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

Chapter 921 When Will We Drink Yellow Dragon Wine?

The moon is dark and the wind is high.

It was a night of murder and arson.

Wu Zhong chewed on dried mint leaves, looking at the vast construction site.

This place was originally the residence of Qin Xi, the adopted son of Qin Hui.

After Qin Xi failed to succeed to the position of prime minister, his original residence was seized by Zhao Gou and turned into the current Deshou Palace. Therefore, Qin Xi could only move with his family to a separate residence in Jiankang.

Prime Minister Qin was deeply entrenched in power, with countless lackeys, so no one tried to completely eliminate Qin Xi.

However, Qin Xi also passed away in the thirty-first year of Shaoxing, and his family business was inherited by his eldest son, Qin Xun.

Qin Xun was truly a talented man.

When he participated in the Song Dynasty's unique provincial examination—also known as the "locked hall examination"—he happened to be in the same cohort as Lu You.

In order to ensure that Qin Xun would win first place, Qin Hui repeatedly hinted to the chief examiner Chen Zhimou. However, Chen Zhimou was a man with connections and did not pay any attention to Qin Hui. As a result, Lu You won first place and Qin Xun came in second.

This is why Qin Hui deeply resented Lu You.

The following year, when the provincial examination was held, the chief examiner was Tang Situi, a confidant of Qin Hui. In order to curry favor with Qin Hui, Tang Situi ranked Qin Xun first, causing Lu You to fail the exam.

However, during the subsequent palace examination, perhaps due to a rebellious streak, Zhao Gou disregarded political rules and personally appointed Zhang Xiaoxiang as the top scholar, making Qin Xun the third-ranked scholar.

As is well known, with Qin Hui's narrow-mindedness, he would never hold a grudge overnight. Zhang Xiaoxiang also suffered Qin Hui's revenge and was thrown into prison.

This is why Prime Minister Qin died so soon; otherwise, it's questionable whether Lu You and Zhang Xiaoxiang would have survived.

However, things changed quickly, and the world soon entered a period of chaos, with Lu You and Zhang Xiaoxiang rising to prominence.

At that time, one person was serving as Vice Minister of State Affairs and Military Commissioner of Sichuan, while the other was serving as Transport Commissioner of Hebei. The pro-war faction was in power, so a few years earlier, Qin Xun had been removed from his position as Minister of Rites.

Of course, Qin Hui still left some legacy. Since Qin Xun had withdrawn from politics, no one wanted to kill him. At this time, the Qin family's assets were quite substantial, so Qin Xun embarked on the path of seeking land and houses.

Starting a few years ago, Qin Xun obtained accurate information through his connections in the imperial court.

The emperor was determined to move the capital. This was both to be closer to the Central Plains to show his determination to launch a northern expedition, and to get away from Zhao Gou and the power center he had built.

Therefore, Qin Xun began to continuously purchase farmland and real estate, while also expanding his residence.

At this moment, Wu Zhong and the others were located on the outermost layer of Qin Xun's residence, which was also a huge construction site.

"Have you found out everything?"

"It's very clear that Qin Xun is an absolute miser. He's afraid that craftsmen will defile his garden, so he doesn't allow them to build huts in the garden. When it gets dark, he chases the craftsmen away. At this time, the garden is completely empty."

"That's good. Whether someone dies or not is a different matter, and the government's investigation efforts will be different as well."

"It's now the perfect time, three-quarters past midnight! Light the fire!"

Soon, the flames started burning in the area where the wood was piled up, and quickly became uncontrollable.

By daytime, half of the vast Qin mansion had been burned to the ground.

Not only was Qin Xun furious when he arrived outside the garden, but Shi Hao also put aside his official duties to personally investigate the fire.

Luo Huaiyan mingled in the crowd, slurping soup dumplings from a bowl, just like an ordinary spectator watching the excitement.

Qin Xun was indeed truly enraged; he dared to hurl insults at Shi Hao. The consequences were predictable: Shi Hao immediately lost his temper, leaving only a clerk to handle the situation, without even uttering a sound.

This is also a matter of course.

Shi Hao was, after all, the former Left Chancellor. Although he had been demoted, he still held the title of Vice Chancellor and was a man who cared about his reputation.

If I was afraid of Qin Hui's grandson when he was alive, and I'm still afraid of him after he's dead, then what was the point of Prime Minister Qin's death?!

After Qin Xun came to his senses, he realized he had spoken out of turn, but instead of chasing after Shi Hao to apologize, he grabbed the registrar and jumped up and down.

The registrar was not Shi Hao after all, so he could only agree to investigate the murderer with a wry smile.

But where can we trace it back to?
After several days of rage, Qin Xun finally bowed his head and admitted defeat, resuming the work of craftsmen, purchasing bricks, stones, and timber to continue building the garden.

The construction of Jiankang City did not stop because of the fire at the Qin Mansion. It continued to be a large-scale construction project, as if many high-ranking officials and nobles wanted to get a share of the real estate pie.

Luo Huaiyan had been secretly observing from the vicinity until now, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

It seems that the Song state really only wants to move its capital. If war were to break out, the real estate market in Jiankang would not have been driven up to this extent.

However, he still wrote a letter in secret, detailing everything that had happened in Jiangnan, and sent it to Jinan Prefecture.

In early July, the letter arrived at the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Yamen (Imperial Guard Commander's Office), and after being properly translated, it was handed over to Shen Longzi.

Shen Longzi dared not delay. Ignoring the fact that a major military meeting was being held, he immediately called out his name and entered the main hall of the military governor's mansion, handing the letter to Liu Huai.

Liu Huai glanced at it briefly before continuing, "...Just as I said before, as long as the Mongol army appears on the Hebei Plain, we will have no choice but to meet them head-on. The Mongols are worthless, but they can burn all our hard-earned construction to the ground with just one fire."

Although the land of Han is vast, we are all backed by our elders and fellow countrymen, and there is no way to retreat.

Therefore, I ordered that field armies must dare to engage in field battles, and garrison armies must dare to hold their positions. Once the order is given, all units must risk their lives to complete the mission.

"And I will absolutely not keep the honor of unifying the North to myself."

Liu Huai looked at the civil and military officials below the stage, their eyes burning with determination: "Those who wish to be dukes and marquises for generations in the Central Plains will naturally be treated with high positions and generous salaries; those who wish to establish kingdoms overseas and become kings and hegemons will also receive my full support."

The trend towards unification of the world is irreversible; it is up to you and me to create it together!

After Liu Huai finished his encouraging words, he was about to hand the stage over to Liang Su so that he could assign specific plans, when someone in the audience suddenly shouted: "The Han Dynasty shall rise again!"

Whether it was because Liu Huai was so good at boosting morale or not, the crowd was so excited that they were like an oil drum that could be ignited at the slightest touch. In an instant, everyone raised their arms and shouted, "The Han Dynasty shall rise again!"

"The Han dynasty shall rise again!"

Liu Huai quickly pressed his hands down: "Pay attention to order in the meeting room, and don't talk nonsense. Military Advisor Liang, you will be in charge of assigning military tasks."

Liang Su immediately strode over to the map, his voice brimming with excitement: "This isn't the first time we've fought a war. You are all renowned ministers and veteran generals, so I won't waste any more words."

First, the supply routes have been distributed to the various transport commissioners. The garrison troops and laborers in various places must cooperate quickly to clear the roads, roughly along these lines..."

As he spoke, Liang Su drew a few lines on the map: "The route is lined with prosperous commercial cities, enough to support the transport of supplies."

Furthermore, the grain tax collected after the autumn harvest did not need to be escorted to the government treasury; it was directly sent to Daming Prefecture to be used as military rations.

"Secondly, in terms of military affairs, the garrisons have recovered their combat strength after more than a year of reorganization. After receiving the transfer order, they must set off within two days, assemble in the nearest major city within four days, and report to their commander within ten days."

The military governor's office will issue mobilization orders on different dates depending on the distance and speed of dispatch; the generals of each unit and the commanders of the garrisons must cooperate effectively.

"Secondly, in terms of personnel, the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Censorate will be mobilized. The Embroidered Uniform Guard is in charge of military affairs, and the Censorate is in charge of civil affairs. They will patrol the local areas to investigate illegal activities. As for the military, there will be legal officials and military judges working together."

I can tell you all very clearly that this battle is a life-or-death struggle, allowing no room for carelessness. When the time comes, I will personally take the kills, without even needing the King of Han to lift a finger!

This intimidation naturally failed to frighten the battle-hardened Han generals, but seeing Liu Huai with a stern face behind Liang Su, everyone was startled and then became serious.

It seems this is the consensus at the central level.

"The strategy for this battle is simple: find the main force of the Jin invaders and then fight a decisive battle with them," Liang Su continued, pointing to the map. "Both the Jin invaders and the Mongols are known for their cavalry, so if we disperse our forces to attack cities and capture strongholds, we are likely to be defeated by the Jin invaders' concentrated superior forces. After several major battles, the Jin invaders are now terrified of our army."

Only by decisively engaging the Jin invaders when they have gathered can a decisive battle be achieved.

"There are two approaches. One is to attack where the enemy must defend, with the entire army advancing north, capturing cities and strongholds along the way, and heading straight for Yanjing. Then, the Liaodong troops will coordinate to force the Jin invaders to engage in a decisive battle with our army."

However, this method, because the supply lines are stretched too long, could very well lead to being cut off from supplies.

Secondly, they deployed a large number of cavalry to launch a proactive attack, capturing a large number of Jin troops scattered along different routes, thus encircling the enemy and attacking their reinforcements.

However, this method could allow the enemy army to use their cavalry advantage to lead them by the nose.

After analyzing the situation, Liang Su paused before saying, "The rest will require adaptability, but no matter which tactic is used, there is a possibility of heavy casualties. No matter which unit is at a disadvantage, the General Staff hopes that everyone can hold firm."

No matter what disadvantages you face, you must believe that it is always the Jin invaders who are afraid.

Seeing that all the generals nodded, Liang Su then spoke about some specific military strategies before turning to look at Liu Huai.

Liu Huai thought for a moment in front of the map and added two points: "Huyan Zhangba."

The deputy general who had come to attend the military council in place of Shi Qilang, who was stationed in Shexian, immediately stood up and said, "Young Master Han."

"Tell Shi Qilang that because our army is taking the initiative to attack and is looking for the main force of the Jin bandits to fight, the Jin bandits will choose the battlefield first."

In order to make full use of the advantages of their cavalry, they would certainly not choose the battlefield in the Three Jin regions.

Once a major battle begins in Hebei, I will be unable to attend to Shexian. I will give him autonomy to mobilize all the military and civilians in Shanxi. His actions will be entirely up to him, except for one thing: to hold the Fukou Pass.

After Huyan Zhangba loudly agreed, he grinned and said, "Your Excellency, the Prince of Han, my general said that he has already united many heroes from Jin. If the main force of the Jin bandits really comes out of Hebei, my general can at least take over the entire Shangdang region and offer it to the Prince of Han!"

If they truly gain power, Hanoi and Thai Nguyen are not out of the question.

Liu Huai nodded: "Xin Wenyuan!"

Pengcheng Magistrate Xin Wenyuan immediately stood up.

"You should also tell Xin Wulang that although according to current intelligence, the possibility of the Song Kingdom attacking Huaibei and Xuzhou is not high, he still needs to be extremely careful."

After all, I've already drawn almost all of my elite troops from Shandong and Henan to deal with Hebei. If anything unexpected happens, I'll have to rely on him to contend with the Song state.

After Xin Wenyuan agreed, he immediately stated, "My elder brother said before he came that with him guarding Xuzhou, there will be no loss, whether in the Central Plains or Shandong."

We hope that the Prince of Han can strike directly at the heart of the enemy's stronghold and complete the unfinished task left unfinished by Marshal Yue Fei!

(End of this chapter)