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

Chapter 848: You go to Xiaoxiang and I go to Qin

The Hebei officials were only discovered the day after Lu You left, and the disappearance of the military commissioner was not discovered.

On the third day, the bewildered Hebei officials finally sent the message to Jinan Prefecture.

It's no wonder that the Hebei officials were slow to react, because Lu You's official seal was still in the main hall of the military governor's office, and he only left calmly after finishing his business.

The Han army's high command had a habit of traveling incognito, so even if someone saw Lu You leaving the city, they assumed he was going to investigate the people's conditions and didn't pay much attention.

The reason why Liu Huai did not discover it immediately was because he truly regarded Lu You as one of his own and trusted Lu You's integrity, so he did not send anyone to monitor him.

As the saying goes, a great man acts with sincerity and honesty, and can build a solid relationship without resorting to petty tricks.

The position of Hebei Military Commissioner was granted, along with considerable real power. It can be said that as long as Lu You focused on his work, dealing with the Jin Dynasty and ignoring the Song Dynasty, he would inevitably have a position as prime minister by the time Liu Huai established the country.

However, Lu You also had his own principles, which truly left people speechless.

This is the standard struggle over which the political line is divided, and it is the most brutal and irreconcilable struggle.

On the second day of the sixth lunar month, when Lu You's boat arrived at Guide Prefecture, Liu Huai finally arrived.

"Stop the boat! Stop the boat!"

Bi Zaiyu, carrying a banner of the Jiedushi Mansion, rushed directly to the Dushuijian Office. He then raised his token and said to the stunned Dushuijian official, "Quickly dispatch ships to intercept that ship ahead! Hurry!"

The small, centipede-shaped boats of the Water Conservancy Bureau quickly set off, surrounding the flat-bottomed sand barge that had already been thoroughly investigated, and then forced it to stop.

Wearing a bamboo hat, Liu Huai stood calmly at the ferry, watching the ships sailing towards the river. He then shouted, "Liu Huai invites Mr. Lu to disembark for a moment!"

His bodyguards, understanding his meaning, shouted in unison, "The Prince of Han requests that Mr. Lu disembark for a while!"

"The Prince of Han invites Mr. Lu to disembark for a while!"

Lu You, of course, was not intimidated by such an occasion. In a short while, he boarded a small boat that had been lowered from the sand barge, rowed by Cao Dache, who looked ashamed, and headed towards the shore.

Liu Huai dismounted and stopped his guards from following him. He stood facing Lu You, whose shoes were also soaked, on the muddy beach.

In the past, the two could talk for three days and three nights without stopping, but now, the two who were once so close are speechless, only their eyes meet and their gazes are open and honest.

"Dalangjun, I..."

It was Cao Dache who first broke the deadlock.

Liu Huai simply shook his head and smiled, "It's not your fault. Since I sent you to protect Mr. Lu, it meant that he was the master. Your actions this time were in accordance with military orders, so you haven't betrayed me."

As Cao Dache breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat and an urge to cry.

After Liu Huai finished speaking, he turned to look at Lu You, shook his head and sighed, saying, "It is Cao Dalang's duty that he has to follow Mr. Lu south, but Mr. Lu is the Hebei Military Commissioner, how can he abandon his post?"

"What if the Jin invaders attack while the military governor is absent? Then there will be widespread bloodshed, and Mr. Lu's sins will be immense."

Lu You shook his head and chuckled: "The Jin bandits have already been terrified by His Highness the Prince of Han, so how could they possibly invade our territory again?"

Furthermore, my trip south was only to hand over administrative matters to the officials in Hebei before I left in a relaxed manner. The King of Han's accusations are truly absurd.

Cultured people are known for their ability to insult without using vulgar language. Lu You's sarcastic and veiled remarks did not anger Liu Huai. Instead, Liu Huai smiled and said, "I have never acknowledged the title of King of Han, nor did I coin it."

Mr. Lu, what should I do? Should I issue a notice telling the people that they cannot say such things? Wouldn't that be like protesting too much?

Lu You looked up at the sky and sighed: "Alas... So in the end I can't blame my eldest son. It's all fate and destiny. The world is like a tide, and everyone is struggling to cross it. In the end, it's all the will of Heaven that we've come to this."

Liu Huai stepped forward through the mud and grasped Lu You's hands, earnestly saying, "Since that's the case, then stay and assist me in unifying the world, and become my chief minister, how about that?"

Lu You let Liu Huai hold his hands, and after a long silence, he said, "Big brother, do you know if I really thought about just ignoring everything and only destroying the Jin Kingdom in the north?"

I even thought that if I served under you, I could use my position as the prime minister to preserve some of the Zhao family bloodline when the Song Dynasty fell.

With me mediating, when you deal with the Jiangnan literati, you'll be shown some leniency, which is a win-win situation.

Even though Liu Huai knew Lu You was about to say "but," he still looked at him with hopeful eyes, trying to persuade Lu You to change his mind.

Lu You turned his face away, avoiding Liu Huai's gaze, and withdrew his hands, pointing to his chest sincerely: "But my heart is still not at peace."

"My Lu family has been blessed by the country for generations. My grandfather, Tao Shan Gong, traveled thousands of miles to seek a famous teacher, Wang Shu Wang, who then imparted all his knowledge to my grandfather."

Later, my grandfather was favored by the Emperor of the Song Dynasty and became a prime minister. What an immense favor this was!

Liu Huai was somewhat astonished; he genuinely had no idea that Lu You's grandfather, Lu Dian, had such a past relationship with Wang Anshi.

Lu You continued talking, looking directly into Liu Huai's eyes with unbelievable sincerity: "If I really betray the Song Dynasty, what should I say when my grandfather comes from the afterlife and asks me if I have served my sovereign and father?"

Liu Huai replied directly, "What's so difficult about that? I'll personally explain to the old man that although you, Mr. Lu, have failed the Song Dynasty, you have not failed the Han people or the world, and are a first-rate figure who will be remembered in history." Lu You shook his head and chuckled, "Only someone as unruly as you, Da Lang, could say such things. If Prince Wang Shu were to see you, he would be very happy."

Alas… Ancestors are not to be followed blindly, nor is Heaven's mandate to be feared. But in the end, King Wang Shu still watched helplessly as the Song Dynasty followed ancestral laws and feared Heaven's mandate, and now… alas…

As the saying goes, those involved are often blinded by their own interests. During the prosperous and flourishing reign of Emperor Shenzong, no one felt that the Song Dynasty was in any danger. The Song Dynasty was like a person sleeping soundly in a sealed stone house, about to die from lack of oxygen.

Only Wang Anshi noticed, and he raised a torch and shouted loudly, trying to wake the sleeping people.

But in the end, the person who had been awakened became angry, gagged Wang Anshi, tied his hands, and pushed him into a corner of the stone room.

He could only watch helplessly as everyone continued to sink into depravity.

After experiencing the Jingkang Incident, insightful people like Lu You, looking back, suddenly realized that Wang Anshi's reforms were actually the best and last chance to save the Song Dynasty.

At this moment, Lu You truly understood the despair contained in Wang Anshi's poem.

"I wish I were a frivolous young man from the Five Mausoleums, born during the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras. I would spend my life fighting cocks and chasing dogs, oblivious to the safety and danger of heaven and earth."

After Lu You finished reciting slowly, he bowed to Liu Huai and said, "Brother, I also want to be a peaceful and prosperous official, but my country is in the south and is about to face the calamity of national subjugation."

"As someone from a family of officials, I have received the emperor's favor for generations, and I can only follow in the footsteps of Prince Wang Shu."

Liu Huai shook his head with a wry smile: "Mr. Lu's talent is no less than that of Wang Shu. In addition, he has been through local and military affairs for a long time, which has honed his good character. His reputation and achievements in the future will not be inferior to those of Wang Shu."

This conversation, destined to be recorded in history, seemed rather bizarre even to those involved.

Both of them knew that Liu Huai had the ambition to unify the world, and they also knew that the unification of the world was an inevitable trend that could not be stopped by human power.

The two were destined to be enemies, and if Lu You really left, Liu Huai would most likely have to fight to the death on the battlefield to see him again.

However, the two still shared their determination and encouraged each other like old friends.

Now that things had come to this, Liu Huai knew it was impossible to keep Lu You alive.

Even if they take him back this time, won't Lu You escape again?

But if we imprison them, what about the friendship we shared through thick and thin?
Everyone has their own ambitions, and it is common for a man to shed blood to fulfill his aspirations. As a close friend, I should always support him.

Liu Huai could only return the greeting with a bow.

"Cao Dache!"

Cao Dache, who had been standing silently to the side for a long time, suddenly straightened up and loudly replied, "Yes, sir!"

"I hereby appoint you as the Deputy Commander of the Flying Tigers Army and a Captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I hereby entrust you with an important military order," Liu Huai said loudly. "Protect Mr. Lu's safety without time limit."

Cao Dache straightened his back and said, "Yes!"

As the sun began to set, Lu You boarded a small boat in the glow of the sunset and headed towards a flat-bottomed sand barge. Once he had left the shore, he turned back and exclaimed, "Your poetic talent is known throughout the land. Now we are separated by north and south. I wonder when we will meet again. Do you have any poems to send me off?"

After pondering for a moment, Liu Huai said after the small boat had drifted another ten steps away, "It's just a pieced-together fragment."

"Please speak, young master."

"Life is full of divergent paths, one leading to Hunan and the other to Qin."

Lu You felt a lump in his throat, but he covered it up with a loud laugh: "Hahaha, my son is indeed a talented poet. Well done! It's even better than the original poem by Zheng Gu of the Tang Dynasty."

Liu Huai smiled and waved goodbye from the muddy tidal flats, just as if he were seeing off an old friend returning home.

Seeing this, Lu You finally could not bear it any longer. He cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted, "I will never betray the cause of the Northern Expedition!"

Liu Huai replied loudly, "I know!"

Lu You felt slightly relieved, but still shouted out his second statement: "As long as I live, the Great Song Dynasty will never perish!"

Liu Huai seemed completely unsurprised, and replied loudly once more, "I know!"

Just as Lu You was about to roar in response, he heard Liu Huai loudly proclaim, "I will definitely unify the world and end the chaos of the late Tang Dynasty!"

Lu You laughed heartily, then mimicked Liu Huai's earlier words: "I know!"

The setting sun, like a torch, ignited the clouds on the horizon, turning the Yellow River a crimson hue.

The oars churned in the water, and the small boat glided slowly across the surface, creating ripples that seemed to stir up the blood of heroes that had flowed for thirty years.

(End of this chapter)