In the evening at the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Guo Shao felt bored listening to Guo Zhang finish reciting the article he had just learned, so he asked him to rest. Only Guo Zhang's mother, Li Yuan'er, was left by Guo Shao's side. "The right way is that a tiger father has no dog son, and our youngest prince (Li Jilong) has good qualifications. I heard Dong Zunjie say after the banquet that Li Jilong marched very quickly and fought very well, and he was very organized. He is already a master of a son of this age. It's very rare." Guo Shao said in a casual tone. Li Yuan'er said: "There are too many qualified young people in the world. It is not because of His Majesty's grace and trust that he has the opportunity to serve the country." Smile. But the most difficult thing in the world to penetrate and force is the human heart. It was difficult for Guo Shao to guess how much of that smile came from the heart. Guo Shao couldn't help but sigh, remembering Li Yuan'er's sincerity back then, he stretched out his hand to hold Li Yuan'er's little hand, with a look of guilt on his face, and said: "I am also very sad about Mr. Li's death." Li Yuan'er in a moment She almost shed tears, but after a moment of silence, she said softly: "The people of Liao have evil intentions. Your Majesty is wise and powerful and has avenged his revenge. My late father's spirit in heaven should be relieved." The implication of her words was to poison Li Chuyun's life. Zhongli is a spy of the Liao Kingdom, which is also what Da Xu officials say. After hearing this, Guo Shao could only nod his head and said: "I am very happy that your concubine can understand the general situation." Li Yuan'er said softly: "Your Majesty has been very kind to me and the Li family. I can't repay you even if I work like a cow or a horse. "My love for Your Majesty has not changed from my original intention." At this time, Guo Shao felt unspeakable trouble in his heart. He actually wanted to have a sincere talk with those close to him, butsince he had passed the huge power. With the power and rules to own the Three Palaces and Sixth Courtyard, does Li Yuan'er or anyone dare to vent their innermost emotions to Guo Shao? And now Li Yuan'er's performance is very consistent with her identity and situation. Guo Shao felt there was nothing wrong with her. ¡In early spring, the days were still short and the nights were long. The next day, Guo Shao left the imperial concubine¡¯s palace early and headed to the Jinxiang Palace. It was still dark. He and Li Yuan'er talked a lot last night. The harem has become a political harem, and almost none of them was intentional, but Li Yuan'er's unintentional words about not changing his original intention impressed Guo Shao deeply. Today is the meeting of central ministers that takes place every three days, so Guo Shao came to the meeting hall early. He took a lamp from the eunuch Cao Tai and shined it on the wall behind the throne. There was a large map hanging on it. Under the nearby light, he could see every line on the map clearly. It is difficult to make accurate maps, but today's maps have changed from the previous habit of drawing mountains, rivers and cities in a large and intuitive way. Instead, they use the concept of proportion and pay attention to size. Therefore, this map has few pictures and is all lines and circles. This is the territory he rules. Not long after, Guo Shao noticed from the corner of his eye that Cao Tai standing next to him raised his head and glanced, and he guessed that a certain minister had arrived early. Guo Shao said without looking back: "Since I ascended the throne, I have not only received glory, wealth and supreme power, but also must shoulder missions and responsibilities. Every dynasty has its mission, and some have to cultivate their health and restore the Han people." Some people want to expel foreign invaders to avoid the destruction of the country, and some want to end division and unify the country. What do you think is Dashu's mission?" Cao Tai was stunned and did not speak easily. The people behind him were probably a little surprised, as if the emperor had eyes on his back. The man said: "Your Majesty, since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the countries that have been divided and separated have stood side by side, regaining the lost territory and unifying the world." Hearing the voice, Guo Shao knew that the person who had arrived early was Zuo You. Guo Shao turned around and saw Zuo You standing in the middle of the empty political hall with his fists clasped and bowing. The two looked at each other from a distance. The deaths of Luo Yanhuan and Li Chuyun really made it difficult for Guo Shao to let go, so much so that he had an inexplicable feeling when he saw Zuo You He almost killed Zuo You, his old friend for many years, in a single thought. . He continued to shine the lamp on the lines on the map and said casually, "There are still places such as Dali Kingdom and Jingnan Army that have not surrendered, but the overall situation has been decided." He pondered for a moment and then said, "My original intention is not limited to this. "Zuo You said: "I would like to hear your majesty's general plan." Guo Shao put down the lamp holder, turned around, and his eyes lit up: "Eradicate the haze in the world, establish a fair and clear system and order, make the people rich and the country honorable; then let the country be prosperous. There is a bright future." Zuo You immediately said, "Your Majesty has great talents and great plans, and I am willing to work hard for your Majesty's great ambitions." At this time, Wang Pu, Wei Renpu and others came and saw Guo Shao standing there. , also clasped their fists in worship. "Perhaps at first glance, several ministers thought that Guo Shao was just talking big words. But Guo Shao recalled his enthusiasm when he was younger, and that's what he thought. Back then, he was fighting in the north and south.This is indeed the ideal. Now he doesn¡¯t want to change his original intention, but he finds that he seemed to have taken it for granted back then; conspiracy and cruelty not only happened to others, but also to himself! Bright dreams are just imagination after all. What's wrong? Maybe there is nothing wrong, but everything has to go through a process, a long process that lasts for thousands of years. Guo Shao was unwilling to doubt his institutional ideals. Just as he would not doubt that progress in production methods is the way forward, based on experience, the West would dominate the world of later generations with the help of the Industrial Revolution although in this world, he could not see that day. The sky outside the window gradually became brighter, and more than twenty civil and military ministers arrived one after another. After the courtesy of the monarch and his ministers, Guo Shao put away his morning thoughts and said clearly and clearly: "Spring is coming, the weather is getting warmer. I want to fight the Liao Dynasty personally." There was a lot of discussion in the political hall, and Prime Minister Li Gu clasped his fists. Said: "The world has been in chaos for a long time. After most of the countries were united, they fought for years. Our court defeated the Liao army in Hedong. At this time, we started the Northern Expedition again. If the war lasts for a long time, the national treasury will not be able to make ends meet." General Gao Huaide also said: "The official dragon body At the beginning of his recovery, if he wants to conquer Liao, he only needs to send one general. "Guo Shao said: "I have been raised in the palace for too long, so I want to take advantage of this battle to fight again." What he meant was that I have been sick for the world for so long. A disheartening impression, now I have to prove my martial arts skills again. Guo Shao turned to look at Li Gu again: "Don't worry, Mr. Li. Except for the battle to regain Youzhou, the Xu army has always fought quickly. This time is no exception. We are not going to compete with the Liao army in the northeast. The goal of this war is to force the Liao Kingdom to seek peace." Several prime ministers seemed to be relieved when they heard this, and Li Gu also changed his attitude and said, "Your Majesty is considerate of the people, and the world is very lucky." Guo Shao glanced slightly and signaled to Wei Renpu. As usual, Wei Renpu, deputy envoy of the Privy Council, went to the head of the ministers and hung up a map of Liaodong. He calmly bowed to the officials: "Everyone, the imperial court's national policy in the north was to take Hexi, build horse farms, open up the Western Regions, obtain enough horses and cavalry, and then turn from defense to offense to deal with the Liao Kingdom." Everyone agreed one after another. Wei Renpu said: "However, the situation has changed. I and Wang Shijun all think that it is inappropriate to continue the national policy at this time. Last autumn, the Liao Kingdom once again lost more than 30,000 Khitan and Xi troops in Hedong. In the past five years, it has lost 80,000 troops. With more than 10,000 troops, the Liao's military force is no longer what it used to be. At this time, the Liao's internal troubles are even worse, and the foreign power is difficult to pose a threat. There is no need for our country to expend a large amount of national strength to expand the cavalry. We only need to force the Liao peacemaker to take power and negotiate a peace treaty between the two countries. By using the help of the Liao Kingdom to subdue the northern tribes, we can solve the border troubles in the northern frontier." The civil and military discussions were so noisy that Wei Renpu kept raising his voice. The civil servants are obviously very supportive of the change in national policy. Over the years, Guo Shao has been very familiar with the historical experience pursued by the civil servants. The country should rest and recuperate, especially when foreign wars are not serious. The generals were not satisfied. Only war can bring them military glory. Shi Yanchao simply shouted: "We have fought so many battles with the Liao Kingdom and lost so many brothers and people. Are we going to reconcile now?" Wang Pu said: "A month ago, Yang Ye wrote a letter to the Hutuo River. The rivers were filled with corpses from the Liao army, and the valleys were littered with corpses. In terms of blood debt, we are not the only ones who hate the Liao people." Guo Shao said, "Don't worry, General Shi, there are still many battles to be fought." Upon hearing this, the emperor seemed to have grasped Shi Yanchao's thoughts as they looked at each other. As soon as Guo Shao patted the imperial case, he ignored everyone's arguments and said directly: "That's it, Deputy Ambassador Wei will continue to discuss the strategy." Wei Renpu bowed his hands and calmly pointed at the map with his palm: "Liaoyang Prefecture is Dongdan. At the Guoguo (old Bohai Sea) headquarters, Da Xu planned to send troops in three directions to threaten Liaoyang. The main force marched out of Pingzhou, swept through western Liaoning, and besieged Jinzhou; the Jiaolong Army moved two routes from the water to capture Tiezhou (Yingkou) and Suzhou (Dalian). Dongdan Kingdom is an important territory of the Liao Kingdom, and the Liao Kingdom must not sit back and ignore it. They may gather a large army to save Liaoyang and fight with us; if they are not willing to fight, they can only accept the peace negotiation. " Shi Yanchao opened his mouth and asked: " What if the Liao Kingdom doesn't submit and we don't have enough cavalry, so we should build the castle all the way to Liaoyang Prefecture like we attacked Youzhou?" Wei Renpu said: "Commander Shi has a good question. If so, we will retreat after recovering Jinzhou." He looked back and said, "After Yelu Abaoji, the Taizu of the Liao Dynasty, destroyed the Bohai Kingdom, the northeastern lands came under the jurisdiction of the Liao Kingdom. The Xu army went out to attack the areas under the jurisdiction of the Liao Kingdom, captured a city, and erected a stone tablet inscribed with their achievements. Even if they retreated, It doesn¡¯t count as a loss of momentum.¡± In Guo Shao¡¯s view, the Liao army would never be able to set up a battle formation in Jinzhou. The most likely thing was to wait until the Xu army was deep and had nothing to rely on, and then use the cavalry.They are attacking the grain road; so as long as you make up your mind and don't march straight in, you will be invincible in this battle This is also one of the reasons why Guo Shao wants to march in person. There was no need for him to risk his prestige at this time. Wei Renpu added: "Of course, this is only the most unfavorable situation. Although Da Xu's army can be said to have won the battle, the gains from one city are really not worth the cost of using a large army. The best result is to force the Liao Kingdom to give up fighting with Da Xu. Enemy, come and seek peace.¡±