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

Chapter 90: Outward King and Inward Sainthood

Wei Sheng returned to the tent with a frown on his face.

He didn't look for anyone, but just sat in the commander's seat, head down, thinking.

Lu You walked into the general's tent with a pile of documents. Seeing Wei Sheng's expression, he thought there was some urgent military information, so he hurried forward to ask.

Wei Sheng recounted everything he had seen, and concluded by saying, "I'm not saying there's anything wrong with what Dalang did, but I just think he's being a bit cunning in playing with people's hearts."

Lu You instantly understood what Wei Sheng was thinking.

As a father, who wouldn't want his son to be a great hero?

To put it in modern terms, Wei Sheng hoped that Liu Huai would be a legitimate military commander rather than a mature politician.

But Lu You also knew that in the current world situation, there was a powerful enemy in the north who was about to attack the Song Dynasty from the south, and there was a group of peace advocates in the south who were hindering him. He could not handle the situation just by being open and aboveboard.

"Marshal, what you said is totally wrong. In my opinion, this is an act that embodies all the qualities of benevolence, filial piety, chastity and righteousness." Lu You placed the document on the table, twirling his beard and smiling.

Wei Sheng thought Lu You was trying to comfort him, so he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Does killing prisoners count?"

Lu You's face turned serious. "Marshal, there are less than 200 prisoners in total. Even if Dalang used 11 strokes to kill them, he only killed a dozen people. It's not even a fraction of those who died in the chaos. Dalang can't be considered tyrannical."

"If Dalang hadn't taken care of this matter, the Jurchens would have been slaughtered according to the actions of the other generals. Dalang only killed a dozen people and saved the lives of the rest. This is great benevolence."

"Da Lang's hasty handling of the matter has also meant he is taking on the potential infamy and resentment of the generals. Marshal, think about it: if Da Lang were to push this matter onto you, what would you do? If the punishment is too lenient, those like Zhang Xiaoyi, Shi Qilang, and Li Xiu, who have a deep hatred for the Jin people, will inevitably harbor resentment; if the punishment is too harsh, the Marshal will probably not be happy either. This is the truest form of filial piety."

"Establishing the eleven-stroke killing rule allows future generations to follow it, rather than simply forgiving or severely punishing, so that the upper and lower classes can be united and the four directions can be stabilized. This is also the great principle."

"Rewards and punishments can keep the generals in line, unite as one, and work together to fight the Northern Expedition. This is righteousness."

"What Dalang did was benevolent, filial, chaste, and righteous. Why should the Marshal be worried?"

Wei Sheng listened quietly, his brows relaxed, and he smiled at Lu You, "Mr. Lu, it's still you scholars who speak better. I can't express so many profound truths."

As he spoke, Wei Sheng sighed, "I just don't know how to deal with the remaining Jin prisoners if this becomes a routine."

The Northern Expedition has just begun. Isn’t it a bit too early to worry about this and a bit too confident?

Lu You remained serious: "I think Liu Dalang has already made up his mind."

As he was speaking, Liu Huai called out the names outside the tent and quickly entered.

Wei Sheng didn't waste any words and asked Liu Huai directly this question.

As soon as Liu Huai heard this, he knew that his adoptive father's thinking had once again reached a dead end.

In Wei Sheng's mind, the Loyal Army was a pure army, so when the Loyal Army was unable to absorb the Jurchens into the army, his way of dealing with these Jurchens became either killing or releasing them.

However, in Liu Huai's view, the Loyal Army should be a military-political organization, requiring troops, farmland, markets, ferries, and mines. The civil and military personnel who emerged from the Loyal Army should also become local governors.

Simply put, the difference between Wei Sheng and Liu Huai is that Wei Sheng can be the governor of Haizhou, but he is only the acting governor of Haizhou. If the Song Dynasty pays attention to this place and sends a new governor of Haizhou, Wei Sheng will give up this position immediately.

But Liu Huai would let the airborne Haizhou prefect stay wherever he wanted. Without Liu Huai's order, not only could the decree not leave the government office, but no one could even think of leaving!

It might be troublesome for an army to deal with Jurchen prisoners, but it would be very simple if it was done by a military-political group.

Liu Huai thought for a moment and said to Wei Sheng and Lu You, "Haizhou has a large number of salt fields. After we captured Haizhou, 200 salt workers have joined the Loyal Army. They are brave and hardworking, and they obey orders. They are a high-quality source of soldiers. In the future, our Loyal Army will definitely recruit more soldiers from the salt workers. However, the Haizhou salt fields cannot be shut down. They are one of Haizhou's largest sources of income."

The Loyal Army was fighting the Jin, making trade difficult. However, Haizhou's salt could still be sold to the Song Dynasty. Logically, while Haizhou was located on the coast, the Song Dynasty's Chuzhou and Yangzhou were also on the coast, with similar hydrological geography, so their salt production should be comparable.

But thanks to the tradition of the Song Dynasty government being incompetent, the salt administration was in a mess. Given the miserable situation of the Jin people, the salt they ate was actually much cheaper than the official salt of the Song Dynasty.

Of course, the Song Dynasty would ban private salt production, but the profits were too high, so it could not be stopped despite repeated bans.

All we can say is that the Song Dynasty's performance remains stable.

"Shi Qilang and his men are organizing a public trial right now. Those who survive will be sent to work in the salt fields as part of a labor reform program." Liu Huai expressed his thoughts: "Let them grow their hair long, speak Chinese, change their names, and write Chinese characters. After completing the labor reform program, they can reclaim wasteland, build water conservancy projects, and settle down. After two generations, everyone will be Han Chinese. Who will even remember their Jurchen ancestors?"

Wei Sheng nodded thoughtfully.

Lu You stood up excitedly and paced back and forth.

The reason is simple: Liu Huai's arrangement is so consistent with Confucian classics.

what is this?
This is to educate the barbarians!
This is a king on the outside and a saint on the inside!
This is an event on the same level as Zhuge Liang's seven captures and seven releases of Meng Huo!

"Liu Dalang, you are so talented, please accept my greeting." Lu You couldn't help but bow and said, "Since ancient times, there has been a saying about educating barbarians. In the past, we only knew that we should do it, but we didn't know how to do it. Labor reform is like clearing away the clouds and seeing the sun, giving people a sudden enlightenment."

Liu Huai felt his face turn sour.

This is nothing. China has been capturing foreigners to serve as slave labor since the Shang Dynasty.

It's nothing more than working yourself to death, and there is no subsequent process of registering the people.

When I think about it this way, the times have made some progress.

Liu Huai hurried forward and supported Lu You's arm: "This matter will require Mr. Lu's great care."

The purpose of Liu Huai's idea was not just to provide a place for the captives, but to allow the Loyal Army to gradually gain control of all aspects of the prefectures and cities captured during the Northern Expedition.

For example, at the salt field, with so many captives gathered together, Wei Sheng would certainly send troops to guard it, and would also certainly send people to take charge of the production of the salt field. Then these people would profit from it, gain recognition, and even take root in the process.

They would only recognize Wei Sheng who gave them all this.

Even if the Song Dynasty sends a new governor in the future, as long as it disrupts their peaceful life, they will find ways to resist.

It is not obvious if it is just a few salt fields, but what if it is the same in all counties, townships and industries?

It should be noted that all the people in Haizhou together constitute Haizhou itself.

What would happen if the governor of the Song Dynasty came here and did not touch the interests of either side?

That would be the best. He could just be a puppet and Liu Huai would naturally not make things difficult for him.

We don’t lack this little food!
But he couldn't say this to Wei Sheng and Lu You, so Liu Huai could only act secretly and make changes subtly.

Because what the loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty like Wei Sheng didn't know was that if the Song Dynasty really got hold of the results of the Loyal Army's Northern Expedition, the small Southern Song Dynasty court would really dare to pack up these prefectures and cities and give them to the Jin Kingdom in order to survive in a corner!

In fact, that's what they did historically.

Even those who had experienced Wanyan Liang's Southern Expedition would have known that the Jin Dynasty was still determined to defeat the invaders. Three years later, the Song Dynasty returned the four prefectures of Tang, Deng, Hai, and Si, which they had won during the Northern Expedition, and also ceded the two prefectures of Shang and Qin to the Jin Dynasty. This is known in history as the Longxing Peace Agreement.

Since Liu Huai has traveled back here, how could he let this happen again?
Anyone who dares to give up the fruits of the Northern Expedition will have to try to see how strong the sword handle of the Loyal and Righteous Northern Expedition Army is!

(End of this chapter)