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

Chapter 999 A Dragon Encounters a Change of Fortune
Just as Li Xianzong was resigning himself to his fate, Liu Huai looked at the two victory reports in his hand and was momentarily stunned.

Because Guanzhong and Youyan are geographically far apart, with the Jin Dynasty in between, and because Liu Huai and Lu You are now on opposing sides, Lu You's military victory in Guanzhong and Xin Qiji's battle at Lüliang Mountain were delivered to Yanjing on the same day.

It's simply a matter of one being brief and concise, and the other being detailed and complicated.

To be honest, Liu Huai was really stunned at this moment.

What does this amount to?

For example.

A time traveler arrives in the Song Dynasty and goes to the Temple of Martial Arts to burn incense and offer tribute. The clay and golden statue of King Wu Cheng, Jiang Taigong, is placed at the top and enjoys the honor of being the chief officiant.

However, the time traveler discovered that the people worshipped were Li Bai on the left and Du Fu on the right, both of whom were recorded in history as meritorious officials in suppressing the An Lushan Rebellion.

Who the hell could have predicted this?
Liu Huai held his forehead, looking rather dumbfounded.

Since he transmigrated, Lu You and Xin Qiji haven't written many poems. One became a famous minister and general, and the other became a famous general. It's quite a feeling that life is unpredictable.

Sitting to the side, Hu Quan, who had participated in the founding ceremony of the Han Dynasty as a staff member, was slightly lost in thought after reading the military report.

However, he was, after all, an old zealot who had been through thick and thin since the Jingkang era. He had seen a lot of things and quickly regained his composure. He also gave Liang Su a wink.

Liang Su rolled his eyes, pretending not to see anything.

Liang, the strategist, was a very shrewd and resourceful man. He immediately understood what Hu Quan was thinking.

It was simply a concern that Xin Qiji's achievements overshadowed the emperor's.

To put it more plainly, it was a concern that Liu Huai felt Xin Qiji's achievements overshadowed the emperor's.

Liang Su could only remain silent in response.

Although Liu Huai and Zhao Gou were theoretically among the founding emperors, fundamentally, how could they be the same person?
All the Henan armies under Xin Qiji's command, including the Flying Tiger Army, and even Xin Qiji himself, were all personally gathered, reorganized, and trained by Liu Huai.

To be honest, without the institutional foundation laid by Liu Huai, the Han army generals who seem perfectly capable now would all be nothing but a rabble.

How could Xin Qiji possibly have achieved more merit than his lord?!
Seeing the scene freeze for a moment, Hu Quan coughed twice and said, "Young Master, Commander Xin fought a brilliant battle, just like when Wanyan Loushi defeated the Western Xia."

Liu Huai snapped out of his reverie and raised an eyebrow: "Oh? Does Master Hu also know how Wanyan Loushi fought that day?"

"I don't deserve this title, sir." Hu Quan didn't put on airs just because Liu Huai was young. He directly cupped his hands and said, "I have carefully reviewed the documents in the court. When the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, the Western Xia Dynasty was related to the Liao Dynasty by marriage and was also an ally. Therefore, the King of Western Xia, Li Qianshun, sent General Li Liangfu with an army of 40,000 to rescue the Liao Dynasty."

On that day, Wanyan Loushi had only a thousand cavalrymen under his command, and they had suffered several defeats before, losing some of their fighting spirit.

However, this famous general who founded the Jin Dynasty dispersed his thousand cavalrymen to harass and lure the Western Xia army, disrupting their formation. Then, the entire army charged out and defeated the 40,000-strong Western Xia army from the front.

After the war, few Western Xia survivors remained. Li Qianshun, horrified, immediately killed his queen, who was originally a princess of the Liao dynasty. His crown prince, born to the queen, also died a year later.

Liu Huai nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Indeed, the battle tactics of famous generals in ancient times were all similar.

Putting aside everything else, Xin Qiji's final move of using his cavalry flank to lure the Song cavalry before turning around and charging straight at Shao Hongyuan's banner was exactly the same as Alexander the Great's method of dealing with the Persian Emperor Darius III.

It's just that Alexander didn't carry a bomb and bombard the enemy.

Hu Quan continued, "Wanyan Loushi truly deserves to be called a famous general who helped found the Jin Dynasty. When the Song soldiers were attacking Hezhong Prefecture, they scattered and fled into the Yellow River in a panic. Wanyan Loushi sent troops to rescue them, and only then did the people of Hezhong Prefecture return to his side."

Liu Huai knew that this old angry young man was not praising Wanyan Loushi for his pure heart, but rather trying to persuade him in a roundabout way: "Mr. Hu is overthinking it. The Han dynasty has its own laws and regulations. Xin Wulang is also a founding father. How can he be killed indiscriminately?"

As Liu Huai spoke, he couldn't help but glance at the document again: "I even think that Xin Wulang has already distributed money and rations and sent those laborers home one after another."

Liang Su, standing to the side, also revealed a slightly amused smile.

The most formidable tactic of the Han army has always been political offensive; often, the hearts and minds of the people are stirred even before the troops move.

It would be truly strange if Xin Qiji did not take advantage of the upheaval and turmoil in the Song court to launch a new political offensive.

"Let's not talk about Xin Wulang anymore. The Han Dynasty was newly established, and the set of regulations created by Minister Liu and the others still need to be used. Xin Wulang's merits in this battle should be recognized as a prince."

After setting the tone, Liu Huai put aside the thick stack of victory reports he was holding.

This is not because Xin Qiji's achievements are not valued; on the contrary, it is because these achievements are so significant that Liu Huai could not possibly make a decision with just a few words from two or three people.

At the very least, it should be formally discussed in a grand court assembly, and then publicized throughout the world through various means such as the official gazette to boast of its achievements.

Liu Huai looked at Hu Quan and changed the subject: "Mr. Hu, are you comfortable living in Yanjing?"

Hu Quan knew the real show was about to begin, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Majesty, apart from being a bit cold, everything else is fine." Liu Huai smiled and said, "Mr. Hu is a man of great talent. I wonder if you could shoulder some responsibility and bring some benefits to the people?"

Although he was mentally prepared, Hu Quan still hesitated for a moment before saying seriously, "It is my wish, but I dare not ask."

Liu Huai was somewhat taken aback: "I thought it would take some persuasion to convince Mr. Hu."

"I know what Your Majesty is thinking. It's nothing more than that I act impulsively and lack a sense of the bigger picture," Hu Quan said with a self-deprecating smile.

As someone who dared to stand up to Qin Hui even when he was at the height of his power, Hu Quan naturally had the confidence to say this: "However, since Prime Minister Yu died, I have lost all hope for the Song Dynasty."

"If the world only had the Song Dynasty, a single Han dynasty, I would have resigned and fled into the wilderness. But now that the Han Dynasty has been established, I can no longer stubbornly cling to my old ways and become a laughingstock."

Liu Huai nodded in satisfaction: "Mr. Hu is a newcomer. If he is suddenly promoted to a high position, it is inevitable that people will be dissatisfied."

Now I have a task: to rebuild the Imperial Observatory by gathering talent from the Jin Dynasty government, based at the Academy of Sciences. Mr. Hu, would you be willing to share my burden and serve as its director?

Now it was Hu Quan's turn to be stunned.

But after only a moment, he showed some delight: "Your Majesty trusts me so much, how could I... dare not serve you with utmost loyalty?"

Furthermore, by the Song and Jin dynasties, the Imperial Observatory had almost completely broken free from the realm of feudal superstition.

The concepts of the interaction between Heaven and Man and the cycle of martial virtue were discarded by the great Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty, let alone the prophetic sayings of "unusual celestial phenomena".

However, this does not mean that the responsibilities of the Imperial Observatory are unimportant.

In addition to necessary astronomical observations, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau also needed to continuously revise the calendar by studying planetary movements and the patterns of the sun and moon to ensure the smooth progress of agricultural activities.

Similar departments were not only established in large, powerful states like the Song, Jin, and Liao dynasties, but also widely existed in smaller states like Goryeo and Western Xia.

Part of the reason why later generations have doubted Western civilization is that ancient Europe simply did not have such departments.

It would be utterly absurd for an agricultural society to lack a department responsible for revising its calendar.

Even though Liu Huai didn't know the importance of the calendar before he traveled through time, he could roughly understand it after the Northern Expeditionary Army established a system in Shandong.

The Academy of Sciences now located in Jinan is partly dedicated to this task.

However, the Academy of Sciences, being at the forefront of science, could not establish numerous branches in various regions to monitor celestial phenomena in real time. Therefore, it had to refer to the calendars established by the Jin and Song dynasties.

However, the advantage of this is that it reduces a lot of trouble, but the disadvantage is that it causes a significant delay.

This situation was not limited to calendar systems; it was prevalent in all areas of the Han Dynasty, to the point that many renowned scholars in the Academy of Sciences had to work tirelessly to address it.

After taking over many of the technocrats from the Jin Kingdom, the Academy of Sciences was finally able to catch its breath from the complicated practical matters, which made the Academy's president, Qin Zhenshun, smile so broadly these past few days that his back teeth were showing.

By offering the position of Director of the Imperial Observatory as an entrance exam, Liu Huai showed Hu Quan considerable sincerity.

Upon seeing Hu Quan agree and begin to act as a subject, Liu Huai was about to reveal his capitalist nature and order the elderly man to go work at the Imperial Observatory. However, a thought struck him, and he decided to keep him there.

"Mr. Liang, do you have any suggestions regarding the next strategic direction?"

Liang Su immediately perked up, glanced at Hu Quan, and said, "Of course there are, and I have already made a complete plan. In fact, there are several plans, which you can choose from, Young Master."

Hu Quan's heart couldn't help but jump.

He was an extremely intelligent man, and he immediately understood what Liu Huai and Liang Su were going to discuss.

The Han Dynasty is about to unify the world, and now there are only two major powers in the world: the Western Jin and the Song Dynasty. It's just a matter of which one to attack first.

Although he had already declared his separation from the Song state through concrete actions, it was, after all, the homeland for which he had fought for decades, so how could he not feel attached to it?
Hu Quan opened his mouth, but found that whatever he said would seem inappropriate.

Should we advise Liu Huai against unifying the country?

What nonsense are you spouting?
Should we persuade the Han Dynasty to attack the Western Jin first, and then attack the Song Dynasty?
What difference does it make?

Can we really expect the Song state to rebuild its forces in two or three years after all the elite troops in Lianghuai have been wiped out?

Go dream!

To put it bluntly, the fact that Zhao Gou was able to quell the political turmoil caused by his usurpation within two or three years was already a blessing from heaven for Zhao Kuangyin.

Or perhaps it was to advise Liu Huai not to commit too many atrocities when he campaigned against the Song Dynasty.
Liu Huai had gone too far in this matter, to the point that Hu Quan felt his new boss had become somewhat soft-hearted, so how could he go any further?
After much deliberation, Hu Quan could only sigh, sit on the brocade stool like a clay puppet, and remain silent.

(End of this chapter)