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

Chapter 850 The Prime Ministers Discuss State Affairs

Although Yu Yunwen opened the map, he did not immediately explain the strategy, but instead asked an unrelated question.

"Are there still people in Shandong who blindly follow the lead of the Song Dynasty?"

Lu You shook his head with a wry smile: "If you ask me, then it's definitely not the case. The Northern Expedition has indeed united the people, to the point that everyone has devoted themselves wholeheartedly to it."

Lord Yu, I will not speak falsehoods today. This hasty journey south was originally due to these concerns.

I worry that if I continue with the Northern Expedition, I might never want to return to the Song Dynasty.

Furthermore, those originally loyal generals, after experiencing the Wei Gong incident, also deeply resented the Song Dynasty and would absolutely not obey Song military orders.

Yu Yunwen sighed again. Whenever he thought of this matter, he wished he could dig Liu Bao out of his grave and kill him again.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Let me first explain the core strategy."

Yu Yunwen said with his hands clasped, "If we can avoid a direct conflict with Liu Dalang, that would be best. Right now, the Song army is no match for the battle-hardened soldiers of Shandong."

If war is unavoidable, then we must ensure that our army attacks Liu Dalang at his weakest moment, when it is at its strongest.

Lu You made no attempt to hide his sarcasm, directly scoffing: "Then why didn't you do it last year? Back then, Liu Dalang personally went south with only exhausted soldiers by his side. Why didn't you just kill him?"

Yu Yunwen's expression was solemn, but he was not angry. He simply shook his head slightly, as if he was too lazy to argue.

"If we want our army to become strong, in addition to careful reorganization, it is even more important to occupy the terrain so that we can deal with Liu Dalang after the great battle."

Lu You looked at the map, squinted, and said, "Jin territory?"

Yu Yunwen pointed to Taiyuan and nodded, "That's the land of Jin."

"I corresponded with many generals and ministers and conducted strategic simulations."

"Next, Liu Dalang will definitely wipe out Hebei and Youyan in one fell swoop, but the Jin bandits will not sit idly by and wait for their doom. They will definitely mobilize all their troops, abandon the northern border defense, and fight a final battle with Liu Dalang."

"The Jin invaders mainly rely on cavalry, so they will naturally gather their troops in Hebei. This is our opportunity."

As he spoke, Yu Yunwen pointed to Xiangfan on the map: "I will lead Cheng Min and Wu Gong, a total of 70,000 regular troops, north out of Nanyang, straight to Luoyang, and then without stopping, north to Hedong, all the way to Taiyuan."

Upon hearing this, Lu You burst out laughing.

The Song state now occupies the entire Nanyang Basin, and Nanyang is the northernmost point from which to launch an attack.

However, the shortest route from Nanyang to Luoyang, which goes through Yique Pass, is still nearly 400 li (approximately 200 kilometers).

This was the strategy that Yu Yunwen had shared with Lu You when they were in Xia Cai, and it was also approved by Lu You.

But the key lies in the next step.

The army set out from Luoyang, crossing the Yellow River at Mengjin, arriving in Henan, following the Danshui Pass to the Shangdang Basin, and then passing through the Taiyue Mountains to enter the Taiyuan Basin. The straight-line distance along this route was a full eight hundred li.

If you take into account the winding mountain roads, the total distance could very well exceed 1,500 li.

Is it true that they launched a fierce attack for 1,500 li, directly breaking through the Luoyang Basin and the entire Hedong region?

If Lord Yu really has such abilities, then we don't need to be afraid of the Jin invaders or Liu Dalang. How about we send troops north now and wipe them all out?
As if he could also see the distrust in Lu You's eyes, Yu Yunwen smiled and said, "Of course, it's not just that."

As he spoke, Yu Yunwen first pointed to Kansai: "Secondly, we also need to maintain the two flanks."

"Currently, Wu Lin, the Pacification Commissioner of Sichuan, is confronting the Jin invaders in Guanzhong. Meanwhile, Wang Gangzhong, the current Prefect of Chengdu and Military Commissioner of Sichuan, is too old and ill to attend to his duties and has returned to Lin'an."

The current Sichuan Military Commissioner, Shen Jie, is at odds with Wu Lin, and I am worried that things might go wrong.

"It just so happens that you've returned. You should be appointed as the Military Commissioner of Sichuan and Prefect of Chengdu, cooperating with Grand Commandant Wu. When the time is right, launch a fierce attack from Guanzhong and utterly defeat that scoundrel Wanyan Liang."

Lu You nodded slowly.

This actually brings us back to Zhuge Liang and Yue Fei's Northern Expedition strategy.

By launching simultaneous attacks from Xiangfan and Sichuan, the north was rendered unable to defend itself from both ends, thus securing victory.

This is a strategy that has stood the test of history, and Lu You could not deny it.

However, Lu You still shook his head: "The army under my command is not the Jingnan Army, and it is impossible for me to quickly defeat the enemy."

If Wanyan Liang were so easy to defeat, why would Grand Commandant Wu have been locked in a stalemate in Guanzhong for so long? He's even started establishing military farms there now.

Yu Yunwen smiled and replied, "As the saying goes, 'Man proposes, God disposes,' and things are always accomplished by people. This is also why I want you to govern Sichuan. Wang Gangzhong is a prudent and experienced minister, while Shen Jie is mediocre and incompetent, unable to cooperate with Grand Commandant Wu. Are you, Prime Minister Lu, no better?"

Lu You remained noncommittal: "Do you have any other strategies besides this?"

“Yes.” Yu Yunwen placed his hand on the Lianghuai area: “I have persuaded the Emperor that once the great battle begins, he will rush to Hefei to take command.”

Lu You suddenly looked up, stared into Yu Yunwen's eyes for a long time, and then slowly said, "We absolutely cannot fight on two fronts against the Jin invaders and Liu Dalang, otherwise the country will be in grave danger." Lu You had been in the north for a long time and knew the distribution of the Han army.

To appease the Song state, there were not many Han troops stationed near the Huai River.

In fact, only Li Tong was stationed in the southern part of Henan with the fully reorganized Chenzhou army, which numbered about 30,000, but none of them were famous generals.

The core of the southernmost large-scale army group is the newly established Xuzhou Garrison Command, but the identity of the person in charge of the garrison has not yet been determined.

Lu You worried that the young emperor might act rashly, seeing that Henan was undefended and that the elite Han army was concentrated in the north, and directly attack Henan and Shandong. In that case, the situation would completely spiral out of control.

Yu Yunwen seemed to know Lu You's worries and responded with a smile: "Having the Emperor stationed in Hefei is to prevent the troops of Lianghuai from making any moves, and at the same time, it is to attract the attention of Henan and southern Shandong, so as not to let them divide their troops to obstruct our Jin army in Luoyang."

Lu You remained silent for a moment, then asked another question: "Is the Emperor now wary of Liu Dalang?"

Looking at the map, Yu Yunwen replied without raising his head, "Lord Lu, now that you're back, you should give me an explanation."

I brushed it off with the words that every general outside the central government is ambitious, and it all depends on how the central government uses its methods.

"Lord Lu, you will certainly have to meet with the Emperor; you must think carefully about what you say then."

Lu You nodded: "Of course I know."

For the two seasoned ministers of the State of Song, there was no such thing as whether their rebellious intentions were obvious or not; it was simply a matter of whether they had the ability to do so.

Liu Huai has the ability to rebel, so regardless of his loyalty, he should be restricted.

If he lacks the ability to rebel, then no matter how ambitious he is, he will only be a laughing stock.

Similarly, if the Song state had the ability to suppress him, then even if Liu Huai was exceptionally respectful to the court, he should have immediately sent troops to capture and kill him.

Conversely, if the State of Song was unable to defeat the Han army head-on, then even if the northern region already held the title of King of Han, they should remain silent and wait for the opportune moment.

That's what makes a mature politician. Those who act impulsively and call for war before they're even ready are the real fools.

Lu You looked at the map and then pointed to Luoyang: "Luoyang is surrounded by eight passes and key points. Even though it is no longer the Han and Wei period, it is still considered easy to defend and difficult to attack. How can you, Prime Minister Yu, quickly conquer it?"

As he spoke, Lu You pointed to Bianliang again: "You should know that Pusan ​​Zhongyi is not dead yet. He still has tens of thousands of elite troops under his command. He might move the capital to Luoyang this year. At that time, the troops of Xiangfan will be facing them. Is Prime Minister Yu confident?"

Yu Yunwen shook his head and said, "Of course I'm not confident. Moreover, Liu Dalang's military campaigns are swift and fierce. If I linger in Luoyang for too long, Liu Dalang might have already swept through Youyan and invaded Jin."

Lu You originally thought that a large-scale decisive battle wouldn't happen so quickly, especially since Dong Jin had already witnessed the Han army's fighting strength and would definitely hold their ground and wait for reinforcements.

However, he immediately thought of gunpowder and artillery. Even if Dongjin built fortifications in Hebei to defend it, how many days could it last under heavy bombardment?
Therefore, Lu You directly acquiesced to this statement, and then Yu Yunwen continued, "Therefore, we must absolutely not let Pusan ​​Zhongyi lead all the elite Jin troops back to Luoyang; we must intercept and kill a portion of them."

Lu You looked away from the map and up into Yu Yunwen's eyes: "Are we now going to urge Cheng Min to advance eastward and attack Bianliang?"

Yu Yunwen slowly shook his head, looking as if he had everything under control: "It's not about urging Cheng Min to advance eastward, but about me personally going to Nanyang to control the troops advancing eastward."

Lu You shook his head and said, "This is going to be a big war. We might just be able to wipe out the Western Jin in one fell swoop. I'll set off for Shu right now."

Yu Yunwen shook his head repeatedly: "Lord Lu, it's not like that. The reason I went to Nanyang in person was to control the troops and maintain pressure, but to prevent them from having a large-scale conflict with the Jin bandits."

Lu You was taken aback when he heard this: "Could it be that you want to make Pu Sanzhongyi return to Luoyang in a hurry, and then ambush him on the way?"

"Lord Yu, forgive my bluntness, but Nanyang is still quite far from the Central Plains, and the Jin invaders are mostly cavalry. The Song army cannot possibly launch a surprise attack halfway through the journey."

Yu Yunwen also raised his head: "The Song army may not be able to help, but would Liu Dalang give up this opportunity? As long as I create momentum and force the Eastern Jin out of Bianliang, with Liu Dalang's fighting strength and temperament, how could he let this opportunity pass?"

Lu You was dumbfounded, and Shi Ju's comment came to mind once again.

"Yu Yunwen was half a Zhuge Liang, but he failed because he relied on trickery. Lu You was also half a Zhuge Liang, but he failed because he did not take the initiative."

Is it possible to gain an advantage by taking shortcuts in conquering the world?
After a moment of silence, Lu You shook his head and said, "Lord Yu, your plan is good, but it's like writing out the exam questions for others to answer."

Let me ask you this: what should we do if Pusan ​​Zhongyi wins? What should we do if Liu Dalang wins by a large margin and marches directly into Luoyang?
This is a national war; are we supposed to rely on wishful thinking and back-and-forth arguments to formulate strategies?

After listening quietly, Yu Yunwen immediately became serious, as if he had already made up his mind: "Pusan ​​Zhongyi has a very small chance of winning. If he really had this ability, he wouldn't have retreated his troops in Huaibei. Even if he were to win by chance, it would be an exhausted army, and then our army would directly enter Luoyang."

If Liu Dalang wins a great victory, even capturing and killing Pu Sanzhongyi, then our army should directly enter Luoyang, block the Xingyang Pass, and deal with Liu Dalang.”

"That's why I went to Nanyang in person. At crucial moments, I can make decisions."

This means that a full-scale war against West Jin is necessary at this critical moment.

Lu You pondered for a moment, then sighed and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll trouble Minister Yu to tell the Emperor to issue an imperial decree as soon as possible so that I can go to Sichuan to take charge of the administration. If there are any changes in the country, I can also do my part."

Yu Yunwen nodded with a smile, letting out a long sigh of relief, as if persuading Lu You this time was the truly remarkable thing.

(End of this chapter)