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

Chapter 906 Every Drink and Every Peck is Fate
The moment Zhang Shousu's head fell to the ground, the same thought arose in the minds of many intelligent people present.

It seems that chaos in Bianliang City is truly inevitable.

The likely outcome of this chaos would be the destruction of the entire city of Bianliang.

Many people, however, were thinking about Zhou Hua's words.

To avenge the unjust deaths of the elders in several prefectures of Henan.

This happened the year before last, when Heshilie Liangbi was in charge of the Huaibei campaign. In order to force the Chenzhou army to send troops and to cover up his strategic objectives, Heshilie Liangbi forcibly conscripted soldiers in several prefectures in Huaibei when the autumn harvest was about to begin.

The person specifically responsible for carrying out the task was Zhang Shousu.

The destructive impact of the petition on people's lives and livelihoods is undeniable. For example, even now, a year after Mengcheng has recovered, the surrounding areas still have more land than people.

As the saying goes, "If you've done this, you should die for it."

Since the people and soldiers of several prefectures in Huaibei have suffered heavy casualties, isn't it only natural that someone would seek revenge?

Of course, it's also possible that Zhou Hua was incredibly good at understanding his superiors' intentions, knowing that even if Liu Huai tried to persuade Zhang Shousu to surrender and recruit traitors, he would eventually get tired of it, so it would be better to seize the opportunity now and kill him directly to end the matter once and for all.

But it is more likely that Zhou Hua from Bozhou was already furious. Now that he had the opportunity to kill his enemy, why should he hold back?
Is it for the sake of the "big picture" that the big shots talk about?
On that day, several prefectures in Huaibei were almost turned into a ghost town, and not many important figures came to take care of the overall situation!

However, even if Zhou Hua had a thousand reasons and ten thousand explanations, he still killed the actual protector of Bianliang City in front of everyone.

The first to react were not Zhang Shousu's subordinates, but Jing Sihui, the prime minister of the Jin state.

After Jing Sihui killed Liang Jiu and others who tried to persuade him to surrender, he had no choice but to follow Xi Jin all the way to the end.

Therefore, he also wanted to disrupt Kaifeng Prefecture in order to slow down Liu Huai's unification efforts, and the only ones standing in his way were the brothers Zhang Hao and Zhang Shousu.

Now that Zhang Shousu is dead, and even more so by Lou Wangsun's men in public, it's practically a godsend.

Jing Sihui immediately shouted, "Lou Wangsun! You actually had Zhang Xiangong killed! Ah..."

Before he could finish speaking, a scabbard slapped his mouth shut, sending several teeth flying out along with blood.

Gu Qingchen held his sword to Jing Sihui's neck and then roared, "By order of the King of Han! All troops return to their camps! Await the King of Han's entry into the city!"

"By order of the King of Han! All troops return to camp! Welcome the King of Han!"

Several of Gu Qingchen's attendants also shouted loudly at the same time, and a few more, at Gu Qingchen's signal, rode their horses to the front of the two armies and shouted loudly.

Wanyan Guangying sighed heavily: "Qingchen, why have you come to this?"

Gu Qingchen bowed slightly on horseback: "Your Highness, I have been grateful for your kindness these past few days. However, my future is already set and my wishes have not yet been fulfilled. I hope Your Highness will grant my request."

Wanyan Guangying remained silent, staring intently at Gu Qingchen.

Gu Qingchen, however, had already pulled Jing Sihui, whose face was covered in blood, to Lou Wangsun's side: "I am a man sent by the King of Han. Today I will tell you clearly that what the King of Han wants is not someone's life, but the intact city of Bianliang!"

Lou Wangsun's expression changed several times, as if he had figured something out, but he still stubbornly asked, "Do you have the King of Han's documents and tokens?!"

Gu Qingchen frankly replied, "There isn't one."

Lou Wangsun laughed loudly, "Then you still dare to order me around?"

Gu Qingchen's eyes widened, and he suddenly became angry: "You fool, you don't even know the lord's preferences?!"

Lou Wangsun's smile froze.

As someone who chose sides early on, how could he really not pay attention to Liu Huai's preferences?

Liu Huai's preferences were so simple and straightforward that they were nothing more than "expelling the barbarians, restoring China, establishing laws and regulations, and saving the people."

Anyone's actions, as long as they align with these few sentences, are absolutely not wrong.

The saying goes, "King Chu loved slender waists, so many starved to death in the palace; King Han loved benevolence and righteousness, so the whole court was naturally filled with benevolent and righteous people."

How could Lou Wangsun dare to disobey?
"What do you want me to do?"

"It's not me, it's the Prince of Han!" Gu Qingchen corrected loudly, "The Prince of Han needs to ensure the stability of Kaifeng Prefecture. If you want to gain merit as a stepping stone for advancement, you should do your best to maintain the army."

"Now, release the Crown Prince immediately!"

Lou Wangsun thought for a moment, then finally shook his head with difficulty.

Gu Qingchen dragged Jing Sihui to the front of the Jin army's formation and said, "I beg Your Highness to lead your men out of the city immediately. Once Your Highness is out of the city, I will release Prime Minister Jing!"

Having said that, Gu Qingchen ignored Wanyan Guangying's reaction and rode his horse to the Han army, which was eager to attack.

Wanyan Guangying sighed again and said to his personal guards, "Let's set off immediately..."

The Eastern Palace Guard hesitated for a moment, but ultimately carried out the order.

Gu Qingchen first had several of his men seize Zhou Hua and drag him away. Then he glanced at the more than a thousand Han soldiers who were in a frenzy. Although he did not recognize the Han soldiers' generals, he did not stop himself from using their banners as a shield: "I have come to stabilize the situation in Bianliang on the orders of the King of Han. Do not act rashly."

The Han army generals were not so easily fooled. The leader stepped forward and replied, "You lad, do you have the King of Han's military order, or any tokens or flags as proof?!"

Gu Qingchen certainly didn't, but he didn't want to get entangled in the matter at all: "Whose troops are you now?"

The general was about to speak, but after opening his mouth, he quickly fell silent, and finally seemed speechless.

The Han army is no longer considered part of the Jin army, but they haven't even formally paid homage to the Jin, so how can they be considered part of the Han army?

We can't exactly say they were the private soldiers of the Zhang brothers, Hao and Shousu, can we?

Seeing this, Gu Qingchen became even more aggressive: "You are naturally the Han army, the troops of the King of Han, what is there to hesitate about?! Could you possibly be the private army of Minister Zhang Shousu?"

"Since they are all troops under the King of Han, how can such a serious matter as the assassination of Minister Zhang be decided by the King of Han instead of by the two armies?!"

No one would have listened to Gu Qingchen's nonsense under normal circumstances.

Even the disciplined Han army, in such a situation, would kill first and ask questions later. If the case reached the King of Han, it would be a defensive counterattack, with their side in the right.

However, Gu Qingchen cleverly timed his move at the moment when the Han army was about to surrender but had not yet done so. He used the Han king's name as a threat, causing the main generals of the Han army to hesitate.

Seeing this, Gu Qingchen immediately pressed his advantage: "Or are you really Zhang's private soldiers?"

The leading general couldn't help but shrink back.

Even a fool could see that this is clearly a serious political issue.

But the leading general was still unwilling to give up. He pointed at Zhou Hua and said, "We may not fight Lou Wangsun, but we must kill this bastard. Otherwise, won't our Han army be looked down upon?!"

Gu Qingchen knew that things were already halfway done, and his heart eased slightly, but his face became even more serious: "How can you still not understand? The more you do now, the less certain the Prince of Han will be about your position."

Seeing that the generals were getting restless again, Gu Qingchen quickly put forward a second plan: "We are all here on the orders of the King of Han, and naturally we also have the important task of pacifying Bianliang."

"You send a trustworthy person with me to personally escort this fellow to see the King of Han, so that he can decide his fate. What do you say?"

The leading general thought for a moment, then sighed helplessly, "Alright! Use force!"

"The general is here!"

"I'll give you fifty riders. Go with this general to see the King of Han." The leading general then grinned maliciously. "If this fellow is lying, daring to mock us, kill both of them before you go see the King of Han and show him our loyalty. Understand?!"

The general called Wu Yong immediately responded loudly.

However, Gu Qingchen's expression remained unchanged, but he was already reassured.

"We must also send someone to see the King of Han!" Lou Wangsun, who had somehow joined the crowd, exclaimed loudly upon hearing this, "It's time to let the King of Han know of our loyalty!"

The Han generals felt disgusted upon hearing this, but they didn't say anything.

Seeing that a major upheaval that had engulfed the entire city of Bianliang had vanished without a trace, Jing Sihui, who had been held tightly by Gu Qingchen's side, grinned and mumbled, "Qingchen, you really are quite capable."

Gu Qingchen remained silent upon hearing this.

Jing Sihui coughed a few more times, spitting out two mouthfuls of bloody phlegm. He then reached into his mouth and pulled out a loose tooth before continuing to sigh, "It's a pity that Qingchen's efforts and methods were ultimately not used to prolong the reign of the Great Jin Dynasty."

Gu Qingchen finally couldn't hold back any longer and turned to look at Jing Sihui: "Prime Minister Jing, from the Khitan rebellion to the great war in Hebei and the Central Plains, when have I not been at the forefront?!"
He fought to the death on the battlefield, escaped death several times, and fought on despite repeated defeats. How could this be interpreted by Prime Minister Jing as him not serving the country?

Jing Sihui covered his blood-soaked mouth, a mocking expression on his face.

Gu Qingchen seemed to want to vent all his resentment from these past few days: "Now the King of Han represents the general trend of the Han people, but was he the king of the Han people from the beginning?"
For decades, the Han people of the North have been under the rule of the Jin Dynasty, but how many of them have truly won over the hearts of the people? Lord Jing, you are also a Han Chinese, but after you Han Chinese rose to high positions, have you ever tried to win over the hearts of the people for the Jin Dynasty?

Putting everything else aside, how many Han soldiers in Bianliang have you recruited? And how many of them are willing to risk their lives for the Great Jin?!

"It is because you officials are incompetent that you pushed all the Han people to the opposite side of the Jin Dynasty, and that a Han King emerged from among them! Now are you going to blame me?!"

Gu Qingchen seemed righteous and indignant, but Jing Sihui instantly flew into a rage: "What else could it be? Isn't it because of you Jurchens?!"
"Isn't it to vacate Han lands for your Jurchen Meng'an-Muke households?! Isn't it to vacate official positions for those incompetent, useless people who hold positions without doing any work?!"

"Are you Jurchens comfortable entrusting officials who studied through the imperial examinations to manage government departments? Are you Jurchens comfortable entrusting heroes renowned for their military prowess to command large armies?"

It is truly a strange and absurd situation that everyone is now blaming us, the prime ministers.

Jing Sihui cursed loudly, spitting out blood, before covering his mouth and whispering, "Even if His Majesty has a thousand faults, he has ultimately given us Han people a chance to rise up."

It is precisely because Your Majesty appointed a Han Chinese as prime minister that I have sworn to follow Your Majesty to the death; and it is precisely because Your Majesty does not appoint a Han Chinese as Grand Marshal that these military men are disloyal to the Great Jin.

Every sip and every bite is a matter of fate!

Gu Qingchen wanted to retort, but when he opened his mouth, he felt a sense of boredom and could only say, "Then let each of us accept our fate."

As he spoke, he bent down and took the reins of Jing Sihui's warhorse, leading nearly a hundred Han soldiers and cavalrymen, following behind the Crown Prince's entourage, and headed out of the city.

(End of this chapter)