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

Chapter 268: Decision Made During the Meal in the Corridor

After arriving at the commander's tent, the generals did not attend the military meeting immediately. Instead, someone brought mixed bean porridge topped with pickles and placed it in front of each officer, and then brought two baskets of steamed buns stuffed with radish and horse meat.

"You've been hanging out with Dalang so early this morning, you must be hungry." Wei Sheng was at the front, also holding a large bowl of mixed bean porridge. He said with a smile, "Let's eat first and fill our stomachs first."

The army was full of big eaters. They had been marching and fighting in the past few days, and even the most energetic generals had consumed a lot of energy. So they all bowed, sat in their respective seats, and started to eat.

For a moment, the tent was filled with the sound of slurping porridge.

Lu You still maintained the demeanor of a celebrity. While chewing slowly, his eyes kept glancing at the large box of account books. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and he sighed deeply.

Liu Huai had finished his first meat bun and was about to get the second one when he saw Lu You put down his bowl and chopsticks, and hurriedly handed the meat bun to him.

"How can one last long with little food and much to do?"

Lu You nearly threw the porcelain bowl in his hand. He pointed at the large box of account books and said, "You also know that I have a lot of things to do? If you know that, why do you still want to cause trouble for me?"

Liu Huai forced the steamed bun into Lu You's hand and said with a wry smile, "Isn't it because Mr. Lu is an old criminal lawyer who can find clues in it?"

"What do you think of an old criminal lawyer? I am just an official who was selected because I am close to the people. I have been working in the Dali Temple for a few months. Can I be called an old criminal lawyer?" Lu You almost spit out the food in his mouth.

Although Lu You served as the Chief Justice of the Dali Temple, he was not promoted through the judicial system. Before he became the Tongpan (Tongpan), he was an official in charge of editing and revising imperial edicts, compiling and organizing various administrative orders.

The officials in charge of editing and revising imperial edicts have similar duties to those of the Zhongshu Sheren, but their status is lower. They both understand the operation of the central government by organizing administrative orders, and have always been reserve officials for high-ranking officials.

The Zhongshu Sheren can be called the "Prime Minister in Reserve", while the official who is responsible for editing imperial edicts is equivalent to the Zhongshu Sheren of a lower rank. He cannot be called the Prime Minister in Reserve, but he can be called the future Shangshu.

By the way, although the Zhongshu Sheren of the Song Dynasty is not well-known now, he will be very famous in later generations.

His name is Yu Yunwen.

Therefore, although Lu You's promotion from the position of the official who edited imperial edicts to the position of Sizhi of the Dali Temple seemed to be a promotion, he was actually demoted from the position of "future minister" and became a specific official.

The reason why Lu You had such an experience was very simple.

He offended Yang Yizhong.

It's the Yang Yi Zhong who said "Please behead Yang Yi Zhong".

Lu You suggested that Yang Yi Zhong be dismissed because he had been in charge of the imperial guards for too long and his authority was growing, causing many inconveniences.

Although Zhao Gou also felt that with the example of Qin Hui, even the closest people would eventually turn bad, he demoted Yang Yi Zhong to the position of Taifu and Liquanguan Envoy.

But the "Bearded Yamen" was no pushover. Just a few words from him were enough to make Zhao Gou displease Lu You, who was then demoted to the position of Sizhi in the Dali Temple, where he was sent to inspect unjust imprisonments in the surrounding areas.

Then there is the story of Lu You who happened to be in Chuzhou and gave up his official position to join the Northern Expedition.

With such an experience, you can say that Lu You is well-versed in human nature and knowledgeable about worldly matters, but it is outrageous to say that he is an old criminal lawyer.

After Lu You vented his anger, he saw that Liu Huai was still smiling, and he became discouraged: "Anyway, it is impossible for you to rely on me alone to do this. Send me a few capable people."

Liu Huai immediately patted his chest and said, "Mr. Lu, who do you like? Tell me and I will go and persuade them myself."

After hearing this, the generals who were originally watching the fun buried their heads in their bowls, or started chatting with each other, pretending to be very busy.

Lu You also knew the importance of this box of account books. Not only could he find the home addresses of all the members of the Wuxing Army in it, but he could also roughly summarize the situation in the rear of the Jin Kingdom from the various oral messages and artifacts sent back.

For example, if the message instructs parents to buy a large animal quickly, it means that the family has no cows or mules, and farming depends entirely on manpower. In order to deal with the emergency, they have to quickly buy an adult but more expensive large animal; if it is to buy a calf, it means that the family has sufficient human and animal power, and can also buy some cheap young animals for future preparations.

For example, if the messages often asked the family to use the money to buy more things for the family, it would indicate that the economy of the Jin Kingdom was still doing well. If a place contained a lot of messages asking for repayment of debts, it would indicate that the economy there was about to collapse.

It must be a very tedious task to summarize what you want from such a large amount of complex information.

The person who does this must meet the following conditions: be able to read, be careful, intelligent, be able to do math, be reliable, and have a strong sense of responsibility.

Besides, this person cannot be particularly busy. It would be ridiculous to ask Liu Huai to do this.

It's true that one only regrets not having enough talent when one needs it.

The loyal and righteous army already had many elite soldiers and brave generals at this time, but there were still not many scholars who defected.

After all, not every scholar is like Lu You, who would rush to join the army when he hears about the Northern Expedition to recover lost territory.

Seeing that Zhang Baiyu was about to put the porcelain bowl on his head, Lu You sighed, glanced at him, pointed at Wang Shilong and said, "Wang Wulang, come here."

Amidst the teasing gazes, Wang Shilong calmly wiped his mouth and said, "Mr. Lu, I do have military duties and cannot return, but since Mr. Lu has asked, I cannot refuse. Mr. Lu has also met my son, Wang Shijie. He is intelligent and capable, and he is the perfect person to assist Mr. Lu."

Lu You thought of the well-organized mountain stronghold he had seen before and nodded involuntarily.

Wang Shilong looked around proudly.

"Luo Dalang, come here!" Lu You called for another general.

Luo Shenyan choked on his bean porridge, coughed a few times, and then hurriedly bowed: "Lu Dapan, I do have military duties. But my second brother Luo Huaiyan, although young, is extremely intelligent, brave and resourceful, and can lend a hand to Mr. Lu."

Lu You thought about the young man and realized that he was indeed brave, resourceful and courageous.

Luo Shenyan tricked his younger brother, exchanged a glance with Wang Shilong, and raised his head with some pride.

Don’t you have a younger brother yet?
"Xin family boy. This kind of thing cannot be done without the participation of the Tianping Army. Come!"

Xin Qiji looked around at the two generals beside him, sighed, and nodded in agreement while holding the big bowl.

He is the younger brother who is really not good at literary matters.

Moreover, Xin Qiji believed that no one was more suitable than him for this matter.

You should know that when Xin Qiji's grandfather Xin Zan was still alive, he instilled many anti-Jin ideas in him. When Xin Qiji was in his teens, he went to the Jin capital Yanjing as a clerk to survey the terrain and collect intelligence.

In addition, Xin Qiji was a Han Chinese from the north, so he was very adept at summarizing intelligence and achieved twice the result with half the effort.

"Let's do this for now." After Lu You pointed at these people, he sighed again and said to Wei Sheng, "Lord Wei, I'm not complaining, but even the army needs clerks. The current number of clerks can't even meet the needs of the local areas. Retaining a large number of former clerks is a recipe for disaster."

Liu Huai smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu. After the news of this war spreads, there will probably be people coming to join us. At that time, Mr. Lu will still be needed to check and approve it."

After saying this, without even considering Lu You's reaction, Liu Huaifu addressed Wei Sheng, "Father, the Loyalty Army has been on the Northern Expedition for over a month and has already captured Haizhou, Yizhou, and most of Juzhou. If we take into account the recent progress of the Dongping Army, we can say that at least half of eastern Shandong has been recovered. Next, should we rectify our internal affairs and wait for the right time? Or should we quickly defeat the Wuxing Army and then sweep across Shandong?"

Seeing that most of the generals had finished their breakfast, Wei Sheng followed Liu Huai's words and started today's military meeting.

"Today's military meeting is for this purpose." Wei Sheng pulled out a scroll of documents from the side of the desk and placed it before him. "Everyone in the tent must express their opinions on what the Loyal Army should do next."

Lu You cleared his throat and said, "Before that, I want to say that everyone must record the casualties and rewards and punishments of each unit. And when you hold military meetings in your own army, you must also explain the matter clearly to your subordinates."

(End of this chapter)