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

Chapter 497: The Struggle Between the Pro-war Factions

Li Tong was worthy of being the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty, and also the prime minister of Wanyan Liang. He spent half his life studying how to deal with the Song Dynasty, and his political insights into the Song Dynasty were profound.

Things turned out just as Li Tong had expected, and the show of force soon came.

After Ye Yiwen and Yu Yunwen led Wanyan Liang into the city, all the generals including Liu Qi, Cheng Min, and Li Xianzhong were stopped outside the city, asked to take off their armor, and their luggage was inspected to search for prohibited weapons such as crossbows.

Liu Qi, who was still sick and lying in the carriage unable to move, did not react at all.

However, the two generals, Cheng Min and Li Xianzhong, became furious and yelled at the officials on duty at the city gate.

This is already a naked humiliation.

If the normal process is followed, there should be an official at the level of Shangshu waiting at the door, issuing an imperial edict of exhortation, encouragement and even reward, and then using drums to welcome the victorious general into the city.

Now there is only a small official blocking the gate, and he wants to confiscate the armor and weapons first. What does that mean?
"Grand Marshals, please don't embarrass me." The official guarding the city gate gave a wry smile as he faced the two furious generals. "Grand Marshals, you're well aware of the situation in Jiankang. We've just experienced a major battle, and the situation is extremely tense. With the Emperor and the other ministers also in the city, we must be absolutely vigilant."

"Bullshit! Do you think your grandfather has never been to Lin'an?" Cheng Min pointed at the minor official and cursed angrily, "Lin'an doesn't even have so many rules. Are you crazy? You're using chicken feathers as a token of authority! Where are the welcoming fans? Did you eat them?"

Li Xianzhong's hands were shaking and he was also extremely angry.

The two generals were so furious that their subordinates started to make a commotion, and the situation quickly escalated.

This is too much of a disrespect for the heroes!

But neither Cheng Min nor Li Xianzhong used force.

The reason is simple. No matter how outrageous the words of this petty official are, there is still one thing he says that makes sense.

Now the government and the ministers are all in the city. What is the difference between using force here and rebellion?
But if we don't resort to force, there are nearly a hundred soldiers from the Palace Front Division guarding the city gate behind me, so we won't be able to break in.

They also noticed the situation here. After an officer stepped forward with a sword to investigate the situation, he realized that it was not something he could get involved in, so he quickly ran back to the team. Although he did not order his men to put on armor, he was still on guard.

The Jingnan Army did not move forward, but stayed at the back, looking at the scene at the city gate, each of them was shocked.

"This... Even if it is to suppress the warriors, it shouldn't start now." Zhang Baiyu muttered to himself with an incredible look on his face.

Lu You was also shocked, but he still tried to explain the situation: "This must be the trick used by some low-ranking officials."

Liu Huai shook his head: "Mr. Lu, don't try to fool us at this time. Isn't this a move by the pro-peace faction in the court?"

Lu You's face turned ashen, then pale, and he just stared at Liu Huai, pursed his lips and said nothing.

Zhang Baiyu looked at Lu You, then bowed to Liu Huai and said, "Please help me, my dear Sir, to clear up my confusion."

Not only several major generals of the Jingnan Army looked over at the same time, but even guards like Yao Buping and Bi Zaiyou came forward, wanting to hear what Liu Dalang had to say.

Liu Huai made no move to lower his voice. He gestured towards the towering Jiankang City before him and said, "You must understand that the pro-war and pro-peace factions represent more than just two schools of thought; they are the nation's grand policies. And the only ones who can implement these policies are officials."

"For someone with lofty ambitions like Prime Minister Yu, official position is merely a means to an end; facilitating the Northern Expedition is the ultimate goal."

"For most officials in the Song Dynasty, advocating war or peace was just a means to an end. Their goal was high official positions, generous salaries, and powerful positions."

"Before the peace agreement between Song and Jin, the government was controlled by the peace faction, who held positions such as prime minister, chancellor, transport envoy, and pacification envoy.

Now, the world has changed, the Jin people are invading the south, and they have no choice but to fight. However, their status is based on their advocacy of peace, and they can only be deposed in the event of war. How can they swallow this?"

"Now that our army has triumphed and the Jin army has retreated, the Song and Jin sides naturally have the basis for another round of peace talks." Liu Huai said with a half-smile, "Even a centipede is still alive. Since they want to advocate peace, they will naturally first find a way to suppress those of us who are capable of fighting."

"If my guess is correct, there's a chancellor or vice minister hiding behind the city gate, waiting for us to lose all our fighting spirit before bringing out the drums and trumpets."

Shi Qilang had polished his armor to a shine and had specially selected an extremely gorgeous robe. After hearing Liu Huai's words, he said with some anger and helplessness: "Are we just going to wait here?"

Liu Huai shook his head: "Now is the time to show our resolve. How can we back down? We've been held back for over two quarters of an hour. I've already given them enough face!"

As he said this, he winked at Shen Longzi beside him.

Shen Longzi turned his horse's head and slowly retreated. When he reached the end of the team, he waved his whip at a group of merchants thirty steps away.

With so many soldiers gathered here, any ordinary citizen who was not very brave would stay away and watch.

However, this was the entrance to Jiankang City, and traffic was so heavy that it was blocked. Even though the common people didn't dare approach, they gradually pushed and shoved their way closer. When Shen Longzi raised his whip, many merchants, believing the general disapproved of their proximity, retreated. Only a group of about thirty sturdy men with foreign accents seemed oblivious to the situation and instead pulled their carriages forward, cursing.

Liu Huai's personal armored cavalry wanted to move but were stopped by Shen Longzi, and they watched helplessly as the group of people came to the front of the queue.

"Who are you?" The green-robed official, who was being scolded by the two generals, saw the group of commoners approaching, and as if they had found their saviors, he shouted loudly, "Can't you see that I am discussing important matters with the two generals? Men and women, arrest this man!"

Some of the soldiers guarding the city gate were originally from Jiankang, and some were from the Palace Guards brought by Emperor Zhao. Although there were only a hundred of them, it was enough.

Cheng Min also turned around and was about to scold, but he found that the leader of the group of merchants looked familiar. He immediately took a step back and grabbed Li Xianzhong who wanted to step forward.

"It's freezing cold, yet you're not allowed into the city. It turns out you villains are causing trouble! Brothers, beat them up!"

After saying that, the dozen or so young men in the lead pulled out whistle sticks from the cart and hit the green-robed official and the soldiers behind him on the heads and faces.

The green-robed official and the general behind him were caught off guard and were knocked to the ground in an instant. The Song army that followed was even more caught off guard. They were beaten so hard that they couldn't even draw their swords.

The gap in combat effectiveness between the border troops and the imperial troops was fully revealed at this moment.

Although the young and strong men who shouted "kill" in Shandong dialect were all holding wooden sticks, they were wearing chain mail under their thick clothes. The defenders at the city gate were not wearing armor. Even though their number was twice as many, they were unable to resist at all.

After the remaining dozen or so people unloaded the carriage, mounted their horses, waved their whistles and started charging, the few defenders who were still resisting stubbornly were instantly panicked and fled in all directions shouting.

The green-robed official was not seriously injured, but he was hit several times on the shoulders and forehead. He curled up on the ground and cried.

At this time, not to mention the Jingnan Army, even Cheng Min and Li Xianzhong were watching the fun.

After the failure of political speculation, getting a beating was the least he could do.

Li Heng, who had been guarding Yangzhou among the Huaidong army, frowned and stepped forward, wanting to lead his troops to quell the rebellion. However, Liu Si, who was holding his arm and watching the excitement, directly grabbed Li Heng.

"The General Manager and the Commander-in-Chief haven't stepped forward yet, so how can you pretend to be a hero?" Liu Si frowned. He had experienced the Battle of Chao County and knew how extraordinary the generals before him were. "Besides, we can wait, but how can my uncle wait? What they are doing is no different from forcing my uncle to be killed?"

When Li Heng heard the first sentence, he felt a little angry, but when he heard the second sentence, he suddenly came to his senses.

Seeing how seriously ill Liu Qi was at this moment, he really couldn't stay in the wilderness any longer.

"You Song cowards, you didn't fight the Jin invaders, but you're so good at causing chaos and committing evil!" After driving away the city gate defenders, the Shandong man in the lead pulled the reins of his horse and shouted, "If you don't want our goods, we're going back to the north now!"

As they spoke, more than thirty people galloped their horses and turned to rush towards the port of Jiankang City, where a ship was setting sail.

Inside the city gate, Zhu Xiaqing, Junior Minister of Agriculture, looked at the man beside him with a sullen expression: "Mr. Zhang, is this the result you wanted?"

The old man called Zhang Gong shook his head and laughed, but did not give a direct answer: "They learned the civil and martial arts and sold them to the emperor. If the emperor doesn't want them, they don't care. At most, they will part ways and return to the north. Before leaving, they even beat up the emperor's servants. This is a threat to the court."

Zhu Xiaqing looked at the bewildered officials behind him, growing even more furious. "Mr. Zhang, why are you blaming these Shandong rebels? Don't you also know that the bond between ruler and subject is still unsettled? If Mr. Zhang truly disliked the Shandong rebels, he should have written a letter of impeachment, stating the pros and cons directly. Why humiliate them in person like this? What if the Shandong rebels actually rebelled?"

Faced with a barrage of questions, Zhang Gong simply smiled and said, "How could I possibly dislike the Shandong rebels? I'm more than happy to welcome them. Only such bold and untamed individuals could possibly reclaim our homeland and wipe out the barbarians from the Central Plains."

As he spoke, Zhang Gong straightened his clothes and said to Zhu Xiaqing, "Let's beat the drums and unfurl my royal banners and go greet these meritorious officials!"

After saying this, the old man took a square step and walked ahead, while the guards beside him quickly stepped forward, pushed the fleeing Song soldiers aside, and cleared the way for him.

When the old man surnamed Zhang walked out of the doorway and came in front of the generals who were watching the fun, no matter how gloating they had been, they all dismounted and looked awe-struck.

Cheng Min and Li Xianzhong took a step back without showing any anger. They bowed and called him "Mr. Zhang".

Liu Huai frowned, and a name flashed through his mind.

Sure enough, the next moment, the old man said to the Jingnan army: "I am Zhang Jun, the governor of Jiankang Prefecture. I have come here to greet you, the heroes, by the order of the emperor."

Liu Huai sighed and turned to several trusted generals and said, "I was wrong just now. Now it's not just the peace faction that has lost power that is fighting for power and profit. The war faction that has gained power is also trying to determine who is superior."

Li Tong, who was hiding behind the generals, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

However, Zhang Baiyu and others all looked at Lu You, whose face looked extremely ugly, and were all speechless.

(End of this chapter)