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

Chapter 708 Human Hearts Are Mixed Up, the City Is Hard to Break

Wanyan Yong left, but Heshilie Liangbi did not set off immediately.

At this time, Dongjin was in a standoff with the Shandong Han army, and any military action would have unpredictable consequences.

At the same time, Liu Huai looked at the letter in his hand, casually tossed it aside, and sneered.

Liang Su quickly picked up the letter, glanced at it, and then a strange look appeared on his face.

Seeing that the two men were in such a state, Xin Qiji couldn't help but ask, "Brother, what happened?"

Liu Huai did not answer, but Liang Su spread his hands and said, "Prime Minister Zhang Jun has been displaying his power and has ordered our army to send its main force to Henan to join forces with the Song army and attack the Jin army in Henan from both the north and south."

Liang Su held up the letter in his hand: "This fellow has even set a deadline for our army. If we do not send troops within ten days, then this and that will happen."

Xin Qiji instantly understood Liu Huai's speechless expression.

He wanted to complain, but there were too many things to complain about, so he didn't know where to start.

"Doesn't Lord Zhang know that there are so many Jin bandits in front of our army?"

Liang Su shrugged and replied, "Minister Zhang knows nothing about military affairs. Perhaps in his view, our army has fortified cities to defend, so we can rest easy..."

At this moment, Liu Huai finally spoke up: "Lord Zhang may not know much about military affairs, but he is not a fool. How could he not know about the situation in Hebei?"

"He just doesn't care."

"What does it matter to him whether Shandong is lost or not? Zhang Jun only needs to recover Henan and Bianliang to achieve his goal."

Lu You, who was drinking sour plum juice, shook his head and laughed when he heard this, saying, "Liu Dalang has a very negative view of people's hearts."

Liu Huai did not refute this: "Perhaps that's the case."

Xin Qiji changed the subject, then took the letter from Liang Su and began to read it carefully, muttering to himself, "I want to see why, with Henan so vulnerable, our army is still needed to march south and attack from both sides..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xin Qiji was stunned, and then burst into a tirade of curses.

"What do you mean Li Heng suffered a setback at Mengcheng, Li Xianzong besieged Xiacai, and Shao Hongyuan failed to capture Ruyin? Didn't they just fail to capture a single fortified city?!"

Xin Qiji's loss of composure was understandable.

These three cities are all near the Huai River. Logically speaking, they should have been captured as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. However, several days have passed, and the Song army is still besieging the cities. Moreover, Zhang Jun even felt that the Shandong Han army needed to come south to attack from both sides to break through the cities.

It felt like the plan was perfect, but the first step went wrong.

Just as Lu You was feeling somewhat embarrassed, Liu Huai spoke up for the Song Kingdom again: "Fifth Brother, when it comes to attacking a city, it depends on the right time, place, and people. As long as the city is determined to hold on, it is normal to drag it out for ten days or half a month."

Xin Qiji was no stranger to military affairs. Hearing this, he nodded slowly, but still sighed and said, "Didn't Prime Minister Yu foresee the current situation and try to win over the Jin generals beforehand?"

Liu Huai did not answer the question, but said to Liang Su, "Mr. Liang, since you are here, please write a reply for me."

Liang Su immediately spread out the letter paper on the table, ground the ink, and moistened the brush.

"I have heard that on the day an army sets out, there is honor in dying and no shame in living. Now, the army is on a northern expedition, which has cost a great deal of resources. Warriors are risking their lives on the battlefield, and scholars are working hard in their tents. This is what is meant by a great undertaking that will attract the attention of all ages."

As the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, if you, General Zhang, cannot even capture three cities near the Huai River, how will the Jin invaders view you? How will we, as generals from the front, view you? How will the people of the world and the history books record your deeds?
Just write it like this, then polish it a bit.

After saying this, Liu Huai left the command tent and went to inspect the camp.

Liang Su wrote furiously, Lu You remained silent, while Xin Qiji continued to hold the letter, comparing it with the huge map hanging in the tent and muttering to himself: "Tsk... It's just across the Huai River, is it really that difficult to win over some Jin troops?"

Around the same time, at the foot of Xia Cai city, Zhang Jun also asked Xin Qiji the same question.

However, his tone wasn't very friendly; it was more like an interrogation.

Yu Yunwen, standing atop a watchtower in Li Xianzong's siege camp, looked up at the city wall and shook his head with a laugh upon hearing this: "Prime Minister Zhang, there is absolutely no reason why I should be the only one to take action while others are not allowed to retaliate. Since this time last year, the one in charge of several prefectures in southern Henan has been the Jin invader's prime minister, Shi Ju."

This Master Shi Ju is quite shrewd; in just a few months, he won over the hearts of the people of Henan, to the point that previous statements no longer hold true.

Zhang Jun was somewhat exasperated: "Winning over these people is nothing more than making some promises. How could Prime Minister Yu not dare to make them?"

Yu Yunwen glanced at Zhang Jun with some surprise and asked about something else: "Minister Zhang, I have detailed records of all these things. Haven't you looked through them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun blushed, then flicked his sleeve and said, "I am old and have poor eyesight. How can I possibly read through more than a dozen boxes of documents?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Yunwen fell silent.

Although Zhang Jun was telling the truth and there were extenuating circumstances, it doesn't change the fact that he was right.

That is, Zhang Jun, as the commander-in-chief of this Northern Expedition, knew very little about the situation on the entire battlefield.

It's even quite possible that most of it is just speculation.

However, this is war. Zhang Jun could use his failing eyesight and lack of energy to appease Yu Yunwen, but would the Jin army's swords and spears listen to such an excuse?

After a moment, Yu Yunwen said, "Master Zhang, most of these people are from powerful families in Henan. Shi Ju promised them a county or a prefecture, and that they could have private armies. I would never dare to make such a promise. Moreover, even if I did, those powerful families in Henan would definitely not believe it."

Zhang Jun was speechless. Yes, this was already considered an independent vassal state. Yu Yunwen would be condemned by everyone, let alone agree to it. Even if he raised the issue in court, he would be criticized by everyone.

In addition, the powerful families in Henan were not fools. They did smuggling on the Song-Jin border and knew about the situation in the Song Dynasty.

The powerful clans of Henan rebelled against the Jin Dynasty, fulfilling the promises made by the Song Dynasty. Their fate was to be used as cannon fodder. Even if they survived until Henan was recovered by the Song Dynasty, they would still face the fate of being stripped of their military power over a cup of wine.

It's even hard to say whether this wine is poisoned.

Discarding the bridge after crossing the river is also a traditional skill of the Zhao family.

Faced with such consequences, would the powerful clans of Henan have nothing better to do than actively seek refuge with the State of Song?
After a moment of silence, Zhang Jun was still unwilling to give up: "Can't we just give it a try?"

Yu Yunwen looked at Li Xianzong, who had remained silent.

Li Xianzong understood and took out a letter from his pocket: "Before the siege, I wrote a letter to Du Wuji, the general guarding the city. This is his reply."

Zhang Jun took the letter, then squinted and began to read it carefully.

The letter's meaning was simple, and Du Wuji's words were very polite.

He simply asked a question.

In the Song Dynasty, treacherous officials like Miao Fu and Liu Zhengyan were killed, as were loyal ministers like Yue Fei.

If I were to surrender to the Song Dynasty, would I choose to be a loyal minister or a treacherous one?
Li Xianzong, a man of many experiences, knew immediately upon seeing the letter that Du Wuji was making fun of him. He didn't even bother to reply and directly ordered his army to set up a siege camp.

For Zhang Jun, the matter of Yue Fei was a source of unspeakable pain.

After Li Qiong defected to the enemy during the Huaixi Incident, Zhang Jun and Yue Fei were already at odds, but this did not mean that Zhang Jun wanted Yue Fei to die.

If Yue Fei were here now, why would we need to go to such lengths to conquer a mere Xia Cai!
Zhang Jun tossed the letter aside and said to Yu Yunwen, "Lord Yu, you have been planning in Lianghuai for a long time. Don't you have a comprehensive plan?"

Yu Yunwen cupped his hands and said, "Of course there is. That is to attack the city and break through the army with thunderous force. As long as we break through three cities in a row and drag out the rebel generals in the city to be executed, the powerful families in Henan will naturally submit to the Song Dynasty."

"Since they chose the wealth offered by the Song Dynasty over the wealth offered by the Jin invaders, they would choose the Song Dynasty over death."

Yu Yunwen exposed the fickle nature of powerful figures, but he still couldn't put Zhang Jun at ease.

Because you can't defeat an army and kill a general with just words.

"Grand Commandant Li, how many days will it take to breach the city?"

Li Xianzong seemed to have already prepared a plan: "If we continue at the current pace, it will take at least twenty days."

Zhang Jun frowned: "Too slow."

Faced with the rebuke of the current prime minister, Li Xianzong showed no fear: "You two ministers had already found out before the battle that the Jin bandits had at least 30,000 elite field troops in southern Henan, but they still haven't appeared. I must leave some troops to defend against them."

"Moreover, there are tens of thousands of troops in Bianliang that can provide support. If I attack without holding back and the Jin invaders suddenly appear, I will be powerless to fight back."

Zhang Jun interrupted Li Xianzong's complaints directly: "How about we capture Xia Cai within ten days?"

Li Xianzong immediately followed up with the Dog-Beating Stick: "Then let the remaining troops of the Huaidong Army stop advancing along the Wo River, and let them join our army and be under my command."

"My lords, we don't need that many troops at the Wo River. That area has already been cleared out by Liu Dalang of Shandong. Furthermore, Lord Wei is personally overseeing things in Xuzhou. If all else fails, we can ask Lord Wei to send troops to support us."

Li Xianzong didn't hesitate either, and immediately tried to take the opportunity to control more troops.

Zhang Jun immediately turned to ask, "Prime Minister Yu, could you possibly bring Wei Sheng to join the battle?"

Yu Yunwen shook his head: "Liu Dalang has already sent a message that unless I go to Wei Sheng's army in person, the Loyal Army will only hold Xuzhou."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jun's eyes widened: "What is Liu Dalang trying to do? Is he still a subject of the Song Dynasty?! Is he trying to hold the prime minister hostage?!"

Looking into Zhang Jun's eyes, Yu Yunwen said in a deep voice, "Minister Zhang, I just said that only by winning two matches can we intimidate the powerful families of Henan. Are you referring only to these powerful families of Henan?"

"Needless to say, the Jin invaders are isolated, and after several tough battles with them, the Shandong righteous army is also feeling restless."

"And then there's our group of arrogant and fierce soldiers."

As he spoke, Yu Yunwen pointed directly at Li Xianzong: "Take Grand Commandant Li for example. He was ordered to attack Caiyi City, yet he's haggling here, completely ignorant of the laws of the country. Who gave him the audacity?"

Li Xianzong trembled and immediately bowed to apologize.

Ignoring Zhang Jun's evasive gaze, Yu Yunwen raised his voice slightly: "Prime Minister Zhang, this Northern Expedition was too hasty, which has led to confusion among the people."

At this point, Liu Dalang and Grand Commandant Li are merely bargaining with us. Do you believe that if the Northern Expeditionary Army suffers even the slightest setback, even more trouble will immediately come knocking?!

Faced with a powerful prime minister with real merits, Li Xianzong finally couldn't hold back any longer. He immediately shouted, "My lords, I am different from those other generals. I have been favored by the country for generations. Since you doubt me, I can only lead the charge and repay you with my life! Within ten days, I will surely take Xiachai!"

Having said that, Li Xianzong left the tent immediately without stopping.

(End of this chapter)