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

Chapter 918 The Elder Brother, the King of Han, with Two Body

As the core of the Han army's military and political affairs, the Jiedushi Mansion now occupies an extremely vast area after several rounds of expansion.

However, this is still somewhat different from the imperial palace where the emperor lived alone.

Because Liu Huai also included many functional departments, as well as a portion of the Flying Tiger Army camps, in the Jiedushi Mansion, the distance between the rear hall where the Jiedushi lived and the council hall was now quite far.

Wei Chang, clutching his clothes, was mortified under the strange gazes of the crowd, not even knowing how he had ended up in the council hall.

It wasn't until Liu Huai personally applied the medicine that Wei Chang finally reacted: "Brother...King of Han..."

Liu Huai paused, shook his head and chuckled, "Did A Jiao do this?"

Wei Chang nodded slightly, but the movement aggravated the whip wound below his neck, causing him to grimace.

“What did Ajiao tell you? How did he beat you so badly that you changed your address? You used to call me ‘elder brother,’ but now you call me ‘King of Han.’ A single lash has made you so distant? Don’t move.”

Wei Chang said cautiously, "He said that I should be dutiful to my lord, respect him, and not act recklessly and bring trouble upon him."

Liu Huai burst out laughing, almost spilling the ointment in his hand on the ground: "This is A Jiao assuring me that he has no intention of deposing the military governor."

"You're just an unlucky guy who happened to be there," Liu Huai clicked his tongue. "But it's not entirely bad luck; after all, you're the one who caused this."

Wei Chang's eyes stung a little: "Elder brother, are all the things you say correct?"

Liu Huai remained silent for a long time this time, and finally sighed before saying, "Your elder brother is still the same good elder brother, but the King of Han is not a good king."

When we're barefoot and not afraid of those wearing shoes, we can do whatever we want. Being small and agile, we're not afraid of making any mistakes.

But now we have a large family business, many possessions, and many people who depend on us for their livelihood. Every move we make, every punch we throw, could potentially shatter the livelihoods of hundreds or even thousands of people.

Therefore, elder brother, you can still do as you please, but the King of Han must be impartial and incorruptible. Achang, please don't take offense.

Wei Chang finally broke down in tears, sobbing as he said, "I'm just afraid that the family fortune that my father and brother have built will be taken away by outsiders... Isn't this a matter of great importance to the nation?"

Liu Huai laughed again: "Haha, Achang, you've been reading too many plays and stories. How can one family or clan conquer this world?"

The Wanyan clan shared the world with the Jurchen people, the Song dynasty emperors shared the world with the scholar-officials, and why are we any different here?

"If you don't share power and wealth with those who are of one mind and one heart, do you expect me, your elder brother, to fight the Jin army of 100,000 men empty-handed?"

Just as Wei Chang was about to retort, Liu Huai continued, "Moreover, Xin Wulang's position is clearly a transitional one. In the future, when I become the ruler and establish the country, Xin Wulang will definitely be appointed as a prime minister in the central government. How could he still be appointed as the acting military governor?"
Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Okay, I'll give you a few days off to recover and visit your sister often.

Wei Chang's back was covered in medicine, and when he turned around, he was still shirtless: "Elder brother... should I call you King of Han now, or should I still call you elder brother?"

Liu Huai waved his hand and said, "Naturally, we'll address each other by our official titles in official business, but in private we'll still call each other brothers."

You know perfectly well that Ajiao has been a little adult since he was a child, incredibly mature for his age. If you listen to him in everything, you'll be led astray.

"After you go back, write a letter to Xin Wulang and apologize sincerely. Anyway, you're young, and even if you make a huge mistake, your youthful inexperience can cover it up."

Wei Chang rubbed his eyes and nodded shyly in agreement.

After Wei Chang left, Liu Huai's smile faded, and he looked at the stack of official documents on the table, sighing slightly.

To wield power over the world is every man's dream. But once one truly grasps immense power, one inevitably becomes corrupted by it, turning into a power-hungry animal. Power can also spread and erode personal relationships, inevitably leading to a lonely and isolated end.

However, just as Liu Huai said to Wei Chang, with so many people relying on him as a power-hungry animal to make a living, how could he possibly slack off?

Thinking this, Liu Huai first picked up the document sent by Xin Qiji from Xuzhou. He opened it and only glanced at it briefly before he was completely stunned.

You can't help but be surprised.

The document essentially states that powerful figures in Xuzhou, along with many maritime merchants, intend to unite and launch a naval attack on Japan.

Xin Qiji wrote a letter asking whether this move was feasible, whether diplomatic means should be used, whether naval assistance should be dispatched if war was necessary, and if not, whether military equipment could be allocated as assistance.

Liu Huai closed the document, rubbed his eyes, and walked around the lobby twice before reopening it.

After confirming that he had opened the document correctly and that Xin Qiji was not having a fit of hysteria, Liu Huai immediately summoned Shen Longzi and asked him to search through all the documents and archives related to the powerful families of Xuzhou, Japan, and Goryeo.

In just half a day, Shen Longzi found out the results.

This story begins several years ago when powerful local figures in Xuzhou submitted to the government.

When Cheng Feng came to join him, he made four demands.

The other three are all expected, nothing more than seeking official positions and wealth. Only the last one, if Liu Huai can achieve great things, will allow him to have a hundred li of land overseas, be granted a fiefdom, follow the example of the Zhou dynasty, and remain a vassal state forever.

At the time, Liu Huai and even Lu You viewed this request as a means for Cheng Feng and others to demonstrate their loyalty. It showed that they believed Liu Huai would achieve great things and unify the country, and that they were willing to dedicate their efforts to Liu Huai's unification of the land.

We share the same fate, we share the same glory, we share the same shame, we share the same interests, I am one of them!

Therefore, Liu Huai didn't think much of it and agreed immediately.

But Cheng Feng wasn't joking with Liu Huai. With the development of overseas shipping, Shandong's powerful figures immediately invested in a booming blue ocean industry.

To put it nicely, they were armed merchant ships; to put it bluntly, they were pirates.

Because the Han army had a policy of enlisting all seafarers in the military, these armed merchant ships were registered within the Han army. After several years of development, they resembled privateers, only lacking a license to plunder.

There's nothing we can do about it. The situation at sea is just that complicated. The vast ocean is deserted for hundreds of miles around. Without military protection, it's like a piece of fat meat that everyone can take a bite out of.

A knife, once forged, is definitely meant to be used to cut people.

In fact, since the year before last, there have been sporadic pirate attacks along the Shandong coast. Not only have merchant ships been robbed by pirates at sea, but even villages and towns on shore have been attacked by pirates.

However, the Han army had already prepared for this.

The Han military government, army, and navy acted simultaneously: the navy dealt with the pirates' overseas bases and ships; the army raided the pirates' private ports on land.

The authorities followed the trail of stolen goods, starting with the receivers and working their way back to the source, even implicating several meritorious individuals, including Wang Shilong.

Now, no pirates dared to harass the land anymore, but it was absolutely impossible to expect these outlaws to behave like good children from then on.

Therefore, they began to rob Korea and Japan along the coastline, and the latest news is that pirates have also appeared off the coast of Jiangnan and Zhejiang.

Of course, after a few years of ruthless crackdown, pirates dared not attack ships flying Chinese characters on their flags. This naturally led to a consequence: no matter which merchant party went to sea, they had to fly Chinese characters on their flags.

From a distance, it looked as if the sea had already been taken over by the Han army.

Even more naturally, the Han army could not allow others to take advantage of this. Otherwise, what if someone were to use the Han flag to rob and plunder, ruining the reputation of the Han army?
Therefore, the Han navy once again launched a vigorous investigation, arresting many counterfeiters and smugglers, including many Semu people who had traveled north through the Strait of Malacca.

After consulting with the Shandong Maritime Trade Office, the central government issued a complete set of policies on this matter.

To fly the Han flag, one had to first pay for an operating license, second, accept regular inspections by the Han army, and third, perform corvée labor.

Yes, everyone has to perform corvée labor, including you seafarers.

The only difference was that the scope of corvée labor changed from digging ditches, building roads and walls to transporting provisions and serving as a naval auxiliary force in naval battles.

In addition, there are various minor restrictions.

However, even with so many restrictions, the demand for safety cannot be stopped, and operating licenses have been selling like hotcakes in the past two years.

This resulted in many maritime merchants and smugglers from the Song, Jin, Goryeo, and Japan being theoretically auxiliary soldiers of the Han army.

Now that a situation of mutual interdependence has emerged, many things can be done covertly by the lawless powerful clans of Han China.

Last year, just as Liu Huai was personally leading his army to have a heated exchange of opinions with Pu San Zhongyi, Cheng Feng went to sea to meet with Zheng Zhongfu, a powerful minister of Goryeo. He bribed Zheng Zhongfu with a large sum of money and asked to rent several seaports on Jeju Island as resting places for caravans along the way.

At this time, the conflict between civil and military officials in Goryeo had reached a fever pitch. The Goryeo Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, with civil officials in charge of the government while military officials had no power to participate in government affairs. Civil officials often insulted and ridiculed military officials.

This caused tension and confrontation between the civil officials and the military officials.

As the highest-ranking military officer, General Zheng Zhongfu had to find a way out for his faction, whether he liked it or not, even if it was just to avoid being ridiculed for his beard.

Although he was greedy and lustful, he still wanted to establish a connection with the Han army by meeting Cheng Feng in person.

This was not only because Goryeo had always been the top henchman of the Central Plains dynasties, but more importantly, the all-out struggle between the Han army and the Jin army on the Liaodong Peninsula, from sea to land, although not a particularly fierce battle during the entire Han army's northern expedition, still terrified the Goryeo king and his officials.

The Han and Jin armies would occasionally cross the Yalu River to conscript laborers and provisions, and local officials in Goryeo dared not stop them.

If this problem can be solved, Zheng Zhongfu could rise to a high position and perhaps even be transferred to the ranks of civil officials.

Cheng Feng's choice was simple and straightforward.

One word.

Fooling!

Opening up a second front behind enemy lines is a major national policy, and it is not something Cheng Feng can interfere with.
Now, even if Cheng Feng can afford to offend Zheng Fasan, the military commissioner of Liaodong, He Zizheng, the commander-in-chief of all the armies in Liaodong, and even his former little brother, Zhao Baiying, the current commander of the Bohai Navy, he doesn't need to offend them for the sake of Goryeo!

Therefore, Cheng Feng readily agreed, deciding to seize the two major ports on Jeju Island first.

Zheng Zhongfu returned to China satisfied, but Cheng Feng naturally knew that this deception would not fool anyone, so he immediately made up his mind to stockpile supplies, gather allies, and head to Japan.

According to Xin Qiji, Cheng Feng gathered about four thousand able-bodied men, including many veterans who were ready for battle.

If we add in the Japanese samurai insiders, we might not be able to destroy Japan, but we could certainly carve out a piece of the Japanese islands and occupy a piece of the territory.

Xin Qiji was somewhat tempted because Japan was so closed off from the world at that time, which meant that trade around the Yellow Sea was always just a small-scale affair. If someone could establish a foothold in Japan, it might be possible to break through Japan's defenses.

Liu Huai perused various documents until late at night before finally writing a single word of approval on a document written by Xin Qiji.

(End of this chapter)