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

Chapter 706 The Northern Expedition's Ambitious Ambition Hastily Arises

April 1st.

Lin'an, the Imperial Palace.

As Zhao Shen watched Zhang Jun stride away with his head held high, and looked at the stack of petitions for a northern expedition on the table in front of him, he felt a mix of excitement and inexplicable fear.

He wanted to ask for the opinions of those around him, but Shi Hao, Long Dayuan and other close ministers were not present, so he could only swallow his doubts and carefully examine the memorials on his desk.

"Zhang Jun, Wang Shipeng, Hu Quan, Yu Yunwen, Chen Junqing, Wang Dabao..." Zhao Shen silently read the names of the important officials who had petitioned for the Northern Expedition, but instead of looking at their memorials, he turned his gaze to his right.

There are also memorials here, but compared to those advocating war, these few memorials are far too few.

Zhao Shen picked up two of the memorials and carefully examined the names on them.

"Chen Kangbo and Shi Hao, my left and right prime ministers..." Upon seeing these two names, Zhao Shen's excitement gradually subsided.

Now Chen Kangbo and Shi Hao have formed a temporary political alliance, becoming the backbone of the pro-defense faction. In their memorials, they argued that now is still not the right time for a northern expedition.

Among them, Shi Hao's words were the most reasonable and well-founded.

His main objection was that the Song army was weak, good at defense but not at offense. Moreover, military campaigns were extremely costly, and the national treasury might not be able to sustain them.

Furthermore, Shi Hao reiterated his point of view: Zhang Jun's hope that heroes from the Central Plains would rise up in response was pure wishful thinking; there were absolutely no heroes in the Central Plains. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, who used wooden sticks as weapons and raised bamboo poles as flags, were able to destroy the Qin Dynasty. If the northerners at this time needed the Song army to succeed, then they were certainly not heroes!

Zhang Jun responded with a single sentence.

Weren't Wei Sheng, Liu Huai, Xin Qiji, and others from Shandong heroes of the North?
Shi Hao was left speechless after being refuted.

Although the original five-day debate between Zhang Jun and Shi Hao was ended by a single sentence from Zhang Jun, Shi Hao still maintained his opinion and firmly disagreed with the Northern Expedition at this time.

As a result, the appointment of Zhang Jun as the Pacification Commissioner of Jianghuai was rejected twice by Shi Hao, and in the end, it was Chen Kangbo who stepped in to countersign it.

Zhao Shen stroked the two memorials, feeling hesitant. After a moment, he picked up another document from the corner of his desk and began to read it carefully.

Zhao Shen had read Ye Yiwen's suicide note many times and had memorized its contents perfectly.

Although both Jianghuai Pacification Commissioners were suspected of deceiving the central government, Ye Yiwen had ultimately devoted himself to the cause until his death, so his actions were understandable. Zhang Jun had pleaded for Ye Yiwen's life, so his life's glory and death were not unexpected.

The first half of this suicide note is nothing new, but the last point reveals Ye Yiwen's insightful and true understanding.

"Move the capital to Jiankang..."

The thought of those four words filled Zhao Shen with a burning passion.

Lin'an had been managed by Zhao Gou for a long time. If Zhao Shen wanted to be completely independent, he would have to wait at least another ten years, until Zhao Gou was completely old and unable to perform his duties, before he could do whatever he wanted.

If the capital were moved to Jiankang, it would be possible to break free from Zhao Gou's influence, start anew, and rebuild Zhao Shen's own power base.

The reasons are ready.

Lin'an was too far from the Central Plains to facilitate timely communication, while Jiankang was just the right place.

Of course, the interest groups in Lin'an were also deeply entrenched, and even if Zhao Shen were the emperor, he could not simply move the capital at will.

But if the Central Plains can be restored, or even the old capital of Kaifeng can be recovered, then with Zhao Shen's prestige, who would dare to oppose him?
With this in mind, Zhao Shen finally made up his mind.

"Issue my imperial decree: launch an immediate northern expedition..."

On April 5th, Yu Yunwen looked at the imperial edict in his hand and remained silent.

The main generals of Lianghuai were all in the command tent, quietly watching Zhang Jun, who held a sword and sat high in the main seat, their faces also solemn.

"Lord Yu, do you have anything else to say?"

Faced with Zhang Jun's questioning, Yu Yunwen could only put down the illegal edict that bypassed the three provinces and the Privy Council, sighed deeply, and said with difficulty, "No."

Yu Yunwen had no choice but to follow Zhang Jun in submitting a memorial to the Northern Expedition this time, because he was worried that if it was delayed again, he would be excluded from the expedition.

If Zhang Jun were to mess things up all by himself, it would be too late for regrets.

However, this does not mean that Yu Yunwen agrees with Zhao Shen and Zhang Jun's rash actions!
"Good!" Zhang Jun slammed his sword on the table, scanned the generals in the tent, and called out their names one by one: "Li Xianzong, Shao Hongyuan, Liu Bao, Zhang Zhen, Dai Gao, Yang Chun, Liu Si, Li Heng, Wei You, Wang Fang, Jia Hezhong, do you all obey the imperial edict and launch a northern expedition?!"

Just as Shao Hongyuan was about to speak, Li Xianzong stepped forward, cupped his hands, and loudly replied, "This subordinate obeys!"

Shao Hongyuan was somewhat annoyed and helpless, and could only follow the crowd and bow, saying, "I will obey your command!"

Zhang Jun nodded again, his voice gradually rising in intensity, and even his face showed an unnatural flush: "In that case, five days from now, the entire army will cross the Huai River and launch a northern expedition!" "Yes, sir!"

Amidst the boisterous agreement, Yu Yunwen felt a sudden chill and involuntarily raised his head to look north.

Around the same time, Zhao Shen's edict was also delivered to Wang Che, the Vice Minister of State Affairs in charge of military and political affairs in Xiangfan and the Imperial Envoy of Hubei and Jingxi.

Wang Che sensed Zhao Shen's determination and, unlike in history books, did not return the unsealed edict. Instead, he handed it directly to Wu Gong and Cheng Min, instructing them to act accordingly.

Faced with the emperor's edict, the two Grand Commandants had no room for negotiation. In addition, they had been preparing for war for nearly two years. After a brief discussion, Cheng Min led an army of 20,000 to set out from the Nanyang Basin via the Fangcheng Xia Road and directly into the Central Plains.

Two days later, Wei Sheng looked at the edict written by Zhao Shen alone in his hand. His heart was filled with turmoil. He wanted to immediately lead his army to attack the Jin army, but thinking of his agreement with Liu Huai, he forced himself to restrain himself.

April 10th, the second year of the Longxing era.

The Longxing Northern Expedition, which had been postponed for a whole year, officially began.

Having rested and recuperated for two years, the Song army, under the banner of "recovering the Central Plains" and "returning to the old capital," swarmed across the Huai River along the laid pontoon bridge.

The great war that swept across the Central Plains, Jingxiang, Guanzhong, and Hebei officially began.

Li Heng led 20,000 troops from Huaidong across the Huai River at Zhongli in Haozhou and advanced along the Wo River.

Li Xianzong led 30,000 troops from Chizhou across the Huai River at Shouchun and advanced along the Fei River.

Shao Hongyuan led 20,000 troops from Huaixi across the Huai River at Yingkou and advanced along the Ying River.

The three armies advanced in unison from southeast to northwest, forming a vast net as they marched toward Bianliang.

On April 15th, the three armies were blocked by the fortified cities along the river, and then launched an attack on the cities.

at the same time.

In Shandong, a massive defensive line of Han troops, stretching from Tangyi to Yanggu, has been formed.

This defensive line was not the trenches, barbed wire, and chevaux-de-frise that later generations imagined, but a mobile defense system consisting of two fortified cities, seven camps, and fifteen towns.

The weapon used for the final battle is never a mysterious weapon, but rather human beings themselves.

If the Jin army finds the gaps between the city and the camp too large to pass through, they will realize just how formidable the Han field army in these cities is.

If the Jin army did not want to break through this defensive line and instead wanted to carry out strategic maneuvers from the north, then the larger strategic defensive triangle formed by Yucheng, Licheng, Liaocheng, and the Ji River would come into full play.

Liu Huai was not in Tangyi at this time, but in Liaocheng, holding the edict for the Northern Expedition sent by Zhao Shen in his hands. He ignored the strange expressions of the generals in the tent and sneered.

What are your thoughts, Mr. Liang?

Upon hearing this, Liang Su shook his head repeatedly: "It was too hasty. Although Prime Minister Yu had made preparations long ago, issuing the edict on April 5th and launching the Song army's full-scale northern expedition on April 10th was simply too hasty."

"Putting everything else aside, is the most important thing that we have enough food supplies? We must not suffer the same fate as the Song Dynasty's five-pronged attack on Xia."

Liu Huai nodded, then looked at Xin Qiji, who seemed to be deep in thought: "Fifth Brother, what are your thoughts?"

Xin Qiji spread his hands and smiled bitterly: "All the previous plans to make the Jin civil war come to nothing, so what can we do? Alas... We should have 'waited for the world to change, and then sent a general to lead the troops from Jingzhou out of Wanluo,' but who would have thought that 'the world hadn't changed before Shu changed first'?"

Even those with limited cultural knowledge knew about the Three Kingdoms period, and upon hearing this, they all fell silent and shook their heads.

The script was well-written, but it would be awkward if all the characters ignored the director's instructions and acted independently.

Seeing this, Liu Huai immediately spoke up to calm the troops: "Fifth Brother, let's not talk about anything discouraging now. After going through so much, can't you see? In this world, you can't rely on others; in the end, it's up to us to do it!"

Xin Qiji realized that his words might have dampened morale, and immediately agreed: "That's exactly right."

Liu Huai then stood up, drew his sword, and said to the huge map, "Our army is now facing just as shown on the map. The Jin bandits have stationed a large force in Daming Prefecture and are waiting for an opportunity to strike."

"Our army must eventually wipe out these Jin traitors before we can discuss anything else."

"In the coming days, our army may face a fierce attack from the Jin invaders. I wouldn't be surprised if Wanyan Yong himself came to lead the army to fight." Liu Huai pointed his sword at Daming Prefecture, and then at Tangyi. "My order is that no matter which camp or fortress is attacked, do not expect the army to arrive immediately. At the very least, we must hold out for five days to wear down the morale of the Jin invaders before reinforcements arrive, thus achieving the goal of attacking from within and without."

"I will personally lead the main force of 30,000 troops to be stationed in Dong'e; Chief Secretary He will lead 20,000 troops to be stationed in Jiyang; the entire army will travel quickly through the Jishui River channel."

After explaining the troop deployment, Liu Huai solemnly said, "This battle is a decisive battle that will sweep across the entire world. It is also a major battle in which our Shandong righteous army will devote all its resources. We must take it seriously. Everyone, return to your camps and persevere. We will surely wait for the day when our army launches a full-scale counterattack!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)