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

Chapter 963 Suspicion Among the Emperor and His Ministers of the Song Dynasty

"In my drunken stupor, I pick up my sword by lamplight; in my dreams, I hear the bugles echoing through the camps."

Eight hundred miles of roasted meat are distributed among the troops, and fifty strings of music resound beyond the Great Wall.

Autumn review of troops on the battlefield.

The horse galloped swiftly like the wind, the bowstring twanged like thunder.

Having accomplished the affairs of the emperor and the world, he won fame both before and after his death.

"Poor thing, my hair has turned white."

On the battlefield, Lu You slowly recited the letter, instantly startling Wei Qi.

As a scholar-official who had come through the proper civil service examinations, Wei Qi possessed basic literary skills and immediately realized that this poem should become a classic.

When a famous poem is created, the onlookers must have some reaction so that it can be recorded in history books and become immortal along with the poem.

However, after pondering for a long time, Wei Qi finally stammered and asked, "This poem...who wrote it?"

Lu You was also somewhat lost in thought, looking at the letter repeatedly and remaining silent for a long time. It wasn't until Wu Ting moved his banner, seemingly to personally report his achievements, that he finally sighed repeatedly and replied, "Naturally, it was written by Liu Dalang from Shandong."

Wei Qi was even more astonished: "I have never heard of Liu Gong's literary reputation before. Could it be that someone else wrote it for him?"

Lu You waved his hand: "How do you know that Liu Dalang has no literary reputation? Putting that aside, do you know the name of this poem?"

Wei Qi shook his head blankly.

Lu You said slowly and deliberately: "To the tune of 'Breaking the Formation' - On the fifteenth of October, after the recapture of Yan and Yun, I composed this poem to commemorate the victory of the two ministers, Yu and Lu."

After a moment of blankness, Wei Qi finally showed a look of astonishment: "October 15th?! A month ago?! The recapture of Yanyun?! Dongjin... Dongjin is already dead?!"

After asking a few questions, Wei Qi finally understood a fact and then jumped up on the spot.

It's remarkable that he could be so excited at his age, wearing such heavy armor.

Lu You sighed deeply: "Indeed, Liu Dalang also made it clear in his letter that he defeated the Jin-Mongol allied forces at Huolu around the first day of the tenth month, and besieged Yanjing on the fifteenth of the tenth month, trapping Wanyan Yong in the city. Along with the more than two hundred officials and members of the royal family of the Eastern Jin, they were all killed in battle, and the Eastern Jin was destroyed."

Wei Qi was in a state of utter confusion, but his first thought was of Yu Yunwen's overall plan. He let out a bitter laugh: "Lord Liu launched his troops in early September and annihilated the main force of Dongjin by early October. It was too fast, too fast... Even if we follow Lord Yu's plan and launch the troops on October 20, it may already be too late."

Lu You sighed repeatedly: "What do you know? You people, including the retired emperor, all live a life of luxury in the rear. You have never wielded a sword or spear, nor walked on muddy roads, nor eaten sour wheat porridge mixed with sand and stones."

All your military decisions are based on conjecture. Lord Yu's plan is certainly timely, because no matter how fast Liu Dalang moves, he still needs to sort out the local situation, and the force in Jin can only be a detachment.

As long as Lord Yu can capture Luoyang and cross the Yellow River, Liu Dalang will not be able to abandon Hebei and Yan to compete with our army in Jin.

But the imperial court actually abandoned Prime Minister Yu's plan and attempted to attack Henan and Shandong... truly... alas..."

Wei Qi hesitated for a moment, then asked honestly, "The Jin army is vulnerable in Jin, but Liu Gong's Henan and Shandong are also vulnerable, isn't that the same thing..."

"The same my foot!" Lu You roared in anger. "The Jin bandits have no soldiers in Jin because all their troops have been wiped out! Liu Dalang has no soldiers in Henan because the main army is fighting in Hebei! There are plenty of garrison troops and militia left! Moreover, Liu Dalang is giving land to the people, while the Song Dynasty is going to seize land. You actually expect them to provide food and drink?!"

Wei Qi was speechless, then his whole body trembled again: "Doesn't that mean that attacking Henan will inevitably result in a crushing defeat? Lord Lu, you..."

Lu You shook his head: "Don't expect me to stop it. Don't forget, I am a suspect myself! Moreover, there is the scheming of the powerful families of Jiangnan behind this. They are blinded by greed. The beautiful land of the Central Plains is right in front of them. How can they stop their greed without suffering a great loss?"

Wei Qi's expression also changed constantly, and he could only stomp his feet and sigh.

It's true that he belonged to the appeasement faction on the political spectrum, but wasn't his appeasement simply because he wanted to become a wealthy and powerful official in the Southern Dynasty?
Now Lu You is practically stating outright that the Song Dynasty's military campaign against Henan and Shandong will inevitably fail, and if Liu Huai leads his elite troops south, won't the Southern Dynasty be in danger?
As for the Huai River network and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River that the Southern Dynasties relied on, that goes without saying.

Although Liu Huai was a northerner, his navy... or rather his navy became famous along with the maritime trade. If a war broke out, it was very likely that this army would be the first to attack Lin'an.

At that point, Zhao Gou wouldn't even have a chance to escape by sea!

Wei Qi felt increasingly terrified as he thought about it. He had been blinded by short-term gains, but now that he was more clear-headed, he could realize that the situation was spiraling out of control.

No wonder Cheng Min became paralyzed immediately after hearing the imperial decree!

After the two stood in the cold wind for a while, Lu You finally said decisively, "Bashu cannot be in chaos! This decree of yours cannot be sent out! Even what happens in the court cannot be reported to the army. If our army is defeated, Wanyan Liang will definitely take the Chencang Road and attack into Shu. At that time, the Song Dynasty will really be in danger."

Wei Qi was still extremely fearful: "It can't be kept secret. At least it has already spread in Chengdu Prefecture. The Transport Office has stopped transporting grain and fodder, so how could it not have spread to the army?"

Lu You immediately changed his tune: "Then we'll delay as long as we can! You must forge an imperial edict right now!"

Wei Qi was even more terrified: "A forged imperial edict?!"

Lu You nodded: "Just say that this is to reward the army, just state the reward, and then stay at Huangniu Fort. Don't go anywhere else until I've dealt with the affairs of Guanzhong, then we'll discuss other matters!" Seeing Wei Qi hesitate, Lu You became even clearer: "I might as well tell you that Zeng Di has already come. If you're unwilling, I'll immediately summon him and have him discuss with you the principles of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism!"

Faced with a real threat to his life, Wei Qi immediately backed down. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will obey Prime Minister Lu's orders, but... but I cannot take the blame for forging an imperial edict..."

Lu You: "Don't worry! I won't leave you to shoulder this alone!"

As they were talking, Wu Ting had already returned from the front lines. He first saluted Lu You, then put his hands on his hips and reported on the battle results. After that, he frowned and looked at Wei Qi.

Or rather, he looked at the staff in Wei Qi's hand.

"Is this... an angel? Or is there another imperial decree?"

It has to be said that the entire Sichuan army was terrified by the imperial court, especially Wu Ting, the victim himself, who was genuinely afraid of another order to withdraw troops.

Lu You said, "Clean up the battlefield and hold the fortified camp. I think there will be another big battle tomorrow. At the military council tonight, the imperial envoy will read the imperial edict to the public."

Seeing that Lu You remained calm, Wu Ting felt relieved.

When the army held a grand meeting that night, after hearing Wei Qi read a long list of platitudes, the generals were all reassured, as long as they didn't have to retreat in the face of battle.

However, after the military council was dissolved, Zhang Zhen was called back.

Lu You didn't waste any words and recounted in detail all the events that had happened in the world in recent days.

After hearing this, Zhang Zhen stood there stunned for a quarter of an hour before he came to his senses and immediately broke down in tears: "Prime Minister Yu... how could Prime Minister Yu... and the Emperor... the Retired Emperor actually..."

Zhang Zhen naturally had reasons to be sad.

The battle at the quarry was a turning point in the lives of Zhang Zhen and others, and Yu Yunwen was the one who led them through that hurdle. He then promoted them greatly, showing them great kindness and support.

In the Battle of Caishi and Chaoxian, Shi Jun, Wang Qi, and Sheng Xin all died in battle, leaving only Zhang Zhen and Dai Gao. They originally thought they could follow Yu Yunwen to restore the Central Plains, but who would have thought that Yu Yunwen would die in a coup in a muddle, and that it was the retired Emperor Zhao Gou who personally did it. This left Zhang Zhen heartbroken and at a loss, not even knowing whether he should seek revenge.

Lu You also looked somber.

Ever since Zeng Di delivered the message, Lu You has been caught in a dilemma.

On the one hand, Zhao Shen is his lord, and as the saying goes, "a subject dies for his lord's disgrace." He should now mobilize the entire army of Bashu, raise the banner of rescuing Zhao Shen, and call on the righteous army to attack Lin'an.

Whether he succeeds or not, history books will at least record that Lu You did his utmost for his lord.

On the other hand, the one who usurped the throne was the retired Emperor Zhao Gou. From the perspective of succession to the throne and filial piety, this matter was not so excessive.

Moreover, with Zhao Shen now suffering from hysteria and having gone insane as a cover-up, it's still somewhat plausible.

When a son falls ill and can no longer maintain his family business, the father steps in to clean up the mess. Who can say that he is guilty of a heinous crime?

However, the key point is that we are not living in a peaceful world, but rather in a world of great chaos and contention.

The Han army swept through Hebei with unstoppable momentum, while the Song state was about to wage a civil war, making the fate of the empire a foregone conclusion.

If that was the expected outcome, why did Lu You, who was so bored and had nothing better to do, run back from Hebei that day?!
However... so I still have to say, Lu You really couldn't swallow this anger; it was so strong it felt like his lungs were about to explode.

The Yue Fei of today is the Yu Yunwen of tomorrow, but who will be the next Yue Fei?

What did that bastard Zhao Gou take the loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty for?! A disposable rag?

After crying for a while, Zhang Zhen finally stopped crying and said to Lu You, "Lord Lu, is it time to avenge Lord Yu and rescue the Emperor?"

Lu You shook his head somewhat dejectedly: "It won't work. I've tested many people these past few days, and it's impossible for them to come to Lin'an with us. Besides..."

Lu You's words were also somewhat strained: "Moreover, once the Sichuan army raises the banner of 'purging the court of corrupt officials,' and sails downstream to Lin'an, northern Sichuan... and even Chengdu Prefecture, they will not be able to hold out."

Zhang Zhen trembled all over: "What should we do? Are we... are we just going to accept it?! Did Lord Yu die in vain?!"

Lu You frowned: "Keep your voice down! We're still in Guanzhong!"

After catching his breath, Lu You stared at Zhang Zhen and said, "One must eat one bite at a time and do one thing at a time. The main force of the Jin army has been drawn here by us. Now our army must retreat safely first, otherwise everything is just empty talk!"

Zhang Zhen's face grew even more pained: "Lord Lu, with this withdrawal, the hearts of the people in Guanzhong will no longer belong to the Song Dynasty!"

Lu You nodded solemnly: "I know, so before I leave, I have to give the people of Guanzhong an explanation. How are the arrangements going?"

Zhang Zhen wiped away his tears and nodded emphatically: "Everything is ready! We can start anytime!"

(End of this chapter)