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

Chapter 594 Insidious and Vicious Plan to Exterminate Offspring

On the city wall of Licheng, Liu Fen, formerly the prefectural magistrate of Yizhou and now the prefectural magistrate of Jinan, had become much thinner. He looked into the distance at the dust and smoke left behind by the armored cavalry under Huyan Nanxian as they drove away, and punched the wall hard.

"Where's that bastard Deng Yu! Tell him to get the hell over here!" Liu Fen hadn't expected such a sound plan to end in this way, and she was filled with resentment.

It should be noted that this tactic was originally intended to inflict heavy damage on the invading army. Now, using it to surround and kill a few hundred armored cavalry is a waste of its potential. However, to everyone's surprise, the few hundred armored cavalry failed to be surrounded and killed, and they escaped unharmed.

So all that effort—concealing troops and winning hearts and minds—was ultimately wasted after months of work?

Shi Chong sat in the rattan chair, his face showing no anger. He simply smiled and said, "Prefect Liu, man proposes, God disposes. Who knows what will happen? Don't blame Deng Yu. He can only follow us wholeheartedly now. Punishing him now would not only be useless, but would also shake people's morale. Let's be patient for a while."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fen's face turned even uglier, showing signs of anger and embarrassment.

Contrary to the rumors of cowardice and incompetence, this situation can be said to have been created by Shi Chong alone. Liu Fen had only arrived two months prior, essentially to reap the benefits.

It's no wonder he was ashamed and angry after picking peaches in such a mess.

However, soon, an even more ashamed and angry man climbed onto the city wall. He took off his helmet, revealing a full head of white hair, and actually bowed to Shi Chong to apologize.

Shi Chong was also unsettled. He immediately jumped up from the rattan chair and went forward to help the old general.

The reason was simple: the old general's name was Pusanhuntan, and his younger brother was Pusanshigong.

Pusanhuntan was a personal guard of Wanyan Wushu, a well-trained and experienced feudalist warrior of the Jin Dynasty.

The most famous thing this guy did was during Yue Fei's fourth Northern Expedition, when he led more than sixty cavalrymen to defeat Yue Fei's 700-strong logistics and supply corps in Henan Prefecture. And this was recorded in the History of Jin.

On the surface, this matter may seem insignificant, but in reality, Yue Fei had already annihilated the main force of the Jin state at Yancheng. Wanyan Wuzhu fled at the mere sight of him, and even Han Chang, a member of the powerful Youyan clan and a confidant of Wanyan Wuzhu, had lost his will and declared that he would surrender after Yue Fei arrived.

It can be said that the Jin army in the entire Henan region would collapse at the mere sight of the Yue Fei banner.

In such a situation, it was already considered bold and meticulous for Pusanhuntan to lead dozens of cavalry to harass Yue Fei's army's supply lines, showing his willingness to sacrifice himself for the country.

Even though Shi Chong was Wanyan Yong's confidant, he dared not be negligent in the face of such a veteran general.

"General, you flatter me." Shi Chong was, after all, a scholar, and for a moment he couldn't stop Pusanhuntan. He could only watch helplessly as the other bowed and apologized.

Pu Sanhun sighed, "Prefect Shi's plan was brilliant, but it failed because of my incompetence... Alas... I should write to His Majesty to apologize."

Unlike in history, Pusanhuntan was also having a hard time at this time.

In actual history, because Wanyan Liang executed Pusanshigong, Pusanhuntan was also implicated. So when Wanyan Liang died at Guazhou Ferry, Pusanhuntan immediately threw himself into the arms of Wanyan Yong.

However, due to the butterfly effect, Heshilie Liangbi was dispatched to Liaodong to stabilize the situation, and Pusanshi Gong, who should have been executed, was used by Wanyan Liang and sent to Liaodong to be under Heshilie Liangbi's command.

After Wanyan Yong ascended the throne, Pusanshi Gong's situation became awkward.

This fellow had helped Wanyan Liang persecute the imperial clan quite a bit before, but he also had real merit in pacifying the Khitan, so much so that Wanyan Yong didn't know how to deal with him, so he sent Pusanshi Gong to Hesuguan Road to avoid seeing him.

With his younger brother in such a predicament, the elder brother, Pusanhuntan, was equally embarrassed.

What's even more awkward is that the chieftain of the Pusan ​​tribe, Pusan ​​Zhongyi, has submitted to Wanyan Liang.

This has put everyone in the Pusan ​​tribe in a difficult position in Dongjin, as they don't know when they might be accused of suspicion.

Therefore, even when facing a junior like Shi Chong, Pusanhuntan still had to be extremely respectful.

However, when Shi Chong heard Pusanhuntan's words, he almost jumped up.

He's good at scheming and plotting, but now that things have gotten to the point of drawing blood, how can he possibly hold his own?

"General, please don't say such things!" Shi Chong said urgently. "Strategies are always just icing on the cake. How can you win a battle with conspiracies and tricks? The stories of Zhuge Liang burning Bowang Slope are just fiction and shouldn't be taken seriously. In real battles, you still have to rely on the bravery of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. General, you are now the Prefect of Jinan and have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the country. Please don't say such things."

Just kidding! Shi Chong is about to escape his misery and return to his comfortable home in the capital. If Pusanhuntan were to abandon his post, he'd still be stuck in Jinan. War is dangerous and treacherous; wouldn't it be unjust to have his head chopped off by the ruthless Shandong rebels?

Upon hearing this, Pusanhuntan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He was also afraid that Shi Chong would slander Wanyan Yong.

Although Pusanhuntan was already sixty-two years old, sixty was the age when one should be making a name for oneself, and he still maintained the mentality of making achievements. His situation was already very awkward. He originally hoped to do something in Jinan Prefecture to turn his life around, but who would have thought that his good start would end like this?
"Given this situation, does the old general have anything else to say?" Liu Fen stepped forward immediately after seeing that the two had reached an agreement. "The traitorous generals of Wucheng Army have already arrived, so Liu's main force must not be far away either." Pusanhuntan nodded heavily, his white beard fluttering. "Yes, and not just one opinion, but I'm worried that you two might disagree."

"Please tell me, General."

"This time, the Left Prime Minister ordered us to hold Licheng until December 15th, giving him time to annihilate the Tianping rebels. However, our army only has one thousand regular soldiers and three thousand garrison soldiers that I brought with me. It is far from enough to hold out for forty days."

Shi Chong nodded, but then seemed inexplicably impatient: "General, you can speak frankly. As long as it's within the bounds of propriety, I'll do it immediately."

"Great idea!" Pusanhuntan knew that Shi Chong was eager to return home, so he immediately made his request: "Select a few capable powerful families and make some substantial promises. Apart from Yidu Prefecture, Shandong East Circuit can be given the opportunity to go there."

Shi Chong nodded: "This is easy."

Those powerful clans had already been largely won over, and after today's chaotic battle, they had solidified their stance, or rather, they had exhausted all other options and were now on the same path as the Jin Kingdom. At this point, if we made a promise with the land of prefectures and counties, we were not afraid that these powerful clans would not fight to the death.

"With ten thousand soldiers, I can defend Licheng properly. Even if Liu has a hundred thousand troops, I am confident that I can delay him for forty days."

Liu Fen nodded slowly, secretly relieved.

He had great faith in Heshi Lieliangbi, knowing that this Left Prime Minister was a man of his word, and that if he said he would eliminate the Taiping Army in forty days, he would definitely do so.

“But that’s not enough,” Pusanhuntan continued, then pointed to the huge camp of refugees outside the city: “I request that Judge Liu organize men to drive all these refugees eastward. Isn’t that Liu Dalang supposed to love the people like his own children? I’d like to see how he plans to deal with these refugees!”

Liu Fen and Shi Chong exchanged a glance and sighed inwardly. This old scoundrel really had a vicious plan.

What was the foundation of Liu Huai's rule?
It was those sixteen characters that outlined the principles: expel the barbarians, restore China, establish order and discipline, and save the people.

To put it bluntly, Liu Huai expanded his territory under the guise of saving the Han people in the north.

If he ignores these refugees, it would be tantamount to undermining his own foundation; if he is distracted by settling them, it will certainly waste time, military supplies, and even require him to divide his troops to maintain order.

Anyway, these refugees don't want money, so even if it only delays them for one more day, it's still good.

Seeing that Pusanhuntan gave no further instructions, Liu Fen and Shi Chong immediately went to get to work.

Unlike Liu Fen, who was simple-minded, Shi Chong was much more anxious.

After arriving in Jinan, he focused on gathering intelligence on Wei Sheng and Liu Huai, father and son. He knew how taboo Liu Fen's plan was, so Shi Chong had no intention of getting involved. He only wanted to appease the powerful figures he had won over, get them to help Pusanhuntan defend the city, and then quickly escape back to Liaodong.

"Where is that scoundrel Deng Yu?" Shi Chong led his personal guards to the city gate, bypassed the regular soldiers who were walking into the city, and pulled aside the disheveled private soldiers of the local tyrants, asking, "Which of you is from Deng Family Village?"

After shouting at the top of his lungs for a long time, a guard finally came quickly with several men: "Sir, these are the men from Deng Family Village..."

No sooner had the guard finished speaking than one of the private soldiers knelt down, sobbing with snot and tears streaming down his face: "Sir! Please save my master! He's been captured by the traitor Zhongyi!"

After hearing this, Shi Chong felt even more agitated.

He had originally intended to use today's events to put Deng Yu in a difficult position, so that he would lead the villagers to defend the city to the death. But upon hearing that the man had been captured, he instantly lost all interest in Deng Family Village.

"Where are You Biao and You Erlang?" Shi Chong ignored the villagers of Dengjiazhuang who were still wailing and shouted, "You Biao, come out if you hear me!"

Soon, a burly man with disheveled hair, who had seemingly lost his turban, strode out, knelt down, and kowtowed: "You Biao is here!"

Shi Chong threw a token directly in front of You Biao: "Before, you only had the substance, but now you have the name. Quickly go and take over Deng Family Village, and then go to Prefect Pusan ​​to receive orders."

The villagers of Dengjiazhuang stopped wailing, staring blankly at the token in You Biao's hand, then cried out, "Sir, you mustn't! You mustn't! We, the villagers of Dengjiazhuang, have sacrificed everything for the Great Jin..."

Before he could finish speaking, the farmer's neck was gripped and he was rendered speechless.

With a snap, You Biao easily broke the farmer's neck, then knelt down again, picked up the waist token, and said loudly, "Thank you for your kindness, sir! I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

Shi Chong looked at the newly elected leaders of the powerful families in Jinan Prefecture, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned and left without saying a word of encouragement.

Meanwhile, outside the city, soldiers had gathered and used swords and spears to force the refugees to leave their temporary shelters and head east against the cold wind.

The cries instantly echoed across the fields.

(End of this chapter)