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

Chapter 16: Several Generations of Clear Streams Submit to Turbid Streams (Part )
"Does this mean that once Song and Jin go to war, there will be no turning back?" Xu Tongpan ignored the remarks that the time for war had arrived. After reading the military order letter, he sighed and talked about larger strategic issues.

Wei Sheng was slightly stunned. He did not expect that the second-in-command of Chuzhou still had illusions about peace between Song and Jin at this time.

"Let the magistrate know. According to the Jin bandits' military orders, Shandong's three thousand-man army has already assembled in Bianliang. This cannot be false." Wei Sheng could only patiently explain, "How can a large army move without an explanation? Not to mention that since the 27th year of Shaoxing, Jin lord Wanyan Liang has been sending old dog Su Baoheng to build ships in Shandong. Isn't it in preparation for the southern expedition?"

"I know, I know..." Xu Tongpan sighed again and lowered his head dejectedly.

He had also been in Han Shizhong's army and was a scholar who was quite knowledgeable about military affairs. How could he not understand the situation?
It's just that when the time comes, I'm still afraid.

Lan Shiji didn't lose his composure. He just sneered and said to Wei Sheng, "The battle opportunity you mentioned, is it the opportunity to capture Lianshui?"

"Exactly!"

"I won't talk about the manpower, food, or the consequences of sending troops without authorization or provoking border conflicts. I just want to ask one question." Lan Shiji's tone turned cold: "What happens after we take Lianshui?"

Wei Sheng seemed confident and immediately replied, "Of course, we will march north to capture Haizhou, Yizhou, and Juzhou. After recruiting soldiers, we will threaten Dongping Prefecture and Jinan Prefecture, thereby threatening the Jin army's rear."

As soon as these words were spoken, not only Lan Zhizhou, but even Xu Tongpan, who had just been depressed, sneered.

Apart from anything else, there are big problems with the first step of this plan.

Haizhou's eastern coastline boasts vast expanses of saline-alkali land, while its western side borders the Yellow River floodplain. This terrain is considered inhospitable to farming communities, resulting in a sparsely populated, uninhabited area nearly a hundred miles north of Lianshui City.

How many troops would you send in this situation?

If too few people are sent, they will just be delivering meat. If too many are sent, not to mention the defense problem of Chuzhou, the logistics problem of the Northern Expedition Army alone will be enough to cause trouble.

"Wei Weiyan, why don't you say that after you capture Jinan Prefecture, you can attack Daming Prefecture first?" Xu Tongpan handed the letter back to Lan Shiji. "If you are truly capable, why not march north along the Yellow River, attack Pizhou, and then take Xuzhou? If so, I will not hesitate. Even if I am exiled to Yazhou, I will mobilize all the soldiers in Chuzhou to accompany you."

Wei Sheng ignored the sarcasm and simply shook his head. "Back then, the Prince of Han had 30,000 mighty soldiers of the Left Army, many of whom were renowned generals, but they couldn't take Pizhou. Let alone the current situation where Chuzhou only has 10,000 weak soldiers."

"Excuse me for being blunt, but your Northern Expedition plan is simply a fantasy and a daydream!" Xu Tongpan was not polite at all and directly rejected it.

Wei Sheng was too lazy to refute and looked up at Lan Zhizhou.

The other party lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Gongzuo just watched the scene with interest and had no intention of speaking.

In the silence, Liu Huai finally couldn't help but say: "My superiors, you talk about official positions, the general situation, success or failure, but have you ever thought about the Han people in the north?"

Xu Tongpan was immediately furious: "Liu Dalang, you have no right to speak here!"

"I have seen Han'er's soldiers living a life worse than death, gathering a few cavalry to break into the camp and kill the enemy. In terms of courage, intelligence and military achievements, it is not impossible for him to speak loudly in front of you superiors, and it is not impossible for him to speak loudly in front of this sword!"

As he spoke, Liu Huai raised the long sword in his hand.

Xu Tongpan looked at the long sword that originally belonged to Han Shizhong and was speechless for a moment.

Liu Huai continued speaking loudly in the hall, "The Jin bandits are gathering their forces in Bianliang right now. Their rear is empty, making this a good time to advance. As long as we can gain a foothold in one state, we can unite with the heroes of Shandong, Central Plains, and Hebei to jointly fight against the Jin!"

"Heroes of the Central Plains? Humph, there are absolutely no heroes in the Central Plains. If there were, why wouldn't they rise up and destroy the Jin Dynasty?" Xu Tongpan saw Liu Huai's face change and explained, "That's not what I said, but what Shi Hao, the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan, said. But I deeply agree. The heroes of the Central Plains died during the Jingkang period, and then in the tenth year of Shaoxing. They've been dying one after another until now, and they've long been extinct!"

This time it was Liu Huai's turn to be dumbfounded.

It is unexpected that a high-ranking official of the current dynasty would make such remarks, and they were even spread.

If it were a normal imperial court, it would have dealt with this matter seriously and set an example in order to unite the Han people in the north, right?

Not only are such remarks not refuted or punished, but they are being spread so widely that even state and county officials think they make sense. What the hell is going on?

However, the next second, Liu Huai had figured it out.

This is not a question of whether the Southern Song court wants to recover the lost territory, but a question of whether the Han people in the Jin territory are treated as human beings!
When Liu Huai was angry, the first person that came to his mind was not Li Tieqiang's honest face, but the skinny old man who was the first to rush out of the door and cried bitterly while holding his son's head during the Qian army riot.

Even though he was trampled to death the next moment.

"Lord Lan, Judge Xu, although I'm not well-read, I do understand the concept of a narrow strip of water." Liu Huai could no longer contain his anger, his tone becoming fierce. "You are the parents of the people. How can you be so narrow-minded as to not save them? So what if there are no heroes? Shouldn't we launch a northern expedition and save as many as we can? Are you truly worthy of the sage books you read, just to watch the Central Plains being ravaged by the Jin bandits?"

"enough!"

Lan Shiji, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly stood up, pointed his halberd at Wei Sheng and said, "Wei Dadao, is what your Dalang said what you wanted to say?!"

"Although I didn't say it, it's something I've always thought about in my heart." Wei Sheng's expression remained unchanged as he looked straight into Lan Shiji's eyes.

Lan Shiji waved his sleeves and put his hands behind his back: "Well, Wei Dadao, let me tell you what I'm thinking. It's that the land lost by the Song Dynasty since the peace talks in Shaoxing will be difficult to recover!" "Lan Zhizhou, you..."

The first person to speak in surprise was Xu Tongpan.

He never expected that Lan Shiji, who was usually upright, was actually a defeatist.

Li Gongzuo moved his butt slightly and watched the show in front of him with great interest.

"Ten years of hard work, wasted in an instant! All the counties we've conquered are gone in a single day! The country will never be revived! The world will never be restored!" Lan Shiji practically roared, "This is the lament of Marshal Yue when he was recalled by the Golden Medal. Don't you agree?"

"Back then, our dynasty had many brave generals, but they all failed in the blink of an eye. What about now? Wei Dadao, are you comparable to the Prince of Han? Liu Dalang, who was just angry, do you dare to compare yourself to Marshal Yue?"

"Now that Marshal Yue and Marshal Han are gone, what hope is there? After killing Wei Huo, do we expect Li Guangli to conquer the Wolf's Lair?"

After saying this, Lan Shiji sat back in his chair dejectedly. "In fact, the day I heard about Marshal Yue's murder, I had already predicted that the Jin thieves would invade the south again, and that our dynasty would also suffer this disaster. I am also a monk who rings the bell every day. But when the time comes, I will die to repay my country's kindness!"

Wei Sheng wanted to say something, but Lan Shiji waved his hand and said, "Wei Dadao, we all know that among the former members of the Shenwu Zuojun Army, you are the most determined to resist the Jin army. However, you can't change the decline of the Song Dynasty. In the end, you will only lose your life in vain and achieve nothing."

Wei Sheng was silent for a moment, then looked up at his two superiors and said in a resounding voice, "When I do things, I only consider right or wrong, not success or failure."

Lan Shiji heard this and forced a wry smile on his face: "This sentence has the flavor of Confucius and Mencius. Well, I can't let the children laugh at me."

Lan Shiji pulled a document from the table in front of him and quickly wrote with a brush, "I will not issue military orders to mobilize Chuzhou's troops. You may take all those who wish to follow you. Regarding the baggage, I will take fifty divine arm bows, two thousand crossbow arrows, thirty sets of infantry armor, eighty mules and horses, thirty carts, one hundred swords and shields, one hundred spears, two hundred dan of rice, and two hundred strings of cash."

After writing it, Lan Shiji did not follow the rules and let Xu Tongpan check the document, but directly stamped it with the seal and handed it to Wei Sheng.

Wei Sheng said nothing more, bowed, and led Liu Huai, who was still holding the knife, away.

Xu Tongpan stared at the backs of Wei Sheng and Liu Huai, but his eyes were devoid of hatred and anger. After a moment, he turned to Lan Shiji and said, "Master, are you just going to let Wei Dadao go like this?"

"If we don't let him go, he won't be willing, and neither will I." After a pause, Lan Shiji said, "This is also what I'm trying to gain by asking the heavens. If the Great Song Dynasty still has the Mandate of Heaven, then let Wei Sheng win the battle and connect Shandong and Heshuo."

What if it fails?
The words circled around Xu Tongpan's lips, but he swallowed them back.

"Commander Li, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you." As if he had just realized the presence of a military general in the lobby, Lan Shiji nodded and apologized to Li Gongzuo.

"Lord Lan is responsible, Lord Xu is strategic, Lord Wei is courageous, and even Liu Dalang has courage and character. With so many heroes here, how can we be embarrassed?"

Li Gongzuo, who was as tall as an iron tower, stood up, bowed to the two officials from the state and county, and then began to flatter them.

Xu Tongpan chuckled: "Li Sanlang, don't just talk about us, what do you have?"

"My humble general? I only have a few boats." Li Gongzuo smiled innocently, then bowed and said seriously, "My father sends his regards to you two. I hope you both live long and prosper, and that you will meet me in the future with wealth and honor."

"It's easy to talk about."

……

Liu Huai followed Wei Sheng out of the government office, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Father, did I make a mistake?"

If the timeline changes because of what I said, and Wei Sheng is blocked outside Lianshui City and unable to advance, wouldn't he be courting death?
Wei Sheng took the knife, mounted his horse, and said with a smile, "That's all right. I knew from the beginning that Lord Lan wouldn't send troops. Being able to ask for so much military supplies is a pleasant surprise. Your words have saved me a lot of trouble."

Liu Huai also mounted his horse and sighed, "That Xu Tongpan only said that there are no heroes among the northern Han people, but he doesn't know how many heroes there are in the Song Dynasty, and I wonder how many of them are willing to join us in the Northern Expedition."

Upon hearing this, Wei Sheng said sternly, "Brother Huai, don't underestimate the heroes of the world. Since the founding of our Great Song Dynasty, despite external humiliation, we have been blessed with countless heroes and warriors. Take Magistrate Lan and Magistrate Xu, for example. Their methods differ from yours, but their inner thoughts are the same."

Before he could finish his words, Liu Huai heard a commotion behind him.

"Mr. Li, here's the money for the soup and noodles from these days. I've paid it all off for you."

"Hey, Mr. Sun, isn't it said that the deadline is one quarter? This is still more than half a month away."

"I have to settle it. My master asked me to escort the wife and daughter to visit relatives in Lin'an. I don't know when they'll be back. I can't just ignore your hard-earned money and let you go bankrupt."

"Then I wish you a safe journey, Mr. Sun..."

The man dressed as a public official threw a hundred coins to a street vendor and turned away.

Wei Sheng and Liu Huai, the old and the young, neither spoke a word.

However, seeing Liu Huai's half-smile, Wei Sheng blushed for the first time.

(End of this chapter)