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

Chapter 92: The Village Hero is Hard to Abandon His Own Business

"Everyone, please celebrate the servant's birthday."

The hall in Pushandharma's private residence was brightly lit, with pleasant sounds of music and drums, singing and dancing, and the important figures toasting each other, with laughter and joy heard everywhere.

After three rounds of wine and five delicacies, a middle-aged man finally stood up drunk and raised his glass to Pusan Damo, who was sitting in the main seat like a giant bear.

As soon as these words were spoken, the drums and music in the hall suddenly fell silent, and everyone in the hall put down the maids in their arms, stood up and raised their wine glasses.

However, Pushandamo did not raise his glass. He just sighed and waved his hand to send all the dancers out. "I won't live long. In ten days, my head will be hanging in Yizhou City."

Everyone was not stupid and knew that the main part of the play was about to begin, so they all stood up straight.

At this time, someone should have quickly passed on the conversation to continue the topic. However, strangely, the people in the hall just stood there with solemn expressions, not saying a word.

It's like visiting a grave.

But of course there are people who can handle it.

Liu Fen, the Tongpan of Yizhou, bowed and said, "How can you say that, Governor?"

Pushandarmo glanced at the few people and said with a half-smile: "Because the Song dogs have come, because the Song dogs have already conquered Haizhou, and because the Song dogs are heading north along the Shu River."

For some reason, Pushandamo took a long breath at this point. "Moreover, the Song dogs' slogan is 'expel the Tartars, restore China, establish laws and disciplines, and save the people!' Tell me, how can I still survive?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was finally moved.

"Jia Gushou, Shuhu Ali, Wu Yanlie, you are all Tartars. It is you that the Song dogs want to expel. Cui Hema, He Boqiu, Zhang Chou, you all rely on the Great Jin to expand your industries. The Song dogs want to restore you. How can you expect a good end?"

Pushandarmo placed the wine glass in his hand on the table, his face still half-smiling, but his eyes were as fierce as a wolf's.

The group of people he summoned were all powerful people in Yizhou, just like the big landlords like Wang Shilong. They used land to control manpower and used force to maintain peace. They were a typical example of the unity of soldiers and civilians.

There are dozens of such manors of all sizes in Linyi County alone. These six powerful men are the most powerful among them. They are all located in the fertile land between Yishui and Shuhe Rivers. In addition to controlling their own huge manors, each of them also has dozens of small manors, villages, ferries, and markets that depend on them.

Among these six people, there are local tyrants like He Boqiu who have been entrenched in Shandong before the Jingkang period, as well as those Hu people and Han people from Liaodong who have come from other places. They can remain unmoved in such a chaotic world in Shandong. None of them is a good person.

According to common sense, these people relied on the power of the Jin Dynasty to bully others. If the Jin Dynasty declined, they would have no chance of survival.

Especially Jiagu Shou and Shuhu Ali, they were not military households organized as Meng'an Mouke, but were heroes who defeated Liao and Song. They bought property in Shandong and lived a carefree life, so they were extremely cruel to the Han people.

If ordinary Meng'an Mouke households only regarded Han people as tenants, then these two people forcibly abducted Han people as slaves.

It would be a miracle if the Han Northern Expedition Army could spare them!

There is no reason for them not to fight hard!

But... I still have to say but, ever since Wanyan Liang decided to march south, or even before that, since the Jin court moved from Shangjing to Bianliang, the court's exploitation of Shandong has become increasingly severe.

It would be fine if it was just the plunder of manpower and wealth, because local tyrants will always find ways to pass on the heavy taxes and levies to ordinary civilians.

However, excessive exploitation can be a fatal blow to the prosperity of society as a whole. For example, He Boqiu, a wealthy man in Yishui, almost monopolized both the black and white circles in the lower reaches of Yishui. Merchants passing by would pay him tribute in exchange for protection.

However, the Jin Dynasty court was recruiting soldiers and collecting grain, causing the people to become refugees with their elderly and children. Heroes also kept rising up to resist the Jin Dynasty. The two routes in Shandong were in such chaos that the normal order of business exchanges had almost ceased, and the He family's income would naturally become less and less.

Unfortunately, the imperial court’s tax rate was fixed, and the number of self-cultivating farmers was decreasing. After the local officials could no longer be satisfied by plundering the people, they could only turn their attention to these powerful people.

This year alone, these powerful people have been taxed three times by Pushandharma and have been levied taxes on grain and people, and they are already very fed up with it.

Oh, you said that if we don’t contribute we will be dead. I really want to see who is the most anxious when the butcher knife comes down.

I sent troops and spent money to fight the Song people. Even if I was not killed by the Song people, I would have suffered a hard life. In return, you, the prefect, Pu San, can sit on the throne in peace.

Why?
How can you be so arrogant?!
At worst, we can die together!
Of course, these words could not be spoken out loud. Anyone who did would be killed on the spot by the giant bear-like Pushandarma. However, the powerful still expressed their attitude by adopting a stance of non-cooperation and non-resistance.

Liu Fen did not expect such a dull atmosphere, and turned his gaze to Zhang Chou, who was also a Youyan native and had known Liu Fen for a long time, making him the perfect person to take the lead.

Zhang Chou's scalp was tingling.

If he spoke out now, he would be offending his neighbors, but if he kept silent, he would also offend his backers in Yizhou. Caught in this dilemma, Zhang Chou could only bite the bullet and speak: "Governor, why don't you ask the Generalissimo for help? Even if the army has already gathered in Bianliang, there are always regular troops left behind. If they were to march south with lightning speed, wouldn't the mere dogs of the Song Dynasty be instantly crushed to dust?"

Pushandarmo sighed, "The Song dogs arrived too quickly, and Haizhou fell too quickly. Although I have reported this to the court, it will take at least thirty days, including the time it takes to mobilize troops. It's already too late."

Gao Anren's face turned pale.

The wealthy people who already knew this person's identity kept looking at him with complicated expressions.

At this moment, He Boqiu, who had been sipping from his wine glass, asked, "Sir, how many Song troops are attacking us?"

Pushandarmo smiled and said, "You really don't know?"

He Boqiu, a prominent figure in Yishui, was silent for a moment before draining his glass of wine. "There's news that the Song army split up in Haizhou. One group headed north to Mizhou, with an unknown number of men; the other group headed north to Yizhou, with no more than 3,000 men. Furthermore, the Song army that invaded wasn't the official Song army."

Everyone in the hall breathed a sigh of relief.

It's not just because they trust He Boqiu's character, they also trust the information channels of this Yishui tycoon, but also because they are on the same side and believe that He Boqiu will not help Pushandama to fool them.

Zhang Chou frowned and said, "People's army? Or bandits flying the banner of the Song Dynasty?"

He Boqiu glanced at Zhang Chou expressionlessly, but didn't respond. Instead, he talked about something else: "The Geng bandits in the north are growing stronger and stronger. I heard they have completely occupied Tai'an Prefecture, and are only separated from us by Yanzhou."

Zhang Chou, who had also done business upstream and downstream of Yishui, was startled, but immediately realized, "If Geng doesn't go to Dongping Prefecture or return to his hometown in Jinan Prefecture, and is determined to move south, then he can directly start from Xintai and attack Linyi City along the Yishui River."

He Boqiu nodded, his expression finally changing. "What I'm worried about is that the Song dogs aren't trying to expel the Tartars and restore the Central Plains, but rather to support the Geng thief as he marches south. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few people coming. Even if three thousand men could conquer the enemy and seize territory along the way, could they really drive Your Majesty back to Shangjing?"

Who the hell is worried about His Majesty? !
Just worry about yourself!

Your Majesty has more than 200,000 households to guard you. Do you have any?
The key point is to think in this way. This is not a problem of 3,000 Song troops, but an armed group composed of nearly 100,000 refugees and rebels who are about to meet with the Song troops on the Northern Expedition in Yizhou!
(End of this chapter)