Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 163 Xiao Zhong wants to end and can't sleep

The silence lasted only a moment.

After a victory, the soldiers should be given a big reward, and even the Loyal Army is no exception.

Although ordinary soldiers were not allowed to leave the camp at will, they were provided with enough meat for the next few days. Many war horses had died, and the hot weather made it difficult to preserve them, so they were used as military rations. Soldiers also had a small bowl of muddy wine for dinner, but they had to drink it in front of the officers when they received it.

The senior officers of the Loyal Army naturally took the opportunity to eat and drink to their heart's content, but thanks to the hard-working and frugal style led by Wei Sheng and Liu Huai, in addition to the larger portions and tenderer meat, the only advantage they had over ordinary soldiers was that they could drink a few more pots of wine.

He Boqiu, Zhang Chou and Cui Hema, who were prisoners just now, naturally became guests of honor and sat together with Wang Xiongyi, who had rebelled a few days ago. Everyone toasted each other and the atmosphere instantly became lively. Anyone could only say that this was a victory dinner, as if nothing had happened just now.

But how could it not have happened?
After this banquet, which was only for enhancing relationships and celebrating victory but did not discuss any official business, Zhang Baiyu returned to his tent.

He didn't drink too much, and even brought back a pot of wine from the banquet, which he planned to put in the well for a while and drink at night to cool off.

Zhang Baiyu first inspected the camp, comforted the wounded, encouraged the soldiers, and after inspecting the patrol, he returned to the tent, but tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

He wanted to find someone to talk to about what happened today, but Liu Huai, Liu Daluo, who often helped him solve his problems, was one of the protagonists today. This made Zhang Silang a little hesitant, not knowing whether he should disturb the other party.

After a long time, Zhang Baiyu took the pot of wine and slowly walked to Lu You's tent.

After his name was easily recorded, Lu You reviewed the documents in front of him and asked, "Why is Zhang Silang here? Is there any military business?"

Zhang Baiyu came forward, fetched two bamboo cups, filled them with muddy wine, and then lightened the oil lamp in front of Lu You a little more. Then he returned to his seat and said nervously, "There is no military business. Mr. Lu is a wise man in the world. I have something I want to ask Mr. Lu to solve my doubts."

Lu You paused his pen and asked in a low voice, "But what about He Boqiu's request?"

Zhang Baiyu hesitated for a moment and said, "That's right, but I don't know how to ask."

Lu You: "I don't understand why He Boqiu refused Marshal Wei's offer to surrender, and instead wanted to serve Liu Dalang as his personal ally? You yourself are feeling somewhat inexplicably flustered, aren't you?"

Zhang Baiyu was stunned: "Exactly."

Lu You put the brush back on the pen holder, picked up the document and blew on it, then replied: "It's not surprising. The answer to the first question is simple, because He Boqiu has nowhere else to go."

Seeing Zhang Baiyu's puzzled expression, Lu You didn't keep him in suspense and explained directly, "Sima Yi once said: 'There are five main points in military affairs: if you can fight, you should fight; if you can't fight, you should defend; if you can't defend, you should flee. The only two remaining options are surrender or death.' It can be said that Sima Zhongda summarized all the options available to a man on the battlefield with these five words: 'fight, defend, flee, surrender, and die.'"

"He Bo is no match for our army if he seeks a fight, and he can't hold the isolated He Family Manor even if he defends. As for leaving, he is not a national general. Everything he has comes from his own manor. Where can he go?"

"So He Boqiu only had two options left: surrender or die."

Lu You's tone became somewhat difficult when he said this: "But the Song Dynasty had once let him down, even selling his brother's children into slavery. This made him extremely hostile to the Song Dynasty... Alas..."

At this point, Lu You sighed deeply and looked up at the tent ceiling. "I can't blame him for this. This is why when Marshal Wei asked He Boqiu to surrender to the Song Dynasty, he flatly refused."

Zhang Baiyu murmured, "In this case, the only option left is death."

Lu You sneered, "Death? A man should not die for a good cause, but he shouldn't die for no good reason, right? Why did He Boqiu ask for death? Was it to remain loyal to the Jin Kingdom? Was it to be loyal to that bastard Pushandamo? Or was it to protect the land and the people? Our Loyal Army didn't abuse the people!"

"A man like He Boqiu would never fear death. But even if he did, it would be in vain; he would become a laughingstock. He would be ridiculed when he looked through the account books before the King of Youdu." Zhang Baiyu nodded, but then had some questions: "Then why didn't He Boqiu surrender to the Duke of Wei and serve him personally, but instead served Liu Dalang personally? Does this man have ulterior motives, trying to sow discord?"

After saying this, Zhang Baiyu seemed to be frightened by his own guess, and he became visibly panicked.

The Northern Expedition has just begun. What should we do if a split occurs between Marshal Wei and Commander Liu?
Lu You laughed, as if amused by Zhang Baiyu's words: "Liu Dalang is the adopted son of Duke Wei. He is also Duke Wei's personal lover. How could such a relationship be soured?"

Zhang Baiyu's first reaction was that Lu You was fooling the children.

In the face of power, let alone adoptive father and son, what about biological father and son? Aren't there enough conflicts between them?
Seeing Zhang Baiyu still pale, Lu You spoke further, "Politics, to put it simply, is nothing more than military deployment, personnel appointments and dismissals, and the management of finances and grain. These powers are all in the hands of Duke Wei. Don't underestimate Liu Dalang's aggressiveness, but he always knows his limits and has never attempted to seize these powers."

With Duke Wei in charge, no matter who you are, as long as you join the Loyal Army, you will be a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty."

"As for your question," Lu You continued with a wry smile, "He Boqiu deeply hated the Song Dynasty. Seeing Duke Wei's devotion to his country, he became rebellious. In such a situation, what difference would it make if he surrendered to Duke Wei and became his personal servant, and surrendered to the Song Dynasty?"

Zhang Baiyu nodded repeatedly and reacted quickly again.

Since He Boqiu chose to join Liu Huai, it means that, at least in his understanding, joining Liu Huai and joining the Song Dynasty are two different things.

This made Zhang Baiyu nervous again.

Zhang Silang was naturally a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty because his father Zhang Rong was a loyal minister of the Song Dynasty. He grew up with the idea of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. He heard slogans of killing the enemy to serve the country every day. How could he have the intention to rebel?
But after experiencing the Northern Expedition, Zhang Baiyu had long been convinced by Liu Huai. He could hardly imagine what he would do if Liu Huai had any rebellious intentions against the Song Dynasty.

After all, everyone complains, but not everyone rebels! When Emperor Zhao Gou imprisoned Yue Fei, his uncle, Zhao Shi, pledged his entire family's lives to protect him. But after Zhao Gou unjustly killed Yue Fei, did Zhao Shi rebel?
As if he understood Zhang Baiyu's thoughts, Lu You said sternly, "Don't speculate rashly. This kind of thing should be judged by deeds, not intentions. How can you kill a national general based on false accusations? Even one person like Qin Hui is one too many."

If we really come to a serious matter, Zhang Xiaoyi and Li Xiu, two survivors of the Donghai Uprising, must be resentful because the Song Dynasty turned its back on them. Should they be dealt with?
And there is Dong Cheng. This guy is obviously a assassin secretly raised by Duke Wei. Should he be dealt with as well?

And your father, Mr. Zhang, is no longer just hoarding assassins, he is practically hoarding soldiers. Should we use a gold medal to recall him and put him in jail?
Besides, there is me..."

Lu You pointed at himself and said, "I was originally the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, ordered to clean up the Chuzhou prison. However, I saw that Prefect Lan and Judge Xu were misappropriating military funds, but I turned a blind eye and even followed Duke Wei in the Northern Expedition. Isn't this also a clear sign of rebellion?"

Zhang Baiyu broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this.

According to Lu You, every single one of the Loyal and Righteous Army was illegally resisting the Jin army!
"The saying 'tolerance for the sake of the state, and taking the necessary measures in times of emergency' is exactly this." Lu You spread his hands and said, "This Song-Jin war concerns the fate of the nation and the world. Some extraordinary measures are understandable. And with Duke Wei and me here, no one can possibly rebel."

"As for He Boqiu, if he's willing to follow Liu Dalang, let him go. He'll eventually have to go out and do things. By then, we'll be inseparable. How can he possibly break away from the Song Dynasty?"

Zhang Baiyu finally nodded sincerely.

After the two men drank a few cups together, Zhang Silang left satisfied, leaving Lu You sitting alone in front of a pile of documents.

For a moment, Lu You felt that Wei Sheng should give him a raise. After all, in addition to ordinary literary work, he also had to communicate with the people and stabilize their hearts. This task was too heavy.

Thinking of this, Lu You couldn't help but smile bitterly and put his energy into the paperwork again, but he still couldn't concentrate. When he lay on the couch, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

This time it was his turn to be unable to sleep.

(End of this chapter)