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

Chapter 833 Senior and Junior Brothers Discuss Old Friends

"This is news from Jiangnan."

“A great deal of wealth is gathering in Jiankang.”

What is your explanation?

Because the matter concerned the State of Song and the information source was confidential, Liu Huai only summoned Liang Su and Shi Ju, who happened to be there at the time.

The two were seasoned veterans at dealing with the Song state, so they only needed a quick glance to detect the clues.

Liang Su frowned and said, "Although the document contains an analysis that the Song state may be planning to wage war against our army, I think that is still somewhat illogical."

Liu Huai nodded in response: "Mr. Liang, please speak."

Liang Su remained silent for a moment before pointing to one of the sentences: "The three major families of Liang, Hu, and Deng have purchased a large amount of real estate and land in Jiankang. This does not look like they are about to start a serious war."

Shi Ju stroked his beard and interrupted Liang Su: "Meng Rong, you're just too cautious and afraid to make a judgment."

"My lord, I dare say, this must be because that minor emperor of the Song Dynasty is about to move the capital."

After hearing Shi Ju's confident assessment, Liu Huai and Liang Su, who already had their own plans, remained expressionless and simply nodded slightly.

This was actually unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable.

On the one hand, the Song state had nominally won a great victory this time, having recovered Nanyang and half of the Central Plains. It was no longer a small, isolated court, and naturally could not continue to cower in Jiangnan. It had to make some moves to expand its influence.

If staying in the old capital is too radical, then moving the capital slightly north to Jiankang would undoubtedly be a compromise.

It's not that we don't want to return to Bianliang, but rather that we want to return slowly and gradually, allowing some cities to enjoy the benefits of being the capital first, and then having the rising Jiankang drive the decline of the Central Plains, ultimately achieving the goal of common development.

In this way, not only can public opinion be silenced, but history can also record some stories about it. It can be said to be a win-win solution.

On the other hand, Lin'an was, after all, Zhao Gou's comfortable haven where he had cultivated his power for thirty years. If Zhao Shen wanted to get rid of Zhao Gou's political influence, the simplest and most effective way was to leave Zhao Gou's political stronghold directly.

Even though restarting the stove is difficult, it ensures that everyone eating around the stove is one of our own.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Huai asked in a deep voice, "Do you think it can work?"

As if deliberately showing off his skills, Shi Ju once again made a firm judgment as an expert on Song state issues: "It will absolutely not be successful within five years."

Zhao Shen underestimated Zhao Gou. Even though that old eunuch had abdicated, he was not someone who could be easily shaken.

I dare say that if Zhao Shen cannot patiently wait until Zhao Gou grows old and frail, the Song state may very well descend into internal strife.

Liang Su, acting as a straight man, laughed out loud upon hearing this: "If only there were internal strife, the eldest son could directly seize the world without bloodshed."

Upon hearing this, Liu Huai shook his head and chuckled: "Where is that logic? Even if there is internal strife in the Song Dynasty, heroes will still rise up to seize the opportunity. How can Jiangnan be pacified without a few large-scale battles?"

Shi Ju, however, said seriously, "Not necessarily. According to what Han Xizai of the Southern Tang Dynasty and the monk Jueming said: 'The Central Plains are always eyeing Jiangnan with hostility. Once the true ruler appears, Jiangnan will be too busy to even lay down its arms.'"

Since ancient times, there has never been any hero from Jiangnan. When the time comes, with the overwhelming power of the north pressing south, the eldest son will surely conquer it in one fell swoop!

Liu Huai continued to shake his head, his words seemingly noncommittal: "Since the matter has been settled, I hope Mr. Liang can help me with some preparations. I need to go and prepare for tomorrow's military council."

"Master Shi, we won't keep you fellow disciples from catching up any longer."

After saying this, Liu Huai got up and left.

Watching Liu Huai's departing figure, Shi Ju said with some annoyance, "What grand military council? It's clearly a grand court assembly. Why don't you people in the central government advise the young master to take a further step?"

Liang Su rolled his eyes: "Do you think we haven't tried to persuade him? I've already argued with that Mr. Lu several times!"

However, firstly, there was the Duke of Wei's will as a shield, and secondly, the eldest son didn't have a firm resolve at the time. As mentioned earlier, they still needed to deal with the Jin state first, so they delayed the matter.

Shi Ju immediately became somewhat angry: "And you're just going to drag this out like this?!"

Liang Su was also annoyed upon hearing this, and directly flung his sleeves and said, "Then tell me what I should do? What can I do? No one can stop the eldest son from doing whatever he wants now, and conversely, no one can force him to do whatever he doesn't want to do!"
Do you really think you can force a military governor to become emperor just by slapping a yellow robe on him? Don't you know what kind of people the Five Dynasties were? That wasn't being emperor; that was being made a scapegoat!

Seeing that Liang Su was annoyed, Shi Ju chuckled, just like when he had successfully tricked his junior brother when they were children.

Seeing this, Liang Su was also filled with anger but couldn't vent it. He could only turn his head away and sulk, just like when he was a child.

Although the brothers recreated their youthful days, they realized that youth is fleeting, and after a moment of silence, they began to discuss serious matters. "This can't go on. The eldest son is a commander-in-chief and a military governor, so the highest military rank is only a general manager. Those commanders simply can't rise up."

While civil officials may hold positions such as Pacification Commissioner, Military Commissioner, and Transport Commissioner, they rarely hold positions in the central government. And you, a military advisor-general, are truly laughable.

Shi Ju, who was about to be promoted to the position of Imperial Inspector, was somewhat indignant, both on behalf of Liang Su and to express his own grievances.

Heaven have mercy, Shi Ju was already a prime minister in the Jin Dynasty. After being transferred to a post outside the capital, he governed several prefectures in southern Henan with the title of prime minister of both the Eastern and Western Jin Dynasties.

As a result, when it came to Liu Huai, although he was actually supposed to do the work of the Censor-in-Chief, he only had the title of Inspector-in-Chief. Who could stand that?

This was no longer just a demotion; if Shi Ju hadn't known the true value of this Imperial Inspectorate position, he might have considered it a blatant humiliation.

Liang Su stared at Shi Ju for a long time before finally laughing out loud: "Senior brother, you still haven't changed your ambition for officialdom. You're new here, be careful not to offend anyone."

Shi Ju said proudly, "I am not alone and empty-handed. Not to mention the generals and officials from Henan that I brought with me, just take Meng Rong... Do you really think you can draw a line between us?"

Liang Su unconsciously tapped his hand twice on the table, coughed twice, and then said, "Of course, we cannot draw a line."

Shi Ju was somewhat aggressive: "I don't believe you haven't gathered some people over the years. That guy named Hu Yan Nanxian was so nice to me today, even trying to smooth things over with jokes. Is it really not because of Meng Rong?"

Liang Su sighed: "My senior brother understands me best."

Shi Ju waved his hand and said, "Then stop talking nonsense. Since the eldest son has appointed me as the Censor-in-Chief... the Inspector-in-Chief is naturally responsible for sorting out local affairs. You have been by the eldest son's side for a long time, do you know to what extent this sorting out is required?"

Liang Su did not answer directly, but instead brought up other things: "Senior brother, do you think it's a bit too fast for the eldest son to have accomplished such a great feat in just over four years?"

This is actually a question that many wise and virtuous people have.

Liu Huai's rise to power has been incredibly rapid. In just four years, he went from an unknown soldier to a regional warlord, and now he even seems poised to establish his own state.

To say that everything went smoothly would be a lie. Liu Huai himself encountered many battles that were like divine intervention or death, and the range of those who died in these battles was from marshals to low-ranking officers and soldiers.

But Liu Huai grew up smoothly all the way, turning misfortune into good fortune and disaster into auspiciousness, which made people suspect that he was blessed by heaven, while also feeling some fear and doubt about the speed of his expansion.

It's just too fast.

However, Shi Ju had a different opinion. He snorted and said, "Don't listen to the words of those fools. Throughout history, those who have successfully unified the world and whose dynasties have lasted for generations have all done so with one word: speed!"

"In the fourth year after Emperor Gaozu of Han raised his army, he had already pacified the Three Qin regions, launched the Battle of Pengcheng, and attacked Xiang Yu's stronghold."

"In the fourth year of the Tang Dynasty's Wude era, Emperor Taizong of Tang captured two kings in a battle in Luoyang. Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande were both imprisoned in Chang'an."

"On the other hand, those who drag their feet and fail to accomplish anything for more than ten years are ultimately incapable of achieving anything great. This was the case with the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms."

Although Liang Su knew this fellow was making excuses, he couldn't help but nod and acknowledge some of the other's fallacies: "But why is that?"

Shi Ju stretched out his hand and tapped on the table: "Because a person's ambition and spirit are only something that lasts for a few years."

Take the eldest son, for example. He dares to rush into danger now, but in ten years... oh, he might actually dare, the eldest son is too young... what about in twenty years?
Even if he dared, what about Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu? What about the soldiers who had enjoyed wealth and luxury for twenty years? What about the children who grew up in luxury? Would they dare too?

"Moreover, in twenty years, the military and government offices will all be run by the second generation. Take the Jin Dynasty for example. During the first generation, Wanyan Loushi was in charge, but now it's Wanyan Mouyan. Can he compare to his father?"
Is this guy still alive?

“He’s still imprisoned.” Liang Su shook his head. “Let’s not talk about Wanyan Mouyan. Actually, it’s not just us who are secretly worried about the instability of the foundation; the eldest son seems to have the same idea.”

However, his concerns differed from ours. He wasn't worried about failing to unify the world, but rather that some minor problems, if not corrected at the outset, would gradually escalate into enormous disasters and spread their poison throughout the land as the wars progressed.

As the saying goes, "prevention is better than cure," and that's the real reason why my senior brother was chosen to be the imperial inspector.

Shi Ju nodded indifferently: "So, you mean you can investigate anything and manage anything?"

Liang Su added with a stern face, "It covers everything except the garrison. The Embroidered Uniform Guard will send people to handle things at the garrison because there is a possibility of collusion between local authorities and the military, which is why this matter needs to be handled simultaneously."

Shi Ju tilted his head and thought for a moment, then clicked his tongue and said, "The future emperors of the Han dynasty will have even greater power than Emperor Wu of Han."

But now that you've mentioned the future emperor, when exactly will the eldest son get married? Surely you haven't urged him on such an important matter?

Liang Su remained stern: "What I was just about to tell you is that the date is set for the first day of the third month. Don't forget to send a gift to congratulate us."

Looking at Liang Su's serious expression, as if he were marrying off his daughter, Shi Ju couldn't help but sneer again.

(End of this chapter)