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

Chapter 573 Selfish motives outweigh public good.

As the chief strategist of the Taiping Army, Kong Duanqi was not the kind of sorcerer-like figure in plays who only came up with ideas, but rather he was in charge of local civil affairs and had his own administrative team.

Although theoretically Geng Jing is the highest leader of these states, just as an emperor needs a prime minister, in feudal times, it was impossible to function without a system of decentralization of power.

Especially after Geng Jing led his army north to Dong'e and gathered troops, Kong Duanqi, who was already second only to the emperor, immediately became even more powerful and influential.

But Kong Duanqi was no longer calm at this moment.

September 10th.

"What do you mean? What do you mean by forbidding the Taiping Army from marching north?"

When faced with the envoy from the State of Song, Kong Duan stared wide-eyed to the extreme, as if he wanted to bulge his eyeballs out.

The Song army envoy, holding up his token, announced: "Military orders from Lord Ye and Lord Yu: The Tianping Army must be wary of any unusual movements by the Jin bandits in Xuzhou and are not permitted to advance north!"

Kong Duanqi took the document handed to him by the military envoy, carefully read it for a moment, and then began to tremble violently.

It turns out that everything Xin Qiji said was true; this scoundrel Ye Xiangong is really unreliable!

Kong Duanqi and his confidants, who were inside the government office, were all horrified and turned pale upon hearing the news.

If, as this document states, Geng Jing halted his offensive, it's hard to say what would happen to the Taiping Army, but Kong Duanqi would certainly be dismissed and sidelined, losing all influence within the army.

This is still an optimistic scenario; in a pessimistic scenario, being killed is not impossible.

Everything that had been done before, including ostracizing Xin Qiji and others, consolidating military power under the generals, and distributing benefits to landlords and powerful families, was proposed and implemented by Kong Duanqi, with the aim of further expansion.

If the expansion is halted now, it would mean that Kong Duanqi has wasted time and effort, offended many factions, and all his efforts have been in vain!
What would the rest of the Taiping Army think of him?

How can Geng Jing continue to trust him?

How could he possibly continue to be the de facto prime minister of the Taiping Army?
This is political struggle. When politicians mess things up, they are lucky if they lose power.

More importantly, after Kong Duanqi met with Ye Yiwen on that day, Xin Qiji had made it clear that Ye Yiwen could not be trusted at all. It was only after Kong Duanqi repeatedly assured him and Geng Jing took his side that the matter was glossed over.

If this document were to spread throughout the Taiping Army, wouldn't it confirm that Kong Duanqi was a good-for-nothing with high aspirations but low abilities?
Kong Duanqi's close confidants were equally flustered.

Politicians never work alone; they are always surrounded by a group of people who share in their fate, and their fates are intertwined.

If Kong Duanqi loses, how can they possibly fare well?

“Angel, please rest a while. We have prepared a house and food for you.” A scribe named Zhang Nan stepped forward and bowed to the military envoy, saying, “Please follow me.”

As she spoke, Zhang Nan gestured for them to proceed.

The military envoy seemed exhausted as well, and didn't suspect anything.

Since the letter had already been delivered to the Tianping Army's military governor's office, whether Geng Jing listened to it or whether the Tianping Army obeyed orders was none of his concern.

“I have a few brothers outside, let them come with me.”

Zhang Nan nodded and said with a smile, "No problem, no problem."

Then, taking advantage of the moment when the military envoy turned around, this fellow pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and stabbed it directly into the military envoy's back.

The military commander tried to turn around in disbelief, but only managed a hoarse sound before dying instantly.

Zhang Nan actually killed the military envoy sent by the Song state on the spot in the Jiedushi's mansion!
"Anan, what are you doing!" Kong Duan stood up and scolded, but there was no panic in his expression.

Zhang Nan's expression was fierce, but he did not respond to Kong Duanqi. Instead, he said to the others, "Quickly take your trusted men and lure those military envoys at the gate to a secluded place, and deal with them all."

The people in the hall looked terrified, but after only a moment of stunned silence, two of them immediately took action.

Shandong has been in chaos for so long that there are no pure scholars left. Even the local powerful figures who are somewhat scholarly are all ruthless and cruel.

"Mr. Kong," Zhang Nan said, cupping his hands in greeting, "there's no other way. Even if this path is wrong, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and go all the way!"

Seeing the expressions of his trusted men gradually change from confusion and fear to determination, Kong Duanqi could only grit his teeth and say, "Anan, I won't talk about right or wrong today. If our army really sends troops to Daming Prefecture, and the Jin bandits of Xuzhou really attack Dongping Prefecture, what should we do?"

Zhang Nan looked up and said seriously, "How can the Jin invaders attack? They abandoned the emperor in the Huai River region and are now deep in enemy territory, sandwiched between Shandong and Huaidong. Instead of fleeing, they risk being pursued by the Loyal Army and the Song army to attack Dongping Prefecture. Have they lost their minds?!"

"Besides, that damned Minister Ye is a complete liar and incompetent fool. Are we supposed to treat his judgments as gospel?" Kong Duanqi still hesitated. "But...but Minister Yu said in the military order that the Eastern Jin and Western Jin will fight sooner or later. We can reap the benefits, the Tianping Army can suffer fewer casualties, and we can be almost certain of victory..."

Zhang Nan interrupted Kong Duanqi directly, saying impatiently, "What does that have to do with us?"

"what?"

Zhang Nan calmed himself down, panting heavily, and said with a flushed face, "I say, what does the overall situation of the world or the number of deaths and injuries have to do with us?"
Mr. Kong, if this plan doesn't work, we'll be leaving! Do you think those generals of the Taiping Army are all saints?! Did they willingly give up their positions to us newcomers?
If what the Song army order says goes, then all the credit will go to Xin Qiji and his group. What does it have to do with us?!

After a series of questions, Kong Duanqi was already deathly pale.

Zhang Nan, with his meticulous mind, continued, "Now that the general's order has been issued, those Song envoys will be killed. By the time the Song side realizes something is wrong, the Tianping Army will have already invaded Bozhou and even crossed the river to attack Daming Prefecture."

The journey is so long, and we have to cross the Jin bandit's territory. Isn't it perfectly normal for the military envoy to be in danger along the way? It's easy to gloss over it!
Moreover, there's no way the Song envoys could bypass us and go directly to Geng Jiedu. If Song sends another envoy, we'll continue to kill them outright. We absolutely cannot let this news get out!

As he finished speaking, Zhang Nan's expression turned ferocious.

Zhang Nan's colleagues looked at him with astonishment, as if they were seeing him for the first time, and then exchanged bewildered glances.

"Don't look at me like that!" Zhang Nan suddenly turned around and shouted at his colleagues, "You bunch of idiots! If Governor Geng doesn't want people like us, he'll want someone like Xin Qiji."

"If Xin Qiji were in power, given his familiarity with that Liu Dalang, my family, being honest and upright, might still have some redress. But what would become of you powerful families? Can you even imagine?"

"If you don't understand, go take a look at Sishui County. Those six wealthy families are staring at you with their eyes wide open in disbelief!"

Zhang Nan only said half of what he wanted to say, but everyone in the hall was already breathing heavily. Without any further persuasion, they had already made up their minds.

"I am willing to obey Mr. Kong's orders."

"I wish to follow the example of Military Advisor Kong."

Several people raised their heads and expressed their support to Kong Duan.

Kong Duanqi knew perfectly well that he had been held hostage by these scoundrels, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

He also needs to save himself.

However, after a moment, Kong Duanqi nodded with difficulty.

"Then let's do as Anan says."

At this time, Geng Jing, who was in Dong'e and full of pride, did not expect that the first person to betray him would be his most trusted strategist, Kong Duanqi.

Of course, being a selfish traitor isn't so easy.

Just after dealing with the Song army envoy, the Loyal Army envoy arrived and personally delivered the letter jointly signed by Wei Sheng and Liu Huai to Geng Jing.

Even Zhang Nan was caught off guard.

It should be understood that Liu Huai was different from the ministers of the Song state, and the Loyal Army was different from the Song army.

The Loyal Army, the Jingnan Army, and the Taiping Army were deeply intertwined. They were not only comrades-in-arms, but many of their troops were mixed together and addressed each other as brothers.

Was Geng Jing's fear of Xin Qiji genuine?
After the envoys of the Loyal Army arrived, they must have already met with acquaintances and exchanged greetings. How could they possibly carry out an attack in secret?
After all, Kong Duanqi couldn't control everything in the Taiping Army.

Moreover, Linyi and Xucheng are too close.

If Liu Huai discovers something is wrong, the next time it won't be an envoy, but possibly the Flying Tiger Iron Cavalry coming to trample us.

"The military governor is currently in Dong'e City." Kong Duanqi forced a smile. "Please give me the letter, and I will pass it on."

Bi Zaiyu, who served as the military envoy of the Loyal Army, looked serious and said with his hands clasped, "It's not that I don't trust Military Advisor Kong, but military orders are absolute. Since the Commander-in-Chief has ordered me to personally deliver this letter to Commander Geng, then I must deliver it in person!"

With that, Bi Zaiyu turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Kong Duan stood up and said, "I have important matters to report to the military governor. I will go with the military commissioner."

Bi Zaiyu turned his head: "The military situation is urgent, and we need to move quickly. I don't know if Military Advisor Kong's health can withstand it."

Kong Duan forced a smile and said, "Does the military commander think I'm some kind of useless, lazy scholar who can't lift a finger?"

(End of this chapter)