A few days passed, and the sound of cannons still roared during the day and began to build new fortifications. The siege progressed much slower than that of Jinyang. Guo Shao asked Yang Biao that he had not woken up yet.

The sun gradually sets down the horizon to the west, and the world is also dim and quiet. Guo Shao walked out of the central army's tent and saw that the sky was gray and black, with no stars or moon. I vaguely remember that when I first arrived in Youzhou, he also walked out at night, but his mood at that time was incomparable.

At this moment, the soldiers had already returned to the camp, and there were bonfires in the wilderness, and there were faint cries of insects in the grass. The soldiers guarding the camp stood up straight and looked at Guo Shao. Behind him, Wang Pu and other aides were still standing at the door of the tent.

The sky is gray and the clouds seem to be pressing very low, making people feel depressed. The wind and clouds are surging in the dim and hazy place, mysterious and vague.

There may be gods in the sky, and Guo Shao is still standing on the ground. However, people in the world think that he is a god of war, and of course the god is omnipotent and must be able to win.

Guo Shao clearly realized that once the army retreated, he felt that he could not get out of the way.

This is a difficult choice.

The pressure Guo Shao faced was not mainly haunted by the first wave of reinforcements of the Liao army, but the unsuccessful siege of the city. The main force of the Liao Kingdom will arrive... The circumference of Youzhou City is 10 to 20 miles long. Except for more than 50,000 mobile cavalry, more than 100,000 people surrounded the city. The troops were very scattered and they could not fight the Liao army under the city. Unless they left Youzhou City and went deep into the Youzhou area to fight against the Liao army without capturing Youzhou, that would obviously violate the strategic expectations of this war.

He has thought a lot these days. This Northern Expedition itself is a strategic adventure.

If the Hu Ben Army's horseback infantry attacked the Liao Army's palace tent team, it would affect morale. If the location chosen for excavation of the tunnel was correct, if the defenders did not place large numbers of catapults in the artillery blind spot, if... the luck would be better, there would be no subtle factors that would affect the progress of the siege again and again, and it might be possible to capture Youzhou City in time.

Then strategic adventure is the right decision, and Guo Shao will no longer think about these things. The showdown between countries mainly depends on strength, but there is a lot of uncertainty in the result of just one or two battles, and even luck.

Wang Pu is right, there is still still opportunity and time to this day.

...But Guo Shao felt that he dared not take risks anymore.

This battle was a strategic adventure from the beginning, with low fault tolerance and a great risk of missing; but now the risk has suddenly become larger.

The consequences become even more serious. If the main force is lost, Guo Shao will face an irreversible catastrophe; the elite of the imperial guards will be almost no longer renewable in the short term. Once the loss is lost, Guo Shao will not have the strength to maintain national defense and rule.

With such serious consequences, even if the risk is very small, it will make people feel worried, and the risk of delaying now is not small.

In a trance, he seemed to have returned to the college entrance examination in his previous life. At that time, everyone told him that it was a turning point in a person's life fate. He had done countless exercises and was very prepared, but he was still worried about accidents and failures on the spot. Even if the risk was relatively low, he would not be able to be at ease as long as he did not get his grades.

Now, the risks and threats of failure he faces are much greater, and the consequences are much more serious. Once the Great Zhou army is defeated, it is not just his fate!

Guo Shao’s worries are unspeakable.

He also had to weigh the trade-off: between the benefits and the consequences, is this risk worth it?

...Guo Shao was unwilling to give up.

He wanted to avoid serious consequences, but he did not want to give up Youzhou, and he would come sooner or later. However, this time, waiting for the next time will be a long time, which is an unbearable torture.

Retreat will also cause other risks and consequences, mainly from the domestic market.

Guo Shao cannot escape, and he has to face challenges when advancing or retreating. Different challenges.

He felt a breath of silence in his heart and couldn't help coughing twice.

At this moment, Wang Pu walked up and said, "Your Majesty, it's cold at night. You have been standing outside for too long."

Guo Shao turned around and walked into the tent, saying, "I will not admit defeat, but will accumulate strength for the next comeback and find a new path... There must be a better path than the current strategy."

After hearing this, Wang Pu asked in a deep voice: "Your Majesty is determined to withdraw the army?"

Guo Shao felt like he didn't know where he was, and he felt a little floating when walking. He raised his head and stared at Wang Pu's old face: "The green mountains are still there and the strength is not damaged, so you can actively choose a new opportunity; instead of having to stay here passively to take risks... There is a better opportunity than now."

"Oh." Wang Pu's sigh came from his heart.

Guo Shao whispered in a heart-wrenching tone: "I can't afford the risk of losing the Innocence Army, but I can still afford the temporary challenges in China."

Wang Pu said: "The old minister agreed with His Majesty's intention... he was just a little disappointed."

"I understand." Guo Shao said, clenching his fists, "Tomorrow morning, summoning all generals to deploy an orderly withdrawal strategy, and to prevent the harassment of the Liao cavalry and the Youzhou defenders."

Wang Pu clasped his fists and said, "I obey the order."

Guo Shao walked through the big tent and went to bed behind. Wang Pu stood in the tent, bowed to say goodbye, but did not leave for a long time.

A servant bent down and lifted a curtain. When Guo Shao walked in, he turned his head slightly and glanced at Wang Pu with his light.

The furnishings inside are very simple, but the table and the tent walls are full of maps, which don’t look so neat. There is a candlestick on the table, a very thick candle, and the wick is also very thick illuminating the place. The bed and table are brighter, and the light in the corners becomes more and more hazy.

Guo Shao sat down and watched the flames pounding.

The inner loss could not be concealed no matter how rationally he analyzed it. On such a night, in front of such a light, he still felt a sense of coldness...

He remembered Luo Mengzi, whose third brother had limited qualifications. As Guo Shao did more and more over the years, his third brother was a little far away from Guo Shao's core circle. But Guo Shao still cannot forget that he was in Gaoping, Wuqi Town, and Qin Feng with his third brother...

"If I hadn't had iron on my body, I would have been shot and leaked, haha..."

"Brother said hello, I, Lao Luo, will follow..."

Guo Shao reached out and rubbed his forehead hard, doing some trivial movements, but didn't say a word.

Even if he became an emperor, Guo Shao still couldn't escape these simplest emotions. When he was in such an environment, his psychological quality was not very good... Emperor, what kind of qualifications should the hero have? Anyway, it shouldn't be him.

The world has put too many expectations on a series of successes, believing that he is fearless and capable of heaven, and even thinking that he is a god!

At this moment, Guo Shao felt that he was really not a god. In his previous life, he was just an ordinary person who was too ordinary to be more ordinary. He also had to do his best to make a living and was overwhelmed. He didn't even think he was the master who could do great things before... At this time, all kinds of negative emotions flocked in, and he felt extremely fragile.

However, he is already in this position and will not admit defeat. Even if he is stubborn, he will make a comeback! Because for that grand goal, too many people have died, and too many people he cares about, it is impossible to give up!

"Cough cough..." Guo Shao covered his mouth and endured the coughing sound.

He felt tired and didn't take off his socks. He kicked off his boots and went to bed. He had nightmares in his sleep, as if he was in a volcano.

...That night, the attendant found that Guo Shao's face was flushed and his face was burning. He was shocked and hurriedly called Wang Pu and Zuo You in overnight.

Zuo You said anxiously several times: "Your Majesty has always been strong and healthy, how could he suddenly get sick?"

Wang Pu suddenly realized and said anxiously: "My adopted daughter is in the healing camp, please send someone to call her!"

Zuo You said: "The adopted daughter of the king envoy?"

"It's Lu Lan, the goddess doctor whom His Majesty found from Shu Kingdom, who cured my husband's illness. I am old and asked her to be my adopted daughter." Wang Pu said.

Zuo You hurriedly said, "Then call me quickly."

...

The next morning, the Privy Councilor Wang Pu summoned officials from the "Youzhou Qianying Military Office", and a few generals from various army discussed matters in the central army's tent, announced the emperor's imperial edict, and ordered the withdrawal of troops.

First, we discussed the deployment and strategy of withdrawing troops, and then continued to convene generals above the military commander and above to the Central Army for specific deployment.

The generals were talking about it, and they were all unwilling to accept it. In this battle, the Zhou army had not suffered a real failure. It had been almost a month since they arrived in Youzhou. After several battles, only a thousand people died. The generals believed that they could defeat the Liao army and make achievements! They could not understand why the emperor wanted to withdraw his troops.

Later, someone asked Wang Pu why the emperor did not personally issue the imperial edict. Only then did the news that Guo Shao fell ill were spread.

After a civil servant from the former camp military office left the central army tent, he privately discussed: "According to the current situation, Youzhou City will not be easily broken in an instant. Your Majesty has damaged his sworn brothers, and he may have to withdraw his troops, so he pretended to be in peace with the dragon body..."

"Why do you need to be called sick?"

The civil servant whispered: "The general was destroyed and then withdrew his troops, and he was suspected of being defeated... Withdrawing troops due to illness, he would give up his lives for the time being."

No matter what, the orders that the Privy Councilor and the generals believed were still authoritative. The troops began to prepare for retreat in accordance with the military order... The artillery fire had not stopped immediately, according to the meaning of the former camp military mansion, it was to confuse the enemy and hide their intentions.

But the next day the artillery stopped roaring... because it was raining!

The sky was covered with dark clouds, and the sound of spring thunder replaced the sound of cannons. The rain was very small, but the drizzle slowly wet the soil. The wet soil was trampled back and forth by countless people, and the barracks were muddy for a while.

Zuo You looked at the rain curtain and sighed: "It's really God doesn't help me. God won't let the Great Zhou recover Youzhou! Even if we don't order the withdrawal of troops, if the rain stops quickly, we can't attack the city either."

Wang Pu sighed, "This rain has been falling well, so we can avoid causing this battle to be regretful."
Chapter completed!