Chaos of the Three Kingdoms Summons

Chapter 2597 The Choice of Qingji, Rengui Heads North
"Grand Commander Xue, Liu Bei's eldest grandson is only three years old, and his Qinghan clique has been wiped out. Should we leave the rest to His Majesty to decide?" Zhang Liang asked tentatively.

"I will personally petition His Majesty on this matter!" Xue Rengui nodded and said.

"What about Qinghan's escaped henchmen?" Zhang Liang asked again.

"A stray dog ​​cannot stir up trouble!"

"The most urgent task is to eliminate Liu Rengui and then march north to conquer You and Qin!" Xue Rengui replied again.

At that moment, he didn't even think about making things difficult for the two children.

As Zhang Liang said, Liu Shan, who had already come of age, committed suicide. Whether it was voluntary or forced, he had at least committed suicide.

If word gets out that he's been relentlessly pursuing two children, the oldest of whom is no more than three years old, not only will his reputation suffer, but the reputation of the Great Jin Dynasty will also be ruined.

In fact, before Liu Yu set the precedent by exterminating the Sima family, the royal family of the previous dynasty, even victors rarely exterminated the royal families of enemy states.

After Liu Yu set the first precedent, subsequent dynastic changes became even more brutal. For example, Liu Yu's great-grandson, Emperor Shun of Song, Liu Zhun, was also forced to abdicate by the powerful minister Xiao Daocheng, and his entire family was eventually killed, repeating the tragedy of the Sima family.

But at least in this period, there is no tradition of exterminating the royal families of enemy countries.

Liu Shan, who was already an adult, was no longer alive. Although Liu Bei's two grandsons were on the run, the eldest of them was no more than three years old. What impact could they have on the Jin Dynasty?
Furthermore, among those who followed Liu Shan in dying for their country were Jian Yong and Huo Guang, who were loyalists, and Liu Ye, who was a member of the Han imperial family.

As for Feng Hou, he was mainly responsible for advising Liu Bei, and not long ago, he caused Guo Ziyi to suffer a major setback. Guo Ziyi's army had quite a few who resented him.

But all these people are now dead, leaving only a few ordinary civil officials. Da Hong and She Long, for example, did not serve Qing Han for long and were not as loyal as Jian Yong. Ban Zhao, the only remaining official, was just a woman.

The fact that Qinghan arranged for such people to escort Liu Bei's two young grandsons away, instead of those who had already died for their country, was itself a message to Xue Rengui and Zhang Liang.

Therefore, Xue Rengui and Zhang Liang, having understood all of this, did not intend to pursue the two children relentlessly.

As they said, they would leave the decision to their superiors.

Their immediate priority was to deal with Liu Rengui, and then recapture Youzhou to completely end the war in the north.

After that, whatever decisions the emperor made had nothing to do with them; they simply had to follow those decisions.

Not to mention, their memorials were sent to the emperor, and they had to wait for the emperor's reply before being sent back. Who knows how long that would take!
Even if the emperor gave a bad answer, if these people can't escape after such a long period of time, then they deserve to die.

"The families of the other important officials of Qinghan will also be detained and sent to Luoyang for His Majesty's disposal!" Xue Rengui added.

Xue Rengui was not like Lan Yu; he had no interest in making decisions for his master.

However, Xue Rengui thought that although these people might not necessarily have a good ending after being sent up, most of them would not be in any danger to their lives.

In history, cases like Guan Yu, whose entire family was killed after the fall of Shu Han, are also isolated incidents.

The victorious side generally does not intentionally kill the losers, especially those who can no longer pose a threat. After all, what benefit would there be in doing so?
It would be better to keep them; it would also show our magnanimity! "Although Liu Rengui's main force is still intact, our army has already captured Qingzhou. Water without a source cannot last long!"

"Grand Commander, it's time to consider the matter of Youzhou!"

Although Xue Rengui said that the most urgent task was to destroy Liu Rengui and then march north to conquer You and Qin, Zhang Liang knew very well that the only thing he could accomplish was to conquer You and Qin.

As for Liu Rengui, he won't be around for much longer.

The Jin Dynasty's navy was partly engaged in defense against the Tang Dynasty's navy, and partly stationed in the Bohai Sea to ensure the continuous supply of provisions to Qi Jiguang.

Qi Jiguang's troops landed in Youzhou from Bohai and quickly gained an advantage there, but they were unable to transport grain by land and could only rely on sea routes for logistics.

For these reasons, the strength of the Great Jin Navy was dispersed, and its ability to deal with the Qinghan Navy was limited, which is why it was slow to make progress there.

However, even so, the Qing-Han navy posed no threat to them.

Once the entire Qingzhou fell into the hands of the Great Jin Dynasty, it meant that Liu Rengui's Qinghan Navy would no longer receive any logistical support.

How long can their naval base's supplies and provisions sustain them?
That is precisely why, as long as they send troops to keep a close watch on the entire Qingzhou and do not give the enemy a chance to replenish their forces, as long as they can drag out the time, the enemy will be defeated without a fight.

If they want to take control of the entire Qingzhou, they don't need as many troops as they have now.

Their troops could only be used to protect Qingzhou; they were of little use in helping Han Shizhong deal with Liu Rengui.

After all, if the enemy were to jump into the sea on their own initiative, how could their infantry threaten them?

Therefore, with such a large force in Qingzhou, they would be better off rushing to the battlefield in Youzhou as soon as possible to resolve this major battle once and for all.

"Strategist, what do you think our army should do, go to Jizhou or Youzhou?" Xue Rengui thought of the situation in Youzhou and a smile appeared on his lips.

Zhang Liang turned around, rolled his eyes, but did not answer the question.

Xue Rengui clearly already had an idea, so what else could he possibly say?
Originally, there was no distinction of rank between Xue Rengui's and Li Mu's armies; the two were of equal rank. Xue Rengui was in charge of Liu Bei's side, while Li Mu was in charge of Ji Province and You Province.

However, after Li Mu had Lian Po resolve the issue in Ji Province, he took advantage of Xu Shiji's forces being tied down by Qi Jiguang and seized the Qinghan Plain stronghold. He then even tried to get involved in the southern part of Qing Province.

Although it was nominally beneficial to the Great Jin Dynasty by shortening the war, it undeniably infringed upon the interests of Xue Rengui's troops.

Now, Xue Rengui naturally wants to take the sea route from Qingzhou, cooperate with Qi Jiguang, avoid Han Xin's main force, and strike directly at the heart of the enemy.

Given the current situation in Youzhou, even Qi Jiguang's small force couldn't hold out. If Xue Rengui's troops were to arrive as well, the outcome would be even less surprising.

If Li Mu set the first day of the month, Xue Rengui would naturally want to set the fifteenth!

Not to mention, his strategy is also beneficial to the Great Jin Dynasty, enabling the war to end as soon as possible!