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

Chapter 72: Duke Zhou Fears Rumors

The commander's tent was in the center of the parade ground, flanked by his personal guards' tents. The banners representing the Loyal Army stood before them. The other commanders' tents were not located in the surrounding areas, but scattered on either side of the parade ground, alongside their respective subordinates. This was a proper military camping method, ensuring a swift counterattack even if the camp was attacked.

Zhang Baiyu looked around as he walked, and suddenly something moved in his heart, and his thoughts became confused again.

To sum up, before breaking the city, Zhang Silang, who had read history books and received formal military education, was already prepared. His soldiers were likely to burn, kill, and loot, turning Qushan County into a hell on earth.

Military life was extremely oppressive, especially for ordinary soldiers. Seventeen prohibitions and fifty-four executions hung over their heads, and even at night, they were forbidden to speak. Not to mention the unscrupulous generals who withheld their pay and rations. Over time, everyone needed to vent.

Massacre is the best and cheapest way to vent.

The moment the city is captured, the army will often lose control immediately and become a bloodthirsty beast.

At that point, even the most ethical general would be unable to control the beast.

However, there were only casualties in the initial riots in Qushan County, and the chaos was quickly subsided afterwards.

Originally, Zhang Baiyu thought that this was because the Zhongyi Army and the Dongping Army were small in size and simple to control, but when he saw the Zhongyi Army's camp regulations, he felt that he had oversimplified things.

This is not simply a question of ethics, but a question of ability.

Therefore, for hundreds of years, there was only one Yue Family Army in the world.

The reason is not just that Yue Fei's ethics are higher, but because Yue Fei has the ability to make all the soldiers under his command abide by his ethics!
Now it seems that Wei Sheng and his son also have this ability.

But what about his father? Zhang Silang couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Zhang Rong and a group of Dongping Army generals simply abandoned their troops and camped at Wang's house. It seemed that there was no trouble, but that was because most of the Dongping Army were naval forces and camped on ships.

But the Dongping Army cannot stay on the ship forever!

Wouldn't that make him a pirate?!

While thinking this, Zhang Baiyu had already arrived in front of the general's tent.

The curtain at the main door of General Wei Sheng's tent was open. Although ordinary soldiers were not allowed to approach without permission, they could see what the commander was doing from a distance, which was enough to reassure the soldiers.

In front of the tent, there were already more than a dozen commanders and generals sitting on stools waiting.

Zhang Baiyu looked around for a moment, found someone he knew and approached him: "Uncle Zhang, what's going on?"

Zhang Qing was stroking his bald head, not knowing what he was thinking. He was startled and turned around to see that it was Zhang Baiyu. Just as he was about to speak, he heard the arguing in the tent again. He quickly signaled the other party to listen carefully.

"Da Lang, you're being a bit too willful." Wei Sheng's words were the first to come out of the tent. His voice was filled with fatigue, but there was still a hint of anger. "What do you think of state property? A worn-out shoe that can be disposed of at will?"

Immediately, Liu Huai's voice of rebuttal rang out: "Father, you said you don't want to be the governor of Haizhou, nor the commander of the Loyal Army. Well, I can be the commander, I can be the commander for life, or even just be a guard by your side."

"But what about the commanders, captains, and generals outside the army? Father, if you are not the commander-in-chief, they can only be commanders at best, not even qualified to lead an entire army. Are they willing to be low-ranking officers for the rest of their lives? How should the military structure be designed after the expansion? Should a general be in charge of 500 people?"

Liu Huai's voice became somewhat exasperated again. "And what about the Haizhou governor? Father, if you don't take over as the Haizhou governor, how can you establish the administration? Without an administration, how can you unify the prefecture and counties? Forget about anything else, just consider such a major task as conscripting laborers and collecting taxes. Are you going to let the army do it with swords?"

“And if we can’t even unite the people of a state or a county, no matter how many people we rescue in the Northern Expedition, they will all die when the Jin army arrives. Shi Qilang, Li Xiu, that little girl named Xu Erya, and Cheng Ada she is holding in her arms, the more determined they are to surrender today, the more miserable their deaths will be in the future.” There was a moment of silence in the tent, but outside the tent, Zhang Baiyu didn’t dare to breathe.

He felt a little strange in his heart. The current situation seemed to be that Liu Huai wanted Wei Sheng to be the commander-in-chief and the prefect, but Wei Sheng did not want to be.

To be honest, Zhang Baiyu didn't understand why Liu Huai was so anxious, nor did he understand why Wei Sheng refused.

Both of them seem to have some truth, yet both of them seem to have no truth.

Inside the general's tent, Wei Sheng rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes for a long time before saying, "Dalang, your father needs to report this to the court. You must not act on your own."

Liu Huai looked at his adoptive father with an almost collapsed expression. After thinking about it for a thousand times, he had only one thought: Why in the original history, Wei Sheng smoothly appointed himself an official and became the acting governor, but now he is so indecisive?

Was it Zhang Rong's participation that strengthened the Northern Expedition? Or was it the early death of Wei Sheng's most courageous adopted son in the original time and space that created a sense of urgency? Liu Huai didn't know.

Of course, it is more likely that after Wei Sheng reported to the Song court, the dignitaries in the court ignored him, and the subsequent changes in the situation forced him to act as a compromise.

But now that Liu Huai is familiar with history, how could he let Wei Sheng waste such a good opportunity?

Historically, because Wanyan Liang was about to march south, the army had almost been mobilized. So as soon as Wei Sheng occupied Haizhou, the Jin army directly sent the main force to suppress him.

This also led to the fact that the various Jin armies would take turns attacking in the next few years, and the Loyal Army would not have any chance to breathe.

But the key point is that Wei Sheng didn't know about this. He had been waiting for the opportunity to march north for twenty years, and he had enough patience to continue to do things step by step.

However, for Liu Huai, ten thousand years is too long. He must seize the day. Doing many things one day earlier may lead to unexpected changes in strategy.

"Father." Liu Huai calmed down and spoke slowly, "I won't tell you whether you have a direct channel to the emperor, nor whether the court will take us seriously, let alone how long it will take for the messenger to go back and forth, and whether it will waste a great opportunity. I just want to ask one thing."

Liu Huai looked Wei Sheng straight in the eye and said sincerely, "Father, what should we do if we submit our memorial and the emperor personally reviews it, but orders us to return south?"

Wei Sheng held his forehead and said, "Da Lang, why do you think so much of the Central Committee of the Song Dynasty? It's too extreme."

"Because of Yue Fei, because of Han Shizhong, because of the twelve golden medals, and because in the past twenty years, the government has thrown tens of millions of Han people in the north to die under the hooves of the Jurchens! Father, how can you let me trust the court?" Liu Huai answered sincerely.

Wei Sheng was silent for a moment, but still managed to refute: "That scoundrel Qin Laogou is already dead. The court must be filled with upright people."

Liu Huai really didn't want to argue with Wei Sheng about these issues anymore, so he simply opened up the topic further: "Father, the positions of Commander-in-Chief and Governor are not honors, but responsibilities and burdens. This burden doesn't disappear if you don't bear it. If you don't bear it, others will have to. If you can't bear it, the sky will fall and we will all die."

Liu Huai stood up and patted his chest, saying, "Father, what do you think of my physique? Can I handle it?"

This statement already had the suspicion of being an attempt to seize power, but Wei Sheng and Liu Huai did not care. Not only because they trusted each other, but also because Liu Huai was still far behind in terms of qualifications and prestige.

No one can carry this burden except Wei Sheng!
Wei Sheng opened his mouth, let out a long sigh, and fell silent again.

Liu Huai continued, "Father, if you're truly undecided, I have a plan. How about having all the generals above the rank of captain, plus Shi Qilang, Li Xiu, and Mr. Lu, come into the tent and raise their hands in protest? As long as two-thirds of the votes agree, the matter will be passed. If less than two-thirds, it will be dropped. How do you think?"

Wei Sheng twirled his beard for a moment and nodded slowly.

(End of this chapter)