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

Chapter 519: It has always been difficult to quell rebellions

The Jin army destroyed a provincial capital and killed all the wealthy families there, even the county magistrate. Normally, this would be a huge event no matter when.

But compared to the trouble caused by Zhang Jun, this matter was nothing.

On February 27, the chaos spread, not only to Chuzhou and Xuyi Army, but also to Chuzhou and the more distant Haozhou and Luzhou where sporadic civil unrest broke out.

When the news reached the court, not only did people put on hold the death of a magistrate in Gaoyou County, but even the important issue of Zhao Gou discussing the mausoleum for his incompetent father and brother was temporarily shelved.

Zhao Gou, who was already extremely lazy in governing the country, got angry again.

Is Zhang Jun really capable? How could he cause such a big mess in such a good situation?

Yu Yunwen, who was familiar with the situation in Lianghuai and had the potential to be the first general of the Song Dynasty, was also called to attend the court meeting. After the meeting, he simply went straight to Duting Posthouse again.

After sending everyone away with a sullen face, Yu Yunwen questioned Liu Huai angrily, "Liu Dalang, I trusted you so much that I allowed you to stir up some trouble in Lianghuai, but how did you get it to this point? Not to mention how it will end, how many people are going to die now?!"

"How would I know if you ask me? I haven't even launched my tactics yet!" Liu Huai sneered, "Prime Minister Yu, instead of questioning me, why not ask Prime Minister Zhang how he managed to accomplish such a feat? He was only sent out for a month, yet he was able to force several states to revolt. He truly is a good prime minister of Song!"

Yu Yunwen was already stunned when he heard the first few words, and he was immediately embarrassed and angry when he heard the last words. He sat down directly in his seat, looked up at the beams, and muttered to himself: "How could this be?"

Liu Huai said angrily, "How should I know?! Originally, I was thinking of causing a small military disturbance, and having one or two commanders who didn't care about the rewards from the Song pretend to be forced to rebel by Zhang Jun, and then return directly to Shandong, claiming to have surrendered to the Jin Kingdom, thus paving the way for you, Minister Yu, to gain a foothold in the court."

Who would have thought that Mr. Zhang was so capable?"

Seeing that Yu Yunwen was still in a daze, Liu Huai finally became a little impatient.

"Prime Minister Yu, look at yourself. How can you possibly be in charge of the country? According to historical records, everyone says that although the Zhao Song emperor was incompetent, he still had the truth to guarantee him. How can you be trusted with important matters when you are so hesitant?!"

Yu Yunwen shook his head repeatedly: "I know, I know, but I didn't expect that Zhang Xianggong... Alas!"

At the end of his speech, Yu Yunwen sighed heavily.

Why didn't Yu Yunwen want to deal with Zhang Jun at first? Because Zhang Jun was the only remaining veteran minister of the pro-war faction, and he was the hope of the whole country. Everyone was hoping that Zhang Jun could lead the pro-war faction to regain power and recover the lost territory.

It has been thirty years since the migration to the south. The emperor and his ministers who fled from the north have all grown old. For the new generation, the foreign land has become their hometown, and their real hometown has become a symbol in the mouths of their parents.

They have no deep hatred, nor sufficient motivation to recover their homeland.

This is the last chance for those who cross the river to the south. If they don’t seize it, the Song Dynasty will really become a small and isolated court.

It was fate and time that made Zhang Jun the only one with sufficient qualifications at this crossroads of national destiny. Yet, pushed to the forefront, he delivered such an outrageous response, which is undeniable.

Liu Huai didn't care about it.

To repeat, if Zhang Jun really had great abilities, he would have been killed by Qin Hui long ago just because of his pro-war stance.

Liu Huai had to fight against various forces, not to mention Tang Shitui and Zhang Jun. His attitude towards Yu Yunwen was also one of mutual use and mutual vigilance.

Of course, Yu Yunwen was no pushover either. Political alliances were formed for the sake of profit. This was not just a matter between two people, but the future and fate of hundreds of officials, generals, and thousands of people under the two forces.

Lianghuai and Shandong complement each other, and it is too difficult for either side to persist alone.

Seeing Liu Huai's attitude of "If you don't take action, I'm going to cause some big trouble," Yu Yunwen could only sigh helplessly: "Then I will start tomorrow. But how will the chaos in Lianghuai end?"

Liu Huai also fell silent.

The civil unrest instigated by Zhang Jun has a special term in history.

Peasant uprising army.

As the saying goes, everyone has a way out: to join the Liangshan Rebellion. Those who can't survive certainly have the right to resist, and this legitimacy isn't granted by anyone; it's natural. The simplest way to deal with a peasant uprising is to simply send a reliable force to attack.

The number of people does not need to be too large, a thousand will be enough. When the time comes, we can easily kill these peasant armies with one blow.

But wouldn't Liu Huai become the executioner who suppressed the peasant uprising? Regardless of his political identity or personal feelings, he would never do so.

But it’s even more impossible to ignore it!

Now is the critical time for spring plowing. If the people really start to riot and drag in the more stable areas, there will be nothing to eat in Lianghuai this year.

Moreover, the Song Dynasty court could not just ignore it. If it sent people like Shao Hongyuan and Liu Bao to quell the rebellion, not to mention whether the rebellion could be put down quickly, these Song troops would destroy the surrounding areas as they marched.

They are the old friends of Zhang Jun, one of the Four Great Generals of the Restoration, and they have done the nasty thing of looting their own city more than once!

After thinking for a moment, Liu Huai made up his mind and chose the most troublesome method.

"Prime Minister Yu, I'll handle this matter. I'll find a way to persuade them to surrender, and then ship them to Shandong in batches." Liu Huai waved his hand and said, "Shandong happens to be short of people."

If Yu Yunwen were more conventional, he would have rebuked Liu Huai for harboring the rebels. However, he was not a fool after all. He nodded and said, "Then tomorrow at court, I will propose to the emperor that the Jingnan Army be used to carry out this task. However, we cannot say that they will be transferred to Shandong. Rather, we should drive them north of the Huai River to disrupt the Jin territory."

I will ask for more food and money, and I hope Liu Dalang can do things better. Alas..."

At this point, Yu Yunwen shook his head and sighed again, remembering something else: "I have been secretly discussing this with the Crown Prince's Right Secretary Shi Hao these past few days. The Crown Prince will meet with you in the next two days."

"Shi Hao..." Liu Huai touched his chin and thought secretly.

He didn't care much about Crown Prince Zhao Shen, because Zhao Shen could be described in two words: incompetent.

Zhao Shen's incompetence was not that of a pure incompetent like Zhang Jun, who had the will but not the ability, nor that of a pure evil like Zhao Gou, who had the ability but not the will.

His incompetence stems from cowardice and lack of self-confidence.

Zhao Shen was a unique person who was angered to death by his son and daughter-in-law after abdicating in the political environment of Song State.

The consequence of Zhao Shen's character is that he is extremely easily influenced, just like Song Renzong of the previous dynasty and Jin Aizong of the later dynasty. It is difficult to say whether he is a wise or foolish ruler. His wisdom or foolishness depends entirely on which side's influence is greater.

Of course, Zhao Shen still has some advantages. He is just incompetent, not bad. He will not make peace with the enemy after winning a strategic decisive battle.

Therefore, there is the famous lament about Yue Fei: Pity him, a peerless hero, who would not delay his life and give his life to Emperor Xiaozong.

But although Zhao Shen was not a bad person, his teacher and number one confidant Shi Hao was a complete jerk.

When people in later generations mention Shi Hao, they always think of his beloved son Shi Miyuan.

Of course, in front of this epic traitor who directly killed Prime Minister Han Tuozhou and sent his head to the Jin Kingdom to seek peace, Shi Hao appeared to be loyal to the country, but Liu Huai never forgot Shi Hao's famous saying that had become famous all over the world.

There are absolutely no heroes in the Central Plains. If there were, why wouldn't they rise up and destroy the Jin Dynasty?
Sheng and Guang used hoes, rakes and thorns to destroy Qin, and they had to wait for our troops. They are not heroes.

Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, two farmers, were able to destroy the Qin Dynasty. If there were heroes in the Central Plains, they would have destroyed the Jin Dynasty. Why would the Song Dynasty need to launch a northern expedition?

Shi Hao is now a typical political opportunist, a peace advocate among the war advocates. If you really trust him, be prepared to be completely retaliated.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Huai nodded: "In that case, let's meet."

Yu Yunwen finally let out a deep breath.

(End of this chapter)