

The general of the defeated army will end up like this.

Li Xin took one step at a time, and his footsteps were still undestructive.

In the past, the generals under Li Xin's command did not dare to be disrespectful to him, but now many of them have also turned into ridicule. Fortunately, Li Xin also has a cousin who is a privy deputy envoy, and after all, no one dares to mock him to his face.

Just like Guo Eryan, who is now leading the way, he is much more intimate than the past few meetings.

But that's not what Li Xin wants.

After passing through the middle gate, two petty officials who were writing documents in the middle of the line came to meet them. After recognizing Li Xin and Guo Zhongyi, he immediately avoided the side. It's just that after Li Xin and the two crossed them, they learned that Suosuo's broken words came from behind them, but they were guessing what kind of treatment Li Xin would receive.

Guo Zhongyi seemed to hear a little, and Li Xin looked at him and turned around a little nervously, but Li Xin had no resentment, and the sound of those mosquitoes and flies did not make him angry.

He is already a general in the Privy Council, and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Third Class Court and the Eastern Court of the Inquisitor, and if he wants to dispose of him, the Privy Council must ask the Son of Heaven to decide. Li Xin knew very well that with his identity and relationship, he would never be punished heavily.

But if things turn out like that in the end, it's really embarrassing.

The corners of Li Xin's mouth twitched, he would rather be dismissed from office and stay in office like Wang Sunchen, who was guilty of lying about his military exploits, and atone for his crimes with merit. He also didn't want his cousin to use his merits and official position to atone for his sins.

A few more officials passed by, and the same talk came to my ears.

Li Xin's eyes became even colder. They are all from the Shuai Mansion, and it is better to pay more attention to the situation in Hebei if you have this free time.

The number of casualties in the defeat of Yizhou was not large, and the situation in Hebei suddenly became tense. The next movement of the Liao army makes people think about it.

Li Xin shook his head slightly.

In fact, there is no need to worry that his defeat will cause the collapse of Hebei's defense line. With Guo Kui's old spicyness, how could he not consider the consequences of failure? After the defeat, the defense line in the western part of Hebei where Guo Kui was sitting was still as stable as Mount Tai, which is the best proof of this.

But it was also Guo Kui's steadiness that made Li Xinneng's troops obviously insufficient, and it was logical that the generals and colonels under his command lacked the determination to hold on under the siege of the enemy.

The Liao army was outnumbered more than expected, and this was not the whole reason for the defeat. However, the connection between the Yizhou battalion and the rear was cut off by the Liao army with heavy troops for three whole days, which was completely the result of the Liao army taking advantage of the superiority in troops.

Without food and aid, and without even the slightest message, the army's morale is naturally unstable. At this point, unless it was Han Xin, he had the ability to fight and win, and if it was Li Xin, he had to order a breakthrough to the south.

Li Xin didn't like to complain about the fact that he couldn't get wholehearted devotion to such a significant battle, but he didn't blame himself for it after all.

Li Xin was sure that if Guo Kui could give him an extra 10,000 horses, or even only five or six cavalry under his command to maintain the road, the result would be very different.

It's just that he doesn't want to deceive himself to complain about Guo Kui, and he sits in Guo Kui's position by himself, and he didn't know in advance that Yelu Yixin could transfer a large number of soldiers and horses from Tokyo Province so quickly, so he would definitely do exactly the same thing as Guo Kui.

Because he was so entangled in his heart, when facing Guo Eryanei, who was so enthusiastic that he seemed false, Li Xin became even more reticent.

He stopped outside the door first, and waited until Guo Kui came out with the word before he stepped into the main hall.

"The last general, Li Xin, meet the privy councilor."

After saluting Guo Kui, who was sitting upright, Li Xin stood silently in the center of the hall with his hands down, waiting for Guo Kui's fate.

His gaze fell on the wound on Li Xin's right arm, and Guo Kui's gaze fluctuated slightly. He is also an old soldier, and he can see at a glance whether the injury is serious or not, no worse than those military doctors who are good at gold creation.

Standing up, Guo Kui walked around to Li Xin's side, looked at his right arm wrapped in splints, plaster casts and bandages, and was a little concerned: "How is the injury on the arm?" ”

"The bone broke, but the splint was put on in time. It's good in 100 days. ”

A gloomy look flashed on Li Xin's face, this time he injured his arm and bones, and it would be difficult for him to return to the old level of throwing spears in the future.

When Li Xin broke through the siege, he personally led the troops to break off, and most of the army was safely evacuated, and the cavalry assigned to him was not small, and the most rear, together with the palace army led by him, also escaped from the siege.

It was only in the process of retreating that Li Xin was hit by many arrows, although he was not seriously injured because of the strong heavy armor, but his right arm was still hit hard by the Liao people in the chaos of the army, so that the bone was broken and the tendon was injured - this is still the result of armor - and had to be put on a plaster splint to fix the injury.

Guo Kui looked at the injury twice, and Li Xin was clear in his confidence, and he could also see it. Li Xin's face changed instantly, and he didn't hide it from his eyes.

Li Xin's arm is far from a serious injury, and timely treatment will not leave any sequelae, but it is difficult to say whether he can recover after relying on his powerful spear throwing skills.

"The martial arts of bows and horses are only the courage of horses, and the enemy of 10,000 people is what the generals want. The old man wanted to say before, Yizhong, you are obsessed with throwing spears, which is not a good thing. The overlord has abandoned the sword and gone to learn from the enemy, since you have the same name as Huaiyin, how can you not even be as good as the overlord? ”

Guo Kui's tone was like an elder telling his conceited nephew, and he even affectionately called Li Xin's words that were not known to too many people.

Li Xindu was a little flustered, Guo Kui's current attitude was something he hadn't expected beforehand. Even if there is a cousin who is also a privy behind him, with Guo Kui's character, he should not be so flattering.

"Privy ......"

Li Xin opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Guo Kui.

"Yizhong, victory and defeat are commonplace, don't take it too seriously, the days are still very long." Guo Kui grinned, "Yizhou is defeated, and the responsibility is not on you Yizhong." Although there are some things, there are also merits. After the Yizhou War, the Liao thieves no longer had the strength to invade the south, this is your credit! The old man had already put on the notebook before, and he told the court about it. ”

Guo Kui considered the possibility of Li Xin's defeat before the war, and also dealt with it accordingly. In the course of Li Xin's northward march to Yizhou, the work of clearing the walls of various military prefectures in northern Hebei took advantage of this good opportunity to speed up, and Hebei's border defense was also given time to adjust. At present, even if the Liao army breaks through the border fortifications, it will have to endure enough hardships to get enough food and grass supplies. These are the benefits of pushing the war into the territory of Liao.

"Privy!"

Li Xin's body trembled a little, he had always had a cold face, and he couldn't help but have red circles in his eyes. Guo Kui defended his defeated general in the court, saying that it was not only a matter of a letter, but also the responsibility for his defeat.

"Don't overthink it." Guo Kui turned around and sat back in his seat, "No matter what you say, the old man has already blocked the main force of the Liao thieves at the border." Before the start of the war, the imperial court demanded no more than that. What's more, several Liao thieves who escaped into the mainland were beaten and fled by the old man, and more than 1,000 beheadings were left before and after. Not afraid of anything! ”

Guo Kui is not generous. Li Xin's candidate was proposed by him, and if all the blame is put on Li Xin, Guo Kui himself will not be able to escape the charge of unclear employment. If you offend Han Gang in death, don't say it, he Guo Zhongtong won't be a man in the future. Which general is willing to follow a coach who doesn't wait? You can't shelter your generals from the wind and rain, and you're not qualified to lead the army!

Guo Kui has always faintly looked down on Di Qing, mainly because Di Qing's personality is a little softer. Back then, Han Qi wanted to kill Jiao with Liwei, but the main general Di Qing did not dare to fight. It is this kind of character that will cause Di Qing to die in the prime of life under fear in the future. If it's yourself, you're afraid of a bird!

Guo Kui said loudly: "No matter what outsiders think, the old man, who is the boss, can't let the sons and daughters under the account be wronged." ”