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

Chapter 13 Thirty Years of Migration to the South

"The seal of Zhang Yu, the fourth general of the Wuxing Army?" Wei Sheng first examined the bronze seal carefully and was a little shocked. "This is the seal of the Jin thief Meng An. Where did you get it?"

"Let father know that although we two brothers made some mistakes during our first escape last night, we managed to get away with it." Liu Huai casually explained the story of his resurrection. "During the second escape, I kidnapped a Jin bandit officer, stole his warhorse, and finally escaped. This bronze seal and letter were found in the warhorse's saddlebag."

"What a great thing you did last night, big brother!" Wei Chang first slashed at the fallen Jin Jun's thigh. Seeing that he didn't react at all, he carefully approached him, removed the iron bow from his neck, and pulled off his helmet and neckband. He poked Jin Jun's head twice and said, "Aye, you broke the neck of this golden dog. It's dead..."

"It's good that he's dead, it's good that he's dead. Only a dead golden dog is a good golden dog..." Wei Sheng replied nonchalantly while sitting upright on his warhorse, flipping through the letters. Finally, he narrowed his eyes when he read the last letter: "Brother Huai, you've done a great deed this time. You really did a great job!"

"More than that." Wei Chang stripped off the Jin soldier's armor and threw it onto his horse. "Brother, you turned the Jin bandit camp upside down last night and saved many Shandong soldiers..."

"Chang'er, don't exaggerate." Wei Sheng's eyes flashed, but he immediately took a deep breath to calm himself down: "Huai'er, you tell me, tell me in detail."

Liu Huai bowed and said, "Father, let me know that last night, in order to escape the Jin bandit camp, the two of us set fire to it, burned down their stables, killed several people, injured the commander, and opened the gates of the Han army camp, encouraging them to flee. Father, there are less than 300 Jin bandits left in Lianshui County. The time for battle has come."

Wei Sheng's two thick eyebrows twisted together.

"Indeed...the fighter plane has arrived."

Wei Sheng, as if determined, pounded his right hand on the saddle and said, "Chang'er, stay here to gather the horses and armor. Then go find your uncle Liu. Your father will cross the river and head north in one or two days at the earliest, or three or four at the latest."

Wei Chang nodded somewhat bewilderedly.

"Brother Huai, come with me to meet the Lord." Wei Sheng leaned over and patted his youngest son's shoulder, then turned to Liu Huai and said seriously.

After saying this, Wei Sheng stopped looking at the three corpses, turned his horse around, and headed straight towards the ferry.

"Achang, be careful."

Liu Huai shook off the blood on his long sword, put it back next to the saddle, and followed Wei Sheng away.

Wei Chang never expected that he would be abandoned on the north bank by his father and brother in just a few words, and he couldn't help but feel like crying.

At this point, he could only pout and continue to peel off the armor of the corpse at his feet.

Wei Sheng had no time to worry about his youngest son's mental state. He entered the small ferry and before he could comfort the women and children who were still in panic, he was grabbed by the reins of his horse by a thin old man.

"Weitou, is a war about to start?"

"That's right." Wei Sheng nodded. "The Jin thieves are heading south, and I'm heading north too. Liu Daguan, you should also make preparations early. Although Lianshui and Chuzhou are not the main targets of the attack, who can predict the outcome in such a turbulent time?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the villagers who were eavesdropping outside were suddenly in an uproar.

The skinny old man nicknamed Liu Daguan remained calm. "Captain Wei, I've already saved enough at the fork in the river downstream to feed these eight families for half a year. That's fine. But these crops... can we harvest another season?"

Wei Sheng dismounted, his armor rustling as he did so. He proudly replied, "I will send troops from Chuzhou north to sweep the area. Naturally, you will have some peace for a while."

After saying that, Wei Sheng ignored the others' reactions and held the old man's hands and continued, "Liu Daguan, clean up the ferry, recruit more people, and find more ferries. I'll leave Chang Ge'er here. Wait for my signal. This time, I will lead the army to the north!" "No more waiting?"

"I've been waiting for twenty years and I don't want to wait any longer!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Daguan said nothing, but just pulled the reins of the warhorse and silently led the two people behind him to the ferry.

There was a small boat parked here. After Liu Huai followed Wei Sheng to lead the horse onto the boat, he sat down beside it, leaning against the horse's back and closing his eyes to rest.

Hunger was one factor, but the most important thing was that he had been in a state of intense battle since last night. Once he relaxed, fatigue came over him like a tide.

Accompanied by the gusts of river breeze, feeling the waves carrying the boat up and down, Liu Huai fell into a deep sleep holding his long sword.

I don’t know how long it took, but the noise drowned out the sound of the river waves and reached my ears.

"Someone turn off the TV..."

Liu Huai muttered something and turned over against the horse's back, but he soon woke up and sat up straight with the long sword in his arms.

"Brother Huai." Wei Sheng still didn't remove his armor, but he took off his helmet and hung it beside the saddle. He lowered his head and stroked Liu Huai's head, saying softly, "I know you're tired and exhausted, but the military situation is urgent. I need you to come with me to meet with Lord Lan and explain the pros and cons."

"Father is right." Liu Huai stood up, leaning on his long sword. Although he stumbled a few steps due to the ups and downs of the boat, he quickly regained his balance. "But father, don't hold too high hopes for Lord Lan."

Wei Sheng smiled and led his horse down from the boat. "Don't underestimate Lord Lan. You must know that Chuzhou is located at the border between Song and Jin. If the Jin army marches south, Chuzhou will bear the brunt of the attack. Lord Lan is just a scholar, yet he dares to establish his government here. While it's against the imperial law, he's also courageous and a real man."

Liu Huai followed closely behind, nodding randomly while feeling a little absurd.

If Lord Lan is a hero, then what is Wei Sheng, who sent his own son and adopted son to the enemy territory to gather information and even crossed the river to fight in person?
Saint?
After the two men got off the boat, Liu Daguan said nothing. He rowed the boat and the boat gradually went away.

From beginning to end, Wei Sheng never looked back.

Although Liu Huai didn't know what the two had experienced, he knew that they naturally had a tacit understanding in their hearts, so he didn't care much about it, but looked at the Song Dynasty's wharf carefully.

Although this wasn't Chuzhou City's inner ferry terminal, it was bustling with tourists, with boats of all sizes constantly coming and going. Bare-chested porters carried sacks taller than themselves, disembarking from merchant ships. The boatmen gathered in groups, playing Guanpu (a game of guanpu), with occasional laughter and shouting.

Beyond the docks lay teahouses and taverns, yellow flags fluttering in the breeze, and waiters loudly soliciting customers. Beneath the straw sheds sat short-sleeved men, sipping tea and wine, fanning themselves with bamboo hats, and occasionally casting glances at the passing cargo ships, hoping to drum up business.

Wei Sheng and Liu Huai were both dressed in armored cavalry, which naturally attracted the attention of everyone on the dock. However, Liu Huai didn't care at all. He just made way for him and followed his adoptive father to mount his horse.

Liu Huai had just taken two steps with his head held high when he discovered that there was actually someone ignorant enough to block his horse's way.

"Daddy, you're back!"

A tall woman holding a wine banner squeezed out of the crowd, looked up at Wei Sheng with a beautiful smile.

(End of this chapter)