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

Chapter 62: Painstaking Efforts to Peace the People (Part )
It wasn't just Li Xiu who thought so. In fact, most of the Northern Expedition Army had some doubts in their hearts.

We are about to march towards Qushan County. This is the critical moment to kill the governor of Haizhou of the Jin Dynasty. You might as well take a rest instead of this time. We will need your courage, Liu Dalang, next.

But in Liu Huai's view, war is the continuation of politics. What is the purpose of fighting for life and death on the battlefield? Isn't it for political victory?

Now that we have finally won, we must of course strike while the iron is hot and seize every minute and every second to consolidate our political achievements.

Do you really think that if you conquer a state or a county, the local people and powerful officials will obey you unconditionally?
Are you kidding me?
That is why Liu Huai insisted on holding a public trial to declare that

We make the rules that the Jin thieves don’t make!
We take care of things that the Jin Dynasty doesn’t care about!
We will kill the evil people that the Jin Kingdom does not kill!

In a word, when the loyal and righteous army arrives, Haizhou will be at peace! When the loyal and righteous army arrives, there will be justice!
Liu Huai even wanted to hold a grievance meeting, but because of time constraints, he had to break camp and set off for Qushan County at the latest on the morning of the next day, so he had to give up.

Lu You, who had been in the central government for many years, could figure out this kind of thing at a glance; although Wei Sheng had some vague ideas, he could not offend his adopted son on this matter.

As for the others, although most of them complained in their hearts that Liu Dalang was just bored, Liu Huai fought so beautifully in the battle that morning that no one dared to act like a big shot in front of him, so they just acquiesced and cooperated.

If he wants to make trouble, let him make trouble.

Anyway, it won’t tire you out.

But when things really started to happen, many people couldn't help but get involved.

At the beginning, Liu Huai only led his soldiers and took the brothers Wei Jiao and Wei Chang to screen the captives.

Wei Sheng sat high in the main seat.

As the founder and leader of the Loyal Army, Wei Sheng thought that Liu Huai wanted to make him famous. He was also a person who did not like to show off, so he did not want to get involved.

But Liu Huai told Wei Sheng clearly that father, you must come to take charge. Only with you can it be proved that this is a righteous act of the Northern Expedition Loyal Army, and in the future people in the north will also submit to the righteous banner of the Song Dynasty. As for me alone, it is me, Liu Dalang, who will win over the hearts of the people. Let alone, we will divide our troops to conquer the land in the future. What should we do if the two routes in Shandong only recognize my banner with the word Liu on it, but not the Loyal Army?
Wei Sheng could only agree, but the key point was that he was not very good at this kind of political performance, so he could only sit in the main seat and act like a clay Buddha.

As the screening of the Jin army prisoners of war who had participated in the looting the day before was completed, the people who had read the notice to reassure the people also gathered in the West Market.

Then, large-scale killings began.

At this point, the officers and men of the Loyal Army had only come to watch the spectacle, but as the people of Dayi Town continued to cry, point fingers, and curse, and as the heads of the Jin army captives fell one by one on the stage, many people finally became unable to sit still.

Emotions are contagious. First, Zhang Xiaoyi and Zhang Baiyu came with their well-rested subordinates to help maintain order and escort the prisoners.

Then Lu You, who finally had enough sleep, replaced Wei Jiao.

As a chief clerk in a prefecture or county and currently serving as the chief judge of the Dali Temple, Lu You is much more adept at handling criminal cases than a younger generation like Wei Jiao.

Finally, Wei Sheng, who had already understood the situation, simply went to prepare to break camp and entrusted all the affairs in Dayi Town to Liu Huai.

This is what is called dividing troops into groups and governing a region under one leader.

There was a subtle intention to list Liu Huai as the second-in-command of the Loyalty Army. However, Liu Huai still left the main seat vacant as a sign of respect for Wei Sheng.

Li Xiu, who was sitting in the audience, just dragged Zhou Da Hu to watch Liu Huailai act as the judge. Although he didn't say a word during the process, he didn't delay at all. As each case was concluded and each head was chopped off, more and more people gathered in the market and the cheers became louder and louder.

After the last few cases were settled, the cheers were like a tsunami.

"Master Li..." Mr. Zhou's fat face was covered with sweat. "If you want to go see the general, just go by yourself. Why drag me along?"

Li Xiu sneered: "Mr. Zhou, this is also giving you a chance. What are you afraid of? Looking at the actions of these Song soldiers, are you afraid that they will break the rules and swallow you up directly? Aren't you not afraid of strict rules?"

"I'm just afraid they're too disciplined!" Mr. Zhou blurted out, but then he immediately came to his senses and quickly changed the subject: "Do you really think these Song people are here to play the role of judges? They clearly want to gather people's hearts and trick the villagers into committing suicide!

Look at the cases judged by General Liu. He doesn't consider evidence and just takes whatever the victim says as his own. He just kills people indiscriminately to appease the public anger.

What if the victim says I killed him? Will he kill me? What if he says the bandits from Dayishan killed him? Will he kill you? Don’t say I’m afraid, isn’t Mr. Li San afraid?

Li Xiu sneered, "I'm a man of integrity, so why should I be afraid? But you, Mr. Zhou, have committed many evil deeds, yet you've always gotten away with it, relying on the fact that someone in your family is an official in the state. Now that you've seen someone who doesn't respect you, are you afraid?"

"Li San...you...you..." Mr. Zhou's face turned pale and he wanted to walk away, but Li Xiu's big hands like iron clamps grabbed his arm.

"Mr. Zhou, I won't make things difficult for you. Just watch this scene with me, and then you can do whatever you need to do. It won't take more than a few hours."

Mr. Zhou couldn't break free, but he didn't dare to completely turn against such a strong man, so he could only stand there angrily.

At this moment, Liu Huai on the stage took the last document handed to him by Lu You. After reading it carefully, he was slightly stunned and immediately shouted, "Has Zhou Wencai from the east city arrived? If not, who submitted this petition?"

The audience fell silent instantly.

Liu Huai noticed that the people in the audience were actually a little afraid. He was startled again, then narrowed his eyes and spoke again: "The Zhou family, the Zhou family that owns such a large kiln factory, why didn't anyone come?"

Mr. Zhou, also known as Zhou Wencai, who was sitting in the audience, turned pale and blue, and just shrank his fat body again.

He was surrounded by Li Xiu's companions. As long as he didn't jump out, he didn't have to worry about being seen by others.

But soon, someone responded.

"I am the seventh son of the Zhou family. I submitted the petition in the name of my eldest brother." A young man riding on a sedan chair stood out from the crowd and said loudly.

Two sturdy men in blue clothes carried sedan chairs and slowly walked towards the market entrance. The originally crowded market was now separated by a path, like the Red Sea parted by Moses, allowing Zhou Laoqi to pass through.

Many people in the Northern Expedition Army on the stage keenly noticed that the people below the stage were obviously cowering, but when they saw the young man on the sedan chair in heavy mourning, these people showed expressions of gloating on their faces.

(End of this chapter)