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

Chapter 958 Words of Advice to the Emperor
"Naturally, there are only two directions: either attack Xuzhou along the Yellow River, or attack Bianliang via Fangcheng Xia Road."

"Of course, the most likely scenario is a two-pronged approach, launching a pincer attack to directly swallow up the Central Plains."

Liu Huai held the letter, lost in thought for a moment, before looking at the map and speaking in a deep voice.

He Boqiu, the Grand Commander of Hebei, and Liang Su, the Military Advisor, looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Today, the first day of the eleventh month, Liu Huai received definitive news about the coup in Lin'an. He immediately summoned two close advisors to discuss state affairs.

However, even though these two were seasoned veterans and had seen a lot, they were still somewhat flustered after reading the letter.

All the words can be summed up in one sentence: The State of Song has never disappointed in terms of being disappointing.

"Since Prime Minister Yu has already passed away... uh..." After a moment, Liang Su spoke first: "The Song state is no longer a good friend, especially Zhao Gou. It's not surprising that he's capable of anything. Although our army is not afraid of them, our main force is currently in Youyan and other places. We can't quench our immediate thirst with distant water."

Seeing that Liu Huai was still holding the letter and staring at the map in silence, He Boqiu cautiously asked, "Young Master, should we send some troops south?"

Liang Su shook his head directly: "Although the Jin bandits have already scattered, most of the scattered Jin troops and Mongols are cavalry. If we transfer all the cavalry, it will be difficult to encircle and wipe out these scattered soldiers. Moreover..."

Liang Su hesitated for a moment: "Moreover, although our army has won a great victory, it has not yet been able to completely pacify Youyan. If the army rushes south, the morale of the troops will be low, not to mention that there may be setbacks even in Yanjing."

As the saying goes, military affairs are a continuation of politics; therefore, military actions must ultimately serve political actions.

The reason why military and political affairs in real life are much more complex than in games is that winning a war on the battlefield does not necessarily guarantee winning a political war.

The Han army now faces another major political battle in Youyan.

This great war included a series of interconnected tasks such as distributing land, establishing garrisons, setting up community schools and garrison schools, and selecting officials.

To put it more simply, it's about increasing your own people and decreasing your enemies.

No matter what they want to do, they cannot do without the support of a large army. Otherwise, would they really think that those landlords and powerful families who have been there since the mid-Tang Dynasty are easy to mess with?
He Boqiu saw Liang Su give him a wink, and after a slight pause, he immediately realized: "Moreover, some things, if the name is not correct, will naturally not be legitimate. For example, Zhao Gou accused the eldest son of being a traitor. Although we all know that this is just the ramblings of that eunuch Zhao Gou, if it is kept going on for too long, it will eventually make some foolish men and women suspicious."

"Sigh, if only I hadn't gone to fight in the Huai River region back then, I wouldn't be in this mess now."

Liang Su immediately interjected, "Governor He, you are mistaken. There is no such thing as doing good deeds in vain. By rescuing the Song Kingdom, the eldest son has made friends with heroes, gained fame, and opened up a path to survival for Shandong. It cannot be said that he was wrong."

However, Governor He's words also have some merit. Many of the eldest son's subordinates are of Song origin. If they cannot be recruited, even if they are not killed, they should be expelled back to the Song state. It's unacceptable for them to hold official positions in Shandong and Hebei while serving officials in Jiangnan.

He Boqiu immediately chimed in: "Also, young master, now that the Youyan region has been conquered, the officials are a little nervous. If we promote some people from among the surrendered people, what if they don't accept the Jiedushi's system?"

"You can't be promoted from a local official to the central government, but then your official position changes from prefect or transport commissioner to chief secretary of the military governor's office, can you?"

Hearing this, Liu Huai finally chuckled, but he still held the letter in his hand, looking at the map. After a moment, he sighed and brought up a completely unrelated topic: "Lord Yu has passed away. I am very sad. Are you sad?"

This question was so outrageous that if Li Tong, that despicable man, were here, he might have managed to squeeze out a couple of tears to agree with it, but He Boqiu and Liang Su were utterly speechless.

Yes, Yu Yunwen's death is indeed regrettable, but compared with the grand plan for the next hundred years, what does his death matter?
Loyal ministers who died mysteriously were numerous before and will continue to die in droves. In October alone, at least tens of thousands of loyal ministers of the Jin Dynasty died with Wanyan Yong. Who will care about them?
It's just that Yu Yunwen was a familiar person to everyone in the Han army, which is why he had some say in the matter.

"We are naturally saddened by the passing of Lord Yu." After a moment, Liang Su pinched his nose and said, "But what we need to do now is to avenge Lord Yu, isn't it?"

Liu Huai carefully put away the thick stack of letters in his hand, then shook his head and sighed, "If that's all there is to it, it's a bit narrow-minded. The era we created ultimately needs more figures like Lord Yu, and we must ensure that these national heroes don't die in obscurity."

After saying a few nonsensical words, Liu Huai finally dropped his sentimental and melancholic demeanor, turned to the two senior officials with a smile, and said, "Weren't you two doing a great job speaking in unison just now? Why don't you continue now?"

He Boqiu glanced at Liang Su and said with a smile, "If we keep talking, we should just get straight to the point."

"Then say it."

"Alright." He Boqiu was quite blunt: "When does the eldest son plan to declare himself emperor?"

Liu Huai said calmly, "Let's try to be as fast and as simple as possible. It should be done sometime this year."

"Pfft..." Liang Su spat out all the tea he had just drunk, and then coughed repeatedly. He Boqiu, who was standing next to him, was also dumbfounded, and for a moment he forgot to pat Liang Su on the back to help him catch his breath.

Seeing this, Liu Huai laughed and said, "What's wrong with you two? Haven't you always hoped I would become emperor? Why the expressions?"

After coughing up all the tea in his throat, Liang Su said irritably, "Young Master, you always made excuses before, why did you suddenly agree?"

Liu Huai spread his hands in response: "You've just given so many reasons, can't I just follow my subordinate's opinion? Do I have to go through the process of three requests and three resignations? How about we make a deal? My refusal over the past few years will count as three resignations, shall we?"

Liang Su jumped up from his seat: "Young Master, stop fooling around! This is about becoming emperor, not child's play! Good heavens! It's already November, and there are only two months left until the end of the year. What are we going to do?" Liu Huai smiled and said, "Then it all depends on Mr. Liang's abilities!"

Liang Su felt a little resentful, but then his chest was filled with excitement and exhilaration. He cupped his hands to Liu Huai and immediately ran out of the house.

There are just too many things to prepare.

Seeing this, Liu Huai could only smile wryly and shake his head. He then gestured to He Boqiu, who was equally excited, and the two of them walked out of the house and then slowly made their way along the street in disguise.

By this time, the traces of war in Yanjing had completely disappeared. Although the streets were not bustling with traffic, they were still teeming with people.

However, unlike the old Yanjing city, the Hu clothing has almost disappeared, and the braids have been shaved off. Large swaths of bald heads are wrapped under turbans. It is said that recently, due to the huge demand, the price of kapok, which supports the turbans, has skyrocketed.

Let the price of kapok rise, after all, in this era, cotton is not the mainstream means of keeping warm. Hay, fur, firewood, and most importantly, food are what the Han army needs to pay the most attention to.

Having seized the Jin Kingdom's treasury, and with the contributions of the powerful clans of Youyan, Liu Huai had become the wealthiest man in Youyan. Even in winter, he could easily stabilize grain prices.

What followed was a series of work-for-relief projects, and the Han army took the opportunity to control the manpower and financial resources of Youyan, thereby achieving its goal of completing its rule.

After the Han army entered the city, Liu Huai still did not move into the palace, but instead stayed in the government office of Dading Prefecture.

This naturally aroused the scorn of many generals accompanying the Han army. They felt that Liu Huai was not taking any further steps at this point, and was just putting on a show. However, no one dared to say it openly, and only those close to him complained.

However, with so many people talking, the more subordinates talk, the more likely it is to attract the attention of important figures.

Today, Liang Su and He Boqiu made probing remarks. Rather than saying that the two were eager for promotion, it was more like they were sitting on a volcano, being pressured by their subordinates to the point of no return.

Liu Huai led He Boqiu to the top of the city wall of Yanjing. After they were a little further away from the guards, he looked out at the Yanshan Mountains and said, "Old He, let's not hide anything from each other. Let's speak frankly."

He Boqiu was equally blunt: "Eldest son, why did you suddenly decide to declare yourself emperor? Besides the excuse you gave Mr. Liang just now, is there any other explanation?"

After a long silence, Liu Huai finally asked, "Old He, what's your opinion on the State of Song?"

He Boqiu scoffed upon hearing this: "Ha, why ask such a question when you already know the answer? Didn't we already make it clear when we first met? My two sworn brothers are now just cenotaphs, all because of the Song Kingdom!"

Liu Huai turned around and leaned against the parapet, saying, "I know, I hate Zhao Gou and Qin Hui to the core too. But have you ever thought about what the Song Dynasty really is?"

"Ok?"

"Or to put it another way, are people like Zhao Gou and Qin Hui all that the Song state is? If not, then what is the Song state?"

"Is it poetry and songs? Is it literature and fine clothes? Is it benefiting the people, the culture of the common people, or sharing the world with the literati? Is it Wang Anshi? Su Shi? Yue Fei? Or my father, Duke Wei?"

"If none of these apply, then what exactly is the State of Song? Or rather..." Liu Huai looked into He Boqiu's eyes and said something that the other could not understand, yet it sent shivers down his spine: "Or rather, is the State of Song the sum of all of the above?"

"This... I still don't quite understand."

Liu Huai shook his head and chuckled.

Perhaps because he has the dual identity of a time traveler and a military and political leader, he can view the Song Dynasty from both historical and adversary perspectives.

In Liu Huai's eyes, the State of Song was naturally complex and multifaceted.

"What I mean is that the Song Dynasty, as the only Han Chinese dynasty in the past hundred years, will eventually leave its mark on people like you and me, and will become a part of us."

Besides, there are my father, Mr. Lu, and Minister Yu—heroic figures like them—so there's still a shred of familial affection. That's what I promised my father back then: as long as there's even the slightest chance, we shouldn't be enemies with the State of Song.

“Alas…” Liu Huai sighed again: “However, this last bit of room for maneuver has finally vanished along with Lord Yu.”

He Boqiu was somewhat confused, but he understood the last sentence.

After a long silence, a look of worry appeared on his face: "Even if Dalang becomes emperor, the troubles that I discussed with Mr. Liang will still exist and cannot be resolved in a short time. Another war is about to break out in the south. It's really worrying."

Liu Huai waved his hand dismissively, appearing confident: "I believe Xin Wulang can handle the position of Grand Governor of Henan. As for the other issues, they are all trivial matters that I can easily resolve with a wave of my hand."

Even though he knew Liu Huai might be exaggerating, He Boqiu was still certain.

However, after Liu Huai made his statement, he immediately sighed: "The heroes of Song have not all died. This time we will still have to face them. I wonder what Mr. Lu will do when he hears the news of Lord Yu's death."

(End of this chapter)