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

Chapter 743 Water and Fire Cannot Coexist

Of course, no matter how confused Du Wuji was, military orders still had to be obeyed.

Xie Jiuzhong also did not want to continue sitting idly in Bafang Town and watching his elder brother be besieged.

The two, accompanied by several guards, braved the light drizzle and headed towards Ruyin.

The journey of over forty li was not actually very long. They set off in the early morning and arrived at the outskirts of Ruyin City in the afternoon.

However, to Du Wuji's surprise, he did not see any Song army scouts or rangers along the way.

Whether it was good luck or weather conditions, the Song army seemed genuinely unconcerned about an enemy attack.

Of course, it is also possible that the Song army was indeed, as Xie Jiuzhong said, a flimsy fat man who would be easily broken with a single poke.

As they drew ever closer to the Song army's besieged camp, Xie Jiuzhong showed no hesitation and did not slow his horse. Another thought involuntarily popped into Du Wuji's mind.

Damn, could it be that the Xie family has really sided with the Song state?

Otherwise, shouldn't they have taken advantage of the darkness to sneak down to the city wall and wait for reinforcements?
Could this really be a case of the lambs being led to the slaughter?

All the doubts were only explained after the group arrived at a village.

The group changed into tattered clothes, abandoned their warhorses and left them to be guarded by the villagers. Then they pulled several large carts filled with grain, vegetables and fruits and headed towards the Song army camp north of Ruyin City.

Since the Song army set up camp here, their purpose was naturally to deal with possible reinforcements from the north. Logically speaking, the defenses here should be the most stringent.

However, Xie Jiuzhong led everyone in a carriage straight to the outside of the military camp. After exchanging a few jokes with a Song army officer, he left behind a large cart of melons and fruits and then brazenly passed through the camp and arrived at the city of Ruyin.

In broad daylight, under the watchful eyes of everyone, and to Du Wuji's astonishment, Ruyin City lowered its drawbridge, opened its city gates, and let the carts in.

"This...this is..." The matter was so outrageous that Du Wuji was completely dumbfounded.

After entering the city, Xie Jiuzhong remained silent, mounted the warhorse led by the city gate guard, and led the group towards the government office.

"Old Du! Hahaha, I knew it was you!" Xie Fuyao came out to greet him personally, laughing heartily as if he had thought of something extraordinary: "I knew you would come to see the joke."

Both men were powerful figures in Henan, with connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds. They had often drunk together and clashed, but now that they were in the same trench, there was nothing more to say and they could only fight together.

After everyone was seated in the government office, Du Wuji couldn't wait to ask the question: "Why is Xie Lao Er able to move freely in and out of the Song people's camp? Could it be that you have already bribed the Song people?"

Xie Fuyao stroked his full beard, shook his head with a wry smile.

The Xie family was a prominent and scholarly family that had produced a top scholar in the imperial examinations during the Song Dynasty. However, with the country in chaos these past few years, how could they maintain their family business with only literary skills and no martial prowess?

Therefore, although Xie Fuyao's name sounds nice, she is also a person of both literary and martial talents, and at this time she has completely adopted the demeanor of a martial artist.

"Old Du, you're overestimating my abilities. If I had so much wealth to feed the Song army outside the city, why couldn't I just raise the flag and rebel?"
Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a prince then? We'll even appoint you, Old Du, as a Grand General, and we'll all be rich and powerful together!

Such playful words could not fool Du Wuji.

Under Du Wuji's intense gaze, Xie Fuyao suppressed her smile: "Actually, the reason is very simple. I sent someone to disguise himself as a merchant and negotiate with the Song army generals outside the city, saying that the city was short of food and was about to starve to death. He said that the grain could be sold at a high price, and that he could share some of the money and grain with the Song army."

Faced with Xie Fuyao's explanation, Du Wuji only felt it was even more absurd.

Logically speaking, the Song army that could face the Jin reinforcements in the north and cut off the escape route in the city must have been the elite of the entire army.

The generals among them must be the most capable and the most trustworthy generals of the Song army commander.

How could they possibly give up their grain supply route to the city for such a sum of money?
Du Wuji shook his head: "Xie Da, don't try to fool me. Do you really think I haven't traveled all over the country and seen the world? Are the Song army generals fools?"

Xie Fuyao leaned forward and said mysteriously, "Old Du, the reason is actually quite simple..."

As she spoke, Xie Fuyao held up two fingers: "This Song army hasn't received any rewards or pay for two months."

Moreover, food supplies seem to be running low; for the past few days, they've been going hungry one day and eating the next. In this kind of weather, it's also difficult to raid the surrounding areas. What can the Song army do?

To be honest, the commanders and captains of the Song army were all good men, and not particularly greedy, but those in power ultimately had to find a way to feed their men, so that was the only way..."

Du Wuji was dumbfounded, feeling that he had gained more knowledge in these few days than in the previous decades.

It's normal for the army to be behind on pay, and this situation also exists within the Jin army. Those who are in worse shape, like the conscripted soldiers, are lucky to have any food at all, let alone money!

However, daring to default on wages during a major battle, and even failing to distribute rewards, is indeed a departure from the values ​​of Du Wuji, a simple and wealthy man.

Heaven have mercy, even when Du Wuji organizes his men to act as a street tyrant in the underworld, seize trade routes, and wipe out bandits, he still has to first pay them resettlement money and departure rewards.

Now, the Song army is able to continue its siege even without pay or supplies, leaving Du Wuji wondering whether the Song army is strong or weak.

Of course, this also shows Du Wuji's limited understanding. The Song army's failure to pay its soldiers was a common occurrence, and those involved already had a complete set of procedures for dealing with it.

It's normal to fight a war while demanding money; it's also common for me to stop fighting if I don't get paid.

You might think that the idea of ​​"shooting a volley of arrows and getting a reward" is just soldiers being ignorant of the bigger picture, but in fact it's the hard-working people's experience.

Du Wuji spent a long time sorting out his thoughts before he finally understood: "In that case, this is why Xie Lao Er said that this battle is worth fighting. The morale of the Song army must have plummeted to an unprecedented level. At that time, our army can even defeat them in one fell swoop!"
But Xie Lao Er, why didn't you speak frankly with Master Shi?

Xie Jiuzhong smiled wryly, while Xie Fuyao immediately took over the conversation, a sly smile appearing on her face: "I told the second brother not to say it. Old Du, is there anyone in the army who suspects I've defected to the Song Dynasty and wants to lure the army into an ambush?"

Du Wuji nodded: "Some people do think that way, but..."

Xie Fuyao clapped her hands: "That's right, if I ask the second brother to tell the truth, do you think anyone will believe me? Wouldn't that make them even more suspicious of me?"

Du Wuji nodded with difficulty.

Even if Shi Ju didn't believe it, he still found it somewhat unbelievable even after seeing it with his own eyes.

Seeing that Du Wuji had finished his questions, Xie Fuyao immediately asked her own: "When will the army arrive? Is there a agreed-upon date?"

Facing his old friend, Du Wuji did not hide anything. With a wry smile, he recounted the situation on the side of the main Jin army.

Now it was Xie Fuyao and his brother's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Hiss..." After hearing this, Xie Fuyao gasped, whether from the pain of accidentally pulling out a beard or from being overwhelmed by the situation: "So... so the morale of the Song people is low, and we're not entirely in the right position? This battle is still going to be fought?!"

Du Wuji nodded helplessly: "That's right. Alas, it's only a little over two hundred miles, yet so much trouble has arisen. It's truly unexpected."

Xie Fuyao gulped down several mouthfuls of tea before calming down: "Old Du, tell me, what are you thinking?"

Du Wuji remained silent for a long time: "I am now a homeless man, only able to live thanks to the favor of Minister Shi."

His only thought was to defeat the Song traitors, preserve his family's property, and avenge his trusted brothers. Secondly, it was to serve Lord Shi.

Xie Fuyao pointed at his old friend from afar, then suppressed his smile: "That's right, both Guo Taichu and Zhang Shu are too impatient."

These two northerners have misjudged the order of importance. They don't even consider that if we Henan men don't drive the Song people away, we'll have worries about our rear. How can we then focus on dealing with the Jurchens?

Du Wuji shifted uncomfortably: "So, Xie Da, you also think we should deal with the Jurchens first?"

"No." Xie Fuyao shook her head solemnly: "It's not about dealing with them, but about killing them all without leaving a single one. At the very least, we should do what Liu Dalang from Shandong did: disperse and resettle these foreign tribes, change their names and customs."

Du Wuji was stunned for a moment, but he had been shocked by so many things today that he had become somewhat used to it. He simply looked up at Xie Fuyao wearily, waiting for her explanation.

Seeing this, Xie Fuyao shook her head repeatedly: "You've become so foolish from being a nouveau riche that you still can't see the light now that you're an official."

Let me ask you, how many households are Jurchen and how many are Han? Nowadays, Jurchens occupy 60% of the official positions above county magistrate, and we Han people have to share the remaining 40% with the Xi, Bohai, Goryeo, and Khitan people. Why the hell is that?
Do they think they can just because they have knives? Well, I have knives too! The situation in Henan is maintained entirely by us men with knives. What right do they have to act so arrogantly?!

"Old Du, if we slaughter all the Jurchens, we can get 60% of the official positions. Even if we can't get those prestigious and high-ranking positions like censor or prime minister, surely our carefully trained children and grandchildren can too?"

Du Wuji felt another wave of dizziness.

These past few days, it seemed that all the Han Chinese generals he had encountered were telling him the same thing: they had to turn against the Jurchens, though some wanted to do it sooner and some wanted to do it later.

Has the situation really reached such an irreconcilable point?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Du Wuji gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Of course it's come to this! Isn't Guo Taichu's head enough to prove everything?

But when exactly did things reach this point of no return?
If Liu Huai were here, he could answer directly based on historical experience.

After seizing military power, seeking political power becomes a natural next step.

The Huai Army and Xiang Army in the late Qing Dynasty were like this, and the Henan Han Army today is even more so.

It's just that the Jurchens' rule in Henan is extremely weak at the moment, which is why the outbreak happened so quickly.

This outcome was inevitable once the Henan Han'er Army was established as a cohesive unit.

Of course, Du Wuji couldn't have come up with this reasoning. He could only earnestly say to Xie Fuyao, "Old Xie, I acknowledge your reasoning. In any case, we must defeat the Song traitors before we can engage in internal strife."

Now that I have come here today on Lord Shi's military orders, I should at least take a look around Ruyin. That way, when I return to report, I'll have a reason to do so."

Xie Fuyao did not refute this, but shook her head helplessly and stood up: "Old Du, I will personally take you there."

(End of this chapter)