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

Chapter 979 Hasty Deployment Leads to Discouragement of the Army (Part 1)
Even so, the arrival of Yiladao still conveyed an important message.

It will be difficult for the State of Song to let this go easily this time.

As for other matters, Yila Dao was, after all, an outsider, and Zhao Gou could not possibly inform him of all important military and state affairs.

Meanwhile, the Jinyiwei's intelligence network in the Song Dynasty was in a state of dormancy, so Xin Qiji had no way of knowing what was happening in the Song Dynasty for just over a month.

In fact, since Zhao Gou had effectively usurped the throne, how could the Song court be peaceful?
Even though Zhao Gou was the retired emperor and had the country and family as a cover, it was still not enough!

At the very least, Lu You sent back his views on the court along with the news of victory immediately after the war.

The so-called Zhao Wu's lust for power led to the Sand Dune Palace Coup; the Tang Emperor's killing of his son ultimately led to the An Lushan Rebellion; even the Jingkang Incident was not without the reason that the Supreme Daoist Emperor and the Yuan Sheng were fighting each other.

When power is in turmoil, it is a sign of impending national demise!
Because the memorial was sent along with the news of victory, it was not concealed at all and immediately spread throughout Chengdu Prefecture in the heart of Sichuan.

The powerful clans of Shu, who had been eager to make a move, immediately backed down.

Unfortunately, Lu You's actions and words were simply too domineering and too aligned with the core values ​​of feudalism. Moreover, Lu You had both merits and arguments, and with the addition of an open and aboveboard petitioning process, he quickly suppressed all the unrest in Chengdu Prefecture.

At least no one dared to stand up against Lord Lu.

If history records it, and someone sits at the same table as Prime Minister Qin in the future, wouldn't that be a terrible injustice?

What happened in Lin'an was even more direct.

Chen Junqing and dozens of other high-ranking officials of the Song state retired to their hometowns and left their posts.

Zhao Gou naturally wouldn't agree, but most of these people didn't wait for Zhao Gou's approval and instead resigned their posts directly.

If someone doesn't want to go to work, are you going to kidnap them, hold a knife to their neck, and force them to work?

The absence of high-ranking officials, coupled with the arson attack on the Council of State and the Six Ministries, has left the newly appointed Chancellor Shi Hao in a state of utter disarray.

The fire, in particular, reduced the documents and archives of the central government of the Song Dynasty to ashes.

From God's perspective, it wasn't that Luo Huaiyan was so capable as to invite the Fire God, nor that the central government of the Song Kingdom didn't even make fire prevention preparations; rather, it was because this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to settle accounts.

Many clerks and even officials quickly got involved in starting the fire, secretly praising Fei Hu Zi as a timely rain in a famine, while throwing all the account books in their hands into the fire.

As the saying goes, those who play with fire will get burned. With the covert assistance of many officials, all the central documents of the Song Dynasty, whether they wanted to burn them or not, whether they could burn them or not, were sent to the underworld to accompany Zhao Kuangyin.

Shi Hao struggled for over a month, but still couldn't get anything done, and the court continued to deteriorate.

In this situation, what good options did Zhao Gou have? He could only urge several border generals to launch an immediate attack on Henan and Shandong, taking advantage of the fact that the main force of the Han army was currently in Youyan, to seize Bianliang, Xuzhou and other places.

As long as he could take a big bite out of the fat, Zhao Gou would still feel that he was destined by Heaven.

Cheng Min was already partially paralyzed, and Wu Gong was a seasoned veteran. Moreover, the two of them were in Nanyang and had poor communication with Lin'an, so let's not even mention that.

Li Xianzong of Huaibei was filled with immense fear upon seeing the imperial edict.

Shao Hongyuan, sipping his wine, said with a half-smile, "Grand Commandant Li, this is an official imperial edict drafted by the Secretariat Drafter and countersigned by the Prime Minister. Do you accept it or not?"

Li Xianzong's face was ashen as he turned to look at Shao Hongyuan: "Are you so eager to die? Have you forgotten how Liu Dalang carried you out of the formation like a dog?"

Shao Hongyuan's cheeks twitched a few times, and he wanted to lash out, but he suppressed his anger: "To tell you the truth, if Fei Huzi were in Jinan, Xuzhou, Bianliang or anywhere else right now, I would definitely treat this imperial edict as a chaotic order."

But now, Fei Hu Zi is leading his main force in Youzhou. Even though the Jin Dynasty has been destroyed, they can't spare any troops for the time being. Shandong and Henan don't have many proper troops. This is our opportunity!

Li Xianzong sneered again: "And then what? Let's assume that you, Grand Commandant Shao, are incomparably powerful and seize Henan and Shandong. Then what? Then you rush to Youyan? When Flying Tiger's battle-hardened troops march south, what will you use to stop them?"

Shao Hongyuan finally lost his patience: "Grand Commandant Li, does it mean that if our army doesn't go to Henan, Flying Tiger's elite troops won't march south? You've seen the proclamation too. It says that our Great Song Dynasty obtained its rule illegitimately, and is only in a corner of the country, just like the Southern Chen Dynasty that was destroyed by the Great Song Dynasty. Both are separatist regimes."

Now that he's said that, how could Flying Tiger not invade the south? What will you use to stop him then?

Shao Hongyuan's words became earnest: "On the other hand, only by seizing this opportunity to break out, capture the key points in the Central Plains, and control the families of those elite soldiers and generals, can we have the strength to fight when the Flying Tigers attack!"

"Especially Xuzhou, where there are cannons and gunpowder workshops. As long as we seize it, we'll have those firearms too. Then why would we be afraid of the Flying Tigers?" Although the Song Dynasty started imitating cannons and gunpowder early on, according to the Song Dynasty's tradition of concentrating its efforts on major tasks, it would never succeed. As for gunpowder, although it adopted the approach of "borrowing" from the people, due to the backwardness of the technology, its output and power were far behind.

Although Lu You managed to build cannons in Shu, firstly, he recruited people privately to do it, and secondly, the time was too short and things were happening one after another, so he was in a bit of a rush. Therefore, he only mentioned it to Yu Yunwen once in an official document two months ago.

Now that Yu Yunwen is dead and the archives have been burned, the Song court is in complete chaos. Border generals like Shao Hongyuan are naturally unaware that the Sichuan army already has cannons.

Shao Hongyuan thought he had made his point very clear, but seeing Li Xianzong still looking noncommittal, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

"Grand Commandant Li, what are you really thinking? Can't you even speak frankly in private?"

Li Xianzong simply sneered: "What I wanted to say was already said a few days ago."

If Grand Commandant Shao would like to hear it, I might as well repeat it again.

Liu Dalang's army is extremely powerful; we must not engage them in a direct confrontation. We should rely on the waterways of the Huai River and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, resisting layer by layer as we did when we fought the Jin invaders. Then, when Liu Dalang's army falters, we can launch a full-scale counterattack.

Shao Hongyuan finally laughed out loud: "Hehe, Li Taiwei, I know what you're thinking. You just want to fight another battle like the Battle of Chaoxian."

Is Fei Hu Zi the same as Wanyan Liang? Are you, Grand Commandant Li, Fei Hu Zi? Back then, it was Minister Yu, Liu Dalang, Cheng the Rascal, the deceased Commander Liu, and you all who stopped Wanyan Liang. And now? Minister Yu is dead!

If the northerners were to invade the Huai River region, the Song Dynasty would be thrown into turmoil, and even the Yangtze River defense line would be indefensible! It should be known that Flying Tiger's navy is renowned throughout the land!

Seeing that Shao Hongyuan was still pushing forward with the strategy of keeping the enemy outside the country's borders, Li Xianzong sighed: "Old Shao, since this is a private conversation, can't you speak freely?"

Shao Hongyuan was taken aback, and after thinking for a moment, he could only nod.

Li Xianzong, however, had no intention of speaking freely. Instead, he directly used these words to provoke Shao Hongyuan: "Then I'll be blunt. You, Old Shao, are not some unparalleled hero, not even a top talent. You are greedy, mean, and avaricious, and you are also jealous of the virtuous and capable, and cowardly beyond measure."

I really don't understand how someone like you could have the guts to launch a preemptive attack on Henan. You know how formidable Flying Tigers are, what are you after?

Shao Hongyuan's face contorted with rage halfway through the conversation, and he even reached for his waist. However, at the end, he suppressed his anger and sighed deeply, "Old Li, I know you look down on me. But that doesn't matter. After all, your loyalty and courage are known throughout the world, and I can never compare to you."

"You ask me why? It's actually very simple. This is my last chance." Shao Hongyuan sighed repeatedly. "In the end, it's because I showed fear in the last big battle."

At that time, it cannot be said that Prime Minister Yu did not value me, but I was first defeated by the Jin bandits, then by the Flying Tiger, and even captured on the spot. I lost my composure, so it was only natural that I was later abandoned.

"However, now that the Emperor Emeritus has been restored to the throne and has reinstated me, he has shown me great favor. For me, this is my last chance. If I cannot accomplish something significant now, my life may just pass by in vain. Grand Commandant Li, do you understand?"

Li Xianzong nodded: "I understand. You're still that opportunist! An opportunist who's willing to drag the Song Dynasty down with him for his own selfish gain!"

Shao Hongyuan sighed again, then stood up and said, "I know that no matter what I say now, Grand Commandant Li will not believe me, but I still have to say that this time I am here to repay the Emperor Emeritus's kindness."

The army is ready. As the imperial edict stated, the general offensive will be launched no later than November 30th. I have now brought the Huaixi army to Chuzhou. Regardless of whether Grand Commandant Li disobeys the edict, I will lead the army north along the Yellow River to attack Xuzhou. I hope Grand Commandant Li will act accordingly.

After saying this, Shao Hongyuan turned and left, leaving Li Xianzong sitting alone in the room.

As dusk fell and the sun began to set, the hall gradually grew dark.

Li Xianzong stopped the servants from lighting the candles, and simply remained enveloped in darkness.

As the cold swept over him, he felt as if he had returned to the day his family was destroyed and returned to the Song Dynasty.

His father, Li Yongqi, was trapped in the Jin army's ranks. He turned his head and waved to him from afar, telling him that he must be loyal to the Song Dynasty no matter what.

Back then, Li Xianzong was just a young boy. In his panic and helplessness, he only remembered his father's words and wielded his sword and spear, and he did so for decades.

Now, that feeling of helplessness and despair from that day has washed over me again like a tidal wave.

In the darkness, Li Xianzong silently clutched his forehead and bent down.

"Father... what should I do... Father..."

No one answered him, just as they had for decades.

(End of this chapter)