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

Chapter 407: It is difficult to abandon clan members and fellow villagers

To be honest, among the three people who led the Dongguan Uprising, Liu Huai was most optimistic about Chen Ruhui.

The other two had received Yang Chun's secret letter early on, but they couldn't even recruit people. After many days of communication, they only managed to gather less than 200 soldiers. Even though they had a sense of justice, they were not as good as Lu Yuanhua in winning the hearts of the people.

Actually, it's not their fault. After all, Lan Junhao and Gong Erchuan have always been low-level military officers like captains. It's normal for them to feel a little overwhelmed when they are suddenly given such a heavy responsibility.

But with Chen Ruhui as a comparison, one still wants to ask, why is the gap between people so big?
Although Chen Ruhui has a face as white as jade, a square head and big ears that hang down to his shoulders, and a smile that looks like Maitreya Buddha, he is actually ruthless and extremely decisive in doing things.

Apart from anything else, just the fact that he led his family's servants and guards to guard the other gates of the East Gate and block the news at the first moment showed that Chen Ruhui had an extremely keen sense of smell on the battlefield.

Not to mention that they have even prepared a large banner with the word Song on it!
Because Chen Ruhui and Yang Chun had no prior communication, this spontaneous resistance became even more precious.

"General Chen, you are the first to achieve this victory in capturing Dongguan. Logically, you should be commended. However, you are now isolated behind enemy lines, and everything is complicated and overwhelming. So, if you are interested in joining the army, you can join our Jingnan Army as a commander, with a quota of 2,000 soldiers. How about that?"

The conditions offered by Liu Huai were quite sincere. He would be promoted to a commanding officer right from the start, on par with Zhang Xiaoyi, Zhang Baiyu and others, which could be considered an exceptional promotion.

However, Chen Ruhui pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "General Liu, I'm not a general. I'm just a wealthy man from Dongguan. I became the commander of the army to protect my family and my friends. Now that we've driven the Jin bandits out of their conscience and oppressed the people, I'd like to ask the Grand Marshal for a position as a magistrate."

Chen Ruhui's point was simple. While he felt the Jingnan army was reasonably capable and fair, the Song dynasty valued civil officials over military ones. Being a general was no match for being a scholar-official. This was necessary for the utter chaos that reigned supreme. Otherwise, Chen Ruhui, a powerful landlord, would have been lucky to secure the position of chief clerk, let alone a county magistrate.

Although Liu Huai had psychological expectations for this result, he was still a little disappointed.

Even if such a powerful family is willing to join the army, they will only do so in the vicinity. With the support of their clan and friends, whatever they do will be twice as effective with half the effort.

Just as the Jingnan Army had its roots in Shandong, Chen Ruhui's roots were also in Dongguan. Could he have abandoned his family and career and followed Liu Huai through thick and thin the first time he saw him? Impossible.

He is Liu Huai, not Liu Bei, and certainly not Liu Bang!
Even these two succubi had the experience of three visits to the thatched cottage and running away at night like Han Xin.

The story of the tiger's body shaking and its head bowing down is, after all, just a story in a storytelling book.

Everyone has his or her own ideas, and everyone has things that are hard to give up. It is impossible to make the other person follow you until death with just one sentence.

But on the other hand, those who give up everything for justice and ideals are the most worthy of respect and the most worthy of praise.

Back to the present, Liu Huai could only sigh inwardly: the reason why the Shandong heroes followed him was because he had done a favor to Shandong. And the Lianghuai heroes were unwilling to follow him to death because they had not done a favor to Lianghuai.

However, there is a long time to come, and the heroes of the world are not blind. They will always see who is shouldering the heavy responsibility of the world.

"Since this is the case, I hereby recommend Chen Ruhui as the magistrate of Dongguan County. All responsibilities for appointing and dismissing government officials will be delegated to him."

Chen Ruhui bowed and said, "Thank you, General."

"Lan Junhao, Gong Erchuan, although Liang Zichu has already agreed to recruit you into the army, I still want to ask, are you willing to join the Jingnan Army?"

Lan Junhao hesitated for a moment as well. "Liu Taiwei, you are the highest-ranking officer here. Even Commander Liang and even Prefect Yang have to obey your orders. When the time comes, we will naturally obey your orders. Why would we need to join the Jingnan Army?"

This was also politely declined.

Liu Huai nodded again. "Then the two of you should go gather up the troops who were originally from Chaohu but have defected to the Jin bandits. Find out who's been forced to do so and who's working for them wholeheartedly. And you must also find the most heinous criminals and behead them for public display."

"Here!"

Lan and Gong bowed in agreement.

Then the three of them left the central military tent.

Without talking about the other two people, Chen Ruhui, who had made great contributions today, walked back to his own mansion, took off his armor in the hallway, and then went to the back hall.

An old man with white hair and beard is resting with his eyes closed.

"Father, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I'm back." Chen Ruhui knelt on the ground and kowtowed before saying this.

Chen Taigong blew his beard and woke up faintly. "Sanlang, the ground is cold. Get up. Did you gain anything from this trip?" Chen Ruhui nodded. "To answer your father's question, I am now the magistrate of Dongguan County."

The old man was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Why didn't you join the army? Was it because the Jingnan Army refused to accept you, or was it because General Liu was too incompetent?"

Chen Ruhui sighed, "That's not the case. The discipline and combat effectiveness of this Jingnan army are unmatched by any other army I've ever seen. Commander Liu, though young, is very calm and respectful. Even though he commands thousands of troops, he treated the three of us kindly and without bossing us around."

At this point, Chen Ruhui paused and said, "The only thing I'm worried about is that they aren't soldiers from Lianghuai, but rebels from Shandong. They'll eventually have to return to Shandong. If I go with them, what will happen to our Chen family?"

The old man shook his head slowly upon hearing this. "Sanlang, you are good in every way, except for this one point. You are really too cautious. If you want to do something, you must do it to the end. Not becoming a general, but becoming a county magistrate instead, is simply missing the point."

Chen Ruhui asked, "Father, is there anything wrong with this county magistrate?"

"It's not inappropriate, but inappropriate at the right time." The old man looked at his most promising son with cloudy eyes: "Now the world is in chaos, the war has begun, and this is not just the gains and losses of a state or a county, but a war between Song and Jin that will last for who knows how long.

"Under normal circumstances, power would have been enough to maintain my family's well-being, and my Chen family would have had some support in Dongguan. But today, only one type of person can be considered powerful: someone with military power. As a county magistrate, let alone a secure career, with only a few dozen yamen runners and archers in the county, who can you command? The Jin army or the Song army?"

"Times of chaos are a time to redefine the hierarchy, to distinguish between noble and humble, and cannot be judged by common sense."

After he finished speaking, although his words were a bit fragmented, he still made his meaning clear.

It is true that the Song Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, but in troubled times, civil officials without military power could not be relied upon at all. Even if one had supernatural strategies that could control the heavens and the earth, they had to drive away the Jin army first.

The saying "When the world is at peace, pay attention to the prime minister; when the world is in danger, pay attention to the general" is exactly this principle.

Moreover, war is a ladder, the fastest way for people to climb up. Even if the position of County Magistrate Quan is finally stable, how many years will it take for Chen Ruhui, a powerful man without any support, to hone his skills in officialdom before he can make a name for himself?

It is indeed a pity that Chen Ruhui gave up the opportunity to join the army just for the position of a county magistrate.

You must know that the Jingnan Army seems to be a well-organized army. If you fight in such an army, as long as you can survive, you don't have to worry about promotion.

Chen Ruhui listened to his father's advice, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "It is precisely because the world is in chaos that I have to think about my hometown in Dongguan and not act according to my temper. Alas, if that guy Lu Yuanhua had not made a mistake, he could be entrusted with important matters, but now... Alas..."

At the end of his speech, Chen Ruhui sighed repeatedly.

In this era, the village party is also a form of organization. As long as there is a leader who can command the support of the people, the people of an area can be organized to protect the country and the people in troubled times, and even achieve great things.

Just like Liu Bang's Fengpei Yuancong and Zhu Yuanzhang's Huaixi heroes, they were all organized in this way.

While this leader has power, he also has the obligation to ensure local peace.

Specifically in Dongguan County, there are only three people who have prestige, ability and energy.

One is Lu Yuanhua, one is the chief clerk Hou Yun who was killed by Lu Yuanhua because he insisted on resisting the Jin Dynasty, and the other is Chen Ruhui.

If Liu Huai annexed Liang Huai and incorporated it into his sphere of influence, turning Dongguan into his rear base, Chen Ruhui would not waste any time and would simply become a brick of feudalism, moving wherever it was needed. Forget abandoning the county magistrate, even holding Liu Huai's horse and stirrups would be commonplace.

But now Dongguan is still facing an imminent threat, and Chen Ruhui ultimately dares not abandon his hometown and fellow villagers to pursue his own fame and fortune.

"Alas..." Old Master Chen sighed. "Your eldest brother could only maintain the status quo, your second brother died young, and the rest are all mediocre. There are even a few bastards in the branches. I am also very old and can't help much. Everything depends on you. No matter what, you must take care of yourself."

Chen Ruhui nodded with difficulty: "This is the only way."

In any case, we must first establish a foothold in Dongguan. Given the current situation, if the Jin Kingdom sends a large army to attack, we may have to fight a major battle in Dongguan. We will have to take it one step at a time.

The world is like the tide, and everyone is trying to cross it. No one knows whether the boat will capsize and people will die in the next moment.

Thinking of the final fate of his two old friends, Lu Yuanhua and Hou Yun, Chen Ruhui felt a little sad.

(End of this chapter)