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

Chapter 596 Suppressing the Powerful and Poverty

Deng Yu had been imprisoned in Zhangqiu prison. Since his capture, Hu Yananxian had been so busy that she had almost forgotten about him.

The food in the prison was naturally not very good, and the dungeon was dark, cold and damp. After being locked up for more than ten days, Deng Yu, who was originally a tall and strong man, had become as mushy as an eel.

When he was dragged out, he could barely stand. It took soldiers to drag and pull him to Liu Huai.

Deng Yu kept his eyes squinted until they became accustomed to the daylight before opening them and looking around the tent.

He's already become like this, does he still fear an even worse fate?
"I am Liu Huai, the Flying Tiger Gentleman you speak of." Liu Huai said, resting his hand on his sword, "You answer whatever I ask, and you will naturally suffer less physical pain, understand?"

Deng Yu knelt on the ground, his hands bound behind his back, and grinned when he heard this: "Will there be meat to eat?"

Liu Huai nodded and instructed his personal guards, "Find him a piece of dried meat!"

Soon, the guard returned with a piece of meat that had been pickled until it was rock hard, and placed it directly to Deng Yu's mouth: "Eat!"

Deng Yu didn't care, stretched out his head and bit down, tearing at it forcefully.

"The Deng family of Jinan Prefecture? I've never heard of such a family. Where did you come from?"

Faced with Liu Huai's question, Deng Yu chewed the dried meat in his mouth, swallowed it with difficulty, and then grinned, revealing his bleeding teeth, and said, "You are new here, so of course you don't know. Our Deng family didn't have any reputation before. We were just an ordinary manor in Jinan Prefecture. In recent years, we have been exploited by the Jin government and our land has been divided up to those Meng'an Mouke households. As a result, we have become worse off day by day."

"We really got going during that great upheaval last year. Back then, all over Shandong was killing Jin bandits, and we were no exception. I gathered two thousand villagers, and then we rallied many refugees, making about five thousand people. We started killing Jin bandits everywhere, slaughtering all those Meng'an and Mouke households! Then we reclaimed their land, gold, silver, and grain, and took their wives and concubines!" At this point, Deng Yu chuckled like an owl: "Flying Tiger Gentleman, didn't you do all those things too? You're a hero against the Jin, but aren't I one too?"

"Insolence!" Huyan Nanxian frowned, pointing his halberd and shouting, "You dare to call yourself a hero? Commander-in-Chief raised an army to resist the Jin for the peace and happiness of the people, but aren't you just doing it for your own enjoyment? Have all those refugees become your tenants? You..."

Liu Huai waved his hand, stopping Hu Yananxian's pointless argument, and then looked at Deng Yu and said, "Then why have you now surrendered to the Jin invaders and are going against me?"

Deng Yu's smile was somewhat neurotic: "The Jin Kingdom said that they would not hold past grievances against us, and that they would establish the same system as the Qi Kingdom in Shandong. At that time, I might even become a ruler."

Even if he can't have absolute authority, he can still be a Grand Commandant or Minister of Works. You know, the Jin Dynasty has always had a good reputation in this regard. Take Li Cheng, for example, who had a blood feud with the Jin invaders, yet they still made him a Grand General.

Liu Huai was somewhat disappointed. He had thought he would hear something new, but it turned out to be just the usual power struggle.

However, the next moment, Deng Yu became agitated: "Flying Tiger Gentleman, do you really think we're willing to submit to the Jin bandits? It's all because you're too harsh. Not only do you want us to risk our lives, but you also want us to disband our estates, disband our tenants, and register as commoners. We can't even be ordinary landlords. You're so harsh, who would submit to you?! Let alone this Jinan Prefecture, even in Hebei and the Central Plains, there are countless powerful families waiting to oppose you!"

"Young Master Fei Hu! If you do not come to your senses, even if you gain power temporarily, you will still die without a burial place!"

Deng Yu struggled for a moment before being pushed back down by his guards.

Liu Huai was finally moved, but he did not want to listen to Deng Yu's earnest advice. Instead, he connected the scene before him with his junior high school history and politics textbooks, and was immediately filled with admiration for educators of later generations.

Why are landlords called the exploiting class of the feudal era? Why are they said to hinder the development of productive forces? Why are landlords often said to be a conservative force that maintains the old system? These questions are vividly illustrated in the case of this powerful man named Deng Yu.

"Are you saying that all the powerful families in Jinan Prefecture share this idea?" Liu Huai said with a half-smile.

As if grasping at some lifeline, Deng Yu crawled two steps on his knees and said loudly, "That's right! If Lord Flying Tiger can spare my life, I can persuade them to surrender on behalf of Lord Commander. As long as Lord Flying Tiger can promise to forgive and forget, and allow us to keep our land and estates, we will serve you with utmost loyalty!"

Liu Huai found it amusing and was about to say something when Ji Cheng called out a name and entered from outside the command tent. He then whispered a few words to Hu Yananxian.

Hu Yanan nodded, then cupped his hands to Liu Huai and said, "Commander-in-Chief, there are several people who claim to be from Deng Family Village who want to see me."

Liu Huai laughed and said, "Is this a redemption mission? Let them all come in."

A moment later, several young men, covered in filth and stained with blood, arrived at the commander's tent in a disheveled state. They had just prostrated themselves and kowtowed, wanting to pay their respects to Liu Huai, when they suddenly saw a familiar figure in the tent. They were shocked and then burst into tears at the same time.

"Ah Lang! Ah Lang!"

Deng Yu was somewhat surprised. Even if someone came to ransom someone, they shouldn't have come empty-handed.

Although Jinan Prefecture was in chaos, the gathering of more than twenty knights would usually deter bandits. How did it end up like this?

"You...you...what is this...!" "Ah Lang, our estate is gone!" A more mature-looking man's words completely stunned Deng Yu: "It was Jin Gou who let that scoundrel You Biao take over. Ah Lang's three sons, as well as the old lady and the old patriarch, are all gone..."

Deng Yu was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground, muttering to himself, "The Jin Kingdom... How could the Jin Kingdom treat me like this... I, I was only away for a moment, and this is already happening to me..."

Hu Yanan finally lost his patience and said, "Have you forgotten what I told you before? Or are you still unable to see clearly? Which of the civil and military officials under the Commander-in-Chief's command is not a thousand times stronger than you? Why don't you think about establishing your own independent regime like you?"

"Do you really think that the rules set by the Commander-in-Chief are only harming you? Do you really think that the Jin Kingdom is doing what's best for you? The strong exploit the weak. When you were the strong, you thought it was justified. Now that you are the weak, how does it feel?"

Having said that, Hu Yananxian said nothing more and turned to look at Liu Huai.

Liu Huai nodded and issued a brief military order: "Execute Deng Yu and display his head to the public. Take the rest away and treat them as ordinary refugees. Summon a military council."

"Here!"

Soon, all the military commanders and accompanying civilian officials gathered in the commander's tent.

"...That's how things are now. All the powerful families in Jinan are going to rebel against me. Since that's the case, show no mercy." Liu Huai briefly recounted the situation in Jinan, and then issued a military order unilaterally: "My mind is made up. Prefect Zhang, you are more familiar with the refugees, so select someone to lead the way."

"Here!"

"The troops advanced in unison, occupying manors along the way and seizing their grain fields to settle the displaced people."

"Chief Secretary He, dispatch military clerks to accompany the various armies to publicize our military policies to the local areas. At the same time, enforce military law strictly and organize public trials to distinguish ordinary farmers from those local tyrants. Tell them that our army is here to relieve the people and punish the guilty, to register the households and restore order to the people. As long as they lay down their weapons, our army will not kill them, but will instead distribute the land to them!"

“Yes!” He Boqiu immediately bowed and agreed.

“Mr. Lu.” Liu Huai then looked at Lu You, who had just arrived, and his tone became much more polite: “After the army marches on, we will immediately begin to govern the people. I would like to ask Mr. Lu to organize officials and clerks from the rear to fill Jinan Prefecture and quickly complete the two tasks of surveying land and registering households.”

Lu You immediately agreed.

Compared to the army, which only needed to advance without hesitation, Lu You's task was much more complicated.

But he had already been through a lot and was a veteran of the Loyal Army, with ample prestige, so he was capable of temporarily managing a prefecture or region.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaoxiang glanced at Lu You with a hint of envy.

Everyone said he was destined to be a prime minister, but now it seems that Lu You can handle everything with ease and composure, and is actually going to surpass him.

The advantage that officials who have been tempered in the flames of war and life and death have over the prime minister of peace is so obvious that it is no exaggeration to say that they are at a disadvantage.

Liu Huai ignored the ulterior motives of the people below the stage and continued to issue orders: "Luo Erlang, draft a document for me and quickly send more military envoys to inform Geng Jiedu from different routes that he must hold out for twenty days. Within twenty days, I will definitely break through Jinan Prefecture and go to support them! Before that, we must preserve our strength!"

"Lei Ben, Li Xiu, and Wang Shilong, your three divisions, totaling six thousand troops, will follow me and march straight for Licheng! I want to see what the Jin traitors have to rely on to dare to block my army!"

After saying that, Liu Huai looked at He Boqiu, who was at the head of the table, and seeing that the other party had nothing to add, he immediately said: "Gentlemen, this battle is not just about attacking Jinan Prefecture. It is very likely that we will have to fight a decisive battle with tens of thousands of Jin bandits' regular army. If we can win, not only will both Shandong be recovered, but even the two traitors of the Wanyan family will avoid our sharp edge. The Central Plains and Hebei will be in sight!"

Liu Huai looked intently at the civil and military officials before him, and first addressed Lu You and other civil officials of the Song Dynasty, saying, "Do you want to recover the Central Plains and return to the old capital?!"

With just one sentence, even a staunch advocate of war like Lu You was already filled with fervor.

This is a dream that even Zhuge Liang and Yue Fei could only dream of. If it were realized in their hands, it would be more than just being remembered in history.
"think!!!"

Liu Huai then looked at his own men: "Do you want to make a fortune in the army and gain fame and fortune immediately?!"

Wang Shilong and the others' eyes instantly burned with fervor: "Yes!!!"

Liu Huai then drew his sword and raised it high: "Then this battle will be our stage. Since the Jin invaders don't want us to develop in peace, let them try with their heads to see if the precious swords we've forged this year are sharp enough!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)