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

Chapter 648 Regret for Having Overcalculated

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Huai received two messages at approximately the same time.

One is a letter from Li Tong, which is very substantial. It contains not only his views on the current situation, but also a report of victory that he had already written.

Li Tong's response to Liu Huai's concerns was also quite simple.

First, we must use both soft and hard tactics with the State of Song.

When announcing the victory, the captured officers and soldiers, as well as the seized warhorses and armor, must not be given to the Song state, and even the quantity must not be revealed to them. However, the heads and captured flags can be sent to the Song state to please the Zhao Song emperor.

We can take the opportunity to ask for some food and supplies.

Secondly, if they did not want Song officials to go north, then in addition to making Song feel that the north was still in the midst of war, they also had to make the Song emperor and his ministers feel that they had their own people in Shandong who had already risen to high positions.

Therefore, Li Tong suggested recommending Lu You as the Pacification Commissioner of the two routes to Jingdong, a result that Ye Yiwen and Yu Yunwen would likely strongly agree with.

Needless to say, Ye Yiwen knew about the situation in Shandong. Given that Wei Sheng was unable to enter the court, the only person who could act expediently in an emergency, bypass the Song Dynasty's system, and directly become the Xuanfu Xianggong was Lu You.

Even in terms of seniority, Lu You barely qualifies.

Having passed the imperial examination, he served as a judge in the central government. After being transferred to a local post, he rose through the ranks from prefect to governor. After making further contributions, it was barely acceptable for him to become a provincial governor.

If Liu Huai or Wei Sheng wanted to be the Pacification Commissioner, they would definitely face many difficulties. Not to mention the pro-peace faction would cause trouble, the pro-war faction would also have internal disputes.

More importantly, Yu Yunwen knew that Lu You was one of his own and loyal to the Song Dynasty.

In order to counterbalance Liu Huai's monopoly in Shandong, Yu Yunwen would definitely have to resort to various means.

But if anyone else came to govern Shandong, Liu Huai would also resort to tricks. With the military power of the Shandong rebels in his hands, the new Pacification Commissioner might not only be unable to issue orders beyond the government office, but might even end up drowning.

Therefore, Lu You can be considered the best, even the only, candidate.

Especially for the Shandong rebels, Lu You, even though he was just a scholar, was a veteran of the Northern Expeditionary Army. He had not missed any of the major battles and his stance was very firm. Everyone acknowledged his ability and determination.

By relinquishing the position of Pacification Commissioner and presenting a victory report, if the Song state still wants to control the prefectures and counties of Shandong and the Central Plains, then it is simply asking for trouble.

When the time comes, we will directly settle the garrison troops on the recovered land. When the Song state prefect arrives, he will be beaten eight times a day.

As for Zhang Xiaoxiang, Zhu Xi, Chen Liang, and others who contributed to this battle, they could also be appropriately promoted as a gesture of goodwill towards the Song state.

This is to show that Shandong does not reject Song officials, but rather that war is dangerous and the country is located on the border, where battles are fought three times a day. If officials who are ignorant of military affairs are sent, people will die.

Liu Huai generally agreed with this explanation, but the specific details still needed to be discussed with Liang Su, He Boqiu, and other officials of the military governor's office before they could be finalized.

Another piece of news is that Liu Bao led more than 10,000 Song troops across the Huai River on the third day of the Lunar New Year and besieged Pizhou and Suqian along the Yellow River.

Wan Zhu, the magistrate of Suqian, and Shan Ding, the military commander of Pizhou, both served the Jin dynasty while defending the city and sending messengers to Liu Huai for help.

This matter itself has enough flaws to it.

First of all, Liu Bao's decision to send troops out during the Chinese New Year was indeed a bit too hasty.

Unlike the Han army, the Song army had been fighting for several months and was prepared for the possibility of not being able to go home for the New Year.

The Song army was essentially dragged out of their homes by Liu Bao and forced into battle before the New Year was even over.

It's really hard to say how much morale and fighting spirit this army still has.

Secondly, Liu Bao's first destination was Pizhou and Suqian, and his strategic purpose was indeed a bit too obvious.

He must still be dreaming of seizing Xuzhou.

Could Liu Bao not even know that Liang Su was clearing out Xuzhou, and still think he has a chance?
Or is it because he feels he's almost out of options, so he wants to take a gamble?
If we think about it more deeply, was Liu Bao acting on his own initiative, or was he being instructed by Yu Yunwen?

Of course, theoretically speaking, although Suqian was already an isolated city, it was indeed still under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, so the Song army's expedition to recover the lost territory could not be blamed.

This leads to the third point of contention.

It was somewhat unexpected that the people and soldiers of Suqian, who were fighting the Song Dynasty to the bitter end, would instead seek help from Liu Huai.

But upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense.

Whoever can crack the toughest bones will reap the rewards.

The Han army pursued the Jin army right before the eyes of the soldiers and civilians of Suqian. The Jin army fled in panic, even digging the Bian River to block the pursuers. These are all true facts.

Surrendering to the victor is only natural.

As the intelligence became more detailed, even more absurd details emerged.

Suqian was not a monolithic entity at first, nor was it wholeheartedly committed to siding with Liu Huai.

After all, the State of Song was a powerful state, and Liu Bao was the legitimate Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Huaidong. When faced with imminent danger and the enemy at the gates, surrendering to the State of Song was not an impossible option.

Therefore, led by some gentry, Suqian opened its city gates and let the Song army into the city. These Song soldiers were already full of resentment because they had been dragged out to fight during the New Year, and upon seeing the undefended city of Suqian, they immediately displayed the traditional skills of the Song army.

Start grabbing!
Liu Bao naturally wanted to boost morale, so he ignored the pleas of the people of Suqian and announced that there would be no need for the three horses to divide the spoils; whoever grabbed it first would get it!
That's going too far.

Wan Zhu, the magistrate of Suqian, and Shan Ding, the military commander of Pizhou, gathered a thousand local soldiers, archers, and servants from wealthy households in the city and launched a counterattack under the cover of night when the Song army was looting everywhere and its forces were scattered.

Caught off guard, the Song army could only hastily retreat outside the city amidst the city-wide riots. By the time Liu Bao had gathered his troops, Suqian had already closed its gates, and the entire city's people were united in their determination to fight the Song army to the bitter end.

As Liu Huai looked at the military intelligence report, the expression on his face involuntarily resembled that of someone using a cell phone on the subway.

What is all this?

The Song army suffered such a great loss in Youyan, haven't they learned their lesson yet?

This was the case when Tong Guan attacked Yanjing. The city had already been breached, and the people in the city had all surrendered. However, instead of pacifying the people in the city, the Song army began to loot.

Subsequently, Xiao Gan of the Liao Kingdom returned to reinforce the city, and the entire population of Yanjing worked together to drive the Song army out.

Having forcibly replicated the glorious traditions of the Song army, Liu Bao naturally didn't think it was his fault. Instead, he flew into a rage and began attacking Suqian City.

This move immediately triggered a chain reaction.

The first to react was not Wang Xiongyi, who had already recovered Hong County, but Luo Shenyan, who was stationed in Lianshui.

It must be said that the left wing of the Jingnan Army led by Luo Shenyan suffered a rather dire situation.

Luo Shenyan had already stationed himself in Lianshui before the great battle to guard against any underhanded tactics by the State of Song.

Especially after the start of the great battle and the mobilization of the Jingnan Army and the Zhongyi Army, nearly two thousand Zuo Jun also assembled, but did not participate in the battle. Instead, they were all stationed in Lianshui County.

The official explanation was that they were worried the Jin army in Xuzhou would take advantage of the situation to launch another southward attack, and they were defending the northern gate of the Song Dynasty.

However, the intentions of Liu Huai and other high-ranking military officers were quite clear: to guard against the Song state taking advantage of the chaos.

The State of Song is incapable of direct combat, but its ability to stab people in the back is exceptionally strong.

Liu Bao also knew that the Jingnan army was blocking Lianshui, making it difficult to move, so he chose to cross the river at Huaiyin, west of Shanyang, while making a big show of himself in Shanyang to attract Luo Shenyan's attention.

But this was just a feint; it might fool Luo Shenyan for a while, but not forever.

Upon learning the news, Luo Shenyan was both shocked and furious. Without waiting for Liu Huai's orders, he led two thousand Left Army soldiers westward and easily captured Taoyuan Town, the Song army's logistical hub on the Yellow River. He also captured hundreds of soldiers and laborers.

Wang Xiongyi then led 3,000 loyal soldiers to arrive. The two armies merged, totaling 5,000 troops, and immediately cut off the logistics and retreat routes of Liu Bao's more than 10,000 Song troops.

Liu Bao was truly shocked this time.

His first reaction was that Liu Huai was about to officially raise the flag of rebellion.

He has now walked right into a trap, and is about to become the first Song soldier to achieve a victory under Liu Huai's command.

The disruption of logistics was no small matter. The news that the supply ships had not arrived on time was quickly discovered by the officers, who came to question Liu Bao.

Liu Bao was completely flustered at this point and blurted out his deduction that Shandong had already rebelled.

The generals of the Huaidong army did not believe this.

They all chimed in, saying that Liu Dalang from Shandong was famous for his loyalty and bravery, how could he possibly rebel?
Is there some misunderstanding?
Those who rose to the rank of commander within the Song Dynasty's system were mostly seasoned veterans, let alone troops like the "Zhang Family Army" with its excellent traditions.

These officers immediately realized that even if Liu Huai was indeed rebelling, Liu Bao could not make it public.

If we don't make it clear, we might be able to get away with it.

Now that things have been made clear, putting everything else aside, shouldn't the Huaidong army quell the rebellion?

Wouldn't that mean we'd have to fight the Jingnan army head-on?
How to fight a battle when all supplies are gone and the supply lines are cut off?
Are you crazy, Liu Bao?

With reminders from many people, both overt and covert, Liu Bao immediately realized what was going on and quickly agreed, saying it was likely a misunderstanding and that he would send a military envoy to inquire about it.

Whether the Han army did it intentionally or not, the Song army had to provoke them into something unexpected.

However, just as the military envoy set off, Luo Shenyan and Wang Xiongyi jointly sent a document.

The document bluntly inquired whether Liu Bao's decision to march north without orders meant that he intended to betray the Song Dynasty and surrender to the Jin Dynasty like Li Qiong.
This time, not only Liu Bao, but all the other commanders panicked.

This is a huge, serious charge. How many people died in the Huaixi Rebellion and the subsequent political turmoil? It would be a miracle if the Huaidong army wasn't wiped out by then.

We absolutely cannot let Liu Huai use this excuse!

Left with no other choice, Liu Bao once again dispatched military envoys, one to search for Wei Sheng, another for Liu Huai, and yet another for Yu Yunwen.

Such a major political issue should be clarified as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)