choke element

Chapter 1000: Coming and Going (Part )

Guo Ning's yellow horse had been fed with fine feed, washed comfortably, and rested for a long time. This good horse in its prime was familiar with the military atmosphere around it and expected to have a great journey. It was very excited, so it galloped along the road with flying hooves, snorting constantly, startling the birds in the woods beside the road to flap their wings.

After running over a hundred steps, it turned back following the guidance of the reins and stood beside its mistress, its four hooves still stamping the ground.

Guo Ning was tall, and now he looked even more majestic while riding on a horse. But he patiently bent down and turned his shoulder to make it easier for Lu Han to adjust the red cape behind him.

Lu Han stood on tiptoe and had just smoothed his cloak when a gust of north wind blew, causing the cloak to flutter and make Guo Jing, who was looking up at the two of them, burst into laughter.

Lu Han patted his son's head and said to Guo Ning, "This journey may be difficult and different from the past. Please be careful on the road."

Guo Ning went out to fight while Lu Han stayed at home to take care of things. This had happened dozens or even hundreds of times since they met. Lu Han would always give him some worried instructions every time, and Guo Ning was already familiar with those words.

However, the instructions from relatives are never a burden, but always a wisp of warmth in the cold wind. Guo Ning reached out and patted the back of Lu Han's hand, nodding heavily.

The Great Zhou was a militarized country. The day after the Longxiang Army was dispatched as the vanguard, the emperor led his personal guards and other troops that accompanied the northern expedition and set off.

Meanwhile, everything in Zhongdu was as normal. Businessmen and travelers were still coming and going in the city, and the markets were thriving everywhere. Outside the city, from Tongzhou to Tianjin, there was still a scene of singing and dancing, and farmers were busy in the fields like a group of busy ants.

Only the road leading to Juyongguan in the north of the city could clearly feel the solemn and murderous atmosphere of the assembled army, because military agencies such as the Marshal's Office, the Garrison Office, and the Capital General's Office were all mobilized, and a large number of troops were continuously marching northward along the road.

The soldiers all knew that this time they would face the main force led by the Mongolian Khan himself. Moreover, the Mongolians were extremely aggressive and took the newly established continuous defense line in the northern border as food from the beginning. This scene was like two soldiers fighting, and it was like the two sides just took up their positions, and one of them waved his hand and knocked off the other's helmet, and spitted wildly in his face to show contempt.

The Mongols were so bold because they had their reasons. Whether it was the use of new weapons or the suppression of the climate, it was indeed worrying.

So when Lu Han and others saw them off, they were of course worried.

Guo Ning looked at Lu Han and smiled calmly: "It's not just the Mongolian army that wants to fight this battle, we want to fight even more. Don't worry, the Mongolians are no longer our opponents. Just wait for my good news at home."

Before Lu Han could reply, Guo Jing clapped his hands excitedly: "Great! Defeat the Mongols!"

Being looked at with admiration by his son, Guo Ning felt a little proud. He leaned over, picked up his son, and rubbed his face.

The Mongols have the support of the Mongols, so do the Han people.
In the first three decades after the founding of the country, the government's fiscal revenue continued to expand. The commercial taxes of the Maritime Customs alone brought in no less than 2 million guan per year. The revenue of the commercial banks directly controlled by the government reached more than 5 million guan per year, and there was still a lot of room for growth.

With the support of this huge income, the value of the shares of the business originally held by the court has risen sharply. The price of each share of some business houses has doubled from one guan to dozens of guan. Whether selling for cash or taking advantage of the profits, the army's investment is fully guaranteed. At the same time as the huge investment, Guo Ning also gave constant guidance according to the vague images left in his dream...

The Mongols might think that throwing a few iron cannons back and forth is a terrifying enough army. Many of Guo Ning's soldiers also felt fear. But Guo Ning himself knew that his army would be more terrifying than the enemy imagined!
Guo Ning is confident of victory and is sure that he can overcome numerous difficulties.

Even if the Mongols had a thousand plans, they took the initiative to come to our doorstep to challenge us. This in itself was the best news, and it was completely in line with the goal we wanted to achieve from the beginning. This was much better than them entrenched in the depths of the grasslands and threatening us year after year.

If you want to fight, then fight. Nothing can stop Guo Ning's actions.

Guo Ning has iron-like means to achieve his goals. If he seizes the time to finish this battle, he can completely destroy the prestige of Genghis Khan and the fighting spirit of the Mongols, so that they will put down their bows and swords from now on and become a nation that can sing and dance!

To the Han people in the Central Plains, the Mongols were the most formidable enemy. To Guo Ning, the Mongols were the destroyers of many brilliant civilizations, a rare sight in the history books. In order to completely kill this barbaric force, Guo Ning would not waste any opportunity.

A few dozen steps away from Guo Ning, Yelu Chucai, who also came to see him off, watched the Emperor of the Great Zhou say goodbye to his wife and children, then turned his horse and set off.

The emperor's tall body was covered with green armor, the armor leaves sparkled in the sun, like a god descending from heaven, and no one dared to look at him closely. Beside the emperor, Marshal Zhao Jue, Guo Zhongyuan and dozens of famous generals from the internal and external armies gathered around him, all of them were fierce and aggressive, with bright armor, like colorful clouds rising up and the sun rising, which made people feel awe.

People around Yelu Chucai all had the same feeling.

Most of these civil and military officials who now hold high positions followed Guo Ning from the grassroots and worked their way up. They have full trust in Guo Ning and understand his joy of winning the battles he sought. They naturally think that Guo Ning will continue to lead his subordinates to win victories as he did before every victory. In their eyes, even the north wind and the sun seem like special good omens.

Guo Ning's figure slowly faded away, leaving the people who saw him off behind. Beside him, there were hundreds of fully armed attendants, as well as a large number of staff officers and clerical staff in light civilian robes, carrying various maps and various emergency plans.

In order to protect them, more than 2,000 elite cavalrymen from the surrounding countryside deployed in a loose formation and marched forward. At the same time, troops also set out as usual every day.

The field forces of the Great Zhou Dynasty, which had Zhongdu as its base, had almost all been transformed into mules and horses since this year. Including attendants, auxiliary troops, and baggage soldiers, they all rode war horses to march, and most of the temporary conscripted civilians also rode carts pulled by donkeys and mules. Each cart had been specially modified, and a wooden board wrapped in iron sheets could be erected on one side of the vehicle at any time.

There were also many carriages of special specifications in the queue. Each carriage was towed by more than a dozen strong horses, and the thick, almost solid wheels rolled on the solid road, making a heavy sound. But because there were enough horses pulling the carriages, the speed of travel was not slow.

Guo Ning followed the convoy with satisfaction. After walking more than a hundred steps, he waved to the people who came to see him off on horseback, with a very casual attitude. Then he whipped the horse forward, and soon, the figures of the people who came to see him off were blocked by the billowing smoke and dust.

The army moved forward quickly and marched at an accelerated pace. In just two days, at the end of the road the army was heading, there appeared undulating mountains and a magnificent pass hidden in the mountains.

At this time, the autumn leaves in the mountains fell, revealing the bare rock layers and mountaintops, which could not block the view at all. And between the desolate mountaintops and the sky, a thick smoke rose up at some point, which could be seen clearly even from dozens of miles away.

A soldier shouted: "That was not the signal fire we released!"

Guo Ning slowly and calmly raised his horse: "A small group of Mongolian scouts are approaching Juyongguan. It's inevitable... It doesn't matter. I also need them to pass a message for me to tell Genghis Khan that I am coming."