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

Chapter 526: Muddy Waters in the Chaos

March 15th.

Bianliang of the Jin Dynasty.

Liang Qiu walked out of the government hall with square steps. When he saw Pushan Hongshu guarding the door, he was stunned for a moment, but he immediately concealed it.

"It's settled then. I'll go back first and bring my family over." Liang Qiu slowly turned around and said to Jing Sihui, "At least it won't embarrass you gentlemen."

Jing Sihui hid his complicated feelings behind a smile: "What's there to worry about? It's just that Minister Liang was humiliated."

Liang Qiu shook his head, said no more, and slowly walked into the carriage.

Pushan Hongshu and other personal guards saluted Jing Sihui, then mounted their horses and left, protecting Liang Qiu.

Seeing that no one was around, Liang Qiu lifted the curtain on the wooden window and asked in a low voice: "Hongshu, are they back?"

Pu San Hong Shu also lowered his voice: "I'm back, don't worry, sir. I'm all safe and sound, not a single hair is missing."

Liang Qiu nodded and said nothing more, but urged the coachman to return to the mansion quickly.

"A Su!" The carriage entered the mansion. The dusty Liang Su had been waiting here for a long time. He seemed not to have even washed his face. He just held the bowl at the dining table and ate heartily.

Seeing his brother return, Liang Su threw away the bowl and chopsticks in his hands, then held Liang Qiu's hands with his greasy hands: "Brother, I'm back, have a safe trip."

Liang Qiu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good. I'm sorry for the hard work. Eat something first and we'll talk after you're full."

Liang Su shook his head: "Let's quickly explain our situation to each other, don't delay."

As he spoke, Liang Su took the lead in talking about the wonderful journey along the way.

After the two men made up their minds to flee to Shandong that day, the first thing Liang Su did was to bring Li Tong's family to his own residence.

Fortunately, although Li Tong was a lucky villain, he did not have the habit of squandering and corruption. There were only three wives and concubines, several children and grandchildren, and an old mother in his family. The number of people was relatively small, so the transfer was very covert.

In this chaotic world, not to mention the former prime minister's family being missing, even the current prime minister's family being missing is just a common thing and no one cares.

Then, the two brothers Liang Qiu and Liang Su began to act separately. Liang Qiu pretended to try to bridge the relationship between Zhang Hao and other prime ministers and Ugurun Yuanzhong, while Liang Su secretly searched for the whereabouts of the prince.

After a few days, both of them found nothing.

This is as it should be. The relationship between the gentlemen and Ugun Yuanzhong did not improve because Liang Qiu did not work hard.

On the other hand, Wugu Lun Yuanzhong had hundreds of soldiers in his hands, but he couldn't find the whereabouts of the prince even if he looked for him openly. It would be strange if Liang Su found the clues in secret.

After a few days of struggling, the two discussed again and decided that it was not a good idea to continue like this, so they had to take a risky move.

Liang Qiu continued to argue with these people in Bianliang, while Liang Su took several imperial edicts with empty seals and rushed towards the central army of Nanyang Pushan Zhongyi.

At this time, the Central Army had also withdrawn from the battle, abandoned Fancheng, and returned to its base in Nanyang, Dengzhou.

There is no point in continuing the war now. Even if we want to continue the southern expedition, we have to wait until the central government establishes a new emperor and all the generals from all sides express their opinions.

The central government is now in complete chaos. Not to mention normal rewards and punishments, even food is almost out of stock. Pushan Zhongyi has even ordered each unit to provide some of its own food and grass. How can we continue to fight?
In this situation, it is normal for the army and soldiers to have no fighting spirit and no desire to fight.

If the Song Dynasty court had behaved more normally, or if Wu Gong, who was guarding Xiangfan, had the abilities of Wu Jie and Wu Lin, they would have been able to defeat this large group of Jin troops.

Regarding this situation, even Liu Huai could only sigh that it was indeed an excellent matching mechanism in the Eastern world of the 12th century.

After arriving in Nanyang, Liang Su did not go to look for Pushan Zhongyi or Liu E immediately. Instead, he held the central government's flag and brought documents to the tent of Wanyan Lucheng, the general of the Purple Velvet Army of Hezhameng'an.

The reason why he came to find this guy first was not because Liang Su believed that Wanyan Lucheng was loyal and would remain loyal to Wanyan Liang even in such a situation.

It was because Wanyan Lucheng and Wanyan Yong had an irreconcilable feud.

To be more specific, a few years ago, when Wanyan Yong was appointed as the governor of Shangjing, Wanyan Liang did not know whether it was because he was lustful, or because he wanted to destroy the relationship between Wanyan Yong and the Wulinda tribe, or because he was just worried about Wanyan Yong's ambition.

He even summoned Wanyan Yong's wife, Wulinda, to Zhongdu alone as a hostage.

Wanyan Yong was naturally unwilling to do so. He and Wulinda were deeply in love, and he even wanted to rebel directly at that time.

However, Wulinda felt that the time was not right. In order not to implicate her family, she had to go to Beijing. However, when she was only seventy miles away from Zhongdu, she left a suicide note and committed suicide.

Wanyan Yong was heartbroken, but in order to paralyze Wanyan Liang, he had to act indifferent. He did not even go to the place where Wulinda died, nor did he personally take care of the funeral. He just ordered his servants to bury Wulinda hastily on the spot.

This also dispelled Wanyan Liang's suspicion and made him let Wanyan Yong go.

And who was the person who brought Wulinda from Shangjing to Zhongdu?

It was Wanyan Lucheng! Although he wasn't the main culprit, he was one of the murderers. So when the news of Wanyan Yong's enthronement came, Wanyan Lucheng was in a state of panic and could only use alcohol to numb himself.

Wanyan Yong would never forgive him, no matter who he was!

Even if there was a possibility of buying horse bones for a huge sum of money, Wanyan Lucheng would definitely end up falling into a well while drunk.

Wanyan Lucheng had no way out. Although what Liang Su brought him was just a life-saving straw, there was still a glimmer of hope that he could save his life.

Therefore, he used a combination of coaxing and intimidation to win over the general Shu Huchi of the Xirong Army, and secretly held military meetings with the various marching commanders.

It must be said that Heza Meng'an is indeed worthy of being the emperor's personal army. Even at this time, he is still loyal. Even though the emperor has gone hunting in the south, they are still willing to obey the orders of the central government.

Because the crown prince was the regent and Hezhameng'an was the emperor's imperial guard, the crown prince naturally had some power to command Hezhameng'an.

The two men represented the will of the most elite Hezhameng'an, and together with Liang Su, they forced Pushan Zhongyi and Liu E to abdicate.

Liang Su was also not vague and transformed himself into an ambassador of imperial decree.

He took the imperial edict he had written a few days ago and promoted Pushan Zhongyi to the position of Prime Minister and Right Deputy Marshal, as well as the Prince's Junior Tutor, assisting the Prince in governing the country.

Liu E was promoted to the military governor of Dingwu Army and prefect of Jinan, and was granted the title of Duke of Renguo.

The rest of the officers were rewarded.

At this time, the entire army returned to Bianliang. If Your Majesty's mausoleum really collapsed, we would assist the prince to ascend the throne.

To be honest, this imperial edict was indeed full of loopholes, because Liang Qiu only had the national seal at that time, and the seal of the Political Affairs Hall was in the hands of Zhang Hao in Bianliang, so this imperial edict was theoretically illegal.

Liang Su also had some explanation for this. According to him, this was written by Wanyan Liang when he was on the verge of defeat and handed over to the warriors who broke through the siege to take out. How could he have returned to Bianliang in time to seal the government hall?

At this time, because Wanyan Yong rebelled and ascended the throne, Zhang Hao did not dare to take up any position, so Liang Su brought him to the Pushan Loyal Army, hoping that this loyal minister could shoulder the heavy responsibility.

Although this explanation is barely acceptable, for those who want to cause trouble, a small omission is enough to serve as an excuse to cause trouble.

This was the political environment of the Jin Dynasty, and military strength was everything.

In the absence of Wanyan Liang, whether the military leader's words would be effective or not depended entirely on the number of troops he had.

On the Central Army side, other things may be in short supply, but we will have whatever the military leader wants.

However, as soon as an officer raised his objection, he was beheaded on the spot by Wanyan Lucheng.

In terms of military strength, an army of more than 100,000 people who are in a panic and about to run out of food is indeed no match for the 6,000-strong army of Hezhameng'an.

Pushan Zhongyi and Liu E were also helpless.

None of them is a pushover. The reason why the two of them were able to subdue so many military leaders was also due to the extraordinary fighting power of Heza Meng'an.

Especially Pushan Zhongyi, who is a Jurchen and a military aristocrat who grew up under the care of Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Wuzhu. He has to consider the interests of the entire Jin Dynasty.

He could ignore Wanyan Liang, but he had to devote himself to the Great Jin Kingdom for which his father and brother had devoted their entire lives.

In order to guard against the Song State and to ensure that the Jin State could maintain its military oppression of the Song State, these hundreds of thousands of troops must not be dispersed in his hands!
Hezha Meng'an needs Pushan Zhongyi, and doesn't Pushan Zhongyi also need to rely on Hezha Meng'an?
However, Wanyan Yong also sent lobbyists to Nanyang, wanting to control an army of over 100,000.

Under pressure from both sides, Pushan Zhongyi made a difficult decision.

And thin mud.

We must first preserve the Jin Dynasty's destiny before considering other matters. It is still unclear whether Wanyan Liang can come back, but these hundreds of thousands of troops who are running out of food must first return to Bianliang.

It would be best if the prince were alive. At that time, Pushan Zhongyi would take the prince back to the army, and Wanyan Lucheng and Shuhuchi would lead Hezhameng'an to protect him closely.

If the prince is really dead... there's nothing we can do, we'll just have to take it one step at a time.

"That's it." Liang Su said, his mouth dry. He picked up the tea and gulped it down. "Shu Huchi sent three hundred lilies, and Zha Meng'an returned early. He is now hiding in the military camp outside the city, but he won't be able to hide for long."

"The key now lies with the Crown Prince. If he's still alive, this matter will have great potential. If he's dead, then we'll have no choice but to take the risk and set off immediately for Shandong. With so many family members by then, who knows how many will die. Big brother, have you made any progress?"

Seeing Liang Su's hopeful gaze, Liang Qiu laughed dryly and shook his head. "Brother, I'm useless. Even now, I only have suspicions. But that Ugun Yuanzhong does have some tricks up his sleeve. Since he can't find the prince, he must have really been burned to death."

Liang Su stood up, turned around twice, and finally complained: "How can this kind of thing be just a matter of should or rough? Big brother, you..."

Liang Qiu's breathing became slightly heavier: "So I came up with a solution..."

(End of this chapter)