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

Chapter 186: Endless Gluttony

Liu Huai only stayed behind for a short while, and asked two guards to continue to maintain order in the rear army. He also temporarily appointed Dian Lun as the commander-in-chief of the resettlement, and then he and Zhang Baiyu rode their horses at full speed. They returned to the front army camp just after noon.

Before he could give the order, Liu Dalang met an unexpected person.

"Brother Wang, why are you here?"

Wang Xiongyi, the commander of the Zhongjun of the Loyal and Righteous Army, bowed in front of the camp and saluted with great respect: "This humble general greets the commander-in-chief."

Liu Huai quickly dismounted and shook the other man's hands, saying, "Brother Wang, why don't you rest for a few days? Why did you come here in such a hurry?"

Wang Xiongyi looked at the hand being held and said with a smile, "I am the second son in my family. You can just call me Wang Erlang, my dear. I have not accomplished anything yet and have no way to survive. I dare not be careless!"

On the other side, Pang Rugui also came forward to pay his respects.

Seeing that Liu Huai was a little confused, Pang Rugui hurried to explain.

In theory, all the Han army in Linyi City were under the command of Wang Xiongyi, but Wang Xiongyi was planning to do some major subversive conspiracy, so he was quite strict in recruiting his confidants, so the number of them was relatively small, and these confidants were also saved in the battle a few days ago.

There were about two thousand people in the Linyi Haner Town Defense Force, of whom fifteen hundred were laid off and resettled during the reorganization of the army and the distribution of land. The remaining five hundred former Haner soldiers volunteered and were all assigned to Wang Xiongyi's command.

Wei Shengfu added some cavalry and archers to his corps, making a total of 800 soldiers, and sent them over together.

Pang Rugui was originally a captain, and after his meritorious service in this battle, he was directly promoted to deputy commander. Since he was a native of Linyi, he had some ties to Wang Xiongyi, so he served as a deputy in the opposing army.

As for how much of it is meant to demolish mountains and add sand, it is hard to say.

After listening to this, Liu Huai instantly understood what neither of them said.

Wang Xiongyi's position in the loyal and righteous army was a bit too awkward.

In terms of merit, he has made great contributions. Whether it was fooling Pushandharma in the early stage, informing Wei Sheng, or preserving the supplies in Cangcheng, Wang Xiongyi's contribution is indispensable and he should be greatly rewarded and used.

But on the other hand, as a leading figure in Yizhou, this person has always been the target of the loyal army's pursuit of death. His sudden rebellion at this time caught everyone off guard, and there will be a certain rift in the army.

To bridge the gap, Wang Xiongyi and his men desperately need to join the Loyalty Army. Only after they pledge their lives to each other in the face of the enemy will the Loyalty Army fully accept these people.

This is human nature, and it cannot be accomplished by just Wei Sheng or Liu Huai giving an order.

And Liu Huai's place is where the war will begin soon.

Therefore, after hastily organizing his army, Wang Xiongyi almost immediately asked for battle.

Wei Sheng also understood Wang Xiongyi's mentality, so he had to go back on his word and send out part of the central army in advance.

The four of them exchanged greetings for a while in front of the camp, which had already begun to take shape, and then walked into the big tent to begin military discussions.

At this point, even Liu Huai, the convener of the military meeting, had to sigh in his heart: There are so many members of the Loyal Army.

Soon, when Guan Chongyan was also called over, Liu Huai briefly recounted his experiences of the past two days.

"...That's basically what's going on. I suspect the Jin bandits' main force has already set up an ambush in Yishui County, waiting for us to cross this fifty-mile mountain road and attack. When we tire of the siege, they'll charge head-on, crushing the siege force and driving our vanguard all the way back to Yishui." Wang Xiongyi lowered his head to digest Liu Huai's words, then let out a long breath. "Big Brother, if you could just leave any one of those local tyrants near Yishui behind, they'd remind you that Zhu Laosan's business isn't reliable."

Liu Huai raised his eyebrows slightly: "How do you say that?"

Wang Xiongyi said, "Mr. He San should have told Mr. Dalang that Mr. Zhu is greedy for money, right?"

"That's right, but I didn't care at the time. What's the problem? Who doesn't love money? We are not saints who have no desires." Liu Huai spread his hands in response.

Wang Xiongyi laughed: "But Zhu Laosan's greed for money is different. For example, if the mother of a soldier under my command died of illness, I would give him a leave, give him some money, and even go to help him deal with the funeral in person.

You could say I'm winning over people's hearts, but I still have to say that, whether it's friendship or family affection, it's all earned through the exchange of hearts. And hearts are far more valuable than money and grain!"

Liu Huai nodded: "Of course it is."

Wang Xiongyi continued, "But Zhu Laosan is different. He doesn't seem to care about anything except tangible benefits. He doesn't care about people's hearts, good or evil, or success or failure.

For example, Zhu Laosan's family once had a steward whose wife was seriously ill and wanted a few months' advance on her monthly allowance for medical treatment. What a perfect opportunity to win over people! By giving away a sum of money, wouldn't the steward be grateful, regardless of whether the wife survived? Wouldn't everyone else praise his kindness?

But Zhu Laosan insisted on advising the manager to weigh the pros and cons and not end up losing both his money and his life, so he refused to advance any money. The manager had no choice but to borrow from all his relatives and friends. As Zhu Laosan had said, the result was that he was heavily in debt, lost both his money and his life, and finally jumped into the Yishui River.

"Big Brother, logically speaking, what Zhu Laosan said makes sense. If he were an ordinary citizen, it would be fine. But Zhu Laosan is like us, with hundreds of thousands of people under his command, and he can buy fame and people's hearts with a small amount of money, but he still acts like this. It shows how greedy he is."

Liu Huai suddenly realized this: "So, if you want to know a person like this, you only need to see where he gets the most tangible benefits. He doesn't care about reputation, future, right or wrong, or justice."

Wang Xiongyi nodded, "That's right. If Zhu Laosan rebels, even if he makes great contributions, he will only be able to follow the development of the Loyal Army. If the Northern Expedition is victorious, he will become a king, a general, or a minister. If the Northern Expedition fails, he will die and his family will be wiped out. And the land he occupies most of Yishui County will definitely be distributed to those landless tenants. This is simply digging up his roots!"

Liu Huai nodded silently.

There is no way around it, because in this agricultural age, land is the most valuable thing, more valuable than any gold, silver or jewelry.

The distribution of land was one of the important policies of the Loyal Army's Northern Expedition. Without it, there would be no way to resettle the large number of landless farmers in the north due to the collapse of social order, and "helping the people" would become an empty talk.

Why would the common people follow the Loyal Army then?

So far, the only powerful people who have not had their land divided are Wang Shilong and a few others.

But what was Wang Shilong’s achievement?
That was when the Loyal Army was at its weakest, and he directly joined the rebellion.

Moreover, Wang Shilong was very shrewd, distributing those lands without land deeds directly to the tenants of Wangjiazhuang. After the Loyal Army captured Linyi, he simply reduced the rent of many fields, obviously thinking that following Wei Marshal Liu Dalang had a future and was actively moving closer to the major policies.

As for Zhu Tianshou, Liu Huai even felt that even if this guy took the initiative to surrender, he would still be stabbed on the public trial platform after the grievance meeting.

"That is to say, Zhu Sanlang is the exact opposite of us. We put people first, believing that 'if we keep the land but lose the people, we lose both the land and the people; if we keep the people but lose the land, we keep both the land and the people.' But this fellow values land above all else." Liu Huai pinched his stubbled chin and said, "In that case, we should be able to take advantage of this..."

As he spoke, Liu Huai cast his gaze towards Guan Chongyan standing beside him: "Guan Qilang, you might be in danger..."

(End of this chapter)