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

Chapter 313: All parties are assigned to make a major plan

Facts have proved that Huyan Nanxian was just overthinking it.

The Loyal Army has no intention of accepting him into the system for the time being.

The next moment, Liu Huai said to him, "General Hu Yan has been with my Loyal Army for a few days, and he's probably seen how we govern the local area and how we reward and punish. If I say we will treat everyone equally, rewarding those who have made contributions and punishing those who have made mistakes, would you, the two thousand or so good men from Shandong who are part of the Wucheng Army, be willing to join us and fight back to your hometown?"

Huyan Nanxian only felt his heart pounding, and the slight unhappiness and sorrow he had just felt had been thrown away to Java.

That's very much my wish.

The main reason why Shandong's good families have fallen on hard times in recent years is that their land has been forcibly seized by the Meng'an Mouke households, and the secondary reason is that their parents and brothers have been bullied by the Jurchens.

Now this condition almost satisfies Wu Chengjun’s two biggest demands at once. How can he not be happy?
Huyan Nanxian stood up and bowed, saying, "I am willing to serve the Commander-in-Chief. When we officially march north, I will present the list of military personnel to you."

This is also Huyan Nanxian’s official statement.

Liu Huai waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. I have another request. General Hu Yan wants to select capable personnel and send them south. These people will be needed to command the Haner sailors captured on Chenjia Island and also to communicate with the Wucheng Army that has already marched south."

Huyan Nanxian instantly understood what Liu Huai meant.

Wu Chengjun had a close relationship with the Han sailors in the navy, so if he sent a few dozen prestigious people, he could quickly recruit thousands of Han sailors for his own use.

Although those more than 200 ships could transport 7,000 regular troops, they were not steamships after all and had to be operated by sailors.

As for contacting Wu Chengjun heading south, that is even more natural, and it may play an unexpected role at that time.

No matter how great Xu Wen's prestige is, he can stop people from turning against their own side in the middle of a battle, but can he also stop them from working without putting in any effort and sending the entire army back home?
Huyan Nanxian nodded heavily, then bowed: "I am willing to obey your orders."

Liu Huai continued to point out one person: "Xin Wulang."

Xin Qiji stood up and bowed: "I'm here!"

"The three of you go south. This is the condition set by Chief Geng, and the Loyal Army cannot refuse." Liu Huai pondered for a moment before speaking.

The Tianping Army also needed to show up on the battlefield of the Song State and accumulate political capital, so Xin Qiji and others had to go south.

"However, if we march south, we will face the 70,000 regular troops led by Wanyan Liang. Our army is no match for them in terms of combat power, so mobility is far more important." Liu Huai said sternly, "So, Xin Wulang, you need to select the best from your 3,000 troops and reduce them to 2,000."

Xin Qiji spoke briefly with Jia Rui and Li Tieqiang beside him, then bowed his head and pondered for a moment before finally saying, "As ordered! Within two days, I will be able to select two thousand soldiers and horses."

Liu Huai nodded and continued, "Commander Zhang, Zhang Silang."

Zhang Qing and Zhang Baiyu stood up and bowed at the same time.

"The Dongping Army can only march south with 3,000 troops." Liu Huai's tone had become very serious, and there was no trace of politeness in his tone. "This is due to the limited number of Dongping Army ships, and also because the Dongping Army suffered a great defeat. Many were killed and wounded by the Jin navy, and they are no longer able to fight."

Although Zhang Qing knew that what Liu Huai said was true, he still found it difficult to accept it. He immediately said, "Chief Zhang will not abandon Lianghuai."

Liu Huai shook his head: "Struggle requires strategy. The Dongping Army now has just under 10,000 people. Compared with the 3,000 elite soldiers, the 6,000-plus weaker soldiers will be a much greater burden than help in a battle involving tens of thousands of people. I just said that in this kind of battle, mobility is far more important than quantity." Zhang Qing lowered his head and thought for a moment. Although he was still a little unconvinced, he also knew that what Liu Huai said made sense.

The Dongping Army fleet could only transport 3,000 soldiers. Would the rest of the troops have to cross the Yellow River flood area? Even if the soldiers could move, what would happen to the baggage?

Zhang Baiyu cupped his hands and said, "Master Commander, what do we need to do?"

Liu Huai said, "I need you two to help me persuade Zhang Bo to hand over the command of the troops remaining in Shandong to my father for unified command."

Even though they already knew that Liu Huai was in the habit of speaking the truth, the participants were still shocked.

It is said that only names and tools can be given, but not to people.

It is easy to hand over military power, but difficult to take it back.

But in the next moment, everyone understood that this was indeed the best approach.

Zhang Rong was going south, no matter what.

So, if it is impossible to take all the troops with you, don't you still have to appoint a general to divide the troops?

To put it more darkly, don't the generals who divided the troops really have some ideas? Don't they have some thoughts of independence?
To put it more darkly, after Zhang Rong left, could these remaining troops really survive the annexation of the Loyal Army? Even if the Loyal Army didn't take the initiative, could they stop the ordinary soldiers from defecting en masse? They couldn't hold out even when Zhang Rong was there! Zhang Qing and Zhang Baiyu are right in front of us!

Rather than having a shameless quarrel between the two sides, it would be better to entrust the troops to the Loyal Army now, replenish the Loyal Army's manpower, and let them make some achievements in Shandong, which is short of troops.

But in this case, we can only trust the integrity of Wei Sheng and Liu Huai. The good news is that these two people have always been upright and honest. Many heroes follow them because of their honesty. They will never lose the support of the people for the sake of these soldiers.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qing and Zhang Baiyu could only nod with difficulty to show that they would help persuade Zhang Rong.

Liu Huai breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and bowed to Wei Sheng, saying, "Father, the Loyal Army can't all march south. A portion must remain in Shandong to manage the situation. First, to stabilize the morale of the troops marching south, second, to overthrow the Jin Kingdom's rule in Shandong, and third, to threaten the Jin army's retreat. All three are indispensable."

Wei Sheng stroked his beard and said, "Then Dalang and I will divide our forces. One of us will go south to Huaibei and Huaibei, and the other will maintain Shandong?"

Liu Huai said seriously, "That's right."

Wei Sheng continued to inquire, "Then, Dalang, who do you think will stay in Shandong and who will go south to Lianghuai?"

"Of course, my father will stay in Shandong, and I will go south to Lianghuai." Liu Huai said in a loud voice.

Lu You slumped in the chair as if exhausted, with mixed feelings in his heart.

Before hearing this, he didn't know whether the Loyal Army would send troops to Lianghuai and whether they would go south to rescue Song.

Everyone is selfish and ambitious. Even if he understood the principle of "the lips and teeth are cold when they are gone", if Liu Huai was really determined to expand his territory during the war between Song and Jin, Lu You would have no other choice but to return to the Song Dynasty alone and fight to the death with the Jin Kingdom.

Now that Liu Huai has expressed his stance and put forward a plan that is acceptable to everyone, it should be able to push the Loyal Army to send troops.

(End of this chapter)