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

Chapter 546: Only Knowing Jiedu and Nothing Else
The group headed towards Qushan County in a mighty procession.

Along the way, Ding Daxing was in a state of confusion.

He was a mid-level officer in the Jingnan Army. He had been exposed to politics and could understand some of it.

In fact, there was a rumor in the army before I came back.

Now Liu Huai has both merits and a large army, as well as an official position given by the State of Song. He can be said to be both famous and powerful. Not to mention that after the Dongping army was taken over by Zhang Baiyu, Liu Huai's power skyrocketed.

So when they return to Shandong this time, will the Loyal Army have to stand aside and the Jingnan Army will take charge next?
You said that the Loyal Army conquered Pizhou and Yidu Prefecture, which was a great achievement! But how does it compare to the victory in the Battle of Bichao County?

Of course, this is just a rumor circulating among middle and low-level military officers, and commanders at all levels will scoff at it.

The Zhongyi Army, the Jingnan Army and the Dongping Army are naturally one and the same.

Let alone the Jingnan Army that split from the Zhongyi Army, even the Dongping Army had Zhang Qing as the commander in the Zhongyi Army at the beginning. It was not a split that could be formed just like that.

Besides, Wei Sheng was Liu Huai's adoptive father! He might be called his son-in-law soon, so how could he turn against him at this moment?
However, this was the truth, but it did not stop Ding Daxing from suddenly remembering what he had said before when he heard that someone wanted to compete for the position of prefect.

If Feihu Langjun and Duke Wei really get into an argument, who should I listen to? Which side should I support?

The more Ding Daxing thought about it, the more panicked he became. Sweat broke out on his forehead and back. He even had the urge to turn around and leave, completely ignoring the matter.

But it was not possible to just ignore it. Now the county officials such as An Kui and the Huaixi people such as Hao Donglai were all very excited. If Ding Daxing did not take the lead, things would develop in an unpredictable direction.

Thinking of this, the group quickly arrived at Qushan County and headed straight to the provincial government office.

Outside the provincial government office, dozens of attendants were dressed up and waiting with various ceremonial objects in hand.

In the provincial government office, Haizhou prefect Luo Guzi and Qushan County prefect Gao Chang were processing official documents, while several people in official robes were drinking tea and looking at the officials of Haizhou with a sneer.

"Prefect, Ding Daxing, commander of the left army of the Jingnan army, An Kui, the county lieutenant of Shuyang, Hao Donglai and Liu Yungu, the resettlement officers of the Huaibei and Huainan refugees, have requested an audience with you outside the yamen."

A clerk looked at the officials and said cautiously, "Zhou Zhi, can you let them in?"

Before Luo Guzi could say anything, the fat man who was the leader of the officials said, "We won't see any guests today. Let's deal with the matter at hand first and discuss other matters later."

The clerk ignored the fat official and just looked at Luo Guzi, waiting for his orders.

The fat official seemed a little annoyed, but he seemed to suppress it forcibly, and just sneered at the clerk.

Luo Guzi paused to think for a moment, then nodded and said, "Please invite them in. I have something to talk to them about."

"Here!" The clerk ran away holding his hat.

Not long after, four people came in together. Ding Daxing first bowed to the leader, and just as he was about to open his mouth, he was immediately stunned.

As a soldier under Luo Shenyan, Ding Daxing had met his general's father, Luo Guzi, once or twice. In his impression, this old man, who was well-known in Haizhou, was not a fat man, but still had the physique of a strong old farmer. How come he looked so dark and thin after just a few months of not seeing him?

Although Gao Chang, who was beside Luo Guzi, also had a weathered face, he looked much healthier than Luo Guzi.

As soon as this question arose in his mind, Ding Daxing suddenly understood.

What else could it be because of?

Of course, it was the hard work of repairing the canals and official roads and rectifying the administration of officials in winter!
Haizhou had been caught up in several major chaoses in the past two years. Luo Guzi had only taken a little over half a year to restore some of the people's livelihood, which naturally took a lot of effort.

Is it possible that such a good official would be persecuted?
Thinking of this, Ding Daxing looked at the officials who were obviously here to seize power, wanting to see if they were acquaintances he knew, such as the quartermaster officer or military staff officer, so that he could persuade them, but he was stunned again.

He didn't recognize any of these officials, and he had never even met them.

Before Ding Daxing could comprehend his thoughts, Luo Guzi spoke up, "Hao Donglai, Liu Yungu, are you two used to living here? Have those hundreds of households gone hungry? Have they been bullied?"

Liu Yungu had been a wealthy merchant, after all, and had dealt with officials before. He immediately bowed and said, "Thanks to your kindness, sir, we live a healthy life and have not been oppressed."

Luo Guzi nodded. "That's good. The prefecture has sent a batch of radish, turnip, and buckwheat seeds. An official will hand them over to you later. Don't delay the farming season when you return." Liu Yungu was a little bewildered, but Hao Donglai was excited. "Don't worry, Governor. We're all good at tending to crops."

It is already June, and the hottest days of summer are coming soon. It is the time to plant radishes and turnips. When the second hottest days of summer arrive, we can only plant vegetables. If it is later, when the third hottest days of summer arrive, it will be too late and we can only plant some buckwheat.

Buckwheat is a crop with low yield, thick skin and very poor taste, but for refugees, having something to eat is better than nothing.

Luo Guzi continued, "Anywhere we haven't had time to reclaim land, sow alfalfa seeds. The government will buy them with money or grain next year, and the young shoots can be used as food. But the seeds are still being collected, so you'll have to wait another half month."

Alfalfa grows relatively fast and is not picky about the soil. It does not require much care and can be used to fatten large livestock, making it a high-quality horse feed.

This time, Hao Donglai was a little surprised: "Luo Qingtian actually knows the tricks of us farmers?"

Luo Guzi raised his head and said with a smile, "Look at my face. Does it look like someone who lives a life of luxury?"

Hao Donglai was about to speak when he heard the portly official say impatiently, "Zhizhou Luo, aren't you trying to say you're proficient in farming? Now that I'm here to take over the position of Zhizhou, you can naturally retire to the countryside and live a wealthy life."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the minor officials in the provincial government became extremely angry and looked at Luo Guzi, waiting for his order.

An Kui even touched the hilt of his sword and glared at the fat official.

The fat official was not afraid. He stood up, looked around, and pointed his spear at Luo Guzi: "What? Are you planning a rebellion?"

Seeing that the situation was a bit ugly, Ding Daxing immediately stepped forward.

He was afraid that the Jingnan Army and the Zhongyi Army would become hostile to each other, so he quickly tried to smooth things over: "May I know the name of this noble man?"

The fat official originally didn't want to bother with a soldier, but at this moment, it was inconvenient to let the situation continue to stalemate, so he just waved his sleeves and said, "My name is Mao Zhiyu."

Ding Daxing's brows furrowed even more. "Does Mr. Mao have the transfer order?"

Mao Zhiyu took a lacquered document from the servant beside him and said proudly, "This is a transfer order from the Southern Court. It has the official red ink, so it must be an official document."

Ding Daxing was stunned for a moment, not understanding what was going on, but he still asked cautiously, "Mr. Mao, that's not what I'm talking about. Do you have any handwritten documents from Lord Wei or Mr. Feihu?"

Mao Zhiyu was also stunned: "As a minister of state, why would I need a document from Duke Wei or some other young man?"

Ding Daxing turned to look at the people beside him, took a step forward, scratched his head and asked, "So, you are not a member of the Jingnan Army?"

Mao Zhiyu had no idea where this conversation was coming from. He put his hands behind his back, turned around, and acted mysterious. "I passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty, was sent out as a county magistrate at the age of thirty-five, and spent several years in the military. What does this have to do with the Jingnan Army, you idiot..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Mao Zhiyu felt a huge force coming from behind him, and his fat body flew out unconsciously, knocking over several tables and chairs, and then rolled on the ground several times before stopping.

After a brief moment of shock, Mao Zhiyu felt intense pain surging from all over his limbs and couldn't help but scream out.

Even louder was Ding Daxing's angry curse: "You fucking bastard! I even asked you so carefully, afraid of alienation. So you thieves are here to defraud the officials! You're looking for death!"

An Kui also reacted, became furious instantly, and was about to draw his knife.

"Wait." Gao Chang, sitting at the head of the table, quickly intervened. "These people do have an imperial decree from the Song government. Prefect Luo has also sent someone to Yizhou to ask for instructions. Duke Wei's order will arrive in two days. You must not act rashly."

This is where the trouble lies.

These Song officials came to Haizhou to take up their posts with some followers. It would be easy for Luo Guzi to deal with them, but he could not violate the major policies of Shandong.

Getting a reputation for being power-hungry would be a small matter, but if Wei Sheng's plan was destroyed, that would be a big disaster.

In a word, these Song officials can be dealt with, but only after waiting for the order from Wei Sheng or Liu Huai.

Upon hearing this, Ding Daxing's anger was still lingering, and he spoke directly, "County Magistrate Gao, I only know about Duke Wei and Young Master Liu, not the official family of the State of Song. Prefect, you are all scholars, so don't get involved in this matter. Please lend me some local soldiers. Tomorrow I will escort these impersonators to Yizhou and let Duke Wei and Young Master Liu deal with them!"

Luo Guzi looked at the trembling Song officials, thought about it, and decided that this was indeed a solution, so he nodded in agreement.

(End of this chapter)