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

Chapter 386: Ten Years of Growth and Ten Years of Lessons
The military meeting ended quickly, Liu Huai and Li Dao returned to their camps, and Yu Yunwen only left Li Xianzhong behind.

Li Xianzhong also knew what Yu Yunwen was doing, which was nothing more than the power of being the commander-in-chief of this battle.

An army cannot have two voices, so either Li Xianzhong becomes the general and Yu Yunwen becomes a logistics officer; or Yu Yunwen becomes the commander-in-chief and Li Xianzhong becomes a military general who charges into battle.

Li Xianzhong was really afraid of the blind orders given by these turbaned men. While pouring himself a glass of rice wine, he made up his mind that even if they had a falling out here today, even if Yu Yunwen called back the capable Liu Dalang to fight, he would never give in.

"Everyone, go out and surround the tent. Don't let anyone get close." After Yu Yunwen finished processing the last document, he said to the officers and soldiers in the tent and at the door, "I have something important to discuss with Lieutenant Li."

The soldiers under Yu Yunwen obeyed the order and bowed as they left the tent. The other guards looked at Li Xianzhong and only withdrew after he waved his hand.

"Prime Minister Yu, I understand why you were able to achieve such great feats by cutting off the pontoon bridge and defending Dongcaishi." Li Xianzhong said with a smile, "In such a strategic location, with such a brave general, and the Jin thieves tempted by small gains, how could we not accomplish a greater cause?"

"General Li, I'm not keeping you here for mutual compliments." Yu Yunwen put the documents on the table in order and said with a chuckle.

"This is not a compliment, I'm telling the truth." Li Xianzhong's smile faded, he picked up the wine pot on the table, poured himself a glass of rice wine, and drank it all in one gulp.

Although there is a ban on alcohol in the army, it is still relatively tolerant for veterans like Li Xianzhong, because they have too many old injuries and illnesses. If they don't drink a glass or two before going to bed, they will not be able to fall asleep at night.

"On the other hand, this is also Liu Dalang's ability. Using this to prove that Prime Minister Yu is knowledgeable about military affairs and capable of commanding the overall situation is a bit too frivolous."

"General Li can continue to command, but the title of commander-in-chief must be taken by me." Although Yu Yunwen's words and expression were polite, his meaning was not polite at all.

"In other words, if we win, no matter how great my achievements are, the credit will go to you, Lord Yu. If we lose, Lord Yu, commanding the entire battle, will be able to escape, while I will inevitably perish in battle." Li Xianzhong took a sip of his wine and said calmly, "Why would I do such a thankless task?"

"I can give you what you want most." Yu Yunwen said slowly, "something you can't refuse."

"No thanks. I'll take what I want from the horse. What do I need a scholar-official to give me?"

"In terms of fame and honor, if I win, I will be the governor of Huaixi, and maybe even have the position of Privy Councilor in my lifetime. In terms of wealth and honor, haven't the court rewards been enough in these years? In terms of women, it's just a matter of a word for me to pick the most beautiful one in the world?" Li Xianzhong still had a smile on his face, but his eyes were sharp.

It can be seen that Yu Yunwen's words made the veteran very angry.

"But these are not what you want." Yu Yunwen said lightly.

"Oh?" Li Xianzhong leaned forward with a half-smile. "I didn't expect that even though I've only met Xianggong Yu a few times, Xianggong Yu knows me so well. Tell me, what do I want most?"

"You want to go back to your hometown to worship your ancestors' graves, you want to avenge the 200 members of your family who died unjustly..." If Yu Yunwen didn't say it, it would be fine, but once he said it, it was earth-shattering.

"Shut up!" Li Xianzhong's face turned cold and he stared at Yu Yunwen and shouted in a low voice.

Yu Yunwen didn't buy it and picked up the wine pot to pour himself a glass of rice wine.

"You want..." Yu Yunwen looked directly into Li Xianzhong's eyes: "You want to go home!"

"Enough!" With a creaking sound, Li Xianzhong crushed the silver pot in his hand, his eyes wide open and he shouted angrily.

The guards outside the tent heard the noise and rushed over to investigate. Before they could lift the door curtain, a deformed silver pot hit them in the face.

"Get out!"

The guards left in a hurry again, but only stretched the cordon wider. After all, this was a quarrel between the commanders, and if others heard it, it would definitely affect morale.

Li Xianzhong took a few deep breaths and calmed down. "Of course I want it, but I don't know how Yu Xianggong can afford it."

Yu Yunwen looked towards the entrance to the tent, and after a long pause he slowly spoke, "Li Taiwei, you mentioned the Jingkang Rebellion, and even before that the Fang La Rebellion, and even now, the Jin invaders' renewed southern invasion. During this period, the whole country was in turmoil, and the people suffered. Whose fault is it all?"

"Need I say more?" Although he didn't know why Yu Yunwen was talking about such irrelevant things, Li Xianzhong still chuckled and slowly replied, "With rebels rioting outside and treacherous ministers rampant inside, and the Jurchens rising as a powerful nation, the empire will naturally fall apart amidst these internal and external troubles."

"But why did Fang La rebel? Why did the Six Bandits run rampant? And why did the Jin bandits easily capture Bianliang?"

Li Xianzhong remained silent. "Does the Song Dynasty lack loyal ministers or capable generals? Why was Prime Minister Zhao dismissed? Why was Yue Pengju unjustly executed? Why was a traitor like Qin Hui given a high position? Why couldn't we reclaim the Central Plains? Why are we trapped in the Yangtze River today?" Yu Yunwen's words grew increasingly pointed. "A few days ago, Liu Dalang asked me, 'Fan Li once said, 'Ten years of accumulation and ten years of training.' Since the Song Dynasty lost the Central Plains, Hebei, and Guanzhong, it's been thirty-four years. Do you have the will to launch a northern expedition?'"

"There's no place for my face!"

"After all these years of ups and downs in the political world, I finally understand. This chaos in the world is caused by the highest level! The instigators of this chaos are none other than the Supreme Dao Emperor, the Abyssal Saint." Li Xianzhong looked up in shock at the extremely furious Yu Yunwen in front of him. "Until now, it has reached the current emperor!"

"If it weren't for the Emperor Taishang Daojun's levy of the Flower and Stone Gang, Fang La in Jiangnan wouldn't have rebelled. If it weren't for him appointing the Six Bandits, the Jin wouldn't have underestimated the Song in its quest to annihilate the Liao. If it weren't for the Yuansheng's misguided command during the Jingkang period, how could the Jin bandits have won so easily? If it weren't for the current emperor's trust in the villain Qin Hui and his insistence on sending Yue Pengju back, we would have already broken through Yuguan and captured Huanglongfu!"

"Prince Yu! Do you know what you are saying?" Li Xianzhong said with a ferocious expression, "With your words criticizing the imperial carriage, I will behead you right here!"

"Who would believe you if I said it, and you heard it?" Yu Yunwen sneered, "After the Yue Pengju incident, the court has shown how deeply wary you military men are. Don't you think about it?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Li Xianzhong immediately lost his temper. He picked up the wine glass and took a sip of rice wine, but was choked and coughed repeatedly.

Yue Fei's unjust killing was almost a fatal blow to the morale of the Southern Song army.

Han Shizhong, who was known for being the first to dare to be the first in the world, lost all his spirit after this incident. He no longer had the heroic spirit that he had in the past when he was fighting on the battlefield, and became a rich and idle man.

Even Han Shizhong was like this, not to mention Li Xianzhong, whose achievements and abilities were far inferior.

"Prince Yu, I never thought you were so bold." After a short silence, Li Xianzhong said, "You actually want to rebel?"

"Rebellion? I've been blessed by the country for generations, how could I rebel? Did you see me bringing my sons and nephews here?" Yu Yunwen chuckled, stood up, picked up the wine pot, and filled Li Xianzhong's empty cup with rice wine. "I was just thinking, if Qin Hui can do something that would usurp power, then I can do it too."

Li Xianzhong suddenly understood what Yu Yunwen meant.

Yu Yunwen is already fifty-one years old. To be frank, how many more years can he live? He's already old and worn out. If he simply wants to be a powerful official, he only needs supporters who wave the flag and shout slogans. But if he truly has the ambition to replace the Song Dynasty, in addition to supporters, he must have the support of his own clan and a successor!
If we don’t train our sons and nephews now and let them establish their prestige, when will we wait?
Cao Cao had appointed Cao Pi as the General of the Five Officials a long time ago!

"You actually want to become the second Qin Hui and use this power to drive the Northern Expedition?" Li Xianzhong was also a veteran who had crawled out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, but he was still frightened by the scholar before him. "So, this is why you need military experience to gain knowledge of military affairs? This is why you need to establish prestige in the army and cultivate confidants? This is why you want to achieve great achievements in your name? Is that right?"

Heaven and earth are my conscience! In the past, the worst thing Li Xianzhong had done was nothing more than drinking the blood of his soldiers. How could he have thought of seizing power and becoming the leader of the Song Dynasty?
Or is it that the intellectuals are evil-minded!
"Wrong, I want to be the second Zhuge Wuhou." Yu Yunwen shook his head and said, "But there is no Han Zhaolie in the world, so I have to take the position of Prime Minister myself."

"Of course, the court struggle does not require the involvement of Lieutenant General Li. You only need to prepare for the Northern Expedition."

"The second Zhuge Wuhou..." Li Xianzhong stared at the wine in the cup and said slowly: "After three generations, there will only be one Zhuge Wuhou. You can't become one."

"Prince Yu, if you don't want to be Wang Mang, you can only choose between Sima Yi and Huo Guang." Li Xianzhong looked up and looked directly into Yu Yunwen's eyes. "It's either eternal infamy or the extinction of your entire family. Are you prepared?"

"If you achieve great things, you won't care about your life or your reputation after death." Yu Yunwen said frankly: "If you think ahead and behind everything, you can naturally maintain your wealth and glory, but what about the people of the world?"

"Great! What a great way to treat the people of the world." Li Xianzhong finally picked up the wine glass and drank it all: "The commander-in-chief is yours."

"Except for the battlefield, I will not give you any additional help. I will always watch you to see if you really want to recover the Central Plains and whether you are a traitor. If you dare to rebel against the Song Dynasty, I will send troops to tear you into pieces!"

"Very good." Yu Yunwen nodded.

Li Xianzhong stood up and slowly walked out of the tent. Halfway through, he turned and asked, "Prime Minister Yu, I'm just confused about one thing. Why are you so sure that the Song Dynasty will win this time when the Jin invaders invade the south?"

Yu Yunwen returned to the main seat, smiled slightly and said, "If we can't win, then both you and I will die. I will admit what I said today even if it's to the King of Youdu in person."

Li Xianzhong smiled and shook his head: "The Northern Expedition will not be accomplished overnight. I hope that Minister Yu will work hard and live a long life."

After saying that, Li Xianzhong bowed, lifted the curtain of the tent and left.

Yu Yunwen lowered his head, looking at his wrinkled hands, and muttered to himself, "Ten years of accumulation and ten years of training. Give me another twenty years, I only need twenty years!"

(End of this chapter)