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

Chapter 514: Frequent Internal Fights and Chaos in Huai River and Yangtze River

While the brothers Liang Qiu and Liang Su were plotting and scheming, a new round of internal strife began in the Song court.

After Zhang Jun was sent to govern the Huai River and Huai River regions, the old pro-war faction stopped making much trouble and the court became a little quieter.

Newly-promoted pro-war factions such as Yu Yunwen were also busy with the land allocation issue in Lianghuai, so they temporarily stopped their activities.

But the infighting among the pro-war faction has stopped, and the counterattack of the pro-peace faction is about to begin.

The theme follows the Jin'an Festival of the grand court meeting that day.

The two Huai regions were destroyed, and Ye Yiwen and Liu Qi were to blame. If Ye Yiwen were still alive, he should be dismissed from his post as Privy Councilor and sent to the local area to serve as a magistrate.

Liu Qi is already dead, but his crimes cannot be erased even after death. He should be stripped of his posthumous honors and reprimanded by imperial decree.

Liu Si, the nephew of Liu Qi, was the number one general of the Huaidong army. He lost his troops and humiliated the country, and was defeated and lost the battle line. He should be beheaded to apologize to the world.

All we can say is that the peace-loving officials were kind-hearted by not opening Liu Qi's coffin and mutilating his body.

Even Liu Huai didn't expect that this could be a fucking TV series.

The new pro-war forces led by Yu Yunwen naturally refused to be outdone and immediately launched a counterattack.

Of course, we can’t just attack and kill Tang Shitui now, so we still have to use the same old tricks.

Please kill Wang Quan.

Of course, the situation was exaggerated this time, and Liu Bao was also charged because he hesitated in Zhenjiang Prefecture and did not dare to cross the river to join the battle.

This really stirred up a hornet's nest, because Liu Bao's general at this time was actually Zhang Zigai!
At that time, Zhang Zigai was the Huaidong Recruiting Envoy, and joined forces with Zhang Jun who was recruiting new troops in Lianghuai.

If we include Yang Yizhong, who seems to want to seek the post of envoy to Jingxiang and Jianghuai, the power of this old-fashioned pro-war faction is already a little too large.

The three families officially went to war. For a time, one said that the other was corrupt and power-hungry, while another said that the other was trying to seize military power and was plotting a rebellion.

The mutual attacks continued until the second day of February, and ended with the imprisonment of Jin Anjie, the Imperial Censor.

In fact, Zhao Gou had long wanted to deal with Jin Anjie. The Jin Kingdom could scold Jin Anjie, a man who was cruel inside and tolerant outside, but if anyone inside made him unhappy for a while, he would make that person unhappy for the rest of their lives.

However, since it was a rumor-mongering meeting, although Jin Anjie chose a rather inconsiderate time, he was discussing serious matters and was not talking nonsense. How could he just deal with it at will?

After the storm had passed, Zhao Gou quickly ordered Lieutenant General Yang Yi to put Jin Anjie in prison. At the very least, he had to find out who had instructed him at that time!

It was normal for scholars and officials to be dismissed from office or even imprisoned. They could hold on for a few days, clear their reputation, and then be exiled to a local area.

I don’t know if Jin Anjie had any health problems or was just scared, but he died cleanly the next day in prison.

I don't know if it was done by someone behind the scenes.

Of course, the literati and officials in the Song Dynasty court would not be scared by such things. Soon, memorials requesting the execution of Yang Yizhong piled up on Zhao Gou's desk.

Zhao Gou’s response was also very resourceful.

This guy has always been a very smart person. He knows very well that if he wants to make people not notice the fire, he should set a bigger fire next to it. Therefore, Zhao Gou directly issued an edict, pointing out that something big should be done now.

Although Liang Qiu was a fake envoy, his nonsense still made the king and his ministers of Song State believe 80% of it. The most important thing was to return the coffins of Zhao Gou's father Zhao Ji and brother Zhao Huan.

That is, Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, two incompetent guys.

But now there is a major problem.

The Zhao family's ancestral temple is near Heluo. Zhao Kuangyin, the founding emperor of the Song Dynasty, is buried there. It is still the territory of the Jin Dynasty.

What etiquette should be followed to welcome the two emperors back? What ceremony should be held? Where should the imperial tombs be placed?
You must never tell Zhao Gou to promote filial piety and give his own mausoleum to his father and brother. Emperor Zhao will be very angry if he does!
This is a matter of filial piety and is a huge matter.

The battles in Xichuan and Xiangfan; the debate between those who advocated war and those who advocated peace; the livelihood of the people in Huaibei and Huaibei regions. None of these matters were as important as this one. The entire court must begin discussing this matter! Someone must be chosen to take over!

Foreign generals such as Liu Huai are no exception!
Not to mention Liu Huai's expression as if he was talking on his cell phone on the subway, Zhao Gou's wishful thinking did not last long. Only half a month later, on February 20th, a big commotion broke out in Lianghuai again.

"Stop farming! Just move out!" A few tall and strong men carrying broadswords, led by several officials, rode on horses in the fields where millet had just been planted. When they saw farmers, they whipped them and drove them away.

Seeing this, the farmers who had been working hard with their plows scattered and fled. Only seven or eight stronger farmers gathered around their oxen and shouted at the petty officials, "Why won't you let us plow the land?"

"Is it your land? Then go and cultivate it!" The clerk became furious upon seeing this. He was about to whip the farmers, but he saw that the farmers were not afraid at all. Instead, they all picked up their farm tools and wanted to fight.

Seeing this, the clerk immediately calmed down.

He suddenly realized that these surrounding areas were theoretically military settlements. After the arrival of the official, not only refugees were settled in the military settlements, but also many soldiers who were withdrawn from the army.

A few petty officials and a few servants of wealthy families, even if they had broadswords, how could they be a match for regular soldiers?

"These fields belong to Master Ge. You were innocent before, but you shouldn't cultivate them anymore." The clerk slowed down his voice and said loudly, "If you really have nowhere else to go, you can become a tenant with Master Ge. He only charges 50% rent!"

"This is the land allocated to us by the government!" the leading farmer roared angrily, "The deeds are all here! How dare you steal it in broad daylight?!"

"The emperor?" the clerk sneered. "The emperor is in Jiangnan now. He won't hear you even if you shout at the top of your lungs! The county magistrate is better off being in charge now. Haven't you heard that?"

The farmer squeezed the farm tools in his hands until they creaked.

The clerk continued, "As for your land deeds, they're also with Master Ge. My lord, please be merciful. If you have any objections, please come to the county office tomorrow or the day after tomorrow to discuss them. I'll then give you the opportunity to confront Master Ge face to face and determine their authenticity."

But if you don't dare go then, don't blame the county lord for giving all the land to Mr. Ge according to the old rules!"

Although the farmer was a soldier, he was not a fool. How could he not know that the county government was like a bloody mouth that would swallow people whole?

By then, the farmer might have just stepped into the county government office when the squad leader shouted that there was a thief, and the two squads of yamen runners would beat him to death on the spot!
Seeing that the farmers had stopped talking, the clerk took a greedy look at the oxen they were surrounding and then waved his hand: "Let's go to the next field. Damn these unruly people!"

"Brother Su, what should we do now?" One of the farmers asked in a low voice, feeling a little nervous.

Su Kuan turned around and said, "Let's go to the village first."

Everyone nodded.

A moment later, the eight men returned to the village with the cows and then gathered in Su Kuan's thatched hut.

"If I had known this would be the result, I might as well have continued to hang around in the army!" Someone muttered, and was immediately kicked by the person next to him.

Su Kuan waved his hands and said, "Don't blame him. I was the one who bewitched you, saying that this was a rare opportunity and we should divide up a hundred acres of land and live a peaceful life.

Alas, I thought that with the words of the officials and the Grand Chancellor personally presiding over the matter, they would keep their word, but I didn’t expect that just half a month later, when the Grand Chancellor left, someone came to rob it.”

A short and stocky man said, "Don't blame Brother Su. Didn't we all think the same thing before? We're already old. If we don't get married, do we really have to stay in the army forever? When we die, there won't even be anyone to collect our bones."

Someone else asked, "Let's not talk about the past, brother, what are we going to do next?"

Su Kuan picked up the porcelain bowl from the table and scooped a bowl of water from the vat. He drank it down in one gulp, ignoring the coldness. Then he opened his clothes and said, "Brothers, to be honest, I was in the Huaixi Army before. After being dispersed, I joined the Jingnan Army and followed Liu Huai, the eldest son of the Liu family, to fight in Chao County."

Although these people knew each other before the war, they were later dispersed due to the chaos in Lianghuai. Later, Yu Yunwen and Liu Huai gathered their troops and placed them in various armies.

It was not until after the great victory in Chao County that they got together again to make plans for the future.

Originally, the others thought that their eldest brother had followed the former general, but when they heard that he was following the famous Flying Tiger Young Master and participated in the Battle of Chao County, they all exclaimed in surprise.

Su Kuan continued, "The commander-in-chief of the Dongping Army who is now accompanying Lord Chen on his farmland survey is none other than Commander Zhang Baiyu, the Iron Bow Commander who fought in the Battle of Chao County. I've met him once before."

Someone asked, "Did they tell us that day that if we were to be bullied, we should go to their Dongping Army? ... Are they reliable? Brother Su, how did you manage to have a chance encounter with such a powerful figure?"

Su Kuan smiled with a hint of pride. "When the Jin bandits first attacked Chao County, I collected four of their heads. Not only was my achievement noted, I was rewarded on the spot with an extra fifty acres of land. I was even summoned to the general's platform in front of the entire army and praised for my achievements. It was this Iron Bow Commander who commended me for my achievements."

The others knew that Brother Su was capable, but they had never imagined him to be so capable. They couldn't help but continue to ask, "Brother Su, since you have been favored by the Iron Bow Commander, why don't you continue to make achievements in the army?"

Su Kuan sighed, "Both the Jingnan Army and the Dongping Army originated in Shandong, so they will eventually return to Shandong. Of course, the gentlemen also promised that after returning to Shandong, the land they were entitled to would not be reduced at all, but people are humble when they leave their hometowns. If it weren't for the real lack of a way to make a living, why would I want to go so far away?"

Seeing the others fall silent, Su Kuan continued, "Since you have no other options, Ah Wu, Sun Er, you two should grab your weapons and some food and come with me to find General Tiegong."

"The rest of you should stop farming for the time being. Stay in the village for the next few days and take care of your family. That damned Mr. Ge is not a good person. We need to be worried about him playing tricks."

(End of this chapter)