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

Chapter 32: People Today Are Like Old Friends

Liu Huai shook his head and was about to speak when Wei Sheng took over, "General Zhang is wrong. If we were to submit a petition requesting a northern expedition to Shandong and requesting the dispatch of troops and officials, the court would absolutely ignore us. Only after we have established a firm foothold in Shandong can the Song Dynasty truly recover its homeland. This is a temporary solution."

Zhang Rong thought about it, his eyes swept across the faces of his subordinates who seemed to be interested, and he suddenly understood what Liu Huai did not say explicitly.

Since the land is to be divided, shouldn’t it first be distributed to meritorious officials according to their military achievements?
Since we want to be officials, can all meritorious officials become officials?
The generals who participated in the Northern Expedition were naturally loyal and righteous men, but it would be even better if they could obtain land and official titles in addition to their loyalty and righteousness.

Moreover, there is no need to steal or rob, but to take it from the barbarians in the north on horseback. This is the most upright and righteous way forward in the world.

How could they bear this? Even if they could bear it, they had to consider the men under their command!
It can be said that as the deputy general of the Loyal Army, Liu Huai was already giving Zhang Rong a lot of face by not making any public political commitments at this time.

Zhang Rong sighed immediately, "Zhang Qing, take your men to General Wei's tent and obey his orders."

Zhang Qing was stunned for a moment, but then agreed.

After saying this, Zhang Rong actually stood up and bowed without waiting for Wei Sheng to reply, saying, "I am not very good at drinking. We will discuss the military affairs tomorrow. I will take my leave now."

Wei Sheng was stunned. He didn't expect that Zhang Rong would leave so cleanly and neatly, and even didn't want Li Gongzuo's troops anymore.

Zhang Rong returned to his house. A young man, as pretty as a woman, followed him and said indignantly, "Dad, why didn't you fight anymore? Was it just because of some bland words that Liu Dalang said?"

Zhang Rong picked up the teapot on the table, drank the cold tea in one gulp, and said to the man with a sidelong glance, "You know shit!"

After taking a few breaths, Zhang Rong opened his robe, revealing a peony tattoo, and patiently explained: "Thirty years ago, Yue Fei and I fought against the Jin bandits in Taizhou. He was defeated, but I won a great victory at Shuotou Lake.

Yet, ten years later, I had no choice but to resign and retire. He, on the other hand, was able to defeat the Jin bandits' "Crooked Horses" at Yancheng, sweeping across the Central Plains and forcing the Jin bandits to retreat south. If it weren't for that bastard Qin Hui's obstruction, his plan to conquer Huanglong would have been nothing but empty talk. Tell me, how am I any worse than him?

"Of course it's because Daddy is a naval general, and Marshal Yue is a land general."

"Bullshit!" Zhang Rong sneered. "You're just spouting that nonsense. Do you really think 'Recover the Central Plains and Strike Huanglong' is just a slogan? Do you really think the unity of the officers and soldiers of the Yue Family is just hypocrisy?"

Seeing that the handsome young man was still unconvinced, Zhang Rong simply said, "Your archery and horsemanship skills are useless on the ship. Starting tomorrow, you will follow Liu Dalang and serve as a deputy commander of the guard."

"Dad, I won't go!" The handsome young man suddenly sat down on the stool as if he was angry.

Zhang Rong's eyes widened. "Then I, as the commander of the Dongping Army, will issue a formal order to prepare to send Zhang Baiyu to the Loyalty Army to protect Liu Huai. There must be no mistakes!"

The handsome young man named Zhang Baiyu knew that if he didn't agree at this time, he would be expelled from the army by Zhang Rong for disobeying military orders and sent back to Jiangnan. He could only reluctantly agree.

Zhang Rong smiled, he had another reason that he couldn't tell.

Liu Huai today is very much like Yue Fei in the past.

After the failure of the Battle of Taizhou, Yue Fei also broke into his own camp and outlined the anti-Jin strategy.

What’s funny is that back then, I relied on my strong military power to treat that person’s words as a joke.

Thinking about it now, it was already thirty years ago.

...After Zhang Rong left, the banquet became boring and the generals dispersed soon after.

After Wei Sheng sent Dong Cheng and Zhang Xiaoyi away, he looked at his children, snorted coldly, and turned back to the house behind the county government office.

Seeing this, Wei Rujun turned around and ran, but Liu Huai grabbed his belt and lifted him up.

Although Wei Rujun is tall and does not look as frail as a lady from a wealthy family when she wields swords and sticks, how can she compare to a strong general like Liu Huai?

Wei Rujun threw himself into the air, thrashing and wailing, "Brother, please let me go... Daddy's angry, he'll definitely send me back!"

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." Liu Huai patted his little sister's head and pulled her forward: "I think father is angry with me."

Wei Rujun stopped struggling, raised her head, opened her bright eyes and asked, "Really?"

Liu Huai laughed and said, "It's true!"

Wei Rujun had just breathed a sigh of relief when Liu Huai continued, "So, big brother has to tie you up and use you as a cushion for the knife. Maybe after father scolds you, he'll calm down."

"Ah!!! Let me go!" Wei Rujun looked at his brother in disbelief and struggled violently again: "Second brother, Brother Chang, both of you come and help!"

Wei Jiao and Wei Chang, who were following behind the two men, looked up at the sky and at the ground respectively, pretending not to hear.

"Little sister, it's okay. If father wants to hit you, I promise to stop him. If father is really angry, I will beat you up to let him vent his anger." Liu Huai comforted him gently: "The Song Dynasty and the Loyal Army will remember your contribution!"

Wei Rujun was almost crying.

As we all know, parents may beat their children to scare them, but older brothers and sisters beating their younger brothers and sisters is really beating them!
"Just let me go! Just let me go!"

After the four of them entered the house, they saw Wei Sheng's face was as gloomy as water, and they quickly stood with their hands clasped.

"None of you give me peace of mind. Sooner or later, you'll piss me off to death!" Wei Sheng slammed the teacup on the table, stood up, and paced back and forth in front of the four people.

The four siblings looked at each other, their heads down, and studied the patterns on the floor.

Unexpectedly, Wei Sheng scolded Wei Jiao first: "Erlang, look at the rubbish you made, the accounting is a mess, not even the uneducated Cuo Da could do such a bad job. If it weren't for Xiao Laoqi's fairness, our soldiers would only be given 20 crossbows each in the battle tomorrow. How can we fight?"

Wei Jiao's face turned pale and he was silent for a moment before he bowed and replied, "Father, I know I was wrong."

"We're an army. The slightest mistake could cost us our lives!" After scolding Wei Jiao, Wei Sheng turned his attention to Wei Chang. "And you, Sanlang, what happened to you this morning? As a soldier, you didn't advance when you should have, and you didn't defend when you should have. You've disrupted the formations around us! If the Jin bandits attack us from the front, we'll be defeated!"

Wei Chang whispered, "Dad, I was so excited..."

Wei Sheng slammed his hand on the table. "On the battlefield, the calmer you are, the more likely you are to survive. A hot-headed person will either be chopped off or cool down on their own!"

After taking a few deep breaths, Wei Sheng tugged at the corner of his mouth with a hint of sneer: "Sanlang, you are not as good as your eldest sister in this respect. Ah Jun is so capable. If you don't listen to your father and fight as a woman, you will sooner or later become the second Madam Xian."

(End of this chapter)