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

Chapter 649 Meeting an Old Friend by the Yellow River

On the seventh day of the first lunar month, Liu Huai personally arrived at the city of Suqian and, unsurprisingly, saw Yu Yunwen's banner as the Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner.

It would be absurd if Yu Yunwen didn't personally attend such a significant political event.

Liu Bao's 10,000 Song soldiers had already left Suqian and were stationed on a hill by the Yellow River. There were no scouts or patrols around, and even the soldiers who came and went were listless and dispirited.

The reason is quite simple.

Liu Huai issued an order for Luo Shenyan to send only half a boatload of grain each day, just enough to keep the Song army afloat.

At the same time, Liu Huai also wrote a letter personally, saying that if Liu Bao dared to send troops to plunder the surrounding area, he would definitely kill him.

The threat was straightforward, but since it came from the lawless Liu Dalang, it quickly made Liu Bao and his men abandon their plan to seize the grain.

Liu Huai led over a hundred armored cavalrymen to the foot of the Song army camp, set up the "Jingnan" banner and the Flying Tiger banner behind him, and then sat quietly on a stool, waiting.

The soldiers quickly got to work; some stood guard around the perimeter, while others planted their spears in the ground and then draped cloths over them, quickly creating a windproof enclosure.

“Bi Dalang, go to the Song army camp and challenge them. Let Liu Bao come to see me in person.”

After giving the order, Liu Huai casually tapped the table in front of him, his eyes fixed on the flames rising from the stove beside him, and soon white steam began to rise from the kettle on it.

Bi Zaiyu dared not delay and immediately rode his horse to the front of the Song army camp.

"Stop!"

From the watchtower, an officer shouted orders.

Ignoring everything else, Bi Zaiyu rode his horse to a stop about thirty paces away. Hearing the shouts that rang out, he sneered, drew his bow, and shot down the corner flag beside the officer with a single arrow.

The Song army officer was so frightened that he involuntarily lowered his body.

Taking advantage of the brief moment when the Song army was intimidated, Bi Zaiyu raised his bow and shouted loudly, "The military governor of the Jingnan Army is here! Liu Bao, why don't you come out and pay your respects?!"

After shouting a few times, Bi Zaiyu turned his horse around, retreated several dozen steps, and moved out of the range of the Song army's arrows. He then reined in his horse and watched the movements of the Song army's camp.

Although the Song army officer was terrified and somewhat annoyed by Bi Zaiyu's rude behavior, he dared not neglect the matter and immediately went to the central command tent to report it.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bao flew into a rage: "This Liu Dalang is outrageous! As a colleague, how dare he order me around like a stable boy?!"

Liu Bao's gesture was mostly meant for the person in charge.

Yu Yunwen, who sat at the head of the main tent, merely sipped his tea and sneered, quietly watching Liu Bao's performance until the other party's insults became increasingly vulgar. Only then did he put down his teacup and say, "Chief Steward Liu."

Liu Bao dared not be negligent and immediately stood up, cupping his hands in greeting: "Your subordinate is here."

Yu Yunwen looked curious and leaned forward, asking, "Does this Liu Dalang know that I've arrived?"

This question was rather absurd, so Liu Bao just chuckled twice: "As long as Liu Dalang isn't a fool, he'll know that Master Yu has arrived when he sees your banner."

"Oh." Yu Yunwen nodded and said, "Then tell me, why won't Liu Dalang let me get out and see him too?"

Liu Bao shook his head, his expression becoming serious: "This fellow wouldn't dare."

Yu Yunwen sighed and said, "What is there that he wouldn't dare to do? Chief Steward Liu has always said that he is cautious and prudent, but even such a cautious person dares to act first and report later, leading 10,000 troops northward."

Moreover, what about someone as audacious as Liu Dalang?

Liu Bao knew that his actions had thoroughly offended Yu Yunwen, so he stopped arguing and knelt down on the ground: "Lord Yu, I was wrong this time. I was blinded by the merits and the position of Governor of Huaidong, which led to this calamity. I hope Lord Yu will save my life. From now on, I will serve Lord Yu at his beck and call!"

Yu Yunwen stood up, sighed and said, "Actually, whether it was you or Zhang Zigai, if you had sent troops north two or three months ago, I wouldn't have been angry at all, I would have been very happy. Regardless of victory or defeat, I would have taken responsibility for the consequences."

"But you just happened to head north at this moment."

"Why now?"

After a long silence, Liu Bao finally told the truth: "Because the Jin bandits occupied Xuzhou before, our northward march was to fight a real bloody battle with them. Now that the Jin bandits have fled, there is naturally a gap in our defenses, allowing us to take advantage of the situation."

Yu Yunwen originally wanted to ask, "The Jingnan army drove the Jin army away, so why do you think the Jingnan army is easier to deal with than the Jin army?"

But then he thought again, these were ultimately political struggles hidden beneath the surface, and it wasn't really convenient to talk about them openly. He figured that in Liu Bao's mind, since Liu Huai was also within the Song army system, he should at least give him some face. After suffering a hidden loss, he could simply hold a banquet to apologize. They would run into each other again eventually, and Liu Bao would eventually show leniency.

Once the deed is done and the situation is established, Yu Yunwen and Ye Yiwen can persuade everyone, and then everyone can be at peace.

Who would have thought Liu Huai would be so disrespectful?

Yu Yunwen sighed again: "Since Liu Dalang sent troops to cut off your retreat, why didn't you just attack directly?"

Such clandestine fires were common in feudal armies, so it's not surprising.

Generally speaking, as long as things don't go too far, whoever wins is in the right.

If Liu Baoneng had turned around and fought Luo Shenyan, Wang Xiongyi, and others after learning that his retreat route had been cut off, while his army still had provisions, he might not have been in such a passive position.

Liu Bao was truly astonished this time, and looked up: "That's...that's an army of five thousand...how...how can they possibly fight them head-on?"

Yu Yunwen was even more speechless. He could only look up at the top of the tent and say, "Yue Pengju once said that if civil officials do not love money and military officials do not fear death, then the Central Plains can be recovered and the Yellow Dragon can be defeated."

But after all these years, are civil officials still greedy for money, and military officials still afraid of death?

Liu Bao felt both ashamed and angry, and could only kowtow repeatedly, admitting his guilt.

Yu Yunwen was somewhat disheartened: "Very well, I'll go with you. Don't say anything later, I'll make all the decisions. It's also time to meet with Liu Dalang and ask him about the outcome of this battle."

After all, they were 10,000 Song soldiers; they couldn't just be left here.

Liu Huai sat in the cold wind for half an hour, drinking a pot of hot tea, before the gates of the Song army camp finally opened. Dozens of cavalrymen, surrounding a few people and carrying banners bearing titles such as "Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner" and "General Commander of the Huaidong Army," rapidly approached.

The person who went ahead was an acquaintance of Liu Huai, Dai Gao, who was also one of the "Five Commanders of Caishi".

These five men were among those who retreated to Caishi to gather troops during the great defeat in Huaixi. They were considered the first batch of troops recruited by Yu Yunwen, and were also the people Yu Yunwen focused on cultivating.

However, in the extremely brutal Second Battle of Huaixi, Wang Qi, Shi Jun, and Sheng Xin had all died in battle, leaving only Dai Gao and Zhang Zhen alive.

With Yu Yunwen's promotion and his contributions in the Second Huaixi War, Dai Gao has risen in rank and become the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Huaixi Army, a promotion of three ranks.

"Commander Liu." Although Dai Gao was much older than Liu Huai, he did not dare to be presumptuous and bowed, saying, "It's been a long time. Commander Liu, you still have the same demeanor."

Liu Huai chuckled and said, "Steward Dai, don't stand on ceremony."

Seeing that the other party hesitated to speak, Liu Huai understood: "Yao Buping has already become the commander of the cavalry under my command, and he has made great contributions in this battle. He will be greatly promoted."

Dai Gao nodded repeatedly, then sighed and said, "I'm sorry to Brother Yao. I'm naturally happy that his grandson has such a promising future, but as long as he's in the army, he'll inevitably have to fight on the battlefield and get injured. It's really worrying."

When Huaixi suffered a major defeat, Wang Quan fled. Yao Buping's grandfather, Yao Xing, gathered a group of remnants of the defeated army at Weiziqiao, attempting to block the advance of the Jin army.

At that time, Dai Gao was in the army as the commander of the right wing, but he was defeated by the Jin army and fled in a sorry state. As a result, the Jin army wiped out the entire army, and more than 50 generals, including Yao Xing and his son, were killed in battle.

Dai Gao felt guilty towards Yao Buping.

Liu Huai could only shake his head helplessly at this.

Dai Gao's desire for Yao Buping to live a peaceful life was naturally the heartfelt wish of an elder, but it was also only natural for Yao Buping, as a descendant, to want to join the army to avenge his father and grandfather, and even something that should be praised.

The two men remained silent for a moment. As the Song army's dozens of cavalrymen drew closer, Dai Gao brought up the important matter: "Commander, I know that Liu Bao is a fool who almost ruined the whole situation. Moreover, you are the commander of the Shandong rebel army. It is only right and proper that Liu Bao should come to pay his respects. But since Lord Yu has come in person, you should go and greet him personally."

It seemed as if only now did Liu Huai realize that Yu Yunwen had arrived, and he nodded and said, "Since Prime Minister Yu has come, I, a mere military governor, naturally have to welcome him."

As he spoke, Liu Huai stood up, his cold armor rustling, and then slowly walked outside the screen.

Just as Dai Gao was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he saw Liu Huai stop outside the screen, then coldly watch the Song cavalry getting closer and closer, without moving an inch.

Dai Gao felt a tingling sensation on his scalp.

Liu Huai not only wanted to give Liu Bao a hard time, but he also didn't let Yu Yunwen off the hook.

(End of this chapter)