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

Chapter 490: The Enemy and Us Are Confused and the Roots of Disaster Are Deep (Additional chapters for the reward from Master Huogong)

Everything that happened in Caojia Village, including the origins of the rebel soldiers and the subsequent desire of the villagers to take their families and flee with the Jingnan Army, was recorded in detail in a document by Ding Daxing. He then sent a military envoy with the document and rode back to the Jingnan Army headquarters at full speed.

Commander Luo Shenyan checked the documents as usual. After seeing the document from the commander, he wrote down his own instructions in accordance with military practice and then passed it to higher-ups.

In less than a day, the document reached Lu You, who was in charge of all miscellaneous affairs.

After reading it, Lu You sighed deeply and handed the document to Xin Qiji: "It has already begun."

Xin Qiji stroked his forehead, looking like he hadn't rested well. He forced himself to stay awake and read the documents. Then he put them on the pile on his right: "These are the situations in various places. The general meaning is similar. One is civilians or rebel soldiers, it doesn't matter who they are. After a heavy snowfall, no one can survive. In some places, cannibalism has already begun.

Secondly, many people have come to seek refuge, having become de facto refugees and in need of relief. To put it bluntly, they need food.”

As he spoke, Xin Qiji sighed, "But we don't have that much food. Even if we seize it and include the baggage the Jin bandits left in Chao County, we still can't save the entire Huaixi area."

As he spoke, Xin Qiji looked at Lu You and asked, "Has the Song State started sending in grain and fodder?"

Lu You seemed a little embarrassed when he heard this. "They're already urging us. Both Yu Xianggong and Ye Xianggong have promised that food will arrive, but it will take time. Let's find a way to survive for a month."

Xin Qiji sighed again: "Five or six days ago, they said it would take a month, why do we have to wait another month now? If the people go without food for half a month, they will all become bandits!"

Hearing this, Lu You finally lost his composure: "Then what can I do? What should I do? Can I conjure up food?"

Upon hearing this, Xin Qiji responded coldly, "Hasn't Mr. Lu always spoken for the State of Song? Now that we're in trouble, who else can we ask if not Mr. Lu?"

Seeing that the two chief officers of the Jingnan Army, one civil and one military, seemed to want to fight, the other two people in the tent finally couldn't sit still and stood up to persuade them.

One of them was Xu Zongyan, and the other was Yang Kang, the deputy transport envoy of Huainan.

It has to be said that Yang Kang is indeed a talented guy, with a good reputation, backbone and ability.

Under normal circumstances, these qualities might have brought him a good reputation and great rewards.

However, in times of bloodshed and fierce fighting, what is needed is perseverance to the end regardless of life or death. Just "some" is not enough.

Yang Kang was like this. Although he wanted to sacrifice his life for the country at the beginning, he also did some serious things such as recruiting militia and gathering food and supplies.

However, at the critical moment, this guy was still afraid, gave up everything and ran away.

After Yang Kang escaped, the militia he gathered also fled in all directions, and the food and grass he collected were seized by the Jin army, making an outstanding contribution to the Jin army general Xiao Qi's ability to continue fighting.

It would be better to just run away from the beginning!
Yang Kang also knew shame and how big a mess he had made. Therefore, after the battle of Chao County, he immediately rushed to the army and begged Yu Yunwen to give him a chance.

To be honest, Yu Yunwen really wanted to chop this guy to death, but not ordering the killing of a deputy envoy of transportation was too presumptuous, and the former deputy envoy of transportation was not allowed either!

Therefore, Yu Yunwen threw this guy into the Jingnan Army to make use of him.

In any case, Yang Kang is a long-time bureaucrat. No matter how useless he is, he is familiar to everyone in Huainan and can always play a role in coordinating the upper and lower levels.

Of course, neither Xin Qiji nor Lu You would give face to the persuasion of someone like Yang Kang.

Xin Qiji sneered, "Mr. Lu, if you ask me, we should stick with the old Shandong method. We should attack all those mountain strongholds and manors one by one. I don't believe there's no food. And those kind-hearted people out there? Pah! Those who don't obey military orders to provide food are all traitors who are colluding with the government. Kill them all!"

Lu You suddenly stood up and pointed at Xin Qiji, his fingers trembling. "You...you barbarian, this is the Song Dynasty! This is the Lianghuai region of the Song Dynasty! Not your Shandong! Don't you even know where you are when you act so wild?!"

Xin Qiji also stood up, holding his heavy sword with his eyebrows raised. "What the hell? Where did the county's grain go? Did it all disappear? If the Jin bandits took it, they must have gone somewhere, and there must be traces left, right? Could it be that the Jin bandits knew how to move grain with just three or four people, using the Five Ghosts Moving Technique? Could it be that they could move a thousand shi of grain to the front lines with just three or four people?"

Yang Kang was startled.

This is also the reason why Lu You and Xin Qiji quarreled.

To support the southern expedition, the Jin Empire continuously transported grain and fodder into the Song territory. Meanwhile, the Song's grain reserves in Lianghuai were also seized by the Jin Empire. Now that Wanyan Liang's army was cut off and killed, this grain should have been piled up at various points along this supply route.

The time was so short that the Jin Kingdom could not transport all the goods even if it wanted to.

But now the Jingnan Army has nothing in its hands and has gained very little, which is far from what was expected.

Where the hell did all this food go?!

To put it bluntly, even if it is burned and destroyed, there must be ashes.

Xin Qiji was no fool. He dispatched his soldiers to investigate and came to an incredible conclusion. A large amount of food, whether originally from the Song Dynasty or from the Jin army, had been taken away by local wealthy families within days of the news of the victory in Chao County spreading.

As for where it was shipped to.

do not know.

Whoever asks about this will die.

The water network in Lianghuai is extensive. Who could find a few large ships full of grain hidden in an inconspicuous wild ferry?

That is why Xin Qiji, a theoretical outsider, was so angry.

But there is no evidence for this kind of thing. How can you start torturing someone based on just rumors?

Yang Kang, with her large belly bulging, stepped forward and pulled Lu You and Xin Qiji aside, admonishing them: "You two are both loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty. Please don't cause trouble just for a bunch of common people."

"Qian people?" Xin Qiji was furious. "What do the lives of those people have to do with me? What do you think I'm talking about?"

Yang Kang immediately became even more panicked.

"Do you know how many of my soldiers came from Lianghuai? Huaixi is in chaos, do you think they won't be in chaos? Do you think we'll have to rely on you to recapture Haozhou and fight the Jin bandits in Zhongli?" Xin Qiji tapped Yang Kang's big belly. "Don't you think you're going to cause chaos in the Jingnan army?"

Lu You scolded him again: "How can you speak to Ambassador Yang like this?"

Xin Qiji pointed at Yang Kang's belly and said, "If the army breaks out into chaos, will Mr. Lu still be able to sit here peacefully? And you, when the time comes, I'll peel off your skin and boil it into a soup!"

After saying this, Xin Qiji walked away with a look of arrogance on his face, holding his sword and his head held high.

"Ambassador Yang, this man is a rough and rude warrior, don't pay any attention to him." After Lu You sat back at the desk, he waved his hand tiredly to comfort Yang Kang in front of him.

Yang Kang was still worried: "Has it come to this?"

Xu Zongyan said, "Xin Wulang is not from Lianghuai, but from Shandong. This move... may not be without the grief of the rabbit."

Yang Kang suddenly understood.

If the State of Song did not even provide relief to its own people in Lianghuai, how could the people of Shandong believe that the State of Song would make sacrifices for Shandong?

The Shandong volunteers fought the entire battle, moving from north to south and fighting non-stop. They did it in all honesty!
If the Song State did not take some action, it would most likely immediately lose the support of the senior officers of the Jingnan Army.

Thinking of this, Yang Kang also became anxious: "I will talk to these people immediately! I must make them give up food for disaster relief!"

With that, Yang Kang held his big belly and left quickly.

Xu Zongyan also bowed and followed him away.

A moment later, Xin Qiji circled around and returned to the tent. There was no trace of anger on his face. "This is too much trouble. It would be better to kill them one by one."

Lu You was equally calm, shaking his head and saying, "No, they are also citizens of the Song Dynasty, not enemies."

Xin Qiji sat back in his seat, sighed, and said, "That's why I said that this time, recovering the lost territory with my hands and feet tied up, is not as exciting as the previous battles. I really want to cut the Gordian knot!"

Lu You also sighed and shook his head: "The Song Dynasty is in a situation where we are among the enemy and the enemy is among us. How can we cut it off quickly?"

Xin Qiji picked up the teacup and said, "You are in me, and I am in you. This is where all the bad things in the world come from."

Lu You suddenly said seriously, "It's very likely that the General has some ideas about the overall situation. Wulang, you must control your temper, manage the troops well, and do not cause trouble for the General."

Xin Qiji nodded, then said in the same serious tone, "Let's jointly send a letter to Dalang, informing him of the whole matter. For the sake of my country and the world, I, Xin Wu, will not hesitate to sacrifice my life, but he must provide a set of rules so that we know how to cooperate."

Lu You nodded, then hesitated: "I am just worried that the eldest son has a strong character..."

Xin Qiji was speechless for a moment: "Mr. Lu, our country and the world have reached this point, do we still have to engage in petty and despicable activities? If you can't even take care of this matter, I think we should just go back to Shandong."

Lu You thought about it, and finally nodded with difficulty: "Well, well. After all, we have won a great victory. It is not possible that the situation will become more difficult after the victory."

(End of this chapter)