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

Chapter 899 Iron Horses and Autumn Wind at Dasan Pass

When Lu You led the Song army back to Heshangyuan, it was already the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, only two or three days before the New Year.

Logically speaking, the law is no different from human sentiment. Even the strongest army is ultimately composed of individuals. Therefore, as the holidays approach, all parties will slow down their fighting pace to allow troops to rotate and rest.

However, with the war already at this point, personal feelings were no longer a consideration.

If the Song army loses another battle, they will directly hand over the gateway to Sichuan to the Jin army!
When the time comes, Lu Xiang Gong, Wu Jie Du, and Zhang Jiang Jun will all be cast into kneeling statues by later generations and apologize to the people and future generations in front of the Shu Xiang Temple!
Lu You has made it clear that he has decided to die at Heshangyuan, and if anyone dares to desert in the face of battle, he will not hesitate to use military law to kill them.

Now that we have arrived at Monk Plains, some things will naturally come to light.

"Report! General Zhang Shunzhong's head has been found at the central army headquarters in Wanyan Lucheng. Interrogation of prisoners revealed that General Zhang held out at Dasanguan for five hours. After Dasanguan was breached, he continued to fight and refused to surrender, eventually dying from fifteen arrow wounds."

His body was left beside Dasanguan Pass, and they were already collecting it based on the scars on his body.

"Report! Wu Lin, the Grand Commandant, was seriously wounded and captured by the Jin ruler Wanyan Liang. He refused to surrender and would rather die than surrender... The specific words obtained through interrogation of the Jin prisoners have been recorded and are all in the documents."

Grand Commandant Wu was buried on Monk's Plain. Some Jin bandits claim he erected the tombstone and can lead us there.

"Report! Li Shiyan, the Pacification Commissioner of Kuizhou, did not retreat to Dasanguan, but instead led several thousand remnants of his troops to the northwest. We need to investigate their exact location."

"Report! The main force of the Jin invaders is not nearby! Their exact location is unknown!"

……

Lu You was resting with his eyes closed in the commander's tent while listening to the military envoy's report.

Ever since he learned that Zhao Shen had ordered Wu Lin to withdraw his troops through an imperial edict, Lu You had been relentlessly pursuing Zhang Zhen northward. After experiencing a series of battles and chases, he was already extremely exhausted.

However, the military situation was urgent, and no one dared to delay. Lu You could only use this method to barely recover his energy.

A moment later, after all the military intelligence reports had been completed, Lu You opened his reddened eyes and first looked at Wu Ting, who was already sobbing uncontrollably.

"General Wu, your father died in the line of duty. You should have been the one to escort his coffin back to Chengdu for burial and temporary rest. I should have also led all the officials in paying our respects."

But the military situation remains urgent, and without you, I am unable to rally the routed troops from Guanzhong. Therefore, I have no choice but to plead for mercy on behalf of the Emperor.

Wu Ting immediately knelt on one knee, cupped his hands in a gesture of submission: "Lord Lu, this humble general understands your meaning. Not to mention that the country is in imminent danger, just the hatred for the murder of my father alone is irreconcilable!"
I will certainly rally the troops for Lord Lu and let the world see that this great defeat was not due to a lack of skill, and that we, the soldiers of the Western Army, are by no means cowards!

Lu You nodded: "It's not a matter of time. Go to Wu Taiwei's grave now and pay your respects. Also, pour a cup of wine for me and tell Wu Taiwei's spirit that with me, Lu You, here, the Jin invaders will never be able to enter Sichuan and Chongqing, and Guanzhong will surely return to the Song Dynasty!"

Wu Ting burst into tears again, but dared not waste any more time. He could only cover his face and nod haphazardly before rushing out the door.

Lu You also sighed.

The fact that Wu Lin, a renowned general, met such an end is both lamentable and infuriating.

The same thing that happened to Yue Fei has happened again. Has the Emperor not learned even the slightest lesson from the past?
This time, because the main force of the Western Jin still existed, and Emperor Wanyan Liang was rightfully in charge of the entire army, the Song army in Guanzhong suffered an even worse fate than Yue Fei's army. Not only did the entire army collapse, but its commander-in-chief Wu Lin also died, making it a great defeat that will be remembered in history.

If Lu You felt a mixture of resentment and anger, then Zeng Di felt extreme fear.

Not only was the Kansai army almost completely wiped out, but now even the veteran general Wu Lin has died. The trigger was that Zeng Di brought an imperial edict and issued the order to withdraw the troops in front of all the Kansai generals.

The consequences were far too severe; even a mere prefect could not withstand such a devastating blow, let alone a prime minister or the emperor.

If we think of people in a darker light, the best course of action for Zhao Shen at this moment would actually be to deny the imperial edict.

Since it was an illegal imperial edict without the prime minister's countersignature, all the blame was placed on Zeng Di, who was accused of falsely conveying the imperial edict, leading to the complete annihilation of the Guanzhong army.

Then, they pinned the charge of being a Jin spy on Zeng Di, executed all the male members of his nine clans, and that was considered the end of the matter.

With a scapegoat, the outcome can be considered a happy one for everyone.

Of course, as a scapegoat, Zeng Di must have felt resentful.

Therefore, when he saw Lu You's gaze sweep over him, Zeng Di disregarded his scholarly demeanor and immediately knelt down on both knees, kowtowing heavily to Lu You: "Lord Lu! I know I am guilty, please help me."

Lu You stared intently at Zeng Di for a long time.

Although he knew that given Zeng Di's status and abilities, it was impossible for him to have instigated such a major event, Lu You, as someone directly involved, still felt that even beheading Zeng Di ten times wouldn't be too much.

If everyone uses the excuse that they were just following orders to shirk responsibility, then after something goes wrong, wouldn't everyone be able to simply bow and walk away unscathed?
Indeed, according to procedure, this imperial edict could not have entered the Eastern and Western Offices without the approval of the chief ministers. But what was Zeng Di, the person who directly delivered the edict, doing? Couldn't he have taken the initiative to reject it?

Zeng Di could use his ignorance of important military and political affairs as an excuse. But Lu You could also say that holding a high position and being ignorant of important military and national affairs is a path to certain death.

However, after glaring fiercely at Zeng Di for a long time, Lu You still suppressed his anger: "Prefect Zeng, do you know that you have done something outrageous?"

Zeng Di shuddered: "This humble official knows..."

"No, you still don't know," Lu You continued, "The elite troops of the nation in the western region have been wiped out, all the generals are dead, and the fate of Bashu is hanging by a thread."

Ah... In the Battle of Canhebei, 50,000 Yan soldiers were massacred, and Murong Chui died spitting blood; in the Battle of Yubi, 70,000 Qi soldiers died, and Emperor Shenwu died with a mournful song.

Now that my Great Song Dynasty has lost 60,000 soldiers, tell me, what are the feelings of the emperor and his ministers in the court? And what will your fate be?

After intimidating Zeng Di, Lu You saw that the man looked terrified, his face red from the whip marks as if they were about to burst, and knew that the time was right: "Prefect Zeng, but now you still have a way out."

Zeng Di kowtowed repeatedly, as if a drowning man were grasping at a straw: "Lord Lu, if you can escape this calamity, you will surely be richly rewarded in the future."

Lu You stood up and helped Zeng Di up, the grim look on his face fading slightly: "Prefect Zeng, you must take all the military intelligence, the documents I have written, and the head of Wanyan Lucheng that you have cut off, and set off for Lin'an immediately to report to the Emperor in person."

"After you go back, you can say the same thing about everything else, but you must help me take control of the military power in Xichuan. This matter must not go wrong again."

Zeng Di was slightly taken aback: "This..."

Even if he were foolish, he would have figured it out along the way: the emperor must have been wary of Lu You or Wu Lin, which was why he ordered the Western Army to retreat.

Now that military, political, and financial power are all concentrated in Lu You's hands, especially in a delicate place like Sichuan, can the emperor really feel at ease?

After sighing, Lu You earnestly said, "Prefect Zeng, tell me the truth. If it weren't for me, wouldn't the Jurchen invaders have already advanced unimpeded, occupied the entire Chencang Road, and possibly even broken through Jiange and entered Chengdu?"

Zeng Di thought about how the Jin army had swept through the country like a whirlwind a few days ago, and couldn't help but nod.

"Then tell me, even if we change prime ministers or generals on the eve of battle, isn't it still necessary for someone to concentrate military and financial power in order to resist the Jin invaders and protect Bashu?"

"Besides me, how many others possess such ability? Even if they do, wouldn't changing them at the last minute cause chaos and give the Jin invaders an opportunity to exploit?"

"Prefect Zeng, if I may say something unpleasant, if the Jurchen invaders were to actually invade Sichuan, the court and the people would certainly kill you to vent their anger!"

"And your head, once the prefect, is the Emperor's edict of self-reproach!"

Zeng Di's face was deathly pale, and her legs felt weak again. After exchanging a glance with Lu You for a moment, she nodded emphatically: "I'll try, I'll try..."

Lu You gripped Zeng Di's arm, his tone turning stern: "It's not a matter of trying, it's a matter of success! The lives of millions of soldiers and civilians in Xichuan depend on the next two or three months of battle!"
Whether I can continue to preside over military and political affairs here depends entirely on you, Prefect Zeng.

Zeng Di nodded repeatedly, finally realizing that he and Lu You were now in the same boat.

"Since Magistrate Zeng has agreed, let's set off immediately. I will send people to escort us, using official post stations along the way, changing horses but not people!"
"Prefect Zeng, these days, whoever brings the military intelligence to the Emperor first will be the one the Emperor trusts most. You don't have much leeway!"

Zeng Di gritted his teeth and said, "I'm leaving now!"

Having said that, he strode away from the command tent.

After resolving the two most important matters, Lu You returned to his command post and issued military orders in public.

"Order Wang Yan, the Sichuan Transport Commissioner, to quickly transport grain and supplies to Dasanguan and recruit able-bodied men to join the army."

"The prefects of Xingyuan and Yangzhou are hereby ordered to strictly guard the official roads and prevent the Jurchen invaders from entering Hanzhong!"

"Contact the defeated troops stranded in Guanzhong and tell them that the passage to Dasanguan is guarded by me and the rear is safe. Let them gather here."

If they can't come, they can resist the Jin on the spot; they will accept any promises they make.

"Investigate the Jin army's situation, find out where the main force of the Jin bandits is, and why only four thousand Jin bandits have entered Chencang Road."

After Lu You finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Zhen, who was standing to the side.

Zhang Zhen immediately added, "And the rewards for this battle..."

Lu You nodded: "There isn't that much money at the front lines, but my reputation can still fetch two copper coins. Tell the troops that the rewards for this battle are all recorded in the merit book. Once the money is delivered in a month, they will be distributed together!"

(End of this chapter)