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

Chapter 973 The Unyielding Morale of the Army (Part 1)
"There are three reasons. First, our army has been fighting continuously for a long time and is exhausted. It needs to rest and recuperate."

"Secondly, the Jin invaders still have some troops in Luoyang. If our army continues to attack Chang'an relentlessly, we will be at their mercy, and if Pusan ​​Zhongyi can wait for us to attack, we might turn the tide of battle."

"Thirdly, and most importantly, the people of Kansai are not yet of our own volition and cannot unite to besiege the Jin invaders."

Inside the command tent, Zhang Zhen spoke eloquently, drawing the attention of everyone present.

The reason is simple: this guy's words were just too harsh and too realistic, like pouring a bucket of cold water directly over the heads of the Song generals, burying their ambitions in an eternal glacier.

Lu You seemed oblivious to the expressions of the others, continuing to press for answers: "In General Zhang's opinion, where should our army begin?"

Zhang Zhen cupped his hands in response: "There are three reasons, but if we do one of them well, we can use that as a starting point to pacify the whole area."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhen spread his hands, his words becoming more refined and earnest: "I have heard Lord Lu say that all things are based on people. Now that our army is in Guanzhong, the only people we can rely on are the people of Guanzhong."

If the Han people of Guanzhong were to rise up against the Jin, not only would the mere city of Chang'an be destroyed, but the Jin dynasty itself could be overthrown in an instant. No matter how capable Pusan ​​Zhongyi is in battle, if he dares to come, he's doomed!

When Zhang Zhen was halfway through his speech, he had already stared intently at Zhang Congjin. After he finished speaking, almost everyone in the tent turned their attention to this fellow, even Lu You looked at him with expectant eyes.

A layer of white sweat immediately rose up on Zhang Congjin's back.

"Lord Lu... I... this humble general... uh, this humble general is not the one whom the people of Guanzhong respect, so how can I win over the hearts of the people of Guanzhong and make them work for me?"

That makes a lot of sense.

If the people of Guanzhong truly only sided with Zhang Congjin, given his ambition, he would have already become king and enjoyed his newfound power.

Lu You was clearly somewhat disappointed, but he also knew that Zhang Congjin's words made some sense: "Alas, I originally wanted to entrust you with important responsibilities, but now that this is the case..."

Zhang Congjin's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized that this was not a military meeting before battle.

This is the military discussion about dividing the spoils!
The tough battle has already been won by Lord Lu, and the main force of the Jin army has been lost. Now it's time to cut their losses.

At a time like this, how can we back down? Even if we have to boast, we have to make it sound impressive. We need to get the official position and assignment in our hands first!
Although he felt remorse, he couldn't take back what he had already said. For the moment, he could only bite the bullet and try to make amends: "Lord Lu, although I do not have such ability, my uncle comes from a military family in Guanzhong. As long as he can get away, he will naturally be able to win over the people of Guanzhong."

"Then the people and officials of Guanzhong will be at Lord Lu's command. Wouldn't that make great things possible?"

Lu You nodded: "I acknowledge Zhang Gong's abilities, but where should we look for Zhang Jiedu now? Is General Zhang truly incompetent?"

Zhang Congjin's heart beat even faster.

The Song generals around them were visibly agitated, and several even tried to stand up and make a scene, but were pulled back by those around them who knew better.

Everyone knows that nowadays, they have no choice but to rely on the people of Guanzhong. However, due to the hasty withdrawal of the Song army last year, which sold out Guanzhong, the Song state's reputation in Guanzhong is now less valuable than the bran used to feed the horses at the gate. Therefore, only Zhang Congjin and Li Shiyan, who have persisted in Guanzhong, can immediately gain the trust of the people of Guanzhong.

That makes sense, but why didn't these two participate in the Fufeng Battle?

I chopped the firewood, bought the pot, and stewed the meat, but in the end, others ate the meat while I could only drink the soup!

Is there any justice in this world?

But all of this couldn't overcome the fact that after this battle, the Song army was completely convinced of Lu You's abilities. After being glanced at by this Prime Minister Lu, even the most vicious soldiers immediately shut up and behaved themselves like quails.

Zhang Congjin never expected such a huge windfall to fall into his lap. He immediately knelt on one knee and said sincerely, "I am deeply grateful for your kindness, Prime Minister. I am willing to serve you with utmost loyalty."

Lu You stroked Zhang Congjin's head with a smile: "Not for me, but to serve the Song Dynasty like a dog or horse."

Zhang Congjin quickly agreed.

However, at this moment, Li Shiyan could no longer hold back: "Prime Minister Lu! Zhang Congjin can be used, but he absolutely cannot be given too much responsibility. Since the founding of our Great Song Dynasty, where has there been a military governor with real power? Moreover, he has been leading troops alone for a year and has developed some ambitions. We must be wary of him!"

Seeing this, Zhang Zhen immediately swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Lu You was surprised that someone would pass on the message, and immediately smiled and said, "General Li, it's not just about using Chief Steward Zhang; the old general must also shoulder a responsibility."

Zhang Congjin was initially shocked and angry because of Li Shiyan's opposition, but when he heard Lu You say this, he felt calmer. However, he felt that Li Shiyan was being too disrespectful and had failed to uphold the loyalty they had shown each other since last year.

Lu You, however, continued to pat Zhang Congjin's head and said, "Chief Steward Zhang, don't harbor any resentment towards General Li. He's only doing this for your own good. After all, you didn't rise through the ranks of the Song Dynasty, so you don't know the intricacies of court politics. With just a word from General Li, you can get rid of more than a dozen huge troubles for yourself."

“What General Li said is indeed reasonable. In addition, Chief Steward Zhang is a defector from the Jin Kingdom. He has never experienced a major battle. Not to mention that he cannot win the hearts of the people, even the high-ranking officials above him will have doubts.”

Zhang Congjin looked up and asked loudly, "What does Lord Lu want me to do?"

Lu You smiled and said, "Naturally, I want you to attack the Jin bandit camp as a pledge of loyalty."

Zhang Congjin was not surprised at all: "This humble general only brought seven hundred soldiers this time, which is not enough to take Chang'an."

“Naturally not Chang’an. Go to the north side of the Wei River; there is another Jin bandit camp there. You should lead your troops out immediately for a night raid.” Lu You replied frankly, “There are about two thousand Jin bandit remnants inside, led by Tudan Hexi. I don’t want prisoners, just heads. What do you say?”

After considering the situation for a moment, Zhang Congjin gritted his teeth and asked, "Lord Lu, if the Jurchen forces are strong there, I..."

"Then naturally I have wronged you, and it is fine for you to withdraw immediately." Lu You's attitude remained calm: "However, I must advise you that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. If you want to achieve great things, you must fight desperately in the end. If I were you, even if there were 10,000 people on the other side, I would still charge and fight to live up to the court's high regard for me!"

If someone else had said this, Zhang Congjin would have scoffed at it, thinking that person was just spouting nonsense.

But the man before me is a renowned general who dared to follow Wei Sheng on his northern expedition alone and who today defeated the main force of the Western Jin with 20,000 troops. Therefore, his military pronouncements can only be considered golden words of wisdom.

Moreover, what reason would Lu You have to harm him? With Zhang Congjin around, Longyou was still nominally under the control of the Song Dynasty. If he were gone, it would be a miracle if Longyou didn't descend into chaos.

"The Jin invaders are like frightened birds right now. Let alone ten thousand, even a hundred thousand would be no problem for us." Zhang Congjin boasted, then stood up and saluted: "My seven hundred armored cavalry under my command are all elites. They will surely be able to cut off Tudan Hexi's head and present it to Lord Lu!"

Having said that, Zhang Congjin turned and strode away without stopping for a moment.

This guy was from Kansai and knew the surrounding terrain like the back of his hand, so he didn't need anyone to guide him.

After Zhang Congjin left, Lu You's face darkened, and he turned to the back of the tent and said, "Zhang Jiedu, come out."

Zhang Zhongyan emerged from behind the tent with a distressed expression, cupped his hands to Lu You, and said, "Master Lu's methods are astonishing. That lad Zhang Congjin was blinded by his future prospects, no wonder he fell into Master Lu's trap."

Lu You merely gave a cold laugh in public, then pointed to a seat beside him: "Zhang Jiedu, please sit down."

While the generals in the tent were filled with surprise and doubt, Lu You continued to issue orders: "Cao Dache, lead your personal guards to surround the command tent. No one is allowed to enter within a hundred paces!"

"Here!"

This made the Song army generals even more panicked.

Just as Li Shiyan nervously sat down, wondering if it was aimed at her, Lu You, with a stern face, said loudly, "I'm about to say a few things, so don't panic."

"First, on October 15th, the retired emperor was restored to the throne. The emperor went mad and could not attend to his duties. Minister Yu was beaten to death by the retired emperor."

Upon hearing this, those who had not heard the rumors were stunned, while those who were somewhat prepared, upon hearing that the facts had been confirmed, did not feel relieved, but instead became even more panicked.

Lu You ignored the others' actions and went straight to the point: "Secondly, in October, Liu Huai of Shandong defeated the main force of the Jin bandits at Huolu, capturing and killing more than 100,000 Jin-Mongol allied troops, and then took the opportunity to capture Yanjing, killing more than 200 important Jin officials including Wanyan Yong. The Eastern Jin was destroyed."

The once noisy command tent instantly fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

That wasn't all. Lu You continued, "Third, the Emperor Emeritus ordered our army to withdraw, allowing me to return to court as prime minister. He then ordered peace talks with the Jin invaders and simultaneously commanded the army to march from Nanyang in Huaihe River Basin to attack Henan and Shandong from both sides."

Having received so much information in such a short time, everyone in the tent felt numb. Even Zhang Zhongyan, who had experienced all the horrific things since the start of the Song-Jin war, had a blank expression, like a clay or wooden sculpture.

"Feel free to share your thoughts."

A full quarter of an hour later, Wu Ting jumped up, but his first words were not about the peace talks between Song and Jin, nor about the Emperor's life or death. Instead, he said, "Lord Lu, you must not go to Lin'an! Otherwise, you will suffer the same fate as Marshal Yue Fei!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the tent erupted in chaos, with everyone talking at once, saying all sorts of things.

Li Shiyan first glanced at Zhang Zhongyan, who seemed to be deep in thought, and then looked at Lu You, who had no expression. He could only admire the prime minister's composure; even when the Qinling Mountains were about to collapse, he remained calm.

(End of this chapter)