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

Chapter 264: Each of them turns around and pursues their future

The naval commanders returned to their respective camps. As soon as they returned to the commander's tent, Wucheng Army Deputy Commander Huyan Nanxian finally lost his patience and spoke angrily, "For so many years, we Han people have fought bravely for the Jin Dynasty, only to be told that the Han army cannot join forces with sailors. This is truly disheartening."

Huyan Nanxian is a man in his thirties. He is usually taciturn and calm. If he was not extremely angry, he would not complain directly to his superiors.

Xu Wen calmly picked up two ceramic bowls, poured two bowls of rice wine, and handed one to Huyan Nanxian. "Young man, don't be so angry. Is what they said wrong? After all, this Jin Dynasty belongs to the Wanyan family, after all, it belongs to the Jurchens. It's only natural that they are wary of us Han people.

This is because the Wanyan Zheng family is open and honest. Do you think that if others don't say it, they won't think the same thing in their hearts?"

Huyan Nanxian waved his hand and refused: "General, I don't drink in the army."

Xu Wen smiled, raised his wine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.

Drinking is not allowed in the army, especially when there is a straightforward figure like Su Baoheng in charge, the discipline will be strictly enforced.

But there are always exceptions. For example, a veteran like Xu Wen has been fighting for half his life and has accumulated many wounds on his body. If he cannot use alcohol to numb the wounds, he will not be able to sleep well at night.

Seeing that Huyan Nanxian was still angry, Xu Wenfu drank another bowl of rice wine and comforted him again: "All crows are black. You young man always think that the Song Dynasty is much better and you don't have to endure this kind of humiliation in the Song Dynasty. But I tell you, it's all the same.

When I was young, I happened to be in the midst of the Jingkang Rebellion, a time of great and small conflict. During the Jianyan period of the Song Dynasty... also known as the Tianhui period of the Jin Dynasty, Zhao Gou began to abandon the northern region and made things difficult for us, the rebels. Li Tianwang (Li Cheng), indignant, led us to defect to the Qi Dynasty, and then again to the Jin Dynasty.

For a while, I thought it was Li Tianwang who was causing the trouble, but then I heard that old dog Qin Hui's words, "Southerners go south, northerners go north," and I realized that Li Tianwang was truly insightful and far-sighted. It's a good thing we surrendered to the Jin Dynasty early, otherwise we would have ended up as slaves."

After a series of repetitive complaints, Xu Wenfu turned to Huyan Nanxian, "Do you know that when we defected to the Great Qi, the Huai River and Huai River regions were destitute, and Zhao Gou withheld rations. We were reduced to hunting each other for food. Everyone was hunter and everyone was prey. Some people, after going through this, even gave up meat for the rest of their lives. Compared to that, being suspected and mocked now is nothing. Have you lost any wealth?"

"Alas!" Huyan Nanxian sighed heavily, and after hesitating for a moment, he said, "As the deputy general manager, I naturally have some opinions, but not everyone in our Han army has a future. I am really worried that the Wucheng Army will be unstable."

Xu Wen frowned: "Did you hear any rumors?"

Huyan Nanxian didn't answer, but instead talked about something else: "Uncle Xu, what exactly is our Wucheng Army? What position do you, the general manager, and I, the deputy general manager, hold in the Great Jin?"

Xu Wen was speechless immediately.

This issue involves the chaotic military system of the Jin Dynasty.

Theoretically, the 32 armies of the Jin Dynasty were all organized by Meng'an Mouke, but this military system that relied on tribal structure to maintain its existence was bound to be unsustainable.

How did you say that sentence?

Sinicization was the only way out for all ethnic groups in the 12th century, and reversing history was a dead end.

In addition, when the Jin Dynasty was founded, it recruited surrenders and rebels along the way, and absorbed troops from various ethnic groups, especially the large number of troops from the Song Dynasty. Naturally, it could not stick to its own way in everything, so some of the Han troops were organized according to the structure of general managers, commanders, and leaders of the Song and Liao Han armies.

And that's where the embarrassment lies.

The head of an army of 10,000 people is usually the commander-in-chief, who may also hold the title of governor or general, or have the status of a marching commander.

However, among the 70,000 naval soldiers, there was only one commander-in-chief, Su Baoheng, and one deputy commander-in-chief, Wanyan Zhengjia. Apart from those who served in the Dushuijian, the commanders of the three armies were actually in a position that was neither high nor low, namely the general manager.

You must know that the Chief of the Army is right between the Chief of the Army Meng'an and the Chief of the Army Wanhu, and he feels like he is excluded from the mainstream official system.

Of course, if we wait another ten years, there will be no such difference after the Jin Dynasty is basically completely sinicized. At that time, except for the tribal army, basically everything will be converted to the Han system.

To use a jargon, the Jin Dynasty was in the throes of reform at that time, which led to the very unclear status of military men such as Xu Wen in the Jin Dynasty.

Are you in a high position and have great power?
Commanding an army is no small position in any case.

But being an official of a lower rank does exist.

"Your Majesty, this isn't a position specifically established to target the Han army." Xu Wen pondered for a moment, then tried to console him: "Punian Heda is a legitimate Jurchen, and he's also a general. With your age, if you can stay in the army for another ten years, you can become a general commander or a captain."

Huyan Nanxian shook his head and smiled bitterly. "I'm truly worried. I don't have another ten years left to live. There's already some instability within the army. I can't say who's responsible, but I'm worried that during the southern expedition... or even when someone attacks, some will flee or even rise up in rebellion." The ceramic bowl in Xu Wen's hand trembled slightly. "Has it really come to this?"

"Uncle Xu, you know how the Wucheng Army came about," Huyan Nanxian said solemnly. "These ten thousand men were recruited by the Commander-in-Chief from wealthy Shandong families, according to the criteria of good families. They were lured to join the army with promises of success and wealth. Therefore, the Wucheng Army has been formidable since its formation."

Xu Wen nodded.

It was indeed extraordinary. When the Wucheng Army was just formed, the Donghai Uprising broke out. The Wucheng Army's general Xu Wen and the commander Zhang Hongxin led only 900 infantry and cavalry, but they defeated Zhang Wang and Xu Yuan's more than 10,000 rebel troops head-on.

Children from good families have always been the best soldiers since ancient times. This has been proven by time and is definitely not a lie.

"But the key point is, in the past two years, Your Majesty has been moving the people south, so that Shandong and Hebei are all over the place with Meng'an and Mouke households. Where did the land to resettle them come from? Did the people themselves reclaim it?" Huyan Nanxian's tone became urgent. "Wasn't it plundered from the Han people? How can we stabilize the morale of the Wucheng Army?"

After hearing a few rhetorical questions, Xu Wen sighed, but there was nothing he could do.

When the Jurchens migrated inland, the ones who suffered the most were not the common people at the bottom of society, but the middle-class families, that is, the families of good families.

Because the lower-level self-cultivating farmers usually work in the fields in small pieces, the Jurchens look down on them.

However, if the more powerful people take action, there will be trouble. If we are not careful, there will be a rebellion like the Kaishan Zhao Uprising that sweeps across the states and counties.

The middle-class family is neither soft nor hard, just the right size to be controlled.

In the past two years, the number of middle-class families in Shandong has shrunk significantly, although it cannot be said that they have been completely wiped out.

It would be a miracle if there was no resentment and rumors among the Wucheng Army, which is composed of men from good families!

I'm fighting on the front lines, and you're robbing my house from behind? My family fortune is gone before I even achieve fame. Who can stand this?

In real history, as soon as Li Bao arrived with his navy, hundreds of Han soldiers immediately surrendered to him and told him the strengths and weaknesses of the navy. It was not that the Han army was disloyal, but that the Jin court was too excessive.

This time, Xu Wen was silent for even longer. Finally, he spoke with difficulty, "During this southern expedition, as long as the men of the Wucheng Army fight to the death, I will definitely make a killing for them. They'll have land, gold, silver, and women! I'll personally go to His Majesty and make the case. Even if I die in front of him, I'll still secure benefits for them!"

Huyan Nanxian sighed again, "Uncle Xu still doesn't understand what I'm saying. As long as we march south, our Wucheng Army will definitely be in chaos. We might even turn against us in the middle of the battle."

"Then what do you want me to do?!" Xu Wen finally lost his patience, and his gray beard stood up, as if the fear that had been hidden for a long time was pierced, and he was filled with shame and anger.

Although the tent was deserted, Huyan Nanxian still looked around and whispered, "Uncle Xu, I say we'll seize the opportunity to rebel tomorrow! Join forces with Zhang Rong, and kill the Wanyan Zheng family from both sides! Then, burn the navy ships and return Shandong East to the Song Dynasty. When that happens, I don't believe the Emperor of Song will not grant Uncle Xu the title of Duke of Lu!"

Xu Wen shook his head and laughed. "So you didn't understand a single thing I just said. Let me ask you this: if Song was truly reliable, why did I follow Li Tianwang and bear the infamy of defecting to Qi? And then to Jin? And why did I content myself with being the governor of Jin, and not return to Song?"

"Can……"

"Stop talking." Xu Wen waved his hand, silencing Huyan Nanxian's words. "I'll pretend I didn't hear anything you said today. Nanxian, you're in your prime, with a promising future. You should focus on your duties now and not be distracted. Go and enforce military discipline, spread my message, and do your best to win over the people. Tomorrow we'll attack and kill Zhang Rong, and the day after that we'll attack Song. The little wealth we took away won't matter; we'll get it back tenfold or a hundredfold!"

Huyan Nanxian sighed deeply, bowed and took his leave.

After leaving the general's tent, a man approached Huyan Nanxian and asked, "Brother, what did the steward say?"

Huyan Nanxian walked ahead, then stopped and looked back at the commander's tent. He sighed and said, "He said he's old."

The man did not explain much and directly led the visitor to his own tent.

"Jin Wenyan, go tell..." Huyan Nanxian paused, looked up and thought for a moment, then pulled out a piece of white paper from the table, folded it in half, and handed it to the person in front of him. "Now I give you the military order. Go gather the troops guarding the waterproof opening and take this opportunity to hand this paper to Zhang Rong. The rest of you, don't say a word. I have nothing to say to you either. Do you understand?"

The commander named Jin Wenyan took the paper, put it in his pocket, bowed and left.

Huyan Nanxian sat on the chair, lost in thought for a moment, and then sighed.

Who would have thought that the biggest destabilizing factor for Wu Chengjun was actually the second-in-command of the entire army, Deputy Chief Huyan Nanxian?
(End of this chapter)