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

Chapter 680 Using Faith as a Knife to Pierce the Heart

The so-called "July's fiery heat" refers to the intense heat of July.

Logically, by the seventh month of the lunar calendar, the weather should gradually cool down, just like the famous line in the Book of Songs. But for some reason, the weather remains unbearably hot this year.

Shi Ju felt that his robes under his armor must have been soaked through, but he still stood under the scorching sun, surveying the ten thousand soldiers standing solemnly below the platform.

This army, known as the Long Spear Army, is the core of Shi Ju's newly formed force. They have been training for several months and their formation is quite impressive.

Although Shi Ju had a military quota of 20,000, it was impossible for him to train all of these soldiers into regular troops. Firstly, there wasn't enough time, and secondly, there wasn't enough money or food. In the end, he only had 10,000 regular troops, along with 10,000 auxiliary troops. This configuration was enough to keep things in order.

In addition, Shi Ju ordered local militias to be organized throughout Henan, and gave out the titles of militia commanders for free. This was a way of slapping the powerful and wealthy in the face while giving them a sweet treat.

The end result was that local militias sprang up like mushrooms after rain in southern Henan. Each prefecture had seven or eight militia commanders. The poorer ones had only one or two hundred people guarding their estates, while the richer ones could gather thousands of soldiers.

Of course, most of these militias were poorly equipped, had no horses, and received no pay, but they still managed to create quite a stir, much like a swarm of warlords rising up.

Jin officials in Henan naturally maintained a balance of courting and vigilance towards these local militias.

The local militia commanders would not be obedient or grateful to Shi Ju simply because the appointment documents were issued by him.

In chaotic times, strength ultimately matters.

This time, Shi Ju is showing off his muscles.

Therefore, those who came to Chenzhou to observe the ceremony were not only Pu Chashijie and Zhang Shousu, one a civil official and the other a military officer; almost all the well-known local militia commanders who could command thousands of troops also came.

"Split into ranks!"

"The Crane Wing Formation!"

"Shou!"

With each military order, banners fluttered, drums beat, and messengers weaved through the gaps in the ranks, relaying orders.

Before long, the generals directed their infantry to make several changes in formation, yet they remained completely orderly.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

Most people might think this is nothing special, just a large army moving around, but for a fierce general like Pucha Shijie, the expression changed instantly.

For them, being able to hear and resolutely execute orders on the chaotic battlefield, and to execute them meticulously, and for their infantry to be able to form a large formation, already qualified them to engage in a direct confrontation with the Jin army.

Even if the Jin army were to win against such an army, it would still suffer considerable losses.

Those militia commanders from landlord and powerful families were even more terrified. Such large-scale troop mobilization was a technique that required the slaying of dragons, and many of them had never even seen it, let alone knew how to use it.

"Master Shi is truly skilled. In just a few months, he has trained a rabble into this. I am far inferior to him in such a way."

As evening fell, the army returned to camp. After Shi Ju and the others encouraged the militia commanders, they also returned to their command tent.

Pucha Shijie almost couldn't wait to express his feelings.

“Indeed, if we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes, who would have thought that a scholar like Master Shi could be so knowledgeable about military affairs?” Zhang Shousu stroked his white beard and sighed.

After the Battle of Chaoxian, this fellow originally wanted to join Wanyan Yong, but he was unable to do so because his cousin Zhang Hao was involved in Bianliang.

When Wanyan Liang returned like lightning, he was trapped in the swamp and forced to become a loyal subject.

As for Wanyan Bendu, he died in Wokou last September to join Wanyan Aguda. As a result, Zhang Shousu is now like a piece of duckweed, with nothing but a few thousand soldiers in Wokou. Moreover, due to his wavering stance, he is caught between Wanyan Liang and Wanyan Yong.

But still the same sentence.

This was a time of chaos.

In peaceful times, being suspected by the emperor is like the sky falling, but in chaotic times, having soldiers makes one a king. As long as Zhang Shousu continues to control the troops at Wokou, his position will remain as stable as Mount Tai.

This fellow is a veteran official who has been active in politics since the founding of the Bohai Kingdom by Gao Yongchang. What storms hasn't he seen? This scene is nothing more than a drizzle.

Hearing Zhang Shousu and Pucha Shijie's praise, Shi Ju took off his last iron-clad tunic and casually hung it on the clothes rack. Wearing only a soaking wet short-sleeved plain shirt, he smiled and replied, "You two are both veterans, please don't flatter this scholar."

"The soldiers I recruited already had some military background, and some of them even came back from the Huaihe River battlefield. They were just waiting to be reorganized."

"And the generals under my command were also carefully selected by Lord Heshilie."

"With ample training and sufficient pay, building up an army is not actually that difficult."

Shi Ju picked up a large palm-leaf fan and, while fanning himself, said with a half-smile, "My Iron Spear Army is naturally no match for the Wujie Army and the Wokou troops. But we have the advantage of having a full reserve of troops, and all the men of Henan can be summoned by me."

Pucha Shijie's face instantly turned ugly.

The Wu Jie Army suffered heavy casualties when it retreated from Xuzhou last year, especially the Jurchen cavalry. This year, it is recruiting soldiers to replenish its army.

But the key issue is that there are hardly any Jurchen or Khitan people in the southern part of Henan. Han people are everywhere, but if all the Han people are absorbed into the army, the Jurchens' voice in Wujie Army will be rapidly diluted, and it will be difficult for Pucha Shijie to hold his position as the general manager.

After several months of effort, the Wujie Army managed to add twenty more soldiers, still some distance from full strength.

"And there's also Master Zhang." Shi Ju pressed his advantage, looking at Zhang Shousu: "I told you long ago to recruit more Han people in Wokou, but you wouldn't listen. Now, is there some trouble again that I need to quell?"

Zhang Shousu said with a wry smile, "They just want to go home. There are more than 6,000 of them in total. If Lord Shi goes south and starts fighting, the border defenses will be in serious trouble."

The conversation finally got down to business. The two men had come to discuss with Shi Ju how to improve the defenses of Henan.

No matter how weak the State of Song is, it is still a great nation spanning thousands of miles. What should we do if they cross the Huai River and take advantage of us?
Do we really expect Pu Sanzhongyi to abandon his post in Bianliang and come south to rescue them?

Moreover, Pu Sanzhongyi also had to deal with the situation in Nanyang, leaving him with no spare capacity.

In the southern prefectures of Henan, besides the militia and local garrison forces whose numbers are now unclear, the three largest field armies are: one in Shouzhou, one in Wokou, facing the Song state head-on, and one in Chenzhou as the general reserve.

The regular army numbered approximately 30,000, representing the last remaining military force of the Jin dynasty in maintaining its rule over southern Henan.

Of course, Shi Ju was still somewhat dissatisfied with this.

In his view, after this year's autumn harvest, another round of military expansion would be necessary, and the size of his Han Chinese army should at least be able to crush the Wu Jie army.

Otherwise, how could he possibly control both military and political affairs in these several states?

Shi Ju had seized the initiative in the conversation, and before he could continue to pressure the two, someone quickly entered the main tent.

The armored soldier, clearly dressed as Shi Ju's personal guard, was covered in sweat, indicating that he had just been on a long journey. He hadn't expected there to be other people in the commander's tent, and immediately hesitated.

“Awen, these are Minister Zhang and General Pucha. What military information do you have? You can speak publicly.”

Shi Ju noticed that his personal guards were giving him meaningful glances, but in this situation where mutual suspicion and distrust were already present, he decided to be honest and openly discuss all political and military matters to demonstrate his selflessness.

Helpless, the guard could only bow and say, "Someone just came to the camp, saying he had a letter from the master. We thought he was a stranger and wanted to bring him back with us, but after handing the package to us, he immediately rode away."

"We ultimately dared not hurt him, and in the end we couldn't catch up with him. We had no choice but to return with this package."

As he spoke, the guard took out a thick envelope from his waist pouch and presented it with both hands.

Everyone here is intelligent; how could they not know that something was amiss?
If it really is a relative delivering a letter, then why run away?
Shi Ju calmly put down his teacup, took the envelope, weighed it in his hand, shook his head, and chuckled, "This is hardly a family letter; it could easily be mistaken for an official document. Why don't you two examine it with me? Perhaps it's a military order from His Majesty?"

The "Your Majesty" that Shi Ju mentioned was naturally Wanyan Yong.

Pucha Shijie chuckled: "Perhaps he really misses home too much? Please, Mr. Shi, do as you please."

Despite being told to do as he pleased, Pucha Shijie didn't even bother to get up and leave. He just glanced at Shi Ju, who was sitting at the head of the table, as if to say, "If you don't let me see you, I won't leave today."

Although Zhang Shousu did not say it explicitly, he roughly conveyed his meaning through his actions.

Shi Ju shook his head and chuckled, then opened the envelope and poured out several books, along with a thin letter.

Shi Ju frowned and picked up the books first.

"On the Investigation of Things," by Zhu Xi...

"The Commercial Tax Law..."

"The Land Allocation Law..."

""Farming Law"..."

Shi Ju put several books aside, then picked up the letter and tore open the seal.

At this moment, Pu Chashijie and Zhang Shousu had arrived at the table. Instead of impolitely peeking at the letter in Shi Ju's hand, they frowned and picked up a few books from the table.

"I've also heard of Zhu Xi; he seems to be known as a great Confucian scholar of the next generation of the Southern Dynasties. Could this 'Investigation of Things' be his new work?"

Zhang Shousu murmured, "Investigating things to attain knowledge? Ha, this Zhu Xi is truly arrogant, actually wanting to pave the way for the lost learning of the sages..."

Although his words were dismissive, Zhang Shousu's expression slowly froze after only flipping through a few pages.

Any Confucian scholar who has thoroughly studied the classics will more or less realize that there is a major problem in Confucianism.

In the past, these issues may have been as vague as flowers in the fog or the moon's reflection in the water, but once someone has fully expounded the methodology, any Confucian scholar who has entered the hall of knowledge will have a sudden realization and a sense of awe, followed by deep fear and awe.

"This...this 'Investigation of Things'..."

Seeing that Zhang Shousu beside him was somewhat distraught and incoherent, Pu Chashijie was puzzled but did not think much of it. Instead, he picked up a book titled "Notes on Land Grants in Five Counties of Xuzhou" signed by Wei Jiao and began to read it carefully.

The writing style is not ornate; much of it is written in plain language. Yet, it is a simple and detailed record of how land was distributed to ordinary people in the five counties under the jurisdiction of Xuzhou, what problems arose, and how these problems were resolved.

Finally, Wei Jiao also discussed the income level of a typical family of five and how much tax they would pay.

The last page also contains some instructions from the Shandong Jingnan Army Military Governor's Office, which ordered the Transport Office to print some copies and distribute them to officials in various places who were allocating land, for reference.

Pucha Shijie was never just a military man; he also made many achievements in civil administration. Just by reading this book, "Notes," one can roughly see many things behind it.

For example, a complete technocratic system, a sound feedback mechanism, and a secure geopolitical environment.

If the other books are also of this caliber, then...

Thinking of this, Pucha Shijie felt a chill run down his spine: "These...these are all..."

After reading the letter, Shi Ju sighed deeply, then spread his hands and said in a complicated tone, "It was sent by Liu Dalang from Shandong."

The three looked at the letters and books, and remained silent for a moment.

(End of this chapter)