Chapter 132 Tianzhu Mountain

A team of more than ten cavalrymen set out from Shouchun, hiding during the day and moving at night for five or six days, crossing mountains and ridges all the way, and finally rushed back to the old camp at Tianzhu Mountain in Huoshan at dawn.

Tianzhu Mountain, also known as Qianshan, Qingshan, Wanshan, Huoshan, Hengshan, Jiangnan Hengshan and Nanyue Mountain, all refer to this mountain, which is the eastern extension of the Dabie Mountains.

The sun shines on the peaks, which looks like a fairyland. But this is the base camp of the great thief Guo Fenghuang.

Tianzhu Mountain was once occupied by Lei Bo, Chen Lan and others in the late Han Dynasty, and was called "Qing Mountain" at that time.

Lei Chen and his men built camps on the hills, and in the fourth year of Jian'an, they refused the surrender of their former master Yuan Shu and turned against him. Eventually, the soldiers were defeated.

This shows how dangerous this mountain is.

The Jianghuai bandit Guo Fenghuang is currently entrenched in the Tianzhu Mountain area and has set up a camp here, which is called the Tianzhu Mountain Old Camp.

The so-called Laoying is not a campsite, but a general term for a series of strongholds and fortresses built around the foothills.

These mountain strongholds were built on the mountain terraces, connected to each other, relying on the complex and uneven terrain, without any regular extension and distribution. They were connected to each other by trails or trestle bridges.

Natural steep slopes, cliffs, and streams were used as barriers, and trenches were dug, fences, and chevaux de frise fortifications were set up.

Although the entire camp looked disorganized and rough, only those who had commanded the troops knew how much life and time it would take to capture this place.

Deep in the village there is a large terrace with a majestic-looking mansion built on it. In front of it is the main hall, which is the meeting hall, and the mansion in the back is the residence of the leader Guo Fenghuang.

The leader of the dozen people was a very tall young man, about 20 years old, wearing a somewhat old grey cloth shirt and a cloak. After entering the big village, he went straight to the high platform.

The young man walked through the meeting hall and went straight into the courtyard behind. When he arrived in the courtyard, he saw a young woman carrying a plate of steamed buns and about to enter the hall.

"Little Sister"

The young woman turned around and looked at the young man, her eyes showing a look of great surprise, but she smiled calmly and said, "You're finally back. Go wash up and have breakfast."

"okay."

The young man's name is Guo Xing, the son of the great thief "Guo Fenghuang". He went out to do some work some time ago and gathered intelligence by the way. He just came back.

Guo Xing quickly wiped his face with water, dried it, and went straight to the main hall.

There were seven or eight people sitting at the table, headed by his father, Guo Fenghuang, with his sister, younger sister-in-law, mother Chen, wife Deng, two sons, and younger brother Guo Fu sitting on both sides.

Guo Xing was so tired from the journey that he was starving. After sitting down, he just greeted his father and mother, picked up the steamed bun and started to show off.

There were only a few side dishes, steamed buns and white porridge on the table, but he still ate them with great relish.

After eating two steamed buns and drinking a bowl of rice soup, he took out a few letters and put them on the table. He then let out a long sigh and said to the middle-aged man who was still chewing the steamed buns, "Aye, things are not good. I met with Liu Ju and talked about it, but he couldn't tell me the whole story. When we were in Huainan, we also saw the fleet of General Pingnan Li Yuanhui. They got off the ship in Shouchun and had a large group of cavalry. The county soldiers of Huainan and Lujiang can't compare to them. They should have arrived in Hefei now."

After talking for a long time, no one responded to him. Only when his wife gently tugged at his clothes did Guo Xing remember what his father said: don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping. So he poured himself another bowl of porridge, picked up a steamed bun and slowly ate it.

The middle-aged man opposite had a very ordinary appearance. Rather than being a seasoned thief, he looked more like an old scholar. His face was not very white, but had a bit of bookish air. He wore coarse cloth clothes and ate slowly.

This person is the so-called "Jianghuai Thief", "Lujiang Bandit", and "Guo Fenghuang".

In fact, his real name is Guo Fenghe, not Guo Fenghuang. Who knew that as time went by, people thought he was called Guo Fenghuang, and through misinformation, it became his nickname.

And this nickname is actually the name of his sister, Guo Fenghuang.

After finishing the steamed buns and drinking the porridge in the bowl, Guo Fenghe put down his chopsticks and looked up at his son who was still eating happily. Then he walked to his side, picked up the letters and turned away.

"Come to my study after you finish eating."

After saying this, Guo Fenghe turned around and went to the study. When he left, everyone at the table breathed a sigh of relief. "Da Lang, what you just said sounded so dangerous? Are we going to fight again?"

Sister Guo Xiuying immediately asked.

Guo Xing shook his head and said, "I don't know yet. Whether to fight or not is not up to us. The new General Pingnan seems to be an important figure, but I heard that he is only sixteen, not even as old as me, so he should not be a powerful figure."

"That's not necessarily true, Dalang. You can't look down on someone just because he's young. Huo Qubing followed Wei Qing on the expedition to Mobei when he was only 18 years old and won the first battle. How does the saying go? Ambition is not limited by age!"

Guo Xing nodded repeatedly when he heard what his elder sister said. He had been lectured by his elder sister since he was a child. He couldn't talk back, and he couldn't fight back. He had to be brave enough to fight.

However, the little aunt Guo Fenghuang said with concern: "Okay, let him eat well. This child probably hasn't eaten or slept well in the past few days."

Guo Xing nodded repeatedly and said, "My aunt still loves me."

Although my aunt Guo Fenghuang is the elder, she is actually younger than Guo Xing and is less than 20 years old.

She was wearing plain clothes and a straw hairpin, and her clothes looked rustic, but her face was so beautiful that she was a beauty, like a lotus emerging from water.

"Okay, I'm full, so I won't clean up for you. Aye is still waiting for me in the study."

Guo Xing drank the last mouthful of porridge, then reached out and rubbed his two sons' hair, then turned and went to the study.

The study is located in the east wing of the main hall. It contains many books and is also where Guo Fenghe handles official business on weekdays.

There are two maps hanging inside, one is a map of the Thirteen Prefectures of the Wei Dynasty, and the other is a map of the Three Counties of Jianghuai.

Both pictures look a bit old.

Guo Fenghe stood in front of the picture, not knowing what he was thinking about. Guo Xing came in but did not dare to disturb or urge him. He just sat quietly on a stool beside him and waited.

After a while, several leaders arrived, including Xia Yuanhong, Ma Wuben, and Chen Chongren.
Seeing that Guo Fenghe was thinking, several people did not interrupt him, but sat down one after another waiting for Guo Fenghe.

After a while, Guo Fenghe turned around and looked at the few people without greeting them. Instead, he pointed at the letter on the table and asked them to pass it around. Then he went straight to the point and said, "The news from the Central Plains is that the Wagang Army is very powerful, but it can't do anything to Dayan at the moment. In the past few months, the princes of the Murong family have also risen and fallen, and have not been able to accomplish anything. But there is one thing that must be said. Emperor Tiansheng abolished the crown prince and made his eldest son Murong Chao the crown prince."

Xia Yuanhong asked: "So, Queen Cao's son was deposed?"

Ma Wuben slapped the letter he had read on the table and said, "What does the establishment of the Yan Dynasty have to do with us? It is better to plan carefully how to deal with the encirclement and suppression by the government troops. Emperor Tiansheng sent this General Pingnan to target our Tianzhu Mountain. I heard that Brother Guo's name Guo Fenghuang is known to everyone in the court and the public."

Guo Fenghe said: "You really don't understand the mystery behind the dethronement of the crown prince?"

Several people were stunned when they heard this. Xia Yuanhong said in surprise: "What mystery can this have? Queen Cao's son has no foundation and is still young."

At this point, he paused.

"Is Murong Ying going to die? So he replaced him with an older son?"

"pretty close."

"Hahahaha, great, this is really good news. As long as Murong Ying dies, the world may not belong to the Murong family anymore."

Guo Fenghe shook his head and said, "It's too early to say that. Both Shouchun and Jiangdu are rich places, but this young man Li Yuanhui is not greedy for enjoyment. Instead, he has set up his seat in the important city of Hefei. His ambition is not small."

Guo Xing said: "Aye, what do you mean?"

"Perhaps you can make friends with him and use him as a reference."

(End of this chapter)