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

Chapter 436: Jia Xu Did Not Surrender to Cao Cao

At the same time as the great victory in Chao County, in Lingyan Temple outside Liaoyang Prefecture on Dongjing Road of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Fushou sighed for the third time and kowtowed deeply for the third time in front of the Buddha statue, hoping that the Bodhisattva could show him a clear way.

Looking back on his eventful yet fruitless life, even though Wanyan Fushou was over forty years old, he felt as if he were back in his childhood and was at a loss.

Wanyan Fushou's origin was different from that of ordinary Wanyans. He was born in Hesuguan Road, which is located in today's Liaodong Peninsula.

This place is truly a hodgepodge of ethnic groups. Wanyan Fushou's father, Wanyan Hezhu, was simply given the surname Wanyan. Although Wanyan Hezhu claimed that he and Wanyan Aguda had the same ancestor, in fact, let alone genealogy, this guy couldn't even clearly explain his ethnicity.

Moreover, Hesuguanlu defected to the Jin Dynasty when the Jin Dynasty had already become powerful. He did not experience the series of life-and-death battles at the founding of the country. Although he was trained as a Meng'an Mouke household, his combat effectiveness was just average.

Of course, no matter what, since they were given a surname, they became part of the nation, and even because the surname Wanyan became the foundation of the country, after Wanyan Hezhu died, Wanyan Fushou naturally became the hereditary Meng'an of Hesuguan Road.

Originally, Wanyan Fushou just followed the rules and continued to live his life in Hesu Pavilion, but since Wanyan Liang ascended the throne, things became more and more wrong.

First, the various Meng'an migrated to the Central Plains, then the military service and taxes became heavier and heavier, and finally it was the turn of Wanyan Fushou's tribes to migrate to the Central Plains.

People say that the Central Plains is a world of vanity, but Wanyan Fushou doesn't think so. As soon as he arrived in Hebei, he witnessed the tough character of the Han people.

Various rebel armies killed officials and rebelled to join in the cause, especially the Han people, who killed Meng'an and Mouke households as if they were killing chickens and dogs.

These are just a few Han people. I heard that the Han army in Shandong has grown to a large scale, and they are unstoppable in destroying cities and killing generals.

Even the Jin army suffered heavy losses at their hands!

Going south is a dead end!

Wanyan Fushou made up his mind and called his younger brother Wanyan Buhui and Bohai generals Gao Zhongjian and Lu Wanjianu to return to Liaodong to prepare to support Wanyan Yong as emperor.

However, these onions had just arrived in Liaoyang Prefecture with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, and had not yet established contact with Wanyan Yong, when they received a bolt from the blue piece of news.

The then Shangshu Zuocheng Hesheli Liangbi, Cao Guogong Wanyan Yong, Hesheli Zhining, Wanyan Mouyan and many other generals jointly issued an order that the troops of Wanyan Fushou and others could return home, but their troops could not cross the Shicheng line, otherwise all the troops in Liao would give up fighting the Khitan rebels and turn back to deal with them.

Now Wanyan Fushou and others were at a loss.

Damn, these people combined can compete with any major force in the world. How dare Wanyan Fushou and others dare to go against them?
However, the slogan of supporting Wanyan Yong had already been shouted out, and many people who were dissatisfied with Wanyan Liang were swept up along the way. At this time, it was not treason but worse than treason.

If they retreated, when Wanyan Liang returned victorious, Wanyan Fushou and others would all be killed without a burial place.

After sending the elderly and weak civilians who were accompanying him back to their hometowns, Wanyan Fushou set up camp in Shicheng with more than 10,000 troops. He was unable to advance or retreat and was in a panic.

Under such a dire situation, Wanyan Fushou ran to the temple to pray to the gods and worship Buddha. It was not really feudal superstition, but he really could not think of any other way.

"Brother, brother!" Just as Wanyan Fushou was burning incense and praying again, Wanyan Buhui quickly walked into the main hall. After waving his hand to dismiss several senior monks, he came to Wanyan Fushou and whispered, "Someone from the court is here."

Wanyan Fushou suddenly started to wake up, and then asked in a low voice: "Who is coming?"

Wanyan Buhui said seriously, "It's Shi Ju, the Minister of the Court."

Wanyan Fushou breathed a sigh of relief: "Minister Shi, we have some acquaintance in the past."

Wanyan Buhui's expression remained unchanged. He continued with a straight face, "That's what I wanted to tell you, big brother. Minister Shi is a wise man, and he comes here as the Minister of Personnel. Why don't you ask him for advice?"

"That's right!" Wanyan Fushou suddenly stood up, threw the incense in his hand aside, turned around and left.

After taking three steps, Wanyan Fushou reacted, turned around, and bowed deeply to the Buddha statue: "If the Buddha blesses me to overcome this hardship, I will use gold foil to reshape the Buddha's golden body in the future!"

Wanyan Fushou and his brother rode back to the Shicheng camp at full speed. Outside the camp, Gao Zhongjian had been waiting for a long time. When he saw Wanyan Fushou, he stepped forward and grabbed his reins: "Fushou, you're finally here. Minister Shi has been waiting for a long time."

Wanyan Fushou quickly dismounted, took hold of Gao Zhongjian's hands, and approached him, whispering, "What does Minister Shi have to say?"

Gao Zhongjian's face was filled with anxiety. "That's the crux of the matter. Lu Wan's slave and I have been hinting at it for a long time, but Minister Shi just said he would wait for you to come before he spoke. In the end, we both dared not say anything more, for fear of offending Minister Shi."

Wanyan Fushou paused and looked at the flag representing the court envoys in front of the general's tent, and immediately hesitated.

After hesitating for a moment at the camp gate, Wanyan Fushou gritted his teeth and entered the general's tent. Seeing the thin middle-aged man sitting upright on the commander's throne, Wanyan Fushou bowed directly without saying a word: "General Wanyan Fushou greets the angel!"

The middle-aged man was none other than the current Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Shi Ju Shi Zimei.

This position was not one of high-ranking officials, and its status was even more vague in a country like the Jin Dynasty, which was a mixture of Han system and tribal system. In theory, Wanyan Fushou, the hereditary Meng'an, could completely ignore this person.

But if a person's prestige or status were judged solely by his or her official rank, then things in the world would be simple.

Shi Ju was not an ordinary person. To be precise, he was similar to Yu Yunwen of the Song Dynasty. Everyone in the court believed that he had the talent to be a prime minister, and it was widely believed that he would become the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty sooner or later.

This consensus was formed very early, to be precise, when Shi Ju's father Shi Gao followed Wanyan Jiemu to fight against the Song Dynasty. At that time, the Jin army went south to plunder and commit countless atrocities.

While in the army, Shi Gao used gentle means to settle many Han people and quell many riots. Even Wanyan Jiemu, the Marshal and Left General, pointed to his seat and said to Shi Gao, "Your children and grandchildren will sit in this position sooner or later."

This is naturally not because Wanyan Jiemu has the ability to calculate, nor does it mean that the Jin Dynasty’s high-level officials have lost their minds because of chanting Buddha’s name. Rather, it means that when a political faction actually exists and needs to enter the political stage, there must be a leader.

For example, Yu Yunwen. When the scholars and officials in Shu were suppressed, he really could not stand out, but as long as the State of Song wanted to use the scholars in Shu, Yu Yunwen was an obstacle that no one could avoid.

If we don't use him, who among the scholars and officials in Shu is still in his prime and can hold the place together?

Without him, how can the younger generation in Shu make progress?

Without him, how could the Shu scholars and officials believe in their political future? How could they be willing to serve the court with peace of mind?
Wanyan Jiemu and other founding figures of the Jin Dynasty naturally had such political vision. For them, Shi Gao and Shi Ju were the best candidates to represent the vast Han gentry and powerful families south of Youyan.

If the Jin Dynasty wanted to unify the conquered Han areas by using a gentle approach, then Shi Ju would almost be the best candidate for prime minister.

But this is almost completely contrary to Wanyan Liang's strategy of using the Meng'an Mouke households to control the Central Plains.

Therefore, even though Shi Ju, who was recognized as a prime minister, was already fifty years old, he was still just a minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Of course, if real history had unfolded, Shi Ju's fortunes would have turned around soon.

After Wanyan Yong ascended the throne, in order to stabilize the situation in the Han area, he appeased and persuaded a series of rebel forces in Shandong and Hebei to surrender. As one of the specific executors, Shi Ju's status also rose accordingly. In just two years, he sat on the position of Shangshu Zuocheng and entered the ranks of prime ministers.

With such an identity background, it is not surprising that Wanyan Fushou behaved like this when he met Shi Ju.

When Shi Ju saw Wanyan Fushou kneeling in front of him, his expression remained unchanged, but he glanced coldly at Wanyan Buhui, Lu Wanjianu and Gao Zhongjian.

The three of them were stunned, then understood and immediately knelt on the ground, saying "Greetings to the angel".

At this point, Shi Ju finally nodded and said, "According to the order of the Crown Prince Regent, Minister Zhang has sent me to inquire why the Meng'an Mouke households of Hesuguan Road did not obey the order of the Privy Council and move to Yidu Prefecture. Are they planning a rebellion?"

Wanyan Fushou's heart trembled, and then he moved again.

First of all, it is bullshit that Shi Ju came here on the orders of the Crown Prince who is the regent. The Crown Prince Wanyan Guangying is only twelve years old. Even if he is precocious, it is impossible for the important officials in the court to entrust the affairs of state to such a child.

This must be the assignment of Zhang Hao, the current Shangshu Ling.

But in any case, this was not a scolding from Wanyan Liang, which means that the news that Wanyan Fushou and others disobeyed orders and returned to Liaodong had not yet reached Wanyan Liang.

The specific reasons didn't matter, whether the front lines were stalemated or the situation was chaotic, as long as there was no direct order from Emperor Wanyan Liang, neither the Crown Prince nor the Minister of the Chancellery could take action against Meng'an of Hesuguanlu, who was in Liaodong and had many followers. If Hesuguanlu really rebelled, who would be responsible?

Secondly, Wanyan Fushou had a deep friendship with Shi Ju and knew that this person was no ordinary person, and certainly not a fool.

Wanyan Fushou and others shouted slogans in support of Wanyan Yong all the way without any concealment. How could Shi Ju not know about it?

Moreover, the situation in Shandong was already dangerous. The withdrawal of 20,000 households from Hesuguan Road to Liaodong was equivalent to selling the Shandong Military Command. Even without exact news, Wanyan Fushou could roughly guess what the situation in Shandong was now.

However, Shi Ju only asked why Su Guan Lu Meng'an wanted to withdraw to Liaodong, and did not even mention Lu Wanjianu and Gao Zhongjian!
This gave Wanyan Fushou some other thoughts in his mind.

"To answer the angel's question! It's not that we don't want to go to Shandong, but we really can't control our troops!" Wanyan Fushou said with his head prostrated on the ground, and then he complained one after another, saying that it was difficult to travel in winter, there were heavy casualties among the old and young, it was hard to leave his hometown, the top and the bottom could not be united, and there were also unrest in Shandong and Hebei and a series of other reasons.

In a nutshell, it’s not that we don’t want to go to Shandong, but there are too many objective difficulties.

Shi Ju listened quietly to the complaints of several people, then stood up and said, "Since that's the case, you should write a letter and I will take it back to the court."

As he spoke, Shi Ju stepped forward and helped the four people up with a smile.

At this time, Shi Ju was no longer an angel representing the authority of the court, but a colleague in the court.

Wanyan Fushou secretly breathed a sigh of relief again.

However, before Wanyan Fushou could exchange a few pleasantries and try to build some rapport, Shi Ju smiled and said, "Since everything is fine, I will return to Liaoyang and await your written defense."

Wanyan Fushou was shocked when he heard this. Without caring about anything else, he hugged Shi Ju's shoulders and said, "Brother Zimei, we are stuck in Shicheng today. I hope a wise man can show us a way out!"

The other three also reacted and knelt down one after another. One hugged his legs, the other hugged his waist, and in an instant Shi Ju was covered with big men.

"Everyone, everyone." Shi Ju was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "I am just a weak scholar. How can I withstand the torment of you generals? Please let me go and tell me your doubts. I will tell you everything I know."

After a few more arguments and pleas for mercy, Wanyan Fushou finally let Shi Ju go. "Brother Zimei is a wise man and an elder. If I weren't truly desperate, I wouldn't resort to this desperate measure."

Shi Ju shook his head and laughed at this. His next words showed Wanyan Fushou and the others what a top politician looks like: "Then I will show you a clear path. Now, each of you should lead your personal guards, gather into 500 elite cavalry, and go to find the Left Prime Minister and Duke Cao. Tell them you want to serve in the army and fight against the Khitan rebels. As for when you arrive, you will obey Duke Cao's orders."

Wanyan Fushou was stunned, then somewhat discouraged. "But the Left Prime Minister has said that if we dare to cross the Stone City, we will become enemies with the Left Prime Minister, Duke Cao, General Wanyan, and General Hesheli. We...we really don't dare."

Shi Ju waved a finger in front of Wanyan Fushou's face. "Fushou, if my guess is correct, the Left Prime Minister's original words should be that if you lead a large army through Shicheng, you will be making enemies. But did you lead a large army through Shicheng? Does five hundred cavalry still count as a large army?"

Wanyan Fushou was stunned for a moment again. "But Brother Zimei, this is certainly a flaw in the words, but even if there is such a flaw, what can we do about it? In other words, what good would it do if a few of us led five hundred elite cavalrymen to the front of the army?"

Shi Ju chuckled, his expression like that of a contemporary literary giant enlightening a child. "Let me ask you one more question: Minister Liangbi, Duke Cao, General Mouyan, and General Zhining. Don't you find it a little strange that these four individuals are mingling together and working together to quell the Khitan rebellion?"

That's weird.

Given the political stances of these four people, not drawing blood when meeting each other would already be considered a gesture of forbearance for the sake of the country. What's more, being able to unite and lead the army into battle?
This incident was so strange that Wanyan Fushou was completely at a loss as to what to do.

Seeing Wanyan Fushou still with a confused expression, Shi Ju could only continue to explain: "Since they can live in harmony, it's natural that one side has the upper hand. It's also natural that Minister Liangbi has the upper hand over Duke Cao, don't you think?"

Wanyan Fushou nodded repeatedly.

If Wanyan Yong had defeated Hesheli Liangbi, he would have already declared himself emperor. Would he have fought the Khitans with the title of Duke?

Shi Ju continued, "However, Minister Liangbi has only managed to suppress Duke Cao. It's like trying to stop a boiling pot by adding more water, but he can't remove the firewood from under the cauldron. It's not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't. Firstly, Minister Liangbi can't rally the people, and secondly, he can't control the troops. How can he completely eliminate Duke Cao's power?"

As he spoke, Shi Ju tapped Wanyan Fushou's chest and said, "Fushou, think about it carefully. If Liangbi Xianggong really had the final say, Duke Cao might still be able to live for a while, but all of you and the nobles of Liaoyang Prefecture would have died in blood.

"And because Prime Minister Liangbi lacks the necessary strength, he resorted to such shady tactics as to coerce Duke Cao into the army. If he were to act rashly, Liaodong would be in chaos."

Wanyan Fushou seemed to understand and nodded slowly. "In other words, if we lead an army of 10,000 people north, then Minister Liangbi might be ready to fight to the death. But if we only have 500 cavalry, both Minister Liangbi and General Zhining will compromise."

Shi Ju's face was full of teachableness: "That's right."

"But..." Wanyan Fushou hesitated again: "But what's the use of five hundred elite cavalry?"

Shi Ju shook his head, and said with a hint of disappointment, "I just told you that it would be very difficult for Minister Liangbi to defeat Duke Cao, not to mention General Mou Yan. Think about it yourself, how much leverage does five hundred elite cavalry have!"

After hearing this, four big words suddenly appeared in Wanyan Fushou's mind.

From! Dragon! The! Achievement!
His heart suddenly felt hot.

You must know that if five hundred elite cavalrymen were on the front battlefield, they might only be considered a small or medium-sized military force, but on the stage of a military coup, they would be a very considerable force.

"Brother Zimei, you truly are the reincarnation of the Marquis Wu, with your ingenious foresight!" Wanyan Fushou's mind suddenly became clear. He grabbed Shi Ju's arm with both hands, almost wanting to hug him. "If you truly succeed, I will surely reward you handsomely in the future."

Shi Ju calmly wiped the spit from his face. "Fushou, according to my calculations, although there will be setbacks on your journey, you will definitely succeed in the end. But I have only one thing to say. When you meet Duke Cao, please advise him on my behalf. No matter how big a thing he wants to do, he must defeat the Khitan bandits first. Otherwise, Liaodong will be in danger."

Wanyan Fushou nodded heavily, paced back and forth in the tent, and shouted, "Bring out all the good wine and good meat. We are entertaining Brother Zimei today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wanyan Fushou saw that Shi Ju, Wanyan Buhui and the other three were looking at him with strange eyes.

You still have the mind to feast?
"No, no, no... Brother Zimei, please stay in the tent for a few days and advise our army. We will set off now, right now."

Wanyan Fushou realized his mistake and corrected it, and immediately said embarrassedly.

However, just as he reached the door of the big tent, he stopped and asked with a strange look on his face, "Brother Zimei, do you know what we are going to do?"

Shi Ju smiled and said, "Of course I know."

"then you……"

Upon hearing this, Shi Ju sighed: "Alas, why do you want to join Duke Cao?"

Wanyan Fushou thought for a moment and said, "At the beginning, it was simply because I was stuck in Hesuguan Road and had difficulty getting promoted, which made me feel a little resentful. But now, it's because I've become so frustrated with the current emperor that I can no longer tolerate him.

"Twenty thousand households, too many people died along the way. Although the plea for mercy just now was perfunctory to the court, one thing is true: we, the people, really do not want to abandon our homes and careers and go to fight in the chaotic world of the Central Plains."

Shi Ju nodded, then shook his head again. "Your Majesty and I have different ideals and can't work together. But now the world is in chaos and the world is in turmoil. Ultimately, Your Majesty is wrong. I have great ambitions and strategies. How can I watch the country decline? My advice to you now is simply to contribute to the country."

Wanyan Fushou suddenly realized.

This time he finally understood.

As long as Wanyan Liang was in power, according to his way of governing the country, Shi Ju would never have a chance to succeed.

It would be fine if there was no opportunity, but now that there is an opportunity, with Shi Ju's character and courage, how could he not give it a try?

Or you scholars are just evil-minded!

　There is only one chapter today.

　　This cold is very severe and has come back several times. Please take care of your health.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)