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

Chapter 869 Failure to Assess the Situation Leads to Both Leniency and Severity (Part 2)

Wang Hui and his son fled in a sorry state.

The officials of Chengdu Prefecture also fled in disarray.

Lord Lu has gone mad! One cannot associate with a madman!

Unexpectedly, a considerable number of officials stopped in their tracks and looked at Lu You with a strange yet expectant gaze.

After Lu You sat back down at his desk, he looked at the dozen or so officials present and slowly said, "Are you wondering why I'm targeting Wang Hui like this?"

"The reason is quite simple: I have an irreconcilable personal grudge against the Wang family, and I must teach them a lesson."

"Besides, I'm new here, and they dared to be perfunctory in the first thing they asked me to do. If I don't deal with them, wouldn't the whole of Sichuan look down on me?"

The officials present were immediately invigorated.

Having a personal grudge is a fantastic reason; it's a hundred times more real and reliable than anything like advocating for the people or considering the national situation.

The pie was only so big in the feudal era.

With so many plates for serving food, naturally some people will be full while others won't.

If someone tries to redistribute the cake, those who are full will naturally oppose it with all their might, while those who are not full, or who want to eat more, will naturally gather together.

However, because these people are starving, their strength is inevitably very weak and they cannot withstand the storm. If the leader shows weakness and dares not charge into battle or take the initiative to achieve results, then they will scatter.

Now that Lu You has essentially broken ties with the Wang family, these small fry finally have a chance to place their bets.

According to procedure, Lu You should have spoken up to win over the remaining officials by now, but unexpectedly he started a different topic.

"Do you know why I resent the Wang family so much?"

Lu You sat behind the desk and began to speak eloquently: "This story begins with my time following Duke Wei on his northern expedition. The righteous army that set out from Haizhou that day numbered only three hundred."

Among them are Liu Feihu, who is now renowned throughout the land; Zhang Baiyu, known for his sharpness; and Zhang Xiaoyi, who died in Chaoxian County and was honored by the government with a special decree.

Besides these few soldiers, there were also peddlers, merchants, river pirates, salt smugglers, and local tyrants.

"I am the only proper scholar-official left."

Although news from Chengdu wasn't exactly scarce, many officials were ultimately concerned with matters within their own small territory. As for what was happening thousands of miles away in the Central Plains and Shandong, they had only heard about it vaguely, and ultimately, they didn't know the details as well as those directly involved.

"Therefore, I was the first civil servant in the Northern Expeditionary Army from the very beginning."

Furthermore, I personally braved arrows and stones, unafraid of death, and regardless of whether I was fighting on the front lines, I ultimately followed the Northern Expeditionary Army step by step, leaving behind bloody footprints as it gradually grew stronger.

In your opinion, with my seniority, even if I cannot subdue all the heroes in Shandong, I should at least be respected by the people of the North, right?

Amidst the probing gazes of the crowd, Lu You suddenly erupted in anger: "But in fact, that's not the case! Whether it's the Han people of Shandong or Hebei, when I was recruiting talents for the Song Dynasty, they all resisted fiercely. Do you know why?"

Faced with the questioning again, the officials looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Let me take He Boqiu, the current chief secretary of the Jingnan Army's military governor's office, as an example."

In his youth, he happened to be part of Marshal Yue Fei's Northern Expedition, which connected Hebei. At that time, the situation was very favorable, and He Boqiu's two elder brothers rose up together in support of the Song Dynasty.

However, just as Marshal Yue was about to achieve his goal, that old dog Qin Hui, for his own gain, summoned Marshal Yue back, resulting in the complete annihilation of the heroes in the north who had responded to the Song Dynasty.

He Boqiu's two elder brothers were completely wiped out by the Jin invaders, and their families fled to the Song Dynasty. Guess what that old dog Qin did?!

"He said that southerners should return to the south and northerners should return to the north! He told those orphans that if they didn't go back, they would all be slaves!"

"Since Qin the Old Dog has done such a thing, how can the heroes of the North be expected to submit to him?!"

At this point, Lu You drew his sword and cleaved the table in front of him in two. After venting his anger, he slowly sat back down, leaving the officials in the hall in a state of panic and confusion, wondering what this had to do with the Wang family.

After a moment, Lu You continued, "Since the current emperor ascended the throne, he has exonerated Marshal Yue, but because of the retired emperor, he has not been able to settle accounts with Qin Hui. However, some of the evil deeds Qin Hui committed have been revealed."

Qin Hui was a henpecked man who never discussed anything with his wife, Wang, unless it was absolutely necessary. Now, there's even a claim that Wang was the one who set the trap for Yue Fei.

That Wang Shi is Wang Hui's older sister. After Qin Laogou died, she lived as a widow in her parents' home.

Such a heinous and treacherous person, if he hadn't fallen into my hands, I would have let it go. But now that I have the chance, how could I possibly swallow this insult?!

In the end, Lu You, who had always presented himself as a refined scholar, was now glaring angrily, his resentment palpable.

The officials of Chengdu Prefecture only then realized what was happening.

Having endured hardships and tribulations, and harboring lofty ambitions to achieve the great cause of unifying North and South, all their efforts were thwarted by a crossbow bolt shot by Qin Hui twenty years prior, which struck Yue Fei squarely in the back. No one could accept this. Anyone would be filled with indignation and rage.

This is a real and irreconcilable feud.

The more ambitious a person is, the harder it is for them to get over this hurdle. If they cannot get a good revenge and clear their mind, but instead hold onto this anger, Lu You will probably die of depression next year.

Since we're going to die anyway, why not have a good fight?! The outcome will be uncertain then.

Zhao Buyou stood up and bowed: "Reporting to Prime Minister Lu, the Wang family is a well-known powerful family in Chengdu, with many members serving in official positions. Even if they have committed some crimes, it is difficult to punish the entire Wang family."

Besides, the Wang family is deeply entrenched, and it's possible they've already prepared impeachment documents, ready to expel Prime Minister Lu from Chengdu.

Zhao Buyou's words drew the attention of many people.

It's true that Lu You wanted to deal with the Wang family, but he was, after all, a high-ranking official with great power, and had experienced the Northern Expeditions, surviving several brushes with death. So his radical actions were understandable.

Why would Zhao Buyou, a mere transport official in Chengdu, be so eager to step forward in public? Was it a surge of impulsive enthusiasm? Or had he already seen through certain things and wanted to be the first to profit from them?
Lu You regained his composure and smiled slightly upon hearing this: "I warned Wang Hui before that a family that accumulates good deeds will surely have abundant blessings, but he still goes his own way. If this continues, he will surely be punished by heaven. Just wait and see."

As he spoke, Lu You looked at one of the generals who had been silent in the corner: "General Zhang, have your seven thousand men gotten used to the food in Shu?"

Zhang Zhen immediately stood up: "So that Lord Lu may know that my troops are all stationed near Chengdu. Although they are all from Lianghuai, they are used to the food and lodging."

As Zhang Zhen spoke, he casually adjusted his belt, turned to look at the assembled officials, and began to grin maliciously.

Although theoretically speaking, a military general like Zhang Zhen is more than a head shorter than a civil official.

However, after experiencing several life-and-death situations, Zhang Zhen felt that none of these things mattered anymore.

Along the way, our fallen comrades are still watching from heaven. Why not go on the Northern Expedition to build our career, instead of bowing and scraping to a group of scholars in order to get promoted and make money?

Since Zhao Buyou took office, the officials in Chengdu have once again changed their expressions.

They had completely forgotten about the 7,000 soldiers from Lianghuai. These soldiers did not understand the language of Sichuan, let alone have any connection with it.

It can be said that as long as Lu You and Zhang Zhen, the prime minister and general respectively, are determined, these 7,000 soldiers are capable of accomplishing great things.

Of course, this is no different from rebellion.

What's even more obvious is that even after the execution of ten generations of Lu You's family, it couldn't stop him from slaughtering countless people in Chengdu.

"Lord Lu...Lord Lu...Why must it come to this! Why must we mobilize troops!"

Someone spoke in a trembling voice, their tone full of pleading.

Following Lu You in the struggle for power and profit, and getting more benefits, is one thing; following Lu You in rebellion is quite another.

Lu You, leaning on his sword, laughed and said, "What are you thinking? As the prime minister of the country, how could I presume to mobilize the country's troops?"

The reason I gave this advice to Steward Zhang is to ensure he maintains order in the surrounding area and prevents bandits from taking advantage of the situation.

Seeing that the officials were still somewhat hesitant, Lu You immediately gave the order: "Zhang Zhen!"

"The general is here!"

"For the next two months, you must drill your troops daily and deploy them around the outskirts of Chengdu. They are not allowed to enter the city. Understand?!"

"Order!"

After Lu You gave his orders, the officials of Chengdu Prefecture visibly breathed a sigh of relief. However, before they could even exchange a few pleasantries, a man strode in. Although he spoke with a northern accent, he still explained the intelligence clearly.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, after returning to his residence, Magistrate Wang has been staying indoors, but several of his subordinates have gone off in all directions, seemingly to deliver messages."

Everyone's expression changed again, knowing that Wang's counterattack was imminent.

Such deeply entrenched aristocratic families may not be able to accomplish anything, but they can easily cause trouble.

Initiating impeachment of local officials by court officials is child's play. Instead, they can compose nursery rhymes to ruin his reputation among the common people, exchange letters and make up jokes to ruin his reputation among scholars, and then use coercion and bribery to weaken his power, ultimately forcing him to the point that his decrees cannot be implemented in the government offices.

Even if all other means are exhausted, local gentry still have a trump card: instigating popular uprisings.

Why did the Han Dynasty consider suppressing powerful clans as a political achievement? Because it was extremely difficult.

Why did many later dynasties stop considering suppressing powerful clans as a political achievement? It was because the powerful clans had merged and were no longer something that ordinary local officials could shake.

In the solemn atmosphere, Lu You laughed heartily: "Good! The more people who come, the better. If we can't use the Wang family as an excuse to properly govern Sichuan, wouldn't that be a disgrace to my reputation?!"

(End of this chapter)