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

Chapter 529: Troubles in Liaodong and Jiangnan

The Bianliang Rebellion was destined to go down in history. In addition to burning down half of the city and causing countless deaths and injuries, the involvement of various groups of people, those who were loyal were not necessarily loyal to the country, and those who were loyal to the country were not necessarily loyal. Coupled with those with ulterior motives, the twists and turns were enough to make all parties involved feel deeply chilled, and were enough to inspire screenwriters in later generations.

The civil unrest in the Jin Dynasty had inevitably begun.

The more than 100,000 central troops led by Pushan Zhongyi already have political support and cannot be easily dealt with.

In this era when information transmission was very slow, it was impossible for Liu Huai in Jiangnan and Wanyan Yong in Liaodong to learn about what happened in Bianliang so quickly.

In fact, both of them were in trouble at this time.

Wanyan Yong's troubles lay with the Khitan and Mongol tribes.

As mentioned earlier, Wanyan Yong sent envoys to the Tatar tribe to request reinforcements to attack the Khitan rebels.

At that time, the Tatar tribe accepted it with pleasure.

The Mongols didn't pay much attention to spring plowing, so since they could gather men and horses to rob, why not do it?

Moreover, the Tatars have always been the loyal dogs of the Jin Dynasty. When the time comes to defeat the Khitan rebels, can't we give the loyal dogs a bone?

The leader of the Tatar tribe, Wuge, did not even wait for the second envoy, but instead summoned 5,000 tribal soldiers and horses, ready to follow the Jin Kingdom to make a fortune.

Then Wuge learned that the Khitan rebellion had been quelled and all the Khitan rebels had surrendered to the Jin Dynasty.

This is not the most infuriating thing. The most infuriating thing is that Wanyan Yong, the Duke of Cao who had been in contact with them before, turned his back on them and ordered the Tatars to return to their own base and not to move without orders.

This is a bit too much.

Although Wuge was furious, he thought for a long time and finally led his troops to set off.

This was not because his position had changed and he wanted to rebel against the Jin Dynasty, but because the troops he summoned were not only his own subordinates, but also the leaders of various small tribes.

The entire Tatar tribe is composed of these small tribes.

These people obeyed Wuge's orders because it was profitable. If Wuge did not satisfy their appetite at this time, his prestige would be greatly reduced.

Therefore, although he did not know the story of the beacon-lighting trick on the princes, Wuge still gritted his teeth and brought 5,000 soldiers to Linhuang Prefecture to fish in troubled waters, trying to attack one or two Khitan tribes and feed his soldiers with people, wealth, and women.

This is the nature of the tribal system. Without a stable economic foundation, there will be no stable political conditions, and the whole place will be full of little Fengxians who only obey orders and not announcements.

Although Wanyan Yong hurried to Liaoyang Prefecture with his main civil and military officials at this time, he still left Wuyan Chala, nicknamed the Iron Mace Ten Thousand Households, with a thousand elite cavalrymen to maintain order here.

After the Mongols arrived, Uyanchala sent a military envoy to deliver the message, but Wuge pretended not to hear it and still sent out 5,000 Mongols cavalry. He did not fight a decisive battle, but just robbed and harassed them.

The Khitan tribe had already experienced a huge war and was still in a state of disrepair. In addition, almost all the Khitan leaders such as Yelu Wowo followed Wanyan Yong to Liaoyang Prefecture to participate in the coronation ceremony, so the Khitan tribe did not organize troops to counterattack for a while.

As we all know, the military characteristic of nomadic peoples is that they do not fight hard battles, but on the other hand, they are very enthusiastic about picking on weak people.

Because the Jin court and the Khitans reacted slowly, soon not only the entire Tatar tribe was mobilized, but even many unrelated Mongol tribes joined in the looting, and the Liaodong border of the Jin Dynasty became somewhat chaotic again.

Now, Wanyan Yong, who had just ascended the throne, could no longer sit still, and neither could his sworn brother Yelu Wowo.

If this continues and the Khitan tribe rebels again, then all the previous efforts will be in vain.

Therefore, Wanyan Yong sent out the new right military inspector of the Marshal's Office, Hesheli Zhining. However, due to the shortage of military rations, the right military inspector only brought two thousand elite cavalry with him.

Fortunately, with the help of Khitan generals such as Yelu Wuwo, the situation was still under control.

Liu Huai, who was in Jiankang, was caught in the troubles of happiness.

"Everyone, are you all people who want to be officials in Shandong?" Looking at the seven pro-war scholars in front of him, including Zhang Xiaoxiang, Zhu Xi, Chen Liang, etc., Liu Huai couldn't help but be a little confused. Then he looked at Xin Qiji and couldn't help but bow down in his heart.

Although I have long known that Xin Wulang is not an ordinary person, his ability to recruit people is really too incredible.

But this is Liu Dalang's self-deprecation.

If the Loyal Army had not opened up the situation in Shandong, and the Jingnan Army had not gone south to participate in the Battle of Chao County and captured Wanyan Liang, these future prime ministers, great scholars and school leaders of the Song Dynasty would never have gone to Shandong to participate in the event.

This is the result of hard work and it is the most solid.

Relying solely on tricks can only deceive people temporarily, how can you get real heroes to come to your help?

Zhang Xiaoxiang was in high spirits, and he said with a folded hand, "That's right. Heaven and earth can bear witness to my heart. To recover our homeland, I will not hesitate to die."

Zhu Xi also stepped forward and expressed his willingness: "I am willing to be a clerk in Liu Dalang's army and contribute to the recovery of lost territory."

The others also began to express their opinions, which made even someone as thick-skinned as Liu Huai feel a little overwhelmed.

"You are all talented, but..." Liu Huai hesitated for a moment, then said, "It's just that my Loyal Army and Jingnan Army have only pacified the eastern part of Shandong at this time. To be clear, the temple is too small to accommodate all of you great monks. If the duties cannot satisfy you, it is not me who humiliates you, but I simply cannot do it."

This statement was both a fact and an excuse. Zhang Xiaoxiang, a prime minister, was undoubtedly a promising candidate. Even Zhu Xi had experience as a county magistrate. If he had served in the Song Dynasty, he would have been promoted to the rank of prefectural magistrate, the second-in-command of a prefecture, and a high-ranking official like the Imperial Censor.

But how could Liu Huai let them become prefects so easily?

To absorb them into the political system before conducting any investigation is not a way to bring disaster upon yourself.

Moreover, under the system of the Song Dynasty, the prefects of border areas usually had both civil and military powers. Except for the transport envoys assigned by the central government who held financial power, they were already infinitely close to the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty. Liu Huai would not let an outsider take this position and cause trouble for himself.

Therefore, even if it was Zhang Xiaoxiang, Liu Huai could only let him be the prefect of a state and be in charge of civil affairs. After a year or two, he would be entrusted with important tasks after he passed the inspection.

As for the other scholars who were not well-known, Liu Huai planned to recruit them directly into the army and serve as military advisers.

This was an old method during the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examination system at that time was not yet perfect. If scholars could not become officials through the normal process, they would often go to the border areas to join the army and assist the various military governors in managing troops and handling logistics.

After a few years of experience, the Jiedushi would report their achievements and recommend them to the central government, and at this time the central government would generally appoint them as people-friendly officials.

The reason is very simple.

If you can manage the logistics of thousands of troops and coordinate the relationship between the border areas and the army, then you will have no problem governing a county.

Although Liu Huai made this arrangement, he still seemed a little too arrogant.

Regardless of others, this is Zhang Xiaoxiang!

You brought him to the north and made him a magistrate? Isn't that too humiliating?
However, Zhang Xiaoxiang seemed to have been prepared and continued to bow his head and say, "Dalang knows the north very well and is very proficient in both civil and military affairs. He has a comprehensive plan. I am just a scholar, so I must obey Liu Dalang's military orders."

Shandong and Lianghuai were considered border areas at that time.

Although this sentence is very difficult to say, it is the absolute fact for the Southern Song Dynasty.

What is the most important thing in the border areas?

Military, of course!
This is a place where wars can happen at any time, and the general's authority is almost unlimited. Therefore, Zhang Xiaoxiang was mentally prepared to take advantage of the situation from the beginning.

To put it bluntly, if Zhang Xiaoxiang insisted on fighting for the dominant position, and everyone broke up, who knows who would suffer the consequences!
Since Zhang Xiaoxiang had expressed his opinion, the other scholars nodded in agreement even though they felt a little uncomfortable.

Now that everything has been said, the next thing will be easy.

A banquet was held in Duting Inn, and everyone drank and praised each other.

Liu Huai naturally had no literary accomplishment. Apart from the poems he copied from later generations, his level at most was "Oh, the sea, you are all water, and the horse, you have four legs."

But who gave him the experience of recovering lost territory and the knowledge of more than a thousand years? In just a few words, he fooled these pro-war scholars and made them lose their way.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhang Xiaoxiang's face was already flushed. He said in a drunken tone, "I wonder if Liu Dalang is married?"

The people accompanying him in the Jingnan Army fell silent and turned to look at Liu Huai.

Wei Chang, who was pouring wine for Zhang Xiaoxiang, instantly understood what the other party meant, and then subconsciously looked at the wine jug in his hand, wondering if he could kill him by swinging it on the guy's head.

"I'm not married yet." Liu Huai knew he couldn't give an ambiguous answer at a time like this. Otherwise, not only Zhang Xiaoxiang, but even the generals in the Jingnan Army would have some strange thoughts. "But I already have someone I like, and we are in love. The parents' permission and the matchmaker's words are all in place. However, the war is fierce and dangerous, and the journey south is extremely dangerous. So I didn't dare to get married at that time, for fear that my unmarried wife would be a widow."

Wei Chang immediately smiled happily.

Zhang Xiaoxiang understood the firmness in Liu Huai's words, but he still stuck his tongue and shook his head repeatedly: "What a pity, what a pity! I was originally planning to match Dalang with Mr. Zhang's granddaughter, but since this is the case, forget it, forget it."

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaoxiang raised his glass again, as if treating this matter as an episode not worth mentioning, and continued to talk about the interesting things about being an official.

But everyone present was a smart person, so they naturally knew that Zhang Xiaoxiang was not the kind of person who talked nonsense.

At most, he and Zhang Jun had a superior-subordinate relationship, and their personal relationship was not very secretive. It was not a relationship where one visited the emperor's mother or entrusted his wife and children to him. If it were not for Zhang Jun's request, he might know how many grandsons Zhang Jun had, but how could he know the female members of Zhang Jun's family?
What’s more, she is an unmarried woman?
Liu Huai held the wine glass, narrowed his eyes with a smile.

Zhang Jun's move was a bad one.

He actually wanted to use this method to seek the position of envoy of Jingxiang and Jianghuai.

Doesn't this guy understand what a huge force Shandong, Jingxiang, Jianghuai will become when they are combined?

But from this it seems that Zhang Jun was indeed a little anxious.

Although the civil unrest in Huaibei had been minimized thanks to the joint efforts of the Jingnan Army and the Dongping Army, it still shocked the government and the public.

If Zhang Jun didn't work harder, not only would his position as a pacification envoy be in vain, but even his reinstatement would be in vain.

Thinking of this, Liu Huai felt inexplicably irritated.

Why hasn’t Yu Yunwen taken action yet?
(End of this chapter)