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

Chapter 442: Family Sacrifice, Don't Forget to Tell Your Father

It is no exaggeration to say that Wu Chengjun is eager to return home.

On the morning of December 10, when the entire Wu Chengjun army learned the news of returning home, they cheered for a long time, and the entire army seemed to come alive.

Seeing this, Xu Wen completely lost hope and could only pass on the message to Wanyan Liang and Tushan Zhen as agreed with Lu You, saying that Wucheng Army encountered a full-scale siege by the Song navy and cavalry, suffering heavy casualties, and could no longer hold out in Zhenzhou. They could only sail their ships along the canal tributary to the city of Yangzhou to join forces with Tushan Zhen.

The situation was described as critical. Wu Chengjun had been almost completely defeated and seemed helpless due to heavy casualties.

The military intelligence documents were taken away by two clever men, who then took a plane to escape after delivering them.

As for Wu Chengjun, the entire army set off immediately, with the cavalry, infantry and navy setting out together, first heading northeast along a tributary of the canal, then turning into the canal and heading north.

The Song army remained strangely silent. Not only did they not attack Wucheng's army, they did not even try to recapture Zhenzhou.

But for Wu Chengjun, none of this matters anymore. As long as he can return to his hometown, nothing else matters.

A few hours ago, when Lu You returned to Guazhou Ferry under the cover of night, the Dongping army had already crossed the river from Zhenjiang Prefecture and arrived at the Guazhou Ferry camp, where they were disembarking and forming a battle line.

In the night, Zhang Rong was wearing a black cloak, with a dark face, as if blending in with the night. He stood high on the dock like a black statue. Only when he saw Lu You arriving did he grin, revealing two rows of white teeth, and exchanged greetings with Lu You who came to greet him.

"Mr. Lu, you've been traveling so much. It's hard work."

Lu You waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. Wu Chengjun has already killed all the Jurchens in front of me. They will no longer be our enemies and may even become our supporters."

Zhang Rong smiled and shook his head: "This war is likely to be a lone battle for the Dongping Army. The Wucheng Army can only create some opportunities for our army. If we rely on them for a major victory, it would be a real joke."

Lu You was stunned and said, "Fighting alone? Didn't they say that Li Heng and Jia Hezhong's troops would join the Dongping army?"

Zhang Rong continued to shake his head. "The Song Dynasty's military tradition is here. Since I can't issue military orders to them, they will naturally procrastinate and procrastinate. But I will definitely not procrastinate, so the Dongping Army will inevitably fight alone."

At this point, Zhang Rong smiled and said, "The Song army has always been like this. When we were in Shandong, we worked together and fought bravely for the lead. That was the outlier among outliers."

Lu You looked at Zhang Rong, feeling extremely confused. "Then let General Liu give the order, a strict order..."

Zhang Rong waved his hand. "It's useless, useless, unless General Liu personally goes to the front to supervise the battle. If that doesn't work, he'll still have to lead his elite troops to attack Huaixi, which is a dead end. General Liu knows the outcome of Huaidong, and I know it too."

Hey, if Liu Qi hadn't promised to fight tooth and nail to kill Wan Yanliang, I would never have accepted such a mission. Do you really think I'm a pushover?

At the end of his speech, Zhang Rong suddenly remembered something, looked mischievous, and started laughing.

Lu You was flustered when he heard this. He was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Zhang Rong: "Today I am leaving behind a thousand soldiers, both to guard the ships and to keep them as seed. They are all strong men I recruited in Shandong. Many of them are still unmarried and cannot easily die in Lianghuai. If I cannot return one day, I hope Mr. Lu can take them back with him."

Lu You was speechless and had nothing to say.

From the perspectives of national strategy, personal beliefs, the general trend of the world, life and death, honor and disgrace, no matter which angle, Lu You had no way to persuade Zhang Rong.

When armies go to war, tactics like exchanging troops, luring the enemy, and feinting attacks are very common. You can't applaud others when they sacrifice themselves, but then make excuses when it's your turn to sacrifice, right?
However, Lu You still felt a sense of depression rising in his chest.

Why is it that every time the world is in chaos, it's clearly the most worthless and shameless people who are causing the disaster, yet the bravest and most loyal people have to sacrifice their lives to save the day? Is this world truly fair?

At this point, both of them had lost the desire to speak. They just watched as the 4,000 Dongping soldiers disembarked and lined up, and then received food and wine under the command of their respective commanders.

Because we are going on an expedition, the food is much better than usual.

Lu You opened his mouth to speak, but felt a slight chill on the tip of his nose. He stretched out his hand, but saw a few snowflakes like salt particles falling into his hand and quickly melting.

"Snowing."

Lu You was slightly taken aback. Snow was rare in the Yangtze River Basin. Then he blurted out a line of poetry: "A night of snow on a building boat at Guazhou Ferry."

Zhang Rong tilted his ear slightly: "What?"

Lu You shook his head: "Nothing, just a fragment I came across by chance."

Although Zhang Rong was not a man of great literary talent, he knew that except for some geniuses, scholars and poets did not all write poetry on the spur of the moment. Most of them were fragments that were occasionally found and then pieced together bit by bit. However, he still asked in a low voice, "Mr. Lu, do you have any poems to give to me at this time?"

Lu You was already in a state of confusion. He shook his head slowly amidst the falling snow: "Today's matter is urgent, and I haven't prepared anything in advance."

Zhang Rong was somewhat disappointed. "It would be much better if Liu Dalang were still here. Although his poems don't follow strict rules of rhythm, they are still majestic and powerful. Whether in prose or in vernacular, they are all catchy and unforgettable."

As he spoke, Zhang Rong bowed to Lu You, tightened his cloak, and was about to say goodbye and leave.

At this moment, Lu You looked at the snowflakes and said, "Actually, I have prepared a farewell poem, but seeing the current situation, it is Zhang Zongguan who needs it first, so I will give it to you first."

Zhang Rong laughed heartily. "Come to think of it, now that things have come to this, is there anything I should be afraid of?"

Lu You cleared his throat and slowly recited this farewell poem, which is very famous even in later generations.

It is:

I know everything is empty when I die,
But the sadness does not see the same in Kyushu.

Wang Shibei set the Central Plains Day,
The family sacrifice never forgets to tell Nai Weng.

Zhang Rong listened quietly, then smiled, his hands on his hips, and said, "Mr. Lu's poem is indeed a bit too sad, and lacks any heroic spirit. It's still a bit worse than the poem 'I will go to Quantai to recruit old subordinates, and with a hundred thousand banners, I will slay Yama Luo.'"

Lu You nodded in agreement: "I am just a scholar, so naturally I cannot compare with Liu Dalang's heroic spirit."

Zhang Rong continued to smile, "It's just that Mr. Lu has a point. If this trip is successful, Mr. Lu will be able to see the unification of the world, but it's unlikely that I will ever see that happen. If I can't return, Mr. Lu, tell my son Bai Yu'er to come to Liangshan Lake in Dongping Prefecture to pay tribute to me when the nine provinces are united. Only then will I be able to rest in peace."

After saying that, Zhang Rong turned and left, never looking back.

(End of this chapter)