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

Chapter 312 The Three Perfections in the World

Liu Huai watched coldly and saw that after a moment of silence, the debate started again. This time, they did not talk about past grudges, but only discussed the pros and cons of the two strategies.

Attacking Xuzhou is relatively complicated, but attacking Pizhou is much simpler. If you go downstream along the Yishui River, you can directly reach Pizhou's capital, Xiapi. If you go south along the Sishui River, whose river channel has been taken over by the Yellow River, you will reach Wei Sheng's hometown, Suqian.

Suqian is only two hundred miles away from Chuzhou.

This is the place that can truly threaten the Jin army's retreat.

Of course, this would inevitably lead to a fierce counterattack from the Jin Kingdom, and it is even very likely that the army that marched south would withdraw to encircle and kill the Loyal Army.

Of course, the most difficult thing is whether the State of Song can hold on.

Xia Pi has been a fortified city in the world since the Spring and Autumn Period. It is surrounded by dense water networks and is not easy to capture even without the main field troops stationed there.

The prosperity of Lianghuai had already fallen into the hands of the Jin Kingdom. Even if the logistics lines were cut off, as long as there was no risk of being surrounded, the Jin army could collect food and recruit soldiers locally and hold out for a month or two without any problem.

Of course, what we are talking about here is whether the Song State can hold out for one or two months. It does not mean that generals such as Liu Qi, Cheng Min, Wu Gong, and Li Xianzhong will be defeated in a short period of time when they have already strategically retreated.

Rather, when Lianghuai fell and a knife was at his neck, could Zhao Gou really bear to cede land and ask for peace?
Liu Huai would never trust such a coward.

What should we do then if Zhao Gou waves his hand and cedes Lianghuai and Jingxiang to the Jin Kingdom and both sides stop fighting?
Even if the peace talks are not successful in the end, morale cannot be lost.

As for going south to the Huai River and Huai River, or even fighting in the south of the Yangtze River, the biggest advantage is that you can get supplies and support from the Song State. The disadvantage is that you may be swept away by the general trend and it will be difficult to make a comeback.

After all, the performance of the Lianghuai Song army was so outstanding that no one in the Loyal Army wanted to have any hope in them anymore.

After listening for a long time, just when the argument between the two factions reached a climax, Liu Huai stood up.

There was a sudden silence in the crowd. Everyone stopped arguing and just looked up at Liu Huai, waiting for his words.

Liu Huai first bowed to Wei Sheng to show his respect for the marshal's authority, and then at Wei Sheng's signal, he stood in front of a huge simple map hanging on the side of the curtain.

"I understand what you all said, and I'm sure you all understand as well." Liu Huai raised his sword and gestured in front of the map. "Our army actually has three and a half options. One is to go north to attack Yidu Prefecture; the second is to go southwest, down the Yi River to attack Pizhou; the third is to go south to join the battle in Lianghuai."

At this point, Liu Huai paused and pointed his sword towards the northwest of Fei County. "The other half of the way is to join forces with the Tianping Army, attack Dongping Prefecture, and then attack Daming Prefecture, thus truly threatening the core of the Jin Kingdom's rule."

Liu Huai sheathed his sword and surveyed the crowd, "But at this point, this halfway point is no longer possible. Not to mention the overall strategy, it would be difficult for Chief Geng to join forces with our Loyal Army."

Even though they knew that Liu Huai had the habit of speaking openly about problems, Xin Qiji and others still couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

Isn't this a roundabout way of saying that Geng Jing is intolerant?
Liu Huai ignored the others' thoughts and pointed to the northernmost part. "If we want to strengthen the Loyalty Army, then the best option is to march north to attack Yidu Prefecture. However, the situation in Huaibei and Huainan is such that the Loyalty Army alone will struggle to muster the energy."

Huyan Nanxian clenched his fists tightly.

The northern half of the two routes in Shandong are relatively prosperous, so many soldiers of the Wucheng Army, which is composed of good family members, come from northern Shandong. They dream of fighting back to their hometown.

However, Wei Sheng had told him in advance that he was only allowed to attend the meeting and not to speak, and he was the only one from the Wucheng Army attending the meeting. Even if the decadent figure next to him, who came from the Wuxing Army and was called Liang Yuaner, was included, it was impossible for him to stir up any trouble in the military meeting of the Zhongyi Army.

Speaking rashly will only bring disgrace upon oneself. "As for attacking Pizhou to the southwest, even if Xiapi doesn't have a full-fledged army stationed there, the city is still very strong," Liu Huai said solemnly. "I just heard someone say that as soon as the loyal and righteous army arrives, the Pizhou defenders will surrender. They're only worried about the Jin army returning from Lianghuai.

This is a completely wrong and arrogant idea. Let me ask you, if the Jin Kingdom really had a powerful figure who could hold on to Xia Pi, what would happen? Can military and national affairs only be achieved by relying on your words and my words and hoping for luck?

The Shandong local faction who had just clamored to cut off the Jin army's retreat all bowed their heads.

Liu Huai pointed his sword downwards and said, "If we attack Pizhou, we can still take advantage of the water transportation, but if we go south to join the war, it will be very difficult.

First of all, the route must not be taken through the muddy detours of Huaiyin and Huai'an. Otherwise, no one will be able to help you and the Song court will not say a word.

With the Sishui Passage occupied by the Jin, our army only has one route."

As he spoke, Liu Huai drew an arc on the right side of the map with his sword. "Transport troops south by sea. Coincidentally, our army has captured many ships, only 200 of which are usable. They are difficult to use in sea battles, so they can only be used as troop transports, enough to transport 7,000 troops."

A buzz of chatter suddenly erupted in the arena, and Lu You was the first to react. He stood up and said loudly, "So, Dalang, do you agree to go south to help the Song Dynasty?"

Liu Huai shook his head, then nodded again: "Yes and no."

"Whether it's the Loyalty Army or the Dongping Army, the lowest-ranking soldiers are almost all from Shandong. They've divided their land between the two routes in Shandong, and their families are in Shandong. If they abandon Shandong and march down in full force, even if they have a hundred thousand troops, they will be powerless and will collapse at the first blow."

"Therefore, Shandong's Haizhou, Juzhou, Yizhou, and Mizhou must not be abandoned. Not only must they not be abandoned, but they must be well developed. Winter water conservancy projects must be dredged, fields must be cultivated, and spring plowing next year must not be neglected."

"Only if Shandong is maintained can the troops heading south maintain their morale."

This is also the most discussed topic in recent days.

Now Liu Huai has set the tone, that is, the Loyal Army will never give up Shandong, and will use Shandong as a base to do great things.

He Boqiu and others looked at Liu Huai with sharp eyes.

However, Liu Dalang didn't wait for them to speak, and continued, "Besides, Yidu Prefecture is the core of Jin's rule in Shandong. This opportunity cannot be missed. If we don't seize it while the Jin army is weak, then we can only wait until the Jin army recovers and then attack it, which will be extremely difficult."

"Besides, the Jin army relies on waterways to maintain their baggage supply. Pizhou and Xuzhou are like the Jin thieves' balls, which hurt if they are pinched. Are we going to leave such a good opportunity unattended?"

At this point, there was finally a loud noise from the curtain.

Wow, after talking for so long, Liu Dalang is actually ready to take it all.

How is this possible?
"Da Lang," Wei Sheng stroked his long beard and finally spoke helplessly, "The reason for the endless quarrel is because we are caught in a dilemma. If the Loyalty Army had a hundred thousand troops, we could attack from all sides. But with so many troops now, how can we divide them into three groups?"

However, since Liu Huai had spoken, it was clear that he had a plan in mind. He immediately bowed to Wei Sheng and said, "Father, the Loyalty Army can't do this alone, but what if we include the Dongping Army and the Wucheng Army?"

Huyan Nanxian was stunned, and then he found that all the generals were looking at him, and his scalp suddenly felt numb.

This... does this count as passing some kind of assessment?

(End of this chapter)