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

Chapter 500: The Shangshu is not an ordinary guest

Liang Qiu, the Minister of Revenue of the Jin Dynasty, was drinking alone in Duting Inn, while beside him, Cheng Zhonglang Zhang Zhen was fidgeting like a monkey, unable to sit still.

In fact, Zhang Zhen was not an official of the Jin Dynasty, but the Tongpan of Chuzhou in the Song Dynasty. He was unfortunately captured during his escape. After the defeat in Chao County, he came to Cai Shi with a letter of peace agreement as a test stone, and reported it to the higher authorities, and finally contacted Ye Yiwen.

Ye Yiwen could not take charge of such matters. After reporting to the central government, he received Liang Qiu, the envoy of the Jin Kingdom, and welcomed these envoys to Jiankang, waiting for the grand court meeting tomorrow to formally meet the emperor.

In this situation, Zhang Zhen's identity is a bit too embarrassing.

Although he was a minister of the Song Dynasty, he was disloyal after all, and he brought back the peace documents from the Jin Dynasty. No matter how you look at it, he doesn't seem like a loyal and unyielding person.

Although he was a minister of the Jin Dynasty, he did not formally surrender to the Jin Dynasty and could only be regarded as a prisoner.

In addition, the Song State was also in a mess, and in the end no one paid any attention to Zhang Zhen, so he ended up living with Liang Qiu in such an awkward manner.

Seeing Zhang Zhen looking uneasy, Liang Qiu patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Zhang Dapan, why are you so reserved? Just treat yourself as if you're at home. Come and have a drink."

Zhang Zhen smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Minister Liang, you and I are different. Even though the Jin Kingdom has suffered such a defeat, it is still a great country with a vast territory. You are the Minister of a great country with a vast territory and an envoy. You will have a future no matter what.

But I am different. As a father and mother, I abandoned my land and fled, losing my army and bringing disgrace to my country. Even if the imperial court treats scholars and officials with favor, my future is hopeless."

Liang Qiu laughed heartily and patted Zhang Zhen's shoulder again, "What do you think it is? When the time comes, I'll praise you a little, saying that you faced all the generals without a word under the Great Jin tent. I'll also recite a couple of farewell poems to show that you are ready to die, and help you become famous among the scholars.

Even if it doesn't work out, you can still come back to Dajin with me and have a bright future ahead of you."

When Zhang Zhen heard the first few sentences, he was already smiling and nodding repeatedly. After automatically ignoring the nonsense about following Liang Qiu back to the Kingdom of Jin, he really began to lower his head and think about his farewell poem.

Liang Qiu didn't force him. He just let out a sigh and continued to drink by himself.

After drinking three more cups, he suddenly heard a commotion outside Duting Posthouse, accompanied by shouting, cursing, and screaming.

Zhang Zhen jumped up from his chair, his legs trembling as he said, "What...what does this mean?"

Liang Qiu raised his wine glass and said with a smile, "Zhang Dapan, why are you asking me this? Isn't this the place where the Song State welcomes and sends off foreign envoys? And before, you swore that there were soldiers guarding the area and that no one would disturb us?"

Zhang Zhen swallowed, feeling a bitter taste in his mouth. "I heard a large army is returning victoriously today, so perhaps some ruffians are causing trouble."

As they were talking, the sounds of fighting and scolding became louder and louder, and the distance between them was getting closer and closer. Now even Liang Qiu put down his wine glass and looked solemn.

However, Liang Qiu must have been quite courageous to come to the State of Song as an envoy at this time. He walked straight forward and pushed open the door. Looking at the group of soldiers who were pushing the gatekeepers into the courtyard, he couldn't help but frowned.

"I am Liang Qiu, the Minister of Revenue of the Great Jin Dynasty. Who are you? Why have you disturbed us? Is this how the Song Dynasty treats its guests?"

The soldiers split up, and a sturdy soldier slowly stepped out from among them. He came to Liang Qiu, looked him up and down, then turned and said, "That Wanyan Yuanyi guy is the Minister of War, right? Did Wanyan Liang bring all six ministers of the Jin Dynasty to Chao County? How did we only capture one?"

"Big Brother, don't we only have one now?" someone shouted, "If we kill him now, our Jingnan Army will have two Shangshu lives in its hands!"

Liu Huai waved his hand to interrupt his subordinates' nonsense, reached out and pulled a chair from the courtyard, sat down on it leisurely, and raised his chin: "Tell me about your origins. Who sent you here? It can't be that Wanyan Yong."

At this time, more than ten Jin army guards brought by Liang Qiu also rushed out from the side room, but they did not dare to rush directly towards these murderous soldiers. Instead, they stood under the steps and protected Liang Qiu behind them.

Liang Qiu stood on the steps, looking down at Liu Huai. He looked him over several times before saying, "Are you the Flying Tiger Young Master?"

Liu Huai touched his chin and said, "You've heard of my name too?"

Liang Qiu's cheek twitched, and he took a deep breath and said, "Before the Chao County battle, I was the one who compiled all the documents related to Shandong Flying Tiger Langjun and submitted them to Your Majesty. How could I not know?

Moreover, even if they didn't know before, after the Chao County War, the names of Liu Feihu, Xin Qingsi and others were known all over the world, so how could they not know? "

"Wu Lang, I'm praising you!" Liu Huai turned around and called out to Xin Qiji with a smile. When he turned back, his face was already filled with sneer: "Minister Liang, you haven't answered my question yet. Who sent you here? Are you trying to fool me with Tu Shanzhen?"

Seeing Liang Qiu remained silent, Liu Huai said, "Silang."

Zhang Baiyu quickly drew his bow and pointed the arrow at Liang Qiu's head, a cruel smile on his face: "I'm still a little angry that you didn't say my name just now."

"I'll give you three numbers." Liu Huai held up three fingers: "Three..."

"Liu Dalang! Stop!"

"Don't be so presumptuous!"

Suddenly, there were several shouts outside the door. Liu Huai turned around and saw that Yu Yunwen, Cheng Min and Li Xianzhong had finally arrived, and they all looked furious.

Liu Huai retracted his three fingers. Seeing this, Zhang Baiyu released the bowstring. The arrow grazed Liang Qiu's scalp, pierced through his hat, and got nailed to the door with a beep.

Liang Qiu, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, turned pale and almost fell to the ground.

"Big Brother, I thought you had finished bending your fingers."

Faced with Zhang Baiyu's pale explanation, Liu Huai just smiled and said, "You are so impatient. How are you going to be a governor in the future?" "I think you are the impatient one! Not to mention being the governor-general, you can't even be the commander-in-chief!" Yu Yunwen's round face was full of anxiety and anger, and even more mixed with some exhaustion.

Liu Huai's strategic vision is rare in the world, and his tactical ability is unrivaled in the Song and Jin dynasties. Whether in personal bravery or political acumen, he is not only the leader of the younger generation, but even the older generation is difficult to match.

But since he has so many characteristics, Liu Huai cannot be just a sharp knife.

How can such a person live peacefully as a chess piece?

"Do you know that when I first entered the palace to see the emperor, the emperor praised you highly and allowed you to wear armor and enter the palace tomorrow?" Yu Yunwen panted and said, "How dare you come and force the Jin envoy?"

Cheng Min was also furious at this time: "Liu Dalang, didn't we already agree to stay at the other examination center for the time being? Why are you coming to Duting Inn to cause trouble?"

Li Xianzhong said nothing, but his hand was already holding the hilt of the knife.

Liu Huai shook his head and laughed: "Uncle Cheng, it's not that I don't want to go, but the other test site is full of excrement and stinks to high heaven, just like a toilet, it's really uninhabitable.

I am a Shandong native, unfamiliar with the Jiangnan region. I don't even know where the doors of taverns and teahouses open, so I can only stay at the Duting Inn."

When they heard this, they were all stunned. After they realized it, they were immediately horrified.

Cheng Min quickly figured out the key point and stepped forward anxiously, "Where's Uncle Liu Xin? Didn't he come back with you?!"

As the sky began to darken, Liu Huai shook his head and sighed softly, "General Liu obeyed the king's order and wanted to go and see it with his own eyes. Haha... What's so good about manure?"

How can you say you want to see shit?

Clearly, he wanted to see his final outcome! Clearly, he wanted to die knowing his fate!
Liu Huai ignored the three old Song officials' disgrace and turned to Liang Qiu, saying, "You have to give up this room today, whether you want to or not. Let's be respectful to each other. Don't make me personally take you to another examination center and stuff your mouth with a garden full of manure!"

Cheng Min raised his head and sighed, then turned and left.

Li Xianzhong bowed to Yu Yunwen and said, "I am deeply troubled and will take my leave."

After saying this, Li Xianzhong staggered away as if he had aged ten years.

To put it bluntly, if Cheng Min, Wu Lin, Wu Gong, Li Xianzhong, Li Bao, or even Liu Huai who was making a scene here, had suffered such humiliation, the others would not have reacted so strongly.

Because they are indeed outrageous, indeed overstepping their bounds, and indeed domineering.

But Liu Qi was not.

Although Liu Qi was a general who had established his military authority early on, he was always respectful to the court and allowed the court to control the military power without any attachment to it. He would stay at home obediently when he was unemployed and fight hard when he went into battle.

He was so well-behaved that even a mean-spirited bastard like Zhao Gou got angry when someone tried to kill Liu Qi.

Such a veteran general was humiliated like this when he had made great contributions and was seriously ill.

This is clearly aimed at forcing people to death. How can it not make people feel chilling?

What's more, the object of humiliation was also theoretically external: the Jingnan Army.

Let’s put it this way, for this reason, Liu Huai did not directly cause trouble for Zhang Jun and Tang Situi, but instead came to Duting Posthouse to bully the envoys of the Jin Kingdom. This was considered to be tolerance for the sake of the country!
Yu Yunwen stood still, looking up slightly at the rising moon. After a long pause, he finally said in the light of the torch, "Liu Dalang, this matter still needs to be carefully considered, but today I will definitely not let you harm Minister Liang."

After saying this, Yu Yunwen looked at Liang Qiu again and said with a bow, "Minister Liang, Your Majesty has moved to Jiankang, and all the central government officials are here. It is difficult to find housing to accommodate so many elite soldiers at once. I hope Minister Liang can be tolerant and allow Commander Liu to lead the army to live here."

Seeing Liang Qiu about to object, Yu Yunwen spoke again, "Minister Liang, I will also rest here tonight. Don't worry about your safety. However, your soldiers will need to squeeze in and free up a few more rooms."

Liang Qiu thought about it and nodded helplessly. He felt that he was in the hands of the enemy and had no control over anything.

Yu Yunwen said to Liu Huai, "Liu Dalang, I do not want to say any more. I hope that Dalang will bear with me for the sake of our country, considering that we have been together for a long time and have similar aspirations."

As he spoke, Yu Yunwen actually bowed deeply and saluted.

Liu Huai was bullied twice today and was a little annoyed. He was about to continue to throw a tantrum, but when he saw someone in the crowd nodding, he suppressed his anger.

"Prime Minister Yu." Liu Huai stepped forward, holding Yu Yunwen's arm. He sighed repeatedly and could only shake his head and said, "As the saying goes, a gentleman can be deceived. Although I am not a gentleman, I am also a person of integrity. Prime Minister Yu and General Liu can manipulate me.

But is it true that when Yu Xianggong deals with the villains in the court, the only trick he has is to splatter their blood?"

Yu Yunwen shook his head, held Liu Huai's hands, and said sincerely: "Of course, this old man is not without means, but facing a pure man like Liu Dalang, all means are useless. I can only pour out my heart and soul and shine my heart and soul."

After saying that, Yu Yunwen saw the Jin soldiers and frowned, saying, "Why don't you go and vacate the house?!"

It was not until this moment that he showed a hint of his husband's ruthlessness.

(End of this chapter)