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

Chapter 817 Man proposes, God disposes
The city walls of Mengcheng.

Heshi Lieliangbi and Jia Gu Qingchen sat facing each other on the ground.

Unlike Jia Gu Qingchen, who was panicked and fearful, He Shilie Liangbi stroked his beard and smiled: "So, Wei Sheng is really dead?"

Jia Gu Qingchen nodded: "That's right. Given the current situation, why would Liu Feihuzi need to resort to such methods?"

How could military and political leaders easily fake their deaths? Why don't you say that the entire Jin dynasty feigned surrender?
Upon hearing this, Heshi Lieliangbi seemed to have a huge burden lifted off his shoulders, and he relaxed completely.

Seeing this, Jia Gu Qingchen became somewhat anxious: "Left Prime Minister, what about Fei Huzi's threat..."

Heshi Lieliangbi waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it. That's just Fei Huzi threatening you. He would never do that."

Seeing that Jia Gu Qingchen was dumbfounded, He Shi Lie Liangbi sighed and said, "Qingchen, Fei Hu Zi has been established in the world for several years, don't you know who he really is?"
This person may seem ruthless, but he is actually extremely kind and soft-hearted. He is willing to treat people with the utmost sincerity, no matter who they are in the world.

Have you read history books? The phrase "valley of famine" refers to people like him.

Without ruthless methods, Fei Hu Zi would only be a kind-hearted person in name only. But his sharpness was unparalleled, and his willingness to save lives became the foundation for his great achievements.

However, because his knife was so sharp, it made people overlook the compassionate heart beneath his thunderous rage, which is rather amusing to think about.

As he spoke, Heshi Lieliangbi actually laughed out loud.

But Jia Gu Qingchen was dumbfounded and still couldn't understand: "Does the Left Prime Minister mean that our army will continue to defy to the end? Will Fei Huzi forgive us?"

He Shi Lie Liangbi laughed even louder, to the point of almost bending over backward: "Qing Chen, how could you be so confused? I just said that Fei Hu Zi may have the heart of a bodhisattva, but he is ultimately capable of ruthless methods."

"Don't even mention resisting to the end. Even if we surrender immediately, there will be slaughter waiting for us. Those who have distinguished themselves in past battles will be singled out and killed, especially those who participated in the assassination of Wei Sheng, including myself. None of them will escape."

After a moment of stunned silence, Kiyoshi Kagaya shook his head with a wry smile: "In the end, most people will still survive."

Heshi Lieliangbi also sighed, "Yes, in the end, most people will still be able to survive."

After a moment of silence, Jia Gu Qingchen looked at the sky, stroking his injured leg, and said, "Prime Minister, things have come to this point, why are you still so relaxed? Could this situation have been part of your plan?"

Heshi Lieliangbi shook his head with a smile: "Of course not."

As he spoke, the high-ranking Left Prime Minister slowly looked towards the northern horizon and said, "My initial plan was naturally to disrupt the connection between Shandong and the Song state before the Shandong bandits became uncontrollable."

After Zhi Ning confronted the main force of the Shandong bandits, and Wu Zhe (Pusan ​​Zhongyi) and I repelled the Song army's northern expeditionary force, the entire army attacked the heart of Shandong from Xuzhou, launching a pincer attack from the north and south, and completely annihilating the Shandong bandits.

"This requires the combined efforts of the Jin Dynasty from both the east and west. Therefore, I sent Shi Ju to Henan early on to restore the people's livelihood and train the new army to strengthen the Jin Dynasty's military strength. My 10,000 troops marched south to ensure the success of the southern campaign."

Upon hearing this, Kiyotomi Kagaya seemed to realize something: "And then... the daimyo prefecture was defeated."

Heshi Lieliangbi sighed, "Yes, the Great Jin was defeated in a single battle by an equally large number of troops. All is lost."

As he spoke, Heshi Lieliangbi looked at Jia Guqingchen: "Do you remember when you asked why the Great Jin had come to this state, and I was unable to answer?"

"Of course I remember."

Heshi Lieliangbi nodded in response: "I was unable to speak that day because of the general trend of the world. In the end, it should be judged by historians. I cannot give a hasty reply."

Strategically speaking, however, this war, fought simultaneously from all directions, meant that the Jin dynasty had already suffered a major defeat the moment Zhi Ning was defeated.

"In this final round of gambling, all that remains is how much we lose and when we'll lose everything."

Jia Gu Qingchen did some mental calculations and realized that it was after receiving news of the Battle of Daming Prefecture that He Shi Lie Liangbi proposed the plan to attack Wei Sheng in order to turn the tide of the war.

Did Heshi Lieliangbi already believe that the war was hopeless at that time? If so, why did he choose to force Shi Ju into rebellion rather than risk his life to attack Wei Sheng?
Heshi Lieliangbi seemed to have seen through Jia Gu Qingchen's thoughts, or perhaps he hadn't, but simply wanted to explain his plan to the person involved: "The 60,000 troops in Daming Prefecture are almost the last troops that the Great Jin can send out. Troops can no longer be mobilized from other places."

As the Left Prime Minister, I am fully aware of this. It can be said that losing these 60,000 troops has severely damaged the fate of the Great Jin dynasty. Furthermore, that Flying Tiger Prince won't even need to launch a major war; simply sending troops to incite rebellion within the Great Jin, and conquering city or prefecture at a time, will be enough to swallow up the vast empire of the Great Jin.”

Kiyotomi Kagaya shuddered as he thought of that scene.

Heshi Lieliangbi handed the hot tea in his hand to Jiagu Qingchen and continued, "Therefore, I must find one or two ways for the Great Jin to continue its reign. Even if the reign cannot continue, we must find a way for our Jurchen people to survive."

As for the Jurchen script and the history books, I really can't control that anymore." Just then, a drumbeat came from below the city. Jia Gu Qingchen was slightly taken aback, knowing that the Han army was urging them on, and he immediately felt a little flustered.

Heshi Lieliangbi glanced outside the city, then continued without changing his expression: "If the Han people are united and of one mind, then the Great Jin will have no chance of survival. Only by letting the Han people fight each other can our Great Jin recuperate."

Jia Gu Qingchen swallowed hard: "Shandong and the Song Dynasty?"

Heshi Lieliangbi nodded: "It is Shandong and the Song State. Shandong is so powerful now, but the Song State has not used drastic measures to suppress it. Ultimately, it is due to three people."

As he spoke, Heshilie Liangbi held up three fingers and pressed them down one by one: "Liu Huai, Wei Sheng, Yu Yunwen."

"Actually, once you understand each other's positions, it's quite simple to sort things out."

"Liu Huai represents the independent forces in Shandong; Wei Sheng is within Shandong, balancing the relationship between Shandong and the Song state; while Yu Yunwen is the person in charge of the Song state's attack on the north, and is a partner of Shandong."

“Killing Liu Huai would break the Shandong rebels’ fighting spirit and even plunge them into internal strife.”

Killing Wei Sheng would turn Shandong against the Song state, and Lu You alone could not possibly stop it.

If Yu Yunwen is killed, the peace faction in the Song state will seize power. At that time, the Song state will no longer launch a northern expedition, and the Shandong rebels will also break with the Song state.

This is what it means to bear the weight of the world's fate on one's shoulders.

"Therefore, in order to provoke conflict between Shandong and the State of Song, I do not care about the casualties of my men, nor do I care what Prime Minister Shi thinks, nor do I care whether Henan will be turned into a wasteland, nor do I care whether we can actually invade the heart of Shandong."

Jia Gu Qingchen suddenly realized why He Shi Lie Liangbi's actions after receiving the military intelligence from Hebei were somewhat strange.

The most typical example is the establishment of regional military governorships in Henan and the conscription of Henan soldiers.

This order almost immediately pushed Shi Ju to the brink of rebellion.

Now Kiyotomi Kagaya has figured everything out.

Heshi Lieliangbi's only goal was to kill Wei Sheng, and he was willing to sacrifice everything for this objective.

Thinking of this, Kiyotomi Kagaya felt even more embarrassed.

Just as Wanyan Qige said before, Heshi Lieliangbi's plan was flawless and gave the Jin army a huge strategic advantage from the very beginning.

This was 15,000 armored cavalrymen carrying explosives, who launched a surprise attack on 8,000 infantrymen, and yet they ended up in this mess. Should we blame Heshi Lie Liangbi for the flawed plan?

It's clearly the martial artist's incompetence!
This was actually the biggest challenge facing the Jin Dynasty, ultimately because the Jin army could not defeat the Han army on the battlefield.

He Shi Lie Liangbi looked at Jia Gu Qingchen with some apology: "Qingchen, in fact, I had anticipated this situation long ago. When Qixian was not blown up on the second day, I knew that this time it was probably unavoidable. However, in the end, it still caused great suffering to our men, resulting in heavy casualties in Wuzhe."

Jia Gu Qingchen looked up at the sky, then lowered his head and wept.

If the Loyal Army could be annihilated and Wei Sheng killed on the first day, wouldn't it be possible to retreat back to Bianliang and wait and see what happens?
Kiyotomi Kagaya has never hated his own incompetence as much as he does now.

Heshi Lieliangbi drank the tea in his cup in one gulp, then held the cup and sighed, "But the result is good in the end. Shi Dunzhong... Alas... I saw his head a few days ago under the city wall. I never thought that he would be the one to fight for the survival of the Great Jin in the end."

As he spoke, He Shi Lie Liang Bi seemed to have finished one last thing and slowly stood up.

Jia Gu Qingchen tried to get up, but because he forgot about his leg injury, he lost his balance and fell to the ground. However, he still looked up at He Shi Lie Liangbi's back and said, "Left Prime Minister, what should I do?"

He Shi Lie Liangbi's clear voice rang out: "As you wish."

A sudden panic gripped Jia Gu Qingchen, who immediately asked, "What about us? What about all the soldiers in the city?"

Heshi Lieliangbi paused slightly, then said in a low voice, "Let's surrender."

"You go out of the city first and tell that Flying Tiger to wait for three quarters of an hour. I will give him an explanation."

(End of this chapter)