Chapter 431 Continuation

Taohua Island was an island that actually existed in Jinzhou area at that time. Later, it was gradually connected with the land and disappeared. It contrasts beautifully with the Chrysanthemum Island to the south, and it is even possible that it was named after the larger and more famous Chrysanthemum Island.

As for Chrysanthemum Island, it actually has two names. It is also called Juehua Island. This may be because the number of Buddhist buildings on the island has increased. I don't know when it was changed. Of course, it may also be the other way around. It is possible that it was because of the increase in Buddhist buildings that the name was changed from Juehua Island to Chrysanthemum Island.

But these had nothing to do with Guo Jin and Yang Zaixing. After receiving the military order, they each led a hundred cavalrymen to leave the main force and waited by the Bohai Sea. When Yue Fei led the main force to break through Jinzhou, they indeed encountered a fleet led by Cui Bangbi, the commander of the Imperial Navy.

The fleet was not large... According to Cui Bangbi, because the performance of the Imperial Navy in the previous Northern Expedition was not good, so the Deputy Governor Li Bao, after reorganizing the remnants of the Jin Navy, could not wait to ask the government for a job, and crossed the sea to plunder the Liaodong hinterland and contact and monitor the Koreans... There were not many good ships left.

Of course, this is not to say that the fleet could not even transport 200 cavalrymen, but Cui Bangbi felt that this job came too suddenly and affected his last chance to gain military merit - it was both a complaint and an urging.

In response, Guo Damashao and Yang Datieqiang did not say anything, because they had similar ideas... They also wanted to pacify the Liao area, march into Huanglongfu, and wipe out the remaining Jurchen tribes, instead of helping Emperor Zhao, Prime Minister Lu, and Prince Liu to find some 'old friends' from twelve years ago.

It had only been twelve years, but the young men in the Song army had already forgotten and were too lazy to care who Guo Yaoshi was.

But we can't just ignore it.

The search process was lackluster.

You have to know that Yue Fei's front army of the imperial camp had just marched out of Liao land from the mountains and sea roads. The temples and monasteries on the island and the local tyrants were trembling with fear, so how could they dare to do anything wrong at this time?

Therefore, the three of them first went to Chrysanthemum Island, but after a search they could not find anyone. The abbot of the Great Dragon Palace Temple, which had been built on the island, came forward to offer advice, pointing out that the supplies on the island were limited, the conditions were difficult, and there were many refugees who were suffering from acclimatization, so they should find a doctor to ask for details.

Sure enough, when everyone collected the information about doctors on the island, they soon learned from a gynecologist named Ximen Qing that there was indeed an old man named Guo who claimed to be the former governor of Pingzhou and had called him for treatment many times. Moreover, this man should have been in the army for a long time, so he must be Pharmacist Guo... However, although this guy initially lived on Juhua Island, where conditions were slightly better, after Emperor Zhao won a great victory and Goryeo sent troops to Liao, this guy was frightened and took the initiative to flee to the smaller Peach Blossom Island.

After receiving the message, the three of them hurriedly took Ximen Qing to the narrow Peach Blossom Island. There were not many people on the island, and after asking again, they learned that after Marshal Yue led the imperial camp's vanguard troops out of Yumen Pass, Pharmacist Guo seemed to know that his family was deeply sinful and could not be tolerated by the Song Dynasty. In panic, he turned back and fled back to Chrysanthemum Island, which was farther away from the coastline... But this person was cautious and did not dare to go to the main Chrysanthemum Island. Instead, he went to a very small island called Mopanshan Island to the north of Chrysanthemum Island.

There were only seven or eight fishing families on the island, with one bitter water well, and they could barely survive. Most of them lived on Juehua Island.

So the three of them took Ximen Qing back again. Although there were many twists and turns, they finally found Master Guo Yao and his disciple, who were all smelly, in a rocky cave on Mopanshan Island.

After Ximen Qing and many other people on the island identified him, they confirmed that it was indeed Pharmacist Guo, so they set off on a boat to report back to Yumen Pass.

Three days later, the news reached Pingzhou Lulong, which was the latest place where Emperor Zhao was staying.

"Pingfu."

In Lulong City, Zhao Jiu finished reading the secret letter and took the initiative to pass it to someone beside him. "Master Guo and Guo Anguo, father and son, have been captured. Do you want to take a look?"

Liu Yan hesitated for a moment before taking the secret letter. After glancing at it, he became a little confused:

"I don't know."

"What do you mean?"

Zhao Jiu obviously didn't care.

"In the past twelve years, my attitude towards Pharmacist Guo has been inconsistent. I was resentful in the first two years, but after the disastrous defeat at Jingkang, I stopped thinking about him." Liu Yan put the secret letter back and sighed. "After that, I met the emperor, and saw the country's progress day by day, and gradually I began to think about it one day. However, after following the emperor for a long time and gradually seeing the overall situation, I felt that Pharmacist Guo was insignificant. Therefore, compared with this old villain, I still want to go back to Yanzhou as soon as possible to find the lost family for the Red Heart Cavalry."

Zhao Jiu flashed back to Zhang Yongzhen's death, his expression unchanged, he just nodded slightly: "Yes, in that case, send someone to take Pharmacist Guo to Yanjing City."

Liu Yan nodded quickly.

Zhao Jiu paused for a moment before continuing, "Let's go to Chrysanthemum Island together... First, it will be convenient for us to wait for the envoys from Jurchen and Goryeo, and second, it will be convenient for you to return home once Liao is stabilized."

Liu Yan hesitated again: "Your Majesty wants to go to the island and go to the Dalonggong Temple?"

"Does Pingfu still think that I'm going to pray to the gods?" Zhao Jiu knew what he was thinking, and immediately laughed and shook his head. "The main reason is that Chrysanthemum Island is in a good location, not far to the north of Yuguan Pass. If I go there, I can at least shock the tribes outside the pass... Of course, I have some selfish motives. I've always wanted to see Jieshi, but since we're almost there, why not go to the island?"

Liu Yan nodded, but still tried to remind him: "It's fine to just visit Jieshi and climb Peach Blossom Island, but if the emperor wants to go to Yiwulü Mountain, please be sure to inform Yanjing."

"Of course." Zhao Jiu replied calmly. "But don't worry, Pingfu, I really don't want to go to Wulv Mountain to treat it... I just want to take a look at Jieshi and wait for the results from the Jurchens."

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!