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

Chapter 651 The Prime Minister's Predicament in Jiangnan

Information transmission was extremely slow in this era, and Liu Huai was consciously blocking various military intelligence from being sent to the Song Dynasty. This resulted in Yu Yunwen only knowing that the Shandong rebels had fought a major battle with the Jin army and ultimately won, but not knowing the exact results and casualties.

This is not surprising. Emperor Huizong of Song has been dead for many years, yet the Song state is still chanting the slogan of "welcoming back the two emperors."

The most recent reliable intelligence that Yu Yunwen had was a document that Geng Jing personally sent to the Song Dynasty when he led troops to Daming Prefecture in October.

One of the purposes of Yu Yunwen's personal visit to Liu Huai was to find out what the process of the Shandong battle over the past few months had been and what the final outcome was.

But to his utter surprise, just as they were exchanging a few casual words and getting the conversation on track, Liu Huai dropped this bombshell.

In Yu Yunwen's view, no matter how ambitious Geng Jing was or how incompetent he was, he was still an independent force in Shandong.

As long as Geng Jing was still alive, there would always be only two forces within Shandong, which gave the State of Song the opportunity to maneuver and maneuver.

But Geng Jing had already died in battle! This meant that Liu Huai had absolute power in Shandong and controlled all military authority.

No wonder Liu Huai was able to easily relinquish the positions of Pacification Commissioner of the two routes in Jingdong; he was confident in his abilities!

In the blink of an eye, Yu Yunwen had figured out the pros and cons in his mind. He slowly bent down, righted the overturned table, and rinsed the fallen cups with hot tea. Then he stood up and said solemnly, "Geng Jiedu was loyal to the country, but unfortunately he did not live long. Today I offer tea instead of wine to honor Geng Jiedu. May you accept this offering!"

After reading the brief eulogy, Yu Yunwen poured a cup of tea and spilled it on the ground.

Seeing this, Liu Huai had no choice but to get up and follow suit.

Regardless of whether it was a political performance or not, Yu Yunwen at least showed respect.

Of course, every move this old fox makes has a political purpose.

Sure enough, Yu Yunwen said next: "Although Commander Geng has died, the Tianping Army is still here. We should select a good general from among them to be the commander and reward the whole army to commend their loyalty and bravery."

Upon hearing this, Liu Huai grew impatient and bluntly stated, "Lord Yu, stop trying to infiltrate our ranks. The entire Tianping Army was rescued from the Jin invaders' iron hooves by my own leadership. Xin Wulang, Da Tieqiang, and others have been fighting under my command for a long time. You can't take them away."

Seeing this, Yu Yunwen stopped pretending: "We should give it a try. Surely, with Liu Dalang's forbearance for the country, he wouldn't turn against me?"

After the two tore away their previous warm facade and began a naked confrontation, the atmosphere became even more harmonious than before.

Liu Huai said nonchalantly, "Please do as you please, Lord Yu. You can win over whomever you want."

"Is it all right?"

“Of course, either is fine, but…” Liu Huai said, pointing to Suqian City in the distance, “Even a mere city near the border of the Song Dynasty cannot be won over by the Song Dynasty. How can we possibly win over those true heroes who are determined to resist the Jin and will never give up even if it means death? Or, Prime Minister Yu, what do you intend to use to win over those who are going to launch the Northern Expedition? Is it the wealth and glory of the Southern Dynasty?”

There is no love without a reason. Without those who march north to the Central Plains, the hearts of the heroes of the Central Plains cannot be won over. It is impossible for everyone to be devoted to you just because you raise the banner of the Song Dynasty.

Yu Yunwen knew this too, but still retorted: "So, does that mean Liu Dalang is urging me to launch a northern expedition? Very well, the harvests in Jiangnan and Lianghuai were good last year. Next month, the whole army will launch a northern expedition against the Jin Kingdom. I hope Liu Dalang can continue to make meritorious contributions."

Liu Huai waved his hand and laughed, "No, no, this great battle has exhausted the manpower of Shandong. We don't even have enough food. If we continue fighting, I'm afraid I'll have to jump into the pot and be boiled into a pot of meat porridge to serve as military rations for the soldiers."

That's true. This battle has depleted most of the resources that Shandong and Shandong had just accumulated, leaving them barely able to make ends meet by the autumn harvest. How could they possibly continue fighting?

Knowing that if this topic continued, Liu Huai would seize the opportunity to demand more supplies, Yu Yunwen immediately steered the conversation in another direction: "Brother Liu, how did this battle begin, what was the outcome, what were the results, what were the spoils, and are there any official reports of victory?"

Liu Huai shrugged: "There should have been, but Liu Bao is just too outrageous, so I have no choice but to deal with this mess first."

Seeing that Liu Huai was about to steer the conversation in another direction, Yu Yunwen waved his hand and said, "Don't interrupt. Just give me a brief overview."

Liu Huai nodded: "Let's start from the battle between the Eastern Jin and Western Jin in September..."

Liu Huai certainly wouldn't reveal everything. At the very least, he had to keep the gunpowder issue a secret, and he didn't mention anything about the purge of powerful clans or the distribution of land.

Even so, Liu Huai still spoke for half an hour before finally ending.

At first, Yu Yunwen just listened, but later he simply dipped his finger in the tea and started writing and drawing on the table.

“Alas, I should have been alert when the military envoy who delivered the order to Geng Jiedu did not return that day.” After listening and thinking for a moment, Yu Yunwen sighed and said, “I never thought that this slight oversight would ultimately harm Geng Jiedu.”

Yu Yunwen was referring to the rebellion in Dongping Prefecture.

But to be honest, even if he had been alert, it wouldn't have mattered.

Unless a nationwide Northern Expedition is launched, the Song army will have no chance of breaking through the three prefectures of Sizhou, Pizhou, and Xuzhou, defeating the entire Xuzhou 30,000 households, and reaching Dongping Prefecture to provide support.

As for tipping off others, forget about it. Expecting Geng Jing to suspect Kong Duanqi, the chief strategist, because of a single word from the Song state is less likely than hoping that Geng Jing could defeat Daming Prefecture in one fell swoop!
However, Yu Yunwen still felt somewhat heartbroken. With Geng Jing's death, the situation in Shandong changed drastically, and all the plans and backup strategies had to be rebuilt from scratch.

By the time everything is ready, who knows how powerful Liu Huai will have become!

Liu Huai didn't say anything, he just kept drinking tea.

After a brief sigh, Yu Yunwen immediately reverted to his political instincts: "So, Liu Dalang actually annihilated an entire Jin army in this battle, even killing Commander Xiao Qi on the spot, and routed two Jin armies, causing them to flee in disarray. Are there any heads, flags, or prisoners?"

Seeing that the important point had finally been reached, Liu Huai smiled from the bottom of his heart and said, "Yes, Lord Yu, yes."

Upon seeing that smile, which revealed a hint of cunning, Yu Yunwen knew that Liu Huai was about to make some unreasonable demands again, and immediately snorted coldly.

But Yu Yunwen had no choice but to ask Liu Huai for it.

In Liu Huai's hands, these things were at most used to boast about his martial arts skills; in this era, the custom of building mounds of heads was not popular. After the heads were recorded as merits, they could only be hastily buried.

However, for the entire pro-war faction in the Song state, and even for Yu Yunwen himself, having these heads and spoils of war in hand would immediately make the battle seem like a great victory for the Song state against the Jin state. The pro-war faction's momentum would immediately surge, delivering a heavy blow to the pro-peace faction and reinforcing Emperor Zhao Shen's pro-war stance.

Seeing Yu Yunwen's expression, Liu Huai knew he was already tempted: "I can't give you the prisoners, armor, and weapons; the prisoners need to be sent to Xuzhou to mine and undergo labor reform. The armor and weapons need to be kept to arm the troops for the war against Jin. I can give you the heads, drums, flags, and all that's needed, and more..."

As he spoke, Liu Huai looked at Yu Yunwen with a somewhat mocking expression: "I can even admit that this battle was a brilliant command by Prime Minister Yu. Prime Minister Yu planned and executed strategies in the Huai River region, winning battles a thousand miles away. He simply remotely controlled the generals in Shandong, and the Jin invaders were utterly defeated. This battle can be considered the first great victory since the Emperor ascended the throne, and it is enough to make the pro-war faction proud."

“However, before that, Prime Minister Yu must answer one question for me.” Liu Huai’s face turned cold: “How did Liu Bao come to be here? Why did he dare to attack Suqian? Is Prime Minister Yu unable to control this fellow? Then just declare him a traitor on the spot, and I will take care of eliminating him.”

Although he had roughly learned Liu Bao's purpose from the letters retrieved from the powerful families in Xuzhou, Liu Huai was still somewhat skeptical.

Although the Song Dynasty is not as harsh as the Northern Song Dynasty, it cannot allow a general of the chief commander level to act arbitrarily, can it?

Did Ye Yiwen or Yu Yunwen give a promise or guarantee?

Yu Yunwen sighed and could only recount how, when Geng Jing requested reinforcements, he ordered Geng Jing to be stopped from heading north, while simultaneously ordering Zhang Zigai and others to bring Shanyang to join the battle. He even pulled out a copy of the original document from his pocket to prove that his story was true.

Upon hearing that Liu Bao was not acting on Yu Yunwen's orders, Liu Huai's expression turned rather unpleasant: "Lord Yu, we share the same goal, and I no longer wish to conceal it. It's been several months, why haven't we subdued the generals of Lianghuai? This Liu Bao is even trying to make you take the blame, Lord Yu, you're truly having a terrible time as a prime minister."

Yu Yunwen wouldn't back down in words: "Naturally, I can't compare to you self-indulgent warriors, but if you say I didn't see anything, you, Liu Dalang, are underestimating me."

“Zhang Zigai and Liu Bao are useless and cannot be relied upon for the Northern Expedition. Therefore, I have focused my efforts on Li Xianzong and others this year. When the Northern Expedition begins, Liu Bao will at most be a deputy general who provides support, while Li Xianzong will be the commander-in-chief.”

That's one explanation.

But Liu Huai still had no intention of letting Yu Yunwen go: "If that's the case, why keep Liu Bao around? Is it just a waste of food?"

Yu Yunwen shook his head and remained silent for a long time before saying, "That's not how it is. The affairs of the court are complicated and cannot be explained in just a few words."

Liu Huai suddenly realized, and tentatively asked, "Zhang Jun, the Prime Minister?"

Yu Yunwen hadn't expected Liu Huai to have such a keen political sense. After staring at Liu Huai for a moment, he nodded and said, "It is indeed Minister Zhang."

Liu Huai instantly understood.

As early as after Wanyan Liang's southern invasion ended, when Zhang Jun was sent to Lianghuai to stabilize the situation, this fellow had already made contact with Zhang Zigai.

Although Zhang Jun did not obtain the official position of Jianghuai Pacification Commissioner, he still wields considerable power in the court and remains one of the leading figures of the pro-war faction, with many others joining his side.

Since Zhang Jun used Zhang Jun's troops, one of the four generals, as a tool to intervene in the Huai River region, he would not easily allow Yu Yunwen to take complete control.

"Lord Yu, may I ask one more question? Once we take back these spoils of war, will you be able to wield absolute power in the court?"

Faced with Liu Huai's question, Yu Yunwen smiled and shook his head: "How can I possibly control everything? Do you really think I'm Cao Cao? Besides, Cao Cao also had his own clansmen, the Xiahou brothers as his wings, and Zhang Liao, Yu Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang, and others as his henchmen. What do I have? Take Zhang Baiyu under your command, for example, do you think he listens to me?"

Liu Huai was somewhat speechless: "Then he should be able to become an influential minister in the court, suppressing the pro-peace and pro-conservation factions, right?"

After pondering for a moment, Yu Yunwen sighed and said, "It's still very difficult, because the people who lead the army and those who defend it are all scholar-officials from the south. If we want to launch a northern expedition, we have to collect taxes and provisions from the south. It's like raising taxes in their hometown. How can we leave these people out?"

Liu Huai was even more speechless: "Surely Prime Minister Yu can completely subdue Zhang Jun and unite the pro-war faction?"

Yu Yunwen became somewhat embarrassed, but he knew that if he couldn't make a clear promise at this point, Liu Huai might not want to continue being his political ally.

Political allies are supposed to be mutually beneficial. If you can't do this or that, what's the point of having you?

"I...I should be able to succeed." Liu Huai chuckled twice before nodding, "In that case, I shall state my conditions."

Yu Yunwen let out a long sigh of relief and said seriously, "Please speak, Liu Dalang."

Liu Huai held up one finger: "Firstly, this battle has wiped out Shandong's resources. If Prime Minister Yu wants to launch an attack this autumn, I'm afraid I won't be able to."

Yu Yunwen crossed his arms and said, "Liu Dalang, what are you still hiding in front of me? You know perfectly well that the Northern Expedition will require your participation, so tell me your conditions."

If the Song army were to launch a northern expedition and fight the main force of the Jin dynasty to the death, while the Shandong rebel army, a semi-independent force, remained inactive, wouldn't that be the Song army pulling chestnuts out of the fire for Liu Huai?

If Liu Huai were to become too powerful, Yu Yunwen would be left with nothing but regret.

In fact, Yu Yunwen's plan was to have Liu Huai lead the main force of the Han army to fight the Jin army, while he followed behind and reaped the benefits. He would never let Liu Huai sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight.

Did Liu Huai know about this?
Nature knows.

The key point is that the Southern Song Dynasty could close its doors and guard its small court over half of the country, but the Central Plains belonged to the people of the Central Plains. Faced with war that was so close at hand, neither Liu Huai nor the Han army could avoid it.

"Lord Yu is so generous!" Liu Huai immediately clapped his hands and said, "We need grain, we need artisans, we need scholars. The north is exhausted and needs everything. When we can launch the Northern Expedition depends on when these gaps can be filled."

"How much grain do we need?"

"The more, the merrier."

"The more the better?" Yu Yunwen almost laughed out of anger: "Liu Dalang, how about I just transfer all the taxes from Jiangnan to Shandong?"

Even with such a taunt, Liu Huai, a shameless man, simply cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Yu."

"You guys..."

After much haggling, the two finally settled on a series of policies.

The most important thing was not how much grain was sent, but Yu Yunwen's promise to clean up the trade routes in Lianghuai and severely punish the illegal tax checkpoints set up in various places to ensure smooth trade.

Both the Xuzhou Ironworks and the Haizhou Saltworks were veritable money-printing machines. In the absence of mature maritime transport, shipping bulk cargo via the Yellow River to the Huai River basin, while less profitable, was stable.

Liu Huai took a sip of tea before raising his second finger and saying, "Secondly, since I have already relinquished the positions of Pacification Commissioner of the two routes in Jingdong and given Zhang Xiaoxiang and others the official positions of Prefect and Military Governor, Minister Yu should also advise the officials in the court not to take advantage of my kindness."

Yu Yunwen frowned and asked, "What are you going to do? Are you going to turn against us just because the imperial court has sent a prefectural magistrate?"

Liu Huai coldly replied, "The waves of the East Sea are quite turbulent. Would the imperial court really turn against me just because the prefectural governor and vice-prefect drowned?"

Yu Yunwen immediately became somewhat agitated: "According to your logic, Shandong will no longer belong to the state?"

Liu Huai also said with a stern expression, "If they send some good-for-nothings, they'll make a mess of things in Shandong, and the Jin invaders will take advantage of the situation to attack. At that point, not only Shandong, but even the Huai River region might not be safe!"

After another heated debate, the two compromised with each other.

Yu Yunwen assured that even if officials were dispatched, they would all be capable and efficient. He also assured that the Song dynasty would follow its tradition of handling border affairs, respecting the opinions of each military commander; in other words, Wei Sheng and Liu Huai would have veto power.

Liu Huai continued, "Thirdly, the rewards and honors for the various armies in Shandong must be finalized. I can incentivize the soldiers at the grassroots level by granting them land, but surely the Song Dynasty wouldn't ask me to give up all its money and provisions?"

Yu Yunwen was utterly exasperated by Liu Huai's shamelessness: "So, in other words, the Song Dynasty has no say in the Shandong armies, and they still have to pay after winning the battle?"

Liu Huai said in surprise, "If the Jin bandits had not been defeated by our Shandong troops, they would very likely have attacked the Huai River region. Since we have contributed to the Song Dynasty, why shouldn't we be rewarded?"

Yu Yunwen didn't respond, but instead sneered and said, "In that case, how about letting Xin Qiji be the General Commander of the Tianping Army, under the name of the Huaixi Army? At that time, I can take care of not only rewards, but also military pay and provisions."

Liu Huai laughed as well: "If there is another rebellion in Huaixi, then I will not care."

The Taiping Army will also carry out the garrison reform, reorganize and allocate land, and ordinary people will settle down in Shandong.

Even if Yu Yunwen could pull away some generals, he couldn't pull away an entire army.

After the two haggled like small merchants again, Yu Yunwen finally made concessions and promised a lot of money and goods.

This was not because Yu Yunwen had taken pity on him, but because Emperor Zhao Shen of the Song Dynasty had just ascended to the throne. If he wanted to use this great victory to consolidate his position, then the Jingnan Army and the Zhongyi Army had to be his own people, and had to be Song soldiers.

Otherwise, how could it be considered a great victory for the State of Song?

But if the Shandong rebels were actually Song troops, what good would it do if they won a great victory without any reward? If they did that, who would still be willing to risk their lives for the Zhao Emperor?

"These are roughly the three conditions," Liu Huai said with a smile to Yu Yunwen after stating his conditions. "We'll discuss the rest internally and then add to them."

Yu Yunwen said with a wry smile, "Liu Dalang, you're a real cunning merchant, all you care about is money."

Liu Huai replied with a smile, "Likewise, Lord Yu. The head of the household must be shrewd and calculating, otherwise the servants will go hungry."

The two stood up at the same time and clapped three times to signify that the agreement was made.

However, Yu Yunwen did not turn around and sit down. Instead, he looked over the curtain to the north, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Liu Dalang, do you know that I have never been to Hebei?"

Liu Huai shook his head in response.

“I’ve only read about the vastness of the Hebei Plain, the magnificence of the Western Regions, the strategic importance of Shanxi, the wonder of Youyan, and the snow-capped Liaodong in books. But I’ve never seen them with my own eyes.” Yu Yunwen’s tone became somewhat strange: “I actually had a chance, because when I was ten years old and old enough to understand things, it was the time when the Song Dynasty was prosperous and thriving. If an elder in my family had taken me to travel around the north at that time, I might still have some memories.”

"But now, the northernmost place I've ever been is Bianliang, which I visited two years ago when I was sent as a New Year's envoy to investigate the Jin Kingdom's strength."

As Yu Yunwen spoke, a bitter expression appeared on his face. He turned to look at Liu Huai and spread his hands, saying, "Liu Dalang, don't you find it funny? I am a nobleman of the Han dynasty, destined to become prime minister, and the northernmost place I have ever been is Bianliang in the Central Plains."

At this point, Liu Huai also dropped his previous playful demeanor and became solemn.

People with the same talents have different fates in different eras.

The world is in a state of flux, and those who follow it prosper while those who oppose it perish. What can even brilliant figures like Zhuge Liang and Yue Fei do when the entire civilization is declining? Their ambitions can only be buried in the end.

Did Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Li Jing, and others achieve such accomplishments because their talents were several times greater than Yue Fei's? They simply took advantage of the situation.

Like Yu Yunwen before him, if he had been born in the Han or Tang dynasties, with his talent and temperament, he might not have been any worse than the famous ministers of ancient times. However, he was born in the Southern Song Dynasty, and even after decades of fighting to the death, he might only be able to stand on the same starting line as brilliant ministers like Huo Guang.

Time is also destiny.

Yu Yunwen seemed not to expect Liu Huai to answer, and continued to mutter, "I once read the 'Treatise on Astronomy' in the Book of Tang. In one of the chapters, during the Kaiyuan era, there was a tribe called Guligan north of the Tiele and Uyghurs. They sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute."

The envoy from Kuligan said that in their land, during the summer, the days are long and the nights are short. When they cook mutton at sunset, the mutton is not yet cooked before the sun rises again.

Emperor Xuanzong and his ministers were quite surprised, but they did not take the words of the envoy from the Kuligan Kingdom as nonsense. Instead, they began a series of surveys along the territory of the Tang Dynasty, from north to south, starting with the Tiele, covering Liaodong, Hebei, the Central Plains, Jiangnan, Lingnan, and even the Kingdom of Linyi.

Then, the Tang Dynasty concluded that, within a distance of 526 li from north to south, at the same moment, the shadow cast by an eight-foot-tall object would differ by more than two inches. This not only proved the error of the great Confucian scholar's saying, "Within a thousand li of the royal domain, the shadow shifts by an inch," and demonstrated that the envoy from Kuligan was telling the truth, but also led to a deduction…

As he spoke, Yu Yunwen's face showed a strange expression, as if mixed with bitterness, surprise, and a hint of shame and indignation: "Nine thousand eight hundred and ten li north of Luoyang, starting from May, there will be no night, but only daylight. The Guligan tribe lives in a place that is relatively far south."

Upon hearing this, for some reason, Liu Huai also felt a chill run down his spine.

Isn't this the phenomenon of midnight sun in the Arctic?

During the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, although no one reached the Arctic Circle, this fact was calculated through extensive experiments and mathematical deductions.

"When I finished reading this astronomical treatise, I was about thirty years old. At that time, I felt dizzy and my mind was racing. For three or four days, I couldn't eat or sleep properly." Ignoring Liu Huai's reaction, Yu Yunwen continued, "My thoughts were in turmoil at the time, but in the end, I had a thought. With the current territory of the Great Song Dynasty, can't even this kind of surveying be done? Has the Han Dynasty's territory really become so narrow?"

"Looking back now, it was from that day that I set my mind on restoration."

"I...I want to go to the far north to see if there are no sunsets or nights in May!"

Yu Yunwen finally stopped speaking and turned to look at Liu Huai again: "Liu Dalang, can you understand this feeling?"

Liu Huai remained silent for a long time before answering, word by word: "There will always be Han people who will reclaim Beihai and restore the entire territory of the Han and Tang dynasties!"

Yu Yunwen showed no surprise and immediately nodded, saying, "Perhaps. If I cannot live to see that day, Liu Dalang, would you please scatter my ashes there?"

Liu Huai nodded slowly.

After the final round of probing, Yu Yunwen cupped his hands in greeting and stepped out of the enclosure.

Liu Huai, on the other hand, was quite impolite. He simply sat in the enclosure, looking up at the sky, seemingly lost in thought.

Soon, Wang Xiongyi and Luo Shenyan's troops cleared the Yellow River passage, and the Song army broke camp and left.

With the conclusion of the Battle of Suqian, this major war in Shandong, Hebei, and the Central Plains, triggered by the Jin civil war, finally came to an end.

(End of this chapter)