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

Chapter 678 The affairs of the world are in utter chaos

End of June.

Liu Huai was unaware that a conspiracy had already been launched against Wu Lin.

He's very busy right now.

But he wasn't busy with wedding preparations.

This matter is actually a bit excessive. Not only does Wei Rujun have grievances, but the whole of Shandong also has a lot of opinions about it.

This marriage was not just a marriage between a man and a woman; it also meant that Liu Huai would take over Wei Sheng's power completely, without any suspicion from anyone above or below.

Wei Sheng had a biological son, and although Liu Huai was an adopted son with great prestige, it was ultimately more appropriate for him to also be considered as a son-in-law.

For someone from the old Loyal Army, Liu Huai had become the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army, which was equivalent to starting his own business. So, even though he was Wei Sheng's confidant, could he still be considered one of Liu Huai's own people at this time?

If Liu Huai is unwilling to marry even Wei Rujun, would he still be willing to accept me?
Should I try to find a way out in advance?

If we investigate further, suspicions may arise between those above and below us.

Therefore, this marriage was no longer simply a union between two people, but a serious political issue.

In addition, Liu Huai is already in his twenties, which is considered an advanced age for a young man in the Song Dynasty, where early marriage and childbirth were common.

Civil and military officials who regard him as their lord will also desire lasting wealth and honor, and the privilege of having their wives and children granted titles and benefits.

How could Liu Huai not have an heir? Wouldn't that mean that even if he seized the throne, there would be no one to inherit it? Liu Huai was also the kind of person who would risk his life in battle, how could his ministers not be anxious?
The key point is that since everyone has already regarded Liu Huai's marriage to Wei Rujun as a political alliance, Liu Huai cannot take two concubines to have sons beforehand, nor can he hastily arrange his marriage to Wei Rujun.

Instead, it should be done in a grand and public manner. If possible, the whole world should know that Liu Huai is going to marry Wei Sheng's daughter and make her his wife. If Liu Huai becomes king, she will be his queen; if he becomes emperor, she will be his empress.

Because the wedding preparations took a long time and involved many rituals, the preparations were interrupted by various unexpected events.

Previously, due to some unusual movements by the Jin army in Hebei, Liu Huai led a thousand Flying Tiger cavalry to garrison in Bozhou, which delayed the operation for some time.

Then came the rainy season, and the Yellow River's water level rose accordingly. Liu Huai once again personally took charge in Xuzhou to deal with the situation on the river.

Now that he finally had some free time, Liang Su brought the latest intelligence to the Jiedushi's residence to find Liu Huai.

"Commander-in-Chief, I personally traveled to various parts of the Central Plains and discovered some information."

After reviewing a document, Liu Huai saw Liang Su's serious expression and immediately poured him a bowl of plum juice. He then asked in a stern tone, "Mr. Liang, please don't panic. What has happened?"

Liang Su took the plum juice, drank it all in one gulp, and wiped the sweat from his forehead: "I previously asked the Commander-in-Chief for permission to go to the Central Plains to investigate, but I found that some places in the Central Plains seemed to have recovered some of their livelihoods. After making many inquiries, I discovered that it was my senior brother Shi Ju, Shi Zimei, who came to govern Chenzhou and has now been appointed as the Governor of Henan."

Upon hearing this, Liu Huai frowned: "Shi Ju? I remember Mr. Liang told me that he was clearly a subject of Wanyan Yong's side, so how come he's in charge of Chenzhou, south of Bianliang, in Henan?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Su smiled wryly: "I don't know why this is the case, but I think it's possible that Heshi Lieliangbi mediated between Wanyan Liang and Wanyan Yong."

Liu Huai shook his head and said, "It's truly unbelievable that the two emperors of the Jin Kingdom can still be persuaded to cooperate. The country is in such a state of war, yet they can still appoint each other's ministers. Aren't they afraid of trouble brewing from within?"

Liu Huai found it unbelievable, but Liang Su thought it was quite reasonable: "Commander-in-Chief, you're just blind to what's right under your nose. What is the relationship between Song and us? Isn't Mr. Lu still in charge of the government in Shandong? Even after what happened in May, when the eldest son's power was unstoppable, didn't they still continue to work for the country? The principle is the same: mutual tolerance is for the sake of the country."

Liu Huai could only manage a wry smile.

In May, Shandong held its first provincial examination.

The entire process took no more than twenty days, making it a hasty talent selection. The questions were set by the great Confucian scholar Zhu Xi, and about two hundred scholars were selected and assigned to military governorships, the army, and local government offices.

This blatant overstepping of authority thoroughly angered the Song Dynasty's civil officials, represented by Lu You.

They came to the Marshal's Mansion in droves, questioning Wei Sheng whether Shandong was still Song territory!
Lu You remained relatively clear-headed. He did not directly confront Liu Huai, fearing that Liu Huai might really give up and, in a moment of impulsiveness, raise the flag of rebellion on the spot.

However, Lu You's clear mind did not mean he had any solutions to the situation in Shandong. He could only bring his loyal subjects to Wei Sheng, hoping that Wei Sheng would subdue Liu Huai and make him stop overstepping his bounds.

This was the only move the loyalists to the Song Dynasty had left.

Wei Sheng could only sigh inwardly at this.

As he had said in the military council, the Northern Expedition was extremely difficult, and the current situation was hard-won. Selecting talent from Shandong was also an urgent matter. How could Wei Sheng possibly object?

This reveals the distinct differences between the three prominent figures in Shandong today: Wei Sheng, Lu You, and Liu Huai.

Wei Sheng prioritized the Northern Expedition over the Song Dynasty. This doesn't mean he was disloyal to the Song Dynasty, but rather that while he might overstep his bounds for the sake of the Northern Expedition, he would never truly break away from the Song Dynasty to become a warlord.

Lu You prioritized the Song Dynasty over the Northern Expedition. In his view, if the success of the Northern Expedition was not achieved by the Song Dynasty, then the final result would be meaningless. However, he would try his best to promote the Northern Expedition while maintaining the Song Dynasty's rule in Shandong.

As for Liu Huai, in this time traveler's mind, the Northern Expedition was everything, everything was for the Northern Expedition, and everything that stood in his way, including the Song and Jin states, would be crushed by him.

Go ahead and argue with the wheels of history!

Therefore, Wei Sheng could only give a perfunctory answer, calling this provincial examination a "professional talent selection exam," and only managed to get away with it after everything was settled.

Following this period of chaos, the conflict between the local Shandong faction and the loyal Song faction became almost public knowledge. Not only officials, but even ordinary people began to discuss Shandong's future, whether to establish its own independent state or to return to the Song Dynasty.

During this period, the schools within the garrison unexpectedly played a significant role.

Because the children in Wei School would shout "Thank you for your kindness, Lord Wei! Thank you for your kindness, young master!" three times before each meal, their parents had become quite familiar with these words.

For them, the one who could provide them with land and food was not the distant State of Song, but Wei Sheng and his son Liu Huai.

This trend of thought quickly overwhelmed the faction loyal to the Song Dynasty.

But what could Lu You do?

Can we just leave?

The presence of the State of Song in Shandong is already very low. If they leave, wouldn't Shandong and the State of Song be completely severed?
Therefore, Lu You and the others had no choice but to return to their respective posts and continue working.

As for the Shandong provincial examination, it was intercepted by Yu Yunwen and not reported to the central government of the Song Dynasty.

Lu You was worried that Liu Huai would become a traitor, so Yu Yunwen wrote a long letter to persuade Lu You.

Was Cao Cao born a villain?
No, he also wanted to become General Cao, the General Who Conquers the West, and he also attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo. Furthermore, when the Guandong Coalition withdrew, he went west alone to save the Han Emperor.

But how did he later become a traitor to the Han?

It's simply a matter of the times. The saying "a capable minister in times of peace, a treacherous hero in times of chaos" perfectly captures this idea.

It's perfectly normal for Liu Huai to have ambitions; anyone in that position would have ambitions.

Pure ministers like Wei Sheng and Lu You are few and far between, but as long as the State of Song can grasp the overall situation, it will definitely be able to suppress Liu Huai's ambitions and allow him to continue to be a high-ranking official in the State of Song, rather than a vassal king.

Lu You naturally nodded in agreement with such statements, but at the same time, he also scoffed at them.

You should just stay in the Huai River region and control the overall situation! I don't know how you'll overpower Liu Dalang with the power of the world if you don't send troops to the north.

Of course, Liu Huai was unaware of these inside details. He only knew that he and Lu You had fallen out and had been avoiding each other for the past few days, fearing that they would quarrel again if they met.

Liang Su downed another bowl of plum juice, then asked, burping, "Commander-in-Chief, if Henan recovers its people's livelihood, it will be difficult for us to attack the Central Plains. Should we use some methods?"

Liu Huai remained noncommittal, instead asking, "How exactly did your senior brother restore people's livelihoods? Tell me about it in detail."

Knowing that Liu Huai would ask this question, Liang Su directly took out a document from his bosom: "Commander-in-Chief, this is what I have compiled and recorded. Please take a look."

Liu Huai opened the book and began to look it up.

Actually, this matter is not complicated.

Heshi Lieliangbi quickly reached an agreement with Wanyan Yong and Wanyan Liang, and decided to appoint Shi Ju as the governor of Henan, in charge of the civil administration of the seven prefectures in southern Henan.

Wanyan Liang was naturally aware of Shi Ju's abilities, but he was still uneasy about the other party's stance, so he simply promoted Pucha Shijie to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Henan Army, entrusting him with the military power of the entire southern Henan region.

This can be considered the most basic check and balance.

At the same time, Wanyan Liang appointed Zhang Hao as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Grand Tutor, and Pusan ​​Zhongyi as Grand Marshal and Grand Protector, one a civil official and the other a military commander, to be responsible for the major military and political affairs of the country.

This freed up Wanyan Liang, allowing him to transform into a micro-management master and personally go to Guanzhong to resolve that mess of troubles.

After Shi Ju arrived in Chenzhou with a thousand elite Jin soldiers, the first thing he did was to kill people.

In just one day, he wiped out several wealthy families in the state, one of whom was even a Jurchen.

After acquiring the money, Shi Ju immediately recruited soldiers and horses, and soon his army numbered ten thousand.

These 10,000 men were basically a peasant army and were incapable of fighting any tough battles.

Of course, Shi Ju did not intend to fight a tough battle with these troops, and he immediately issued a warning to the seven states under his jurisdiction.

Officials and wealthy families, if you know what's good for you, come to Chenzhou to see me. If you don't come within ten days, I will go.

Faced with such a vicious prefect, most people still yielded, some offering money and grain, others offering land.

With these lands and assets as capital, Shi Ju did not carry out the meticulous work of allocating land, but immediately ordered the organization of military and civilian settlements on the spot.

The number of military and civilian settlements in various regions was directly linked to political performance; those who performed well and produced a lot would be rewarded and promoted.

But who did a bad job...?

It should be noted that Shi Ju even killed a prefect.

Some people approached Pucha Shijie, wanting him to step forward and fight Shi Ju.

But Shi Ju silenced Pu Chashijie with just one sentence.

If you follow my method, you can provide 10,000 bushels of military rations after the autumn harvest; if you stand up for them and drive me away, you'll be left to starve after the autumn harvest.

Upon hearing this, Pucha Shijie immediately stopped paying attention to the petitions from officials in various places.

These officials had no choice but to follow Shi Ju's orders and carry out military and civilian settlements.

This naturally led to a lot of trouble.

There were all sorts of absurd and messy things happening, such as people's land being forcibly seized and people becoming tenants of the government without their knowledge; three sons being conscripted into the army to participate in military settlements; and officers taking advantage of their subordinates and exploiting the soldiers in military settlements.

From a macro perspective, Shi Ju's move did indeed keep the people firmly under control on the land, preventing a large-scale exodus of migrants.

Without the complete destruction of order by displaced people, everything is under the control of the government.

Seeing Liu Huai's amazed expression, Liang Su asked, "What do you think of my senior brother?"

Liu Huai nodded and said, "Ruthless and decisive, cutting through the Gordian knot. Although his methods were rough, it was the best possible outcome. However, the key now is not him..."

As he spoke, Liu Huai narrowed his eyes, looking at the document in his hand as if he could see right through it: "The key is Heshilie Liangbi. This fellow has now become a bridge for communication and cooperation between the two Jin kingdoms in the east and west. If we can't get rid of him first, Wanyan Liang and Wanyan Yong are very likely not to fight him."

Liang Su thought for a moment: "He Shi Lie Liangbi is in Youyan. If we want to kill him, apart from direct assassination or a counter-espionage plot, we can probably only use methods like using someone else to do the dirty work."

After thinking for a moment, Liu Huai waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Killing Heshi Lieliangbi is a long and arduous task, and it can't be done right now. We still need to deal with the current issues first."

Upon hearing this, Liang Su frowned and resumed the previous topic: "Commander-in-Chief, if Henan is greatly prosperous, it will be very disadvantageous for us. Should we...?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Huai waved his hand and said, "Don't think like that. Those who can bring peace to the world are all like-minded comrades. How could it be a mistake for Shi Ju to save a few more people?"

Liang Su spread his hands and said, "Then what should we do?"

Liu Huai chuckled, pulled a piece of paper from the table, picked up a brush and began to write: "Since we are comrades, we should exchange more ideas on governance. I am writing a letter and hope that Mr. Liang can find a way to deliver it to Shi Ju."

Liang Su thought they were going to use a divisive tactic and was about to add some details when he heard someone break into the military governor's residence.

"Liu Dalang! Liu Dalang!"

Liu Huai looked up and was somewhat surprised to see that it was Lu You.

After the provincial examination, the relationship between the two became somewhat awkward, and Liu Huai tried his best to avoid direct contact with Lu You. Unexpectedly, Lu You came to him directly.

Has something serious happened?
"Liu Dalang! Something bad is about to happen!" Lu You said, waving a document in his hand with a grim expression.

Liu Huai quickly took the document, and after only a couple of glances, he knew that even a composed person like Lu You would be so flustered.

(End of this chapter)