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

Chapter 406: The Dilemma of Time and Human Affairs

"What are the names of the marching men of your First Meng'an?"

……

"Are you jealous of anyone among them?"

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"What's Han Tang's personality like? What are his hobbies?"

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"What is your relationship with Han Tang? If I cut him into pieces one day, would you be sad?"

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"What kind of person is Wanyan Alin?"

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"Something big has happened in your rear, you know? It's not Shandong, it's not Hebei, it's Liaodong."

……

After using the same method on Awukui, the deputy commander of the Shenfeng Army, Liu Huai finally obtained the most needed intelligence.

That is the current situation of Wanyan Yong in Liaodong.

According to historical time calculations, this guy should not only have proclaimed himself emperor, but even the news of his declaration should have spread to the Lianghuai front. However, at this time, the Jin army that stretched out from Xicaishi still did not make any unnecessary moves.

Could Wanyan Liang be so patient?

Even if Wanyan Liang could hold on, the Jin army couldn't!
Liu Huai couldn't figure it out.

At this time, all questions were answered.

As Han Tang's confidant, Han Wenguang also knew some information from the Youyan Han family.

Liaodong was indeed unstable. Apart from anything else, Wanyan Fushou's 20,000 households crossed the state and caused unrest, and they also used the banner of supporting Wanyan Yong, but they did not hide it at all, and even a blind person could see it.

However, when Wanyan Fushou arrived in Liaoyang Prefecture, he became more honest and less arrogant than before. Liaoyang Prefecture was also quiet. Although it was not completely peaceful, it was a rare time of peace and quiet.

As for the reason, it is very simple. Wanyan Yong, Wanyan Mouyan, Hesheli Liangbi and Hesheli Zhining joined forces to attack the Khitan together.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Liu Huai was still stunned for a moment after receiving the news.

How did these four people get together?

No, if these four people were put together, Wanyan Yong would be invincible in the entire north. Then why hasn't he become emperor yet?

Among these four people, the leader is definitely not Wanyan Yong!

Although the information was similar to that obtained by Han Tang, Liu Huai knew history. He was very sure that Wanyan Yong would take advantage of Wanyan Liang's southern expedition to proclaim himself emperor, so he was also sure that there must be a problem.

Liu Huai felt a little panicked for a moment, but it was only for a moment. Then he calmly accepted this reality.

This even made him feel incredible. Could it be that victory had finally nurtured the demeanor of a general who could remain unmoved by fame or disgrace?

Seeing that Liu Huai remained silent, He Boqiu took the document from him, looked it over, nodded, and handed it back to Xin Qiji.

At this time, several main generals had gathered in the central army tent. Seeing Liu Huai frowning, they thought something big had happened and passed the documents around to look at. However, after looking at them for a long time, they did not find anything wrong and could not help but feel puzzled.

He Boqiu asked in a low voice, "Is it possible that Dalangjun is worried because the Jin Kingdom hasn't experienced a major rebellion?"

Liu Huai nodded. "Indeed, our initial calculations suggested that without a large Jin army to suppress the various regions, not only would various rebel armies rise up, but even the suppressed Jurchen clan would begin to rebel. But now it seems that our calculations were too optimistic."

Xin Qiji frowned. "Lord Commander-in-Chief, I don't understand what you mean. Duke Wei and Jiedu Geng's conquest of cities in Shandong, and our current investigations into the situation in Liaodong, don't they all prove that your foresight was correct? Are we really counting on someone to declare themselves emperor in Liaodong?"

That's right, I'm counting on someone to become emperor and let the Jin army collapse without a fight. Then the Jingnan army will pretend not to hear the Song Dynasty's order to withdraw, chase them down and bite off a big piece of fat meat from these 70,000 elite soldiers.

But he couldn't say this to Xin Qiji directly. Amid the agreement from other generals, Liu Huai could only nod in agreement.

After sorting out the most urgent military situation, the next step is to appease and reward those loyal and righteous people.

Although these people in Dongguan are just small fry, as the saying goes, a horse's bones are worth a thousand gold, so they still have to have the necessary political stance.

Therefore, when Chen Ruhui, Lan Junhao and Gong Erchuan personally escorted Lu Yuanhua to the central army tent, the generals of the Jingnan army, including Liu Huai, stood up to greet them as a sign of respect.

Originally, the three of them were a little annoyed because they had to wait for too long, but when they saw this scene, they were excited and a little at a loss.

"This humble general pays homage to the Commander-in-Chief!"

As the three men bowed, the puppet army leader Lu Yuanhua, who had already accepted his fate, began to struggle.

This guy had a shaved head and braided hair. He was tied up and had a rag stuffed in his mouth. He looked extremely miserable. However, his eyes were red at this moment, and he looked at Liu Huai as if he wanted to say something. "Tear off that rag and let him speak."

Seeing this, Liu Huai spoke directly and coldly.

The rag was torn off, and Lu Yuanhua coughed a few times, cursing at Lan Junhao beside him: "Look at the commander-in-chief you've surrendered to. His hair hasn't even grown back yet. What important matters can you entrust him with? You're causing trouble here, not only bringing suffering to the people of Dongguan, but also to yourself!"

"presumptuous!"

When someone heard insulting Liu Huai, an officer immediately stepped forward with a knife and shouted at him harshly.

Liu Huai waved his hand, letting his men retreat. Then, looking at the indignant Lu Yuanhua, he asked calmly, "Lu Yuanhua, do you know what death means?"

"I'm protecting my hometown, what's wrong with that?!" Lu Yuanhua was held in the shape of a homemade airplane, but he raised his head with all his might and glared at Liu Huai fiercely: "Open your eyes and look around, everyone's been tortured and looted, and everywhere is blood flowing like a river! Only Dongguan was saved because I saw the opportunity early! I saved my fellow villagers, is that considered a mistake?!"

"What about Chao County? Are we Chao County people all damned? Should we all be slaughtered by the Jin thieves?" Gong Erchuan cursed.

"What does the crisis in Chao County have to do with me? Did I lose the battle of Luzhou? Did I burn the navy's ships?" Lu Yuanhua became increasingly furious, angrily scolding Lan and Gong: "Wang Quan is a villain, Sheng Xin is a coward, why don't you blame them instead of me?!"

"Your Chao County is finished, why drag Dongguan into the water! It's all over, it's all over now. The Jin army will come again, Dongguan... Dongguan..." When he said this, Lu Yuanhua already had a crying voice.

"The Song Dynasty's Heavenly Army has arrived..." Lan Junhao retorted.

"You damn Song Heavenly Army! Open your eyes and see! Where did all these northerners come from in the Song Army?" Lu Yuanhua said, gritting his teeth. "Let's take a step back. Even if the Song Army really wins and reclaims the lost territory, what about the defeated Jin army? The Heavenly Army's two feet can actually run faster than the Jin thieves' four hooves? You must be dreaming!"

Lu Yuanhua was indeed smart. He quickly realized that there was something wrong with the origin of the Jingnan Army, and also quickly realized that the large number of Jin troops stationed in Hezhou must not have been eliminated.

Liu Huai explained, "Today, Commander Li Dao Li died on the river, drawing the Jin bandits' troops for my Jingnan Army. I will lead 7,000 elite troops across the river to cut off the Jin bandits' retreat."

"Hahaha..." Lu Yuanhua was stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, and continued laughing until tears came out: "Sheng Xin, Sheng Xin, look at General Li, and then look at yourself, a loser! A coward!"

"If you had led us across Chaohu Lake and fought to the end, Chao County wouldn't have been lost, nor would Dongguan. The Jin bandits wouldn't have been able to reach the Yangtze River, and I wouldn't have become a half-human, half-ghost, captured by my closest brothers, and be infamous forever." Lu Yuanhua roared angrily, "Why the hell did you burn the boats and escape?! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Hey man, if you go back to Jiangnan and meet Sheng Xin, the commander of the Chaohu navy, please ask him for me, is death really that scary? Is it interesting for him to live until now?!" Lu Yuanhua gnashed his teeth and bled, his eyes bloodshot.

"Sheng Xin, commander of the Chaohu navy, learned from his mistakes and became braver. In the battle with the Jin bandits for Caishiji Jiangxinzhou, he was alone guarding the bridgehead. He was hit by several arrows and died in the battle. He fell into the river and his body was never found." Liu Huai briefly told Lu Yuanhua about Sheng Xin's final battle process.

The three Chaohu navy officers were speechless for a moment.

Lu Yuanhua also stopped struggling and calmed down. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end no words came out.

"Well, Commander Sheng washed away his mistakes with his blood. Now that he's in the underworld, I can't scold him anymore." Lu Yuanhua lowered his head. "My two brothers, and Old Chen, I don't blame you, because after all, I took the wrong path. Now that you're on the right path, you must learn from my mistakes. If things don't go well in the future, you'll only die!"

Lan Junhao's eyes were complicated, but Gong Erchuan was straightforward and pleaded directly with Liu Huai, "General, why not demote Lü Yuanhua to a vanguard and let him fight the Jin bandits..."

"Don't say it. I killed the righteous people who resisted the Jin Dynasty and the county magistrate and county lieutenant. If I can survive, how can I be worthy of them?" Lu Yuanhua shook his head. "If you two brothers are willing, bury my hair with me. I don't want to face our ancestors in this barbaric appearance."

Lan Junhao nodded.

"Captain, you are a capable man. Listen to my advice. Dongguan is the key to Huaixi. From the south side of Chao Lake in the southwest to Quanjiao in the northeast, the two hundred miles of terrain is entirely mountainous. This is the only way for a large army to pass through. If Luzhou, the most prosperous city west of Huainan, wants to transport grain and fodder to Hezhou, it must take Yuxi River, which will inevitably lead to Dongguan, if it doesn't want to take a three or four hundred li detour!"

At that time, the road from Hanshan to Chao County was not so smooth. There were many hills along the way. It was okay for a few thousand people to walk, but tens of thousands of troops would inevitably suffer a large number of non-combat casualties if they wanted to pass through this 40-mile mountain road. Especially since the Jin army had a lot of cavalry, taking this road would be asking for trouble.

The most unobstructed road is exactly the line along Yuxi from Dongguan to Chao County as mentioned by Lu Yuanhua.

"So, General, Dongguan must not be abandoned!" Lu Yuanhua's face was full of pleading.

This surrendered general made one mistake after another, lost all his honor and was deserted by his friends and relatives. This was the only request he had before he died.

If Lu Yuanhua couldn't hear Liu Huai's promise, he would not be able to rest in peace even after his death.

"Since I'm here, I won't let the people of Dongguan die at the hands of the enemy again!" Liu Huai said firmly.

"Okay... okay..." Lu Yuanhua grinned and laughed miserably, "General, there were originally two Moukes stationed at the East Gate. Do you want to know where the half-mouke Jin thief went?"

"You have already told me." Liu Huai responded calmly.

Lu Yuanhua was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "The Grand Marshal is truly clever. Although I'm only guessing, it's pretty close. Before the Jin thieves left, they told me to prepare lunch and dredge the river tomorrow afternoon. I guess that's when they'll return."

Liu Huai frowned and thought for a moment: "Is there any more military information?"

"No!" Although Lu Yuanhua was still tied up, his body gradually stood up straight, just like he did in the army before.

"From now on, I'll take care of everything. You can go on your way!" Liu Huai waved at Lan and Gong, treating them as if they were his subordinates. "Behead them and display them for three days!"

The two captains did not dare to object. Fortunately, Lu Yuanhua did not resist, so the scene was not very ugly.

After a while, a head was brought in in a cage.

Chen Ruhui just watched the scene silently from the side, without saying a word from beginning to end, but there was a gleam in his eyes, as if he was thinking about something.

(End of this chapter)